POLICE officers in communities across Scotland do fantastic work and help to keep us safe. But we should not shy away from asking difficult questions when things go wrong. Last week, we had a dramatic illustration of what can happen when things do go wrong in our police service.

The crash on the M9, and subsequent failure of the police to respond to the accident for three days, is truly shocking.

The publicly expressed anguish of Lamara Bell’s family was a clear manifestation of the love they felt for her. We all feel terribly sad that her life has ended and in this awful way. While her family and friends grieve for Lamara it is now our duty to find the answers that everyone is seeking.

I am deeply sorry that John Yuill and Lamara Bell have been failed. My sympathy is with their families and friends.

I have been contacted by constituents and serving police officers who are horrified by this tragedy. They want a thorough investigation into the serious issues raised by the case and whether they are connected to the wider problems with the operation of Police Scotland.

Everyone agrees that a three-day delay between the initial call to the control room and finding the couple is unacceptable and we need to establish why this happened.

I know police offers have been deeply affected by this case. There is great upset within the force. It is of such importance that serious questions must be answered. It is right that the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) is investigating the matter but that may not be enough. I believe a wider independent investigation is required.

We do not yet have a clear picture of the sequence of events that led to John and Lamara being failed so dramatically. But already there have been reports over possible problems in the control room.

When the Stirling control room was closed last year, staff warned that this could have an impact on their ability to ensure that calls were dealt with properly.

Since then, I have been contacted by a number of serving police officers who have highlighted staff shortages and other problems within Bilston Glen call centre, which now handles emergency calls from Stirling.

We have also had reports of the damaging impact of a targets culture and huge workload pressures on staff morale. If we are to address the failures which led to the events of last week, these issues all need to be considered as part of our response to this tragedy.

I have written to the Justice Secretary asking him to launch an independent review into events in Stirling, and wider problems within Police Scotland that serving officers and civilian staff have identified. I think that this is the only way we can ensure that our police are getting the support they need to do the vital job we ask them to perform in communities across Scotland.

The operation of Police Scotland is under scrutiny here and we need an investigation to match its serious nature.