Crown Office claims that a fresh trial could be initiated against Lhamin Khalifah Fhimah, acquitted at the Zeist trial of any involvement in the Pan Am 103 case, under the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act have been dismissed by Professor Robert Black QC.

The Times newspaper reports that “Crown Office sources have confirmed that they are ready to examine the case of Al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah”.

However, no such claim has been made on the record, and the Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson QC, has refused to confirm the position, and declined to name Khaifa’s case as one which may be considered for retrial.

The change to the law which came into effect yesterday permits a second trial to be initiated under circumstances where “compelling new evidence emerges to substantially strengthen the case against the accused”.

“The Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson QC, has been asked by the Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland QC, to review and prioritise cases which may be prosecuted anew under the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Bill,” the Crown Office communications department said in a statement.

“It is too early to say which cases would be considered, nor would we speculate on how any particular cases will be dealt with under the change to the law of double jeopardy in Scotland.”

Professor Black said he would be “astounded if prosecutors sought to re-indict Lamin Fhimah.”

“The Crown Office is just as aware as the rest of us are that the astonishing thing about the Zeist trial was not the acquittal of Fhimah but the conviction of Abdelbaset Megrahi,” he said.

“Any ‘new evidence’ that has emerged since 2001 points clearly towards the innocence of the accused Libyans rather than their guilt, as the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission amongst others has pointed out.”

The Firm asked the Crown Office to confirm whether the off the record briefing given to Times by Crown Office "sources" would be supported by an on the record clarification.

The Crown Office have declined to comment.