I GREATLY admire Dr Jim Swire's tenacity in his 20-year battle with politicians and legal authorities to get to the truth of the Lockerbie bombing atrocity (Letters, April 26).
The long-running Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi case has already done serious damage to the worldwide reputation of Scots law and the Scottish justice system, of which generations of Scots have been rightly proud in the past but now have cause to feel concerned and ashamed.
The Scottish Government, the Crown Office and the Scottish legal establishment continue to do everything possible to prevent the case being reopened. If they wanted to I am sure a way could be found and their refusal leads one to the conclusion that they are afraid of the probable outcome of another appeal. The report of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Board stated clearly that there are several strong grounds for a further appeal. Various well-researched books on Lockerbie have raised very serious concerns about the withholding of vital evidence from the defence at the original Camp Zeist trial, the US Justice Department's alleged bribery of key prosecution witness and the refusal of both the British and American governments to release relevant documents even to an appeal court sitting in camera.
Justice must always be seen to be done, and that has not happened in this case.
Iain A D Mann,
7 Kelvin Court,
Glasgow.
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