A reward for murder: UK and U.S. accused as Libya defector has assets freed and may escape travel ban - 6th Apr 2011

Britain and the U.S. were last night angrily accused of ‘rewarding terrorism’ over the lifting of sanctions on Colonel Gaddafi’s henchman, Musa Kusa.

Foreign Secretary William Hague was pushing the EU to drop a strict travel ban and asset freeze against Libya’s former foreign minister.

Kusa, described as one of the masterminds of the Lockerbie bombing and allegedly linked to the deaths of hundreds of IRA bomb attacks, defected to the UK last week.

Pressure on Britain to restore Kusa’s perks mounted after America unlocked his bank accounts on Monday. Foreign Office and White House officials believe it will encourage others to quit Gaddafi’s favoured circle.

But relatives of those who died in the Lockerbie atrocity, victims of the IRA and MPs reacted with horror at the ‘appalling’ decision to remove sanctions.

Brian Flynn, whose brother John Patrick, 21, was among 270 people murdered when a Pan Am jetliner was blown up over the Scottish town, said: ‘We all want to see Gaddafi brought down but at what cost to justice? This is rewarding somebody who has been accused of terrorist attacks.’

Frank Duggan, president of Victims of Pan Am 103 Inc, which represents the bereaved families, said: ‘I’m flabbergasted. Unlocking the sanctions sends out totally the wrong message.’ Read More