The brother of a terror victim has defended Lockerbie campaigner Jim Swire against an attack by the lawyer who began the prosecution against the alleged bombers.

Lord Fraser of Carmyllie claimed that the bereaved father is behaving like a Stockholm syndrome sufferer and is "too close" to the campaign to clear Abdelbaset al Megrahi.

Lord Fraser was Lord Advocate in 1991 when he drew up the indictment against al Megrahi, accusing him of carrying out the atrocity.

In a letter published in The Herald today Charles Norrie - whose brother, Tony, died in 1989 when a French UTA flight exploded following a suspected Libyan terrorist attack - says: "When six weeks before indictments were issued against Mr Megrahi and Mr Fhimah, the names of the four Libyans who were to be charged with the UTA bombing of 1989 were made public, Jim said to me that none of them were on his radar, and he doubted any connection of Libya with Lockerbie.

"Far from being captured by the syndrome, Dr Swire has had a healthy disregard of Mr Megrahi's guilt, from the outset.

"Lord Fraser was always keen to prosecute the Lockerbie two himself, with little regard to the problematic issues of the evidence. Could we fairly accuse the ex-Lord Advocate of anti-Stockhom syndrome, of a falling into prosecutor's fallacy'?"

Since losing his daughter, Flora, in the tragedy, Mr Swire, a retired GP, has become a leading spokesman on behalf of affected UK families.

Mr Norrie adds: "What we must understand about his Lord Fraser's intemperate remarks on Dr Swire's mental condition, made so inappropriately on the occasion of this sad anniversary, is that now the shallow pretence of Mr Megrahi's guilt has fallen away for all those who have thought independently about the Lockerbie process', such as Professor Koechler, the UN observer at Zeist.

"The Scottish judiciary cannot collectively or individually understand that over this prosecution it was soundly hoodwinked by a cruel and callous prosecution composed of half-truths, inspired fantasy and downright lies."