WikiLeaks: Libya Made 'Dire' Threats to U.K. Over Lockerbie Bomber

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Fox News:

Britain feared Libya would take "harsh and immediate action" against it if the Lockerbie bomber died in jail, the latest U.S. cables published by WikiLeaks revealed Wednesday.

The whistle-blowing website pressed on with new diplomatic disclosures despite the arrest of its founder, Julian Assange, who spent his first night in British jail after vowing to resist extradition over sex assault claims.

The latest documents show Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi made "thuggish" threats to halt all U.K. trade deals and harass embassy staff if Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was not freed.

The cables also suggest Tripoli offered the Scottish government a "parade of treats" to let the convicted mass killer go, although the incentives were refused.

Al-Megrahi was convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. The bombing killed 270 people, most of them American

In January 2009, the U.S. ambassador to Libya confirmed in a memo that "dire" reprisals had been threatened against Britain should al-Megrahi die in prison.