A petition calling for an independent inquiry into the Lockerbie bomber’s conviction has been kept alive by MSPs.
Holyrood’s Justice Committee wants to wait until a “point of conflict” with the live investigation has been resolved, said to be in a matter of weeks.
Committee members were sent a letter from deputy chief constable Patrick Shearer, of Police Scotland, who used to be the top officer at the old Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary.
He rejected accusations that the Crown Office had interfered with police investigations, saying a decision to delay particular inquiries was made by him alone.
“I am confident that this deferment will only be a matter of weeks ,” he wrote.
“As the Justice Committee will appreciate, I cannot provide any details of the live investigation and the conflict that exists.”
It follows concerns raised by pressure group Justice for Megrahi about the way the Crown and police have handled the inquiry into the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in December 1988.
