In February 1996, 49 members of the UK Parliament signed an early day motion condemning the operation of the Law Society of Scotland's master policy as fundamentally hostile to the underlying principles of Scots law.

Their number included several high-profile politicians: David Steel, Charles Kennedy, Ken Livingstone, Martin O'Neill - a former chairman of the Department of Trade and Industry Select Committee - and even the current UK parliament speaker, Michael Martin. One signatory, Malcolm Chisholm, who coincidentally attended George Watson's School with Law Society of Scotland Client Relations Director, Philip Yelland, went on to become Minister of Health and Community Care in Scotland.

The late Gordon McMaster MP tabled the motion after learning of the plight of Paisley housebuilder Iain McIntyre, a constituent who suffered losses of £2.7million following a 10-year legal nightmare involving a string of incidents of negligence and bad faith at the hands of various law firms.

The motion stated:

"Inherent conflicts exist between the Law Society of Scotland's duties to guard the public interest and protect its members' interests, which have forced Mr McIntyre to endure the loss of his business and the forced sale of his home ... it is unjustifiable that the Law Society holds the master professional indemnity insurance policy which has built into it penalties and bonuses which give solicitors a vested interest in minimising negligence claims at unfair levels".

The MPs were "convinced that the principle of Scots law that everyone is entitled to independent legal representation has been breached by the Secretary of the Law Society of Scotland actively encouraging one firm of solicitors to cease acting for Mr McIntyre". They were of course referring to the actions of Ken Pritchard.

John Swinney exposed Pritchard's actions during a 2006 Scottish Parliamentary debate.

Page References:

Peter Cherbi's website an in-depth article on The Pritchard Scandal