Lockerbie bombing focus of Libya visit

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 2 (UPI) -- Scotland's top prosecutor and the U.S. FBI director have met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdurahim el-Keib to discuss the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, officials said.

The meeting between Scottish Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, FBI director Robert Mueller, el-Keib and other officials took place last week in Tripoli, The Herald reported.

The Herald said the post-Moammar Gadhafi government in Libya has agreed to allow United Kingdom and Scottish police to begin work in Libya as they investigate the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.

Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abdel A'al recently said no treaty exists allowing British police to visit Libya and that an agreement might depend on whether Britain answers questions about its past involvement with the Gadhafi regime. The interior minister said Britain must explain the rationale for its rapprochement with the Gadhafi regime in 2004, when then-Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Gahdafi.

Now, a Crown Office spokesman said, the "Libyan authorities confirmed they fully understood the importance of dealing with the tragic issues left behind by Colonel Gadhafi and his regime, both in Libya and overseas."

Police are believed to be looking for documents related to the Lockerbie bombing and hope to interview former intelligence officers, The Herald said.