We’ve had another email from the Crown Office. Stand by for a surprise!
Well, that seems fair enough: other than the fact that almost £700,000 in “ringfenced” fundraiser money is (still) visibly missing, and the fact that the First Minister of the country and the leader of the party the money was entrusted to has publicly admitted it was misappropriated, there’s insufficient evidence that anything untoward happened to it. Panic over, everyone. Nothing to see here. Carry on with your day.
It’s sometimes tempting to believe that transactivists, and in particular the extra-loud attention-seeking type, are simply mad and/or stupid. But that’s not always the case, because this sounds like some actually pretty cunning work.
Ever-alert Wings readers will be aware that for the past three and a half years or so I’ve been the target of a campaign by disgraced former policeman Lynsay Watson, who over that period has relentlessly attempted to get me arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for knowing – and saying – that human beings can’t change sex.
(As we’ll learn during this article, I am far from unique in that experience.)
Watson has made numerous ludicrous, vexatious complaints to various police forces about me – a particularly memorable one being when he reported me last September for “perverting the course of justice” because I’d tweeted a link to a fundraiser for someone being persecuted by another transactivist – as well as trying to extort tens of thousands of pounds from me with threats.
Yesterday, though, he finally found some police officers gullible enough to listen.
We’ll be honest with you, readers, if we were in a situation where a lawyer was issuing statements for us, this isn’t what we’d want to hear.
“If my client had been charged, she’d be in prison right now” is a worrying distance short of a vote of confidence in your client’s innocence.
But the statement Aamer Anwar put out for Nicola Sturgeon last night – her FOURTH in 48 hours, despite saying on Monday morning that she’d be making no further comment on the Peter Murrell case – had rather more wrong with it than even that.
Attending the Civic Justice Centre in Manchester as part of an ongoing attempt to persecute the feminist journalist and author Helen Joyce, Watson was intercepted by Greater Manchester Police and arrested in connection with allegations of harassment of several people, one of whom was myself.
Watson had been evading justice for a long time. He provides false addresses to the police and courts (which is a crime in itself), and despite numerous criminal complaints against him he manages to dodge arrest because police forces endlessly ping-pong the complaints between each other (“He lives in YOUR area!” “No, yours!”) and allow him to repeatedly arrange voluntary interviews which he never turns up to, stalling and hiding until the six-month limit on harassment cases times out.
So Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News got herself a scoop last night.
And to be honest, readers, we were a bit confused. “Gender critical views” are not only lawful things to hold and express, they’re one of a small subset of opinions that are explicitly protected as such in law. And why would a man very occasionally airing some lawful and protected views on social media be a news story? You might as well run “BREAKING: Premiership footballer discovered to enjoy cheese-and-ham toasties”.
It seems that it’s fine to farm important judgments out to mysterious shadowy figures who just make important chunks of them up out of thin air, and then issue them in your own name. Back in your boxes, plebs.
robertkknight on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “I recon 75% of the Wee Ginger Fud brigade have no idea what day of the week it is and…” Sep 16, 17:34
Cynicus on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: ““ We’re getting so much correspondence from Police Scotland at the moment that we’re starting to feel like their guiltily-neglected…” Sep 16, 17:07
Arthur Martin on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “Many thanks for not taking no for an answer Stuart. It feels to me that your determination and tenacity in…” Sep 16, 17:02
J Robertson on Fear And Favour: “Your relentless determination and forensic annihilation of their clearly nonsense reasons must surely win out in the end. No problem…” Sep 16, 16:47
robertkknight on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “Police Scotland and the COPFS are corrupt and as an asset of Thames House, Sturgeon is being protected. What more…” Sep 16, 15:56
Old Bill on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “A trivial point, but I think it is unprofessional for PSoS Legal Services team to be sending anonymous letters “How…” Sep 16, 15:33
holymacmoses on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “I wonder if the problem of a prosecution lies not in the problem of ‘responsibility’ – which as you point…” Sep 16, 15:13
100%Yes on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “I’ll have a guess at why Sturgeon wasn’t charge, it was her looks and personality.” Sep 16, 14:59
Alice Timmons on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “*sigh*..ah, well. Better check out this year’s pension rise. I think I feel a crowd funder coming on. More power…” Sep 16, 14:22
Mark Beggan on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: ““It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.” – Hans Froði Hansen” Sep 16, 14:01
Nicky T Naquetti on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: “You are doing God’s work, here – as a Reverend should, of course. These SNP serpents need trampled underfoot.” Sep 16, 13:57
Mark Beggan on A Thousand Islands In The Sea: ““Scandal begins when the police put a stop to it.” “The Policing begins when a scandal puts a stop them…” Sep 16, 13:56
Northcode on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “It is my view that Liberation Scotland’s claim is structurally impossible. They are asking supporters to believe that raising £200,000…” Sep 16, 13:23
Aidan on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “Thanks Northcode – a helpful and clear summary. I might also add that the political will amongst UN members to…” Sep 16, 12:45
lothianlad on Fear And Favour: “keep at them Stuart! They think by continuing to deny your input that you will eventually give up. NO WAY!…” Sep 16, 12:39
Aidan on Fear And Favour: “Just out of interest Alf – when you meet other Scots in person, do you normally call them “oppressed natives”?…” Sep 16, 12:34
Northcode on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “There seems to be a lot of confusion about how the UN’s Non-Self-Governing Territories list actually works, so it might…” Sep 16, 12:32
Aidan on Fear And Favour: “Yes but you don’t provide any facts or figures, what you do provide is: a) generally written in such a…” Sep 16, 12:27
Alf Baird on Fear And Favour: “Colonial powers destroy annexed nations historical records when they take possession, and destroy their own colonial records when they lose…” Sep 16, 12:07
Captain Caveman on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “@BP Yes, you’re right – this clearly is “confusing for you”, so let’s draw a line under it. I note…” Sep 16, 11:59
Alf Baird on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “When colonial mouthpieces tell you that the UN decolonization process and international law route for peoples in self-determination conflict is…” Sep 16, 11:52
Willie on Fear And Favour: “And what of the Standards Commission and the governments appeal to the Inner House to challenge the landmark Lird Sandison…” Sep 16, 11:51
Willie on Fear And Favour: “And what of the SCS and the governments appeal to the Inner House to challenge the landmark Lird Sandison judgement…” Sep 16, 11:49
Willie on Fear And Favour: “And what about all the elected representatives who were wanting seek redress for Standards Commision Miscarriages of Justice. The destruction…” Sep 16, 11:45
Spartan 117 on Fear And Favour: “Standard racist wibble from the appropriately-monikered “Confused”. Anti-Semitic, Anglophobic and even managed to fit the Pakistanis in. For once Hatey…” Sep 16, 11:25
Willie on Fear And Favour: “Just heard the Salmond case has been sisted. Anybody got any details What is going on?” Sep 16, 11:22
Breastplate on Like Responsible Citizens Do: “HH, Yes, of course there is more than one way to advance the case for Scotland’s self determination, I agree…” Sep 16, 11:10
