All the jolly boys and girls
As more and more information fights its way past the Scottish Government’s bouncers into the public domain, and the First Minister’s continued dogged insistence that she knew nothing about the false allegations against Alex Salmond until April 2018 looks more and more ridiculous, lots of things still aren’t clear.
One of them, of course, is who leaked the story to Davie Clegg of the Daily Record in August of that year, when the whole thing should have been confidential and passing it to the press was an unambiguously malicious and criminal act.
(The Information Commissioner’s Office investigated the leak but were sadly unable to locate any evidence. A second investigation is currently in progress.)
So let’s see what we know.
The timing of the leak is crucial. We know from material given to the current Holyrood inquiry that Alex Salmond’s lawyers had repeatedly told the Scottish Government that their investigation into the allegations was unlawful and that the matter should instead be dealt with privately by arbitration and/or mediation.
The Scottish Government had flatly refused these suggestions and insisted on going to court where the allegations would have become public – right up until the eve of the hearing, when it suddenly conceded, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds to the taxpayer. It has steadfastly resisted disclosing its legal advice on the subject.
But one of the things we know is that Salmond was about to seek, on the morning of 24 August 2018, to have an interim interdict issued by the Court Of Session which would have prevented the Scottish Government from issuing any statement naming Salmond. The Scottish Government was informed of that fact at 5pm on the 23rd.
Within three hours of that notification, Davie Clegg had the whole story.
So where could it have come from? At this stage, very few people would have known in any major detail about the investigation. They included the two complainers, the First Minister herself, Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, investigating officer Judith MacKinnon, civil servant Barbara Allison, and finally the First Minister’s chief of staff Liz Lloyd, who since March 2018 had been a central liaison between Nicola Sturgeon and Salmond’s representative and former chief of staff Geoff Aberdein.
If we rule out Salmond and Aberdein that’s just seven people (along with a very small handful of other civil-service mandarins who’ve got no axe to grind). Do any of them, we wonder, have any notable connection to or relationship with Davie Clegg?
Hmm, what’s this?
Let’s have a closer peek at those photos, shall we? (Click to enlarge.)
The front row of the first one, from left to right, is Kezia Dugdale, Liz Lloyd, SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth, then-Tory MSP Ross Thomson, and Davie Clegg. (The tiny wee fella at the back is Dugdale’s official spokesman at the time, David Ross, and the other one is someone called Lang Banks of conservation group WWF Scotland for some reason.)
All seven also appear in the second snap.
They were taken in, we believe, New York, but definitely during the International Visitor Leadership Program, an ongoing policy initiative of the US Department Of State in which “Scottish Opinion Leaders” – figures of influence (or potential influence, to very generously describe Dugdale’s case) are invited to spend some time over in the States “exchanging information” with the US government.
The two-week shindig has a notional price tag of $11,605 (about £8,700). We know this because Dugdale and Gilruth declared it in Holyrood’s register of interests, noting that the US Embassy picked up the tab for each of them.
(Oddly, Ross Thomson declared it on his Westminster register, even though he was an MSP at the time and didn’t become a UK MP until almost a year later.)
Given that you can get two weeks in New York in June – including flights, rather swish hotels and taxes – for as little as £900, it must be a pretty fancy affair.
Dugdale “became friends” with Gilruth on the visit – a phrase the Scottish media, including Davie Clegg himself, took great care to point out meant nothing more than innocent friendship – just a couple of weeks before becoming engaged to her long-term girlfriend Louise Riddell, and five months before dumping Riddell and buying her out of their shared Edinburgh flat with the money she made from “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here”, then officially becoming a couple with Gilruth in early 2017.
Persistent chatter in Scottish political circles – which this site cannot confirm or refute – alleges that Clegg and Lloyd also became friends on the trip.
It was never clear what Clegg was doing on the IVLP at all, or who was paying for him. He tweeted only once about the “exchange trip” in the entire two weeks and the two weeks afterwards, and we’ve been unable to find any coverage of it or the “food for thought” it gave him in the Record around the time.
(He did write one piece, about the unpopularity of Hillary Clinton, based on his time in the US, but with no mention of either the IVLP or his gang of Scottish travel buddies.)
Dugdale didn’t make a single tweet about the IVLP either, nor write anything about it that we’ve been able to find, so we’re not sure why she needed to have a spokesman with her. She stayed on in the US for a few days afterwards to help Clinton to her famous victory in the Presidential election, though, and tweeted about that.
(She went back in October just to make sure, all while still claiming a salary as MSP for the people of the Lothian region, and at one point even got to meet a cardboard cutout of her heroine. Luckily she stayed away this year.)
Gilruth, however, tweeted twice about the trip, including a nice shot of the gang at the White House and revealing that they were in fact gallivanting across the whole country on Uncle Sam’s dime, not just New York.
One of the pics also features unexpected cameo appearances from two SNP MPs – its Westminster chief whip Patrick Grady and defence procurement spokesperson Angela Crawley (far right), alongside Gilruth and Lloyd.
(We have no idea who was paying for Grady and Crawley, because neither of them declare any US trip in the Westminster register of interests from July to October 2016.)
There was even time for a moment of apparent work, when Gilruth helpfully “stressed the value of education” to some US education officials who we can only assume might not have been aware of it. Nine grand well spent there.
Once again, we’re not quite clear on what Davie Clegg, a Scottish newspaper hack, is doing exchanging information with the Colorado Department Of Education, but we’re certain they were thrilled with his input. And the important thing is that everyone seems to have had an absolutely splendid time together.
That’s Lloyd next to Clegg on the upper left, btw. It’s nice to see him still wearing a suit and tie outdoors in 36C temperatures. He must have been sweating like a Scottish Government witness at the Salmond inquiry.
Now, we of course have to emphasise that none of the above demonstrates any sort of wrongdoing by anyone. It’s just a happy bunch of good pals enjoying a free glamorous summer holiday serious and important fact-finding trip, like anyone would.
It most certainly doesn’t prove that Liz Lloyd – one of the vanishingly small number of people who knew the details of the Salmond investigation at that point – leaked them to Davie Clegg hours before a court interdict, to make sure that they got into the public eye and enabled the press to luridly smear and monster Salmond on the basis of false allegations for months before he could prove his innocence, conveniently serving the interests of both the newspapers and the Scottish Government.
We’re equally sure that there’s nothing sinister in the US government being so nice to so many SNP figures, and that they want nothing in return.
And we’re certain that the absence of any official record of Grady and Crawley’s trips must mean that they paid for them themselves and just happened to bump into the others while out sightseeing, or something like that.
[EDIT 3.26pm: Aha.]
So to be honest, readers, we’re not sure why we even mentioned any of it, other than to perhaps show you a little about how cosily the world of politics you never hear about works. You may as well all just carry on with your day and forget we said anything.
NOTE TO ALL COMMENTERS: I will be adopting a “safety-first” attitude to deleting comments on this post, so please be very careful what you say.
Ever decreasing circles.
‘This was then sent to other newspapers as a spoiler’.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind.
Thank goodness none of these people turned out to be complainants in the case against Salmond, otherwise that would have looked really bad.
On an unrelated note, does anyone remember who the main protagonists were in hounding Wendy Alexander into resigning, back in 2008? It may be relevant to the misappropriation of ring fenced funds issue that is running concurrently.
As I said previously – the snp is about to explode for two reasons ;
1. Liz
2. Lloyd.
Stu
You are doing a great job ‘highlighting’with big flashing arrows. Perhaps Police Scotland will re-open their leak investigation?. I sent in my letter but it got lost and ended up being called a vote for Joe Biden.
Seriously considering never voting SNP again. How anyone of good conscience, once they have read and looked into the behaviour of these party members, even bring themselves to hold their noses and vote to allow them to continue to rip the utter pish like this is beyond me. Have we learned nothing from the labour party?
Food for thought indeed.
The only reason Clegg could have for being there is as a reporter in which case you’d think that he’d keep his distance and there would have been several stories indicating how the information exchange was going and what the delegates were discussing. But in the absence of such stories it appears he is having a lovely jaunt with someone close to him. Completely separately, You’d think our fine Police force who could delegate 100 officers to investigate a man for twirling a lassie’s curls could have made a bit more progress into finding where that leak came from!!
I think it becomes clear Rev. Any criminal act planned requires motive.
It’s clear one of the above knew the investigation was in trouble. They knew there would be repercussions from that failure.
They then had to conceive a way to return the pressure to Alex Salmond and divert from the failure of their shammbolic policy.
What did they need?
Knowledge,. Newspaper contacts who could be relied on.
Support for their actions from above.
One person,perhaps two had such access.
I think we have narrowed the culprit down to one of two , but in either case the support of the FM would have been essential.
Your investigative journalism is amazing Stu.
It is clear to anyone that they went for a Interview for a new Pantomine in New York !! The 7 of them would have been perfect but the Acting union of America took offence as it would have made Small people look stupid
The other 2 showed up as back up incase the role was too big for them but as we all know the money they used was ring-fence and will clearly show in their accounts in 2029 !
Oh dear and some think they are immune to the passing of time and investigative journalism.
Please keep looking, am sure more can be revealed.
First class sleuthing.
Had we a film industry instead of cottage activity we would see the story unfolded on television before too long, a political drama on the skulduggery, flaky connections and final outcome. Title: ‘The Union Connection’. Now, where’s Gene Hackman’s number?
Well, now we know EXACTLY when and why the story was leaked to the press.
I had wondered why AS had not attempted to get an interim interdict.
If NS was working in good faith, even if she could not confirm exactly who carried out the leak, she should have found good reasons to move her staff sideways to ensure they were no longer at the centre of her power base. At least until she confirmed who was trustworthy.
So, just to recap.
Complaints were made.
AS informed NS that the proposed method of dealing with the complaints was unlawful (correctly), advised her to seek legal advice on it, and offered up a proper, fair and legal alternative method for dealing with the complaints – by arbitration.
NS’s government went ahead with the unlawful methods, and when AS attempted to obtain legal protection with an Interdict, within 3 hours, someone from NS’s small circle – leaked it to the press.
And there has been no staff sackings, suspensions, or sideways promotions by NS since then.
The very nicest thing one can say about NS, with the most generous light, is that she has been deeply incompetent. And people trust her to ‘safeguard’ the process to Indy?
The whole rotten temple from the NEC up to, dare I say it, the Scottish Government needs bringing down. Sturgeon, Murrell and some shady Civil Servants have created a monster, no doubt with the tacit approval of the British State.
Can’t see any way out of this but to rip it up and start again.
Funny, Humza Yousaf was on that exact same American freebie-trinket-grabbing junket a decade before. Does make you idly speculate as to American influence on Scottish politics (they clearly don’t go for intellectual giants from our political ranks – Yousaf, Dugdale, Thomson – though maybe that’s the point), given how disgustingly America-obsessed and arselicky the SNP are. Then again, we do have oil, so if you can take over a country without taking them having chemical weapons…fire on.
I’d always presumed that the leak had not come from the inside
That the leak had forced unwanted public scrutiny on the machiavellian moves designed to prevent Salmond re-entering politics
Resulting in the arsecovering Salmondgate fiasco we all know and love today
But the thought that the leaker was an insider
Starting a runaway train
That’s schadenfreudian with cream on top
That’s
Brenda Isn’t A Sheep video taken down due to a ‘defamation complaint’.
Crowdfunder time again folks. Get the lawyers.
Whoever leaked to the Record only did it with a green light from Sturgeon. We can be sure of that.
On the wider matter of what might be described as the “generosity” of a foreign power one is reminded of the curious incident of the dog in the night.
Representatives across all opinion shaping sectors from elected politicians through to media hacks through to the Third, voluntary, sector, have been sucked into taking part in these kinds of “exchange programs” for decades. The purpose is one way and very obvious. Though never explicitly mentioned in “polite society” and never ever challenged.
Now, if such systematic interference at such levels and frequency were occurring in the form of similar programs taking place anyhere else but the other side of the Atlantic – Russia, China, Iran or other “official” enemy, as designated by this foreign power – you can bet your pension pot that the dogs would never stop howling in the night.
Years ago, I think it was when Labour/Lib Dems were in charge at Holyrood, some newspaper had an article about all the connections between folk in politics and folk in the MSM. There was a graphic with it that looked like a spiders web. Not much has changed.
A wolf whelped on a chicken farm may attempt to self identify as a chicken or a unionist mole may attempt to self identify as a nationalist hawk, however over time certain behavioural traits evidence the subterfuge.
The company we keep….
‘I’ve got a story to tell you. It’s all about spies. And if it’s true – which I think it is – you boys are gonna need a whole new organisation’
[…] Wings Over Scotland All the jolly boys and girls As more and more information fights its way past the Scottish Government’s bouncers […]
Everything just gets murkier and murkier, but this shows how badly a light needs shone on all this.
And, off topic, have you seen the astounding hypocracy of Alyn Daddy Smith in the National today?! Saying that SNP members who were only endorsing candidates who had signed the Women’s pledge and Common Weal groups were ‘crossing a line’. No mate. That would be you.
I wonder if the English FA Chairman had just said Liz Lloyd he
would have had to resign?
Wonder if the Italian Mafia would be willing to give our governments
Lessons on how to clean up their act?
Great journalism Stu, you should write a book about all this.
Every day the SNP looks more and more corrupt. If anyone votes for these cheats and liars in the future then it says a lot about their own integrity.
I wonder if Dugdale got any tips from Clinton in how to run a dodgy charity foundation?
I wonder how many other Scottish politicians have been paid by the Friends of Israel lobby?
If the SNP want any more advice on corruption look at Ryan Dawson on Youtube or his website ancreport.com lots of interesting films, documentaries and information. Also a lot on anti war and history
Alyn Smith accuses Womens’ Pledge and Common Weal groups of ‘crossing a line’
Smith has hit out at the SNP Women’s Pledge and Common Weal groups, accusing them of “crossing a line” in the party’s recent selection contest.
The MP says it was wrong for the groups to run a slate of candidates, asking voters to pick only those hopefuls who had signed up to their respective commitments.
The Common Weal Group’s pledge include land reform and public ownership and was backed by 11 candidates who won their races, including incumbent MSPs Ash Denham, Joan McAlpine, Christine Grahame and Stuart McMillan.
The Women’s Pledge, which is critical of the Scottish Government’s planned reforms to the Gender Recognition Act, also had a successful run.
Writing in today’s National, the Stirling MP says members should be careful of groups that divide the party. He says that while disagreement is inevitable in a party like SNP, members should “unite on the big stuff and put those differences to one side.”
READ MORE: We must call out tactics that are out to disrupt independence cause
Smith then urges activists to “be wary of organisations that seek to put other issues or causes above that aim, seeking to establish permanent alliances and factions within our party”.
He adds: ”The Women’s Pledge and Common Weal Groups have a place in a democracy, but proposing slates of candidates? That crosses a line for me.
“We are one Party and have one aim. And that aim has never been closer to fulfilment, let’s not blow it now on divisions that needn’t exist.
“It is healthy and correct that we have a robust debate, but remember the facts – we’re winning, the polls are with us and the people of Scotland have never been more open to independence.
“To listen to some one would think we are in the doldrums when we are assuredly not.”
A spokeswoman for the SNP’s Women’s Pledge said: “Members approached us asking for recommendations for candidates who were committed to protecting women’s rights.
“Women have concenrs about their sex based rights being under threat by the proposed changes inthe Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
“We were happy to answer those requests.
“It’s clearly important to many members that they nominate and vote for people who they believe will do a good job of steering the party towards independence.
“It’s disappointing yet unsurprising that others don’t.”
The Common Weal Group declined to comment.
Daisy Walker @9:30am
The video is still available outside of the UK.
One thing of note the wolf held up by the narrator is dressed as a male but the short note on the Scottish Book Trust YouTube site states that Brenda is a “she”.
The trust has been in operation since 1998 and the YouTube site started in 2008. I think being a Woo-man is a more recent phenomena – at least in fashionable circles so the Scottish Book Trust might want to check if they are being taken for a ride.
BTW, the list of the name of Officers on the Companies House register makes for a good laugh. You’ll know, when you see it.
Divisions that needn’t exist, Alyn Smith? Ok drop your queer theory politics and that’ll be the biggest division sorted! Twat.
Neily Boy says:
11 November, 2020 at 8:35 am
To be honest I might have played a minor role in that through my marathon FoI case to try to get the Electoral Commission to divulge why they decided that a criminal offence had been committed but weren’t going to do anything about it, and weren’t going to explain to the Scottish public anything about the case either.
Althoug WA wasn’t directly involved in the case she would certainly have been kept abreast of events, and she may eventually have become worn down by the idea that politicians spend their lives constantly lying to everybody about everything, and decided she wanted to do something else with her life.
I have toyed with the idea of asking Rev Stu if I can write a soapbox on the story, just so people can see how what you’re up against when you try to take on the establishment.
No, Thomson made two trips – the American one was paid for by US Embassy.
At last, I am glad the “American relationship” is eventually being highlighted. I have a lot more to say on the subject at a later date. I hope the Rev has his pencil sharpened.
As a matter of interest, Liz Llyod has a MA in American Studies and spent 1 year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. link to linkedin.com
I have been discredited in certain circles as a “conspiracy theorist” (and worse) and subjected to ad hominem attacks whenever I raise the subject of “what is going on within SG”.
Thanks Stu, by opening a can of worms you’re also opening a door for me.
Nice work Stu
Neily Boy says:
11 November, 2020 at 8:35 am
“Thank goodness none of these people turned out to be complainants in the case against Salmond, otherwise that would have looked really bad”.
I am with you Neily. It would be horrible to think that Liz Lloyd was one of the alphabetti Spaghetti women complainants in the case against Salmond. What a conflict of interest that would have been.
But that clearly cannot be the case, otherwise we would have been able to work that out from the sterling investigative work of my namesake Dani – and that would not lead anyone to think along those lines. Oh No.
So I think your fears are utterly without foundation and that we can rest assured that our first minister is being provided with the expert assistance that she deserves from one woman of impeccable character to another woman of even more impeccabler character.
We are in good, good hands.
Iain Lawson is on the mark with the “McStasi”
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
Who knows, maybe being anti-Union will soon be a Hate Crime too?
CIA interested in Scot politics for 1 reason only and that’s Faslane, an indy Scotland will threaten that and the need to buy Trident becomes redundant.
Rotten to the core, this SNP.
Those images just screamed ‘Hahaha!’ to the electorate. How can representatives of the Party of independence be seen cavorting so recklessly with.. Honest-to-fck? most of the people in these pictures hate us, and hate everything independence, yet they rub shoulders as if it’s the most unremarkable and normal thing?
The more I see and hear, the more I’m confirmed that Salmond, far from being as unwholesome and outlawed as they’d have schemed, is the only one in possession of a decent and moral compass. Fuck that group, totally fuck the lot of them, the lousy, scheming bastards.
I wonder how much the American Secret Service laid out on covert surveillance – bugs, taps, mics, cams – on these rank, and profoundly nasty, amateurs when they extended their warm welcome to their fine hotel apartments?
Aye, just scrub this crap, and very bent, Party and let’s start again, for this one’s going nowhere.
The MSM aren’t pouncing on this. Yet.
They are waiting for the sweet spot closer to the holyrood elections.
Regime Change is a thing even in so-called allied countries then. Also interesting tidbit anout conservative friends of the zionist aparteid state. Given what is known about the torpedoing of JC of Southern Albion, seems not a far stretch to see the long arm of Uncle Sam taking a swipe at the Salmond, god knows just have a program on RT is enough to get targeted by the US MIC. Thanks for this bit of digging. I am better informed.
Sylvia, at 10.42, please take your time, we’ll wait.
John Thomson has the right angle on that. But dont thing they dont like to meddle just for the hell of it. That is what they do.
Wonder what Garavelli has to say on the subject of criminal leaks? Her work is always so revealing.
The rate at which this stuff is all clicking neatly together is remarkable. I don’t even think the level of corruption in the COPFS is going to be enough to stop it.
Re Alyn Smith, ‘The Women’s Pledge and Common Weal Groups have a place in a democracy, but proposing slates of candidates? That crosses a line for me.’
Interesting to read Alyn’s words, because when it comes to the current SNP behaviour….
Complicity / complacency / conspiracy with regards Embezzlement of 1/2million£….
That crosses a line for me.
Failure to take responsibility for your own fuck ups – and getting others to pay your legal fees and fines – over £100,000 worth….
That crosses a line for me.
Bullying, threatening, discriminating behaviour towards woman’s rights and child safety…
That crosses a line for me.
Conspiring to take unlawful procedures against an innocent man, leaking that information to the press, wasting £millions of pounds of tax payers money in the process….
That crosses a line for me.
All these lines – fairly mounting up.
Of itself £8,700 jollies should raise alarm bells. That is huge amount for a two week trip. With a typical flight costing around £800 to £1,000 and allowing for typical hotels at around £200 to £250 per night, the cost of the £8,700 freebie suggests they must have been flying business class and staying in five star hotels.
The best part of £10,000 for a freebie (and yes they got £500 spending money too ) for a less than two week trip is absolutely breathtaking. Its absolutely breathtaking, and it stinks.
But coming back to the Salmon’s which up, the press leak, the inclusion of Liz Lloyd and paper man Davie Clegg in this jolly team raises some very serious questions.
Rev Stu, can I just say again, a grateful thanks, and a thanks echoed by many for your absolutely forensic exposure of the behaviours of those at the heart of this Scottish Government.
They are now more rotten than New Labour ever could have been and the leadership clique needs cleared out before any more damage is done.
Looking at the above pictures just reminded me of the words to the song “ The In Crowd “ by The Mamas and Papas ,
I’m in with the in crowd;
I go where the in crowd goes.
I’m in with the in crowd;
And I know what the in crowd knows.
Any time of the year, don’t you hear?
Dressin’ fine; makin’ time.
We breeze up and down the street;
We get respect from the people we meet.
They make way day or night;
They know the in crowd is out of sight.
I’m in with the in crowd;
I know every latest dance.
When you’re in with the in crowd,
It’s so easy to find romance!
Any time of the year, don’t you hear?
If it’s square, we ain’t there.
We make every minute count;
Our share is always the biggest amount.
Other guys imitate us, but the original is still the greatest.
In crowd!
Any time of the year, don’t you hear?
Spendin’ cash; talkin’ trash.
I’ll show you a real good time;
Come on with me and leave your troubles behind.
I don’t care where you’ve been,
You ain’t been no where ’til you been in –
With the in crowd.
With the in crowd.
In crowd!
In crowd!
link to g.co
Thanks a million for opening up this cul-de-sac Wings, for me it is a key component of the whole case. Whoever ‘leaked’ that information is clearly working for the driving force behind the attempted destruction of Mr Salmond. My money is still on the Murrells manipulating those around them, because even today, at the committee stage of this enquiry, the ‘witnesses’ appear to have an extraordinary sense of personal immunity which must come from some sort of ‘protection’. It is obvious that the couple stood to lose so much if Mr Salmond re-gained the initiative in the Independence fight and it’s also possible, that Mr Salmond had begun to realise that the SNP and the Scottish Government had become as much of a marriage as that of Murrell and Sturgeon.
I think that Mr Salmond ‘knew’ back in 2014/2015 that Sturgeon and Murrell would be unable to separate party from country. I suspect Murrell has always been a person of self-interest and that Sturgeon has become a person who believes her own press. From the details given to the paper it is obviously an internal set-up over a period of time
THIS IS FROM THE DAILY RECORD 24TH AUGUST 2018
‘Acting on a tip off, we submitted a series of questions to the
Scottish Government on October 31 in a bid to ascertain if any
complaints had been made about Alex Salmond during his tenure
as first minister.
The answer came back that no ministers had been the subject of
an official complaint since the SNP came to power in 2007 and
that there were no live investigations.’
So Clegg’s source was party to the women’s complaints and the ongoing creation of the complaints procedure in Oct/Nov 2017. Added to this, the leak almost certainly has to have been someone who had spoken to the initial two women. I believe the reported ‘airport’ incident was a spoiler to hide the more important details and also the fact that Clegg was already aware of the process in train against Salmond. I can’t think how we can logically narrow down the people who had the information to reveal such stuff that betrayal is made of but there were a few ‘mews(es)’ to consider down this lane.
Rev Stu “(Curiously, Ross Thomson’s was paid by Conservative Friends Of Israel.)”
To be accurate,the piece below this comment does state that Conservative Friends of Israel paid for Ross Thomson’s second overseas trip that year -to Israel. The US embassy paid for his trip to the US.
Sorry, but I just had to vomit there…
– wonderful investigative journalism.
Daisy Walker says:
11 November, 2020 at 11:11 am
Re Alyn Smith, ‘The Women’s Pledge and Common Weal Groups have a place in a democracy, but proposing slates of candidates? That crosses a line for me.’
Couldn’t agree more Daisy 🙂 btw I love reading your contributions
Somerled – ‘I wonder if Dugdale got any tips from Clinton in how to run a dodgy charity foundation?’
Only if pieces of cardboard can talk. She never got anywhere near Clinton, though Dugdale was just as loudly cheerleading for the rusty old battle axe as Sturgeon was. Political career jealousy is a terrible and hilarious thing.
“No, Thomson made two trips – the American one was paid for by US Embassy.”
Whoops, I really do need my reading glasses when dealing with UK government tiny print. Good catch, removed.
NOTE TO ALL COMMENTERS: I’ll be adopting a “safety-first” attitude to deleting comments on this post, so please be very careful what you say.
Could an `alphabet woman` reveal her own identity and story or would that be considered `contempt of court` as well.
@ holymacmoses
Thanks;)
Hi Kenny –
“Rotten to the core, this SNP.
Those images just screamed ‘Hahaha!’ to the electorate. How can representatives of the Party of independence be seen cavorting so recklessly with.. Honest-to-fck? most of the people in these pictures hate us, and hate everything independence, yet they rub shoulders as if it’s the most unremarkable and normal thing?”
I don’t think you really understand what politics is and how it works.
You don’t need to hate someone to hold an alternate political view. Politics – I think everyone agrees – works best when parties can actually reach sensible positions sometimes even together. Look whats happened to Labour in Scotland for opposing everything and anything for its own sake. Look how polarised politics is becoming the world over.
Politicians dont have to be friends either. I get that. But the idea we should be refusing our representatives get photos taken with unionists or attend cross party trips makes us look like, well… a bit small minded and parochial.
The value of this particular junket is clearly questionable, but foreign trips and fact finding is just something Governments, Parliaments, elected officials do. its probably the case that closer scrutiny of them is required to make sure some value is actually obtained. Thats something we should question.
Stuart MacKay says:
11 November, 2020 at 10:52 am
Iain Lawson is on the mark with the “McStasi”
link to yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com
Who knows, maybe being anti-Union will soon be a Hate Crime too?
… “She [Sturgeon] is our best player…”???
I beg to differ Mr Lawson. I have had zero confidence in Sturgeon’s strategic and constitutional acumen since 2016. If she is our “best” player then Scotland is up Shit Creek with the paddle stuck up it’s arse.
Instead, I would categorise Sturgeon as Scotland’s greatest liability, and lay the blame for Scotland’s unconstitutional subjugation over Brexit squarely at her feet. It is a scandal that with Scotland’s Constitutional Sovereignty and an emphatic democratic rejection of Brexit, that Scotland did not secure a Constitutional Backstop similar to the Irish Backstop, to defend Scotland’s European rights and Constitutional integrity. Such a backstop would have killed off Scotland’s unconstitutional subjugation and defeated Scotland’s Brexit, much as it has nullified Northern Ireland’s Brexit and defended the Good Friday Agreement.
Instead we had Sturgeon waffling on about “Waiting until she knew the final details of Brexit”, before doing anything, (ultimately doing nothing anyway), and thereby giving the inadvertent “nod” to Theresa May that she was free to negotiate her own Brexit Deal, safe in the knowledge that no matter how odious and prejudicial to Scotland’s interests, there would be no Constitutional interference or disruption coming from Scotland, and that there would be no imminent IndyRef2 until the negotiation process was finished. Sturgeon sold out Scotland on Day 1.
Said it before, and I’ll say it again. Sturgeon’s Brexit “strategy” must have been the toast of Theresa May’s Tory Cabinet. Our best player??? She categorically is not. I remain to be convinced she’s even playing for our side.
The cosy and endlessly corrupt wee world of Scottish politics and public-life laid bare for all those who wish to see. Another well aimed and richly deserved boot-in-the-bawz, administered by one of that minuscule group of people deserving of the title: investigative journalist.
nice, the seedcase is cracking
Stuart MacKay says:
11 November, 2020 at 10:35 am
Daisy Walker @9:30am
BTW, the list of the name of Officers on the Companies House register makes for a good laugh. You’ll know, when you see it.
Baaaaaaa …. (big smiley face)
Robin Ramsay, long-time Labour Party member, wrote a book titled Prawn Cocktail Party about New Labour’s wooing of the City. I seem to remember there was also stuff in there about young New Labour people going off to America on study trips, teaching at Harvard for the summer, all the while being love-bombed by our Yankee cousins. The next generation of Scottish politicians and influencers is clearly being groomed here but what is it exactly that these people have in common? Are they all Geminis, lovers of Cagney and Lacey re-runs, or if are they just sunshine junket-lovers with a boring social life back in wet n windy auld Scotland or were they nominated by so-far unknown nominees?
The playbook seems the same though…for those of a certain age, you may remember Tony Blair’s small coterie of players who ran his sofa govt as THE cabinet, freezing out a lot people who were just as capable. Suddenly New Labour’s best friends were bankers, private equity and hedge fund banditos, oil company executives etc. and these uncle-fuckers (strangely no auto-correct on that one) were allowed to run govt policy reviews. Now think back to George Kerevan’s article about how right-wing types are everywhere as Sturgeon-era govt and quango appointees, recall Robin McAlpine’s characterisation of the current SNP as “Charlotte Street nationalists”, and remember how socially liberal New Labour were (all-women shortlists, civil partnerships, equalization of the age of consent etc.): isn’t this just New Labour deja vu all over again?
I think it’s time for you to write a book in your own name Wings. Begin to get some of the credit you so richly deserve instead of spending all your energies keeping people like me hoping for something better. It’s not JUST that you’re a great researcher, you also have a directness and personal integrity which shines through and above all – you can think and express what you are thinking 🙂 I look forward to reading this space everyday but would fully understand, and be delighted in some ways, were you to get just a little bit selfish
Wee shout out to Graeme – hey G, our video is up, over on Munguins.
Recently watched,`The Spy Who Came in from the Cold`,
where a person being incriminated turned out to be part of the plot to incriminate someone else,
if you use this plot line then Nicola is really the one they are after,
anyhoo it is just a fictional book/film.
Article from Alyn Smith in the National ,
link to archive.vn
Here’s the link to the Women’s pledge to see if we can get some more signatures to it just to let Alyn Smith know that the Women’s group is not going away to Wheest for Indy ,
link to secure.avaaz.org
I see that Alyn didn’t say anything about the Snp “ Out For Indy “ as they were also promoting candidates for selection ,
From the Out for Indy’s twitter,
Word for the wise – it is last years pledge that’s currently circulating, not this years!
We will run another pledge in due course!
link to twitter.com
And their twitter account ,
link to mobile.twitter.com
For a group that only reformed last year they suddenly have a very strong voice within the Snp .
Scot Finlayson says:
11 November, 2020 at 11:44 am
Recently watched,`The Spy Who Came in from the Cold`,
where a person being incriminated turned out to be part of the plot to incriminate someone else,
if you use this plot line then Nicola is really the one they are after,
anyhoo it is just a fictional book/film.
Are you implying that it’s really just Murrell wanting a divorce from Nicola:-)
Quick note: Lang Banks first name is probably the Chinese surname that we ‘naturally’ read as a slightly unusual first name. So he kind of has two surnames, strangely not dissimilar to those posho Scots with first names like Crawford, Campbell and the truly abominable crime against nomenclature fucking Farquhar (embarrassed apologies to independence stalwart Campbell Martin).
Breeks at 1130am,
Totally agree, especially with your last sentence. All the evidence suggests she is not on Scotland’s side.
What the article above shows me, is just how cosy these so-called adverasaries are in reality. All chums making a good career and lots of money, pretending to the electorate they fundamentally despise each other.
The whole thing stinks, it is soooo corrupt, it beggars belief. It is all very well politicians saying they are civilised to each other, but holidaying like this together????
I have long been of the opinion, that NS actually quite likes Ruth Davidson, and all the hubris is seen as ‘just a job – ‘i’ll be the baddie, you be the goodie’ -what a hoot’.
What is clear from all of this, is that the current SNP leadership needs booted out of the party. They have stood by, watching as Scotland is completely and utterly f***ed by England. We are being forcibly and ilegally stripped of our EU citizenship in just a few weeks by England, and still they do and say NOTHING. Instead, with NS, we have a leader, who actively TELLS the opponenents of independence that she is going to do nothing until after May 2021. The Tories understand, and so are literally trashing Scotland while they can, with impunity.
Given Scotland’s current peril, and the urgency involved, we need either for NS to get the proverbial finger out, or move over, and let somebody else who WILL, fight for Scotland.
As it stands, we have the SNP, the do-nothing party.
Re European politicos, journalists and influencers. Go check out the late Udo Ulfkötte, a German journalist, and how it all works. He wrote a book on it but no one can get it published in English even though it was extremely popular. He died of a heart attack in his mid fifties, allegedly. Keep up the good work.
Is the US exerting undue influence (greenmail springs to mind) on the SNP and others to derail independence so it wont have to storm in and rescue our oil from Socialism?
Wherever small countries have oil the US is ready and waiting to launch a rescue mission. Perhaps this time they see a way to avoid losing it in the first place.
Breathtaking revelations of sleaze.
@MaggieC says:
11 November, 2020 at 11:12 am
“Looking at the above pictures just reminded me of the words to the song “ The In Crowd “ by The Mamas and Papas ,”
How about “The Sound of the Crowd” by the Human League?
‘And put your hand in a party wave
Pass around
Make a shroud pulling combs through a backwash frame
Find the copies in a carbon mount
Pass around
Stroke a pocket with a print of a laughing sound’
The police, the judiciary, and the Scottish Government, Scotland seems to be operating like any banana republic would, without even achieving independence.
Re Harassment and Complaints Committee ,
The Convener wrote to the Deputy First Minister on 10 November 2020 regarding the provision of the Scottish Government’s legal advice to the Committee: ,
link to parliament.scot
And part of the letter ,
“ Given the Committee is taking evidence from the Lord Advocate and the Permanent Secretary on Tuesday 17 November on the judicial review, the Committee requests that the Scottish Government provides the legal advice without further delay and by Friday 13 November at the latest to allow members sufficient opportunity to consider it prior to the Permanent Secretary and Lord Advocate appearing before us. “
James Kerins – nah, Trident, as somebody mentioned above, is the main reason the American brainless behemoth would care aboot us. The oil helps as well, mind you.
Good piece Stu, once the boil is lanced, all the poison pours out. Keep your eye on it.
Have people seen this yet? Seems the same set of fingers are over a lot of things that stink
link to thecourier.co.uk
Anyone else getting the impression that SNP have adopted the don’t question us attitude because we won’t answer any questions and by the way we have got next years Holyrood election in the bag so we are ok so UP YOURS get stuffed as for Independence what makes you plebs believe that’s what we a doing Ha Ha mugs , another round of drinks and the mugs are paying Ha Ha .
Who you going to vote for Mugs ?
Oops to late and eh tough shit eh ,
One of the worst things about being deceived is finally realising you have been had , first it’s sadness at being lied to by supposed friends , Then it’s anger because the ones who wronged you don’t have to good grace to apologise,
The Anger will last a lot longer than the sadness Revenge suddenly goes to the top of the to do list
Don’t push it Dear
A minor point – has anyone ever heard Angela Crawley speak in parliament? She’s one of my local MPs and I’ve never heard her voice. Until recently I used to always catch PMQs. Occasionally I’d see her but she was often absent; I never ever saw her ask a question. She is one of those anonymous SNP MPs, Chris Law is another. And of course she got back in, twice.
Oh, someone’s just pointed out Wings already did that Courier story months ago…should have known. Perhaps that’s why it didn’t seem as surprising as it might have done.
link to wingsoverscotland.com
Timing
Access
Motive
Safety first so I can say no more.
@MaggieC (12.41) –
Interesting, thanks.
I wonder if we should expect John Swinney to turn up in their place?
If the indyref2 money has gone, is it possibly that those responsible had their fingers in the till in other ways… and, if Salmond returned, this would be revealed and this is what they initially feared? I find it is usually a combination of things which make people commit crimes, especially one in which the culprits are clearly becoming entangled in a web of their own deceit.
John H. says:
11 November, 2020 at 12:41 pm
The police, the judiciary, and the Scottish Government, Scotland seems to be operating like any banana republic would, without even achieving independence.
Question is John, is it because what we have is a poisoned relic of a corrupt and dying “British” political establishment that’s on it’s way out if Independence is delivered, or, that “the new” and intrinsically Scottish political Establishment we are trying to usher in, is hopelessly nieve and lacking the maturity and gravitas to act like a diligent sovereign Government?
I’m open to persuasion either way, but the sad reality is the new and enlightened Independent Scottish Government we hoped to see in 2014 has failed to make it’s presence felt, and the whole Scottish Independence Movement, that is the grassroots and YES Movement in particular, needs to contemplate some major restructuring, almost certainly new leadership, and close examination of it’s own strategy, particularly if the SNP looks set to continue as such a complete dead loss.
We really do need to identify the source of all this rotten conspiracy against Alex Salmond, who instigated it, who are the nasty subversives, who are the duped idiots, who are the charlatan carpet baggers, and who are the good guys who are worthy of our trust…
So far I’m not seeing many good guys worthy of trust emerging… but there are some bright lights. Joanna Cherry probably being the brightest.
I think I see where we are going, why has this been left to WoS. Yes I know, we fund WoS, corruption within our own Parliment?
PhilM at 11.57 am:
I think it was Billy Connolly who started this nonsense of saying that using surnames for first names was a middle class affectation. In fact, its an old Scottish working class tradition – a way of perpetuating a mother or grandmother’s maiden name.
It’s how names like Lindsay, Leslie, Graham and Douglas became popular as first names. That said, I think you also owe an apology to that other independence stalwart, Stuart Campbell:-)
These junkets to the USA and schmoozing with State Department officials are just the exercising of soft power. It’s common sense and everybody does it. It’s the same thing as the EU’s Erasmus program – more or less. There’s not necessarily anything sinister about them though the Americans almost certainly do their homework first before deciding who to bring over.
(It’s also the reason there’s so much American programming on TV and why we had to endure Trump and the elections but that’s another matter).
The only real problem is there’s not enough transparency when it comes to people in positions of power or within influential organisations. Everything like this should be declared and who it was funded by, including if paid out of pocket, regardless of when. Then it’s clear who says what and why that might be the case.
MaggieC – pledge signed.
Craig Murray – nominated.
When you nominate Craig DON’T click the button multiple times. The server got your request but the clowns who wrote the web site didn’t think it was important to refresh the page so you could see your vote. Simply wait a few seconds (actually quite a few seconds) then reload the page. If for some bizarre reason the button does not change to “Remove Nomination” (it should have been a green button titled “Nominated” but I said they were clowns already) then try again. The reason for waiting is that the button for removing your nomination is also on the page but hidden and depending on how the page works you could be adding and removing your nomination multiple times without realising it.
manchurian holyrood – the sleeper awakes – they’ve all been mkultra-ed and it was all a
CIA lesbian conspiracy, all along
clegg standing there on his own, holding the bag (of dildos)
I had ongoing business dealings with Kez Dugdale’s Stepdad who was obscenely indiscreet with his smearing of Alec Salmond and his delight at the source being his daughter.
It was incredibly unprofessional and uncomfortable and also completely unnecessary given it was unrelated to anything we had to discuss. Given his advancing years and Yorkshire bombast I declined to intervene and moved on.
So what does a Chief Of Staff actually do?
Is that like a Mr/Ms Fixit?
Or like what in the business world would be called a Personal Assistant?
Presumably there’s not that many of them (haven’t been that many First Ministers), so presumably the job advert doesn’t specify “must have extensive experience of this work”.
Is it something that’s made up as it goes along?
Maybe what might have been termed in the past “any other duties as instructed by the boss”.
From Barrhead Boy ,
Smoke And Mirrors Make For ‘The Great SNP Enigma’
A guest post by Campbell Martin first published in the Scottish Left Review. Campbell Martin unravels the continuing battle for the soul of the SNP. A former SNP MSP (2003-2007), Campbell Martin is now broadcast journalist and factual programme director. He is not a member of any political party.
link to barrheadboy.com
Was going to say upon seeing SNP MPs on a US sponsored jolly is an argument that SNP should become abstentionist like Sinn Fein.
Then saw SNP MSP listed….Cannae escape the maw of the USA deep stste!
@soda 8.43 am
Seriously considering never voting SNP again. How anyone of good conscience, once they have read and looked into the behaviour of these party members, even bring themselves to hold their noses and vote to allow them to continue to rip the utter pish like this is beyond me. Have we learned nothing from the labour party?
I came to that conclusion 2 yrs ago, tore up the membership card, None of my family will ever vote SNP again under the present leadership. It would appear, the Nicola Happy Clappers have been brainwashed into thinking she is a saint of some sort. They blindly refuse to accept any facts you through at them and make up their own material to justify their adoration for her.
Only a few hours ago i received this message from one of them in FB……. He is totally delusional… I give up trying to get through to them…
I wonder the motive for these posts. It’s not about anti independence surely? So since most of these blogs are from male supporting Salmond type. Nothing to do with male cheovanists is it? Trying to shift support from NS
Let’s look a facts for a start.
Salmond is a failed politician virtual unelectable.
He is by his own admission a sex pest
He lost the 2014 referrendum by poor debating skills, and the woman’s vote.
Sturgeon has modernised the party and rightly so making it gender equality. (Did I mention male chuavanists)
She refused to intervene in the AS investigation.
She is being accused of trying to stich up AS where in fact he stitched himself up.
She has taken the movement further in 6 years to the verge of independence than the SNP has done in 40 years
These “wing” people noses have been put out of place and are trying to discredit the scotgov.
Why ask yourself would they support a failed discredited politician? WHY? to sell a book?
Now does that sound like independence supporting people to you?.
@MorvenV
Damn. Outed as the middle-class slummer that I am. Oh well looks like my Poverty Safari has come undun (not a spelling mistake but an allusion to top late 60s toon by Canadian beat combo The Guess Who).
Howeeeever…was the Big One not pointing out that it was a recent faddish affectation (which would mean citing an older working-class tradition is beside the point)? I mean he was doing a routine to make ordinary people laugh. I suppose it’s possible that he knew about these older namimg traditions but decided to keep this knowledge properly ring-fenced rather than weaving accurate social history through his comedy.
Wan haun covers anither……
Maggie, thanks for posting that. Seems pretty on the money to me. Depressing to think/realise that this exact same gradualists-vs-indy-right-now sides internecine combat has been going on for over a decade-and-a-half. Gradualists? How about neverists? Sadly shaking my head here.
“DeeAnn began working for Marine Scotland in 2006 and claimed problems arose when she blew the whistle on the misogynistic behavior of her colleagues towards a younger female colleague. She then became the target of abuse – and her case came to public attention last year when a photograph was revealed showing her gagged and taped to a chair.”
“The first minister’s investigation only looked at the incident with the photograph, and it was not an independent investigation. There needs to be a truly independent inquiry into DeeAnn’s treatment. And my evidence to the inquiry was fed back directly to Marine Scotland who twisted it to be used against DeeAnn. And DeeAnn has still not been informed of the findings of the investigation, and has remained away from work on full pay, but not suspended.”
link to caltonjock.com
Rev this is extremely interesting however the name Leslie Evans keeps flashing into my brain.
Daisy Walker @11:40am & Stu
When you’re doing your research, pay particular attention to dates of events/incidents such as 25th January, 4th July, 12th July, 5th Nov etc.
@ Phil M: English naming patterns are exactly the same. If you go through the alphabet, all forenames are also surnames. For example:
Andrew. Alexander. Bertram. Brian. Charles. Christopher. David. Douglas. Eric[son]. Francis. Frederick. Graham. etc etc etc.
There’s none like you Rev. Brilliant investigative journalism as always.
Rev To Put in Darts Language This Is A 170 Checkout ..BULLSEYE!!!
O/T – Whatever happens in the future with restructuring the SNP or Scottish Government, do not get anyone remotely associated with planning protests by Extinction Rebellion involved.
Silly bastards just decided to hijack the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day. You think they would have learned when they decided to target public transport…
Bad publicity is not better than no publicity if you want to attract people to your cause.
Rob 1.59pm. “None of my family will ever vote SNP again under present leadership”.
You are against independence?
Makes one wonder if Sturgeon’s “£3 million” to the “Scottish” media was hush money. Sometimes i just hate being a cynical bastard. Life would be so much less confusing.
Beaker (yesindyref2)
There you go again,,,all Anglo Saxon on us .
Who gives a flying fuck about England’s Cenotaph???
Couldn’t care less if somebody blew it off of the face of the earth.
Beaker,,, you didn’t mention which part of south of the border you were born in.
And have you moved to Moray (Little England) by any chance???
The IVLP is one manifestation of the State Departments manipulation of foreign governments, the British American Project is another. The BAP is substantially responsible for NuLabour (many of the movers and shakers of the Blair cabinet were BAP alumni). Before Blair, John “best Prime Minister we never had” Smith was a BAP graduate.
The IVLP is more palatable for the ambitious young things in the SNP ’cause the branding is absent “British”. The IVLP will destroy the SNP just as the BAP destroyed socialist Labour. Beware Humza Yousaf.
So Dugdale graduates the IVPL and winds up running the John Smith Centre for Public Service, such. small world.
When all this is done, perhaps WWF will be invited to explain the presence of their man on the jolly.
You know Stu, I get so despondent with how the SNP have morphed into the most unionist of unionist parties, and that’s no exaggeration. They just do it ever so covertly.
What makes me re energised and upbeat, is that you are calling the people out who stupidly thought they were above the law and immune from the truth!!
You are exposing a very secretive, corrupt, viscious web of decept within the Scottish establishment. It goes right to the core of the Scottish government, the media, the courts, and the police.
This is the Scottish version of the westminster establishment cesspit!
Thank you for exposing the truth!
They are sweating alright!!!
What a top man you are, Rev Stu. You’ve been on form lately, really great work.
How long before one of them panics and turns whistleblower? And there’s a huge incentive to do so. It’s one of those ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ situations.
Here’s the potential problems those even minimally involved in this plot face if they don’t come clean;
1) you go down for it anyway along with the others when the truth comes out.
2) someone above decides you’d be a useful scapegoat.
3) someone alongside comes clean first and points the finger at you.
4) all of the above.
On the other hand, coming clean means you’ll be heralded as a hero and decent person rather than a scumbag…
You will most likely be able to avoid punishment and since conspiring to imprison someone is a serious crime that could mean you will avoid a prison sentence.
You might even get to keep your job and/or win promotion.
Stu , just to echo the above, Brilliant investigative journalism!
Hold them to account!
An article in The National on 7 July 2020 about Craig Murray’s court case quotes the Contempt of Court Act 1981 as stating that contempt applies to: –
‘a publication which creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced’.
Clearly, Clegg’s article created more than a ‘substantial risk’ that the following day’s court proceedings would be ‘impeded or prejudiced’.
In fact, it created the absolute certainty that they would be completely stuffed.
Perhaps fairness dictates that the circumstances of Clegg’s article should be examined again – especially in the light of Stu’s new evidence.
WWF…. president is HRh prince philip, to give him his official brit nat title.
Hes killed over 100 elephants, shot a white rhino, killed uncountable numbers of foxes, grouse etc, and also killed several Bengal tigers. To name but a few.
WWF???? GTF!!!!!!
Doesn’t giving your child a surname as a first name mean that there is no need to ask ‘what school he went to?’
Just wondering why the USA are so keen to give freebies to the likes of those in the pics and Humza Youseless.
Are they monitored by the CIA for “indiscretions” to be used as leverage for future persuasion or simply bought off for services to the USA?
rob says on 11 November, 2020 at 1:59 pm:
“Seriously considering never voting SNP again. How anyone of good conscience, once they have read and looked into the behaviour of these party members, even bring themselves to hold their noses and vote to allow them to continue to rip the utter pish like this is beyond me. Have we learned nothing from the labour party?”
I, like many others, feel your pain. I’ve voted for nothing other than the SNP because I want Scotland to take back our right of self-determination. Pre Sturgeon we (Yes movement) held the moral upperhand but recent years have seen our only Indy Party being destroyed under Sturgeon’s watch and brought down to a level no better than *any* of the BritNat Unionist Parties.
I made the decision some weeks ago not to give them another vote until there is a clear-out of Sturgeon & her Wokeratie. But there’s not a day goes by where I’m utterly conflicted with thoughts of ‘just give them this last chance to see if they produce the goods (IndyRef or whatever) next year’. Then i ask myself how many “last chances” am i going to give these self-serving abusers?
That is why i *hate* those b@st@rds with a passion, they’ve conned us and they’ve played on our desire for Indy knowing they’re the only ones who can deliver it. For that i can *never* forgive. Ever! But who to vote for? I’d be a liar if i said i wasn’t still conflicted every day, all day long.
BTW, here’s the very first article Scott Minto ever wrote for WOS. Replace the word Labour with the letters SNP. A very familiar read:link to wingsoverscotland.com
The big Scottish media and political circles have always been an incestuous affair. Never more so than nowadays. It appears that civil servants, acting on behalf of the British State through Whitehall, are also part of the bigger equation.
From a legal viewpoint, whether Mr Salmond was a self-confessed sex pest or not, he was not dealt with fairly and impartially within the parameters of the procedure nor of the law. That is what is crucial here. At least two women with tainted evidence and prior knowledge were witnesses for the prosecution at the criminal trial. Nowhere in the constitution does it allow for civil servants to virtually run the government in the interests of keeping the FM clean either.
It doesn’t matter if you are a woman and have sympathy for, and empathy with, women who are harassed at work, the point is that you do not twist matters or the law to afford you a certain outcome. Women have been too long denied proper work procedures and the benefit of law (and that is about to happen all over again, courtesy of the SNP government) but that is no excuse for bringing in retrospective legislation which was aimed at catching one person.
Mr Salmond was out of politics, so what did he do or say that prompted these actions, because something did. It was not just a case of: let’s bring in this procedure and see what happens. Yes, many women do try to bring charges after a period of time if they feel that they have not received justice, but you do not go on working for the very person you claim assaulted you when other options were available, at no loss of status or salary, and you do not accept an apology as being the end of the matter, then, later, at the instigation of others, revive your complaint to the point of a criminal trial if you want to be believed. You are doing other women no favours.
The Kirsty Wark piece was also so blatantly biased that the criminal charges were allowed to be aired all over again. This has been a shocking indictment of all three strands of Scottish society and certainly does not bode well for a future independent Scotland as neither the ‘hate crime’ legislation and the GRA reform legislation, bode well for it either, so authoritarian and blatantly lacking in legal soundness are these policies. That there was a cosy relationship, apparently, between Mr Clegg and Liz Lloyd is not, per se, indicative of any collusion, but it does raise questions about the point of Mr Clegg’s and Ms Lloyd’s trip, and they subsequent dealings, if any. Appearances can sometimes be just as informative as facts, albeit always open to interpretation.
Wish I could go on a beano, sorry ‘cultural exchange’ to the USA, gratis. What a motley looking lot they are. And Clegg was there, why?
Hmm.
Stoker says: 3.16pm.
I agree with every word.
Is this the noise of sharks swimming even closer in circles, or the gurgle of a massive jobbie going down the drain?
Either, that’s such an indictment for the ineptitude of so many in the high echelons of Scottish politics and power that I fear an Independent Scotland in the hands of such losers will be eaten alive.
We need smarter people up there.
If my memory isn’t playing tricks on me, I seem to remember that someone with a conviction for child sex offences (that was kept hushed up), went on that trip with Kezia, was this the guy?
I also remember Clegg doing a full interview in the Daily Record with Nicola and a few of us raised an eyebrow wondering why she would give Clegg/DR such an interview when he and the DR had clearly done so much harm to the Yes vote during the independence referendum. What was the timing of that interview?
Something realy, realy stinks!
Just found a photo of the same seven meeting the then mayor of St. Paul, Chris Coleman. So they were in Minnesota too. Looks like their ‘fact-finding’ trip had more stops than a Rolling Stones US tour.
@ Patrick
No that was another guy called Sean Morton, but your memory is correct as he was in the USA with Kezia.
A simple search throws up plenty results should you wish to check.
Bloggers in the US are warning Trump supporters of the soon-to-be-ex-President’s latest “scam”. He’s sending out appeals for funds to fight the election results in court. In the teeny small print it says that half of this money will go to pay Trump’s campaign debts. But at least it’s in the small print.
If I remember rightly, not only did the SNP fail to include a disclaimer in the indyref2 fund appeal, they specifically promised the money would not be used for party political purposes. It’s quite something when even Trump’s campaign is now more honest than the SNP leadership.
Obviously no soul music types on here
The original “In-Crowd”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWO–z1S8A
Firstly well done Stuart for flushing all this and the preceding material in your other articles out into view.
Secondly it’s good to do this as, in the event that independence does come along, we now know that we will have to have a robust set of operating and constitutional procedures put in place to handle future events such as revealed here and elsewhere. I worry at the bam-pottery currently going on that snares people and allows them to be destroyed on a) an apparent individual whim and b) incredulous legal arguments. We need proper controls over all aspects of the establishment – job number 1 in the New Scotland.
Thirdly, I’m glad you’re checking in to ensure legal equanimity as it’ll allow me to draw attention to your dreadfully heightist and cutting remark. I’d look you in the eye to say it but I’d need a step stool. So failing that, that’s you back to 50p a week donations – harrumph.
Joanna Cherry makes a point re. NEC voting.
It would appear last year “slates” were acceptable, but this year not so much…
link to twitter.com
Spike says: 12:20 pm
“Re European politicos, journalists and influencers. Go check out the late Udo Ulfkötte, a German journalist, and how it all works. He wrote a book on it but no one can get it published in English even though it was extremely popular. He died of a heart attack in his mid fifties, allegedly. Keep up the good work.”
______________________
Udo was a bit of a fire-brand and made sure folk listened but soon got under the skin of too many folks. spent many years working for the FAZ, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and knew the press inside out.
The only english versions of the books are:
link to amazon.de
link to amazon.com
I’ve read the originals in german and know they’re hard hitting.
@ dramfineday: Please note that ‘incredulous’ means ‘disbelieving’. The word you’re looking for is ‘incredible’, which means ‘unbelievable’. Apologies for picking on you here, but I’ve seen this error in the comments on here frequently.
I want to go to America for nothing.
You think one of them woke up with a clegg , sorry love bite? I love playing dot to dot and making a picture. Another superb article Stu.
Thank you Michael at 4.33. Every day a learning day (smiley faced thingbob)
The interference in Scottish politic by uk and America has a long standing, if the newspaper boy can be believed, after all he was one of the promised VOW members in 2014, and his buddies are DC and BJ. Make one wonder at the recent strange holiday one of them had in Scotland.
It would have very surprising if the snp had not been infiltrated at an very early junction and did not have connections to other political parties, including with the Democratic Party in America, as they have invested interest in Scotland through nato, including practicing war manoeuvres in the Scottish coastlines, oil, land use in a strategy war, and of corse most of the companies that wanted to do fracking, along with other natural resources that British and American companies financially benefit from, right down to gold being mined in Scotland by a London based company,
As I mentioned before on this site a little while ago, when the AS case was being discussed it had so many of the same fingerprints as the Kavinagh case in America it just had to have been read from the same manual,
No doubt Hilary Clinton’s party/Democratic Party have had close connections to Scottish politics, but I suppose just like in America we will be told it was Russian interference that was to blame. Well look how that nonsense turned out for the democrats, their being investigated for corruption right the way to the top at this moment.
Don’t get me wrong I am not enthralled with DT trying to bully his way around Scotland either. Manipulators or bully’s. What a choice, and interwoven with uk and Scottish politicians, Wow who would have guessed how important little ole Scotland was.
You have done exceedingly well stu, in making investigative journalism count, and no wonder KD tried shutting you down before you could dig any further into her connections to tories and Hilary. And of corse we have still not discovered the true reason why so many civil servants are needed in
Scotland.
If we vote for independence it won’t be the John majors version of a two part referendum, nor do we need to vote on negotiations first, we will be in a stronger position as an independent country to negotiate afterwards, and anyone else’s version that try’s to weaken our position first as a country, for that matter, is not to be trusted, it will not be a question of a party vote either, it should be a vote on wether the people of Scotland want independence, YES or NO answer
Not based on how well a political party does in elections, we can decide that after we have become independent.
We are wiser now as a nation, to know that even treaties don’t mean a thing to the politics of Westminster and vows and promises are often broken,
Independence first and foremost, then we can vote for the people of Scotland to govern us as a whole, that will create less chance of corrupt politicians in any individual party.
We could be the first country to say sovereignty lies with the people.
‘Stop the damaging divisions’ say the Sturgeonites. Where have we heard that before?….Oh aye…from the yoon camp during indyref1. And also since…’No to another divisive indyref’.
Listening to Scotland’s Civid numbers today.
I thought I mistakenly heard the total number of
Deaths including those who were not tested but
have Covid mentioned on the Death Certificate.
It takes the number just short of 5,000.
I calculate roughly that the death tally for those who were
Tested positive increases by 52% to include those who were
Not tested.
I’m certain England’s stats will be worse but if we apply that increase
To the UK figure, now in excess of 50,000, were are looking at a UK
total of around 75,500.
A Tory MP’s wife, with no experience must immediately be given 10’s
of millions of tax payers money to cover this up.
Anyone remember Steven Purcell, (former Head of GCC who fell from grace in 2010) going to Florida to campaign for Obama?
Looking at these photos closely I think it lucky that some of them were not charged with doing a ‘Salmond’ that is a sexual assault as there appears to be much ‘touching of arms’ and ‘brushing of shoulders’ and highly suggestive ‘overlapping hairdos’.
Less said about what Mr Thomson was up to the better…
Effigy: “I’m certain England’s stats will be worse”
Really? Is that a feeling or do you have some sort of explanation and/or evidence?
Stan, give it a rest or I’ll start cockney rhyming slang 🙂
John Major’s got a bit of a nerve on the two votes for independence. Maybe he should try applying his plan to Brexit and then let us know how that works out.
When does Mr Alex Salmond take the stand in Holyrood?
Sturgeon, Murrell, Evans, Lloyd ad nauseum must be looking forward to that day, eh?
Time for our own ‘Outlaw King’ to raise the Dragon Banner.
Take no prisoners, Mr Salmond; show thae sleekit basterts nae mercy.
@ Michael Laing
Note sense 3 (which I did not capitalise).
Definition of incredulous
1 : unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true : not credulous : SKEPTICAL
2 : expressing incredulity
an incredulous stare
3 : INCREDIBLE
link to merriam-webster.com
143 comments on the best post Stu has ever written. A blockbuster of a post. Safety first or the recently appointed SG lawyers having an influence. Any coverage in the MSM?
“Only a few hours ago i received this message from one of them in FB……. He is totally delusional… I give up trying to get through to them…”
Holy cow. That is one astonishing stream of bullshit.
Another great and revealing article Stu , can anyone tell me if Mike Russell has been on one of these fact finding tours to the USA his comments regarding the privatisation of the SCOTTISH National Health Service would make it appear so , either that or he is just another neocon in sheep’s or is it wolf’s clothing . Maybe a wee article could be examined about the Americanisation of our politicians group think and the ties that BIND
“Thirdly, I’m glad you’re checking in to ensure legal equanimity as it’ll allow me to draw attention to your dreadfully heightist and cutting remark. I’d look you in the eye to say it but I’d need a step stool.”
Hey, I’m a shortarse myself, but he really does look awfy wee.
“They included
the two complainers,
the First Minister herself,
Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans,
investigating officer Judith MacKinnon,
civil servant Barbara Allison,
and finally the First Minister’s chief of staff Liz Lloyd.”
So using the strict application of the Means, Motive (or Cui Bono) and Opportunity criteria I was able to come up with a short (cough) list of… 7 people.
But I’ll rule out Sturgeon and Evans as too high up to risk getting their hands dirty personally in such a grubby sleazy underhand wanker move such as this.. so down to five.
Dont’ really know this Babs Allison one but assuming she is a career civil servant I am going to assume it is not worth her gold plated pension or pay level.
The two complainers is a real possibility but too risky I think if exposed somehow, might jeopardize their credibility as accusers, obvious axe to grind etc..
Judith McKinnon will have been like ‘c’mon tae fuck not me again… one of yous other cunts take a turn’.
As for Liz well… oh sorry that’s the doorbell. I’ll have to go.
Cath @12:45 “Seems the same set of fingers are over a lot of things that stink”
The whole “thing” has the hallmark of a Black PSYO (black psychological operation).
Just remembered who Babs is. She was the one who deleted the “battle may be lost but not the war” text from the lovely Leslie…
Ahhh… not at all like a knot of vipers is it.
Many countries run courses or visits for “up and coming” politicians or public servants ,often from third world countries. Universities in Scotland,for example,often have African and Asian temporary students.
The British Council also funds such visits. I have been in classes with West African generals,Southern African magistrates and Hong Kong senior police officers. These will all be well recorded for future reference and favours. Any minor indiscretions or sexual peculiarities are gold dust!
Brilliant work again Stuart. I have no idea what this bunch are playing at but there is a rotten core in SNP. You have this lot going to the Record and Tommy Shepherd and Danny Aston leaking like seives to the Times and the Sun. Why do these guys leak about SNPs own to the press? It does not take a genius to work out that.
I’m not sure that we should forget that Peter Murrell is almost certainly in the list of those who knew
I can’t stand Clegg, looks like the SNP is akin to a sieve full of holes that leaks can easily escape from.
The Gorgon witches, are spilling the beans so much so that even Perseus would be proud of them.
[…] All the jolly boys and girls […]
If my memory serves me correctly.the Record would only have been in contempt of court if proceeding had commenced and therefore a court existed with which one could be contemptuous of. So to speak!
As a smaller version of the SNP generally, Is Midlothian SNP Ca and some elected politicians.
Midlothian SNP has our very own National treasurer and MSP. ( a bit boring, not much to hide there eh?)
Our MP who lost a 10000 majority in 2017 for sitting on his arse and squandering the trust placed in him. ( Alot Boring, and a sense of entitlement that would shame a british royal).
Some councillors, who have aspirations to be elected as MSP-MP and live the free loading lifestyle on the gravy train, whilst massaging their egos.
The lackys who ensure that new talent doesnt get a sniff at taking the party forward to campaign for independence,
Then there is the honest hard working activists who campaign tirelessly for an Independent Scotland innocently believing that the above shower will help deliver that dream.
Sad really. But when stopping brexit and abandoning the push for Scotlands freedom is the goal, alot of people are going to get pretty pissed off.
The careerist alphabet crowd are about to reap the whirlwind.
Is Clegg looking for appeasement, or is he and the Courier so f*ckig out of touch that they’ve just noticed, what Wings has known for ages?
link to twitter.com
Hatuy. No it’s not a feeling.
It’s based on Scotland’s NHS performing better than England’s.
It’s based on pro rata Scotland have fewer cases and fewer deaths
and it’s based on England’s media showing Scotland, N Ireland and Welsh
stats on a daily basis and then it’s the UK figures so that you have work to
Do to compare how badly they have performed compared to all the rest.
Did you see the London Streets packed shoulder to shoulder after lockdown,
Did you see it in Newcastle, Liverpool and in Birmingham?
I haven’t see mass gatherings of that magnitude in Scotland.
That’s the mainstay of my claim but you can always rely on the Tories to by lying
sneaky manipulating bastards.
Remember a pair of gloves being to PPE issues, remember 40,000 test kits going
Into the post to try and say they reached their 100,000 target, remember no tests
available for Doctors and Nurses but there is a test available for Gove’s daughter.
I’ll close with the name Cummings and eye tests.
I rest my case and you can have access to all my documentation at any time.
rob says:
I wonder the motive for these posts. It’s not about anti independence surely? So since most of these blogs are from male supporting Salmond type. Nothing to do with male cheovanists is it? Trying to shift support from NS
Let’s look a facts for a start.
Salmond is a failed politician virtual unelectable.
He is by his own admission a sex pest
He lost the 2014 referrendum by poor debating skills, and the woman’s vote.
Sturgeon has modernised the party and rightly so making it gender equality. (Did I mention male chuavanists)
She refused to intervene in the AS investigation.
She is being accused of trying to stich up AS where in fact he stitched himself up.
She has taken the movement further in 6 years to the verge of independence than the SNP has done in 40 years
This is written by someone with an IQ of less than 100 and an ego of 200% I can make a stab at who wrote it from the spelling and grammar mistakes and I’ll be damned if I’ll hand this hard for fight for Independence over to a bunch of self-serving, ignorant, careless, self-indulgent, ill-educated bunch of wasters. And btw Mr Salmond is NOT a ‘self-confessed sex-pest’ and it’s that ‘quotation’ that helps to give the writer away if one checks carefully on twitter:-)
Just noticed some General Election figures:
2017: Gordon (loss, behind Tory); Alex Salmond, 35.9%
2015: Gordon; Alex Salmond, 47.7%
2005: Banff & Buchan; Alex Salmond, 51.2%
2001: Banff & Buchan; Alex Salmond, 54.2%
1997: Banff & Buchan; Alex Salmond, 55.8%
1992: Banff & Buchan; Alex Salmond, 47.5%
1987: Banff & Buchan; Alex Salmond, 44.3%
The Scotland of 2017 was already well a-buzz and charged-up for independence, and – if this could be possible – even more heartily sickened by cruel Tory actions and their anti-Scots narrative – we could seemingly do no wrong. A pity, then, that some great SNP candidates lost seats after having done so well in 2015.
A sore one, when Mr Salmond lost his seat to Colin Clark – Colin Clark. That magnificent and influential Tory nonentity, incapable of a Holyrood win in 2016, he simply turned-up to contest the Gordon seat of the greatest living politician of our time, and won it, then held the Gordon seat for about 2 years before he was gone again.
I’ve often wondered why the eternally popular and very safe seat of Alex Salmond seemed to go awry in 2017, just two years after securing Gordon and having won every single campaign entered in 20 years of electioneering?
When we’re constantly being reminded that Electoral fraud, by Westminster, is simply ridiculous I’m now beginning to believe that that’s very much true.
Given all that we now know of how far certain of the SNP would go – and we know just how far they’ll stretch to – I wouldn’t put it past them to try something – anything – past or present, to incapacitate the person responsible for Scotland’s best ever chance of independence in over 300 years.
I see Angus Robertson has won selection for Ed Central?
Anyone here know of an Australian ‘pop’ group called ‘The Go Betweens? They were trendy in the early 80s when they made a point of making sure their album titles included a word containing two letter Ls.
I wonder if there are any fans close to the Scottish Government?
link to en.wikipedia.org
I wonder if there’s a single party involved in this mess who doesn’t regret it?
@Kenny
You have no seen the last of my blue bonnet and me.
David Lyon @7:17
“wonder if there’s a single party involved in this mess who doesn’t regret it?”
Without a doubt, they will have been promised protection. The word OMERTA comes to mind BUT as we have seen plenty of plumbers (leaks) exist within HR…Tick Tock…
Question! When did Alex Salmond “admit to being a sex pest”?
Have you seen this Stu?
Forwomen scotland just tweeted it in relation to Alyn Smiths article about groups coming together for Indy but Forwomen Scot areshown as the KKK, next to Wings
link to twitter.com
@Somerled
I defer response to Susanxx. A real woman. You can tell that by her posts. BTW I am glad I am on not on Twitter.
Kenny @ 7:02
Be interesting to see…
* what the voter turnout was in each instance,
* how many individuals, as a % of voter turnout, were associated with some large MoD establishments in that neck of the woods.
The 2014 IndyRef1 result was also tight up there. Ain’t rocket science as to why.
somerled says:
11 November, 2020 at 7:39 pm
Have you seen this Stu?
Forwomen scotland just tweeted it in relation to Alyn Smiths article about groups coming together for Indy but Forwomen Scot areshown as the KKK, next to Wings
Quite an ironic view really:-)
The ‘Strange Fruit’ in Scotland certainly isn’t found on female trees nor on the bough of Wings or his supporters – quite the reverse in fact.
@holymacmoses – people didn’t complain about him because if you complained about a Minister (even the FM) the complaint went straight to HIS desk. Given his reputation for spite, it was believed that a complaint would see the end of your career in the civil service – he’d already done that to several officers he didn’t like. But the stories about his inappropriate behaviour kept coming. It was inevitable that someone would make an official complaint, eventually.
Kenny says:
11 November, 2020 at 7:02 pm
Just noticed some General Election figures:
I’ve looked at that result time and time again Kenny and I can’t make sense of it. I do know that May’s only visit to Scotland was in a Crathie church centre in the area. But until recently it hadn’t crossed my mind that the SNP might also be involved in what happened during that election. BUT it would have been easier for SNP to make arrangements. It certainly was the strangest result.
@Kate
So a jury selected at random acquitted Alex Salmond of all charges. He is a free man and so he should be. The jury look into the eyes of the complainants and found them to be lying. We will afford the FM and cohort the same right. Why are you stopping the information getting into the public domain? Something to hide?
@Holymacmoses
I’ve no idea what you are on about and don’t care either.
I am only interested in the abuse coming from the SNP to people like Wings and Forwomen Scot by Alyn Smith, John Nicolson and all the other ? Woke imbeciles. Why do Indy people want to stay associated with these misogynists and others like Mhairi Black calling women ‘Cunts’ ? Even if Sturgeon and Murrell leave eventually, there are still these clowns and dozens more in the Party including many who know Salmond was innocent but stayed silent. The SNP is completely rotten and the stench gets worse every day with the revelations about Sturgeon and her lies. The stink will linger on long after she is gone but the rest will still be in the party. If you hold your nose to vote for this Indy party then you dont care about all human rights including womens.
Kate says:
11 November, 2020 at 8:11 pm
@holymacmoses – people didn’t complain about him because if you complained about a Minister (even the FM) the complaint went straight to HIS desk. Given his reputation for spite, it was believed that a complaint would see the end of your career in the civil service – he’d already done that to several officers he didn’t like. But the stories about his inappropriate behaviour kept coming. It was inevitable that someone would make an official complaint, eventually.
That’s in interesting remark. How well do you know Alex? How long have you known him for? How did your career flourish under his tutelage if/when you worked for him ?
OR are you commenting using the word ‘reputation’ and whose words are you quoting if that is the case?
It’s also odd to wait until he’s out of the equation – waiting until this juncture seems more like spiteful fear – if we’re mentioning the word spite.
Have you noticed how when you’re travelling north on a journey you notice certain features , which when you’re travelling southwards become totally different and almost unrecognisable
I do hope you respond to this enquiry, I’m genuinely interested
@somerled
Here’s a link to a more complete tweet thread on that image.
The partner in question in this particular tweet is a certain Ms Spear, who is the current NEC Women’s Convenor, and putting themselves forward in the delayed Argyll & Bute nominations process for the same post.
link to twitter.com
Oh.
I always thought those trips to the US were to get them brainwashed into becoming lackeys to the neoliberal elite. I suppose they could be doing both though, busy little workers that they are.
Thanks Dan, Rhiannon is another one i wouldnt trust to run a bath, never mind a country
I am hoping that Kate is not thee Kate in charge of the Nations finances?. SNP push back is far too late. You are done up thanks to Stu. Release the legal advice!
somerled says:
11 November, 2020 at 8:30 pm
@Holymacmoses
I’ve no idea what you are on about and don’t care either.
That’s OK
It was an ironic reference to the KKK and the amazing Bessie Smith song ‘Strange Fruit’
I think we agree with each other on many things even though we might express ourselves differently:-)
I’ll just read your posts and refrain from commenting in the future; makes things easier for both of us.
`David Clegg won `Scoop of the Year` and ` Political Journalist of the Year` at the Scottish Press Awards for his revelations about sexual assault allegations against former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond`,
considering the whole thing was proved by court to be bogus should Clegg not be in the dock for defamation,
or is he free to write or say as he likes as did Dugdale and claim `fair comment or report privilege` .
Keep on digging that man.
Grand job howkin out the rubbish of the snp.
Just a reminder about Calton Jock’s post about who to nominate so they can go forward to the selection stage as candidates for the Nec and other committees ,
link to caltonjock.com
And also this from Denise Findlay who has all the “ good “ recommendations on it as well ,
link to twitter.com
@MaggieC says:
11 November, 2020 at 11:12 am
“Looking at the above pictures just reminded me of the words to the song “ The In Crowd “ by The Mamas and Papas ,”
Was it not Dobie Gray? Never heard of a Mamas & Papas version, but there’s a good Ramsay Lewis one.
Regarding timing; there’s a lot of information that hasn’t yet been… deployed, weaponised, call it what you will. I think that much of it is being held back to be disruptive closer to the upcoming elections. If this story can be dragged into the light sooner rather than later, that might disrupt the planned disruption and clear the air in good time.
Taggart voice on / : There’s been a misunderstoodin’…
link to craigmurray.org.uk
Rev if and when we get indy and honours and awards are created for those who have served Scotland , you should get a medal the size of a penny farthing wheel( the big one of course).
Sincere thanks for the work you and Wings do.
Agreed at least a mention in dispatches. Something I never got. A gold star day goes to Stu.
@ kate:
The majority of the jury in the Salmond case were women, and after being presented with all the information (which we haven’t been able to see yet) they all got to deliberate and all decided that they didn’t believe the women and they didn’t believe AS was a sex pest.
Since that time, we have seen that every single one of Scottish governments witnesses who has given evidence to the enquiry looking into the case, has been evasive and have had to retract statements after being told that documented evidence proves they were making false claims.
They have all claimed to have ‘forgotten’ vital information, or ‘forgotten’ vital dates, or ‘forgotten’ who was at meetings they attended.
The Scottish government has also tried their to not release important documents until they have had to be forced to ‘have another look’ for documents which then magically appear.
Any reasonably honest person who knows anything about this case and has also been watching this enquiry can see exactly who it is who has been lying and deceiving, and it isn’t anyone from Alex Salmond’s side.
I can only assume you are either a liar who has been sent on to lie for your bosses or just a ‘low information’ kinda person who lacks the cognitive ability to work out things for themselves and has believed those with a vested interest in continuing to lie.
Whatever one it is, this isn’t the best place for you to be spouting off.
After reading this post from Rev Stuart today and then Alyn Smith hitting out at the Common weal and Women’s pledge groups today , it reminded me of reading about this at the time of these two Snp Mps that had a trip to America this year , and this from The Record at the time ,
SNP MP accused of going on ‘transatlantic junket’ after US trip for trade talks ,
link to archive.vn
And from the REGISTER OF MEMBERS’ FINANCIAL INTERESTS updates 11 February – 2 March 2020
Smith, Alyn (Stirling)
4. Visits outside the UK
Name of donor: Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars
Address of donor: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Return economy flight £826; hotel accommodation for six nights (£171 per night) £1,026; total value £1,852
Destination of visit: Washington DC, USA
Dates of visit: 3-9 February 2020
Purpose of visit: To participate in the donor’s Defeating Disinformation workshop. (Registered 21 February 2020)
REGISTER OF MEMBERS’ FINANCIAL INTERESTS updates 13 January – 10 February 2020
McDonald, Stewart Malcolm (Glasgow South)
4. Visits outside the UK
Name of donor: Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars
Address of donor: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004, United States
Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): Return economy flight £826; hotel accommodation for six nights (£171 per night) £1,026; total value £1,852
Destination of visit: Washington DC, USA
Dates of visit: 3-9 February 2020
Purpose of visit: To participate in the donor’s Defeating Disinformation workshop. (Registered 10 February 2020)
And this was the event that they attended , not bad going to America for a week for an event that lasted 1 hr 30 mins ,
“ Defeating Disinformation Series: Social Media Regulation Around the World . “
As Congress and regulatory bodies consider the way forward, how can the United States balance preserving democratic discourse, the electoral process, and free speech for years to come?
DATE & TIME Wednesday Feb. 5, 2020 ,5:00pm – 6:30pm ET .
link to wilsoncenter.org
It has always struck me how many men who wear and have worn kilts could accuse women of sexual assault and or abuse
Stuart MacKay says:
11 November, 2020 at 10:35 am
Daisy Walker @9:30am
The video is still available outside of the UK.
One thing of note the wolf held up by the narrator is dressed as a male but the short note on the Scottish Book Trust YouTube site states that Brenda is a “she”.
The trust has been in operation since 1998 and the YouTube site started in 2008. I think being a Woo-man is a more recent phenomena – at least in fashionable circles so the Scottish Book Trust might want to check if they are being taken for a ride.
BTW, the list of the name of Officers on the Companies House register makes for a good laugh…
~~~~
Yep the old CH check always gets them in the £££’s
Also found this about Alyn Smith , what’s the point of the FM’s Standing Council on Europe when they’ve done absolutely nothing about keeping us in Europe
REGISTER OF MEMBERS’ FINANCIAL INTERESTS updates 21 July – 10 August 2020
Smith, Alyn (Stirling)
8. Miscellaneous
From 14 July 2016, a Member (unpaid) of the First Minister’s Standing Council on Europe, an advisory body to the Scottish Government. (Registered 23 July 2020)
From 20 July 2020, Political Adviser (unpaid) to the Political Advisory Board of the European Movement UK, a pressure group. (Registered 23 July 2020)
From Scot Gov website ,
The First Minister’s Standing Council on Europe was established in July 2016. Members will consider the impact of proposed changes to the UK’s relationship with the EU on Scottish interests, and advise Ministers throughout our Brexit negotiations on the best way to secure Scottish interests and objectives.
link to gov.scot
Wee williie has a survey, you know what to do ?
link to digitallibdems.typeform.com
MaggieC @ 11:16
Thanks, I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that the SNP is simply a plaything for spooks and professional manipulators of facts to toy with in order to hone their skills.
A Thatcherite soon to be elevated to President of the party is the icing on the cake.
Truly depressing.
Effijy, thanks for the response.
Let’s try and work through the more substantive parts of what you say;
1) “It’s based on Scotland’s NHS performing better than England’s.”
2) “It’s based on pro rata Scotland have fewer cases and fewer deaths”
3) “and it’s based on England’s media showing Scotland, N Ireland and Welsh stats on a daily basis and then it’s the UK figures so that you have work to Do to compare how badly they have performed compared to all the rest.”
The rest of what you said seemed to be about PPE availability which was a supply problem earlier in the year that has since been resolved.
So, in your original post you said, ““I’m certain England’s stats will be worse” in a comment about covid-19 figures. We can dispense with point 1 above right away because we were not discussing NHS performance.
On to point 2 and 3 which are related in a way.
I’ll round things up here to keep it simple. The death toll in Scotland according to NRS is approximately 5000 since the pandemic started. link to nrscotland.gov.uk
In England and Wales which are inseparable as far as much of the data are concerned, there have been 57,000 deaths since the pandemic started. (ONS)
These figures tell you nothing without reference to two important factors; 1) population size, and 2) population density.
Scotland has a population of around 5.5 millions.
England and Wales have a combined population of around 59 millions.
So far so simple. All that’s left is to divide one respective number by the other and we should have a good raw measure of the frequency. Thus;
5.5 million divided by 5000 = 1,100.
Crudely put, this mean one in 1100 people in Scotland have officially died as a result of covid-19.
Let’s look at England and Wales.
59 million divided by 57000 = 1035
Crudely put, this mean that one in 1035 people in England and Wales have officially died as a result of covid-19.
On the basis of the above, you have a very slight advantage if you live in Scotland.
Let’s now factor in population density since, as is obvious, incidence levels of any respiratory disease are likely to be higher where concentrations of people are higher.
Accordingly, in Scotland we have a population density of 65 persons per square kilometer.
In England, population density stands at 275 people per square kilometer.
In other words, England is over 4 times more densely populated than Scotland.
Note: I haven’t attempted to factor in Wales but I can if you like. Population density for Wales is around 160 per square kilometer, that’s higher than Scotland but with a population of around 3 million it would unlikely to dramatically impact the general picture.
And with all that the very slight advantage Scottish people have in terms of the chances of catching covid-19 and dying is more than explained.
Actually, looking at the population density figures alone, you’d expect Scotland to be doing much better. In England 83% live in urban areas, in Scotland it’s significantly less – hardly surprising that the worst hit areas of Scotland are major towns and cities like Glasgow (and it corroborates the argument on population density, not that it needed corroboration since it’s so obvious).
You finished with the following: “I rest my case and you can have access to all my documentation at any time.”
Your case isn’t resting, it’s departed. All of the data I have used above is freely available and I have provided some links.
It’s good to know our leaders are approved by the US Government,lol.
What do they think they will be getting from these selected visitors?
Who picks the visitors?
Hatuey
Spot on. The delusion that Scotland has coped well with Covid under the leadership of the sainted one is very perplexing. Scotland has the tenth highest death rate in the world, 4th highest in the Northern hemisphere (England being 9th and 3rd respectively). Scotland’s population density is lower than the three northern hemisphere countries as well.
An argument could be made that Spain has has a higher death rate than Scotland and a similar population density but Spanish people live long and the virus is more lethal according to age.
Ms. Sturgeon’s “finest hour” is ranking 186th out of 206. Covid has been a disaster for Scotland and a tragedy for the care home residents sacrificed on the alter of stupidity.
The New Labour comparison is apt when it comes to style over substance
186th out of 196
What did Sidwell get from Sturgeon or what did Sturgeon get from Sidwell for allowing an extension of two years to Leslie Evans contract.
Maybe the ability to come up with £600k at the drop of a hat. For an Indy ref. #BoughtAndSold for Tory Gold. #FollowTheMoney . Strange bedfellows
Jim Bowen would love you. Fucking bullseye. You must have enjoyed writing that one up. Sweating like a SG witness… Genius.
Bang on 100%, Davie Oga.
The elementary truth is that Scotland was and is hamstrung and has been forced to dance to Westminster’s tune on coronavirus from the start – we really haven’t had a strategy of our own, not really.
Instead of coming out and saying that, and possibly suggesting how we might have done things differently, Sturgeon has been pretending all along that the decision-making was hers, “guided by the science”.
There is a conditional, though.
Notice how she refers to the truth every now and then when she is under pressure, when the numbers are bad, and when it suits her; one minute Mother McTeresa, next minute emphasising she hasn’t the funds to do the things she wants.
The truth of our predicament could have been a huge boon to the argument for independence, bigger than Brexit.
I find myself trying to imagine how Salmond would have reacted to the “herd immunity” strategy, for example. I think he’d have told them to fuck right off where Sturgeon and Leitch basically tried to talk us into going along with it (all on the record).
Singapore with almost the exact same sized population as Scotland has had 28 deaths in total. We had over twice that amount of deaths today alone.
And people come on here telling us how well we’ve done.
Madness.
There are those who want to bury their head in the sand over what SNP has become.
There are others who feel the party can be rescued.
I’m not in the first category, and as much as I’d like to belong to the second, I fear this is wishful thinking.
I think the rot is too deep, the party is corroded from the top (as we now know) to the branch level and all that lies between.
I campaigned full time for Yes in 2014 (which I don’t regret a second of) and for SNP in 2015. I saw similar chicanery at branch level to what we’re now seeing at NEC, in fact a few from my ex branch are now on NEC. TBF, I think my branch was particularly toxic, but I know of at least one other branch that was equally as bad.
If the party is as fubar as I believe the consequences for Scotland are dire, I do nor do I feel inclined to dig a head sized hole in the sand.
The Scottish Government is selling Prestwick Airport. Anybody know why?
Isn’t it a public asset? Don’t they have to ask us first? I kinda like Scotland having a ‘National’ airport, just like I liked having European Citizenship.
link to transportbriefing.co.uk
SNP = SLab 2.0
KK
I feel the same. I cancelled my membership six months ago and will no longer vote SNP, a party that now disgusts me. I will however vote for any other party who supports independence.
I still can’t understand what has happened to my country.
Scotland may be selling Prestwick Airport but that should come as no surprise.
The SNP is now a party of the economic right every bit as much as the Tories in England. For her chief economic guru Sturgeon has appointed no lesser a man than ex banker Benny Higgins who now acts as the chief executive ( or should we say factor ) for the Duke of Bucleugh Estates ( with the Duke being the biggest of the land owning gentry in Scotland)
Or what of the other economist on the books Andrew Wilson who is another absolute right winger.
Or what of the current minister Michael Russell who in his 2008 book “ Grasping the Thistle “ he argues for the complete privatisation of the National Health Service with the population being given vouchers to spend with the privatised providers.
Or of a government who only recently attempted to sell off a swathe of national park land at the southern end of Loch Lomond to a property developer for a secret undisclosed sum reported to be chicken feed.
Or a Scotland that has the highest level of land ownership by the rich anywhere in Northern Europe.
Yes, bought and sold for gold, the SNP are every bit as right wing as Boris Johnson and his backers. As a near forty year member of the SNP I can see the day not too far away where if the SNP do not change I most certainly will – as will many many others I know who feel exactly like me.
And while we are talking about more Tory than the Tories, it is undeniable that the SNP did not stop our exit from the EU despite there being committed to do so as was the expressed wish of the Scottish people.
And it is crystal clear that over the last six years absolutely nothing has been done to pursue the case of independence. Thes3 things, aside of economic policy, are all things that the Tories in Westminster support.
Or what of even the coronovirus. Sturgeons Government actually follows the exact same policies as England and has done from the start. Cummings wanted herd immunity and went for it, Surgeon did the same, with catastrophic results.
Yeh, more Tory than the Tories. That’s for sure.. ……..bought and sold……..you know the rest!
Re Hatuey’s suggestion that someone hoping to save themselves might turn ‘King’s evidence’ and whistleblow, I see several counter arguments:
1. Several will be in too deep. The same fickle public who don’t bother supervising their saintly politicians/officials, typically demonise them for any sign of human fallibility.
2. In my experience, a surprising proportion of those who make an isolated immoral decision/mistake in life, seem to lack either the perspective, the self-awareness that they were wrong, or the delayed gratification instinct/courage, to come clean and cut their losses. They go down with the ship needlessly. Could be herd instinct not to step out alone? Rabbit in headlights? (Incidentally Mr Salmond’s detailed accounts, of both the consensual Ms H snog and the Ms F sleepy cuddle, mark him out as unusual in this regard. In a good way.)
3. Even if the public are inclined to forgive, the MSM do not hesitate to blow up a non-event, just as they remain silent or spin away a massive scandal.
4. All remaining guilty parties may jump on the first deserter, as a handy scapegoat and example. As may their backers.
5. Just as the trial by media didn’t end in March, neither will the ‘relationships’, career ambitions, financial interests or hushed up past indiscretions. Blackmail may be ongoing. (Shifting power balance in the USA may alter things slightly.)
Saying that, there is a part of me that hopes some day Ms F will identify herself and publish her story. She may well have been persuaded that her, fairly minor, testimony would bring a serial offender to justice. I think she owes herself the opportunity to distance herself from whole stinking mess.
In the Irish Parliament, Heather Humphries, 1 minute in
has a rip roaring speech tearing apart corruption within
the opposition party.
Why don’t we have anyone like this lady in Parliament here?
link to mobile.twitter.com
Hatuey
That was very convenient for you to say the PPE situation is now fixed.
The incompetence in providing emergency stock, procurement of and
Distribution of killed thousands needlessly and over a period of many months.
You also failed to mention the procession of blatant lies from England’s government
to mask the true level of failure in managing the crisis.
You may note that I didn’t mention Wales.
They are detached from England with their own parliament and own lockdown guidelines.
England has 10 times the Scottish population.
Scotland has had just over 3,000 deaths and England just under 48,000 Covid deaths.
Scotland has had just over 75,000 Covid Cases with England well over 1,000,000.
Density of population seems a muted point.
Do you think we should huddle together a bit more to put England in a better light?
Look here and stop distorting figures like a London Tory!
link to google.co.uk
The fish rots from the head down.
Correction from the above link
Deaths
50,365
+595
Location Cases Recovered Deaths
Scotland. 76,448. 3,143
England. 1.07M. 44,304
Just multiply Scotland’s numbers by 10 and see who is performing better.
Remember too that when Scotland wanted finance for lockdown, the English
Government rejected it. This power would have greatly reduced our stats above.
Lockdown finance phase 2 only kicks in when London needs it.
Chip in Scotland!
Was listening to Radio Scotland at the back of 7 and there was about a 5 min piece about a guy called Lee Kain (I hadn’t heard of him either) who is resigning from his post as Boris’s Director of Communications amid rumours of tension and disagreement in Downing Street. Really? That’s news. I’m not surprised but I despair about the level of journalism in Scotland. They have a shitstorm brewing in the SNP and Holyrood but that’s not newsworthy?
Sturgeon, Blackford and Alyn Smith are standing aside as mere onlookers as Scotland is dragged out of the the EU. No action plan to prevent it was ever devised. And the Scottish people have been taught by the SNP to meekly accept dictation from London, despite the magnitude of the injustice.
Sturgeon and Smith are far more interested in letting dubious men enter women’s toilets whilst waving a certificate.
No nationalist with any sense and foresight believes Sturgeon will do anything with a renewed mandate for independence. No one with any intelligence thinks she has not been involved in criminality over the Salmond stitch-up. We’ve got her and her pretend husband completely sized up now.
Breeks @ 4.31 am
Willie @ 5.42 am
Re Prestwick airport up for sale again , We should be keeping Prestwick airport for the whole of Scotland if for no other reason than it’s the only airport than can remain open all year round in the whole of Europe , Prestwick airport should be part of the assets that we should have control over as an independent country .
This is an excellent post from Facebook and how Scotland was conned back in the 1930’s – 1940’s over the airport ,
link to m.facebook.com
And the Hansard debate from 29th March 1945 ,
link to api.parliament.uk
We were robbed again by the English Government in Westminster .
Grey Gull says:
12 November, 2020 at 7:35 am
Was listening to Radio Scotland …. They have a shitstorm brewing in the SNP and Holyrood but that’s not newsworthy?
The silence of the “media” is probably the last thread which keeps Sturgeon hanging on, and allowing the fantasists around her to believe everything is fine, and that we’ve Sturgeon to thank for building support for Independence.
It’s hard to avoid the comparison with the late war attitudes towards Hitler… leave him be, because he was doing more harm than good for the Germans.
It’s those same bloody Wishart type fantasists who have allowed this unholy shambles to thrive and squander Scotland’s open door to Independence.
I hope Alex Salmond’s testimony might yet provide the means to collapse this whole charade, and Scotland can improvise some kind of State of Emergency and fight a rearguard action against our subjugation and BritNat deregulation, and protect Scotland’s services from asset stripping.
You would think these Conspirators would already be facing legal prosecutions for their crimes, because they are crimes, and there must surely be questions why there are not.
Otherwise we must accept that Scotland really is through the looking glass, and every component of Scottish society right across the spectrum of government, law and media is holed below the waterline and has abandoned Scotland to Westminster’s colonialism. These “institutions” are bought and paid for by our enemies, and are of no further use to us.
Grey Gull 7.35am – Don’t worry, all these “SNP bad” items are being saved for next May’s election when each snippit will make banner headlines day after day.
Online clyping is offline hyping.
New SNP theme song.
Fuck it.
link to m.youtube.com
Me yesterday @ 11.47 am
Apologies , I’ve just realised that I posted the wrong archive link to Alyn Smith’s article in the National yesterday , I see that he’s claiming that the snp has 150,000 members so surely that means there should be more money in the accounts from membership fees .
“ The SNP is an utterly democratic party and the members are in charge. We also don’t put all decisions to all 150,000 members, we delegate and elect members to positions to make those calls on behalf of the wider movement, and those of us privileged to have that trust exercise those functions in good faith and to the best of our ability. “
Correct archive link ,
link to archive.vn
It’s time to get Alyn Smith out of the Policy development convener post because his policies so far are doing nothing towards regaining our Independence .
Look at the photo of Sturgeon accompanying thus article. I mean, it’s taken at a sober, sombre affair, but really- this is a woman with a LOT on her mind. Wonder how it feels starting out in politrix cos you hate Thatcher, then ultimately becoming what you hate. That has to cause some sleepless nights sometimes. You could almost feel sorry for her.
Almost.
link to thenational.scot
OT
Apart from the fact Trump got 9 million more votes than last time, won more house of Reps seats and Joe ‘poor kids are just as smart as white kids’ Biden is supposed to have outdone Obama in Dem states and all this while Florida was a romp for Trump – something seems rotten in the state on Denmark.
So interesting the leagues of non Americans so willing to lick Uncle Sam’s shitty boots.
When will La Sturgeon do a Biden?
MaggieC says:
12 November, 2020 at 8:21 am
Breeks @ 4.31 am
Willie @ 5.42 am
Re Prestwick airport up for sale again , We should be keeping Prestwick airport for the whole of Scotland if for no other reason than it’s the only airport than can remain open all year round in the whole of Europe…
No argument from me. Agree 100%.
Ottomanboi,Sturgeon does not have the guts to be a vicious cynical hawk like Biden. War is not her thing – except against former mentors, and men in general.