LONDON: The only man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing said Saturday he supported calls by the victims’ relatives for a public inquiry into the atrocity.
In a newspaper interview from Libya, where he returned last week after being freed on compassionate grounds, Abdel Basset Al-Megrahi also rejected suggestions he was pressured into dropping his attempt to clear his name.
“I support the issue of a public inquiry if it can be agreed,” the 57-year-old told Scottish newspaper The Herald from Tripoli.
Many of the British relatives of the 270 people who died in the bombing over the Scottish town of Lockerbie have called for an independent inquiry into the attack, to establish who planned it and why.
“In my view, it is unfair to the victim’s families that this has not been heard. It would help them to know the truth. As I said, the truth never dies,” Al-Megrahi said. “If the UK guaranteed it, I would be very supportive. I would want to help Dr. Swire and the others with the documents I hold.”
Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the bombing and believes Al-Megrahi was framed, has long called for an independent inquiry. The British government has resisted the demands, saying little would be gained and Al-Megrahi’s conviction still stood, despite his release.
Al-Megrahi complained of delays during his trial in 2000, heard by Scottish judges in the Netherlands, and said some of the police notebooks recording the aftermath of the tragedy had been destroyed.
“Surely to destroy the notebooks of so many people is a decision that someone must have made. This is not fair and is a big question mark about the case,” he told the newspaper.
The Libyan abandoned a second appeal against his conviction earlier this month in a bid to speed up the Scottish government’s decision about whether he should be granted compassionate release or transferred to a jail in Libya.
After his release, he expressed frustration that he would never be able to prove his innocence, but has vowed to publish evidence to clear his name “It is all about my family. People have said there was pressure from the Libyan authorities or Scottish authorities, but it wasn’t anything like this,” said Al-Megrahi, who has prostate cancer and could only have months to live. He added: “It was always my dream to come back to my family. It was in my prayers every day and when I received the diagnosis, even more so.”
