SCOTTISH High Court Judge Lord Weir last night took the unprecedented
step of issuing a statement to dispel rumours about him in the wake of
allegations about homosexual conduct or relationships.
Lord Weir, who failed to appear in court yesterday because of illness,
admitted that he was one of the three senior Judges questioned by the
Lord President, Lord Hope, which led to the resignation of Lord Dervaird
before Christmas. He also identified Lord Hope as the source of the
story which appeared in yesterday's newspapers.
In the statement, issued through his solicitors, Morton, Fraser, and
Milligan WS, he confirmed that he was one of those, identified only as
Judge A and Judge B, who were interviewed. He denied, however, that
there was any substance to the allegations and warned that he would not
hesitate to take ''appropriate action'' if the rumours were repeated.
Yesterday the trial over which Lord Weir is presiding at the High
Court in Edinburgh was halted after he was taken ill.
The trial of two men and a woman on drugs charges began on Tuesday but
yesterday the Crown had to desert the charges against them for the time
being. Mr George Penrose, QC, told Lord Allanbridge, who came on the
Bench to postpone the case: ''The trial is not able to continue this
morning because of the illness of the presiding Judge.''
The statement issued by Lord Weir's solicitors last night read:
''The Honorable Lord Weir wishes it to be known that he is one of the
Judges who was interviewed by the Lord President of the Court of
Session, and in relation to whom the Lord President made reference in
his statement to representatives of the press on Wednesday, 17th
January.
''There is no truth whatsoever in any allegation that he has engaged
in homosexual conduct, associated with homosexuals, or otherwise behaved
in a manner unbecoming a Judge.
''He makes this statement in order to dispel rumours relating to him
which have been brought to his notice.
''He will not hesitate to take appropriate action should there be any
repetition of such defamatory rumours which, by their very nature, are
distressing to him and his family. No further comment will be made.''
Mr Jim Sillars, the SNP MP who originally raised the matter in the
House of Commons, last night said it was a ''ridiculous position that
individual Judges had to clear their name in public with statements''.
He claimed the situation had been badly mishandled by the Government
and the Lord President, and that if they thought they were ending
speculation, they were simply doing the opposite.
The Glasgow MP said the Lord President was wrong to have conducted the
inquiry himself as the public saw it only as a Judge judging Judges, and
that the whole situation should have been properly investigated by the
Crown Office.
Mr Sillars will continue to pursue the case in the Commons today when
he is putting down questions to be answered by the Secretary of State.
He said: ''I think the Government has mishandled this from start to
finish. The Secretary of State should have made a frank statement about
Lord Dervaird's position and that would have cleared matters if we had
assurances that a proper investigation had been carried out.''
Mr Desmond Finnieston, president of the Glasgow Bar Association, said
last night it was regrettable that Judges were at the stage of issuing
individual statements.
He said the bar association has made submissions to the Secretary of
State before the White Paper on Law Reform in Scotland that there should
be a judicial appointments body to oversee the appointment of Judges and
to make them accountable during their tenure as Judges.
Lord Weir was elevated to the Bench in October 1985, filling the
vacancy created by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, now Lord Chancellor, when
he became one of the Scottish Judges in the House of Lords. He was
installed on the same day as his father-in-law Lord Cameron retired
after 30 years on the bench.
He was educated at Kelvinside and Glasgow Academies. He left the city
for a time and attended the Leys School in Cambridge but returned to
enter Glasgow University where he gained his legal degree.
He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates, aged 27, in 1959 and was
appointed an Advocate- depute for the sheriff court in 1964, the year of
his marriage to the younger daughter of Lord Cameron. He and his wife
Katharine have three sons.
He became a QC in 1971 and served as a member of the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Board for five years until 1979 when he was appointed an
Advocate-depute working from the Crown Office, a post he held until
1982. He also served as a member of the Transport Tribunal and was
president of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal in Scotland and chairman of
the National Health Service Tribunal for Scotland.
Lord Weir, 58, who lives in Edinburgh, is a keen sailor. He served
with the Royal Naval Reserve for nine years until 1964 and is a member
of the Royal Highland Yacht Club. He is also a member of the New Club in
Edinburgh.
* Bruce McKain, Law Correspondent, writes: Bruce Weir last night threw
down the gauntlet to the rumourmongers, in effect challenging them to
put up or shut up.
His decision to go public represents a high-risk strategy but it is
clear that both he and his family
have had enough of the poisonous gossip that has eddied around him for
the past few weeks.
The son of a West of Scotland marine engineer, Lord Weir was proud of
the fact that when he was appointed to the Scottish Bench he was the
only Outer House Judge from Glasgow.
He felt that that this was a rather more interesting and relevant than
the fact that his appointment was made by his brother-in-law, Lord
Cameron, who happened to be the Lord Advocate at the time.
His tenure on the Bench has been solid, rather than spectacular. He
has an almost diffident manner of dispensing justice, leading to
complaints from court reporters that his voice cannot be heard over the
poor accoustics of many of the courtrooms.
Generally, however, he is approachable and easy to appear before. He
is not a Judge, unlike some of his brethren, to strike terror into the
hearts of counsel who appear before him.
He is one of the Judges who has been earmarked for judicial review
work, the procedure recently introduced in the Court of Session to allow
the speedy challenge to decisions of public bodies such as local
authorities.
Before he was elevated to the Bench, Bruce Weir had a solid civil
practice and was regularly instructed by some of Edinburgh's most
distinguished law firms. He was also involved in several important
planning inquiries.
Off the Bench, Lord Weir plays the piano and enjoys hillwalking, but
his real joy is in sailing. His love of sailing is such that he might
well have stayed on in the Navy following his National Service.
Over the past few weeks he has been under tremendous pressure because
of the rumours sweeping Parliament House and the gossip intensified only
yesterday when the drugs case over which he was presiding had to be
postponed when he became ill.
The illness is genuine, so much so that he will probably have to miss
the installation today of Ranald MacLean, QC, an old friend who takes
the place on the Scottish Bench of Lord Dervaird who resigned so
suddenly last month.
Last night it seems that Bruce Weir decided that it was long past time
for the gossip to stop.
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