Six years on from the death of Sheku Bayoh, serious unanswered questions remain for Police Scotland and the Crown Office.
The 31-year-old dad died after being restrained by up to nine officers on a Kirkcaldy street in May 2015.
Officers had responded to reports of a “black man with a knife” and believed they could be dealing with a terrorist.
Was Sheku treated differently because of the colour of his skin? Did officers use illegitimate force? Was it a mistake not to pursue criminal charges against them and their employer?
It would appear the woman now in charge of public prosecutions at Scotland’s Crown Office believes the answer to all of these questions could be yes.
Before being appointed Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain QC drafted a Victim’s Right to Review for Sheku’s family which demanded her predecessor reverse a decision not to take action.
She has understandably now recused herself from further involvement.
It is also understandable, however, if Sheku’s family feel her appointment should mean a change in the Crown Office’s stance on prosecutions.
A public inquiry, which has already begun but is yet to hear evidence, will no doubt shed more light on this troubling case.
Police officers do an incredibly difficult job and it is easy with hindsight to criticise life and death decisions they make in a split second to protect the public.
But it is also crucial a culture doesn’t develop where officers believe they are above the law or that people are discriminated against due to the colour of their skin.
Bain must prove herself a Lord Advocate dedicated to the truth and a fair and transparent justice system both for victims and criminals.
Johnson’s Scot no time for us
Boris Johnson always appeared to love Scotland, even when election results suggested the affection wasn’t reciprocated.
He enjoyed breaks in Perthshire and visited the Western Isles as a young man.
And last year he went camping with wife Carrie in the Highlands – or at least they pitched a tent in the grounds of their luxury cottage.
But it would appear the good vibes evaporated during the trip after he almost drowned getting swept out to sea on a paddle board and was eaten alive by midges.
On a visit last week, disaster struck again when he came into contact with Covid-19 and is now resisting calls to self-isolate.
It seems Scotland is just not good for the Prime Minister’s health and he has allegedly vowed to return on holiday “over my dead body”.
After Cabinet minister Michael Gove admitted last week the Tories wouldn’t stand in the way of a referendum forever, it’s beginning to feel like they would be glad to see the back of us.
