Kenneth Wright MacAskill is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he defected to the Alba Party in 2021.
The Scottish court in the Netherlands was a special sitting of the High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base, Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988. A school on the former base was converted into a judicial court for the trial.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was a Libyan who was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tripoli, Libya, and an alleged Libyan intelligence officer. On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted, by a panel of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands, of 270 counts of murder for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. His co-accused, Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, was found not guilty and was acquitted.
Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh.
The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set up under Scots law and held at a disused United States Air Force base called Camp Zeist near Utrecht.
The investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 began at 19:03 on December 21, 1988 when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The perpetrators had intended the plane to crash into the sea, destroying any traceable evidence, but the late departure time of the aircraft meant that its explosion over land left a veritable trail of evidence. The investigation led to the prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
Patrick 'Paddy' Tomkins QPM was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland by Royal Warrant in March 2007 and retired from the post in April 2009. He was formerly the Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police, which he joined in 2002 and was succeeded by David Strang. He initially joined Sussex Police in 1979 and in 1993 transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service as a Chief Superintendent. He served as divisional commander at Paddington Green before being promoted to Commander to attend the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1997, where he took the prize for the best research paper that year. He served as Commander (Crime) for the then 1 Area (Central), where he led a multi-force search for the serial rapist Richard Baker, and was the day shift Gold commander for the policing of the occupation of the Greek Embassy in London in 1999. In 1999 he was seconded to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner.
Tayside Police was a territorial police force covering the Scottish council areas of Angus, City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross until 1 April 2013, at which point it was subsumed into Police Scotland. The total area covered by the force was 2,896 square miles (7,500 km2) with a population of 388,000. The force operated from 27 police stations and has an establishment of 1078 police officers, 151 special constables and 594 support staff, as of February 2008. Tayside Police was Scotland's fourth-largest police force.
James Mackay QPM retired as Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside Police in 2001. He has had considerable experience of criminal investigation and major inquiries. He is especially interested in forensic science and has served on national committees particularly in the field of DNA in police investigation.
Criminal Justice Information Services is a department of the Scottish Police Services Authority. Previously called the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO), it established in 1960 with a mission statement "To manage information for the Scottish Police Service, wider Criminal Justice Community and the public to assist in the prevention and detection of crime and enhance public safety." The organisation is based at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, under current Director John McLean.
Tony Gauci was the proprietor of Mary's House, a clothes shop in Tower Road, Sliema, Malta, who was a witness in the prosecution of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in relation to the Lockerbie Bombing.
Sir William Rae,, is the former Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, the largest police force in Scotland. Sir William is married and has two grown up sons. In recognition of his achievements Rae was awarded a knighthood by the Queen, in 2005.
Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas, a Boeing 747-121 registered N739PA. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb that had been planted on board, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom.
David James Reid Strang is a former senior police officer and public servant from Scotland. He has worked in a number of senior roles in the criminal justice sector, most notably as Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland.
George Albert Esson was Assistant Chief Constable of Grampian Police and Chief Constable of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary (1989-1994). He was at the centre of major inquiries into the Piper Alpha disaster and the 1986 Chinook Helicopter Crash. He also headed the police investigation into the Lockerbie Bombing.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted on 31 January 2001 by a special Scottish Court in the Netherlands for the bomb attack on Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 over Lockerbie. After he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, he was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009, having served 8½ years of a life sentence. His release was authorised by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. The decision attracted significant news coverage, engendering widespread celebration in Libya, a largely hostile reaction in the United States and a more equally divided reaction in Britain.
William Alan Skelly is Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police in England. Skelly joined Devon and Cornwall Police from the Police Service of Scotland in December 2013 where he had been Silver Commander for Safety and Security for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Police Scotland, legally named the Police Service of Scotland, is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, with the merger of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottish Police Services Authority, including the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. Although not formally absorbing it, the merger also resulted in the winding up of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.
Philip Gormley, is the current CEO for EACH based in Norfolk, England.
Sir Hugh Roy Graham Cameron, QPM was HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland from 2002 to 2004.
