A FORENSICS expert gagged by the Scottish Executive over the Shirley McKie case has broken his silence to condemn standards at the national fingerprint agency.
John MacLeod, who was hired by ministers to examine the McKie case and then banned from speaking about his findings, said the Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) was "arrogant" and should not be in charge of fingerprinting.
MacLeod, speaking
for the first time about the McKie case, said SCRO staff often justified their findings on the grounds that, "This print is someone's print because I say it is."
MacLeod, who works for a private forensics firm in London, was hired by the Executive two years ago to analyse the McKie prints as ministers prepared to defend a legal action.
The case was abandoned earlier this year and McKie, a former police officer, was paid £750,000 compensation after ministers claimed an "honest mistake" had been made in identifying her fingerprints at the scene of a murder.
He is still unable to speak directly about his reports to ministers because of a confidentiality agreement. MacLeod has even been banned from speaking to the Holyrood inquiry into the case.
But while he cannot discuss the findings of his report, MacLeod has decided to speak out about the SCRO's failings, which he believes are ongoing despite government assurances the agency has been reformed. MacLeod said: "There is an arrogance to the SCRO. Their view in court is that, 'This print is someone's print because I say it is.'"
He added: "The culture appears to be one of, 'What I say is right because I say it.' It is one of 'I see this as an ident [a match] because I have been doing this longer than you.' That is the ethos and I think that is wrong."
MacLeod also criticised the changes to Scotland's fingerprint service. The Glasgow-based SCRO, along with fingerprint bureaux in Aberdeen and Edinburgh are to be brought under one umbrella in a move which will increase the SCRO's nationwide influence.
He said: "I don't think the SCRO should be in charge of the Scottish Fingerprint Service and I feel sorry for the staff in Aberdeen and Edinburgh who had their names dragged through the mud over this."
MacLeod said he would be happy to offer evidence to the Scottish Parliament's inquiry into the affair, even though he would be unable to discuss the nature of his reports. Asked whether the Executive should publish his findings, he said: "It is their report and it is up to them to decide."
In 1997, SCRO experts accused McKie of unauthorised presence at a crime scene. After insisting under oath that she had not been there, she was tried for perjury, only to be found not guilty. In February, ministers tried to draw a line under the case by paying compensation.
But the affair has failed to die down and the Executive still faces demands for a public inquiry. This newspaper recently revealed details of a report by Jim MacKay, former deputy chief constable of Tayside Police, which found the SCRO had been guilty of "criminality" and "cover-up" in the case.
MacLeod's reports are seen as crucial as they would show exactly what ministers were told about the case.
Campaigners last night described MacLeod's comments as devastating. SNP leader Alex Salmond said: "It is now clear that when both the Mackay and the MacLeod reports were suppressed it had nothing to do with convention or protocol and everything to do with saving face."
Salmond added: "It has been a total abdication of ministerial responsibility to allow this situation to fester, given the ramifications both internally for the Scottish justice system and for its international responsibility."
Iain McKie, Shirley McKie's father, said: "Mr MacLeod is to be commended for speaking out like this. The root problem at the SCRO is one of openness and accountability."
Former Scotland Yard forensics expert, Alan Bayle, another critic of the SCRO, said: "There is still a culture of arrogance there and until they apologise over what happened with Shirley McKie then I don't think we can move forward."
A spokeswoman for the SCRO said: "Much good work has been done to improve training, processes and practices and we continue to have every confidence in our staff who deliver a sound professional service."
An Executive spokesman said: "We agree it's important not to be complacent about the Scottish Fingerprint Service but there is a wealth of evidence that the Scottish Fingerprint Service of the SCRO is generally delivering a high-quality service for Scotland's criminal justice system and it is important to recognise the real progress that has been made since 2000."
