The Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini QC, revealed on Monday that Morag McLintock is the new district procurator fiscal for the Borders.

Ms McLintock, who most recently worked as senior procurator fiscal depute in Greenock, will now deal with around 6,000 cases a year and oversee prosecutions in Duns, Selkirk, Peebles and Jedburgh sheriff courts. She will also have responsibility for the investigation of sudden, suspicious and unexplained deaths.

Announcing the appointment, Mrs Angiolini said Ms McLintock was a valued member of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).

“Since she joined five years ago, the skill and dedication which she has demonstrated in prosecuting all kinds of cases has been warmly welcomed by colleagues,” said Mrs Angiolini.

“In particular, in her most recent role, Ms McLintock has shown a strong sense of community, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the issues which are important at a local level.

“Our team in the Borders has an excellent record for listening to the communities they serve and responding to their needs and concerns.

“I am confident that this will continue and I know that Ms McLintock intends to build on the effective working relationships with partner agencies and to learn more about the issues affecting the communities of the Borders.”

For her part, Ms McLintock, who replaces Vikki Welton who has moved to Edinburgh, says she is delighted with the new opportunity to lead the prosecution team in the region and welcomed the exciting challenges that this new role will bring.

“My predecessor and the teams in the three local offices have clearly forged strong links with their communities and I look forward to building on these,” she said.

“We will continue to work with other local criminal justice agencies and Scottish Borders Council to focus on tackling anti-social behaviour and disorder at a grass roots level.

“In doing so, we will make sure that the perpetrators of crime are dealt with swiftly, efficiently and effectively, in a manner which prioritises the interests of victims of crime and helps make our local towns and villages better places in which to live.”

During the past nine months at Greenock, Ms McLintock has held responsibility for the prosecution of all sheriff and jury trials in this district.

She does have some familiarity with the Borders, having spent some time here when her father was in the region on business.

And she is conscious of working in the same town that once had one of Scotland’s most famous lawmen in official residence – Sir Walter Scott.

“It is a lovely place to live and work, and I am really looking forward to it. And, of course, I am aware of Selkirk’s very historic connections with Sir Walter Scott,” she said.