tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post6014792492195288527..comments2024-03-28T07:16:39.621+00:00Comments on Lallands Peat Worrier: Sheridan questions in Holyrood...Lallands Peat Worrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18276270498204697708noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-90920383254324467182011-01-18T19:23:15.767+00:002011-01-18T19:23:15.767+00:00James - sorry for the delay. I'm sure you know...James - sorry for the delay. I'm sure you know fine well that the Crown Office is responsible, if such a word may be used of it at all, to the Lord Advocate. The Lord Advocate is a semi-detached member of the Scottish Government, and it is the bit of her that is in charge of the prosecution system that is the completely detached end. And this, I suppose, is as it should be, or Kenny would order it to put Wendy Alexander on petition not just for electoral offences, but fraud as well. And that would be terrible, wouldn't it?Am Firinnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-732917174959463602011-01-16T20:44:55.976+00:002011-01-16T20:44:55.976+00:00Interesting insight Am Firinn, may I ask who then ...Interesting insight Am Firinn, may I ask who then the Crown reponsible to? (other than Her Majesty of course)James Dolemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774046346905734191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-13814564726303452172011-01-16T17:52:46.184+00:002011-01-16T17:52:46.184+00:00That's likely true enough, Am Firinn. No doubt...That's likely true enough, Am Firinn. No doubt the text of the answers will be largely obscured by coverage of Lord Bracadale's remarks on sentencing. That said, in part because of the institutional reasons you mention, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the Government's responses prove singularly uninformative.Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-66098042002448823942011-01-16T12:42:36.443+00:002011-01-16T12:42:36.443+00:00Psychologist,
I took that to be your broad positi...Psychologist,<br /><br />I took that to be your broad position and you raise important points, to which we might add the issue of pre-trial "plea bargaining". This is a hugely commonplace practice. I do not have any statistics to hand, however, to suggest that proposing a guilty plea in return for a lesser penalty is <i>per se</i> problematic in an individual case is to propose a wholesale structural shift. And one might well ask, <i>why the sudden interest?</i>Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-57503159114904287102011-01-15T19:27:57.703+00:002011-01-15T19:27:57.703+00:00Brown's language may not be overheated but any...Brown's language may not be overheated but anyone with half a brain at Holyrood (admittedly a small proportion) kens fine that the Scottish Government doesn't write guidelines for the likes of the Crown Office and the courts and is unlikely even to get sight of them, except in the persons of the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General. Nor is it likely to know much about what documents are released unless these rather defiantly independent bodies tell it. And I imagine that will be pretty well what the answers to his questions will be.Am Firinnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-23970752946733218272011-01-15T17:41:20.886+00:002011-01-15T17:41:20.886+00:00James, more likely to shop their granny for a TV a...James, more likely to shop their granny for a TV appearance. Bright lights and a studio audience could be the future of police enquiry.<br /><br />Lallans, yes, Brown's language is hardly overheated. I was being too brief, and meant 'stushie' to encompass the amount of reporting on this, from Herald to Mail, and online discussion, without a single journalist (that I've noticed) pointing out it's been done before, and informing us if release is commonplace, and broadcast possible for any or all police interviews.<br /><br />I regret the impoverished state of modern journalism which can only parrot from the wires rather than get out there and dig. But, yes too, the answers Brown receives will be interesting.Psychologistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-30881948938055868092011-01-15T15:32:25.890+00:002011-01-15T15:32:25.890+00:00I look forward to the first suspect who refuses to...I look forward to the first suspect who refuses to answer questions in an interview after being cautioned that anything they say maybe taken down in evidence and shown, just before Eastenders, on BBC 1James Dolemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774046346905734191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-21717049029779959062011-01-15T14:49:29.019+00:002011-01-15T14:49:29.019+00:00I notice Robert Brown has couched his first questi...I notice Robert Brown has couched his first question in general terms (a) what are the guidelines addressing the three agencies releasing data? The second seems to be aiming to elicit (b) what data was officially released (which says something about whether any guidelines were adhered to or not) while (c) is seeking to clarify the status of the BBC material. Was it "officially released", subject to any guidelines which obtain - or despite them - or was it an "unofficial" leak, warranting investigation? For my own part, I have no knowledge about what guidelines may or may not obtain in these circumstances.<br /><br />These seem to me to be reasonable pre-stooshie questions of clarity to pose. That they are being posed is not, to my eye, particularly problematic. They are plain issues which interest a section of the public and which it seems quite reasonable to ask public servants about. <br /><br />The significance of the answers is another question entirely.Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-81434863645163184352011-01-15T14:32:53.287+00:002011-01-15T14:32:53.287+00:00ITV broadcast Tobin's too. Several police inte...ITV broadcast Tobin's too. Several police interviews are still online, from Barry George, Guardian, to Vanessa George, ITN - fewer Scottish tapes are broadcast but that's in keeping with less media interest in Scottish news.<br /><br />The BBC did nothing unusual in broadcasting Sheridan's interview, though use of his wife's probably required her permission. So why the stushie?Psychologistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-82131582909377738072011-01-15T13:47:39.206+00:002011-01-15T13:47:39.206+00:00Psychologist,
The Tobin case had entirely slipped...Psychologist,<br /><br />The Tobin case had entirely slipped my mind, but as you suggest, small clips of footage from his police interviews were indeed widely published by the BBC. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7761456.stm" rel="nofollow">You can still see a snippet here.</a>Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-68979409606927307372011-01-15T12:38:57.206+00:002011-01-15T12:38:57.206+00:00Any idea why questions are asked about the Sherida...Any idea why questions are asked about the Sheridan interview tapes being broadcast? Peter Tobin's police interview was shown on TV, and several others, but no questions in the press or parliament then.<br /><br />Is this just more of the privileged treatment Sheridan has received, or is it because, this time, the danger of exposing other folk's private foibles has been spotted?Psychologistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-54042093277625606232011-01-14T22:33:13.870+00:002011-01-14T22:33:13.870+00:00Of course James. The questions are a matter of pub...Of course James. The questions are a matter of public record, as they say.Lallands Peat Worrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238432265194046726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1638916042737526171.post-89363274197699258432011-01-14T20:51:09.679+00:002011-01-14T20:51:09.679+00:00Hope it is ok to nick this for ones' online mu...Hope it is ok to nick this for ones' online musings (with credit of course)<br /><br />ATB<br /><br />JamesJames Dolemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774046346905734191noreply@blogger.com