Justice For Willie Full Witness Report Compiled by Ailie Wallace, Campaign PR & Media Coordinator November 2016 1 List of Witnesses Section 1: At the Scene Witnesses Spoken to: 1. Tourist who discovered the crash scene. 2. SNP Member – was waved down by the tourist who had discovered the crash scene. Came to offer his assistance. By coincidence, he was an SNP member, who knew Willie McRae 3. Doctor who was a passenger in the car alongside the SNP member. Also offered assistance at the crash scene 4. Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) who attended the crash scene. 5. First Officer – the first officer at the scene. 6. Traffic Officer – Traffic Patrol Officer and Vehicle Examiner 7. Control Room Officer – on duty at the police control room in Inverness 8. Recovery Vehicle Driver – removed Willie's car from the scene 9. Driver's Son – Son of the Recovery vehicle driver (aged 15), who also attended the scene 10. Uniformed PC – attended the garage where Willie's car was stationed. 11. Additional witness – was driving in the highlands and came across the scene. He offered assistance but was told everything was under control. Others identified by the investigation, but not spoken to Tourist's Wife – John Weir spoke to her by telephone. She told him that she knew nothing about the incident, and that he should speak to her husband. Allison – ex-wife of the SNP Member, also travelling in the same car as the SNP member and doctor. We were unable to trace her, despite help from her former husband, the SNP member. George Lochhead - The Doctor's former partner, and also part of the group who arrived in the car. Unable to trace. Ambulance Driver –Transported Willie McRae from the scene to Inverness hospital. Declined to be interviewed. 2 John Ratter (deceased) – Detective Inspector who supported the original investigation and who listed Willie's property when it was recovered from the scene. John Cathcart (deceased) – also worked on the original investigation, and believed to be the firearms officer who would have processed the gun at the scene. Michael Nisbett – Another driver from West End Garage, Fort Augustus, who may have also attended the scene. Current whereabouts unknown. Section 2: Alleged Incident At West Nile Street Witnesses Spoken to: 1. Donald Morrison – Ex police officer who alleges incidents relating to Willie McRae, including on West Nile Street on Friday 5th April 1985, and also a prior incident at Willie McRae's flat in Glasgow. 2. Off-licence Manager – at Agnews Off-sales in West Nile Street, Glasgow, where Willie is alleged to have visited on Friday 5th April 1985. Also the cousin of Donald Morrison. 3. Police Officer #1 – Colleague of Donald Morrison who also partnered PC David Phinn. 4. Police Officer #2 – Detective Constable 1975-1980 (5 years prior to alleged events). 5. Police Officer #3 – Served for 30 years, and also Police control room officer for 4 years. 6. Police Officer #4 – Former police officer, who has known Donald Morrison for over 30 years. 7. Police Officer #5 – Retired police officer from A-division 8. Communications Officer – Retired communications officer who is alleged to have broadcast a message via police radio regarding files being taken from Willie's flat. 9. Archivist – Current archivist & records keeper at Police Scotland Others identified by the investigation: Off Licence Manager's Wife – She was also working on Friday 5th April 1985. Her husband would not permit our investigators to speak with her. PC David Phinn (deceased) – Named by Donald Morrison in his statement as the officer who allegedly received a commendation for his involvement in the "files incident." PC James Harris (deceased) – Named by Donald Morrison in his statement PC Ian Neil – Named by Donald Morrison in his statement. Unable to trace 3 PC Alan Ogilvie – Named by Donald Morrison in his statement. Unable to trace PC Alistair McPhee – Named by Donald Morrison in his statement. Unable to trace Section 3: Those Who Knew Willie Personally Witnesses spoken to: 1. Solicitor #1 – Worked with Willie at Levy and McRae & also [Willie's Brother]'s legal representative. 2. Friend #1 – Had known Willie since the 1960s through family connections and briefly served as Willie's driver. 3. Solicitor #2 – Served as Willie's apprentice in the 1970s 4. Solicitor #3 – Also served an apprenticeship under Willie 5. Willie's Brother – Willie's brother and next of kin. 6. Female Neighbour – Neighbour of Willie's in 1985 7. Male Neighbour – Neighbour of Willie's in 1985 8. Friend #2 – Was firstly a client of Willie's but later became friends. 9. Friend #3 – A friend of Willie's since school 10. Friend #4 – Wife of one of Willie's partners from Levy & McRae 11. Friend #5 – Son of one of Willie's partners from Levy & McRae. Referred to Willie as "Uncle Willie" Also identified by the investigation, but not spoken to: Ronnie Welsh – business colleague and close friend of Willie's – unable to trace. Former Politician – Lawyer and SNP Politician who submitted queries to the Crown Office regarding the case. Now in her 80s. 4 Section 4: Additional / Miscellaneous Witnesses Spoken to: 1.Private Investigator's Ex-Wife – was married to a former police officer and Private Investigator (now deceased) 2. Nurse – Nurse at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Not interviewed by our investigators, but was spoken to on a previous occasion by lawyer Hugh Fraser and journalist Paul Delamore 3. Driver – Driving in the area close to Willie's crash site 4. Hitchhiker – believes he met with Donald Morrison whilst hitchhiking in 1990. 5. SNP Supporter – Received a letter from Willie McRae relating to a local resident. 6. MacRae & Dick mechanic #1 – Current service manager at MacRae & Dick garage, Inverness. 7. MacRae & Dick mechanic #2 – Garage worker at MacRae & Dick, Inverness with 45 years' service Others identified by the investigation: Eric Turner – He was the tow truck driver for MacRae & Dick in 1985. Deceased 5 years ago. His wife is also deceased. John Finnie, MSP – According to Journalist Paul Delamore, John Finnie has an ex-police friend who says that the car was returned to site on the Sunday. Paul Delamore – Journalist who was involved with the campaign initially, however ceased contact when we challenged him because we felt he had deliberately misled the campaign. Severin Carrell – Journalist and colleague of Paul Delamore. Declined to be interviewed unless we were going to provide him with an exclusive story. 5 Witness Statements Note: All Statements are reproduced here verbatim, which includes any spelling mistakes, typos and anomalies. Section 1: At the Scene 1. Tourist EMAILS BETWEEN JOURNALIST PAUL DELAMORE AND [TOURIST] On Tue, Aug 5, 2014 at 11:25 AM, [Tourist] wrote: Hi Paul, Your enquiry to Bega Valley Community Transport has been forwarded to me and I suspect I am the [Tourist] that you are seeking. Since you are based in Scotland and the main news seems to be about the possibility of Scottish separation I assume you are interested in the circumstances surrounding the death of Willie McRae. Since we found Mr McRae I have been interviewed a number of times by the Scottish press and Channel 4 and participated in a filmed interview by a freelance journalist in Canberra. I am not sure that I can add anything useful except to correct the entry in Wikipedia that says the vehicle was 30 yards from the road. The vehicle was 2-300 yards from the road, upright and facing up the hill. Using binoculars I was able to make out that there was something in the car but not that it was a person. It was only after I walked down the steep slope almost all the way to the car that I realised a person was in the driver’s seat. Had the car been in any other position I would not have seen the shape and probably would not have gone down to the car. I hope that answers any questions you may have. If not you will need to be quick because we are about to head overseas (not the UK) for 11 weeks. Regards, [Tourist] —————————————————————————— ii. From: Paul Delamore Sent: Tuesday, 5 August 2014 8:39 PM To: [Tourist] Subject: Re: ENQUIRY BY PAUL DELAMORE RE [TOURIST] Hello [Tourist], Many thanks for getting in touch. I appreciate it. I'll be very quick. I'm not sure if you were ever shown the photos of the car, but we now have access to them. Could you please confirm if the car is in the correct position? You mention that the car was 2-300 yards from the road, yet the car is only 27 yards from the road in the photos. I guess my question would be is the car in the incorrect position and the incorrect distance from the road? You are not alone in believing the car was further from the road, so your account is of great importance to help solve this mystery. Many thanks, Paul Delamore Strathclyde Investigative Journalism Project 6 —————————————————————————— iii. On Tue, Aug 5, 2014 at 12:24 PM, [Tourist] wrote: Hi Paul, I have not seen the photos before. The weather when we were there was very poor with very low cloud and thick misty rain. We could only see the vehicle from about where photo 3 was taken or perhaps a little further back and that is where I walked from to the car. I had not realised that the shortest distance from the road to the vehicle was about where the white vehicle is in photo 4. I stand by the estimate of 2-300 yards to get from the road where we stopped but it could have been much less further down the road (but too steep to get down in the conditions).