The father of a young woman killed in the Lockerbie bombing has spoken of the town’s “act of love” following the tragedy in light of a public outcry over an “offensive” Pan Am-themed Christmas jumper.
Retailer Next was forced to pull the £36 jumper from its website after a petition was launched branding it “offensive and disrespectful” to those affected by the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town on 21 December 1988.
A total of 270 people were killed – 259 passengers and crew and 11 local residents – when a bomb exploded on the Boeing 747 during its flight from London to New York.
The bombing – which will mark its 35th anniversary next week – remains the UK’s worst terrorist attack.
Dr Jim Swire lost daughter Flora, 23, who was on her way to the US to spend Christmas with her American boyfriend.
Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, Dr Swire spoke of how the “ladies in Lockerbie” rallied round soon after the crash and cleaned jumpers, stitched up torn clothing and ironed them before returning them to their owners.
The retired GP, from the Cotswolds, described their actions as an “act of love” which should be remembered amid the outcry over the Pan Am jumper.
Dr Swire said: “The message, I think, of our country should be one of love.
“And those ladies in Lockerbie wanted to do something to help the families of those who’d been so cruelly killed that night, and I think they’ve given us all a lesson.
“And although this is a jumper that has a symbol on it that may be offensive to some, I would absolutely support Lockerbie if that is what they want to do – to have this jumper suppressed or withdrawn from sale.
“But I think, I hope, that at this time of year we can think a little bit about the question of love rather than the question of hate, which fuelled a terrible disaster that fell upon that town 35 years ago and from which [those] ladies emerged with a glowing tribute to the power of love.”
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The petition to remove the jumper was launched by Lockerbie resident Phil Geddes and amassed more than 1,500 signatures.
Mr Geddes described the item as “offensive and disrespectful”, adding: “To see a product that makes light of such a tragedy or uses it for commercial gain is not only insensitive but also deeply hurtful.”
The retailer apologised for the jumper and explained that it was not a Next own-branded item, so was never available for purchase in any of its stores.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “In response to customer contact, Next removed the ‘All + Every’ third-party branded items from its marketplace over the weekend. We apologise for any upset caused.”
