Seòmar agus comataidhean

Our main item of business is an evidence session on non-fatal strangulation, which includes consideration of the issues raised by petition PE2136, in the name of Fiona Drouet, who joins us today. The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to make non-fatal strangulation a stand-alone criminal offence in Scotland.

Non-fatal strangulation is not currently a stand-alone offence in Scotland. Instead, it is prosecuted under a range of criminal offences. As a result, data on the number of offences that have included an element of non-fatal strangulation in Scotland is not readily available.

Since June 2022, non-fatal strangulation has been a stand-alone offence in England and Wales, and legislation creating a new offence of non-fatal strangulation came into effect in Northern Ireland in June 2023.

As members are aware, the Scottish Government’s 2025-26 programme for government commits to carrying out

“a comprehensive assessment of the law in relation to non-fatal strangulation to determine if there is further action that needs to be taken beyond existing provisions in law that could be used to tackle this issue.”

We have two panels of witnesses with us this morning. First, I warmly welcome Fiona Drouet, who lodged the petition and is the chief executive officer and founder of EmilyTest; Fiona McMullen, the operations manager for Advocacy Support Safety Information Services Together; and Professor Cath White, the medical director at the Institute for Addressing Strangulation.

I refer members to papers 1 and 2, and I thank those who provided us with written evidence in advance of today’s session. I intend to allow an hour or so for this panel.

I will begin with a general opening question to get us started. Can you explain to the committee what the mental and physical impacts of non-fatal strangulation can be on victims in the short term and the longer term?

Fulton MacGregor, do you want to come in with a follow-up to Sharon’s first question?

Chris, do you have a view on the emotional toll on victims and the impact on their wellbeing?

Thank you. Are members agreed that we will highlight those points? We are aware that a statement is forthcoming later this week, during which some of the points may be covered.

Members indicated agreement.

Does anybody want to come in on that—perhaps Stuart Houston or Chris Ulliott?

Thank you. I am sure that members will be keen to come back to you to explore the human impact of cybercrime. I will bring in Rona Mackay.

Good morning, and welcome to the 15th meeting in 2025 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have received no apologies this morning, and Katy Clark joins us online.

Our first agenda item is to consider whether to take items 4 and 5, which are a review of evidence and consideration of a draft report, in private. Are we agreed to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Our main item of business is an evidence session on the challenges facing business and vulnerable individuals in Scotland from the threat of cybercrime. The session will not cover elements of child exploitation, as the focus will be on businesses and individuals that are at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals.

As we are all aware, cybercrime is becoming more prevalent and sophisticated every year. Its victims are across our society and range from vulnerable individuals to small, medium and large-scale business, as well as public and voluntary sector bodies. The aim of this session is to inform parliamentary debate on the issue by hearing from those who are at the coalface of responding to cybercrime. I hope that we will gain insights into the methods and impacts of cybercrime, what we are likely to face in the coming years, and what more the Parliament and Government can do to help to keep Scotland safe from that threat.

I am pleased to welcome our witnesses. We are joined by Adam Stachura, associate director of policy, communications and external affairs at Age Scotland; David Keenan, chief information officer at Arnold Clark; Jude McCorry, chief executive of the Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland; Nicola Taylor, member of the CyberScotland Partnership; Miles Bonfield, deputy director at the National Crime Agency; Chris Ulliott, head of cybersecurity at NatWest; and Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston, who is with Police Scotland’s organised crime and counterterrorism intelligence division.

I refer members to papers 1 and 2 and thank all the organisations that provided us with written evidence in advance of our meeting. I intend to allow up to two hours for the session.

I begin with a general question to get us started. For ease, I will ask Jude McCorry to respond first. I will then go to Miles Bonfield and ACC Stuart Houston to set the scene. Cybercrime is a vast topic, and we probably all know someone who has been targeted or who works in an organisation that has been affected. What are the most significant risks facing individuals such as the elderly or vulnerable people? What are the most significant risks for businesses? How might cybercrime develop in the coming years?

Those are fascinating and eye-watering numbers.

Does Miles Bonfield want to kick off on that?