Senior law officers set to resign
Scotland’s most senior law officer, Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC, and the Solicitor General are to resign.
The Scottish Government said yesterday that Mr Wolffe and Alison Di Rollo, who supports the Lord Advocate, will stand down once new law officers are appointed.
The announcement led to renewed calls for the dual roles of Lord Advocate as chief prosecutor and government minister to be separated. The post came under close scrutiny over the criminal case against Alex Salmond.
The Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are to leave office, the Scottish Government has confirmed.
It followed reports yesterday that Lord Wolffe, QC, and Alison Di Rollo, QC, would signal they would be stepping down, which immediately renewed calls for the dual role of the Lord Advocate as chief prosecutor and Scottish Government minister to be separated.
A government spokesperson said: “The Lord Advocate informed the First Minister last year that he intended to leave office following the recent election and confirmed his intention before her reelection by the Scottish Parliament as First Minister.
"The Solicitor General has confirmed her intention to stand down at the same time.
“It is for the First Minister to nominate new law officers and, subject to approval of her nominees by the Scottish Parliament, to recommend their appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.
"The current law officers intend to remain in office until the new law officers are appointed."
Mr Wolffe’s joint legal and political post came under exceptional scrutiny by opposition parties over the failed criminal case against former first minister Alex Salmond.
Laura Dunlop, QC, who led a review of handling harassment against ministers in the wake of the Salmond debacle, and Dorothy Bain, QC, who chairs the police appeals tribunal, are reportedly seen as possible successors.
West Scotland Labour MSP Neil Bibby said: “The appointment of a new Lord Advocate must be a moment for the Scottish Government to stop and reflect on the role of Scotland's most senior law officer. Scottish Labour is clear that the time has come to reassess the powers of the Lord Advocate, separating the role of prosecutor from that of the most senior legal adviser to the Scottish Government.”
Scottish Greens justice spokeswoman Maggie Chapman said: “There is a legitimate case for reviewing the role of the Lord Advocate, but that process should be entirely separate from any criticism around how an individual is perceived to have performed.
“Rather than focus on arguments about personalities or process, Scottish Greens would like to see the next Lord Advocate take the bold action necessary to tackle key areas where the justice system is currently not working. For example, we want to see complainers in sexual offence cases given the automatic legal right to anonymity.
"Another area where this could happen almost immediately is around the drug deaths crisis. The Lord Advocate has considerable discretion in identifying whether prosecutions are in the public interest.
"It’s vital that Wolffe’s successor uses that discretion to ensure that NHS staff can work in safe consumption facilities without the threat of prosecution hanging over them, a measure that would undoubtedly save lives.”
Mr Wolffe was appointed Lord Advocate in 2016 when he was dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Alison Di Rollo was a senior advocate depute and head of the National Sexual Crimes Unit when she was appointed as his deputy at the same time.