Seòmar agus comataidhean

This will be my last question. I know that others are interested in this matter: the malicious prosecution of individuals connected with Rangers Football Club. I am aware that you are restricted in what you can say to the committee.

I hope that you agree—I see no reason why you would not—that it is of serious concern to Scotland’s criminal justice system that the Lord Advocate had to apologise for something so fundamental. The matter is obviously the subject of legal action, so I appreciate that you are restricted in what you can say, but has there been any investigation of how the decision came about? Who made the decision? At what level was it made? Was it made by, for example, the Lord Advocate’s team in the Crown Office? Everyone knows that the Lord Advocate signs off everything, but she does not make every decision. Someone else obviously made the decision, and whoever that was has brought into question the Scottish criminal justice system, so it is a very serious matter. With the caveat that I have given, what can you say about how that happened? It would be good to get a response at some point.

My husband was formerly a member of the criminal bar, but he is no longer practising. I do not think that that is a relevant interest, but I would like to declare it.