Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Scotland Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Pete Wishart Excerpts
Wednesday 22nd June 2011

(13 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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David Mundell Portrait David Mundell
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The Advocate-General wrote to the chair of the Scottish Government expert group, Lord McCluskey, offering a meeting, but has now received a response from the group’s secretariat saying that, owing to their timetable, members of the group have not had time in the first instance to receive submissions or hear evidence. What appears to have happened is that an expert group is set up by the First Minister one week, meets the following week—with no evidence taken in any week—and reports the week after.

Pete Wishart Portrait Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)
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That was a most disappointing response. Will the Government start supporting the integrity and independence of Scots law, work constructively with the Scots group chaired by the eminent Lord McCluskey and promise to do nothing to reform the Supreme Court until the group has reported?

David Mundell Portrait David Mundell
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I should have hoped that the hon. Gentleman, like his colleague, Jim Sillars, the former deputy leader of the Scottish National party, would have sought to disassociate himself from the appalling comments that the First Minister has made about Lord Hope, which Jim Sillars described as “foolish” and “juvenile”. [Interruption.]