Barely 18 months after this, here’s East Lothian Labour councillor Norman Hampshire (centre) and pals campaigning today with the aid of their new best friend.
As the story collapses and investigations begin into a cut-and-dried case of unlawful civil service interference in politics (and possibly worse), may they reap what they sow. If the current polls come true, never will a party’s fall have been more abject or more complete, nor its fate more richly deserved.
This is quite something. It took 15 hours into “MemoGate” before anyone got a Scottish Government representative on air – even though they’d found time to get quotes from Willie Rennie, who isn’t the leader of a Westminster party and whose party isn’t even involved in the story. When they did, here’s what happened.
Readers can form their own opinions about the interview. But at the very end of the piece the BBC’s James Cook says “this memo does exist”. It may do, but we’re not sure what his current grounds for that statement are.
To the best of our knowledge nobody is claiming to have seen it personally except the Telegraph. The Foreign Office have denied all knowledge of any memo, the Scotland Office apparently refuses to comment, and we have no idea who allegedly wrote it.
Cook has already made, then rowed back on, some rather questionable statements in the last 24 hours. Viewers may feel it might be better if he just stuck to the facts.
That clip (from just past midnight on the BBC News channel) isn’t a bad starting-point summary of last night’s extraordinary story, except by our count the Telegraph’s piece was fourth-hand rather than third-hand.
(First-hand would have been Nicola Sturgeon. Second-hand would have been the ambassador. Third-hand would have been the consul-general. The civil servant – who doubted the story him/herself – is fourth-hand.)
This is also a pretty good primer. Now let’s get to the fun stuff.
Sheesh. We pop out for a couple of hours to feed the Wings Emergency Kitten and we get back to find that it’s the UK press that’s barfed up hairballs all over its front pages.
And the contradictory cross-vortex coverlines aren’t even the mad bit.
Hatey McHateface on The Marshalling Plan: “Here’s one you can write on the side of a bus, BB: “Just 3 months left to save our NHS”…” Feb 5, 19:08
Hatey McHateface on The Marshalling Plan: “Ah, c’moan noo, Fearghas. Take away his antisemitism and what’s he left with? Just rabid anti-Englishness, enthusiasm for gas chambers,…” Feb 5, 19:02
Willie on A Stitch In Timing: “The decision shows you vicious, malicious politically motivated prosecution can be mounted against selected individual and thereafter, when the prosecution…” Feb 5, 18:53
Tartan Tory on The Marshalling Plan: “Yes Iain, I will be voting for an English Nazi party. I’ve spoiled all my votes for almost the past…” Feb 5, 17:50
Cantankerous Skank on The Marshalling Plan: “That comment about (do do do the funky) Given being given a place on a law course with bad grades…” Feb 5, 17:37
Sven on A Stitch In Timing: “John Burns @ 16.42. Obviously inspired by their succes with the Fur Farming prohibition Act of 2002, our devolved administration…” Feb 5, 17:06
John Burns on A Stitch In Timing: “Only the SNP could bring a bill before the Scottish Parliament to ban something that doesn’t exist in Scotland (…” Feb 5, 16:52
Andy Wiltshire on A Stitch In Timing: “I’m almost tired of being tired of being outraged. It really seems that there is nothing that can actually be…” Feb 5, 16:38
100%Yes on A Stitch In Timing: “It make you wonder if the incompetence of justice system in Scotland isn’t being done by design, in order to…” Feb 5, 16:28
Jesus H. Cunt on A Stitch In Timing: “Scots law, along with Scottish institutions and Scottish democracy, is being deliberately and systematically undermined and discredited in plain sight…” Feb 5, 16:28
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Marshalling Plan: “ROOTS OF WESTERN CULTURE by Herman Dooyeweerd PDF of full book HERE: https://vcho.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Roots-of-Western-Culture-B-Vol-15.pdf” Feb 5, 16:11
100%Yes on The Marshalling Plan: “Cynicus, The Euro lottery is enough. Who ever becomes PM nothing changes for the Scots.” Feb 5, 15:51
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Marshalling Plan: “(Perhaps not the optimum choice of headline, but anyway…) WOMEN’S GROUP PETITIONS FOR BLANKET BAN ON MEN IN WOMEN’S PRISONS…” Feb 5, 15:49
sarah on The Marshalling Plan: ““Better” in many ways e.g. that the people were sovereign, in addition to the examples I mentioned re politicians being…” Feb 5, 15:32
sam on The Marshalling Plan: “Starmer should, and probably will, have questions to answer about Palantir. Although the Tories used Palantir for managing England’s NHS…” Feb 5, 15:31
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Marshalling Plan: “I again deplore the anti-Jewish element of your discourse. I would draw people’s attention to GEORGE STEINER’s essay THE HOLLOW…” Feb 5, 15:28
Alf Baird on The Marshalling Plan: ““In a nutshell” Fascism: state actors immunity from prosecution. Scots hiv tholed hit for mair nor chree hunner year, an…” Feb 5, 15:05
Cynicus on The Marshalling Plan: ““it would be Ed Miliband who’d be the next PM.” You can get odds of almost 8 to 1 against…” Feb 5, 14:50
Confused on The Marshalling Plan: ““now it’s dark … ” one of the annoying things about the yooni is how they teach you to speak…” Feb 5, 14:45
Confused on The Marshalling Plan: “KELLY GIVEN WAS ON SCOTCAST … wait what ? – are the brothels full ?? no she is telling us…” Feb 5, 14:40
100%Yes on The Marshalling Plan: “The only thing Starmer needs to do to win any vote regarding his leadership, is to threaten his MP’s with…” Feb 5, 14:29
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Marshalling Plan: “Grouse Beater article today: MARK HIRST CASE « In a nutshell: Scotland’s Court of Session has ruled that Scots Law…” Feb 5, 14:21
sam on The Marshalling Plan: “Epstein seems to have had at least 15 Russian visas. https://allchronology.com/2026/02/04/the-quiet-meeting-that-sparked-a-storm-inside-the-mandelson-starmer-palantir-connection/ Peter Thiel co-founded and is CEO of Palantir. Thiel…” Feb 5, 14:17
Hatey McHateface on The Marshalling Plan: “All very well Fearghas, but what did Dooyeweerd have to say about Fanon and Memmi? Surely he took the knee…” Feb 5, 13:19
Hatey McHateface on The Marshalling Plan: “Could be just me, Northy, but I’m not minded to take advice from somebody self-identifying as a colonising, inter-stellar Pict.…” Feb 5, 13:01
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on The Marshalling Plan: “DOOYEWEERD: Critique of 20th Century Fascism Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977) lived through the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family sheltered…” Feb 5, 13:01
James Cheyne on The Marshalling Plan: “So who is Scotland voting for, in Scottish elections under a united kingdom of England and Ireland and a devolved…” Feb 5, 12:54
Northcode on The Marshalling Plan: “Few Scots understand the true nature of Scotland’s relationship with England. Many believe they have a political voice; that they…” Feb 5, 12:38
Hatey McHateface on The Marshalling Plan: “The barsturts! Now we know, that changes everything. Do you think this is gonna be the number 1 topic on…” Feb 5, 12:37
James Cheyne on The Marshalling Plan: “The parliament of England and Ireland as a united kingdom did a over-reach by then passing legislation for a devolved…” Feb 5, 12:35
