Lockerbie appeal told key witness not called

Lawyers for the Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing argued yesterday that vital trial evidence was misinterpreted and a key witness was never called.

A year after Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 to New York in 1988, his legal team challenged central elements of the judges' findings.

The lawyers disputed evidence of a key prosecution witness, a Maltese shopkeeper who identified Megrahi. They also challenged records from Frankfurt airport used to prove that the bomb originated in Malta, transited through Frankfurt, and was then loaded on to Pan Am 103 at Heathrow.

If permitted by the appeal judges, the defence team will also call a fresh witness, Raymond Manly, who claimed after the trial that there was a security breach at terminal three, Heathrow, which could have explained how the bomb that blew up the jet was planted.

Yesterday's hearing made legal history, being the first British trial to be televised, although proceedings were curtailed because of a computer error in the transcription service. As the appeal began, Megrahi's wife, brother-in-law and five children unfolded banners outside the specially constructed Scottish court at a former US air force base in the Netherlands, proclaiming his innocence. A banner produced by Megrahi's brother-in-law, Mohamed Megdamy, read: "We sympathise with the families of the victims and feel their pain. We pray for justice to reveal the truth."

Inside, they greeted Megrahi, who waved from behind the bullet-proof glass that separated him from the half-empty public gallery. His 18-year-old daughter, Ghada, said she was sure of her father's innocence.

Unless the conviction is quashed Megrahi, 49, will not be eligible for parole for nearly 20 years. At the trial last year the man accused of being his accomplice, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted.

Relatives of the victims said they would press for an inquiry into claims that intelligence and aviation security warnings were ignored, whatever the outcome of the appeal.

Jim Swire, the former doctor whose daughter was one of those who died in the tragedy, said: "After 11 September an inquiry is even more important. In the post-Cold War period this is the key to preserving our freedoms and protecting ourselves. Intelligence and aviation security were breached for reasons never properly explained."

The written text outlining the grounds of the appeal says it will centre on the reliability of the evidence given by Tony Gauci, the Maltese shopkeeper who says he sold clothing to Megrahi. This was a vital link for prosecutors who matched these clothes with fabrics of those used to pack the suitcase that contained the bomb.

There will be claims that Mr Gauci's evidence was misinterpreted and that the judges should not have concluded that the purchase date was 7 December, linking the sale to Megrahi. The quality of Mr Gauci's identification will also be called into question.

Another central pillar of the appeal will be claims that the evidence was not of "sufficient strength, quality or character" to conclude that the bag from Malta was loaded on to the feeder flight from Frankfurt to Heathrow.

The five judges hearing the appeal will have to rule on whether to hear the evidence of Mr Manly, a Heathrow security guard, who says that, on 21 December 1988, a padlock was forced on a secure door near the baggage handling area at terminal three. Yesterday's hearing was taken up by legal arguments as William Taylor, appearing for Megrahi, argued that legal precedents allowed him to re-examine the judges' interpretation of the evidence.

The original trial was unique for such a serious case because there was no jury, a fact that has led to complex legal arguments about the appeal.

The hearing is expected to last several weeks, during which time Megrahi will remain the only prisoner at Camp Zeist, where he is being guarded at a cost to the taxpayer of about £2m a month. If the conviction is upheld he will be transferred to Scotland to serve his sentence.