The family of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing have said they plan to appeal against his conviction.

Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland in which 270 people were killed 25 years ago.

Megrahi, who was released from jail by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, died last year protesting his innocence.

His family hope the Libyan government can help fund the appeal process.

His brother Abdel-Hakim Al-Megrahi told the BBC: "Yes, we want to appeal and we wish for the truth to be revealed and this is not just for our own benefit but also for the benefit of the families of the victims and for public opinion.

"We need to know who committed this horrible crime. But, as you know, we as a family cannot afford to pay for the appeals process.

"God-willing, the Libyan government will do this, but it has to be launched by the family first."

Earlier this week some of the British relatives of Lockerbie victims said they are considering making another appeal against Megrahi's conviction.

Members of the UK Families Flight 103 group will meet lawyers in the new year to discuss whether to apply to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), according to Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora died in the bombing in December 1988.

''The intention of some members is to meet with lawyers in January and discuss the best options, the best way to get the truth,'' he said.

''It's a disgrace that we have to wait 25 years to get the truth that should be available from our governments.''

A successful application to the SCCRC could start the third appeal into the conviction.

Megrahi lost his first appeal in 2002, one year after he was found guilty of mass murder and jailed for life.

The SCCRC recommended in 2007 that Megrahi should be granted a second appeal against his conviction.

He dropped his appeal two days before being released from prison in August 2009 on compassionate grounds.

The planned appeals come as claims were made that a Syrian-based Palestinian group was responsible for the bombing.

A report by Channel 4 News claims court papers lodged in the US in late 2000 and early 2001 by CIA agent Dr Richard Fuisz stated that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) had carried out the bombing, but it came too late to be used at the trial.

The Crown Office said the alleged involvement of the PFLP-GC was addressed at the original trial.

John Ashton was a researcher with Megrahi's legal team and discovered the court papers in legal files.

He told Channel 4 News: "This evidence is yet another indication that the real Lockerbie bombers got away and that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was wrongly convicted.

"The British and American governments declared in 1991 that Libya was solely responsible for the bombing, yet for years after senior Syrians were saying that the PFLP-GC was responsible. It seems it was an open secret that the real bombers lay outside Libya."

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: "This is not new. The alleged involvement of the PFLP-GC was addressed at the original trial.

"It is not true to say the defence ran out of time. They did not use Fuisz because he had no evidence to give. There was no request by the defence to delay the trial to hear his evidence, and despite his claims being in the public domain for a considerable period of time, they have never formed the basis of any grounds of appeal on behalf of Megrahi."

Scotland's top law officer Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland announced this week that Libya has appointed two prosecutors to work on the investigation into the bombing.

Robert Mueller, the former head of the FBI, said he believes more people will be charged.

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