Sheriffs appointed in Oban and Fort William

A career prosecutor and a solicitor with the Public Defence Solicitors' Office are the latest to be appointed to the shrieval bench.

Patrick Hughes has been appointed to the Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde, to be based at Oban Sheriff Court. A graduate of the University of Strathclyde, Mr Hughes became a procurator fiscal depute in 2004 on qualifying as a solicitor. He was promoted to senior procurator fiscal depute in 2008, including a period as acting head of the Wildlife & Environmental Crime Unit 2014. He has also been a part-time tutor at the University of Strathclyde.

Eilidh MacDonald has been appointed to the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland & Islands, to be based at Fort William Sheriff Court. A graduate of the University of Dundee, she was in private practice in Inverness before becoming head of office and solicitor for the Public Defence Solicitors' Office in Inverness in 2004. She has been a fee paid judge for the First-tier Tribunal, Social Entitlement Chamber since 2013.

The appointments were made by the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister, on the basis of a report by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.