Sumith Prasad
In Peacock’s biographical drama series ‘Lockerbie: A Search for Truth,’ Murray Guthrie is a committed journalist who investigates the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland. After arriving at the scene of the tragedy as the first journalist to do so, he turns his attention towards several details that range from the presence of “crash investigators” to the possible involvement of Palestinian militants in the bombing of the airplane. His commitment to unraveling the mystery behind the case leads him to Jim Swire, the father of Flora Swire, one of the victims of the tragedy. Even though the show is based on a true story, Guthrie cannot be found in real life, which makes the origin of the character intriguing! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Murray Guthrie is a Fictional Journalist Who Resembles Multiple Real-Life Figures
Even though ‘Lockerbie: A Search for Truth’ is based on a real tragedy that shook the United Kingdom and the United States alike, screenwriter David Harrower penned the series integrating several fictional elements, including Murray Guthrie. First of all, the journalist’s newspaper, Dumfries Courier, is an actual Scottish newspaper based in Annan. However, more than any of the journalists who reported the Pan Am Flight 103 crash for the newspaper, the character resembles David Johnston, who is widely regarded as one of the first journalists who arrived at the crash site in real life. At the time, instead of working for a newspaper, he was part of the Edinburgh-based radio station Radio Forth.
In the show, Guthrie takes a special interest in the “crash investigators” who showed up on Grant Nelson’s farm soon after the exploded aircraft ended up in Lockerbie. The journalist eventually theorizes that these men belong to United States agencies. Similarly, David claimed that “FBI agents were quickly on the scene, wandering the hills looking for something of which they will never tell,” as per Jim Swire and Peter Biddulph’s source text ‘The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father’s Search for Justice.’ Furthermore, in the true crime drama, Guthrie never stops claiming that a Palestinian militant organization orchestrated the bombing for Iran.
David raised the same allegation in real life, forcing the authorities to intervene and ask for details concerning his source. Having said that, it does not mean Guthrie is an outright fictionalized version of the radio journalist. In the show, the character forms a decades-long relationship with Jim, which didn’t happen in reality in the case of the activist and the radio journalist. David also didn’t attend the trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, accompanied by Jim. Furthermore, in the series, the reporter character neither writes a book soon after the tragedy nor is asked by the cops to reveal his sources, which do not align with David’s experiences.
Murray Guthrie Shares Several Similarities With David Ben-Ayreah
Another inspiration behind the fictional Murray Guthrie appears to be David Ben-Ayreah, a journalist who had close ties with Jim Swire, like the character. In the series, the activist is introduced to the possible involvement of Palestinian militants in the bombing through Guthrie, who even unearths documents concerning “Autumn Leaves.” In reality, the person who turned Jim’s attention toward the German operation is Ben-Ayreah. Like the character, the real-life figure also showed the activist a photograph of a radio cassette player used to make an explosive. Most importantly, Jim and Ben-Ayreah not only were actual friends but also attended the trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah together.
However, it does not mean that Guthrie is an exact counterpart of Ben-Ayreah. In reality, the latter became much more than a journalist after getting acquainted with Jim. For years, the real-life figure was a spokesperson for the families of some of the Lockerbie tragedy victims, which is not part of the character’s storyline. What makes them more different is their approach towards Megrahi, the only person who was convicted in relation to the case. Towards the end of the series, Guthrie becomes convinced of the Libyan man’s involvement in the tragedy and even argues about it with Jim.
From what we have learned about the two men, such a discussion didn’t happen between Jim and Ben-Ayreah in real life. After Megrahi’s death, the journalist even expressed his sympathies towards the late convicted criminal. “It is to be deeply regretted. As someone who attended the trial, I have never taken the view that Megrahi was guilty. Megrahi is the 271st victim of Lockerbie,” Ben-Ayreah said in 2012 following the death of Megrahi, as per The Independent. Ultimately, David Harrower used Guthrie as a fictional character to create tension and drama in the narrative of ‘Lockerbie: A Search for Truth,’ similar to many composite characters in true crime dramas.
The investigative drama series progresses through Guthrie’s discoveries and inferences, which serve as a guiding light for Jim. When the activist becomes convinced of Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah’s guilt, the journalist tries to prove him wrong, paving the way for the birth of more investigations. Similarly, when Jim says to himself that Megrahi has nothing to do with the Lockerbie tragedy, Guthrie raises his doubts again, adding more drama to the show’s climax. Since the character is fictional, the biographical series relies on him to delve into some of the most controversial aspects and elements concerning the tragedy without any filter, which justifies his creation.
Read More: What Happened to Jim Swire’s Wife and Kids? Where are They Now?
