(251)  A BARRA PRESENT FOR THE NATION

The Chief of the Clan Macneil has offered the ancestral island of Barra to the Scottish Executive with all mineral and fishing rights, subject to the condition that ownership will pass to the islanders at no cost should they in future decide that they wish to pursue this path.  The island has a population of around 1300 people, with over 400 crofts and two quarries.  The Chief, Ian Macneil, is a former professor at US law schools, and became famous in academic legal circles for his work on relational contracts” and “the new social contract”