Abdelbaset al-Megrahi medical information: FOI release

Information requested

1) Any summaries, briefings or reports provided to Ministers regarding the medical condition and prognosis of Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi in advance of the August 2009 compassionate release decision; 

2) Any correspondence or internal communications discussing the medical evidence relied upon in assessing life expectancy;

3) Any guidance or criteria used by the Scottish Government at the time in determining eligibility for compassionate release on medical grounds, particularly in reference to Mr Al-Megrahi's offences;

4) Any correspondence from Government officials of the United States of America and/or members of the United States Congress from 1 June 2009 to 31 December 2009 in reference to Mr Al-egrahi and the decision to release him on compassionate grounds.

Response

With regard to your first question, the only medical report on Mr Al-Megrahi's condition which was provided to the Scottish Ministers to inform the then-Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill's decision on compassionate release is the one provided to Mr MacAskill by the Scottish Prison Service Director of Health and Care, Dr Andrew Fraser. This was published by the Scottish Government at the time of the decision to release Mr Al-Megrahi. While the relevant part of the Scottish Government website has now been removed, this document can be accessed at: Wayback Machine and on the BBC News Website at BBC NEWS | Scotland | Read the Lockerbie files .

A summary of the findings of that report, along with the report itself, was provided to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in a submission to him seeking a decision on Mr Al-Megrahi's application for compassionate release. This document was also published by the Scottish Government at the time of Mr Al-Megrahi's release and can be accessed at: Wayback Machine and on the BBC News website at BBC NEWS | Scotland | Read the Lockerbie files.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you have any difficulty in accessing the information from the websites listed above, please contact me and I will endeavour to assist.

Some information has been redacted from the published versions of these documents. Some of the redacted material does not fall within the scope of your FOI request as it does not relate to the medical condition or prognosis of Mr Al-Megrahi but to the views of the US Government on his possible release.

However, we consider that some of the redacted information does fall within the scope of your request.

However, we consider that an exemption at 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal data relating to a third party) applies to this information. This is because it is personal information concerning other individuals involved in the treatment of Mr Al-Megrahi.

The exemption at section 38(1)(b) is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest. With regard to your second question, I have interpreted your question as relating to correspondence or internal communications between officials discussing the content of the medical evidence provided by Dr Andrew Fraser to inform the advice to be provided to the Cabinet Secretary on compassionate release, which, as noted above, was the only medical report on Mr Al-Megrahi's condition that was provided to Scottish Ministers.

In this instance, the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested. While with the passage of time it is difficult to be certain as to the reasons for this, it is likely that this is because the then Scottish Government did not consider it appropriate to seek third party opinions on the medical evidence provided by Dr Andrew Fraser.

Accordingly, under section 17(1) of FOISA, we are required to notify you that the information you have requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

Regarding your third question about the guidance or criteria used to determine eligibility for compassionate release at the time of the decision on Mr Al-Megrahi's application, the submission to the then Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill, which I have linked to above, contains some information about this. I attach a note on the process which was prepared at the time of Al-Megrahi's application which sets out the compassionate release process in more detail.

Regarding your fourth question, you have asked for correspondence from officials of the Government of the United States of America and/or members of the United States Congress between 1 June 2009 and 31 December 2009 relating to Mr Al-Megrahi and the decision to release him on compassionate grounds. We have records of having received correspondence from:

• US Charge d'Affairs - Richard LeBaron - 12 August 2009 and 1 September 2009
• Senators Gillibrand, Kennedy, Kerry, Leahy, Lautenberg, Menendez and Schumer - 17 August 2009
• Congressman Daniel Maffei - 20 August 2009
• FBI Director Robert S. Mueller - 22 August 2009

We have not been able to locate a copy of the joint letter dated 17 August 2009 from the group of US Senators on our systems. However, a copy of the letter can be found at Gillibrand Statement on the Release of Lockerbie Bomber - Kirsten Gillibrand | U.S. Senator for New York. Similarly, we have been unable to find a copy of the letter from then-FBI director Robert Mueller of 22 August 2009. However, a copy of this letter can be found at FBI — Letter from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, to Scottish Minister Kenny MacAskill. The other two letters are attached. For background information, while Mr LeBaron's letter of 1 September 2009 to Mr Burgess refuses permission to the Scottish Government to publish his letter of 12 August 2009, the US Government subsequently decided to publish that letter themselves in July 2010. The letter can be found at: Correspondence with US Government.

I have attached copies of the letter from Congressman Daniel Maffei dated 22 August and the letter from Richard LeBaron dated 12 August.

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FOI 202600513608 - Information Released - Documents

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