Pressure on Kenny MacAskill as drug trial is halted

Published on Thursday 2 September 2010 19:19

PRESSURE was mounting on justice secretary Kenny MacAskill last night after a cannabis trial was postponed as a result of a high-profile campaign to crack down on domestic factories producing the drug.

Earlier this week, Mr Mac-Askill joined Gordon Meldrum, director general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, and John Meldrum, the Crimestoppers chairman, to launch the 20 million initiative.

The campaign aims to crack down on cannabis cultivation in homes, garages, farm buildings and in industrial premises.

Legal restrictions mean the reasons for the trial's postponement and the names of the accused cannot be reported. But the case involved a number of accused, who were charged with some sort of involvement in cannabis production.

John Lamont, the Tory justice spokesman, said: "It would be a travesty of justice if this well-intentioned campaign meant that a trial had to be permanently abandoned. I hope that the Scottish Government took legal advice as to any implications."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Decisions relating to the timing of proceedings with individual court cases are a matter for the courts and in this case a sheriff has decided that he does not feel that this trial should proceed at the same time as a Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency campaign. The trial will now be taken at a later date."