Pc's wife angry at 10-year term

Paul Murray is led away from court by prison officers

The wife of a police officer who was blasted with a sawn-off shotgun has said the 10-year sentence given to his attacker is "too lenient".

Pc John Cunningham, 53, is unlikely to work again after being fired at by Paul Murray at Shettleston police station.

Murray, from Barlanark, Glasgow, was told by a judge that he had carried out a "reckless and cold-blooded attempt to murder a serving police officer".

Pc Cunningham's wife Margaret said they had been let down by the court system.

At a news conference, she said the sentence imposed at the High Court in Edinburgh was lenient.

"I did not have a set amount of time in my mind but I thought he would get a very long sentence," Mrs Cunningham said.

The court heard that Pc Cunningham saw Murray load two cartridges into the weapon.

John Cunningham was hit with both barrels

The officer was hit on the right side of his stomach and back as he got up from a chair in the back office of the police station in the east end of Glasgow.

Murray walked out of the front office, leaving the shotgun on the counter.

He was arrested after DNA tests on blood left at the scene linked him to the shooting.

No motive has emerged for the attack. Police found three books about the SAS when they searched his home in Barlanark, Glasgow.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Murray had alcohol and drug problems having taken to drink at the age of 13 following his father's suicide.

It's not a severe sentence and does not reflect the cold and callous crime that he committed Norrie Flowers Scottish Police Federation

Pc Cunningham, who had 31 years of service, has been left traumatised by the incident.

Norrie Flowers, of the Scottish Police Federation, said he believed the 10-year sentence handed to Murray was unduly lenient.

He said: "I'm not happy with the sentence as Murray will probably be out in five years time.

"It's not a severe sentence and does not reflect the cold and callous crime that he committed.

"If Murray served 10 years in jail it would send out a clear message to the criminal fraternity."

But Superintendent Kevin Smith disputed Mr Flowers' claim that Murray could be out in five years and said police officers should not be armed as a matter of course.

Murray will serve another five years under supervision after being released from prison.