Hit and run killer cop has all charges dropped

The stench arising from this case is overpowering.

And the news was cynically released just the day before the royal wedding, in order to bury it.

An off-duty police officer who ran down a pedestrian and then fled the scene was charged five days later but the case has now been dropped by the Crown.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that the officer, whose identity has never been revealed, had been cleared and continued to serve with the force.

Mr Douglas had been celebrating Hogmanay with his wife and other relatives and was struck as he left CC Blooms nightclub at around 4.20am.

The father-of-three had been crossing Union Place, near the top of Leith Walk, when he was hit. Fellow revellers waved down a passing ambulance and he was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but he died of head and pelvic injuries.

Mr Douglas had been training for a job as an HGV driver after leaving a job at a care home. He is survived by daughter Martina, 16, and sons Thomas, 14, and Ben, six as well as his wife

Following the accident Mr Douglas's grieving father Lewis, 66, demanded answers to why an off-duty police officer would have driven off after the accident.

He was reported to have said at the time: "Martin was thrown on to the car's bonnet and then its roof. He suffered terrible internal injuries. This policeman must have known he had hit someone. We need to know why he drove away."

After it emerged no case would be heard against the officer Mr Douglas' uncle Kenneth Douglas said he felt it sent out the wrong message, as the officer appeared to be "above the law" and said he was still waiting to find out if the officer had been breathalysed at the scene.