Meanwhile, the news Lord Boyd is due
to become a judge has provoked criticism.
He
led the prosecution of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, and was
criticised by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission for failing to
disclose information to Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi's defence. He rejected
the claims.
When
he resigned as Lord Advocate in 2006 there was speculation his decision was
connected to the Shirley McKie fingerprint inquiry and Lockerbie case
criticisms. He denied that and said it was just time to move on.
Ms
McKie's father Iain said the news "took my breath away". He said:
"That the Judicial Appointments Board should recommend to the First
Minister that Lord Colin Boyd be appointed as a judge to the highest court in
the land set new standards for being out of touch."
Tam
Dalyell, the former MP and father of the house, said: "The fact he may
well become a judge should not inoculate Lord Boyd from the obligation to
answer questions on Lockerbie over the period that he headed the Crown Office.
"The
Crown Office, and I would have thought Lord Boyd in his position in the Crown
Office, have an obligation to address powerful criticisms of
non-disclosure."
"That the Judicial Appointments Board should recommend to the First Minister that Lord Colin Boyd be appointed as a judge to the highest court in the land set new standards for being out of touch.""
ReplyDeleteThen again, the FM has, as we all know, a guid Scots tongue in his head, and must surely have been aware of the controversy this appointment would cause. I think Salmond's decision to go with it is worrying from the point of view of the Megrahi conviction and signals his intent to ensure we don't get justice over Lockerbie. Why would he consider appointing Boyd to such a post if he is serious about an Inquiry? And MacAskill has already sorted out the SCCRC by making sure its powers are greatly reduced should any future appeal be lodged on Megrahi's behalf.
Legal evolution ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Boyd_Baron_of_Duncansby
ReplyDeleteNo doubt the great lords, Lord Sutherland, Lord Coulsfield, and Lord MacLean, will welcome a man of their elk
ReplyDeleteLet go, that so few people really cares much about the old Lockerbie case. And the McKie case. After all, it has directly only affected a tiny fraction on a personal level.
ReplyDeleteIt's the good old Martin Niemöller poem ("First they came for the jews...") I suppose we are all like that, some more than others
The incredible matter is not that the bad guys exist - they do, will always - but that so few people care about whether they end in the drivers' seats.
Still! It just can't be true that the Scots let this man become judge.
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity" they say.
Unfortunately, Boyd - like, I'd estimate, 99% of the grown-up population - can't no way have been stupid enough to honestly have believed that
'there is nothing within these documents which relates to Lockerbie or the bombing of Pan Am 103 which could in any way impinge on the credibility of Mr Majid on these matters'.
So, it follows that Boyd is a liar. It is, unfortunately, that simple.
In the very heart of a case involving the death of hundreds of people. In a position where he was in charge of finding the truth.
Judge? Suit yourself, Scotsmen.