Public confidence in the Crown Office has nosedived in recent years.
A botched prosecution relating to Rangers has cost the taxpayer £35million – and the meter is still running.
Their lethargic stance on Scotland’s drugs death crisis has also been unimpressive.
This public health emergency required a response fit for the times.
But on former Lord Advocate James Wolffe’s watch, the Crown Office failed to respond accordingly.
With the Tory Government shamefully ruling out a drug consumption room in Scotland, campaigners plausibly argued for Crown Office assistance.
This would effectively mean no one involved in the facility being prosecuted but Wolffe wouldn’t make it happen.
The early signs are that his successor Dorothy Bain is a breath of fresh air on the drugs death front.
She received plaudits for her announcement that drug users caught in possession of class A drugs may receive a warning rather than face prosecution.
This was a widely welcomed move which accepted the idea that Scotland cannot arrest its way out of the crisis.
At Holyrood yesterday, the new Lord Advocate appeared to suggest she would give fresh consideration to a tightly drawn proposal for a drug consumption room.
She was cautious and her words carefully chosen. But she clearly gave campaigners the green light to make a fresh case to her directly.
Bain has not been in post for long but her announcements on one of the key issues of the day suggest the Crown Office could be ready to turn the corner.
No Moore please
Charles Moore is not a household name but he’s a very old friend of Boris Johnson.
The former Daily Telegraph editor has plugged the PM’s career for years.
Moore was handed a peerage by Johnson and now styles himself as a lord.
Few people would have any interest in him these days if it wasn’t for his predictably controversial opinions.
He’s an arch climate change sceptic and doesn’t mind who knows it.
Which begs the question why Johnson felt it appropriate to meet with Moore straight after he attended COP26.
Is this the kind of man the PM listens to when it comes to climate change?
Moore and his opinions should be left out in the cold.
He certainly should not be given the opportunity to spread his outdated and disproved views on climate change to the PM.
The world has moved on but yet again Johnson has failed to realise.
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