Libya 'plans £2.4bn Lockerbie payout'

The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, was reported yesterday to be planning to offer families of the Lockerbie bomb victims compensation of more than £2.4bn to end UN sanctions against his country.

A letter obtained by Time magazine, which was sent to the victims' relatives by a lawyer negotiating with Libyan officials, suggests that Colonel Gaddafi wants to forge the deal despite his previous refusal to admit liability for the 1988 terrorist attack. He is reportedly eager to end the trade embargo that has crippled his country's economy for 29 years.

The Libyan agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was convicted for the bombing, which killed 270 people. His appeal against the murder conviction was rejected last month.

Dr Jim Swire, a spokesman for the UK Families Flight 103 Group, who lost his 23-year-old daughter, Flora, in the disaster, said yesterday that the deal had more to do with politics than a genuine desire to compensate the victims.