Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2015
I have already made the point, but I will make it again: it is very important that members understand the strength of this Parliament, particularly in respect of the fact that Opposition members can introduce member’s bills. That is fantastic—it is a very great thing. Not only that—I will come back to this at the end of my speech—but a person can, by giving evidence to a committee, change a bill. It is quite incredible that not only Opposition members but people who give evidence to committees can contribute to the drafting of a bill. I am, of course, talking about retired Flt Lt Jones.
As a member of the Justice Committee, I am delighted to see the passage of another of the many bills that the committee has scrutinised this year. I thank committee members and the clerks, who will be delighted that this is the second stage 3 that we have done this week.
The bill will modernise the fatal accident inquiry process and make it effective, efficient and fair. I think that, following recent events, it is right that I remind Parliament that the interest of families in a fatal accident inquiry is in ascertaining the circumstances around and the cause of a death. The primary concern for all of us must be that we do not confuse a fatal accident inquiry with procedures in civil courts in which questions of blame are addressed. It is very important that we see that principle through, but it is clear that at stage 1, stage 2 and now stage 3, some members have wanted to move towards a more adversarial kind of inquiry. I do not think that that will help the process; it will certainly not help the family to get more of an understanding from the process.
There are two things that I would like to address quickly—one has been mentioned already. Scotland will be the first jurisdiction in the UK to allow inquiries into deaths that have occurred abroad without repatriation of the body of the deceased. It is important that families and the public understand that that will be the case only in exceptional circumstances. As the minister said, we have gone beyond the practice in England and Wales, and quite rightly so. He also said:
“it is a very important advance that that possibility should exist, particularly as that is not the case in England and Wales.”—[Official Report, Justice Committee, 3 November 2015; c 19.]
I very much welcome that, and the reassurance that it will give to many people in Scotland and people who are working abroad in sometimes challenging conditions. I am thinking in particular about oil workers from the north-east of Scotland who work across the world.
The second point that I would like to address concerns retired Flt Lt James Jones, who gave evidence to the committee. It is fantastic to see that one person can make so much difference. I very much look forward to the passage of the order under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998 that will ensure that those who risk their lives for us can be assured of appropriate inquests. That is particularly important when we ask them again and again to make the ultimate sacrifice overseas. Once again, I thank retired Flt Lt James Jones for coming to the committee because, without his efforts, that provision might not have been possible.
The lessons of the past have been learned, and I look forward to a fair settlement for service personnel in Scotland.
16:26