Fingerprint row detective cleared by US forensics

The former detective constable has been fighting for eight years to clear her name and force the authorities to admit they made a mistake over the left thumb-print.

Comparison tests conducted by Allan Bayle, an international consultant, now reveal that it is not her print, not a thumb-print, and probably not from the left hand. "It isn’t even close," he said.

Speaking in Glasgow, Mr Bayle described the technology, developed by LumenIQ Inc, as "the future of fingerprinting". It allows fingerprints to be captured in high-definition computer pictures which are "peeled" flat, in the same way that the image of the world was "flattened" in an old-fashioned geography atlas.

Mr Bayle said: "A lay person, judge or jury - and not just experts - can now identify differences or similarities."

The consultant, presently working with an American police department and the FBI, went on: "In this case, the thumb-print lifted from the scene of the murder of Marion Ross in Ayrshire in 1997 is not Ms McKie’s."

Mr Bayle’s findings led politicians to call for an independent judicial inquiry into the case, which has involved Strathclyde Police, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Executive.

Winnie Ewing, the veteran Nationalist politician, and a former criminal defence lawyer, said: "There has been no justice here because the Scottish Executive and the Crown Office fear the inevitable flood of appeals from people who are in jail on fingerprint evidence."

Mrs Ewing added that her own investigation showed the system of gathering fingerprints in Scotland by the Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) was less stringent than that used in India.

Mr Bayle’s findings could boost significantly Ms McKie’s 750,000 legal action against the Executive. She is suing for malicious prosecution.

She is demanding compensation for being prosecuted for perjury, the loss of her career and the effects of the case on her mental health.

The Executive, on behalf of the SCRO, tried to have the action dismissed at the Court of Session, but Lord Wheatley ruled that it could go ahead.

Ms McKie’s father, Iain, a former senior officer with Strathclyde Police, said: "I now hope the minister for justice, the Lord Advocate and Strathclyde’s Chief Constable will admit the SCRO experts pulled the wool over their eyes and that they will, after eight long years, allow us to get on with our lives."

Ms McKie was serving with Strathclyde Police in 1997 when she participated in the investigation of the murder of the Ayrshire pensioner Marion Ross.

She was "printed" for elimination purposes, but SCRO experts claimed that a print found in the house belonged to her. She said she had not entered the house.

She maintained her story at the trial of David Asbury, who was jailed for life, after being convicted on fingerprint evidence. He was released after five years when the conviction was quashed.

Ms McKie was prosecuted for perjury but was unanimously found not guilty when the SCRO evidence was debunked by experts. She attempted, but failed, to sue Strathclyde Police for 100,000. The force then successfully sued her for 23,000 court expenses.

She said: "It disgusts me that we are in this position after eight years."

An Executive spokesman said: "Due to legal proceedings, we are unable to comment."

Strathclyde Police refused to comment.