Man, 21, jailed for life for murdering teenager

A man who stabbed a teenager to death in Edinburgh before hiding the knife in the grounds of Holyrood Palace has been jailed for life.

Bailey Dowling, 21, killed 18-year-old Lewis McCartney in the Dumbiedykes area in February 2023.

He was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Dowling had denied murdering Mr McCartney and claimed he acted in self defence after he was struck with a bottle.

He armed himself with a large kitchen knife before meeting the victim and his friends in Dumbiedykes.

Violence then erupted, the court heard, during which Dowling was struck on the head before he stabbed Mr McCartney in the back.

He claimed he was "dazed and confused" during the incident and did not intend to harm the victim.

The court also heard Dowling hid the knife on the grounds of Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the King when he is in Scotland.

He then left Edinburgh for his home in London, where he later handed himself in to police.

Benjamin Wilson, 20, was given a two-year community payback order after being convicted of assaulting Dowling by hitting him on the head with a bottle in the same incident.

Judge Lord Matthews told Dowling that his victim had "everything to live for" and that his loss was devastating for family and friends.

He told the court: "It is clear you came to Edinburgh for what you hoped would be an enjoyable time and so it would have been but for the decisions you made."

The judge added: "Taking a knife into the street is never acceptable."

There has been a spate of knife violence among young people in Scotland in recent months - including the death of 16-year-old Kayden Moy on Irvine beach.

Kayden is the third teenager to be killed in 12 months - Amen Teklay in March and Kory McCrimmon in May last year, both in Glasgow.

Last week, First Minister John Swinney was accused of being "weak" on knife crime during FMQs.

Opposition parties say the government has failed to take responsibility, though Swinney said the long-term trend was that knife crime had fallen.

He said the government was committed to a three-step approach to tackling the issue - early intervention, education and effective punishment.

BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show also asked Justice Secretary Angela Constance on whether there was a direct link between cuts to youth services and the rise in violence.

Constance said there were "many reasons" for the complex problem - with "more than one solution" for dealing with it.

"The contribution that youth work currently makes in this country and could make will be imperative going forward. It's a key part of the solution," she said.