Ian McKie, father of former policewoman Shirley McKie who was wrongly accused of leaving her fingerprint at a murder scene, has said he is hopeful the initial hearing of the independent public inquiry into his daughter's case will achieve its goals.

Ongoing over the last 11 years, the inquiry will take evidence from a series of lord advocates and ministers for justice, as well as senior politicians and members of the police about why the case has taken so long to resolve.

Speaking ahead of the inquiry, McKie said: “Shirley and I will do all that we can to ensure that the inquiry achieves its goal, reveals what happened over the past 11 years, and generates recommendations that will help ensure it never happens again.

"I hope the political and legal establishment will be called to account and that we can at last find out why those who had the power to resolve matters failed to do so. I remain confident that the inquiry will achieve its goals and allow us all to leave the trauma of the past 11 years behind us.”

A major campaigner for the hearing, SNP MSP Alex Neil added: “I welcome the inquiry. I hope it will find out the truth of what happened in the misidentification of Shirley’s fingerprint and in particular find out if there was a stitch up, as many of us believe.

"I hope the inquiry will also look at the ongoing problems within the Scottish Police Services Authority and address them," he added.

The initial hearing is set to take place on Monday 20th October 2008 at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and is open to all members of the public.