Plan to jail bosses of major polluters passes Holyrood vote

Plans which could lead to the bosses of major polluters being jailed for up to 20 years have been approved in principle by the Scottish Parliament.

Labour MSP Monica Lennon's bill would make Scotland the first part of the UK to create the offence of ecocide - defined as an act likely to cause major environmental damage.

Its proposals allow for both people and organisations to be convicted, with custodial sentences of up to 20 years and unlimited fines.

However, the bill faces a race against time to be passed before Holyrood breaks up for May's election.

Ecocide is defined as "unlawful or wanton acts" committed in the knowledge that there is a "substantial likelihood" of causing "severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment".

MSPs backed the general principles of the bill by 90 votes to 26. It will need to pass two further stages of parliamentary scrutiny by the end of March to become law.

International examples cited in supporting documents to the bill include the Chernobyl disaster and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Potential domestic examples would include sewage leaks, oil spills, the dumping of industrial equipment and scallop dredging in marine protected areas.

Campaigners believe the offence should come under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.

Holyrood's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee had raised concerns that there was not enough time before parliament broke up for May's election to amend "significant issues" with the bill.

The committee highlighted questions about the definitions of key terms and the enforcement of environmental law, and raised concerns that existing legal sanctions are rarely used.

However, the government said that it would work "constructively and rapidly" with Lennon to help the bill pass.

Lennon denied that the bill was driven by sentimentality or trying to make headlines.

She told MSPs: "We are now one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

"We all love Scotland, we all care about Scotland's future, but we cannot be complacent any longer."

She said she believed parliament would have time to agree amendments to the bill before the end of the current term.

Conservative MSP Maurice Golden cited concerns about the bill's compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights and enforcement issues.

He expressed fears of "kicking the can down the road" on environmental issues, but also warned that "rushed legislation is rarely good legislation".

Scottish documentary maker Doug Allan, who worked as Sir David Attenborough's camera operator, has spent his life observing changing environments all around the world – under water and at both of the poles.

He told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast programme that he has seen damage around Scotland, including a decline in the sea birds of Orkney and the destruction of coral and scallop beds from dredging.

Ecocide, he said, is a "crime against the common good".

He said: "Though we have marine protected areas in legislation, the legislation is not strong enough to protect those areas.

"We need something that will provide a singular overarching piece of legislation, such as this ecocide bill, which will cover so many more aspects of harm against the environment."