The possible transfer of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmad Al Megrahi to Libya on compassionate grounds may founder on the basis that the Scottish Government have not actually received a request from his legal team.

The Scottish Government has been publicising recent meetings between Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill and relatives of those killed in the Lockerbie airliner incident, both from the UK and the US. MacAskill has also met Libyan officials, all in consideration of Megrahi’s possible transfer.

However, a Scottish Government briefing to the Times newspaper highlighted that Megrahi’s legal team had not actually submitted a request for his release on compassionate grounds.

The application of the request itself is crucial, as the terms of the prisoner transfer agreement actually require Megrahi to drop his ongoing appeal if he wants to be returned to Libya under its terms.

The Scottish government have discretion to waive such a stipulation if they allow him compassionate release.

The Scottish Government statement now appears to suggest that a formal application for compassionate release must be made. The Government briefing indicates that if this procedural step has not been followed, Megrahi’s transfer may not take place. This would then require the appeal to be dropped for his transfer to go ahead.

A Libyan delegation have lodged such an application for his transfer to Libya under the agreement.

Megrahi’s legal team could not be contacted to confirm whether an application for compassionate release had been lodged.