Kenny MacAskill

Kenny MacAskill is a Scottish politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for East Lothian since 2019 and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh Eastern since 2021. A former Scottish National Party member, he defected to the Alba Party in 2021. He is best known for his tenure as Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government under First Minister Alex Salmond, during which he made the controversial decision to release the Lockerbie bombing convict Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds in 2009.

Early life and career

Born in Edinburgh in 1958, he was educated at the city's Boroughmuir High School before studying law at the University of Edinburgh. He qualified as a solicitor and worked in private practice, primarily in Leith, focusing on criminal and civil legal aid cases. His political activism began early, joining the Scottish National Party in 1978 and becoming involved in campaigns such as the Scotland Act 1978 referendum and the movement against the Poll Tax. Prior to his election to the Scottish Parliament, he served as the National Secretary of the Scottish National Party, playing a key organizational role within the party.

Political career

Elected as a MSP for the Lothians region in the inaugural 1999 Scottish Parliament election, he served on various committees including the Justice Committee. Following the Scottish National Party's victory in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, First Minister Alex Salmond appointed him as Cabinet Secretary for Justice. In this role, he oversaw significant legislative changes, including the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 and reforms to police and fire services, which created a single Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. He left the Scottish Government in November 2014 and did not seek re-election to Holyrood in 2016. After a period outside elected office, he was elected as the MP for East Lothian in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. In 2021, he left the Scottish National Party to join the Alba Party, founded by Alex Salmond, and was subsequently elected as an Alba Party MSP for Edinburgh Eastern in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Al-Megrahi release

His most prominent and controversial act as Cabinet Secretary for Justice was the 2009 decision to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, on compassionate grounds due to a terminal prostate cancer diagnosis. The decision was made following recommendations from the Parole Board for Scotland and reports from the Scottish Prison Service and a specialist from the NHS Scotland. It drew intense criticism from the UK Government, the Obama administration, and victims' families, particularly in the United States, but was supported by some relatives and figures like Nelson Mandela. An inquiry by the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee later found no evidence of improper influence, though the episode remains a defining aspect of his political legacy.

Views and controversies

A longstanding advocate for Scottish independence, he has been a vocal critic of the British government and its policies, including the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. His tenure as Justice Secretary was marked by several contentious policies beyond the Al-Megrahi release, including the aforementioned Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012, which was widely criticized and later repealed. He has also expressed controversial views on historical events, notably describing the Battle of Culloden as a "war between England and Scotland" and making remarks about the Orangemen that were criticized as sectarian. His defection to the Alba Party underscored his continued commitment to the independence cause but from a more hardline stance.

Electoral history

His electoral career began with his election to the Scottish Parliament as a Scottish National Party list MSP for Lothians in 1999, a position he retained in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 elections. He stood down ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. He later transitioned to Westminster, winning the East Lothian seat for the Scottish National Party in the 2019 United Kingdom general election with a majority of 3,886 votes over the Labour incumbent. Following his defection to the Alba Party, he contested and won the Edinburgh Eastern constituency in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, becoming one of the party's first two elected representatives at Holyrood.

Category:1958 births Category:Alba Party politicians Category:Scottish National Party politicians Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Category:Scottish solicitors Category:University of Edinburgh alumni Category:Living people