Running interference
Alert readers will have noticed some interesting stories recently.
The Scottish Sun’s scoop on Monday evening – a few hours after we tweeted information from a very well-informed source about the Crown Office’s continued attempts to obstruct Police Scotland’s investigation into the SNP’s finances – would have come as no great surprise to Wings readers already familiar with the way the unaccountable, unanswerable body operates.
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 below comes from, let’s just say, someone who definitely knows.
“The inquiry officer will submit a report/application called a Subject Sheet to the Procurator Fiscal Depute in the case, outlining the request for a search warrant. It would be titled “Subject: Operation Branchform, Request for Search Warrant [insert address here]” or very similar.
There would have been extensive discussion between the PF Depute and the inquiry officer in advance so it would not be a surprise.
The subject sheet, which begins with the words, “With reference to the above, I have to report as follows” would contain an update on inquiries to date and would include relevant intelligence and a summary of evidence from previous warrants and/or witness statements and would specify the target address and names of the owners/occupants.
It would list what they were searching for and very importantly, why they are of significance to the case. If there are specific items they are listed. The subject sheet will also request the power to seize any phones, computers, hard drives and data storage devices, SIM cards and documents relating to financial transactions, including cash, bank statements, invoices, receipts, bank cards, etc.
It would request the power to open any safe or other lockfast place. The warrant usually covers the house and its curtilage (basically the garden boundary) including any outbuilding, shed or garage.
An inquiry officer would phone the PF Depute to discuss the application just before emailing it in. (The process is slightly different for minor cases)
The PF uses templates for warrants which in Scotland begin with the words
“Humbly Sheweth” (humbly seek to prove/show)
It then takes roughly the following form:
“It appears to the petitioner [ie the Fiscal] that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence under the [statute or legislation here] Act has been committed and that evidence relating to that offence can be found at [address] occupied by [residents]”
The rest of the warrant is a pro-forma relating to the power of entry, by force if necessary, and it closes with a request to the sheriff to grant the warrant.
The warrant will be drafted by the PF using a template and the inquiry officer will be named on the warrant. The officer will then attend the PF’s office by arrangement with the PF to depone for the warrant.
The PF will accompany the officer to the sheriff’s chambers and will petition the sheriff in person, outlining the basics of the request. The officer is then put on oath by the Sheriff and he/she will ask the inquiry officer a lot of questions – in a case like this, a lot of hard questions. These things are not rubber stamped, far from it.
If the sheriff is not entirely satisfied that the warrant is lawful, necessary and proportionate (eg the material sought cannot be obtained by other means), or considers it a “fishing trip”, he/she will reject it. If the warrant is granted the sheriff will sign it, making it a lawful warrant. It’s then evidence in the case and becomes live.
For a major case this process will take a day or two, usually no more than that. Two weeks is ridiculous for a case of this nature.
Bear in mind this inquiry has been ongoing for over two years, it’s not as if they’ve just been blindsided by a request to search the former FM’s home out of the blue, for something they were unaware of. There will have been multiple search warrants requested and granted in the case before this.
The search of the Murrell’s home was inevitable from the moment ‘”reasonable grounds” that a crime had been committed was established, so any existential discussion over legality/proportionality would have happened long before it got to this stage.
The amount and quality of evidence required to even ask for such a warrant would have to be compelling.”
So now you know, readers.
Make your own judgements.
My seems like there is a cover up from CPS going on as what has been discovered is so damning.
Will we ever know the truth.
If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, You don’t need to be brain of Britain to know what it is……..
Humza’s reply should have been, ‘The Police enquiry is independent from Government, so – quite correctly – I don’t have access to the information you are requesting and cannot comment upon it’.
He really is a thick as mince, fanny.
BBC Shortbread’s treatment of the two week delay story is interesting. The Sun reporter broke the story on Twitter, Monday afternoon – BBC no reaction.
The Sun ran the story, front page Tuesday morning – BBC no reaction. Sky News buttonholed Dorothy Bain Tuesday mid-day – BBC no reaction.
BBC only picked up the story mid-afternoon Tuesday.
British State Broadcaster protecting an asset as ever.
As well as the political expediency, there would have been the opportunity to ensure that there was nothing suspicious on the property by the time the warrant was served. No way were the Murrells not informed well beforehand.
Clown chief Dorothy Bain of the clown office.
I conclude the twin role political operative Bain, anointed by Sturgeon, delayed the massive scale fraud police investigation dawn raid.
By doing so. It influenced the outcome of the false First Minister’s continuity candidate election campaign.
Then we see her smooching with Nicola at the last last cabinet ministers meeting.
The election, the Emma Harper emails list. The lies about the membership numbers. The cooked books no one is allowed to see and no one wants to audit.
The cancelled Independence conference. The Sturgeon cabal cover up.
The length of the delay would also ensure of course, that the suspect(s) would have plenty of time to get rid of the bodies, so to speak.
That said, there must be a massive amount of evidence of wrong doing for a Sherriff to grant a warrant to search a First Minister’s House.
Odd business one would normally apply for a warrant at an early stage in the investigation.
Stop’s evidence disappearing.
This whole case is odd definite whiff of sulphur about.
If it smells like sulphur….you know.
I don’t get it. Even if they give them warning to get rid of paperwork, burner phones, delete emails and text messages… The money is still missing and in this world of digital record keeping, there will be evidence somewhere of what they spent it on. They can’t hide from this forever, so what is the point in dragging this all out?
Almost like media have become mind readers again eh.
They have “Breaking News” Wings tweeted.
Something’s never change eh….
What exactly is the Crown Office’s relationship with a) the government and b) the law?
Sturgeon making the Lord Advocate a cabinet position obviously compromised the role of COPFS but ultimately they must be accountable to somebody, or maybe not?
Can COPFS be charged with corruption or obstructing the law?
They are lying straight faced expecting us to but their BS, I’m afraid (and it’s sad to say) Justice will never be served in the current SNP/ COPFS setup in Scotland. They are absolutely corrupt to the point we need help from external agencies to get anything done.
The search was carried out as if it wasn’t the question would have been put at trial – why it wasn’t.
The search was carried out well after the event and once the occupants had been tipped off so that nothing would be found.
The smoking gun in this case is not what was or was not found as a result of the search but the covering up of evidence and the lies surrounding the cover up.
Be sure your sins will find you out Nicola and co.
Daisy Walker says:
17 May, 2023 at 12:30 pm
He really is a thick as mince, fanny.
Aye, he’s certainly not the sharpest tool in the box lol. He seems to be on autopilot all the time. What a dope.
Urgent advice for the FM – Engage brain before opening mouth.
Can a “subject sheet” be obtained via a FOI?
I’m aware that the National Crime Agency reviewed the preparatory work of Police Scotland in this case (a fairly standard procedure, and not in any way a remarkable matter), but the whole case probably needs to be handed over to them from this point forward. There’s more than enough doubt about potential conflicts of interest between the SNP, SNP members in government, and SNP members or supporters in high public office (eg the COPFS and Police Scotland).
Yet again, the corruption of the CPS in plain sight.
So does this mean the thousands of hours of a “fishing trip” regarding Alex Salmond was illegal ?
Or does he not count because Sturgeon said so ?
So, we know that Bain is contemptible, but if she is shown to be corrupt, does that bring any of her previous judgements into question?
Alphabetties, Craig Murray &tc?
Where would the Crown office be with their jurisdiction over Scotland laws if their was found to be no Scottish parliament in the treaty of union since 1707?
For that matter where would the police ” Corporation” be that includes the Met police working in Scotland?
Scottish police would have little or no interference from such over lords in our laws, and be able to get on with their work unhindered.
Top cybernattery Rev C. Keep up the good work.
Re Humza Useless, “never believe anything until it has been officially denied”. – Claud Cockburn
PUBLIC INFORMATION SERVICE
We do not have CPS in Scotland.
We have the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service also known as COPFS.
CPS is the English prosecution service.
Isn’t there a danger that someone working within the Crown Office, or the Police, could also tip off the suspect(s) as to what exactly is being sought … and from where. With the right help it would be possible to move items around from place to place so that they never fall into the hands of the prosecutors and their agents.
To avoid clear evidence of collusion some items would need to be found … but the real damning stuff might remain safe (eg phones, personal laptops …)
It’s disturbing that there should be any delays. It may have affected the outcome of the SNP leadership contest … but more importantly may have provided time to dispose of, or remove, damning sources of evidence.
Scottish,english,welsh or north of irelandish,
Why should 56 odd million people consent to being “governed” by
SLUGS?
Scottish independence…had’nt really considered it before…
but they stand to lose multy wulty trillions, don’nt they.
Multy wulty trillions and keeping thier tribe as overlords of us peasants for generations to come!
Plus a leaden lid over thier dirty secret’s
No wonder they’ll do whatever it takes!
The end of politics is nigh,independence “movement”…get real…
or shut the fuck up!
Scottish independence first,second and last or get lost!
NorthCode.
My reply at 2: 02 pm on last post was meant for you, to your comments.
I just got so excited, enthralled that so many are beginning to understand and catch on about the treaty of parliamentary union that never progressed passed 1707.
My apologies for forgetting to addressing and referencing you’re name first.
Mullholand Rangers, James Wolffe Salmond, Dorothy Bain for Sturgeon.3rd time lucky guys maybe a result this time, I dont think so.
Scottish independence stands to gain multy wulty trllions if the 1707 Scottish parliament cannot be found in the treaty of union since it was dissolved and extinguished from it by Queen Anne and Westminster,
For all that followed is nought but a deception.
I am still struggling with the unionist bias crown office protecting Nicola through the Salmond conspiracy and now part of the theatrical tent carry on at her house.
Are the unionists protecting her and by implication Humza or not
James Che,
you often post about your interpretation of what happened over 300 years ago, but nobody seems to be reacting to your – let me be kind, here – “devastating revelations of unconstitutionality in the whole existence of just about everything in the Union and north of the border”.
As a genuine question, what do you expect to be done, by whom, under whose authority, and what will happen if nothing is done?
Surely COPFS must have a service level agreement or the like that indicates the time to be taken to grant or refuse a warrant – can’t imagine it’s usually a couple of weeks.
These f**kers are taking us for fools.
Keep this up and…
Do I think the Crown Office delayed the warrant, gave Sturgeon a heads up and promised to hold off approval of the Search Warrant until the puppet Humza was selected……Absolutely! I do not have the slightest doubt that all happened.
I am also expecting key evidence to go missing and for the case to be dropped.
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Contingency plans were put in place a long time ago. Crooks plan ahead just like Generals.
Guilty as hell
James Che @ 3:16pm
Thanks, James. I had no idea you were talking of me. It was very kind of you to say what you said in your comment, and in no-way did your comment come across as derogatory.
This is extremely worrying. It does seem that the crown office is corrupt. Too much has now happened, and we can only hope some investigative journalists will really, really start digging into this.
The question in my mind, is simply this, does the crown office do what it does, including potentially the Salmond stitch up, in response solely to the demands of the murrells, or is it that ALL are in fact agents of London – i.e MI5/Special Branch.
The whole thing really stinks, and makes Scotland seem like a cesspit of rank corruption in its criminal justice system.
How can anybody in Scotland trust ANY legal decision here??
Then, we think back to what they tried to do to Mr. Salmond, I mean, oh how convenient would it have been, not just to the Murrells, but to London, having the wholly innocent Mr. Salmond put in jail for life. I think of how it was a JURY that acquitted him, and then I see the seemingly desperately urgent push to remove trial by Jury in Scotland for Rape cases, and the PERMANENT (no matter what) protection of the complainers ID. How utterly, utterly corrupt.
Does any sane person in Scotland, seriously believe Mr. Salmond would have been found not guilty by a judge appointed by the Murrells/their agents/London?
Wasn’t there a bloke from MI6, recently working as depute Procurator, or certainly within the Crown office? I recall Craig Murray talking about it.
The whole thing stinks. Really, really, stinks to high heaven, and it is ALL being done with the SNP in power. How high and deep does English/spook infitration of the SNP go?? Is it all a charade, as some of us suspect?
Scot Abroad.
“That no one understands or is listening”. Is just a personal opinion of your own. It is A bit like the other well known phrase, “Scots don’t want independence” , or “once in a lifetime”
If you can provide prove and evidence of your personal comments on that subject you might be believed.
However all I have quoted with regards Scotland be dissolved and extinguished from the Treaty of Union can be backed up with references and records.
Wheres yours?
James Che,
I didn’t write the words “That no one understands or is listening”.
I asked you a question about what you expect to be done about what you write.
The Labour/Lib Dem coaltions from 1999 to 2007 had the Lord Advocate attending all cabinet meetings. Alex Salmond sensibly depoliticized the role when he became FM. The scheming Sturgeon reverted to the previous arrangement Labour had. At the time this reversal probably passed with just mild criticism if any. Now we know why she deemed it so important to overturn Salmond’s wise decision.
Sturgeon as party leader married to the party’s long-standing CEO. Sturgeon as FM with Scotland’s chief lawyer/chief prosecutor in her cabinet. Sturgeon chums with Scotland’s top civil servant.
Checks and balances just weren’t the style for Amazon’s best customer.
As I commented yesterday is there NO ONE within the justiciary or the Scottish legal system who favours honesty and integrity over being complicit with their silence in this corruption being openly carried out against our people and our country
If YOU want Scotland to survive and prosper YOU have to take a stand and EXPOSE the rank putrid
backroom deals that protects these perverts and deviants
LOOK to the TRUTH the scum doing these subversive activities AGAINST the Scottish people are no better than terrorists, THEIR activities and open corruption subverts democracy and undermines and damages the lives of everyone
These people are NOT Scots they have no loyalty or fealty to Scotland, they are malicious mercenaries who will side with and work for the highest bidder against Scotland even when their actions cause untold misery to their fellow Scots
WHEN independence comes which assuredly it will there can be no hiding place for these enemies of Scotland and Scots, they must be unrelentingly pursued and receive the due retribution their BETRAYAL warrants , IMO there should be NO forgiveness and reconciliation only PUNISHMENT for their despicable tre achery
Off topic but Robin McAlpines latest, This is what absolutely failed, link to robinmcalpine.org is worth a read, particularly
So why are we hearing about this now? Because (my third observation) you couldn’t say it before. If you criticised the Scottish Government in that era you were finished. I’ve highlighted the Poverty Tsar Naomi Eisenstat as a case study but I can list you plenty other organisations who were ‘in’ until they raised a mild criticism and then were never talked to again.
Which goes a long way to describing why everything is falling apart now and why that will never change without a complete overhaul of more or less everything.
Robin’s posts can be a bit dry but they’re always packed with good info. This one is interesting as you can start to see the scale of the problem and why cleaning the stables is going to take a lot of shovels.
Scot Abroad.
Are you implying that Sovereign Scots in Scotland have to have permission to leave a treaty they were dissolved from and considered to be extinguished in 1707 by UK parliament itself or that someone else’s authority has to give it the thumbs up first.
There are enough intelligent Sovereign independence supporters that could organise that for themselves right now,
This is relatively new information and realisation of the deception by Westminster parliament played upon Scots.
It is understandable that many Scots are having to digest these old records as new information to themselves.
James Che,
I didn’t imply anything. I merely asked a question, and you appear to be trying to avoid answering it. That’s fine, I make no demands for an answer. I was just interested in what you thought might be the way ahead.
You imply that “enough” intelligent sovereign independence supporters can sort of do it by themselves without recourse to anyone else. I’d say that’s moonshine, but you haven’t given any more explanation than that.
Ian McLaren @3:45
Precisely – and going by the above description, any failure to sign the warrant in the presence of the PF and investigating officer must put the sheriff fairly high up on the suspect list immediately (ie as an accessory to whatever crime is being investigated), thus begging the rather pertinent question as to why THEIR home hasnt had the highly publicised forensic tent treatment (yet?)..
Scot Abroad.
I re read your post just to make sure that you said no one is reacting.
So where is your evidence that no one is reacting?
Also where is your evidence that it is my interpretation?
All that is Wrote in my posts regards Scotland position as being dissolved and extinguished from being a party to the treaty of the union with Englands parliament since 1707 is on record,
it is in Hansard.
It is Wikipedia.
It is in the NLS.
And is on the UK parliament site in 2023.
It could hardly be called out as my interpretation, but rather the official interpretation from many establishments.
What recourse do you imply?
Scot Abroad,
Still waiting for your reply to information to the links that I provided. Ie, not my interpretation but their written records.
Also awaiting for your evidence of proof that no one is reacting to the new information.
When you answer those with a apology I may consider giving you further info, it all depends if I consider if you are the correct person fighting tooth an nail for Scottish independence to give it to,
By past observance of your posts, perhaps you would not be the ideal candidate to have this information. It might be wiser to give it to Scottish independence Supporters.
James Che,
when I wrote that nobody is reacting, it’s because nobody seems to be actively pushing these matters through the courts, seeking resolution. I should be specific: I’m unaware of it. I’d also be fairly sure that as over 300 years have passed, nobody has successfully done so in the past.
All laws are a matter of interpretation. That’s why we have courts, advocates, juries and judges. If laws and constitutions were black and white, there would be little need for them. I don’t doubt that you honestly hold your interpretations of these matters sincerely, but until tested in a court of law they remain merely your interpretations, and I am afraid to say, that they do not appear to be widely held by others.
Scottish independence will only come through a referendum in which 50%+1 vote for it. There is no other way.
No shame this lot at the NuSNP.
link to msn.com
James Che,
you clearly don’t do links (and don’t bother with Wikipedia, as it isn’t reliable), and I don’t do apologies.
The Sozialistische Nationalistische Partei lacks anyone with the charisma of Hitler, the courage of Goering, or the intellect of Goebbels.
Put otherwise, they’re less gifted than that gang of vile totalitarians. They’re merely semi-professional hoodlums. To give them their due at least they haven’t invaded Russia. Yet.
Here’s a comment from Prof. Alf Baird which seems relevant to this article.
“Battle of the Rejects” 16 May, 2023 at 8:48 pm
Alf Baird says:
“It’s a rotten state of affairs”
Fanon’s postcolonial take rather confirms that a compromised national party elite is a part of the colonial ‘racket’. It ‘behaves like a gang’ and ‘becomes an instrument of coercion’. Much as we now see, when the colonial system ‘becomes imperilled’ it reaches for its roots – ‘fascism’.
Independence and its ‘decisive moment’ may be closer than we think
Does it chime with anyone? It certainly sets alarm bells ringing in my head.
What pisses me off royally about this is that they did it in broad daylight, the arrogant fkrs…
This is our democracy that sturgeon, murrell and their handlers are playing with, like they are Gods and we are fools…
So far so good for them, and they will be protected as long as it suits. The fall from grace is long and slow, yet the ground awaits and gravity dictates, wait for it.
Can you post a link to the posts where so many caught on about the Treaty of the Union not progressing past 1707?
The Great Race… So the more dastardly SNP behaves toward it’s electorate, the sooner we all reach the winning line?
Penelope Pitstop, now out of the race. Peter Perfect, in Westminster, kicking tyres, while The Holyrood Ant Hill Mob, skid off track, Professor Pat Pending has the polls, neck and neck.
Don’t just sit the Muttley. Do something! The colony is sinking.
A Scot Abroad says:
“James Che, … I asked you a question about what you expect to be done about what you write.”
James Che’s understanding of the events around the 1707 Treaty are not shared by many here, and certainly not by me. I do however accept her view that, in Westminster, the English establishment’s use of the Treaty to govern the UK is at odds with the Treaty’s terms (though not in the way she claims), because it assumes far more authority over Scotland than is warranted under the Treaty, and because of the fact of the sovereignties of the Treaty’s two Principals.
I’ve explained this before here and elsewhere how this happens, why it is illicit, and what implications follow from that. But I post this comment to answer the question you asked James in my own way.
I expect and require my elected representatives, who were elected by me and my sovereign Scots countrymen in every constituency in the Kingdom of Scotland, to properly represent the interests of my Kingdom as a full sovereign and equal Partner and Principal of that Treaty, in the governance of the Union, and especially in the governance of my Kingdom in that Union.
I expect and require my elected representatives to be properly knowlegable about what the Union is in terms of sovereignty, constitutions, and democracy, and in terms of the limitations and obligations imposed by the Treaty on the Union and its parliament, and in particular to properly understand that Scotland’s sovereignty means that England’s MPs cannot outvote Scotland’s MPs on any matter at all because they can only ever agree an English position on any matter, and England has no authority over Scotland at all, Period!
Therefore I also expect and require my elected representatives to hold the English Kingdom, Principal and Partner in the Union to proper account for his actions and those of his MPs, and to hold Parliament itself to account for its abusive failure to replicate the sovereign parity of the two Kingdoms in its internal voting systems. Because of Scotland’s sovereignty, no English decision is in any way authoritative over any Scottish MPs’ decision, or over Scotland itself, without the majority agreement of the Scottish representation of the sovereign Scottish Kingdom, Principal and Partner in this Union. The authority of England’s MPs in the Union Parliament is exactly equal to the authority of Scotland’s MPs, because their differing numbers don’t matter, only the equal sovereignties of their parent kingdoms matter.
So, what do I want done about the abuses by the English Partner in the Union? I want Scotland’s MPs to actually stand the fuck up for Scotland and do their bloody jobs and tell the English MPs to sod the fuck off whenever they presume to overule any Scottish MP majority decision, on any matter. I want Scotland’s MPs to make that Parliament utterly unworkable until England’s MPs and their smug establishment fixes that voting system to fully respect our equality as sovereigns. I want a deadline set that says that if the system isn’t fully operational when that deadline expires, Scotland will END the Union.
That will do to be getting on with. Either way, there will still be the need for full reparations and compensations, along with the unwinding of rather a lot of fraudulent legislation that purports to be Union legislation but was only approved by the English partner.
Shug at 3:34 pm
“I am still struggling with the unionist bias crown office protecting Nicola through the Salmond conspiracy and now part of the theatrical tent carry on at her house.
Are the unionists protecting her and by implication Humza or not”
Isn’t it about time ScotNats took responsibility for this whole sorry tale instead of trying to pin every failure on the hidden hand of Unionists?
This whole James Che 1707 thing won’t stand up in court, and sensibly no one is trying. Apart from anything else Scotland has been complicit with the arrangement for 300 years. Was it a sniff of oil which made some Scots think maybe they could go it alone? Seems a bit shaky.
Instead of harking back, look to the future and describe how Scotland could be better ruled. No doubt Jamie Hepburn is working on that right now, publication imminent. The immediate problem there is that the devolved government has demonstrated the opposite.
James Jones, re your 7.40pm comment.
I suspect that you are correct in your view as to the 1707 James Che guff not standing up in court, and the reason that the legal grown ups haven’t pushed that for the last 300+ years. It all seems a bit of a nonsense.
Still, it’s a harmless obsession. Even if 10,000 wannabe and never-were Bravehearts marched down the Royal Mile, waving saltires, nobody with any authority is going to give them the time of day.
“ James Jones at 0707pm” . James I think it is fairly obvious now that both Sturgeon & Yousaf are and continue to be protected by “ the establishment “ . Now my interpretation would be that this “ establishment “ would include both elements Westminster based hierarchy, ( security apparatus/ political & legal operatives / constitutional & crown players) as well as Scotland based equivalent hierarchy with close links to the “ Scotland” office and unionist sympathisers with influence close to the Holyrood administration .
It is now crystal clear what has been going on for a number of years now . I hear Alistair Jack is standing down at the next election ( job done). Undoubtedly he will be rewarded in the usual manner with a seat in the “ Lords” alongside his “ bought & sold “ unionist cronies.
North Chiel,
It’s beyond barking mad to think that the Westminster establishment are somehow machinating and orchestrating political events in Scotland.
It’s far more likely that what we are all witnessing is the rather tawdry slo-mo implosion of some cheap and nasty people find themselves in a position to ram-raid the SNP till, because they’ve ensured over the years that feckless and gullible supporters of Indy chip up the money, and thought that nobody in Scottish devolved life is going to call them out.
“ASA@ 1155 pm “ Methinks yer ASA in parsley Sir.
If we ever get someone in charge of this country with a bit of guts and integrity I hope they will make a point of investigating this corruption and those involved are held to account.
@A Scot Abroad
There are some people who can only assign Scotland’s corrupt and malign excuse for government and public administration to some dark unionist conspiracy
It suits their prejudices
A simple examination of the motivations of those who have created the current cluster might reveal a few things
Devolution is a Labour creation designed to keep their Scottish Labour mates in clove, and remove some of the Westminster checks and controls (hardly wondrous but still far superior to the watered down variety in the devolved administration)
The SLP was famously venal and corrupt even before devolution, some of its fiefdoms rivalled banana republics. This has been a feature of unchallenged Labour local government for decades, just look at Liverpool.
Unfortunately the plan went awry when the upstart SNP took over. Unfortunately they have proven to be just as keen on creating a kleptocracy, funded by public money, jobs for the boys and girls, nepotism, backhanders and favours all the way down
They even corrupted those organisations that might have stopped them by politicisation, amalgamation ( easier to control one police force than eight) and well judged influence
The media is a case in point which has long since ceased to be an effective check on the Scottish government and administration
The same process has occurred in Wales although limited by the devolution settlement ( again sensible Welsh voters have no appetite for the cabal in Cardiff getting more power)
I think under Salmond it wasn’t too bad but once Sturgeon took over the process accelerated. The SNP hierarchy is famously full of sycophants, nepotism and grifters with little evidence of competence as a criterion for selection
Party management is similarly tribal and aimed at perpetuating the convenient arrangements
So the SNP mirrors what is going on in Liverpool, quelle surprise
Problem is it is hopelessly ineffective, and corruptible by other interest groups who have exploited the party’s lack of probity and intellectual rigour to further their causes. Again no different to the infiltration of Labour local government my extremists like Militant Tendency etc
Ideological purity is no substitute for hard cash
So it’s down to Scottish voters, they have been complicit. The SNP has been assiduous in rewarding its clients
The reason why the referendum went the way it did is I suspect many Scots realised just how much worse things would get with SNP in charge in an fully independent state
The wheels have now fallen off, despite a rearguard action by the placemen still in a position to influence things
Or it could be a unionist conspiracy…..
I wonder if anybody has checked the mileage on that campervan. We only have the word of a known liar that it wasn’t used and 2 weeks is plenty of notice to shift it off to the mother in law’s to try and stash it.