American families of victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 yesterday denounced a reported agreement to have two Libyan suspects tried in the Netherlands.
Britain and the United States have been insisting on a trial in either of their countries, a view shared by most of the families of the 270 people who were killed when the aircraft blew up as a bomb detonated over the village of Lockerbie, Scotland, on a flight from London to New York. As well as the 259 people on board the aircraft, another 11 were killed by debris falling to the ground.
The Americans' lawyer said Mr Jim Swire, whose daughter was killed and who negotiated with Libya on behalf of some British families of victims, had no authority to make such an agreement. "As far as I'm concerned, Dr Swire represents only Dr Swire," said New York lawyer Mr Lee Kreindler.
The Libyan lawyer for the two suspects said earlier he had reached agreement with Mr Swire and his lawyer on a proposed trial in the Netherlands under Scottish law for two suspected Libyan intelligence agents indicted for the bombing.
The position of the American families and some of the British families differs sharply from that of Mr Swire, who with his lawyer, Mr Robert Black, held talks in Tripoli this week with Libyan lawyer Mr Ibrahim Legwell and Libyan foreign affairs and justice officials.
They also met the Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gadafy, in a bid to gain support for a trial plan formulated by Mr Black.
One of the American relatives said Mr Swire had been "duped" by Libya, which maintains that the two suspects could not receive a fair trial in either the US or Britain.
Mr Kreindler said Mr Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the explosion , was "not speaking for any of my clients that I know about and we represent between 20 and 30 British families".
In February, the American families were angered by a decision of the United Nations' top court to hear Libyan complaints against Washington and London over their pursuit of the Libyan bombers.
Since 1992, the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Libya for failing to extradite the two men, Abdel Baset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi and AlAmin Khalifa Fhimah, for trial before a Scottish court or in the United States.
Many of the Americans who lost family are suing Libya in civil court in New York seeking unspecified financial damages. The lawsuit alleges that the Libyan government contributed to the bombing and should be held responsible.