Lockerbie bombing marks 25th anniversary

The Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people were killed, marks its 25^th anniversary today.

The Lockerbie bombing remains the deadliest act of terrorism ever committed in the UK and until the attacks of 9/11 it was also responsible for the biggest single loss of American lives in such an attack.

The Boeing 747 was just over half an hour into its flight from London to New York when it exploded, seconds before 19:03 UK time, on 21 December 1988.

All 243 passengers and 16 crew died, and a further 11 people were killed in their homes when wreckage hit the ground in Lockerbie.

The majority of the passengers and crew on board the aircraft were US citizens.

A wreath-laying and church service will be held in the south of Scotland town which was devastated when Pan Am flight 103 was blown from the skies in 1988.

A remembrance service is also being staged at Westminster Abbey in London.

In the US, a ceremony will take place at the memorial cairn in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington DC.

In the United States, a service of "hope and remembrance" is planned at the Henicks Chapel of Syracuse University in New York state, which lost 35 students who had been studying at its London campus. The service will be followed by a procession to its Wall of Remembrance.

A further service will also take place at the university's Lubin House in New York.

Events at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia will centre on its Pan Am 103 Memorial Cairn.

It is made of 270 blocks of Scottish sandstone - one for each of the victims of the bombing.

Events in Lockerbie will see a wreath-laying at the Dryfesdale Cemetery in the afternoon with a service at the Dryfesdale Church in the evening which will have the theme of "looking forward".

One man, Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, was convicted of the bombing at a special Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands in 2001 and it was initially believed that the bomb was planted in an Air Malta plane en route to London.

However, evidence later surfaced which suggested that a Maltese shop-keeper who allegedly recognised the Lockerbie bomber in Malta, may have been mistaken. 

Al-Megrahi was released from jail on compassionate grounds in 2009 after he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and he died in his home in Tripoli last year.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the "fortitude and resilience" of those affected by the Lockerbie bombing.

He said: "Over the last quarter of a century much attention has been focused on the perpetrators of the atrocity. Today our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at Lockerbie that night.

"To families, friends, neighbours, loved ones, and all those caught up in the painful process of recovery, let us say to them: our admiration for you is unconditional.

"For the fortitude and resilience you have shown. For your determination never to give up. You have shown that terrorist acts cannot crush the human spirit. That is why terrorism will never prevail."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, who will be attending the wreath-laying in Lockerbie, said: "On this 25-year anniversary, and as the country prepares once more to relive the harrowing events of that terrible night, it is important that we remember that the pain and suffering of the families and friends of those who died has endured since that winter night in 1988."

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be attending the Westminster Abbey ceremony, as will Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael.

Scotland Office Minister David Mundell will attend the service at the Arlington National Cemetery.