The Holyrood Justice Committee has published its report into the Justice Minister's handling of the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi to Libya, and has severely criticised crucial aspects of the decision.

In particular, it says that a transfer under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement should not have been allowed whilst the Crown case against Megrahi was outstanding.

Megrahi's own counsel, Maggie Scott QC expressed concern to the court at the time that Megrahi's release appeared to be conditional upon him dropping his ongoing appeal.

"The Committee is extremely concerned about some aspects of the process leading up to the decision, particularly the decision to allow representations in person by Mr al-Megrahi in Greenock prison, the reasoning behind the refusal of the PTA application, the lack of clarity as to the basis on which compassionate release was granted and the fact that the announcement of the decision was not made to the Parliament," the report concludes.

The committee also said they were still unclear as to Kenny MacAskill's reasoning for returning Megrahi to Libya.

"Despite the Cabinet Secretary’s statement and his oral evidence, the Committee remains unclear as to the criteria which the Cabinet Secretary considered," the report stated.

UN observer Hans Kochler stated that he suspected a "covert deal" had been reached to facilitate Megrahi's release. The Firm also reported that Peter Mandelson of the UK Government had met Saif Al Gadaffi shortly before the release. 

The Justice Committee recommends that the Scottish Government conduct a full examination of the implications of the decisions, which is likely to add to pressure for a full inquiry to be initiated.

The committee's report can be read here.