It’s both a comprehensive refresher of events surrounding the Scottish Government’s conspiracy to convict Alex Salmond on false charges, and a sharp reminder of why Scotland is, in truth, not yet a country in a fit administrative state for independence.
But one part in particular ought to be the headline news tonight.
We were going to write a follow-up piece to this last week, until the SNP detonated a hand-grenade in its own trouser pocket. But with the coronation of John Swinney this afternoon after the only challenger sold out for some shiny beads and trinkets, we can get back to some serious news.
The controversial charity LGBT Youth Scotland, which has been involved in a number of serious child sexual abuse scandals, continues to exert considerable influence on Scotland’s education system, thanks to extremely lavish funding from taxpayers – well over a million pounds from hard-pressed councils in the last year alone to address unspecified issues whose urgency is difficult to identify.
After our last piece we sent LGBTYS a letter raising our concerns about their improper interference with primary schools, something we were obliged to do before we could file a formal complaint with Scotland’s charity regulator, the OSCR.
We received an automated reply on 24 April saying “We are currently experiencing staff shortages and it may take up to a week to respond to your email.”
That deadline expired five days ago, and we will now be writing to the OSCR. But in the meantime LGBTYS persists in exceeding its remit, with deeply alarming results.
We’ve already posted a shorter and snappier soundbite from this video on our Twitter, but it’s really worth watching the full version here:
Because the body language is remarkable. For three and a half minutes, Neil Gray is completely unable to look his former colleague – an SNP MSP until a few months ago, a fellow government minister until 2022 – in the eye.
He sits stiff as a board, his teeth gritted, his face like thunder, staring directly ahead at the back wall of the studio as Ash Regan patiently and calmly outlines the extremely modest requirements Alba had set out in return for supporting Humza Yousaf and the SNP government in Parliamentary votes of confidence.
And when host Stephen Jardine asks him what exactly was so unreasonable about them, he can’t help himself, and blurts out that it was really all about preventing Alex Salmond from regaining any sort of influence on Scottish politics and insisting that his “rehabilitation” could not be permitted, even if the result of blocking it was the loss of an SNP First Minister and the potential bringing down of an SNP government.
And at this point a fair-minded person might ask: rehabilitation from what, precisely?
So, it being Good Friday, we’re definitely not going to receive our legal opinion before Monday now, so Wings Over Scotland will be shutting down, at least temporarily, on Sunday evening. No posts will be visible on the site and our Twitter account will be either locked down or deactivated while we await advice on whether either can return.
In the meantime you can hear of any developments, or get in touch, on my personal account @RevStu or on @TheGhostOfWings, both of which have had, or are about to have, all their old tweets wiped.
We’re not going to overdramatise, because we hope this is only for a few days. We’re optimistic that the Scottish Government’s abysmal, sinister and totalitarian Hate Crime Act, opposed across every sector of Scottish society and even by the police charged with implementing it, will not put an end to 12 and a half years of political journalism.
There’s a Calvin And Hobbes cartoon we like to post on social media when someone’s got themselves in such a pickle that they’re just flailing around desperately firing off every slogan, argument or insult they can think of to get themselves out of it.
More than three months have passed since Alex Salmond launched a lawsuit against the Scottish Government for its grotesquely botched handling of false allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
With Scottish politics currently in a completely moribund state, as the party of government disintegrates shambolically and the main opposition party keeps its mouth shut and its head down in an attempt to not destroy its newfound and extremely fragile status as a credible alternative, one might imagine that the political media would be desperate for the case to get under way and provide them with some juicy content.
So it’s slightly surprising that none of them has noticed the latest development.
As Twitter followers will have noticed, we’ve been busy this week with an extensive remodelling of Wings HQ, which involved the main computer being out of commission for several days while the office was basically torn down and rebuilt from scratch. (It seemed a good time to do it, given that there’s nothing remotely of interest happening in Scottish politics.)
Unfortunately the lack of activity on the site caused the comments on the last post to degenerate into the most wretched playground shrieking match, so let’s see if we can’t distract the children and talk about something else for a bit.
Particularly alert observers will have noted that Kezia Dugdale, the most spectacularly inept and unsuccessful Scottish political leader in history, this week demitted her role as Director of the John Smith Centre, which she was handed as an incentive to quit Scottish Labour after dragging it to 14% in the opinion polls.
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Aye, TURABDIN, no fool like a progressive, pseudo intellectual, lefty fool. As we sometimes observe on Wings BTL!” Jan 17, 15:38
TURABDIN on Learning Insanity: “@Hatey McHateface You might have seen this, https://archive.is/wUC4L The west has more to concern itself with this type and the…” Jan 17, 15:08
Aidan on Learning Insanity: “@James Cheyne perhaps you could set out what you think those persuasive legal arguments are and what precedence in case…” Jan 17, 14:32
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Scotland’s geographic position is indeed significant, not just for England but for Europe too. That makes independence less likely, not…” Jan 17, 14:06
TURABDIN on Learning Insanity: “One route is growing realization that the British State is in deep trouble with future in the hands of English…” Jan 17, 13:33
sarah on Learning Insanity: “Sorry to say that the Not Proven verdict was abolished wef 1.1.26 by our hugely learned [ahem] SNP government.” Jan 17, 13:07
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “There are many possible routes to a independent Scotland, some of the more obvious ones are being ignored. But aligned…” Jan 17, 12:30
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Could it be that the sword is mightier than the pen? Another simple question.” Jan 17, 12:26
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “The true devastating effects on Scotland has been over three hundred years of opression and suppression of its people and…” Jan 17, 12:15
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “No one questions that the treaty between the parliaments agreement of Scotland and England ended in 1800 when the parliament…” Jan 17, 11:53
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “England has 11 missing days in its side of the treaty of union in 1752. No one questions this lost…” Jan 17, 11:49
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “There are so many issues on incorrect chronological dates alone that I am surprised that they have never been questioned…” Jan 17, 11:43
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “Scots law does have the ” Not proven ” judgement applied to it in Scotland, it also has trial by…” Jan 17, 11:38
willie on Learning Insanity: “Not much intellectual rigour from Ulster University and Queen’s Belfast then if they restrict speech. Woo woo wacky is certainly…” Jan 17, 09:00
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “I see you’ve done that authentically Scottish thing, YL, come up with a couple of disparaging names. How very productive.…” Jan 17, 08:35
Young Lochinvar on Learning Insanity: “Fear not Sarah, all will be well in the M.E. now that Teflon Tony and (super) Mario Rubix (cube) are…” Jan 17, 02:21
Cynicus on Learning Insanity: “Marie says: 16 January, 2026 at 11:38 am Re:Darlington nurses victory – no muddying of the waters there. Thank you…” Jan 17, 01:39
Jim Tadgercock on Learning Insanity: “What Lorna Campell says. Absolutely spot on . Nothing needs to be added to her statement. Regards.” Jan 17, 00:17
sarah on Learning Insanity: “O/T: a delightful few minutes watching the livestream of the Craig Murray initial hearing [has he standing or not re…” Jan 16, 21:41
holymacmoses on Learning Insanity: “People with absolutely NO self-control who demand total control over others. Singular dictatorship” Jan 16, 21:26
Aidan on Learning Insanity: “Sorry Stu, someone (James) has come and done a massive turd all over your latest blog post BTL. Some insane…” Jan 16, 20:51
Lorna Campbell on Learning Insanity: “What an excellent idea, H McH.” Jan 16, 18:48
Lorna Campbell on Learning Insanity: “The Darlington nurses have won (most of) their claims against the health authority, but the fragrant (not) ‘Rose’ has been…” Jan 16, 18:46
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Does anybody know if one of these people convinced they are in the wrong body has ever claimed to have…” Jan 16, 16:07
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Prick and cunt, eh? Puir James. Every bit at sea with gender as the hairiest, biggest-bollocked bloke cramming himself into…” Jan 16, 15:55
Doug on Learning Insanity: “Fit like? or Foo’s yer doos?” Jan 16, 15:32
sam on Learning Insanity: “Lorna, You are right. Some studies do find that some children with gender dysphoria grew out of it. In Ireland,…” Jan 16, 14:01
James on Learning Insanity: “Site Prick; Jeezo, cunty, can’t you get ANYTHING right? “..If you intend to invoke the words of history’s greatest physicist,…” Jan 16, 13:26
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “The trade union are public bodies, and often supported by government also a public body. She could use article XV111…” Jan 16, 12:28
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: ““Postcolonial theory also confirms” “what we are dealing with in any colonial society” If you intend to invoke the words…” Jan 16, 12:26
