Liam McArthur

Justice spokesperson Liam McArthur also mentioned removing the administration of fatal accident inquiries from the Crown Office in order to end the series of “scandalous” long waits that have plagued the system.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Mr McArthur said: “The First Minister has the power to make changes. The evidence is there.

“The role needs split to end the conflicts of interest, with a new director of prosecutions.”

He added: “Fatal accident inquiries must be removed from the Crown Office because families are still waiting up to a decade. It’s scandalous we still don’t know the circumstances of Lamara Bell and John Yuill’s deaths on the M9 six years ago.

“And there’s March’s landmark vote of Parliament, won by Liberal Democrats, to divert people gripped by drugs into treatment, and cease prosecution and imprisonment. That’s needed to save lives.

“Will the First Minister, in hiring new law officers, put those reforms in the job descriptions?”

It was reported this week that Laura Dunlop QC and Dorothy Bain QC are in the running to replace incumbent James Wolffe QC.