POLICE have been accused of "Big Brother" tactics after a Scottish gangster was refused entry to America - despite having no criminal convictions.
The suspected underworld figure was turned back to the UK by US authorities after a tip-off from law enforcement in Scotland, the latest in a series of what officers call "legally audacious" disruption tactics.
Brian McConnachie, QC, chairman of the Faculty of Advocates' Criminal Bar Association, said: "If the Crown has the evidence to prosecute a gangster then that is what they should be doing, rather than routinely trying to disrupt their lives. It all seems to be a bit Big Brother to me."
Former senior prosecutor Mr McConnachie and other defence lawyers fear people's lives could be disrupted by such actions without the involvement of a court - unlike when alleged criminals face prosecution or civil actions under proceeds of crime legislation.
Another QC, Gordon Jackson, last night said: "It all depends on the quality of the information being provided - and that it is not just gossip and innuendo."
Scottish police were backed by prosecutors when they tipped off the Americans about the Scottish gangster, who has not been named and is currently subject to an investigation.
One law enforcement source last night defended the tactic, saying: "You'd hope the Americans would tell us if one of their mobsters was getting on a plane to Glasgow." US immigration officials have discretion on who to allow in to their country.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Donaldson, of Police Scotland's Specialist Crime Division, said: "We will use all available tactics to disrupt the activities of those involved in organised crime.
"The successful use of tactics will often require the sharing of intelligence between law enforcement agencies within the UK and beyond."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article