A Scottish Government minister has defended the conduct of the public inquiry into a 137-mile power line.
Scotland’s biggest public inquiry is currently being held into proposals for a line of pylons from Beauly in the Highlands to Denny near Falkirk.
Deputy Scottish Tory leader Murdo Fraser described the process as “seriously flawed”.
However, Enterprise Minister Jim Mather insisted the inquiry was being conducted fairly.
“Calls to stop or redirect the inquiry would be at odds with the need for an objective process that listens and reaches a balanced judgment,” he said.
Mr Mather was replying to a Holyrood debate launched by Mr Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.
He had complained that the inquiry was not giving a fair hearing to objectors.
Mr Fraser complained of evidence being “dismissed” as inadmissible on deadline grounds by the inquiry reporters.
He also said other evidence was not being examined fully as the reports were sticking “rigidly” to the inquiry timetable.
Mr Fraser said: “Evidence being dismissed, evidence not being fully investigated, poor treatment of witnesses giving evidence, an assumption that a power line is needed, no real chance to discuss alternatives – I believe that all of this is fundamentally wrong.”
Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow region, told MSPs: “Reasonable people need to expect a reasonable process.”
And Dr Richard Simpson, Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife region, said: “If the process is not correct, then the decision may not be correct.”
Mr Mather insisted the inquiry timetable had not been set arbitrarily.
And while some had argued that more time should have been allocated, the aim should be “the tightest timescale that allows adequate and fair examination”.
The minister said the inquiry reporter had only refused to take late evidence in cases where no “cogent” reason had been put forward as to why it was being provided late.
The scheme would see 600 pylons up to 65m (213ft) high replacing the existing transmission line.
The inquiry is due to continue until the end of the year.
Archive for December, 2009
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Only a third of Scots believe the Lockerbie bomber should have been freed from prison last week, a poll commissioned by BBC
News has suggested.
The ICM Research survey indicated almost three quarters thought Scotland’s reputation was damaged by Abdelbaset Ali al-
Megrahi’s release.
But only 36% thought Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill should quit.
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said Mr MacAskill had shown “guts” in making a hard but correct decision.
Mr MacAskill announced on 20 August that Megrahi, who is terminally-ill with prostate cancer, would be freed on
compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya.
He had served eight years of a life sentence for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, in
southern Scotland, in which 270 people died.
A random sample of 1,005 adults from across Scotland were questioned by telephone on Wednesday and Thursday.
The survey found 60% thought the Scottish Government was wrong to release Megrahi, against 32% of respondents who believed
it was the right decision.
Of those polled, 57% believed Megrahi should have remained in prison until he died, while 37% thought he should have been
released at some point prior to his death.
Despite Mr MacAskill’s insistence to the contrary, more than two thirds of those questioned – 68% – thought the decision was
influenced by factors other than Megrahi’s health, while only 20% believed it was made purely on compassionate grounds.
Mr MacAskill’s controversial meeting with Megrahi in Greenock Prison on 4 August was also unpopular, according to the poll,
with 52% believing the visit should not have taken place, and 36% saying it should.
The justice secretary has claimed the visit was required under the terms of the Libyan government’s prisoner transfer
request, but this has been disputed by opposition politicians
Almost three quarters of those polled (74%) said the affair had damaged the standing of the Scottish Government in the eyes
of voters, with the same proportion believing the release of Megrahi had damaged Scotland’s reputation.
Only 11% said it had enhanced the reputation of the country, while 10% said it had made no difference one way or the other.
A British minister told Libya Gordon Brown did not want the Lockerbie bomber to die in a Scottish prison, according to newly
released papers on the case.
The claim is contained in a Libyan version of an exchange relating to the case of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
The then Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell has confirmed he told Libya the UK government was not “actively seeking”
Megrahi’s death in prison.
However, he denied having any knowledge of the prime minister’s personal view.
Mr Rammell, now armed forces minister, also insisted he made clear to the Libyans during a visit to Tripoli in February this
year that any decision on Megrahi had to come from Scottish ministers.
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill allowed Megrahi, who is terminally ill with cancer, to be freed from Greenock
Prison on 20 August on compassionate grounds after rejecting his return to Libya under a prisoner transfer agreement.
Mr Brown and UK ministers have since declined to say whether they supported freeing Megrahi, stressing it was a decision for
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Mr Brown has so far declined to comment on the document, but is expected to do so later on Wednesday.
Mr Miliband told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there had been no “double dealing” over Megrahi’s release.
He also said: “We did not want him to die in prison. No, we weren’t seeking his death in prison. We have been absolutely
clear.”
Questioned about Mr Rammell’s comments, he added: “He was asked by the Libyans whether or not we wanted Megrahi to die in
jail.
“He said we weren’t actively seeking his death in jail, and he explained very clearly that under our constitution this was a
matter of Scottish law, and a matter for the Scottish government.”
Former boxer Joe Calzaghe has become the latest celebrity to leave BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing show.
Calzaghe and dance partner Kristina Rihanoff were beaten in the dance-off by actress Zoe Lucker and her partner James
Jordan.
Votes cast by the public were added to the judges’ scores, leaving the two dance pairs with the lowest scores to fight for
survival in the dance-off.
Calzaghe said: “It’s the way it goes. It’s been a great experience.”
“It’s been fantastic.”
Ms Rihanoff added: “It’s been amazing to teach someone like him and I’m so lucky to have him as my partner.”
The fate of the pair – who had been the subject of newspaper speculation about their relationship – was sealed when judges
Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon all voted to save Lucker.
The decision leaves 11 couples to battle it out next week in a bid to be crowned the show’s winner.
Controversy has dogged this series of Strictly Come Dancing, with the show’s producers having denied claims of ageism after
66-year-old judge Arlene Phillips was replaced with former winner Alesha Dixon, 30.
Then dancer Anton Du Beke apologised “unreservedly” after he used a racist term to refer to his partner.
Presenter Bruce Forsyth was drawn into the row after he said people should have a “sense of humour” about the incident.
Mr Forsyth subsequently stressed that he did not “excuse or condone” such language.
Du Beke, who also presents Saturday evening game show Hole in the Wall, said: “I must say immediately and categorically that I am not a racist and that I do not use racist language.
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“There was no racist intent whatsoever but I accept that it is a term which causes offence and I regret my use of it, which was done without thought or consideration of how others would react.
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Rouass, whose parents are Moroccan, walked away from the situation, the News of the World reported.
She has since accepted her dance partner’s apology.
She said: “It was a situation which happened that we have moved on from and I accept his apology.
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On Saturday, Crimewatch presenter and former policeman Rav Wilding was the third celebrity to be voted off the show, alongside partner Aliona Vilani.
Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke has apologised “unreservedly” for any offence he caused after it was claimed he called his partner a “Paki”.
The ballroom dancer denied being racist after an exchange “in jest” with Laila Rouass during training for the show.
The News of the World said he used the slur two weeks ago after the Footballers’ Wives actress had a spray tan before filming.
Rouass has accepted his apology and said the couple had “moved on”.
A BBC spokesman said the organisation did not condone offensive language in the workplace.
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After a series of high-level diplomatic interventions – including phone calls and personal visits to Kabul – Mr Karzai
agreed on Tuesday to a second round following August’s fraud-marred election.
The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) deducted hundreds of thousands of votes from the main candidates,
pushing Mr Karzai beneath the 50% threshold needed for outright victory.
The panel also recommended replacing thousands of corrupt officials, and scrapping polling stations where the fraud was
worst.
But, as campaigning officially began in Afghanistan, the Taliban threatened to launch a fresh wave of violence, urging
people not to vote in what they called an “American process”.
The BBC’s Andrew North, in the capital, Kabul, says there has been almost no electioneering in public so far.
This is partly, our correspondent explains, because the candidates are putting more effort into behind-the-scenes
discussions, largely over the shape of a new Afghan government after the vote, which most analysts forecast Mr Karzai will
win.
But, he adds, Mr Abdullah himself has said he does not want to be in any Karzai-led government again, fuelling rumours that
some kind of deal could still emerge before the vote.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his challenger Abdullah Abdullah have ruled out a power-sharing deal, ahead of a run-off
vote due in two weeks.
There had been suggestions that some in the US favoured a deal because of the challenges of holding a second vote.
But both candidates told American media they were committed to another poll.
The BBC Kabul correspondent says many Afghans hope for a deal to obviate a second vote as winter is coming and the Taliban
have vowed to disrupt voting.
Mr Karzai, who bowed to international pressure to hold a run-off, said a deal would be “an insult to democracy”.
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Mr Karzai said: “It has to be held. I made sure to have agreement from all the international
players before agreeing to a run-off, to have a second round absolutely surely agreed upon and promised.”
Former Foreign Minister Mr Abdullah too, in an interview on Fox News, said he would rule out a deal ahead of the vote, and
that he was “ready for a run-off”.
