Cabinet campaign thwarted MSP’s call for ‘Mark’s Law’
CABINET ministers tried to foil a campaign to tell communities about sex offenders in their midst following the murder of schoolboy Mark Cummings by a convicted paedophile in 2004.
Stuart Leggate had moved into the same block of flats in Royston, Glasgow, and lured the eight-year-old to his apartment where he sexually assaulted and strangled him, dumping his body down a rubbish chute.
In 2005, grieving mother MargaretAnn Cummings – with the backing of her Labour MSP Paul Martin – was lobbying for ‘Mark’s Law’, which would have seen families given access to details of any predators living in their neighbourhoods.
However, the latest release of papers shows that ministers feared the prospect of Mr Martin forcing a debate in which MSPs would have to pick sides on the controversial proposals. The papers state: ‘The Cabinet agreed that every effort should be made to accommodate the concerns of the Cummings family and their supporters to reduce the likelihood of Mr Martin seeking to introduce ‘‘Mark’s Law’’ through a Private Member’s Bill.’ A fresh review of sex offender management did tighten up the system. However, it stopped far short of delivering ‘Mark’s Law’, which would have mirrored ‘Megan’s Law’ in the US and a similar campaign in England in memory of eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was murdered by a paedophile in 2000. Mr Martin, who left politics after losing his Glasgow Provan seat in the 2016 election, said: ‘I’m really disappointed by the tone of these minutes. I had said at the time that I was prepared to go down the Private Member’s Bill route if needed, but I wasn’t aware that there was an intention to thwart me; I always tried to work with people, not against them.
‘Sex offender management is a difficult and emotional subject but these papers suggest ministers wanted to suppress that serious debate in order to spare MSPs being put on the spot.
‘The Scottish parliament has always played it safe and – perhaps barring the ban on smoking in public spaces – it has failed to produce any truly radical reforms.’
Mr Martin said it was ‘too easy for people to forget the impact of these terrible crimes on people like Margaret-Ann and the communities in which they live’.
He added: ‘Her campaign was a chance to look at the experiences of other countries and to develop a Scottish solution to reduce the risk posed by sex offenders, and we remained united in that aim throughout my time as an MSP.’