A confidential report has criticised Scotland’s police chief for being “persuaded” to make an apology to the parents of Kevin Mcleod, who drowned in Wick Harbour in 1997.
The case review – which has cost £301,713 – concluded it was “highly unlikely” that the 24-year-old was murdered.
The Serious Crime Review Unit’s 357-page dossier says that he probably suffered his “catastrophic internal injuries” by accidentally falling onto one or more creel nets onboard a moored fishing boat before entering the water and drowning.
But Kevin’s loved ones disputed the report’s contents and continue to believe that he was harmed by a person or persons who remain unidentified.
‘Serious failings’ in Kevin Mcleod investigation
In the past, legacy force Northern Constabulary was heavily criticised for its handling of investigations into what happened to him.
He flew to Wick and hand-delivered a letter which read: “It is Police Scotland’s unequivocal position that we fully accept that an instruction was indeed given by the then Procurator Fiscal to treat Kevin’s death as a murder and to investigate it accordingly, a matter which Northern Constabulary at that time failed to do”.
GALLERY: A timeline of events
Merseyside Police also noted there were “multiple missed opportunities” with “basic lines of enquiry being overlooked” by the legacy force.
And the review team found: “It is indisputable that the investigation was ill-equipped, under-resourced and lacked leadership and direction.”
But their report questioned whether the Procurator Fiscal at the time, Alasdair MacDonald, actually ordered cops to commence a murder inquiry.
It explained there was a “lack of either certainty or supporting documentary evidence that such instruction was ever given” and “insufficient evidence to warrant a murder investigation” because there was “no justification” to launch one at the time.
The Serious Crime Review Unit suggested Chief Constable Iain Livingstone was “persuaded” to formally accept that an instruction was given to launch a murder inquiry in 1997.
It accused Mr Livingstone of penning the letter of apology after receiving a briefing based on advice given “without conducting basic background enquiries into the validity of the instruction”.
The review team also noted that Procurator Fiscal MacDonald – who passed away in 2016 – sent a letter to a previous case review team five years after Kevin’s death “in the face of a vociferous campaign for justice by the Mcleod family”.
Merseyside Police’s report said “his recollection had dimmed with the passage of time” and PF MacDonald “contradicts himself” in that letter “by initially alluding to a potentially suspicious death but later referring to it as a potential murder inquiry requiring the ‘full works'”.
One person’s word against another’s
Investigators also examined a similar letter that PF MacDonald sent to Kevin’s relatives in 2007.
“It appears that this letter may have been written in an attempt to appease the family, unfortunately, it did not have that effect,” their report commented.
A decade later, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) wrote to the Mcleod family and said that the COPFS were “confident that the contents of the 2007 letter provide an accurate account of events as recalled by Mr MacDonald”.
But the Merseyside Police probe criticised the move and concluded the question of whether or not a murder inquiry instruction was given will never actually become known.
The dossier said: “The review team considers it to have been unwise to have made a judgement on the basis of what must be regarded as a self-serving letter, in the absence of any supporting documentary evidence, as well as the absence of [the original investigating officer and now deceased] DS Martin, the only person who could potentially have raised a dissenting voice”.
Merseyside said in a matter of “one person’s word against another’s” Scottish authorities “failed to look into the basis and actuality of PF MacDonald’s instruction”.
It concluded: “The letter has simply been accepted without question by all concerned” who failed to scrutinise and establish its validity and challenge the rationale behind it.
Asked for Police Scotland’s reaction to the comments in the new report, Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins responded.
He said: “Police Scotland’s position is that we accept that an instruction was given by the then Procurator Fiscal to treat Kevin’s death as a murder and to investigate it accordingly, which Northern Constabulary at that time failed to do.
“If they agree to do so, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with the family to discuss the review and repeat the unreserved apology for past failings.”
The Mcleods have declined to comment on the contents of the Merseyside review ahead of a meeting with Scotland’s top justice official, the Lord Advocate.
The Press and Journal requested a comment from Justice Secretary Keith Brown.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our sympathies continue to be with the Mcleod family for their loss and the obvious distress this has caused.
“This is a matter for Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on the specific circumstances of any individual case.”
