Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan) SNP

The next item of business is a statement by Kenny MacAskill on the Cadder judgment. The cabinet secretary will take questions at the end of his statement, so...

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill) SNP

On 26 October 2010, the United Kingdom Supreme Court issued its decision in the case of Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate. The case considered the law and prac...

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab

I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement. We are now beginning to have a clearer understanding of the impact of the Cadder judgment on hundreds of vic...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

Richard Baker raises a variety of issues. First, with regard to the Glasgow Bar Association, I would not seek to be too hard on an agency of which I was once...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman) Lab

Some members have not pressed their request-to-speak buttons—I remind them to do so now. I ask for short questions and shorter answers from the cabinet secre...

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con) Con

I thank the cabinet secretary for the advance copy of his statement. It is clear that the Cadder judgment is having a devastating effect on the Scottish just...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

I have had meetings with Ken Clarke. A variety of issues is involved. We as a Government accept that Scotland is in an anomalous position in relation not sim...

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD) LD

If 867 cases—some of which are very serious—cannot be prosecuted, that is a great public concern. However, the cabinet secretary seems to be in denial about ...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

Robert Brown raises three matters. Given the unique position of Scotland’s law, it is manifestly wrong that the Scottish Government does not have even the ri...

The Deputy Presiding Officer Lab

We move to open questions. Members will have to put a question, not a preamble and a question.

Nigel Don (North East Scotland) (SNP) SNP

Does the cabinet secretary share my view that, if we are to protect Scottish jurisprudence, we need to have decisions that are made by Scottish judges in Sco...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

Absolutely. As I mentioned, the clear fact is that the UK Supreme Court is getting by the back door matters relating to the criminal law of Scotland that it ...

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab) Lab

When we passed the emergency legislation in October, the financial memorandum set out that the bill would cost £30 million and require 500 police officers to...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

The principal point relates to money. As we made clear at the time, the increased costs to the legal aid budget would not come out of budgets such as health ...

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD) LD

How many suspects have been detained for 12 or 24 hours under the new powers of detention that the cabinet secretary forced through Parliament last year with...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

I do not have the precise number, but the number of people who have been detained beyond the 12 hours has been very few. As Mr Rumbles well knows, these matt...

Mike Rumbles LD

How many?

Kenny MacAskill SNP

Recently, I received a letter from the United Kingdom Government, in which the Liberal Democrats are a partner, that asked the Scottish Government to make le...

Mike Rumbles LD

He has not got a clue.

The Deputy Presiding Officer Lab

Mr Rumbles.

Kenny MacAskill SNP

We will accede to the request of the Government south of the border. If Mr Rumbles disagrees with that, he should take up the matter with his ministerial col...

Mike Rumbles LD

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I asked a simple, factual question on how many people had been detained. The minister refuses to answer.

The Deputy Presiding Officer Lab

That is not a point of order, Mr Rumbles. If you read the Official Report, you will find that the minister first said that he did not have the numbers.

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP) SNP

Will the cabinet secretary put into context the impact of the Cadder decision on the 867 cases? He said that we are talking about a relatively small percenta...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

Because of the prescient actions by the Lord Advocate, the numbers were restricted initially, it was thought, to 3,500 and then to 867. That is a very small ...

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab) Lab

The cabinet secretary has advised us that the number of cases unable to proceed stands at 867—867 cases in which charges have been dropped, some very serious...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

The answer is that I cannot provide that information. That is information relative only to the Crown. I have no doubt that the Crown would be more than happy...

Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) SNP

If as a result of Cadder the police cannot ask simple questions at the locus of an incident, is the cabinet secretary not concerned that they will have to ta...

Kenny MacAskill SNP

That is a valid point and it is part of the reason why the Lord Advocate has acted appropriately and sought to have these son of Cadder matters removed. As a...

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab) Lab

When Parliament passed the emergency legislation after the Cadder judgment, the cabinet secretary quite rightly said that he would keep Parliament fully info...