A former Libyan agent jailed for life for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing,which killed 270 people,flew home on Thursday after Scottish authorities released him because he is dying of cancer. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi,who has less than three months to live,was freed on compassionate grounds,a decision strongly criticised by the US,which had campaigned to keep him in prison. Many of the victims were Americans. He is a dying man,he is terminally ill, Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill said. My decision is that he returns home to die. Wearing a white tracksuit and baseball cap and with a white scarf clutched to his face,Megrahi walked up the steps to a waiting Libyan aircraft with the aid of a stick. The plane then left Glasgow Airport to fly him home to Tripoli. The US government,which opposed Megrahis early release,said it deeply regrets the decision. Megrahi is likely to be welcomed by Muammar Gaddafi.
