A specialist who doesn’t always have the last word
JAMES Hamilton has become a specialist in investigating the actions of ministers as an independent adviser on the ministerial code.
However, his judgment is not always the final word on the issue.
The 71-year-old graduated from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in history and political science in 1971 and practised at the Bar of Ireland from 1973 to 1981.
He led Ireland’s prosecution service as director of public prosecutions from 1999 to 2011 and advised the Irish Government on the Good Friday Agreement as legal adviser to the Attorney General.
In 2012, he told the Sunday Times: ‘I’m a big fan of juries. They don’t get things wrong any more than judges. Judges still come from a relatively narrow segment of society.’
A year later, when Alex Salmond was First Minister, Mr Hamilton was appointed one of two independent advisers on the code in Scotland.
In 2019, the other, Dame Elish Angiolini, considered herself ‘conflicted’ because of a review she was carrying out on police complaints at the time, and Mr Hamilton was asked to review Nicola Sturgeon’s actions.
This latest inquiry came a year after Mr Hamilton cleared then Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones over claims he broke the ministerial code and misled parliament by saying no one at the top of government had complained of bullying.
His comments followed the death of a former minister.
But, despite Mr Hamilton’s report, Mr Jones fell on his sword days later due to issues raised in it.
Yesterday’s investigation report is the seventh involving a First Minister in Scotland. The others all relate to Mr Salmond’s conduct – and all found in his favour.