In the wake of the international scandal surrounding the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi the convicted Lockerbie bomber, the British newspaper The Telegraph reports that several wanted Libyan terrorists are "living free" in the United Kingdom.  The 12 suspects whose names appear on the UN Consolidated list belong to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) an al Qaeda affiliate.  Among other things, the Libyans are suspected of plotting to blow up passenger airlines, and attack U.S. embassies.

The Telegraph does not mention that the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) named the LIFG a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" (SDGT) in 2001, and later, in 2004, it was designated by the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). In addition, in both 2006 and 2008 the U.S. Department of Treasury specifically named several LIFG members living in the U.K. as subject to sanctions for links to terrorism.  In the words of a senior Treasury official, "LIFG, along with other al Qaida affiliates, seeks to exploit our globalized world, raising funds in Europe for transfer to terror cells operating in North Africa."

An Opposition MP said in the Telegraph article, "It's quite outrageous for these people to carry on living here, many of them on benefits."  The Government's disturbing reply was, "These individuals are here legally. If they breach any laws they will be prosecuted."

Can it be that the British government was once led by a leader, Winston Churchill, who said, "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile—hoping it will eat him last?"