The family of a man murdered in North Lanarkshire has welcomed a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into his death.

Nicholas Henry hit Daniel Greer, 33, with a shovel and stabbed him nine times in Airdrie on 17 October 2020.

At the time of the attack, Henry was out on bail for another violent offence.

The attack took place in the victim's front garden. Henry then dragged Greer's body back inside the house. His body was found by his father two days later.

Henry was jailed for a minimum of 21 years but died in August aged 49.

He had previously been sentenced to 12 years in 2011 for trying to kill a man in an attack which almost severed the victim's hand.

Henry had been arrested twice in the month leading up to Greer's murder - for drug and violent offences - and released each time.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the Lord Advocate had decided that the circumstances of Greer's death needed to be examined further.

Speaking for the first time since her son's death, Amanda Greer said she hoped the inquiry would help to protect other families from known offenders.

"It's not good enough to trust an electronic tag, a fortnightly check in with a social worker or to blame overcrowding prisons – innocent people literally die because of bad decisions and it needs to stop," she said.

She said her son was "the love of our lives and a devoted big brother".

"There are simply no words to describe the agony I felt after Daniel was murdered and it's a pain that has never diminished," she added.

"There was simply no reason for this attack to have happened.

"People think the jailing of a killer can help you move on but it doesn't – closure of a jail cell does not bring emotional closure, not even close."

Amanda Greer said she was "shocked, furious and confused" when she heard Henry had a history of violence.

She welcomed the FAI and said she hoped there would be "answers on the horizon".

It comes after campaigners called for greater use of location tracking technology to monitor high-risk suspects on bail.

An online petition was launched in August, calling for a "Stacy's law" in memory of Stacy Hunter who was killed at her home near Houston in Renfrewshire by her estranged husband while he was on bail.

Scottish ministers have previously faced criticism over the slow rollout of Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, which is used far less in Scotland than in some other countries.

Last month, First Minister John Swinney said GPS tracking of people on bail would begin in parts of central Scotland next year.

The Greer family's solicitor Gordon Dalyell, from Digby Brown, said: "What happened to Daniel was utterly horrific and the strength of character that Amanda has shown is immeasurable.

"At this stage there is a clear argument to be made that Daniel's death would not have happened had reasonable steps been taken to address Henry's repeat offending, especially when considered alongside the conditions of his early release license and criminal background."

A date for the inquiry has yet to be set.

A COPFS spokesperson said: "The Lord Advocate considers that there are issues surrounding the circumstances of the death which merit further examination in the public interest.

"A Fatal Accident Inquiry is a judicial process which seeks to establish the circumstances of a death and identify what lessons, if any, may be learned.

"The Procurator Fiscal is taking forward the necessary work to initiate the inquiry and Mr Greer's family will continue to be kept informed of significant developments."