Lockerbie lies

The latest Al Jazeera documentary investigating the Lockerbie bombing effectively concluded that much of the swerve towards Libya as the appointed culprit, and eventually Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi (or anybody Libyan with intelligence connections, however flimsy) hinged on a phone call from George Bush Senior to Margaret Thatcher.

Again, as the documentary pointed out – high-level involvement has put obstacles to the truth in position.

Lying, alas, is institutional, reputational and implicit in our Western politics.

Dr John Cameron (Letters, 12 March) is right to point to the prevailing belief that it was the shooting down of the Iranian passenger jet, Iran Air Flight 655, by a US warship on 3 July, 1988, that triggered the deadly explosive device in the cargo-hold of the Pan-Am flight over Lockerbie on the night of 21 December, 1988.

Everything pointed in this direction. The assembled evidence, which has unfortunately had to tackle a heap of discredited evidence, is overwhelming.

Perhaps it is too overwhelming for governments too acquainted with shuffling false cards to handle comfortably.

The great consolation is that common sense retains its credentials.

It has, again, prevailed. Thanks to a posse of people whose painstaking piecing together of related information has presented a believable picture.

Ian Johnstone

Forman Drive

Peterhead