Lockerbie Bomber Appears On Libyan TV

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi has appeared on Libyan state television at a pro-government rally.

Al Megrahi - who was convicted of killing 270 people by bombing a Pan Am jet in 1988 - was released from Greenock Prison by the Scottish government in August 2009 on compassionate grounds.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2008, and not expected to survive beyond three months.

However, he has so far survived far beyond that, despite reports that his condition was worsening.

In the footage, he is shown in a wheel chair at what appears to be a pro-government rally.

The decision to free Al Megrahi provoked international outrage and was condemned by victims' relatives and US politicians including President Barack Obama.

Since his release, he has been receiving chemotherapy in Libya, but has rarely been seen. Medical observers have suggested, however, that being among his family could have helped prolong his life.

Al Megrahi has always protested he is innocent of the Pan Am bombing - and British relatives have been among those who believe the Libyan was wrongly convicted and have demanded an inquiry into the investigation and court proceedings that convicted him.

Margaret Scott, Megrahi's defence QC, told appeal judges at the time that his "absolute priority in the little time he has left is to spend it with his family in his homeland".