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McKie probe reaches final stages McKie experts 'offered job deal'
(about 8 hours later)
The parliamentary inquiry arising from the Shirley McKie fingerprint case has reached a watershed with its final evidence-taking session. Fingerprint officials at the centre of the Shirley McKie case have been offered a deal to leave their jobs.
MSPs questioned Scotland's most senior legal figure, the Lord Advocate Colin Boyd, and will also take evidence from Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson. Public sector union Unison has described the move as "harassment".
Ms McKie was cleared of leaving a print at a murder scene in 1997 and received £750,000 in an out-of-court settlement. It comes as the parliamentary inquiry investigating the misidentification of Ms McKie's fingerprint heard from Scotland's Lord Advocate Colin Boyd.
The high-profile witnesses bring the total to have given evidence to 38. The inquiry also took evidence from the justice minister, who said the £750,000 awarded to Ms McKie was less than the £1.2m the former detective had sought.
Evidence has been heard before MSPs on Holyrood's Justice 1 Committee. The former Strathclyde Police officer, from Troon in Ayrshire, was cleared of leaving a print at a murder scene in 1997.
Former Strathclyde Police officer Ms McKie, from Troon, in Ayrshire, was cleared of lying on oath in 1999 after contesting the opinion of experts from the Scottish Fingerprint Service. She received an out-of-court settlement after being found not guilty of committing perjury, when she contested the opinion of experts from the Scottish Fingerprint Service.
The lord advocate was questioned about his refusal to release full details of the criminal investigation into the service, the Mackay Report. Unison will be talking to our lawyers, to the staff affected and to the staff as a whole Anne RussellUnison's regional officer
Ms Jamieson was to be questioned over her refusal to set up a judicial inquiry, despite the four forensic scientists at the heart of the case continuing to deny their mistake. Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson told the committee the settlement was made on the basis that there had been a misidentification of Ms McKie's print, but that no malice was involved.
Unison said the officers involved in the case had now been offered early retirement, redundancy or redeployment within the police.
It said the approach was made as part of an action plan to modernise the Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO).
Experts Hugh Macpherson, Charles Stewart, Fiona McBride and Anthony McKenna and two colleagues are at the centre of the move.
MSPs are examining how Ms McKie's print was misidentified
However, Anne Russell, Unison's regional officer, said it was "outrageous" the offer should be made in the middle of a parliamentary inquiry into the matter.
She said: "Unless these threats are withdrawn, Unison will be talking to our lawyers, to the staff affected and to the staff as a whole to decide our next steps in backing our members' rights."
Lord Boyd told the inquiry that it was unlikely that any of the four officers who identified Ms McKie's print would be called as experts in court again.
He said any future case they were involved in would be overshadowed by their links to the McKie case.
However, Ms McBride insisted she would not be taking any deal.
She said: "I'm hoping that despite what he (Lord Boyd) said, the decision will be taken to put this off.
"I'm hoping that we will give evidence in court again."
'People's lives'
Ms Jamieson was the 38th witness to come before Holyrood's Justice 1 Committee.
She told MSPs the settlement recognised the damage caused to Ms McKie and allowed her to move on.
But she said she also had tried to recognise the "very difficult position" of the four SCRO officers who had identified the print as Ms McKie's.
"I was acutely conscious of the fact these were people's lives we were talking about, not only Shirley McKie and her family but the SCRO officers," she said.
She finished her evidence session by pledging to consider any recommendations the committee makes in its report.