Police rapped for delay over missing man

POLICE hunting for a man who vanished almost four years ago have been criticised for waiting seven months to release CCTV footage of his last known movements.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) upheld four grievances raised by his family against Police Scotland.

Allan Bryant, 23, disappeared after a night out with friends on November 3, 2013, sparking one of the largest missing person inquiries carried out by Police Scotland.

CCTV footage showed Mr Bryant leaving Styx Nightclub in Glenrothes, Fife, in the early hours of the morning.

His father, Allan Snr, said the failure by police to release CCTV footage may have prevented him from ever finding out what happened to his son.

He said: ‘It has been agonising. Who knows who could have come forward if footage had been released earlier?

‘This could all have led us to Allan many years ago but now we might never know. They messed up.’

The footage of Mr Bryant leaving the club in an intoxicated state was released seven months after he van- ished despite his family pleading for it to be released sooner.

Four of 12 grievances made by the Bryant family were upheld by PIRC, which has called for Police Scotland to review the reasons why the

‘This could have led us to Allan’

CCTV images of Mr Bryant’s last movements were not released sooner.

PIRC agreed Police Scotland failed to deal with the family’s concerns appropriately, and also agreed an additional complaint about the lack of a police presence outside the nightspot the week after the disappearance was not addressed.

The watchdog has also called for Police Scotland to look again at why it held the incorrect address for a witness.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We note the findings of the complaint-handling review carried out by the PIRC.

‘We will now consider the recommendations and provide a further response to Mr Bryant in due course.’

The latest damning PIRC report comes as it emerged 732 people in Scotland are classed as ‘long-term’ missing – classed as more than 28 days.

Police Scotland’s new national missing persons unit has taken on the task of analysing the data.

Last year, 21,989 missing person investigations were made in Scotland, 62 per cent of them involving children.

Some 99 per cent of people have since been found safe and well – including all the children. A total of 91 adults were found dead and 16 are still missing.

Meanwhile, bungling police have apologised after wrongly telling a woman in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, her brother had died.

It is believed a man of the same name in the town had died and officers went to the wrong address.