Lockerbie hearing postponed after several witnesses ‘stonewalled’

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) has postponed a hearing on the release of the Lockerbie bomber because of what he described as stonewalling by the British and Scottish governments.

Menendez had originally scheduled a hearing for Thursday to investigate whether BP had any role in the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was freed last year on the grounds of deteriorating health. The oil company reportedly hoped that lobbying for al-Megrahi’s release would help them secure oil leases in Libya.

Menendez, as well as Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gilibrand (D-N.Y.), have been pressing for an investigation of the decisions since reports surfaced recently indicating al-Megrahi was in better health than indicated.

On Tuesday, Menendez said that officials from the Scottish and British governments were not cooperating.

From the AP:

Menendez sought the participation of Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary who freed al-Megrahi; Britain’s justice secretary at the time, Jack Straw; BP CEO Tony Hayward; Andrew Fraser, the Scottish Prison Service’s medical chief; and Sir Mark Allen, a BP official who Menendez said acted as a liaison between the company and the Libyan and British governments.

“It’s utterly disappointing and, I think, pretty outrageous that none of these key witnesses will cooperate with our request to answer questions before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,” the senator said at a news conference. “They have stonewalled.”

Menendez said the committee will shift its focus to a “longer-term multidimensional inquiry” into al-Megrahi’s release.