Colin Boyd, Baron Boyd of Duncansby

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Lord Boyd of Duncansby PC QC, Lord Advocate, 2000-2006
Lord Boyd of Duncansby PC QC, Lord Advocate, 2000-2006

Colin Boyd, Baron Boyd of Duncansby, PC, QC, (born June 7, 1953) was Lord Advocate for Scotland from February 24, 2000 until his resignation on October 4, 2006[1]. On April 11, 2006, Downing Street announced that Colin Boyd would take a seat as a crossbench life peer[2]; however he took the Labour whip after resigning as Lord Advocate[3]. He was formally introduced into the House of Lords on July 3, 2006[4]. On the day SNP leader, Alex Salmond, was elected First Minister of Scotland (May 16, 2007) it was reported that Boyd is quitting the Scottish Bar and will become a part-time consultant with public law solicitors, Dundas & Wilson. He told The Herald:

"This is a first. I don't think a Lord Advocate has ever done this - left the Bar and become a solicitor."

Boyd remains a Queen's Counsel and continues to sit in the House of Lords.

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[edit] Legal evolution

Lord Boyd's title is taken from Duncansby Head in Caithness – a favourite spot for family outings – when he was a child living in Wick. He was educated at Wick High School and George Watson's College, Edinburgh and graduated BA (Econ) from Manchester University in politics and economics, and LLB from Edinburgh University. He was a solicitor in private practice before being called to the Scottish Bar in 1983. Boyd was an Advocate Depute from 1993 to 1995 and took Silk as Queen's Counsel in 1995. He is a legal Associate of the Royal Town Planning Institute. As an Advocate he built up a practice in administrative law.

[edit] Political career

As a university student, he joined the Labour Party but left to join the breakaway Scottish Labour Party, sharing the SLP founder Jim Sillars' distrust of the mainstream Labour Party to follow through on its commitment to devolution. Boyd stood as a parliamentary candidate for the SLP at the 1979 general election but garnered only 176 votes. When the SLP disbanded, after its failure to make an impact at that election, he decided to rejoin the Labour Party rather than follow Sillars into the Scottish National Party. After the 1997 general election, he was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland. He was promoted to Lord Advocate in 2000 upon the elevation of Andrew Hardie to the bench. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 2000.

[edit] Controversial peerage

Following the announcement on April 11, 2006 of Boyd's appointment to the House of Lords, his peerage nomination became a talking point in Scottish political circles. [5] However, Boyd defended the appointment, saying:

"I remain firmly committed to the full time role of Lord Advocate, leading the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and seeing through the programme of reform I initiated four years ago. Appointment to the House of Lords is a natural extension of my duties as Lord Advocate and a development which will allow me to represent Scotland's interests at home and at UK level."

In December 2006, after Boyd had been replaced as Lord Advocate by Elish Angiolini, First Minister Jack McConnell was questioned by the Metropolitan Police about his nomination of Boyd for a peerage. McConnell said he was "disappointed" over what he regarded as a "normal and straightforward nomination" becoming caught up in Scotland Yard's cash for peerages investigation.[6]

[edit] Lockerbie trial

Lord Boyd of Duncansby's role as Lord Advocate featured leading the prosecution in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial between May 2000 and January 2001. Of the two defendants, one – Fhimah – was acquitted and the other – Megrahi – was convicted on January 31, 2001 of 270 counts of murder, and sentenced to 27 years in jail. Controversy continues to surround Megrahi's conviction despite the rejection of his appeal on March 14, 2002. Evidence presented at the trial has been called into question and doubts have been expressed about the reliability of several key prosecution witnesses. According to The Sunday Times of October 23, 2005 former Lord Advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, described one such witness as "not quite the full shilling" and "an apple short of a picnic". Boyd has demanded that Lord Fraser should issue a public statement clarifying what he actually said about this witness, and what he meant by those remarks.

[edit] Fingerprint controversy

In February 2006, Boyd was drawn into the detective constable Shirley McKie fingerprint controversy, when she was awarded £750,000 compensation in an out-of-court settlement. As Solicitor General, Boyd was responsible for the prosecution of DC McKie after she denied an accusation by Scottish Criminal Record Office(SCRO) fingerprint officers that she left her thumb print at a murder scene in January 1997. McKie was arrested in March 1998, charged with perjury but at her trial in May 1999 the SCRO fingerprint evidence was rejected, and she was acquitted.

A senior Scottish police officer, James Mackay QPM, was appointed in June 2000 by the Crown Office to investigate the matter. Mackay's interim report in August 2000 suggested that the evidence given in court by the four SCRO personnel amounted to 'collective manipulation and collective collusion'. As a result, the four fingerprint officers were immediately suspended by SCRO, and Scottish ministers were informed. Mackay's final confidential report was presented to the Lord Advocate in October 2000. The report remained under wraps until extracts were published in the Scotsman newspaper in February 2006. Mackay had concluded that 'cover-up and criminality' had taken place at SCRO and recommended that the four fingerprint officers should be prosecuted. However, the Scotsman also revealed that Boyd had decided in September 2001 to take no action in response to Mackay's recommendation, and the four SCRO officers were reinstated.

Boyd was faced with calls[who?] to explain to what extent his decision not to prosecute the SCRO personnel in the autumn of 2000 was related to the then ongoing Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, where he was leading the prosecution. With the eyes of the world focused upon the Scottish judicial system, it could have undermined the Crown's case to have the SCRO scrutinized and its fingerprint experts prosecuted for covering up acts of criminality.[citation needed] Veteran Lockerbie campaigner and retired Labour MP, Tam Dalyell, asked Boyd 'to consider his position', while Michael Russell MSP insisted that Boyd could not continue as Lord Advocate.[citation needed]

[edit] SCCRC

For more than three years, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into Megrahi's conviction. The SCCRC has confirmed that, on June 28, 2007, it will make public its decision on referring the "Lockerbie bomber's" case back to the Court of Criminal Appeal for a fresh appeal, when Megrahi's conviction is expected to be quashed. This is likely to be an embarrassment for Lord Boyd if, as is rumoured, he is appointed Attorney General on June 27, 2007 by the new prime minister, Gordon Brown.

[edit] Publications

Boyd contributed to a book The Legal Aspects of Devolution published just before the 1997 General election.

[edit] External links

[edit] References


[edit] See also

Legal offices
Preceded by
Paul Cullen		 Solicitor General for Scotland
1997-2000		 Succeeded by
Neil Davidson
Preceded by
Andrew Hardie		 Lord Advocate
2000–2006		 Succeeded by
Elish Angiolini