HC Deb 06 November 1961 vol 648 cc604-5
22. Mr. Rankin

asked the Lord Advocate what consideration he gave to the matter before it was decided to send the persons concerned in the recent anti-Polaris demonstrations at the Holy Loch for trial to the sheriff court.

The Lord Advocate (Mr. William Grant)

I considered carefully in May of this year what action should be taken in relation to breaches of the peace arising out of demonstrations of this type. I decided that in such cases, where the evidence was sufficient, proceedings should be taken in the sheriff court in Dunoon, and gave instructions accordingly.

Mr. Rankin

Now that we have unmasked the real villain in this matter, did the Lord Advocate realise that, in deciding to send these cases for trial to the sheriff court, he was taking a step which was bound to cause heavier sentences to be inflicted than the nature of the offences warranted?

The Lord Advocate

No, Sir. The maximum fine in the justice of the peace court is £10 and in the sheriff court it is £25 for offences of this sort, but it is for the court to decide in any particular case what sentence should be inflicted.

Mr. Willis

What were the reasons why the Lord Advocate considered it so very much more serious to sit down on Ardnadam Pier than in Sauchiehall Street or Princes Street?

Mr. Emrys Hughes

Or Trafalgar Square?

The Lord Advocate

And in Trafalgar Square. The seriousness of the offences arose from a number of factors, including the numbers involved, the mass obstruction of the road concerned, and the deliberate manner in which the law was broken.

Mr. Ross

Does not that mean that the Lord Advocate had made up his mind 1o have cases dealt with thus before the offences took place?

Mr. Rankin

In view of the fact that legal comparisons can now be made, after the event, will the Lord Advocate look at some of the sentences which were imposed in England for similar offences and consider again the decisions in this court?

The Lord Advocate

The Act under which people were charged for offences in Trafalgar Square does not apply in Scotland. I cannot prosecute people in Scotland under an Act which applies to England. As regards what was said by the hon. Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. Ross), I did not say that I had decided beforehand what to do. What happened, in fact, was this. On 24th May this year, after the Whitsun demonstrations, having received a report from the procurator fiscal in regard to those, I decided that the persons concerned should be charged in the sheriff court at Dunoon. I did that after considering the procurator fiscal's report. At the same time, I instructed him that, in future, if the evidence was sufficient, he should proceed accordingly in similar cases.