The Lockerbie bomber’s “low mood” and the fact that he was unlikely to reoffend after returning to Libya contributed to the Scottish government’s decision to release him, newly published documents have shown.

The Scottish executive has also admitted that the prognosis that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi had less than three months to live was based on the opinion of a single prison doctor, and was made when the terrorist had yet to undergo chemotherapy.

Those who made the decision also took no account of the views of relations of al-Megrahi’s victims, the documents disclose.