By Norman Silvester

Copyright dailyrecord

A former police chief and Labour MSP has called for people involved in organised crime to be refused legal aid. Graeme Pearson made the plea following the arrest of five underworld figures including crime boss Ross McGill in a swoop by police in Dubai. If the five men were -extradited back to the UK and faced -criminal proceedings in Scotland, they could apply for legal aid to fund any future defence. Mr Pearson has long been concerned by the ability of major crime figures like cocaine smuggler Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson to claim legal aid despite their clear and previous links to organised crime. He was Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency until 2007 and between 2011 and 2016 was a Labour MSP and justice spokesperson. Mr Pearson said:”I think the key issue is to ensure legal aid is not an element of this case going forward. “Working people paying tax have had enough of providing legal aid for offenders who are happy to show their affluent lifestyle but expect the public to pay legal fees when they come to court. “I complained about this 20 years ago and got the deaf ear. “It does not make sense that ordinary members of the public can’t get legal aid yet you are allegedly an organised crime figure and suddenly its fill your boots time.” Applications for legal aid are made to and approved by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). Mr Pearson believes that if alleged organised crime figures can afford to live abroad such as Dubai they should be able to pay for their own defence and only claim the cost if found innocent. He added:”This is a really good opportunity for SLAB to reassess the application of legal aid to trials in the High Court – given the arrests of the five people in Dubai. “If there are difficulties from a SLAB viewpoint, then it is time the Scottish Parliament finally took steps to make sure that those engaged in organised crime should not be able to access legal aid.” Pearson also believes that making it harder to get legal aid could deter organised crime figures from pursuing their “mischevious lifestyle” in the future. Criminals targeted by Police Scotland between 2014 and 2024 have been able to claim almost in £2.5 million in legal aid according to figure released by SLAB in January. One of the most expensive cases involved a gang led by 36 year old assassin Barry Harvey. He was jailed last year for a minimum of 29 years for gunning down gym boss Gary More, 32, in Airdrie in 2018. His legal team were paid £243,297. Costs for two co accused, were £215,166 and £170,562 respectively. In January 2018 nine men were jailed for a total of 87 year for their involvement in organised crime and were able to claim almost £1.5 million in legal aid. A cocaine smuggling plot involving Glasgow crime boss Jamie Stevenson and five others cost taxpayers £217,548 in legal aid. Stevenson, 59, was in charge of an operation to import £76million of the class-A drug inside boxes of bananas. He was jailed for 20 years later reduced to 16 on appeal. McGill, 31, and Lyons crime family boss Steven Lyons , 44, were among the five men arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a crackdown on serious and organised crime in Dubai. Lawyers are understood to have been warned them of the risk of extradition. Ex-Union Bears chief McGill fled to the United Arab Emirates in 2022. He is alleged to have orchestrated a series of firebombings and other attacks by a shadowy group called Tamo Junto both in Edinburgh and Glasgow since the start of March. The violence erupted after an associate of Edinburgh cocaine boss Mark Richardson allegedly bought £500,000 worth of cocaine from McGill using fake bank notes. Tamo Junto members have since been targeting individuals and properties linked to Richardson and his associates including members of the Glasgow Daniel family. The violence has led to 57 people being arrested by Police Scotland as part of Operation Portaledge. A SLAB spokesperson said: “Eligibility for criminal legal aid is determined in accordance with rules on assessing income and capital that are set out in the relevant regulations. “There are many reasons why assets may not be available to a person, including where they have been frozen or are subject to legal restriction to protect against their use or disposal. “Where assets are put beyond the use of the applicant, for example with a proceeds of crime order, they are excluded from consideration in the legal aid application. “If we are advised of any change of financial circumstances during the lifetime of a case which means a person is no longer eligible to continue to receive legal aid, we will terminate the grant.”