Police were monitoring boy who raped and murdered Alesha MacPhail

The boy who raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail was known to police, before he carried out the horrific killing.

The revelation that officers were already monitoring Aaron Campbell has led to the family demanding a full investigation to find out if any ‘opportunities were missed to save Alesha’.

It was revealed by MailOnline, that Aaaron Campbell was being monitored after his ‘low level offending’, under the Named Persons scheme, which had been set up by the SNP.

As a result, he was referred to youth justice programmes, which was not enough to monitor him for ‘sexually harmful behaviour’.

His development was instead being monitored by a childcare professional, an initiative which has since been scrapped by the Scottish government.

However, his previous offending was being kept secret for ‘data protection reasons’, and Argyll and Bute Council’s decision not to launch an investigation has been met with anger.

Alesha’s uncle, Calum-John MacPhail, said: ‘We knew nothing of any warning signs about Campbell’s past.

‘There should be a full investigation to find out if opportunities were missed to save Alesha. We had no idea before this that there were any markers or concerns about Campbell – apart from unconfirmed rumour – and I’m angry about that.’

Campbell, who was 16 at the time of the killing, was handed a life sentence for taking Alesha from her bed at her grandparents’ home in Rothesay on Bute, Scotland, in July last year before raping and killing her.

After being found guilty of her killing at the High Court in Glasgow, he was initially handed a life sentence and told to serve a minimum of 27 years behind bars.

Campbell appealed his sentence, and then had it reduced to a minimum of 24 years, before he is considered for parole.

Argyll and Bute Council’s child protection committee (CPC) noted in its report that the murder could not have been foreseen.

The report went on to add that there was evidence of ‘good multi-agency communication between the professionals involved’.

It also added that ‘information was shared across partners and again the role of the Named Person was understood by those agencies involved’.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Our sympathies continue to be with the family of Alesha MacPhail for their dreadful loss.

‘The local child protection committee undertook an initial review into the circumstances of this tragic case.

‘While that did not find any evidence that this crime could have been foreseen, the local authority has confirmed that it will review local procedures in light of the findings.

‘We are also considering whether there is any national learning arising from the review.’