Evidence Syrians bombed Pan Am flight 103

[This is the headline over a report by Lucy Adams on page 2 of today's edition of The Herald. The article, which does not appear on the newspaper's website, reads in part:]

Study casts Libyan as fall-guy

Fresh evidence on the Lockerbie bombing has been lodged with MSPs as part of the most comprehensive dossier on the atrocity to go before the Scottish Parliament.

The report to the Justice Committee, which will include evidence thrown up by the recent conflict in Libya, will make the case for a full judicial inquiry into the case. 

One of its key findings is that even at the time of the indictment of two Libyans, intelligence was suggesting the bomb had been provided by a Syrian terror group.

The report includes a document from Dr Jim Swire (...) which provides a summary of a new academic report citing major inconsistencies in the public and private views of the intelligence community.

The paper also raises concerns about major anomalies in the forensic evidence. (...)

Dr Swire says the report from the internationally renowned Centre for Conflict Resolution at Bradford University makes it clear the investigation into the case was "deeply dependent upon the intelligence agencies of Britain and America".

He says: "The paper shows that even by the time of the indictments against the two Libyans by Scotland and America at the end of 1991, American intelligence still believed the Lockerbie bomb had been provided by a Syrian terror group.

"American intelligence also knew the Syrian bombs could be kept at ground level indefinitely without exploding, but that once on an aircraft they sensed the drop in air pressure following take-off and would then inevitably explode within 35 - 45 minutes after leaving the ground, this timing not being adjustable.  The Lockerbie plane had flown for 38 minutes before being destroyed.

"The paper records that throughout most of the intervening months America had therefore been pressing for the expulsion of the leader  (Ahmed Jibril) of a Syrian terrorist group (the PFLP-GC) in the belief they had supplied the bomb that destroyed the Lockerbie aircraft.  Bombs of this type were unique to the Syrian PFLP-GC group."

Robert Black (...) told The Herald: "The fact they were trying to extradite Megrahi when they still believed another man was responsible, shows that privately they were saying Jibril was responsible yet publicly they wanted to blame someone else.

"The Libyan scenario was never intended to stand up in court.  It was simply intended to be good enough to convince the media in the US and UK someone had been caught.  But lo and behold they were lucky enough to get a bench of judges that swallowed it hook line and sinker."

The submission also includes a supplement from John Ashton who is Megrahi's official biographer.

He states: "I have had access to all the disclosed Crown evidence; the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission's statement of reasons, on the basis of which it granted him a second appeal against conviction; and all the evidence that would have been aired at Mr Megrahi's second appeal.  Uniquely, I have interviewed Mr Megrahi numerous times, both in prison and in Tripoli.  On the basis of everything that I have learned, I am convinced, not only that Mr Megrahi was wrongly convicted, but, more importantly, that the case is a huge scandal for the Scottish criminal justice system." (...)

[The report has at last -- Saturday evening -- been posted on the Herald Scotland website.  It can be read here.]