Police guidance is rewritten after officers failed to notice man had been murdered

By GRAHAM GRANT, SCOTTISH HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 20:22, 21 May 2026 | Updated: 20:22, 21 May 2026 Police chiefs have rewritten homicide inquiry guidelines after a detective failed to identify that a man had been murdered – but refuse to disclose the changes in case it ‘enables offenders’. Former gamekeeper David Campbell was jailed for life in February for the murder of ex-colleague Brian Low in 2024 by shooting him on a Perthshire path before trying to cover his tracks. Officers had thought Mr Low’s death may have been related to a medical condition – and only discovered it was a murder after gun pellets fell out of his body bag prior to a post-mortem examination.  The Mail can reveal guidelines for detectives have changed – but Police Scotland refuse to disclose any detail. Brian Low was shot and killed as he walked his dog near his home in Perthshire  Former gamekeeper David Campbell was jailed for life for the murder Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘People deserve to know what changes the police have made to give them faith that such mistakes will never be repeated.’ In response to a query by the Mail under freedom of information laws, Police Scotland said it had ‘issued memorandums to staff which contain amended instructions in relation to Police Reportable Deaths and the Investigation of Deaths’.  But the force refused to reveal the changes, saying the information requested is ‘exempt’, as its ‘disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice substantially the prevention or detection of crime and apprehension or prosecution of offenders’. Campbell, 77, killed Mr Low, 65, as he walked his dog near his cottage in Aberfeldy. The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner probed Police Scotland’s handling of the case and a report was submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The COPFS was contacted for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.