It is the duty and obligation of The Firm magazine to urgently address the information that has come to light today and to secure answers that will provide public confidence. In a wider sense our obligation extends to the justice system of Scotland and to the truth.

If figures within the Justice Department have “rammed home” to Megrahi that his appeal must be dropped if compassionate release is to be granted, this would amount to an almost unimaginably nefarious act of psychological torture. Not only would such a form of blackmail be immoral, it also conflates the terms of the Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the entirely separate act of compassionate release. The application of this condition would also circumvent the legitimate judicial processes that have been put in place not only very recently, but also through the entire Scots jurisprudence, which has already been contorted dramatically the accommodate the peculiarities of this case. This final alleged act of blackmail - if true - would truly shove Scots law into the shadows of corruption, from which it may never truly return.

The Firm understands that a decision regarding the compassionate release (or otherwise) of Megrahi is due to reach a point of no return within the next 24 hours.

Sources within the Justice Department have assured The Firm that Justice Minster Kenny MacAskill has the interests of justice at heart, and is disposed to do “the decent thing,” even if it means the continued examination of the Lockerbie event through the courts, which may expose the shortcomings of its handling, which are frankly well known and cannot be avoided in any event. This case is already buried down a deep hole of scandal, embarrassment and impropriety that has rendered it subject to international derision and domestic shame. Digging further down that hole will only compound the extent of the damage done to Scots law.

It is therefore imperative that Macaskill confirms if it has ever been intimated to Megrahi or his representatives that he would be more likely to be granted compassionate release if he dropped his appeal. The legitimate public interest in clarifying this point before any decision is made is self evident. If such blackmail is indeed being carried on within the justice department, now is the time to root it out, and assure the public that the decision will be made on its merits alone.

The Scottish and international public would like to see justice done, and to have confidence that the justice system is operating free from hidden pressures and extraneous, immoral interference. It is unlikely that Justice Minister MacAskill will ever be faced with a professional decision more significant or imperative than the one before him now. Legitimate and concerning questions have arisen persistently since Pan Am 103 fell from the sky, in connection with the investigation and the prosecution of the case and the conduct of those involved. If Megrahi drops his appeal, then returns home after a compassionate release with the shadow of emotional blackmail sticking to the Justice Department, the damage done to Scots law will be incalculable. Participating in such an act of psychological torture and moral disgrace would unconscionable. It is unlikely that the majority of the electorate would wish such an act to be carried out in their name.

Before this decision is made, reassurance must be provided to the Scottish people and the world that Megrahi’s return home is not being made conditional upon his dropping his appeal. Justice must be done, though the heavens may fall. That time, surely, is now.