Was the Lockerbie Bomber freed for oil?

It is said that Lord Palmerston once said, "Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests." His words seem trenchant in light of new allegations out of the United Kingdom that the Lockerbie Bomber was freed, not for compassionate reasons, but in order to advance Britain's oil interests.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards...Two letters dated five months apart show that Straw initially intended to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, under which British and Libyan prisoners could serve out their sentences in their home country...Straw then switched his position as Libya used its deal with BP as a bargaining chip to insist the Lockerbie bomber was included.

The exploration deal for oil and gas, potentially worth up to £15 billion, was announced in May 2007. Six months later the agreement was still waiting to be ratified.

It is this kind of intermarriage between ethics and business that makes so many distrust government. How can we trust faceless bureaucrats with our health, education, and wealth when we can't even trust them to punish the guilty when justice become inconvenient to business interests?