Fingerprint
The Fingerprint Inquiry was a public inquiry set up by the Scottish Government to investigate the steps taken to identify and verify fingerprints in the case of Shirley McKie, leading to significant recommendations for forensic practices
It was established under the Inquiries Act 2005. It was one of the first major public inquiries in Scotland to use this specific legal framework, which granted the Chairman the power to compel witnesses to attend and provide evidence under oath.
Key Details of the Inquiry
The inquiry was set up to investigate the "Scottish fingerprint scandal," which centred on the case of Shirley McKie, a police detective wrongly accused of perjury.
Established: March 14, 2008 (announced by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill).
Chairman: Sir Anthony Campbell (a retired judge from Northern Ireland).
Public Hearings: June 2009 – December 2009.
Final Report Published: December 14, 2011.
The Fingerprint Inquiry (often called the Scottish Fingerprint Inquiry) was indeed a statutory inquiry.
Unlike the Hutton and Hinduja inquiries, it was established under the Inquiries Act 2005. It was one of the first major public inquiries in Scotland to use this specific legal framework, which granted the Chairman the power to compel witnesses to attend and provide evidence under oath.
Key Details of the Inquiry
The inquiry was set up to investigate the "Scottish fingerprint scandal," which centered on the case of Shirley McKie, a police detective wrongly accused of perjury.
Established: March 14, 2008 (announced by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill).
Chairman: Sir Anthony Campbell (a retired judge from Northern Ireland).
Public Hearings: June 2009 – December 2009.
Final Report Published: December 14, 2011.
Why was it held?
The inquiry investigated a massive failure in forensic science that began in 1997.
The Error: During a murder investigation, the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) claimed to have found Shirley McKie's thumbprint inside a crime scene.
The Accusation: McKie insisted she had never entered the house. Because of the "scientific" evidence, she was accused of lying and charged with perjury.
The Exoneration: In 1999, independent experts (including specialists from the US) proved the print was not hers. She was acquitted, but the SCRO refused to admit they had made a mistake for years.
The Fallout: The scandal led to a murder conviction (David Asbury) being quashed, a £750,000 compensation payout to McKie, and a total loss of confidence in Scotland’s fingerprint service.
Major Findings
The Inquiry’s final report was a landmark for forensic science. Its most significant conclusion was that:
Fingerprint evidence should be treated as "opinion," not as an "objective fact" or infallible science.
Lord Hutton's 700-page report made 86 recommendations, leading to a complete overhaul of how forensic evidence is handled in Scottish courts to ensure such a "human error" could not lead to a wrongful prosecution again.
Key numbers at a glance
64
Recommendations
39
Months to complete
10
Cost in millions (if known)
0
Deaths (direct)
Recommendations
All the findings (recommendations are in the recommendations database)
There is no evidence other than the mark Y7 to suggest that Ms McKie at any time entered Miss Ross's house beyond the area of the porch.
The mark Y7 on the door-frame of the bathroom in Miss Ross's house was misidentified as the fingerprint of Ms McKie.
Ms McKie did not make the mark Y7.
There was no conspiracy against Ms McKie in Strathclyde Police and all reasonable steps were taken by that force to seek from the Scottish Criminal Record Office fingerprint bureau confirmation of the identification of Y7.
The mark QI2 Ross (on the tin) was misidentified as the fingerprint of Miss Ross.
There was no impropriety on the part of any of the Scottish Criminal Record Office fingerprint examiners who misidentified the mark Y7 as having been made by Ms McKie or the mark QI2 Ross as having been made by Miss Ross. These were opinions that they genuinely held.
The marks Y7 and QI2 Ross were both misidentified by the Scottish Criminal Record Office fingerprint examiners due to human error and there is nothing sinister about the fact that these two errors occurred in the same case.
The misidentifications of Y7 and QI2 Ross expose weaknesses in the methodology of fingerprint comparison and in particular where it involves complex marks.
Fingerprint examiners are presently ill-equipped to reason their conclusions as they are accustomed to regarding their conclusions as a matter of certainty and seldom challenged.
There is no reason to suggest that fingerprint comparison in general is an inherently unreliable form of evidence but practitioners and fact-finders alike require to give due consideration to the limits of the discipline.
Podcasts by Inquests and Inquiries
Podcasts by other providers
Downloadable files
Links to other resources
Official links
"The Fingerprint Inquiry Scotland". Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
"Terms of reference". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011.
News and context
"Northern Irish judge will head McKie print inquiry". The Scotsman. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
"Evidence begins at McKie inquiry". BBC News. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
"Murder conviction is quashed". BBC News. 15 August 2002. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
Tom Gordon (2 June 2009). "McKie fingerprint inquiry hit by QC's conflict of interest". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
"Chairman's decision regarding the position of Senior Counsel to the Inquiry" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011.
"Inquiry into Lockerbie link to McKie prints 'cover-up'". The Scotsman. 4 June 2007.
Select videos
Some useful videos (if available)
Video slider
Useful playlist (if available)