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46-557: The high-profile Shirley McKie case has embroiled the SCRO in controversy surrounding its provision of fingerprint identification and verification services. This controversy lead to the separation in 2001 of these services from local control by each of the eight Scottish police forces ( Central Scotland Police ; Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary ; Fife Constabulary ; Grampian Police ; Lothian & Borders Police ; Northern Constabulary ; Strathclyde Police ; and, Tayside Police ) and to

92-580: A New Scotland – Visions of Scotland 2020 , and has co-authored Global Scots – Voices From Afar with former First Minister Henry McLeish . For the 2007 Scottish Parliament election , MacAskill was top of the SNP's party list for the Lothians region. He stood in the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh constituency, winning that seat from Scottish Labour with a 13.3% swing to give a majority of 1,382. This

138-614: A Scottish Executive Justice Department internal email written by senior official, Sheena Maclaren: Marked 'confidential', the final Mackay and Robertson report was submitted to the Crown Office in October 2000. It took more than five years for details of this report to emerge, but The Scotsman newspaper published extracts from it in February 2006. The report concluded that there was criminal conduct by SCRO employees and that there

184-533: A deal by the SCRO to resign or take early retirement. Their union, Unison , criticised the timing of the offer (before the Justice 1 Committee had reported) and argued that the SCRO officers were being "harassed". The report of the Justice 1 committee of the Scottish parliament published its 230-page report on 15 February 2007 (pages 189-190 deal specifically with Ms McKie's out-of-court settlement). Following

230-682: A handyman who had once worked on the Ross house, became a suspect. A fingerprint found on a tin box in his home was reported to be that of Marion Ross by examiners at the Scottish Criminal Records Office. The SCRO also reported they had identified a fingerprint found on a Christmas present gift tag inside the Ross home as that of Asbury. While checking other, unidentified fingerprints from the victim's home, examiners reported one of those prints to have been identified as Constable McKie's. During Asbury's murder trial, at which he

276-642: A lead investigator in the 1988 bombing, wrote a highly critical open letter to MacAskill. Former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish was critical of Mueller's attack on the decision. In Britain, reaction was divided. Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray , former First Minister Jack McConnell , and former Scottish Office minister Brian Wilson criticised the decision, while Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond , former Labour MP Tam Dalyell and former British ambassador to Libya Richard Dalton publicly supported it. Ian Galloway and Mario Conti , representatives of

322-620: A miscarriage of justice." Saif al-Islam Gaddafi reiterated his belief in Megrahi's innocence commenting that the Justice Secretary had "made the right decision" and that history would prove this to be the case. A letter in support of MacAskill's decision was sent to the Scottish Government on behalf of former South African President Nelson Mandela . The Scottish Parliament was recalled from its summer break, for

368-513: A print inside the Ross home implied, if true, that the SCRO examiners were capable of error in a fingerprint comparison. David Asbury was subsequently freed from a life sentence due to questions raised about the identification of the print on the tin box. In March 1998, DC McKie was arrested and charged with perjury . However, in May 1999, the Scottish jury at the High Court of Justiciary rejected

414-742: A protest song condemning the way the McKie case was handled. The lyrics include: "I am Shirley McKie. She is me and I am she. You are too, Shirley is you. We are she because Shirley is we." And referring to first minister Jack McConnell , they say, "We lecture children if they're telling lies, they will not prosper and they will not thrive... And even the First Minister must sometimes stand naked." Shirley McKie: The Price of Innocence by Iain McKie and Michael Russell MSP , published 18 April 2007, ISBN   978-1-84158-575-8 . Kenny MacAskill Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958)

460-605: A public inquiry into the case was opened in Glasgow, led by former Northern Ireland judge Sir Anthony Campbell . A procedural hearing was scheduled for 21 November 2008 and proceedings started in June 2009. Sir Anthony Campbell opened the inquiry proceedings at 10.30 am on Tuesday 2 June 2009 in Maryhill Community Central Hall, Glasgow. Following Sir Anthony's introductory statement, senior counsel to

506-503: A release, and MacAskill took sole responsibility for the decision. Megrahi died on 20 May 2012. In the United States, where 180 of the 270 victims came from, the decision met with broad hostility. Political figures including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against it, and families of the victims expressed indignation over the decision. FBI director Robert Mueller , who had been

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552-623: A response to the trial of former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond , to avoid potential conflicts of interest. In February 2020, MacAskill authored Radical Scotland – Uncovering Scotland's radical history – from the French Revolutionary era to the 1820 Rising , published by Biteback . Following the launch of the Alba Party in March 2021, in advance of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election , MacAskill announced that he

598-537: A result, but an anonymous donor paid the legal bill in June 2004, and McKie was reported to be "absolutely overjoyed". A second civil action was then raised suing the Scottish Executive amongst others on the basis that a malicious prosecution had been caused by dishonesty of the SCRO fingerprint experts. On the morning that this was to be heard, in February 2006, McKie was offered and accepted £750,000 from

644-583: A seat. At the 2024 general election MacAskill stood in the Alloa and Grangemouth seat . He received 1.5% of the vote share with 638 votes. MacAskill was born in Edinburgh and was educated at Linlithgow Academy before studying law at the University of Edinburgh , gaining an LLB (Hons) degree. After completing his training at a firm in Glasgow, he set up Erskine MacAskill. He came to prominence inside

690-626: A team of legal advisers, appeared before the committee of MSPs on 23 May 2006. Her accusers – the four SCRO fingerprint officers Hugh Macpherson, Fiona McBride, Anthony McKenna and Charles Stewart – appeared a week later on 30 May 2006. The Justice 1 Committee proceeded to request the Scottish Executive to provide it with four McKie case reports: Although the Lord Advocate, Colin Boyd , responded by refusing to release

736-680: Is a Scottish politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian from 2019 to 2024 . He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016 . A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he defected to the Alba Party in 2021 and currently serves as the party's acting leader, following Alex Salmond 's death in October 2024. Born in Edinburgh and educated at Linlithgow Academy , MacAskill studied law at

782-686: Is a former Scottish police detective who was accused by fingerprint analysis staff of the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) of leaving her thumb print on the bathroom door frame of a murder crime-scene in Kilmarnock on 14 January 1997. She denied she had ever been in the house of murder victim Marion Ross, but Detective Constable McKie was initially suspended, then sacked, then arrested by Strathclyde Police in 1998, and tried and acquitted in 1999. A scandal subsequently developed because of allegations of misconduct on

828-626: The Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church respectively, also spoke in favour of the release. John Mosey, a priest who lost a daughter on Pan Am Flight 103, expressed his disappointment that halting Megrahi's appeal before it went to court meant that the public would never hear "this important evidence — the six separate grounds for appeal that the SCCRC felt were important enough to put forward, that could show that there's been

874-574: The Pan Am Flight 103 bomb that killed 270 people, acknowledging that "the American families and Government had an expectation or were led to believe that there would be no prisoner transfer." The following day, on 20 August, MacAskill authorised al-Megrahi's release on compassionate grounds. Megrahi had served 8½ years of a life sentence, but had developed terminal prostate cancer . The Justice Secretary has discretionary authority to order such

920-590: The University of Edinburgh and was a senior partner in a law firm in Glasgow . He was a long-standing member of the SNP's National Executive Committee and served as treasurer and vice convener of policy, before being elected at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election . He was convener of the Scottish Parliament Subordinate Legislation Committee from 1999 to 2001. Following the SNP's victory in 2007 , MacAskill

966-507: The Mackay report for reasons relating to "fundamental principles of our democracy, including the presumption of innocence", Justice minister Cathy Jamieson agreed to release to MSPs reports by John MacLeod and Michael Pass. Despite Boyd's refusal, a leaked copy of Mackay's 56-page report was published by the BBC. In September 2006, the four fingerprint officers were reported to have been offered

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1012-433: The SCRO's fingerprint evidence and McKie was unanimously found not guilty of perjury. U.S. fingerprint experts Pat Wertheim and David Grieve testified during McKie's trial that the fingerprint inside the Ross house was not McKie's. McKie sued her employers regarding the manner in which she was arrested. She lost the case against Strathclyde Police in February 2003 and faced a legal bill of £13,000. McKie faced bankruptcy as

1058-664: The SNP in the Scottish Parliament. He served in the SNP Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 2001 to 2003, Shadow Minister for Transport and Telecommunications from 2003 to 2004 and Shadow Minister for Justice from 2004 to 2007. MacAskill authored a book, Building a Nation – Post Devolution Nationalism in Scotland , which was launched at the SNP's 2004 annual conference in Inverness. He has since edited another book Agenda for

1104-584: The SNP through his activities in the left-wing 79 Group and became a party office bearer. In the 1980s he led the "Can't Pay, Won't Pay" campaign in opposition to the Poll Tax . It was widely known that he often disagreed politically with Alex Salmond , leader of the SNP through the 1990s, and he was at one stage viewed as belonging to the SNP Fundamentalist camp, being perceived to be allied to figures such as Jim Sillars and Alex Neil within

1150-674: The Scottish Executive in full settlement of her compensation claim, without admission of liability. The case was then dropped. At an earlier stage of the case against the Scottish Executive the Lord Advocate Colin Boyd argued that expert witnesses should always be immune from prosecution – even if they gave false evidence. The Scottish parliament decided to refer the McKie case to its Justice 1 Committee whose inquiry began in April 2006 and took evidence from more than 30 witnesses. Ms McKie, accompanied by her father Iain and

1196-575: The Scottish Parliament, MacAskill was elected to the House of Commons as MP for East Lothian at the 2019 general election , gaining the previously Labour-held seat from Martin Whitfield . In March 2021, MacAskill defected from the SNP to the Alba Party. At the 2021 Scottish Parliament election , he stood on the Alba Party's Lothian regional list but neither he nor his party succeeded in gaining

1242-553: The Scottish parliament to Shirley McKie. A former Deputy Chief Constable of Tayside Police , James Mackay QPM , and Tayside's head of CID , Detective Chief Superintendent Scott Robertson, were then appointed by the Crown Office to conduct a further investigation into the issues relating to fingerprint evidence and to report back with their findings. Mackay's interim report on 3 August 2000 suggested that SCRO fingerprint personnel had given evidence in court that was: According to

1288-601: The Speaker, by convention MacAskill and Hanvey were handed five-day suspensions from the House of Commons. At the 2024 general election , MacAskill switched constituencies to instead stand for the new Alloa and Grangemouth seat , which was won by Brian Leishman of the Labour Party , amidst a large swing towards Labour across Scotland. MacAskill received 638 votes, 1.5% of the votes cast. Following Alex Salmond's death on 12 October 2024, MacAskill became acting leader of

1334-490: The election campaign. MacAskill was chosen as the SNP candidate for East Lothian at the 2019 UK general election . He was subsequently elected, overturning a 3,083 majority and defeating Labour's Martin Whitfield . In April 2020, MacAskill called for the office of Lord Advocate to be split – similarly to the English and Welsh system of Attorney General for England and Wales and Director of Public Prosecutions – in

1380-581: The establishment of the Scottish Fingerprint Service . In January 1997 an expert from the SCRO identified the left thumb print of DC Shirley McKie , a murder squad detective with Strathclyde Police , as coming from the bathroom door frame inside the house in Kilmarnock of murder victim, Marion Ross. Three other SCRO experts confirmed this thumb print identification but another five SCRO experts, who were asked to do so, refused. Nonetheless DC McKie, who denied ever having been inside

1426-522: The house, was charged with perjury . In May 1999 the Scottish High Court of Justiciary rejected the SCRO fingerprint evidence, and Shirley McKie was unanimously found not guilty of perjury. HM Inspectors of Constabulary investigated and reported that – despite SCRO's claims – McKie's prints were never at the scene of the murder. In June 2000 the then Justice Minister, Jim Wallace , and Lord Advocate, Lord Boyd , apologised in

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1472-722: The inquiry Gerry Moynihan QC made a public presentation of all the material that has been collected. Thereafter, lawyers for the core participants are expected to make their opening statements. The hearing of oral evidence was scheduled to commence at 10.15 am on Tuesday 9 June. Following the hearing of evidence at the Inquiry during 2009 the Chairman Sir Anthony Campbell published his report on 14 December 2011 in Glasgow. A full copy of this report can be obtained online at Fingerprint Inquiry homepage. Scottish folk singer and poet Michael Marra has written

1518-415: The joint leadership ticket of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon . He had initially intended to stand for deputy leader himself on a joint ticket with Nicola Sturgeon, who would have sought the leadership. He gave way when Salmond reconsidered his earlier decision not to seek re-election to the leadership. Upon their election as leader and deputy leader respectively, MacAskill was selected to be Deputy Leader of

1564-500: The meeting, Dr Swire said: However, the Scottish Executive ruled out any question of a judicial inquiry (which has the power to compel the attendance of witnesses) whilst Shirley McKie and her family announced their campaign for a public inquiry would end on 9 January 2007 – exactly ten years after the Marion Ross murder investigation began: In March 2008 it was announced that a public inquiry would be held. In October 2008

1610-433: The out-of-court settlement, Opposition parties in the Scottish parliament called for a public inquiry to be held into the McKie case. In March 2006, Shirley McKie's father, Iain, and Dr Jim Swire , father of Lockerbie bombing victim Flora, met to launch a campaign for a judicial inquiry which they hoped would investigate recent revelations of a link between the McKie case and the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial . After

1656-626: The part of the SCRO and the police. With continuing public concern over what became known as the Shirley McKie fingerprint scandal, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced in March 2008, that a public inquiry into the case would begin in September of that year (see Fingerprint Inquiry ). On 8 January 1997, the body of Marion Ross was found in her home in Kilmarnock. She had been stabbed multiple times. David Asbury,

1702-477: The party's inaugural conference, he was elected as depute leader. On 13 July 2022, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle ejected MacAskill and his Alba colleague Neale Hanvey ( Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath ) from the House of Commons for disrupting the start of Prime Minister's Questions . The two had been protesting about the refusal to grant consent for a second referendum on Scottish independence. As both Members were named by

1748-594: The party. After MacAskill became an MSP in 1999 upon the establishment of the Scottish Parliament as a regional list member for the Lothians he moderated his political position, seeing the development of the Scottish Parliament as the most achievable route for Scotland to become an independent nation state. In this respect he was regarded as having adopted a gradualist approach to Scottish independence in place of his previous fundamentalist position. He

1794-502: The third time since its creation, to receive a statement from and question MacAskill. The opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament passed amendments criticising the decision and the way it was made, but no motions of confidence in MacAskill or the Scottish Government were tabled. After MacAskill won re-election to the Scottish Parliament in 2011 , an SNP supporter said that the decision had been mentioned by very few voters during

1840-624: Was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government . In this role, he oversaw the controversial transfer of convicted terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to his native Libya . MacAskill left office in November 2014 in the Cabinet reshuffle which followed the appointment of Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of Scotland and stood down from the Scottish Parliament at the 2016 election . After standing down from

1886-507: Was found guilty, McKie testified that she had not been inside the home and could not have left her fingerprint there. Because Marion Ross was known to hoard possessions, making it possible for Asbury to have left a print on the gift tag years earlier while he was working at the home, the print on the tin box in Asbury's home became the key piece of evidence in the case against him. McKie's testimony at Asbury's trial that she could not have left

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1932-500: Was leaving the SNP to join Alba, making him their first sitting representative. He was reported as planning to stand for election to Holyrood in a regional list seat. The SNP called on him to resign and trigger a by-election, describing his defection as "somewhat of a relief". In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election , he stood on Alba's Lothian regional list but neither he nor his party succeeded in gaining any seats. Later that year, at

1978-500: Was not committed by 'home-grown' terrorists, in that the suspects were not "born or bred" in Scotland but had merely lived in the country for a "period of time". MacAskill won election to a redrawn constituency of Edinburgh Eastern in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election . Despite notionally facing a deficit of 550 votes, MacAskill won by over 2,000 votes. On 19 August 2009, MacAskill rejected an application by Libya to transfer to their custody Abdelbaset al-Megrahi , convicted of

2024-562: Was one of former SNP leader John Swinney 's closest supporters. In 1999 MacAskill was detained in London before the Euro 2000 second leg play-off match between Scotland and England on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly. As he was not charged with any crime the incident did not affect his position within the SNP and he won re-election at the 2003 election . In 2004, after John Swinney stood down as SNP party leader, Kenny MacAskill backed

2070-665: Was sufficient evidence to justify criminal charges. However, the Crown Office told Mackay in September 2001 that no action was to be taken against the SCRO experts. As a result, they were reinstated and employed in the newly created Scottish Fingerprint Service. During a civil action in February 2003, brought by Shirley McKie against Stathclyde Police for malicious prosecution , the Lord Advocate Lord Boyd argued that expert witnesses should always be immune from prosecution – even if they gave false evidence. Shirley McKie Shirley McKie (born August 1962)

2116-551: Was the first time the SNP had ever won a parliamentary seat in Edinburgh. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election , MacAskill became the Cabinet Secretary for Justice . One of MacAskill's first acts as a cabinet secretary was to lift the ban on alcohol sales at international rugby union games held at Murrayfield Stadium . MacAskill also said that the 2007 terror attack on Glasgow Airport

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