Tories would end dual role of Lord Advocate, says Badenoch amid Murrell memo row

A Conservative UK government would split the dual role of Scotland’s top law officer, Kemi Badenoch has said.

The announcement comes after it was revealed Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC had informed the First Minister on January 19 that former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell – Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband – had been charged with embezzling almost £460,000 from the party. That was weeks before the indictment was made public.

The Lord Advocate currently serves as the head of prosecutions in Scotland, as well as the Government’s chief legal adviser, being appointed by the First Minister.

The role was enshrined in the Scotland Act – the legislation which formed the Scottish Parliament – meaning it would be for Westminster to make any change.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last year told the First Minister to come up with proposals to scrap the dual-role, signalling his support for the move.

Speaking to journalists after her speech, the Tory leader said she would be “open” to the idea of proposing legislation before the next election to split the role.

“The key thing is that it has to happen at Westminster, so I’d be looking to our Scottish MPs to look at all the possible avenues,” she said.

“There are multiple avenues that you could try, but we would need the support of certainly many more people across the House – this can’t just be a Conservative issue.”

Addressing the Scottish Tory conference in Edinburgh on Friday, Mrs Badenoch said: “It is an absurd state of affairs that the Lord Advocate is currently in charge of an organisation prosecuting a case against a senior SNP figure whilst being in the SNP Government’s Cabinet.

“Today, I can announce that the Conservatives would end this conflict of interest and split the Lord Advocate’s role so that this never happens again.”

Her announcement comes after Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay accused the First Minister of “faux outrage” after a testy First Minister’s Questions exchange on Thursday.

Mr Findlay and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the minute from the Lord Advocate – which was sent to some of the First Minister’s top advisers – provided political advantage.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Friday ahead of the party conference, Mr Findlay accused the First Minister of using his anger at Holyrood to distract from the issue at hand.

“It’s absolutely stinking and I think John Swinney’s faux outrage is a desperate attempt to detract and distract from the real issues about this sorry mess,” he said.

The Scottish Tory leader – who will address party faithful for the final time before May’s Holyrood election on Saturday – added: “The whole sorry mess stinks of corruption – it’s not normal what happened and it’s not right what happened.

“This Lord Advocate said she had recused herself from the entire process, yet a newspaper discovers that she’s been emailing John Swinney a private briefing with sensitive details of the case involving Nicola Sturgeon.

“Bear in mind, this is a Lord Advocate that was appointed to the SNP Government by Nicola Sturgeon and retained by John Swinney.

“This information was political advantageous to the SNP Government.”

The Lord Advocate, who appeared to answer an urgent question on the issue in Holyrood this week, said she “roundly rejects” any allegations of corruption, while the First Minister said he has “absolute confidence” in the law officer.

The First Minister told Holyrood on Thursday: “I want to say something very directly to Mr Findlay, to Parliament and to the public in Scotland.

“Dorothy Bain is an outstanding prosecutor, she is an outstanding lawyer, she has 40 years of unimpeachable service to the public interest in Scotland.

“She alone is responsible for more cases of sexual violence of men against women being brought to justice than any other person, and I put on record today my absolute confidence in the Lord Advocate in undertaking her duties.”

Murrell had been expected to appear at the High Court in Glasgow for a preliminary hearing on Friday but this has now been moved to May 25 at the High Court in Edinburgh.