‘My dad was shot dead – then people said my mum did it’: The doorstep murder that remains unsolved

Published

12 months ago

December 3, 2024

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Imagine being four years old. One minute your dad is reading you a bedtime story. The next he is lying on the doorstep of your family home, drawing his final breaths.

Blood is seeping from bullet wounds to his face and body, pooling in the hallway, while the innocent eyes of a young boy gaze from the nearby staircase, unable to comprehend he was witnessing an event that would change his life forever.

“I still get that image of my dad in nightmares”, Andrew Wilson, now aged 24, says as he relives the childhood horror he experienced, two decades on from the gangland-style attack that killed his father, Alistair.

Warning: Contains descriptions some readers may find distressing

Andrew is quiet as he shows me a picture of him and his bank manager dad, taken hours before the fatal evening of 28 November 2004.

The beaming smiles of father and son, captured on a grainy film camera, resemble old photos that usually gather dust in well-thumbed family photo albums. The picture was taken during a relaxed walk in the woods, and shows them both wearing blue outdoor jackets, holding hands. Andrew comes up to his dad’s hip and is leaning his head on his arm.

But this is all Andrew has left. It is the last image of his father alive.

The gunman vanished into the night

The contrast between the family fun on a Sunday afternoon with the brutal violence that would follow the same day is eerie.

The murder of Alistair Wilson is one of Britain’s longest-running unsolved cases.

Even the brightest and most seasoned detectives have been baffled by the fact a gunman carried out such a brutal execution in a sleepy Highland town before vanishing into the night, never to be caught.

No motive has ever been established, although in recent years police have zoned in on a planning dispute across the road.

The absence of his father is something Andrew has been forced to come to terms with.

“A lot of my friends’ dads were very good. My uncles all tried to have their influence on me but it wasn’t the same. I remember my grandad teaching me how to kick a football properly… that’s something my dad would have taught me”, he says.

Speaking with a Highland lilt in his voice, he ponders the small but significant moments he missed out on like sharing his “first legal pint” with his dad on his 18th birthday.

“I blanked out a lot of my childhood memories,” he says.

The knock at the door

It all began on Crescent Road, a long side street in Nairn. Victorian three-storey houses sit near a church, while a nearby beach looks out across the Moray Firth. Crime was rare – there hadn’t been a murder in Nairn for almost 20 years.

Alistair was upstairs with his two young boys, getting them ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. His wife, Veronica, answered a stranger who asked for her husband by name.

Nothing about that interaction seemed to raise suspicion or cause alarm, and Alistair left the boys to come downstairs.

The stranger handed him an empty blue envelope with the word “Paul” written on it, and he closed the door. But bewildered, Alistair opened it again to ask questions. He was instantly shot in a gangland-style attack.

Andrew talks about the family’s plans to visit his dad’s grave, to commemorate the anniversary of his murder.

“He would have been 50 this year,” he says. His tone of voice is matter-of-fact, but his gaze wanders off.

“The whole family got together and marked it.”

A planning dispute

Speculation has run rife over the years in Nairn as to the motives behind the murder. Could it have been connected to Alistair’s career at the bank? Could a hitman have carried it out? Andrew says the worst part was when his mum was rumoured to be a suspect.

“It was difficult when people would say it was mum,” he says, emotion audible in his voice for the first time. Sounding protective, Andrew edges forward in his seat.

“I got in trouble at school for fighting because someone would say it was my mum,” he says. “I’d already lost a parent, and my other one was being made out to be something I knew they weren’t. That was my biggest struggle.”

Andrew is full of praise for how his mother dealt with being the focus of such hurtful gossip, while being both mother and father to her two sons. “She has done an amazing job,” he says.

In more recent years, police thought a possible motive could be linked to a planning objection Alastair had to a large decking area being built at the pub across the road from his house. His opposition was made public three days before he was killed.

Could a planning grievance really trigger such violence?

Police have stressed the then owner of the venue, who now lives in Canada, is a key witness and not a suspect.

‘Murkier and murkier’

Relations between Alistair Wilson’s family and Police Scotland were typically strong. There was no reason to question the strategy and the abilities of officers to do their jobs properly. When detectives told them, 18 months ago, that they were going to make an arrest, they were elated – finally it seemed justice might be done. But it wasn’t to be – the police went silent, and after chasing them for an answer, they found out the arrest had been cancelled.

From there it got “murkier and murkier”, Andrew says, with no explanation given. He and his family feel “let down” by the police, he says, and have no confidence they will ever catch the killer.

They are now calling for Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell, who was appointed in October 2023, to resign and take responsibility for her “callous” approach, after she refused to meet the family on multiple occasions.

“If her force has let us down for 20 years and she can’t get a hold of it, how are they going to get us somewhere?” Andrew asks. Police Scotland did not address questions from Sky News about the future of the chief constable.

Sky News confronted Jo Farrell as she arrived at a meeting in Glasgow on 1 December.

“I won’t be resigning, she said, when asked if she would quit over “failing to get a grip” on this.

“I am committed to us getting answers and finding the people responsible for the murder.”

She walked away when questioned further about her competence, or lack thereof, as the Wilson family see it.

Waiting for answers

The new senior detective reinvestigating the murder from scratch has said she is determined to find the answers to crack the case.

Detective Chief Superintendent Suzanne Chow, who has met the family face to face, admitted she is currently “not in a position” to arrest anyone and conceded the various inquiries over the years have been “protracted”.

DCS Chow defended her boss’ decision to cancel the arrest.

“The chief’s not being callous,” she said.

While this row between the family and police continues there are questions about whether Andrew and his family will ever find closure.

“All we can do is wait,” Andrew says. “We are a tick box to police. Ever since the arrest was pulled it is clear we are just a number to them.”

Photos from the Wilson family

UK

Banksy art theft lands burglar with 13-month prison sentence

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2025

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Banksy art theft lands burglar with 13-month prison sentence

A man has been given a 13-month prison sentence for stealing Banksy’s famous Girl With Balloon print from a London gallery.

Larry Fraser, 49, of Beckton, east London, was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of non-residential burglary at Kingston Crown Court on 9 October.

The print, one of the street artist‘s most famous, was stolen from a gallery in New Cavendish Street in London at around 11pm on 8 September last year.

Fraser used a hammer to smash his way through a glass entrance door at the Grove Gallery before stealing the artwork, which was valued at £270,000.

He concealed his identity with a mask, hooded jacket and gloves, but the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad was able to identify him and track him to a location streets away.

He was also caught on CCTV loading the artwork into a van before fleeing the scene.

A second man, 54-year-old James Love, was accused of being the getaway driver in the burglary, but cleared of stealing the print.

Fraser was arrested at his home address on 10 September, within 48 hours of the burglary, and charged the next day.

Officers were able to recover the artwork after executing a warrant on the Isle of Dogs. It has now been returned to the gallery.

Fraser pleaded to the court that he was struggling with a historic drug debt and agreed to steal the work “under a degree of pressure and fear”.

He said he did not know what he would be stealing, nor its value, until the day of the offence.

Jeffrey Israel, defending, said Fraser lived with his mother as her principal carer, and had only managed to “break his cycle of drug addiction” after his last prison sentence.

He added that it “would take a bold advocate” to suggest that the value of the print had increased by the burglary, but insisted “that is probably the reality”.

Judge Anne Brown was unmoved, however, and said the offence was “simply too serious” for a suspended sentence.

“This is a brazen and serious non-domestic burglary,” she said.

“Whilst you did not know the precise value of the print, you obviously understood it to be very valuable.”

She added: “Whilst I am sure there was a high degree of planning, this was not your plan.”

However, Fraser may be eligible for immediate release due to time spent on electronic curfew.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Mather, who led the Met’s investigation, said: “Banksy’s Girl With Balloon is known across the world – and we reacted immediately to not just bring Fraser to justice but also reunite the artwork with the gallery.

“The speed at which this took place is a testament to the tireless work of the flying squad officers – in total it took just four days for normality to be restored.”

The 2004 artwork was part of a £1.5m collection of 13 Banksy pieces at the gallery.

Gallery manager, Lindor Mehmetaj, said it was “remarkable” for the piece to have been recovered after the theft.

The 29-year-old said: “I was completely, completely shocked, but in a very, very positive way when the Flying Squad showed me the actual artwork.

“It’s very hard to put into words, the weight that comes off your shoulders.”

UK

‘Incredibly dangerous’ sex offender Chao Xu jailed – as police say there could be hundreds more victims

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2025

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'Incredibly dangerous' sex offender Chao Xu jailed - as police say there could be hundreds more victims

An “incredibly dangerous” sex offender who drugged his victims and installed spy cameras around his home has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years – as police appeal for hundreds more potential victims to come forward.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

Chinese national Chao Xu, 33, has been described by police as “one of the most prolific offenders ever uncovered” by the Metropolitan Police.

Xu, who was a law postgraduate student at the University of Greenwich in London between 2015 and 2016, ran his own recruitment business and targeted victims at networking events at his home.

He invented his “Spring of Life” cocktail, a mix of alcohols and Chinese herbal medicines, to sedate guests, and planted spy cameras in items including air fresheners, sanitary packaging and speakers.

Police found thousands of pictures and videos, with some showing unconscious or incapacitated victims in his flat in Greenwich, south-east London.

Xu, who is from China but is believed to have been living in the UK since 2013, also covertly filmed women on their daily commutes at stations such as London Bridge in so-called upskirting incidents.

He pleaded guilty to 24 sex offences between 2021 and 2025 at Woolwich Crown Court in August relating to six victims, with two charges relating to a seventh woman left to lie on file.

Xu admitted four counts of rape, eight counts of assault by penetration, four counts of sexual assault, four counts of voyeurism, two counts of administering a substance with intent and two counts of operating equipment beneath the clothing of another without consent (commonly known as upskirting).

‘Incredibly dangerous man’

His Honour Judge Christopher Grout described Xu as an “incredibly dangerous man” who “took great enjoyment” from his offending.

“Your behaviour was calculated and planned, evidenced by the covert recording systems you had set up in your flats and the fact you had incapacitated a number of your victims by drugging them.

“You betrayed the trust of a number of women who you befriended in the most appalling ways imaginable,” he added.

Could be hundreds of victims

Another 11 alleged victims have since come forward but the Metropolitan Police believe there are hundreds more in the UK and China, with offences committed in workplaces, public spaces and overseas.

Acting Detective Superintendent Lewis Sanderson described Xu as one of the “most prolific” offenders the force has ever investigated, adding that his “crimes were calculated, sustained, and devastating”.

Speaking outside the court on Friday, he said: “Chao Xu was a prolific and predatory sexual offender who committed some of the most cowardly and abhorrent crimes imaginable. His actions caused deep and lasting harm.”

“The number of victims of sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting is believed to be in the hundreds. This includes individuals filmed without consent in Xu’s flat at his workplace and in public spaces.

“That is why today I’m making a direct appeal. If you believe you may have been a victim of Chao Xu, or if you have any information that could assist our investigation, please come forward. You will be listened to. You will be believed and you will be supported.”

He said all of the sexual assault victims were Chinese women, aged between 18 and 30, while the voyeurism victims are also young females but of different ethnicities.

He added that there will be women who may not know they are victims of his crimes, as they may have been drugged by Xu.

Detectives were alerted to Xu’s crimes after he held a networking event in Greenwich in June.

When one of the women who attended became unwell, Xu offered to let her stay, before raping her several times, the Metropolitan Police said.

They later found he had drugged her with substances known to cause drowsiness and incapacitation.

The case included six million messages on WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app, most of them in Mandarin, which all had to be checked with the help of a translator.

UK

Does the government have the power to push through unpopular decisions?

Published

6 hours ago

November 14, 2025

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Does the government have the power to push through unpopular decisions?

Back in June, it was the U-turn on welfare that raised eyebrows. Now it’s a perceived volte-face on tax.

After weeks of suggestions that income tax may have to rise in the forthcoming budget, government sources have confirmed that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will do no such thing.

The government is flip-flopping in a febrile environment. Markets are sensitive to levels of government debt, which climbed by 17.9% between 2019 and 2024.

In the context of an ageing population, slow growth and comparatively high inflation, there are concerns that UK debt is on an unsustainable path. Markets want consolidation – for the chancellor to get a grip on tax and spending.

Ms Reeves, with her insistence on iron-clad fiscal rules, promised discipline. But flip-flopping doesn’t look like discipline. Markets are letting their thoughts be known – and their thoughts matter because the government borrows from them.

Government bond yields, the interest rate demanded on UK debt, jumped amid fears that the government is not prepared to face down opposition from its own backbenchers, from political opponents or the public.

The 30-year gilt was up 16 basis points after its worst day since July, when the chancellor was seen crying in the Commons. The 10-year gilt was up 13 points.

Borrowing costs are already costing the country more than £100bn a year – about 10% of total spending. The more money the government is spending on interest, the less flexibility it has to spend more in other areas, like schools or hospitals.

It appears that Ms Reeves has changed tack because official forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), whose forecasts underpin the budget, show the fiscal black hole is closer to £20bn, rather than the £30bn first feared. It means she can take less radical steps to raise money.

Markets are pleased that the chancellor is sticking to her rules, but they are viewing this move with scepticism.

Many view the OBR forecasts as overly optimistic. These are smaller tax rises to tackle a smaller problem on paper, but is what’s written on that paper credible?

Andrew Goodwin, of Oxford Economics, said: “If investors suspect the government is leaning on convenient assumptions, they may assume more trouble ahead – and yields could rise further.”

Then there’s the speculation over which taxes could rise. Markets have a clear preference towards income tax because, unlike the increase in national insurance contributions on businesses in the last budget, it’s not inflationary.

And alternative sources, such as tweaks to stamp duty or EV taxes, are less dependable revenue raisers. “Avoiding the politically sensitive income tax lever implies less willingness to tackle the structural deficit later,” said Gordon Shannon, of TwentyFour Asset Management.

Traders are eyeing the long-term trajectory of the UK, and they are bristling at short-term fixes and tweaks that don’t address the fundamental fiscal position.

There are those in policy who are also frustrated at the approach, which has seen the government pick and drop policies to meet fiscal rules by fine margin.

It is difficult to find any political vision in it all.