A BROMSGROVE man whose daughter died in the Lockerbie bombing has praised the author of a pamphlet which describes the nine-month trial as a "whitewash".

Former GP Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the 1988 terrorist blast, agreed the truth about the tragedy had been obscured and criticised "civil service double-speak".

In over 30 pages, Private Eye reporter Paul Foot explains why he believes the conviction of Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed Al Megrahi in January was not convincing.

He concluded that eleven years and millions of pounds had been wasted leaving relatives of victims still in the dark as to how and why their loved ones died.

Dr Swire said the pamphlet, called Lockerbie, The Flight from Justice, was astute and well-researched.

He said: "The civil service finds ways of being able to deny actually lying by manipulating language and the truth.

"Paul Foot paid very close attention to the Lockerbie scene ever since it happened. I think his pamphlet is an intelligent and partly accurate summary of what's happened to date."

He also endorsed the report by UN-appointed observer Dr Hans Kochler, who called the verdict "totally incomprehensible" and "even irrational".

Dr Swire said: "Relatives of the victims can relate to much of what he said."

Following Megrahi's appeal, likely to be in the autumn, victims' families plan to renew their calls for a public inquiry to discover why the government did not act to prevent the tragedy after it received warnings.

Dr Swire and his wife, Jane, will be appearing on BBC1's Kilroy show, on June 6, to discuss how parents react to the loss of a child.