THE investigation into the deaths of two men in a farm shooting should centre on how the killer was able to obtain a firearms licence, the local MP has said.

Robert McCormick, 53, is said to have gunned down 59-year-old Peter Thompson and injured his fleeing son John, 36, shooting him in the leg.

McCormick then turned the gun on himself during the incident at Meadowhead Farm and equestrian centre in Auldhouse, South Lanarkshire on Tuesday.

Michael McCann, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, said that since the case will never be heard in court, the police investigation should try to uncover how McCormick was able to obtain a firearms licence.

Mr McCann said: "The events at Meadowhead Farm will have rocked the normally tranquil community of Auldhouse.

"We still have limited information about what took place, but what we do know is that since the person who committed the crime took his own life, there will not be an examination of these matters in a court.

"Police Scotland will carry out a thorough investigation of the events but, inevitably, the circumstances which allowed Robert McCormick to legally hold firearms will be in the spotlight.

"The process for obtaining and retaining a firearms license is rigorous and the authorities will want to ensure all the proper procedures were followed.

"However, it may be they find that a set of circumstances escalated to a tragic conclusion which nobody could have predicted."

Mr McCormick was said to have been owed nearly £1 million by Mr Thompson,