Chamber and committees

In 2021-22, we provided £50 million to support the recover, renew, transform programme for the criminal justice system, which included setting up 16 new solemn and summary courts. For 2022-23, we have committed a further £53.2 million, including £26.5 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to help it to maintain enhanced court capacity. We have also extended funding for remote jury centres for an additional three months, to support the transition back to having juries in court, and we have increased the SCTS resource budget by 3.5 per cent.

The latest statistics that the SCTS has published show that those measures are having an impact, but justice agencies have been clear that it will take several years to address the backlog. We will continue to support that work.

Police Scotland has informed me that 169 police officers of various ranks have retired from Police Scotland between 1 April 2022 and 26 May 2022. A further 265 police officers have intimated their intention to retire before 30 June 2022. Therefore, Police Scotland expects a total of 434 police officers to have retired at the end of quarter 1 of this financial year.

I absolutely agree. It is interesting how animated the Conservative members become whenever we point out the differences between Scotland and the rest of the UK. I wonder why that is. It could be because of their embarrassment.

I agree with the member. Scotland is a safer country since the SNP Government took office. Recorded crime remains at one of the lowest levels since 1974, and it is down 41 per cent since 2006-07. I have yet to hear any recognition of that from the Conservatives.

As a member rightly points out, we have 32 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland compared to around 23 per 10,000 in England and Wales. More generally, we are investing an additional £188 million across the justice system in 2022-23, which is more than three times what the Conservatives asked for.

We are looking after Police Scotland, and we will continue to do so in a very difficult budgetary situation.

What we have to do is make sure that we provide the resources to Police Scotland. Of course, some of the things that Pauline McNeill talked about are not within the gift of the Scottish Government to change; they are operational decisions for the chief constable, and it is right that they should be. I do not know whether anybody is suggesting that we should change that so that the Government becomes directly involved. I do not think that that would be a good idea.

It is also true to say that we have a situation with retirement. I have spoken to the Scottish Police Federation, the Scottish Police Authority and the chief constable, and, at the top of the list is retirement caused by the change in pensions that underlies the figures that I have just given. Of course, we have an interest in the wellbeing of police officers and we will continue to talk to the Scottish Police Federation and do whatever we can to make sure that services and resources are provided to look after our police officers.

Improving veterans data continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government. The member will be aware that, for the first time, Scotland’s census 2022 included a question on previous service with the armed forces. We have also identified additional sources of regular data collection, for example by including the same question in the Scottish household and health surveys.

In addition, there is a veterans marker in the new drug and alcohol information system, which is a national database that holds data that relates to specialist drug and alcohol treatment from services across Scotland.

The member will know that the processing of cases is a matter for the Lord Advocate as part of her independent role as head of the prosecution system. I therefore recommend that the member contact the Lord Advocate, both on the specific case and on his suggestion about more localised processing. The Lord Advocate should be able to advise on the member’s query.

First, I sympathise with Stephen Kerr’s experience. I had a very similar experience, with my family being threatened with having the house burned down by somebody who was subsequently convicted for burning down a house. I know how troubling such experiences can be.

I concede that not enough is being done to ensure that victims—in this case, victims of a threat—are acknowledged by the criminal justice system in its various forms. We are trying to ensure that victims are recognised throughout the whole criminal justice system, although it is worth acknowledging that it is not necessarily a system in that sense; it includes lots of independent parts.

Some of the points that Stephen Kerr has raised relate to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and I am sure that what he has said will be heard by them.

On the matter of supporting Jamie Greene’s bill, I was told that the bill would be introduced in the first 100 days of the parliamentary session. I have not yet seen the bill, so I do not know how I can be expected to say that I will support it until I have seen its provisions. From what I know about the bill, and from previous discussions, I think that many of its provisions are covered by activity that the Government is already undertaking. However, I restate my commitment to look at the bill in good faith when it is introduced to see whether there are things that we can work on.

I thank Sharon Dowey for securing this members’ business debate to mark the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands.

I also thank Sharon Dowey for her sponsorship of last week’s 40th anniversary commemoration event in the Parliament, which was a fitting way for us to reflect on the impact and legacy of the Falklands conflict. When I tried to mention all the MSPs who were in attendance that night, I missed out two. I am happy to rectify that now by mentioning them by name—they were Pam Gosal and Tess White.

I also mentioned by name someone who was not there—Murdo Fraser. I do not know where he was that night. [Laughter.] However, I seized on the fact that he came down to the Falkland Islands in 2012, as Christina McKelvie and I did. It was a fantastic opportunity to see a place that is remarkable, and not just for the conflict that took place there.

What is clear from the speeches that we have heard is that, across the chamber, we are unanimous in recognising the bravery and heroism of all the individuals who set sail to free the islands.

I was interested in Murdo Fraser’s speech, in particular, because he talked about a young man who died on 12 June on HMS Glamorgan. As it happens, it was the night between 11 and 12 June when my unit, which is pronounced “four-five Commando” rather than “forty-five Commando”—there is no explanation; that is just what it is known as—conducted an attack. The person next to me directed fire from HMS Glamorgan from our position. That scared me endlessly; I thought that it required an act of faith for somebody to know exactly how far we were advancing and be able to direct fire with that kind of accuracy. It just shows how skilful and brave the people on the Glamorgan were. I send my full condolences to the surviving family of the young man whom Murdo Fraser mentioned.

As we near the 40th anniversary, there are a number of upcoming events and activities that will provide us all with a chance to consider the lasting impact of the conflict.

I am glad that a number of members have mentioned the Argentinians who were involved. It has been said that many of them were not there by choice. The ones whom I met were young men. One had a suitcase. Why would someone take a suitcase to war? He did so because he had no way of carrying proper equipment, so he took civilian clothes. He seemed to me to be younger even than we were. They were hopelessly ill-prepared, and they were hungry and cold. The one prisoner whom I took back to our headquarters was absolutely petrified.

Also, I have to say that one of the major achievements of the Falklands war—for me, at least—was that I saw no ill treatment whatsoever of any Argentinian prisoners of war. In my experience, they were treated exceptionally well, which is a mark of a very professional force, in my view.

I will be delighted to attend the Scottish national event in Edinburgh on 18 June, which is being delivered by the Scottish Government in partnership with Legion Scotland and Poppyscotland. It will provide the people of Scotland with an opportunity to commemorate an important and poignant anniversary. I encourage MSPs of all parties to come, if they can, and in turn to encourage others to come along on that day.

To coincide with that event, Poppyscotland—this relates to Sarah Boyack’s point—is delivering a wider learning programme and package of resources to schools across the country to allow young people to learn more about the conflict. It will also highlight the role of the armed forces, including the role that they play today and how we can support service members and their families.

It is interesting to think that, back in 1982, we were closer to the end of the second world war than we are today to the Falklands conflict. Speaking for myself, in 1982 I thought that world war two was ancient history, so you can imagine how it feels now to be thinking back to the Falklands.

I also look forward to attending the Royal British Legion’s national event at the National Memorial Arboretum to mark the official anniversary.

I would like to take a moment to highlight the work by Andrew Cave to ensure that the efforts of dockyard workers, who worked skilfully and tirelessly to ensure that our personnel and fleet were ready to sail to the Falklands, were properly recognised and commemorated, with plaques being placed in current and former naval dockyards around the world, including just across the Forth River, in Rosyth. It is only right that we pay tribute to those often-forgotten individuals, along with everyone else who made a contribution during the conflict—from the serving personnel to their families and their wider communities. I was scheduled to go to an event at Rosyth when the plaque commemorating those workers and the work of Andrew Cave would be unveiled but, unfortunately, I contracted Covid earlier that week.

We should also take a moment to recognise and appreciate something that we heard last week, which Sharon Dowey will remember, about the strong cultural links that Scotland shares with the Falkland Islands communities to this day. Many people in the islands’ population are descended from Scottish and Welsh immigrants who settled in the territory after 1833. Many individuals from the Shetland and Orkney islands emigrated to the Falkland Islands in the second half of the 19th century, during the development of its sheep-breeding industry.

To turn back briefly to the war and its lasting impact, I note that the war involved all elements of the armed forces and lasted just 74 days. As we have heard, it claimed the lives of hundreds of servicemen and had a lasting impact on thousands more, as well as on their families. Many veterans still struggle with physical and mental scars or have faced hardships in the years afterwards.

I will briefly mention the four men in my troop who were killed: Pete Fitton, Andy Uren, Bob Leeming and Keith Phillips. As I mentioned last week, Bob Leeming was a sergeant with a wife and a family; he had children at home. Keith Phillips, who was the same age as me, and had the same first name, was killed just before the attack on Two Sisters. For him, life was finished there. When we went down to the Falklands in 2012, Murdo Fraser made a call to ensure that as much assistance as possible would be given to their families to allow them to go there. Some family members do not realise that they are entitled to a medal on behalf of their son, brother or father.

So, while we reflect on the events of the Falklands conflict and our ties with the communities there, we have to take a moment to recognise and remember all those who lost their lives or were otherwise impacted by the war and the occupation of the islands. Quite recently there was a council leader in the Highlands who was resident in the Falklands during the conflict, which goes to show the links between our two countries.

It is also important that we acknowledge the lasting impact that can be experienced by some members of the armed forces community. We continue to work to seek to address that. I will finish by expressing my gratitude to our close-knit charity sector, here in Scotland. I am sure that I speak for everyone here when I say that I am continually impressed by the level and quality of support that they provide to our former service personnel and their families. I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who supports those charities in whatever way they can.

Finally, we will not forget the brave souls who paid the ultimate price to ensure that the Falklands Islands could exercise their right to self-determination. That is the crucial point.

As for the exchange between Christine Grahame and Murdo Fraser, Sarah Boyack is quite right to say that this is the stuff of democracy. We do not have to agree on these things; indeed, people sometimes think that all members of the armed forces or veterans have the same view on such matters. The wars that we have fought in the past have usually been to protect democratic freedoms, one of which is the freedom to disagree.

I have to say that the way in which the war was conducted—and, indeed, much that I have learned about it—gives me a certain degree of anguish that things could have been conducted differently, but that would probably be true of any conflict. However, I have no trouble with the view that, once Argentinian forces representing a fascist regime were on the islands, it was necessary to eject them forcibly. I think that that was right. For me, this is about the principle of self-determination. We were not reclaiming the Falklands for the UK, but for the Falkland Islanders, so that they could choose to make their own decision, as they subsequently did in a referendum. I hate to say that everyone has the same view of these things, but I would imagine that, when the people involved look back, they will think that that was what they were fighting for. In truth, however, most people in the armed forces will say that they fight for the person next to them and the unit that they belong to, as much as for anything else.

I thank everyone who has spoken in the debate, and I again thank Sharon Dowey for ensuring that the issue is not forgotten and that we continue to remember those who served in the Falklands.

We can disagree about how the diplomacy was conducted, but on that point would Murdo Fraser concede that the actions of the UK Government before that point—for example, in taking away HMS Endurance and other steps that sent entirely the wrong message to the Argentinians—resulted in the honourable resignation of Lord Carrington?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer, I could not access my app. I would have voted no.