John Swinney today insisted he has confidence in the Lord Advocate, despite her “gross misjudgement” in tipping off the SNP leader about key details of the criminal case involving Peter Murrell.
At First Minister’s Questions, Russell Findlay said Dorothy Bain’s reasons for why she briefed Swinney on matters that didn’t enter the public domain until weeks later “don’t stack up”.
The Scottish Conservative leader said the Lord Advocate had compromised her political neutrality by supplying Swinney with information around court dates that was to the SNP’s electoral advantage.
Findlay added that the whole affair underlined the need for the Lord Advocate’s dual role – as both chief prosecutor and a member of the Scottish government – to end. The SNP promised to address this conflict of interest five years ago but have still failed to act.
In response, Swinney said his government was still consulting on this matter and told the chamber he retained full confidence in the current Lord Advocate.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “The Lord Advocate should have known that handing politically advantageous information about an acutely sensitive criminal case involving Nicola Sturgeon’s husband to the SNP leader was a gross misjudgement.
“The Lord Advocate was appointed by Nicola Sturgeon and retained by both Humza Yousaf and John Swinney.
“As a member of John Swinney’s SNP government, she’s supposed to be politically neutral.
“I will say it again, in the real world, this smacks of corruption.
“This scandal is typical of an SNP government obsessed with secrecy and spin.
“If John Swinney really doesn’t understand why this stinks, then he must need a software update.
“The Lord Advocate’s private memo gave him a political advantage – and her excuses don’t stack up.
“As usual, John Swinney has expressed his full confidence in a member of his government who has behaved wrongly.
“This whole rotten episode once again highlights the inherent conflict of interest of Scotland’s top prosecutor also being a member of the Scottish government.
“John Swinney stood on a manifesto to address this. Five years later and nothing has changed. I wonder why.
“He must act now to end the Lord Advocate’s dual role.”
Responding to John Swinney’s comments regarding an interview by Thomas Ross KC on radio this morning, Russell Findlay added: “For context, this lawyer previously defended the violent gangland thug who attacked me with sulphuric acid.
“I understand that some lawyers will look after their own but in the real world, and by any reasonable assessment, this rotten SNP episode smacks of corruption.”