First Minister’s Bute House residence to be focus of protests against corrupt regulation in Scots legal system

The Scottish Government’s lack of motivation to reform regulation of the corrupt Scots legal profession has led to calls for the sacking of Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, with consumer organisations and individuals promising regular protests and demonstrations outside the First Minister’s residence, other Scottish Government buildings, and the Scottish Parliament itself until something substantive is done to raise levels of consumer protection against what many see as a wicked and unjust legal system serving only itself.

Last week, the first in a series of protests was staged at Alex Salmond’s Bute House residence, to hammer home to him personally, the fact his government is playing second fiddle to the Law Society of Scotland over the creation and running of the new, but not independent Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.

One of the protestors outside Bute House said “Why are our own people betraying us now they are in Government ? Some SNP Ministers such as John Swinney made great contributions to the debate and passage of legislation to reform regulation of lawyers but now they are in power, they are allowing the legal profession and the Law Society to take over the new complaints commission”

Whatever happened to John Swinney MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, who was instrumental in revealing corrupt practices by the Law Society of Scotland and its top officials against victimised clients. Mr Swinney was so effective in his quest while in opposition, many believe his confrontation with Douglas Mill, led to his resignation.

John Swinney confronts Law Society Chief Exec. Douglas Mill at Holyrood, but now in power, Mr Swinney appears weak on regulatory reforms & consumer protection against crooked lawyers.

A letter was handed in by protestors to St Andrew’s House, charging that “The recruitment of the staff of the Law Society of Scotland’s Client Relations Office, is the single act which has the greatest effect of undermining of trust that the public can place in the new Commission. These are the same people who caused the collapse of confidence of the public in the first place. Their conduct of complaints led to unprecedented criticism from the former Ombudsman, the Scottish Consumer Council et al. Even in the absence of their former masters, Mr. Douglas Mill and Mr. Philip Yelland, their presence in senior positions in the SLCC is entirely inappropriate given the intention of the Commission was “restoring consumer confidence”.

Clearly, there are problems at the new ‘independent’ Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, as I have covered before in previous articles you can read here : Justice Secretary 'lacking leadership' over independence of legal complaints commission

It is easy to see the Law Society of Scotland, whose aim it is to retain control of regulation, have found easy bedfellows with the current administration, who have evidently allowed the Law Society to ensure its staff have the greatest say in what was to be a new independent complaints commission, sadly no longer independent as Mr MacAskilll waved through ex Law Society Committee members and other legal profession insiders to ensure it towed the profession’s line against client complaints.

Alex Salmond – Protestors who appeared last week at Bute House campaigning against the Law Society’s co-opting of the new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission have been told he has no authority to help thousands of victims of the legal profession ? Surely not …

A well placed legal insider, who saw last week’s Bute House demonstration by victims of the legal profession, blasted the SNP for allowing the Law Society to co-opt the new Complaints Commission : “The fact it is the current Scottish Government is a minority administration which needs allies such as the legal profession to maintain it’s tenuous grasp on power, the public can forget about getting justice against large corporations, corrupt professions such as lawyers or party sponsors and donors until someone makes so much trouble things will have to change”

Quite an indictment of things as they stand then .. and little wonder people feel they must take to the streets, even with our own Scottish people supposedly running the Government now … but why is the legal profession being allowed to get away with murder by the SNP ?

One of the leaflets handed out by protestors at Bute House last week, charged the Law Society of Scotland with being the “puppet master” of the Scots justice system, ensuring its own survival as regulator of the Scots legal profession at the expense of consumers and the Scots public.

The Lord President, Lord Hamilton, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, and First Minister Alex Salmond all come in for criticism in the leaflet, allowing the Law Society’s very public ‘take over’ of the new Complaints Commission.

Protestors outside Bute House : Victims of a dishonest legal profession surely have a right to know why the Scottish Government is still allowing people to be continually abused by crooked lawyers and corrupt, prejudiced regulation of the legal profession. As some point out : Is there a profitable reason for allowing the legal establishment to continue to ruin lives and continue its dictatorial approach to anything which may affect its position in public life ?

So much could be achieved and so many lives put right, by just a little effort to heal the sins of the past .. but why is that so difficult to enact ? How about it Alex ? make the effort and do some good ? We are all Scots now, aren’t we ?