Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill is to face questions over his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

In Edinburgh, Scottish parliament members will take part in a debate Monday to quiz about his decision on allowing Megrahi to return to Libya on compassionate grounds.

On Thursday, MacAskill formally announced Megrahi's release in Edinburgh, saying the man, who has terminal cancer, was allowed to return home to die after serving eight years of a 27-year minimum sentence on charges of murdering 270 people, including 189 Americans when a Pan Am plane blew up over Lockerbie in December 1988.

The Scottish Parliament has been recalled from its summer recess and Opposition parties are calling for a confidence vote over the decision to free Megrahi.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said MacAskill has made the "right decision" for "absolutely the right reasons."

However, his predecessor Jack McConnell said "I think it's absolutely vital that the Scottish Parliament... gives a clear indication that when the Scottish government made this decision they were not acting with the support of the people of Scotland."

Although Salmond insisted Scotland's relationship with the United States is still strong, Britain-US relations and Scottish businesses could suffer due to Megrahi's release as US citizens began boycotting Britain and refraining from buying "British or Scottish products."

The British Foreign Office has dismissed reports that ministers in London actively encouraged the Libyan's release.

On Saturday, British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson rejected the claim that the release of Lockerbie bomber is linked to a trade deal.

"It's not only completely wrong to make such a suggestion, it's also quite offensive," Mandelson said.

The issue of the prisoner's release was entirely a matter for the Scottish Justice Minister, Mandelson added.

Megrahi reportedly flew out of Britain as a dying man deserving of compassion and landed in Libya a national hero when thousands of people gathered at Tripoli airport to welcome him as he stepped down from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's private jet.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2009)