62 MSPS abstain from vote on justice reforms

Almost half of MSPS at Holyrood have refused to back controversial justice reforms brought forward by the Scottish Government.

While Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the “time for change is now”, when it came to voting on the general principles of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill 62 MSPS abstained.

However, the legislation passed its first hurdle at Holyrood, as 60 MSPS voted for it, with none voting against.

But a number of SNP MSPS, including former leadership candidate Kate Forbes, Annabelle Ewing, Fergus Ewing, Christine Grahame, Ivan Mckee and Michelle Thomson, joined Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats by abstaining.

It came after a debate in which opposition MSPS said the legislation, which would scrap Scotland’s unique not proven verdict but could also bring in judge-only trials for those accused of rape, was “experimental, perhaps even dangerously so”.

While Ms Constance said action was needed to tackle low conviction rates for rape and other sexual offences, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay criticised plans to pilot juryless trials for those accused of rape and attempted rape.

“The government appears to be experimenting in much the same way as a mad scientist at work,” he said.

He told MSPS a move to put those accused of rape and attempted rape on trial before a judge alone would be a “departure from the long-established right of a person accused of serious crime to trial by a jury of their peers”.