Will US consumers boycott UK goods?

Today's revelation that president Obama personally called Gordon Brown to pass on his disappointment at the release of the Lockerbie bomb does not bode well for the UK/US special relationship in the short to medium term. There is significant concern that US consumers and US businesses, as well as US travellers, may well boycott the UK and UK goods for the foreseeable future. This could add significant pressure to the "special relationship" and much political brokering would appear to be a necessity for Gordon Brown.



While initially there were suggestions that the threatened boycott of UK goods, and especially Scottish goods, would be nothing more than a short-term blip, many are starting to think again. There is still enormous unrest within the US population that the killer of so many US and UK citizens has effectively been set free on compassionate grounds. They argue, quite rightly that the bomber himself showed no compassion to his victims, so why should any compassion be shown to him?



Despite denials by number 10 Downing Street it is evident that the special relationship between the US and the UK is not quite what it used to be and this Lockerbie situation has only made a difficult situation very much worse.