Police and investigators inspect the remains of the flight deck of Pan Am Flight 103 in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 22, 1988. (Associated Press)

Britain's foreign secretary has condemned the hero's welcome given to freed Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi on his return to his native Libya.

The homecoming given to al-Megrahi after being released on compassionate grounds by Scotland was "deeply upsetting, deeply distressing," Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC.

"I think it's very important that Libya knows — and certainly we have told them — that how the Libyan government handles itself in the next few days after the arrival of Mr. Megrahi will be very significant in the way the world views Libya's re-entry into the civilized community of nations," Miliband said.

The BBC reported Britain is now considering cancelling a visit to Libya next month by Prince Andrew in his role as a British trade ambassador.

Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill announced the decision to release al-Megrahi on Thursday morning, saying it was based on Scottish law that entitles a prisoner to be considered for compassionate release if his or her death is believed to be imminent.

Al-Megrahi, 57, who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, is terminally ill with prostate cancer.

Warm welcome

Al-Megrahi arrived at a military airport on the outskirts of Tripoli on Thursday evening, where thousands of Libyan youths greeted him along with a military band. The crowd waved flags and threw flower petals.

Convicted bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi leaves a police van at Glasgow International Airport in Scotland on his way to Libya, after he was released on compassionate grounds Thursday. (Danny Lawson/Pool/Associated Press)Many Libyans see al-Megrahi as an innocent victim scapegoated by the West.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly wrote to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi before al-Megrahi's release urging Libya to "act with sensitivity" when he returned.

Miliband said the welcome al-Megrahi received was especially distressing for the families of the victims.

The former Libyan secret service agent is the only person ever convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988.

All 259 people aboard the London-to-New York flight and 11 people on the ground were killed, including two Canadians. Most of the passengers were Americans.

Unknown location

Al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of putting a suitcase full of explosives onto a plane in Malta. The suitcase was transferred to the doomed flight in London via Frankfurt.

Al-Megrahi has been taken to an unknown location after arriving Libya and officials were declining to comment on his whereabouts or Miliband's comments.

Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Libya, warned against Western nations making too much of the "low-key reception" that greeted al-Megrahi.

"In Libyan terms, it was not a hero's welcome. They made pretty credible efforts of playing down the event," he said. "But even the little they did allow was damaging and inappropriate."

The smaller than expected reception for al-Megrahi and Libya's restraint in commenting on his release may suggest the country, which spent years as a pariah state, does not want to damage its ties with the United States and Europe, analysts have said.

The U.S. government and many of the families of the victims have condemned al-Megrahi's release.

Relatives of the Americans killed on the flight planned to hold a news conference Friday night to address the situation.

With files from The Associated Press