Sir Malcolm Rifkind is a British politician who had a parliamentary career spanning more than 40 years. Sir Malcolm served in the cabinets of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1986 to 1997, and was also Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2010 to 2015. He served in various roles as a Conservative Cabinet Minister, holding high ranking positions including Secretary of State for Scotland, Secretary of State for Transport, Secretary of State for Defence and Foreign Secretary. 

Sir Malcolm was born in Edinburgh and studied Law at the University of Edinburgh before undertaking a postgraduate Degree in Political Science. He was called to the Scottish Bar in 1970 and practised as an advocate until 1974. He entered Parliament in the February 1974 general election representing Edinburgh Pentlands for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

On the night of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, Sir Malcolm was working in London as the Secretary of State for Scotland, with Margaret Thatcher in office as Prime Minister. He begins his story with his first recollections of hearing that there had been a major incident in south west Scotland. 

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Sir Malcolm’s job was to ensure he was being kept informed of all developments and new information coming from Lockerbie.

However, it soon became apparent that Sir Malcolm was required to be on the ground in the town itself, and he enlisted other government officials to accompany him. 

An RAF jet was scrambled for use by Sir Malcolm and his accompanying personnel, and it was flown to Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire where the group boarded a helicopter and travelled on to Lockerbie. 

On arrival, Sir Malcolm was driven straight to Sherwood Crescent, where the fuselage had obliterated a number of houses- killing eleven local residents on the ground.

After spending time in the Sherwood Crescent area of Lockerbie, Sir Malcolm was asked to attend a press conference in the Town Hall.

Due to the location of Lockerbie- in rural south-west Scotland- and given that it had only been a number of hours since the attack took place, Sir Malcolm was not prepared for the large number of reporters and camera crews waiting in attendance.

It was apparent that the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was required in Lockerbie to offer her condolences and establish how best to support the wealth of townspeople affected by the attack. 

Sir Malcolm accompanied Margaret Thatcher on a visit to Tundergarth, where the nose cone of the Clipper Maid of the Seas had crashed in a field opposite the Parish church.

By this time, it was daylight, and a number of reporters and camera crews had made the three mile journey outside of the town, to capture the visit. 

Those present included Hector Munro, Member of Parliament for Dumfries, Donald Dewar, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Margaret Thatcher and other government officials from different political parties.

Emergency responders were also at the scene, beginning to mark debris and bodies in the surrounding fields. After visiting the nosecone, the officials made their way back to the field entrance, where the Prime Minister addressed the media. 

The video below captures the visit, where Sir Malcolm can be seen beside Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The source of the video is ITN. 

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher spent time visiting all of the major impact sites and speaking with emergency responders and townsfolk alike.

Below is an interview that the Prime Minister gave to the press. She is heard offering words of comfort to the community, as well as praising all of the emergency workers. The video source is STV. 

A major incident of this nature had never been witnessed on UK soil before, and emergency services from all across Dumfries and Galloway were immediately deployed to Lockerbie.

The response during the night and early hours following the bombing was a herculean effort by all involved, from back room staff to front line workers and the residents of Lockerbie.

On the evening of 22nd December, Sir Malcolm was interviewed by Gavin Esle for a special edition of the BBC's 'Newsnight' programme. He reflects on the events that have taken place in Lockerbie, the work that has been done and the investigation that lies ahead. 

The video source is BBC. 

Attention was quickly focused on determining what had caused a passenger plane to be destroyed with such ferocity that the debris field was almost 850 square miles across southern Scotland and northern England.

It was clear that this had been no accident, and that terrorists were responsible for planting a bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103. The investigation teams then had the gargantuan task of putting together a puzzle made from thousands of pieces. 

Sir Malcolm recalls the complexity of the legalities from the outset- with the bombing taking place against an American passenger plane, over Scottish airspace and carried out by Libyans.

Sir Malcolm practised as an Advocate from 1970 until 1974, and so was well experienced with the Scottish legal system. Convicted bomber Abdelbaset al- Megrahi was convicted in 2001, but was released from a Scottish prison on ‘compassionate grounds’ in 2009. He died at his home in Libya in 2012. 

In an article for The Guardian in 2009, Sir Malcolm expressed his anger at the Justice Secretary, Jack Straw and the Scottish justice minister Kenny MacAskill’s decision:

“I believe that he (Jack Straw), and Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, got it wrong in releasing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to Libya. If his release had been a precondition of Libya giving up its support for terrorism and its nuclear weapons programme, their actions would have been justified. But it was not." 

On December 11th, 2022, almost 34 years after the bombing, the United States arrested its first suspect to stand trial in U.S. courts, for the second deadliest terrorist attack against America. 

The U.S. Department of Justice obtained custody to prosecute Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi for his alleged role as bomb-maker, in the attack of Pan American flight 103, over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Mas'ud is due to stand trial in the US in May 2025. 

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi had initially refused to hand over al-Megrahi or Fhimah- the second suspect. However, his resistance led to ongoing negotiations and UN sanctions.

In 1999, Gadaffi finally handed over both men to face trial. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, was jailed for life, but Fhimah was found not guilty.

In 2011, Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebel forces. Sir Malcom Rifkind recalls his reactions to the news:

Major legislation changes regarding aviation security and safety were born out of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. One example is that all luggage had to be assigned to a passenger upon check-in, and no unaccompanied baggage could remain on-board an aircraft. 

Sir Malcolm provides his thoughts on the advancement of aviation security and why he believes a similar attack has not happened (in the UK).

However, the terrorist attacks that took place in America on September 11th, 2001, involved commercial passenger airliners and remain the deadliest terror attacks in US history.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 had a significant impact on the way that terrorism had been viewed globally up until 1988.

When asked about the importance of remembering the bombing, and the creation of a new Legacy Museum on site at Tundergarth, Sir Malcolm believes the event should not be forgotten.