So much for a more open Libya now that Gaddafi's gone: New government say Lockerbie case is closed

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi always protested his innocence (AFP)

British police hoping a more open Libya freed from the rule of Gaddafi would open doors for a renewed investigation in to the Lockerbie bombing have had their hopes dashed by the country's new government, who say it is a closed case.

Senior officials from the justice department have declared the matter “over” and “something of the past”, it emerged tonight.

British police had been due to reopen inquiries in Libya into the bomb on Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland in 1988 that killed 270 people. The American government was also said to be interested in looking again.

But the Libyan deputy justice minister Hameda al-Magery told the Telegraph: “Britain and America are asking us to reopen this file. But this is something of the past. This is over. We want to move forward to build a new future and not to look back at Gaddafi's black history. This case was closed and both UK and US governments agreed to this. They had their compensation.”

The families of the Lockerbie victims received £1.43bn in compensation from the Libyan government in 2003.

And Salah al-Marghani, the justice minister, reportedly said the matter had been “settled with the Gaddafi regime”.

“I am trying to work on the current situation rather than dig into the past,” he said.

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the late leader of Libya, said he was not responsible for ordering the attack but did accept responsibility for his officials' actions.

Only one person has ever been convicted - Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was jailed in 2001.

He was released from prison by the Scottish government in 2009 on compassionate grounds after he was diagnosed with cancer. Al-Megrahi always protested his innocence. He died in 2012.