Opinion piece in The Courier
SEAN O’NEIL: Judiciary risks losing public trust with Sandie Peggie NHS Fife secrecy on AI claims
"A public exploration and explanation of the facts seems like the only fair way to proceed."
The tribunal brought by nurse Sandie Peggie, pictured, led to a secrecy row. Image: DC Thomson.
By Sean O'Neil
January 22 2026, 6:02am
Trust in our judiciary is key for a civilised society and – as with all our cornerstone institutions – that trust is built on transparency.
In the wake of the Sandie Peggie versus NHS Fife employment tribunal, that trust has been seriously questioned.
The error-strewn ruling on the tribunal raised a lot of eyebrows, and on current count, warranted 12 corrections.
Perhaps, in a case which has stirred so much debate and controversy, it was inevitable that the long-awaited judgment would not be the end of the discussion.
What has been a surprise however, is the concern that Artificial Intelligence (AI) may have been used to draft the document.
These suspicions are born in those corrections, the inclusion of bogus quotes and misidentified campaign groups.
AI questions rebuffed without answer
Within days of the ruling by Judge Sandy Kemp, talk was swirling that AI had been used by the tribunal chair.
It was the only explanation for some that would allow for the sheer number of gaffs in such an important document.
The Courier put these questions to the judiciary, multiple times. And each time we were stonewalled.
NHS Fife nurse Sandie Peggie, left, and Dr Beth Upton.
It was proclaimed that the judiciary could not comment on such things.
And so the rumours of AI’s usage were allowed to grow, even reaching the debating chamber in Holyrood where Justice Secretary Angela Constance was put on the spot.
Again the judiciary said it could and would not respond.
But now things have changed.
Private letters trump transparency
It would appear that the president of employment tribunals in Scotland, Judge Susan Walker, has carried out an investigation and concluded that no AI was used.
But was this information presented to the press, to the public? No.
It was divulged in a private letter to a former lawyer who had raised his own concerns.
Forget public accountability, it is only when members of the legal profession enquire about what the hell has gone wrong that any answers are forthcoming.
And even then only half a story is told.
Because while Judge Walker has decided that AI was not used to draft the ruling, the source of one of the major corrections is batted away as being the fault of an unnamed “judiciary colleague”.
NHS Fife tribunal judge Sandy Kemp.
How the other 11 mistakes ended up in there remains anyone’s guess.
Sex Matters, the campaign group backing Sandie Peggie, called for a public review of the decision.
Given the severe lack of clarity on how the mistakes in the ruling were allowed to transpire, a public exploration and explanation of the facts seems like the only fair way to proceed.
NHS Fife refuse to be forthcoming
This employment tribunal has been mired in secrecy from the start, which is not good enough for any case, never mind one with such national attention.
Today, The Courier exclusively reveals how NHS Fife refused to give out information more than 40 times when asked through freedom of information laws.
The health board has had a “level 4” intervention placed on it by the Scottish Information Commissioner – the highest measure available to the watchdog.
The judiciary, and the justice system at large, must hold itself to a higher standard.
It cannot fall foul of the same lean towards secrecy and obfuscation.
It cannot be found wanting in that regard – the trust of the public relies on it.