§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he has taken in regard to the complaints made to him and other Ministers as regards Sheriff Francis Middleton; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. YoungerI and my colleagues received a number of complaints from different sources about a report in theDaily Record of Wednesday 22 April concerning a sentence passed by Sheriff Francis Middleton and comments which he made at the time in a case involving unlawful sex between an adult male and a young girl from Vietnam. The burden of the complaints was that Sheriff Middleton's reported views were racist. I invited the sheriff principal of the sheriffdom concerned to investigate the matter. He has done so and has reported to me. In doing so, he has provided statements from public officials who were in the court at the time of the sheriff's decision and his remarks.
Sheriff Middleton had retired as a full-time sheriff at the end of 1978 and was acting as a temporary sheriff, that is, one who acts only when invited to do so. He had been called upon on that particular day at short notice to sit at Greenock.
316WIt would obviously be improper for me to comment on a judicial sentence; but I record that the sheriff principal, in his report to me, expresses his opinion that in the circumstances of the case the sentence was reasonable and was not lenient. The sheriff's remarks were net fully reported in the newspaper. Having studied the sheriff principal's report, I am satisfied that there was no racist element intended by Sheriff Middleton either in his sentence or his remarks. The sheriff has expressed his great regret, which I share, that his remarks should have given cause for such widespread concern. He is an active worker for the promotion of good race relations; in 1979 he was honoured by the Pakistan Government for his work in that field among the Asian community.
I have full confidence in the determination of the Scottish judiciary to apply the law equally and impartially to all citizens, irrespective of race or religion. That is our proud tradition and I know of no more vigorous defenders of that tradition than our judges and sheriffs themselves.