Lord Advocate orders review of police and Crown treatment of Glasgow mum
Julie Webster was wrongly accused of stealing funds from a Maryhill Foodbank - and wants a public apology for the way she was treated
Last updated 23 hours ago
Scotland’s Lord Advocate has agreed to instruct an independent review into the way a Glasgow mum was treated by the Crown Office and Police Scotland.
Julie Webster was charged in 2016 with stealing more than £2,000 from a foodbank she ran in Maryhill.
The case was dropped in 2019, just days before she was due to stand trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court, when prosecutors reviewed bank statements she provided showing her innocence.
She said the allegations destroyed her reputation, affected her children and forced her family to move home.
She has been calling for years for a public inquiry into how the case was handled.
After a meeting at the Scottish Parliament, the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, agreed that a senior independent figure would review the case from start to finish.
That will include looking at both the police investigation and how prosecutors at the Crown Office dealt with it.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Webster said she felt listened to and described the review as a step forward.
She claims the Lord Advocate said if the independent review finds wrongdoing, she would receive a public apology.
She exclusively told Clyde 1: “My legacy is my children and I need that legacy to be a good one.
“I just want to move forward and make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
"She did say it might take a wee bit of time because obviously I've got a lot of evidence that I want to put forward to be looked at again.
"But she did tell me that if it's looked at by the independent person and it's seen that there's been wrongdoing that I will get a public apology, which is what I'm looking for because they were quick enough to humiliate me in public through the media.
Her father, Jamie Webster, a former trade union convenor who campaigned to save Govan shipyard in the 1990s, said the family had been fighting for seven years.
He added: “For the first time in seven years, we’ve definitely made progress.
“It’s been a long, long slog."
Through tears, he explained that he made a promise to his late wife Isobel on her death bed that he would never stop fighting for justice.
The family say they have compiled a large amount of material which they believe supports their claims about how the case was handled.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: ""The Lord Advocate was pleased to meet with the Websters, following her offer to meet in appreciation of the significance of these issues and recognition of the impact that criminal proceedings can have on people involved.
"The Lord Advocate heard directly from the Websters as to the impact of their experiences, and offered to provide whatever assistance she can, including an instruction of a review by independent counsel."
Police Scotland has been contacted for a response.
No timescale has been given for when the independent review will report.
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