The following item appears today on the website of The Tripoli Post:
'According to the Libyan news agency JANA, the Arab League Ministerial Council has reiterated a demand to release the political hostage Libyan national Abd al Basset al Megrahi.
'It also endorsed Libya's right to compensation for the damage sustained as result of the Lockerbie case and the consequent unfair UN sanctions that lasted for about nine years.
'The council renewed in a resolution issued at the end of its 130th session held at the headquarters in Cairo last night a demand for the release of al Megrahi, the Libyan national imprisoned in Scotland in connection with the Lockerbie case, urging the government of the UK to release document requested by al Megrahi's defence before the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
'The resolution said Britain's refusal to release the document represented a miscarriage of justice.
'Libya was represented at the meeting by the Secretary of Arab Affairs at the General People's Committee of the Foreign Liaison Bureau.'
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Saturday, 13 September 2008
Skye Gathering
A meeting is to be held on the Isle of Skye on Monday, 15 September 2008 under the auspices of the Lockerbie Justice Group to consider, with full regard to the rule of law, the following four issues:
1: Did the Foreign and Commonwealth Office arrangements for a trial at Kamp Zeist deliver an independent and impartial tribunal?
2: What should happen now in respect of the Lockerbie proceedings?
3: If Scotland was charged with managing such an international event in the future, what model is recommended?
4: What changes should be considered for the better administration of justice in Scotland?
Among those taking part in the discussions will be Professor Hans Köchler, President of the International Progress Organization, one of the observers at the Lockerbie trial appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations, and myself. A press briefing is to be held on the morning of Tuesday, 16 September.
Professor Köchler has a number of further Lockerbie-related engagements in Scotland on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 September.
1: Did the Foreign and Commonwealth Office arrangements for a trial at Kamp Zeist deliver an independent and impartial tribunal?
2: What should happen now in respect of the Lockerbie proceedings?
3: If Scotland was charged with managing such an international event in the future, what model is recommended?
4: What changes should be considered for the better administration of justice in Scotland?
Among those taking part in the discussions will be Professor Hans Köchler, President of the International Progress Organization, one of the observers at the Lockerbie trial appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations, and myself. A press briefing is to be held on the morning of Tuesday, 16 September.
Professor Köchler has a number of further Lockerbie-related engagements in Scotland on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 September.
Friday, 12 September 2008
An anniversary
Today is the fifth anniversary of the removal by the United Nations Security Council of sanctions against Libya over the Lockerbie affair. Thirteen members voted voted in favour; France and the United States of America abstained. The report on BBC News can be read here. The terms of the Libyan "acceptance of responsibility" can be read here.
A strange little tale
A strange item has recently been posted on the ken-finn blog. It asserts that on 28 August 2005, BBC TV on its 7pm news bulletin broadcast a story to the effect that the CIA had admitted planting the MST-13 circuit board fragment at the Lockerbie crash site. No trace of this story could subsequently be found on the BBC News website. Here is the current post from the blog; and here is the post from 2005.
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
The Lumpert interview
Accuracy and The Herald
The Herald today has an article headed "Gaddafi 'invited to UK' for first time since Lockerbie" by Michael Settle. It contains the following passage:
'The sole person convicted of the crime, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, 56, the former Libyan agent, has been given leave to appeal his life sentence after top secret documents were passed to Britain by a foreign power. He is in Greenock Prison. Five Scottish judges are considering a Crown Office bid to limit the scope of his appeal.'
The last two sentences are correct. The first repeats, in strikingly similar language, the errors committed in yesterday's article in The Independent.
'The sole person convicted of the crime, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, 56, the former Libyan agent, has been given leave to appeal his life sentence after top secret documents were passed to Britain by a foreign power. He is in Greenock Prison. Five Scottish judges are considering a Crown Office bid to limit the scope of his appeal.'
The last two sentences are correct. The first repeats, in strikingly similar language, the errors committed in yesterday's article in The Independent.
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Accuracy and The Independent
The Independent today runs an article by Diplomatic Editor, Anne Penketh, in its series The Big Question. It is headed 'Is the West right to resume friendly relations with Gaddafi's Libya?' It contains the following paragraph:
'What about Lockerbie?
'The Libyan national who is serving a life sentence for the Lockerbie bombing, the former intelligence agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, has been given leave to appeal his sentence after top secret documents were passed to Britain by a foreign power. Questions remain about who placed the bomb and what was the motivation for blowing up the Pan Am aircraft, which took place five months after the US shot down an Iranian civilian airliner. With conspiracy theories abounding, some now say that Iran masterminded the Lockerbie bombing, while Megrahi's defence lawyers have in the past pointed the finger at a Palestinian group that operated in Germany at the time of the bombing.'
This is, of course, wildly inaccurate. What Megrahi is appealing is his conviction, not his sentence. And his new appeal comes not because top secret documents have been passed to the UK Government, but because the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission found that the conviction might have amounted to a miscarriage of justice. One of the six reasons for so finding was that documents from a foreign power, which could have helped the defence and which were already in the hands of the Crown at the time of his trial, were not disclosed to the defence. But by far the most important reason given by the SCCRC was that, on the evidence led at the trial it was strongly arguable that no reasonable court could have properly concluded that Megrahi was the purchaser in Malta of the items that allegedly accompanied the bomb in the brown Samsonite suitcase. This is the crux of the matter and is the real basis upon which Megrahi's new appeal should be allowed.
'What about Lockerbie?
'The Libyan national who is serving a life sentence for the Lockerbie bombing, the former intelligence agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, has been given leave to appeal his sentence after top secret documents were passed to Britain by a foreign power. Questions remain about who placed the bomb and what was the motivation for blowing up the Pan Am aircraft, which took place five months after the US shot down an Iranian civilian airliner. With conspiracy theories abounding, some now say that Iran masterminded the Lockerbie bombing, while Megrahi's defence lawyers have in the past pointed the finger at a Palestinian group that operated in Germany at the time of the bombing.'
This is, of course, wildly inaccurate. What Megrahi is appealing is his conviction, not his sentence. And his new appeal comes not because top secret documents have been passed to the UK Government, but because the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission found that the conviction might have amounted to a miscarriage of justice. One of the six reasons for so finding was that documents from a foreign power, which could have helped the defence and which were already in the hands of the Crown at the time of his trial, were not disclosed to the defence. But by far the most important reason given by the SCCRC was that, on the evidence led at the trial it was strongly arguable that no reasonable court could have properly concluded that Megrahi was the purchaser in Malta of the items that allegedly accompanied the bomb in the brown Samsonite suitcase. This is the crux of the matter and is the real basis upon which Megrahi's new appeal should be allowed.
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Megrahi on Al-Jazeera? (continued)
The Sunday Express has an article by Ben Borland which claims to have substantiated the rumour that Abdelbaset Megrahi took part over the telephone in a discussion programme on the Arabic service of Al-Jazeera on 29 August 2008. Megrahi apparently vehemently maintained his innocence, said that he understood the pain of the relatives of those killed at Lockerbie and praised the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for referring his case back for a further appeal on the ground that he might have suffered a miscarriage of justice.
The article contains reaction (horrified, as would be expected from that source) from Susan Cohen, whose daughter was one of those killed on Pan Am 103.
The Scottish Prison Service commented that communication with the media without prior permission is contrary to prison rules, but that there is no evidence of Megrahi's having made anything other than local telephone calls at or about the relevant period.
The full article can be read here.
Other Scottish newspapers have picked up the Sunday Express story and run it (without attribution, of course).
The article contains reaction (horrified, as would be expected from that source) from Susan Cohen, whose daughter was one of those killed on Pan Am 103.
The Scottish Prison Service commented that communication with the media without prior permission is contrary to prison rules, but that there is no evidence of Megrahi's having made anything other than local telephone calls at or about the relevant period.
The full article can be read here.
Other Scottish newspapers have picked up the Sunday Express story and run it (without attribution, of course).
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Libyan Nuke Program Was CIA-MI6 Sting Op
This is the heading over an article on OhMyNews International by Dr Ludwig de Braeckeleer in which he expands upon the Mathaba.Net allegations featured in the immediately preceding post on this blog. Founding upon information published on Der Spiegel's website on 13 March 2006, in The Guardian on 27 July 2006, and in The New York Times on 25 August 2008 he contends that the Libyan nuclear programme was a CIA-MI6 sting operation designed to bring down the A Q Khan nuclear mafia.
The article can be read here.
Further developments in this saga are related in an Associated Press article dated 22 January 2009 which can be read here.
The article can be read here.
Further developments in this saga are related in an Associated Press article dated 22 January 2009 which can be read here.
From a Libyan source
The following is from an article published today on the website of the Libyan news agency Mathaba.Net:
'Rice began a four-nation tour of North Africa in Tripoli, Libya on Friday, meeting with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and other top officials in what the State Department is calling a landmark trip that will symbolize the opening of a new era in ties between the United States and the oil-rich country of Libya.
'Libya succeeded in obtaining good relations with the USA by making several concessions which included billions of dollars in payments to the USA. The "concessions" included allowing the USA and Britain to lay the blame on Libya for the downing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie which killed hundreds of people. To this day the real perpetrators of this crime have not been sought, with an innocent Libyan languishing in a Scottish jail.
'It also involved Libya creating a fictitious "nuclear weapons" program, so that some odd looking parts and charts, could be handed over to the USA so as to show that any nation that "give up" its weapons can become a friend of the USA. Needless to say, no program ever existed, and the hiring of Pakistanis and others by Libya was merely designed to give some credence to the plan.
'Furthermore, Libya paid huge "compensation" payments to families of the Lockerbie bombing, agreed to release doctors and nurses who had been found guilty of deliberately infecting children in Libya with AIDS, sharing of intelligence, giving up records and intelligence on the Irish Republican Army and other organizations, and allowing USA to show Libya as an opposite example to Iraq.
'The lessons remain clear for all to see: if you have WMD do not give them up, for you will not be attacked - witness North Korea, China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the Zionist entity. If you do not have WMD, expect to be attacked, unless you are clever enough as Libya to allow a good PR campaign for the US by creating and then giving up a fictitious program.'
'Rice began a four-nation tour of North Africa in Tripoli, Libya on Friday, meeting with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and other top officials in what the State Department is calling a landmark trip that will symbolize the opening of a new era in ties between the United States and the oil-rich country of Libya.
'Libya succeeded in obtaining good relations with the USA by making several concessions which included billions of dollars in payments to the USA. The "concessions" included allowing the USA and Britain to lay the blame on Libya for the downing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie which killed hundreds of people. To this day the real perpetrators of this crime have not been sought, with an innocent Libyan languishing in a Scottish jail.
'It also involved Libya creating a fictitious "nuclear weapons" program, so that some odd looking parts and charts, could be handed over to the USA so as to show that any nation that "give up" its weapons can become a friend of the USA. Needless to say, no program ever existed, and the hiring of Pakistanis and others by Libya was merely designed to give some credence to the plan.
'Furthermore, Libya paid huge "compensation" payments to families of the Lockerbie bombing, agreed to release doctors and nurses who had been found guilty of deliberately infecting children in Libya with AIDS, sharing of intelligence, giving up records and intelligence on the Irish Republican Army and other organizations, and allowing USA to show Libya as an opposite example to Iraq.
'The lessons remain clear for all to see: if you have WMD do not give them up, for you will not be attacked - witness North Korea, China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the Zionist entity. If you do not have WMD, expect to be attacked, unless you are clever enough as Libya to allow a good PR campaign for the US by creating and then giving up a fictitious program.'
Friday, 5 September 2008
US Secretary of State's visit to Libya
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is starting her North African tour today in Libya. Al-Jazeera's English language website has an interesting article on the subject. Here is what it has to say on Lockerbie:
'Rice is also expected to push Gaddafi on a compensation package signed last month.
'No money has been paid into the compensation fund yet but the lead US negotiator with Libya, David Welch, said he was optimistic it would happen soon.
'Libya finalised legalities to set up the fund on Wednesday and one senior US official said it would take "more than days" before enough money was in the account and payments could be made to both sides.
'No details have been given over who will put money into the fund or how much it will amount to but outstanding legal claims could run into billions.
'US victims covered include those who died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, and the 1986 attack on a Berlin disco that killed three people and wounded 229.
'It should also compensate Libyans killed in 1986 when US aircraft bombed Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 40 people.
'Rice has come under criticism at home for making the trip before the money is paid out.'
The full article can be read here.
'Rice is also expected to push Gaddafi on a compensation package signed last month.
'No money has been paid into the compensation fund yet but the lead US negotiator with Libya, David Welch, said he was optimistic it would happen soon.
'Libya finalised legalities to set up the fund on Wednesday and one senior US official said it would take "more than days" before enough money was in the account and payments could be made to both sides.
'No details have been given over who will put money into the fund or how much it will amount to but outstanding legal claims could run into billions.
'US victims covered include those who died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, and the 1986 attack on a Berlin disco that killed three people and wounded 229.
'It should also compensate Libyans killed in 1986 when US aircraft bombed Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 40 people.
'Rice has come under criticism at home for making the trip before the money is paid out.'
The full article can be read here.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Dr Swire's response to Saif-al-Islam Gaddafi
The Bromsgrove Advertiser (the local newspaper for the area in which he used to practise) has an article on Dr Jim Swire's response to the contention by Saif-al-Islam Gaddafi that the relatives of those killed in the Lockerbie disaster were "greedy" in their compensation claims. The article is largely based on the contents of Dr Swire's letter in The Herald on 29 August 2008. The article, which can be read here, erroneously states that Dr Swire now lives in Glasgow. He still lives in England, but spends a considerable amount of time at his house on the Isle of Skye.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Foreign Secretary's response to Professor Köchler
In July Professor Hans Köchler, appointed by the UN Secretary-General as an observer at the Lockerbie trial, wrote a letter to the UK Foreign Secretary about (a) an error on the Foreign Office's website about the Lockerbie trial and (b) about the Foreign Secretary's assertion of public interest immunity in respect of certain documents, the failure to supply which to the defence formed one of the grounds on which the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission held that Megrahi's conviction might have amounted to a miscarriage of justice. The Foreign Secretary has now replied to Professor Köchler, whose press release reads as follows:
'Vienna, 1 September 2008/P/RE/20260c-is
'In a letter dated 27 August 2008, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom has informed Dr. Hans Koechler, an international observer of the Lockerbie trial appointed by the United Nations, that an erroneous entry about the Lockerbie verdict on the Office's country profile page on Libya has now been corrected. The Foreign Office's web site had wrongly reported that the verdict on the second Libyan suspect in the Lockerbie case, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was "not proven." The information has now been corrected to "not guilty." This is important because one of the main reasons for Dr. Koechler's criticism of the Lockerbie verdict had been its being inconsistent. (While the rationale of the indictment was based on the two Libyan nationals' having conspired together to get a piece of baggage containing a bomb loaded on a plane in Malta, the verdict had declared the first suspect, Mr. Abdelbasset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, "guilty" and the second suspect "not guilty" - both of which determinations require proof "beyond a reasonable doubt.")
'On 21 July 2008 Dr. Hans Koechler had alerted David Miliband about the misleading entry and had also expressed his concerns about the public interest immunity (PII) certificate issued earlier by the Foreign Secretary in connection with certain "sensitive" material that has been withheld from the Defence in the Lockerbie case.
'In the above mentioned letter, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has reiterated the Foreign Secretary's position that release of the material in question "would do real and lasting damage to the UK's relations with other states and the UK's national security." At the same time, the Foreign Office has acknowledged vis-à-vis Dr. Koechler that: "Ultimately, it will be for the Court to decide whether the material should be disclosed, not the Foreign Secretary." In the letter, the Foreign Office furthermore asserted the Scottish Court's being bound by the European Human Rights Convention: "Under the Human Rights Act 1998 the Court has a duty to act in compliance with Convention rights in terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including the right to a fair trial."
'In a statement issued today, Dr. Koechler said that it is now up to the Scottish judges to assert the independence of the Scottish judiciary and ensure that the conditions for a fair trial (second appeal) are scrupulously met (which implies disclosure to the Defence of all evidence that is in the possession of the Prosecution). There is absolutely no doubt that in a country where the rule of law prevails a fair trial is ex definitione in the public interest. Dr. Koechler expressed the hope that the final decision on the disclosure of the "sensitive" material will not be delayed further. The new appeal cannot go ahead without this step.
'Dr. Hans Koechler will visit Scotland next week for discussions on the Lockerbie case.'
[Note by RB: Professor Köchler is mistaken when he says that the trial court's finding of "not guilty" in respect of the co-accused, Lamin Fhimah, required proof beyond a reasonable doubt. For acquittal, whether by a verdict of not guilty or one of not proven, all that is required is that the court is not satisfied that the Crown has proved the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court is certainly not required to be satisfied (beyond reasonable doubt or by any other measure) that he is innocent.]
'Vienna, 1 September 2008/P/RE/20260c-is
'In a letter dated 27 August 2008, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom has informed Dr. Hans Koechler, an international observer of the Lockerbie trial appointed by the United Nations, that an erroneous entry about the Lockerbie verdict on the Office's country profile page on Libya has now been corrected. The Foreign Office's web site had wrongly reported that the verdict on the second Libyan suspect in the Lockerbie case, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was "not proven." The information has now been corrected to "not guilty." This is important because one of the main reasons for Dr. Koechler's criticism of the Lockerbie verdict had been its being inconsistent. (While the rationale of the indictment was based on the two Libyan nationals' having conspired together to get a piece of baggage containing a bomb loaded on a plane in Malta, the verdict had declared the first suspect, Mr. Abdelbasset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, "guilty" and the second suspect "not guilty" - both of which determinations require proof "beyond a reasonable doubt.")
'On 21 July 2008 Dr. Hans Koechler had alerted David Miliband about the misleading entry and had also expressed his concerns about the public interest immunity (PII) certificate issued earlier by the Foreign Secretary in connection with certain "sensitive" material that has been withheld from the Defence in the Lockerbie case.
'In the above mentioned letter, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has reiterated the Foreign Secretary's position that release of the material in question "would do real and lasting damage to the UK's relations with other states and the UK's national security." At the same time, the Foreign Office has acknowledged vis-à-vis Dr. Koechler that: "Ultimately, it will be for the Court to decide whether the material should be disclosed, not the Foreign Secretary." In the letter, the Foreign Office furthermore asserted the Scottish Court's being bound by the European Human Rights Convention: "Under the Human Rights Act 1998 the Court has a duty to act in compliance with Convention rights in terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including the right to a fair trial."
'In a statement issued today, Dr. Koechler said that it is now up to the Scottish judges to assert the independence of the Scottish judiciary and ensure that the conditions for a fair trial (second appeal) are scrupulously met (which implies disclosure to the Defence of all evidence that is in the possession of the Prosecution). There is absolutely no doubt that in a country where the rule of law prevails a fair trial is ex definitione in the public interest. Dr. Koechler expressed the hope that the final decision on the disclosure of the "sensitive" material will not be delayed further. The new appeal cannot go ahead without this step.
'Dr. Hans Koechler will visit Scotland next week for discussions on the Lockerbie case.'
[Note by RB: Professor Köchler is mistaken when he says that the trial court's finding of "not guilty" in respect of the co-accused, Lamin Fhimah, required proof beyond a reasonable doubt. For acquittal, whether by a verdict of not guilty or one of not proven, all that is required is that the court is not satisfied that the Crown has proved the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court is certainly not required to be satisfied (beyond reasonable doubt or by any other measure) that he is innocent.]
Monday, 1 September 2008
View The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie programme
I am grateful to a reader of the blog who informs me that the programme is in fact now available for viewing online (at least in the United Kingdom) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dc21f/.
According to a report on The Guardian website, 'BBC2's documentary The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie picked up 2 million viewers and an 8% share [of viewers] in the 9pm hour.'
According to a report on The Guardian website, 'BBC2's documentary The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie picked up 2 million viewers and an 8% share [of viewers] in the 9pm hour.'
The Conspiracy Files documentary
I had rashly assumed that The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie programme would be available today for viewing on the BBC website. This appears, however, not to be the case. Consequently, since I do not myself have a television set (believing, as all right-thinking persons must, that TV rots the brain) I am unable to provide an eye-witness account of the programme. However, informants (including the programme’s producer) tell me that, apart from the issues already mentioned in posts on this blog over the past few days, the programme investigated the Helsinki warning and concluded that it had nothing to do with Pan Am 103. It looked at Juval Aviv’s Interfor Report and concluded that there was no evidence to support it. Also featured were Ahmed Jibril of the PFLP-GC; Oliver North; the Frankfurt baggage handling computer operator in whose locker was found the computer print-out that supposedly showed that an unaccompanied bag had been transferred from Air Malta flight KM 180 to the Pan Am 103 feeder flight; former State Department lawyer Michael Scharf (on the CIA and Giaka and on Tony Gauci); Edwin Bollier; and retired FBI special agent Richard Marquise, all saying what would be expected.
The Independent's television review comments: 'Truth and lies were hopelessly tangled up in The Conspiracy Files, too, a strand that has done some useful work in the past in wiping up the mess left behind by credulous paranoiacs. In the case of this film about the bombing of Pan Am 103, which came down on the town of Lockerbie, matters were less straightforward. The programme briskly sorted out the facts behind some conspiracy theories – such as the nature of an early warning phoned in to the US embassy in Helsinki – while making it clear that there are still unsettling holes in the prosecution case. At least two of the interviewees struck me as bare-faced liars, while as many again had powerful motives for not telling the truth about an event inextricably entangled with the brutal realpolitik of the time. And the film ended with an astonishing interview in which the son of Colonel Gaddafi attacked the relatives of the dead as "greedy" and effectively repudiated Libya's formal acceptance of responsibility for the bombing. "I admit that we play with words," he said insouciantly. "We had to... there was no other solution."'
Here is what The Times's television reviewer has to say: 'Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi is still in jail for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, although he has an appeal pending. The next time television makes a documentary about Lockerbie, it had better come up with a confession, which, as one of the victims' fathers said, was about the only way this matter will be concluded. Getting Colonel Gaddafi's son to chuckle that the Libyans were innocent did not cut it as a pay off. The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie, though flashy, kept hurtling down blind alleys - much like the official investigation itself - and was unsatisfying.'
[For the avoidance of doubt, the view expressed above about the propensity of television to rot the brain is not meant to be taken – entirely – seriously.]
The Independent's television review comments: 'Truth and lies were hopelessly tangled up in The Conspiracy Files, too, a strand that has done some useful work in the past in wiping up the mess left behind by credulous paranoiacs. In the case of this film about the bombing of Pan Am 103, which came down on the town of Lockerbie, matters were less straightforward. The programme briskly sorted out the facts behind some conspiracy theories – such as the nature of an early warning phoned in to the US embassy in Helsinki – while making it clear that there are still unsettling holes in the prosecution case. At least two of the interviewees struck me as bare-faced liars, while as many again had powerful motives for not telling the truth about an event inextricably entangled with the brutal realpolitik of the time. And the film ended with an astonishing interview in which the son of Colonel Gaddafi attacked the relatives of the dead as "greedy" and effectively repudiated Libya's formal acceptance of responsibility for the bombing. "I admit that we play with words," he said insouciantly. "We had to... there was no other solution."'
Here is what The Times's television reviewer has to say: 'Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi is still in jail for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, although he has an appeal pending. The next time television makes a documentary about Lockerbie, it had better come up with a confession, which, as one of the victims' fathers said, was about the only way this matter will be concluded. Getting Colonel Gaddafi's son to chuckle that the Libyans were innocent did not cut it as a pay off. The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie, though flashy, kept hurtling down blind alleys - much like the official investigation itself - and was unsatisfying.'
[For the avoidance of doubt, the view expressed above about the propensity of television to rot the brain is not meant to be taken – entirely – seriously.]
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