The flies in the ointment
Just when you thought it was over:
Suddenly there’s a weasel in the works.
The Scottish Government – sorry, Sturgeon In Crisis Scotland – no, sorry, Rape Crisis Scotland – also made a last-ditch attempt to stand in the path of justice last night.
In a letter that was very likely penned by the First Minister herself, the entirely Scottish Government-funded pressure group issued a craven plea to the committee to ignore the advice of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body and also yet again shamefully pronounced that Alex Salmond was guilty really, he just got away with it.
Since the SPCB’s decision was taken in full cognisance of Lady Dorrian’s amended order, and Salmond’s submission doesn’t identify any complainers anyway, the letter was literally pointless except as a tool with which to try to exert influence on the inquiry to make Salmond’s appearance impossible.
And sadly, with the spineless Andy Wightman still holding the casting vote, it’s a tool that might yet prove to be one last spanner hurled by the Scottish Government and its sockpuppet mouthpieces into the rusty, creaking machinery of the truth.
To be honest I was thinking yesterday that they might still not publish and if that happens all of the other members should resign immediately from the process, Alex Salmond should refuse to attend and those of us with a degree of decency have a serious think about how we vote in May. If they don’t publish then I am sorry but not one of them deserve our vote.
“Not guilty” means not guilty, you word perverts.
Who will take that decision, Andy? Is it a secret? Are we living in a Green Party/SNP Junta here? Does parliamentary democracy mean nothing to you?
Looks like Sturgeon is shitting it big time now, how sad.
A comment from Gordon Dangerfield’s post yesterday (a Very Scottish Coup pt 2) had an interesting view about the inquiry.
Q – “Could this all end up at judge lead inquiry ? If the SG Inquiry is collapsed?
GD A – “I think it’s inevitable whether the SG inquiry collapses or not. Too many people know now what really happened for them to get away with their present tactics indefinitely. If the Fabiani farce collapses, it’ll definitely come sooner though…”
I feel quite vindicated that was my first thought when I saw the words “It is possible” to publish. Anything is possible in the multiverse. It doesn’t all happen.
If they refuse again, I hope Alex is able to walk away and just publish his own account via various news outlets, plus hold a press conference. Leave the truth twisting time wasters to write the conclusion they’d already written at the outset.
Was woman H in the building, or not? I thought the criminal trial established that she wasn’t and therefore her evidence was dismissed? Are Rape Crisis Scotland seeking to re-write the history of the criminal trial? That would be misleading and dangerous.
Seem to be dragging the erse out of it now as we get closer to May Elections
Sturgeon is going down – jist like the Titanic. Arrogant and unbelieving there was something bigger than her on the high seas!
Weee truth and justice is bigger and it shall prevail.
Wightman – you are going doon wie the ship. Nae room in the life boats for craven cowards!
I’m not sure it’s up to the inquiry any more.
They passed the decision to the corporate body and according to news reports – arrangements have been made to publish the evidence next week and an invite for Alex Salmond to attend on Wednesday sent.
I don’t see where / when the inquiry team intervenes to stop this.
What has Wightman been promised to take the flack for Fabiani et al?
It’s so corrupt
The statement by George Adam was a disgrace but some are saying it was written by Foote and issued without his knowledge
Re Captain Yossarian I think it is fair to say that the heid bummers at Rape Crisis Scotland are so emerged in this farce now, that they know their only way of staying in a job at RCS is to keep being used as a political pawn by Sturgeon and her government. Sturgeon goes, RCS has a leadership crisis of its own to deal with.
So it’s fairly clear that Mr Wightman can block things again, if he wishes.
But will he Rev?
Give me some odds.
I am now writing this with my jaw having dropped to my knees at the paragraph saying that not guilty just means the Crown haven’t proved their case. I despair.
Just why is rape crisis Scotland constantly intervening on this matter. Their are many rape and sexual assault cases go through Scottish courts, yet that organisation does not continually and very publically intervene in such a way. So, my question is why? The trial is over, the mainly female jury, with a females judge found Mr. Salmond innocent on ALL charges. The jury believed Mr.Salmond, and did NOT believe the ‘accusers’.
So why are their still people of influence trying to smear him in this way???
The real problem at Holyrood however, is not the current leadership, it is those many, many other folk, who KNOW THE TRUTH, but say and do nothing. They are the enablers of corruption and duplicity. THEY are complicit. Silence is consent.
They need to speak out, or forever hang their heads in shame, sitting on their hands, while those who conspired against one of Scotland’s greatest leaders hide (talking about certain SNP members of the investigation committe, btw).
Captain Yossarian @ 9:21
If woman H had been in the building then they would have produced the entrance register which would have showed she was signed in, as well as CCTV of her being there, the fact they did not means she was not there. As indeed her friend pointed out anyway.
How Alex Salmond copes with this every day without internally combusting I do not know. There is a ‘not proven’ option but the jury said NOT GUILTY.
In simple terms the committee was taking the position that it was impossible to publish the submission due to legal constraints. Lady Dorrian and the SPCB has said it’s possible. Surely it must now be published? I know it’s a naive question but there must be ramifications if they simply replay their previous vote and refuse?
Captain Yossarian says:
19 February, 2021 at 9:21 am
Was woman H in the building, or not?
How Woman H tripped herself up
link to drive.google.com
James Horace @9:26
I reckon he will as it’s personal now!
All the ducks being lined up in a neat little row so as to scupper the whole thing.
The SNP Govt. is a complete stranger to any concept of democratic accountability – how anyone can consider voting for such despots is beyond me.
Utter sham and an affront to democracy!
#NoVotesSNP
Was this not planned as yesterday the BBC were reporting that Alex might still not attend.All a bit of a joke kicking the can doon the road until the election.God only knows what others looking in think of us.
Also has the indy fund money been found yet?
If ‘not proven’ and ‘not guilty’ means ‘guilty’ the whole basis of jury trials is in serious jeopardy.
We know the process is imperfect – it always was, but that’s the process we have. Puts me in mind of the Trump assertion that even though he’s lost the election he’s won it anyway.
Re Patsy Millar, those of us who are on the various Scottish independence groups on Facebook will have noticed that over the few days, there has been a surge in the number of posts attacking Alex Salmond, questioning his innocence, saying that just because he was found not guilty, doesn`t mean he isn`t guilty, etc. When I asked one person why the trial verdict hasn`t been appealed if it was wrong, they stated that ” you need a point of law to appeal on”. When I said that, ” being raped by someone who is then found not guilty is a pretty big point oflaw, unless of course the person raped never attended the venue where the rape took place and witnesses and evidence prove the lack of collaborative evidence to back up the complainer”. I am still waiting on a reply to that point.
The verdict means, to my mind, that some women made evidence up (the woman who wasn’t there, and “I know how we can remain anonymous”), and others were persuaded to testify to events that were not criminal (hair pinging).
Do they not realise, that the very fact they don’t want the Salmond evidence published. Means that they have something to hide. If this was all an innocent mistake , then why would you try and with hold evidence.
Because they are trying to destroy the truth in front of the publics very eyes!
So what RCS is saying is that anyone found not guilty at a trial is in fact still guilty, or is that just reserved for AS.
To proclaim a view like that is quite astounding as it utterly destroys the morals of justice and human rights the very thing this lot are screaming about in defense of these complainers.
The National should be publishing their sinister views for the attention of the Sturgeon worshippers who need their eyes opened as to the direction our country is heading.
Rape crisis Scotland should advise women not to allow themselves to be coerced into taking complaints to court that have no chance of success.
A comment btl yesterday:
**
Stephen P says:
18 February, 2021 at 5:34 pm
There is a caveat that
“this decision in principle to publish must now be followed by the processing of the submission in line with the committee’s evidence handling statement”
Sounds like room for manoeuvre.
**
I think we can all imagine what the NewSNP “processing of the submission” will entail.
But the more they attempt to cover things up, the more they reveal their rotten duplicity.
This is a disgrace. Are they really suggesting that everyone who appears in court is guilty, regardless of the verdict?
Beyond reasonable doubt means that any reasonable person would doubt their story and that the evidence presented by the prosecution simply didn’t stack up. Their stories were full of holes and the jury quite rightly saw through them. Now, having been exposed as liars, they are claiming that the verdict is meaningless.
What does this say about the people on the jury and our justice system in general? If they feel so aggrieved they should appeal.
The questions I want answered are
1) Why was this case ever approved in the first place? The person who cleared it is either incompetent or corrupt, and
2) Why are these women not being investigated?
To suggest that they are somehow protecting other women who might be afraid to come forward is laughable. Every time a woman makes false allegations against a man, she reinforces the belief that women shouldn’t be believed. They have made it harder for women to come forward.
Some of the women didn’t make it up , but what they presented was just so ridiculous. It would never have made it past their own lawyers.
Particularly ” The killer heels” at the airport one , or the one where he brushed past someone to move. What they had was nothing , but when presented with the made up ones , it made him look like a serial sex pest.
So why are their still people of influence trying to smear him in this way???
Because they are a sock-puppet organization for Team Nicola. They do her dirty work for her.
Nicola, as we see reading Gordon Dangerfield for one, really does not like to get her own hands dirty (as much as it is possible).
Whatever happened to Gordon Jackson being investigated over talking about the case on the train?
Does the legal standards board work at even slower pace than the Scottish Parliament?
I know many people that work with woman who have interacted with Rape crisis and they are worse than useless. They are basically a paid mouthpiece of the SG or rather Sturgeon in the defence of this hearing and the furthering of the self ID agenda.
If Andy Wightman weasels out of this green light by the SPCB – then they have the goods on him….he would be, without doubt, completely compromised.
I wonder what the ‘hold’ is……must be pretty serious, maybe even criminal.
Big Jock, but that also brings into question how such a ridiculous allegation was deemed to have the possibility of leading to a conviction by COPFs. I was always under the understanding, through my late dad, that once the Police had completed an investigation it was up to the Crown Office to decide if those that the Police had charged with a crime, had enough evidence against them to have the their case sent to a court with a conviction as the likely outcome. Otherwise the courts would be full of lawyers getting rich on cases being thrown out by judges as no case to answer. Ahem….
If I was Boris, I would grant a S30 right now because NS and the Scottish Government (and therefore the chances of Yes being successful) are so screwed it’s really quite depressing
In court they say “Never ask a question that you dont know the answer to!”
I reckon thats the reason for all of this. So far everything has been stage managed, a facade of carefully laid questions and empty or non answers.
They have no idea what Alex Salmond may produce so are petrified.
Could SNP and Wightman resign citing Social Media hostility ?..would that collapse the Inquiry?
Having voted 6-3 to take it to the SCPB, surely they’re not gonna go against their decision that it can be published….surely???
There’s a real danger here that just because a woman makes an allegation of sexual misconduct that she must be believed despite evidence or even what verdict a court of law delivers.
This is unfortunately a negative side effect of the #Metoo movement and sadly for Salmond, mud sticks as the old saying goes, so there will be people out there who will think he’s guilty based on their dislike of his politics.
We’re in very dangerous territory now in Scotland with our fundamental laws harboured by a lunatic First Minister.
So H “didn’t want to be another one of his women?”
Begs the question… who are these other women and why haven’t we seen loads of lurid headlines in the papers down the years? It’s well-known that there’s cash available to anyone that can dish Alex Salmond, the greatest threat to the British state that’s ever existed so you’d think maybe one of them would’ve said something.
We’re supposed to believe that during this short time period he suddenly started acting like a juiced-up jackrabbit in the springtime?
Very interesting response from Gordon Dangerfield in the comments of part 2 (quoted above by Ian).
Q: (From Tenruh)
Could this all end up at judge lead inquiry ? If the SG Inquiry is collapsed?
A: (From GD)
I think it’s inevitable whether the SG inquiry collapses or not, Tenruh. Too many people know now what really happened for them to get away with their present tactics indefinitely. If the Fabiani farce collapses, it’ll definitely come sooner though…
Are you reading Nicola, Leslie, Liz, Judith, Nicky, Barbara (and no doubt others)?
“…inevitable…”
Everything you did is going to be fully exposed. It’s coming.
The sooner the Fabiani Farce collapses the sooner we get a proper judge led inquiry. If they even attempt to block Salmond again then it is time to collapse the farce, enough is enough.
Rape Crisis Scotland – ‘the jury did not find the Crown case beyond all reasonable doubt.’
Well that’s the Prosecutor’s job to nail the case. If they can’t do that you cannot say then say the defendant is guilty but our legal team just did a shit job in laying out the evidence.
This is the Crown FFS – they had 22 cops working on this for at least a year, 400 interviews, and all the top legals involved and still they couldn’t nail the case. This wasn’t some legal aid lawyer straight outta Uni doing his first case!!!!!!
FFS some murder cases don’t get that level of interrogation.
The case failed because there was not a shred of evidence to support it. And the defense witnesses ran a coach and horses through it.
Rape Crisis Scotland should be disbanded – they should not be allowed to comment in this way on a closed, not guilty verdict on an innocent man. They do a disservice to women who are raped.
Remember , if everything goes pear shaped regarding the SNP and independence. Salmond will be blamed for bringing down St Nicola.
For what? Bringing the truth to the table!
Everything that happens as a result of this situation, is a direct result of Sturgeon’s actions and inactions. We are here because of her , it’s all on her. I blame her for everything. Destroying the SNP, not delivering independence and trying to jail an innocent man.
She is beneath contempt , but being a narcissist she won’t have the humility to accept it.
There’s an element with Andy Wightman of the wee man suddenly finding himself temporarily in a position of power and secretly revelling in it.
Reverend,
Might I use your good offices to send a message to Mr Wightman
Mr Wightman, before you make your final commitment might I suggest you take a few minutes to consider the case of William Tallon, who was found rolling around in the gutter and out of his mind drunk when he served no further useful purpose.
You might know him better as Backstairs Billy, keeper of the back entrance at Clarence House and servant to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for nigh on fifty years. All of the dirt, all of the filth he had to clear up for all those years. The blood and the vomit and the shit and the piss. He had to deal with every shade of human misery and despair as innocents were turned to the will of the old monster and her mad dreams of world domination.
After all those years of feeling important he was thrown out of Clarence House and put into a one bed apartment in Peckham – and this was long before gentrification. Who knows what promises were made by his mistress, but none were kept.
I suggest you bear this in mind when thinking about your own future, and where your loyalties lie.
What do you think Joe Beltrami would have made of Rape Crisis Scotland and Andy Wightman?
That’s the problem; Scotland is now run by lightweights.
One thing is for certain though – the next two weeks are going to be unpredictable for all at Holyrood. Be in no doubt, the public expect more honesty and accountability from all of them than we are getting just now.
This story has moved beyond the political nerds now. The Public know that something is being hidden. They do not know what or by whom yet.
It is too late to bury the story, it will not now go away. The constant attempts to block evidence is only increasing curiosity!
The clique must realise that someone is going to be the interim scapegoat to take the heat very shortly as the rear-guard action continues. They must all be wondering if it will be them. I suspect someone will crack soon. History is always kinder to the confessor than the deniers.
The careers of several civil servants must already be ended. The mandarins at Whitehall will already be selecting the “appropriate ” postings.
We really have fallen down the rabbit hole – Not Guilty now does not mean Not Guilt – it just means we could not prove it. What has happened to us?
The letter is definitely the same Mantra Sturgeon has been regurgitating ad nauseum since the lid of this can of worms was disturbed.
Agree wi Stu, probably penned by her or their scriptwriter.
The goal is to keep slinging mud at Salmond until the bitter end.
Ms H is already a proven liar.
Why can’t the Law protect the exonerated ?
There are a few of our SNP MP’s and MSP’s that see it for what it is, but the sheer volume of silence from the rest only illustrates how hard it will be for the SNP to get back on the road after the fan gets cleaned.
Rape Crisis Scotland have clearly misinterpreted the situation here.
Having recently done Jury service in the high court(Remotely) I can say that, if the jury believed he possibly did do it but didnt feel the prosecution had proved their case, a verdict of not proven would have been made.
Probably best to delete that post above as it must surely be contempt of court.
Can anyone remind me if RCS issued a statement condemning the threat of punishment rape against Joanna Cherry MP (for which a male SNP member has apparently been arrested and charged, but unlike AS has managed to have his identity protected and not splashed all over the front pages of the gutter press).
Just that silence usually is taken as condoning unacceptable behaviour!
Delete now
If you can delete my previous post thank you.
Jockanese Wind Talker says:
19 February, 2021 at 10:10 am
Can anyone remind me if RCS issued a statement condemning the threat of punishment rape against Joanna Cherry MP (for which a male SNP member has apparently been arrested and charged, but unlike AS has managed to have his identity protected and not splashed all over the front pages of the gutter press).
Just that silence usually is taken as condoning unacceptable behaviour!
______
It is a shock to discover that the Scottish Justice system (at least under the Sturgeonachs) seems to have a very compromised “rule of law” on a par with that of a petty dictatorship.
Other countries might need to start issuing travel advisories to their citizens.
Lady Dorrian has said that Alex Salmond’s evidence can be published and the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body has agreed.
The Lord Advocate has agreed also, as he has not challenged its publication on The Spectator’s website (after it was published on Wings).
Should any individual SNP/independent member of the committee vote to block its publication now, that will be a political decision in the service of the First Minister with no basis in law.
The Scottish public will be entitled to question the personal motives of any such member.
Can someone confirm, but I am assuming that Wightman is a list MSP. Given that he doesn`t have the political or charismatic standing of a Margo MacDonald, he must know that having left the Greens, his political career at Holyrood is over, short of being thrown a life raft from a passing political party.
Mark mcnaught’s digital covenant becoming ever more relevant given the gaping hole that is likely to appear in the pro-Indy political sphere.
Genuine question regarding Rape Crises Scotland (Sandy Brindley) letter:
What part(s) of the charges originally against Salmond were officially found to be “not proven”?
I genuinely don’t know why people still vote SNP.
Promises of referendums in the run up to elections that are quickly forgotten about once they’ve got their feet under the table. The dreadful Hate Crime Bill that could see people arrested in their own homes for daring to express an opinion that the Scots Gov’t doesn’t approve of.
Endless policy announcements that garner positive headlines but are quietly ditched months later.
And that’s before we get onto the shabby way they’ve acted before and during this whole Alex Salmond trial and Inquiry.
“I don’t really like the SNP but they’re our best way of getting independence…” is becoming a tiresome and frankly stupid argument. I’ve been hearing this at every election since 2014 and it’s nothing more than a con to get people to vote SNP so they can retain power.
I’ve voted SNP at every election since 2012 but I wont be voting for them this time. Enough’s enough.
Andybhoy says:
19 February, 2021 at 9:34 am
Re Patsy Millar, those of us who are on the various Scottish independence groups on Facebook will have noticed that over the few days, there has been a surge in the number of posts attacking Alex Salmond, questioning his innocence, saying that just because he was found not guilty, doesn`t mean he isn`t guilty, etc. When I asked one person why the trial verdict hasn`t been appealed if it was wrong, they stated that ” you need a point of law to appeal on”. When I said that, ” being raped by someone who is then found not guilty is a pretty big point oflaw, unless of course the person raped never attended the venue where the rape took place and witnesses and evidence prove the lack of collaborative evidence to back up the complainer”. I am still waiting on a reply to that point
Likely responses: TERF!!, BIGOT!!, Unionist Asset!!, Hate Speech!!, temper tantrum…wah wah wah wah wah…..
Innocent until proven Guilty, but, NOT Innocent if found NOT Guilty if you are Alex Salmond according to RCS.
What kind of doublespeak is this? RCS need help from some good legal minds and they need to stop trying to influence, coerce and hinder the Inquiry from doing its job.
We know where RCS get their funding from so it doesn’t take a genius to know why they are trying to prevent the Inquiry from getting at the truth.
@Andybhoy – Agreed. Mr Wightman is treating us Scots like a bunch of dafties.
He’s been got-at.
I’m sure the evidence will be published. It’s on the front page of several newspapers today – in a concise way that punches through the sense that this is the political equivalent of the offside rule. “Salmonds evidence will be published and it claims that Sturgeon misled Parliament and if she did she should resign”. Simple political arithmentic – exactly what’s needed.
I’m sickened that a not guilty verdict is being played as equivocal. There must be consequences for this level of corruption.
AwakeNotWoke
Are you trolling me on Facebook as well? ?
Craig Murray’s verdict is taking an awfully long time, isn’t it?
Has there been any sort of update on it at all?
That was nice of Rebecca McQuillan to use you as an example of hate speech in The Herald today.
link to archive.is
FFS.
Presumably you all believe Michael Jackson’s accusers were liars too?
“Presumably you all believe Michael Jackson’s accusers were liars too?”
I don’t know nearly enough about those cases to form an opinion. I do about this one.
Capt Yossarian
A wee bit naughty I know and I am not expecting a reply, but Mr Wightman has this morning been asked these questions by yours truly on his FB messenger.
Just wondering, will you be standing in the forthcoming Holyrood elections? If yes, will you be appearing on the regional lists as an independent? Or do you plan to appear as a representative of a political party?
I am not expecting a reply any time soon.
Jockanese Wind Talker
Maybe all these prospective SNP candidates for the list who so passionately believe in human rights should reflect on what exactly they think they’re getting into.
Silence makes you complicit.
Contemplate this; a novelist pens a fictional account of the bones of the AS case to his publisher, all names changed of course. The publisher sends it back within a few days attaching a scathing rebuke to the author saying that crime fiction should always have an element of a believable story and your view of the people trying to prosecute the “baddie” falls clearly into the category of total bollocks.
This whole scenario is an example of reality actually being unbelievable; except of course, to those vengeful people in positions of influence. WTF is going on in Scotland.
100%Yes says:
19 February, 2021 at 10:15 am
If you can delete my previous post thank you.
Why on earth did you post it in the first place?
It is all beginning to unravel for the liars.
Rape crisis Scotland are revealed to be Nicola’s plaything. Was rape crisis Scotland involved in the plot ? To my mind it seems likely.
Could everyone please end their posts, tweets etc with ” Where is the ring-fenced money ?”. Because it is this that will lead to their downfall.
Wightman starts his tweet: “To be clear…”!
He’s trolling us now or, in old money, taking the piss!
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader at Holyrood, said the SNP’s “bizarre” response from the SNP showed party bosses were “clearly rattled” at the prospect of Mr Salmond’s evidence coming to light.
“Their clear overreaction only confirms in people’s minds that they must have something to hide,” said Ms Davidson. “Nobody is suggesting for a second that information would ever be published jeopardising a complainant’s anonymity.”
From today’s Independent
What a great time to be one of the unionist plants whose job it is to disrupt and disunite
Not even a need to get out of bed in the morning
Quick check
Yes, the SNP is still in full, self-inflicted, divide-the-yes-movement mode
Even got one of their supporting bodies – RapeCrisisScotland – saying ‘not guilty’ actually means guilty
If Carlsberg did gardening leave …..
Independence groups on Facebook are now being censored.
Anything untoward about Nicola is being deleted.
That’s where we are.
Incidentally AwakeNotWoke I saw a post on one of the YEs pages today attacking Ms Baillie and stating how vulnerable she is with a majority of only 109. In normal times I would agree with that statement and think the bold Jackie, for whom a lie isn`t a lie, just the truth told in a slightly more colourful way, would be toast. But given how many people have no real affiliation to the SNP beyond wanting independence and that strange old Scottish way of thinking that a politician telling a lie is one thing, but a political party ganging up on one of there own to have him jailed is another thing altogether. I am starting to wonder if the SNP are beginning to view Baillie Dumbarton seat as not the given they may nave assumed it was even two months ago. Especially as Jackie will go to town on how nasty and despicable the SNP government is Edinburgh is and how it can`t be trusted. West Dunbartonshire could be an interesting constituency battle this May, especially if Tories and Lib Dems were to field paper candidates.
Rebecca McQuillam starts with ‘We have a hate problem’ and then finishes with climate change frustration babble.
‘We’ don’t have a hate problem, but plenty people do.
And they are easy to spot. They look down on anyone whos political belief differs from their own by considering them morally inferior (not unlike how troops tend to view their enemy, so it is easier to dispose of them without conscience) and despite their claims that ‘politics is all about compromise’ they regularly actually refuse to compromise.
Climate Change folks are a good example of this (since Rebecca mentions it) – they want zero carbon emissions, I want the same as today. I can meet them half way, but they will refuse.
I hope The Rev has Ms McQuillam in his sites.
Apparently Mr Wightman`s FB page is unmonitored, I bet he isn`t replying to many of his emails at the minute either.
Thank you for your message. This inbox is unmonitored. Please email andy.wightman.msp@parliament.scot
As soon as i saw that tweet of A Whitewash last night, i felt like i was sliding down that huge snake right back to the start. Especially when his neighbouring tweets are of the RCS letter.
There seems to be little doubt he is going to block the AS submission if he can or redact it to meaninglessness.
@Bob Mack
If Facebook has got Nicola’s back, the BritNat establishment has got her back!
And for anyone wanting independence, that is a very very bad place to find ourselves in!
‘the experience of the Salmond inquiry demonstrates that Scotland remains firmly in the Dark Ages. It’s perfectly plain that our leaders are very frightened that the truth might emerge here. We are entitled to ask why.’
Alistair Bonnington (former honorary professor at Glasgow University School of Law)
link to scottishlegal.com
Andy Wightman is looking to run as a Highlands and Islands list candidate under the AFI umbrella. Hopefully that will not get elected, especially as he does not live here.
The thought occurs to me that the letter from RCS may be defamatory. It’s tricky but the reality is that the criminal trial process, while imperfect, is about as good as it gets. Do RCS think they can do a better job of prosecuting?
Actually, arguably yes. The AS not guilty result was undoubtedly a public rebuke of the prosecution. COPFS is surely in disrepute, its credibility shredded.
There is strong evidence of perjury but that cannot be looked at while the contempt/anonymity order is in place.
Just for argument’s sake let’s say the complaints were for fraud. Do victims of fraud qualify for anonymity? Not generally, (please correct if not the case). Is a fraud victim any more or less liable to be shamed by the process or MORE or less likely to fabricate or perjure? The only difference is in the ‘quality’ of evidence-i.e. concerned with ‘intimacy’.
I suppose I am arguing that in general, in trials there has to be some way of judging context; and anonymity is an unwelcome option as it militates against candour, but there must also be some protection offered to persuade a victim to be candid and truthful while balancing the need to be fair to the defendant(innocent until proven guilty). In this case, there has been a real problem with process. If the assaults were so serious why mot refer immediately to the police. Attempted rape is an extremely serious accusation and sitting on it and delaying the police investigation is an egregious abuse and casts the most obvious doubt on the complaint. Whoever within SG delayed seeking justice failed lamentably. This failure, in itself is very telling. If the victim felt she would be at any risk, why did the senior CS’s not provide a shield but also still act promptly, and immediately inform the police (and Nicola Sturgeon). The answers are obvious. Sherlocks not required here.
A view being put forward is there will be no knock-out event to this situation, what is most damaging to the other side is the daily talk on all social media platforms about how the truth is not being told. Could we then say every time anyone of us talks about the truth then we are doing our bit for the people of Scotland to learn what their corrupt Scotish rulers have been up too.
Bridget says:
19 February, 2021 at 11:04 am
Andy Wightman is looking to run as a Highlands and Islands list candidate under the AFI umbrella. Hopefully that will not get elected, especially as he does not live here.
Any links to this information, up in the Highlands, ISP intending to stand 2 regional candidates.
We can only admire Alex Salmond’s restraint with every effort being made to avoid the truth coming out.
The thing is, he has demonstrated over the decades that he is a very, very smart operator. Time and time again they’ve tried to pin things on him without success.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s got this. They underestimate him at their peril.
Contempt of court should not just be about pre decision activities and orders.
I’m aware that in my life-time juries have delivered some odd decisions and no-doubt will again in the future.
On one jury I was involved in the Sheriff made a statement to the effect that she was the master of the law and that we (the jury) were masters of the evidence.
What is concerning me about the AS trial coverage and subsequent articles is the contempt that various individuals and organisations have held of the jury’s decisions. The jury heard the evidence, as presented, and made decisions on that.
A particular noisome note was that some articles were almost identifying individual jurors on the day.
This has to stop. The jury system for all it’s flaws and human fallibilities is what we have until something better is proposed.
If jury decisions are to be held in such contempt by the press and other “responsible” organisations, then, in my view, it puts the system at risk.
High time contempt of court was expanded to include jury decisions – whether you liked the outcome or not.
Aye well that Rape Crisis view of trials –‘as is the case in all criminal trials’- would therefore apply to Harvey Weinstein’s too.
Rape Crisis Scotland is a charity. I had a look at their website and can’t see any mention of the make-up of the group or committee that oversees their operation. Anybody know the governance structure of this mob and who the chairperson might be.
Wouldn’t mind a word with them.
@Andybhoy – careful…your problematic views are making me feel unsafe…
“Hello, Police Scotland…someone doesn’t love me!!”
That letter from RCS is a disgrace.
But since Mr Brindlay is the Chief Executive – and can anyone tell me what started out as a charity support group needs a ‘Chief Executive’…. as CE will he be the person ultimately responsible for breaking the law and employing a Male, in the front line of rape counselling services, in a role that is legally reserved for a woman.
Their own literature advises that when counselling rape victims they should seek to do so in private… I’d strongly suggest an employee who has obtained the job by fraudulent misrepresenting fundamentally who they are…. is not a fit and proper person to be dealing with vulnerable woman in an isolated setting.
I would suggest that woman subjected to rape or sexual assault would feel severely betrayed, when seeing assistance from RCS, to be placed in that situation.
I also see from RCS letter, that it is blatently political. That is not the function of RCS – deeply concerning.
A personal opinion
I believe it’s now time for the Procurator fiscals office to intervene , these people using anonymity as a shield borders on harassment and slander ( if that’s the legal term in Scotland ) this cannot be allowed to continue, also using a publicly funded organisation to further a vendetta that could cause serious damage to everyone involved these people should be personally liable not the organisation that employs them, this is in not in any way a gagging order ,
The case was heard , Alex Salmond was proven innocent that’s is it , it hasn’t been appealed with new evidence provided , and the amount of police time and effort was beyond and over and above any comparable case, there is no more to gain no more to uncover so if they won’t drop it it’s maybe time for a serious intervention to protect a Innocent man.
Nicola Sturgeon is at the route of all this dead centre if I was able to put a question to her it would simply be if after all the Inquiry’s all the police involvement do you believe Alex Salmond has been proven Innocent ? . A one word answer would be acceptable Yes or No ?
RCS are a disgrace. Imagine the uproar if for example the BBC had said after a famous singing ‘national treasure’ had, following a long investigation, been exonerated by the police “It doesn’t mean he isn’t a paedophile, it just means the police didn’t find any evidence”. How many would still be in a job?
But pith and power, till my last hour,
I’ll mak this declaration;
We’re bought and sold for Sturgeon’s gold-
Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!
Under the law of the United Kingdom any sturgeons within the realm are personal property of the monarch
Sturgeoni giva-a da money, our money, to da people she wanna to do her a favour. Capeesh?
Sandy has the following qualifications. You would think it would be in the field of trauma therapy – wouldn’t you… but you would be wrong.
Born in 1974 in Forth in Lanarkshire, Sandy with her sister Tracey were the first in their family to attend university. Sandy arrived at Glasgow University in 1991 and graduated with an
MA (Hons) in History & Politics in 1995.
Thereafter she commenced an MPhil in Women’s Studies here, and graduated in 1996.
In 1994, whilst still at University, Sandy began her long association with the Rape Crisis movement, volunteering at the Rape Crisis Centre in Glasgow providing one-to-one support to survivors of sexual violence. Following her MPhil, Sandy worked full-time at Rape Crisis Glasgow, leaving in 2002 to establish Rape Crisis Scotland, the national umbrella body for rape crisis, where she is currently Chief Executive.
If Andy Wightman allows himself to be manipulated, or willingly goes along with this nonsense, then his name will certainly go down in Scottish history, right alongside that of George Cunningham ‘the 40% man’ in ’79.
Hopefully this is the last throw of the dice for the NS cabal.
The current SNP are dangerous IMO.
Remember when we were a couple of weeks into Covid lockdown, Humza was talking about doing away with jury trials?
That was too much even for his pal Aamer.
RCS have also punted doing away with juries for r*pe trials.
If they got their way, HCB, no juries, we are all well and truly fucked.
Just as an ad on, the total hysteria over Marie Todd getting sworn at, is another piece of hypocritical shite.
Not a one of these hypocrites ever pulled Black up for much worse
— And now for a short commercial break —
this is hilarious!
i just love the reaction of the crowd.
and i hope the jetsam didn’t fly more than 2m.
link to order-order.com
I wonder how Rape Crises would react and how rape victims would feel if there was a campaign to release convicted rapists on the grounds that the verdict of the court was just an interpretation and therefore they were not really guilty. It’s dreadful letter and, as an organisation they are doing great harm to real victims of abuse.
And another thing, there are very real cases of sexual assault and rape out there, that go to trial, and for a multitude of reasons do not result in a conviction.
Jury’s tend to take the job responsibly. It’s a really big deal to convict. Proof of guilt beyond all reasonable doubt is a very high bar.
I’d question the ethics of a ‘support agency’ publically lobbying that a criminal trial should ‘automatically’ deliver a guilty verdict, or else your all being cruel to the victim.
No-one can predict a trial, and everyone involved in the process knows that.
I would consider it a core function of RCS to at the very least attempt to prepare the complainers for this outcome – not sell them unicorns.
I notice how these twisted, dishonest funding seekers at Sturgeon Crisis Scotland continue to use not proven and not guilty together to befuddle the public. Salmond was not guilty that’s on record. The evidence of his alphabet accusers was rejected by a mainly female judge and jury. that’s also on record as the VERDICT. But since the judge and jury didn’t play executioner to their script they are wrong. It’s part of an insidious political culture. This complacent and crooked polity , and Sturgeon’s use of lockdown as a bully pulpit has convinced me more than ever it’s not about left and right it’s truth, liberty and justice we need to build a better Scotland.
I remember, some years ago, reading a piece by Donald Finlay QC, in which he suggested anonymity in rape trials should be extended to the Accused, as well as to the complainant(s).
If a Guilty verdict was returned, the Accused could be named. If he was found Not Guilty or Not Proven, he retained his anonymity.
If this had happened, we would never have heard of the false accusations against Alex Salmond. An awful lot of fury and thunder would have been avoided. There is, however a downside – we might never have known about the stitch-up.
It might even have seen some of our esteemed mainstream media in court – could they have avoided “jigsaw identification” of the Accused?
“… In a letter that was very likely penned by the First Minister herself, the entirely Scottish Government-funded pressure group (which has condoned the lying and cheating of a male-bodied trans woman to a position within RCS and still supports his illegal activities with vulnerable women) issued a craven plea to the committee to ignore the advice of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body and also yet again shamefully pronounced that Alex Salmond was guilty really, he just got away with it… ”
They know the game is up now. Lady Dorrian has made clear what the original anonymity order means, and it does not mean that, in all and every circumstance, even those not pertaining in any way, fashion or means, to the trial and its ancillary workings, the women cannot be identified, so no problem with publishing evidence. It is cringingly pitiful the extent to which these bodies, set up to help women, are being seconded to help in their erasure at the same time as they are purportedly calling for the protection of certain other women. It is even beyond being Kafkaesque. Or it would be, if vacuous conformity and doublespeak were not at the heart of this affair. I really do think we have reached equality between the sexes: there are now as many seriously stupid women in places of authority as there are men.
I have just heard from an insider that they think Andy Wightman has been promised a plum position in the SNP ‘Land Reform Panel’ they intend to set up after winning the election….
Robert graham says:
19 February, 2021 at 11:25 am
“A personal opinion
I believe it’s now time for the Procurator fiscals office to intervene”
You mean COPFS which is run by a self-confessed criminal (Wolffe & various malicious prosecutions) who is politically appointed by ScotGov?
You’re surely having a laugh or you’re utterly clueless?
Which one is it?
Although I am a man I feel that the Rape Crisis charity undermines protections for women.
Rape on anybody is a horrible crime. However by continuing to focus on Alex Salmond as if he was guilty of the 14 separate charges of which he was acquitted, despite millions being spent on a police investigation that interviewed around 900 people does I think do no good for the cause.
Conflating alleged flick of the hair, with an alleged pat on the knee, to be a sexual crime equivalent to rape, quite frankly undermining of the good work done in protecting women. But I’m maybe only a man, biological and by choice, so what might I know.
So, I asked my wife, and she agrees. But maybe we’re both unusual. But somehow I don’t think so.
Moreover, on a different line I asked her if biological men should have the right to use the women’s toilet and enter other women only spaces and her answer was definitely not. Don’t think somehow she’ll be voting for SNP candidates like Josh Mennie. Or even the SNP full stop.
This is all about protecting the Establishment’s double agents – without a doubt.
The double standards – no reaction/support for Joanna Cherry;
refusal to allow the truth to be reported and the terror of the media to be accused of contempt of court can only point to one thing.
The truth must not come out at any cost because it is so nasty.
Britain has a long history of playing dirty and they are creating chaos in Scotland with the GRA, Hate crime bill and AS/SG ongoing case.
We are being seriously ambushed here.
Well, I’ve got news for those meddlers reading this. Salmond is RIGHT – THE DREAM WILL NEVER DIE.
With or without the SNP, SCOTLAND WILL BE FREE.
Rape Crisis Scotland information on Directors available on Companies House
Company Secretary listed as Sandra Roberta Brindley Appointed 2005 is this person using the name Sandy Brindley on correspondence to Committee.
Julia Donnelly Appointed 2007 Occupation Solicitor sits on Board of Directors RCS
RCS Board information is a must read . ! Please take time to read this information.
Completely new to this site . Welsh resident .
Here in North Carolina, our senior US Senator is Richard Burr – a Republican. He had voted reliably for the Trump agenda most of the time in the last four years. When he was re-elected in 2016, he made it clear that this would be his final six-year term in the US Senate. In his time as a Senator, he and his office have worked hard on constituency matters – one of his senior staff spent forty minutes on the ‘phone with me on a relatively minor issue.
However, Sen. Burr will be remembered for two things when the histories of this period are written. Firstly, as chairman of the Intelligence Committee, he worked with his political opponents to produce a balanced report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Secondly, he voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Sen. Burr is one of the least wealthy people in Congress. His actions have done him no favors in the current political climate. Yet he did the right thing when called upon to do so. I do not agree with much of Richard Burr’s politics, but I believe history will treat him kindly. He is a decent man.
Meanwhile, Woman F and Man W have demonstrated that politics contains people who do not have the strength of character to hold such exalted positions. I have to hope that they will slither off to obscurity before wreaking further damage on Scotland’s body politic. We will see. What is clear is that anyone who has a vote for the ordering of List candidates – in any party – must exercise that vote with great care. If this episode has demonstrated anything it is that Scottish public life does not have enough people who are of good character.
Ian Spruce says:
19 February, 2021 at 10:06 am
Rape Crisis Scotland have clearly misinterpreted the situation here.
Having recently done Jury service in the high court(Remotely) I can say that, if the jury believed he possibly did do it but didnt feel the prosecution had proved their case, a verdict of not proven would have been made.
Ian that’s why the twisted client quango conflated Not Guilty and Not Proven in their statement. Legal eagles on here. Is that evidence of contempt as they clearly know the verdict.
Andy Wightman has clearly fallen prey to the same delusion as Nicola Sturgeon.
Namely the belief that the Scottish public are as thick as pigshit.(No insult to pigs intended)
What I find breathtaking is the brass necked nature of the deflection. They seem totally oblivious how their actions and suppression of information is being perceived and interpreted by a wider audience. The seem to have lost all deductive objectivity.
You stop asking yourself the question ‘if’ they’re corrupt, and begin to wonder just how corrupt they actually are. So corrupt, (it would seem), that any lie will do, even brazen and transparent falsehood.
To tweak the perspective too, “IF” there was no conspiracy, no collusion, no subterfuge, no scheme to ‘get Salmond’, you would imagine their collective innocence would be so very easy to prove. The paper trail “should” vindicate those speaking the truth, so what conclusion can you draw when are they so desperate to prevent the paper trail being made available?
The next move involves the Murrells and Whiteman
Sticking their fingers in their ears and repeating La,La,La
over and over until May.
I see from the National just a few minutes ago that counting of votes in the May electon will not now be done overnight as per usual, but might even take a few days? wee bitty suspicious on this one.
The sad thing is that mud sticks (which is why we chose this as a working title for our documentary).
No matter how many times AS is given the opportunity to prove his innocence, he will always carry the scars inflicted by those who made allegations against him.
The RPS letter, together with the Wark documentary, appears to put forward the view that AS was guilty but that the case against him was poorly managed and that he ‘got away with it’.
I like others want to know why, if false evidence was submitted in court, there have been no perjury charges.
This was a man’s life that was at stake, not merely his political career. That appears to have been lost in all the obfuscation and misinformation that has been flying around. AS is a human being and should expect a degree of protection from malfeasance.
link to tns2019.org
Marie Clark says:
19 February, 2021 at 12:06 pm
“I see from the National just a few minutes ago that counting of votes in the May electon will not now be done overnight as per usual, but might even take a few days? wee bitty suspicious on this one.”
Can’t see how counting can be done as normal during Covid – given the close proximity of counting staff. they will probably have to use fewer staff at a time than usual.
Achnababan says:
19 February, 2021 at 11:50 am
I have just heard from an insider that they think Andy Wightman has been promised a plum position in the SNP ‘Land Reform Panel’ they intend to set up after winning the election….
A life belt thrown from a sinking ship.
The lachrymose lister would probably end up sitting next to higgins and wilson.
If you believe Sturgeon is lying about this situation with Alex Salmond, then what faith can you put in her upcoming promises to hold an Indyref after the elections?
You can bet they will be upcoming!!
Surely, after the Ceausescu couple (and their falcilitators) are turfed out of Bute House, Alex Salmond will have the biggest legal case in history: malicious prosecution, perjury, negligence, malfeasance, misfeasance, defamations etc etc
@Paul – Wightman can be employed as a civil-servant on a consultants wage. Nice money. I know of another crook who has been re-hired to fix his own multi-million pound blunder under precisely these conditions.
I’d love to know who this “Brit State” is.
The fact of the matter is this whole affair is HOME GROWN.
No amount of frantic deflection is going to change that.
Own it, it’s yours.
You put then into place. You all sat there, over the last decade when EVERYTHING THEY TOUCHED turned to shit like the three monkeys.
And now your upset because “an innocent man” etc etc.
What about all those who have od’d/suicided through removed drug and mental healthcare provisions, all those who died in care homes after the infected were sent out too them, those who are suffering unemployment with no hope of ever working again, the sheer craven endemic corruption throughout the SNP at all levels, the list is ENDLESS.
“BRIT STATE” ..fucking do one.
“Now’s the day and now’s the hour” No, not that day and not that hour.
Our hour will come at some point between today and next Wednesday. Non-publication after legal clearance removes all doubt that the only way to get Sturgeon is through the ballot box. She’s above the law and now above Parliamentary scrutiny.
My hour will involve soul searching I never wanted to do. I’ll need to consider advocating and working on the ground to defeat the SNP. Better a coalition of who knows what running the country than this newly empowered woke party.
Any coalition of Tory/Labour/ LibDem won’t do any great damage. They don’t have any policies anyway. The civil service run the country. It’ll also fall apart after a year or so. In the meantime the new ISP members can lead the campaign for independence.
The SNP are a busted flush.
Yours,
Ex-member.
Impossible to express my disgust any louder at how RCS has been used in such a craven, disgusting way. This organisation should be totally apolitical. And they have the nerve to bloatedly bleat that this whole sick debacle will impact upon the numbers of women coming forward who are sexually assaulted!
Aye, it definitely will. And every single new woman who undergoes disgusting tragedy, and chooses not to seek help for her pain and trauma, can be placed directly at Nicola Sturgeon’s door. What a vile wee woman she is, a real…ah….dinnae want Humza knocking my door down with the Junior Purity League, better stop there. Nauseating.
OT – Looks like The Ghana Tourism Authority twitter page is down. Pity, it made me smile
Innocent (adjective): not guilty of a crime or offence.
Or perhaps ‘not guilty’ can self-identify as ‘not innocent’ these days?
I sent a comment earlier on Rape Crisis Scotland I misses out the t in my e mail address
I wonder how the 2021 SNP candidates at hustings would answer wrt to anonymity question? Some might find the question more uncomfortable than others, I suspect, especially if particular scenarios were put to them in public.
Have a look at this Unionist hate fest about the Saltire.
All unionist controlled councils refuse to let the Saltire be flown ever.
They rejected appeals for St Andrews day and Burns night.
It think it a great idea not to fly the Butchers Apron on any Scot Gov
or SNP council building.
A taste of their own.
Scotland voted to stay in the EU and we intend to return to it so fly the
EU flag to show Scotland’s voice is heard in Scotland at least.
link to mobile.twitter.com
@wee monkey – can only agree. No sign whatsoever of UK involvement or even great interest in this.
I think that when interest comes, and it is coming now, then it is being channelled in the right direction.
Our press interest is lightweight skitter really if yesterday’s Scotsman article was anything to go by. Nothing in the Scotsman today.
We have been told for months, by Swinney, that we are following ‘legal guidlines’. The Spectator has said ‘show me these legal guidlines’. An Lady Dorian has set them out.
It is clear. Alex Salmonds evidence needs to be published. AS will present it either to the Fabiani Inquiry or to the press and he will do that strongly.
It is then up to James Hamilton to produce his report. NS either misled Holyrood or she did not. If she misled Holyrood she has to resign.
Malfeasance at Holyrood is endemic and once an inquiry into it starts I think the results of that, in terms of secrecy and money wasted on scams, will shock all of us.
The resistance from everyone at SNP to Holyrood tells me there is much to hide.
Interesting article in The National ‘re Leslie Evans.
Apparently she was going to write to Former CMs to advisers in the new policy.
Get this part. The letter was drawn up by Leslie Evans for The First Minster in Nov 2017. Additionally they were never sent. It’s revealed they contained a request for former FMs to contribute to creating the policy.
If this was drawn up for Sturgeon how can she not know there were potential complaints?
Alex Salmond is expected to launch a series of public attacks on Nicola Sturgeon next week, after Holyrood agreed to publish claims which his allies believe could end the First Minister’s career.
The former SNP leader is finally set to appear as a witness in front of a Scottish Parliament committee on Wednesday, which is investigating an unlawful civil service investigation into sexual harassment claims against him.
The breakthrough came after he appeared to have won a row over whether his dossier of allegations against his successor would be published.
Although already in the public domain, MSPs refused to officially release Mr Salmond’s written evidence into the multiple ways in which he believes Ms Sturgeon broke the ministerial code in her handling of complaints against him, citing legal concerns. DAN SANDERSON – THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
I probably like a lot of other people was willing to keep the faith in the SNP however questionable some of their decisions , decisions that have went well to put it crudely Tits up and cost the Taxpayers oodles of our cash the list is pretty shocking when looked at closely.
I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because they were charging ahead with their stated aim of Independence , well I know now Independence is not at the top of their list, my list does not matter I don’t count, I thought after cutting up my membership and returning it that would have been a warning to re access the direction of travel Nope thanks for your support , next .
I have only one option left and it’s the Neclear one , for the first time in my voting life I can’t even if I hold ny nose support this version of the SNP I don’t recognise the party now that’s how sad and bad it has become and it’s all self inflicted free choice was made and it’s turned out spectacularly fkn wrong and rather than change direction they are determined to do it their way , well fk them all Not in my fkn name.
Sorry about the language but the red mist and steam coming out the ears has taken over .
“I like others want to know why, if false evidence was submitted in court, there have been no perjury charges.”
The answer is simple @NS2019 says at 12:11 pm
Because it would prove AS was fitted up with made up/exaggerated allegations and his reputation would be untarnished (so he would still be a threat to the Union).
Then people would rightly ask why, for what purpose, for whose gain.
@Robert Graham,
Don’t get mad. Get even. They become a hindrance to our aims. We keep them on life support till we get a new party,assuming nothing changes in the interim.
We vote to promote one party whilst diminishing another. We take back control. No majority for the SNP.
Diminish green vote as well.
They need us more now than we need them.
For those who are yet aware, (probably not the readers of this blog tbh) Rape Crisis Scotland has been infiltrated by Trans Rights Activists. They are very vocal about their belief that Trans Women are Women and fully support Mridul Wadhwa, a trans woman who is legally male and lied his way into a job with Rape Crisis in Stirling. This is not a conspiracy theory, the evidence is there for all to see.
These activists are part of a trans movement operating within Scotland. Think of it like an unofficial political party whose members have gained influential positions within all the other political parties. Nicola Sturgeon, along with close associates in the SNP and Scottish Government are also part of, or support, this movement (including Lesley Evans and Shirley Anne Somerville). Their first loyalty is to the trans cause. It’s NOT independence and, I’m sorry to say, not rape victims either. They see themselves as the greatest human rights movement of the times, and are all all holy and rightous as a result.
These activists, who have found their way into influential positions right across Scottish public life (Another example is Nicola’s staffer, Mhairi Hunter, a Glasgow Councillor and Trustee of Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board where she has been pushing trans reform in hospitals and healthcare). They are aware that if Nicola Sturgeon goes the game could be up and their gender revolution could fail. Their own positions could be at risk too.
This is why they’re so desperate to protect her and why we keep getting these interventions from Rape Crisis Scotland. Accusations from the likes of Alex Massie that the complainants are being used as human shields to protect the FM are spot on.
However, I still can’t work out why Andy Wightman is so keen to protect them? I’d have expected him to want the truth to come out.
I’m wondering what Sturgeon regrets most; catastrophic failure or being banged-up for corruption whilst in High Office?
She’s clearly lost a stack of weight (I sincerely hope she’s profoundly and dreadfully miserable) and carries a haunted look that reminds me of Ivan Lendl’s during the closing moments of his 2 Wimbledon finals.
Now firmly established as a tetchy and crabbit Covid conference crone, she’s probably not had a decent night of sleep since Salmond, Geoff Aberdein and Duncan Hamilton QC visited upon her – I bet she wishes she could turn back the clock?
“Oh, just fuck-up, Peter – just fuck-up!”
Sturgeon – yer tea’s oot.
@ClanDonald
Wightman is desperate. He needs a job as his MSP gig is about to come to an end.
Does chair Ken Macintosh get a vote, if not then BritNat MSP’s outnumber Wightman and Sandra White. Of course, the Brit Nat MSP’s might well be aware that Sturgeon isn’t interested in independence, and that the best way to preserve the union would be if they decided not to include Salmond’s info, which in the long run if Mr Hamilton’s report isn’t too damaging will see Sturgeon reelected as FM, and normal service will resume.
As for Rape Crisis Scotland, no doubt Sturgeon’s been on the phone to them to pipe up over this, in order to influence the SPCB to have a change of heart.
* …not yet aware
I think it is now beginning to dawn on anyone who isn’t either a fully paid up Sturgeonista or just an unthinking “party right or wrong” loyalist, that the SNP isn’t going to deliver independence. Since that is now evident, the question now should be do we actually want the SNP gaining a majority in Mat 2021?
From where I’m sitting, given recent events and the direction of travel of the SNP leadership and activist base with respect to othering any dissenting voices, those of us who now oppose the party can’t lamely advocate voting SNP 1 & ISP (or SSP or Greens) 2. We need to actively PREVENT the SNP from gaining an outright majority, whether by abstaining or voting against them.
Returning the SNP to power when it hasn’t been cleansed of Sturgeonism and woke Wahhabism presents a clear and present danger to our liberties and democracy. It endorses the authoritarian cancel culture agenda espoused by those attacking Joanna Cherry and anyone who has the temerity to support Wings Over Scotland.
It is not sensible, or indeed possible, to compromise with the ideological zealots pushing the current SNP leadership’s agenda. They will only accept unconditional acceptance of and surrender to their deeply regressive, faith based platform. If you continue to vote for them and support that, you are enabling their authoritarianism.
Pro-indy opponents on the SNP need to either organise a new party, or look to the ISP as the core of a new, radical progressive independence movement.
There are a variety of factions and groups involved in this farce, it is as plain as the nose on anyone’s face that although NS is in the limelight, so is RCS, Murdock and his ilk, labour, and advocate , the crown, civil servants.
They all have one thing in common,
To destroy Alex Salmond from politics and break the back of the independence drive leading up to a Scottish election, to cause infighting of the people, and in that sense it is becoming quite successful,
Meanwhile mr Sheridan has mentioned the struggle another independence group has had registrating as a party for independence on the electoral roll.
There is a larger picture here and all with one aim. To stave of any success the Scottish people may have for a vehicle to vote for independence.
The critical point for me will come when senior figures in the SNP begin to distance themselves from the whole fiasco.
That has not to my knowledge started to happen yet.
Party discipline still appears to be quite tight, but that may be due to fear rather than genuinely felt loyalty.
Running a political party in this way is usually fine until that first hairline fracture appears and then the whole edifice crumbles quite fast.
We are not getting far with our point about Swinney breaching the ministerial code by lying to Parliament, but if he were to come under pressure for doing so, I cannot see him, Sturgeon and Murrell surviving.
I think that our case is much stronger than the one against Sturgeon because we have so much testimony and circumstantial evidence to support it.
Taking on the whole Scottish establishment to prove one’s innocence is a daunting task, but we will win.
And we will win at Swinney’s expense.
link to tns2019.org
Bob Mack
Hi “No majority for the SNP” I agree but hard to finesse locally or nationally. ISP or some other for the List vote, but for this to be successful do we not need a strong SNP constituency performance, the prospect of which I now totally abhor?
SNP governing in a minority administration with the Greens? Woke heaven.
I think they need to be out of government.
The “Harassment Committee” is this a new committee? I thought this one was looking into the Scottish Governments investigation.
There really does seem to be a problem with the idea that Mr Salmond was tried and found innocent. When it comes to cases where a woman/women accuses a man of sexual assault it looks as though anything other than guilty is the wrong result regardless of evidence.
Wow, Wightman has had over 300 comments to that tweet, most asking why he hasn’t done the right thing. Wightman is getting a second chance to somewhat redeem his spineless failures, something many folk don’t get in a life time, as of yet he doesn’t appear to have grabbed it with both hands.
For some the penny never drops.
Rev, not 100% sure but this looks like a new angle they appear to be coming from and it needs comprehensively debunked like only you know how.
Most of it you have well and truly destroyed on multiple occasions but i’ve not seen this approach from them before. link to archive.is
I’ve seen Gordon Dangerfield say that a judge led inquiry is now inevitable, but what I have no idea about is how that would happen. Who decides such and inquiry is needed and will happen? Can Salmond and his legal team ask for one, or does it have to come from the state or legal system? Who would decide who the judge is and would it be dependent on the legal system which includes the Lord Advocate and COPFS? Honestly no idea how that system works.
Some light relief.
Scottish girl winning 3\0 against Cyrus in Euro qualifying
Make that 4\0
How can the “Hopes of a Nation” rest with the twisted thoughts of a weak minded coward? (Andy Wightman).
ontoscots20 @ 11:42
“it’s not about left and right it’s truth, liberty and justice we need to build a better Scotland.”
Postcolonial literature on independence (e.g. Cesaire, Fanon etc) agrees with you on this point, and states that: “the anticolonial struggle supersedes the proletariat revolution. The implications are enormous: the coming revolution was not posed in terms of capitalism versus socialism.. but in terms of the complete and total overthrow of a racist, colonialist system that would open the way to imagine a whole new world.”
Scots are now beginning to comprehend our oppressive colonial reality, not least thanks to recent events, and which is the rationale for the independence of any people, much as Adam Price has written about Wales’ similar predicament in his book – ‘Wales: The first and Final Colony’.
Scots really need to understand why we seek independence which has little to do with political ideology of left and right.
Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. Not Guilty is just that. The evidence against your claim is so convincing that it didn’t happen as you said it did.
Not Proven is to be used when there is not enough evidence to say definitely one way or the other. As a defendant is assumed innocent until proven guilty then they are innocent.
One claim was Not Proven so Alex is still innocent. The others were thrown out due to evidence to prove it didn’t happen.
Unless the instructions to jury have changed since I sat on a jury whose verdict was Not Proven then the defence proved that Alex “didnae dae it”
Forgive this O/T rant, but I’ve just come back from Saltcoats, taking our lass for an eye test. The opticians is one of the only shops open.
It is a fuckin mess.
I’m a Weegie, but have lived in the Three Towns since 1998 and love it. I’d never ever go back to living in Glasgow or any other city. But the state of the place is just atrocious. Even the ‘TO LET’ signs are ancient and knackered.
It’s unbelievable that residents of North Ayrshire & Arran are paying £1,000,000 a month for four schools under PPP/PFI contracts and will be doing so every month until 2038 but have to do their local shopping in a place that could easily be used for some post-apocalyptic film.
I don’t get out much so I have no idea if other town and village centres are in such a bad way but it is genuinely shocking and worrying to see the state we’ve been reduced to.
Doesn’t matter who’s in government – if we have any self-respect at all then we cannot go on living like this. It is absolutely shameful.
Yours etc,
Disgusted of Stevenston
🙁
I’m playing Devil’s Advocate here: Can anyone truly dismiss these claims, even though they come from a Tory? He likens the present day situation in Scottish politics to the dying days of his own Conservative government under their leader John Major. (Their really are many similarities; far too many to be easily dismissed.)
Read it and weep:
link to bit.ly
“Tory MSP Adam Tomkins has accused the SNP government of “sleaze and corruption”, likening it to his own party under John Major.
Speaking as part of a wide-ranging interview for Holyrood’s Politically Speaking podcast, Tomkins said there was a “palpable” sense that something is wrong in Scottish politics.
And he again attacked the SNP for attempting to make changes to Scotland’s freedom of information provisions at the start of the pandemic.
Tomkins, who is standing down at the election, said the government was “increasingly consumed by secrecy rather than openness”.
He said: “When you have a government that has been in power for a very long time – it doesn’t really matter what the party is – after a while you get to a tipping point. The government starts thinking it’s not very vulnerable, very exposed, and it starts covering its tracks.
“We’ve got to that point in Scotland now. It’s inevitable. I am a party political animal, but I’m not seeking to make a party political point. You could see the same happening to the Conservatives in John Major’s day in the early 1990s. The echoes in Scottish politics now to British politics then are growing more resonant almost by the day, certainly by the week.”
He added: “The atmosphere of sleaze, I called it corruption (in the Chamber)…the atmosphere, the smell, the sense that something is rotten, something is going wrong, is growing. It’s growing more palpable. We can all smell it – we can all see it.
“How can it be that in Scotland, we have the only government in Europe that sought to use the pandemic as an excuse for insulating itself from freedom of information legislation? How did we get to that point? We got to that point because we have a government that isn’t used to be scrutinized and, crudely, thinks it can get away with it.”
Asked how his own party had failed in its role as the opposition, he said: “The nature of the opposition’s failure is that the Scottish political conversation has not been resolutely focused on issues of domestic policy.
“(The conversation) has not been dominated by the urgency of school reform, the urgency of ameliorating child poverty, of doing something about the horrendous drug deaths record that we have in Scotland, the urgency of rescuing the economy from a decade of stagnation.”
Thoughts, please? (Please don’t shoot the messenger … )
Widespread LMF (lack of moral fibre) amongst the ranks of SNP MPs/MSPs
It’s shocking that some Alphabet Harpies and bought-and-paid-for organisations like RCS are allowed to continue to blacken an innocent man’s name after his complete exoneration.
A few threads back some wise contributor reminded us all of the old days when even after some high-profile cases where the accused went free amidst suspicions of witness or jury intimidation, no-one dared to question the verdict in the media, presumably from fear of contempt of court or libel proceedings.
I can imagine how a sharp lawyer like Beltrami would have dealt with such a situation. Yet now an innocent and wronged man is still the target for these slurs and the law does nothing.
@Marie Clark, 12.06
I see from the National just a few minutes ago that counting of votes in the May electon will not now be done overnight as per usual, but might even take a few days? wee bitty suspicious on this one.
Not a “wee bitty suspicious” but ominous. Who is going to guard the ballot boxes in the interim? So this news is being reported after there are repeated calls for the May election to be plebiscitary.
Effijy @ 12:36
“Have a look at this Unionist hate fest about the Saltire.
All unionist controlled councils refuse to let the Saltire be flown ever.”
In Denmark during WWII the occupying force still permitted the Danes to fly their own flag. Does this mean our occupying force are even more fascist?
Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in
Ian Brotherhood
Shocking post.
Are we saying we are dishing out 456m until 2038? Does the state even own the schools after that?
Whoever wrote those contracts should be jailed and renovated with threat of one off monster tax on company if they dig in.
Shocking incompetence. As usual we are so poor served by our leaders. I despair.
That RCS release is utterly blatant defamation.
TNS2019 – Corresponding with anyone at Holyrood is a waste of time. I know that through long experience.
You have set-out your case consisely and professioanlly.
I would send a summary to the EIS, NASUWT,The Secretary of State for Scotland and Audit Scotland.
I know the EIS are telling you that in their opinion it is political, but it’s not political is it. It’s not just a simple case of calling something ‘political’ so that they don’t have to touch it or do anything with it.
If a process is in place and it hasn’;t been followed, or it has been mis-used, then that’s not political.
Some Unions will act, but I suspect the EIS have nailed their flag to the SNP mast some years ago and have forgotten what they are there to do.
However, Alastair Jack is in charge of the Devolution Settlement and so if it is going wrong then I would give him the opportunity to do something for you. He won’t do anything himself, but he’ll get the civil-service properly on your case.
As you are well aware, John Swinney will do nothing and will scare others into doing nothing.
My experience of dealing with Holyrood is that is is a delinquent government – unlike any other government I have dealt with anywhere in the world. It is more delinquent than, for example, the government of Libya. You may not believe that but it’s true.
o/t
I just had to have a look over the wall into La La Land , yeah usual , it appears that Paul returns on Monday and normal service will be resumed I wish him well with his recovery I know the hurdles ahead, I would have left a comment but I guess in moderation means the bin so haven’t bothered wasting my time or interrupting the chanting of all the blind deaf and dumb inhabitants.
Isn’t it open to the complainers to take civil action against AS where the burden of proof is the lesser standard of the balance of probabilities. I think it’s possible for them to do so and retain anonymity. For example a “not -proven” criminal case that went to the civil court.
link to scotcourts.gov.uk
They took a bit of finding (surprisingly) but the detailed allegations made against AS are described here – link to thenational.scot
Assuming each of these allegations would be actionable in a civil court I’ve no idea what these allegations would produce in terms of damages (£’s) if found to be proven on the balance of probability. Perhaps each of the complainers think taking civil action wouldn’t be worth it (although it seems to me the legal fees for all parties could be easily crowd funded), not even to have a civil court express a view they had been sexually or indecently assaulted as alleged.
link to crime.scot
Why have none of the complainers done this? Perhaps they don’t want a replay of their experiences in the criminal trial. Couldn’t blame them for that. Perhaps the risk of an adverse finding by the judge on their credibility and reliability would be too great. Perhaps they think AS’s reputation has been trashed enough despite the acquittals. Not for them then the brave path chosen by AR in the case above – justice (or sorts) delivered.
A charity must meet the Charity test and ‘must show THAT IT HAS ONLY CHARITABLE purposes and benefits the public’.
link to oscr.org.uk
ClanDonald 1:09
“For those who are yet aware, (probably not the readers of this blog tbh) Rape Crisis Scotland has been infiltrated by Trans Rights Activists.”
I think what we are seeing is also endemic ‘Regulatory Capture’ by a range of private interest groups, public bodies, entities masquerading as charities and trade/profession unions, many of them enabled to insert all sorts of nonsense into Holyrood Bills in their own interest, and to access public funding. This seems a major part of the problem we now see, where policies we end up with do not at all reflect what the electorate voted for, and seems symptomatic of an immature out of control assembly and administration facilitating a massive abuse of power and privilege.
The thing about the RCS letter is that its a massive own goal. In asking whether the committee will abide what amounts to a super injunction they raise the question as to whether they are or were ever bound by it. Or if all the to and fro was simply an effort to hide behind it.
In Westminster it might have been simpler as seen in the past where people and businesses have sought to silence discussions and MPs have named them. In Holyrood it depends on whether a member or witness is speaking on matters relevant to the parliament but is not limited to statements given within Holyrood.
So the question is other than the standard anonymity laid down in law what is the legal basis behind this attempt to place restrictions on our MSPs.
Captain Yossarian
Agreed. We are being followed by some UK politicians and have an international audience as well.
Comfort for me comes from the certainty that the full story will emerge though a documentary which may be released withing the next few months.
In parallel, we are building a case for malicious prosecution/misfeasance in public office, and malicious falsehood.
The sad thing for me is that we thought that our experience was a localised one-off. But the corruption we witnessed appears to be endemic and peculiarly Scottish.
I don’t recall Scotland being like this in the past (Monklands excepted).
And then there was the strange case of, Maureen Watt, voting against her own motion. A wee hairline fracture in the committee-wall, perhaps? Ms Watt, the daughter of Hamish, the former MP for Banff and Buchan, is no stranger to Alex Salmond. Is it possible the she might’ve experienced a momentary pang of guilt and tabled the motion which sent the publication decision to the SPCB? She would’ve guessed, without an in-built SNP majority, how that was likely to turn-out; in which case voting against her own motion was merely for the optics, especially Nicola’s. What would she have to lose? She’s out-of-there come May.
There was no suggestion of any romantic connection between Watt and Salmond, I hasten to add.
Willie Jay @1.45 no I won’t shoot the messenger, but I find it so sad when you find yourself having to agree with Adam Tompkins etc. How the hell did it all come to this.
Cirsium @ 1.49 aye that’s my big worry too, what happens to the ballot boxes overnight and who guards them. Very wary of this. Maybe I’m just getting paranoid, but I don’t trust any of them anymore.
As for RCS methinks thou dost protest too much. The smell coming from them is also very palpable.
Ian Brotherhood says:
19 February, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Not just the town and village centres but the roads to and from are a disgrace. Was out for the first time in ages yesterday and the potholes in our main road to the nearest big town were absolutely atrocious. I knew they were bad in the village but there was one on the main road that I could neither drive around or straddle – it was so wide. It did make me wonder why the infrastructure has become so badly neglected
cirsium says:
19 February, 2021 at 1:49 pm
@Marie Clark
Not a “wee bitty suspicious” but ominous. Who is going to guard the ballot boxes in the interim? So this news is being reported after there are repeated calls for the May election to be plebiscitary.
I think we need to be careful to avoid going too Trumpy on this sort of thing..
From Craig Murray –
Is it really weird that I am still waiting for judgement as we have now entered the fourth week?
Why was my judge Lady Dorrian available to hear the Spectator case and give a 12 page judgement four days later?
It certainly feels both weird and quite wrong wrong to me.
Alf – The question is why we put up with it.
When I see that fleg it raises my heckles. There are a few emotions anger, despair, embarrassment. Our most famous Scottish castle Edinburgh , is not allowed to fly the Saltire in the middle. The English flag , because that’s what it is, takes precedent.
When tourists come to Scotland to see Scottish castles, they want to see the Scottish flag. The English flag has no place anywhere in Scotland.
Alf Baird says:
19 February, 2021 at 1:52 pm
Effijy @ 12:36
“Have a look at this Unionist hate fest about the Saltire.
All unionist controlled councils refuse to let the Saltire be flown ever.”
In Denmark during WWII the occupying force still permitted
Excellent it will lead to more independence supporters especially with Scotland having qualified for the Euros.
Ian B @ 1:42
It’s the same in every large village/town. And it is now creeping into the big Cities.
While we bemoan the lack of Independence, it really is small potatoes to what is going on.
Bladerunner 2049 – Wallace – ‘every leap of civilisation was built off the back of a disposable workforce – we lost our stomach for slaves…unless engineered’
Seems the good folks running this planet have found their stomach for it again, starting with reducing our societies to rubble. People have no idea of the financial hardship which is coming down the tracks.
As Leo Varadkar says – Lockdowns are here indefinitely (although, you might get oot tae play a month or so here or there) – our economy died 6 months ago, most people just haven’t had the memo yet.
Having referred the matter to the SPCB for a ruling the committee cannot be seen to ignore that ruling.
That would be openly contemptuous of parliament and parliament must surely have some sanction over the conduct of this committee or the behaviour of specific members.
“A spokeswoman for the committee said the document would now be “processed” before being released early next week, suggesting some of his claims could still be redacted.”
Am i right in saying there are only 2 women on that committee (if we count Jackie Baillie as one, 😉 )? If correct then translated that paragraph actually says:
*Linda Fabiani* said the document would now be taken and redacted to hell to waste some more time….
link to archive.is
Having referred the matter to the SPCB for a ruling the committee cannot be seen to ignore that ruling.
Well, a judge has clarified that there’s no obstacle to publication so long as it doesn’t name the complainants, and the SPCB has agreed. So if they don’t publish, not only will they look daft but there is no block on anyone else publishing it anywhere at all. So Alex could just get it out there any way he chooses, including speaking about it. And at the same time get a lot more out over and above what the very limited and constricted committee would have asked him.
2:40 pm ‘comment awaiting moderation”?
Why? Have i triggered some banned word or something?
Mcsturgeon and her conspirators will be shiting themselves now. If there is any justice in this country now is the time to use it to its full potential and make those despicable people held accountable for their heniuos actions and abhorrent behaviour. SAOR ALBA
ScotsRenewables
Trump is gone – let it go…….let it go man.
youre holding on too tight……find peace or someone else to hate, it’s all over, Bidens the President…..try to be happy.
….which is why boys can now compete in the girls sports and get into their changing rooms – that was his Day 1 priority by way of an Executive Order, but I am sure you are just feeling all cuddly about that one.
And now Biden is excusing genocide in China as ‘cultural norms’……fun times ahead with this warmer.
Marie Clark says:
19 February, 2021 at 2:19 pm
“Willie Jay @1.45 no I won’t shoot the messenger, but I find it so sad when you find yourself having to agree with Adam Tompkins etc. How the hell did it all come to this.”
Thanks for your reply, Marie Clark. I have absolutely no clue as to “How the hell did it all come to this”. I honestly don’t.
I once thought that I was a kind of a “wide-awake” guy, on top of most things and not so easily fooled.
As you say, my having to agree with a staunch Tory makes *me* wonder, “Just where did I go astray?”
And then I realise that *I* did not go astray! Instead, the ever ongoing propaganda emanating from Bute House fooled me for a time. Again, the old adage:
“Fool me once – shame on you!”
“Fool me twice – shame on me!”
I now feel that I have been totally fooled and shamed by the current leaders of the SNP: *NAMELY*:
The current band of crooks, silver-grasping, liars and charlatans running the show, *and* their sycophantic MSM outlets, that I am almost totally in despair.
It is only the likes of WoS and many more honest sites, blogs etc., that I have discovered, simply by being a WoS reader, that keeps me a wee bit sane.
No wonder the hierarchy are so desirous to block, shutdown, gag, attempt to ridicule, so many valid sites which still write and speak for Scottish Independence.
I hope for one thing when this is all over, and the stables have been swept clean from the corruption.
That is the new government introduce a law to be applied retrospectively (heh heh), to be used to punish those involved in this plot, from the top to the bottom, every last one of them.
Ne ego si iterum eodem modo vicero, sine ullo milite Epirum revertar.
There is more of us than there is of them. Our victory will lead to many losses.
TNS2019 – That’s great news. I noticed Magnus Linklater was involved and he’ll advise you better than anyone.
One thing I remember about overseas governments was that if you write to them then they come back to you straight away. Some Middle East Governments respond on the same day with a letter hand-delivered and signed for. Libya was within a couple of weeks but there was none of this ‘now you see it…. now you don’t’ stuff that goes-on at Holyrood.
We have a delinquent government, I’m afraid. They could never run Scotland in a million years.
If Sturgeon/Murrell cared for an instant about the fate of our people or their own party for that matter, they would have backed off before it went to judicial review.
What we are witnessing now is the inevitable consequence of a stupid decision by people with a grotesquely inflated opinion of their own ability, power, and self worth.
I wonder if any of them said, ” Only use Watsapp to communicate so we can keep it a secret”?
Staggeringly inept plotting
“So if they don’t publish, not only will they look daft but there is no block on anyone else publishing it anywhere at all”
COPFS seems to be playing a game of call my bluff with the media. Who is going to be first to publish something contentious?
I think that this may have a bearing on why Craig Murray’s ruling is being delayed. To exonerate him at this point weakens their hand on controlling the narrative.
I think that this may have a bearing on why Craig Murray’s ruling is being delayed. To exonerate him at this point weakens their hand on controlling the narrative.
That would make sense but is also deeply concerning. To put someone through that kind of prosecution then have them holding on for weeks for a decision is a form of mental torture. Have to say, I’ve never been more inclined to just bugger off out of Scotland.
“Robert Louis…The real problem at Holyrood however, is not the current leadership, it is those many, many other folk, who KNOW THE TRUTH, but say and do nothing. They are the enablers of corruption and duplicity. THEY are complicit. Silence is consent.”
This is a REAL problem for independence because when the current leadership and cabal go, then these spineless careerists are exactly where the next leadership of the SNP are going to come from.
it’s a MAJOR problem on the horizon.
@Cath – join the queue.
@Mist001 3.08pm
The simple answer to that is to ensure the SNP are never again in a position of dominance in the broader Yes movement. At present a move by Salmond, Cherry and others to form an alternative party would cut the SNP off at the knees.
I’m not sure that’s all that likely (more’s the pity!), but the aim of those of us who are suspicious of the SNP and/or actively oppose it should be to ensure the SNP is hobbled by having to rely on one or more other pro-indy parties for a majority. That seems an eminently achievable aim, even if the movement as a whole has left it too late to have much of an impact in May’s elections.
Gelding the SNP may be a problem, but it’s also an opportunity.
Don’t let the yoons fool yi folks.
We’re just starting out, amateurs at this game of deception . Westminster have been at it for hundreds of years.
Never forget that.
I think when Sturgeon goes , then the next leader will cleanse the party.
At the moment the MSP’s are operating on fear. Because they see what happens when they step out of line. Sturgeon is a bully and a coward. She has no loyalty. All the traits of a despotic sociopath.
Remove the threat first and then the MSP’s and MP’s will feel free to express their true emotions. If my boss sacked all my colleagues who made the slightest error or disagreed with her. What kind of employee would I become. I would keep everything to myself and be dying inside.
Don’t forget. Sturgeon can end the political careers of these people. That’s a lot to think about when you have a family , salary and bills. Politicians have the same fears we have.
Update on The Scottish People Vs The UK Government on Indyref2
I am pleased to confirm that Lord Malcolm has ruled on the motion for urgent disposal and has agreed that the hearings before the inner house should take place before the elections, ruling in our favour. Hearings are likely to take place in the 1st week of April, but I shall update you when I know for sure.
Sincerely,
Martin Keatings
Martin Keatings is back in the driving seat:
I am pleased to confirm that Lord Malcolm has ruled on the motion for urgent disposal and has agreed that the hearings before the inner house should take place before the elections, ruling in our favour. Hearings are likely to take place in the 1st week of April, but I shall update you when I know for sure.
Pah, robbo you beat to it. I shouldn’t have wasted time on the italics.
Cath says:
19 February, 2021 at 1:25 pm
I’ve seen Gordon Dangerfield say that a judge led inquiry is now inevitable, but what I have no idea about is how that would happen. Who decides such and inquiry is needed and will happen?
I don’t know the mechanics of it, but if a Judge led inquiry is inevitable, and I hope it is, I hope the Fabiani Committee know it’s coming too.
I don’t think the committee will be too keen to have their conclusions overturned on grounds of illegality or impropriety. They would look like total fools.
lol
Well, If you’re no fast yir last, well second. smiley thing.
link to thenational.scot
TikTok, that Chinese thing for airhead teens.
link to scarymommy.com
The Scottish government ought not to be promoting the app.
But as we know there’s loads of stuff the SG ought not to be promoting.
Guys in my age group wouldn’t touch state huckstered vax with the proverbial.
To all you Wings Cult Demons wanting to use smileys? Just cut and past the characters from link to en.wikipedia.org
? <– if you see this, it worked!
Well, I guess it didn’t – the Rev. needs to upgrade his website to the 21st century.
“Alf Baird says:
19 February, 2021 at 1:36 pm
ontoscots20 @ 11:42
“it’s not about left and right it’s truth, liberty and justice we need to build a better Scotland.”
Postcolonial literature on independence (e.g. Cesaire, Fanon etc) agrees with you on this point, and states that: “the anticolonial struggle supersedes the proletariat revolution. The implications are enormous: the coming revolution was not posed in terms of capitalism versus socialism.. but in terms of the complete and total overthrow of a racist, colonialist system that would open the way to imagine a whole new world.”…
Scots really need to understand why we seek independence which has little to do with political ideology of left and right.”
I would like to add also to this excellent comment on why I/most here think that is fundamental to sort this fiasco out first. A new state cannot be build on rotten foundations. This is why you see some many Commonwealth countries have lots of problem post colonial era. Lesley Riddoch’s Estonia film/video highlighted this clearly. The moment Scotland gains independence it has to dismantle everything and start afresh. If not, it will end up becoming a mini UK. This is very much true for Malaysia. We have all the socio-political and economic problems of the UK, albeit of differing degrees. The only saving grace is that we have a written constitution.
“I think when Sturgeon goes , then the next leader will cleanse the party”
No if that leader is Robertson or any other puppet of the British state.
O/T @Grouse Beater
Hopefully Gareth may see this if he’s still dropping in? I hear you are due to have an operation next Tuesday and wanted to send my warmest regards: since losing my twitter account I don’t have any way to contact you directly.
I trust when you have gotten over the op, and lockdown permitting, we may be able to have that dram sometime: I have an unopened bottle of 1965 St Magdalene whisky which I was keeping more with a view to investment than imbibing, but as it has sadly been subject to some evaporation in the bottle, it’s probably unsaleable now and may need opening!
@breeks – I really don’t think the Fabinani enquiry looking like fools bothers them – that ship sailed long since.
Anyway
Sturgeon can end the political careers of these people. That’s a lot to think about when you have a family , salary
I think that’s another excellent reason why it should be critical for politicians to have had other careers, rather than that horrible student politics /PPE —> political researcher/staffer —> elected. The reason people like Joanna Cherry can stand up and be strong is because she had a very successful career and can easily go back to that or move on if the immature playground fascists really get her down. We need a strong cohort of such people for a multitude of reasons but not least to prevent the above situation from a week and bullying leader.
Someone observed on Twitter . That many Wings readers use the term” I read Wings…but” The inference being they they have to check or justify their reason for doing so. In case people thought they were bigots.
I read Wings because it’s blood brilliant, and I want the truth. I couldn’t give a shit what Mike Small or Nicola thinks of me.
P.S I am still a member Nicola , bet members like me are the fly in your ointment!
Strathy @ 2:26 pm
From Craig Murray –
“Is it really weird that I am still waiting for judgement as we have now entered the fourth week? Why was my judge Lady Dorrian available to hear the Spectator case and give a 12 page judgement four days later? It certainly feels both weird and quite wrong wrong to me.”
This does appear to suggest something of a difference in priority between meeting the demands of the unionist msm on one hand, and the call for justice from a pro-independence journalist and campaigner on the other.
Frantz Fanon noted that the native cannot expect much from a colonial justice system.
As Cath says, probably a good reason “to just bugger off out of Scotland”, as was the case with 3-4 million displaced Scots since the union, reckoned to be the largest loss of population in Western Europe for a country of Scotland’s size. Which is a colonial rather than a union legacy.
Mia – Yes…if it’s Robertson we are Fucked! Was thinking MacAskill or Cherry!
Aye if it’s Robertson it’ll forever be jam tomorrow, and jam the day after…
I would like to agree with the comments made by Iain and others about the physical condition of the country. My personal bugbear is the road network. The A68, A75, A702, A82, A84, A77, A91, and A737 south of Howwood are glorified country tracks despite their strategic importance. On the motorway/dual-carriageway network the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh, M80 at Cumbernauld, M77 in south side of Glasgow, A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen, A92 in Glenrothes, Edinburgh bypass, Ayr bypass, Dundee Kingsway are all well below standard. Far too many villages with thousands of cars and lorries driving through them per hour. The routine closures of the Rest-And-Be-Thankful, causing a diversion through a farmyard or a fifty-mile detour via Dalmally, or the poor visibility on the A82 up Loch Lomond, where meeting a lorry is like reversing down a side-street, epitomise this. The country would be far better placed with a better road network. Greens say this encourages car use, blissfully unaware that most people would prefer to drive in any circumstances.
Even if you can clear out the politicians, looking at the Dangerfield article, it seems like the top of the civil service has dozens of interchangeable write-a-job-title conspiring wimmen, promoted through and occupying overlapping human resources briefs.
I doubt they will be easy to clear out.
It helps to understand why we have ferries rotting in government owned shipyards, and the fabrications plants idle while we buy in windfarm jackets from the far east.
See Peter Murrell’s decided to come out of the closet.
As a Yesser. No – you mustn’t laugh!
link to twitter.com
Secrecy over Sturgeon evidence.
“Last night, a legal expert insisted it was ‘utter nonsense’ to suggest a judge could be swayed by the publication.
And Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: ‘The SNP Government are clearly prepared to go some lengths to stop this evidence getting into the public domain. Rather than be open and transparent with their evidence, they prefer to shroud it in secrecy, which only raises suspicions about what they have to hide. The whole affair stinks.’
link to pressreader.com
Orlando – Apparently GCHQ have recalled their agent.
He means passionate about Scotland’s future as a prisoner of Westminster.
Hate to say this. But Murdo is right.
The more you try and block something , the more obvious it is there is something to hide.
Consider the Universal set and contrast it with the Universal set of identity which is contextual. Don’t get me statted on the empty set.
link to en.m.wikipedia.org
People have become so accustomed to the political climate in Scotland, that you need to step back from time to time, just to register how bizarre and beyond any democratic norms it is that a government is straining every sinew, pulling every lever available to them, in order to prevent an inquiry they set up from fulfilling its brief. And in the process, vilifying and threatening anybody who registers a squeak of dissent or publishing an accurate account of what is going on. And if you dare pipe up, somehow you are wrecking the independence which they have failed to do anything about for 6 years. We are being gaslit to an astonishing level, in order to make the entire legal, media and public interests accept the most blatant gerrymandering of due process, not to mention the manufactured downfall of the man they owe their entire party to. We have entered a parallel reality where no democratic norms exist, just fables and lies.
Murrell is going back to his former career!
Except according to Wiki, all he did before was make stickers.
A Person says:
19 February, 2021 at 4:01 pm
” Greens say this encourages car use, blissfully unaware that most people would prefer to drive in any circumstances.”
With a free bus pass I’d gladly use public transport once it is safe again – but with three buses a day out and the same back home – the last one being homeward at 5.30pm – and none on a Sunday, travel is a bit limiting.
MIA at 338pm,
Exactly.
NS is trying desperately to cling on for one reason, so Angus can be elected and take over as leader following the election in May.
The very last thing the SNP coven need is a new leader who might start digging into all the corruption of the past six years. Some of them could (and in my opinion should) face charges. My feeling, and wild guess is that Angus would, for several reasons, be seen as ‘safe’, but I could be wrong.
Context is everything, in the modern connected world.
At the moment the MSP’s are operating on fear. Because they see what happens when they step out of line. Sturgeon is a bully and a coward. She has no loyalty. All the traits of a despotic sociopath.
Some have stepped out of line, most have not, and others have quite shamefully closed ranks.
Remove the threat first and then the MSP’s and MP’s will feel free to express their true emotions. If my boss sacked all my colleagues who made the slightest error or disagreed with her. What kind of employee would I become. I would keep everything to myself and be dying inside.
Excuse me, we are their employers, not the murrells.
If they are scared to represent the best interests of the nation, then we are better off without them.
Can we just have a revolution like the French and have a clear out of all the whallopers, parasites, High Heid Yins and bampots and start again?
Having owned a bus pass for the past 4 yrs, I am still awaiting the opportunity to use it. Shortly after I received the pass, the bus company decided to stop serving the route I live on, which is incidentally on a busy trunk road Irvine to Barrhead. I contacted the SNP MP who met with the bus company, but wrote back to me saying there was nothing she could do. So for the people in my area , the free bus pass funded by the SNP is not worth having. It’s all very well for the Greens to discourage car use, but for people living in areas with no public transport there is no alternative.
Brian @ 4.46pm
Good idea Brian. Anybody got a rusty old guillotine lying around? Don’t think there would be any shortage of volunteers to man it.
Sturgeon needs Angus Robertson or someone like him to succeed her because she knows he will cover her arse from further action.
Joanna Cherry might be persuaded to establish a full judge-led public enquiry into the whole matter, with the possibility (very likely) of perjury charges being brought against anyone who tries to cover-up while giving oral evidence or with the release of all documentation.
If that (or rather when) that happens, the whole deck of cards will collapse.
-Wee Chid, Rob-
Sorry that is what I meant, that public transport provision is so poor that anybody who can drives can. Hell, I live in Glasgow and even I found that public transport was only any use for getting into the city centre; for getting around the centre it is pointless. Obviously you can’t have everything but provision is poor.
There is too much focus on railways IMO, for most people buses will be the main mode of public transport and it is far cheaper to buy a bus than an electric train replete with myriad stations and track.
Until these issues are addressed people will drive everywhere. The Netherlands, which is famed for its cycling culture, is able to do that because it has the highest per square mile motorway network in the world, effectively removing through traffic from major towns. You might be interested to learn that traffic levels in Glasgow city centre were higher in 1955 than in 2019, due to the fact that back then all long-distance traffic had to pass through the city centre.
To those saying Sturgeon is clinging on till May so Angus Robertson can succeed her as leader & cover her, her husband, & their coven’s arses from further damage, that may be so. But you have to bear in mind that the flack that’s going to bring Sturgeon & Murrell down is highly likely to also take Robertson (and others) with them. If it does not, then if there were a real danger of Robertson stepping into Sturgeon’s shoes post-May, it’s very probable that somebody somewhere would expose the Robertsons roles in the same things that will bring the Murrells down.
“Beyond reasonable doub”t means that the only doubts the jury had, if any, were “unreasonable doubts” That’s why the jury gave a not guilty verdict.
Rape Crisis Scotland are arguing that “unreasonable doubts” should carry some weight. It is pure nonsense.
“Can we just have a revolution like the French and have a clear out of all the whallopers, parasites, High Heid Yins and bampots and start again?”
Trouble is, Brian, all these types reappeared very quickly, like ground elder, once the revolution fell apart. If we get rid of our crudbuckets and chancers, we will need a fundamental change in Scottish society, rooting out corruption and elitism from the start.
All the best on Tuesday, Grouse Beater/Gareth Wardell. Along with The Rev, Craig Murray and a few other bloggers, you have kept the flame alive since 2014 and into these dark, dark times. Thanks for all your spiky commitment and fiercely intelligent work. Lang may your lum reek.
I’ve contacted the Rev folks because I’ve updated the
Timeline Indyref/AS Trials
The document won’t travel on the Contacts box – it buggers up the font and line spaces, etc and its too big.
I thought it only fair, even though I’ve taken every effort to be careful not to Jigsaw ID, for the Rev to give it the OK rather than just post it btl here.
However, anytime previous that I’ve contacted the Rev by the contacts page, the message either doesn’t get to him, or I never hear back. The only way I can let him check the document is to send it to him by email.
So, in case your listening Rev, can you have a wee look at my message in Contacts, and perhaps send me an e-mail address I can forward to you.
I’ve also sent the update to Craig Murray, by e-mail, so we’ll see if its worth an audience.
Daisy Walker says:
19 February, 2021 at 6:09 pm
I’ve contacted the Rev folks
————————————————-
and maybe Gordon Dangerfield , Daisy??
What gets me is the degree of contempt rape crisis, the women and the Scottish Government are showing to the Judge concerned.
Clearly they have no respect for the decision of the jury the judge or the verdict.
not guilty is an inappropriate terms that came from down south. In Scotland the crown either proves its case or it does not (i.e. not proven).
In the paragraph highlighted, what RCS says is correct.
However, trying to use it to persuade people to drop the presumption of innocence of an accused is totally reprehensible.
I’m sick that the govt and their peripheral lobby groups posing as women’s orgs are wielding VAWG as a tool to further their political aims, cynically accusing others of undermining victims as they blow apart the foundations of ‘Believe Her’.
I clocked years ago that NS wasn’t the feminist she claimed to be, but f*** me I never expected this.
What is really frustrating is being unable to gather enmasse to demonstrate our anger.
“it’s very probable that somebody somewhere would expose…”
And there lies the problem, doesn’t it? Full Leverage is being awarded to whoever is “helping” by holding the lid down on that evidence.
The idea that crucial evidence of this political conspiracy remains suppressed and that individuals have just got away with perjury simply because of the machinations of Sturgeon’s government is ridiculous.
There is clearly a much bigger player afoot here. In this plot we have had actors from the UK civil service, COPFS, crown agents, SNP, police, metropolitan police, etc involved one way or another. Some of those actors are not under the control of Sturgeon.
If it was only Sturgeon’s government, they would have been exposed long ago to stop the SNP wining so many seats in 2019.
It is remarkable that this political conspiracy has costed taxpayers millions and yet, the opposition parties, both in Holyrood and Westminster are keeping quiet as mice about it.
If the individual designated as Sturgeon’s successor is in any way, directly or indirectly, compromised by the suppressed evidence of this political conspiracy, then they are at all effects puppets of whoever is holding the lid down on that evidence.
In other words, they will do as they are told in order to keep the holder of that lid happy, particularly if suppressing that evidence is what is stopping the end of one’s career or prosecution.
So if that leader in waiting has already been compromised, then we should expect the exact same we got with Sturgeon: more deconstruction of the SNP and more stalling. It is the perfect scenario for the British State, isn’t it? They will keep the illusion that devolution is still alive and indyref with a S30 is not just the gold standard but the only possible path. Why? Because the alternative is to end the union by a plebiscite election or by pulling the lever on the basis of a majority of SNP MPs – this could happen at any time should the SNP get “the wrong” leader.
Sturgeon has not made any significant move towards independence in 6 years, despite of having all the tools to do so. In fact, she has pushed Scotland in the opposite direction, forced brexit on us and handed over powers and assets with no resistance.
It therefore begs the question of why, and there are only 2 reasonable explanations:
a) she is a plant that has been waiting to take over from Salmond
b) she has been compromised.
a is not impossible but it is difficult to believe because she has been part of the SNP since she was very very young and somebody else would have realised of that before
b would perfectly explain why this woman, being a lawyer and having been made aware before the judicial review by Salmond of the unlawfulness of the process, still went along with it in what appears like political suicide. It would explain why she keeps digging a hole by the embarrassing attempts to smear him, why she breached the ministerial code, why she has destroyed her reputation and dismantled the SNP.
One would have to wonder what evidence Sturgeon might have been so desperate to suppress that could be worse than acknowledging her mistake back in August 2018, than resigning early to avoid being disgraced politically for having breached the ministerial code, that being accused by her own voters of corruption and suppressing evidence, that being accused of cooperating to jail an innocent man, or than simply giving in and calling indyref or a plebiscite.
Robertson would never win the Edinburgh seat if Cherry had not been blocked out from the contest. So why was so important for this man, clearly exposed as not being trusted to win the nomination by his own means, to get that particular seat? He could have gone for any other seat with so many MSPs resigning. So why Edinburgh Central? What has this constituency that is so crucial for this man to be in its seat?
Does anybody remember the opposition parties taking advantage of the opportunity to shout that the process that saw Ms Cherry blocked from the contest was profoundly undemocratic and a sign of cronyism? Every opportunity to throw dirt to the SNP is fair game for the opposition, so why wasn’t this?
As the Rev told us so many times, the information that is printed is important, but the information that has been left out is even more important.
Sturgeon is desperate to cling on until May quite possibly because that is what she has been instructed to do in order to stop May’s election becoming a plebiscite. Robertson has been parachuted through the system, possibly to take over from her at some point and ensure neither indyref, or worse, a plebiscitary 2024 GE will happen under his premiership.
What are the odds of having an unprecedented number of postal votes in Robertson’s constituency or some ballot boxes being conveniently swapped during the night because the counting will not happen until the next morning?
Will there be more activity than usual in the Queen Elizabeth Building that night?
re ‘and Gordon Dangerfield’
Yes done that too, sent him an e-mail.
Rape Crisis Scotland are gaining a reputation for crying wolf where there is none. I hope that doesn’t have a knock on effect for actual victims of sexual assault.I mean, what use is a service that places political loyalties above the care of real victims.
The fanatical, authoritarian State that we have become will not allow this to happen.
Mia says:
19 February, 2021 at 7:12 pm
It therefore begs the question of why, and there are only 2 reasonable explanations:
a) she is a plant that has been waiting to take over from Salmond
b) she has been compromised.
———————————————–
and, she is a wannabe who has been elevated beyond her capabilities, a useful idiot ?
ebreah @ 3:36 pm
“Lesley Riddoch’s Estonia film/video highlighted this clearly. The moment Scotland gains independence it has to dismantle everything and start afresh. If not, it will end up becoming a mini UK.”
This is correct, if Scotland allows the same privileged unionist meritocratic elite as at present to mis-rule Scotland and its institutions after independence as they do now, then nothing of substance will change, and we will never overcome our oppression, which is mostly levelled on us by these very same institutions and an imposed Cultural Division of Labour, which is the fundamental reason for Scottish independence.
The Estonian’s informed us (via Lesley) of three key requirements for independence:
– national identity, as without that there would be no national consciousness and hence no desire for independence;
– courage, of our leaders and the people especially at the time of the declaration of independence; and
– replace those who ran the institutions during colonial rule
Essentially what we see just now is a range of UK state institutions in Scotland, including the devolved administration, scrambling around, panicking, desperately trying their best to stop independence any way they can, and mostly it seems by foul means.
Beyond reasonable doubt means that there is not sufficient evidence to prove the allegations. On the balance of judgement, the allegations were found to be baseless. Whether the allegations were entirely fabricated or insubstantial enough to prove criminality is a moot point. The judgement of a court of law must be upheld. To refuse to acknowledge a ruling is surely contempt of court? In other words, it is not Alex Salmond who is in contempt of court but the Scottish Government and others who refuse to accept the verdict.
PS. Is the title of the article an allusion to the Wire song “I Am the Fly” Stuart? It’s a great track!
One thing I find quite striking in this whole depressing smearyeyed debacle is how generational and divisive it is. You can actually tell which side is which just by the ways they speak – the younger militant brainwashed-by-Americans all speak in awkward sociological (intersectionalist, cishet, etc) and political terms they have learned from obsessing over American politics, like Qanon, Trumpites, etc, and erroneously and arrogantly brand the older generation as being similar to the right wing in America.
These mentally unbalanced people are incredibly self-unaware, and lack common sense. They are trashing our politics by pretending to be American. They are deeply militant, untroubled by introspection, or even notions of guilty or not guilty, right or wrong. Being shallow and vapid, everything is celeb-orientated by them. Sturgeon is a woman making the American noises that sound like their American noises, the woman whose watch they grew up on, thus she and her cabal must be believed. This was minted in America a few years ago with the troublesome #BelieveWomen hashtag. Salmond is a man, is obviously guilty, is white and male and middle-aged (‘pale, male and stale,’ as the cunty expression puts it), thus is scum who can easily and readily be spat on. The ‘rebelling against middle class daddy’ angle to all this I find grotesquely fascinating, as is the obsession with American madness.
The calls to censor anybody not in agreement with ostensible liberal orthodoxies to these people, removing dissenting voices from the public arena, come EXCLUSIVELY from their snide side.
They have seen how, once again, and I am tired of making this fucking point how, in America (God Bless The Greatest Country In The World!), deplatforming (a grotesque yank term) has been useful in spitefully shutting up alternate viewpoints. They are religious fundamentalists, pompous and arrogant and ignorant and utterly self-obsessed, with an overbearing and intolerable belief in their own infallible correctness in any situation. They are bullying, hateful, spiteful, weak, cowardly, sociopathic…and boring and unfunny as fuck.
To be honest, they make me glad I am middle-aged, and will be out of here in a decade or two, because I sure as shit don’t want to be a part of any future Scotland that would have these Junior American fools and lunatics running the show. The vile manhating filth we are experiencing right now would look like penny candy (using a yank expression they will understand) compared to what these cunts will come up with in the future. It’s a pure revenge of the nerds scenario, where weak and frightened people band together to attack the people they hate…and then attack each other to finish everything off, in an orgy of self-loathing nihilism. As per Ms. Sturgeon’s systematic destruction of this country right now. If she’s going down, we’re all going down with her, her lavish-lifestyle-supporting prole underlings. Solipsism isn’t even strong enough a word. What a sick, evil, and hilariously pathetic disgrace. Scotland the grave.
@Wee Chid says:
19 February, 2021 at 2:19 pm
Ian Brotherhood says:
19 February, 2021 at 1:42 pm
It did make me wonder why the infrastructure has become so badly neglected
My own suspicions are that it’s – once again – the cold dead hand of Th****er. She introduced Compulsory Competitive Tendering, meanings that councils had to put things like planned road repairs out to tender – and the council roads depot became redundant.
I think that it was done to try to end the council job-for-life, but it’s more likely to be another swipe at the unions.
Whatever it was, it’s made life more expensive as the repairs are done down to a price rather than up to a standard.
paul says:
19 February, 2021 at 10:40 am
100%Yes says:
19 February, 2021 at 10:15 am
If you can delete my previous post thank you.
Why on earth did you post it in the first place?
I have yet to have a response.
I can only infer malice.
Defend and expose yourself, ‘100%yesser (agent)”.
Stand up and declare the truth as we do not understand!
yes100% or 100%yes;
Have you brought your intuitions to the many inquiries ongoing?
Have you any records regarding these ‘concerns’ with the centralised bobbies or other centralised bodies?
As you recklessly comment on an open platform, you will be happy to explain how you,personally, acted in contempt of court,very much against the express wishes of the host.
forgive me, one hundred percent of anything but yes to an independent scotland.
I hold the opinion that even hell will not mend you.
Yet,I will certainly try in this particular circle of hell.
@Marie Clark 19 February, 2021 at 12:06 pm
“I see from the National just a few minutes ago that counting of votes in the May electon will not now be done overnight as per usual, but might even take a few days? wee bitty suspicious on this one.”
“Balric Mode On” It smells like the smelliest fish in the whole world of smelly fish, so smelly if it goes ahead the result won’t be trusted by either side and the Parliament will be deemed crooked and the additional icon of a bunch of Bananas will be have to be added to the Saltire” Badric mode Off.
Mr Wightman’s wife relies much on the funding from Scottish government for her projects