Press Association
Thursday 24th May 2012
Campaigners fighting on behalf of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing have accused politicians, lawyers, civil servants and governments of an "orchestrated desire" to keep details of his case under wraps.
Members of the Justice For Megrahi group, who have called for an inquiry into the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for the 1988 bombing, said The Crown Office and civil service "will do anything" to stop disclosure. They also said politicians "either have to be dishonest or ignorant" to allow the secrecy to continue.
Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the bombing, said there are "profound and international" aspects creating "difficulty" for Scottish politicians who may wish to see the information in the public domain.
He said: "I feel there is an orchestrated desire to delay the resolution of this dreadful case."
Fellow campaigner Iain McKie said: "Our plea is for the politicians to stop following the Crown Office and the civil service who do not want this information released. They will do anything to stop it."
The campaigners were giving evidence to Holyrood's Justice Committee today on the Criminal Cases (Punishment and Review) (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill aims to release the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission's (SCCRC) "statement of reasons" for allowing an appeal against Megrahi's conviction, which was abandoned before he was released "on compassionate grounds".
But the campaigners say the Bill is "deliberately designed to ensure no useful disclosure" can be made.
Speaking after the committee, Mr Swire said: "There is orchestrated delay for some reason. Presumably somebody somewhere does not want the full truth to come out. I don't think the answer to the question of: who would that be? lies north of our border or indeed this side of the Atlantic."
However, campaigner Robert Forrester said pressure would not necessarily come from "outside the borders of Scotland". He said: "We're talking about the High Court of Justiciary here and a very embarrassing trial. Reputations could be damaged by it."
