Difference between revisions of "Frank Mulholland"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(Two new Lockerbie bombing suspects identified) |
(Expanding and referencing) |
||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
}} | }} | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | '''Frank Mulholland''' | + | '''Frank Mulholland''' is a Scottish lawyer and has been Scotland's [[Lord Advocate]] since 19 May 2011, having previously been Solicitor General, the junior Law Officer. He was the first Advocate Depute and Senior Advocate Depute appointed from within the [[Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service]], and only the second non-advocate appointed to the office of Lord Advocate, the first being his predecessor, [[Elish Angiolini]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography: Lord Advocate|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/Scottish-Cabinet/lordadvocate|publisher=[[Scottish Government]]|date=20 May 2011|accessdate=30 May 2011}}</ref> |
| + | ==Procurator Fiscal== | ||
| + | Mulholland was appointed Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders in January 2006 when he supervised the case against Angus Sinclair (Worlds End murders), the Allison and Johnson murder inquiry (in to the conduct of the investigation into the murder of Andrew Forsyth), and was in charge of Advocacy training for the prosecution service.<ref>[http://www.scottishlegal.com/2015/08/28/lord-advocate-frank-mulholland-to-deliver-syla-annual-lecture/ "Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland to deliver SYLA Annual Lecture"]</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Lockerbie investigation== | ||
On 15 October 2015, it was reported that Frank Mulholland, having recently met [[Attorney General of the United States]] [[Loretta Lynch]] in Washington to review progress made in the ongoing investigation into the Lockerbie bombing, had issued an International Letter of Request to the Libyan Attorney General in Tripoli which identifies two Libyans, [[Abdullah Senussi]] and [[Abu Agila Mas’ud]], as suspects in the bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]]. A [[Crown Office]] spokesman said: | On 15 October 2015, it was reported that Frank Mulholland, having recently met [[Attorney General of the United States]] [[Loretta Lynch]] in Washington to review progress made in the ongoing investigation into the Lockerbie bombing, had issued an International Letter of Request to the Libyan Attorney General in Tripoli which identifies two Libyans, [[Abdullah Senussi]] and [[Abu Agila Mas’ud]], as suspects in the bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]]. A [[Crown Office]] spokesman said: | ||
:"The Lord Advocate and the US Attorney General are seeking the assistance of the Libyan judicial authorities for [[Police Scotland|Scottish police]] officers and the [[FBI]] to interview two named suspects in Tripoli. The two individuals are suspected of involvement, along with [[Abdelbaset al-Megrahi]], in the bombing of flight Pan Am 103 in December 1988 and the murder of 270 people."<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34543983 "Two new Lockerbie bombing suspects identified"]</ref> | :"The Lord Advocate and the US Attorney General are seeking the assistance of the Libyan judicial authorities for [[Police Scotland|Scottish police]] officers and the [[FBI]] to interview two named suspects in Tripoli. The two individuals are suspected of involvement, along with [[Abdelbaset al-Megrahi]], in the bombing of flight Pan Am 103 in December 1988 and the murder of 270 people."<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34543983 "Two new Lockerbie bombing suspects identified"]</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Turmoil in Libya== | ||
| + | On hearing that Frank Mulholland had written to his opposite number in Tripoli, academic and Middle East expert [[Jason Pack]] told ''Good Morning Scotland'': | ||
| + | :We don’t recognise the Tripoli government, so that doesn’t make any sense. We don’t conduct formal official business with the “Tripoli government”. So of course they are going to Tobruk and Beida, where at least for the next five days the internationally-recognised government sits. I believe that it has no sovereignty or legitimacy, and that will become clear for all to see within five days. The Tobruk government barely controls two tiny pockets in the East of the country. Now we’re talking about individuals who are exclusively based in Tripoli where that government, which might issue those letters, has no control. And the idea that Scottish or FBI investigators going to Libya is an absurdity. They’d be kidnapped by jihadis within two instants. No investigators are going to Libya. The fact that [[Ken Dornstein]] was able to conduct this documentary is that the political situation two years ago, when he was there, was entirely dissimilar. I could go to Libya at ease a year ago. But I’m not going traipsing around now because I don’t want to get kidnapped. | ||
| + | |||
| + | :I mean we have a civil war in Libya which was complex and becoming more complex than the one in [[Syria]]. It’s less brutal: there are no barrelbombs, there’s no [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]] government. It’s you know a pinprick – multilateral militias killing each other – there’s total chaos in the country. The situation is far more anarchic than in Syria. Why – and it really boggles my mind because there are very intelligent people working on the Libya issue – why it is they would allow these letters or demands to even be made, when we have so many other pressing issues like the growth of the Islamic State in Sirte, the way which Libya is a springboard for illegal migrants and then the key issue is the creation of a Government of National Accord, the GNA, and we’re not investing the energy we need in doing those things? And we’re trying potentially to investigate these two Libyan suspects. I could have told them ten years ago the names of these two suspects. This is not news.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gxv4t "BBC Radio Scotland ''Good Morning Scotland''"] 17 October 2015 (20’23’’ to 24’24’’)</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
{{SMWDocs}} | {{SMWDocs}} | ||
| − | |||
Revision as of 15:51, 19 October 2015
 Frank Mulholland    | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1959-04-18 Coatbridge, Lanarkshire | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Frank Mulholland is a Scottish lawyer and has been Scotland's Lord Advocate since 19 May 2011, having previously been Solicitor General, the junior Law Officer. He was the first Advocate Depute and Senior Advocate Depute appointed from within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and only the second non-advocate appointed to the office of Lord Advocate, the first being his predecessor, Elish Angiolini.[1]
Procurator Fiscal
Mulholland was appointed Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders in January 2006 when he supervised the case against Angus Sinclair (Worlds End murders), the Allison and Johnson murder inquiry (in to the conduct of the investigation into the murder of Andrew Forsyth), and was in charge of Advocacy training for the prosecution service.[2]
Lockerbie investigation
On 15 October 2015, it was reported that Frank Mulholland, having recently met Attorney General of the United States Loretta Lynch in Washington to review progress made in the ongoing investigation into the Lockerbie bombing, had issued an International Letter of Request to the Libyan Attorney General in Tripoli which identifies two Libyans, Abdullah Senussi and Abu Agila Mas’ud, as suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. A Crown Office spokesman said:
- "The Lord Advocate and the US Attorney General are seeking the assistance of the Libyan judicial authorities for Scottish police officers and the FBI to interview two named suspects in Tripoli. The two individuals are suspected of involvement, along with Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, in the bombing of flight Pan Am 103 in December 1988 and the murder of 270 people."[3]
Turmoil in Libya
On hearing that Frank Mulholland had written to his opposite number in Tripoli, academic and Middle East expert Jason Pack told Good Morning Scotland:
- We don’t recognise the Tripoli government, so that doesn’t make any sense. We don’t conduct formal official business with the “Tripoli government”. So of course they are going to Tobruk and Beida, where at least for the next five days the internationally-recognised government sits. I believe that it has no sovereignty or legitimacy, and that will become clear for all to see within five days. The Tobruk government barely controls two tiny pockets in the East of the country. Now we’re talking about individuals who are exclusively based in Tripoli where that government, which might issue those letters, has no control. And the idea that Scottish or FBI investigators going to Libya is an absurdity. They’d be kidnapped by jihadis within two instants. No investigators are going to Libya. The fact that Ken Dornstein was able to conduct this documentary is that the political situation two years ago, when he was there, was entirely dissimilar. I could go to Libya at ease a year ago. But I’m not going traipsing around now because I don’t want to get kidnapped.
- I mean we have a civil war in Libya which was complex and becoming more complex than the one in Syria. It’s less brutal: there are no barrelbombs, there’s no Assad government. It’s you know a pinprick – multilateral militias killing each other – there’s total chaos in the country. The situation is far more anarchic than in Syria. Why – and it really boggles my mind because there are very intelligent people working on the Libya issue – why it is they would allow these letters or demands to even be made, when we have so many other pressing issues like the growth of the Islamic State in Sirte, the way which Libya is a springboard for illegal migrants and then the key issue is the creation of a Government of National Accord, the GNA, and we’re not investing the energy we need in doing those things? And we’re trying potentially to investigate these two Libyan suspects. I could have told them ten years ago the names of these two suspects. This is not news.[4]
References
- ↑ "Biography: Lord Advocate". Scottish Government. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
- ↑ "Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland to deliver SYLA Annual Lecture"
- ↑ "Two new Lockerbie bombing suspects identified"
- ↑ "BBC Radio Scotland Good Morning Scotland" 17 October 2015 (20’23’’ to 24’24’’)
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.
