William Gordon Jackson KC (born 5 August 1948) is a senior Scottish lawyer who served as Dean of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

from 2016 until 2020. From 1999 to 2007 he was a

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...

(MSP) for Glasgow Govan.

Early life

Jackson was educated at

Ardrossan Academy Ardrossan Academy is a Scottish secondary school, opened in October 1882, serving Ardrossan, with pupils also coming from nearby Saltcoats, West Kilbride, Seamill, Fairlie, Largs and other areas. Notable alumni * June Andrews, nursing ex ...

and studied law at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He was admitted to the

in 1979 and served as an

Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...

from 1987 to 1990. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales (

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

) in 1979, and appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in Scotland in 1990.

Political career

Jackson was elected to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

in the 1999 election representing Glasgow Govan. While serving as a member, he continued to undertake work at the Bar, provoking criticism in some quarters. He was reputedly nicknamed "''Crackerjack''", for repeatedly arriving at Parliament just before the 5pm vote; the name was a reference to the children's programme, ''Crackerjack'', which famously started at 4:55pm. He was defeated in the 2007 election by then-

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

Depute Leader

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

Legal career

Jackson continues to practise at the Scottish Bar. At one time he was tipped to become a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

by the ''

Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...

''. In 2016 he became Dean of the

. He was the lead defence counsel in the trial of

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

, who was acquitted of all charges. On 3 April 2020 Jackson announced his intention to resign as Dean of Faculty with effect from 30 June 2020 at the latest. This followed reports that Jackson had self-reported himself to the

Scottish Legal Complaints Commission The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) ( gd, Coimisean Ghearanan Laghail na h-Alba) is a non-departmental public body responsible dealing with unresolved complaints against legal practitioners operating in Scotland. It was established un ...

after footage of him was published in which he appeared to name two of the women who alleged sexual assaults by Alex Salmond, in contravention of rules that protect the anonymity of complainers. Jackson was found guilty of professional misconduct.

Personal life

Jackson married Anne Stevely in 1972, with whom he has a son and two daughters. He is an Honorary Vice-President of

English-Speaking Union Scotland The English-Speaking Union Scotland (ESU Scotland) is an educational Scotland, Scottish Charitable organization, charity whose purpose, shared with the English-Speaking Union internationally, is to promote international understanding and human ac ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Gordon 1948 births Living people Alumni of the University of St Andrews Labour MSPs Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow constituencies People educated at Ardrossan Academy