??? I find this comment bizarre. The generations orphaned? There were 11 deaths on the ground, a sizeable proportion from one family in the Sherwood Crescent area leaving one surviving son and brother – who was at a neighbour’s house at the time having his bike fixed. The boy was identified at the time by the press and did not have his troubles to seek in later years. I am not sure that his experience can be extrapolated to others – and am not sure if this comment is implying that if this was the case then there is something acceptable about the Dunblane article by Paula Murray (which was cynical gutter journalism of the worst kind in my view), or is suggesting that if the normal teenage behaviour described in that article is indicative of some form of survivor guilt.

Drug abuse in small rural towns like Lockerbie was a problem, and remains a problem. I am not sure that there is any empirical evidence to suggest that there is more of a problem among the families of survivors.

If newspapers were doing their job properly in relation to examination of the condition of the Lockerbie survivors on the ground (and putting to one side the criminal investigation and trial) they’d have examined the provision of mental health care relating to PTSD in Dumfries and Galloway generally, and Lockerbie specifically. And questioned why a more sustained scheme of treatment was not maintained in the town for a lengthy period subsequent to the disaster, when PTSD is generally a slow burner of an illness. But of course that would require consideration of mental health issues – and if it doesn’t involve people damaging others in the community as a result of lack of treatment I guess hacks aren’t interested in it.