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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 23 July 2025
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Displaying 2256 contributions

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Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

You said that that instance was dealt with as soon as it came to light, but my point is about whether you would ordinarily expect some kind of declaration of interest up front. There are many fora in which people would declare something up front, rather than when it came to light, which is potentially after the horse has bolted.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

Perhaps I should bring in Michael Clancy. The example that I gave earlier involved a solicitor acting on behalf of core participants in an inquiry who had been calling vigorously, via the media, for a public inquiry and was also best friends with the justice secretary who granted the inquiry. In that example, what kind of action would you anticipate from the solicitor, under Law Society regulations, to set out at least a potential, if not an actual, conflict of interest?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. I just want to finish off on couple of things. I think that it was you, Lord Hardie, who said that it would be up to the chair to go back to the Scottish Government if they were to seek an augmentation of the terms of reference. In one of the inquiries that is currently under way, there has been an intensive media campaign by one of the lawyers, rather than the chair, to press the Scottish Government for an augmentation of the terms of reference. Is that unusual, in your experience?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

Okay—I am not certain about that.

I will also finish off the discussion about Maxwellisation. I disclose an interest, as I once ran a small business in primary research with Roger Mullin, who gave evidence about Maxwellisation. I read his submission with interest. One thing that is implicit rather than explicit relates to a power balance in going through the process of giving people the right to respond. I suspect that, inevitably, the people who have that right will have deeper pockets, and they may be representative companies. Has that power balance ever been considered in relation to Maxwellisation?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

Okay. It was worth confirming that, because that is a useful detail. Thank you.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

As MSPs, we are all given guidance on these matters when we join the Parliament. Where we think that there could be a perception of conflict, we are duty bound to disclose it, even if it is subsequently deemed not to be a conflict. If we are expected to do that, it would seem not unreasonable for highly paid lawyers to do likewise.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

I was just asking a general question. Thank you.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

We have had quite a lot of media interest that perhaps suggests that the problem is uniquely Scottish, but you are making it quite clear that it actually appears to be UK-wide.

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

Do you have anything to add, Dr Ireton?

Finance and Public Administration Committee [Draft]

Scottish Public Inquiries (Cost-effectiveness)

Meeting date: 27 May 2025

Michelle Thomson

I want to ask a tiny question to help build my knowledge. I have read the criteria that determine who a core participant will be, but do such participants pick their own lawyers or do they have one allocated to them if the inquiry gets extended or something else happens, as when, for example, the Scottish Covid inquiry was linked with the UK one? How does the approach with lawyers work?