Lockerbie investigation spurns conspiracy theories

By Mark Trevelyan

GLASGOW (Reuters) - An investigation lasting nearly four years has reopened the 1988 Lockerbie bombing case but dashed a series of conspiracy theories ranging from CIA dirty tricks to allegations of doctored evidence.

The probe by an independent Scottish review commission concluded on Thursday that there were grounds to believe the conviction of Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset al-Megrahi might be a miscarriage of justice. He will now get a new appeal.

The commission raised serious doubts over evidence suggesting that clothing found in a suitcase containing the bomb, and traced to a shop in Malta, had been bought by Megrahi.

It rejected several exotic theories involving, among others, the "spiriting away" of evidence, the presence of a U.S. spy on board the doomed flight, and the account of a shadowy Scottish police source known as "The Golfer".

Among the submissions examined by the commission:

* It looked into allegations that items found in the wreckage of the plane had been "spirited away" with "unofficial CIA involvement". One of these concerned a suitcase belonging to Major Charles McKee, a U.S. intelligence official based in Beirut. The Commission said it found no evidence to suggest the suitcase was handled by anyone other than Scottish police. Some reports say McKee had been in Beirut to try to win the release of U.S. hostages held there by Hezbollah.

* The commission conducted three interviews with "The Golfer", a former Scottish detective sergeant said to be in possession of "sensitive" information which could help Megrahi. It found a "vast array of inconsistencies and contradictions" in his account.

* The commission looked into submissions that forensic evidence in the case had been tampered with. These centered on a tiny fragment of circuit board, about the size of a fingernail, which was identified by experts as part of the timer that set off the bomb. There was nothing to support the allegation that the fragment was fabricated evidence, intended to implicate Libya.

* The commission found no corroboration of claims that Khaled Jaafar, a passenger on the plane, was knowingly or otherwise involved in the bombing. Jaafar has figured prominently in various conspiracy theories because of his Lebanese background.

Many observers of the case have long questioned the evidence implicating Megrahi and Libya, with some pointing the finger at an Arab militant group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC).

Some close to the case believe it carried out the bombing at Iran's request out of revenge for the U.S. downing of an Iranian airliner in the Gulf just five months before Lockerbie.

Megrahi's lawyer Tony Kelly told a news conference that suggesting who really carried out the attack would form a part of his appeal strategy. He noted, however, it was enough for him to prove his client's innocence, without having to establish someone else's guilt.