by Ian Robson
Sunday Sun
Aug 31 2008

A COUPLE have revealed how they were caught up in a conspiracy theory over the Lockerbie plane crash.

Geoff and Decky Horton found a key piece of evidence after wreckage was strewn over their farm, located 60 miles from the crash site. But the piece of paper — believed to be from the package which contained the bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 — was damaged after it was handed over to investigators.

In a TV documentary to be shown today, conspiracy buffs claim the evidence was tampered with.

Geoff and Decky, of Morpeth, Northumberland, are interviewed in the BBC2 programme The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie. The documentary highlights several theories about the tragedy which claimed the lives of 270 people almost 20 years ago in December 1988.

Geoff tells the programme: “On the night in question there was a strong gale, about 90 miles per hour, and the wreckage from Lockerbie was spread right across the North Sea.

“We were finding Christmas cards written by the bairns on board, letters, personal effects, things like that. Quite harrowing.”

Decky said she found part of a radio cassette manual with the word Toshiba clearly visible. She later gave evidence at the trial of the Libyan man accused of the terrorist attack, but the evidence bag she was shown contained several pieces of paper.

She said: “It was in one piece when I found it but in the bag there were several pieces and the name Toshiba was only just discernable by then.

“When I found the piece of paper it was more or less intact, a bit tatty round the edges, but it definitely had Toshiba written across it.” Police said the paper was damaged following a battery of forensic tests. But the documentary says: “Why was the piece of paper so altered from when the Hortons found it?

“Was it proof of a conspiracy or careless handling by the police? The mystery remains.” Conspiracy theorists believe key evidence was tampered with to implicate Libya in the bomb plot. The documentary also mentions several other theories, including allegations of involvement by rogue American spies.

It includes an interview with Siaf Al Islam Al Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader, who attacks the families of victims for seeking compensation. He claims Libya only accepted responsibility to end international sanctions.

The show says Libyan national Abdelbaset Al Megrahi’s conviction for mass murder was controversial. And it has a rare interview with Ahmed Jibril, leader of a Palestinian faction, who was an early suspect in the investigation.

The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie can be seen today, at 9pm on BBC2.

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2008/08/31/lockerbie-evidence-called-into-question-79310-21640187/