- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 10 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any material evidence from the scene of the Marion Ross murder in Kilmarnock in January 1997 has been misplaced or lost.
Answer
I am not aware of any of thematerial evidence that was removed from the murder scene having been misplaced orlost. However, the original negatives and photographs of fingerprint Y7 are notavailable. Other photographs of Y7 remain available, as does the original mark onthe doorframe.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 7 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how the construction of the new A8000 to M9 link road will be funded.
Answer
Funding of the route upgradeis a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority in the first instance. However,we are committed to underwriting the costs of the upgrade of theA8000-M9 Spur, to a maximum of £24 million over three years.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23744 by Cathy Jamieson on 24 March 2006, what was meant by her, “I understand why people are concerned”.
Answer
I refer the member to thequestion S2W-23744 answered on 24 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23996 by Cathy Jamieson on 20 March 2006, whether, in addition to advising anyone with “credible and reliable information regarding alleged criminal activity” that such information should be passed to the police, it has itself passed on to police any allegations brought to its attention regarding the possibility that US agencies have used Scottish airports as refuelling stops for flights engaged in the process of “extraordinary rendition”.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-23748, S2W-23831, S2W-23835 and S2W-23994 by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2006 where it states that it “is not aware of any credible and reliable information to support the allegations that Scottish airports are being used” for the purpose of transferring “individuals through Scottish territory or airspace where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face a real risk of torture” by US agencies, whether this means that it discounts the evidence presented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that there have been instances of such transfers as being either credible or reliable.
Answer
I refer the Member to thequestion S2W-23994 answered on 16 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-23748, S2W-23831, S2W-23835 and S2W-23994 by Cathy Jamieson on 16 March 2006 where it states that it “is not aware of any credible and reliable information to support the allegations that Scottish airports are being used” for the purpose of transferring “individuals through Scottish territory or airspace where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face a real risk of torture” by US agencies, whether this indicates that it does not believe that this is happening presently, or has happened in the past.
Answer
I refer the Member to thequestion S2W-23994 answered on 16 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 4 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-20247, S2W-23158 and S2W-23156 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 November 2005, 17 February and 10 March 2006 respectively, how these answers indicate (a) whether the dispute on the identification of certain fingerprints between the Aberdeen Fingerprint Bureau and the Scottish Criminal Record Office has been resolved, (b) who has responsibility for deciding how and when this dispute will be resolved in the event that it has not been resolved thus far and (c) what criteria will be used for the dispute resolution in the event that it has not been resolved thus far.
Answer
The disagreement concerns anidentification in a case that has been concluded. There is no evidence thatthere is any disagreement within the Scottish Fingerprint Service (SFS) aboutany other case. The previous answers to which the question refers set out themeasures put in place since the disputed identification demonstrate thesignificant progress that has been made to transform the SFS in the last nineyears.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases there have been where fingerprint evidence prepared or presented by the Scottish Criminal Record Office has been withheld or withdrawn in each of the last 10 years.
Answer
Fingerprint evidence isprepared at the request of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service(COPFS). The decision about the use of this evidence is a matter for COPFS. the Scottish Criminal Record Office know of two cases in the last 10 years wherethe reliability of the identification was such that the evidence was not usedin court.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate or Minister for Justice had discussed or exchanged correspondence on the Shirley McKie case with the Convener of the Justice 1 Committee prior to that committee’s meeting on 22 February 2006 and, if so, what the subject matter was of these contacts.
Answer
There was no correspondencewith Justice 1 Committee about the Shirley McKie case before 22 February 2006. Fromtime to time both the Lord Advocate and I have had informal discussions with theConvenors of both Justice Committees about a range of issues.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 3 April 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to investigate the reports in the press that Federal Bureau of Investigation officials requested that David Grieve not give evidence in defence of Shirley McKie at the trial in which she was acquitted of having committed perjury in 1999 and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.
Answer
There is no basis for me orany other Scottish Minister to instruct an investigation into these reports. The comments in the press attributed to Mr Grievesuggest that he believed there to be a link between the Shirley McKie andLockerbie prosecutions. There is no such link. SCRO were not involved in thefingerprint evidence in the Lockerbie case. Accordingly no investigation intothis matter is required.
