Police hunt eight 'high level' Lockerbie accomplices

The news comes as it emerged potential new lines of inquiry are being considered in the ongoing investigation into the atrocity.

Mr Henderson told the paper: "We submitted eight other names of people that we wished to interview that were strong suspects. Unfortunately, we never got that opportunity.

"I am delighted they are making moves to see if there is anything further, because no matter what anybody says, we did not ever say it was just Megrahi we were after. We never said that.

"We were after his bosses."

It is reported the "high level" suspects were all male and have never been ruled out of the investigation into the explosion onboard Pan Am Flight 103 which killed 270 on December 21 1988.

Mr Shearer said a further review of the case was under way in respect “of others who acted with him in the murder of 270 people”. In a statement, the chief constable said the force would “pursue every possible lead”.

The Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution service, emphasised that the desktop review of evidence did not mean re-opening the case against Megrahi.

The “cold case” review was part of a regular exercise carried out into the bombing in December 1988. It includes a fresh look at evidence and the possible application of any new forensic techniques to evidence already gathered.

The move to review the evidence came after Megrahi, the only person convicted of the atrocity, was returned to Libya. The decision was originally relayed to relatives in September.

A Crown Office spokesperson said: “There is no question of re-opening the case against Megrahi. The open case concerns only the involvement of others with Megrahi in the murder of 270 people and the Crown will continue to pursue such lines of inquiry that become available.

“The trial court accepted the Crown’s position that Mr Megrahi acted in furtherance of the Libyan intelligence

services and did not act alone. The Crown stood ready, willing and able to support his conviction throughout the appeal process which he abandoned.”

Former FBI agent Richard Marquise, who was involved in the original investigation, said the review did not constitute “a new initiative”.

He said: “The case has been pending for the last 21 years and if there is an opportunity to get additional evidence to bring additional people into the frame, to put them in the dock -- I know that was something both the FBI and police in Scotland have been looking at for the past 20 years.

“I’m just not aware there is anything brand new, other than there might be some additional forensics tests that can be conducted on some of the evidence, but I certainly wish them well and hope it works to bring additional people into the frame.”

Mr Marquise added: “Mr Megrahi did not do this alone, it was ordered from above. There probably were people who worked with him, people who were involved in the bombing effort itself.

“We always hoped that those people, their names would become clearer and they could be identified and eventually prosecuted.”

Yesterday the government of Westminster and Holyrood passed the parcel of responsibility for an investigation.

Pam Dix, a member of UK Families Flight 103 whose brother Peter died in the explosion, said she was optimistic that all the details would come to light.

“It would be very interesting whether further inquiries will relate to Libya or elsewhere, and if Tripoli cooperates,” she said. “Expectations around Megrahi’s appeal were really quite high but hopes were profoundly dashed when the appeal was abandoned. The situation is unresolved and it is unfinished business.”

She added: “We do not know what the motivation for the bombing was, who ordered it, why was it carried out, or how was it allowed to happen with the amount of information that the intelligence services had concerning threats against American aviation.