US Senate Lockerbie bomber inquiry 'may visit UK'

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

The US senator who is to chair a rescheduled congressional inquiry into the Lockerbie bomber release has said he may send investigators to Britain.

In an interview for the BBC's Newsnight programme, Senator Robert Menendez said he wanted to take up offers from some witnesses to be questioned in the UK.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-10810315

[SydneyDundee]

1. ..what witnesses does he think would want to be "questioned"..

This is yet another attempt by Menendez to "look tough" in advance of the mid-terms. The response from Alex Salmond was clear and correct....

QUOTE:

"Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said he was happy to offer a visiting US senator "the courtesy of a meeting".

But he said there was "no way on Earth" Scottish ministers would formally give evidence to a committee hearing of a foreign legislature, even if it was held in the UK.

"It's a point of principle that you're not responsible to the committee of another parliament," he said.

"I don't think there is a recorded case in history of a serving American secretary going to another jurisdiction to give evidence to a committee of another parliament. That applies to the Chilcot Committee, it applies to coroners' inquests in England, it applies to extraordinary rendition and all the other controversies the US has been involved in.

"You shouldn't ask other people to do things that your own government would never dream of," he said.

[nyy1998]

2. "This is yet another attempt by Menendez to "look tough" in advance of the mid-terms."

Menendez isn't running in this mid-term election. In fact, he's the head of the DSCC, taking over from Chuck Schumer.

[SydneyDundee]

3. ...many thanks for the correction...... :-)

...I still think he's coming across as someone "playing to the domestic crowd" and trying to grandstand a bit to enhance his own popularity...why else would he flog this dead horse?

[nyy1998]

4. No problem, and you're probably right.

But most Senators from the NYC tri-state area are beating this horse and considering that Secretary Clinton is from NY, I doubt this is the last we've heard about this.


P.S: Interesting though to see some tension between some Democratic and Labour politicians on a foreign policy issue of this magnitude.

[SydneyDundee]

5. yep, you are right, very interesting indeed - they usually stroke one another's tummies!

[defendandprotect]

6. k