25 years on, riddle of Willie McRae death deepens as new evidence emerges

NEW evidence has emerged in the 25-year-old mystery of the death of SNP activist Willie McRae after the Lord Advocate was asked to reinvestigate the case.

Mr McRae, a lawyer and anti-nuclear campaigner, was found dead in his crashed car off the A87 near Kintail in Wester Ross in 1985. At first it seemed he had died in the accident, but a gunshot wound was later found.

The death was officially recorded as suicide, but many believe he was murdered due to a number of bizarre aspects of the case.

Last month, John Finnie, a SNP councillor on Highland Council and a former policeman, asked the Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini, to reinvestigate the death and release any details so far withheld. Mr Finnie said that since making the call he has been contacted by a number of people with new allegations they consider relevant to the case.

One man told Mr Finnie that Mr McRae's car was removed from the scene, but, when the gunshot wound was found in his head, the officer in charge of the case instructed it to be returned to the crash spot off the A87 and photographed.

An anonymous caller also claimed that before Mr McRae's death his office in Bath Street, Glasgow, was broken into.

In his letter to the Lord Advocate, Mr Finnie said: "Both those pieces of information clearly prompt a series of questions some of which can, and should, be answered very simply.

"I believe the advances in collision investigation and DNA should be applied to this case, not least given the position of Mr McRae's vehicle in police photographs of 'the scene'."

He said if the claim is correct, relocating the vehicle risked damaging it and it not being returned to the correct spot.

Mr Finnie added: "The loss of any life is a tragedy, a loss which, after a quarter of a century, still stirs such strong feelings which is clear proof, if any were needed, that the public are not satisfied by the investigation and the subsequent official silence on many aspects."

Mr McRae left his office on Friday, 5 April, 1985, to head to his holiday home in Dornie, Wester Ross. His Volvo car was spotted by Australian tourists the following morning at an isolated spot on the A87. Mr McRae was slumped unconscious in the driver's seat covered in blood and when he arrived at hospital it was discovered he had a gunshot wound to his head.

He died at 3am on 7 April, at least 36 hours after being injured. Papers and the lawyer's smashed wristwatch were found about 20 yards from his car, and the gun, which had no fingerprints on it, was found in a burn some distance from the vehicle. The location of the gun raised questions as to how someone committing suicide could throw the weapon so far from the vehicle.

In 2006, former policeman Iain Fraser, who worked as a private investigator after leaving the force, claimed he was paid 135 by a mystery client to spy on Mr McRae just three weeks before he died.

No fatal accident inquiry was held into the death and repeated requests for an official inquiry have been turned down.

A Crown Office spokeswoman said yesterday: "We can confirm that the Lord Advocate has received a letter from Councillor John Finnie. Mr Finnie will receive a response in due course."