The father of a teenage girl killed in the Lockerbie bombing said he is concerned about the forthcoming drama about the ‘quest for truth’ of a grieving relative played by Colin Firth.
Sky TV production – Lockerbie: A Search for Truth – starring Colin Firth, will begin tomorrow and is based on Dr Swire’s book Lockerbie: A Father’s Search for Justice.
Paul Hudson, whose daughter Melina died in the bombing aged just 16, said he had met Dr Jim Swire on several occasions and ‘profoundly disagreed’ with his ‘theories’ on the atrocity.
Dr Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the disaster, said he hopes the dramatisation will raise greater awareness and spark fresh public debate about what happened.
But Mr Hudson, who has only seen trailers, fears if it is based around similar views expressed in the book it could have a negative impact on public opinion ahead of a trial of a suspected bombmaker next year.
Mr Hudson, who now lives in Florida, recently marked the 36th anniversary of the crash, that took 270 lives when Pan Am 103 blew up over Lockerbie in Scotland.
Among those on board was his daughter Melina, who was returning home for the holidays after spending a semester at Exeter School as part of an exchange agreement.
The 16-year-old had originally been scheduled to fly home from the Devon school to New York on December 22, 1988, but travel plans were changed at the last minute.
Mr Hudson has since spent decades fighting for justice for the victims of Pan Am 103.
He said: ‘I spoke with Dr Swire a few years ago. He has various theories that I don’t agree with.
‘I happened to be on a cruise this past summer to Norway with a stop in Skye, and I picked up a copy of his book.
‘I started to read it and could only get a quarter of the way through.
‘Of course I can’t react to the docudrama as I haven’t seen it and they’ve only put out teasers.
‘But from what I can gather from talking to him over the years, it is not about a search for the truth – but a search for his truth.’
Mr Hudson said he was shocked to read how ‘pro-Gaddafi he was’ and claimed Dr Swire is also quite ‘anti-American.
‘His theories revolve around punching holes in the evidence over the trial of al-Megrahi and other theories – such as the CIA, Palestine, or Iran might have done it,’ he added.
‘But he has gone to such extremes – claiming al-Megrahi is innocent. That does not make any sense as the evidence was overwhelming he was involved.
‘He had multiple trips to Libya and met Gaddafi on a couple of occasions – and said he felt a common bond because they had both lost their daughters to ‘American aggression.’
‘He also seemed upset and dismayed that Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
‘It is a drama and not a documentary. If it is a version of what he might like to think happened and follows his political views, or his simple quest as a grieving father – that would be two totally different things.
‘The timing seems coincidental before the trial here – I hope it’s doesn’t do anything to influence the jury pool.
‘They have an A-list actor playing him so that can’t have come cheap and I’m sure it will be popular with a lot of people.’
Mr Hudson says his other concern is the son of al-Megrahi was said to have ‘political ambitions’ and was treated like a ‘hero’ on his release from UK prison.
‘He could be looking to trade on that if his reputation is enhanced,’ he added.
Of his daughter’s time in Exeter, he said: ‘Of course the whole thing is bittersweet – how it ended of course was not good at all. It was difficult for her as she never been away from home before.
‘But she did have a good semester and made some friends – I can not really say much more than that.
‘Her flight got changed and she was put on the wrong flight.
‘I was there some years ago with my youngest son and we visited one of the people she stayed with.
‘They didn’t have facilities for women at the school so she was a boarder.
‘Hopefully the lessons of it and the memories won’t be lost. The one good thing I can say out of it, is that after this I don’t believe there has been any significant cases of aviation bombing sponsored by governments.’
Mr Hudson said he was also recently informed the trial of the alleged Lockerbie bombmaker has been delayed for up to four months – due to ‘medical issues.’
Libyan Abu Agila Masud, 71, has been accused of making the bomb which killed 270 victims over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988 and was due to go on trial in Washington in May next year.
Masud was due to stand trial at a federal court in Washington next May accused of two counts of destruction of an aircraft resulting in death and destruction of a vehicle resulting in death.
He has denied all three charges.
But Mr Hudson said: ‘I only found out he had an unspecified medical condition that requires treatment.
‘The message from the prosecution was that it will delay everything by between 90-120 days that will push the trial back.
‘The longer times goes by the more difficult it becomes to get justice.
‘We will just have to see what happens now. I believe he is in his early to mid 70s so it could be for a number of things.
‘I guess we will know more in the next month as these things have a way of coming out. But that’s all we’ve been told for now and it is obviously very disspointing.
‘The longer the delay there is less chance we will see any form of justice.’
Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbasset Al-Megrahi was found in 2001 to have played a key role in the bombing and convicted him of the murder of 270 people.
He was jailed for life but had terminal cancer and was freed on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government in 2009.
He died in Libya three years later while still protesting his innocence.
Mr Hudson has been an active campaigner for justice since December 1988 and travelled to Lockerbie in the aftermath to see the devastation and speak to other relatives.
The following year he co-founded and became the initial leader of two victim family relative organizations, the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and then the Families of the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie.
He is presently a board member of the Pan Am 103/Lockerbie Legacy Foundation.
Mr Hudson said he spent the anniversary marking it with his close family.
He added: ‘Of course we always remember and do something every year.
‘This year the family are scattered and gathered together remotely to commemorate it.
‘It changes in the sense that time goes by but the memories are always there. I would say it has become a tradition and one that we are now letting our grandchildren join.’
Mr Hudson said they were also facing an ongoing battle to provide remote access to the court case.
He added: ‘We are still looking for a final decision from the judge. The defence is against it and the judge is not in favour but there was a law passed by congress.’
Dr Swire has said he believes the bombing was carried out by a Syrian-backed group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC), in retaliation for the shooting down of an Iranian airliner by an American warship earlier in 1988.
He claimed forensic evidence fatally undermined the case against Libya and Megrahi.
In a recent interview he called on PM Keir Starmer to publish all documents relating to the case.
He added: ‘One thing we can do is ask the government of today to release all the documentation about Lockerbie.
‘That would be a tremendous help. Here we are, 36 years down the road, and we know a lot of material has been kept out of public view.
‘Why isn’t it in the public interest to release it after 36 years? I think that’s something a lot of people would think is pretty fishy.’