The aircraft wreckage from the Lockerbie bombing has been moved to Dumfries and Galloway.
I would question the probity of spending so much taxpayers' money on moving material which can add so little to the understanding of the case.
As far as I am concerned the wreckage should be recycled and the money put towards an independent inquiry into the Crown's previous performance. Having it in Scotland, not England, might encourage the realisation that it is up to Scotland to sort out the mess it has made. We must not lose sight of the fact that the bomb which caused this terrible disaster flew in over our border after being loaded at Heathrow.
It may be that this is simply a publicity exercise by the Crown Office to distract attention from the fact it will now have to answer for what I believe is its disastrous mismanagement of the inquiry and trial in the Lockerbie case.
The Justice for Megrahi group has lodged allegations of criminality against bodies and individuals involved in the Lockerbie inquiry and trial. The Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has passed the allegations to the Crown Office and through them to the Dumfries and Galloway police, with the result that Patrick Shearer, former Chief Constable of that force, now finds himself in charge of investigating them.
I have met Mr Shearer and been impressed by his integrity and impartiality. So great are the implications of these allegations for the future of Scottish criminal justice that we should all wish Mr Shearer Godspeed in investigating this ancient and tangled case. I am encouraged to believe he is a man who will seek the truth, which is the core of what we UK relatives of the dead seek.
Dr Jim Swire,
Rowans Corner, Calf Lane, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.
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