BBC Scotland urged to investigate after murder trial witness fled over documentary 'pressure'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

BBC Scotland has been urged to investigate its role in a murder trial which was abandoned when the key witness fled over the pressure of appearing in a documentary.

Caroline Muirhead was arrested after failing to turn up to court for the trial of two brothers accused of killing cyclist Tony Parsons on a remote Highland estate in 2017.

She said the demands to take part in a BBC-commissioned programme on the case led her to have a mental breakdown. After it emerged she was left too ill to give evidence, the murder charges against twins Alexander and Robert McKellar were downgraded to lesser charges at the High Court in Glasgow in July.Now Conservative MSP Russell Findlay has written to the BBC about the scandal after his own experience in dealing with the BBC’s documentary makers, Firecrest Films, in another case.The MSP wrote: “Ms Muirhead has said she was subjected to inappropriate pressure to agree for her testimony to be broadcast.“She further claims that she felt unable to testify due to this pressure and that this, in turn, may have caused the Crown Office to strike a plea deal with the two men accused of murder, instead of putting them on trial, resulting in a downgrading of the charges, which they admitted to.“I am sure the BBC would agree that it would be deeply concerning if justice has been in any way hampered or diluted because of the influence of its documentary.“For a murder trial to have been potentially impacted due to the involvement of BBC/Firecrest merits a full and transparent investigation by all parties.”At the end of last month, Alexander McKellar was jailed for 12 years on culpable homicide charges for killing and burying grandad Tony in 2017 while Robert, who helped bury his body, was sentenced