The family of murdered T2 Trainspotting star Bradley Welsh are demanding a criminal probe after Police Scotland admitted gross failures over the killing.
Bradley was shot dead outside his Edinburgh home in a £10,000 contract hit after bungling officers failed to warn him that he was being targeted. It emerged during the trial of gunman Sean Orman that a witness told the police three times about a gangland plot to murder the ex-boxing champ.
His brother Sean Welsh demanded answers over why officers sat on the information rather than issuing a Threat to Life warning. Now the force has upheld Sean’s complaint following an inquiry by its Professional Standards unit and offered their “sincerest apologies”.
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The police admitted several unnamed high-ranking officers were aware of the threat but decided it was “not real or credible.”
The Welsh family are pushing for the Crown Office to press criminal charges against Police Scotland and those officers involved following the verdict. They also plan to launch a civil legal action to help expose the full facts of the case.
55-year-old Sean told the Daily Record : “ I said before the police had blood on their hands.
“We now have black and white proof that it’s true. The bad apples need to be rooted out.”
Bradley was shot at close range with a shotgun outside his flat in the New Town of Edinburgh on April, 17, 2019.
Orman’s trial heard how witness Dean White twice called the police on March 18, 2019, to tell them about the scheme to kill Bradley. White was in a flat in Duddingston when Orman boasted of having a contract to execute the former Hibs casual and even showed White the gun.
Questioned by cops two days later, he repeated these details, naming the gangster who put out the contract and armed response officers descended on the flat in the hunt for Orman. Yet despite the operation, no Threat to Life warning was given.
After the trial ended last May, Sean submitted an official complaint to Police Scotland over their handling of the threat to his younger brother. In the Professional Standards report sent back to him, Superintendent Lorna Ferguson set out the force’s standard operating procedure which should see a detective superintendent become the “owner” of a threat when being briefed.
The threat should undergo a risk assessment and be “graded as low, medium or high, the latter being ‘real or immediate’ where a TTL (Threat to Life) Warning Notice is issued”.
She added: “Every potential TTL should be treated as real and immediate until it is established not to be.”
In this case, Supt Ferguson wrote: “A number of officers, up to the rank of superintendent, were aware of the information regarding the threat, however the detective superintendent was not briefed.
“Therefore there was no ownership or management of the threat or appropriate assessment carried out in line with the guidance contained in SOP. The option of issuing Bradley with a TTL Warning Notice or Personal Safety Warning Notice was not actioned.”
Superintendent Ferguson described how White’s calls to the police were logged on March 18 but the second, which “omitted details of the threat, became the “main log”. The log was viewed by a detective inspector, who was unaware of the threat but instructed officers to trace the caller anyway.
A sergeant listened to recordings of the calls, established details of the threat against Bradley and that information was passed onto a detective sergeant in CID. An Initial Tactical Firearms Commander also assessed the intelligence and “deemed the immediate risk to Bradley to be low” and not meeting the criteria for an “immediate firearms response.”
Supt Ferguson told how White was then traced to provide further details, this time prompting a swoop on the Duddingston flat by firearms officers.
She said: “The information regarding the threat to Bradley was passed to a Detective Inspector who assessed the threat as not real or credible. No escalation was made to the Detective Superintendent.
“The opportunity to consider disruptive actions were not considered or preventative actions were not considered in line with the TTL SOP, which is the process that should have been followed.”
After upholding Sean’s complaint, Supt Ferguson said: “I sincerely apologise for the actions of Police Scotland in relation to the matters you have raised, and for the significant impact this incident has undoubtedly had on you and your family.
“Police Scotland has undertaken a review of policy, process and working practices and enhanced training for staff relating to the TTL process. These measures should ensure similar errors are not repeated.”
Orman’s trial heard how he was paid to carry out the killing by a gangland figure associated with the Lyons crime clan. The hit was part of a feud between that paymaster and cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson, 35, who is linked to the rival Daniel crew.
Orman, who was jailed for 28 years, was also convicted of the attempted murder of Bradley’s friend, David McMillan, 51, with a machete at his Morningside home on March 13, 2019.
White, who died earlier this year aged 50 while in witness protection in East Sussex, was interviewed about his tip at Craigmillar police station a month before the shooting. The station is located about 150 metres from Bradley’s Holyrood Boxing Gym.
Dad-of-two Sean, of Edinburgh, said: “Police Scotland admitted doing nothing to stop Brad being killed, offered their ‘sincerest apologies’, and that’s it. No details on disciplinary proceedings or sackings.
“They had ample opportunity to save Brad’s life, but sat on it for a month. If they’d given him an Osman he would’ve taken precautions and changed his routine.
“They knew Dean White’s information was good because he knew about the attack on David McMillan who was friends with Brad. It was good enough for armed officers to raid a flat, but they couldn’t take a piece of paper round to Brad’s gym.
“I think the police thought, it’s Brad, we don’t like him, let see how it pans out.”
Sean added: “The Crown should be having a fatal accident inquiry and charging officers. We’re currently looking at lawyers to take forward a civil action against Police Scotland over gross misconduct.”
Chief Superintendent John Paterson, head of Police Scotland’s Professional Standards Department, said: “Police Scotland received and responded to a complaint about the police from the family of Bradley Welsh. We upheld the complaints made and have apologised.
"Our thoughts remain with Mr Welsh’s family.”
A Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) spokeswoman said: “PIRC were instructed by the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to investigate matters related to police actions in the lead up to the murder of Bradley Welsh.
“Following our investigation, a report was submitted to COPFS in December 2019. As this was a COPFS instructed investigation it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
The Crown Office could not be reached for comment.
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