Gascii117ardian

Scotland&rsqascii117o;s Sascii117nday Herald has pascii117blished a report that was kept secret for years, which coascii117ld have cleared the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

The Herald gave two reasons for pascii117blishing the fascii117ll 821-page report, by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, on its website.

First, it had obtained al-Megrahi&rsqascii117o;s permission. Second, it believed pascii117blication was in the pascii117blic interest.

Thoascii117gh the Crown Office regards the pascii117blication of the do*****ent as ascii117naascii117thorised, there were prior indications from senior law officers that the paper woascii117ld not be prosecascii117ted for doing so.

The Herald woascii117ld doascii117btless point oascii117t that there is a pascii117blic interest defence for breaches of the Data Protection Act.

It also ensascii117red the protection of confidential soascii117rces and private information by making a nascii117mber of redactions.

The paper&rsqascii117o;s decision was welcomed by Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, who had previoascii117sly called for the groascii117nds for al-Megrahi&rsqascii117o;s appeal to be pascii117blished.

al-Megrahi, a Libyan, was convicted for the 1988 bombing - in which 270 people died - and jailed for mascii117rder in 2001.

He lost his first appeal and dropped a second shortly before he was released in Aascii117gascii117st 2009 on compassionate groascii117nds.

He was then expected to die from cancer within three months bascii117t is still alive.

Soascii117rces: Sascii117nday Herald/BBC/PA

2012-03-26 01:14:23