The 30-year investigation into the Lockerbie bombing
Key dates in the 30 years following the Lockerbie disaster:
1988
December 21: 270 people die as Pan Am flight 103 explodes over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
2001
January 31: Following a trial at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is found guilty of mass murder and jailed for life.
2003
August 19: Libya accepts the blame for the Lockerbie bombing and agrees to compensate victims’ families.
2004
March: Then prime minister Tony Blair offers Colonel Muammar Gaddafi “the hand of friendship” following talks with the Libyan leader in a tent outside Tripoli.
The UK and Libya would go on to sign a memorandum of understanding, with a commitment to negotiate a prisoner transfer agreement (PTA).
2007
May: Oil giant BP and the Libyan government sign an exploration and production sharing agreement.
June: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) recommends Megrahi is granted a second appeal against his conviction after the first, in 2002, was refused.
December 19: It is revealed the UK Government has decided not to exclude Megrahi from the PTA.
2008
September: Megrahi is diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.
2009
May 5: The Libyan government submits an application to the Scottish Government for Megrahi’s transfer under the PTA, followed by an application for release on compassionate grounds.
August 20: Then Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill announces that Megrahi is to be returned to his home country on compassionate grounds.
August 21: The UK and the US condemn the “hero’s welcome” given to Megrahi as he arrives in Tripoli to cheering crowds.
September 5: Then UK justice secretary Jack Straw acknowledges the prospect of trade and oil deals with Libya was “a very big part” of his decision to include Megrahi in the PTA.
2011
An uprising begins in Libya which would see Gaddafi killed by rebels by the end of the year.
February 23: Libya’s former justice minister, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, tells a newspaper he has proof that Gaddafi ordered the Lockerbie bombing.
April 8: Police continuing their investigation into the bombing meet former Libyan foreign minister Musa Kusa, who has apparently defected.
July 26: Megrahi appears in a televised pro-government rally in Libya and says his conviction was the result of a “conspiracy”.
2012
May 20: Megrahi dies at home in Tripoli aged 60.
2013
December 22: The UK, US and Libyan governments vow to co-operate to reveal “the full facts” of the bombing.
2014
June 5: Six members of Megrahi’s family join forces with 24 British relatives of those who died in the atrocity to seek another appeal against his conviction in the Scottish courts.
December 20: Scotland’s top prosecutor Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland reaffirms Megrahi’s guilt and pledges to track down his accomplices.
2015
July 3: Scottish judges rule that relatives of the victims of the bombing should not be allowed to pursue an appeal on Megrahi’s behalf.
October 15: Scottish prosecutors announce they want two Libyans they have identified as suspects to be interviewed by police.
2017
July 4: Megrahi’s family lodges a new bid to appeal against his conviction, five years after his death.
2018
May 3: The SCCRC says a full review of Megrahi’s case will be carried out to decide whether a fresh appeal against conviction can be made.
November 21: A police investigation finds no evidence of criminality in relation to the handling of the Lockerbie investigation and prosecution.
