‘Every day, you take important decisions in your own life. When you retire, you will take a decision in Mr Gallagher’s life. This is the heavy burden the law places upon you. This is why the law demands that you are sure, as sure as you can be, before you bring in a verdict of guilty. It is why you are here. Such decisions are far too important to be left to mere lawyers. They are entrusted to fifteen citizens such as yourself, possessed of experience of the world and using your common sense and sense of fair play and justice.

‘It is not for an accused to prove anything. He does not have to prove he was not there. It is not for an accused to give evidence, unless he chooses. Mr Gallagher did not give evidence and you will take nothing from that, despite the Crown’s sarcasm. I advise a client and you may think that if he has any sense, he will take that advice. If you want to blame anyone for the non-appearance of Mr Gallagher in the witness box, blame me.

‘Let me now deal with the Crown case.

‘Mr Gallagher came to this court facing three charges, including two charges of murder. Now he faces but one charge and one charge alone. You may wonder why these other charges were ever brought. They were based on evidence which fell apart before your very eyes. Mr McPhee was bullied into identifying my client by police officers and Mr Taylor in particular on the evidence of Warwick, a deceitful, twisted man who would say and do anything for his own self advancement.

‘There was no forensic evidence, no independent evidence, no evidence of any substance linking my client with the death of Mr Clark. These charges should never have been brought. It was no surprise when my learned friend was forced to abandon them. The only surprise is that he did not do so much sooner.’

Payback time for Mr Matthews, and the jury knew it. So did Lord Cowden who was scribbling furiously.

But what of the remaining charge?

‘In his speech, the Advocate Depute has poured scorn on the defence and indeed, on me. What a sad situation for a public prosecutor to be in! So much confidence has he in his own case that he is reduced to insults, abuse and attempts at humour which you would have found distasteful. You, ladies and gentlemen, deserve better. You deserve to be treated with respect. You deserve to have the benefit of reasoned argument. That is what you will get from me. The Depute, for whatever reason, has tried to provoke a slanging match. I will not take this bait. I have too much regard for you. You and I will concentrate on the evidence because it is in the evidence that we will see the weakness of the Crown’s position.’