国际英语新闻：British minister refuses to go to U.S. Senate on release of Lockerbie bomber

However, Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary for the Scottish government, the devolved parliament with powers over justice and prisons in Scotland, will not attend, said the Scottish government.

MacAskill said, in an interview on Friday, "I am elected by the Scottish people, I am accountable to the Scottish parliament, I have appeared before a Scottish parliament committee and indeed before a Westminster (the main, national UK government) committee. That is where I am required to be held to account and indeed I am happy to do so."

A Scottish government spokesman said on Friday there was no connection between the compassionate release of al-Megrahi and BP' s oil contracts.

The spokesman said, in a statement, "The Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee has already undertaken a full inquiry into the decision on compassionate release, and the Westminster Scottish Affairs Committee has also examined the issue.

"The focus of the senators' concern has been any role played by BP in decisions on Al-Megrahi, and we have stated categorically that there was no contact of any kind between the Scottish Government and BP."

The spokesman added that al-Megrahi was released under Scottish prison rules because he was dying, and that his release had nothing to do with a Prisoner Transfer Agreement negotiated between Libya and Britain.

The U.S. Senate committee also invited Scottish prison medical chief Dr Andrew Fraser to speak at the inquiry, but the invitation was turned down by the Scottish government.

Media also reported that BP had confirmed chief executive Tony Hayward had been asked to attend the Senate hearing and that the request was being considered.

BP has been at the center of a storm of criticism over the past few months for its handling of an oil spill that occurred after an exploratory oil well blew up in the Gulf of Mexico. The accident killed 11 oil rig workers on April 20, and it was not until July 15 that BP was able to stem the flow of oil, which polluted sea and coasts in the area.

The disaster became a major political issue, with U.S. President Barack Obama highly critical of BP, which saw its share price dive.

The disaster and BP's alleged connection with lobbying for the release of al-Megrahi were high on the agenda for President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron's bilateral talks in Washington earlier this week.

Cameron, who was not in power when al-Megrahi was released and who opposed his release in the House of Commons, said on Monday during his American trip that the release was "completely and utterly wrong."