Yep – thought so. The Tories have decided that the best way to justify an intervention into Libya is to stress the “risk” Gaddafi poses to the British people. Or, in practice, to make grim references to Lockerbie. Kenneth Clarke has been chatting with the Guardian…

We do have one particular interest in Maghreb, which is Lockerbie – if other people want to get rid of the curse of Gaddafi, the British people have reason to remember the curse of Gaddafi – Gaddafi back in power, the old Gaddafi looking for revenge, we have a real interest in preventing that.

An unhinged assumption and unhinged speculation. Well, that’s very reassuring. One might hope the justice minister would have some understanding of the consequence of an appeal but, then, it’s long been clear his Ministry has scant regard for justice. One recalls the blithe dismissal of a new investigation. Ah, what would have been the point? There only seems to be a fucking war depending on it.

The Grauniad hangs Clarke’s statement in a queer ol’ frame…

…his remarks suggest British ministers recognise they now have a direct security interest in Gaddafi’s removal in light of Libya‘s involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 259 people on Pan Am flight 103 and 11 on the ground in the Scottish town.

They “recognise” they have a direct security interest? Should be “think”, shouldn’t it? Otherwise one might infer not that they’ve come to an opinion – a generous assumption in itself – but that they’ve acknowledged an evident truth. That’s as balanced as a sapling in a hurricane.

Elsewhere John McCain claims to have evidence of Gaddafi’s involvement with the bombings. If he does I’d welcome it but the repulsive fraudster’s reputation doesn’t offer hope. Salon notes that his desire to avenge Lockerbie was not in evidence as he schmoozed with the tyrant in the past few years. Perhaps, as with many things, he’s quietly forgotten it.

If the mangled Mickey Rourke of the Maghreb was guilty then our government’s with him has been far more noxious than Megrahi’s freeing. They didn’t merely fail to arrest the sod, they actively befriended him. One could build a rationale around snaffling his nukes, I guess, but how about the time after he had relinquished them? If you’d just disarmed a murder suspect would you have him round for tea?