Because while pretty much every journalist, pundit and legal expert reporting the case agrees that the amendment made to the Section 11 order protecting the anonymity of the complainers in the Alex Salmond case is an important and significant one, it hasn’t impressed the only person whose opinion actually matters: Andy Wightwash.
The Spectator’s application to the High Court for a variation of the anonymity order in HM Advocate vs Alexander Salmond has just finished. It seems to have been agreed by all parties that Lady Dorrian will now amend her order to read thus:
“An order at common law and in terms of section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, preventing publication of the names and identity and any information likely to disclose the identity of the complainers in the case of HMA v Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond, as such complainers in those proceedings.”
We suppose this is a sort of compliment, in at least two senses.
The second of them, of course, being the sheer surprise of some people at discovering that not everyone is as cynical and devious as they evidently are themselves.
First Minister’s Questions was very interesting today. Ruth Davidson had some tricky ones which Nicola Sturgeon simply didn’t even attempt to look like she was answering, and we might come back to one of them in particular a little later on.
But Jackie Baillie’s were even more pointed, especially this one:
With our trademark scrupulous fairness we’ve included the full question and answer, and they raise a whole series of issues, but if you’re in a hurry the key part we want to talk about right now is between 0.18 and 0.26.
It’s hard to believe that it’s barely six months since grassroots SNP members rushed to the defence of Glasgow Cathcart MSP James Dornan when it looked like the party’s woke wing had pushed him out of his seat for electoral vampire Rhiannon Spear.
The loud uproar over a crooked NEC meeting that effectively deselected Dornan – the same one that stitched up Joanna Cherry – saw him reinstated as candidate, although the decision over Cherry wasn’t reversed. But the warning shot across Dornan’s bows clearly worked, because look at the state of him now.
Ever since the summer fiasco Dornan has been the most obsequiously loyal follower of the leadership in the entire party, but today’s tweet is a new low.
There’s currently a rather large and somewhat embarrassing vacancy at the top of the Yes movement. You may wish to be part of an organisation which includes some very good people seeking to do something about it.
In which case you should click on the image above.
The tl;dr is that Martin Keatings has lost his case over the Scottish Parliament’s right or otherwise to hold an independence referendum. Lady Carmichael in essence declined to make a decision over Holyrood’s authority to order any future vote, agreeing with the defenders in deeming the matter to be “hypothetical, academic and premature”.
We obviously haven’t yet had time to digest the full 72-page judgement, issued about an hour ago, and in any event aren’t really equipped to understand its dense legalese.
But there’s one thing we do understand.
Keatings was opposed by an alliance of the Advocate General for Scotland (despite his title, a representative of the UK government) and the Lord Advocate OF Scotland, who is a minister in Nicola Sturgeon’s government.
It was therefore the Scottish Government, alongside the one in Westminster, who were opposing the court even attempting to establish whether Scotland has the right to determine its own constitutional future.
Billie on Anything But That: “Back in 2024 there was a man who secured the required signatures to lodge nomination papers to contest the coronation…” Sep 2, 14:21
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Thanks YL. Must admit, I giggled at that.” Sep 2, 14:17
Young Lochinvar on Anything But That: “I see the famous Bayeux tapestry is out on loan and will be viewed today by T’ King of Oop…” Sep 2, 14:11
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Are we talking Lowland Scots or Broad Scots here? Something we, er, “Teuchters” as you lowlander plastic Scots call us,…” Sep 2, 14:10
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “It is odd, TURABDIN. Somebody on here is forever claiming that every English defeat gets airbrushed out of history.” Sep 2, 13:49
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “As always, Alf, I question your “abeelity” to make yourself understood even to a majority of your fellow Scots when…” Sep 2, 13:33
Mark Beggan on Anything But That: “Aye Hatey all that could be said has been said. The Leftys are self combusting at an incredible rate. General…” Sep 2, 13:00
TURABDIN on Anything But That: “The English establishment today celebrates an artefact depicting their conquest by a foreign «power», Normandy. Eccentricity is a national trait…” Sep 2, 12:49
Lorncal on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “You may be right, H McH, that Balkanisation would occur. That is a risk we have to take. Throughout English…” Sep 2, 12:31
Chas on Anything But That: “Hatey Why respond to an obvious nutter? Nothing you say will ever change it’s deranged mind.” Sep 2, 12:05
Alf Baird on Anything But That: ““Aye you spooks based at Vauxhall Cross” Aye James, aw thay skivers aye lat ken thairsels as suin as thay…” Sep 2, 10:36
Minceheid on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Hatey McHateface says: 2 September, 2026 at 9:05 am MH. Indeed, nothing wrong. But mind, you’re on Wings BTL. That…” Sep 2, 10:13
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “As Dan says, consumption of oil and gas is very much not living in the past. And indeed the North…” Sep 2, 10:00
Captain Caveman on Anything But That: “Honestly Spartan, I’ve gotta say I think it’s all the preserve of the Bacofoil headgear wearers! 🙂 It does provide…” Sep 2, 09:44
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “The repeat prescriptions must be coming through like clockwork, CC. Shame. But that’s just me being selfish. Although the “episodes”…” Sep 2, 09:32
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “CC – joking aside, I’m convinced there’s a couple of 77th accounts trolling here. They’re pretty active on politics blogs/comments…” Sep 2, 09:30
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “That’s a new one, James. So if we Scots don’t vote the SNP into power, who do we vote for?…” Sep 2, 09:25
Spartan 117 on Anything But That: “Hatey – why? There is indeed plenty of Oil & Gas (plus coal), largely squandered by decades of dreadful short-sighted…” Sep 2, 09:24
Dan on Anything But That: “Re. Accusations of living in the past… Alert readers can view this linked to site of the GB Grid, and…” Sep 2, 09:23
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “Sure, Bilbo, they’ve been coming here since the late nineties. Meaning that numbers and percentages have been what the mathematicians…” Sep 2, 09:17
Captain Caveman on Anything But That: “Sadly, no mention of colonising, hotpot-wielding M15 operatives with their fiendish slow cookers and sinister Le Crueset pans at their…” Sep 2, 09:16
Hatey McHateface on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “MH. Indeed, nothing wrong. But mind, you’re on Wings BTL. That sets the bar very low.” Sep 2, 09:05
Hatey McHateface on The Shortest Day: “Sorry to hear you missed the bloody and arousing episode, Confused, with all its gore and erotic beastiality. That could…” Sep 2, 08:59
Hatey McHateface on Anything But That: “Alert readers can stop at the copious oil and gas tripe. Quit living in the past, Confused.” Sep 2, 08:46
James Che on Anything But That: “Confused. The finances have to be converted from Scotlands finances to Westminsters bank of England finances before the snobby elite…” Sep 2, 08:12
James Che on Anything But That: “Confused, A different kind of silver, the elites are very picky you know, One from Scotland purses and one from…” Sep 2, 07:59
Bilbo on Anything But That: “The narrative is that sex crimes have sky rocketed in the last 3 years and the furriners are to be…” Sep 2, 07:53
James Che on Anything But That: “Effijy, The problem is that Scotland probably do not keep voting the SnP muppets in. We have no control on…” Sep 2, 07:52
Minceheid on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “Hatey McHateface says: 1 September, 2026 at 1:13 pm Naw, MH. The rate per word posting on here is too…” Sep 2, 07:39
James Che on Haven’t had a dream in a long time: “McDuff. Or they could pressured into with drawing their MSP from Westminster.on breaches of the treaty of union. There are…” Sep 2, 07:13
