Cameron and Obama swap wellies and art

IT was all smiles for the cameras when David Cameron met Barack Obama for the first time as Prime Minister while under pressure to ease transatlantic tensions amid the furore surrounding BP and the release of the Lockerbie bomber.

The first meeting of the two as leaders of their countries saw the customary exchanging of gifts – modern artwork and Wellington boots among the presents – as well as much emphasis on the "special relationship" and shared values.

Mr Cameron's priority was to defuse the tension caused by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, further heightened by claims the company lobbied for the release of the Lockerbie bomber as part of a deal with Libya.

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He said he and President Obama had been in "violent agreement" that freeing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi had been wrong but resisted demands for an inquiry into circumstances surrounding the decision.

Mr Cameron said: "I don't think there's any great mystery here – I don't need an inquiry to tell me it was a bad decision. It was a bad decision."

The Libyan was released by Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill in August 2009 on health grounds as he was not expected to live long

He has prostate cancer but after returning to Libya is still alive almost a year later.

Mr Cameron found time during his visit to meet Senators concerned by the release.