§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officers of Central Scotland police intimated a willingness to give evidence to the Cullen inquiry and subsequently declined to do so; and if he will make a statement. [90]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland appointed Lord Cullen on 21 March 1996 to be a tribunal for the purposes of this inquiry in virtue of section 1 of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921.
Under the provisions of the Act, Lord Cullen had the power to call witnesses and require them to appear at the inquiry. There was, therefore, no question of anyone intimating a willingness to give evidence to the inquiry and subsequently declining to do so.