THE son of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has claimed he will travel to Scotland to clear his father’s name posthumously.

Khalid al-Megrahi, 31, insists a fresh appeal is imminent, despite previous failed attempts on behalf of the only man to be convicted of the 1988 atrocity, which killed 270 people.

He plans to move to Scotland from his home in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, together with his family, which now includes a son named after his late father.

“Libya is like a jungle,” he said. “I want to return to Scotland for justice.”
An appeal launched by campaigners who believe Megrahi is innocent collapsed last November. At the time, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, a Scottish Government body, said it could not proceed without input from Megrahi’s family.

It would have been the third appeal against Megrahi’s 2001 conviction.
He dropped the second appeal in 2009, launched while he was in prison in Scotland, because he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer.

Months later, he was controversially allowed to return to Libya on “compassionate grounds”, where he lived for a further three years.
Khalid said both he and his family had fond memories of their time in Scotland.

He spent his formative years in Newton Mearns, Glasgow, and was educated in Scotland while his father was spent eight years in Barlinnie and Greenock jails

“I want to return to Scotland for the appeal,” he said. “I love Scotland. I still keep in touch with some of the Scottish families.

“We are fighting because we believe Scotland will give us justice. The people of the country have always been very friendly towards us.

“We want justice not just for our family but also for the families of the victims.

“My family have been victims too.”

Khalid, Megrahi’s eldest son, has borne the burden of paternal responsibility since his father was convicted in 2001.

His father – who was released by the Scottish Government to rapturous scenes in Tripoli, when crowds waved the Saltire – was an intelligence officer for Libya at the time of the Lockerbie bombing nearly 30 years ago.
But Khalid has distanced his family from the Gaddafi cabal and said he knew “nothing about them”.

After Megrahi was found guilty of planting a bomb on the Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people, he was jailed in Scotland.

Khalid also revealed his toddler son Abdelbaset bore a resemblance to his father.
“I believe if I don’t clear my dad’s name, my son will,” he said.
“We believe one day the truth will get out – God willing.”
As well as eldest son Khalid, Megrahi had another four children – Ghada, Mohammed, Ali, and Motasem.
Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the 1988 disaster and who supports the Megrahi appeal, said: “There is not a scrap of doubt in my mind that if this appeal goes ahead, his conviction will be overturned.
“If that happens the relatives will examine calls for a full inquiry.”