A BROMSGROVE man whose daughter was killed in the Lockerbie bombing has praised the trial judge for insisting on the disclosure of secret files.

Dr Jim Swire, a former Bromsgrove GP, said the decision to reveal information held by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is important to maintain the integrity of the trial, so that acquittal would not be secured by a technicality.

It is also important for the public to know the extent of the CIA's knowledge about the bomb, he said.

Dr Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed in the blast, and relatives of other victims are campaigning for an inquiry into the disaster.

He said: "Why was the plane only two thirds full? Why were those people allowed to get on that plane with that bomb on board when there were so many warnings?"

The prosecution is relying on the text of a CIA interview with a man, known as Giacca, to prove that two Libyan men, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, were responsible for the 1988 bombing which killed 270 people.

Giacca, who lives in America under the Witness Protection Program, may benefit from the US government's offer of a $4m reward.

But the defence objected because the full text had not been disclosed.

Lord Sutherland, presiding over the trial, ruled that the evidence must be available to both sides and made public.

The trial is being held at Camp Zeist, in Holland, under Scottish Law.