Bomber's cancer spreads to his bones

THE Lockerbie bomber has been given a maximum of a year to live after cancer spread to his bones, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

The diagnosis – delivered by three doctors, including one flown in from Libya – means Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi is likely to suffer excruciating pain in the remaining months of his life and cannot be properly cared for in prison.

It is understood this will form the key basis on which lawyers for Megrahi will apply for bail at a hearing later this week.

Sources have told Scotland on Sunday that the team of doctors who examined Megrahi were not able to agree that he had less than three months to live – the point at which he would have been freed on compassionate grounds.

Megrahi, who has always insisted he is innocent of the 1988 downing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie with the loss of 270 lives, is currently awaiting a second full appeal against his conviction but may not live to see its outcome.

Sources close to the convicted terrorist claim Megrahi is condemned to suffer horrendous pain – and compression fractures – as a result of prostate cancer spreading to his bones. They added that no part of the jail establishment is properly equipped to care for him.

Megrahi's lawyer, Tony Kelly, has declined to comment on what grounds he will appeal for the Libyan's release on bail at a hearing before three High Court judges in Edinburgh scheduled for Thursday.

Prisoners are routinely freed from Scottish prisons if they can show they have less than three months to live.

Megrahi's doctors could only predict that his life expectancy was somewhere between nine and 12 months, forcing Kelly to go to court to secure bail.

Megrahi's bail case will be decided by a bench comprising Scotland's most senior judge, Lord Hamilton, sitting with Lords Kingarth and Eassie.

If the judges refuse bail, Kelly can make a further application to Scottish ministers to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds. That would go before Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, but there is no doubt First Minister Alex Salmond would also be involved.

The bail decision will have no bearing on Megrahi's appeal, which will be heard by a separate five-judge bench. But it is still seen as politically sensitive. The Libyan's supporters, who include many of the relatives of the British victims of the Lockerbie bombing, fear the Crown may oppose his liberation.

American authorities and the families of US victims are less sympathetic to Megrahi's plight, with few doubting his guilt.

There have already been high-powered diplomatic talks over Megrahi's future. Last Monday, the Foreign Office hosted a meeting between the head of the Scottish Government's justice department, Robert Gordon, senior Westminster officials and Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, Libya's deputy foreign minister.

It is understood the Libyans wanted to push for Megrahi to be allowed to go home. Ministers at Westminster and Holyrood have been fully briefed by senior civil servants and diplomats about the subtle balancing act they must now perform.

One source close to the matter said: "Unlike the UK relatives, most of the American relatives have been able to ignore the many revelations since the trial that cast doubt on his conviction and, to be blunt, they'd rather see Megrahi fry than go free.

"There is an awareness that the 20th anniversary of the bombing is looming, and there are concerns about how the American relatives would react to him being freed before that milestone is reached. However, they must also be aware that in Libya and most of the rest of the Arab world, Megrahi is seen as the innocent victim of a western conspiracy.

"If he were to die in prison, that would go down very badly and some extremists would try to make him into a martyr."

It was reported last week that Megrahi wished to remain in Scotland, where pain relief in cancer care is said to be better than in Libya. But other sources close to the Libyan have said he would want to go home to die.

Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the bombing, has no doubt Megrahi is innocent. He said last night: "Megrahi must be freed at the earliest opportunity so that he can receive the care he needs and spend what time he has left with his family."