The Herald has the barest skeleton of a report, while you have to turn to page 14 of the Daily Record for a similar piece that conveys the basic facts with nothing at all about the significance of the ruling, and STV News – embarrassingly – just runs an agency release despite having the estimable Colin Mackay and Bernard Ponsonby on its staff. (They also had nothing on air last night.) Maybe they were busy.
The Scottish Sun is by far the best of the print media on the subject. It first ran a extensive but very strangely-timed article that included reporting of actual events at the hearing but NOT the verdict, even though the court delivered its judgement mere moments after hearing the counsels’ submissions.
(The piece finishes “The appeal at the Court of Session is expected to last one day, with a written judgement taking weeks or months”.)
It followed up a couple of hours later with another substantial story including the reactions of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Information Commissioner (the opposing parties at the hearing). But the only actual analysis was done by the BBC.
To the surprise of most of those watching, including ourselves, the Court Of Session delivered its judgement immediately at the end of today’s hearing, after only the most cursory of conflabs between the three august panel members.
The short version is that the Scottish Government lost, and must now comply with Wings reader Benjamin Harrop‘s FOI request regarding evidence that was supplied to independent adviser James Hamilton during his inquiry into the unlawful investigation of false allegations against Alex Salmond.
The Scottish Government will make history tomorrow. For the first time ever since the advent of devolution 24 years ago, it will take the Scottish Information Commissioner to the Court Of Session to prevent disclosure of information.
On the bench will be the full firepower of the inner council of the Scottish judiciary. The Lord President himself, Lord Carloway, will be presiding (and presumably lording) over the hearing. Joining him on the bench will be a former Lord Advocate, Lord Boyd, and a former Solicitor General, Lord Pentland – pictured below, and of whom readers will last have heard here.
To use the legal parlance, that’s a big-boy lineup.
To present their case, the Government are fielding not one but two King’s Counsel – James Mure KC and Paul Reid KC.
This top legal talent does not come cheap and nor does a Court Of Session hearing. So what is this vital information that the Scottish Government – which as recently as May this year pledged to “ensure that we are the most transparent Government on these islands” – is trying so desperately to hide from the Scottish public, at the Scottish public’s very considerable expense?
The average prison term for rape in Scotland is just under seven years. So we really don’t want to think about what Andrew “Amy George” Miller did to the poor young girl he abducted to get 20. (Indeed, strictly speaking 28.)
Miller wasn’t charged with rape, the 11-year-old was described as “safe and well” when the police found her and she was missing for just over one day. Miller also entered a guilty plea. So our blood runs cold at the thought of what must have happened in those 27 hours to nevertheless attract such a huge sentence, and we hope never to know.
As alert readers will have noticed, Wings has been perusing the SNP’s Governance And Transparency Review over the last couple of days, a document which tentatively attempts to discern just how big a mess the party’s previous leadership has left it in.
The paper has now also reached the mainstream media.
Wings already touched on that particular aspect of the party’s mismanagement back in August, but in the light of the report now formally acknowledging the problem it’s worth taking a moment to establish just how astonishingly bad it is.
These are strange and grim times for the Scottish independence movement, but we never thought it’d ever get so strange that we’d be quoting Effie Deans.
Since pretty much day one, Wings has said that the only honest and honourable way to campaign against independence would be for Unionists to say Scotland isn’t a country, but a mere region of the UK. But they lack the courage to admit what their true beliefs are, and so they fall back on fear and lies disguised as concern, all cloaked in “proud Scot” protestations.
While that might be a miserable way to conduct yourself, it’s understandable, because the moment that you acknowledge Scotland as being a country, all the debating lines against independence crumble to ashes. They’re powerless in the face of the principle that countries should choose their own governments, for good or ill, because that’s what democracy is, and few people are willing to stand openly against democracy.
And what Effie Deans’ concession of this site’s cornerstone argument reveals is that Unionists finally feel safe against any threat of independence in the foreseeable future, and with good reason.
Yesterday we took an extensive tour of all the red flags in the SNP’s 2022 accounts, which show a party in very deep financial trouble. But there was one part we left out because it deserves a post of its own.
It starkly exposes how a party chose to hold an event for around 800 members in a venue with a capacity of 15,000 and then went to a lot of effort to disguise how empty the space was, rather than, for example, just hiring somewhere of an appropriate size (and cost) in the first place.
(Look how far into the hall the stage has been placed, leaving half the arena vacant, to then be hidden behind a giant screen and curtains and banners in order to give a false impression of how full it is.)
But what’s more symbolic is that there are almost no people in it.
Aidan on The fight about to come: “I see stinking fat shit is back posting again.” Oct 18, 08:11
Willie on Faces In Sand: “Here are two photographs from journalist Cris Mullin’s X account. One shows an apparently bursting full SNP Conference. The other…” Oct 18, 06:47
Willie on Faces In Sand: “Absolutely incredible that the SNP are going to ban all government and government agencies from using the media platform Twitter…” Oct 18, 06:35
Angus on Faces In Sand: ““16th century Scots would have driven them all into the sea by now.” Scots had real spines in those days.” Oct 18, 02:24
Cynicus on Faces In Sand: “Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat. Or- to mark the end of the Mòd, in the tongue of those called…” Oct 18, 01:47
Lothianlad on Faces In Sand: “Just did something i rarely do an looked at whingy scot goes pop mealy mouth. Interesting he says nothing about…” Oct 17, 22:47
Lothianlad on Faces In Sand: “Proof if any were needed that the SNP is utterly owned by the british security sevices. They allow no prospect…” Oct 17, 22:37
Anthem on Faces In Sand: “Q Manivannan, did he ever get a visa extension? The illegality of that seems to have gone quiet.” Oct 17, 22:37
Andrew scott on Faces In Sand: “THIS IS BEYOND AWAFUL DOOMED AH TELL YE DOOMED” Oct 17, 22:14
Red on Faces In Sand: “Looking at the SNP conference now, they’re just human biotrash. The least intelligent, the least honest, the least courageous and…” Oct 17, 20:02
Jim Thomson on Faces In Sand: “In other news – “A Ministry of Defence analyst has been elected rector of the University of St Andrews. Dr…” Oct 17, 19:32
Jim Thomson on Faces In Sand: “They’ve obviously never heard of VPNs. “Choose Scotland”, our reframing group developed that slogan way back in 2013 and have…” Oct 17, 19:28
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Hmmm. Listening to the BBC tonight, I got the impression that Swinney has just announced that Indy is as good…” Oct 17, 18:52
Hatey McHateface on The fight about to come: “Crivens, James. Is it usual for yer maw tae stay oot sae long? Hope she’s nae been lifted! Wha’s pitting…” Oct 17, 18:45
Tommo on Faces In Sand: “‘The truth is simple: the SNP exists for power’s sake alone. As long as it can keep funnelling fat salaries…” Oct 17, 17:53
Ian on Faces In Sand: “I suppose we should look on the bright side. 1. If everyone who still thinks independence is coming via the…” Oct 17, 17:17
Alison on Faces In Sand: “Nothing about this surprises me except that Facebook has a 70% reach.” Oct 17, 16:51
twathater on Faces In Sand: “The smugness emanating from that FAT BALDHEADED TWAT is almost bile inducing” Oct 17, 16:46
twathater on Faces In Sand: “We can only hope that the Alex Salmond trial and the EXPOSURE of the vile , despicable actions of Sturgeon…” Oct 17, 16:40
Captain Caveman on The fight about to come: “My word, some horrendous imagery coming out of France right now, the place seems to be on fire. Tsk, all…” Oct 17, 15:42
James on The fight about to come: ““….hurled at those whose ability to construct a coherent, cogent, written statement…” Site Prick. When’s that happening then, wee man?…” Oct 17, 14:54
Hatey McHateface on The fight about to come: ““The talent is there” Where? Serious question. Where are they hiding? Help me out here. Name 20 talented Scots capable…” Oct 17, 14:15
sarah on The fight about to come: “SSRG 2026 Saturday 17th October on youtube is working well today. Please watch. Sensible, principled people talking constructively. They are…” Oct 17, 13:49
Wally Jumblatt on The fight about to come: “Your perseverance with the moribund SNP is praiseworthy, but I’m sure we are all way past the point where we…” Oct 17, 13:36
Captain Caveman on The fight about to come: “” What glass house pray am i supposed to inhabit” Well, son, “if you have to ask” and all of…” Oct 17, 12:17
Hatey McHateface on The fight about to come: “@James says: 17 October, 2026 at 10:21 am “Prick”? Naw, James, that ane hasnae been devalued. Its meaning remains clear,…” Oct 17, 11:23
Hatey McHateface on Still Time To Save Her: ““Still read the rag though” Me too, the online version. Some good journalism occasionally, although hell will freeze over before…” Oct 17, 11:13
Southernbystander on Still Time To Save Her: “Yeah, got some sympathy with this, the way what are not unreasonable calls for at least recognition of past crimes,…” Oct 17, 10:32
Hatey McHateface on The fight about to come: “Many Scots who are related to the descendants of the thieving, genociding Scottish colonisers of the Canadian province of Alberta…” Oct 17, 09:54
