Current Petitions

PE504, by Mr and Mrs James Watson, calls on the Scottish Parliament to take the necessary steps to prevent convicted murderers, or members of their families, from profiting from their crimes by selling accounts of them for publication. A submission from the petitioners has been circulated to members.I seek members’ views on how we should proceed with the petition, which has been before us on a number of occasions and on which we have taken oral evidence.

I agree with Anne McLaughlin. Given the time and effort that Mr and Mrs Watson have expended on the petition, we should ask the Scottish Government to involve them in the consultation. It would also be handy if the Government could submit to the committee a detailed response on the results of the consultation so that we can see what it has come up with. I also agree with Nigel Don that it is inappropriate for people to make money in this way.

For the sake of clarity, do members wish to close the petition or to pursue further the issues that have been raised?

As I said, we should follow my colleague Anne McLaughlin’s suggestion.

Okay. That recommendation has been accepted.