EXCLUSIVE: Murdered Craig McClelland's family call on Lord Advocate for FAI

A Paisley family's telling Clyde News their faith in the justice system and the Scottish Government has been shattered, after their request for a public inquiry into the death of their partner and son was refused.

Craig McClelland was stabbed to death in 2017 by a convicted criminal who had taken his electronic tag off and broken his curfew.

Craig’s murderer James Wright had been out on license and removed his tag five months before carrying out the attack.

Despite the prision service telling the police there was only one attempt to track Wright down.

Speaking to Clyde News before Christmas, Stacey said she was feeling positive about getting answers from the Scottish Government, but now all that has changed.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf's refused to hold a public inquiry and Craig’s dad Michael says they are now writing to the Lord Advocate to ask for a Fatal Accident Inquiry.

Mr Yousaf also said there is no time scale for the introduction of new guidelines to judge which criminals should be allowed out of jail with an electronic tag.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:

“Our sympathies continue to be with the McClelland family. As the Justice Secretary told parliament last month, having carefully considered the circumstances, he was not persuaded that a full public inquiry was the appropriate way forward, given the reviews and actions already taken in response to this case.

“There have been substantial changes to the process for approving prisoners for release on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) as a result of two independent Inspectorate reviews, with the Scottish Government, Police and SPS accepting all 37 recommendations in full.

"While nothing can take away the family’s grief, the Justice Secretary has been clear that he expects clear improvements to have been made, this will be scrutinised by both independent inspectorates who will follow up to monitor improvements."

It comes as the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee publish a report announcing plans to back the increased used of electronic tags to allow offenders to reintegrate into the community.

The report publication comes after the Committee adjourned its scrutiny of the Bill to allow time to consider the failures highlighted by Craig's death.

The Scottish Government has indicated it agrees with all recommendations for Police Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service in the HMICS and HMIPS reports. The Committee will continue to press the Government to ensure that these are fully implemented to absolutely minimise the risk of a similar event occurring in the future.

Speaking as the report was published, Committee Convener, Margaret Mitchell MSP, said:

“This legislation is intended to cut reoffending rates in Scotland, and help people who have committed offences reintegrate into the community. These are worthy objectives which the committee supports.

“During scrutiny of the Bill, Members worked assiduously, seeking assurances that the right balance has been found between helping those with prior convictions to change their ways, whilst ensuring that public safety remains paramount.

“The Committee is backing the overall aims of the Bill, and fully supports changes to the rules around disclosing prior convictions. This is an important step towards helping people with convictions find gainful employment and be rehabilitated into society.

“However, the various measures in the Bill must be properly resourced, including monitoring and enforcement provisions. And whilst the Committee agrees in principle to greater use of electronic monitoring, it looks forward to working with the Scottish Government to strengthen the Bill. This will involve ensuring improvements are made before any changes come into force, particularly around dealing swiftly and effectively with tagging breaches, and minimising risk."