NEWS OF THE WORLD, June 22, 2003
By DAVID LESLIE

DUNBLANE

THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Doreen Hagger

Sandra Uttley

Sandra Uttley and Doreen Hagger
Shocking claims as duo demand a second probe
A NEW inquiry should be held into the Dunblane massacre because dozens of questions about the tragedy remain unanswered, according to two concerned campaigners.

The pair have spent months drawing up a detailed dossier about the horrific shootings.

And they claim that there are discrepancies between the official inquiry, presided over by Lord Cullen, and statements from witnesses at the time.

One woman, Sandra Uttley [top left], was a local ambulance worker.LINK  The other, Doreen Hagger, gave evidence at the Cullen Inquiry.LINK  They believe there may have been a cover-up.  Questions they now want answered include:

  • WHO did killer Thomas Hamilton meet and talk to on the way to Dunblane primary school?
  • WHO was the off-duty police officer at the scene and why has his identity been concealed?LINK
  • WHY have Hamilton's post mortem results been kept secret?
  • WHY ambulance service records are not being made public, and
  • WHY was there confusion over the number of guns Hamilton had at the school?LINK

The women - who have drawn up a 50-point, 5,000-word dossier on the affair - are furious that many of the official reports are being kept under wraps.

Horror

Government ministers have ruled that much of the evidence about the tragedy should not be made public for 100 years.LINK

Last night Uttley said: "A new inquiry is urgently needed.  There may be other individuals who should face prosecution."

The horror unfolded on March 13, 1996, when 43-year old misfit Hamilton gunned down 16 pupils and teacher Gwen Mayor at the Stirlingshire school.  The atrocity shocked the nation and an official probe was launched under Lord Cullen.  But Uttley and Hagger believe too many mysteries remain.

They point to the statement of Cathleen Boswell Kerr, who said she'd seen the killer standing beside - or climbing from - a large grey saloon car before he travelled to the school.  It was parked outside his Stirling home sometime between 8am and 8.40 on the fateful day.

Loner

According to Kerr, Hamilton looked cheerful.  He waved as the grey car left, then walked to his white hire van.  But Kerr DIDN'T give evidence at the Cullen Inquiry.  And the two women want to know what steps were taken to trace Hamilton's mystery visitor.

Mum-of-six Hagger helped out at a children's camp organised by the oddball loner who went on to become Scotland's worst mass murderer.  Her daughter Vikki, then seven years old, was one of the youngsters who attended.  Both were concerned about his behaviour and complained to cops about him.  Though he had already come to the attention of Central Scotland Police after official complaints about his camps and the clubs he ran for boys, Hagger believes her warnings about him went unheeded.LINK

She told us: "I was overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt that I had not done more to stop Hamilton.  We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of evidence to cover.  But I feel everyone has been robbed of justice."

Vikki later wrote to Lord Cullen about her fear of not being taken seriously.  Her mum also appeared before the judge at his inquiry in Stirling.

Cullen's intensive probe lasted from May 29 until July 10, 1996.  But according to Hagger, his investigation FAILED to reveal the identity of the off-duty police officer they believe to have been first on the scene.LINK  The man followed the primary school's headteacher Ron Taylor into the gym where the carnage had taken place.  He then warned the headmaster, and the school janitor John Currie, not to touch a gun which lay next to Hamilton's body on the gym floor.

But despite his key role, the officer's name has never been released to the public.LINK And the two campaigners want to know WHY his identity has been concealed.

They also want to know why the public hasn't been given access to the results of a post mortem carried out on Hamilton.  Uttley explained: "We know that a full dissection was carried out.  Pathologist Anthony Busuttil said the cause of death was gunshot injury.  But this does not explain the manner of Hamilton's death.LINK Some sources suggest his body was discovered lying close to a wall in which there were TWO bullet holes, six inches apart.

Fatal

"But what did the wounds on Hamilton's body show?  The post mortem results would surely clear up this point and explain whether or not he suffered other gunshot injuries that were not fatal."

Uttley could have been one of the ambulance staff who raced to the scene, just minutes after Hamilton's killing spree ended.  She was on a day off from her job at the ambulance station in nearby Callander and only learned of the horror from a friend.  She was called in to work later that day.  The crew she relieved had raced several of Hamilton's young victims to hospital, and were traumatised as a result.

But Uttley and Hagger claim the role of the ambulance service has been obscured.  They claimed: "Lord Cullen said in his report the ambulance service arrived at the school at 9.57 and the police at 9.50am.  Our own sources suggest ambulancewoman Alison Irvine made a statement indicating that when she and colleague Leslie Haire arrived at the school at 9.57am there were NO police cars or police officers there - just the mystery man who claimed to be an off-duty policeman.

"Ron Taylor met them and said they were the first to arrive.  The ambulance staff then radioed their control room to say they were dealing with a major incident.

"Police witnesses said at the inquiry they arrived at the primary school at 9.50am.  But the Accident and Emergency Department at Stirling Royal Infirmary received notification of a shooting incident at Dunblane at 9.48am.   Who from?  We want to know why details about the ambulance service's role should be hidden for 100 years."

The two women are also puzzled by the confusion over the number of weapons found at the scene.  Uttley - the former partner of Dr Mick NorthLINK, whose daughter Sophie died that day - added: "Some witnesses suggested Hamilton had two guns at the primary school, others say he had four.

"Malcolm Chisholm and David Gould, the ammunition and bomb disposal experts, also differ over their examination of the guns.  Why were these vital issues not properly clarified at the inquiry?"

Amok

Some of the discrepancies, they claim, might have been cleared up by the Scene of Crime report.  But they added: "It's been hidden away until 2096.  Why?"

Uttley and Hagger also want to know why photographs of the crime scene weren't taken until late afternoon - though Hamilton ran amok shortly after the school first opened.

Hagger added: "There were concerns that Hamilton's body might be booby-trapped.  Why then was the bomb disposal centre not alerted until 2.30pm?  And why on earth were there people present in the gym when the bomb disposal expert arrived?  The gym was supposed to have been evacuated at noon because of concerns about a booby trap."

Among the other queries raised by the couple's dossier is the question of where Hamilton went between leaving his home and arriving at Dunblane primary school.  Uttley revealed: "A policeman said CCTV cameras picked up Hamilton's van leaving Stirling on the morning of March 13, 1996 at 8.44 and 8.46.LINK  The journey to Dunblane school would normally take just 15 minutes.  Yet Hamilton did not arrive there until 9.30.  Where did he go in the half hour that's unaccounted for?"

The pair are also intrigued by the matter of Hamilton's finances.  Hagger told us: "Some sources suggested he obtained two credit cards and spent freely at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996.  But he was unemployed - and this has never been fully explained."

The duo say they are determined to battle on until they win a fresh inquiry into the horror.

Uttley, who has written a series of articles about male violence and guns - began work on her dossier in December last year.  In February, she wrote to Hagger asking for her help.  They claim they have examined and cross-referenced every word of the Cullen report since then.  Uttley told us: "I will never give up on this until we get to the truth."  And Hagger added: "This has caused us a lot of stress.  Some of what we've discovered makes me despair.  Yet I think it is only right that people should know about this and decide for themselves whether or not a new inquiry is merited"

But last night the officer who headed the Dunblane investigation was adamant that Central Scotland Police left no stone unturned.LINK

Theories

Detective Chief Superintendent John Ogg, who has now retired from the force, told us: "I can reassure you that the investigation into the Dunblane incident was absolutely thorough, and we covered every angle.  I don't subscribe to any of these allegations at all."  And he added: "I have no idea why someone would wish to come up with theories like these."

Speaking from his home in Perthshire, Mick North told us: "I have been asked by Sandra about what happened on the day, and have answered her questions.  There are areas that I feel could do with a better explanation, but I am not going to go into specifics.  I think it's most likely that the conspiracy goes as far as being alleged."

During the investigation, it was claimed that student teacher David Scott witnessed Hamilton kill himself.  However, Scott did not himself give evidence, and when asked if he did see the killer commit suicide, he refused to make any comment at all.  He told the News of the World: "I have not spoken about this before and have no intention of doing so."

[Ed ~ It can be proved there was a cover-up by the State because the first person into the gym whileThomas Hamilton was still alive was a female trainee teacher, NOT the male trainee teacher called David Scott.  He was mentioned in the official transcript of the Inquiry and also in Sandra Uttley's book Dunblane Unburied as the Dunblane Primary School trainee teacher.

In her book, Sandra Uttley refers to a potential cover-up because in the written findings of Lord Cullen (and this is the sneaky part of it) he mentions that the first person into the gym was a trainee teacher.

Sandra Uttley says, hah, this must be a cover-up because "the" trainee teacher David Scott was reported to have been in another classroom with his head down and he cannot be in two places at one time, so the Inquiry has got the narrative wrong, which proves that there has been a cover up..

However, Lord Cullen told the truth that "a" trainee teacher was the first person into the gym.  He just does not explain that the trainee teacher was not affiliated to Dunblane Primary School, but was a female trainee teacher from another school. She was meeting with the school's assistant head that day to discuss her son's disruptive behaviour because he had ADHD (Attention Deficient Hyperactive Disorder).  Her son survived; one of only three kids to survive.  (Unfortunately, he subsequently attacked an old lady in her home in Dunblane, attempted to have sex with her and was jailed.)

Be that as it may, Lord Cullen told the truth, but the trainee teacher did not participate in the Inquiry.  She was excused despite being the only person to witness Thomas Hamilton alive and shooting at children.  The second person into the gym, the off-duty policeman was also excused from testifying.LINK

So, it could be argued that the State chose not to include the trainee teacher's testimony because:

  1. This would save her the anguish of giving testimony and reliving events.
  2. It would lead to the graphic description of injuries to the children that the MSM Press might sensationalise.
  3. They did not want to cause further trauma to her and her son because her son had survived and they had to somehow get over what had happened and live out their lives
  4. They did not want to divulge some parts of the crime scene.

Remember, that an off-duty policeman, Grant Mcutcheon, was the second person to enter the gym after Thomas Hamilton, so one of three things happened regarding Hamilton's demise:LINK

  •  he shot himself prior to the policeman's arrival;
  •  he shot himself as the policeman came into the gym; or
  •  he did not shoot himself at all - someone else did.

The female trainee teacher, the first to enter the gym after Thomas Hamilton, could have cleared the fog by providing an exact account of the issue.  So there had to be an ulterior motive for preventing both her and Grant McCutcheon.from giving evidence to the inquiry.

The reason for the cover-up was to protect vested interests so they chose to lie about certain aspects of the crime scene.  In this case the second person into the gym, the off-duty police officer possibly committed "offences" in terms of his reaction to Thomas Hamilton or to Thomas Hamilton's body, thereby interfering with a crime scene.

This brings us to the salient point.  If the State is happy enough to cover up a crime scene and the prequel and final moments of Thomas Hamilton's life, and to who witnessed what, in order to placate the feelings of two state employees (trainee teacher and a police officer) then who else are they happy to cover up for in terms of State employees?

Similarly, it show's that the State's Inquiry process is not independent and that official judge-led Inquiries are influenced by the State.LINK

You can be certain that it was a female trainee teacher who was the first person to enter the gym, not as assumed by Sandra Uttley that it must have been the male trainee teacher David Scott because she knew that David Scott was the only trainee teacher working at Dunblane Primary.  It did not occur to her, and why should it, that a female trainee teacher had been visiting Dunblane Primary on that fateful day.  So, there you have it: a cast-iron cover-up by the State.

Where transparent, state-orchestrated cover-ups dwell, it is not surprising that campaigners for new inquiries do not always get their details entirely factual, or in harmony in every respect.  Such is the State's centuries-long expertise in devising cover-ups.   But that should not put campaigners in disharmony, one to the other.  They all strive for justice in the public interest.   To allow the State to derail the well-founded call for a new inquiry and to uncover the covers-up would be a travesty at its pinnacle.]

[Ed ~ News of the World article resumes.]
Headmaster Ron Taylor blasted the pair's findings [i.e., Sandra Uttley's and Doreen Hagger's] and said he could not understand why they would wish to open up old wounds."  He added: "It is rubbish.  There is no substance to it at all.  Hundreds of statements were given, and only a select few were actually used for Cullen, to spare those affected by the incident the trauma of going through it again.  Every single person who was in the school on the day gave a statement to the police.  Only a few gave verbal evidence to the Cullen Inquiry.  [Ed ~ Why only a few?]  The vast majority of the report was about the police.  There is no cover-up."

News of the World article ENDS

[Ed ~ What could it be that Ron Taylor really knows, that he does not want to impart to the rest of the world?LINK  Why is he meekly falling into line with the State's concocted version of events and its conclusion?

How can he claim that "the pair's findings ... open up old wounds"?  The wounds will never close until a proper inquiry is held, with no restrictive remit and with ALL witnesses' testimonies included.

Furthermore, why did Lord Cullen not ask Ron Taylor, and many other witnesses, especially Central Scotland Police witnesses, under oath, if they were Freeasons?  Particularly when I asked Cullen to pose that particular question while his farcical inquiry was in progress.LINK

After all, it can be assumed that all suspect witnesses were not all Freemasons, but it was a perfect opportunity to put that particular misgiving to bed.  My insistence to Cullen during the inquiry that he poses that question to witnesses resulted in him putting my correspondence with him on a nonstatutiory 100-year closure order.LINK]

Copyright © 2016 William Burns. All rights reserved.
Truth Ignored
Dunblane Whitewash
Dunblane City Sign
Scotland Map

DUNBLANE INQUIRY SHAM

Dunblane Public Inquiry
Dunblane Massacre
Read the full list in the Dunblane Whitewash catalogue. LINK
Dunblane Angels
St Blane's Church Dunblane
The stained glass window in St Blane's Church, Dunblane, which commemorates the victims of the 1996 massacre.
List of the victims of the Dunblane massacre
Victoria Clydesdale
Mhairi MacBeath
Charlotte Dunn
Melissa Currie
Emma Crozier
Kevin Hassell
Ross Irvine
David Kerr
Gwen Hodson/Mayor - schoolteacher
John Petrie
Hanna Scott
Joanna Ross
Sophie North
Emily Morton
Maegan Turner
Brett McKinnon
Abigail McLennan
We know who killed the above victims, but, although we may not care, we do not know for sure who killed Thomas Hamilton, and why that person was carrying a revolver at the time!
Why did Lord Cullen try to bury William Burns' letters to him for 100 years? LINK