Salmond lawyer suspended over train video comments

The lawyer who defended Alex Salmond has been banned from practice for 15 weeks over comments he made during the former first minister's trial.

Gordon Jackson KC was filmed on a train naming two complainers from the trial, which ultimately saw Mr Salmond cleared of charges of sexual assault.

The Faculty of Advocates accepted that the lawyer was "genuinely remorseful".

But the group concluded that the KC had committed a "serious and reprehensible departure from professional standards".

The disciplinary tribunal has taken a number of years to conclude due to appeals by Mr Jackson, which saw the sanction cut from five months to 15 weeks.

Mr Jackson is one of Scotland's most senior lawyers, and previously headed the professional body as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

He successfully defended Mr Salmond against charges of sexual assault and attempted rape during the trial in March 2020.

But during the trial the KC - who is also a former Labour MSP - was filmed on a train making comments about the former first minister and two of his accusers.

The trial judge, Lady Dorrian, had passed an order prohibiting the identification of any of the women who made complaints against Mr Salmond.

This reinforced the convention in Scotland whereby complainers are given anonymity for life.

At the time, Mr Jackson said he "deeply regretted the distress and difficulties" caused by the footage.

In a disciplinary tribunal, his legal team argued that he had not intended to name the complainers publicly, but was engaged in a discussion about "defence strategy".

The Faculty accepted that the lawyer was "genuinely remorseful", but said that his "conduct showed a reckless indifference to maintain the anonymity secured by the order".

They said: "It ought to have been obvious to Mr Jackson that to name complainers publicly posed a real risk to the order of the court and was contrary to his duty as an advocate.

"There was a material risk to the complainers of being identified. Significant trauma would thereby be inflicted on them, knowing that names had been publicly spoken."

The tribunal group said Mr Jackson's actions had not only harmed the complainers in the trial but could make witnesses less likely to cooperate in other cases in future.

His suspension from professional practice began on 1 October and will run for 15 weeks.

The complaint to the Faculty was made by Rape Crisis Scotland, and the group said that "the impact of Mr Jackson's behaviour has been compounded by the significant length of time this process has taken".

Chief executive Sandy Brindley also said there was a "worrying lack of transparency" in the "long and complex complaints process", which she said the Faculty should review.