Gaddafi son accuses Lockerbie families of being 'very greedy' for seeking compensation

In an extraordinary interview with the BBC, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi accused them of 'trading with the blood of their sons and daughters.'

He also claimed that Libya accepted blame for the 1988 terror attack only to get international sanctions lifted.

Terror attack: 281 people died when Pan Am Flight 103 hit Lockerbie

When challenged that this was a cynical way to conduct foreign policy, he launched into his attack on the families, saying: 'The negotiation with them, it was very terrible and very materialistic and very greedy. They were asking for more money and more money and more money.'

Gaddafi carries out political and diplomatic duties on behalf of his father and many believe he is being groomed to take over.

Pan Am flight 103 from London to New York was blown up by a bomb on December 21, 1988.

All 259 passengers and crew were killed, with 11 people on the ground, in Britain's worst air disaster. Libya eventually paid £2.7billion compensation.

Dr Jim Swire, whose daughter Flora was killed, said no money could make up for the loss of loved ones.

He added: 'So far as many relatives I know would say, we would gladly repay any " compensation" money if we could just have our loved ones back.'

He said Gaddafi's rant would be found 'deeply offensive' by some relatives.

Claim: Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi and his father, the Libyan leader

Fellow Lockerbie relative Martin Cadman said he was not surprised by Mr al-Gaddafi's comments but insisted that the families had received only a small amount of compensation from US airline Pan Am.

The money paid by Libya was not compensation, he said. 'You can't be compensated twice for the same event, and whatever it was, it was not compensation. It was some political device to allow Libya to get back into world trade, I suppose.'

Answering the claims of greed, he told BBC Radio Scotland: 'I can't comment on whether some relatives are greedy. I can only say my own conscience is completely clear.'

Life sentence: Abdelbaset Al Megrahi inside his Scottish prison cell

The end of sanctions allowed Libya's economy to recover while giving the West access to its oil.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair visited Colonel Gaddafi during his farewell tour last year and hailed him as an ally in the so called 'war on terror'.

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is serving a life sentence for the bombing but has been granted leave to appeal for a second time next year.

Gaddafi's outburst comes in a BBC documentary - The Conspiracy Files: Lockerbie -  to be aired on Sunday.