Introduction to this website – The posts are found by pressing on ‘The Posts’ above or links to Recent Posts on the right.

This website was set up in July 2018 to publicise my petition PE01705 submitted to the Scottish Parliament on March 15th 2018, but “under review” and hence not visible to the public until August 2018, to try to improve the chances of video evidence being allowed to go to court in Scotland where the courts can decide on the admissibility of the evidence rather than the Crown Office and Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). It also asks to increase the powers of the police to give them the additional powers their representative discussed with the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee (ECCLRC). The website has been set up as a blog, a format that I am familiar with, in order that people may respond with help in correcting and informing any omissions and errors in my petition and the background material provided here. I sent information on this blog to current members of the ECCLRC, the cabinet secretaries for Environment and the Justice committees and my MSPs in July 2018 to try to encourage the petition to appear on the government website. It did appear on the website as ‘open’ on 16th August. The history of the petition and some of the other actions I have taken can be followed in the posts ordered by date.

The website allows comment, albeit strictly moderated, and I am particularly interested in receiving references to relevant cases and journal articles. If you do not wish your comment to be seen on the website but do wish to advise to me as a suggestion, please indicate this in the comment.  

This website is set up as a blog. There are links to information about commenting and the posts below the cover photograph, and the right hand column shows links to recent posts. Please be aware that the content will be updated as the information is improved. If the petition goes forward draft copies of the submissions intended for committees may be published for comment. Major superseded revisions will be kept available. Some of the material on this introduction page has been moved to chronological posts as it was getting unwieldy.

Abbreviations used sometimes without clarification in posts:

Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)

Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee (ECCLRC)

Royal Society for the protection of birds (RSPB)

Scottish National Heritage (SNH)

Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland (IPS)

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (LRA)

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA)