Megrahi ‘health worsens’ as bid made to release Lockerbie files

[This is the headline over an article in today's edition of The Sunday Herald. It reads in part:]

The health of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi has worsened, his brother says. Megrahi is now said to be unable to talk, due to a sudden deterioriation in his health.

"He is at a special ward at Tripoli Medical Centre. His condition has deteriorated rapidly since yesterday," Abdenasser Megrahi said.

Megrahi, jailed for the 1988 attack which claimed 270 lives, was freed on compassionate grounds from Greenock Prison in August.

Meanwhile, Kenny MacAskill is to seek cross-party support to release secret documents casting doubt on Megrahi’s conviction.

The justice secretary is to ask MSPs to approve a statutory instrument which would let him disclose documents currently held by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC).

In 2007, the SCCRC produced an 800-page report on Megrahi’s case, concluding there were six grounds for believing the 57-year-old Libyan may have suffered a miscarriage of justice. It has never been made public. (...)

But even with parliament’s approval, he may run into legal obstacles over some of the documents.

The UK government blocked the release of SCCRC material to Megrahi’s defence team on security grounds.

Christine Grahame, the SNP MSP who visited Megrahi in jail, said publication of the SCCRC report will help demonstrate Megrahi’s innocence, adding: "I hope that very soon Mr Megrahi himself will publish additional material that has since come to light since the SCCRC report was completed which further undermines the Crown case."

A spokeswoman for MacAskill said if parliament agreed the order, "all other legitimate obstacles and legal obligations in respect of disclosure would then need to be fully investigated and resolved before any decision could be taken on what, if any of this information, could be made public by the commission."