When I speak there'll be three choices before the judges, to resign, to tell the truth or to commit suicide

Colonel Gaddafi

Britain and the US are resisting Libyan demands for the lifting of sanctions, imposed in the wake of the Pan Am flight 103 disaster, in which 270 people were killed.

Washington and London insist Libya must fulfill the conditions of Security Council resolutions which demand full disclosure of its role in the bombing.

There must also be compensation for the relatives of those who died.

'Hero's reception'

A BBC correspondent in Tripoli, Frank Gardner, watched Mr Fhimah emerge from a Royal Netherlands Air Force aircraft to a hero's reception.

He was then driven to the barracks in the centre of Tripoli which the US bombed 15 years ago with heavy loss of life in retaliation for an attack on a nightclub in Berlin where Americans were killed.

Fhimah waves to the crowds in Tripoli

Colonel Gaddafi was present in the crowd at the barracks and was asked by our correspondent if Libya was prepared to pay compensation to relatives of those who died in the Lockerbie crash.

He did not answer that question but said that Libya would be seeking compensation from the West for the "years of sanctions suffered in the 1990s".

Then the Libyan leader said he planned to reveal on Monday evidence that would prove Megrahi was innocent.

'Out of the blue'

Colonel Gaddafi said that when he disclosed his information, the three Scottish judges who found Megrahi guilty would face three choices.

They could resign, tell the truth or commit suicide, he declared.

Our correspondent said Colonel Gaddafi's words "came out of the blue". Libya on Wednesday said it accepted the verdict of the court.

The case was heard by a panel of judges

"It has taken everybody by surprise. I suspect that quite a number of Libyan officials are now scratching their heads, wondering what evidence this is," he added.

Dr Jim Swire, who represents UK families of victims of the bombing, said the Libyan leader could have no grounds for complaint about the trial.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, he said: "In 1991 when the indictment was first issued I went to meet Colonel Gaddafi expressly to ask him to accept trial under Scottish justice for his two citizens.

"By 1994 his government agreed in writing with the proposals of Professor Bob Black of Edinburgh that they be tried under Scottish criminal rules.

Conflicting messages

"That's what has now happened and I think therefore there is a limited extent to which you can beef about it."

There have been conflicting signals out of Libya in response to the West's demands following Megrahi's conviction.

Asked by the BBC if Libya would accept responsibility, Libya Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgam replied: "Never".

But its ambassador to Britain, Mohammed al-Zwai, took a softer stance.

'Fair hearing'

"After the appeal result, in that time we can speak about compensation and we will fulfil our duty as we said before to the Security Council," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"But we still think not now."

UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said he noted the ambassador's comments.

"What he was saying is it would have to wait until the appeal is discharged," he went on.

"He (Megrahi) will of course have a fair hearing as he has already had a fair trial. But in the event of the guilty verdict standing, Libya has to accept that it must take these two further steps."