Ex Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini to be called as witness in TWO YEAR, £1/2 MILLION Crown Office ‘Vendetta’ case against anti-abuse campaigner

Ex-Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini is to be called as witness in breach of the peace trial of anti-abuse campaigner Robert Green. Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC, the former Lord Advocate and now Ministerial complaints adviser to Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is to be asked to appear as a witness in what is Scotland’s longest running & most expensive Breach of the Peace trial against anti-abuse campaigner Robert Green which is now set to begin on 16 January 2012 at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, Aberdeen. The trial of Mr Green, an anti-abuse campaigner representing downs syndrome victim Hollie Greig, who is alleged to have been abused by an Aberdeen based paedophile gang has so far cost the taxpayer HALF A MILLION POUNDS. However it is thought the final cost of the case will rise to around £1 Million after factoring in the SIXTY ONE person witness list, further hearings, legal fees & other costs.

Since Robert Green was arrested & charged with committing a Breach of the Peace in February 2010 in relation to his attempt to hand out leaflets detailing the allegations in the Hollie Greig case, Scotland’s Crown Office have waged a bitter & expensive VENDETTA funded by taxpayers against Mr Green, resulting in FOURTEEN HEARINGS at Stonehaven Sheriff Court, nearly 16,000 travel miles for the accused, trips by Grampian Police Officers to England to search & raid homes & seize property including computers & documents, Crown Office staff being flown into Aberdeen especially for the case, and a witness list which has varied in numbers and currently totals SIXTY ONE persons. Dame Elish Angiolini’s name is now to be added to that witness list.

In the unprecedented move to call as a witness a former Lord Advocate whose actions are central to the case against Mr Green, Dame Angiolini is likely to be asked questions in court about her involvement in the Hollie Greig case, why Mr Green was charged with breach of the peace over leaflets, and also why in her position as the then Lord Advocate she used a private law firm whose partners have dealings in the well known offshore tax dodging haven of the Cayman Islands, LEVY MCRAE, to serve interdicts against Mr Green while also threatening media outlets including Scots law publication “The Firm” and several newspapers over their coverage of the abuse story.

However, there may be more questions for the former Lord Advocate Angiolini and the now current Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland after details of what appear to be a dirty tricks campaign against Mr Green emerged today when a tabloid journalist admitted he was given an off the record briefing by Crown Office insiders claiming Mr Green had agreed to plead guilty at an earlier hearing in November.

The journalist reported he had attended a November hearing of the case at Stonehaven Sheriff Court on the basis he had been told by Crown Office officials Mr Green was to plead guilty to the Breach of the Peace Charge. The journalist indicated he had been assured “a deal had been worked out for the accused to plead guilty”. However, when the hearing took place in November at Stonehaven, Mr Green rejected the prosecution’s efforts to force a guilty plea which then suspiciously resulted in the withdrawal of Green’s legal team which included Francis McMenamin QC.

The tabloid journalist has confirmed to colleagues he spoke to individuals who attended the November hearing before it began. However after it became clear there was to be no guilty plea the journalist left the court as soon as possible without speaking to anyone else. A legal insider today verified the journalists account of matters. Alarmingly, the insider also claimed a transcript of a draft Press Release to be issued if Mr Green had entered a guilty plea has now been destroyed.

Former Lord Advocate now Dame Elish Angiolini employed Cayman Islands hopping lawyers from Glasgow. Reporting on the background of the case, Robert Green was arrested by Police on 12th February 2010 in relation to a breach of the peace alleged to have been committed in Aberdeen when Mr Green attempted to hand out leaflets regarding the anti-abuse campaign. It was also revealed the then Lord Advocate, now Dame Elish Angiolini had employed private law firm Levy McRae to serve interdicts on Mr Green in connection with his campaign to ‘out’ alleged abusers of downs syndrome victim Hollie Greig. Glasgow law firm Levy McRae who later represented shamed former Glasgow City Council Boss & Cocaine addict Steven Purcell, proceeded to threaten several media outlets & journalists over their reporting of the case, covered by Scottish Law Reporter HERE & HERE. The Purcell scandal caused some newspapers to ‘evaluate’ their relationship with Levy McRae, details of which were featured in a report here : HERE

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill worked at, has ties to same law firm used by then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini in interdict case. As details of the case began to be reported in the wider press, it emerged the Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill has personal ties to LEVY MCRAE, the law firm employed by the then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini in legal action against Mr Green. Mr MacAskill has made no comment on the fact he served his apprenticeship at Levy McRae and also worked at the firm for a considerable time during his years as a solicitor before he entered politics, while he is thought to have backed Dame Angiolini in her actions at the time. The revelations were reported by Scottish Law Reporter at the time, HERE.

With a new legal team now in place for Robert Green, the case is be heard for a FIFTEENTH time at Stonehaven in an interim hearing on 21st December to resolve the issue of Procurator Fiscal Steven  McGowan`s refusal to recuse himself from the prosecution of Mr Green after it became clear McGowan is going to be called as a witness for the defence. Barring further delays, the trial of Robert Green for Breach of the Peace will finally commence on 16th January 2012 and with a sizeable witness list, may well enter a third year of court hearings. Sheriff Principal Bowen has voiced his concerns about the rising costs of pursuing the case.