LONDON: Families of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing stood sharply divided yesterday over reports that the former Libyan agent jailed for life for the attack is to be freed on compassionate grounds.

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, 57, who is dying of prostate cancer, could be released from a Scottish jail as early as next week after his conviction for murder in 2001, unconfirmed media reports said.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said no decision had been made, while a spokesman for Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said the reports were "complete speculation". Megrahi's lawyer could not be reached for comment.