Lockerbie bomber’s family to sue Britain

LONDON - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has claimed that the family of released Lockerbie bomber is preparing to sue Britain for false imprisonment and medical neglect, it was reported here Friday.

Gaddafi said Thursday Abdulbaset al Megrahi remained “very ill” with prostate cancer following his controversial release by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds in August last year, and blamed his poor health on intentional “neglect” he suffered in prison, the Telegraph reported.

Megrahi’s family will mount a compensation claim once the 58-year-old dies, Gaddafi said.

“After he passes away, his family will demand compensation because he was deliberately neglected in prison,” he said.

“His health was not looked after in prison, and he didnt have any periodic examinations. I wish him a long life. He was released because he was considered dead, and yet he was still alive.”

Gaddafi made the claims during a speech to students and staff at the London School of Economics (LSE) via a live video-link, which is understood to have been organised through his son Saif Al-Gaddafi who has a doctorate from the university.

The compensation claim could run into several million pounds, according to Libyan diplomatic officials who attended the talk.

The Scottish government released Megrahi, who is the only person to be convicted for the Lockerbie tragedy in which 270 people died, on compassionate grounds after medical experts said he had only three months to live.

The Libyan dictator alleged that the case against the former intelligence agent had “been fabricated and created by” former British prime minister Baroness Thatcher and former US president Ronald Reagan.

He even suggested that CIA agents had been behind the 1988 terrorist atrocity, in which 270 people were killed after a Pan Am airline blew up over Scotland.

“These are the people who created this conspiracy,” said Gaddafi, referring to Thatchers and Reagans alleged role in a Megrahi’s murder conviction and life sentence over the attack.

The longevity of Megrahi has provoked anger from victims’ families and US doctors. The father-of-five is now living with his family in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.