SLAB Chief Arrested

Campaigner for legal reform Peter Cherbi of A Diary of injustice in Scotland has picked up on a newspaper story about a Scottish Legal Aid Board chief being arrested and charged with criminal charges of soliciting a boy prostitute. Douglas Haggarty, who is Chief of Legal Services at the Scottish Legal Aid Board, has sat on various Scottish Government consultation groups which included the most senior members of the legal profession, the Law Society of Scotland, and even senior Police officers.

According to the newspaper Paul McBride QC, a senior board member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board was representing Haggarty asked the Crown Office to drop the charges against his client, on the grounds 'there was not enough evidence to convict', and now the Procurator Fiscal has decided to drop proceedings .

Peter Cherbi makes a point that clients should have a right to know their solicitor's criminal records.