London - Hopes that the two Lockerbie bombing suspects would be in the Netherlands by the end of this weekend were fading last night, but tomorrow's deadline for the handover is still expected to be kept.
An announcement by the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, the arrival of Scottish police in the Netherlands and developments in Libya had all fuelled hopes that the handover would have taken place yesterday.
They are due to face trial for the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Scotland which killed 270 people. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said yesterday: "Everything seems to be being put in place for a handover."
