THE centuries-old law which prevents anyone being tried twice for the same offence is to be changed, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said yesterday. He pledged to legislate "at the earliest practical opportunity", saying "change is needed and needed now".

His vow came after the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) recommended the 800-year-old principle of "double jeopardy" should be set out in law and clarified. The SLC made no recommendation on whether this should allow for retrial if new evidence emerged, but it said any change in legislation should not be retrospective. It is probable that proposals will be put out to consultation, with Mr MacAskill eager to hear opinion from the legal profession.

The Scottish government is to propose a change in the law which would scrap the controversial double jeopardy law. The 800-year-old law prevents a person standing twice for the same crime.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill launched a consultation on the issue in March following a recommendation by the Scottish Law Commission. Scrapping the law could lead to convicted killer Angus Sinclair standing trial for a second time over the World's End murders.

Allowing courts to try suspects twice for some serious crimes is necessary to ensure public faith in the justice system, MSPs were told as they passed a Bill that will alter the ancient law of double jeopardy. The Scottish Parliament backed the general principles of the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Bill by 114 votes to two last night, with no abstentions.

The Bill will allow some exceptions to the 800-year-old law that holds that an accused cannot be charged twice for the same offence. The proposed new law will only allow a second trial in exceptional circumstances, for instance where compelling new evidence emerges to strengthen the case against the accused, where the original trial is found to have been "tainted", possibly by witness intimidation, or when evidence emerges after acquittal that the accused has admitted committing the offence.

PROSECUTORS are examining whether to reopen a series of “double jeopardy” cases which could lead to some of Scotland’s most notorious unsolved murders being brought back to court. The 800-year-old law of double jeopardy will be radically overhauled tomorrow, ending the rule which prevents an accused being tried twice for the same crime.

Now the Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson, is to decide which cases could be retried, the Crown Office revealed last night. Officials declined to specify which cases could be among those coming back to court, but they are likely to include the so-called “World’s End” murders of Christine Eadie and Helen Scott from 1977. Other cases believed to be at the top of the list include the prosecution and acquittal of Libyan al-Amin Khalifa Fhimah for the Lockerbie bombing and the 1992 murder of Amanda Duffy.

Police have been told to reinvestigate the World’s End murder case after a review by prosecutors. Helen Scott and Christine Eadie were both 17 when they were found dead after a night out at the World’s End pub on the Royal Mile in October 1977.

Angus Sinclair stood trial for the murders in 2007 but the trial collapsed when the judge threw out the case and he was cleared. STV understands there is new evidence which could lead to him be charged again. This development means he could once again stand trial for the murders.

ANGUS Sinclair faces becoming the first person in Scotland to be tried twice for the same crime – the World’s End murders of Helen Scott and Christine Eadie. The Crown Office intends to use the recently passed double jeopardy law for the first time to launch a fresh prosecution against Sinclair. The 67-year-old previously stood trial for the murders in 2007, but was cleared after the judge ruled the prosecution did not have sufficient evidence.

The 1977 double murder of two 17-year-old girls has become one of Scotland’s most high-profile and controversial cases. The collapse of the case five years ago triggered a public row between the then Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini and Scotland’s most senior judge at the time, Lord Hamilton. It was also one of the reasons behind the Scottish Government passing legislation that would enable people to be tried more than once for the same crime, in exceptional circumstances.