Members of the "Justice for Megrahi" campaign group are to attend the premiere of a new drama about Lockerbie next week in Falkirk.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Dumfriesshire town in December 1988 killed 270 people and was the worst terrorist atrocity in the UK.

Now the appalling tragedy is being brought to the stage in a new work entitled "The Lockerbie Bomber". The drama, written by Alan Clark and performed by Tryst Theatre, is dedicated to the memory of the victims of Lockerbie and their families.

Founded in November 2008, the "Justice for Megrahi" campaign maintains that, on the basis of evidence laid by the Crown before the three judges of the High Court of Justiciary at Kamp van Zeist in the Netherlands, the conviction of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi for the 1988 bombing was a miscarriage of justice. Its main objective is to campaign to have Mr al-Megrahi’s conviction quashed.

Iain McKie, a member of "Justice for Megrahi", said: “It is appropriate this new play is written by a Scot and is being premiered in Scotland because it is our justice system that has been indelibly stained by the atrocity known across the world as ‘Lockerbie’. It is the responsibility of the Scottish people and our government to ensure that the search for the truth continues.”

The play, described as a mixture of fact, fiction and dramatic license, is set in the present day and looks at the Lockerbie bombing from three different perspectives – the victims’ families, journalists investigating the case, and the UK and US security services engaged in covering up what happened.

Alan Clark said: “I understand some members of the group have been intrigued by the synopsis of the play and have decided to see it for themselves. My hope is that it makes compelling theatre, further cements Lockerbie in the public conscience and allows audiences to reach their own conclusions about what happened that terrible night.

“Like many Scots, I believe Mr Al Megrahi, the so-called “Lockerbie Bomber”, is a scapegoat, hence the ironic italics around the title of the play. But the intriguing question is surely this: if he is indeed a scapegoat, who in Scotland allowed that to happen? And why?

“As one of the characters in the play says: “A few people, high up in the US and UK Governments, know exactly what happened, but they’re never going to tell us.””

“The Lockerbie Bomber” will be staged in Falkirk Town Hall, Falkirk, on Saturday May 26 at 8pm. Tickets, £7 and £5 (concessions) are available from the The Falkirk Steeple Box Office on 01324 506850, the Tryst Theatre Box Office on 01324 715886 or at the door on the night.

(picture credit: Herald and Times group)