SECRETS, M’LORD: The QC, the footballer and the Lord Advocate who blocked a rape prosecution - and was later appointed as a judge by Lord President Lord Carloway

Crown Office refuse to release discussions on blocked rape case. A LORD ADVOCATE who aligned himself with rape awareness groups & Scotland’s current top judge to demand politicians remove a miscarriage of justice safeguard from the legal system – blocked the prosecution of a footballer for rape after contact with the accused’s QC.

Former Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland was in charge of the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) as Scotland’s top prosecutor at the time allegations of rape were raised against footballer David Goodwillie by victim Denise Clair in January 2011.

As Lord Advocate, Mulholland held the last say in authorising a prosecution or deciding to block further action.

The Crown Office decided not to prosecute David Goodwillie and his co- accused, David Robertson – a decision which occurred after contact between Paul McBride QC & the Crown Office – and according to sources - Mulholland.

The revelation of contact between Goodwillie’s lawyer - Paul McBride QC and prosecutors - came following a Freedom of Information request by the Sunday Mail newspaper, in which the Crown Office confirmed contact took place.

The Sunday Mail featured a report on the Crown’s decision to withhold details of communications between McBride and the Crown Office.

Mystery calls between rapist footballer David Goodwillie's lawyer and court bosses revealed

The Crown Office said: “We do hold some records of telephone discussion between the late Paul McBride and staff at Crown Office”

However, officials at the £113m a year Crown Office refused to release further details on the conversations with the now deceased Paul McBride, stating to do so “would inhibit legal opinions or advice expressed in future”.

Denise fought a five-year battle for justice which this year saw the Court of Session rule she had been raped by footballers Goodwillie and co-accused David Robertson.

The 30-year-old originally sought £500,000 in compensation, but damages were later agreed at £100,000 in the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

In late January, Lord Armstrong ruled Goodwillie - the former Scotland international footballer and his ex-teammate David Robertson were rapists.

The judge ordered Goodwillie & Robertson to pay £100,000 damages in what was the first civil rape case of its kind in Scotland – coming after Mulholland blocked all attempts to charge Goodwillie & Robertson who would have had to face a criminal trial if the prosecution had not been blocked by the then Lord Advocate.

As of date of publication of this article, Goodwillie is appealing the ruling.

The mother-of-one maintained she was incapable of giving free agreement to sex because of her alcohol consumption, but Goodwillie, 27, who now plays with Plymouth Argyle, and Robertson claimed the incident had been consensual.

Lord Armstrong, said: "Having carefully examined and scrutinised the whole evidence in the case, I find the evidence of the pursuer (the woman) to be cogent, persuasive and compelling."

Lord Armstrong said: "In the result, therefore, I find that in the early hours of Sunday 2 January 2011, at the flat in Greig Crescent, Armadale, both defenders (the footballers) took advantage of the pursuer when she was vulnerable through an excessive intake of alcohol and, because her cognitive functioning and decision-making processes were so impaired, was incapable of giving meaningful consent; and that they each raped her."

The judge said he found neither Goodwillie - who also played for Aberdeen and Blackburn Rovers - or Robertson to be credible or reliable on the issue of whether they had a reasonable or honest belief that she was consenting.

He rejected evidence relied on by the players that Ms Clair was not particularly affected by alcohol and was no more drunk than anyone else in the company they had been in that night.

Lord Armstrong said that prior to the incident the victim – Ms Clair - had enjoyed life, but her life changed following the decision not to proceed with a prosecution.

Lord Armstrong said: "She found that decision difficult to understand and had felt that she had not been believed."

The judge added: "She felt that her life had been destroyed by something which had happened although, because of her lack of memory, she was not fully aware of what it was that had caused that effect."

The Crown Office said it stood by its previous decision not to prosecute the footballers – a decision taken during the tenure of Frank Mulholland as Lord Advocate – which is now subject to calls for a full inquiry.

A Crown Office spokesman who refused to be identified said: "As Lord Armstrong stated in his judgement, the standard of proof to be satisfied was that of the balance of probabilities which is a less onerous requirement than the standard in criminal cases, which is beyond reasonable doubt.

"Further, there is no requirement of corroboration in civil cases unlike in criminal cases.

"This case was looked at very carefully by Crown counsel who concluded that there was insufficient evidence in law to raise criminal proceedings. As a result no proceedings were instructed."

Lord Mulholland now sits on the bench of the Court of Session after having been made a judge by by anti-corroboration co-campaigner Lord Carloway – Scotland’s current Lord President & Lord Justice General.

Lord Mulholland as he is now known - blocked a prosecution of Goodwillie and his co-accused David Robertson for rape – after he gave evidence at Holyrood in November 2013 - demanding msps on the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee agree to his plans to scrap corroboration – a safeguard against injustice - which Mulholland ironically claimed blocked the prosecution of rape cases.

Video footage of Frank Mulholland’s evidence to MSPs urging they repeal corroboration – to enable him to prosecute rape offenders, can be viewed here:

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland evidence to MSPs on removal of corroboration from Scot's Law - Scottish Parliament Justice Committee 20 November 2013

Mulholland also blocked criminal charges against the driver of the Glasgow bin lorry which ran out of control in December 2014 killing six people in the centre of Glasgow while injuring 15 others.

Lord Mulholland recently featured in an investigation into judicial use of taxpayers cash to find overseas trips & junkets. Mulholland took a £1,200 trip to the European Court in Luxembourg for three days funded by public cash.

TAX FIDDLE DEAL DEATH - Frank Mulholland’s Crown Office headline appetite for VAT tax carousel case ended in death of top QC:

A case disastrously gone wrong for the headline craving Crown Office under Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland - was a secret deal to bring back alleged tax cheat Imran Hussain from Pakistan.

To this day, Mr Hussain stands accused of a £300million VAT Carousel Fraud.

A media investigation coupled with Freedom of Information probes revealed secret discussions had taken place between Paul McBride QC and Mulholland’s Crown Office - over a move which would have seen the then Lord Advocate grab credit for prosecuting and convicting what is thought to be Scotland’s highest ever value fraud case.

In a Freedom of Information response, the Crown Office admitted to holding one ‘single email’, in which McBride had made contact with Lindsay Miller – who was the then head of the Serious Organised Crime Division in the Crown Office.

It was the same Lindsay Miller who responded to the FOI requests from journalists.

Commenting on Lindsay Miller’s response to the FOI request, a COPFS review undertaken by Gertie Wallace, the head of the Criminal Justice and Disclosure Team at the time said:

“In the reply from Lindsey Miller, Head of Serious and Organised Crime Division on 4 May you were advised that information held by COPFS was contained in one email indicating Mr McBride made contact with the Head of the Serious Organised Crime Division in COPFS on 16 January 2012 regarding a Mr Hussein.”

“The reference to Mr McBride’s contact with Mrs Miller is contained in an email between COPFS and Crown Prosecution Service dated 16 January 2012. There is no further information held by COPFS regarding contact between the late Mr McBride and COPFS regarding his client Mr Hussein.”

“I understand that information held about Mr McBride’s contact with Mrs Miller about Mr Hussein has also been provided to you following your request for information dated 6 June seeking documents and discussions on correspondence between Crown Office and Crown Prosecution Service between Paul McBride and COPFS, to which you have now received a reply dated 14 June from Mrs Miller.”

A Sunday Mail investigation uncovered deal between Crown Office & McBride to bring tax cheat back to Scotland:

DEAL ME IM: £300m tax dodge fugitive launches bid to return to Scotland

Imran "Immy" Hussain, 34, has been on the run from HMRC investigators for eleven years over a VAT scam in which he allegedly stole £300million from UK taxpayers.

It is understood that top QC Paul McBride, 47, met fugitive Hussain during the trip to Pakistan where he died in March 2012.

Prior to McBride flying to Pakistan, he met and discussed the case with Crown Office staff including Mulholland.

However, the secret between the Crown Office, McBride and involvement of the Inland Revenue went wrong - after McBride died of a heart attack while in Pakistan to meet Immy Hussain to discuss a secret deal allegedly involving a trial and what the Crown may ask for on sentencing.

Media reports at the time in 2012 quoted a friend of Mr Hussain, saying “He wants to come home - but not to spend 20 years in a cell.”

"His preferred outcome [believed to have been the deal on the table from COPFS] would be to hand over a large amount of his money and do a light sentence - that way, the authorities could say justice has been done and point to the cash seizure as a success."

It was also reported at the time - McBride told a friend that he was going to Lahore to meet a wealthy client wanted for a major fraud in the UK.

Legal sources and friends of the lawyer, who was found dead in his room at the Pearl Continental Hotel, believe he met Hussain.

McBride travelled to Pakistan with solicitor Aamer Anwar - who said the lawyers attended a wedding during their stay.

Hussain had been living the high-life in Dubai, where he owned two luxury houses, a fleet of cars and a yacht. He also travelled to Europe by private jet.

He spent fortunes on wild parties and thought nothing of buying Rolex watches for his pals.

But he was forced to leave the desert kingdom when HMRC investigators were sent to track him down.

Hussain, from Newton Mearns, Glasgow, had already been in contact with HMRC about a possible deal.

Sources have described communication between Hussain and HMRC as "very sensitive".

One legal source said: "Paul was in Pakistan in his professional capacity as an advocate.

"He was there to meet a Scottish Asian who is wanted for VAT fraud and wants to come back to Scotland.

"His contacts at the Crown Office were at the highest level and he operated and negotiated at such a level."

Another associate of Hussain said: "Things got a lot more difficult for him when he had to leave Dubai. He realised that HMRC weren't going to give up on him and he has now been in Pakistan for the last couple of years."

Hussain is suspected of heading a Europe-wide operation who set up hundreds of bogus firms linked to VAT fraud, also known as carousel fraud. Gangs claim back VAT on goods they say were imported and then exported.

But the goods - usually small but high-value items such as computer chips and mobile phones - never existed.

In an astonishing turn of events caused by the death in Pakistan of Paul McBride - while he was there at the behest of the Lord Advocate – Frank Mulholland and many others from the world of politics including First Minister Alex Salmond, and figures from the legal establishment attended Paul McBride’s funeral held at (name the church) in wherever during the year.

Previous articles on the Crown Office and Lord Advocate Mulholland’s exit from COPFS,  can be found here: PASS THE CROWN: As one Lord Advocate exits, another is set to take charge of Scotland’s ‘institutionally corrupt’ Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service

For previous articles on the Crown Office, read more here: Scotland's Crown Office - in Crown detail

MSP says Justice system must be ‘open & representative’ as QC Paul McBride calls for reform of jury selection, tests & declarations for jurors

Top QC Paul McBride calls for jurors to sit tests to establish their suitability to be on a jury. REFORM of the current system of juror selection is a must if their verdicts are to be respected, says top Scots QC Paul McBride who believes jurors should be made to sit tests to establish their suitability for sitting on juries in Scotland’s courts. Mr McBride’s remarks come after the puzzling verdict in the Neil Lennon assault case, where a Hearts fan was acquitted of a sectarian assault after the jury removed the reference to making a sectarian remark from the charge relating to breach of the peace, and returned a not proven verdict for ‘aggravated by religious prejudice charge’.

Currently, the only requirements for people to serve on a jury in a Scottish Court are that they be over 18, be registered to vote and have lived in the UK for at least five years. However, the perception these requirements are somewhat lacking has been considered & debated for some time by leading law figures & observers of the way the courts operate, although many of those attending courts have observed over the years there are significant problems throughout the entire courts system from the judiciary down, not just with how juries are selected.

Scottish Justice in the dock as QC calls for juries to be reformed : Paul McBride QC on Neil Lennon Celtic v Hearts assault verdict (click image to watch video)

Mr McBride, speaking to the Herald newspaper, said he would like to see jurors be required to disclose their employment and whether they have been a victim of crime. The Herald reported : “This is an area that lawyers have been discussing for some time. Judges and lawyers undergo a high standard of training. The only area where there is no scrutiny at all on the people who actually make the decision, which is baffling. “You don’t have to be able to read or write or speak English. “We have got 15 people deciding whether a person is guilty and we know nothing about them.”

Mr McBride continued : “In Scotland, unlike any other country on the planet, a person can be convicted by one vote. Following the Lennon verdict a lot of people, and newspapers were asking about the selection process for juries. In every other country there is some kind of jury selection process to determine whether they have got the basic skills and whether they have committed a crime. A lot of trials are conducted by police statements. If a member of the jury can’t read or speak English that’s a bit of a disadvantage.”

It is noteworthy these calls for jury reform have only re-entered the arena of public debate after a case involving sectarian charges pursued by the Crown Office against a Football fan were found not proven by a jury, while coincidentally, the Scottish Government are pursing legislation in the form of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill which it is claimed, will give the Police more powers to deal with sectarian offences and threatening behaviour. Scottish Law  Reporter covers the issue in more detail HERE.

However, legal observers note there are arguably many more problems in the justice system relating to sectarianism than solely with jurors who might not manage a verdict which happens to be favourable to current legislative plans. Earlier this year, Scottish Law Reporter featured coverage on a report which the Scottish Parliament’s Petitions Committee had debated whether to publish or keep secret, academics had established there was evidence to suggest the courts system itself was sectarian due to studies on sentencing statistics involving religious minorities. The report, by Dr Susan Wiltshire of the University of Glasgow can be read online or downloaded here : OFFENDER DEMOGRAPHICS AND SENTENCING PATTERNS IN SCOTLAND AND THE UK and readers can draw their own conclusions.

John Lamont MSP, Scottish Conservative. Asked for comment on Mr McBride’s calls for jury reform, John Lamont MSP, the Scottish Conservative's Justice spokesman said : "Jurors have a vital place within our justice system and it is important that we take the greatest care in choosing them. The idea of having more detailed information to help select juries is worthy of further consideration."

Mr Lamont continued : "However, we must not undermine the principle behind trials by jury. We need to ensure that the privacy and impartiality of juries is maintained as they must always continue to represent all sectors of society if they are to provide a balanced judgement. The right to jury trial ensures that one class of people don't sit in judgment over another. The public must have confidence in an open and representative justice system."

Legal Aid Board 'brought into disrepute' by Legal Services Chief's criminal charges over rent boy scandal

SLAB brought into disrepute by criminal conduct of its staff. The good work of the Scottish Legal Aid Board in providing access to justice for thousands of poor Scots and their families, has been stunningly brought into disrepute by the disgraceful public conduct of its Legal Services Chief, Douglas Haggarty, who was arrested for a liaison with a 'rent boy' in the famous St Enoch's Glasgow shopping centre.

Sunday Mail exposed legal aid chief’s criminal charges of soliciting a boy prostitute. Douglas Haggarty, who is Chief of Legal Services at the Scottish Legal Aid Board, has sat on various Scottish Government consultation groups which included the most senior members of the legal profession, the Law Society of Scotland, and even senior Police officers. Haggarty participated in the review of the Practices and Procedure of the High Court of Justiciary, chaired by Lord Bonomy, titled "Improving Practice”, and has duties at the legal aid board which include lecturing lawyers on their public conduct.

SLAB Board member Paul McBride asked Crown Office to drop charges against Haggarty. It also emerged from the Sunday Mail's expose that Paul McBride QC, a senior board member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board was representing Haggarty on the criminal charges of soliciting a teenage boy in public, McBride proceeding to ask the Crown Office to drop the charges against his client, on the grounds 'there was not enough evidence to convict', and now the Procurator Fiscal in the case has decided against court proceedings and will handle the case by way of a fiscal fine or other means, in order no doubt to avoid too much bad publicity for Haggarty and McBride, both well known members of Scotland's legal profession.

SLAB board member Paul McBride QC, last year earned over £217,000 in legal aid fees while representing clients in the Scottish courts, and only last week, made a blaze of publicity for himself where he criticised the Labour party for the Damien McBride email smears against the Conservative Party, after which he transferred his allegiance to the Conservatives after his 'lifelong support of the Labour Party.

However, it transpired the day after McBride's announcement of a shift to the Conservatives over his own views on ethics, he wasn't even a subscribing member to Labour , and some now believe he may have been earmarked for a senior legal position in any future Tory administration in Scotland. So, not ok to smear politicians, but rent boys in toilets ? well that's another matter …

However, criticism of McBride's involvement in representing Douglas Haggarty in the rent boy scandal came from colleagues in the legal world today, as a legal insider speaking on the news, pointed to a possible conflict of interest in a matter which many now feel brings the Legal Aid Board into disrepute.

He said : "The Legal Aid Board lecture solicitors on their legal aid claims but it looks like there are plenty loose canons at the Board itself.The Legal Aid Board do not seem to want to comment, but clearly Douglas Haggarty's conduct has brought SLAB's work into disrepute and he should now be sacked."

He went on : "I think eyebrows will be raised that Douglas Haggarty was able to secure legal representation from Paul McBride QC, who is also a senior member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board. In the eyes of many that may well constitute a conflict of interest and Mr McBride should have refrained from involvement in the case."

A client who is currently fighting a legal action with legal aid said "I have had contact with Douglas Haggarty in the early stages of my claim when I asked for documents relating to my solicitor's submissions to the Board.I did not receive very good replies and had to ask several times for the information I was after."

She went on : "I am totally disgusted to learn that people who conduct themselves in public in this manner are at the heart of our legal system and I find it a disgrace the matter is not to proceed to court. If it had been anyone else other than a lawyer who did it, I'm sure they would have been sent through the courts system but again we see one law for the lawyers and another for the rest of us."

For my part, well I am not surprised by Mr Haggarty's antics. There are many 'personalities' in the legal world and some at the very heart of the Scots legal establishment & even the Law Society of Scotland who seem to prefer the haunts of toilets and rent boys despite the fact that some of them have wives & families who know nothing of their sick partner's secret and perhaps deadly conduct, which has in at least one case known to me, impacted fatally on the health of their family.

QC was accused in 2006 of flashing to child, but charges were dropped. In a similar case a couple of years ago, a senior Advocate, Mark Strachan QC, was charged with similar offences, involving a 13 year old boy, but the case was dropped .. as seems to be common when it comes to catching members of Scotland's legal profession engaged in criminal activity. I reported on the Mark Strachan case here, where you can also read the Daily Record’s expose : Disclosing the regulatory history of lawyers in Scotland to help give choice to the consumer. You can also read the BBC version of Mr Strachan’s criminal charge of flashing at a 13 year old boy here : Advocate charged with indecency

Clients surely have a right to know their solicitors criminal records, just as much as their solicitors regulatory records. Many clients of solicitors I’ve spoken to today certainly agree with that, while all expressed a view that if they learned their solicitor had been charged with a criminal offence, they would not use them for legal representation of any kind.

In a statement issued late today, a spokesman for the Legal Aid Board said in response to queries on Mr Haggarty’s choice of SLAB board member Paul McBride QC as his lawyer : “It is a matter for Mr Haggarty who he should engage to represent him. Any involvement by Paul McBride QC in representing Mr Haggarty is unconnected with his role as a Board member. Board members are non-executive, appointed by Ministers and are not employees of the Board.”

A legal source retorted by saying : “It seems the heavy guns were brought out in Mr Haggarty’s favour but I can’t always get a QC of Mr McBride’s stature to represent my clients when they are in need. Strange.”

The legal profession which Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill famously said on camera he would defend his legal colleagues to the last, against their detractors most certainly needs a clean up, not only of its criminal element, but also of its morals and ethics.

The Sunday Mail reports :

Exclusive: Legal aid chief arrested with rent boy in shopping centre toilet

May 3 2009 Derek Alexander

A LEGAL Aid boss has been arrested in a public toilet with a rent boy.

Douglas Haggarty, 57, was arrested in a shopping mall after being found with the teenage prostitute.

He is the head of legal services at the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) - where his duties include lecturing lawyers on their public conduct.

Haggarty was arrested in British Home Stores in the St Enoch Centre, Glasgow.

Security guards alerted police after the known rent boy was seen following Haggarty into the shop's toilets. Both men were arrested and Haggarty was charged with soliciting in a public place.

The procurator fiscal started summary proceedings against Haggarty. But his lawyer Paul McBride QC - who sits as a member on the Scottish Legal Aid Board - asked the Crown Office to drop the charges, claiming there was not enough evidence to convict.

The procurator fiscal has decided to scrap court proceedings and deal with the case by a direct measure. These are powers available to prosecutors to deal with cases quickly. They include issuing a fine, compensation order and written warning about future conduct. The powers available to procurators fiscal were extended last year.

The rent boy also had court proceedings against him dropped and was issued with a direct measure.

Haggarty, who lives in the Merchant City area of Glasgow, started work as a solicitor in 1975. He helped Lord Bonomy compile his 2002 report on improving the practices and procedure of the High Court.

Haggarty submitted a paper to a Scottish Parliament finance committee on criminal procedure in 2003 and has been a member of other High Court review teams.

The legal aid chief, who declined to comment, has been off work sick since the incident in January. A slab spokesman said: "The Board is aware of the case and that it has not been prosecuted. It's not appropriate for us to comment further."

Haggarty isn't the first SLAB boss to be arrested and dogged by controversy.

Dr Richard Scott, former head of SLAB, was twice arrested over incidents with his wife. Arrest In January 1997 he was charged with three assaults but only convicted of breach of the peace and disorderly behaviour.

Six months later Scott was arrested again when police were called to his home but the Crown Office decided not to bring criminal charges. Scott stood down as head of SLAB in 1999.

Scottish Legal Aid Board gets Drug Running Lawyer's QC appointed to it's Board ...

They often say that the best writing about a subject comes from personal experience, rather than theory .. and on the subject of the Scottish Legal Aid Board - I could say, from my own experience in many battles with SLAB, that it ranks as one of the top 5 corrupt bodies in Scotland today, when it comes to dealing with cases of injustice. Of course, I'm bound to say that, because the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) is full of lawyers - and some of them have a pretty poor regulatory history too ....

I have written about some of my battles with the Scottish Legal Aid Boaid, as you well know from earlier posts to this blog, such as : http://petercherbi.blogspot.com/2006/03/leaked-letter-shows-true-extent-of-law.html when Douglas Mill, the Chief Executive of the Law Society of Scotland, held backdoor discussions with the Legal Aid Board over my case and sent a letter to tell them to deny my application for Civil Legal Aid to challenge the Law Society of Scotland ... and of course, the Scottish Legal Aid Board, obeyed their neighbours in Drumsheugh Gardens .. like the good puppies that they are ....

... but every application I filed with the Scottish Legal Aid Board has been subject to the utmost prejudice, since of course, my case relates to suing lawyers - and since the gang of lawyers at SLAB don't want that, I have been subject to the most malicious campaign of dirty tricks by those lawyers at SLAB and within the ranks of the Law Society of Scotland to defeat every application I made ... and again, this has happened to many more than me .. it's just that I found out about it ....

Nothing ever changes at the Legal Aid Board, of course, and it has emerged that now, well over a thousand applications for legal aid by clients to sue solicitors for misconduct or negligence, have been either denied or thrown out by other means ... and really .. the lengths that the Law Society of Scotland and crooked lawyers will go to defeat such civil applications for Legal Aid, have got to a very low stage - for instance :

In one case (which has now been repeated in many applications), a solicitor from Glasgow, who ruined a client and nearly had her thrown out of her home, spending years tormenting his client and making her life misery, sent a vast array of false information to his former client's Benefits Agency, claiming she was defrauding the Government, was very rich, etc ... and then the Benefits Agency, without even bothering to check the information, sent it onto the Scottish Legal Aid Board as FACT ... something - as I have said, has been repeated in many cases ....

Even more sinister, has been the use of Police Forces against former clients by crooked lawyers who face client complaints and charges of fraud, embezzlement of client funds, etc ... where the crooked lawyer have apparently 'called in old favours' with some in the Police Service they have 'assisted' over the years .. and the client who complained to the Law Society of Scotland has found themselves beseiged by Police in various incidents or charges, which have conspired as a whole, to harrass, and further ruin their lives .... nasty stuff, don't you think ? yes ... and it certainly gets a lot worse, with some people who have made complaints against lawyers finding themselves dragged off to Jail to shut them up or take away their credibility ...

Simply put, a client, who has been completely financially ruined by a crooked Scottish lawyer, has little or NO change at all to get funding from the Scottish Legal Aid Board to sue that crooked lawyer for what they did .. my case is a good enough example of that, and the lengths that some, like the crooked Douglas Mill, took to defeat me ... but there are many cases which have gone unheard, which are equally deserving of attention ...

So, amidst all of this, and the Scottish Executive's attempt to bring in an independent regulatory body to investigate complaints against crooked lawyers, you would think that they would be cleaning up the Scottish Legal Aid Board too ... right ? .... No Chance !

To illustrate my point - just look at the likes of who are on the Scottish Legal Aid Board .. a collection of lawyers, NHS Board members, and others .. which would in any ordinary persons mind, fail to congure up the words "independent" or "transparent" ... and the latest addition to the motley crew on the Scottish Legal Aid Board .. is none other than Paul McBride QC, the Scottish lawyer who earns the most from the Legal Aid Board ! (last year alone - £357,000 !!), and also, the same Paul McBride QC is also the lawyer of the convicted drug running lawyer Angela Ballie, who the Scottish legal profession is going all out to save, from her criminal conduct. Angela Ballie has, unsurprisingly managed to stall her sentence by fleeing Scottish Justice to England on a sick note ... as my previous post reported ... and I wonder who's advise she took to do that .....

Think Paul McBride QC would be up for taking on any cases like mine to challenge and sue the life out of the crooked Law Society of Scotland for fiddling complaints cases and financially ruining my family ? .... no way ... that's not up his street - challenging his colleagues .. and with the significant hostility that most or all Scottish legal firms feel against me, coupled with my entry on the infamous "Client Blacklist" - which names & identifies Scottish persons who lawyers are NOT to represent in cases - McBride probably wouldn't touch the likes of me with a barge pole .. and I will hazzard a bet that he will be throwing out many more civil legal aid applications to sue crooked lawyers, just as many of his predeccessors at the Scottish Legal Aid Board have ....

If you are serious about reforming the Scottish Legal Profession, Cathy Jamieson - how about putting ordinary people on the Scottish Legal Aid Board - not the likes of what is already on it ... but of course - a corrupt system, demands a corrupt governance ... and that is how it will be until it is changed .... and I cannot help but wonder .. will he be prioritising his clients cases for legal aid too ?? ... these lawyers have such poor respect for the term 'conflict of interest' ...

Article reporting on McBride's appointment to the Scottish Legal Aid Board, from "The Scotsman", at :
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=502852006

Top-earning QC will advise on legal aid
MICHAEL HOWIE

SCOTLAND'S top-earning legal aid QC has been appointed to the body that paid him more than £300,000 last year.

Paul McBride, who has represented a string of high-profile killers, last year topped the list of criminal lawyers, earning £357,600 from legal aid.

Yesterday Cathy Jamieson, the justice minister, announced that Mr McBride was one of three new members of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, which spends around £164 million of taxpayers' money a year on giving people access to justice.

The other appointees are Graham Bell, QC, and Group Captain Graham Watson.

The appointments will run for four years and come with a salary of £8,328 for about three and a half days' work a month.

The new appointees will help deliver major reforms in legal aid spending, including proposals to widen access to aid in civil cases, as well as changes to the distribution of legal aid in criminal cases.

Through his work with the Faculty of Advocates, Mr McBride has been critical of some aspects of legal aid payments to lawyers, but yesterday he announced that he would now be taking a less "partisan" role.

Mr McBride said: "There are on-going discussions about fees with counsel and solicitors, but I'm no longer operating in the same role. I'm not on the board as a partisan participant."

He said he was looking forward to helping the board implement its programme of reform. His role, he explained, would be to help drive through the Scottish Executive's desire to increase access to justice.

"I'm certainly not doing it for the money. In fact I'll probably earn less money. I just thought I could make a contribution and assist the board.

"I have 20 years of experience so I feel I have a good idea what the important issues are in relation to legal aid."

He said the fact he had been appointed to the board and last year topped the legal aid earners' chart was "absolutely coincidental".

"I would have applied no matter where I was on the list. I don't think that in any way affected the decision to appoint me," he said.

Mr McBride has been involved in some of Scotland's highest-profile cases, including that of Mark Bonini, who murdered two-year Andrew Morton in the Royston area of Glasgow.

He is currently representing Angela Baillie, the lawyer who smuggled drugs into prison.

Mr Bell has been a member of the Bar since 1980 and a QC since 1990.

He is a member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is currently considering the case of the Lockerbie bomber.

Gp Capt Watson, who spent 31 years in the RAF, is a member of Fife NHS Board. He has more than 30 years of senior management experience in a wide range of appointments.

Meanwhile, two of the present board - Ellen Morton, a member of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, and solicitor David Nicol - have been reappointed to their positions.

As well as assessing legal aid applications, it is also the board's job to scrutinise and settle bills submitted by solicitors and counsel.

Legal aid has risen by £6.4 million since 2003, to £152.4 million in 2005, driven by a sharp hike in legal assistance.