THE SNP Government has been accused of breaking its promise on depoliticising the role of Lord Advocate after the country’s top law officer attended nearly 75 per cent of Cabinet meetings.
James Wolffe QC has been present at around 60 Cabinet sessions in two years – over a decade after former First Minister Alex Salmond said that the post-holder would not “normally” sit round the table.
Scottish Tory MSP Liam Kerr said: “Despite Alex Salmond’s grand words this is another SNP promise that hasn’t been kept. It’s all fine and well saying that you will depoliticise the role of the Lord Advocate, but with him attending three-quarters of Cabinet meetings that’s clearly not been the case. It will once again cause Scots to question whether they can trust what the SNP say.”
The Lord Advocate has a dual role of heading the prosecution system and, separately, providing legal advice to ministers.
In 2007, First Minister Salmond believed there needed to be distance between the legal aspects of the Lord Advocate’s job and the political side of Government.
Addressing MSPs days after being sworn in as First Minister, Salmond said it was “essential” for his colleagues to have access to “sound legal advice”, but said:
“The involvement of the law officers in the political operations of Government is, in my view, unnecessary and inappropriate, so I have decided that the Lord Advocate will not be a member of the Cabinet and will not normally attend meetings.
“That will emphasise the apolitical and professional role that the Lord Advocate and I have agreed is appropriate in the provision of legal advice to Government.”
He continued: “Naturally, if there is some particular matter relating to the prosecution function or some civil matter that should be discussed jointly by Cabinet, the Lord Advocate will attend. In addition, she has the right to address Cabinet, as she has the right to address this chamber.
“However, the separation from the political operation of Government will ensure that the law officers can focus on improving our prosecution service and providing the expert and impartial legal advice that Cabinet requires.”
Picture: Salmond
Figures obtained by this newspaper show that the proportion of Cabinet meetings attended by successive Lord Advocates is on the rise.
Elish Angiolini, who held the role under Jack McConnell’s administration as well as between 2007 and 2011 when Salmond was in charge – was only present at 28 Cabinet meetings in the entire four-year spell when the SNP led a minority administration.
Her successor Frank Mulholland, who was Lord Advocate between 2011 and 2016, attended 81 of 191 Cabinet meetings – or around 42% of the total.
Mulholland is now a judge and was replaced by Wolffe, who used to be Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
He has been in post for around two years and has attended 59 of 78 Cabinet meetings – nearly 75%. Of the 22 Cabinet meetings this year, Wolffe has been present at 20.
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: “The Lord Advocate is an important part of the government and plays an important role in both prosecution and providing legal advice to Cabinet. That dual role, and particularly the role of leading on prosecutions, raises important questions.
“It is worth the government reflecting whether it is advisable to have the Lord Advocate as a regular part of the Cabinet. The constraint of collective responsibility in this regard is especially worthy of question.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Cabinet is the main decision making body of the Scottish Government and comprises the First Minister and all Cabinet Secretaries. The attendance of law officers reflects the extent to which legal issues arise in the course of Government business."
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