Two hundred seventy people were killed in the attack. Opposition Scottish Labor leader Iain Gray was blunt in his criticism of Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who made the call to allow Abdel Basset al-Megrahi to leave prison and return home to Libya on compassionate grounds because he is terminally ill.

VOA: standard.2009.08.24

Also unsurprising should be the harsh reality that when they leave prison they can't find jobs.

FORBES: Magazine Article

They include stronger sentences for terror-related offenses, new powers for police to monitor terrorists after they leave prison, asset freezing, and more sophisticated monitoring of suspects' financial transactions.

CNN: Brown calls for bomb-proof Britain

The halfway point of the fixed terms - at which point the men are eligible for release on licence - matches the minimum the men would have originally served before they could seek to leave prison.

BBC: Stoke terror sentences revised