Part 36: A Brief Return

[Note - 13 March 2022: I wrote this post in November 2016. I can't remember if it were ever published. This post concerns the way in which The Times reported the 2016 Justice for Willie McRae investigation. I make no comment here about the investigation and its reports although there is much I could say].

After more than a year's silence I return to blogging about the case but only for this one post.

Why?

Did the Times not report that the case was over?

The Times did report this but the investigators did NOT say the case was over nor that McRae shot himself. Their Report said,

the investigation has found no credible evidence of homicide, or that any other person(s) were with Willie as his car left the roadway.

'(N)o credible evidence of homicide' is quite different from saying that he committed suicide.

Even Mark MacNicol didn't say the case was closed. He thought that we should drop our interest but he never claimed that McRae killed himself. He wrote,

At the end of our investigation we couldn’t prove it was suicide. Though taking into consideration all of the witness statements it was clear to the majority of the campaign committee that it was LIKELY to have been suicide. [The emphasis is mine]

and

I believe it is LIKELY that Willie McRae committed suicide and I feel the time has come for his family, friends, and also the witnesses, to be left in peace. [The emphasis is mine]

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email me at calumsblogATgmailDOTcom or

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Part 1: Introduction

Willie McRae: born 18 May 1923; died 7 April 1985 This we know for certain but much else in his life and death is open to conjecture. What is fact or fiction? Truth or lies? Openness or obfuscation? Will we ever know? Probably not but in this series – may be 1 post or 20 posts depending on my enthusiasm – I want to look back and review his story. The best way to ensure I keep going with my review is to write and post as I go on. You, my readers, are key to my continuing! I must have read about Willie in the 80s but I only became aware of him on Sunday past when the Sunday Express published a story more than 24 years after his death. [ Original source ; archived source ] Of course, we note the very important, … it was claimed last night. There’s nothing definite here but you can start to see that McRae’s life might not be straightforward. Within the rest of the article there is more. So here we have claims that he was killed: - by drug smugglers - by security services...

Part 25: Special Branch – Official View

Introduction In Part 24 I said that I believed any active involvement of the Special Branch* with Willie McRae was sufficient for an FAI to be held. (* see end of post) In Part 26 we’ll look at evidence from a retired policeman, Donald Morrison, who claims Special Branch were involved up to, at least, the day McRae left Glasgow, 5 April 1985. Here you get to see what the police and Crown Office have said about Special Branch and McRae. Before we go there, I invite you to read Part 23, if you haven’t yet done so. Last Sunday, 29 March, the Sunday Herald published an article highlighting the new campaign for a Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held into McRae’s death. The article was light on information until the last sentence in which the Crown Office appears to have set its face against holding an FAI …. ever. The Crown Office is quoted as saying, Crown Counsel are satisfied with the extensive investigations into the death of William Macra...

Part 5: Which Site?

Strange as it may seem there is even doubt about where Willie McRae’s car came off the road. In this 5th post, but first post of any real depth, we shall - look in great detail at all possible roadside features which could be close to the crash site, - see the sites themselves in aerial and streetview mode, - see old video of the two sites, - see what physical evidence there is to tie each site to the actual crash site, - seen how the official and Coutts site came to be - pose two major questions - and a wee bit more and I will be only scratching the surface of this mystery. Before we start we should probably take a little detour to see how the official and Coutts site came to be. Alex Main in the Scotsman wrote about this [highlighted area] on 7 April 1987. and thus the official and Coutts’ sites were born ….. …. and still we talk of them! Again I must stress that I come to this with no agenda. I don’t know what happened to Willie McRae: this and subsequent posts are my journey o...

Willie McRae Investigations

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