Report: Former British Government Helped Libya Prepare Appea

Prime Minister David Cameron says the former British government did not disclose the full facts surrounding the release of the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane over Scotland.
A report says the British government at the time of the release did not apply direct pressure to convince Scottish authorities to release the Libyan sentenced to life for the bombing, but it did help facilitate the appeal the Libyans made.
Scottish officials released Libyan Abdel Baset al-Megrahi from prison 17 months ago on compassionate¹ grounds, saying he suffered from prostate cancer and had less than three months to live. The decision to release the only man convicted of the bombing of an American airliner² over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 was controversial, prompting protests in Britain and the United States. A majority of the 270 victims were American.
British Prime Minister David Cameron commissioned a review of government documents related to the case. The report concluded, in part, that the British government then had facilitated the appeal made by the Libyans to have Megrahi released under a Prisoner Transfer agreement or on compassionate grounds. Cameron quoted from some of the newly released documents while addressing the British Parliament.
"One of the foreign office papers released today makes plain that, and I quote, ‘Facilitating direct contact between the Libyans and the Scottish executive is a key part of our game plan on Megrahi.' Another foreign office paper from January 2009 says, and I quote, 'We now need to go further, and work accurately³ and discreetly⁴ to ensure that Megrahi is transferred back to Libya under the PTA or compassionate grounds,'" said Cameron.
The report concluded there was no direct pressure by the British government on Scotland to release Megrahi, and Cameron said it also dispelled⁵ rumors⁶ the British oil company BP was involved. At the time, BP was negotiating an offshore⁷ oil deal with Libya worth more than $600 million.
"Those who think there was some sort of conspiracy⁸ cooked up between BP, the British Government, and the Scots to release Megrahi, that is not right," said Cameron. "It was a Scottish decision by the Scottish government, in my view mistaken."
Cameron was not prime minister when the decision was made. The Labour Party ran the government at the time. Its present leader, Ed Miliband, called the report serious and thorough, and emphasized it exonerated⁹ the previous government.
"The report makes clear that there is no evidence that, and I quote 'U.K. interests played a part in Mr. Megrahi's release by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds,'" said Miliband.
He added that the report said the government took great effort not to communicate its view to the Scottish government. "The message of today's report is that Megrahi's release was not influenced by the U.K. government."
Cameron said, however, that while the government did not directly pressure Scottish officials, it also did not make its role in facilitating the Libyan request clear. Al-Megrahi is still alive and living in Tripoli.

1 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

2 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

3 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

4 discreetly   

ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
• Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。

5 dispelled   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
• The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

8 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

9 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句