I WILL SIGN AFFIDAVIT TYING MI5 TO McRAE 'MURDER'

Willie McRae’s death remains a mystery 35 years on

The SNP's Willie McRae, 62, was on the verge of being elected to Westminster on the back of his controversial anti-nuclear campaign when he was found shot at the wheel of his car.

At first it appeared the prominent lawyer had veered off the road and crashed in a burn in a remote area of the Highlands, but the later discovery of a gun and a bullet wound to his head led police to conclude he had killed himself.

However, a retired police officer who saw Mr McRae leave Glasgow on the night of his death had revealed in 2010 that he was prepared to make a sworn statement to say he believed UK Government agents were involved in the incident.

The confession, from former Strathclyde PC Donald Morrison, had put renewed pressure on then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini, who was urged to re-examine the case by the SNP’s group leader on Highland Council. It had come just as the SNP's Christine Grahame prepared to lodge a motion at Holyrood demanding the investigation be re-opened.

Mr Morrison, who was attached to “A” Division in Glasgow and served for 27 years, said he was told by senior officers that McRae was “under surveillance”. He told British newspaper the Sunday Express that he can describe the individuals in detail and said, as the last person to speak to the lawyer alive, in his opinion there was “no way” he presented as someone who would have gone on to commit suicide.

Mr Morrison, now 79 and living in Aberdeenshire, said: “We were told, ‘Stay away from Bath Street,’ which is where Willie McRae’s property was, and told he was under surveillance by Special Branch and MI5. There were two people watching him and I could tell by their body language they were up to something."

"One was a man in his mid-30s, though he had grey hair, with a light blue suit on. He was folding his arms looking at Willie and he was clearly concerned that I was there. I would be prepared to sign an affidavit on this, so clear is it in my mind even to this day.”

Over the years Mr Morrison has worked with former police colleague Iain Fraser to try to uncover more about the unsolved case, and he said he would welcome any opportunity to put his evidence forward at an inquiry. He also insisted, contrary to the official version of events, that the lawyer was “in great fettle” on the day of his death.

Mr Morrison said “I often saw him and spoke to him regularly, and on this day he walked out of a shop with two bottles of whisky. I said, jokingly, ‘Right Willie, blow into this bag please,’ and he stood there laughing. He said I was only jealous as he was going up to his holiday home and would later be sitting with his feet up with a wee dram.

“He said he was going to go through ‘all this’ tonight, looking at his bag of paperwork and added, ‘I’ve definitely got them this time.’ In the back of his car he had several shirts stacked up, rolls of maps tied by pink ribbons and an attache case in addition to the one he held.”

In the early Eighties, Willie McRae enjoyed a period of fame when he masterminded a campaign to halt the disposal of nuclear waste in the Mullwarchar hills, Ayrshire.  By 1985, he was edging closer to politics having narrowly lost the battle for Ross and Cromarty in the 1983 General Election.

He was a staunch supporter of independence.

On the day of his death, April 5, 1985,  Mr McRae had left Glasgow for the four-hour drive to the Highlands at 6.30pm, but it was not until 10am the following morning that his car was found by tourists driving along the A87. The driver’s door of the maroon Volvo had been wedged shut against the bank of a burn and, inside, McRae lay slumped in his seat, with his bloodied head resting on his shoulder.

He was taken to hospital in Inverness before being transferred in a coma to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he later died. Incredibly, it was only after his death that medical staff noticed he had a bullet wound in his head.

The scene of the crash was sealed off as police trawled the burn for the weapon, eventually finding a Smith & Wesson .45 revolver about 15 metres from where the car had come to rest.

Mysteriously it had been fired twice. Despite the fact a figure well known in political circles had died in strange circumstances, the authorities ruled his death was not suspicious and no fatal accident inquiry was held. However, many argue all the signs point away from suicide and towards something sinister. 

Suspicions were heightened when it emerged that the book the SNP man was writing, and his briefcase containing key documents, items a serving police officer had seen him carrying, were found to be missing from the car.

In 2006 then Lord Advocate Colin Boyd ruled out a new investigation, saying there was “no basis” for an inquiry. A spokeswoman for the Crown Office later confirmed that they had received a letter from Highland councillor John Finnie regarding the case and had “responded”.

Ten years has now passed since this former policeman had offered his 'evidence'. Yet nothing has come of it and plenty high heid yins presently in government are still too keen to change the subject, when raised. 

Of course this becomes ever more difficult when you also have staff nurses employed by NHS Grampian piling in with claims that it was impossible for Mr McRae to have shot himself as the bullet wound was to the back of his neck, directly aimed at the brain stem, a la MI5. 

For many there's no need for the UK government to admit culpability, they're already convinced of their guilt, and many of the current unionist figures seem keen to emit the impression that they're in the know but are deflecting, almost as some sort of sinister attempt to intimidate. 

A sure sign that they feel they're losing the argument in Scotland and their beloved union is indeed in its end game.