20 years on and Lockerbie victim's father still searches for the truth

WHEN Jim Swire discovered the devastating news that his daughter Flora had died in the Lockerbie air disaster he had one burning aim - to bring her terrorist killers to justice.

But on the 20th anniversary of the outrage the former Midlands GP now finds himself in the extraordinary position of DEFENDING the man convicted of her murder.

Medical student Flora, 23, had been flying out to see her boyfriend in the US when Pan Am flight 103 exploded over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988.

All 259 passengers and crew on board died on that cold winter night. A further 11 people on the ground also perished.

For the next 13 years Jim battled to bring chief suspect Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi to trial, even risking his life by holding secret meetings with Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi.
Yet the dad-of-two became convinced the wrong man was in the dock after the Libyan was eventually convicted in 2001.

Since then he has fought a campaign to clear al-Megrahi - who is now suffering from prostrate cancer - and find the real killers of his daughter.

“I think a lot about whether Flora would have approved of what I am doing but I believe she would have,’’ said Jim, who lives in Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire.

‘‘The campaign has grown beyond anything I had ever expected. Twenty years of my life have been concentrated on it and I have had to try to balance it out with living a normal life.’’

The retired GP met al-Megrahi, 56, after he was jailed for life and says he still feels guilt over his part in bringing him to trial.

“I do feel responsible for al-Megrahi as I believe he was ultimately handed over by Gaddafi because of my meetings with him,’’ said Jim, 72.
‘‘But after hearing the evidence at the trial, I believe he isn’t guilty.”

Jim and wife Jane, a retired teacher, have endless fond memories of their beautiful and talented daughter who had wanted to follow her father into the medical profession.

Jane, 69, recalled: “Flora was a very gifted and confident individual. She was lively and creative and was always making something off Blue Peter.
“She began to shine in the sciences as a teenager and wanted to become a doctor.

‘‘Yet she’d seen the downside of a doctor’s life as my husband was a GP. She knew about the late call outs and how it was a tough profession. But she was a strong-minded woman and followed her dream.

“Flora was such a lovely child. I felt privileged to have her.’’

Her proud dad added: ‘‘Flora was a brilliant student and I have no doubt in mind that if she were alive today she would have been at the top of her profession.’’

But those dreams were shattered 20 years ago next month.

Flora had been desperately trying to find a flight to the US to celebrate Christmas with her boyfriend, Hart Lidov, when a late seat became available on the fateful Pan Am plane.

Jane recalled: “She had been trying to book a flight to the US but had no luck. She’d spent the weekend with us and we went to the theatre.

‘‘Two days later she called to tell us she had found a flight and asked if it was OK if she went. I told her we didn’t mind.”

Hours later Jane stumbled upon a terrifying news bulletin.
“Jim and I had just come home from a shopping trip and I turned on the TV and there was a newsflash about a plane crash in Scotland,’’ she recalled.

‘‘I was worried that it was the flight Flora was on, so I alerted Jim.
“We waited for the next news programme which told us that the plane had crashed at 7.05pm. I was praying it wasn’t Flora’s flight as it had taken off at 6pm and I was convinced it would have been way past Scotland by the time of the crash.

‘‘We were desperately trying to get through to the relatives’ hotline but it was constantly engaged.

“And then we realised that it was her plane - and that Flora was dead. We just sat and watched the devastating pictures of the plane. We were horrified yet mesmerised and terrified by it all.
‘‘We were completely beside ourselves.”

Soon afterwards Jim pledged to win justice for his daughter and all those killed on Pan Am Flight 103. Yet over the years he has become convinced the Libyans were not involved.
He said: “The evidence points to the involvement of Iran and Syria, not Libya.

“The case against al-Megrahi, I believe is invalid.”

Jim believes the Lockerbie bombing was a revenge attack against the Americans who had ordered an Iranian Airbus to be shot down months before Lockerbie killing 290 innocent people.

He also believes a Syrian terror group had amassed a cache of bombs designed for infiltration into European airports, explosives would sense the drop of pressure as an aircraft climbed into the skies - and would explode about 40 minutes after take-off.

And the Lockerbie bomb, he claims, may have been handed to and planted by an insider at Heathrow during a break-in the night before the disaster.

But with al-Megrahi serving a life sentence, he fears the true story will never be known unless the conviction is overturned.

Jim added: “I believe that the truth will never come out while I am alive. Justice will not be done in my lifetime.”

Soon after Lockerbie Jim and Jane planted young trees in the grounds of their family home in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, which they named Flora’s Wood.

The trees are mature now and still stand there today, despite the couple selling the house in 2002. They were planted in the shape of an F for Flora, a poignant outline that can still be seen from satellite pictures on Google Earth.

http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2008/11/08/20-years-on-and-lockerbie-victim-s-father-still-searches-for-the-truth-93633-22211467/