Whatever Can Have Happened?
Yesterday afternoon John Swinney announced an independent review into the dual roles of Scotland’s main law officers, the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General, which have been a subject of great controversy since the Scottish Parliament was re-convened in 1999.
Wings welcomes this development unequivocally, albeit we’re slightly concerned that the former judge leading the review is himself a former Lord Advocate who may be inclined to regard any suggestion that the role – in which the LA is an independent law officer but also a government minister answerable to the First Minister – carries a huge conflict of interest as a personal slight.
But what’s interesting is that the SNP promised such a review way back in 2021, in its manifesto for that year’s Holyrood election.
We can’t imagine what can have caused them to delay it until now.
Cannot for the life of me guess why this has arisen Rev.
Maybe Big John of the Independent minds she’s some ships with bad news hoving onto the horizon.
The big man must be seeing something and it most possibly have something to do with legal consideration. I WONDER IF THE Big Man might soon, along with others be seeking sanctuary in London town.
In March 2026, just two months ahead of the last Holyrood election, the Scottish Government published an initial internal report on the law officers’ roles. That report, produced by former Scottish Law Commission chief executive Malcolm McMillan, concluded that the existing dual-role arrangements were “appropriate”.
At that time, ministers stated that any structural changes would be pushed to the next parliamentary term, essentially kicking the decision into the long grass.
I wonder how long they can stall the decision this time before, no doubt, kicking it into the long grass again?
It’s colonialism! Am I the winner?