Lockerbie and other news

Posted on Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 11:33 a.m.

It is hard to believe that now in many ways Westminster has devolved itself of so much power that decisions made by other parts of the UK can tarnish the country as a whole. When Scotland decided to release the man convicted of being an integral part of the Lockerbie bomb which killed 270 people and affected many more it damaged far more than the trust of the people who expected the man to die in prison for the crime. The US is outraged and has protested, the true extent of the damage may only be known when the Barack Obama and Gordon Brown come face to face at the next G20 summit hosted in the US!

What has made matters worse is the welcome received in Libya, true it is a different culture but even so the media coverage of such a return is not going to make foreign relations any better. A royal visit has now been cancelled but isn't this too little too late, after all the royal family are the heads of the UK, and it was the UK that released him, complaining about the welcome home however undiplomatic we feel it is, is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted!

Perhaps more damning is Gordon Browns silence. He has found time to pen a congratulatory letter to Andrew Strauss but where there is no glory to be had, there is no Gordon Brown. Did he have anything to do with the decision? If he didn't why hasn't he moved to distance himself from the decision?

It is true that there was an appeal lodged, a second one! If that had succeeded then it would have been embarrassing for Scotland to have to release him, there is of course no guarantee of this and of course with Megrahi's ill health he may not have survive to see the end of the trial. I for one however do not believe in letting out people convicted of mass murder on compassionate grounds, just because an appeal had been launched does not mean it would have been successful. In prison visits are still allowed and for those that are dying extra concessions can be made, this however should not be extended to releasing criminals from prison. Whilst I agree that people should be allowed to die in dignity with their loved ones around them I have no reason to assume that they are prevented from doing this in prison, it may not be as nice as being in a hospital or a familial home but then killing 270 people removes this privilege.

In other news, A levels are on the up again and to say that today's teenagers do not work hard would be a disservice to them. The fact that many of the teenagers gain the same grade however does devalue their achievements, it is high time we returned to the system where the top 10% of people gained an A and so on. When this happens the grades will be a true reflection of ability and the grades rush will stop, of course the government don't want to do this as it would reflect a fall in the grades. What really needs to happen is that we come clean with our teenagers and reward the a fair grade that means something to universities and so on.

Well done to the England cricket team who managed to win the Ashes this weekend, an entertaining series and good wishes for Andrew Flintoff as he undergoes knee surgery.

Well done as well to Federer who secured his sixteenth masters series title on Sunday ahead of the US open on the 31st.