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Straw denies Megrahi release was connected to trade deals

Jack Straw, the UK Justice Secretary, has described as ‘‘absurd’’ suggestions that trade deals had anything to do with the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

Mr Straw was forced into the denial after letters leaked to a Sunday newspaper appeared to show that he had backed away from efforts to stipulate that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi should be exempt from a prisoner transfer agreement signed with Libya in 2007.