Libyan minister says Lockerbie case is closed

Scottish authorities investigating the 1988 bombing of a US-bound airliner over Lockerbie were dealt a blow yesterday after Libya's interim government said the case was "closed".

Scottish prosecutors had asked Libya's National Transitional Council for help in tracking witnesses who could implicate more suspects, possibly including deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi.

However, Libya's interim justice minister, Mohammed al-Alagi, turned them down, saying: "The case is closed."

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is the only person to have been convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie.

Reacting to the announcement, a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office played down Mr Alagi's comments.