Will anybody attend the US Lockerbie hearing?

American anger at the early release from jail last year of the convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is bubbling up again as British witnesses invited to appear before next week's US Senate hearing are either stalling or refusing outright to attend.

Non-US citizens are not bound to appear before Senate hearings of this kind. But following David Cameron's visit to the White House this week, it was assumed some degree of cooperation would be forthcoming. Cameron himself said his government would "in terms of the congressional hearing, make sure that proper co-operation is extended to it".

Instead, the hearing, scheduled July 29, looks increasingly like being a damp squib, with Scottish politicians definitely refusing their invitations, and everyone else on this side of the Atlantic humming and hawing.

Their procrastination is understandable. They've all seen Tony Hayward get the whipping-boy treatment on Capitol Hill over the BP oil spill

And as Jack Straw put it yesterday, it is "highly unusual for the legislature of one sovereign state to conduct an inquiry into decisions of another sovereign state", even if more than half the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing were Americans.

That said, there are fears in diplomatic circles that if the Senate is made to look stupid by a total non-appearance of any British witnesses on July 29, the row over Megrahi's release is never going to get put to bed. As for Britain's special relationship with the States, "junior partner" David Cameron could have his work cut out for a long time to come.
 
Here's where the potential witnesses stand this morning:

Tony Blair, former Prime MinisterHe would be the key witness having signed the 2007 'deal in the desert' with Col Gaddafi, when a prisoner transfer agreement was on the table. Will he attend? No - he hasn't even been asked. Having led the media to believe Blair had been invited, it transpires the Senate never even issued an invitation. It is not clear whether this was because of pressure, or a cock-up.
 
Jack Straw, former Justice Minister Although BP has adamantly denied lobbying the Scottish government - a denial supported by the Scots - it has admitted that it lobbied Straw to speed up a prisoner transfer agreement (above) and not to exclude Megrahi from it. Will he attend? Unclear. Straw has said he has "no objection in principle" to explaining the background to the PTA. But he wants to consult Gordon Brown and seek the advice of the Foreign Office before deciding whether to accept the Senate's "highly unusual" invitation.

Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP Washington's current number one bogeyman would be expected by the Senate to answer categorically the question: did the BP lobby the Scots to get Megrahi released in order to facilitate a $900m oil exploration deal with the Libyans? Will he attend? Unclear. BP was still considering on Thursday whether to allow its executives to appear.

Sir Mark Allen, BP special adviser Allen, a former Arab specialist at MI6, is known to have made two telephone approaches to Straw in connection with BP's interests in Libya and to have attended at least one meeting with Col Gaddafi. The Senate wants to know more. Will he attend? Unclear. As with Hayward, BP is considering whether to allow him to appear.

Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister The Senate wants to hear from the horse's mouth whether BP lobbied for Megrahi's release - something Salmond has consistently denied. Will he attend? No. He has formally turned the Senate invitation down, saying he has made his decision quite clear in written testimony.

Kenny MacAskill, Scotland's Justice Minister The Senate wants to know why he agreed to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds - and why he accepted medical advice that the convicted bomber had only three months to live, advice now seen to be misguided. Will he attend? No. A Scottish government spokesman said MacAskill would not be attending because Salmond (above) had provided "comprehensive information and assistance" to the committee.

Andrew Fraser, Scottish Prison Service director of health He produced the medical report on which MacAskill (above) based his decision to release Megrahi. The Senate would want to push for a full explanation of how that advice was gathered and what say the Libyans had in the choice of doctors who examined Megrahi in jail on July 28 last year. Will he attend? No - for the same reason as MacAskill. ·