THE Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police has hit out at comments made by a defence lawyer during the Reamonn Gormley murder case.

Stephen House claims that statements made by Ian Duguid QC in his plea in mitigation for murderer Daryn Maxwell were "insensitive in the extreme".

Mr Duguid made the comments at the High Court in Perth earlier this week as Maxwell, 23, was jailed for at least 19 years for stabbing 19-year-old Mr Gormley to death.

The advocate told the court that the murder was a "street robbery gone wrong" and that Mr Gormley "was in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Mr House criticised the comments in a letter to The Herald and his complaints have been backed by Mr Gormley's family.

The letter, which refers to a Herald article on the sentencing, states: "You included comments attributed to Ian Duguid, QC, who was Maxwell's defence advocate. I find both quotes to be incredibly insensitive and concerning.

"I realise that it is the role of the defence advocate to show their clients in the best light, but to do so in a way which seeks to shift blame from the offender to the victim is something that I'm sure the public will struggle to understand.

"Mr Duguid described the murder as a 'street robbery gone wrong'. This seems to me to suggest that it was just a robbery. Let us not forget that these two men went out armed to carry out their crime.

"To try to explain their behaviour by suggesting they were only really looking to carry out a robbery is insensitive in the extreme."

Mr House added: "Mr Duguid also suggests that Mr Gormley, the wholly innocent victim, was "in the wrong place at the wrong time". I know that this is a commonly used phrase, but I cannot help but think that this comment suggests that Mr Gormley made some kind of mistake that night.

"Mr Gormley was walking home from a night out with friends. He did nothing wrong."

Mr Gormley's father Jim also said he was unhappy with the remarks.

Mr Duguid declined to comment on the criticism, but said that any issue regarding his conduct should be pursued through the proper channels, which include the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.

The advocate said: "I wouldn't think it's appropriate to comment on something like that. My professional body has a grievance procedure and if Mr House has a grievance then he should probably pursue that rather than write to the editor of a newspaper."

However, he added: "As an individual, I have the greatest sympathy for Reamonn Gormley's family."

Advocate Brian McConnachie, QC, vice chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association, said that it was not the chief constable's role to criticise mitigation.

He said: "It seems to me that the police have done their job by virtue of their investigation and reporting of the crime which resulted in the plea of guilty.

"Once they have done that, it seems to me that their role is at an end."

Mr McConnachie added: "I'm sure anybody would appreciate that it's not an easy task, in such a difficult and tragic case, to mitigate matters as best you can.

"If a client's instructions are that it's a robbery gone wrong, then the advocate is duty-bound to place this instruction before the court.

"And if the remark was something not accepted by the court or the prosecution, I have no doubt that there would have been an objection."

Mr Gormley was walking along Glasgow Road in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, when he was approached by Maxwell and his co-accused Barry Smith, 19, who was jailed for eight years for culpable homicide.

Maxwell stabbed Mr Gormley three times, including once to the neck, and ran off, leaving his victim bleeding heavily. The teenager was rushed to hospital but died a short time later.

A spokesman for Mr House confirmed that no official complaint had been made.