Maltese shopkeeper and key Lockerbie witness who helped convict bomber dies of natural causes
Retired cop tells of Tony Gauci's 'great honesty and bravery' in nailing Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi for UK's worst terror attack
A MALTESE shopkeeper whose evidence helped convict the Lockerbie bomber has died.
Tony Gauci died in Malta of natural causes, a retired senior police officer involved in the case told the BBC.
Mr Gauci said he had sold Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi clothing found wrapped around the bomb which exploded as flight Pan Am 103 flew over Scotland in 1988, killing 270 people.
Megrahi, a Libyan airline security chief, was convicted in 2001 but maintained he was innocent until his death four years ago.
Questions have been asked about Mr Gauci's reliability, including his identification of Megrahi.
He was also accused of receiving money in connection with the inquiry.
But Scottish prosecutors have insisted no witnesses were offered inducements and, in 2014, reaffirmed their belief that alleged spy Megrahi was guilty.
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The retired police officer spoke of Mr Gauci's "great honesty, integrity and bravery in the face of constant threats as a result of the evidence he gave".
The Scottish government released Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009 after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given six months to live. He returned to Libya, where he died three years later.
Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi admitted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing - Britain's worst terrorist attack - in 2003 and agreed to pay £1.7billion compensation.