Quiet send off for Lockerbie bomber after decade of life in the public eye There were some signs of his role close to the heart of the now defunct regime of Col Muammar Gaddafi. Senior members of his Megarha tribe, which filled the air force and the intelligence services, were among the 100 mourners in attendance. But there was none of the grandstanding so beloved of the regime he also served as an intelligence operative, such as the cheering crowd that was waiting for him at Tripoli airport when he was released from his Scottish prison almost three years ago. The man who arranged that reception, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, now sits in a makeshift prison in the town of Zintan, two hours' drive to the south. Megrahi's death has received little attention in Libya. It is hard for its citizens to know what to make of crimes such as the bombing of Pan-Am 103 with the loss of 270 lives over Lockerbie, for which Megrahi was convicted in 2001, or the killing of Pc Yvonne Fletcher in London in 1984. They were denied staunchly by the regime for years, and while that is enough in itself for many Libyans to assume it was guilty, it does not make the details of individual responsibility clear. Many believe that Megrahi was somehow a victim of collaboration between Gaddafi and Britain for their own separate purposes. It is rumoured that the family will now release further papers to try to prove his innocence. But their comments have shifted away from former allegations that his conviction was a western conspiracy. He himself, in one of his last interviews, said his role had been "exaggerated." His brother, Mohammed, who cried out "My brother is innocent" as he was buried, afterwards said: "His pain is over now - he is with God. There never was exact proof. Another brother, Abdulhakim, said he had been used as a "scapegoat" for the Gaddafi regime. The new Libyan authorities have promised to co-operate with any further inquiries the British wish to make. There is little sign that any such investigation will start soon.