ARAB US RELATIONS - Aug 25 - Bomber's Welcome In Libya 'Repulsed'.

Gordon Brown says he is "angry and repulsed" by the rapturous reception given to the Lockerbie bomber on his return to Libya, but refused to be drawn into the row with the US over his release. The PM broke days of silence on the issue by insisting he did not believe the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi by the Scottish justice secretary would damage transatlantic relations. But his refusal to express a view on whether it was right for Megrahi to be released on compassionate grounds was criticised as "a failure of leadership" by William Hague, shadow foreign secretary. Brown, speaking in Downing Street after talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's PM, insisted the release of the convicted killer of 270 airline passengers in 1988 was solely a matter for the Scottish government.The PM said he told Colonel Muammer Gaddafi at the G8 summit last month that he had "no role" in the decision to release Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. Brown said his resolve to fight terrorism was "absolute", hoping to draw a line under a row that has severely strained relations between Washington and Edinburgh, and to avoid it causing damage to UK-US relations in general. The Scottish government said it would publish further documents relating to the return of the Lockerbie bomber within days. The Scottish National party-run government said "all relevant information" on two applications - one to transfer Megrahi to a Libyan jail and the other to grant him compassionate early release - would be published before the Scottish parliament debated the issue next week. Opposition parties at Holyrood will vote to deplore the Libyan's release, but have retreated from threats to table a motion of no confidence in Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, who made the controversial decision to free Megrahi. Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, let it be known that any such motion could lead to his minority government stepping down - and none of the opposition parties relished a Holyrood contest this close to the looming UK general election. Opposition parties will also have been given pause by growing signs of support for MacAskill. A poll of Scottish lawyers found 68 per cent backed the decision to release the Libyan on compassionate grounds.