Slopping-out lawyer may sue First Minister for attacking his integrity

Tony Kelly sought legal advice after he was criticised by Mr Salmond in a magazine interview in which the SNP leader claimed that the lawyer believed that the judicial system was there to "make sure" he could make an "incredibly comfortable living".

Mr Salmond's remarks were disputed by Professor Kelly, who has fought for the human rights of prisoners in slopping out cases.

Prof Kelly, a visiting professor at Strathclyde University, said he was "sad" that the First Minister had called into question his "professional integrity" and described Mr Salmond's comments as a "personal slur".

He added: "For a politician to attack me for the work that I do and to mistake so seriously my motivation cannot be left unremarked upon.

"With regret, I have had to take legal advice and following upon that, given the nature of attacks upon me, I have decided to formalise my position."

The Scotsman understands that Prof Kelly is waiting to see what response he receives from Mr Salmond before deciding how far to take his legal action.

Mr Salmond referred to Prof Kelly's work representing prisoners demanding compensation for slopping out in a highly controversial interview with Holyrood magazine.

Referring to compensation paid out to prisoners, Mr Salmond suggested that Prof Kelly "believes that the judicial system is there to serve their interests and make sure they can make an incredibly comfortable living by trailing around the prison cells and other establishments of Scotland trying to find what might be construed as a breach of human rights of an unlimited liability back to 1999".

The interview also saw Mr Salmond make an unprecedented personal attack on Lord Hope of Craighead, one of two Scottish judges who sit on the UK Supreme Court, arguing that his rulings were allowing the "vilest people on the planet" to be compensated by the taxpayer.

His remarks prompted a furious backlash from senior legal figures and yesterday Mr Salmond's Cabinet colleagues stopped short of giving the First Minister their whole-hearted backing on the issue.

Finance secretary John Swinney suggested that Mr Salmond had made is remarks in the heat of the moment. He restricted himself to pointing out that the magazine interview had been conducted a fortnight ago.

But he added that much of the heat generated by the row then had now subsided as a result of the Scottish Government's decision to set up a review under Lord McCluskey.

Brian McConnachie QC, the vice chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association, said Mr Salmond's remarks were "wholly inappropriate, unbecoming and unseemly".

Mr McConnachie added: "Many, many years ago, Maggie Thatcher had things to say about decisions made about judges in relation to strikes. But I don't think even she went as far as to criticise a judge by name and start criticising him in this particular way."

Last night, the First Minister's spokesman said: "Things have moved on, and the opportunity now is to bring light and clarity to these issues via the independent expert group the government has established. It is best to look to the future - not the past."

RIGHTS CASES

TONY Kelly's most famous client was undoubtedly Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence agent who was freed by justice secretary Kenny MacAskill despite being convicted of the Lockerbie bomber.

But Professor Kelly has also made a name for himself representing other prisoners in human rights cases. He acted for the majority of the prisoners, who argued that the now defunct practice of slopping out in jails was a breach of their human rights.

He has also represented prisoners who are fighting for the right to vote.