30/08/2012 Newsnight Scotland

Tonight on news I Scotland: Us senior lawyer slams the quality of

legislation coming out of Hollywood. We ask Scots law is safe with MSPs.

And protests at the festival as an Israeli Dance Company faces calls

to withdraw because they are part funded by their government.

Does Scotland have a third world legal system, but criticism of what

the government says tantamount to treason? That is the charge

levelled at Holyrood's lawmakers by his solicitor advocate Alistair

Bonnington. He claims MSPs make laws up depending on what the

Scots law in all of its majesty. Ancient, proud and with an

independence guaranteed in an Act of Union more than three centuries

ago. Rather more modern - the Holyrood parliament whether

criminal law of Scotland has been debated and enacted since

devolution in 1999. But how effective have our legislators been

at protecting and strengthening Scots law? In today's times, a

leading legal commentator argues huge damage has been done to it,

more than Westminster managed in more than 300 years. These are the

charges laid by Alistair Bonnington, a former law professor at Glasgow

University. Employers can't afford to buy it -

that grade the right to a fair trial has been dumped. And he

claims lawmakers followed tabloid headlines, making criminal acts

which were already illegal. Stalking could be prosecuted before

new laws were passed but it is now the subject of a specific new

legislation, carrying a lower sentence. Lawyers also point to

amenities in parliamentary draftsmanship. This the Criminal

Justice and licensing Scotland Act 2010 and it defines an extreme

pornographic image as an image which is obscene, pornographic and

extreme. Quite. Alistair Bonnington it argues that Scots lawyers are

having to defend Scots law against their own parliament. Clearly, he

says, it is not safe in their hands. We invited the Lord Advocate and

the Justice Secretary to come on at this evening but they both declined.

Accepting an invite was Alistair Bonnington, who joins us from

Edinburgh, and we are also joined from Edinburgh by the convenor of

the justice committee, MSP Christine Grahame. Of thank you for

coming on the programme. Alistair Bonnington collate you use very

strong language in this article. How serious are you? I start, it is

extremely important to say, that the position of the Lord Advocate

constitutionally is unsatisfactory to say the least. I am not alone in

this. Truck Thompson, an advocate and a very well-known defence

lawyer, has said Scotland is going the way of a banana republic

because of the position of the Lord Advocate being merely a government

employee as opposed to an independent legal adviser. Ian

Hamilton, who is not unknown to the SNP, is a person who has described

the lord advocate's position as that of a pimp for the government.

Similar remarks in more measured terms have been made by Professor

Robert Black about this. There is a fundamental constitutional problem

here with the role of the Lord Advocate. There is concern - as

there should be - that even if it is not the case that the lord

advocate's position is influenced by politicians and his closest of

politicians, but there is clearly a perception that that may well be

happening and the integrity of the whole system is attacked by that

kind of constitutional stupidity. Explain to those who do not follow

all the legal references you have just given us how things are

different under holly route than they were before hand. -- Holyrood.

The Lord Advocate, under the previous system, was an independent

law officer, not a member of the Cabinet, and was not an employee of

the government. That is the major and important difference. I may say

that at a legal conference I attended a little while ago I spoke

to Lord Advocate's equivalent, the Attorney General of India, and he

could not believe the situation we had in Scotland, which he regarded

as positively third world. Christine Grahame, the accusation

there is essentially MSPs have turned up an independent figure

into a pimp. A family separate government from MSPs? I know

Alastair Bonington's attack lots of other things, that MSPs a parody

just put through on the nod. He has attacked double jeopardy, the fact

that there was an attempt to get rid of the need for corroboration

as if we're all going to lie down and let these things happen. With

regard to the Lord Advocate, it is very melodramatic stuff. The Lord

Advocate is far more removed than in the previous Scottish parliament

sessions by the SNP government than before. I think there are issues in

perception, if not in fact, that would have to be dealt with. The

trouble with Alistair Bonnington and all these arguments is he is

firing off dramatically and not really looking coolly at what

Members of Parliament are actually saying and doing and, in particular,

the members of the justice committee. You are not being fair

is what Christine Grahame is saying. Just to be clear, is your

accusation that MSPs aren't up to the job or that the structures of

Holyrood are not up to the job? structure of the constitution is

what I was talking about when I was talking about bladder good. Frankly,

some of the legislation that has come out looks as if it has been

written by a child. It really is absolutely awful. There are

parliamentary draftsmen, as I understand it, and I can only

assume the old parliamentary draftsmen have not been willing to

come to Holyrood or alternatively, MSPs are over ridding them because

the language used here it is quite extraordinarily childish. I am not

saying it is a universal positioned but it happens again and again and

again. You also have this idiotic habit of following tabloid agendas.

"and let's make something illegal that started being illegal about

500 years ago so we can get on the front page of the Sun or the Daily

Record and say we are doing something about this". You deal

with crime by having more policemen arresting wrongdoers and

prosecuting. You do not pass laws and say how awful it is. What

difference does that make? None at all. Respond to that tabloid

allegation club which is that MSPs follow the headlines, rush into

legislation and did not know what they are doing. It is not the first

time I have said "legislate at haste, litigate Alastair". I agree

we should take time over legislation. Can I deal with the

fact that we have additional police men on the street and that crime is

at an all-time low? Let's park that one. Let's look at the legislation

that Alistair Bonnington is referring to, which was the

offensive behaviour at football matches and communications. I was

the first person to say that this should not be emergency legislation.

The first person. My duty as a backbencher and my duty as chair of

the committee is to deal with things in an objective fashion.

Other backbenchers do that as well and what really got my goat about

the article but Alistair Bonnington rate is that it was ill-informed

about the actions of Paris peace - not just myself but others - in

holding the government to account. For example, on double jeopardy, I

already raised with the first minister and the Cabinet Secretary

in Parliament that I do not want to see this used to give the Crown a

second bite at a running a case when they didn't run it probably

the first time. I don't know when Alistair Bonnington knows that but

other politicians have said that, so there is integrity in MSPs. They

are endeavouring to hold the government to account and it is up

to the press to report it. I due essentially suggesting that you are

questioning the integrity of MSPs - whether they are doing their job

properly or not? You surely don't believe they going to Hollywood to

make bad laws? I am not saying that there is an intention to create bad

laws but I think what Christine Grahame has just said is very

revealing. She said she has spoken to the first minister in the hope

that a particularly stupid piece of legislation is not going to be used

in a particular way. Below all is their. It is on the statute book.

It is up to lawyers to decide what it means and to enforce it. But

First Minister has got nothing to do with it at all. You have got a

retrospective piece of legislation. Retrospective legislation, as

Christine and I both know, is something that hardly ever happens

a democratic countries. Bus, the terms of this legislation asked

such that an extraordinarily low threshold is asked for. On the

basis of that very low threshold on the balance of probabilities, the

person accused who has been The Scottish Government says it

double jeopardy issue follows a detailed assessment by the

independent Scottish Law Commission. The Government consultation when

Ford and safeguards for pretend to make sure that strict map -- strict

requirements Warren Place. Ministers to seek wider advice

before they legislate. I have just giving you a precise

example. If you were saying that on the balance of probabilities, that

somebody, not even the accused, has been found on the balance of

probabilities to committed an offence against the course of

justice, which could be as little as lying in court - and accused

people to lie in court quite a lot - and on that basis perhaps they

were acquitted, and if that is the threshold for trying a person the

second time, we really have gone back to the Stone Age.

It is very naughty of Alastair to translate what I said. What I said

was, it must not be used when evidence that should have been used

in the first trial was either overlooked in the examination of a

crime scene or not produced by the Crown and prosecution. And it is

only in very serious crimes we're talking about, but what can happen

is that if scientific measures at that time were not available, then

there is a very narrow argument in very special circumstances for

someone who has been acquitted to be tried again. All I was doing in

raising it in the chamber was alerting colleagues and Cabinet and

everybody else that I did not wish this to be used by the ground and I

was given a straight answer - it will not be used in that way.

You have identified a potential problem. Give us the solution. More

lawyer's? A second chamber? There's an idea! I could volunteer

for that! Are a one parliamentary system is rare in the world. We are

suffering, I think, even if I give everybody the best of intentions,

the best efforts, we are suffering from the fact that legislation is

not being scrutinised as well as it would be in other systems. I am

Scottish and I want to be pride of Scot's Law. But we just do not

compare with what comes out of Westminster.

We are running out of time. Thank you. Thank you for joining us.

Protesters halted a Israeli dance show up at the Edinburgh

International Festival this evening. Batsheva Dance Company hat to be

stopped three times after protest inside the theatre. Earlier, more

than 100 people gathered outside to urge the festival's director to

reconsider his invite to the company that is funded by the

Israeli Government. Born from their embers of the

Second World War, their Edinburgh International Festival promised a

platform in peacetime for all cultures. This dance show from Tel

Aviv, just one of the many international pieces being staged

this year. Palestinians, stand very firm! But outside the theatre,

there is a growing protests and calls for the show to be abandoned,

not least because the Israeli culture minister is due to attend.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with their national while --

nationality, ethnicity or anything else. It is because they are

financed by the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs and their part of

an Israeli Government idea called Brand is real. For the sign a

contract with the Israeli Government not to mention the

occupation and not to mention his real been accused of war crimes and

crimes against humanity. To draw a veil over these war crimes, that is

why they are targeted. Miss Anne Israeli came here to sing or Oscar

on the Royal Mile, there would be no interest in that whatsoever. --

Singh or bask. Edinburgh's festivals are famous for offering a

platform to many different views and protest has always had its

place, onstage and off. But this is different. This is about stopping a

performance going ahead and it has the backing of some of Scott and's

best known writers and performers, among the more Liz Lochhead, AL

Kennedy and Iain Banks, for all of whom signed a letter, appealing

today it rector of Edinburgh's International Festival about

putting the show on at all. And for some fellow performers, that

amounts to artistic censorship. This is an international festival.

Where do we stop? Where do we stop banning fella human beings in the

name of somebody making themselves important? But I care about

artistic freedom. Are you going to stop a Russian company coming

because of what they erupt do, because of what they have just

done? What about the Chinese company? For two others, the

festival's recent international cultural some it shows the

political power of culture and the need to have all countries involved.

His real was invited to send a delicate, although chose not to

attend. If people come to our country or people from our country

go to a country like Israel, there are able to express their views and

are able to get people to see things in a different way. If you

build that Worlock, then you will never be able to affect a change or

get people to see things differently. It is important, we

feel, to keep the dialogue open at all times. Protests are not new to

Batsheva Dance Company, who faced a similar reception in New York

recently. We have had protests in some of our past two years. Usually

over the policy and Government of Israel. Usually, they take place

outside the theatre and are usually very simple. It is fine for people

to voice their different opinions. They say the work is not political

but they refused to distance themselves from the Israeli

Government, their main source of funding. I am quite proud that our

country funds culture. We are a cultural institution. And while the

festival's director of sympathises with protesters, he says the show

must go on. This festival started at a time when there were huge

disputes over borders, where people were killing each other point 60

million people had died. I am not trying to trivialise the very real

political disputes and the very real problems that exist in a place

like it is real and a place like Palestine. Or any number of

countries in which we choose to work. But we start always from the

position of the individual voice, the individual creativity of the

artists themselves. For those individual artists, at the show did

go one tonight, although it was halted three times. It continues to

the weekend, as will the protest. Team GB's gold medallist also broke

the world record. Offshore wind farms on the front

page of the Scotsman. At the Mirror talk about Frankie

Boyle's comments about the Paralympics.

After a chilly night, it is going to feel like Alton in the morning,

despite the early sunshine. But already, another weather system

coming into Northern Ireland and Scotland with outbreaks of rain and

a freshening breeze. We will see some drizzle later in the day in

Cumbria, but he is the sunshine on the other side of the Pennines. For

a better day for the Paralympics events. None of the gusty winds of

today. Increasing cloud in south- west England and possibly a bit of

light drizzle to end the day. Before Northern Ireland, the rain

starts to clear way through the afternoon. There could be early

brightness the further west you are. It is a damp afternoon in Scotland

to the west and North, but it will take much of the day to reach

eastern Scotland. It is a dull, damp day across much of Scotland to

end the week, but we will hold on to a bit of brightness and

Manchester. Cloud on Saturday and more rain coming in the North West.

A bright day across southern parts of the UK and a bit warmer, with

some sunshine on Saturday. A possible that start in the south-