Crown Office will meet shooting victim’s mum

Jun 26 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

THE CROWN Office have this week responded to a Blantyre mother who claimed the criminal justice system had let down her son.

Last week, Agnes Simpson (56) - who is the mother of 34-year-old Barry Simpson, the Blantyre dad shot on his doorstep in January - slammed the Crown after two girls who she claims “instigated” the attempted murder of her son walked free.

The Crown Office stated: “The fiscal are writing to Mr Simpson to explain their decisions taken in this case and offer to meet with him and members of his family.

“The decisions in this case were taken after careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances, and the fiscal will discuss this more fully with the victim and next of kin directly.”

Three weeks ago, at the High Court in Glasgow, Gary McFadyen (26), formerly of Berkley Drive, Blantyre, admitted attempting to murder Barry Simpson.

He blasted Mr Simpson with a sawn-off shotgun on January 22 at 1/7 Ballantrae Road, Blantyre.

McFadyen’s girlfriend Danielle Hughes (29), of Rannoch Court, and her friend Alana Brankin (30), of Ardgour Court, both Blantyre, were originally charged with attempted murder but were freed after the prosecution accepted their pleas of not guilty.

An angry Agnes Simpson said last week: “The court accepted a plea of not guilty by Alana Brankin and Danielle Hughes. To my mind, these two women instigated the attack.”

Derick Nelson, prosecuting, told the High Court that just before the attack, Mr Simpson and a neighbour complained to Brankin and Hughes, who were drunk, about their comings and goings in the flat where they lived in Blantyre.

That incident, the court heard, was the catalyst for the shotgun attack on Barry Simpson.

The women complained to McFadyen, who armed himself with a sawn-off shotgun and returned to the flat at Ballantrae Road.

This week, Agnes said: “I welcome the invitation to meet the Crown and look forward to hearing what they have to say.”