By Steve Bargeton, political editor

FIRST MINISTER Jack McConnell yesterday publicly expressed his sympathies to the family of the 16-year-old Tayport girl murdered by a high-risk sex offender as ministers launched a full independent inquiry.

Colyn Evans (18) was jailed for life at the High Court in Edinburgh last week after admitting murdering Karen Dewar in January.

A report by Fife Council and Fife Police found he had been accused of 14 offences between the ages of 10 and 16 but was never registered as a sex offender as he had been dealt with by the children’s hearing system.

Karen’s father Frank said after the case, “The social work department murdered my daughter just as much as he did.”

Yesterday in Parliament justice minister Cathy Jamieson said she had ordered the Social Work Inspectorate and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to “scrutinise” the report produced by Fife Council and Fife police.

Later, in answer to a question from Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Tricia Marwick, Mr McConnell pledged that everything would be done to ensure that the tragedy that befell the Dewar family would not be repeated.

“It is not possible to bring her back, but it is possible to make the changes that will help stop any similar loss in future,” he told MSPs.

“We’ve been very clear in this Executive about the need to improve child protection services, to ensure they are more consistent and more reliable…

“But there’s clearly in this case an individual situation that has been thrown up, particularly in relation to those who have been involved in the children’s hearing system, for issues and matters that might involve sexual offences then transferring into adulthood and being lost by the system as a result.

“If that is the case, then there is an issue there that we need to address in this Parliament, as well as issues that Fife Council and Fife police need to address.

“My absolute sympathy goes to the family, but I want them to be assured that we are determined to take the actions that will be required.”

Mr McConnell assured Mrs Marwick he saw “no reason” why the new report should not be published, subject to protecting family members.

The independent report’s findings will be passed to ministers, who will then meet Fife Council chief executive Douglas Sinclair and Fife police chief constable Peter Wilson. Executive officials are also drafting guidelines to ensure any future inquiries are undertaken in a “consistent manner.”

Mrs Marwick raised the case of Karen Dewar during a debate on the Management of Offenders Bill and gave the justice minister the opportunity to make an intervention and announce the new inquiry.

She told Parliament that a report by Fife Council and Fife Police had revealed “a catalogue of failure.”

“Karen Dewar was 16 years old,” she said. “She was strangled, mutilated and her body was dumped in a rubbish skip and set on fire.”

She said Evans (18) came to the attention of police, social work and children’s reporters when he was 10. “Between 10 and 16 he committed 14 offences, six of them sexual offences, five of which related to shameless and indecent exposure.”

The joint council and police report said the murder of Karen could not have been predicted.

However Mrs Marwick told MSPs, “What could have been predicted, because there were two psychiatric reports to say so, was that Colyn Evans was at a high risk of re-offending.”

In October 2002 he was reported for an attack on a boy and a month later for indecent exposure.

He was placed in a residential school but did not co-operate and a report concluded he was at high risk of offending. “That report was never submitted to the hearing in April 2004, when he was discharged from supervision requirements,” said Mrs Marwick.

Evans was given a flat in Tayport aound the corner from Karen Dewar. “The police were never formally advised that Evans was in Tayport,” said Mrs Marwick. “Social work asked police to carry out an assessment. It was never done. No one asked why not.

“There were two further incidents in Tayport before Karen’s murder. Despite police involvement they were not linked to his previous offences.”

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Ted Brocklebank reiterated his call for a full independent inquiry and said there had been “serious errors and omissions which have implications far beyond Fife.

“While the measures announced today are welcome as far as they go I don’t believe the parents of Karen Dewar, or the families of other Fife youngsters alleg-edly molested by Colyn Evans, will be satisfied until there is a full independent inquiry.”