Well done Kenny MacAskill

It is always heartening when a politician makes the right decision, even when he is being pressurised not to do so.

In the case of the so-called Lockerbie bomber, those who have studied the case in depth, including the most intelligent and rational relatives of the victims such as Martin Cadman and Jim Swire, have concluded that he was very unlikely to have been involved. It is all too easy to hold a show trial and reach the conclusion the US government wanted and which suited labelling the bogey government of the day.

In any case, the release was not parole or anything like that - purely an acknowledgment that in civilised countries we allow dying men to be released in compassionate grounds. There is no such equivalent in American law, which speaks for itself

We really must stop being America's poodle. Arms length is the best place to be. The Atlanticists are terribly upset about this decision because they seriously believe that a 'special relationship' exists - it doesn't, and neither should we wish it to. If this emphasises that point, then all the better. And the next step is to tell them to get on with Afghanistan on their own.