The family of murdered banker Alistair Wilson have ‘lost confidence’ in Police Scotland and accused the force of ‘poor judgment and lack of accountability at its highest levels’.
In an extraordinary statement yesterday, the family branded the police ‘incompetent’ and said they had been snubbed by Chief Constable Jo Farrell after requesting a meeting to discuss progress.
The statement comes as Mr Wilson’s family prepare to mark the 20th anniversary of his death.
It was prompted by the announcement last week that the Lord Advocate had ordered a reinvestigation of the case, headed by a new police team.
Father-of-two Mr Wilson was shot dead on his doorstep in the Highland town of Nairn on the Sunday evening of November 28, 2004, in a crime which shocked Scotland.
Andrew Wilson, seen here with his baby son, also Andrew, was murdered almost 20 years ago
Andrew’s wife Veronica says being denied justice for two decades has been ‘traumatic’ for her family
The Wilson family said they have ‘fully supported every aspect of the police investigation’ but that relations were now ‘damaged beyond repair’.
They said it was ‘completely unacceptable’ that a senior officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Livingstone, remains in post despite a complaint against him by the family being upheld, that he had lied to them over a possible arrest last year.
The family said: ‘At the request of Police Scotland, we’ve previously agreed to stay out of the spotlight by declining numerous invitations from the media to give interviews outwith official appeals.
‘However, over the past 18 months, our relationship with the police has steadily deteriorated because of unresolved and ongoing issues.
‘Approaching the 20th anniversary of Alistair’s unsolved murder, having desperately attempted every other avenue for resolution, we feel distressed and disappointed at having no other option other than to speak out publicly.
‘Poor judgment and lack of accountability at the highest levels has regrettably eroded any trust we have in their ability to secure justice for Alistair.’
Police forensic officers hunts for clues after the banker was gunned down on his doorstep
Andrew Wilson with his two sons, who have grown up without a father following his murder
Mr Wilson’s wife Veronica, 53, added: ‘It pains me that my sons have been robbed of having a father, but for them and my husband to be denied justice two decades on is even more traumatic.’
Oldest son Andrew, who was four when his father was murdered, said: ‘What we have suffered is nothing short of incompetent police leadership and, if it continues, it risks getting in the way of catching my dad’s killer.’
The Mail on Sunday has revealed previously that the family have made a series of complaints about Police Scotland’s handling of the investigation.
We also disclosed that police were set, on May 15 last year, to arrest a prime suspect before the operation was scrapped.
The family only discovered the plan had been aborted when they called officers for an update.
Police missed the murder weapons and it was later found in a drain by a council worker
A complaint that Mr Livingstone then lied to them, by stating no specific date had been identified for the arrest, was upheld.
The suspect remains at large and a source close to the family said: ‘It is the family’s strong wish that this individual is detained for questioning as a matter of urgency in order that they can be ruled out, or otherwise.
‘Instead, all they have had from police is no clear progress, and an obsession with managing their own reputation and controlling the narrative. It is just not good enough.’
Mr Wilson, 30, was shot when a man called at the family’s home on Crescent Road and spoke to his wife, who had answered the door, and asked for her husband.
Mr Wilson went to speak to the man and was handed a blue envelope with ‘Paul’ written on it.
He went inside briefly and returned to the door for a second time where he was shot. He died that evening in hospital.
The gun used, a Haenel Suhl pocket pistol from the 1930s, was missed in the police search, and was recovered from a drain near the Wilson home by a council worker 10 days after Alistair’s murder.
Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable, Steve Johnson, said yesterday: ‘Officers remain committed and determined to identify Alistair’s killer and to get justice for his family. We would appeal to anyone who may have information not yet shared with the police to come forward.’