Traces of materials used to make Semtex were found on metal recovered from the baggage container of doomed PanAm Flight 103, a pioneer in the field of explosives analysis told the Lockerbie trial yesterday.
Dr John Douse was giving evidence at the specially-convened Scottish court at Camp Zeist, in the Netherlands, where two Libyans stand accused of bombing the New York-bound Boeing 747.
The 47-year-old, who worked in the Metropolitan Police's forensic laboratory, was giving evidence on the fourteenth day of the trial.
He told the court in 1988 he went to work at the Royal Armaments Research and Development Establishment, at Fort Halstead, in Kent, where he was asked to examine two sections of the plane. Questioned by prosecuting counsel Alistair Campbell QC, he told how swabs were taken from two pieces of wreckage with a special solution in order to remove any potential traces of explosives.
Further procedures were followed before the samples underwent a process known as Capillary Gas Chromotography, a technique first ''successfully applied'' by the doctor in that field. Dr Douse told the court how the possible presence of PETN and RDX were detected during the test from fragments of the baggage container. When asked whether he was aware that both could be used in the manufacture of Semtex, the doctor replied: ''Yes.''
Mr Robert Griswold, 53, of Colorado, USA, earlier identified shattered fragments from a suitcase gathered in the wake of the disaster as being of a Samsonite brand. He told the hearing how he had worked at the company's Denver plant as a manufacturing analyst for 33 years before retiring in January. The court heard how a bolt mechanism recovered from the debris revealed the case as being from the Silhouette 4000 range while a small hole showed it was 26in in size.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, 48, and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, 44, deny three alternative charges of conspiracy to murder, murder and a breach of the 1982 Aviation Security Act.
They have lodged special defences of incrimination blaming, among others, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLPGC), for the atrocity.
The defendants are alleged to have caused a suitcase containing an umbrella, clothing and an improvised explosive device concealed within a radio cassette recorder to be placed on board the doomed plane.
All 259 passengers aboard Pan Am Flight 103 perished when the aircraft exploded on the evening of December 21, 1988, and 11 Lockerbie residents were killed after the plane plunged to the ground.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article