Victory is close, but fresh appeal needed
FRESH APPEAL NEEDED TO BRING LANDMARK LEGAL VICTORY HOME
Statement by Mark Hirst:
This has been a long and ongoing legal battle but the case I brought in 2021 is now close to securing a major and significant victory. But to achieve that goal I am reluctantly having to appeal for fresh donations to my legal defence fund.
I am hugely grateful to my supporters and all those who seek a fair and just legal system in Scotland, and who have donated so far. However, we need one major push over the line for reasons that are set out below.
As many of my supporters will recall, at the start of this month (February 2026) Lord Lake made what has widely been regarded as a landmark and historic judgement. This followed the legal case I brought seeking damages and costs from Scotland’s prosecutor, the Lord Advocate and the Chief Constable, for my malicious prosecution in 2021.
Lord Lake’s judgement that “viewed objectively there was no reasonable and probable cause to commence the prosecution (against Mark Hirst) – no case fit to be put before a court,” in 2020, is a very significant and serious legal statement that, in effect, confirms the basis of my legal claim.
However, Lord Lake was unable to allow my claim to continue because he also found the Lord Advocate is immune from any legal remedy in a summary case where there has been no conviction and imprisonment, and a pursuer claims they have been maliciously prosecuted. This is despite the case of Whitehouse establishing that the Lord Advocate is liable for malicious prosecution in solemn cases, whether there has been conviction and imprisonment or not. Consequently. Lord Lake issued a formal legal declaration that my human rights have been breached.
The legal immunity that the Lord Advocate currently enjoys in summary cases, and that was codified in legislation passed by the UK Parliament in 1995, denies my rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to secure a legal remedy and therefore the right to a fair hearing.
It is now very clear that Lord Lake’s judgement was not the decision the Lord Advocate wanted. This is despite the fact that in effect Lord Lake has dismissed my claim against the Crown Office for the reasons stated above, namely the Lord Advocate’s immunity that renders Scots Law incompatible with ECHR. It is a curious, and many suggest, absurd situation that will need to be addressed definitively.
As a result, we are now left in the somewhat bizarre situation where the Lord Advocate, the defender in the case that I brought, is seeking to appeal the judgement of Lord Lake to the Inner House of the Court of Session. I and my legal team have no option but to participate and obviously challenge any grounds the Lord Advocate may set out for justifying their appeal. We have a high degree of confidence we can do so.
My lawyers had already begun preparing an application to the European Court of Human Rights (HCtHR) to seek a proper legal remedy following Lord Lake’s declaration and, if successful, this will ultimately force fresh legislation to be passed to make Scots law compatible with European human rights legislation.
But because of the Lord Advocate’s appeal to the Inner House of the Court of Session we are now in a position where we will need to see the process through. But in doing so we are going to incur unavoidable additional Court costs.
The Lord Advocate has unlimited resources. By contrast I only have the generosity of those who have supported my case, my own limited resources and those who want to see justice prevail.
After five long years of fighting this legal battle, it is obvious that the Lord Advocate has sought to grind us down with delays, additional processes and rising court costs. The fighting fund we established in 2021 is now exhausted and we will need additional donations in order to have chance of securing the ultimate win against them.
I appreciate things are very tough economically at present and I would not be making this appeal if I and my legal team did not believe we are close to a major victory. So anything you can give will be deeply appreciated.
Thank you again.
You can donate to this legal fighting fund by clicking HERE
