I quote a letter on the Scotland Bill that my predecessor received from the then Secretary of State for Scotland, Donald Dewar, who of course later became First Minister. In the context of Stewart v Secretary of State for Scotland, he wrote:"It was made very clear by the House of Lords in their recent decision in Stewart v Secretary of State that they considered that the guarantee of judicial independence of Sheriffs rested on the fact that before any Sheriff could be dismissed it was necessary to have a report from the Lord President and the Lord Justice Clerk.