Lockerbie bomber's conviction to be reviewed six years after his death

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi protested his innocence until his death in 2012

The 1988 incident killed 270 people (Getty)

The conviction of the man found guilty of the Lockerbie bombing is to be reviewed.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed in 2001 for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people.

He was jailed for 27 years but died of prostate cancer in 2012 after being released on compassionate grounds in 2009.

Megrahi dropped an attempt to overturn his conviction in 2009, ahead of his return to Libya.

He continued to protest his innocence until his death and his family last year lodged a new posthumous appeal.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) said it believes Megrahi abandoned an appeal against his conviction “as he held a genuine and reasonable belief that such a course of action would result in him being able to return home to Libya” when he was suffering from terminal cancer.

SCCRC chief executive Gerard Sinclair said: “In any application where an applicant has previously chosen to abandon an appeal against conviction, the commission will, at the first stage of its process, look carefully at the reasons why the appeal was abandoned and consider whether it is in the interests of justice to allow a further review of the conviction.

“Having considered all the available evidence, the commission believes that Mr Megrahi, in abandoning his appeal, did so as he held a genuine and reasonable belief that such a course of action would result in him being able to return home to Libya, at a time when he was suffering from terminal cancer.

“On that basis, the commission has decided that it is in the interests of justice to accept the current application for a full review of his conviction.”

A statement issued on behalf of the Megrahi family by solicitor Aamer Anwar welcomed news of the review.

“The reputation of the Scottish law has suffered both at home and internationally because of widespread doubts about the conviction of Mr al-Megrahi,” it said.

“It is in the interests of justice and restoring confidence in our criminal justice system that these doubts can be addressed

“However, the only place to determine whether a miscarriage of justice did occur is in the appeal court, where the evidence can be subjected to rigorous scrutiny.”

Press Association contributed to this report