Key Lockerbie witness dies

Tony Gauci, 75, is thought to have died naturally in Malta on Saturday.

Mr Gauci was the owner of a clothes shop and said he had sold clothing to someone who strongly resembled Mr Megrahi.

This clothing was apparently wrapped around the bomb found inside a suitcase which destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988.

Mr Megrahi was convicted of 270 counts of murder in 2001 at a trial in Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. He was released on compassionate grounds by then Justice Secretary Kenny Macaskill and died in 2012.

Mr Gauci’s evidence that he sold clothes to Mr Megrahi was brought into question by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which also questioned the fact he had seen a photo of Mr Megrahi in an article about the bombing four days before identifying him.

There were also suggestions Mr Gauci may have received a financial reward from the Americans for his role in the trial.

Former Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC reasserted in 2014 that Mr Megrahi was guilty – adding that no prosecutor or investigator has ever questioned the evidence.

In May this year, however, he said the prospect of another trial was “realistic” based on the identification of two new Libyan suspects by Scottish and US authorities.