From ‘Axe Nurses First’ crackpot legal aid protests to Commonwealth Law Conference trips to South Africa, Law Society promises CLA delegates warm welcome in 2015

From crackpot protests outside Holyrood to CLA Conference in South Africa - Law Society President Austin Lafferty. AS THE EIGHTEENTH Commonwealth Law Conference came to a close in Cape Town, South Africa last week, Law Society of Scotland President Austin Lafferty promised delegates "the warmest of welcomes and a truly memorable experience" when Glasgow hosts the next conference in 2015.

The Law Society of Scotland said in a Press Release : The Commonwealth Lawyers' Association announced in January plans to bring its biennial conference to Glasgow in 2015. This followed a successful bid put together by the Law Society of Scotland in partnership with the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC).

The bid also attracted wide support from the Scottish and UK Governments, Faculty of Advocates, VisitScotland and several other Commonwealth Law Societies.

Come 2015, delegates, including judges, lawyers and academics from across the Commonwealth are expected to attend the conference in Glasgow at the SECC, providing a welcome boost to the local economy.

As part of the closing ceremony for this week's conference in Cape Town, the Law Society of Scotland and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau presented Glasgow as an exciting and dynamic city and encouraged commonwealth lawyers to visit.

Speaking to almost 1,000 conference delegates, Law Society President Austin Lafferty said: "Glasgow is a city that offers the best of both worlds. A vibrant, dynamic, friendly place. A city of beautiful architecture, a city rich in culture and art, a city of style.

"It's fitting that the city that will next year host the Commonwealth's greatest sporting event will, less than 12 months later, host the Commonwealth's greatest legal gathering.  It will be a proud moment for my city and for my country.

"I can promise delegates the warmest of welcomes and a truly memorable experience in 2015."

The Advocate General, Lord Wallace of Tankerness attended this week's conference in Cape Town and was a strong public supporter of the Glasgow bid to host the conference.

He said: "Bringing a major international conference like this to Scotland is a major achievement and the Law Society of Scotland has done an excellent job in securing it. There has been a real sense of excitement this week with many Commonwealth lawyers looking forward to visiting Glasgow in 2015, many for the first time.

"Scotland has a proud, historic and distinct legal system. 2015 will provide a great opportunity to showcase the Scots legal profession but also learn from colleagues across the Commonwealth facing many similar challenges and issues in their own countries. It also allows us to show off one of our major cities and Scotland as a whole to professionals from across the globe and I look forward to it being a success in two years' time."

Radical Independence Conference set for 24 November in Glasgow

The Radical Independence Conference, a major gathering of progressive pro-independence forces that will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on Saturday 24 November 2012 will include speakers from across the progressive spectrum of Scottish society and, through a wide ranging set of workshops, the conference is designed to maximise participation from the audience. There will also be speakers flying in from across the globe to discuss building international opposition to austerity, and to voice their support for international coordination.

BOOKINGS for the Radical Independence Conference, and their FACEBOOK page

Radical Independence Conference

OPENING PLENARY: Britain’s winter, Scotland’s spring 10.45-11.30

Patrick Harvie MSP
Patrick Harvie represents the Scottish Green Party as a list MSP in Glasgow. He is a leading environmental, LGBT, and social justice activist inside and outside parliament.

Isobel Lindsay
Isobel Lindsay is vice-chair of Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, convener of Scotland’s for Peace and on the editorial board of Scottish Left Review.

Nathan Sparling
Nathan Sparling is the former NUS Scotland LGBT officer. He played a leading role in the campaign for equal marriage in Scotland.

Cat Boyd
Cat is a leading young trade union activist in Scotland. She is the chair of Coalition of Resistance in Scotland and is a PCS young members officer.

Dennis Canavan
Dennis is a member of the advisory board of Yes Scotland. He is a former Labour and independent MP and MSP and a well respected figure in the labour movement. He played a leading role campaigning for a Scottish parliament.

Susan Archibald
Susan Archibald is a disability rights activist and the founder of the Archibald Foundation. She is currently a Non Executive Director for NHS Fife; member of the DWP’s Equality Reference Group; steering group member of the Human Rights Consortium in Scotland and sits on four cross-party working groups in the Scottish Parliament.

Peter McColl
Peter is the rector of the University of Edinburgh. He is a writer and campaigner and is the co-editor of Bright Green Scotland.

WORKSHOPS #1: 11.45-13.15

1) An ethical foreign policy: scrap Trident, no to NATO, troops out

Isobel Lindsay
Isobel is the vice-chair of Scottish CND, convener of Scotland’s for Peace and is on the editorial board of Scottish Left Review.

Leonna O’Neill
Leona is a leading organiser of Faslane Peace Camp which has carried out direct action in an attempt to stop Trident nuclear weapons.

Joan Humphries
Joan lost her grandson in Afghanistan and has been an outspoken critic of Westminster’s foreign policies. She is active in Military Families Against War and the Stop the War Coalition.

Patrick Hogg
Patrick is an SNP councillor for Cumbernauld South ward, North Lanarkshire Council. He is a biographer of Robert Burns, The Patriot Bard (2008) and co-editor of complete works of Burns – The Canongate Burns, 2001.

Rafeef Ziadah
Rafeef Ziadah is a Palestinian activist, academic and spoken word artist. She is a founding member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) promoting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestement and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in Canada, and an organizer of the international Israeli Apartheid Week. She is a member of the steering committee of the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott Initiative (PACBI).

2) The Scottish republic: what is real democracy?

Allan Armstrong
Allan is a socialist republican activist and the author of a forthcoming book on James Connelly in Edinburgh.

Neil Davidson
Neil Davidson is a senior researcher at Strathclyde University and is the editor of ‘Neoliberal Scotland’ and the author of ‘The Origins of Scottish Nationhood’ and ‘Discovering the Scottish Revolution: 1692-1746′’ for which he won the Isaac Duetscher Memorial Prize.

Republic Scotland
‘Republic Scotland’ is a group that campaigns for an end to the monarchy and an elected head of state. They organised a recent demonstration in Edinburgh against the Queen’s visit to the Scottish capital.

Greame McIvor
Greame is an anti-cuts and trade union activist, he is the Secretary of Solidarity

3) Wealth of the Commons: a Green economy for a progressive, prosperous Scotland

Bright Green
Bright Green, is the UK’s top Green blog, and has been an influential source of news and analysis for progressive movements such as the 2010 student demonstrations and UK Uncut. It supports independence, and has raised concerns about the timidity of SNP plans on NATO, monarchy and monetary policy. Bright Green is proud to be part of the Radical Independence Conference, an exciting effort to expand and advance the possibilities offered by an independent Scotland.

4) What is “Civic Scotland”? Complacency and “consensus” after Devolution

Andy Wightman
Andy is a writer and Scotland’s foremost land rights campaigner. His latest book, The Poor Had No Lawyers, is published by Birlinn.

Gerry Hassan
A writer and commentator on Scottish and UK politics, policy and ideas, and the author and editor of more than a dozen books, including The Modern SNP: From Protest to Power and After Blair: Politics after the New Labour Decade. He organises the Changin’ Scotland sessions in Ullapool.

5) A Scottish utopia? The role of art and culture in changing society

National Collective
National Collective is a platform for artists and creatives to engage with the independence campaign and participate in wider  debates about social and political change in Scotland.

Sinead Dunn
Sinead Dunn was president of Glasgow School of Art Students’ Association 2011-12. She has played a leading role in the campaigns against cuts and fees in Scotland. Currently studying a Masters in research and creative practices.

Sandra Webster
Sandra is an ambassador of the National Theatre of Scotland and a student of creative writing. She is a member of the Acting Strange theatre company, a collective of writers and performers with an interest in political theatre. Sandra is Co-convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party

GLOBAL FORUM 14.00-15.00: Breaking the neoliberal order – towards a global alternative to austerity

Syriza MP
Greek opposition party Syriza - the Coalition of the Radical Left – are at the forefront of opposition to austerity in Europe.

Bernadette McAliskey
Bernadette is an Irish socialist and republican political activist. She served as a Member of Parliament at Westminster from 1969 to 1974 for the Mid Ulster constituency, infamously slapping the Tory Home Secretary in the face for arguing that British soldiers only fired in self-defence at Bloody Sunday. In recent years, McAliskey has played a leading role in human rights campaigning. She is a founding member of the Free Marian Price campaign.

Danielle Obono
Danielle is a leading member of the Front de Gauche (Left Front) which is shaking up French politics. TheirPresidential candidate, Jean-Luc Melenchon, received more than 10% in the last elections on a programme of attacking finance capital and calling a constituent assembly to take power back into the hands of the people. Danielle was a student leader at the Sorbonne during the great French student revolts last decade and a key organiser in the French anticapitalist and anti war movements.

Benoit Renaud
Benoit is the head of the National Coordinating Committee for Québec Solidaire. He is also their former Secretary General. He was a leading organizer of both the anti-globalisation mobilizations (such as the Summit of the Americas in Québec City in April 2001) and the movement against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Speaker from Euskal Herria Bildu
EH Bildu is the party of the Basque pro-independence radical left. After decades of repression and state bans, EH Bildu were finally allowed to contest  regional elections in October 2012, taking nearly 25% of the vote and becoming the second largest party in the Basque parliament.

James Foley
James is the author of ‘Britain Must Break: The Internationalist Case for Independence’. He is currently conducting new research into Scottish finance capital and the Scottish banking system at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of a forthcoming book on independence, the crisis and the left.

WORKSHOPS #2: 15.15 – 16.45

6) Making it happen: strategies for independence

Mike Small
Mike is a co-editor of Bella Caledonia. He is a freelance writer, micro-publisher, festival organiser and food activist. He was a founder of Product magazine (first launched as Red Herring in 1998) and helped found Indymedia Scotland. He writes for Scottish Left Review, Variant, Red Pepper, New Statesman, the Guardian, and Open Democracy.

Shona McAlpine
Shona Manages the Scottish Independence Convention website, and is a well known figure on the Scottish political scene.

Pete Ramand
Pete is the Black Minority Ethnic Convenor for Edinburgh University Students Association. He was a founding member of the Coalition of Resistance (Scotland) and is currently writing a book on independence, the crisis and the left.

Gail Lythgoe
Gail is an organiser for Yes Scotland.

7) After fortress Britain: anti-racism, borders and asylum in Scotland

Unity in the Community
Unity in the Community is an organisation set up to offer practical solidarity and aid to all asylum seekers and refugees.

Aamer Anwar
Aamer is Scotland’s leading human rights lawyer. He was a prominent figure in the anti-war movement and a leading organiser of demonstrations in defence of Glasgow’s refugee community. He regularly appears on television to discuss a range of political issues.

Margaret Woods
Margaret is the co-chair of the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees which plays a key role in defending the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow.

8) Organising the 99 percent: building in trade unions and communities

John Duffy
John is Scottish Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union and is convenor of the SNP Trade Union Group.
Save the Accord Campaign
Representatives from the Save the Accord Campaign which fought against the closure of  a day care centre for people with learning disabilities in the East End of Glasgow. The campaign has been an inspiration to people across the anti-cuts movement in Scotland.

Lillian Macer
Lilian is the Scottish convenor of the public sector union Unison. She will be speaking specifically on the topic of Unison’s ‘fairer future’ vision of Scotland.

Gregor Gall
Gregor is a Professor of industrial relations. He is the author and editor of numerous books, and is a regular contributor to The Morning Star, The Guardian’s “Comment is free” website, the Frontline magazine and The Scotsman. He also provides research and consultancy to a number of unions, particularly the Fire Brigades Union, and is a frequent commentator in the media on matters of unions and industrial conflict.

Sarah Glynn
Sarah organises the Scottish Unemployed Workers Network and is heavily involved in anti-cuts and anti-war campaigning in Dundee.

Jack Ferguson
Jack is the Community Organiser for Unite the Union in Scotland. Unite have recently established a community membership initiative to give unemployed workers, students and community campaigners a voice and to connect trade-unions to the communities.

9) The radical intellect: the right to education and the future of work

Ross Greer
Ross is a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for the Clydebank and Milngavie Constituency and a founding member of Youth and Students for Independence.

Colm Breathnach
Colm lectures in Geography at Strathclyde University and is active in the University and College Lecturers Union. He specialises in the Geographies of social class and is the author of ‘Places of resistance: Theory, practice and experience’.

Sarah Collins
Sarah Collins is a member of the STUC Youth Committee and is a trade union activist in Ayrshire UNISON.

Beti Scott
Beti is the Equal Opportunities Officer at Edinburgh University Students Association. She has been a leading member of the student movement in Scotland and has organised demonstrations against cuts and fees.
Penny Gower
Penny is the President of EIS-FELA, the colleges section of the Education Institute of Scotland. She organised the recent march against FE college cuts in Glasgow.

Youth Fight for Jobs
Youth Fight for Jobs and Education is a campaigning organisation fighting against mass unemployment.

10) Women and Independence: a new paradigm

Ann Lynch
Ann, a long-term campaigner for independence, has been a key organiser of anti-fuel poverty campaigns. She is an active member of the Clydebank Trades council and in the movement against austerity.

Dr. Lorna J Waite
Writer and researcher, author of The Steel Garden and one of the editors of ‘the forthcoming Rethinking Highland Art: The Visual Significance of Gaelic. She is a Gaelic learner, a peace activist and is involved with the Women for Independence group. She has never belonged to a political party and has been a lifelong supporter of Scottish independence and nuclear disarmament, active in Scottish CND and Trident Ploughshares.

Niki Kandirikirira
Director of Engender. For more than 20 years Engender has worked to make Scotland a fairer, safer place where women can flourish and contribute to all areas of life with dignity, freedom and justice. We’ve worked at the highest levels of public life, aiming for the stars, on a shoestring budget, with hundreds of committed and hardworking women and men from all walks of life, to increase women’s power and influence, and to support people, organisations, and our government to make equality a reality.

Chloe Meehan
Chloe is president of the Glasgow University Feminist Society.

FINAL PLENARY: Another Scotland is possible 17.00-18.00

This session be based around report backs from the workshops.

Robin McAlpine will also move a ‘Declaration’ that will be distributed at the start of the day. Robin works for the Jimmy Reid Foundation and is the editor of the ‘Scottish Left Review’. He blogged on the 2011 elections for the Scottish Independence Convention.

Jonathon Shafi, an initial signatory to the conference will make a short summation of the conference to bring the event to a close.

Chair: Pete Murray, former NUJ President

'Medics should be prosecuted' says father of teenage daughter who died of paracetamol overdose at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital

A grieving father has called for Doctors at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow to be prosecuted after his daughter died from a massive overdose of paracetamol painkillers, details of which came to light in a Fatal Accident Inquiry undertaken by Sheriff Andrew Cubie who ruled her death in 2008 could have been avoided - but made no recommendations.

The report from the Daily Record newspaper follows :

Grieving dad plans court action after paracetamol overdose leads to daughter's death

Feb 5 2011 Craig McDonald

A HEARTBROKEN dad yesterday called for medics to be prosecuted after his daughter died from a massive overdose of painkillers.

Danielle Welsh, 19, was given almost double the recommended amount of paracetamol at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital.

Her father John blasted: "The hospital staff have killed Danielle - why is no one being prosecuted?"

Danielle, who was just 4ft tall because of a condition that affected her growth, died from liver failure because of the overdose.

A fatal accident inquiry yesterday ruled her death in 2008 could have been avoided - but made no recommendations.

John asked: "What's the point in having a 12-day inquiry for the sheriff to sit on the fence at the end of it?

"He should be condemning the medical staff for their actions but he's basically saying, 'Mistakes have been made and that's it'. We are devastated - and that's putting it mildly."

John, from Glasgow, added: "I am a driver with the council and if I was to knock someone down, I would expect to be prosecuted. Why are medical people treated differently?

"They don't seem to be accountable for their actions, even when they get it badly wrong. There has been no action taken against those responsible - no sacking, no suspension, nothing.

"Our lives have been ruined."

He said that he would "definitely" be looking at taking further legal action against those involved.

In a written ruling, sheriff Andrew Cubie said Dr Shamita Das and pharmacist Lesley Murray should have checked Danielle's dosage as intravenous paracetamol was not commonly used. And he said nursing staff should also have checked the appropriate dosage for her weight.

Last July, Dr Das told the inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court that she prescribed an adult dose of intravenous paracetamol for Danielle on June 18, 2008, not realising how light she was.

The teenager was seen by 11 nurses and 12 different doctors and received 20 doses ofparacetamol. Not one of the doctors noted the overdose.

Sheriff Cubie said medical staff had "misplaced assumed familiarity" with paracetamol because it was so common.

He added: "There was no shortage of information about the intravenous administration if the medical personnel had felt the need to check. The tragedy is that no one did."

Greater Glasgow Health Board have since changed their guidelines.

But John said her family - including mum Margaret and Danielle's sister and brother, Catherine, 24, and Martin, 18 - had been left with "no faith or trust" in hospitals or doctors.

Glasgow City Council to evict Grandmother from home with £30k purchase order ‘that wouldn’t cover cocaine scandal bill of shamed ex leader Purcell'

Glasgow City Council evicts Grandmother for £30k to make way for Commonwealth Games. GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL have been granted permission to evict a grandmother from her own home to make way for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, offering the meagre sum of £30,000 in a compulsory purchase order which today was dubbed by a legal insider “so cheap for the Council it wouldn’t even cover the amount spent on & used to cover up the scandal of cocaine usage by it’s ex shamed leader, Steven Purcell”.

For a reminder of the Steven Purcell cocaine scandal and its cost to Glasgow, read our earlier coverage HERE.

Advocate Gerry Moynihan, representing Glasgow City Council was on hand to put things right (for the Council) and argue Mrs Jaconelli could “appeal the compensation through the lands tribunal if she felt that it was not enough.” (oh, the Lands Tribunal …. riiiight – Ed)

The Lands Tribunal ‘for Scotland’ is in effect an independent civil court. It has statutory power to deal with various types of dispute involving land or property. At the request of parties, it can also act as an arbiter to deal with any type of dispute. However, if there is no such agreement it can only hear cases covered by the statutes mentioned at Specific Statutory Jurisdictions. You will find a schedule of forthcoming Tribunal hearings below.

The Tribunal has a President who has overall responsibility for the organisation of its work, and three Members who have recognised expertise in the fields of law and surveying. The current President of the Tribunal is the Hon. Lord McGhie, who is also Chairman of the Scottish Land Court. The present Members are John Wright QC, Kenneth Barclay FRICS, and Ian Darling FRICS.

There is a close relationship between the Lands Tribunal and the Scottish Land Court: they share the same offices, and the President of the Lands Tribunal is also Chairman of the Land Court. However, the work they do is quite distinct, and they have separate administrative staff and systems. The Land Court deals with cases involving agriculture and is mainly concerned in matters involving landlords and tenants. Most disputes about rights to land (for example, disputes over ownership or succession) are dealt with by the ordinary courts: the Sheriff Court or the Court of Session.

(Neu Labour in Glasgow gone wrong again evicting ordinary folks ? dont worry Ye Olde Labour has returned to put things [not] right – Ed (of SLR, not the wrong trousers Ed of returning Ye Olde Labour)

BBC News reports on Glasgow City Council’s cheap eviction compensation package, so cheap its cheaper than cocaine, legal fees, and the costs of covering up the occasional cocaine scandal ….

Glasgow grandmother faces Commonwealth Games eviction

A Glasgow grandmother is facing eviction from her home of 34 years to make way for the Commonwealth Games.The flat where Margaret Jaconelli lives in Dalmarnock is in an area earmarked for the athletes village.

Glasgow City Council was previously granted a compulsory purchase order for the house for £30,000. After Mrs Jaconelli refused, the authority raised a civil action at Glasgow Sheriff Court and were given permission to evict her by Thursday. The court heard how Mrs Jaconelli's flat was one of several homes subject to compulsory purchase orders. She is now the only remaining resident and has been living in an empty tower block for some time.

In a statement she read to the court, she said: "We're being told that properties are being pulled down for regeneration but it's more like degeneration. "Communities have disappeared and friendships have been lost by the council pulling down large parts of the east end so that it is now reminiscent of Beirut."

Mrs Jaconelli said she was the "sole survivor of a council policy to raze Dalmarnock to the ground".

The grandmother added: "I'm just a wee person from the east end of Glasgow and all I'm doing is fighting for a home that my husband has worked hard for for 34 years. They're stealing my property after us working so hard for it." Mrs Jaconelli added that she would have difficulty buying her family a "tent or an outside toilet" with the £30,000 the council are giving her as compensation.

Advocate Gerry Moynihan, representing Glasgow City Council, told the court that Mrs Jaconelli could appeal the compensation through the lands tribunal if she felt that it was not enough. But the advocate added that the law states that the dispute over compensation should not stop the compulsory purchase or Mrs Jaconelli's eviction. Mr Moynihan also said the council had offered Mrs Jaconelli and her family alternative accommodation but she had rejected their offers.

Mrs Jaconelli responded that the properties which were offered were too far away from Dalmarnock and the rent was too expensive. She currently owns her property and has no rent to pay.

Sheriff Richard McFarlane QC told Mrs Jaconelli that he recognised the seriousness of the case and the consequences she faced but was bound by the law. The sheriff granted the council permission to evict her within two days time.

Fatal Accident Inquiry into death of Lisa Norris abandoned after expert witness ‘changes his mind’ over radiation overdose at Beatson Institute

The Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of teenager Lisa Norris, who was given huge overdoses of radiation during treatment at the Beatson Oncology Centre in Glasgow for a brain tumour, was abandoned today, after the ‘expert witness’, Professor Sikora ‘revised’ his initial opinion that Lisa might have survived, had it not been for the overdoses of radiation treatment at the Beatson Centre. The medic who administered the overdoses of radiation to Lisa, kept his job, reported the Daily Record.

During today’s hearing the Procurator Fiscal in the case, Lesley Thomson was at pains to inform the court of the following : “It is clear that there no longer exists any controversy surrounding the cause of Lisa's death and the cause of Lisa's tragic death is clear” (Hands up anyone who believes that ?) Ms Thomson’s statement in full can be read along with the coverage of today’s events from BBC News, which has left many wondering over the events of today and the tragic circumstances of Lisa Norris death :

BBC News reports :

Radiation overdose 'did not kill' teenager Lisa Norris

A fatal accident inquiry into the death of a teenager who was given accidental overdoses of radiation during treatment for a brain tumour has been abandoned.

Lisa Norris, who was 15 and from Girvan in Ayrshire, died a few months after the treatment at Beatson Oncology Centre in Glasgow in 2006. The inquiry was abandoned after all parties agreed her illness caused her death rather than the overdose. The proceedings were formally wound up at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday.

Miss Norris was given 58% too much radiation during her treatment at the Beatson and died at her family home on 18 October 2006. An internal inquiry following her death found that she had died from her tumour and not from the overdose.

“It is clear that there no longer exists any controversy surrounding the cause of Lisa's death and the cause of Lisa's tragic death is clear” - Procurator Fiscal Lesley Thomson

However, that was disputed by an independent report from one of the country's top cancer experts.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday, Procurator Fiscal Lesley Thomson said any disagreement among experts had now been resolved. "The medical experts who are all in full possession of the facts and the initial differing opinions have ultimately concluded that there is no causal link between the radiation overdose and Lisa's death," she said.

Ms Thomson said that the Norris family also accepted this conclusion and were of the opinion that a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) should not go ahead.

"Shortly after the continued preliminary hearing on 22 February the representatives of Lisa's family advised me that the family had reached the view that they were content that a full investigation had been carried out, that there was no causal link between the radiation overdose and Lisa's death and that they did not want the fatal accident inquiry and the leading of evidence now to take place," she said.

'No dispute'

Ms Thomson added: "They also accepted that the Beatson, since the date of the radiation overdose error, had taken steps to rectify the problem by reviewing their systems and had improved and replaced them to seek to ensure that such an error could not occur again.

"Following the representations therefore by the family and the Greater Glasgow Health Board it is clear that there no longer exists any controversy surrounding the cause of Lisa's death and the cause of Lisa's tragic death is clear."

Ms Thomson told the court that as there were "no matters of dispute that require to be aired in public, it is not appropriate to cause any further anxiety and distress to the bereaved relatives by the hearing of evidence".

She asked for the fatal accident inquiry to be abandoned and said such a move would also avoid any unnecessary expenses to the parties involved and the public purse.

I think the family are disappointed that Professor Sikora was unable to adhere to his initial view but they accept that it was not appropriate for the FAI to proceed in these circumstances - Cameron Fyfe (Norris family lawyer)

Ms Thomson also asked that the court make a formal determination that Miss Norris died as a result of "recurrent pineoblastoma" or brain tumour. That was agreed to by Sheriff Principal James Alistair Taylor.

Miss Norris's father, Ken, did not want to comment directly on the proceedings.

But his lawyer, Cameron Fyfe, said: "We had a report from Professor Sikora, an expert in oncology, who confirmed that Lisa would probably have survived had it not been for the overdose.

"After further inquiry the professor revised his report to say it was a possibility, not a probability.

"Proof in Scots law is based on the balance of probabilities and that is not enough for the fiscal to proceed with the fatal accident inquiry.

"I think the family are disappointed that Professor Sikora was unable to adhere to his initial view but they accept that it was not appropriate for the FAI to proceed in these circumstances."

Mr Fyfe said the Norris family would continue its civil action against NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde over the treatment she was given. However, they will now seek compensation only for the pain and suffering that Miss Norris went through as a result of the overdose, and not for her death.

and the statement in full from Ms Thomson, the Procurator Fiscal :

In full: Statement on Lisa Norris FAI

Lesley Thomson (pictured), area procurator fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin, invited Glasgow Sheriff Court to make a formal determination in terms of Section 6 of the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976.

It reads as follows - 6(a) that Lisa Jayne Norris died on 18 October 2006 at 16 Downhill Road, Girvan, Ayrshire; (b) that the cause of death was recurrent pineoblastoma.

Here is her statement in full.

"I am seeking a formal determination at today's FAI hearing. I do not propose to lead any evidence and I present to your Lordship the post mortem report in respect of Lisa Jayne Norris.

"I can advise that steps have been taken to stand down witnesses cited to give evidence and to alert parties' representatives in advance of this morning's hearing of the Crown' position as set out in this statement.

"I understand that all parties are content with the Crown's approach today.

"The background and reason for my submission today is as follows:

"In late July 2005 Lisa Jayne Norris (born 7 April 1990 - then aged 15) contacted NHS 24 and thereafter her GP with complaints of abdominal pain, vomiting, fever and headaches.

"From late July until mid August Lisa attended her GP, was referred to the paediatric Department of Ayr Hospital and then admitted to Ayr Hospital on 17 August and transferred to the Southern General Hospital on 18 August.

"At that time following a biopsy she was diagnosed as having pineoblastoma.

"Lisa's treatment for this cancer was a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She received chemotherapy at the Sick Children's Hospital Yorkhill and the radiotherapy at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.

"It has been established and accepted by all parties that she received an accidental overdose of radiotherapy treatment at the Beatson between 5 January 2006 and 31 January 2006.

"This error was discovered on 31 January 2006. An investigation into the circumstances of that error was carried out by Dr Arthur Johnston, Inspector appointed by the Scottish Ministers.

"Lisa died on 18 October 2006 and the circumstances of her death including the cause of her death and the cause of the accidental overdose were investigated by the Crown including the instruction of medical experts.

"At the same time these causes were investigated by representatives for Lisa's parents and by Greater Glasgow Health Board.

"It is of course my duty as the Procurator Fiscal to enquire into certain categories of deaths including the accidental and unexplained to establish exact causal links and to allay any public anxiety and concern.

"Thereafter I report the results of my enquiries to Crown Counsel.

"I did that in this case and a Fatal Accident Inquiry was instructed by the Lord Advocate in order to establish the cause of death and whether or not there was any causal link with the radiation overdose.

"During the investigations by parties there were differing medical views expressed by experts and that continued until very recently. One expert thought there was a link between the accidental overdose of radiation therapy and Lisa's death.

"However, by mid-February 2010 as a result of further detailed enquiries and discussions with experts it was established and agreed that this was not the case and that no such link could be substantiated.

"The medical experts who are all in full possession of the facts and the initial differing opinions have ultimately concluded that there is no causal link between the radiation overdose and Lisa's death.

"At the second preliminary hearing on 22 February 2010 the representatives for Lisa's family indicated to your Lordship that the family accepted that there was no causal link between the accidental overdose and her death.

"In light of the statements made to the court by the representatives of the family and Greater Glasgow Health Board that further consideration be given to the holding of a Fatal Accident Inquiry at which evidence would be led I considered I should review the circumstances.

"Shortly after the continued preliminary hearing on 22 February the representatives of Lisa's family advised me that the family had reached the view that they were content that a full investigation had been carried out, that there was no causal link between the radiation overdose and Lisa's death and that they did not want the Fatal Accident Inquiry and the leading of evidence now to take place.

"They also accepted that the Beatson since the date of the radiation overdose error had taken steps to rectify the problem by reviewing their systems and had improved and replaced them to seek to ensure that such an error could not occur again.

"Following the representations therefore by the family and the Greater Glasgow Health Board it is clear that there no longer exists any controversy surrounding the cause of Lisa's death and the cause of Lisa's tragic death is clear.

"The decision to hold the Fatal Accident Inquiry at public expense has been reviewed.

"There is a continuing duty on the Crown to review the need for a Fatal Accident Inquiry in light of materially changed circumstances and if, as in this case, there are no matters of dispute that require to be aired in public it is not appropriate to cause any further anxiety and distress to the bereaved relatives by the hearing of evidence - nor the incurring of expenses by any of the parties' representatives or indeed the cost of the FAI much of which would fall on the public purse.

"However, in saying that I do need to make it absolutely clear that the decision was not taken on the grounds of costs but on the issues of causation and the steps taken by the Beatson to address the radiation overdose error.

"In all the circumstances therefore and in view of the following facts:

• that there is now no dispute about the accidental radiation overdose error

• the constructive steps taken since by the Beatson to review and improve systems

• and the cause of Lisa's death having been established and agreed

the circumstances have been reviewed and the Crown is now seeking a formal determination in terms of Section 6 of the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 as follows:-

6(a) that Lisa Jayne Norris died on 18 October 2006 at 16 Dowhill Road, Girvan, Ayrshire;

(b) that the cause of death was recurrent pineoblastoma.

"May I conclude by offering my condolences to Lisa's parents and family for their tragic loss, a loss which they have borne throughout with great dignity."

Solicitors from Glasgow law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing accused in da Vinci 'Madonna with the Yarnwinder' £4million extortion plot

A cautionary tale of paintings floating around the offices of lawyers, in this particular case, the offices of HBJ Gateley Wareing in Glasgow is told in recent headlines over the now recovered Leonardo da Vinci painting, the Madonna with the Yarnwinder, stolen from the Duke of Bucchleuch’s Drumlanrig castle, near Dumfries in August 2003 in a daylight robbery. Several solicitors are accused of being involved in the alleged £4million extortion plot …

The Guardian reports :

The great Leonardo da Vinci heist: solicitor accused of £4m extortion plot

• Five on trial over threat to destroy £50m masterpiece
• Theft from duke's castle remains Britain's biggest

By Severin Carrell
guardian.co.uk, Monday 1 March 2010

A solicitor has been accused along with four other men of threatening to destroy a stolen Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece unless they were paid £4.25m, in a conspiracy allegedly hatched in the offices of one of Glasgow's leading law firms.

Marshall Ronald, 53, a lawyer from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, has gone on trial for allegedly helping to organise a plot to extort the money from the Duke of Buccleuch for the safe return of Leonardo's Madonna of the Yarnwinder.

The high court in Edinburgh was told today that the conspiracy was organised with the help of two co-accused from Glasgow and two other men from Ormskirk, Lancashire.

The five alleged conspirators are accused of trying to extort £4.25m from the duke and his son Richard, the 10th and current duke, by "menacing them" and "putting them in a state of fear and alarm and apprehension" that the painting would be damaged or destroyed if the ransom was not paid.

Valued at £30m to £50m, the painting was the centrepiece of the then duke's collection at Drumlanrig castle, near Dumfries, reputed to be the UK's most valuable collection in private hands, when it was stolen in August 2003 in a daylight robbery. The heist remains the UK's biggest art theft.

The painting was recovered in October 2007 after police raided the offices of the law firm, HBJ Gateley Wareing, in Glasgow. The duke, a keen fine art collector, had died aged 83 a month before it was recovered.

The court was told that the two alleged thieves, not among the five men on trial, had threatened to kill a young tour guide and brandished an axe at other staff when they took the painting from its protective case.

The casually-dressed men had been posing as tourists, and escaped through a window at Drumlanrig castle, the ancestral home of the dukes of Buccleuch, carrying the Leonardo under their arms.

Alison Russell, then an 18-year-old who had just begun her first season as a tour guide, told the court the two men were the first visitors to arrive at the gallery housing the painting, immediately after the castle opened one morning in late August 2003.They had ignored all the castle's other galleries and her attempt to describe the collection.

Then, she told the court, one of the thieves "put his hand over my mouth and told me I had to lie down on the ground or he would kill me if I didn't".

Sarah Skene, 73, another tour guide, said she heard "a commotion" in the staircase hall housing the painting, and heard a male colleague shouting "please don't do it. Retreat, retreat."

She came in and saw one of the thieves wielding the axe. "He was standing guard on the picture," she said. "After it was done, they disappeared out of the window."

The jury was shown two CCTV images showing the thieves: a thick-set man wearing a white sunhat and a gilet-style waistcoat, and a slimmer man with a baseball cap and dark-coloured casual jacket. Both men walked under the CCTV camera with their faces obscured by their hats.

Currently in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh on temporary loan, the painting, which measures 20in x 14in, shows the Madonna with the infant Jesus and the cross-shaped yarnwinder, a symbol of Christ's crucifixion.

The prosecution claims that in July 2007, nearly four years after the theft, Ronald, the solicitor, had contacted the duke's insurers and their loss adjusters and claimed he could arrange for the painting's return. He allegedly told two undercover police officers posing as the duke's representatives that "volatile individuals" were involved who would "do something very silly" if the police were informed.

Between 10 August 2007 and 4 October 2007, Ronald repeatedly asked the detectives to pay £2m into his own solicitor's firm's account and another £2.25m into a Swiss bank account, the charges said.

During those weeks, Ronald and two co-defendants, Calum Jones, 45, and David Boyce, 63, drafted an agreement at the offices of HBJ Gateley Wareing to organise the safe return of the Leonardo, once the £2m had been paid to Ronald's firm.

The charges allege that in late September and early October 2007, Ronald embezzled £500,000 from his clients' accounts and arranged to take possession of the painting, from persons unknown.

On 29 September, Ronald bought acid-free paper and a folio case, allegedly to transport the painting. Four days later, he allegedly paid £350,000 to another of his co-accused, a builder from Ormskirk called Robert Graham, 57, for the painting.

With the last defendant, John Doyle, 61, also from Ormskirk, Ronald and Graham allegedly took possession of the stolen painting – an offence similar to receiving stolen goods known as "reset" in Scots law – and then took it to Jones and Boyce at their offices in Glasgow.

On 4 October, they allegedly showed the paintings to the two undercover detectives, who were known to them as David Restor and John Craig, demanding a total of £4.25m payable in two large sums for its safe return.

The trial continues and is expected to last for up to six weeks

Legal Aid Chief Douglas Haggarty charged with soliciting rent boy in Glasgow shopping centre

The head of Legal Services for the Scottish Legal Aid Board, Douglas Haggarty, has been charged with soliciting a boy prostitute in a well known Glasgow shopping centre.

No comment from SLAB on the arrest, or the fact that SLAB member Paul McBride weighed in to represent Haggarty. (ye gods ! – Ed)

Exclusive: Legal aid chief arrested with rent boy in shopping centre toilet

Exclusive: Legal aid chief arrested with rent boy in shopping centre toilet

May 3 2009 Derek Alexander

A LEGAL Aid boss has been arrested in a public toilet with a rent boy.

Douglas Haggarty, 57, was arrested in a shopping mall after being found with the teenage prostitute.

He is the head of legal services at the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) - where his duties include lecturing lawyers on their public conduct.

Haggarty was arrested in British Home Stores in the St Enoch Centre, Glasgow.

Security guards alerted police after the known rent boy was seen following Haggarty into the shop's toilets.

Both men were arrested and Haggarty was charged with soliciting in a public place.

The procurator fiscal started summary proceedings against Haggarty.

But his lawyer Paul McBride QC - who sits as a member on the Scottish Legal Aid Board - asked the Crown Office to drop the charges, claiming there was not enough evidence to convict.

The procurator fiscal has decided to scrap court proceedings and deal with the case by a direct measure. These are powers available to prosecutors to deal with cases quickly.

They include issuing a fine, compensation order and written warning about future conduct. The powers available to procurators fiscal were extended last year.

The rent boy also had court proceedings against him dropped and was issued with a direct measure.

Haggarty, who lives in the Merchant City area of Glasgow, started work as a solicitor in 1975.

He helped Lord Bonomy compile his 2002 report on improving the practices and procedure of the High Court.

Haggarty submitted a paper to a Scottish Parliament finance committee on criminal procedure in 2003 and has been a member of other High Court review teams.

The legal aid chief, who declined to comment, has been off work sick since the incident in January.

A slab spokesman said: "The Board is aware of the case and that it has not been prosecuted. It's not appropriate for us to comment further."

Haggarty isn't the first SLAB boss to be arrested and dogged by controversy.

Dr Richard Scott, former head of SLAB, was twice arrested over incidents with his wife.

Arrest In January 1997 he was charged with three assaults but only convicted of breach of the peace and disorderly behaviour.

Six months later Scott was arrested again when police were called to his home but the Crown Office decided not to bring criminal charges.

Scott stood down as head of SLAB in 1999.

Law & Order : Crown Office accused of corruption as man who threatened to blow up mosque escapes terrorism charges

While it is generally accepted that anyone who merely uses the word “bomb” or “beheading” is drummed up on terror charges, has their phones bugged, and a camera shoved up their toilet in surveillance state Britain, Scotland’s Crown Office appear to be operating double standards in not bringing terror charges against someone who threatened to blow up a mosque and behead Muslims.

We would point out the Crown Office don’t always let people off the hook who use the word ‘bomb’, as Advocate Dr Raj Jandoo found out not so long ago : Lawyer found guilty of bomb scare

(More institutional double standards & racism from the Crown Office as we have come to expect over the years ? – Ed)

The Scotsman reports :

'I'll bomb a mosque' – but racist escapes terror charge

Published Date: 15 April 2009
By MICHAEL HOWIE

THE Crown Office has been accused of double standards by Scotland's biggest Islamic group for not bringing terrorism charges against a man who threatened to blow up a mosque and behead Muslims.

The Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) has written to Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini querying the decision to prosecute Neil MacGregor for a breach of the peace, not terrorism offences.

MacGregor, 35, has already admitted threatening to blow up Scotland's biggest mosque and behead one Muslim a week until every mosque is shut down.

He will be sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday.

"There has been criticism for the lack of exposure this case has got, but this stems from how the case was originally handled," Osama Saeed, the SIF's chief executive, said. "Had he been a Muslim, we suspect counter-terror police would have been involved from the outset, and it would have been processed in a completely different manner."

Mr Saeed drew a parallel with the case of Mohammed Atif Siddique, a student from Alva, Clackmannanshire, who was jailed for eight years for internet-related terrorist crimes.

"No-one seems to have looked into the internet habits that radicalised MacGregor to take copycat revenge for (British hostage] Ken Bigley's assassination in Iraq," he said.

"We can be sure if he had been Muslim and had been inspired to replicate it, the result would have been quite different."

Mr Saeed insisted he was not seeking to minimise the seriousness of Islamic terrorism cases.

"All we are calling for is consistency, and the authorities have to explain why the heavy books of the Terrorism Acts were not thrown at MacGregor," he said.

"Islamic and far-right extremism are stablemates when it comes to violence – a toxic mix of ideology and grievance. We hear glib assurances that far-right extremism is being dealt with, but the evidence says otherwise."

The SIF was founded last year, describing itself as a "platform for action", and has received £400,000 from the Scottish Government.

Mr Saeed said the federation would request evidence from the case to be released under Freedom of Information laws.

An earlier hearing was told MacGregor admitted sending an e-mail to Strathclyde Police, threatening to blow up Glasgow Central Mosque if certain demands were not met.

Included in the message was a threat to behead one Muslim a week, in the same manner that construction worker Mr Bigley was killed after he was kidnapped in Iraq in 2004.

The court heard MacGregor, from Derbyshire, followed that e-mail with a 999 call to police on 5 February, 2007, in which he claimed he was from the National Front and that a bomb was going to go off at Glasgow's Central Mosque.

Police searched the building for explosive devices, but failed to find anything suspicious.

In his e-mail, MacGregor wrote: "I'm a proud racist and National Front member.

Our demands are very small. Close all mosques in Scotland, we see this is very easy – even you guys can handle that."

He then wrote: "If our demands aren't met by next Friday we'll kidnap one Muslim and execute him or her on the internet, just like they did to our Ken Bigley."

A Crown Office spokesman said that MacGregor was indicted on a charge of breach of the peace, aggravated by racial hatred, "following full and careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances in this case".