Adequately Explained by Stupidity?: Lockerbie, Luggage and Lies

by Morag G. Kerr

Tunnel vision or organised cover-up? How the Lockerbie investigation got the wrong man

Twenty-five years after Maid of the Seas crashed on the town of Lockerbie, this groundbreaking book introduces an entirely new perspective on the controversial investigation and subsequent conviction. Concentrating almost entirely on the transfer baggage evidence, it exposes shocking deficiencies in both the police inquiry and the forensic investigation, which led the hunt in entirely the wrong direction.

Cleverly constructed to lead the reader through the complexities of the case, the book provides insights which will be new to even the most seasoned Lockerbie pundit, while remaining accessible to those with little or no previous familiarity with the subject. The reader will see all the main aspects of the official account of the Lockerbie disaster comprehensively destroyed.

This is the first book about Lockerbie to deal rigorously with the detail of the transfer baggage evidence. Dr. Kerr has been given access to reports, statements and photographs not previously available to the general public, and has analysed the information with forensic rigour. This analysis proves conclusively that the bomb that brought down the plane was introduced at Heathrow airport and not at Malta as claimed.

Key Selling
• Published on the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster, which happened on 21st December 1988.
• Morag has been Secretary Depute of “Justice for Megrahi” since 2010, and is the author of the widely-acclaimed pamphlet Fact and Fiction.
• On 23rd December 1988, Morag was driving on the A74. This was the stimulus for her research into the subject.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2013

Reviews

[K.A. Krisko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to evaluate. It is a non-fiction exploration of the suitcases and how they were loaded onto Pan-Am Flight 103, which later crashed over Lockerbie, Scotland, and for which A. Mehgrahi was eventually convicted. It might seem, at first blush, that there isn't enough on suitcases to write an entire book about. However, it turns out that there is plenty. I actually found it very difficult to picture and track the movements of each of the suitcases that ended up on the flight, as described, from both feeder flights and arriving passengers, those that belonged to people on the plane and those that did not. This is more a problem of my own ability to keep everything straight, despite diagrams and appendices, than an issue with the book. I'll note that I read it in ebook format when it is designed to be read in paperback, where the diagrams would show up better and be more accessible for flipping back and forth.

The research and problem-solving that went into this book is extensive. I'm fairly convinced by the evidence presented, despite my inability to completely track what went on. Don't expect a neat wrap-up, though; it might be too late for that. But if you'd like an in-depth glimpse into the incredible amount of detailed information that needed to be examined and organized after this event, and which was apparently not, you'll find this of interest.

[Chris Shepheard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the whole Lockerbie case, this book is something of a dilemma. Superbly researched and packed with information, the author must be applauded for the work undertaken. However the presentation of that information leaves a little to be desired.

The whole case was extremely complex and one really needs to have read other accounts of the whole disaster and its aftermath to fully appreciate how this tale of lost luggage and abominable forensic report presentation fits into the picture.

What is very clear from the book, however, is the fact that Malta, Megrahi and a bag travelling from Frankfurt may have had very little to do with what happened to PA103.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exposes the inconvenient truth that the suitcase that exploded on Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in December 1988, started its deadly journey at Heathrow and not from Malta.

[Kevinjwoods · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is one major problem with this book which is that while it almost certainly proves that the bomb was placed in the plane at Heathrow, and that almost certainly Meghari had nothing to do with the bombing it fails to come up wit any alternative that doesn't have similar flaws, for example it seems to prove that the bomb was created in Germany (theres no index so double checking anything requires rereading everything) it cant explain how it got to Heathrow to be placed in the baggage compartment by someone who knew details of the baggage policy at Heathrow, it also requires that all the clues aimed at Malta and Libya be ignored, how did maltese clothing find itself alongside the bomb in Heathrow is never considered, and the part of a bomb later found pointing to Libya has to be a mistake or planted.
In fact it goes into great and complicated detail about the position of the case and the security measures at various airports and finally proves only that nothing can be proved.

[Ed Crutchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary opportunity to delve into the fine details of the forensic case against Megrahi and all its weaknesses, and scary errors, misdirections, or underplaying of evidence that might occur in any enquiry. There is a whiff of politics in the air, where the Brits and Germans offload the blame onto poor Malta who appears to have had by far the tightest airport procedures. Key testimonies from Bedford and Manly go against the grain and point to the bomb being placed in London. And what placing. The bomb was quite small, but ‘miraculously’ found itself right next to the fuselage where it could do damage. The chances of that occurring through coincidence were miniscule. A super book.

[Ietrio · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weird book. It does not look like the regular conspiracy theorist fare. But why make it? There is no trial and conviction after this book. Or anyhow related to this particular investigation. There are some facts thrown in. But the end result are questions. I read large quantities of books, so probably I am the last person to judge how an individual spends his or her time on Earth, but, like the Kennedy assassination, why even bother? Probably because there is a compulsion. Which goes back to square one: the conspiracy.