Elish ‘Labour’ Angiolini in faculty row with Ian Hamilton QC, he asks pertinent questions, she gets special treatment, it’s called corrupt Scotland

Dear All

I have to say that I like Iain Hamilton of ‘Stone of Destiny’ fame.

He has a lot going for him, last night I was lucky to catch his interview on Newsnight Scotland, it wasn’t one of the great presentations I have ever heard but he was blunt and stuck to his guns with passion.

And like me, he isn’t a fan of Elish ‘Labour’ Angiolini.

And he made that plain last night naming her as one of two people who had done so much damage to human rights in Scotland.

Now, as one of Scotland’s leading QCs has called for former Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini’s admission to the Faculty of Advocates to be rescinded.

The reason is because she does not have the appropriate qualifications.

Ian Hamilton said Dame Elish should not have been allowed to join the faculty as she has neither completed the proper exams nor gone through the process known as “devilling”.

Devilling involves shadowing an experienced advocate without pay for nine months.

As I keep blogging Scotland is a corrupt society, so it isn’t surprising that Angiolini gets special treatment.

But that is wrong; it should never be the case that advancement in society should be subject to status rather than merit.

Elish ‘Labour’ Angiolini was made a Dame by the Queen as part of her services to the Crown has joined the Terra Firma stable of advocates.

She was made an honorary member of the faculty in 2008 alongside Solicitor General Frank Mullholland.

That honorary membership shouldn’t hold the ability to work as an Advocate without both the qualifications and work experience.

Hamilton says her appointment should be struck out as admission to the 470-year-old body should not be treated as a “meaningless ritual”.

And he goes further when he questioned whether Dame Elish is a fit and proper person to join the faculty.

I would say no, if we take the Cadder Case, Angiolini argued that it was acceptable to deny people their human rights which involved access to legal representation when held by the Police.

Writing in the legal journal The Firm, Mr Hamilton said:

“Since she only demitted office as Lord Advocate on or about May 1, 2011, she cannot have spent the usual nine months devilling. Is devilling no longer necessary or was a special dispensation given to Dame Elish Angiolini? If so, why? Before anyone is admitted to the office of advocate a notice of intent is posted on the walls of the court in order that objections may be taken by the public as to the fitness of the entrant to become an advocate. Was this dispensed with in the case of Dame Elish? If so why? Further, this lady has been publicly censured by the Lord Justice General. No one who has been so censured has ever passed advocate in the last 300 years.”

And I think these are questions which the public has a right to hear the answers.

Could an appellant raise an objection against Angiolini on the legal point that since she didn’t do the normal procedure for entry that she isn’t in fact an Advocate and therefore is debarred from leading a case?

I think so.

Ian Hamilton also questioned whether political pressure had been brought to bear to admit Dame Elish, as she was the first solicitor to be made Lord Advocate without first actually becoming an advocate.

He added:

“Apart from the Roman Emperor Caligula making his horse a Senator of Rome, is there any precedent for such an admission to the Faculty of Advocates?”

Angiolini was a Labour appointment when symbolism was the order of the day, she was a bad Lord Advocate and when the SNP Government was voted in 2007, she lost her Cabinet seat.

The SNP should have gone further and sacked her.

Elish Angiolini‘s admittance to the Faculty of Advocates shows that Scotland is corrupt.

The rules don’t apply to people like her and are simply bent and distorted.

Unfortunately, there are only a few people like Ian Hamilton who have the courage to stand up and say no.

He is blunt; but he does talk a lot of sense on the state of justice in Scotland.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University