THE Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, who is terminally ill with cancer, could be freed from jail on bail in a week, it emerged last night.

The Libyan sentenced for his part in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, the biggest mass murder on British soil, has applied for interim liberation - effectively his release on bail pending the outcome of an appeal.

The former Libyan intelligence officer, who is dying from advanced prostate cancer, has been given months to live.

It is expected his lawyers will use this to argue his case for release and medical reports have been sent to the appeal courts.

Arguments over the application will be heard at court in Edinburgh next Thursday.

It emerged last week that the 56-year-old had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and the disease had spread to other parts of his body. Some of the relatives of the 270 people killed in the Lockerbie disaster have called for his release on compassionate grounds under the condition he is not free until very near the end of his life.

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora died in the bombing, supported freeing al Megrahi, and blamed the slow appeal process for creating the current predicament. Keeping him away from his family in such a situation would amount to "exquisite torture", Dr Swire said.

"It's intolerable that some five years after this man requested a further appeal against his conviction we still do not even have a start date for his second appeal," he said.

"Had we shown greater speed and determination to see this appeal launched, then we might well not now be faced with the dilemma which is that of a dying man who may or may not be guilty of the dreadful crime alleged against him."

The question of whether he should be released or not was one of "common humanity", Dr Swire continued.

"The man has reportedly got months to live. My personal feelings are that to force him to remain segregated from his family and his five children for the short remaining time that he may have before him would amount to exquisite torture."

Megrahi is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years for the bombing of PanAm flight 103 in 1988.