McKie case experts win apology

Published on Thursday 7 September 2006 00:15

JIM Wallace, the former justice minister, yesterday apologised to four fingerprint experts at the heart of the Shirley McKie case.

The officers from the Scottish Criminal Record Office prepared the discredited forensic report claiming that the former policewoman's fingerprint was found at the scene of a murder.

Giving evidence to the Justice 1 Committee, leading a parliamentary inquiry into the SCRO, Mr Wallace yesterday accepted that a misidentification had taken place, although he refused to apportion blame.

The admission led MSPs representing the four officers to demand an apology on their behalf, because no party had been blamed.

Mr Wallace said since the four officers had never been found guilty of criminality or incompetence, he was happy to presume innocence.

"I understand it must have been hell and they must have been under considerable pressure and that is a matter for regret," he said.

However, the four officers were disappointed Mr Wallace accepted a misidentification had taken place. Fiona McBride, one of the officers involved, accused Mr Wallace of "ineptitude" for accepting that the fingerprint was misidentified from two international experts against four experts. Instead she said the Executive should accept that the fingerprint is "disputed" in order to restore confidence in the SCRO and fingerprint identification in Scotland.

"The least they could do is to say it is a disputed fingerprint and there was no criminality involved," she said. "If anyone is being incompetent here it is Jim Wallace."

But Ian McKie, who is campaigning on his daughter's behalf, maintained the misidentification was not only criminal in this case but could happen again unless a full public judicial inquiry is carried out.

"I believe there is a case for criminality or incompetence and therefore we need a judicial inquiry," he said.

Ms McKie has just returned from a trip to Australia where she considered moving to escape the publicity over the case. However she has decided not to emigrate. Instead she has returned to Scotland and is pursuing a new career, possibly in the media or communications.