Justice 2 Committee,
Meeting date: Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Official Report
370KB pdf
Item in Private
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome to the 12th meeting in 2006 of the Justice 2 Committee members of the committee and our adviser on the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill, Margaret Ross, whom I thank on behalf of committee members for the work that she has done so far.
I noted from the 600-odd consultation responses that I went through that some people seem to think that I have a son who is a lawyer in Scotland. That is not the case. My son was called to the English bar some years ago and then went to the West Indies, where he became an advocate under English law. He is now a solicitor who practises in England. He has no Scottish qualifications whatsoever and is not capable of doing work as a lawyer in Scotland. He is not a member of the Faculty of Advocates or the Law Society of Scotland. I say that because some people said in their submissions that they thought that I had a direct family connection with the professions that we are considering under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill.
Do other members want to say anything?
I refer to the declaration that I made last week. I have received e-mails that say that I should not be a member of the committee. I make it clear that that is nonsense.
Thank you.
Agenda item 1 is to consider whether to take in private agenda item 3, on consideration of the written evidence on the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill that we have received. Do members agree that we should take that item in private?
Members indicated agreement.