News reaches Wings this evening that Humza Yousaf has called an emergency meeting of the Scottish Cabinet at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning, just a couple of hours before FMQs. (This information has been confirmed directly to us by a source very close to a member of said Cabinet.)
An emergency Cabinet meeting is an extraordinarily rare event. As far as we’re able to establish there have only been two during the SNP’s time in power – when the budget failed to pass in 2009 and Alex Salmond’s administration had to decide whether or not to trigger a general election, and one the day after the Brexit vote to supposedly plan a second indyref (LOL). But in any case they’re extremely unusual.
The subject of the meeting has not been disclosed to us. It could, for example, concern imminent developments in Operation Branchform, or it could relate to the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens. The men in grey kilts may have come for the FM. Or Scotland could be about to declare war on Morocco or something. But we are told that the fact of the meeting taking place is a 100% certainty.
So no sleeping in tomorrow, readers. It’s probably going to be big.
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.
But we’ve subsequently noticed a number of attempts by various people to muddy the story by talking about a “draft” warrant request, implying that there was no improper delay. So we checked up, and thought you might like to know how the process works.
The SNP has of course denied them, but they also denied our recent leak from the party’s draft manifesto and we know for sure that that was real. The trouble with lying all the time is that nobody believes you even if you occasionally tell the the truth.
Of course, there would be an easy way to prove the numbers were a fake – release the real ones, which is in any case the most fundamental element of transparency in a democratic election. And whatever they are could hardly be any more embarrassing than the rumours, which have candidates topping the list (and likely to get seats) on a shocking 2.4% of the vote.
We thought readers might like a look at the draft SNP manifesto introduction (written, we hear, by Mike Russell) that’s currently being passed around branches for comment.
Alert readers will undoubtedly have noticed a number of, to put it mildly, explosive-sounding developments this evening regarding the ongoing inquiries into the Scottish Government’s misconduct over false allegations against Alex Salmond.
Several reports have quoted extracts from the former First Minister’s submission to James Hamilton, who’s investigating the current First Minister over possible breaches of the Ministerial Code relating to the investigation of the allegations.
The submission – delivered on Mr Salmond’s birthday – has been widely leaked to the media but only selectively reported, and like others Wings has obtained a full copy.
We are advised that its contents do not contain anything which breaches or potentially breaches Lady Dorrian’s court order protecting the identities of the complainers against Mr Salmond, and as such there are no barriers to us publishing the entire document in the public interest, because its contents make some extremely grave and disturbing allegations against the current First Minister.
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.
Over the last year or so, this site’s commentary on matters surrounding the attempted imprisonment of Alex Salmond over false allegations of sexual abuse has attracted a considerable amount of ire from a section of the readership, demanding “proof” of the involvement of the current First Minister.
Such proof has been impossible to provide for legal reasons. But it’s always been the case that the truth could only be suppressed for so long, and events in recent days have brought the first chinks of light through the wall of smoke and mirrors the Scottish Government has been attempting to surround the matter with.
So in our very lightest and softest shoes, let’s tiptoe through what is both a labyrinth and a minefield and see if we can make some of it a little easier to understand.
Scot Finlayson on The Blindness Of Hatred: “How can anyone welcome giving the state the right to kill you, the corrupt incompetent self serving state, 75,000 killed…” May 14, 08:50
Dan on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Out of interest, John Hatey, have you ever had to look after someone 24/7 with a horrible terminal ailment? Maybe…” May 14, 08:30
George Ferguson on The Blindness Of Hatred: “My main concern on assisted dying is the leglisative competence of the Scottish Parliament. Stage 1 general principles is one…” May 14, 08:15
Hatey McHateface on The Blindness Of Hatred: “So the people we vote into power to keep us safe and help us out are now scheming to kill…” May 14, 07:43
Aidan on The Blindness Of Hatred: “@Xaracen – Sovereignty is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “ the power of a country to control its…” May 14, 06:19
Rev. Stuart Campbell on The Rorschach Test: “Um, that’s what a sex offender is.” May 13, 23:13
Hatey McHateface on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Oh shit. If Sturgeon opposed it, that means that assisted dying will have to become the official policy of Wings…” May 13, 22:34
diabloandco on The Blindness Of Hatred: “I have never understood those who think it’s fine to watch someone going through agony begging for death to release…” May 13, 22:27
Hatey McHateface on The Blindness Of Hatred: “The runaway monkey takes time out from scratching beneath his pelt to tell the world that if I’m against assisted…” May 13, 22:24
Xaracen on The Blindness Of Hatred: “@Aidan; you said, “the problem with your argument is that it isn’t supported … by the treaty of union” My…” May 13, 22:00
twathater on The Blindness Of Hatred: “@ The bastard tax MOAN 13th May 7.15am I will gladly step forward as a guinea pig johnny boy right…” May 13, 21:18
Owen Mullions on The Blindness Of Hatred: “I don’t know about religious fanatics but Sturgeon opposed it and the only religion she seems to believe in is…” May 13, 21:18
Dan on The Blindness Of Hatred: “FFS John Hatey Main, if death means folk won’t have to endure reading your endless hypocritical dross, then that’s quite…” May 13, 21:17
Confused on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Harold Shipman visionary maybe time for a pardon and that lass Letby which is just coincidence terrible times for all…” May 13, 20:53
Captain Caveman on All Or Nothing: “Not merely obnoxious, but utterly repugnant and supremely incompetent. Seriously, no fair-minded arbiter could deny this assessment: the SNP make…” May 13, 20:51
Aidan on The Blindness Of Hatred: “@Xaracen – it was me, and the problem with your argument is that it isn’t supported either by the treaty…” May 13, 20:20
Hatey McHateface on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Only ever on Wings BTL, folks. Read how death changes your life for the better. To be scrupulously fair, I…” May 13, 20:15
Glenn Boyd on The Blindness Of Hatred: “At Last!Legislation that will change lives for the better, assuming that it is not butchered on route by some of…” May 13, 19:57
Dougie4 on All Or Nothing: “As an Englishman, I’ve always assumed the SNP’s underlying strategy was to be so obnoxious that the English voted for…” May 13, 19:55
Hatey McHateface on The Blindness Of Hatred: ““abusively undemocratic, egregiously unconstitutional, and must constitutes a fatal breach of the Treaty” That’s great news, Xaracen. Why don’t you…” May 13, 19:43
Former President Xiden on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Assisted dying bill past first stage today you say, blimey some on here are still debating laws from the 17…” May 13, 19:35
Hatey McHateface on The Blindness Of Hatred: ““That should get rid of a lot of old NO voters” Let me correct that for you, x: “That should…” May 13, 19:33
agent x on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Assisted dying Bill passed at first stage. That should get rid of a lot of old NO voters!” May 13, 19:12
David Holden on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Green shoots of recovery. Things may be starting to change in the Indy movement. Here on a pile of rocks…” May 13, 18:57
Stevie Fake on The Blindness Of Hatred: “On possible miscalls in the opening constituency map I feel like if the Dumfries and Galloway seats have stayed SNP…” May 13, 18:29
Xaracen on The Blindness Of Hatred: “@James Cheyne; I don’t ‘square’ the voting system at Westminster at all, James; it is illegitimate and inappropriate because it…” May 13, 18:11
ross on The Blindness Of Hatred: “on a vote share of circa 30% there are plenty seats more up for grabs than you are making out…” May 13, 17:09
Owen Mullions on The Blindness Of Hatred: “Day 5 of James ‘I’m not obsessed’ Kelly posting about Rev Stu rather than independence. Thankfully, Eurovision should take his…” May 13, 16:28
agent x on The Blindness Of Hatred: ““some of my posts are being delayed or not appearing at all,” ——————————————————– As you seem determined to take over…” May 13, 16:19
Ben on The Blindness Of Hatred: “I cannot imagine ever voting in a general election again, I am sick of being lied to, a person can…” May 13, 15:44