The death of the only person convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people should not prevent a public inquiry into his trial, Britain’s press said yesterday.

Mr Megrahi outlived his leader by seven months but both may well have taken the truth of what happened to their grave

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was found guilty of blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which killed all 259 people on board along with 11 people on the ground.

Britain’s newspapers believe that his initial conviction by a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands in 2001 was flawed and called for an official probe.

“With so many loose ends remaining and so many questions about the original trial unresolved, the Scottish government should agree to a public inquiry into the tragedy,” said the left-leaning Independent’s editorial... Mr Megrahi’s death is no reason to stop trying to get to the truth.”

Most of the passengers on the Boeing 747 jet headed from London to New York were Americans.

Mr Megrahi, 60, was released in 2009 after doctors said he had only three months to live, sparking outrage in the United States and Britain.

The Guardian said Mr Megrahi’s death removed a “running sore in relations between London and Washington” but was doubtful it would help answer questions about the initial verdict.

“One might assume that the truth about the bombing might finally emerge,” said its editorial. “But that hope could be premature.”

The liberal broadsheet said the task of rebuilding Libya following the death of veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi could hold up attempts to review any new evidence. “Mr Megrahi outlived his leader by seven months but both may well have taken the truth of what happened to their grave,” it added.

“But if ever a crime of this magnitude warranted an independent review it is this.”

The Times’ leading article said the death brought a “disgraceful episode to an end”, but was hopeful that Libya’s new leaders would cooperate in providing information.

“Thousands of people’s lives were ruined by the callous lack of compassion shown by those who planned and perpetrated it,” it said. “Al-Megrahi did not warrant the reward of being permitted to go home.

“It is to be hoped that the elections due on June 19 will produce a new Libyan government that will seek to unearth the truth about Lockerbie,” it added.