Latham's cheeky dig
By Tony Grew - 1st February 2011
Tory MP Pauline Latham is a maternal figure in the Commons.
Elected in May, she takes an interest in Africa and development issues, and while a very nice person, she is not one of Westminster's jokers.
Which made her zinger at foreign office questions today all the more surprising.
She asked if there are any plans to send more NHS cancer patients to Libya, "given their higher survival rate".
This was a dig at the Scottish government's decision to release Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi in April 2009 on "compassionate grounds" after ministers were told he was dying of cancer.
He is still alive, and was given a hero's welcome on his return to Libya.
Tory MP Robert Halfon thundered that the previous government "hid behind the figleaf of devolution" in the al-Megrahi case, and had released a mass murderer.
Foreign secretary William Hague said his release from prison was a mistake.
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