Latest news with #DickMarquise
Scottish Sun
25-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
I've spent my life hunting Lockerbie bombers… the conspiracy that sickens me & cowards I fear will NEVER face justice
Haunted FBI agent tells The Sun how his search for justice took a dark and dangerous toll on his own life TERROR TORMENT I've spent my life hunting Lockerbie bombers… the conspiracy that sickens me & cowards I fear will NEVER face justice Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHEN Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty of 270 counts of murder for his part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, special agent Dick Marquise squeezed the hand of his FBI colleague and exclaimed a triumphant "Yes!" But this week, with the release of a new BBC drama about the downing of the airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland, he describes his bitter regret that not all the perpetrators have been brought to justice. 14 Policemen stand near the wreckage of the 747 Pan Am airliner that exploded and crashed over Lockerbie Credit: AFP 14 Residents take stock of the shocking damage caused by the explosion Credit: AFP or licensors 14 Dick Marquise was the first FBI agent at the Lockerbie bombing scene Credit: Louis Wood 14 The horrific terror attack is depicted in a new BBC drama Credit: BBC Alleged co-conspirator Lamin Fhimah was found not guilty of carrying out the 1988 atrocity – the deadliest terror attack in UK history - at the same trial. And Dick, 77, is convinced there were at least four more Libyan nationals involved in the plot who they were never able to charge. In an exclusive interview, he revealed: 'There are certainly regrets. 'We do this job so we can look the families in the eyes and say, 'We got justice for your relatives.' 'But when I spoke at a memorial service in Arlington, Virginia, I apologised. 'I told the victims' families: 'My one big regret is that we didn't get everybody.' 'I always hoped Megrahi would confess and he would tell us what happened. 'But his family was well taken care of, he became a martyr and he was pretty well catered to in jail in Scotland.' Sitting in a restaurant in central London during an emotional return to the UK, Dick reels off the names of those he believes evaded justice, most or all of whom are now dead. They include 'engineer' Ezzedine Hinshiri, spy chief Abdullah Senussi, intelligence officer Said Rashid and Libyan Arab Airlines executive Badri Hassan. Alleged bomb maker Abu Agela Masud is another on his list and he is due to stand trial in the States, having been arrested in 2022. I lost my daughter in Lockerbie bombing - now Colin Firth is playing me in new TV series New documents uncovered by French investigative journalists Karl Laske and Vincent Nouzille, and Libyan activist Samir Shegwara, are said to confirm that Libya's Jamahiriya Security Organisation (JSO) conspired to plant a bomb in a suitcase loaded aboard Pan Am Flight 103. The Detroit-bound plane was less than 40 minutes into its ascent from London Heathrow when, at just after 7pm on 21 December 1988, the device went off at 30,000ft - causing debris to rain down over an area of 845 square miles, creating the largest crime scene ever formed. All 259 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of the Seas" – including 190 US citizens - were killed and 11 more died when parts of the plane impacted with the ground. More than 5,000 responders combed the countryside for clues afterwards and 319 tonnes of wreckage was found and taken as evidence. During the investigation, 10,000 individuals were interviewed in 16 countries. But it was only when a tiny fragment determined that the bomb had been placed inside a radio – and a second fragment identified the explosive timer – that the trail led to Libya. 14 A mock-up of the explosive-laden cassette player that destroyed the plane Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 14 Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifa Fhimah were both tried over the attacks, but the latter walked free Credit: Reuters Megrahi and Fhimah were charged in 1991 and their trial was held in a specially built Scottish court on former US military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. In 2003, dictator Muammar Gaddafi accepted Libya was responsible and agreed to pay $1billion in compensation to victims' families. There were rumours he struck in revenge for the killing of his adopted daughter in a US airstrike. However, Gaddafi always maintained that he did not personally order the attack. Conspiracy theories And the case has been beset with conspiracy theories pointing the finger at other terror outfits including the Palestinian group, PFLP-GC. Dr Jim Swire, 89 - whose daughter Flora was amongst the victims, and who was recently played by actor Colin Firth in the Sky Atlantic drama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth - is convinced Megrahi was framed for political reasons. Dick hits back: 'I respect Dr Swire, I respect his opinion. I don't agree with it and I've told him as much. 'When I watched the Colin Firth drama and they snuck in the conspiracy theory about the planting of the fragment, well, it smacks all of us in the face, the suggestion we were corrupt. 'I know how the evidence was collected and how it was preserved. I know how it was protected. Those things just didn't happen. 'I'm 99.9 per cent certain that Masud armed the bomb and Megrahi and Fhimah arranged for it to be put on the plane. 'The plane took off and Megrahi and Musad flew back to Libya 30 minutes later and Fhimah went back 10 days later. 'Gaddafi had a lot of control over his intelligence agencies, but I can't say for certain that he gave the order.' 14 Dr Jim Swire, the father of Lockerbie bombing victim Flora Swire Credit: Damien McFadden 14 Flora was one of the hundreds of innocent victims killed in the attack Credit: Nick McGowan-Lowe 14 Dr Swire was portrayed by Colin Firth in a recent drama Credit: Graeme Hunter Traumatic toll Father-of-three Dick today reveals the huge toll the investigation took on his health. He said: 'When we started, we had a ton of information coming in from all over the world and I was in the office about 18 hours a day. 'You want to do the right thing, you want justice for the families. 'I only had one person tell me, 'If this gets f***ed up, it's your career.' I didn't have a day off for at least a month. I had a lot of stress and it was all internal. Dick Marquise 'I had lots of trips to the hospital emergency room with chest pains. 'I had an ulcer in my chest and it took three years to diagnose it. 'There were at least three trips to the ER and this was right before the indictment time (in late 1991). 'It was exacerbated by the travelling. I did 17 trips in about two years. 'I had two teenagers and a younger one and boys are a handful. My wife Pat was a real trooper and she held down the fort and managed those kids.' Killer's last laugh Megrahi was given a life sentence in 2001, but he was released on compassionate grounds eight years later having been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He received a hero's welcome on his return to Libya and spent his final days living in a villa in the capital Tripoli before he died in 2012. Dick acted as a consultant on the new BBC series The Bombing of Pan Am 103, which started this week. He believes the drama shows how the probe set new standards for international co-operation, thanks in part to the strong bond he formed with his UK counterpart Stuart Henderson, who died aged 79 in 2019. 14 The reconstructed remains of Pan Am Flight 103 Credit: Getty Images - Getty 14 Local resident Robert Love stands by one of the four engines of the aircraft that landed out of the sky Credit: AFP or licensors 14 Dictator Muammar Gaddafi accepted Libya was responsible Credit: Getty Dick said: 'Stuart and I were like brothers. We were close for 30 years and he was a wonderful guy. 'I was a pallbearer at his funeral and his death deeply affected me. Going back and walking around Lockerbie, it brings back a lot of memories. 'He and I built rapport and that was something that was missing in the early days of the investigation when we were all fighting each other. 'When the verdict came in, Stuart sat behind me and I was next to FBI agent Phil Reid - and we were literally holding hands. 'They announced Megrahi first and said 'guilty' and I remember squeezing Phil's hand and we went, 'Yes!' 'But when Fhimah was acquitted, we said: 'That just doesn't make sense.' 'We were dejected afterwards, thinking how can they let him go? 'And when we got the sentence, someone calculated it was 27 days for every murder. "Megrahi was released in 2009, so he didn't even get that long. It was hugely frustrating.' The Bombing of Pan Am 103 continues on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Sunday at 9pm. 14 An artist's impression of the courtroom where the two Libyans accused in the 1988 attack were tried Credit: Reuters
The Sun
25-05-2025
- The Sun
I've spent my life hunting Lockerbie bombers… the conspiracy that sickens me & cowards I fear will NEVER face justice
WHEN Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was found guilty of 270 counts of murder for his part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, special agent Dick Marquise squeezed the hand of his FBI colleague and exclaimed a triumphant "Yes!" But this week, with the release of a new BBC drama about the downing of the airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland, he describes his bitter regret that not all the perpetrators have been brought to justice. 14 14 14 14 Alleged co-conspirator Lamin Fhimah was found not guilty of carrying out the 1988 atrocity – the deadliest terror attack in UK history - at the same trial. And Dick, 77, is convinced there were at least four more Libyan nationals involved in the plot who they were never able to charge. In an exclusive interview, he revealed: 'There are certainly regrets. 'We do this job so we can look the families in the eyes and say, 'We got justice for your relatives.' 'But when I spoke at a memorial service in Arlington, Virginia, I apologised. 'I told the victims' families: 'My one big regret is that we didn't get everybody.' 'I always hoped Megrahi would confess and he would tell us what happened. 'But his family was well taken care of, he became a martyr and he was pretty well catered to in jail in Scotland.' Sitting in a restaurant in central London during an emotional return to the UK, Dick reels off the names of those he believes evaded justice, most or all of whom are now dead. They include 'engineer' Ezzedine Hinshiri, spy chief Abdullah Senussi, intelligence officer Said Rashid and Libyan Arab Airlines executive Badri Hassan. Alleged bomb maker Abu Agela Masud is another on his list and he is due to stand trial in the States, having been arrested in 2022. I lost my daughter in Lockerbie bombing - now Colin Firth is playing me in new TV series New documents uncovered by French investigative journalists Karl Laske and Vincent Nouzille, and Libyan activist Samir Shegwara, are said to confirm that Libya's Jamahiriya Security Organisation (JSO) conspired to plant a bomb in a suitcase loaded aboard Pan Am Flight 103. The Detroit-bound plane was less than 40 minutes into its ascent from London Heathrow when, at just after 7pm on 21 December 1988, the device went off at 30,000ft - causing debris to rain down over an area of 845 square miles, creating the largest crime scene ever formed. All 259 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of the Seas" – including 190 US citizens - were killed and 11 more died when parts of the plane impacted with the ground. More than 5,000 responders combed the countryside for clues afterwards and 319 tonnes of wreckage was found and taken as evidence. During the investigation, 10,000 individuals were interviewed in 16 countries. But it was only when a tiny fragment determined that the bomb had been placed inside a radio – and a second fragment identified the explosive timer – that the trail led to Libya. Megrahi and Fhimah were charged in 1991 and their trial was held in a specially built Scottish court on former US military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands. In 2003, dictator Muammar Gaddafi accepted Libya was responsible and agreed to pay $1billion in compensation to victims' families. There were rumours he struck in revenge for the killing of his adopted daughter in a US airstrike. However, Gaddafi always maintained that he did not personally order the attack. Conspiracy theories And the case has been beset with conspiracy theories pointing the finger at other terror outfits including the Palestinian group, PFLP-GC. Dr Jim Swire, 89 - whose daughter Flora was amongst the victims, and who was recently played by actor Colin Firth in the Sky Atlantic drama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth - is convinced Megrahi was framed for political reasons. Dick hits back: 'I respect Dr Swire, I respect his opinion. I don't agree with it and I've told him as much. 'When I watched the Colin Firth drama and they snuck in the conspiracy theory about the planting of the fragment, well, it smacks all of us in the face, the suggestion we were corrupt. 'I know how the evidence was collected and how it was preserved. I know how it was protected. Those things just didn't happen. 'I'm 99.9 per cent certain that Masud armed the bomb and Megrahi and Fhimah arranged for it to be put on the plane. 'The plane took off and Megrahi and Musad flew back to Libya 30 minutes later and Fhimah went back 10 days later. 'Gaddafi had a lot of control over his intelligence agencies, but I can't say for certain that he gave the order.' 14 14 Traumatic toll Father-of-three Dick today reveals the huge toll the investigation took on his health. He said: 'When we started, we had a ton of information coming in from all over the world and I was in the office about 18 hours a day. 'You want to do the right thing, you want justice for the families. 'I only had one person tell me, 'If this gets f***ed up, it's your career.' I didn't have a day off for at least a month. I had a lot of stress and it was all internal. Dick Marquise 'I had lots of trips to the hospital emergency room with chest pains. 'I had an ulcer in my chest and it took three years to diagnose it. 'There were at least three trips to the ER and this was right before the indictment time (in late 1991). 'It was exacerbated by the travelling. I did 17 trips in about two years. 'I had two teenagers and a younger one and boys are a handful. My wife Pat was a real trooper and she held down the fort and managed those kids.' Killer's last laugh Megrahi was given a life sentence in 2001, but he was released on compassionate grounds eight years later having been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He received a hero's welcome on his return to Libya and spent his final days living in a villa in the capital Tripoli before he died in 2012. Dick acted as a consultant on the new BBC series The Bombing of Pan Am 103, which started this week. He believes the drama shows how the probe set new standards for international co-operation, thanks in part to the strong bond he formed with his UK counterpart Stuart Henderson, who died aged 79 in 2019. 14 14 Dick said: 'Stuart and I were like brothers. We were close for 30 years and he was a wonderful guy. 'I was a pallbearer at his funeral and his death deeply affected me. Going back and walking around Lockerbie, it brings back a lot of memories. 'He and I built rapport and that was something that was missing in the early days of the investigation when we were all fighting each other. 'When the verdict came in, Stuart sat behind me and I was next to FBI agent Phil Reid - and we were literally holding hands. 'They announced Megrahi first and said 'guilty' and I remember squeezing Phil's hand and we went, 'Yes!' 'But when Fhimah was acquitted, we said: 'That just doesn't make sense.' 'We were dejected afterwards, thinking how can they let him go? 'And when we got the sentence, someone calculated it was 27 days for every murder. "Megrahi was released in 2009, so he didn't even get that long. It was hugely frustrating.' The Bombing of Pan Am 103 continues on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Sunday at 9pm. 14 14
Daily Record
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 release date, cast, trailer, plot and everything you need to know
The BBC and Netflix Lockerbie bombing drama premieres soon Following on from Sky drama Lockerbie: A Search for Truth earlier this year, the BBC and Netflix are releasing their own drama focusing on the fateful Pan Am 103 flight and its effects on the small Scottish town which became the crash site and tragically one of the largest crime scenes in history. The drama from the makers of Line of Duty features an international all-star cast, with filming taking place in both Scotland, Toronto and Malta. Here's your lowdown on The Bombing of Pam Am 103, previously titled Lockerbie. When will The Bombing of Pan Am 103 be released? The factual drama series begins on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Sunday May 18 at 9pm, with new episodes premiering at 9pm every Sunday and Monday for three weeks. Netflix will be dropping the show globally for viewers worldwide to watch the series at a later date. How many episodes are in The Bombing of Pan Am 103? There is a total of six episodes in the series with BBC viewers getting two episodes each week. Who is in the cast of The Bombing of Pan Am 103? Starring in The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is American star Patrick J. Adams as Dick Marquise, with the actor best known for his role in Suits opposite Gabriel Macht and Meghan Markle. Joining him will be fellow American star and Emmy winner Merritt Wever as Kathryn Turman. Fans will recognise Wever from her roles in Apple TV+'s Severance, The Walking Dead and Nurse Jackie. Sex Education and SAS Rogue Heroes star Connor Swindells takes on the role of Scottish police detective Ed McCusker. Lauren Lyle, best known for Outlander, Vigil and Karen Pirie, portrays Ed's wife and former police officer June McCusker. British star Terence Maynard portrays Gabe Lepley after parts in Coronation Street, Sherwood, The Witcher, Professor T and Ridley. Eddie Marsan appears as Tom Thurman following on from roles in Prime Video's The Power and Ray Donovan. Tony Curran plays police detective Harry Bell, with the actor recognisable for his roles in Mary & George, Mayflies and the upcoming prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Peter Mullan is senior officer John Orr and counts credits in Ozark, Outlander: Blood of My Blood and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Downton Abbey's Phyllis Logan is Lockerbie local activist Moira Shearer. Cora Bissett from Annika and Shetland stars as Lockerbie resident Elma Pringle and another local hero during the tragedy. Other cast members Dinosaur star Molly Geddes as police officer Lauren Aitken, Mr Bates vs The Post Office's Dana Haqjoo as Nazir Jaafar, Poldark's John Hollingworth as Seymour, and Ripper Street actor Adam Rothenberg as Neil Gallagher. The ensemble cast also features appearances from Douglas Hodge from The Great and Catastrophe, Nicholas Gleaves of After The Flood and The Rising fame, and The Undeclared War and Traces actor Andrew Rothney. Further cast members include Kevin McKidd of Grey's Anatomy and Six Four fame, Parker Sawyers best known for Spy/Master and P-Valley, James Harkness from The Sixth Commandment and The Victim, Vigil and Cobra's Khalid Laith and Amanda Drew from The Gold and Wolf. What is The Bombing of Pan Am 103 about? The Bombing of Pan Am 103 focuses on the real-life 1988 terrorist attack, which saw an explosive detonating in the plane's hold over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie. The flight was travelling from London Heathrow to JFK with 270 people killed, including 43 British citizens and 190 Americans. The Lockerbie Bombing is the worst ever terror attack on British soil and sadly marked the first major act of terrorism against American citizens. The drama will also look at the police efforts to bring to justice those responsible and the huge impact of the crash on Lockerbie itself. Filmmaker Adam Morane-Griffiths developed the project and carried out extensive research research, speaking to Scottish police officers and representatives from United States investigative agencies. Many of those interviewed by Morane-Griffiths had never previously shared their stories, giving a voice to the unheard voices of Lockerbie. Moreover, programme-makers interviewed many of the families and loved ones of the victims, sharing the impact the bombing had on their lives. In the wake of the bombing, there was heroic activism and campaigning leading to lasting change in the way authorities approached security, safety and duty of care towards those involved in mass fatality incidents.
