Megrahi was received in Tripoli by a welcome party and cheering crowds waving Libyan and Scottish flags. The decision to release Megrahi was a Scottish one, albeit in my view, the wrong one.
Yet no-one can understand why our Prime Minister was silent for so long on this issue, when in the past, he has been quick to comment on celebrity and sporting events.
After all al-Megrahi was convicted of the largest ever terrorist atrocity in Britain, when 259 people on board Pan Am Flight 103 were killed, along with 11 on the ground. Once again, Brown has demonstrated his Macavity-like quality, disappearing as soon as a tough decision or judgement needs to be made.
This could well be because Gordon Brown and the British Government stand accused of double dealing. On the one hand apparently saying to the Americans they wanted al-Megrahi to die in prison, but on the other hand they now admit saying privately to the Libyans that they wanted him released.
This was not cleared up when Gordon Brown eventually made a statement last week. Important questions remain about Brown's judgement, about his meeting with Colonel Gaddafi at the G8 summit last month and about Lord Mandelson's meetings with his son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. We should know whether the Megrahi case played any part in negotiations over oil and gas contracts for British firms.
We also should know if our Prime Minister ruled out pressing the Libyans to compensate victims of IRA atrocities carried out with Libyan supplied weapons.
We can't trust the Government to get to the bottom of this so the time has come for an independent inquiry. If Labour won't hold an inquiry, and if we are elected to office, we will.
