Nice one Glynn! Maybe we will see a legal challenge?
New documents from Dunblane inquiry
Dear Members,
This article appeared in the Telegraph on 3 October 2005.
"Secret files on the Dunblane massacre reveal a catalogue of "incompetence" by police and the prosecution service, the father of one of the victims claimed yesterday. Dr Mick North, whose daughter Sophie died, said the authorities missed several opportunities to take action against Thomas Hamilton before he killed 16 children and their teacher. He was speaking after reviewing hundreds of documents that were to have been "closed" for 100 years, but which will be made available for the first time today. The files reveal that several complaints were made about Hamilton's behaviour towards children before the shootings at Dunblane Primary School in 1996. Dr North said: "The documents I viewed confirmed what I believed I knew about the role of the police and the involvement of the procurator fiscal service. There was incompetence. Hamilton's behaviour in the years before the massacre caused great concern and the documents prove a lack of joined-up thinking among police and prosecutors." Dr North viewed the 106 sets of documents over several weeks at the Crown Office in Edinburgh this summer. They include police and witness statements and medical reports."
I have every sympathy with Dr. North having lost his daughter in the Dunblane tragedy. His findings, if accurate, would seem to confirm what shooters have suspected.
If the police and the judiciary in Scotland are to blame for allowing Hamilton access to both guns and children, it begs the question why was it target shooting sportsmen and women who were made to pay the price for their folly?
The National Rifle Association will be writing to Government to be given access to the papers and to make the point that their rationale for banning pistols was flawed, in that the authorities themselves were potentially to blame for Dunblane and despite the ban, firearms related crime, involving pistols, has risen dramatically, because they seem unable to deal with the illegal import and use of such firearms by criminals.
Any review of the files is likely to take an extended period of time and will require legal opinion. The Association would be grateful for the assistance of any appropriately qualified members, presuming authority is given to examine the documents.
Glynn Alger
Secretary General of the National Rifle Association
http://www.nra.org.uk/common/asp/content/content.asp?site=NRA&id=184