Police Scotland spent over £200,000 on legal services during M9 crash inquiry

Police Scotland spent more than £200,000 on legal services during the inquiry into the deaths of two people who remained undiscovered for three days after a crash on one of Scotland’s busiest motorways.

Lamara Bell, 25, and John Yuill, 28, were returning from a camping trip on July 5, 2015, when their Renault Clio crashed on the M9 near Stirling.

The couple lay in the vehicle for three days before being discovered on July 8, despite police previously being alerted to the incident.

Mr Yuill, a father-of-five, was pronounced dead at the scene and Ms Bell, a mother-of-two, died four days later in hospital.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths concluded last May that there was a failure in police call-handling procedures and Ms Bell would probably have survived if she had received medical treatment on July 5, albeit with a long-term neurological deficit.

Prior to the inquiry the force was fined £100,000 at the High Court in Edinburgh after it pleaded guilty to health and safety failings which “materially contributed” to Ms Bell’s death in September 2021.

They also paid more than £1m in damages to the family of Ms Bell in December 2021.

It has since been revealed, following a Freedom of Information request, that £210,258.30 was spent by Police Scotland on legal costs during the inquiry, which is almost 65% of the money spent by the force on FAIs over the last three years (£325,214.88).

An FAI into Warren Fenty's death also concluded last May. — An FAI into Warren Fenty’s death also concluded last May. STV News

Scotland’s longest Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of Warren Fenty also concluded in May 2024.

The 20-year-old was found lying unconscious at a dwelling house in Aberdeen in the early hours of the morning of June 28, 2014 after an apparent overdose.

He was taken by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he later intimated his intention to discharge himself from hospital.

Mr Fenty was immediately detained on suspicion of offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and taken into custody at Kittybrewster station, where he died from an apparent drugs overdose.

The Sheriff ruled that the man’s death in police custody was “likely” avoidable. The lengthy hearing, which took a decade to complete, cost the force £62,292.48 in legal costs.

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “Fatal Accident Inquiries are an important part of the process for families seeking answers over the death of a loved one, and we will always cooperate fully.”