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Angus CochraneSenior political journalist, BBC Scotland
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Dorothy Bain rejected accusations of corruption after being criticised by Tory and Labour MSPs
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has been urged to apologise for accusing the country's top law officer of corruption.
Findlay criticised Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain over a memo she sent to First Minister John Swinney about a criminal charge against former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who is accused of embezzling almost £460,000 from the party.
Defence lawyer Thomas Ross KC told BBC Scotland that the Tory leader's comments, made in the Holyrood chamber, were "shameful".
Murrell, 61, is yet to make a plea, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for 25 May.
Tory and Labour MSPs rounded on the lord advocate in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.
It came after it was revealed that Bain informed Swinney about details of the charge against Murrell weeks before it became public, in an email sent on 19 January,
The lord advocate has a dual role as Scotland's chief prosecutor, as well as acting as the government's principal legal advisor, a role she performs as a cabinet minister.
The email was then passed on to senior civil servants and special advisers.
Findlay told MSPs that the memo "smacks of corruption".
He said it had given the SNP a "clear" advantage ahead of May's Holyrood election and claimed it "endangered the lord advocate's position of neutrality".
Labour's Michael Marra claimed the positions of both the first minister and Bain had been "compromised".
He said the information "conferred clear political advantage" to Swinney and said it suggest "political interference" in the case.
Bain firmly she rejected accusations of corruption and conferring political advantage.
Reuters
Peter Murrell is accused of embezzling almost £460,000 from the SNP
Commenting on the exchange in parliament, Ross told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast: "The current lord advocate has practised at the Scottish bar for 40 years. She's had a stellar career.
"She's trusted by every practising lawyer and every judge in the country and for her to be accused of corruption without a shred of evidence to support it was one of the most shameful episodes I've seen in that building.
"And I hope that now everything's calmed now the Scottish Conservatives are big enough to apologise for making that slur."
The party has been asked to comment.
Separately, the lord advocate rebuked Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in a letter responding to his claims that she had given the SNP a "political advantage".
Bain accused him of making "factual errors" in his comments.
Defending her actions on Wednesday, Bain told MSPs that she had written the memo to inform Swinney about a major development in the case and to remind ministers not to comment on live proceedings.
Ross said she was right to inform Swinney about a major development in the case in a bid to ensure that ministers did not make any comments about that might jeopardise proceedings.
He told the BBC it was perhaps not "strictly necessary" for Bain to provide the £460,000 figure, but said he was not surprised she had. Ross said he did not believe it gave Swinney a "political advantage".
However, he added that it was a "very bad idea" for the lord advocate to have a dual role as both government adviser and head of the prosecution service.
The dual role has long been controversial, but any change would require the UK government to amend the Scotland Act.
The Scottish government said last month it was considering the findings of an expert review into the role of Scotland's law officers.
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Russell Findlay questioned the lord advocate's neutrality in the Scottish Parliament
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has repeatedly said Bain is not involved in prosecuting the Murrell case because it involves politicians.
She told MSPs: "I have had no involvement in this case and any suggestion that I am corrupt or my position is compromised I roundly reject."
The lord advocate said the memo had not been requested by the government and insisted ministers had not been granted "preferential access".
She also denied the email gave the government any "political advantage".
Murrell, the estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, stepped down as SNP chief executive in 2023 after more than two decades in the role.
He was charged with embezzlement in April 2024.
He is accused of embezzling £459,000 from the party between August 2010 and January 2023.
Details of a charge against him - including the illicit purchase of luxury goods, two cars and a motorhome, using party funds - were first reported in the media last week.
