THE release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing was not discussed by the Scottish cabinet ahead of a decision, newly released papers show.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi had been sentenced to life imprisonment at a special Scottish Court convened in The Hague for his role in the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103, which exploded over Dumfries and Galloway killing 270.

But after eight years in prison protesting his innocence and winning the support of representatives of British relatives of the atrocity, as well as MPs, Nelson Mandela, and the UN’s official observer at his trial for his appeals, he sought early release on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.