"It's a bargaining chip," she said.

Creon, a pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (Pert), helps digestion and is required by patients with pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis, and chronic pancreatitis. It is thought more than 61,000 patients in the UK need the medicine.Some patients are said to be "skipping meals" to ration their medication due to a shortage of it, according to the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said there were "European-wide supply issues" and it was "working closely with industry and the NHS" to mitigate the impact on patients.Without the drug, patients lose weight and strength, which means their ability to cope with treatment such as chemotherapy is reduced.Some experts have predicted shortages continuing until next year.

The Department of Health and Social Care has extended a serious shortage protocol for Creon which has already been in place for a year.This indicates concern about shortages of a medicine and allows pharmacists to give patients an alternative - though they argue other drugs are also in short supply.

A spokesperson for the department said the "European-wide supply issues" were caused by manufacturing supply constraints.

The National Pharmacy Association said more than three quarters of members covered in a recent survey felt the current arrangements for managing the shortages were inadequate.Pupils from the secondary school can apply for a scholarship to spend a year at Syracuse University, in memory of 35 students from there who died in the bombing.

There is a memorial garden on the edge of the town, as well as plaques in Sherwood Crescent and Park Place, the two sites where most of the plane came down.Nearby Tundergarth Church, which overlooks the field where the nose cone was found, is also a site of remembrance.

But more than anything, the Lockerbie bombing victims are remembered by those they left behind.Every year in Tobermory, members at the golf club play for the cup which carries Billy MacAllister's name.