Paper reports new evidence in Lockerbie case

New evidence has emerged that could throw doubt on the conviction of the man found guilty for his part in the Lockerbie bomb …

New evidence has emerged that could throw doubt on the conviction of the man found guilty for his part in the Lockerbie bomb blast.

A Heathrow Airport security guard said Pan Am's baggage area was broken into 17 hours before Flight 103 took off for New York.

A report in the Mirrornewspaper says Mr Ray Manly reported the break-in at the time and was interviewed by anti-terrorist officers the following month.

But his evidence was lost, the newspaper said, and formed no part of the trial in a Scottish court sitting in Camp Zeist, Holland.

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Libyan Mr Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was jailed for a minimum of 20 years in January. Fellow Libyan Mr Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was acquitted.

As Flight 103 passed over Lockerbie in December 1988 it was ripped apart by a bomb, killing all 259 passengers and crew, as well as 11 Lockerbie residents.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed that Al Megrahi placed the bomb on a flight from Malta to Frankfurt, where it was then "interlined" on to a flight to Heathrow before being loaded on to Flight 103.

But the defence said it was more likely the bomb was introduced at Heathrow.

PA