Call for action against Dundee fiscal in wake of court case

MSP urges disciplinary measures despite woman being cleared

By Mark Dowie

Published:

ACTION CALL: Labour justice spokesman and north-east MSP Richard Baker

A north-east MSP yesterday demanded disciplinary action against a Dundee procurator fiscal who was cleared of being drunk in charge of a vehicle.

Anne Hart, 38, was found not guilty by a sheriff at the end of her trial at Arbroath Sheriff Court on Thursday.

Labour justice spokesman and north-east MSP Richard Baker said Mrs Hart should now face disciplinary action by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The fiscal, of Ballumbie Gardens, Dundee, had been accused of being almost three times the drink-drive limit after being arrested at Ferry Road, Monifieth, in January.

She had parked her BMW in Ferry Road and drunk a quarter-bottle of vodka, before calling her brother on her mobile to ask him to come and pick her up.

She told the court she deliberately placed the keys in the car’s footwell to make it clear she had no plans to move the vehicle.

But a passer-by who saw Hart in a distressed state called the police and by the time her brother got there she had been arrested.

When the police arrived she told the officers: “It's OK, I'm a fiscal.”

Mr Baker said yesterday: “There is pressure on people in these positions to lead by example. That hasn’t happened and it will come under public scrutiny.

“What the Procurator Fiscal Service does is up to them, but there should be some kind of action there.”

Conservative spokesman Bill Aitken said: “This is an interesting legal point which will no doubt be determined by the High Court in due course.”

Robert Brown, the Liberal Democrats' justice spokesman, said: “This is very disappointing behaviour. It does not send out the right message about mixing cars and alcohol.”

A Crown Office spokes-woman yesterday declined to comment on whether action was being considered against Mrs Hart.

She added: “We don’t discuss personnel matters through the media. However, we can confirm that a member of staff in the Tayside area is not currently at work.”