Another visit for Lockerbie bomber

A hairdresser and dentist have already been to Zeist

A Scottish eye specialist was flown out to the Netherlands to treat the Lockerbie bomber, it has emerged.

The revelation came to light following continuing controversy over the Scottish Prison Service's decisions to send a hairdresser and then a dentist out to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi.

Specialist Dr Alasdair Fern, a consultant at Monklands Hospital, in Lanarkshire, was flown out after Al Megrahi complained about his eyesight.

The Libyan, who has been detained at the heavily-guarded Camp Zeist since his conviction, was found to need new lenses for his glasses.

However, the specialist's visit was criticised by Labour MSP Dr Elaine Murray, who has already expressed concern over other services offered to Al Megrahi.

Dr Murray has written to Scottish Justice Minister Jim Wallace seeking full details of Al Megrahi's care costs.

The MSP for Dumfries said she accepted that Scottish authorities were responsible for Al Megrahi's care but questioned why his needs cannot be met by using people in the Netherlands, at less expense.

She said: "The service has to be provided by the Scottish Prison Service, but I would not have thought that means there have to be SPS or British people.

"I would have thought they could have entered into an arrangement whereby the services could be purchased from the Dutch authorities.

"I'm sure it could not be too difficult to arrange for an optician to go in and check his eyes.

The SPS has a duty to provide the same level of care it provides for any other prisoner in its establishments

SPS spokeswoman

"And if a high-security prisoner here has to go to hospital for treatment, they would have to be accompanied all the time."

The Scottish Prison Service declined to confirm or deny the eye specialist's visit to Camp Zeist, citing medical confidentiality.

But a spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Prison Service is required to provide appropriate medical and dental care for all its prisoners.

"In the case of HMP Zeist, this has necessitated different arrangements to the normal provisions for other SPS establishments."

She said the judicial process had not yet been concluded in the case of Al Megrahi, whose grounds for appeal are currently being considered.

"The SPS has a duty to provide the same level of care it provides for any other prisoner in its establishments.

"These are unique circumstances. In order for the trial to take place, we had to give commitments to the international community to provide an appropriate level of care.

"The reputation of Scotland's judicial system depends on us continuing to fulfil that commitment."