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The Labour government did "all it could" to see convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi returned to Libya, Whitehall's top official has said.
In a report published today, the cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell concluded that ministers in the last government believed British interests would be damaged if Megrahi remained in the UK.
"From the point at which HMG became aware that Mr Megrahi had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, HMG judged that UK interests would be damaged if Mr Megrahi were to die in a UK jail," he said.
"Policy was therefore progressively developed that HMG should do all it could, whilst respecting devolved competences, to facilitate an appeal by the Libyans to the Scottish Government for Mr Megrahi's transfer under the PTA or release on compassionate grounds."
The cabinet secretary said this action amounted to the ratification of a prisoner transfer agreement (PTA), explaining to Libya how to proceed with an application for transfer of a prisoner under the PTA or for compassionate release and informing the Scottish Government that there was no "legal barrier" to transferring Megrahi under the PTA.
But O'Donnell said the British government had been careful not to communicate to the Scottish government its "underlying desire" to see Megrahi released and that the then prime minister Gordon Brown did "not seek to exercise any influence" on Scottish first minister Alex Salmond.
He said: "It is clear that HMG considered that any attempts to pressurise or lobby the Scottish Government could be counter productive to achieving this outcome".
270 people died when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. Megrahi was convicted of the bombing and was sentenced to prison in a Scottish jail. He was released on compassionate grounds by Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill in August 2009 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Anger at the controversial decision to release the only man convicted of the attack has grown as Megrahi is still alive in Libya, despite being given only three months to live upon his release.
O'Donnell conducted the review following a request from David Cameron. The prime minister has previously criticised the decision of the SNP government in Scotland to release Megrahi.
Speaking in the Commons this afternoon he said: "I've not altered my view which I expressed at the time that I thought releasing Mr Megrahi was a very bad decision," he said.
He added: "In my view he should have died in prison"
And Cameron said the Labour government should have "condemned it [his release] rather than gone alone with it".
Reacting to Cameron's statement Ed Miliband said the report confirmed Megrahi's release was "not influenced by the UK government".
And he said the report concluded there was "no evidence" that UK interests played a part in Mr Megrahi's release by the Scottish government.
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