Lockerbie Families Could Exploit Legal Loophole to Raise Conviction Appeal After al-Megrahi's Death

Daily Record ^ | Sep 7 2009 | John Ferguson

[nickcarraway]

Exclusive: Lockerbie families could exploit legal loophole to raise conviction appeal after al-Megrahi's death

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's appeal could be back on, the Record can reveal.

Family members of those killed have learned a legal loophole will allow a third party to have the case reopened on Megrahi's behalf after his death. The convicted terrorist - who is dying from cancer - sensationally dropped his case days before being freed on compassionate grounds.

The move was viewed as a massive blow to the chances of the public ever getting to the truth of the Pan Am flight 103 explosion, which killed 270 in 1988.

But the families - some of whom believe Megrahi is innocent - held talks yesterday to discuss the possibility of applying to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for an investigation.

Doctor Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed, said: "We want to know the truth and his appeal was to be our way of getting to that. "Any way there is to dig out this appeal, anything that makes it more likely that the appeal could be reborn, would be music to our ears. "We would certainly be interested in looking at taking this up ourselves or asking someone to do that on our behalf if that is possible." Normally an appeal cannot be restarted once abandoned. But legislation drawn up before the SCCRC were introduced in 1999 states that anyone - not just the convicted person - can apply for a case to be investigated on grounds there has been a miscarriage of justice. And should the Commission refer the case to the appeal court, it must be considered.

A Scottish Justiciary Office spokesman said: "As we have had proceedings to formally abandon the appeal, some reason would have to be given to resurrect it.

"But technically, there is provision within the legislation that created the SCCRC for the appeal court to consider it."