Iain Lawson’s fine blog today reveals that Nicola Sturgeon has already taken it upon herself to answer Jim Sillars’ complaint from Thursday – which was sent to Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, not to the First Minister – about her breaking the Ministerial Code by casting doubt on the jury’s verdicts in the Alex Salmond trial.
It’s certainly an innovative approach to justice – we presume that if we were to murder someone tomorrow the police would now simply forward the allegations to us and allow us to find ourselves not guilty without any external input.
But it was the precise nature of Nicola Sturgeon’s self-acquittal that really left us with an uneasy feeling about the current state of Scotland.
In the end the four-hour session ran for almost exactly six hours, and Alex Salmond looked like he could have done another six standing on his head. Now, it would be only fair to acknowledge that this site was on his side before the start, but by any rational objective assessment the former First Minister delivered the performance of his life.
(We use “performance” there in the Lionel Messi sense, not the Laurence Olivier one.)
The contrast with every other witness who’s appeared before the committee was night and day. With Salmond there was no evasion, no hesitation, no forgetting, no “I’ll get back to you on that in writing”. (We recommend the Twitter feed of Scotland Speaks for some choice clips.)
Every question was answered fully, directly, fluently and immediately, without recourse to notes, and the content was never less than devastating from his opening statement to the final surprise bombshell. We were exhausted just watching it.
His words, tone and body language all absolutely radiated candour, solemnity and honesty. When the SNP members tried to trip him up on some arcane point or other, he was on them like an extremely calm hawk, methodically tearing their assertions to ribbons with the correct fact or quote at his fingertips, and ice in his veins.
Salmond came across like a man who’d been planning this day for almost a year and wasn’t going to mess it up. And he didn’t. Heavens, how he didn’t.
From 12.30 this afternoon, Alex Salmond will attempt to tell the people of Scotland the truth about what happened to him in the last two years – a grave injustice which saw an innocent man have his reputation dragged through the gutter, be placed under incredible personal stress, be left greatly impoverished by proving his innocence, and then have the jury’s verdict endlessly traduced by the media and a gang of criminal conspirators protected from the consequences of their lies by lifelong anonymity.
His job will be a difficult one. Every single person in the room will be bitterly hostile to him – the four Unionist committee members because he’s Alex Salmond, and the others because he represents a deadly threat to the First Minister.
The inquiry’s convener – a woman sacked by Salmond years ago – will attempt to prevent him from presenting large swathes of evidence, despite having made him swear to tell “the whole truth”. The SNP members will try to run down the four-hour session with questions designed to only deflect from the real issue – the actions and behaviour of the Scottish Government. Andy Wightman will probably just cry.
We’ll be extremely surprised if there aren’t some attempts to slyly re-try Mr Salmond and paint him as a guilty man who cheated justice, and to drag up salacious details of the allegations in an effort to smear him in front of the cameras.
We believe Alex Salmond will be more than equal to the task.
When the Faculty Of Advocates – the most senior body of lawyers/QCs in the country – is handing out barely-veiled smackdowns like this to the First Minister, then you know you’re in some pretty uncharted jungle.
Is the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service of Scotland institutionally corrupt? I don’t believe so, but it’s certainly a troubled organisation.
The cost and reputational damage to it from the Rangers FC case are of a magnitude never seen before, and the actions in the Alex Salmond case and related actions by the Lord Advocate and Crown Agent have called its independence into question.
There must be structural change and individuals must be held to account.
I had hoped that Stewart Stevenson, the new National Secretary and convener of the Conferences Committee, would be similarly inclined.
In summary, my endeavours have been ignored.
In the three months since our election (supposedly more than halfway towards a spring conference), and despite repeated emails, documents and requests for meetings, the Conferences Committee has never been convened.
As a result I have resigned from both the committee and the SNP, and the reasons for my doing so are outlined below.
For the record, we thought you should see what the Scottish Parliament considers to be the appropriate treatment of an “Urgent Question”.
For a little over eight minutes, the Lord Advocate was allowed to ignore and avoid a series of questions put to him regarding the abjectly corrupt Crown Office’s recent interference with the work of the Fabiani inquiry by redacting evidence which in no way identified anyone as a complainer in the trial of Alex Salmond.
By the committee’s rules, if it’s not on the committee website then it doesn’t exist, and the redacted parts are – belatedly – no longer on the website. (As far as we can make out the unredacted version was finally removed around midnight last night.)
Farcically, she also denied even knowing that this question from James Matthews of Sky News was about Geoff Aberdein, who is the subject of all the redacted sections, which are all about the meeting Matthews was asking her about.
The First Minister is a liar and has all but given up on even the most token pretence otherwise. She is a disgrace to Scotland.
If we can somehow find the time amid the relentless blizzard of current Scottish political activity, we’re going to put together a list of all the legitimate and important questions that Alex Salmond’s lawyers have asked the Fabiani inquiry which haven’t even had the courtesy of a reply, let alone a satisfactory one.
We fully anticipate that the contents of the letter below, sent today, will be on that list.
FOREWORD: SNP MPs writing for this website about anything, especially a Plan B for independence, shouldn’t be controversial. We as a party should welcome diversity and inclusion – as indeed we do by giving quotes to every daily UK newspaper and broadcaster, as well as occasionally providing articles and financial help for them.
I for one would prefer it if people would get over posturing about the messenger and deal with the more important message. So let’s get to it.
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on According As We Need Them: “MESSAGE TO THE FREE NATIONS OF THE WORLD (Issued in Irish, English, and French by Dáil Éireann at its first…” Jul 18, 00:56
GM on According As We Need Them: “aye, DaveL. These accounts are largely ignored now which has had an effect.” Jul 17, 23:08
Captain Caveman on According As We Need Them: “‘… What a bunch of absolute fuckin’ winners!‘ Yep! That’s how we roll mate. “Fuckin’ winners” one and all. (Lulz)” Jul 17, 22:59
Confused on According As We Need Them: “some people, the whiners, don’t like poetry, well, you know their kind, they don’t like -anything- Poetry is a bit…” Jul 17, 22:51
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on According As We Need Them: “POLICE ‘PRIDE’ MARCH DAMAGING PUBLIC TRUST, HIGH COURT RULES A Newcastle United fan investigated by Northumbria Police over her gender-critical…” Jul 17, 22:04
DaveL on According As We Need Them: “Woah! The colonialists are on overdrive today. Slagging off anyone with the audacity to post an idea a poem or…” Jul 17, 22:04
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “@Hatey – yes it’s all fun and games, but I really love Scotland, there is no better country in the…” Jul 17, 22:01
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “C’moan Mark. No civilised country would put Edinburgh people in Govan. Or vice versa.” Jul 17, 19:31
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agent x on According As We Need Them: “@ breeks “Super-container port plan at Scapa Flow wins backing Plans to build a container ship gateway to Europe in…” Jul 17, 19:15
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Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “You don’t know what “hight” means, NC? Odd. It’s easy enough to find online. But do tell us true. Are…” Jul 17, 18:59
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “I appreciate that what I said may seem like a personal attack even though I didn’t name you. I’ll leave…” Jul 17, 18:50
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twathater on According As We Need Them: “You Posted, “You’ll just look like the other unemployment daytime drinker shopping channel serial masturbaters that seem to lurk on…” Jul 17, 18:16
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““don’t … contribute financially or socially to Scotland or Scots” And you do, TH? You’ve really swallowed the “assistance” line…” Jul 17, 18:12
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““as a wee mid-week treat for one” There ye gang, NC, fixed it fer ye. Pamper yersel soon!” Jul 17, 18:07
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““Governments aren’t really interested in the health and welfare of the poorest” By a remarkable coincidence, neither are most people.…” Jul 17, 17:58
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Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “Sam always likes to fret about this kind of thing, all the while choosing to ignore the immense and accelerating…” Jul 17, 17:29
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: “@Northcode Strong, the fight is in this one, while the pseudonym holds fast, and the bedroom curtains tightly shut out…” Jul 17, 17:13
Hatey McHateface on According As We Need Them: ““moved to Glasgow” Are there no depths of hideous depravity to which the abusive, coercive state apparatus will not sink?…” Jul 17, 17:02
Northcode on According As We Need Them: “In the interests of harmonious relations between the two parties to a hoax union, or alternatively ‘The Union That Never…” Jul 17, 15:52
Northcode on According As We Need Them: ““…so you are willing to say to the face of any English neighbours ‘you are a plundering colonial occupier please…” Jul 17, 15:10
Rev. Stuart Campbell on According As We Need Them: ““The latest poll (IPSOS) of voting intentions for Holyrood has the SNP at 31%, “Other” (Alba, Liberation, ISP, etc.) at…” Jul 17, 15:02
Aidan on According As We Need Them: “@Mark – I love the way it’s described as “damaged a fence” as if it was some kind of innocent…” Jul 17, 14:57
