A CORONER yesterday paid tribute to the bravery of a Scots policeman

who was stabbed to death while trying to arrest a man who had stolen a

handbag in London's West End.

Dr David Paul said Detective Constable Jim Morrison ''behaved in quite

the highest possible standards expected of all our police officers''.

Mr Morrison, 27, from Dumbarton, was stabbed through the heart after

cornering the thief near Aldwych Theatre on December 13, 1991.

He had been due to meet his wife, Vicky, when he spotted three

suspected handbag thieves in Covent Garden's Piazza and gave chase.

No relatives were present for the inquest. At the opening on December

17, 1991, his father, Mr Alexander Morrison, of Bonhill Road, Dumbarton,

gave evidence of identification. Detective Constable Morrison was buried

in Harris.

Detective Inspector George Raison, from the Flying Squad, said

witnesses who saw the chase pieced together Mr Morrison's final minutes.

A Transport Museum steward saw the suspect hold a knife to the

officer's throat before running off. Mr Morrison pursued him.

Other witnesses saw the suspect turn four or five times to threaten

him with a knife. They were seen running to the Waldorf Hotel and then

across to Montreal Place, where the stabbing occurred.

A post-mortem examination showed that the officer had sustained a 3in

deep wound which penetrated his heart sac.

A second wound had been inflicted to the side of his chest and a third

to his left forearm, which he probably sustained while trying to defend

himself.

Dr Paul, who directed the jury to return a verdict of unlawful

killing, said: ''This was a dedicated police officer. A gallant young

man who, despite the fact he was off duty, became involved in what was a

petty offence.''

Although he knew the man was armed, Mr Morrison had pursued the man.

No arrest has been made, and police inquiries are continuing.