Kenny MacAskill
Kenny MacAskill Ash Denham | |
---|---|
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothians (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
In office 6 May 1999 – 3 May 2007 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Edinburgh, Scotland | 28 April 1958
Political party | Alba[1] |
Other political affiliations | SNP (1978–2021) |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Profession | Solicitor |
Website | www.kennymacaskillmp.scot |
Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who has been
Born in Edinburgh and educated at Linlithgow Academy, MacAskill studied law at the University of Edinburgh and was a senior partner in a law firm in Glasgow. He was a long-standing member of the SNP's National Executive Committee and served as treasurer and vice convener of policy, before being elected at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. He was convener of the Scottish Parliament Subordinate Legislation Committee from 1999 to 2001.
Following the SNP's victory in
After standing down from the Scottish Parliament, MacAskill was elected to the House of Commons as MP for East Lothian at the 2019 general election, gaining the previously Labour-held seat from Martin Whitfield. In March 2021, MacAskill defected from the SNP to the Alba Party. At the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, he stood on the Alba Party's Lothian regional list but neither he nor his party succeeded in gaining a seat.
Background, early life and career
MacAskill was born in Edinburgh and was educated at Linlithgow Academy before studying law at the University of Edinburgh, gaining an LLB (Hons) degree.[2] After completing his training at a firm in Glasgow, he set up Erskine MacAskill.
He came to prominence inside the SNP through his activities in the
Member of the Scottish Parliament (1999–2016)
After MacAskill became an MSP in 1999 upon the establishment of the
In 1999 MacAskill was detained in
In 2004, after
MacAskill authored a book, Building a Nation – Post Devolution Nationalism in Scotland, which was launched at the SNP's 2004 annual conference in Inverness. He has since edited another book Agenda for a New Scotland – Visions of Scotland 2020, and has co-authored Global Scots – Voices From Afar with former First Minister Henry McLeish.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice (2007–2014)
For the
One of MacAskill's first acts as a cabinet secretary was to lift the ban on alcohol sales at international rugby union games held at Murrayfield Stadium.[4]
MacAskill also said that the
MacAskill won election to a redrawn constituency of Edinburgh Eastern in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.[6] Despite notionally facing a deficit of 550 votes,[7] MacAskill won by over 2,000 votes.[6]
Pan Am Flight 103
On 19 August 2009, MacAskill rejected an application by Libya to transfer to their custody Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted of the Pan Am Flight 103 bomb that killed 270 people, acknowledging that "the American families and Government had an expectation or were led to believe that there would be no prisoner transfer."[8] The following day, on 20 August, MacAskill authorised al-Megrahi's release on compassionate grounds. Megrahi had served 8½ years of a life sentence, but had developed terminal prostate cancer.[9][10] The Justice Secretary has discretionary authority to order such a release, and MacAskill took sole responsibility for the decision.[11][12] Megrahi died on 20 May 2012.
In the United States, where 180 of the 270 victims came from, the decision met with broad hostility. Political figures including President
In Britain, reaction was divided. Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, former First Minister Jack McConnell, and former Scottish Office minister Brian Wilson criticised the decision,[21][22][23][24][25] while Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, former Labour MP Tam Dalyell and former British ambassador to Libya Richard Dalton publicly supported it.[26][27] Ian Galloway and Mario Conti, representatives of the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church respectively, also spoke in favour of the release.[28]
John Mosey, a priest who lost a daughter on Pan Am Flight 103, expressed his disappointment that halting Megrahi's appeal before it went to court meant that the public would never hear "this important evidence — the six separate grounds for appeal that the SCCRC felt were important enough to put forward, that could show that there’s been a miscarriage of justice."[29] Saif al-Islam Gaddafi reiterated his belief in Megrahi's innocence commenting that the Justice Secretary had "made the right decision" and that history would prove this to be the case.[30] A letter in support of MacAskill's decision was sent to the Scottish Government on behalf of former South African President Nelson Mandela.[31]
The Scottish Parliament was recalled from its summer break, for the third time since its creation, to receive a statement from and question MacAskill.[32] The opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament passed amendments criticising the decision and the way it was made, but no motions of confidence in MacAskill or the Scottish Government were tabled.[33]
After MacAskill won re-election to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, an SNP supporter said that the decision had been mentioned by very few voters during the election campaign.[34]
Member of Parliament (since 2019)
MacAskill was chosen as the SNP candidate for East Lothian at the 2019 UK general election.[35] He was subsequently elected, overturning a 3,083 majority and defeating Labour's Martin Whitfield.[36]
In April 2020, MacAskill called for the office of Lord Advocate to be split – similarly to the English and Welsh system of Attorney General for England and Wales and Director of Public Prosecutions – in a response to the trial of former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, to avoid potential conflicts of interest.[37]
In February 2020, MacAskill authored Radical Scotland – Uncovering Scotland's radical history – from the French Revolutionary era to the 1820 Rising, published by Biteback.
Following the launch of the Alba Party in March 2021, in advance of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, MacAskill announced that he was leaving the SNP to join Alba, making him their first sitting representative. He was reported as planning to stand for election to Holyrood in a regional list seat.[1] The SNP called on him to resign and trigger a by-election, describing his defection as "somewhat of a relief".[38] In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, he stood on Alba's Lothian regional list but neither he nor his party succeeded in gaining a seat.[39] Later that year, at the party's inaugural conference, he was elected as depute leader.[40]
On 13 July 2022, Speaker
Personal life
MacAskill lives in Moray, where he has a house, and he also maintains a flat in his constituency, East Lothian.[42] He has two sons.[2]
See also
- Government of the 3rd Scottish Parliament
- Government of the 4th Scottish Parliament
Notes
- ^ The Scottish English spelling is used.
References
- ^ a b "MP Kenny MacAskill quits SNP to join Alex Salmond's Alba Party". The National. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Arrest incident 'closed', insists SNP". BBC News. BBC. 25 November 1999.
- ^ Stewart, Lewis (9 June 2007). "Murrayfield toasts lifting of drinks ban". The Times.
- ^ "Terrorists not 'home-grown'". BBC News. BBC. 1 July 2007.
- ^ a b "Scottish election: SNP changes Edinburgh political map". BBC News. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ Dinwoodie, Robbie (30 March 2011). "Key Holyrood election battles". The Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ UK Cabinet Office, Cabinet Secretary's Review of Papers Relating to the Release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi 11 ¶ 31 (7 February 2011) available at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/20110207-megrahi-review-report.pdf
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Cancer expert says Megrahi is not responding to treatment". The Herald. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009.
- ^ "Transcript: Scotland official talks of Lockerbie release". Cable News Network. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ "Lockerbie bomber debate – as it happened". Scotsman. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ Adam, Karla (21 August 2009). "Man Convicted in Lockerbie Bombing Is Released From Scottish Prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Carrell, Severin (21 August 2009). "Barack Obama attacks decision to free Lockerbie bomber". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Terminally ill Lockerbie bomber lands in Libya - CNN.com". www.cnn.com.
- ^ Nasaw, Daniel (20 August 2009). "White House condemns decision to release Lockerbie bomber" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "Lockerbie bomber: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi leaves Scotland bound for Libya".
- ^ Carrell, Severin; correspondent, Scotland (20 August 2009). "Barack Obama attacks decision to free Lockerbie bomber" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "The full letter from the FBI Director on the Lockerbie bomber release". The Daily Telegraph. London. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "FBI chief's attack 'out of order'". BBC News. 24 August 2009.
- ^ "The Lockerbie decision 'was wrong'". Public Servant Scotland. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ Swaine, Jon; Cramb, Auslan. "Kenny MacAskill to face furious MSPs over Lockerbie bomber release".
- ^ Hinsliff, Gaby (22 August 2009). "Gordon Brown in new storm over freed Lockerbie bomber" – via The Guardian.
- ^ Wilson, Brian (21 August 2009). "Lockerbie bomber: The SNP's Libya stunt has shamed my nation". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
- ^ Carrell, Severin; correspondent, Scotland (28 August 2009). "Efforts to release Lockerbie bomber linked with trade, says Gaddafi's son" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "Alex Salmond defends release of Lockerbie bomber". The Daily Telegraph. London. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Reaction: Lockerbie bomber set free". BBC News.
- ^ FBI chief's attack 'out of order' – Conti, BBC News, 24 August 2009.
- ^ Mackey, Robert (21 August 2009). "Lockerbie, the Unanswered Questions". New York Times. News Blog.
- ^ Carrell, Severin (28 August 2009). "Efforts to release Lockerbie bomber linked with trade, says Gaddafi's son". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Mandela backs Lockerbie decision". BBC. 30 August 2009.
- ^ "Holyrood recall over freed bomber". BBC News. 20 August 2009.
- ^ SNP defeated over bomber release, BBC News, 2 September 2009.
- ^ Hannan, Martin (6 May 2011). "Martin Hannan: The battle for independence starts now". Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ Ian, Swanson (16 October 2019). "Kenny MacAskill chosen as SNP candidate for East Lothian at general election". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ "East Lothian: Scottish National Party gain". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Kenny MacAskill calls for office of Lord Advocate to be divided". Scottish Legal News. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Busby, Mattha (27 March 2021). "Kenny MacAskill quits SNP to join Alex Salmond's Alba party". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Lothian". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Webster, Laura (11 September 2021). "Alba conference: Kenny MacAskill elected Alba party's depute leader". The National.
- ^ "Alba MPs thrown out of PMQs over indyref2 protest". BBC News. 13 July 2022.
- ^ Marlborough, Conor (27 January 2021). "Kenny MacAskill: SNP MP defends 200-mile trips between constituency and second home". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
External links
- "Macaskill, Kenny". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- Kenny MacAskill MP official site
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: Kenny MacAskill
- Kenny MacAskill MSP biography at SNP website
- An independent Scotland hinges on its economy Kenny MacAskill's article in The Scotsman 2 June 2005