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What’s this going to do to the Megrahi debate?

What’s this going to do to the Megrahi debate?

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Sunday Times Was it a “murky” deal for oil after all? The main lead in the Sunday Times tomorrow looks set to take the Megrahi release debate into new territory for the paper says it has leaked ministerial letters suggesting this was all about an oil deal with Libya. This is how the story starts: “The British government decided it was “in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom” to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for…

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Poll gloom for the SNP AND Gordon over Megrahi

Poll gloom for the SNP AND Gordon over Megrahi

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BBC News Scotland ICM suggests both have been damaged Only a few days ago I was bemoaning the fact that there did not seem to be any polls of Scottish opinion on the release of Megrahi – the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing and murder of 270 people. Well this evening we have a second with strong suggestions that there might be another one this weekend. The survey is by ICM for the BBC and is of 1,005 people…

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Majority of Scots think the release was wrong – YouGov

Majority of Scots think the release was wrong – YouGov

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Survey finds SNP Holyrood support down 5 points Opinion polls confined to just Scotland are rare things indeed and according to UKPollingReport there have only been two this year – one by YouGov for the Sunday Times last January. UPDATE – the last Scottish YouGov poll was in June. This morning the Daily Mail is carrying details of a new YouGov Scottish poll it commissioned following last week’s controversial release of Megrahi – the man convicted for the Lockerbie bombing….

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PH Poll: Lib Dems most likely to back the release

PH Poll: Lib Dems most likely to back the release

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PoliticsHome What do we think of the first post-release poll? The above are the results of an online poll of 1,204 adults carried out between 18-20 August 2009. Figures are weighted by party ID to reflect the UK at large. Unfortunately we do not have any Scotland-specific numbers which are probably the most relevant. Mike Smithson

It’s 7/1 that Salmond’s won’t survive?

It’s 7/1 that Salmond’s won’t survive?

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Times Online But isn’t the most pressure going to be on Brown’s government? With the storm over the release of the Lockerbie bomber continuing unabated on both sides of the Atlantic William Hill has opened a market that “Alex Salmond will cease to be SNP Leader on or before December 31, 2009”. Today the Holyrood parliament is being recalled so justice minister Kenny MacAskill can make a statement. With talk of a boycott of Scottish goods in the US there’s…

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Is Mandy playing with words on his trade-deal denial?

Is Mandy playing with words on his trade-deal denial?

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What are we to make of his Megrahi response? One of the headlines on Radio 4’s 1300 news was a denial by trade secretary, Peter Mandelson, that there was any link between the release of the Lockerbie bomber and British trade deals with Libya. His actual words did not actually say that. For he said that any suggestions that the release had been in return for trade deals were “offensive“. Now that is is not a denial. It’s a smart…

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So what’s the verdict on the SNP’s performance?

So what’s the verdict on the SNP’s performance?

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Was Kenny MacAskill the weakest link? The SNP could not be blamed for the celebrations in Tripoli last night when Megrahi arrived back in Libya but those TV pictures have certainly added to the challenge the party faces over its decision. The reaction of William Hills has been to lengthen the odds on the SNP winning the next Scottish Elections from 4/6 to 5/6 where they are now joint favourites with Labour. What the Tripoli TV pictures have underlined is…

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Will there be a price for the SNP upsetting Hillary?

Will there be a price for the SNP upsetting Hillary?

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Can Salmond now stand accused of being “soft on terror”? In the run-up to today’s release of Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Libyan spy who jailed in 2001 for blowing up Pan Am flight 103 with the loss of 270 lives, Hillary Clinton made a public plea saying the Scottish authorities should allow him to die in prison rather than being released on compassionate grounds. She said: “I just think it is absolutely wrong to release someone who has…

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