Megrahi release will boost Libya-UK ties: Gaddafi

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi held out the prospect of stronger ties with Britain following the release by a Scottish court of a man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing, Libyan state media reported.

Meeting with Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and his family, Gaddafi thanked Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth for "encouraging" Scottish authorities to release Megrahi, who is dying of cancer, said Libyan news agency JANA.

"This step is in the interest of relations between the two countries ... and of the personal friendship between me and them and will be positively reflected for sure in all areas of cooperation between the two countries," Gaddafi said.

The British government has denied it put pressure on Scotland's devolved government over Megrahi in the interest of better ties with oil-rich Libya.

Relatives of many U.S. citizens who died when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie have voiced disgust at Megrahi's release and his return to a hero's welcome in Tripoli on Thursday.

"At this hour, I want to send a message to our friends in Scotland, the Scottish National Party and the first minister of Scotland, to congratulate them for their bravery," Gaddafi said.

"Despite the unacceptable and illogical pressures against them, they took this humanitarian and brave decision," JANA quoted Gaddafi as saying.

(Reporting by Salah Sarrar in Tripoli; Editing by Matthew Jones)