Megrahi's lawyers to reveal 'evidence of innocence'

(afp/getty images)

Lawyers for the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi are to release within days vital evidence they claim will clear him of involvement in the atrocity.

The development came as Megrahi's brother and doctors revealed the Libyan's health had worsened, leaving him unable to speak from his hospital bed in Tripoli.

Megrahi, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer, deteriorated as frantic efforts by campaigners were stepped up to examine evidence to shed new light on the 1988 bombing before he dies. His brother, Abdenasser al-Megrahi, said: "His condition has deteriorated rapidly. He is unable to speak to anyone. His situation is worrying. His temperature is at 39.5C. "

Megrahi's Glasgow-based lawyer, Tony Kelly, who was in Tripoli last week, is to publish a detailed account of what had been planned to be used as part of the Libyan's appeal. The appeal was abandoned days before his release from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds last month.

It is believed there is no single document which would provide an alibi for Megrahi, but a mass of evidence that supports his case. Megrahi has insisted that he can prove he is innocent of the Pan Am bombing, and wants the evidence to be published. The Libyan government is also pressing for the documents to be made public.

The developments came as the Government was accused of "misleading" the family of Yvonne Fletcher – the policewoman killed by shots from the Libyan embassy in London during a protest in 1984 – over whether her killer could face justice in Britain.

The Foreign Office has secretly agreed that any trial for the shooting will take place in Tripoli, according to a report in The Sunday Times.