Police Scotland has faced a barrage of questions from the public after revelations that it failed to follow up a report of a car crashed off a motorway near Stirling which was later found to contain a dead man and a critically injured woman.
An urgent investigation is under way after the news that missing couple John Yuill and his 25-year-old girlfriend were in the Renault Clio found on Wednesday morning.
They had last been seen on the south shore of Loch Earn in the early hours of Sunday morning. Despite a motorist reporting seeing a car off the motorway later that morning, police did not get to the scene until a further report was received on Wednesday.
Mr Yuill was already dead, and Ms Bell was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
The Forth Valley division of Police Scotland’s Facebook page has been flooded with hundreds of comments questioning why officers failed to follow up the report.
Siobhan Samson wrote: “How can this happen? I regularly go to work via the M9 and the M876 and you seem to have plenty of vans to detect speeding and yet this emergency call seemed to have gone unexplored. How is that?”
Jackie Martin added: “Absolute disgrace that these people have lay injured and dying for 3 days.”
Assistant Chief Constable Kate Thomson, of Local Policing East, said: “It has come to light that a call was made to police late on Sunday morning regarding a car which was reported as being off the road. For reasons currently being investigated, that report was not followed up at the time.For more on this story, see Friday’s Courier“Officers have notified the families of this update. Our thoughts are with both families at this difficult time.
“A full investigation is currently under way to establish the full circumstances of the incident.”
The matter has been referred to the police investigations and review commissioner (Pirc) by the Crown Office.
A spokesman for Pirc said: “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has directed the police investigations and review commissioner to carry out an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 28-year-old man and serious injury of a 25-year-old woman following an incident at the M9 southbound near junction nine at Bannockburn on July 8.”
Murdo Fraser, Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said: “This is a truly shocking incident.
“People lying unattended at the side of the road for days is something you’d be surprised to encounter in the Third World.
“The circumstances leading to this must be investigated as a matter of absolute urgency.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP said “serious questions must be answered” in the wake of the crash.
He called on Holyrood Justice Secretary Michael Matheson to consider whether the review by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner is sufficient in the circumstances.
Mr Rennie said: “I am deeply sorry that John Yuill and Lamara Bell have been failed. My sympathy is with the family and friends of John and Lamara.
“I have been contacted by constituents and serving police officers who are horrified by this tragedy. They want a thorough investigation into the serious issues raised by the case and whether they are connected to the wider problems with the operation of Police Scotland.
“Everyone agrees that a three-day delay between the initial call to the control room and finding the couple is unacceptable and we need to establish why this happened.
“I know police officers have been deeply affected by this case. There is great upset within the force.
“It is of such importance that serious questions must be answered.
“It is right that the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) is investigating the matter but that may not be enough. A wider independent investigation may be required.
“I want the Justice Secretary to review whether an investigation by the PIRC is sufficient. The operation of Police Scotland is under scrutiny here and we need an investigation to match its serious nature.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Our thoughts are with the families of the couple concerned at this very difficult time. This matter has been referred by the Crown to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and will be taken forward appropriately.”