Lockerbie: A Search For Truth covers the airline disaster, which claimed 270 lives, and follows Dr Jim Swire’s relentless search for answers.
Set to premiere on Sky and Now, the five-part series delves deep into the struggles of Dr Jim Swire, who relentlessly sought the truth behind the tragic plane crash that took his daughter Flora on December 21, 1988.
As Flora was travelling to visit her boyfriend in America, the Pan Am Flight 103 she was on was destroyed mid-air by a terrorist bomb, killing all on board and 11 residents of the Scottish town below.
Colin Firth takes on the role of the bereaved father in this poignant retelling set for release on Sky and Now on January 2. The acclaimed actor spent time with the real Dr Swire at his home in preparation for the part.
Firth said: “His alertness and intellectual agility were astounding. The script had a real emotional impact on me. I was overwhelmed by the relentless sadness of his journey.”
With the Sky drama set to be broadcast, here’s an update on the real-life Dr Jim Swire, his wife Jane, and their children.
Where are Lockerbie campaigners Dr Jim Swire and Jane Swire now 35 years after the tragedy?
Dr Jim Swire holds the book ‘Megrahi: You Are My Jury’ during the book launch in Edinburgh. (Image: )
reports the 88-year-old Dr Jim Swire resides with his wife and former teacher Jane in the Cotswolds. Their two other children, William and Catherine, are adults with families of their own.
Catherine Swire has penned her perspective on the devastating impact of Lockerbie and the loss of her sister in her book Flame, Ash, Feather: A dozen eggs from Lockerbie.
Dr Swire continues to seek answers about the Lockerbie disaster.
Lockerbie campaigner Dr Jim Swire (left) is portrayed by award-winning actor Colin Firth (right) (Image: PA)
He has long maintained that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan former intelligence officer convicted for the bombing, was innocent. Al-Megrahi passed away on May 20, 2012, after being released from prison on compassionate grounds due to terminal cancer.
In anticipation of the new Sky drama, Dr Jim Swire expressed his hopes to the that the series would prompt further inquiries into the disaster. He urged Sir to disclose all information the UK government holds about the incident.
“One thing we can do is ask the government of today to release all the documentation about Lockerbie,” the former GP stated. “That would be a tremendous help. Here we are, 36 years down the road, and we know a lot of material has been kept out of public view.
“Why isn’t it in the public interest to release it after 36 years? I think that’s something a lot of people would think is pretty fishy.”
Dr Jim Swire has fought for answers about the Lockerbie disaster for nearly 40 years (Image: Jim McEwan)
He continued: “The more people look at what happened at Lockerbie the happier I’ll be.
“You can make your own decision about whether you believe the official version or the alternative that we’ve laboured so far to find.
“I hope this the Sky series will do that because I’m getting pretty long in the tooth and I can’t go on doing this forever.”