Apology for McKie from chief constable

A SENIOR police officer has apologised to a former detective, 14 years after she was wrongly accused of leaving a fingerprint at a murder scene.

Shirley McKie was tried for perjury after insisting a fingerprint found in the home of murder victim Marion Ross in 1997 did not belong to her.

She was later cleared of lying under oath and in February 2006 was awarded £750,000 by the then Scottish Executive in an out-of-court settlement.

The case created doubt about the reliability of fingerprint evidence and Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill ordered the public inquiry, saying the controversy had “cast a shadow of uncertainty and suspicion” over the individuals involved and the criminal justice system.

Last December, a public inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Campbell found that Ms McKie had not made the disputed mark.

Strathclyde chief constable Stephen House has now visited the former detective constable and her father Iain McKie, who also served with the force, to apologise for the “pain and suffering” they had gone through.

Mr House said he was satisfied the report did not find fault in the way Strathclyde Police officers conducted themselves throughout the inquiry.

At a meeting of the Scottish Police Services Authority yesterday he said: “I thought that it was entirely right and proper that I apologised to them for the very lengthy and very public process that they had to endure and for the pain and suffering that they have experienced as a result.”