Al-Megrahi - just the final nail in the coffin of that ethical foreign policy

So, it turns out that the Labour administration knew an awful lot more about the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi than they had let on. Indeed, it looks as though they lied to Parliament, to the victims of Lockerbie, to the British people and to our ally, the United States. Poor old Robin Cook must be spinning in his grave by now. An illegal war in Iraq, a lack of genuine commitment to Europe, and now putting trade above justice and lying about doing so.

This shabby deceit reminds you exactly why Labour went from 1997 hero to 2010 zero. It wasn't the policy necessarily, it was the hypocrisy, saying one thing for the Guardianistas, another in private.

It might have taken some of the pressure off of the Salmond administration, but no, there is more than a hint that they were bargaining with London to see what might be gained in exchange for al-Megrahi's release.

At some point, someone is going to work out that putting anything in writing means that, in the future, it might come back to haunt you. After all, you can't trust anybody with principles when you haven't got any yourselves...