If our understanding is correct, Lord Bracadale is a retired Court of Session judge. Some years ago, he was appointed by the Scottish Government to inquire into the circumstances of the death of a young man while being restrained by Police in the Kirkcaldy area.
That the man was openly carrying a large knife is not in dispute. Neither is the fact that he was high on narcotics, doped up to the eyeballs in colloquial terms. A most thorough investigation by Police and Crown Office failed to find any evidence of criminal conduct by Police Officers who attended the scene. Quite why there is now a Judicial Inquiry is way beyond our understanding.
Anyway, to date, the Inquiry has taken up a staggering 122 days of evidence before Lord Bracadale. There was a major hiccup last year when the Scottish Police Federation discovered that Bracadale had had FIVE private meetings with the man's family. They took legal issue therewith and asked Bracadale to withdraw (or 'recuse' himself in legal terms). A perfectly reasonable and proper request one might think.
Bracadale refused. Astonishingly, he told the Inquiry that 'having reviewed the facts, the fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that there was no possibility that I was biased'. Quite, man, quite!!!!!
After a lot of disgrunteled noises from the Scottish Police Federation threatening Judicial Review, Bracadale at long last relented and withdrew. A new judge has now been appointed.
To date, the Inquiry has cost the public purse the extraordinary sum of £55million and rising fast. Of that figure, the sum paid to Bracadale has been £711,680 or, to be more specific, £5833.44 per day!!!!! Will the Scottish Government now try and recover this figure from Bracadale over this dreadfully botched Inquiry and entirely of his own making? The wider question is whether judges should be allowed to bugger things up on such a large and unprecedented scale without consequence?
We have long known that Free Presbyterians - of whom Bracadale is one - love money much more than they do God. It would be an interesting fight.