Murder case inquiry hopes 'alive'

The Cawley family met Crown Office officials

The family of a murdered Glasgow bar manager are still hoping to convince the Crown Office to hold a public inquiry into the way his case was handled.

Christopher Cawley's relatives met deputy crown agent Frank Crowe for the second time on Friday.

Following a meeting, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours, the family said they had not achieved their aim, which was for a full public inquiry.

However, the dead man's sister-in-law Eileen Cawley said the meeting had been constructive and that a further meeting would be sought.

Christopher Cawley was stabbed to death

Mr Cawley, who was 35, was murdered while working in the Laurieston Bar in Glasgow last September.

His family has accused the Crown Office of bungling the case after two men were charged with the fatal stabbing of Mr Cawley.

One was acquitted half way through the trial and the case against the other was found not proven.

There was considerable disquiet at the outcome.

The Cawley family has been campaigning for a public inquiry into the handling of the case and has secured the support of 83 MSPs including Scottish National Party leader John Swinney.

Not proven verdict

The Crown Office apologised for its failure to keep the family informed during the trial and in particular the way in which charges against one of the men were dropped.

Colin Boyd QC, the Lord Advocate, had previously told the family he was satisfied with the way in which the trial was handled.

Two men, Louis McDonald and Gary Sanders, were arrested and brought to trial in January for Mr Cawley's murder.

Mr Sanders was acquitted during the trial, which ran from 4 to 11 January, and Mr McDonald then blamed Mr Sanders, which led to a not proven verdict being brought against Mr McDonald.

Colin Boyd QC has apologised to the family

After Friday's meeting, Ms Cawley said: "Christopher's family have had another constructive meeting with representatives of the Lord Advocate.

"We have been given some further answers which we will take some time to consider.

"The Crown Office will also consider the further representations made by the family."

She added: "A further meeting may be necessary and our demand for a public inquiry has not been met.

Proper mechanism

"The family take some consolation in the assurance that other families will not have to go through what we went through.

"We still feel that the system is missing any proper mechanism to allow victims and their families to have their say when something goes wrong. This may have to be addressed by our parliament."

Ms Cawley said the meeting had gone "very well" and she would reflect on some of the points raised by Mr Crowe and Jim Brisbane, the head of the High Court unit.

Issues raised

On the question of the public inquiry she said: "It's still on the table, it's not gone away. We still want a public inquiry and we are hopeful that we will get that."

In a statement, the Crown Office said: "A constructive discussion took place during which further information was supplied to the family and they in turn raised issues which require further consideration.

"These will now be looked at and the Crown Office officials will remain in touch with the family representatives.

On the issue of the request for a public inquiry, the statement said: "The Lord Advocate will consider the family's representations and reply to them personally in due course."