Sheku Bayoh's death was 'complex' says lord advocate

Scotland's most senior law officer has told the family of a man who died in police custody there are "complex issues" over the cause of his death.

The relatives of Sheku Bayoh met Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland in Edinburgh.

Mr Bayoh died after being detained by officers called to an incident in Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy on 3 May.

A statement from the family said they believed the lord advocate was determined to hold a robust, independent and transparent inquiry

Following the meeting, the Crown Office released a statement on behalf of the lord advocate.

It said: "The lord advocate today met with the family of Sheku Bayoh and updated them on the progress being made and the next steps for the investigation into his death.

"It comes after the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) submitted their interim report earlier this month.

"There remains work to be done by PIRC before their investigation is complete. The Crown will take the PIRC report into account when carrying out its own investigations and will assess whether or not there should be a criminal prosecution."

The statement added: "In order for any criminal prosecution to happen, there must be sufficient evidence in law that a crime has been committed.

"The family have been advised, by the lord advocate, that as part of the ongoing investigation there are a number of complex issues relating to the cause of death and experts in the field have been instructed to assist in dealing with these issues.

"The lord advocate has reiterated the undertaking previously given to the family that the enquiry will be thorough and completed as soon as is possible."

The solicitor for the family, Aamer Anwar, earlier said they had "lost all confidence in the Police Independent Review Commission's investigation".

A statement after the meeting said the Bayoh family were grateful to the lord advocate for "a very robust and honest meeting".

It said: "The family told the lord advocate that they do not believe the PIRC have shown the necessary expertise to deal with this investigation.

"The family expressed grave reservations as to the PIRC's impartiality or robustness and believe that PIRC have failed to use their powers to hold police officers to account."

The statement added: "The Bayoh family have stated from day one that Sheku acted out of character and that if he broke the law then the police had a right to act, but he did not deserve to die."

The family said they were concerned that the investigation had focused all of its energy on everything apart from what the police did to restrain Mr Bayoh.

A PIRC spokesman said the commissioner has continued to receive direction from the lord advocate throughout the "complex and wide-ranging investigation".

"The commissioner continues to work closely with the lord advocate to investigate complex lines of enquiry, including gathering further expert opinion in relation to the cause of death," he added.

Police Scotland has said they await the conclusion of the Pirc investigation and remain committed to co-operating fully with its inquiries.