Conservative transport spokesman Alex Johnstone welcomed the Earl alternative and attacked the previous Scottish administration for backing the original airport link.

BBC: Passenger boarding a train

Mr Megrahi may be the beneficiary of flawed reasoning by a naive Scottish administration or of cynical manoeuvring by the British government.

ECONOMIST: The Lockerbie controversy

The Cambridge University fellow, who is a member of the Northern Ireland Economic Reform Group, expressed worries that the Scottish administration's handling of the matter could damage Northern Ireland's bid to set its own corporation tax.

BBC: Scotland 'will not receive' corporation tax power