Updates from Lord Advocate to First Minister on criminal cases: FOI release

Information requested

On Wednesday 18th February 2026, in answer to an urgent question in the Scottish Parliament, the Lord Advocate said that there had been other instances where:

"a similar process has been undertaken in relation to informing the First Minister of important stages in high-profile and sensitive cases."

Please provide the last 5 instances in which the Lord Advocate had provided an update to the First Minister and/or his Private Office about developments in criminal cases.

For the avoidance of doubt please ensure to include the date on which those last 5 instances occurred, the name of the case involved the email chain or written correspondence the communicated the update and any attached relevant documents such as minute notes similar to that released under FOI 202600502246 on 18 February 2026.

Response

The last 5 instances in which the Lord Advocate has provided an update to the First Minister about development in criminal cases are listed below:

• Operation Amphitoky – 13 February 2026
• Operation Lazer – 5 February 2026
• Operation Branchform – 19 January 2026
• Operation Cordgrass – 24 July 2025
• Aberdeen Sheriff Court case – 18 July 2025

I have also enclosed a copy of some of the information you requested.

Exemptions under sections 38(1)(b), 26(c) and 35(1)(b) of FOISA apply to some of the information you have requested. More information on these exemptions is set out below.

Section 38(1)(b)

An exemption under section.38(1)(b) (personal information) applies to a small amount of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. names/contact details of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Section 26(c)

Section 26(c) (Contempt of Court) applies to some of the information you have requested because it relates to ongoing legal proceedings. This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Section 35(1)(b)

Section 35(1)(b) applies to some of the information you have requested because it relates to an ongoing police investigation.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release of information as part of an open and transparent government. However, this is outweighed by the strong public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of an ongoing criminal investigation.

You may wish to consider making a request to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in respect of information held by it in the form of correspondence between Lords Advocate and First Ministers about high profile criminal cases. FOI requests can be made to: FOI@copfs.gov.uk

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202600507562 - Information released - Documents

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