The Crown Office must call an immediate Fatal Accident Inquiry to scrutinise police failures before the murder of a young woman, according to her MP.
Lisa Cameron said the death of Louise Aitchison had exposed alarming flaws in police systems, training and competence and she demanded immediate investigation to ensure lessons are properly learned to protect women at risk from violent men.
Police admitted 18 separate errors in the hours, days and weeks before Ms Aitchison’s murder meant a formal warning that her new boyfriend had a history of domestic abuse was never delivered.
Darryl Paterson murdered her five weeks after the disclosure application was made and police even failed to warn Ms Aitchison about Paterson’s record when she called 999 in April 2020, begging them to remove Paterson from her East Kilbride flat. Officers allowed Paterson, 37, to leave but he returned within the hour and stabbed her to death.
© UNPIXS (EUROPE)Cameron, the MP for Ms Aitchison’s mother Caroline Lyon, is writing to the Lord Advocate demanding an immediate Fatal Accident Inquiry. She said an urgent FAI would allow an independent appraisal of the systems in place to protect and warn women at risk of known domestic abusers; why they failed so badly before the death of Ms Aitchison; and whether Police Scotland has done enough to bolster the computer systems and improve the training and competence of officers involved in the potentially life-saving work.
She said: “The failures that led to the murder of Louise Aitchison are so serious, they require an immediate inquiry to examine everything that went wrong before and to explain why.
“One of the most effective ways for this to happen is for a Fatal Accident Inquiry but we cannot wait years and years. The gravity of these failures and the potential consequences demand the greatest urgency.
“The special circumstances and the knowledge that the failings could leave others at risk demand that we cannot wait years for a court date. I will be writing to the Lord Advocate to make this clear.”
Cameron also called for the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) and Police Scotland to make public their investigations into police interaction with Ms Aitchison before her death.
She said: “There must be complete transparency, whether that is through referral to the Scottish Police Authority, to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary or by way of some other kind of inquiry. Louise’s family and the public have a right to know what went wrong and what has been done to ensure these failures cannot happen again. We need to see for ourselves those lessons truly have been learned and systems changed so we never see a tragedy like this ever again.”
A letter from the Procurator Fiscal Service to Ms Aitchison’s mother summarised the findings of Pirc, the police watchdog, which concluded Ms Aitchison might not have died if Police Scotland had delivered the warning as agreed. In response, Police Scotland said training and computer systems had been bolstered but insisted Ms Aitchision may have already known about Paterson’s history, a claim categorially denied by her mother, and that it might not have been “appropriate” to warn her on the night she died (even if officers called to her flat had checked the reports properly and discovered she was at risk).
Last week, her mother told The Sunday Post that the police “might as well have painted a target on her back”, adding: “My daughter should still be here if the police had done their job properly.
“Now we are having to fight to ensure other women don’t lose their lives needlessly too. It’s simply not good enough, knowing all we know about repeat domestic abuse offenders, that victims are still not getting the protection they need to keep them safe.”
The actions of Police Scotland in response to the failures must be rigorously and independently checked, according to a former assistant chief constable. Angela Wilson said failures were exposed and their consequences were “deeply disturbing”.
She said: “This is one of the worst cases of this type that I have seen. A speedy Fatal Accident Inquiry is needed to reveal exactly what all the failures were and what has been done to rectify them. In addition, this case should also be looked at by HM Inspector of Constabulary to ensure all the recommendations made by Pirc have been fully implemented.
“It is my belief that the public have a right to know when things go badly wrong, and they also have a right to know that failures have been rectified so they can have confidence in the system.
“”The current lack of transparency, as we have seen in this case, is unacceptable and must change, otherwise how can the public ever feel assured that failures, whether by individuals or by the systems in place, will not be repeated?”
Campaigning charity Zero Tolerance also raised concerns about the police’s handling of the case. Co-director Laura Thomson said: “Violence against women and girls is a product of systemic gender inequality. We know this inequality and misogyny exists within the police and affects their procedures and practices.
“We’d welcome more transparency from Police Scotland as a sign they take violence against women and girls seriously and are working to improve their handling of this violence.”
The calls for an immediate FAI come amid long-standing concern over how long families can wait for an inquiry to start. The FAI into the Clutha helicopter crash was held more than five years after the tragedy, while the hearing about the North Sea Super Puma crash of 2009 took almost as long.
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP, who has campaigned for faster FAIs, said: “Violence against women and girls is far too prevalent and is a stain on our society. Louise was failed by the system, and the Scottish Government must do more to prevent these fatal mistakes ever happening again.
“That means holding a fatal accident inquiry at the earliest possible opportunity. The Aitchison family must not get sucked into the cycle of long waits that have blighted the inquiry system for years.”
Yvette Cooper calls for new urgency to curb male violence against women
Campaigners have repeatedly warned Scotland is failing to do enough to tackle violence against women, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last month calling for urgent changes to how justice systems on both sides of the border tackle the problem.
McArthur agreed change was needed, saying: “For some, the system may feel rigged which can only erode women’s trust in Police Scotland. Nevertheless, I would urge anyone who feels in danger to speak up and contact the police.
“As we approach International Women’s Day, and pass the one-year anniversary of Sarah Everard’s gruesome murder it is essential to send a strong, unambiguous message that gender-based violence is absolutely unacceptable.”
Police Scotland have apologised for officers’ “shortcomings” in their dealing with Ms Aitchison. Serial incompetence, carelessness and a lack of urgency meant officers failed to reveal Paterson’s history of violence against women.
An investigation by police watchdogs later found the warning could have saved her life.
It was the most serious in a litany of official failures leading to her murder, including officers failing to properly assess the risk; failing to include crucial contact details in forms; failing to read reports; failing to meet guidelines; and, ultimately, failing to warn a vulnerable woman her partner was a dangerous man until it was too late.
No officers are thought to have been disciplined after inquiries by the national force and the Crown Office.
The Sunday Post View: Women need our prosecutors to stop talking and start doing
Five days after the murder, the Lord Advocate asked Pirc to investigate. The watchdog concluded that had Police Scotland warned her about Paterson as agreed, Louise Aitchison “may have taken action to avoid him and ensure her safety, possibly preventing her death”.
Paterson was convicted of her murder and sentenced to 18 years in prison last January.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “A report from the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner is currently under consideration by the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.
“The investigation is ongoing and the family will continue to be updated.”
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