Peter Watson, Head of Litigation at solicitors Levy & McRae has today (Thursday) been instructed by his client The Scottish Countryside Alliance to consider in detail with Counsel the compatibility of the Bill with European Convention of Human Rights.

The basis of any challenge is that the legislation might violate the ECHR and hence the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to pass the legislation.

Specifically, the legal team will consider whether there are grounds for suggesting that the legislation violates Article 1, Protocol 1 of the ECHR which states that no-one should be deprived of their property or livelihood without proper justification or in the public interest. The definition of property would, in this instance, include horses, hounds, businesses and homes.

Levy & McRae believe that the legislation could also violate Article 8 of the ECHR which protects the rights of individuals to enjoy, respect a way of life without interference from the State.

Mr Watson said: “Preliminary steps have already been taken by my firm on behalf of the SCA and a number of its members to gather the necessary evidence to substantiate a challenge to the legislation on the grounds that it is incompatible with ECHR.”

The decision by a Select Committee of the House of Lords to clear the pilots of the RAF Chinook helicopter, which crashed on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994, was welcomed today (Tuesday) by a leading member of their legal team.

Solicitor Advocate Peter Watson said that the decision “ended a shameful episode which saw the names and reputations of the pilots sacrificed for reasons that remain a mystery.”

Mr Watson, Senior Partner and Head of Litigation at Levy and McRae, has represented the family of Flight Lieutenant Richard Cook following the helicopter crash, which killed all 29 people aboard. After strong representation by Mr Watson, a Fatal Accident Inquiry refused to endorse the findings of the RAF Board of Inquiry which blamed the pilots.

Following yesterday’s landmark decision by the House of Lords, Mr Watson said: “Today brings to an end a shameful episode which saw the names and reputations of two pilots in the service of their country sacrificed for reasons that remain a mystery.

“Both pilots had seen active service and both were highly regarded. The RAF’s own rules require that pilots be blamed only in the clearest of cases. This was never such a case.

“From the outset, everyone knew that this model of the Chinook had problems. Why the FAI was never told by the MOD of its own expert report detailing the problems with the engine management software nor that they pursued monetary compensation remains unanswered. This was evidence crucially relevant to the FAI and to the Air Accident Investigation Board - the question is who decided that it would not be released?

“Today sees a wrong righted. Many questions remain to be answered not least why and how this aircraft was brought into service.”