Note from Dr. Jim Swire,
News Release
ISSUED ON BEHALF
OF THE SCOTTISH CRIMINAL CASES REVIEW COMMISSION
ABDELBASET ALI
MOHMED AL MEGRAHI
June 28, 2007
The Scottish
Criminal Cases Review Commission ("the Commission") has today
referred the case of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi ("the
applicant") to the High Court of Justiciary.
As a result of the
Commission's decision the applicant is entitled to a further appeal against his
conviction for the murder of 270 people who died following the bombing of Pam
Am flight 103 over
In accordance with the
Commission's statutory obligations, a statement of the reasons for its decision
has been sent to the High Court, the applicant, his solicitor, and Crown
Office. The Commission has no power under statute to make copies of its
statements of reasons available to the public. However, given the worldwide
interest in this case, and the fact that there has been a great deal of press
and media speculation as to the nature of the grounds of review, the Commission
has decided to provide a fuller news release than normal. Accordingly, a brief
summary of some of the Commission's main findings in the case is given below.
As the full statement of
reasons extends to over 800 pages and is accompanied by a further thirteen
volumes of appendices it is not possible to reflect the detail or complexity of
the issues that have been addressed by the Commission. This news release is
intended therefore merely to assist in an understanding of the nature of the
Commission's main investigations and findings and does not form part of its
decision in the case.
Announcing the decision
today, the Chairman of the Commission the Very Rev. Dr Graham Forbes CBE said:
- "The Commission has a very special role within the Scottish Criminal
Justice system, and has been given extensive statutory powers to enable it to
carry out this role. The function of the Commission is not to decide upon the
guilt or innocence of an applicant. We are neither pro-Crown nor pro-defence. Our role is to examine the grounds of review
identified, either by the applicant, a third party or by our own
investigations, and to decide whether any of the grounds meet our statutory
test. I am satisfied that the Commission has vigorously and independently scrutinised the many grounds of review in this particular
application, and has now produced a lengthy and detailed statement of reasons
which I believe comprehensively deals with all of the issues raised."
Provost Forbes continued:- "It would have been impossible for us to have
completed our investigation without the cooperation of other public and
government bodies both at home and abroad, and we readily acknowledge this
help. I would emphasise however that neither Scottish
Ministers nor the Scottish Executive Justice Department, nor for that matter
any other official body, has at any time sought to influence or interfere in
the Commission's investigations; and all requests for appropriate grant aid to
enable a full and comprehensive investigation and review have been properly
met, without question.
This has been a difficult
case to deal with. The Commission's enquiry team have
worked tirelessly for over three years. Some of what we have discovered may
imply innocence; some of what we have discovered may imply guilt. However, such
matters are for a court to decide. The Commission is of the view, based upon
our lengthy investigations, the new evidence we have found and other evidence
which was not before the trial court that the applicant may have suffered a
miscarriage of justice. The place for that matter to be determined is in the
appeal court, to which we now refer the case."
Gerard Sinclair, the Chief
Executive of the Commission said today: - "This has clearly been a unique
case for the Commission in many ways, not least, in terms of the universal
press and media interest. It has certainly been the longest, the most expensive
and singularly most complex case we have had to investigate and review. I am
pleased that after a full and thorough investigation we are now able to produce
our statement of reasons. It has been difficult at times to ignore, and to
refrain from commenting upon, the almost constant speculation regarding this
review, much of which I have to say has been either inaccurate or simply
incorrect. I hope however that the comprehensive statement of reasons which the
Commission has now produced for the parties will answer the many questions
which have been raised over the last 3 years. The Commission's involvement in
the case is now at an end. It is a matter entirely for those representing the
Crown and the defence at any future appeal to decide whether they wish to rely upon the
conclusions reached by the Commission, or develop arguments of their
own. Thereafter, it will be for the appeal court to decide whether there has
been a miscarriage of justice in this case."
1. 0 Background
1.1 On 31
January 2001, following a trial at the High Court of Justiciary
sitting in the Netherlands ("the trial court"), the applicant, a
Libyan national, was convicted by three Scottish judges of murdering those who
died as a result of the bombing of PA103. A co-accused, Al Amin
Khalifa Fhimah, also a
Libyan, was found not guilty. The applicant's appeal against conviction was
rejected by the High Court on
2.0 The Review
2.1 The applicant applied to the Commission for a review of his
conviction on
2.2 Throughout 2004 the firm
of solicitors representing the applicant at that time lodged with the
Commission a further five sets of submissions, the contents of which
significantly broadened the scope of the initial application. The Commission
also received and considered numerous submissions from other parties.
2.3 Correspondence was also
received from the relatives of some of the victims who enquired mainly as to
progress in the investigation.
2.4 During its investigation
of the case the Commission had access to a wide range of materials including
the following:
* the
transcript of the evidence and submissions at trial;
* the Crown and defence productions at trial;
* all witness statements obtained by the police during its investigation
including an electronic database of over 15,000 such statements;
* copies of all witness
statements obtained by the Crown in preparation for the trial;
* the correspondence files prepared by the firm of solicitors which acted for
the applicant at trial and in his appeal against conviction, and copies of all
witness statements obtained by them from witnesses based in the United Kingdom;
* an
electronic database consisting of all information held on the case by the firm
of solicitors which acted for co-accused at trial.
2.5 As the custodians of much
of the evidence in the case, Dumfries & Galloway Police were the
Commission's principal source of additional information, receiving over 200
separate written requests for information from the Commission. In addition
numerous visits were made to
2.6 The Commission's further
enquiries were wide-ranging and took place in the
2.7 As the Commission's
statutory powers do not extend beyond
2.8 The Commission continued
to interview witnesses and examine productions during
2006 and 2007, and concluded its investigations in April 2007. Between the
initial submissions and the additional submissions received during the course
of the review, the Commission identified a total of 48 principal grounds for
consideration and review by the Commission. In addition, as a result of our own
investigations the Commission identified some further potential grounds of
review. Many of the original grounds were the subject of numerous separate
submissions and allegations submitted over many hundreds of pages. In relation
to 45 of the original 48 grounds identified, the Commission has concluded that
it does not believe that a miscarriage of justice has occurred. Of the
remaining grounds, some of which resulted from the Commission's own
investigations, the Commission has identified 6 grounds where it believes that
a miscarriage of justice may have occurred and that it is in the interests of
justice to refer the matter to the court of appeal.
3.0 The evidence at trial
3.1 In order to
understand the Commission's findings in the case it is helpful to summarise the evidence on which the applicant's conviction
is based.
3.2 The trial court found
that the bomb which destroyed PA103 was contained within a Toshiba RT-SF16
radio cassette player which had been placed inside a brown hardshell
Samsonite suitcase (known as "the primary
suitcase"). Also established to have been inside the primary suitcase were
twelve items of clothing and an umbrella, a number of which were traced to a
shop called Mary's House in Sliema, Malta. When
interviewed by the police, the proprietor of Mary's House, Anthony Gauci, recalled selling many of the items to a man he
described as Libyan.
3.3 It was established that
the bomb had been triggered by a digital timer known as an MST-13 which was
manufactured by a firm based in
3.4 The trial court also
found that the primary suitcase had been placed on board Air
3.5 The evidence relied upon
by the trial court to convict the applicant was as follows:
* Anthony Gauci's evidence that the purchaser of the items resembled
the applicant "a lot".
* Evidence from
various sources that Mr Gauci
sold the items on
* Evidence that on 20-21
December 1988 the applicant was in Malta travelling
on a "coded" passport (i.e. a passport in a false name issued by the
Libyan passport authority); and that on 21 December 1988 he was at Luqa airport at a time when baggage for flight KM180 was
being checked in.
* Evidence that in 1985 the
applicant was a member of the Libyan intelligence service ("JSO",
later named "ESO") and until January 1987 was head of the airline
security section of that organisation.
* Evidence of the applicant's
association with Mr Bollier
and with various members of the JSO and Libyan military who purchased MST-13
timers from him.
4.0 Main grounds that were
rejected by the Commission
4.1 The
following is a summary of some of the Commission's main findings on the grounds
of review which were not accepted by the Commission, and accordingly do not
form part of the grounds of referral.
* In the initial application
to the Commission, reference was made to a former police officer who, it was
alleged, worked at a senior level in the police investigation and could provide
"sensitive" information about the case. A number of the allegations made
on behalf of the applicant were based on information apparently provided by
this witness. The true identity of the witness was not disclosed in the
application; instead, a pseudonym, "the Golfer", was used. The
Commission's enquiry team interviewed the Golfer, a former detective sergeant,
on three separate occasions during which he made a number of allegations
concerning the conduct of the police investigation. As a result of its
enquiries the Commission is satisfied that the Golfer was involved in the police
investigation into the bombing of PA103. However, there was a vast array of
inconsistencies and contradictions between, and sometimes within, his
statements to the Commission. There were also inconsistencies between what he
told the Commission and what the submissions alleged he had told the
applicant's former legal representatives. In addition the Commission considered
some of his allegations to be implausible when considered alongside other
evidence in the case, and unsupported or refuted when viewed in the context of
the Commission's other findings (see below). In light of this the Commission
has serious misgivings as to the credibility and reliability of this witness
and was not prepared to accept his allegations.
* Many of the initial and
additional submissions received on behalf of the applicant sought to challenge
the origin of various items which the trial court accepted were within the
primary suitcase. The items in question consisted of a Slalom-make shirt, a
pair of Yorkie-make trousers, a babygro
and the instruction manual relating to the Toshiba radio cassette player used
to conceal the explosive device. To some extent the submissions were based upon
allegations said to have been made by the Golfer. Underlying each of them was a
suspicion about the conduct of the investigating authorities who, it was
alleged, had manipulated, altered or fabricated statements, productions and
other records in order to make out a case against the applicant. The Commission
conducted extensive investigations into each of the allegations and is
satisfied there is no proper basis for any of them. The allegations were
further undermined by records recovered by the Commission from the Forensic
Explosives Laboratory.
* The additional submissions
also sought to cast doubt on the origin of a fragment of circuit board
recovered by forensic scientists which the trial court accepted had been part
of the MST-13 timer that triggered the bomb. Underlying those submissions was
the allegation that evidence of the timer fragment had been fabricated in order
to implicate
* Various materials were
submitted to the Commission in connection with the evidence given at trial by Mr Allen Feraday, one of the
forensic scientists involved in the case. It was pointed out that the Court of
Appeal in
* A substantial number of
allegations were made to the Commission regarding the manner in which the
applicant was represented by the legal advisers who acted for him at his trial
and his appeal against conviction. The allegations were wide-ranging and
covered failures to prepare and present the applicant's defence
and to advance legal argument on his behalf. As part of its investigations
regarding these claims the Commission conducted lengthy interviews with several
members of the applicant's former defence team.
However, applying the tests which have been set down by the High Court in
previous cases dealing with such matters, the Commission did not consider the
allegations to be well-founded.
* The Commission also
investigated claims that a former police officer who was involved in searches
of the area around Lockerbie after the crash had found a "CIA badge"
but had been told by colleagues that such items were not to be recorded as
evidence. As part of its enquiries into this allegation the Commission
interviewed the officer concerned. It also took statements from another officer
who it was alleged had been present when the badge was found,
and from the senior investigating officer at the time. Both of these witnesses
disputed the officer's claims and the Commission's other enquiries established
nothing that might support the claims. Accordingly the Commission was not
prepared to accept the officer's allegations.
* It was also alleged in the
submissions that items found at the scene of the crash had been "spirited
away" and that there had been "unofficial CIA involvement" in
the recovery and examination of these. One such item was a suitcase belonging
to one of the passengers on PA103, Major Charles McKee. Despite extensive
enquiries the Commission found no evidence to suggest that anyone other than
Scottish police officers came into contact with Major McKee's suitcase at the
scene of the crash. The Commission also found no evidence to support the
allegation that a hole had been cut in Major McKee's suitcase in order to gain
access to its contents.
* Since the time of the
bombing numerous allegations have circulated concerning the possible
involvement of Khaled Jaafar,
a passenger on PA103 who boarded PA103A at
5.0 Grounds of referral
5.1 The following is a brief summary of some of the Commission's
main findings on the grounds of review which formed the basis of the grounds of
referral:
* A number of the submissions
made on behalf of the applicant challenged the reasonableness of the trial
court's verdict, based on the legal test contained in section 106(3)(b) of the Criminal Procedure (
* New evidence not heard at
the trial concerned the date on which the Christmas lights were illuminated in
the area of Sliema in which Mary's House is situated.
In the Commission's view, taken together with Mr Gauci's evidence at trial and the contents of his police
statements, this additional evidence indicates that the purchase of the items
took place prior to
* Additional evidence, not made available to the defence,
which indicates that four days prior to the identification parade at which Mr Gauci picked out the
applicant, he saw a photograph of the applicant in a magazine article linking
him to the bombing. In the Commission's view evidence of Mr
Gauci's exposure to this photograph in such close
proximity to the parade undermines the reliability of his identification of the
applicant at that time and at the trial itself.
* Other evidence, not made
available to the defence, which the Commission
believes may further undermine Mr Gauci's
identification of the applicant as the purchaser and the trial court's finding
as to the date of purchase.
6.0 Interests of justice test
6.1 Before
referring a case to the High Court the Commission must be satisfied not only
that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred but also that it is in the
interests of justice that a reference be made.
6.2 In determining whether it
was in the interests of justice to refer the case the Commission considered a
range of matters. These included the various statements which the applicant
gave to his legal representatives before the trial in which he set out his
position in respect of the allegations against him. It also included the
statements which the applicant gave to the Commission. Although there were a
number of inconsistencies and contradictions in these accounts, the Commission
did not consider the contents of these statements justified the refusal of the
case in the interests of justice.
6.3 The Commission also took
into account a letter submitted by
6.4 Accordingly, the
Commission has now referred the case of the applicant to the High Court of Justiciary.
7.0 Media Speculation over
the last 3 years
7.1 The Commission
has refrained from commenting publicly upon the many articles and stories which
have appeared in the press and media during the time of its review of this
case. It is fair to say however that much of the information that has been
written about the Commission's investigations has been either inaccurate or
incorrect. This can only have been upsetting to many
of the parties involved in this matter, including the applicant, witnesses at
the trial and the families of the victims.
7.2 As recently as within the
last week there has been a great deal of media speculation about what is
contained within the Commission's statement of reasons, and the reasons for a
referral. The Commission is satisfied that the confidentiality of both its
enquiries, and the content of its statement of reasons have remained entirely
secure during the whole of the review period, and that there has been no
leakage of information from within the organisation.
Many of the press reports published during the review have simply involved a
repetition of certain of the original defence
submissions received by the Commission at the beginning of its review, and
which have formed the basis of a large part of the Commission's investigation.
As indicated in this release, the Commission has concluded after full and
proper investigation that these submissions are unsubstantiated and without
merit. In particular the Commission has found no basis for concluding that
evidence in the case was fabricated by the police, the Crown, forensic
scientists or any other representatives of official bodies or government
agencies.
7.3 The Commission hopes
that, by providing additional information in its short summary of some of the
grounds of review and of the conclusions reached, this will end some of these
inaccurate reports. The statement of reasons obviously deals with all of these
matters in substantially greater detail.
Other information
8.0 The total cost of reviewing the case to date has been
#1,108,536. The majority of costs have been in relation to office accommodation,
investigation costs including travel, staff salaries and fees of Board members.
The breakdown of cost on an annual basis is as follows:
Year
Cost
2003-04
#41,000
2004-05
#274,892
2005-06
#361,562
2006-07
#369,785
2007-08 (Anticipated)
#61,297
Total
#1,108,536
Please note: no further
comment will be made by the Commission on the case.
NOTES FOR
EDITORS
When issuing a press release the
Commission normally attaches a brief background note on the work of the
Commission for the benefit of editors. As this case is likely to attract
additional media interest beyond the Scottish media, the Commission has
prepared this expanded note, which is provided for your assistance. In addition
to the news release, although the Commission will not be giving any interviews
regarding its decision, stock video footage of the Commissions' offices will be
available from BBC Scotland at no cost by contacting the Planning Department,
telephone 0141 338 2760, email scottish.planning@bbc.co.uk
You may also wish to note that
the Commission's annual report for the year 2006/07 will be published and
available on the Commission's website from the beginning of July 2007.
9.0 The Commission
9.1 Background
The Commission is an
independent, public body which was established in 1999 by section 194A of the
Criminal Procedure (
Under section 194B of the
1995 Act, the Commission has the power to refer to the High Court of Justiciary any conviction or sentence passed on a person,
whether or not an appeal against the conviction or sentence has been heard and
determined previously. The consequence of a reference is that the High Court
hears an appeal in the case.
Section 194C of the Act
provides the statutory test that the Commission must apply in reviewing a case.
This test, which is different from the test applied by the CCRC in
(a) a
miscarriage of justice may have occurred; and
(b) it is in the interests of justice that a reference should be made.
N.B. The Commission do not assess
whether a conviction is "unsafe", as this is an English test.
Details of the
tests, and how they may be applied, can be found on the Commission's website, www.sccrc.org.uk.
The Commission
has a statutory obligation to provide statements of reasons for its decisions.
In referral cases the statement of reasons is sent to the High Court, the
applicant concerned (and his representatives, if any) and Crown Office. In
cases in which the Commission decides not to refer a case, its statement of
reasons is sent only to the applicant and any representatives.
A decision by the Commission
to refer a case to the High Court does not guarantee the success of the
subsequent appeal. A reference is simply an indication to the court that a
miscarriage of justice may have occurred and that it is in the interests of
justice for the court to consider the case. Once a decision is made by the
Commission to refer a case its role in the matter is at an end and it is the
responsibility of the applicant or his legal representatives to decide upon and
formulate the grounds of appeal and thereafter to present the appeal.
In order to assist in its
investigation of cases the Commission has the power to apply for an order from
the High Court for the production of documents held by a person or public body.
In addition, where a witness refuses to provide a statement the Commission may
apply to a sheriff for a warrant compelling that person to do so. During
2006-07 the Commission did not require to use either of these powers.
The Commission operates under
statutory non-disclosure provisions whereby, subject to certain statutory
exceptions, it is a criminal offence for any Member of the Board or employee to
disclose information obtained by the Commission in the exercise of any of its functions.
The Commission's governing
legislation is posted on its website, www.sccrc.org.uk.
9.2 The Review
Process
The Board of the Commission is
responsible for deciding whether or not cases should be referred to the High
Court. All applications received by the Commission are initially considered by
the Chief Executive before a recommendation is made to the Board on whether or
not to accept, reject or continue the case for further information.
If accepted for full review,
the case is allocated to one or more Legal Officers and the investigation
process commences in accordance with the Commission's case handling procedures.
These procedures are set out in full on the Commission's website, www.sccrc.org.uk.
The main focus of reviews
carried out by the Commission is the grounds presented by the applicant,
although the Commission may investigate cases more widely if it considers this
appropriate.
If the Commission decides not
to refer a case to the High Court, an interim statement of reasons will be
issued to the applicant and his representatives. The applicant is then given a
period of 21 days in which to submit any further representations to the
Commission. Any requests to extend this period will be considered by the Board
of the Commission. If no further representations are submitted, a letter will
be issued after the 21 day period has expired stating that the Commission has
decided finally not to refer the case.
If further representations
are submitted these are considered by the Commission which may decide to carry
out further enquiries. If the Board of the Commission is of the view that no
further issues have been raised which cause it to believe that a miscarriage of
justice may have occurred then a supplementary statement of reasons is issued.
This details any additional enquiries undertaken since the issue of the interim
statement of reasons and confirms the decision not to refer the case to the
High Court.
Where the Board of the
Commission considers that the further representations suggest that a
miscarriage of justice may have occurred, it may reverse its interim decision
and refer the case to the High Court.
10.0 Case Statistics
10.1 Summary
As at
1. 10.2 High Court Referrals
2.
3. As at
4. 11.0 Board Members
The Board of the Commission
currently operates with eight Members, one of whom is the Chair, all of whom
are appointed by Royal Warrant on the advice of Scottish Ministers. Board
Member appointments are made in line with the Code of Practice issued by the
Commissioner for Public Appointments in
The Chair of the Commission
is the Very Reverend Graham Forbes CBE, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral,
During 2006-07, a further 3
new Board Members were appointed in order to replace three outgoing Board
Members in 2007-08. Professor Brian Caddy, Mr Stewart
Campbell and Mr Gerard McClay
will all take up their appointments from
12.0 Staff
The Commission's full time staff
complement consists of a chief executive (Mr Gerard
Sinclair), a director of administration (Mr Chris Reddick), a senior legal officer (Mr
Robin Johnston), 8 legal officers and 3 administrative support staff. Staffing
levels are monitored closely in line with case volumes on an ongoing basis.
For any general information
about the Commission please contact
Mr Chris Reddick, Director of Administration,
SCCRC, 5th Floor Portland House, 17 Renfield Street,
Glasgow, Tel: 0141 270 7030, e-mail: creddick@sccrc.org.uk or visit the
Commission's website at www.sccrc.org.uk
John T. Logue
Head of Division
Business and Policy Development Division
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
Tel: 0131 247 2705 (Direct)
CO Ext: 2515
Fax: 0131 247 2650
Email: john.logue@copfs.gsi.gov.uk
_____________________________________________
From:
Logue, John (Head of Business & Policy
Development Division) On Behalf Of Logue, JohnT
Sent: 28 June 2007 12:46
To: Ann Mann; Barry Flick; Colyn Gordon;
Elaine Beer; Jean Berkley (jeanbkly@aol.com); Jim Swire
(jim@swirefamily.net); John and Jean Bacciochi; John
Mosey; Joseph Murphy; Margaret Evans; Martin and Rita Cadman; Michael Tager; Neil Bouckley; Pamela Dix;
Roy and Linda Burman; Tanya Bird
Subject: Lockerbie - SCCRC Decision
All
SCCRC Decision
The SCCRC has now issued its
decision and I am able to confirm that Megrahi’s
conviction is being referred on appeal to the High Court of Justiciary
in
We have today been given by
the SCCRC a very lengthy document which sets out the basis on which the
decision has been taken. As with all decisions of the SCCRC, this
detailed document will not be made public although the
SCCRC has published a summary of its findings on its web site (www.sccrc.org.uk). I will email you a
copy of the publicly available summary as soon as possible.
The Commission's public
summary makes it clear that it was asked to consider a wide range of issue and
a number of them have been dismissed. The statement indicates that the main
findings on the grounds of review which formed the basis of the grounds of
referral relate to the date on which the trial court held that Megrahi had bought the clothing in
You will also see in the
public statement comments by the Commission about recent media speculation in
particular concerning defence submissions which have
formed the basis of a large part of the Commission's investigation. As
indicated in its release, “the Commission has concluded after full and proper
investigation that these submissions are unsubstantiated and without merit. In
particular the Commission has found no basis for concluding that evidence in
the case was fabricated by the police, the Crown, forensic scientists or any
other representatives of official bodies or government agencies".
This is the first time that
we have been given any information about the basis of Megrahi’s
application, the SCCRC’s decision and the reasons for
this decision. It will obviously take some time for us fully to consider
this material and there will be real limitations on what we can say with regard
to the referral or indeed the material in the summary other than in
court. In the meantime, however, please feel free to contact me if you have
any questions about the decision or the publicly available summary and I will
do my best to answer your questions, although you will appreciate that I cannot
discuss the content of the full report and am unlikely to be able to offer
detailed comment on the summary.
Next Steps
We now expect Megrahi’s legal team to lodge a note of appeal which will
set out the grounds of appeal, or precise basis on which his lawyers assert
that a miscarriage of justice has occurred.
The procedure for the appeal
is for practical purposes the same as for his earlier appeal in 2001. The
Crown will receive a copy of the note of appeal and prepare its own
arguments. The Court may fix procedural hearings before any full hearing
of the appeal and may order or request the submission of detailed written
arguments by the parties: these are matters for the Court. It is open to
the Court to hear additional evidence, and if it does decide to do so, to allow
the Crown to present additional evidence in rebuttal. The High Court,
sitting as an appeal court, must be satisfied that a miscarriage of justice has
occurred before it can quash the conviction.
The decision of the SCCRC
today does not, in itself, affect Megrahi’s
conviction and does not mean that a miscarriage of justice has occurred, only that the SCCRC has concluded that a miscarriage of
justice may have occurred and that it
considers that it is in the interests of justice that the case should be referred back to the High Court. Referral by the SCCRC is the route
back to the
Indeed, unlike in some other
countries, where convicted persons may petition the courts to allow further
appeals, in Scotland the SCCRC is the only route back to the Appeal Court for
someone who has already had their final appeal against conviction refused.
It is also important to bear
in mind that the SCCRC’s decision is not an
indication of the strength of the appellant’s case in the appeal which will now
follow – appeals in other cases referred by the SCCRC have been refused by the
High Court and even abandoned by appellants.
Our Approach
You might be interested to
read a statement which has today been issued by the Lord Advocate and I am
enclosing a copy with this note. It makes clear that we are now
establishing a team to deal with the appeal and a new set of Crown Counsel has
been appointed.
<< File:
Statement by LA 070628.pdf >>
It is some time since the
original trial and appeal so I thought it would be helpful to give you a little
bit more detail about this development.
The Lord Advocate who dealt
with the original trial and appeal, Lord Boyd QC, stepped down from the post in
2006, after almost 10 years as Solicitor General and Lord Advocate, to
concentrate on his role as a legislator in the House of Lords (the Upper House
in the UK Parliament) and pursue other interests and he has recently returned
to private practice as a solicitor in Edinburgh and London, specialising
in public or government law.
He has been succeeded as Lord
Advocate by the Rt Hon Elish
Angiolini QC, who had been Solicitor General since
2001. Following the recent Scottish Parliamentary election Elish Angiolini was confirmed in
her post by the new Scottish Government and Frank Mulholland
QC has been appointed as Solicitor General. Until their appointment to
these posts in the Scottish Government, both were experienced Procurators
Fiscal and colleagues of Norman McFadyen, Jim
Brisbane, John Dunn and myself. Although they
have not previously been involved in this case, they are familiar with it and
have been involved in our preparations for today’s decision.
The Lord Advocate has
appointed Ronald
As some of you may be aware, Alastair Campbell QC and Alan Turnbull QC have, since the
last appeal, been appointed as High Court judges (with the judicial titles of
Lord Bracadale and Lord Turnbull).
The team which will support
them in the preparation for the appeal on a day to day basis will be led by
Lindsey Miller, an experienced Procurator Fiscal who was involved in preparing
the evidence relating to
In addition to our own
preparations, we have remained in close contact with colleagues in
Detective Chief Inspector
Michael Dalgleish, who was part of the police team
for the original trial and appeal, is now the Senior Investigating Officer for
the Lockerbie case in Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and we will be working
with him and Special Agent Michael O’Callaghan in the FBI, as well as
colleagues in the Department of Justice, as we prepare for the appeal.
The Appeal
It is too early to provide
you with detailed information about the appeal. We will keep you up to
date, as always, but we expect at this stage that the appeal will take place at
the High Court in Edinburgh or Glasgow. It is difficult to predict when
it will be heard although it could be 2008 before the full hearing takes place.
Conclusion
I know that today’s decision
will be another difficult step for you in a long journey and a reminder of your
loss. Our thoughts are with all of the families at this stage.
As always, please do not
hesitate to contact me by email at johnt.logue@copfs.gsi.gov.uk or by phone on +44 131 247
2705 if you have any questions.
With best wishes,
John
John T. Logue
Head of Division
Business and Policy Development Division
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
Tel: 0131 247 2705 (Direct)
CO Ext: 2515
Fax: 0131 247 2650
Email: john.logue@copfs.gsi.gov.uk
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