Scottish ministers also refuse to attend hearing
Senators forced to deny they will interrogate Tony Blair
Former justice secretary Jack Straw today delivered a diplomatic snub to US senators who wanted him to fly across the Atlantic to answer questions over the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
He joined Scottish ministers and officials who have refused to attend the congressional hearing next week over the controversial release and the possible involvement of oil giant BP.
And MPs today reacted with fury to the demands of American senators for British politicians to be at their beck and call.
Earlier Mr Straw, describing the request as 'highly unusual', had said he would consult with the Foreign Office and with Gordon Brown following the 'invitation' to testify at a hearing over the release of Abdel Basset al Megrahi.
But he added: 'It is in my experience highly unusual for the legislature of one sovereign state to conduct an inquiry into decisions of another sovereign state.
'There are therefore important issues of principle here which could affect UK governments of any party.'
It was not clear if he would consult with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Straw is the most senior politician to be dragged into the row. The politician finds himself at the heart of the affair because of the role he played in securing a prisoner transfer agreement with Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi in 2008.
There are suggestions that this paved the way for the terrorist’s release.
More...Alex Salmond writes to U.S. senators to explain decision to release Lockerbie bomber
In a letter to Mr Straw, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said it wanted his ‘help in understanding the events that led to the release of Megrahi’.
Mr Straw is in a ‘unique position to help us understand several questions still lingering from this decision’, it added.
It has emerged Mr Brown's predecessor Tony Blair will escape a grilling.
The Senate committee was embarrassed into denying that it had invited Mr Blair to attend after reports of an 'unauthorised draft letter' to the former Prime Minister emerged last night.
Meanwhile Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has refused the Senate request.
'The U.S. Senate's invitation is primarily predicated on an investigation into what may or may not have happened with regard to a BP oil deal,' Mr MacAskill, who made the decision to release al Megrahi last year, said.
'The Scottish government was neither party nor privy to what was going on there, so we've made it quite clear that we have no information that we can provide regarding that.'
Alex Salmond has also declined the invitation.
‘This is now getting out of hand. The Senate inquiry seems to be turning into a hysterical witch-hunt against BP'
Former Labour defence minister Kevan Jones
Megrahi was freed on compassionate grounds last year by Scottish authorities, who have their own legal powers within the British political system.
His release triggered an international outcry that has complicated U.S.-British relations already frayed by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Senate committee is looking into whether British energy giant BP influenced the bomber's release. BP CEO Tony Hayward has also been invited to appear and is consdering the request.
The Committee has no legal powers to compel anyone to attend the hearings.
Announcing plans for the hearing last week, committee chairman Senator John Kerry said it needed to establish what led to the 'mistaken' release of Megrahi, the only person convicted of the 1988 atrocity in which 270 died, in August last year.
Westminster MPs were angered by the Senate Committee request, with one politician accusing Capitol Hill of a ‘witch-hunt’.
MPs were incredulous that the U.S. had the temerity to demand such a senior figure to appear before them.
Former Labour defence minister Kevan Jones said: ‘This is now getting out of hand. The Senate inquiry seems to be turning into a hysterical witch-hunt against BP.
'It is unthinkable for a House of Commons select committee to demand that a senior American politician be summoned across the Atlantic in this way.'
Last night the Committee was forced into an embarrassing climbdown after claims it had asked Tony Blair to attend.
Senators had apparently drafted a letter calling on the former prime minister to appear for an unprecedented showdown.
But the draft was never sent - and now the committee insists he will never be summoned.
Spokesman Frederick Jones said: 'Mr Blair was not and will not be an invitee. I deeply regret any confusion this may have caused. We still have to get to the bottom of this.'
It is unclear whether the draft was written in error and there was never any intention to summon the former leader or if the request was abandoned as too controversial.
The request for Mr Blair to appear was contained in an 'unauthorised draft letter' leaked to the media, forcing the committee to scramble to retract its contents.
Staff director Frank Lowenstein said: 'Let me state unequivocally that Prime Minister Blair will not be asked to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee at the upcoming hearing on the Megrahi affair, and the Committee has no intention of ever asking him to testify on this issue.'
Another spokesman, Fred Jones, added: 'Tony Blair has not been invited to testify. Any such indication was made in error.'
Mr Blair's spokesman said: 'We have received absolutely no invitation whatsoever.'
Mr Straw’s allies say Megrahi was not released under the prisoner transfer agreement, as he was set free under a Scottish law that allows 'compassionate release' if the prisoner has three months or less to live.
Eleven months later, the convicted terrorist is still alive and well, surrounded by his family in Tripoli.
TODAY'S POLL
Should British ministers be forced to give evidence to U.S. Lockerbie bomber inquiry?
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poll results U.S. Senators believe the prisoner deal was signed in exchange for a multi-billion-pound oil deal for BP and helped influence the Scottish government's decision.
The Edinburgh government denies it was lobbied by BP about the bomber's fate.
Last week, the Mail revealed that Mr Blair was flown to Libya for secret talks with Colonel Gaddafi earlier this year.
He was 'entertained as a brother' while he and the dictator discussed lucrative investment opportunities.
It is rare, but not unheard of, for current or former officials of other countries to testify before the U.S. Congress.
Former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about Afghanistan last January
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