A GLOUCESTERSHIRE father whose daughter died in the Lockerbie plane disaster has defended a request from the bomber to be released on compassionate grounds.

Jim Swire, from Chipping Campden, is supporting the appeal to the Scottish Government by Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi to be freed because he has terminal prostate cancer.

Mr Swire, 72, who lost his daughter Flora on the eve of her 24th birthday, said: "It would be an abominable cruelty to make a man die in prison away from his family.

"I do not believe he is a threat to the public."

Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb on December 21, 1988, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members. Elev- en people in Lock- erbie, south Scotland, were killed as large sections of the plane fell in and around the town, bringing total fatalities to 270.

In 2001, Megrahi was found guilty of the atrocity and is serving a life term with a minimum of 27 years.

Should his appeal be successful, he could go free as early as next week.

Another application has also been made for him to be transferred to serve the rest of his sentence in a Libyan jail.

His possible release has sparked outrage among US relatives of the bombing victims.

But Mr Swire (inset), who has led a 20-year campaign to find out the truth about the attack, said: "I am someone who does not believe he is guilty. The sooner he is with family, the better.

"On reasonable human grounds it is the right thing to do and if it's true that he is to be returned on compassionate grounds, then that would be more to Scotland's credit than returning him under the prisoner transfer agreement."