William Taylor QC

William Taylor, QC has been a Scottish advocate since 1971 and a QC since 1986. Mr Taylor has also been a barrister in England and Wales since 1990 and a QC there since 1998. He has specialised in criminal defence work since the 1980s.

William Taylor was born in Aberdeenshire, and attended Gordonstoun Public School (formally for boys) after winning scholarship based on academic achievement. Taylor gained his first degree from The University of Aberdeen, an Honours in Philosophy where he followed on to complete studies in Criminal Law.

Taylor is historically notable as being the first Queen's Counsellor to hold the 'QC' position in both Scotland and England.

William Taylor QC acted as Senior Counsel for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial from May 2000 to January 2001, and during the subsequent appeal in January to March 2002.

Taylor was reappointed Commissioner at the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission by Royal Warrant from 1 January 2002 for a further fixed term of four years expiring on 31 December 2005. However, he undertook to resign immediately from the SCCRC if his former client Megrahi were to apply to the Commission for a review of the case. Megrahi applied on 23 September 2003 and Taylor duly resigned on the same day. In a tribute to one of the founding Commissioners, the SCCRC chairman said: "The Commission greatly values the service which Mr Taylor has given to the Commission over the past four years. I understand and appreciate Mr Taylor's position in deciding to take this course of action."

As reported in The Sunday Times of 23 October 2005, the former Lord Advocate Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, who initiated the Lockerbie prosecution, said of the main prosecution witness at the Lockerbie trial, Tony Gauci:

Fraser added:

Asked for his reaction, William Taylor said Fraser should never have presented Gauci as a Crown witness:

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