Fingerprint Inquiry

The Fingerprint Inquiry was a public inquiry set up by Scottish Government ministers under the Inquiries Act 2005 to look at the steps which were taken to identify and verify the fingerprints associated with the case of HM Advocate v McKie in 1999. The Inquiry was to determine the consequences of steps taken, report on findings of fact and make recommendations.

The Fingerprint Inquiry had the following terms of reference:

The Inquiry was announced by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill in March 2008. An Initial Hearing was held in October 2008, followed by a Procedural Hearing in November 2008.

Chairman, Sir Anthony Campbell, opened the evidence hearings on Tuesday 2 June 2009 at Maryhill Community Central Hall, Glasgow. Following Sir Anthony's introductory statement, Senior Counsel to the Inquiry made an opening statement which included a public presentation of all the material that the Inquiry has collected. Thereafter, legal representatives for the core participants were given an opportunity to make their opening statements, followed by any submissions.

The Inquiry began taking oral evidence on Tuesday 9 June. The core participants were:

In 2009 it was reported that Gerry Moynihan QC, Senior Counsel to the Inquiry, had a potential conflict of interest relating to the Shirley McKie case. Sir Anthony Campbell had considered this issue in March 2009 and decided that Mr Moynihan should continue to act as senior counsel to the inquiry. His decision was communicated to core participants on 16 March 2009 and published on the inquiry website.

In 2007, the media reported that there may have been a link between the McKie fingerprint case and the Lockerbie bombing. However, evidence of this alleged link had yet to be substantiated.

The Inquiry Report was published on 11 December 2011. The Inquiry's findings, summarised by the chairman, were: