26/03/2012 Newsnight Scotland

1 Newsnight Scotland tonight, the latest on the story that a Middle-

East the sovereign will fund is looking at buying a large chunk of

the Royal Bank of Scotland. What are the implications for the

workers and the investors here in Scotland? And the obligation of the

Lockerbie Commission report - how did it happen and what does it mean

for the prospect of their case returning to a Scottish court?

As you may have seen a few minutes ago, the BBC understands the UK

Government is at an advanced stage in a deal to sell up to one-third

of its Series in the Royal Bank of Scotland to a bid Abbey. The UK

Government wants 82 % of the back at the moment and would make a

financial loss on the deal. I am joined by a former head of Scottish

Financial Enterprise, and a former editor of Scottish Business insider.

Good evening.. Good evening.

Watched you think is happening here? Is this serious, or is

someone flying a Kate? I am sure it is serious in the

sense that the Government has been talking to a big daddy and I would

be surprised if they were not. They have probably been talking to

anybody else who has money trying to interest them. -- talking to Abu

Dhabi. From that point of view I think it is deadly serious. I am

not absolutely convinced Abbie Derby would want to buy such as --

as much as a third of the Royal Bank of Scotland. I would not

expect a quick deal on that. But you would expect a deal, do you

think? They have form, as you would say.

Abid Abbey, the sovereign will fund invested in Berkeley's when

Barclays was in trouble -- Barclays Bank was in trouble. They took a

fairly cautious stake and then raised it later, then it sold up

when the shares started writing and made a profit. It would not be

unusual to want to repeat that. But say it goes ahead and they buy

a chunk, perhaps not as much as a third, what would it mean for

Edinburgh -- 4 Edinburgh? A don't think it would mean very

much, to be honest. I think they are financial investors, they are

not looking to run the bank. They would not be looking to change its

strategy in any way, they would leave that to the Chief Executive.

If they where to invest I think it is because they thought the

strategy being fall -- followed by the chief executive at the moment

is the right one, so I did not expect them to change that. The

Chief Executive would remain, the headquarters would remain as it has

done up until now. Would this be a bit of a bargain at

the current share price, 28p? It would be a bargain in the sense

that it is half the price the Government paid, but it is only a

bargain if the price goes up. I don't expect the shares to suddenly

zoom. I think it is I'll long-haul. It has been a quick five years

since people became aware of its existence of a report questioning

the guilt of the Lockerbie bomb her Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. It has

put together by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission,

which put together the basis for his appeal. That a cure was

abandoned sharply before has a -- his release on compassionate

grounds. One newspaper has published it online.

A someone, and in this case it was the Sunday Herald, finally went and

did it. There somewhere -- the summary of the report into why they

might have been a miscarriage of justice in the case of the

Lockerbie bomber was certainly an easier read than the original

document. Its 800 pages on the case of a -- on the case of Abdelbaset

Ali al-Megrahi, which suggested eight grounds of appeal, has -- has

been secret until now. The Justice Minister has repeatedly claimed

made it clear that while he stands by the original conviction, he

wants to see it published. That is why I have written again

urging that the UK Government make a decision for an exception to be

made to a normal statutory data protection rules for this unique

case. This will help ensure the wider public interest can be served

a in ensuring that no one is in any doubt. We want the statement of

reasons published and are doing all that we can within the powers of

this Parliament. At BBC Scotland documentary of let

to a whole host of new information and allegations seeping out,

including doubts over the forensic make-up of their make-up up the

bomb. Pressure to release the report was renting, we reported in

this programme how more and more people in the world of politics,

the law and the media, were becoming aware of the contents of

the report and we ask that whether in this internet age, someone would

not just simply publish it on line. At the end of last week, so if

things really started moving. In a letter to the Scottish Criminal

Cases Review Commission on Friday, the lord advocate Frank Mulholland

said that leak -- recent selected and misleading information in the

media had caused confusion. He added that no one would be

prosecuted for her publishing the document. This gave the green light

to the conventional media and at the weekend it was the Sunday

Herald which went ahead. It less the Scottish Government in a rather

strange situation of welcoming a technical breach and the loss.

posthumously, an application can be made and if that is so decided it

can go back to the Court of Appeal. This is an open investigation and

let us remember that the committee has today upheld the hall forensic

trail which led to Libya hands to not half. This is an open

investigation, it has never been the argument that Abdelbaset Ali

al-Megrahi acted alone, it was part of a general conspiracy. But their

evidence is presented and it is good evidence then it could come to

trial, in terms of other people who were involved. It would greatly

benefit everyone if matters of guilt and innocence were decided in

courts of law. Also responding to the publication,

the Crown Office insisted that it committee's report found nothing to

undermine the trial court's conclusions about the bomb fragment.

It was manufactured by a Swiss company for Libya. It find

inconsistencies and differences. He had travelled on a false passport

on 1987. Sole, what next? The debate over

Lockerbie will be better informed after having the document published,

but in the absence of an appeal, allegations of miscarriages of

justice for remain just that, allegations, and tested in court.

I am joined now by the chief reporter of the Herald he broke the

story and by their editor of the legal magazine that the firm.

Did you have any qualms about publishing this? There were some

concerns legally about whether there were individuals in the

report he could have been defamed by its publication and we were very

careful to remit in names of, for example, security agents and things

like that -- remove their means. Eight needed to be in the public

domain. As a journalist, we have section 32, which says, if it is in

the public interest it should be in the public domain. And having read

every word of it, what, in summary, is the most significant aspect of

it do you think? I think the most overwhelming and perhaps, even for

me, having us -- have uncovered it for such a long time, the most

shocking evidence of -- shocking element of it was that there was a

great deal of evidence that the Crown Court did not -- Crown

Prosecution Service did not disclose to the defence team. There

were many submissions which are made to the commission which where

rejected, but at the same time, they were six grounds on which they

said that this could have been a miscarriage of justice. Only one

was required, so ultimately be seen to have a very strong case, both

for a fresh appeal and perhaps for releasing it Abdelbaset Ali al-

Megrahi. What did you think about this non-disclosure? A death -- it

is a fundamental right of any defence that they have access to

their evidence against them. There's also additional information

which we know was submitted to the investigating authorities at the

signed -- at the time. None of this made it as far as what was

presented to the defence. They are sweets and information which have

not been presented. Idea alleging that this Crown Office deliberately

did not disclose? And they say they are no grounds of that. There are

other interpretations of these same events which do not necessarily

lead to the same conclusion. I cannot say that as a first hand

observer of that, but it has been reported me, different

interpretation to what the Crown has offered. The Crown do not give

interviews on Lockerbie at the moment, they say it is an active

case. The commission find no basis for concluding that evidence in the

case was fabricated by the police, the crime, forensic scientists are

any other official bodies. That is significant, is it not? I may say

so. The coverage that we have done in the Herald which started a

couple of weeks ago made clear that it was what this admission... What

the commission was saying. Is it fair to point Tec that there is

some evidence in favour of the crime as well? For example, it is

misses the key concerns that everyone has a lead to as part of

their concern about the forensic evidence, it suggests that that

forensic evidence did lead to malt fans will be a. Also, -- did lead

to Malta and Libya. There is some information in favour of the priest

-- the prosecution. It is not one- sided. The commission looked at the

submissions from the defence team. The Commission's report is now very

historical and the recent allegations which came up end up

the Big Mac only came to light a couple of years ago. -- in debate.

All the late Pat was a material that the defence team asked them to

look at. They did find that there were a number of things which the

former police officer said that they did not find to be true.

Equally, they found an awful lot of information which the Crown Office

did not hand over her and which would have freed Abdelbaset Ali al-

Megrahi. That is all that was needed.

That's brings us on to Alex Salmond's position, which is that

they should all be sorted out in court. Is there a chance of another

appeal? Yes, how? The appeal that Mr Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

Cannot be be investigated. There is scope for a fresh appeal to be

launched, either by Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi's relatives on his death,

a bar by those -- or by the families of those who were killed

in the event. This is unfinished business is far as the committee is

concerned. They did not conclude and am -- they said it was

unfinished. They need an application. They cannot have one

from Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi because he has dropped it. They

will not hear one from anyone else while he is alive. He is going to

die, once that happens, his own family, are at the family of those

killed, can go to the High Court once again. You mention that is one

option, is there another way in which that could happen? I do not

believe there is another option. could have a public inquiry, that

is what the relatives had been calling for for some 23 years now.

It is the relatives who are grieving for those that they have

lost. It should be their decision, that is what they have asked for.

It should not be down to Alex Salmond or the Crown Office, it

should be down to the people who have lost their loved ones.

Thank you for coming in. Let us have a look at the newspapers this

evening. The Scotsman says that truckers's strike threat threatens

Easter chaos. The Scottish Daily Mail was with the same story. Held

to ransom by 1,000 tanker drivers is their take on that strike vote.

The Independent has appalled on what is bad for her -- has appalled

on what is bad for her debt and debt service. Labour are 17 points

ahead. That's all for now, goodbye. Good evening.

Good evening. A cold start to the mining, fog in

the Midlands. Compared to that chilly weekend along the eastern

coast, it will feel warmer. The same across East Anglia and the

Kent coast. Come inland across southern parts of England you have

21 to 23 Celsius. There will be a fresh she south-east breeze coming

in off the English Channel. Most of the warmth will be around Cardigan

Bay. In the north coast of Northern Ireland there will be high

temperatures. 19-21 Celsius. A little cooler on the western coast

of Scotland, but to the east another sunny and warm one. We

could again break record temperatures. In northern Scotland,

things will change Tuesday into Wednesday. Some cloud and a drop in

temperature. For the rest of the country, it is as you ware. A Touch