The former head of the Scottish Police Federation has blamed force leadership and ‘political cowardice’ for the circumstances surrounding Finlay MacDonald’s rampage in and around Skye.

MacDonald was convicted of murder and attempted murder as a result of his knife and shotgun attacks two years ago and it has since led to questions on why he had firearms in the first place.

It has also led to concerns over police response times and the general licensing around firearms, particularly in the Highlands.

Mr Steele insists there’s no way MacDonald should have had one, but he doesn’t believe an overhaul of the system is needed when it comes to licensing.

He does believe that better leadership from those at the top of Police Scotland would have helped though, and accused them of political cowardice when it comes to the closure of local stations in rural areas.

Police and forensics at a house in SkyePolice and forensics at a house in Skye (Image: PA)

Writing in The Herald, he said: “Anyone with little more than the most superficial understanding of this case will conclude that MacDonald should not have had a shotgun license. That much is clear.

“Yet for as much as that creates a temptation to believe the licensing system as a whole needs an overhaul more people will continue to lose their lives at the hands of those who hold driving licenses each year than those who ever hold firearms licenses.

“There have been 17 homicides by shooting in Scotland (including MacDonald’s) in the past ten years and precious few of those involved legally held guns.

"That is not to say improvements can’t be made, or indeed shouldn’t be made – but the early concentration on the health and referee processes, as important as they are, risks creating the impression that if these were made more stringent and intrusive, lessons would surely have been learned.

“Except of course they wouldn’t – as the debilitating changes to policing – arguably the greatest single contributory factor in all of this will continue in all their unapologetic glory.

“For these failures can never be acknowledged in the great mendacity that reform has improved police services for all.

“Firearms licensing was a big thing for every single constable in the Northern Constabulary area. There was no way to avoid it. With the highest gun ownership in the country, the largest land mass, and the second smallest police force by officer numbers, everyone took a share of the licensing burden.

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“Application and renewal time was a pain in the proverbial as time and pressure of other policing demands made it increasingly difficult to keep to appointments to visit applicants – but woe betide anyone who failed to do so.

“Today’s firearms inquiry officer is parachuted in from the nearest town and has no points of reference other than what’s before them on the paperwork. Even the most unsuitable candidate can bluff their way through a half hour interview with a stranger.

“That is not the officer’s fault; the system is deliberately designed like this. Its design a consequence of decisions taken in Tulliallan Castle, themselves in turn largely a consequence of decisions taken at Holyrood.

“Derrick Bird murdered 12 and wounded 11 more on a gun rampage as he drove around Cumbria followed by local police officers in 2010. It is only by good fortune and bravery that Skye and Lochalsh didn’t face the same fate with MacDonald.

“However, the armed police response coming from at least an hour away in Inverness was not a consequence of Police Scotland as the old constabulary centralised its response there years earlier.

“I don’t know if the long-lost old police armoury in Portree and trained firearms officers in Skye would have made a difference. By the time decisions had been made and guns taken – probably not!

“But I do know this –police leadership and political cowardice on the consequences of the loss of local police stations and officers all across rural Scotland is serving none of us well.

“The first line of defence against the mad and the bad has been lost. If it’s not restored the next Finlay MacDonald will come sooner than we think.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Proportionate policing plans for the deployment of armed officers are in place across all communities in Scotland. However, we do not disclose the specific provision of any policing resources in order to maintain operational integrity."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our sympathies remain with the victims, their families and all those affected by these horrific shootings. Scotland has some of the toughest gun control laws in the world and is the only part of the UK to license air weapons.

“As a result, firearm offences remain extremely rare in Scotland. Deployment of officers remains an operational decision for Police Scotland, however a single police service ensures that local divisions can access specialist expertise and resources at regional and national level.”