Megrahi death: Hunt goes on and there are many more names in the frame

THE Lockerbie bombing remains a live investigation and a contentious subject 23 years after 270 people were killed in the UK’s worst terrorist atrocity.

However, while Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi and his supporters have insisted that he is innocent, the Crown Office appears to be looking at additional suspects, rather than alternative ones.

At present, the inquiry remains focused on Libya where, for the first time, it is receiving political support because of the end of the Gaddafi regime.

Last month, the Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, QC, flew out to Libya for talks with the FBI director, Robert Mueller, about the investigation.

That suggests potential suspects would include Saeed Rashid, who an FBI report previously claimed “managed a sustained Libyan effort to conduct terrorist attacks against US interests since the early 1980s”.

They may also pursue Izz Aldin Hinshiri, who was suspected of buying the trigger for the Lockerbie bomb, and Abdallah Sanussi, Gaddafi’s brother-in-law, another suspect of the US.

John Ashton, author of the book Megrahi: You are my jury, says there’s another Libyan they should talk to.

“They should be speaking to Moussa Koussa,” he said.

The former foreign minister, who defected at the end of March as the Libyan conflict escalated, is believed to be in Qatar and is seen by many as the secret keeper of the former regime.

However, Mr Ashton, who believes Megrahi was innocent, argues that Scottish prosecutors should look elsewhere.

“I believe they are looking in the wrong direction,” the author said.

“What is concerning is that we presented new evidence in the book that they are not looking at.

“They have failed to interview scientists whose work demolishes their own case,” added Mr Ashton. “That should be their first port of call.”