Copfs

A fatal accident inquiry is to be held into the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill more than six years after they died in an accident on the M9. The announcement follows the news that a £1 million payout has been made to the family of Lamara Bell by Police Scotland.

A Crown Office employee who launched legal action against the prosecution body after claiming she was sacked for raising sexual harassment allegations against a colleague has lost her case. Kirsten Fordham said she was victimised by COPFS in October 2019. She faced disciplinary action for improperly

Two companies have been fined after a security guard died of hypothermia when he and his colleague were snowed in on a construction site. Ronnie Alexander was on duty at Afton Windfarm construction site near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire on 21 January 2018 during bad weather. The 74-year-old was found

A schoolteacher who engaged in sexual activity with a girl under his care and assaulted others has been jailed. James Clark was employed at a school in Perthshire when the offences took place between August 2011 and February 2019.

A 32-year old Aberdeenshire man who kept a dog for fighting has been given a community payback order requiring him to be under supervision for 12 months and to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work. He was also banned from keeping dogs for 10 years. Liam Taylor was sentenced at Banff Sheriff Court toda

The owner and landlord of a holiday cottage where a teenager died have been fined after failing to maintain the gas heaters. No annual checks were carried out on the cabinet heaters in Glenmark Cottage, which were also placed in small rooms without enough ventilation.

A Wick man has been fined for health and safety failings which left a worker with severe injuries. William Swanson, who traded as LTS Construction, pled guilty to a breach of working at height regulations at Wick Sheriff Court on 4 October 2021. He was fined £2,000

A Berwickshire based company has been fined £300,000 after an employee was crushed by a concrete panel. BSW Sawmills Limited pled guilty to health and safety breaches committed between 1 June 2017 and 6 October 2017 at Dumfries Sheriff Court on 28 September 2021.

A company has been fined £20,000 after a mechanical engineer got his finger trapped in a printing machine. The 57-year-old man had been carrying out maintenance on a printing machine at United Closures and Plastics Limited, now known as Guala Closures UCP Limited, in Bridge of Allan on 14 Octo

The publication of a review into how the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service manages criminal allegations against the police has been welcomed by the Lord Advocate. The report, which was compiled by HM Inspectorate of Prosecutions in Scotland, identified that the public should be reassured by

A former employee of the Crown Office has launched legal action against the prosecution body after claiming she was sacked for raising sexual harassment allegations against a colleague. Kirsten Fordham said she was victimised by COPFS in October 2019 and is now pursuing a case in the Employment Trib

The Lord Advocate has vowed to give renewed focus to efforts by Scotland’s prosecutors to tackle domestic abuse and stalking as the justice system recovers from the effects of the pandemic. Dorothy Bain QC made the commitment as new figures show the number of charges reported to the Crown Offi

The total number of charges reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) containing at least one element of hate crime rose to 5,525 in 2020-21, four per cent more than 2019-20, new figures show. A report entitled Hate Crime in Scotland 2020-21 published today brings together f

Scottish Water has been fined £6,700 at Dundee Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to an incident of water pollution in Fife in 2018. Approximately 400 litres of a chemical coagulant were discharged into the River Eden in October 2018 resulting in the death of at least 500 trout and salmo

A man who shot and killed another man on his doorstep has been jailed. Sean Orman has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of Bradley Welsh and attempted murder of David McMillan at the High Court in Edinburgh.