The enduring controversy over the Lockerbie bombing

The archetypal of 2 TV dramas connected the Lockerbie catastrophe to beryllium broadcast this twelvemonth will, for galore people, beryllium their archetypal glimpse into this labyrinth of a case.

Based connected a publication by the begetter of 1 of the victims, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth focuses connected longstanding claims that the lone antheral recovered blameworthy of bombing Pan Am 103 was innocent.

The accumulation - which has provoked fierce disapproval from relatives of American victims - does not notation that the condemnation of Abdulbasset Al Megrahi for murdering 270 radical was upheld doubly connected appeal.

Each occurrence of the Sky Atlantic bid starts with a declaration that it's "inspired by the enactment and research" of Dr Jim Swire, whose girl Flora was connected committee Pan Am 103 erstwhile it broke isolated implicit Lockerbie successful December 1988.

Flora Swire was 1 of 259 passengers and unit who were killed on with 11 residents successful Lockerbie erstwhile the wreckage destroyed their homes.

In 2001, aft an eight-month trial, Scottish judges convicted Megrahi of bombing the level portion acting with different members of the Libyan quality service.

For much than 20 years, Jim Swire and his supporters person argued that Megrahi and Libya were framed for governmental expediency.

They judge the existent culprits were Iran and a Syrian-backed group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC).

Relatives of different victims disregard that arsenic a baseless conspiracy theory.

Later this year, the lawsuit volition beryllium examined each implicit again erstwhile different Libyan fishy goes connected proceedings successful Washington, accused of gathering the Lockerbie bomb.

The contention implicit Lockerbie began wrong days of the calamity connected 21 December 1988.

As the play recounts, it soon emerged that determination had been warnings that a weaponry onslaught connected a Pan Am formation was imminent.

Those warnings had not been made public. The passengers, including a CIA agent, boarded Pan Am 103 without knowing thing astir them.

The US president Ronald Reagan said afterwards: "Such a nationalist connection with thing much to spell connected than an anonymous telephone call, you would virtually person closed down the aerial postulation successful the world."

In a BBC documentary successful 2008, the authorities authoritative who took that telephone astatine the US embassy successful Helsinki described it arsenic a hoax and a "horrible coincidence".

But for 36 years, Dr Swire and different UK relatives person called for a nationalist enquiry to analyse the warnings and the failures of hose and airdrome information which allowed the weaponry to gaffe through. As the play points out, this enquiry has ne'er happened.

Just past week, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said helium could not see the petition portion the judicial process successful the US was inactive going on.

The demolition of Pan Am 103 was an onslaught connected the United States. Of the 270 victims, 190 were American. The remainder came from 20 different countries, including 43 radical from the UK.

Suspicion initially fell connected Iran.

Five months earlier Lockerbie, an American warship changeable down an Iranian airliner implicit the Persian Gulf aft mistaking it for a combatant jet. The 290 men, women and children connected committee were killed. Iran swore revenge.

In October that year, West German constabulary raided flats successful Frankfurt wherever members of the PFLP-GC were preparing bombs successful vigor cassette players. They had timetables for airlines, including Pan Am.

Less than 2 months later, Pan Am 103 was brought down.

A associated Scottish/US probe established that the weaponry had been concealed wrong a antithetic exemplary of vigor cassette subordinate successful a suitcase.

The engagement of the PFLP-GC and Iran made sense, but Scottish constabulary and the FBI accidental they recovered nary grounds to warrant charges against anyone from the radical oregon Iranian officials.

The defence astatine the Lockerbie proceedings blamed the Palestinians for the bombing but the judges said they had heard thing to beryllium their engagement oregon undermine their content that Libya was responsible.

The prosecution lawsuit was that the Libyans smuggled the unaccompanied suitcase onto an Air Malta formation to Frankfurt, wherever it was loaded connected to Pan Am 103a, the feeder formation for Pan Am 103. This assertion was supported by baggage records.

The suitcase was transferred onto Pan Am 103 astatine Heathrow.

Clothes from the suitcase were traced to a store connected Malta. Its proprietor told the tribunal they were bought by a Libyan who resembled Megrahi, a important portion of grounds which has been hotly disputed ever since.

The time earlier the bombing, Megrahi travelled to Malta utilizing a mendacious passport supplied by the Libyan quality service.

He was astatine Malta airdrome erstwhile luggage was being loaded onto the formation to Frankfurt and flew backmost to Libya soon afterwards. He ne'er utilized the passport again and aboriginal denied being connected Malta.

Dr Swire and his supporters stay convinced the US needed to displacement the blasted from Iran, which was backing groups holding American hostages.

Megrahi mislaid his archetypal entreaty against his condemnation successful 2002 but won a 2nd aft a four-year probe by the autarkic Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The SCCRC recovered determination was nary due ground successful allegations that investigators had manipulated, altered oregon fabricated grounds to marque a lawsuit against Megrahi.

But it did reason the tribunal had nary tenable ground for uncovering that Megrahi bought the apparel successful Malta, undermining a cornerstone of the prosecution case.

The committee said the verdict had been "unreasonable" and that Megrahi mightiness person suffered a miscarriage of justice.

The lawsuit was sent backmost to the courts but Megrahi abandoned the entreaty aft helium was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Terminally ill, helium was freed connected compassionate grounds by the Scottish authorities successful 2009 and died 3 years aboriginal successful Tripoli.

In 2020, aft a petition from Megrahi's family, the SCCRC referred the lawsuit backmost to the entreaty tribunal a 2nd time.

Once again, the committee said the proceedings tribunal should not person accepted that Megrahi bought the apparel that were beside the bomb.

It besides said helium was denied a just proceedings due to the fact that of non-disclosure; the prosecution didn't springiness the defence definite accusation which could person helped him.

Five of Scotland's astir elder judges upheld the conviction, saying the recognition of Megrahi was conscionable 1 portion of the wide representation and the accusation which was not disclosed to the defence would not person changed the verdict.

The azygous astir important portion of grounds from the lawsuit was a thumbnail-sized fragment of circuit board, recovered embedded successful the cervix set of a garment from the suitcase that held the bomb.

The proceedings judges accepted grounds from scientists that it was portion of an MST-13 weaponry timer sold to Libya by MEBO, a Swiss steadfast with connections to Megrahi.

Towards the extremity of the Sky drama, Dr Swire becomes adjacent much convinced of Megrahi's innocence aft learning that tests connected the fragment showed it had a antithetic coating from the MST-13 timers obtained by Libya.

This grounds was examined by the SCCRC earlier it sent Megrahi's condemnation backmost to the entreaty tribunal successful 2020.

It said it was "not persuaded" that it called into question the judges' decision that the fragment came from an MST-13 timer which triggered the bomb.

The play tells viewers that the British authorities utilized nationalist involvement immunity certificates to forestall the disclosure of "secret quality documents allegedly implicating Iran and the PLFP-GC" and that those documents "remain classified to this day".

The certificates were imposed successful 2008 and again successful 2020, erstwhile the UK's overseas caput said their disclosure would harm the UK's planetary relations and harm counter-terrorism liason and quality gathering.

An autarkic researcher from the SCCRC was allowed to presumption the 2 documents successful 2006 and concluded that the prosecution's nonaccomplishment to disclose 1 of them to the defence mightiness person resulted successful a miscarriage of justice.

The substance wasn't dealt with successful tribunal due to the fact that Megrahi abandoned his 2nd appeal.

In 2019, the SCCRC looked astatine them again. This clip it decided 1 of the documents progressive inadmissable hearsay and the 2nd would not person made immoderate quality to the defence, had it known astir it.

The entreaty tribunal accepted the SCCRC's views and the government's statement that disclosure could harm nationalist security.

The Sky play informs its assemblage that immoderate names, scenes and characters person been "changed oregon fictionalised for melodramatic purposes".

There are examples of that throughout, including its portrayal of the time of the verdicts astatine the Lockerbie trial.

Megrahi stood proceedings alongside different Libyan, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, astatine Camp Zeist - a specially convened Scottish tribunal successful the Netherlands.

The programme ramps up the hostility arsenic the judges denote they person recovered Fhimah not blameworthy and Megrahi guilty. This prompts jubilation among astir each of the relatives successful the court's nationalist gallery, with radical leaping to their feet and hugging each other.

A distressed young Libyan pistillate bangs connected a solid partition shouting "That's my dad!" arsenic a bewildered Megrahi is sentenced to beingness successful a Scottish prison.

Played by Colin Firth, Dr Swire faints and falls to the floor.

In existent life, the judges announced the verdict the different mode round. There were gasps and tears but nary outbursts of emotion; the ambiance remained sombre; Megrahi was impassive; no-one banged connected the glass.

In a shocking and unforgettable moment, Dr Swire did faint and had to beryllium carried from the courtroom. The condemnation was announced aboriginal that day.

A radical representing relatives of immoderate of the American victims has criticised the Sky drama.

Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 said it "amplifies falsehoods and unsupported theories; ignores the enactment of hundreds of household members by focusing connected one; disregards the enactment of investigators and prosecutors; and brings to life, successful grotesque detail, the events of 21 December 1988".

The radical continued: "Worst of all, the bid presents a convicted murderer arsenic an guiltless antheral that should beryllium empathized with."

Sky said it understood that determination were "opposing opinions" and that the bid did not effort to archer the definitive mentation of the Lockerbie catastrophe oregon contiguous a conclusion.

"We bash not underestimate the work of telling this communicative sensitively," it added.

"We engaged with victims' families and enactment groups passim accumulation and successful the pb up to the bid launch."

Dr Swire said helium hoped the bid would origin radical to "have different look astatine the transgression probe aft Lockerbie.

"I would similar to cognize the full information astir my daughter's brutal execution on with those of 269 different people."

Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said the proceedings had recovered that the bombing was orchestrated by the Libyan authorities and that aggregate individuals were involved.

"Megrahi was recovered blameworthy and 2 appeals person upheld that conviction," a spokesperson said.

"Scottish prosecutors are moving with their US counterparts to enactment the existent prosecution. The proceedings successful Washington volition bring the facts earlier the nationalist again and the circumstances of what happened tin beryllium afloat understood."

In May, a Libyan antheral successful his 70s volition basal proceedings successful Washington, accused of the demolition of a civilian craft resulting successful death.

Abu Agila Masud has denied gathering the weaponry which destroyed Pan Am 103 successful a Libyan quality cognition involving Megrahi and Fhimah.

Prosecutors successful Washington are apt to pb grounds from the archetypal proceedings on with caller accusation gathered successful the years that followed.

The defence volition beryllium equipped with each the antagonistic arguments from Megrahi's ineligible teams and the SCCRC's doubts implicit the information of his conviction.

In summation to the Sky series, a BBC/Netflix play connected Lockerbie is besides owed to beryllium screened aboriginal this year, focusing connected the associated Scottish/US investigation.

More than 35 years aft the tragedy, the contention surrounding the deadliest panic onslaught successful British past shows nary motion of fading away.