I WELCOME Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill's assurance to the Holyrood Parliament that the Scottish Government is anxious to publish in full the report of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) into the Camp Zeist trial of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi and its concerns about the safeness of his conviction ("Let us see reasons for appeal on Megrahi conviction", The Herald, March 1).
It seems ridiculous that, for this to happen, Mr MacAskill has to plead with the UK Justice Minister Kenneth Clark to grant an exemption from the Data Protection Act, because this is deemed to be a reserved matter. The horrific destruction of PanAm flight 103 and the murder of 270 innocent people took place over Scottish soil, the investigation was carried out by Scottish police forces, and the criminal trial took place in a Scottish court before Scottish judges. As a former barrister himself, Mr Clark should seek to uphold the law and not shelter behind legislation to prevent vital evidence being published.
If there have been underhand deals made by UK Foreign Office, failure by the Metropolitan Police to disclose details of their investigation into a serious break-in at Heathrow, bribery of witnesses by US security departments, or flawed forensic evidence, these matters need to be exposed, not covered up.
However, the most important part of Mr MacAskill's Holyrood statement was his assertion that there is a mechanism by which Megrahi's abandoned second appeal could be revived, even posthumously. Mr MacAskill was adamant that either SCCRC or Megrahi's family were entitled to ask the High Court to resurrect the appeal, and that the court has the power to do so.
As far as I know, this is the first time this has been officially stated. In view of recent revelations and widespread public concern, it is difficult to believe that the High Court would deny such a request. The revived appeal would allow the new evidence, and also the critical information previously withheld from the defence, to be given in open court and tested under oath.
It is in the public interest that all information about the case is now fully disclosed, to allow justice to be done and to be seen to be done.
Iain A D Mann,
7 Kelvin Court,
Glasgow.
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