A damning
secret report has revealed the flawed handling of the Lockerbie case by
Scottish prosecutors and the key documents not disclosed to the defence team
which could have cleared the Libyan convicted of the atrocity.
The full 821-page Scottish Criminal
Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) dossier, which has been seen by The Herald, uncovers serious
discrepancies in the Crown Office's reasons for not disclosing vital
information.
The Herald can reveal the commission – whose job it is to review
cases post-appeal and investigate whether a miscarriage of justice may have
occurred – even wrote to the Crown warning it would take legal action if the
prosecution did not hand over important documents and speed up information
sharing.
The
SCCRC rejected many of the defence team's submissions but upheld six different
grounds which could have constituted a miscarriage of justice.
The
Crown failed to disclose seven key items of evidence that led to the Lockerbie
case being referred back for a fresh appeal.
The
SCCRC made clear that, had such information been shared with the defence, the
result of the trial could have been different. (…)
Robert Black, QC, one of the
architects of the Camp Zeist trial, said: "I don't think there could
possibly have been a guilty verdict if the Crown had disclosed to the defence
all the material they had in their possession and they were obliged to
disclose, even as the law on disclosure stood in 2000/01.
"Why
didn't the Crown disclose? Was it because they convinced themselves getting a
guilty verdict was more important than obeying 'technical' rules – after all,
this was a terrorism case?
"The
law about disclosure was clarified after the Zeist trial. But even in 2000/01
the law as it stood would have required the Crown to disclose all the material
they withheld. I am delighted The Herald
is unveiling this information."
[In an accompanying article
headed Six key points that cast doubt on Megrahi's guilt, John Ashton discloses the six grounds on
which the SCCRC concluded that the conviction of Abdelbaset Megrahi might have
amounted to a miscarriage of justice. Another short article is headlined Main players: The people who were key to the story. An editorial in the same newspaper headed
Lockerbie: inching closer to the truth contains the following:]
This newspaper has
taken a close interest in the case over many years and has revealed a number of
significant developments (…) In consequence, we have consistently called for
publication of the SCCRC report and for a public inquiry into the case. Having
seen the report, we are now further convinced that publication and
investigation are necessary if justice is to be served and the Scottish legal
system is to retain public confidence.
It
must be of serious concern that the Crown not only failed to share significant
information with the defence leading up to the trial in 2000 at Camp Zeist in
The Netherlands but also subsequently delayed providing the SCCRC with
documents and then said it did not hold certain records. (…)
It is
increasingly difficult to argue the report should be withheld to comply with
data protection law and the Scottish Government should push for permission to
publish in the interest of shedding light on a conviction that, far from
closing the case on Britain's worst terrorist atrocity, has, with the passage
of time and the growing volume of revelations, raised questions about the
integrity of Scottish justice.
Taking
account of our disclosures today and tomorrow, the case for a public inquiry
has become even more compelling.
[John Ashton's post "The Herald reveals SCCRC report contents" on his website Megrahi: You are my Jury can be read here.]
[John Ashton's post "The Herald reveals SCCRC report contents" on his website Megrahi: You are my Jury can be read here.]
"Taking account of our disclosures today and tomorrow, the case for a public inquiry has become even more compelling."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely but only one thing can bring it about and that is to keep the pressure on the political establishments both north and south of the border: for their conduct in this, just like the conduct of the Scottish Judiciary, amounts to nothing less than the obstruction of justice.
They must be openly challenged. Senior figures in all Parties. Interview them, name them, put this report to them, make them read it. If they will not endorse calls for justice over Lockerbie the Herald must ask them why and publish their responses. For in the face of such overwhelming evidence any explanation as to why nothing should be done really has to be heard!
Mr MacAskill especially can no longer claim he "doesn't know" what is in the SCCRC report. He knows now although some of us found the SCCRC announcement, in June 2007, that it had found six grounds to suggest a possible miscarriage of justice, enough at the time to support the case for a second appeal. It is a pity that politicians of all Parties have since been hellbent on denying all of us justice, not least the dead at Lockerbie, up to and including allowing the Scottish Judiciary to delay the hearing of the appeal for more than two years.