SNP Minister Roseanna Cunningham enters a ‘twitter war’ with top Scots lawyer Brian McConnachie who cuts her down in the crossfire, white flag raised!

Dear All

It seems when a political party stops listening it is doomed to failure, toss in stupidity into the mix, and it’s done and dusted.

In 2011, the Scottish National Party secured a historic victory since then disaster after disaster dogs it actions.

The party now reminds me of the last days of Tony Blair in many ways, and we all know what happened to that project.

Down the tubes, in the end, the last days of Blair was like a defeated army in retreat, grabbing as much money, goodies and freebies as possible on their way out the door.

You may have noticed I have been blogging on how the Scottish Government has stopped listening, and as we have seen bad decisions are now becoming the norm, making the Scottish Labour Party seem viable.

The SNP Government’s handling of justice is a joke, it’s a farce and it’s not comedy, the SNP Cabinet seems to be like a private club run by Alex Salmond and his former 79 Group members.

In a recent stand Alistair Bonnington accused Holyrood of doing more damage to the legal system since devolution than Westminster had since the Act of Union in 1707.

His language was blunt and welcomed by SNP members such as myself who have been outspoken in how the legal system has been corrupted by stupidity of the few to the detriment of the many.

The current Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill is a man who is trying to outrun his infamous legacy, releasing the biggest mass murderer in Scottish legal history, Al Megrahi.

Al Megrahi wasn’t just any old murderer; he was a convicted terrorist from a regime famed for murder, terrorism and torture.

Whatever the rights or wrongs, MacAskill is the poster boy of failed justice.

To return to Mr. Bonnington former a honorary Professor from Glasgow University, he opined that Holyrood’s attempts at law is on a par with giving a primary school kid the job of drafting law.

On the Offensive Behaviour at Fitba Bill, I would sum this up as ‘what’s this shite’!

Knee jerk law making so that someone can practice emergency legislation, the Scottish Government is actually proud of this crap on the Statute books, it’s highly embarrassing.

Bonnington articulates what some in the Scottish National Party say to me that is SNP Government has become arrogant.

Personally I have no problems with people being arrogant if they are good at what they do, but to be arrogant and stupid and then think they are somehow wonderful for doing at best menial tasks is quite insulting to the rest of us.

If you catch my twitter account you will notice that Angus MacLeod retweeted one of my tweets were I wrote the SNP Government seems to be unable to tell the difference between subjective opinion and fact.

When someone presents subjective opinion as fact, I just think they are backward and worthy of contempt because that’s what they hold their audience in.

Anyway after Bonnington caused a stir, it has set the ball rolling in people looking more closely at the Scottish Government and its work in the field of justice.

We need a new Justice Minister, strike that, we need a Justice Minister, because we haven’t had one since 2007.

The present incumbent can be characterised as the Crown Office’s man in the Cabinet.

Anyway post Bonnington, one of the country’s top lawyers has accused a Scottish Government minister of “arrogance” after the two entered into a bitter slanging match on Twitter over changes to the legal system.

Brian McConnachie QC decided to let rip and has made the outspoken remarks to SNP MSP Roseanna Cunningham.

Thursday was a milestone when Bonnington accused Holyrood of doing more damage to the legal system since devolution than Westminster had since the Act of Union in 1707.

There are several issues to this spat which include controversial plans to change long-standing rules on corroboration and double jeopardy.

Mr McConnachie is the country’s second highest-earning QC last year so we can be fairly certain he has a good grasps of law unlike some others in the Scottish Government.

It was highly amusing when Bonning said Scotland now had a “third-world” legal system because it really does reflect on the ‘talent’ of this SNP Government in the justice portfolio.

Ms. Cunningham presumably in ‘fighting for Scotland’ mode rattled out on twitter by questioning why Mr Bonnington had made such a small contribution to the debate prior to a newspaper article he wrote.

She tweeted:

“I presume Alistair Bonnington submitted to the various consultations & responded to Cttee [committee] calls for evidence. Yes?”

With a classic Bee in his bonnet Mr McConnachie replied:

“I gave evidence with three others at Cttee. Three to one against abolition of corroboration. Result?”

Then in a tactically bad piece of judgement Ms Cunningham questioned the QC’s recollection of his appearance at the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee, he tweeted back:

“Rarely have I come across such misplaced arrogance. Try looking it up on the web and watching it or ask the convener.”

Ms. Cunningham set herself up and McConnachie batted an ace back across the net.

After being accused of arrogance, she tweeted back:

“Please don’t insult me.”

In response, Mr McConnachie wrote:

“I’m sorry. Did I call you a liar? Oh no that was you.”

Game, set and match to Brian McConnachie QC, and another example of what I keep saying that there is a lack of talent in the Scottish National Party.

Perhaps in the Scottish National Party, there will have to be a ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ moment were people realise that stupidity is a poor substitute for intelligence.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University