THE family of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi – the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing – is said to be “heartbroken” after Scottish judges dismissed his posthumous appeal against conviction.

However, they have instructed their lawyer Aamer Anwar to pursue an appeal to the UK Supreme Court, and are demanding the release of secret evidence held by the UK Government, which they believe incriminates others.

Five judges sitting as the Court of Criminal Appeal had been asked to accept that no reasonable jury, properly directed, could have convicted Megrahi on the evidence led, particularly that of Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci. He said Megrahi had bought clothes from him that were planted in a suitcase containing the bomb that brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, killing 270 people.

The second ground of appeal was that the failure to disclose information to the defence – relating to Gauci’s identification of Megrahi – led to the trial being unfair and thus a miscarriage of justice.

A written judgement delivered yesterday by Lord Justice General Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, said: “On the evidence at trial, a reasonable jury, properly directed, would have been entitled to return a guilty verdict.

READ MORE: Lockerbie bombing: Appeal against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's conviction fails

“The contention that the Crown failed to disclose material which would have created a real prospect of a different verdict is rejected. Both grounds of appeal having been rejected, the appeal against conviction is refused.”

The High Court refused Megrahi’s first appeal in 2002 and it was referred back to the court five years later by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC). He abandoned this second appeal in 2009, shortly before his release from prison on compassionate grounds and died in Libya in 2012.

The US Justice Department last month charged a “third conspirator” in connection with the bombing on the 32nd anniversary of the atrocity. They allege that Abu Agila Mohammad Masud was the bomb-maker and has charged him with terrorism-related crimes.

Anwar said: “Ali Al-Megrahi, the son of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, said his family were left heartbroken by the decision ... What was significant in the US criminal complaint against Masud was his claim that he bought the clothes to put into the Samsonite suitcase that is claimed went on to blow up Pan Am flight 103. Of course, the problem for the US Department of Justice is that the case against Megrahi is still based on the eye-witness testimony of Tony Gauci, stating that Megrahi bought the clothes. How can both men be held responsible?”

Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC reiterated his commitment to the continuing inquiry: “After Megrahi was convicted in 2001 my predecessor as Lord Advocate, Lord Boyd of Duncansby, confirmed to the Scottish Parliament that the investigation into the involvement of others in this terrible crime would continue. I reiterate that commitment today.”

However, Justice for Megrahi (JfM) said it was disappointing, but not unexpected: “For over 30 years the judiciary and Crown Office have stubbornly refused to right this wrong and remove this stain on Scotland’s justice system.”