Role of Scotland's top law officer questioned after bombshell' over Peter Murrell charges

"On 20 March last year, Bain told John Swinney that Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, had appeared in court charged with embezzling more than 460,000 from the party. That detail did not emerge publicly until earlier this month. Opposition parties described the revelation as a bombshell."

"The Scottish Labour deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, said the public need to know that all criminal cases are handled impartially and without political interference. The Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, said the row surely sounds the death knell for the lord advocate's dual role."

"Legal experts point out that in England and Wales the cabinet role of attorney general and the post of director of public prosecutions are held by two different people. Concerns have been swirling since the SNP won power in 2007."

Scotland's top law officer, Dorothy Bain, has faced significant scrutiny following the revelation that she informed First Minister John Swinney about criminal charges against SNP former chief executive Peter Murrell on March 20, 2023, nearly a year before the charges became public. Bain holds a dual role as both Scotland's chief prosecutor and the government's principal legal adviser in cabinet. Opposition parties have called for her resignation, arguing the arrangement creates conflicts of interest and undermines public confidence in impartial criminal justice. The Crown Office maintains Bain acted within her duties, and released a list of nearly 30 similar cases over three decades. Legal experts and politicians advocate separating these roles, noting that England and Wales already divide these positions between the attorney general and director of public prosecutions.

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