Mid-Scotland and Fife Conservative MSPs Murdo Fraser and Liz Smith have called on North East Labour MSP Jenny Marra to apologise to the people of Perth following her comments in the Scottish Parliament during a debate on ‘Protecting Access to Justice across Scotland’, where she claimed Perth juries may not be concerned about crimes that have taken place in Dundee. In the debate on the 29th February, Labour MSP Jenny Marra stated: “I ask the Government to scrutinise carefully the data that is available to it on jury trials that are held in a different sheriffdom from the locus of the crime. Anecdotal evidence that is available to me shows that trials for crimes committed in Dundee that are heard by juries in Perth are failing every time to secure prosecutions. “It might be because the juries were not persuaded of the guilt of the accused — I say to the minister that this is a serious point — but there is also a logical possibility that juries in Perth are not so concerned about summary crimes that take place in Dundee, outwith their own community.” MSP Murdo Fraser said: “It is extremely disappointing that a Labour MSP has made the accusation that juries in Perth are not concerned about crimes that take place in Dundee and are failing in their jury duty. This is an insult to the people of Perth and I hope that the Labour MSP will apologise to the many Perth citizens who have carried out jury duty. “Our Courts in Perth doing sterling work and I would like to thank all the judiciary in Perth as well as the many Perth citizens who have carried out their civic duty to be a juror with the highest of standards.” MSP Liz Smith added: “It is unacceptable for an unfounded slander to be made against Perth’s jury system. “Any crime should be taken very seriously, no matter where it was committed. I hope that the Labour MSP reflects on her comments before insinuating that Perth juries do not care about crime committed in Dundee.”