Scots QC cleared of perjury over ferry tragedy

Saturday 29 September 2012

A SCOTTISH QC has been cleared of perjury claims following a ferry disaster in the South Pacific.

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Ramsay Dalgety – who moved to Tonga in 1991 – was accused of giving false evidence into the 2009 sinking in which 74 people died.

At a court hearing yesterday, the case against Lord Dalgety was reportedly thrown out due to insufficient evidence.

Lord Dalgety appeared in court in relation to the sinking of MV Princess Ashika in August 2009, the worst accident in the country's maritime history. Among those who drowned was Scot Daniel MacMillan, 48, from Islay.The former director of Scottish Opera was secretary of the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia.Lord Ramsey was accused of playing down his involvement in the corporation during the inquest into the tragedy. However, while the Lord appears to have weathered the legal storm, it also emerged yesterday his Scottish wife, Mary, died just five days ago.From Edinburgh, her obituary said she died "suddenly" in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa on Sunday. Her funeral was held in Tonga on Wednesday and a memorial service will take place in Edinburgh.Lord Dalgety was previously criticised in an official report into the sinking.He was described by Tonga's Royal Commission of Inquiry as "unfit to hold such an important position", "evasive" and "lacking credibility".The former Edinburgh councillor was also criticised for failing to order an independent survey before the purchase of the ferry, which he admitted had been a "rust bucket".Dalgety was charged with perjury and put under house arrest in February 2010. Yesterday authorities on the island cleared his name.Justice Charles Cato said Lord Dalgety's words were so far removed from the vital issues the Commission had to consider on the crash that he did not think a guilty verdict would be a safe verdict.

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Scots QC cleared of perjury over ferry tragedy

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