Scottish Conservative's Holyrood Justice Committee boss Bill Aitken resigns over prostitute rape comments after furore reaches Parliament

Scots Tory Bill Aitken MSP comments over prostitutes & rape have led to his resignation as Convener of Holyrood’s Justice Committee. BILL AITKEN MSP, the Scottish Conservative’s shadow Community Safety Minister and Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has resigned his position after a furore over comments he made last week regarding a rape case in Glasgow, where he suggested the victim may have been a prostitute. Mr Aitken was left with no alternative other than to resign his Justice Committee position after MSP Patrick Harvie of the Green Party lodged a motion calling for him to quit.

Scotland’s Green Party issued a Press Release giving notice they intended to lodge a Holyrood motion calling for Aitken's resignation, severely criticising Justice Committee Convenor Bill Aitken for comments he made about rape in a recent interview, and calling for his resignation.

Patrick Harvie MSP said: "Bill Aitken's comments are way beyond the standards any party in Parliament should find acceptable from any MSP, but they make it entirely unacceptable for him to continue in post as Convenor of the Justice Committee. No-one who thinks we should blame rape victims should ever be allowed to hold that role in this country.”

Mr Harvie continued : "If he does not resign, the Tory leadership should force his hand. If they do not, Parliament must act to remove him, and act quickly. The alternative would a serious loss of confidence in Parliament as an institution, and the Justice Committee in particular."

The draft motion in the name of Patrick Harvie was intended to read as follows: Unacceptable comments by the Convenor of Justice Committee - That the Parliament condemns the attitude shown by Bill Aitken MSP on the subject of rape during a recent interview with the Sunday Herald newspaper; considers that Mr Aitken’s comments during this interview betray a disregard for the seriousness of rape, and imply support for the view that a victim can be held responsible for this most vicious crime; believes that this view, though disturbingly widespread, is rooted in misogyny and ignorance; considers these comments to be incompatible with the role of Justice Committee Convenor; believes that the Parliament’s credibility to deal proactively with issues of sexual violence would be undermined if the proximity of dissolution resulted in failure to hold Mr Aitken to account for these odious and shocking comments; and calls for Mr Aitken’s immediate resignation.

Mr Aitken inevitably resigned his position before the motion was heard.

Mr Aitken’s comments over the rape case which occurred in the centre of Glasgow, were reported in the Sunday Herald newspaper last weekend HERE and our report on the controversy can be read HERE

Peter Cherbi’s “Diary of Injustice in Scotland” law blog also covers the story of Mr Aitken’s resignation HERE and rather shockingly reveals Mr Aitken was potentially in line for a post on a Law Society of Scotland Committee upon his retirement from the Scottish Parliament.

Report from The Herald follows :

Aitken steps down over rape remarks

Brian currie political editor

22 Feb 2011

THE Scottish Parliament’s long-serving Justice Committee convener, Bill Aitken, has quit the role after suggesting a rape victim in Glasgow may have been a prostitute.

Glasgow’s only Tory MSP has been at the centre of growing pressure from women’s groups and other politicians to quit since he made the comments last week, although he claimed his views had been misrepresented.

Mr Aitken, who announced some months ago he would not be standing again for Holyrood, said: “However unfairly, an impression has been created that I hold certain views about rape. So, for the record, let me repeat – rape, in every case and for every victim is an abhorrent, vile violation. Every case and every victim must be treated equally.

“The circumstances of any case are only pertinent to the lines of inquiry that the police would follow.”

Mr Aitken, the Tory spokesman on community safety, sparked outrage after telling our sister paper the Sunday Herald last week that the attack in a city-centre lane had taken place in a location “where a lot of hookers take their clients”.

He expressed remorse for any hurt he had caused to rape victims and their families and referred to a recent speech he made at Holyrood in which he said “no-one would take a more serious view of violence against any woman than I would”.

He added: “That was my view then. It is my view today and it will always be my view.”

Mr Aitken’s resignation came as Green MSP Patrick Harvie tabled a Holyrood motion, backed by Labour deputy leader Johann Lamont, calling for him to leave. Despite Mr Aitken’s apology, Mr Harvie said his statement was “graceless, and suggests he still does not understand the offence he has caused”.

He added: “This kind of attitude is unacceptable wherever it comes from, and is fortunately dying out, but it has been particularly shocking to hear it from the convenor of the Justice Committee.”

Ms Lamont said the resignation was a public acknowledgement that the comments were unacceptable and Mr Aitken had “done the right thing”.

“This was a horrific crime and he should never have suggested that the victim was in some way to blame for what happened.”

A protest outside Holyrood today to coincide with a meeting of the Justice Committee was called off after the announcement. An NUS Scotland spokesman said it “welcomed” Mr Aitken’s resignation.

Stewart Maxwell, an SNP member of the Justice Committee, said it was the right decision after “disappointing and out of character comments”.

Mr Maxwell said Mr Aitken had served the Justice Committee well as convener over the last four years and it was an unfortunate end to his time at Holyrood

LibDem justice spokesman Robert Brown said: “It’s highly unfortunate that Bill Aitken’s distinguished political career should end in this way as a result of badly chosen and ill-advised comments.

“However, it is important that no rape victim feels in any way that their rights would not be fully and totally upheld and defended by the Parliament and parliamentarians.”

Sandy Brindley, national co-ordinator of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “I do think it is inappropriate for somebody with responsibility for formulating our laws to hold such views on rape.”

Conservative Party leader Annabel Goldie said: “Bill Aitken is a man of principle and honour. He was not prepared to let any issue compromise the work of the Justice Committee and he has shown his respect both for the committee and the party.”

Lockerbie : Al Megrahi says public inquiry must take place into bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

THE HERALD newspaper in an exclusive interview with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland in December 1988 reveals today that Mr Megrahi supports calls for a full inquiry into the terrorist attack over 20 years ago that claimed 270 lives.

We at Scottish Law Reporter support the call for a far reaching, fully independent inquiry into the Lockerbie case.

The Herald newspaper reports :

The truth never dies

EXCLUSIVE: Megrahi demands Lockerbie inquiry

By Ian Ferguson and Lucy Adams in Tripoli

The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing has backed demands for a far-reaching public inquiry into the atrocity, saying the international community owes that to the families of the 270 victims.

In his first full-length interview since being released last week, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi told The Herald: "We all want to know the truth. The truth never dies."

Speaking from a hospital bed at his home in Tripoli, Megrahi talked extensively about his 10-year battle with the Scottish legal system and insisted he did not commit the worst terrorist act on mainland Britain.

The revelation comes in the wake of The Herald's exclusive interview with the son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Saif al Islam al Gaddafi claimed the proposed prisoner transfer deal with Britain had targeted Megrahi and was linked to talks on trade and oil, but that his release on compassionate grounds was completed unrelated to commerce.

Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, revealed he dropped his appeal against the conviction because he would not live to see its outcome and was desperate to return to his family. "It is all about my family," he said. "People have said there was pressure from the Libyan authorities or Scottish authorities, but it wasn't anything like this."

Instead, he put his faith in an appeal for compassion and said he was impressed by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill during their meeting at Greenock Prison. "I thought he was a very decent man and he gave me a chance to say what I wanted and to express myself. He gave me the chance to make a presentation to him and he was very polite."

Megrahi is still determined to clear his name, partly through an autobiography, and also backs a public inquiry. Dr Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the tragedy, has already called for such an investigation, but the UK Government seems firmly opposed.

"I support the issue of a public inquiry if it can be agreed. In my view, it is unfair to the victim's families that this has not been heard. It would help them to know the truth. As I said, the truth never dies.

"If the UK guaranteed it, I would be very supportive. I would want to help Dr Swire and the others with the documents I hold."

However, he added during an hour-long interview: "My feeling is that the UK Government will avoid a public inquiry because it would be a headache for them and the Americans and it would show how much the Americans have been involved and it would also cost them a lot of money which they may not want to spend because of the recession."

Megrahi was vitriolic about the Scottish police and legal system. "I was supposed to receive a fair trial and I was supposed to be subject to fair procedure. From day one of the trial there were delays and delays from the Crown Office. "The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission found at least six grounds of appeal and said there were six grounds on which it may have been a miscarriage of justice.

"From that point we asked the Crown for more documents and more papers. We received only some of them and they were still redacted. Most of the pages were black and I think this is shameful. They were supposed to give us everything."

Referring to the revelation seven years ago that some of the police notebooks recording the aftermath of the tragedy had been destroyed, Megrahi said: "It is very strange that the police forces that dealt with the case - and there were more than 400 officers - it is very strange that many of their notebooks went missing.

When one officer was asked about a notebook, he said it was destroyed. I find this very strange. Surely to destroy the notebooks of so many people is a decision that someone must have been made? This is not fair and is a big question mark about the case."

He said his priority now is to spend time with his five children, the youngest of whom is still of primary school age. "It was always my dream to come back to my family. It was in my prayers every day and when I received the diagnosis, even more so."

A new opinion poll for BBC Scotland has revealed most Scots think Megrahi should have died in jail. It also suggested more than two-thirds of Scots think Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been damaged by the release.

An even bigger majority believe it has had a detrimental effect on the Scottish Government, although more than half of those interviewed thought Mr MacAskill's should not resign. The poll findings emerged as opposition leaders at Westminster pledged to pursue Mr Brown because of his continuing silence.

Tory leader David Cameron said the Prime Minister had to be honest about any dealings with the Libyan government, while Nick Clegg, of the LibDems, demanded that he "come clean".

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN TODAY'S HERALD NEWSPAPER OR ONLINE HERE ...

Herald law reporter Paul Rogerson off to Law Society Gazette

Paul Rogerson, famed for many a good legal story in the Herald newspaper, is now off to be editor in Chief of the Law Society Gazette.

We wish him well. All the best Paul !

Paul, who will be remembered by many for the "Would Granny Swear by the Law Society" story, which exposed Chief Executive Douglas Mill as a bare faced liar (again) in front of the Justice 2 Committee hearings into the LPLA Bill in June 2006, did a fine job at the Herald on legal issues, giving a balanced view particularly on regulatory matters, which some other newspapers are less than happy to tackle.

Press Release from the Law Society in England :

New editor for Law Society Gazette

Friday 31 August 2007

Des Hudson, Law Society Chief Executive, today announced the appointment of the new editor-in-chief of the Law Society Gazette, the most widely read news magazine in Europe for the legal profession.

Paul Rogerson joins the Gazette having gained wide experience as a journalist in both business-to-business publishing and newspapers. He is currently the London-based City editor of The Herald, Scotland's leading quality national daily newspaper. Paul has extensive knowledge of professional services, having edited trade titles in the sector and a weekly legal section for The Herald.

Des Hudson, Law Society Chief Executive, says: “Paul brings with him a mass of journalistic experience. His appointment will help to deliver services to our members more efficiently, and is central to the sharper focus on supporting solicitors.”

Paul will take charge of the editorial and production teams that produce comprehensive coverage of all areas of the law both at home and abroad. From high street to City boardrooms, the Gazette reports and analyses all the issues affecting lawyers. It is also the premier source and market leader for recruitment and other advertising aimed at the legal profession.

For more information please contact the Law Society press office on 020 7320 5764.