Solicitor Hits Out at Scottish Law Changes

Tue, 15 Jun 2010

A solicitor has hit out at new guidelines which allow Scottish lawyers to sit in on police interviews for the first time. Duncan Henderson from Inverness Legal Services claims that solicitors were not consulted about the changes, and claims the legal profession will suffer financially as a result of the changes.

The changes have been made after a man was convicted of assault, largely owing to the answers he gave in an interview where he did not have legal advice . The defendant – Peter Cadder – has taken his case to the Supreme Court, and though a ruling has not yet been made, the court is expected to rule in favour of Cadder.

The changes will see Scotland adopt the same laws as England which allow suspects to request a lawyer be present at their police interview. However, Mr Henderson stated his belief that unlike English solicitors, Scottish lawyers are unlikely to be paid for attending the interviews. Henderson labelled proposals which would see Scottish lawyers work unsociable hours for no legal fee ‘unsustainable’. Henderson is to pursue his complaint and declared his intention to write to members of the justice committee with his concerns.
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