UK wants Lockerbie answers from ex-minister

2011-03-31 18:03

London - Scottish prosecutors said on Thursday they had requested an interview with former Libyan foreign minister Musa Kusa over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, following his apparent defection to Britain.

"We have notified the foreign and commonwealth office that the Scottish prosecuting and investigating authorities wish to interview Mr Kusa in connection with the Lockerbie bombing," a Crown Office spokesperson said.

"The investigation into the Lockerbie bombing remains open and we will pursue all relevant lines of inquiry."

The father of a victim of the Lockerbie bombing said Kusa may be able to shed light on the 1988 attack.

Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was among 270 people killed when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, welcomed the arrival of former Libyan foreign minister Musa Kusa in Britain late on Wednesday.

Inner circle

"Kusa was at the centre of [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi's inner circle. This is a guy who knows everything," Swire said.

"I think this is a fantastic day for those who seek the truth about Lockerbie. He could tell us everything the Gaddafi regime knows."

Swire added: "Today those relatives who seek the truth about why their families were murdered should be rejoicing."

Libyan agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was convicted of the attack in 2001 but was released from a Scottish jail in August 2009 on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from terminal cancer.

Many of the victims' families have been calling for an independent investigation into the atrocity to fill the gaps left by Megrahi's trial about why he did it and who ordered the bombing.

Former Libyan justice minister Mustapha Abdel Jalil told Swedish daily Expressen in February that Gaddafi had personally ordered the attack.

"If Libya was involved in Lockerbie, he [Kusa] can tell us how they carried out the atrocity and why," Swire said.

- AFP