No Criminal Charges Over Death Of 12 Year-Old In Edinburgh School Wall Collapse

24 November 2016, 14:28 | Updated: 24 November 2016, 14:29

No criminal charges are to be brought over the death of a 12-year-old girl killed when a school gym wall collapsed on her.

The Crown Office said it made the decision after a full investigation into the death of Keane Wallis-Bennett at Liberton High School in Edinburgh in April 2014.

The ruling could be reconsidered if new evidence comes to light, and a fatal accident inquiry is to be held to examine the full circumstances of the death.

It will also examine the safety of internal freestanding walls.

Keane was killed when a modesty wall in the school's PE block collapsed.

The gym hall has since been demolished on the wishes of school staff and parents.

Edinburgh City Council ordered urgent checks at schools across the city after the tragedy.

A Crown Office spokesman said: ''After giving the case careful consideration, Crown counsel have concluded, based on the available evidence, that there will be no criminal proceedings brought as a result of the death.

''Should additional evidence come to light, that decision may be reconsidered.

''Crown counsel have decided that it is in the public interest to hold a fatal accident inquiry to examine the full circumstances surrounding this tragic death to help avoid such an incident happening again in the future.

''The fatal accident inquiry will have an opportunity to consider the safety of internal freestanding walls.''

The case was investigated by police and the Health and Safety Executive under the direction of the Crown's health and safety division.

The death shocked the school and led to hundreds of tributes, including a song recorded by friends in memory of Keane that made it into the top 100 on the download chart in December 2014.

The money raised by Keane's Song, written shortly after her death by a group of pupils with support from the school chaplaincy, went towards a memorial garden at the school.