Britain's Cameron arrives at White House for Obama meeting

Washington (CNN) -- Prime Minister David Cameron arrived at the White House Tuesday for his first visit as Britain's leader.

He arrived by commercial flight to Washington, he told NPR, in keeping with strict new austerity measures his government is implementing.

Cameron did not speak to the media as he went in for talks with President Barack Obama.

There will be a number of difficult issues on the agenda, ranging from Afghanistan to the early release from prison of the Libyan convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie airplane bombing that killed 270 people.

But Cameron and Obama also have much in common, although they represent different parts of the political spectrum.

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They're a similar age -- Cameron is 43 and Obama is 48 -- and they both campaigned on the slogan of hope and change. Cameron came to power in May in a historic change of government in the United Kingdom, about 18 months after Obama made history with his own election as the United States' first African-American president.

They bet a bottle of beer on the outcome of the USA-England soccer match in the first round of the World Cup, and exchanged bottles in a lighthearted event when the teams tied 1-1 in June.

But personal chemistry may go only so far, given the subjects the two leaders have to discuss.

Cameron is under pressure at home to end the British involvement in the Afghanistan campaign, where Britain is the second largest contributor of troops behind the United States to the military coalition fighting Taliban insurgents.

"I think the president has, on a number of occasions, laid out why what he's doing in Afghanistan is in our national security interests. We will continue to make that case tomorrow," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday. "Obviously, we have, in both this administration and in the previous administration, had the help of the British government. I think both they and we have said we will not be there forever."

Gibbs also said the release last August of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, who was sentenced to life for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, would come up at Tuesday's meeting.

The Scottish government released al Megrahi on compassionate grounds after doctors said he had terminal prostate cancer and just three months to live.

Al Megrahi is still alive nearly a year later, and news reports in recent days have questioned whether he was as sick as depicted. Questions also have been raised about whether a deal was cut to release him to protect British business interests in Libya, with oil giant BP exerting influence in the case.

The British government has criticized al Megrahi's release. The Scottish government, which made the decision and is a separate body, said BP never lobbied it to free him.

"This issue will come up, and again, I would reiterate that it was our strong belief then and it continues to be our strong belief now that the Lockerbie bomber should not have been released," Gibbs said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and four U.S. senators have called for Britain to revisit the case, even though there is little chance that al Megrahi could be returned to custody from his native Libya.

The four senators -- from New Jersey and New York -- also have requested a meeting with Cameron on al Megrahi's release and a possible BP role in it. Cameron has cleared his schedule to meet with the lawmakers, the British Embassy said late Monday night.

"The prime minister recognizes the huge strength of feeling on this issue and has immense sympathy for the families -- American, British and others -- affected by the Lockerbie atrocity," said Martin Longden, the press secretary at the embassy. "He has been very clear that the decision to release Megrahi was a mistake which he opposed at the time. The prime minister has personally asked to rearrange his program in Washington to enable him to meet with the four senators and discuss their concerns directly. The embassy has written to the senators tonight to invite them to the British ambassador's residence tomorrow evening."

Gibbs played down any possible tension between Obama and Cameron over the role of BP -- a British company -- in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

"The president is certainly looking for BP to live up to its monetary obligations to pay the damages and the fines that it will be assessed as a result of this disaster, and I think that's what the prime minister has said as well," Gibbs said.

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