Lord Advocate and Justice Secretary reported to UN International Association of Prosecutors

[What follows is the text of a press release issued yesterday night by Justice for Megrahi:]

In an unprecedented move, Scotland’s Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland have been reported to the United Nations International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) by the Justice for Megrahi Group (JfM).

The group is challenging the objectivity and independence of the ongoing investigations into serious criminal allegations against the Crown Office and Police over their handling of the Lockerbie atrocity.

Justice for Megrahi has informed the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee of its decision and has also informed the Committee that the Crown Office has ordered the Police to stop investigating three of the most serious of these allegations.

The new move is part of JfM’s ongoing campaign for an independent inquiry into the 2001 Kamp Zeist conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988.

The Justice Committee will consider its submissions later today (Tuesday 24 September 2013).

In furtherance of its Petition PE 1370, Justice for Megrahi has updated the Justice Committee on two recent developments related to their petition.

*        JFM has lodged formal complaints with the United Nations International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) against the Lord Advocate, Mr Mulholland, and the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Mr MacAskill, for flouting sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of IAP’s Standards of Professional Responsibilities and Statement of Essential Duties and Rights of Prosecutors.

*        The Crown Office has ordered Dumfries and Galloway police not to investigate three of the 8 criminal allegations recently made against the Crown  Office, Police and others involved in the original ‘Lockerbie’ investigation.

In a submission to the Justice Committee Robert Forrester, Secretary of the JfM group, states:

“At a time when there is growing concern about the Crown Office and police handling of the whole Lockerbie enquiry, this latest international complaint makes it even more important that our petition remains a live issue within the Scottish Parliament.

“Not only are the Crown Office and police engaged in acting in their own interest by investigating the 8 criminal allegations we have made against them and others but, as we informed you in a previous submission, the Crown office has, without explanation, ordered the police to stop investigating  3 of the most central allegations.

“As the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie tragedy approaches, the Scottish Government has apparently washed its hands of any responsibility for further action in relation to our concerns.

“It is therefore of paramount importance that this affair remains a live issue within the Scottish Parliament and that the Justice Committee continues in its duty to ‘scrutinise the policies and performance of the Scottish Government and its agencies in matters related to justice’ and ensures that this massive stain on our justice system is not buried in the cause of the unaccountable self-interest of our major prosecution agencies.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1          The report to IAP concerns the Scottish Justice Directorate's and Crown Office’s flouting of sections 1 through to 4 of the IAP's Standards of Professional Responsibilities and Statement of Essential Duties and Rights of Prosecutors; link herewith for info:

http://www.iap-association.org/ressources/Standards_English.pdf

2          10.15 hrs Tuesday 24 September: Scottish Parliament Committee Room 1 – Justice Committee meets to consider the above and other matters associated with their Petition PE1370.

The petition should  be considered some time after 10.30 am. Members of the Justice for Megrahi Committee and its signatory membership will attend the meeting and will be available for interview in the Parliament’s main reception area after the meeting.

[The story has been picked up on a number of news media websites, including that of the Belfast Telegraph whose report also contains the following official responses:

'A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Mr al-Megrahi was convicted in a court of law and the Scottish ministers are clear that a court is the only appropriate forum for considering all the evidence in the case and determining his guilt or innocence. Following consideration of all relevant matters, only a criminal court has the power to either uphold or overturn Mr al-Megrahi's conviction."

'A Crown Office spokesman said allegations made by Justice for Megrahi are being considered by Deputy Chief Constable Patrick Shearer, the former top police officer in the old Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.']

Holyrood Justice Committee to resume consideration of Megrahi petition

A reminder that consideration of Justice for Megrahi's petition calling on the Scottish Government to set up an independent inquiry into the Lockerbie investigation and prosecution and the conviction of Abdelbaset Megrahi forms item 3 on the agenda of tomorrow's meeting of the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee.  The meeting starts at 10.15 in Holyrood Committee Room 1.  The agenda for the meeting, plus the committee clerk's briefing note on the petition and outlining the Justice Committee's options, along with the supporting submissions and documents, can be read here.

Gaddafi-era Lockerbie officials go on trial in Tripoli

[The trial of thirty-seven Gaddafi-era officials on charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and human rights crimes during the revolution, opened yesterday in Tripoli. Most media reports have mentioned only one of the accused, Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi’s intelligence chief and brother-in-law. However, the report in the Libya Herald refers to a number of other defendants:]

The Tripoli hearing was largely concerned with the formalities of establishing charges and identities. Along with Senussi who looked thin and gaunt, appearing to confirm his doctor’s claim that he has prostate cancer, the 36 accused appearing today included Qaddafi’s External Security Agency head Abu Zaid Omar Dorda, former Foreign Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, the General People’s Conference head Mohamed al-Zway, former Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, and Tripoli Internal Security Agency head Mansour Dhou.

Unlike Senussi, Dorda, Obeidi and Zway have already made court appearances in Tripoli. Dorda’s case was adjourned on several occasions while Obeidi and Zway, who were arrested in July 2011, were found not guilty in June on charges of maladministration while in office and wasting public funds. (...)

At the end of two hours today, during which the defendants confirmed their names and the charges against them were read out, the pre-trial hearing was adjourned until 3 October. By then, the judge and his deputy ordered, defence lawyers must have reviewed their clients’ files and prepared their defences.

The proceedings were watched by a handful of foreign press reporters alongside local print and media journalists. Outside the court, there was a small protest by families of Busleem prison massacre victims, many with placards demanding that Senussi and others be hanged.  Security was high both inside and outside the courtroom, with local shops being asked to close up.

[Messrs Dorda, Obeidi and Zway were all heavily involved in the resolution of the Lockerbie impasse.  I had many meetings with all of them and always found them open, trustworthy and honest in their dealings with me.]

Documents for Justice Committee Megrahi meeting

The meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee at which Justice for Megrahi’s petition (PE 1370) will be considered is due to start at 10.00 on Tuesday, 24 September, in Committee Room 1.  For those unable to be present at Holyrood, the proceedings will be broadcast on Scottish Parliament TV. 

The following documents will be before the committee:

Submission from JFM-

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_JusticeCommittee/General%20Documents/20130823_Petitioners_submission.pdf

Letters exchanged between committee convener and JFM-

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_JusticeCommittee/General%20Documents/20130905_CG_to_JFM.pdf

and

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_JusticeCommittee/General%20Documents/20130907_JFM_to_CG.pdf

Supplementary submission from JFM-

https://docs.google.com/file/d/1vl_mF8EbMlXo2gJRz_cGjx1FdhVHV_KNU02gIJ2hJfx1_IiiX6WafzkTjqFK/edit

If these links do not work for you (and I know that some readers are encountering problems) Robert Forrester has posted links that do work on the Friends of Justice for Megrahi Facebook page.

Lockerbie bombing: late claim for compensation

[This is the headline over Google Translate’s English version of a report published yesterday on the Swiss Italian-language news website Tio. The following are extracts (revised slightly by me) from the translation:]

The Federal Administrative Court (FAC) has rejected a claim by a contractor in Zurich asking more than six million dollars from the federal government. His company was accused by investigators of manufacturing the electronic timer used by the perpetrators of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

The FAC has judged that the claim of the entrepreneur was made too late. (...)

In 2009, the Zurich-based entrepreneur had filed a complaint against the federal government, claiming that an employee of the federal police had asked an employee of his firm, a few months after the attack, to provide a specimen timer.

The device was then improperly used as evidence in the trial. Because of articles that appeared in the media, which attacked the name of his business, he lost a significant part of his clientele.

The Federal Department of Finance (FDF) had rejected his claim for compensation in January. The FAC, to which he then resorted, has upheld this decision.

According to the Court the absolute prescriptive period of ten years after the acts charged to the employee of the federal police had been exceeded before the claim was made. The limitation period of one year, which is calculated from the date of knowledge of the facts, had also expired.

The Lockerbie bombing has left many gray areas. In 2001, a Scottish court had condemned the Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who died in May 2012.

The file is not closed. Investigation initiated by the Ministry of the Attorney General is pending, as well as an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. 

[A somewhat longer German language version of this story can be found here on the website of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.]

Justice Committee to resume consideration of Megrahi petition

The Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee at its meeting on 24 September 2013 will resume consideration of Justice for Megrahi's petition (PE 1370) calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to open an independent inquiry into the 2001 Kamp van Zeist conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988. Further details will be posted here once they become available. 

A synopsis of the Justice Committee's dealings with the petition can be found here; and the report by JFM secretary Robert Forrester on the last relevant meeting of the committee can be found here.

Attentat de Lockerbie: des ventes d'armes dans les décombres

[This is the headline (which can be translated as “The Lockerbie attack: arms sales in the debris”) over a long article, in French, published today on the Bakchich website.  It reads in part:] 

L’Ecosse a libéré Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, l’auteur désigné de l’attentat de Lockerbie en 1988 qui se mourait d’un cancer de la prostate, par compassion croyait-on…

Dans la bouche des politiques, l’abus du mot compassion dissimule souvent une obscénité. L’affaire de l’attentat de Lockerbie en Ecosse (cf. « Kadhafi ne rime pas avec Lockerbie » - l’intégrale, du 8 janvier 2012) nous en fournit hélas une nouvelle illustration.  

On se souvient en effet que Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, membre présumé des services secrets libyens basé à Malte et tenu pour co-responsable de l’attentat meurtrier, a été libéré de sa prison écossaise le 20 août 2009 en échange d’une renonciation de sa part, à faire appel de sa condamnation de 2001. (...)

Tony Blair, Premier Ministre britannique, a donné sa démission le 27 juin 2007. Or, le 29 mai, quelques semaines avant son départ donc, l’idole de Nicolas Sarkozy était à Syrte où il négociait avec le Premier Ministre de Kadhafi Ali Al-Mahmoudi, l’achat par la Libye du système de missiles sol-air Jernas également désigné par les spécialistes sous l’appellation de « RAPIER FCS » de l’industriel MBDA dont le britannique BAE Systems possède 37,5% du capital. Un deal de 400 millions de £ représentant au bas mot 2000 emplois de l’autre côté de la Manche.

Plus surprenant, les négociations de Syrte portèrent également sur les discussions préliminaires (« Memorandum of Understanding ») à la conclusion d’un ‘accord de transfert de prisonnier’  dont les libyens ne firent nulle mystère pour préciser qu’il concernait le retour au pays d’Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Le mail de Sir Vincent Fean, l’ambassadeur de Londres à Tripoli, a été envoyé le 8 juin 2008 au secrétariat de Tony Blair qui avait débuté depuis un an une nouvelle carrière très rentable de consultant international.

1300 mots qui laissent aujourd’hui supposer qu’en langage diplomatique, le mot compassion a un sens particulier:

« Il existe un dossier bilatéral que j’espère que TB (Tony Blair) pourra évoquer.

Le 29 mai 2007 à Sirte, il s’était mis d’accord avec le premier Ministre libyen afin que la Libye se dote du système de défense aérienne britannique Jernas. Un an plus tard l’industriel MBDA est de retour à Tripoli (depuis le 8 juin) pour finaliser et signer le contrat de 400 millions de £ qui représente 2000 emplois en Grande Bretagne. 

Saif Kadhafi (le fils) indique qu’ils peuvent conclure mais qu’il existe une opposition au sein des forces armées libyennes qui milite en faveur d’équipement russe.

Nous pensons que le Colonel Kadhafi est favorable à la conclusion de cet accord encore qu’il serait utile qu’il exprime son point de vue plus clairement. Le dossier peut également être évoqué avec le Premier Ministre libyen et le ministre de la planification. C’est le premier Ministre Baghdadi lui même qui avait évoqué l’achat de matériel anglais devant les médias.

La Libye met également dans la balance, les 4 accords judiciaires bilatéraux pour lesquels TB a signé un protocole d’accord avec Baghdadi le 29 mai. Le protocole stipulait que les accords seraient négociés dans l’année et ils l’ont été. Ils sont prêts à être ratifiés à Londres dès que la Libye aura tenu parole sur Jernas ».

Toutefois, le mail de l’ambassadeur porte aussi à la connaissance de Blair les derniers développements du dossier Al-Megrahi et le met en garde contre les demandes de libération dont ce dernier pourrait faire l’objet alors qu’il avait fait appel de sa condamnation : « Le Colonel K pourrait bien soulever la question. Saif (le fils de K) l’a fait la semaine dernière. L’affaire est maintenant devant la Cour d’Appel écossaise. Alors que l’affaire est pendante, aucune requête ne peut être faite sur la base de l’accord de transfert de prisonnier.

Si l’appel devait échouer et qu’une nouvelle demande de libération était formulée, il appartiendrait au gouvernement écossais de l’examiner et pas à HMG (le Gouvernement de Sa Majesté) » (...)

Il faut croire que le gouvernement écossais ne s’est pas montré d’une intransigeance excessive envers les fonctionnaires du Foreign Office lui ayant présenté les données du problème, quand bien même il n’aurait finalement pris sa décision que pour des raisons humanitaires. (...)

Il n’en reste pas moins que l’accord de transfert de prisonnier a été ratifié en novembre 2008 et que Al-Megrahi a quitté sa prison le 20 août 2009 « on compassionate grounds » pour assister, depuis son lit de mort, au déclenchement de la «révolution» libyenne.  

[A translation can be effected through Google Translate.]

Important forthcoming Lockerbie books

[What follows is the text of a message sent today to Justice for Megrahi supporters by JFM’s secretary, Robert Forrester:]

By now, I am sure that very few of you will not already be aware of the fact that preparations for the quarter century anniversary of the Lockerbie atrocity are in hand.

To accompany this event, I wish to draw your attention to two publications which will soon be released to coincide with this commemoration: both courtesy of members of our organisation, namely: John Ashton and our Secretary Depute, Dr Morag Kerr.

You will be aware that John co-authored Cover Up of Convenience: the Hidden Scandal of Lockerbie with Ian Ferguson (one of our original members), and also wrote Megrahi: You are my Jury, which, amongst other things, revealed the forensic flaws and misdemeanours surrounding the infamous shard of PCB claimed to have originated from the timing trigger for the detonator, which COPFS have chosen to blithely ignore for nigh on eighteen months now. Additionally, John was part of the research team working on Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's defence. On 3rd October his latest Lockerbie/Ziest related publication, Scotland's Shame: Why Lockerbie Still Matters will be released by Birlinn. For details, see: http://www.birlinn.co.uk/Scotland-s-Shame.html.

Whilst John and I unstintingly make a point of meeting up when I make my annual summer pilgrimage to Brighton, and clearly, we always discuss matters Lockerbie related, normally, our conversation circulates around the activities of JFM with respect to how matters are advancing regarding the general campaign.

My relationship with Dr Kerr, our Secretary Depute, is quite different. We are in constant contact with each other in advancing the cause of justice on this issue. Morag is a highly qualified scientist, and, as such, has applied her talent/training/call it what you will to the forensic shortcomings of the Lockerbie investigation with some not inconsiderable aplomb.

To coincide with the Twenty-fifth Anniversary, her book: Adequately Explained by Stupidity? Lockerbie, Luggage and Lies will be published on 21st December 2013, by Troubador to precisely coincide with the anniversary, and is, moreover, introduced with a foreword by Terry Waite CBE (another JFM member). For details, see: http://www.troubador.co.uk/image/books/AI9781783062508.pdf.

John's reputation precedes him, need I say more? However, quite obviously, I have a close working relationship with Morag, and, as such, was privy to Adequately Explained by Stupidity as it took form. In my opinion, having had the immense privilege of proofing aspects of this book, it is, without question, nothing less than a work of genius. Amongst many other features studied, it conclusively demonstrates, via a highly detailed and scholarly analysis of the evidence relating to the luggage carried in the hold of Pan Am 103, how horrifically bungled the Lockerbie investigation was. Its implications are truly shocking. It is high time that executive powers in Scotland were brought to bear on the Police, Crown Office and forensic officials responsible for this outrageous scandal. Inaction is leaving Scotland looking weak, corruptible and, frankly just plain downright feart.

I strongly recommend both publications to you. And please spread the word too.

Adequately Explained by Stupidity?: Lockerbie, Luggage and Lies

[This is the title of a book by Dr Morag Kerr which is scheduled for publication in December 2013.  It can be ordered through the website of the publisher Troubador Publishing Ltd, where the book is described as follows:]

Tunnel vision or organised cover-up? How the Lockerbie investigation got the wrong man. 

Twenty-five years after Maid of the Seas crashed on the town of Lockerbie, this groundbreaking book introduces [an entirely] new perspective on the controversial investigation and subsequent conviction. Concentrating almost entirely on the transfer baggage evidence, it exposes shocking deficiencies in both the police inquiry and the forensic investigation, which led the hunt in entirely the wrong direction. 

Cleverly constructed to lead the reader through the complexities of the case, the book provides insights which will be new to even the most seasoned Lockerbie pundit, while remaining accessible to those with little or no previous familiarity with the subject. The reader will see all the main aspects of the official account of the Lockerbie disaster comprehensively destroyed. 

This is the first book about Lockerbie to deal rigorously with the detail of the transfer baggage evidence. Morag G Kerr has been given access to reports, statements and photographs not previously available to the general public, and has analysed the information with forensic rigour. This analysis proves conclusively that the bomb that brought down the plane was introduced at Heathrow airport and not at Malta as claimed.  

*Published on the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster, which happened on 21st December 1988. 
*Morag has been Secretary Depute of 'Justice for Megrahi' since 2010, and is the author of the widely-acclaimed pamphlet Lockerbie: Fact and Fiction. 
*On 23rd December 1988, Morag was driving on the A74. This was the stimulus for her research into the subject.

Reviews
'A remarkable piece of work, comprehensive in its analysis of the evidence and what was missed or hidden and why.' -- James Robertson The Professor of Truth 

‘The final chapter draws all the threads together and fully exposes the stupidity which may (or may not) be a sufficient explanation for the debacle.' -- Professor Robert Black

About the Author
Morag G Kerr was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1953. She qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1976 (Glasgow University) and continued post-graduate study in biochemistry. Morag was awarded a PhD in 1985, and specialised in clinical pathology and laboratory medicine. She is the Secretary Depute of "Justice for Megrahi".

Scotland's Shame - Why Lockerbie Still Matters

[This is the title of John Ashton’s new Lockerbie book which will appear on 3 October.  Here is what the website of its publisher, Birlinn, says about it:]

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988 was one of the most notorious acts of terrorism in recent history. Its political and foreign policy repercussions have been enormous, and twenty-five years after the atrocity in which 270 lost their lives, debate still rages over the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, as well as his controversial release on compassionate grounds by Scotland's SNP government in 2009. John Ashton argues that the guilty verdict, delivered by some of Scotland's most senior judges, was perverse and irrational, and details how prosecutors withheld numerous items of evidence that were favourable to Megrahi. It accuses successive Scottish governments of turning their back on the scandal and pretending that the country's treasured independent criminal justice system remains untainted. With numerous observers believing the Crown Office is out of control and the judiciary stuck in the last century, politicians must address these problems or their aspirations for Scotland to become a modern European social democracy are bound to fail.

John Ashton is a writer, researcher and TV producer. He has studied the Lockerbie case for 18 years and from 2006 to 2009 was a researcher with Megrahi's legal team. His other books include What Everyone in Britain Should Know about Crime and Punishment (with David Wilson), What Everyone in Britain Should Know about the Police (with David Wilson and Douglas Sharp), both published by Blackstone Press, and Megrahi: You are my Jury - The Lockerbie Evidence, published by Birlinn (2012).

[The book can be ordered through the publisher’s website or through Amazon.]

Tenth anniversary of removal of UN Libya sanctions

[Today is the tenth anniversary of the removal by the United Nations Security Council of the sanctions against Libya imposed in the wake of Lockerbie. Here are some extracts from the report published at the time by the United Nations News Centre:]

After several delays in recent weeks, the United Nations Security Council today finally lifted decade-old sanctions imposed against Libya over the deadly bombing in 1988 of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, after Tripoli agreed to pay up to $10 million each to the families of the 270 victims.

The vote on the resolution, adopted by 13 in favour with two abstentions – France and the United States – had been postponed repeatedly while Paris negotiated with Libya to improve a settlement of $34 million it had already reached over the similar bombing of a French UTA plane over Niger in 1989, which killed 170 people.

Welcoming the vote, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement he hoped this "important step, along with the settlement arrangements agreed following many years of intensive negotiations, will help bring some comfort to the families of the victims of the tragic events" over Scotland and Niger "as the international community strives to bring this tragic chapter to a close."

The sanctions, which included a ban on military sales, air communications and certain oil equipment, had already been suspended by the Council in 1999 after Libya agreed to hand over two nationals for trial before a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands in connection with the bombing. One of them, Abdel Basset Al-Megrahi, was convicted and jailed for his role.

The United Kingdom and Bulgaria cosponsored the resolution after Libya told the Council in August of its readiness to cooperate in the international fight against terrorism and compensate the families of those killed at Lockerbie, as demanded by Council resolutions 748 of 1992 and 883 of 1993.

Earlier this week, UK Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, who is Council President for the month of September, said Libya’s current compliance with the terms of the earlier resolutions could allow it to move back into the international community.

[A flavour of the current situation in Libya, ten years after the removal of sanctions and approaching two years after the death of Muammar Gaddafi, can be gleaned here and here and here.]

Syracuse University archivists on information collecting visit to Lockerbie

[A report just published on the STV News website reads as follows:]

Archivists from a university which lost 35 students in Lockerbie are visiting the town ahead of the 25th anniversary of the bombing.

The group from Syracuse University in America arrived in Scotland on Tuesday and have toured the memorials and crash site.

On Wednesday, they will start interviews with various people who were involved in the search and recovery and investigation.

Pan Am flight 103 was flying from London to New York when it was blown up as it passed over the Dumfries and Galloway town on December 21, 1988 killing 270.

The archives at the university already hold materials about 104 victims, 16 people involved in the aftermath, the investigation and the trial. With the anniversary coming up, they would like to collect more information about Lockerbie itself.

They would like to speak to anyone who has material or stories to share about the bombing, and particularly want to hear about any good that has come from the tragedy. Anyone who wants to speak to them can visit Lockerbie Academy until Saturday [14 September].  

[Interviews with two members of the visiting group can be seen here on the ITV News (Border) website.]

Need a pretext or precedent for Middle East strikes? Cite Lockerbie

[The following are excerpts from a report published this evening on the website of the Mirror newspaper:]

Russia launched a fresh bid to protect ally Bashar al-Assad by urging him to surrender his chemical weapons to avoid war today.

President Vladimir Putin called on the bloody dictator to hand over his arsenal in talks with the Syrian regime.

The proposal came as US officials insisted that a similar suggestion from Secretary of State John Kerry was a “rhetorical argument” rather than a serious offer.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was hopeful that Syria would “place the chemical weapons under international control and then have them destroyed”. (...)

The US State Department was forced to clarify Mr Kerry’s earlier remarks at a press conference with Foreign Secretary William Hague. (...)

The Secretary of State also caused confusion over what military action Syria is facing.

Last week, President Barack Obama was said to be considering much more wide-ranging military action than the air strikes originally expected.

Today, Mr Kerry compared Assad’s gas attacks to the Holocaust and said they must not go unpunished but said any strike would be “unbelievably small”.

America would not be going to “war” or “engaging troops on the ground or any other prolonged kind of effort” but was planning a “very limited, very targeted, very short-term effort”.

“That is exactly what we are talking about doing; an unbelievably small, limited kind of effort.”

Blundering Mr Kerry also compared US plans to former President Ronald Reagan’s bungled air strikes against Colonel Gaddafi.

An American F-111 was shot down by Libyan forces while many US bombs missed their military targets and hit diplomatic and civilian sites instead.

The US Secretary of State claimed that the 1986 raid on Libya was carried out in retaliation for the Lockerbie bombing, which only happened two years later.

[Whether or not they get the chronology right, it now seems to be standard practice for politicians to cite Libya’s alleged responsibility for Lockerbie as an argument in favour of whatever aggressive action they wish to take in the Arab world.]

James Robertson's "Lockerbie novel" published in USA

James Robertson’s novel The Professor of Truth, published in the UK in June, is today published in the United States of America.  Publishers Weekly, which has selected it as one of its best new books of the week, also contains a review which reads as follows:

Big life-and-death questions lie at the center of Robertson’s contemplative new novel, but its premise is as commercial as that of a bestselling thriller, amped up by real-life roots. Still haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland more than 20 years ago [RB: the aircraft in the novel is not Pan Am 103], British literature professor Alan Tealing gets a surprise visit from a man named Ted Nilsen, who asks him provocative questions. After some verbal fencing, Nilsen explains that he’s a retired American intelligence officer with information that Tealing, who has made a second career of gathering information about the crash, will want to know. Like many others, Tealing believes that Khalil Khazar, the man convicted of the bombing, was not responsible. When Nilsen challenges him to deepen his investigation, the professor, conveniently on sabbatical at the time, accepts. The Scottish tragedy provides the framework for a deeper philosophical treatment of justice and loss and grief, all well served by Robertson’s measured, literary prose. Robertson (The Testament of Gideon Mack) makes a case for the messy complexity of truth.

An unrealised ambition and a continuing struggle

Since figures began being kept in October 2007, some three months after The Lockerbie Case was launched, the blog has received half a million visits.  On the occasion of the 250,000th visit on 31 May 2011, I wrote this: “It is my ambition that an independent inquiry into the conviction of Abdelbaset Megrahi will be launched before we reach the half million mark.”  

That ambition has not been realised. But progress has been made.  There are now very few amongst those who have taken the trouble to study the case who regard the conviction of Abdelbaset Megrahi as anything other than a scandalous travesty of justice.  Official resistance to righting this wrong increasingly is seen to cast a blight over the Scottish criminal justice system -- indeed over Scottish government and administration as a whole. 

We are now approaching the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster on 21 December 2013. Important developments will take place between now and that date.  If the Crown Office and the Scottish Government believe that the Megrahi case will be allowed to be just quietly forgotten, they are going to be rudely disabused of that notion.

A luta continua.