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.
gregor on Once more around: “re. “Musk will go after Kid Starver” Only bad actors/rogue state clowns should be absolutely terrified (everyone else can start…” Jan 3, 01:09
gregor on Once more around: “Mr G Reality: King Solomon: Intro: “The beautiful thing about life Is that you can always bounce back And triumph…” Jan 3, 00:31
Geri on Once more around: “Musk will go after Kid Starver. Starver & Lammy dared to call Trump names during the presidential campaign & narcissists…” Jan 3, 00:07
gregor on Once more around: “BBC: Why Orwell’s 1984 could be about now: “Prophetic? Possibly. But stirring, moving, creative, undeniable and helpful? Yes. A book…” Jan 2, 23:47
gregor on Once more around: “Craig Gordon: Uni-Party (acoustic): “Heat pumps Mask dumps Electric cars And Donald Trumps Locked down Shut town Take your jab…” Jan 2, 23:12
gregor on Once more around: “Elon Musk: “Britain has the illusion of two parties, much like the US. The uniparty bureaucracy actually rules Britain. The…” Jan 2, 22:59
Geri on Once more around: “Dan America own everything in the UK. England has obviously squandered most of the oil revenues & has shares in…” Jan 2, 22:55
Dan on Once more around: “It’s basically been totally squandered in terms of benefit to the people due to mismanagement under London Rule, and that’s…” Jan 2, 22:28
Louise Hogg on The Cost Of Truth: “2 women? I thought Ms F was the only one who could semi-legitimately claim that she was gaslit into believing…” Jan 2, 21:53
Young Lochinvar on Once more around: “Gloriana; Hmmmm.. Really? Notwithstanding, still hardly a ringing endorsement for the “Union” eh? Tick tock Tractor..” Jan 2, 21:53
gregor on Once more around: “BBC (2025): Twenty councillors quit Labour in Starmer protest: “Twenty councillors have quit Labour in protest at the party’s direction…” Jan 2, 21:51
Jay on Once more around: “Could excessive delay by a prosecuting authority in making a decision on prosecution become the basis for a Court decision…” Jan 2, 21:51
Young Lochinvar on Once more around: “Gloriana “FACTS” based on speculation and Fleet street propaganda. Away and piss aff Tractor..” Jan 2, 21:43
Louise Hogg on The Cost Of Truth: “Can we recruit Ashleigh Gray as mole in the Civil Service? Or as an Independence Sleeper Agent?” Jan 2, 21:41
Geri on Once more around: “Jeez, the propaganda is strong in you… Scotland doesn’t need to join anything. The UK isn’t a major world economy.…” Jan 2, 21:35
McDuff on Once more around: “I`ll say this again. Scotland with a pop of 5m has had nearly fifty years of oil and gas revenues…” Jan 2, 21:13
Louise Hogg on The Cost Of Truth: “Is there any way to negate the ‘>£600’ argument, by paying the difference, on tick, to be paid back by…” Jan 2, 21:10
gregor on Once more around: “The crown Prosecution Service: “We’re here 24/7, 365 days of a year” DOES @CPSUK ENDORSE @BBC FIRE-BOMB GUIDE, FOR VOLUNTEERS…” Jan 2, 21:03
Andy Ellis on Once more around: “I don’t think there are in fact many countries which are or were in the situation Scotland finds itself. Generally…” Jan 2, 20:45
gregor on Once more around: “Labour (2024): Keir Starmer’s time as Director of Public Prosecutions (CPS): “Keir Starmer was appointed Chief Prosecutor and head of…” Jan 2, 20:19
Mia on Once more around: “What this means is that, in practice, Scotland does not care if that bottle of whisky is sold to England…” Jan 2, 20:07
Mia on Once more around: ““How is the value of the money the same?” If the price Scotland sets for a particular bottle of whisky…” Jan 2, 20:03
Dan on Once more around: “Port wise, dinnae forget the massive warmongering bastard tourism boost to Scotland’s economy of aw the weapons of mass destruction…” Jan 2, 20:00
Iain More on Once more around: “He missed the touchline as Indy is also going to get well hoofed into touch by the Creepy Stalker Wokes…” Jan 2, 19:41
gregor on Once more around: “Keir Starmer (2014): How can we prevent another Rotherham? “It’s not about individuals. Abuse scandals on the same scale will…” Jan 2, 19:39
Iain More on And Then What?: “And there is the problem right there. Scots should back Indy regardless of who the fuckin English vote for. Indy…” Jan 2, 19:38
factchecker on Once more around: “As I said in my comment above, the value of the money of every country is the exact same as…” Jan 2, 19:28
Campbell Clansman on Once more around: “I give facts and statistics. You respond with something illiterate about the “next First Minster.” [sic] I’m pleased with the…” Jan 2, 19:26
Mia on Once more around: ““Where exactly would you like to locate all the extra ports round our coastline?” I am not an expert, but…” Jan 2, 19:17
factchecker on Once more around: “I agree – they should have had a vote. Re those unfortunates in engerland: I’m glad you can make yourself…” Jan 2, 19:04
