SCOTLAND’s Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC has been accused of trying to turn litigation into a “game of snakes and ladders” by seeking to halt the People’s Action on Section 30.
The accusation came from Aidan O’Neill QC, counsel for Martin Keatings, who has crowdfunded the case to establish that the Scottish Government does not need “approval” from Westminster to hold a second independence referendum.
READ MORE: Martin Keatings ready 'for the dawn' as Section 30 legal challenge goes to court
On the second day of the online hearing, David Johnston QC, for the Advocate General for Scotland, and James Mure QC, for Wolffe, argued that Keatings did not have the “standing” to bring such an action.
Mure said the Scottish Government were no longer involved in the action, and added that the Lord Advocate “is not a member of the Scottish National Party”.
In this instance “acting in the public interest Lord Advocate makes legal submissions to ensure the proper interpretation and application of the law, as he sees it, bearing on the Scotland Act and the constitutional structures”.
However, O’Neill said the public interest “simply is not being served”.
He told judge Lady Carmichael: “I am reluctant to turn litigation into a game of snakes and ladders. It seems to be a game at which the present Lord Advocate excels and prides himself in, at least from, as I say, the position being taken in this present case.”
The hearing continues.
READ MORE: Section 30 court case will be inconclusive, public law expert says
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