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Dame Elish Angiolini

Kirsty Young interviews lawyer Dame Elish Angiolini.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the lawyer Dame Elish Angiolini.

The first woman to become both Scotland's Solicitor General and Lord Advocate she's currently principal of St Hugh's College Oxford. It's a long way from Govan where her father heaved bags of coal round the streets and there wasn't always money for the meter. She was the youngest of four and by her own admission being "gabby" was the only way she got heard.

It's an early skill that seems to have served her pretty well - in the legal establishment she gained a reputation as a gutsy moderniser, unafraid to challenge the system. Among her innovations a pioneering support scheme for vulnerable victims and establishing the National Crimes Sex Unit for Scotland - the first of its kind in Europe.

Her predisposition to seeing things from the victim's point of view might have something to do with her own experience - in 1984 she was badly injured in a rail disaster that killed 13 others - including the two men sitting opposite her.

She says "... Advocacy is a great life skill. If you go to your bank manager asking for an overdraft, or if you barter at a market, you are employing advocacy skills. It is all about empathy and charisma."

Producer: Paula McGinley.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 14 Feb 2014 09:00

Music Played

  • Donna Summer

    On The Radio

    • The Summer Collection.
    • Mercury.
  • Jimmy Durante

    Make Someone Happy

    • As Time Goes By.
    • WARNER.
  • Ella Fitzgerald & Paul Weston

    Always

    • Ella Fitzgerald.
    • Verve.
  • Herb Alpert

    This Guy's In Love With You

    • The Very Best of Herb Alpert.
    • A & M RECORDS INC.
  • Enrico Caruso

    L'Elisir d'amore: Una Furtiva Lagrima

    • Enrico Caruso Vol. II.
    • PEARL.
  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Bob Dylan

      Mr Tambourine Man

      • The Essential Bob Dylan.
      • COLUMBIA.
  • Van Morrison

    Have I Told You Lately

    • The Best Of Van Morrison.
    • POLYDOR.
  • Eddi Reader

    Ae Fond Kiss

    • Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns.
    • Compass Records.
  • Book Choice

    • The Oxford Anthology of Poetry

  • Luxury Choice

    • A photograph of all the people she loves

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Elish Angiolini
Producer Paula McGinley

Broadcasts

  • Sun 9 Feb 2014 11:15
  • Fri 14 Feb 2014 09:00

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