Written Question · S2W-23155 · Session 2
Further to the answer to question S2W-20247 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 November 2005, whether the reports by John McLeod in respect of his inve…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20247 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 November 2005, whether the reports by John McLeod in respect of his investigations into the Shirley McKie fingerprint case will now be made public and, if so, when they will be published; if not, what the reasons are for not publishing the reports and whether it will publish the terms of reference and the conclusions arising from these reports; whether the Executive or the Lord Advocate has commissioned any other reports into this case, and, if so, when these will be published, what the terms of reference were and what conclusions were reached.
The answer
It is not my intention tomake the MacLeod reports public. They were commissioned by the Executive aspart of its defence of the civil action brought by Shirley McKie. Publicationof the MacLeod reports would undermine the basic principle of Scots law thatneither party to a litigation is obliged to disclose reports commissioned forthe purpose of the litigation. The Scottish Executive has commissioned onefurther report as part of its defence of the civil action which will not bepublished for the same reason. The Lord Advocate also commissioned reports inthe course of criminal investigations linked to the Shirley McKie case. The Lord Advocatedoes not intend to publish these reports as they were prepared for the purposesof criminal investigations and as such are confidential.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-23155 by reference.