Lockerbie bomber's condition deteriorates, again

The Lockerbie bomber was said to be close to death today after a rapid deterioration in his health.

Terminally ill Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was on a life support machine in Libya and his family expected him to die within days, Sky News reported.

He stopped being able to speak some weeks ago and then fell into a coma, the broadcaster said, citing sources close to the family.

(A similar report some months ago turned out to be false.)

The Libyan was controversially freed from Greenock prison on compassionate grounds last year after being diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.

He was sentenced to life in jail after his conviction for the murder of 270 people in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland.

The decision to free him, which was taken by Scotland`s justice secretary Kenny MacAskill, sparked fury in the US and was condemned by President Barack Obama's administration.

Last week Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi said Megrahi's family would be suing over his "neglect" in Greenock Prison.

Speaking to students in London via a video link, he said: "His health was not looked after in prison. He didn`t have any periodic examination. I wish him a long life.

"After he passes away, his family will demand compensation because he was deliberately neglected in prison."

A group of campaigners in the UK is calling for an independent inquiry into the bomber's conviction.