Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, is to be released next week, it has been reported.
Megrahi, who is currently appealing against his conviction, has asked to be freed on compassionate grounds.
The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, rests with Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary.
Earlier this week the pair met at Greenock prison where Megrahi is serving a life sentence for his 2001 conviction for blowing up PanAm flight 103 in December 1988, leaving 270 people dead, in the worst terrorist atrocity and the biggest mass murder in British legal history.
Mr MacAskill has also been considering a request from the Libyan government for Megrahi to be transferred to his home country to see out the rest of his sentence.
The transfer request was made by Libya to the British government in May, less than a week after a treaty allowing prisoners to be transferred between the two countries was ratified.
Under the agreement, the country holding a prisoner should give its answer within 90 days.
The Scottish Government has responsility for prisoners in Scottish jails, in effect giving Mr MacAskill the final say on Megrahi’s release.
But Mr MacAskill said last month he would miss the 90-day deadline, which expired on August 3, because he was waiting for more information.
No transfer can take place if criminal proceedings are active, meaning Megrahi would have to drop his latest appeal against his conviction in order to be sent home.
Mr MacAskill has spoken to the US Attorney General and the US and British families of the Lockerbie bomb victims. He has previously said political and economic factors will not influence his decision.
An earlier request, made in October 2008, was rejected by Appeal Court judges after they heard medical evidence that with adequate care, Megrahi could live for several years. The court heard such requests are normally only granted when a prisoner has less than three months to live.
The BBC and other broadcasters quoted unnamed sources claiming Megrahi would be released next week, and returned to Libya before the start of Ramadan.
However, a spokesman for Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister, denied the reports, calling them “complete speculation”.
“No decision has been taken, either on the application for compassionate release or the application under the prisoner transfer agreement and so it is entirely speculation,” he said.
