Luke would swap Lockerbie £18m to have his dad back
Gran on compo legacy of 1988 horror
THE sole survivor of a family wiped by the Lockerbie bombing and personal tragedies would gladly swap his compensation fortune to have his dad back.
Luke Nesfield received an estimated £18million this autumn after turning 21 as the 30th anniversary of the downing of Pam Am flight 103 approached.
But maternal grandmother Valerie Stevenson said: “He doesn’t really care about the money. He’d give his eye teeth to have his dad back. He was so close, although he was so young when he lost him.”
In all, 259 passengers and crew died when the 747 was blown up above the Scottish town on December 21 1988.
On the ground 11 more were killed.
Luke’s father Steven Flannigan was dubbed the Orphan of Lockerbie after his parents Tom and Kathleen and ten-year-old sister Joanne died when debris from the airliner hit their home.
Steven, then 14, escaped because he was taking the bike that was to be Joanne’s Christmas gift to a neighbour.
His brother David, 19, also survived but both were to die in their 20s.
The Flannigan brothers were awarded more than £2million from Pan Am and in 2003 £6.25million was paid to a trust set up in Luke’s name. It came from the Libyan regime of Col Muammar Gaddafi, held responsible for the atrocity. The money was invested and steadily grew in value.
Steven began a relationship with Lisa Gregory in 1996 and Luke was born the following year.
However they split up just weeks after his birth. Luke was just three when Steven was hit by a train after drinking 14 pints of lager.
It was yet another tragedy for the family. His brother David had called the compensation “dirty money” and used it to live the high life, dying of heart failure in Thailand four years after the bombing. Luke now lives in a remote farm near Lockerbie and Valerie is sure he can handle both his fortune and the family’s tragic past.
She said: “Luke is a really nice, funny, down-to-earth boy.
“He keeps sheep and comes down to my farm every day to help. He won’t be flying any helicopters or going in a Rolls Royce.
“I don’t know the exact figure he got. He’s not the sort to make a song and dance about it. Most people round here have no idea of his past or the money.
“Luke is very private but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like him. He’s just our Luke. We talk about him Steven all the time. The disaster still affects our whole family, 30 years on.”