Prosecutor reaffirms Megrahi guilt over Lockerbie

Scotland's top prosecutor has reaffirmed Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's guilt in the killing of 270 people in the Lockerbie bombing and has pledged to track down his accomplices.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland said no Crown Office investigator or prosecutor has raised a concern about the evidence in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 26 years ago today.

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Memorial service held in US for Lockerbie victims

Credit: PA Wire

The 270 people who lost their lives in the Lockerbie bombing exactly 26 years ago will be remembered at a memorial service in the United States today.

Scottish law officers will be among those attending the service at the Arlington cemetery in Washington to mark the anniversary of the 1988 atrocity.

Leading the delegation will be Scotland's top prosecutor, Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland.

He has reaffirmed his belief in the guilt of the only man convicted of the bombing, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, and vowed to track down his accomplices.

Lockerbie victim's father criticises prosecutor's comments

The father of one of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing has hit out at comments from Scotland's leading prosecutor that suggested there were no problems with the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the attack, has campaigned for the case to be re-examined, claiming there is evidence that Megrahi was not responsible.

Dr Swire told Sky News:

For the Lord Advocate to say there isn't a shred of evidence to suggest that the trial was anything other than what it should have been is analogous with the late Mandy Rice-Davies when she says 'he would say that, wouldn't he'.

Twenty six years ago is a long time and I suppose he means people currently in his Crown Office don't believe there is anything wrong with the evidence. But I think if you open your eyes and look you cannot fail to see that there is a problem.

More importantly than that, Scotland's own Criminal Cases Review Commission years ago found six reasons why this case should be revisited and reviewed. So for the Lord Advocate now to say there isn't a shred of evidence flies in the face of what the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission actually told the world years ago.

– Jim Swire

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Sir Menzies Campbell defends Lockerbie bombing judges

Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell has condemned the "repeated and unfounded criticism" of judges who presided over the Lockerbie bombing trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty of the killing of 270 people after the Pan Am flight exploded at 31,000ft on 21 December 1988.

Sir Menzies said the judges had "unquestioned integrity".

One of the most unsavoury elements of this case is the repeated and unfounded criticism of the judges who sat in the trial, and those who heard the subsequent appeal against conviction.

The judges by convention are unable to respond publicly to these criticisms, which imply that they were somehow part of a conspiracy.

In truth, they were all experienced in criminal law and of unquestioned integrity.

It is a curious feature of this case that those who argued most vehemently for a special court to be set up to deal with the case are now among the most vociferous critics of its verdict.

– Sir Menzies Campbell

Prosecutor reaffirms Megrahi guilt over Lockerbie

Scotland's top prosecutor has reaffirmed Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's guilt in the killing of 270 people in the Lockerbie bombing and has pledged to track down his accomplices.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland said no Crown Office investigator or prosecutor had raised a concern about the evidence in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1989.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi died in 2012. Credit: Reuters

Megrahi's part in the bombing has been called into question in a series of books, documentaries and testimony to the Scottish Parliament.

A petition seeking "Justice For Megrahi", backed by politicians and family members of some victims, remains on Holyrood's books two years after al-Megrahi's death.

But in an address to relatives on the anniversary of the bombing, Mr Mulholland said his investigation "remains on the evidence, and not on speculation and supposition".

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