Lockerbie bomber promises new facts

The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing said "new facts" surrounding the 1988 tragedy which killed 270 people would be announced in the coming months.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi told Reuters news agency that his name had been "exaggerated" and the truth about what happened would emerge soon.

Megrahi had been serving a life sentence when he was released from prison in August 2009 on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from terminal cancer.

He spoke to Reuters from a bed at his home in Tripoli, Libya.

He said: "The facts will become clear one day and hopefully in the near future. In a few months from now, you will see new facts that will be announced.

"The West exaggerated my name. Please leave me alone. I only have a few more days, weeks or months."

Megrahi, who had served as an intelligence agent during the rule of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, denied any role in the human rights abuses committed by the administration.

He added: "All my work was administrative. I never harmed Libyans, I didn't harm anyone. I've never harmed anyone in my life."

Labour's justice spokeswoman Johann Lamont said: "He says he believes the truth about this whole affair will become clear in the near future.

"That is what all the relatives of the victims want to know. They want to know who was responsible for the death of their loved ones.

"The SNP government made a terrible mistake in allowing him out of jail two years ago. Although he was ill, he did not have to be returned to Libya."

Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie on December 21 1988, killing 270 people in the air and on the ground. Megrahi was the only person convicted over the atrocity.

PA