THE Lord Advocate yesterday said there is "no sell-by date on justice" as he announced the formation of a new police unit dedicated to investigating unsolved murders.

The cold-case unit will liaise with all Scottish police forces and procurators-fiscal before identifying which cases could be moved forward by new evidence or the application of modern forensic techniques such as DNA analysis.

A database will be used to compile all unsolved murders and investigators will then decide whether fresh tactics can be used to bring murderers to justice.

The unit hopes to follow on from recent successes such as the Vicky Hamilton case, where Peter Tobin was convicted 18 years after the murder using evidence gained from new forensic techniques and DNA analysis, and the case of Malcolm Webster, who murdered his wife and was jailed 17 years later.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, QC, said: “There is no sell-by date on Scottish justice. Even if just one case is solved by the cold-case unit, it would be worth it because one family will be given closure. We will look into all unsolved homicides and examine whether we can use new developments in forensic science or if there are new lines of enquiry.

“I do hope such convictions and our determination to pursue criminals provides some reassurance and comfort to the family and friends of the victim.”

He added: “Justice will pursue down the years those who have so far evaded detection for their crimes. The passage of time should be no protection. No-one should escape the consequences of their criminality and the grief this brings to victims and their families.”

It has previously been reported that there are 77 murders on police files where an investigation has not resulted in an arrest and conviction. Of this number, around 30 are unsolved cases and the rest are regarded as unresolved crimes, where they may be a positive line of inquiry but the suspect has died or absconded. The database includes high-profile cases such as the Bible John murders.

The Lord Advocate did not reveal the exact number of unsolved murders that will be examined, but said: “We have a file with several pages of cold cases. We would like to reduce that to no pages. The list is not comprehensive, but as comprehensive as we can make it. There are more than 20 cases on it, but less than a hundred.”

The unit has not been given specific funding, but will instead work with existing resources in the police and forensics services, as well as the Crown Office. It is hoped this interaction between the different strands of Scotland’s crime-fighting force will shed new light on old crimes.

Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable, George Hamilton, said: “Through scientific advancement and reinterviewing of witnesses, positive progress has been made in recent years in bringing some unresolved matters to a successful conclusion.

“The introduction of this national unit will further assist and support both the investigation and prosecution of unresolved matters that continue to impact significantly on those families and communities directly affected.”

New forensic techniques are key to the success of the cold-cases unit.

Tom Nelson, director of the Scottish Police Services Authority Forensic Services, said: “Technological advancements such as improved ballistics and fingerprint databases and DNA techniques means we are able to revisit material obtained from the original investigation, providing officers with a new avenue to investigate that could be the key to unlocking a cold case.”