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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| MSPs' approval for lord advocate | MSPs' approval for lord advocate |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MSPs have approved the appointment of Elish Angiolini as Scotland's first female lord advocate. | MSPs have approved the appointment of Elish Angiolini as Scotland's first female lord advocate. |
| Ms Angiolini was nominated as Scotland's new senior law officer by First Minister Jack McConnell after Colin Boyd's sudden resignation. | Ms Angiolini was nominated as Scotland's new senior law officer by First Minister Jack McConnell after Colin Boyd's sudden resignation. |
| Her nomination was broadly welcomed by MSPs at Holyrood but the Scottish Conservatives raised concerns about judicial independence. | |
| Ms Angiolini is lord advocate-designate pending formal royal appointment. | |
| She was solicitor general for five years prior to her new appointment and was put in temporary charge following Mr Boyd's decision to go on Wednesday. | |
| There was support for the nomination from the Scottish National Party but qualified backing from the Scottish Tories. | |
| The appointment of Elish Angiolini as solicitor general is one of the best decisions I have made as first minister Jack McConnellFirst Minister Profile: Elish Angiolini | |
| Leader Annabel Goldie voiced "real concerns" about the chief legal adviser to the Scottish Cabinet also being the country's leading prosecutor. | |
| She said: "There is a real and visible conflict of interest." | |
| Ms Goldie proposed a commission to examine the "proper separation of powers, responsibilities and duties" in relation to the post. | |
| Earlier, Ms Angiolini described her nomination as "a great responsibility". | |
| "I am extremely honoured to have been nominated by the first minister for this historic appointment," she said. | |
| "It is both a huge honour and privilege but also a very great responsibility. | |
| 'Huge honour' | |
| "There is still a great deal to be done in the justice system to ensure that, as Nelson Mandela said, prosecutors defend the rights of the weakest and the worst among us." | |
| She said her appointment as the first female solicitor general had been "a huge leap of faith". | |
| "It has been a privilege over the past five years to serve along with Colin Boyd as lord advocate," she said. | |
| "He is a man of great integrity and has been a quiet revolutionary in setting about the way in which the prosecution has gone about its business. | |
| "It has transformed over the past five years but that transformation is something which is a work in progress." | |
| Lord Boyd unexpectedly resigned after six years in the job | |
| Announcing his intention at a press conference in Edinburgh, Mr McConnell praised Ms Angiolini's performance as solicitor general. | |
| "Five years on, I have no doubt whatever that the appointment of Elish Angiolini as solicitor general is one of the best decisions I have made as first minister of Scotland," he said. | |
| "Our prosecution services today are admired, not ridiculed. | |
| "Victims and witnesses see justice implemented in the system, not delays or chaos." | |
| He cited other changes implemented by Ms Angiolini, including improvements in the way rape cases are prosecuted. | |
| "In Scotland's lord advocate I want to have a moderniser, someone who will help with and understand the implementation of our government's policy," he said. | |
| "But also someone who will be honest and consistent in their legal advice to cabinet and to ministers. | |
| "I want someone who will make independent decisions on prosecution with the integrity that the holder of this office has always had." |