The eight-month-old trial of two Libyans accused of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing moved dramatically nearer an end today when lawyers for the accused abruptly ended their submissions.
The surprise announcement came just as proceedings resumed after a one-month break requested by defence lawyers.
The defence had been expected to call a number of witnesses over the next several weeks but changed tack because, they say, the Syrian government refused to respond to a request for what they claim to be a potentially vital document.
"I'm totally amazed. This has come completely out of the blue," said Mr Jim Swire, who has monitored the trial for victims' families after his daughter Flora died aboard Pan Am Flight 103.
Mr Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and Mr Al-Amin Khalifa Fahima deny planting the bomb that blew-up the New York-bound plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.
Defence lawyers argue the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command and the obscure Palestinian Popular Struggle Front were behind the bomb.
Mr Megrahi himself had widely been expected to give evidence today. His lawyer, Mr William Taylor, had suggested he would call Mr Megrahi once the defence had obtained the document from Syria.
But the trial resumed - after a month-long adjournment to allow time for the document to come from Damascus - only to hear the information had proved elusive.
Prosecutor Mr Colin Boyd said: "nothing the Crown has heard gives us reason to expect that this court will ever have sight of this document, if it exists," he added.
Observers suggest a verdict could come as early as next week.
Reuters