Premiership of Gordon Brown into further talks over the issue. Finally, after a Commons Home Affairs Committee meeting between campaigners, the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office on 19 May, Brown announced to the House of Commons on 20 May that the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith would make a statement on the issue the following day. Smith subsequently announced that all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 would be allowed to settle in Britain. In the days following the release and high-profile return to Libya of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in August 2009, speculation
The Maltese Double Cross – Lockerbie asked, "if we are doing such a bullshit movie, why are they putting all these resources into trying to stop us?" Press reports of the time did not provide any corroboration of Francovich's claims. In a letter to "The Guardian" published after Channel 4 broadcast the film, Francovich offered a further response to the US and UK governments: "The attacks by the UK and US authorities on my film "The Maltese Double Cross" ("UK and US scorn Lockerbie film", "The Guardian", 11 May) are exactly what we predicted would happen. The aim is to smear people in the film in