Lockerbie silence 36 years on is labelled 'pretty fishy'

The father of a Lockerbie bombing victim has urged Sir Keir Starmer to publish everything the UK knows about the tragedy.

- ALEXANDER BUTLER

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died on the plane after it exploded over the Scottish town, claimed it was "fishy" so much information had not been released about the disaster.

His plea comes exactly 36 years after the attack that claimed the lives of 270 people four days before Christmas on 21 December 1988.

“Here we are, 36 years down the road, and we know a lot of material has been kept out of public view,” Dr Swire told BBC News. “Why isn’t it in the public interest to release it after 36 years? I think that’s something a lot of people would think is pretty fishy.”

In 2001, former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset alMegrahi was convicted of the murders of 270 people by the introduction of an explosive device onto a civilian aircraft. However, prosecutors have always maintained that Megrahi acted with others in carrying out the attack.

Libyan national Abu Agila Masud, who is alleged to have helped make the bomb, is due to go on trial in the US in May 2025 facing three charges, which he denies.