A RETIRED police officer says his report into a fire at the home of Willie McRae was ignored by colleagues investigating the death of the independence campaigner.

PC John Mooney found the 61-year-old lawyer suffering from smoke inhalation in a top floor flat on the south side of Glasgow.

The former deputy leader of the SNP refused medical treatment and later that Easter Friday made the fateful 175-mile journey north to his holiday home in Dornie, near Skye.

McRae was found unconscious the following morning at the wheel of his Volvo, at Bunloyne near Glenmoriston, in the Highlands, having suffered a gunshot wound to the back of his head. He died on the Sunday in hospital, after his life support machine was switched off.

However Mooney says that when he notified colleagues in Northern Constabulary about the fire, they never got back to him. More than 36 years later he still can’t understand while the death crash investigation team blanked his report.

READ MORE: 'I saved Willie McRae from a fire before he died – but police never spoke to me'

Mooney, now 71, said: “When I got into work on the Sunday I discovered Willie was dead. I told my boss about the fire and he gave me permission to contact Northern Constabulary.

“I spoke to a sergeant at their office in Fort William and explained that I was a police officer with Strathclyde Police in Glasgow. I told him there were two fire occurrence reports, mine and one by Strathclyde Fire Brigade. I said if you need anything get in touch at any time. But they never did.”

The death of the anti-nuclear campaigner was treated as suicide but in recent years there have been claims of an establishment cover-up.

It has also been alleged that McRae was under surveillance by the police and intelligence services at the time over his support for Scottish nationalism.

Mooney added: “I thought it would be useful for Northern Constabulary to know Willie’s state of mind at the time of the accident.

“For example I wondered if he had been affected by the smoke inhalation when the car went off the road. If he had taken his own life as was being suggested then it was possible the fire could have affected his mental state.”

In the days before his death McRae was also said to have evidence of secret government plans to store nuclear waste at Applecross, Wester Ross.

The National:

Mooney (shown above while a serving officer) was ordered to the flat blaze in Balvicar Street, Queen’s Park, at around 7.30am on April 5, 1985. There he found a clearly distressed McRae sitting on a seat on the landing dressed in his clothes.

McRae told the officer he had fallen asleep in his bed while smoking. The cigarette had set his quilt on fire which in turn had woken him up.

McRae then rushed through to his bathroom where he put out the blaze with water. The smoke and smell alerted a young couple who lived across the landing.

Mooney added: “The fire brigade also tried to get him to go to the Victoria Infirmary because he was suffering from smoke inhalation. He also had a scorch mark on one of his hands.

“I could see that he was coughing and spluttering quite badly. He kept on saying, ‘I am alright, I am alright’ when he clearly wasn’t.”

Mooney went back to the police office at nearby Craigie Street where he filed his report. After the discovery of the crashed car, McRae was taken to hospital in Inverness and then transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where a nurse discovered the gunshot wound.

After his death a major investigation was launched by Northern Constabulary. A handgun belonging to the Second World War veteran was later found in a burn near his car.

Mooney added: “I’ve always found it strange that no-one asked for my report. Surely it would have been relevant to any police inquiry to find out more about the fire earlier that day?

“This was a man who had not only died from a gunshot wound but had also suffered smoke inhalation and a burn to his hand. I am surprised no-one questioned that.”

Mooney, who is a supporter of independence, doesn’t believe that McRae killed himself.

He added: “It seems a strange place to take your own life and I have never heard of anyone shooting themselves in the back of the head. There are too many unanswered questions.

“They should have held a fatal accident inquiry at the time and I would have been more than happy to give evidence. I certainly think there should be one now.”

Mooney, who is married and lives in Rutherglen, left the police three years after the fire on ill-health grounds.

READ MORE: The death of Willie McRae: An enduring Scottish mystery spanning four decades

“The grandfather added: “I recognised Mr McRae when I saw him outside his flat as I had been an SNP supporter since I was a teenager.

“I was surprised as were my colleagues that no one ever got back to me from Northern Constabulary. It was as if the fire had never happened.”

Mooney contacted The National after reading our June 8 interview with former forklift driver Pat Gallagher from Shawlands, Glasgow.

The 63-year-old recalled rescuing McRae from the fire after forcing his way into his flat before the arrival of the emergency services.

He had seen smoke coming from the top-floor property while on his way to work.

Gallagher also described a confrontation outside the flat blaze with a mystery man dressed in a boiler suit and carrying a briefcase, who walked past him claiming he was late for work. Mooney added: “One of my old bosses said he couldn’t understand why those investigating Willie’s death did not want to see my report.

“He then told me, ‘If they don’t want to know, they don’t want to know’. What he meant by that is anyone’s guess.”