Meeting of the Parliament 17 September 2025
Not just now.
The bill will introduce radical improvements to how sexual offences are dealt with through the creation of a new sexual offences court, which will, in its establishment, compel change. I just could not accept an alternative that only gave the power to courts and did not see that through by compelling them to change.
There is, of course, the abolition of the not proven verdict. There has been a long debate on that. That change, which is long overdue, will happen now. Some of the evidence to support the abolition of the not proven verdict goes back decades and, indeed, even to Michael McMahon’s Criminal Verdicts (Scotland) Bill. That bill was, of course, unsuccessful at the time, but it speaks to the value of member’s bills, irrespective of whether they complete their journey.
There is also reform of the victim notification scheme to ensure that victims can be supported, informed and, ultimately, empowered. Rape is the most serious offence, not because it is prosecuted in the High Court but because it is the most degrading crime that a woman can experience.
Other improvements include changes to the parole process, including requiring the Parole Board for Scotland to take into account whether a prisoner has information about the disposal of a victim’s remains but has not disclosed it.
Through the legislation, we will embed trauma-informed approaches with a statutory duty on criminal justice bodies, and protect the privacy of victims through lifelong anonymity for sexual offence victims. There will be new independent legal representation for victims where the court has been asked to look into a victim’s character and sexual history, and we will strengthen protections for victims through reforms to non-harassment orders and other protective orders.
That is the transformation that parliamentarians have the power to agree to by supporting the bill today.
Yes, it is a big bill, but, as someone once said to me, “You do as much as you can for as long as you can.” I know that we are all attached to our tradition and history, not least that of our unique legal system in Scotland, which of course we are all proud of and which we will do everything that we can to safeguard. However, as Lady Elish Angiolini said, our justice system
“doesn’t stand still due to tradition. The great thing about Scottish justice is that it does look at itself and it does move and it does develop.”
Our justice system needs reform so that those who become part of it, whether as victims or witnesses of crime, feel safe and informed and are treated with understanding. The bill is needed to ensure that the structural, procedural and cultural change that will put victims and witnesses at the heart of a much more modern and fair justice system is created.
Even at this late stage, I appeal to—I urge—all parliamentarians not to let victims, their families and their support organisations down today. They want to know that we have heard them and that we are giving them our full support. We need to let those whom we seek to serve know that their pain has not been in vain and that we are with them in their creation of a legacy that comes from their loss. I appeal that we come together and back the bill.