Overview

• The First-tier Tribunal (Mental Health) concluded in early 2025 that Millar no longer met the legal criteria for continued detention and granted his discharge.
• Millar’s 2022 transfer from Scotland’s State Hospital at Carstairs to a secure English unit enabled the tribunal in England to oversee and approve his community release.
• Victims’ relatives say they were not informed of his discharge and report extreme distress over his undisclosed location in southern England and the risk he might find them.
• Originally detained indefinitely by a High Court order in May 1976, Millar admitted diminished responsibility for the hammer murders of 13-year-old John McMonigle and 12-year-old Irene McMonigle.
• The case has renewed scrutiny of cross-border transfer policies, tribunal transparency and public safety measures for long-term psychiatric patients.