Intriguing, is it not, that on the very day that UK Families-Flight 103 submits a letter to the Prime Minister calling for a full, independent inquiry into the Lockerbie disaster (and gains the support of a major national newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph) the story breaks, citing Crown Office sources, that the investigation is not closed and that a police review is being carried out?
Not, of course, that the case against Abdelbaset Megrahi will be scrutinised. He has been convicted by a Scottish court and so is indubitably guilty. Forget the concerns of a bunch of meddlesome do-gooders like the UN observer, Professor Hans Köchler, and the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. Forget the material that has been placed into the public domain on Mr Megrahi's website. If three Scottish judges say he is guilty, then guilty he must be. The fact that the SCCRC regarded those judges' findings on crucial matters as conclusions that, on the evidence, no reasonable court could have reached, can be either completely ignored or treated with lofty contempt. If the establishment decides that a man is guilty, then guilty he is and most assuredly will remain.
What follows are excerpts from the coverage of this story in the "serious" press and The Scotsman.
The Times: "Lockerbie relatives suspect investigation will head off public inquiry"
'Relatives of those who died in the Lockerbie disaster are worried that the police investigation into the atrocity is being stepped up in an attempt to scupper their demands for a full public inquiry. (...)
'Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the bombing, said: “The argument which has been consistently used against us having the public inquiry we want is that there is an ongoing criminal investigation.
'“I find it an extraordinary coincidence that the latest development in the police case emerged on the same day the families demanded a proper investigation from Gordon Brown.” (...)
'Martin Cadman, who lost his son William in the 1988 bombing, also raised concerns. He said: “It’s very curious the way the law is going about things. We’ve been led up the garden path by the authorities for a long time. I’m deeply suspicious of this.”'
The Herald: "Lockerbie relatives cautiously welcome review"
'Relatives of the Lockerbie bombing victims have welcomed a review of the criminal investigation into the atrocity but warned that it should not stand in the way of a full public inquiry.
'Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was among the 270 killed, said yesterday a desktop review of the criminal inquiry has always been the excuse to block a full investigation into how Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie on December 21 1988.'
The Scotsman: "Lockerbie: eight other 'high-level' suspects"
'Eight suspects who may have been involved in the Lockerbie bombing have never been investigated because the Libyan government refused to co-operate with Scottish police, The Scotsman has learned. The individuals emerged as possible "high-level" suspects as part of the original inquiry into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 following the atrocity in December 1988.
'Now The Scotsman can reveal that the eight – all thought to be male – were never ruled out of the investigation because Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi refused to release them for questioning. (...)
'Meanwhile, the Crown Office moved to play down suggestions that a wholesale review of the case was under way, stressing that there was no question of the Crown reopening the case against Megrahi himself.
'A spokeswoman added: "The open case concerns only the involvement of others with Megrahi in the murder of 270 people, and the Crown will continue to pursue such lines of inquiry that become available.
'"The trial court accepted the Crown's position that Mr Megrahi acted in furtherance of the Libyan intelligence services and did not act alone." (...)
'The UK Families Flight 103 group revealed it had written to the Prime Minister demanding a full independent inquiry, a development quickly overtaken by news of the revived police investigation. Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter, Flora, died on the plane, said he was concerned the ongoing police work might be used as an excuse to block any independent public inquiry.
'His concerns were echoed by the Rev John Mosey, who lost his daughter, Helga, in the attack. He said: "It may be a damage-limitation exercise on behalf of the government in order to say, 'We are doing this instead of giving you an independent inquiry'. That would not be acceptable."'
[This cartoon from The Guardian sums things up beautifully.]
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