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to Latest NewsJunior advocates have expressed exasperation that Morag Armstrong, 35, has been selected despite the fact that she left the bar more than a year ago to work for the Royal Bank of Scotland and has no current advocacy experience. Miss Armstrong was named as the fourth member of the team by the Crown Office yesterday, weeks after the other three name were announced, although her identity was an open secret in the Faculty of Advocates.
"On the face of it, it has to be odd to choose someone who isn't practising," said Donald Findlay, QC, Scotland's most noted defence advocate. "You could think of several people they could have chosen who have done this kind of work, both as advocate deputes or for the defence - Leeona Dorrian, for example, or Fiona Davies, who has done work on big cases for the Crown.
"Or there is Victoria Young who has been my junior in the past, who is very able and has experience of crime. I don't believe I have heard of Morag Armstrong, though I may have met her before she ceased practising and simply not be able to put a face to a name."
One junior female advocate, who did not wish to be named, said that being chosen for the Lockerbie prosecution team was the equivalent of playing sport for your country - the highest prize of anyone's career. She said: "It is pretty tough for everyone at the junior bar, and those of us who have stuck it out feel that this is an enormous kick in the teeth. It seems there are no rewards for those who do stick it out." The advocate said that it was widely believed that the Crown Office had decided that for political reasons the fourth member of the team was going to be a woman.
"Whether you agree with the tokenism of that is beside the point. This just sends the message that of all the women at the junior bar there was no-one good enough. "At least 30 per cent of the bar are women, and I simply cannot believe there wouldn't be someone from within the group whom they couldn't have selected."
Miss Armstrong's brief career at the bar was distinguished. She was legal assistant to the Lord President, Scotland's most senior judge, from 1993-94, and in 1994 won the Lord Reid scholarship, awarded on academic merit to one trainee advocate each year.
Before she left the bar she worked with Robert Reed, then an advocate depute at the Crown Office but now Scotland's newest and youngest judge, on the successful Crown case against the appeal by the Ice Cream Wars killers, Thomas "TC" Campbell and Joe Steele. She currently works in the legal and regulatory section of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The Lord Advocate issued a statement yesterday saying: "The prosecution counsel were selected because of particular strengths that will complement each other. Miss Armstrong was highly recommended, she is a very able advocate and has experience of many Crown cases."
A Crown Office spokesman said there was no truth in the allegation that she was chosen because of who she knew. "Miss Armstrong was chosen for her past experience and has been highly recommended by people within the system," said the spokesman. "The Lord Advocate was looking for people with experience of handling large cases, with both legal and administrative experience."
The other four members of the prosecution team are senior counsel Alastair Campbell, QC, and Alan Turnbull, QC. The other junior counsel is Jonathan Lake, who was involved in preparation for the Dunblane inquiry.
This news was taken from THE SCOTSMAN, Scotlands leading newspaper....