Dear All
The Abdul Rauf case seems to have taken the interest of the media and Labour MSP Iain Gray.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign but should she?
When someone is elected they stand on the podium and the returning officers that say the winner is elected to serve the people of ….
What that means elected to serve all the people, even the ones in trouble.
To stand on a platform of helping all and then only helping the nice people is effectively dishonest.
Nicola Sturgeon said she was "duty-bound" as a constituency MSP to make "reasonable representations" on behalf of 60-year-old Abdul Rauf.
So, was what she did reasonable?
Yes.
Is it embarrassing?
Yes.
But the embarrassment isn’t a reason not to do her job.
She made a decision in her capacity as constituency MSP.
Should politicians be banned from speaking out on judicial matters?
No.
If, we take the case of Shirley McKie, the SNP campaigned hard for this woman because they believed it was the right thing to do.
The Labour Party by contrast in power, did everything possible to deny her justice.
The new conviction against Abdul Rauf is his second, in 1996 he stole nearly £60,000 in pension and benefit payments while a sub-post master at Tollcross in Edinburgh.
The decision of whether Abdul Rauf is sent to jail rests with Sheriff Alan MacKenzie.
He should make that judgement himself and not be influenced by the media storm that Iain Gray of the Labour Party is trying to whip up for petty political advantage.
The case against Abdul Rauf isn’t finished and it is quite wrong that the Labour Party should try and use these proceedings which have not concluded.
What that shows is appalling lack of judgement by Iain Gray but to be fair, he already has warped judgement anyway.
Nicola Sturgeon said;
"I'm duty-bound to make reasonable representations, that's what I did as a constituency MSP, and ultimately it is for the court to make a decision about the disposal of the case."
And there lies the difference, the SNP believe in an independent judiciary and the Labour Party believes in a politically controlled judiciary.
And Iain Gray talks about people’s judgement!
A Sheriff will decide the fate of Abdul Rauf, it should not be turned into a political case by either the Labour Party or the Scottish National Party.
He stands or falls on his own merits in front of Sheriff Alan MacKenzie.
That decision is neither a victory either way for the Labour Party or the Scottish National Party.
It’s a justice matter.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
The Abdul Rauf case seems to have taken the interest of the media and Labour MSP Iain Gray.
Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to resign but should she?
When someone is elected they stand on the podium and the returning officers that say the winner is elected to serve the people of ….
What that means elected to serve all the people, even the ones in trouble.
To stand on a platform of helping all and then only helping the nice people is effectively dishonest.
Nicola Sturgeon said she was "duty-bound" as a constituency MSP to make "reasonable representations" on behalf of 60-year-old Abdul Rauf.
So, was what she did reasonable?
Yes.
Is it embarrassing?
Yes.
But the embarrassment isn’t a reason not to do her job.
She made a decision in her capacity as constituency MSP.
Should politicians be banned from speaking out on judicial matters?
No.
If, we take the case of Shirley McKie, the SNP campaigned hard for this woman because they believed it was the right thing to do.
The Labour Party by contrast in power, did everything possible to deny her justice.
The new conviction against Abdul Rauf is his second, in 1996 he stole nearly £60,000 in pension and benefit payments while a sub-post master at Tollcross in Edinburgh.
The decision of whether Abdul Rauf is sent to jail rests with Sheriff Alan MacKenzie.
He should make that judgement himself and not be influenced by the media storm that Iain Gray of the Labour Party is trying to whip up for petty political advantage.
The case against Abdul Rauf isn’t finished and it is quite wrong that the Labour Party should try and use these proceedings which have not concluded.
What that shows is appalling lack of judgement by Iain Gray but to be fair, he already has warped judgement anyway.
Nicola Sturgeon said;
"I'm duty-bound to make reasonable representations, that's what I did as a constituency MSP, and ultimately it is for the court to make a decision about the disposal of the case."
And there lies the difference, the SNP believe in an independent judiciary and the Labour Party believes in a politically controlled judiciary.
And Iain Gray talks about people’s judgement!
A Sheriff will decide the fate of Abdul Rauf, it should not be turned into a political case by either the Labour Party or the Scottish National Party.
He stands or falls on his own merits in front of Sheriff Alan MacKenzie.
That decision is neither a victory either way for the Labour Party or the Scottish National Party.
It’s a justice matter.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
No comments:
Post a Comment