Court reinstates expert sacked in Shirley McKie fingerprint case
THE highest court in the land has ruled that a fingerprint analyst sacked over the Shirley McKie scandal should get her job back.
Fiona McBride, 48, was one of four experts who said a fingerprint left at an Ayrshire murder scene in 1997 was that of Miss McKie, then a Strathclyde Police detective constable.
They were later found to be wrong and Miss McKie, who had been convicted of perjury, was awarded £750,000 compensation.
Miss McBride was dismissed in 2007 by the Scottish Criminal Records Office – now the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) – but has campaigned ever since to be reinstated. Yesterday, the Supreme Court in London ruled she had been unfairly dismissed and should receive compensation.
Miss McBride, of Clydebank, said she was ‘delighted’ at the decision, which had ended years of ‘personal hell’.
In 2009, an employment tribunal ruled Miss McBride should be reinstated.
But an employment appeal tribunal and then the Court of Session disagreed.
She appealed again – and yesterday the Supreme Court said she should get her job back. It also ruled that the original tribunal should consider compensation.
Miss McBride said: ‘I am delighted that the UK Supreme Court has sided with me.
‘This legal action is not, and never has been, about Shirley McKie. I don’t know Miss McKie and have never met her.
‘I loved working as a fingerprint examiner. I always took great care to do my job to the best of my ability, yet I was unfairly dismissed.
‘From the outset, I was not interested in compensation for the loss of my job. I just wanted it back.
‘Now I am just looking forward very much to getting back to work.’
A spokesman for the SPA said: ‘We note the judgment in what is the latest in a long-running legacy employment issue.
‘SPA will consider the details of the judgment carefully in determining its response and next steps.’