The Lord Advocate:

The fact that witnesses were willing to come from all parts of the world to give evidence in this case and to assist in the investigation is a testament to the good citizens we have in this country. Over the years, more than 14,000 statements were obtained in the investigation, which illustrates the scale of the inquiry and the willingness of members of the public to assist in the administration of justice.

As far as restoring confidence in the system is concerned, convictions happen every day. Although we often see headlines about those convictions, there is little recognition of the work that has been done to secure them or, indeed, of the fact that they have been secured through prosecutors' efforts. The prosecutors in this country go about their business quietly, modestly and without the public annunciations of success that happen in many jurisdictions. Unlike attorneys in other countries, Scottish prosecutors do not come to the doors of the court to proclaim the success of their case. As a result, the many cases that are prosecuted successfully day in, day out do not register in the public psyche in the way that failures do. After all, it is the failures that make the headlines.

We should not lose confidence in the Scottish criminal justice system, or even suggest that public confidence has gone, simply because of one major and very tragic failure. There has been a frenzy around one case—or, indeed, around one of a number of high-profile cases—when, in fact, the picture day in, day out is very different.

I hope that the public acknowledge the work that is carried out by the public prosecutors. In fact, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service's efficiency was highlighted in evidence on the Howat report that was presented this week to the Justice Committee, and many witnesses and victims of crime write to thank procurators fiscal for their work. That work, which is unsavoury, traumatic and difficult, happens very much behind the scenes, and the Parliament and the public of Scotland should be grateful to the prosecutors for carrying it out.

The prosecution service is not the most lucrative area of law in which to pursue a career. Those who come into the public prosecution service do so in the knowledge that they will be in a public forum, that they will have to work with great tragedy and that, when they prosecute cases, they are more and more likely to be on television and to be photographed. They are good people who work extremely hard, and I hope that, if public confidence in the system has been dented as a result of this case, it will be restored.