Uneasy truce in the war of the wigs over World's End

Published on Thursday 4 October 2007 01:13

AN UNEASY peace broke out yesterday between Scotland's two most senior legal figures after a row over the collapse of the World's End trial.

Last week Lord Hamilton accused the chief prosecutor, Elish Angiolini, of disrespecting the judiciary by making a statement to the Scottish Parliament to explain the high-profile collapse of the murder trial.

In talks yesterday the pair agreed that, while the judge's decision must be respected in cases, the Lord Advocate is also entitled to explain publicly the prosecution's position in controversial cases.

The trial of Angus Sinclair collapsed in August when Lord Clarke threw out the case against the accused, ruling there was not enough evidence for a jury to reach a verdict. Ms Angiolini then took the rare step of making a statement to MSPs, defending the prosecution's role.

This prompted the extraordinary attack by Lord Hamilton, the Lord Justice-General, who claimed that Ms Angiolini's statement had been disrespectful and undermined the judiciary. But agreement was reached yesterday after the pair met to discuss the background to their controversial exchange of letters last week.

"They agreed that it is important to respect decisions of the judiciary and that the independence of the judiciary and prosecution service are key to the operation of the criminal justice system," the Crown Office said.

"It was accepted that, where there is serious public and parliamentary concern, it will sometimes be necessary for the Lord Advocate to explain more fully the Crown's position."