Fresh probe into Scots banker's doorstep death came after law chief's meeting with bereaved widow

SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: Alistair Wilson's wife Veronica met the head of Scotland's prosecution service in the summer.

Scotland’s chief prosecutor ordered a fresh investigation into the murder of banker Alistair Wilson following a meeting with his widow, the Sunday Mail can reveal. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain announced last week that a new police cold case inquiry team would try to bring his killer to justice after almost 20 years.

Bain, head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, met the family including Alistair’s wife Veronica at her office in Edinburgh in July to hear their concerns and confirmed plans for a reinvestigation. A spokesperson said: “I can confirm that the Lord Advocate met with the family on 18 July.”

The Crown Office would not confirm if Alistair’s adult sons Andrew and Graham attended the meeting. They were just four and two when their father was murdered on the doorstep of the family home in Nairn.

The meeting follows a complaint last December that Veronica was misled over the planned arrest of a suspect in May that year. Police Scotland has since apologised. Alistair, 30, was shot at 7pm on November 28, 2004, in what has become one of Scotland’s most notorious unsolved murder cases.

He had been reading a bedtime story to his sons when Veronica answered the door to a man who asked for her husband by name. Alistair went downstairs to speak to the visitor and was handed a blue birthday card-style envelope with the word ‘Paul’ on it.

He showed it to his wife then returned to the door and the gunman opened fire. On hearing the three shots Veronica rushed to the front door and dialled 999. An ambulance took Alistair to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but he died an hour later.

The dad had just resigned from the Bank of Scotland and was due to begin a new job in Inverness with an environmental consultancy firm. Detectives turned up nothing that suggested his murder was linked to his bank work, his personal life or was a case of mistaken identity.

Mystery still surrounds the envelope, which the killer took away. Veronica told police the name Paul appeared to mean nothing to her husband. Ten days later the murder weapon, an antique German pocket pistol, was found in a drain half a mile away.

No forensic evidence was found linking it to any individual. Seven years ago, Veronica revealed finding out the truth about Alistair’s death remained hugely important.

She said: “For us as a family, we need to know why. This is just so senseless. For two young boys – aged two and four – to be left without a dad. That can’t be repaired. But who and why would just make such a difference to us being able to move on.”

Two years ago Police Scotland revealed a minor planning dispute was now at the centre of their investigation. Shortly before he died, Alistair had objected to a large decking area built outside the Havelock Hotel, opposite his home. Owner Andy Burnett received a copy of the letter from the council two days before Alistair’s murder.

Detectives even travelled to Nova Scotia in Canada to interview him, later stressing he was a witness and not a suspect. The 55-year-old had emigrated in 2013 after selling the hotel. Police Scotland also revealed details of two men seen with a handgun on Nairn’s East Beach, just a month before the murder.

A local man, now in his 40s, has emerged as a possible suspect. A regular in the Havelock Hotel at the time of the murder, he was said to have access to firearms. The man was recently released from prison after serving a sentence for drug offences and is believed to have gone to ground.

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Previous investigations into the killing have been hampered by a lack of evidence. No eye witnesses have come forward and there was no CCTV in the area.

A cigarette end was found on the doorstep, possibly left by the killer. No DNA match could be found, though advances in testing could change that.

Announcing her decision last week, Ms Bain said: “It is my sincere hope that this secures justice for Alistair Wilson’s family and for the wider community who have been affected by this violent crime.”

Police Scotland said a new senior officer at the rank of Detective Chief Supt has been appointed to oversee the investigation. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson added: “Officers remain committed and determined to identify Alistair’s killer.”

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