Washington: US senators have postponed a hearing to determine whether British oil giant BP influenced the release of the Lockerbie bomber, saying on Tuesday that key witnesses had "stonewalled" the investigation by refusing to appear.
Senator Robert Menendez announced the postponement of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, which had been set for Thursday, and said it would be rescheduled "in the near future."
US anger over the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has renewed interest in the details of last year's release by Scottish authorities, of Libyan intelligence officer Abdel Basset Al Megrahi, who was convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Most of the 270 people killed were Americans. The Senate panel wants to know if BP had any influence in the bomber's release, as it pursued business interests in Libya.
Menendez said the Senate committee called two Scottish officials, former British Justice Secretary Jack Straw and two BP executives--including departing Chief Executive Tony Hayward, but all declined to testify.
"It is utterly disappointing and I think pretty outrageous that none of these key witnesses will cooperate with our request to answer questions before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They have stonewalled," Menendez told reporters.
"It is a game of diplomatic tennis that is worthy of Wimbledon, but not worthy on behalf of the lives of the families who still have to deal with this terrorist act and the consequences of the lost loved ones," he said, adding that the panel would conduct a longer-term investigation into the release of the Lockerbie bomber, and noting that the Scottish government had not offered to provide answers to further questions.
"We appreciate that and we will take them up on their offer," he said.
As a rule, Senate panels cannot subpoena foreign nationals to compel them to appear. However, the committee was examining whether it could use its subpoena power in the case of a British citizen like Hayward because he's a member of a company doing business in the United States.
BP has offered to send another representative, the head of the company's UK operations, Peter Mather, an aide to Menendez said earlier.
However, there was no indication Mather had been in communication with Libya about the 2007 exploration and production deal BP signed with Tripoli.
