Scotland's Justice Secretary has accused Libya of breaking a promise not to give freed Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi a hero's welcome on his return home.
Speaking at an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament, Kenny MacAskill said it was a matter of great regret that Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner.
'It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie.'
He said that 'assurances had been given by the Libyan government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion.'
Mr MacAskill was speaking at a special session of the Scottish Parliament, recalled from its summer recess to allow MSPs to question him on his decision to free terminally-ill Megrahi.
The Justice Secretary defended his actions in freeing Megrahi on compassionate early release grounds, while turning down a request for him to be transferred to jail in Libya.
In a statement that was along similar lines to the one he made when announcing the decision last week, he said it was his responsibility to decide upon these two applications.
'They were my decisions and my decisions alone.'
But Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray told Parliament the Cabinet Secretary has mishandled this whole affair from start to finish.
'Between the scenes of triumph in Tripoli and the pain and anger at home and abroad, is there anything Mr MacAskill now regrets about his decision and the way it was reached?'
The Tories called the decision 'flawed'.
Mr MacAskill also defended his decision to meet Megrahi in Greenock prison before reaching a decision on the prisoner transfer agreement.
The Scottish Parliament's early return comes amid a deepening international backlash over the decision to free the only person convicted over the 1988 attack on Pam Am flight 103.
US relations
Yesterday, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond was forced to again defend Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi's release in the face of attacks from his predecessor, Jack McConnell, and the head of the FBI.
First Minister Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, said Mr MacAskill had made the ‘right decision’ for ‘absolutely the right reasons’.
He insisted that Scotland's relationship with the US remained strong, despite fears the deepening row could have damaging repercussions for Scottish businesses and wider British-US relations.
However Mr McConnell, a former Scottish Labour chief, said members needed to make clear that the decision did not have the support of the Scottish people.
In London, ministers have expressed concern over the potential political damage due to Megrahi's release.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is continuing to come under pressure from opposition parties to say whether he supported the release. So far, British ministers have stuck firmly to the line that it is a matter for the Scottish authorities.
However amid signs of increasing strains between London and Edinburgh, the British Foreign Office dismissed suggestions that ministers in London had tacitly encouraged their Scottish counterparts to go ahead with the release.
Megrahi, who is terminally ill with cancer, was freed by Mr MacAskill on compassionate grounds after serving eight years of a life sentence. He returned home to Libya to jubilant scenes that included people waving Scottish flags.
