Barack Obama has criticised Scotland's decision to release the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi as a mistake.
Megrahi, who has terminal cancer, was released yesterday on compassionate grounds. He was greeted by a large crowd at the military airport inTripoli, Libya after his return home last night.

Obama said: "We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this. We thought it was a mistake. We are now contacting the Libyan government to make sure that if this transfer has taken place, he is not welcomed back in some way but should instead be under house arrest."

The US President's response reflects widespread concern in the US over the decision to release Megrahi. Most of the 270 people who died when a terrorist bomb exploded on the Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie were American.

Meghrai was met at the airport by the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif, who praised the Scottish government's decision. "I would like to thank the Scottish government for its courageous decision and understanding of a special human situation," he said.

Meghrai, who has consistently denied involvement in the bombing, dropped his appeal against his conviction in order to secure his release.
American relatives of those who died in the bombing expressed their anger at his release. Kara Weipz, 36, who lost her brother in the attack, said the decision was "utterly despicable". She added: "I don't show compassion for someone who showed no remorse".

Eric Holder, the US attorney general at the time of the bombing, also condemned Meghrai's release. "There is simply no justification for releasing this convicted terrorist whose actions took the lives of 270 individuals," he said.

But the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, who announced the release order on Thursday morning said the decision was a humane one.
"In Scotland, we are a people who pride ourselves on our humanity. It is viewed as a defining characteristic," he told a press conference in Edinburgh.

"The perpetration of an atrocity and outrage cannot and should not be a basis for losing sight of who we are, the values we seek to uphold, and the faith and beliefs by which we seek to live. Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. [But] compassion and mercy are about upholding the beliefs we seek to live by, remaining true to our values as a people, no matter the severity of the provocation or the atrocity perpetrated.

"For these reasons alone, it is my decision that Mr al-Megrahi be released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya to die."

Meghrai, who is thought to have three months left to live, said that his conviction was a "disgrace" and that his imprisonment had been a "horrible ordeal".