ALEX Salmond speaks incessantly of a fairer society, and if I could believe him I would happily hold on to his coat tails as my country was transformed.
My problem with these promises is what has already been delivered on his watch, and with the assistance of his trusted Tartan Army foot soldier, the recently-vanished Kenny MacAskill.
Scotland now has a national police service based on a metropolitan model, headed by a chief who is a commissioner in all but name.
The cost of this transformation has far exceeded any estimates, and many important structures remain inoperative, meanwhile the nature of policing in this country continues to change, and as it does so, mirrors that of policing in England and Wales. Policing which is remote and lacking in accountability and which attracts social unrest and inner city violence. Stop and search, something which has no legal basis for its use in Scotland, is encouraged and is widespread.
The Scottish legal system, which I was brought up to believe was something to be proud of and the envy of the world, is being dismantled. The cornerstone of that system is corroboration, a concept which virtually all the leading authorities, and the judiciary considered a crucial element within our (now loosely termed) common law system.
With the disgrace that is the Lockerbie prosecution already secured for history, our First Minister was furious that the Cadder decision (by the Supreme Court, to rule that suspects be offered legal advice prior to and during interview become part of Scots law). His reaction was to secure the opinion of one of the few members of the judiciary who did not believe that corroboration was a necessary safeguard to minimise miscarriages of justice and to ensure fairness, and the Lord Justice Clerk provided the First Minister with the findings he hoped for.
Scotland today is being told that a vote for independence will lead to a fairer society. The evidence so far is that those advocating this change have produced and continue to produce a legal system where fairness plays no part and where right-wing ideology rules supreme.
Neil McPherson,
3 Netherton Road,
Glasgow.
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