The injured party
Extraordinary events are now unfolding on a daily basis (or even more frequently than that) in the vexed matter of the two ongoing inquiries into serious misconduct by the Scottish Government regarding false allegations made against Alex Salmond.
Mr Salmond, who was found innocent of any wrongdoing, has been endeavouring – at a significant personal cost in both time and money – to assist both inquiries with their investigations, and has received remarkably little in the way of gratitude for his efforts. Indeed, he has instead been both publicly attacked and repeatedly threatened with prosecution for attempting to tell the truth.
This evening his lawyers sent the letter below to the Convener of the Holyrood inquiry. It’s a powerful microcosm of events to date, and we think you should see all of it.
(Click the images to enlarge.)
I just had the same shiver run up my spine that I felt when Alex wiped the floor with Alex Prentice QC in a head to head.
That will raise some hackles.
Kafkaesque.
How can this farce be remotely acceptable to anybody?
Telt
That’s as restrained a legal response as I’ve yet to see, given the one-sided and blatant ill-treatment of Mr Salmond. I bet the whole crooked lot of them would lynch the former First Minister given the chance? except, they’re so inept they’d bungle that, too.
Stuart, I’m thinking Alex Salmond is either too proud or too damn busy to start a fundraiser for his legal and other bills; could you possibly, through this site, start such a fundraiser, all proceeds towards his costs/fees etc?
Thanks for your work.
Woooooft!
Now that’s what ye call a letter.
😉
Impartial Committee chair? Aye, right.
Alex detects a lack of honesty (and probably of competence too) from the Inquiry. Given the names of the Inquiry big-hitters: Baillie, Cole-Hamilton, Fabiani and Frazer, I can understand why.
He copies all key letters to this website so that they can be disseminated honestly and professionally by fellow Scots. The flannel regarding WhatsApp all the rest of it stops. We all know what the true position is….every detail.
We are in the final few days.
Here inquiry chair Fabiani hits out at Salmond for not complying with her wishes soon enough.
link to thenational.scot
.
There was a time when the departure of the leader of a major political party would have attracted some interest.
Rabbit Leotard has departed the SLAB leadership with little or no interest. Exept perhaps his old school typical SLAB self-interest in being guaranteed his number one spot on the “list” for Scottish Labour.
Whereas it says everything of what is important about Scottish politics that a former leader of the SNP who departed frontline politics SEVEN years in 2014 (after keeping all of his promises), is the most important headline and thank God for that.
In these dark, driech winter nights AT LAST we get the long awaited UPLIFTING period where Alex Salmond comes out of his self imposed sabbatical silence and gets his literal/oratorical boxing gloves on.
Reading the letter from Levy McRae solicitors, it is a great relief to now have the fight back by Alex and his supporters – those who are honest about seeking Scottish Independence.
Though maybe spare a micro thought for poor wee Rabbit Limpshit. He came with little impact and left with less of a wind than Pete PishFart can manage after imbibing a can o beans. Richard Leonard, your political epitaph can be summed up up in one wee word: Pfftt.
They’ll run down the clock and blame salmond.
If anyone doubts the advisability of avoiding a ‘virtual’ meeting, have a look at the official transcript of Tuesday’s session with Leslie Evans – entire paragraphs riddled with [inaudible] from start to finish. It looks bad enough on paper – witnessing it was just toe-curling.
Oh shit, it sounds like the inquiry is sandbagging on moving forward, I hope their not stalling so that we run out of time, and nothing of any substance comes from it.
Has the inquiry been gotten to.
We are again in the position where Holyrood itself can demand full disclosure of legal advice; otherwise a vote of no-confidence in John Swinney moves ahead.
I thought that was the position several months ago. What does the Inquiry team find so complex about that?
Just how far does this corruption permeate the Scottish Government and its civil servants? this just gets more and more incredible every single day.
Well done AS. Dignified but determined.
Given how tired many of us are of this ridiculous charade, Alex must be so very weary. No one, never mind someone as important to modern Scotland, deserves the amount of shit he’s had to put up with during this shameful episode.
This is the bit in the song “…when Tommy stopped and locked the door…”.
I have been to two meetings with Victoria Quay civil-servants. As David McKie explains in his letter, you go there in good faith, paying your own expenses, trying to help and are routinely treated like shit.
This is being kicked around the Holyrood long grass. Old Fabiani and Baillie know how it all works. Send everything to this website and to the press, Alex.
Put the old worthies of Holyrood back in their box.
Telt
@ Kenny says:
15 January, 2021 at 6:57 pm
Stuart, I’m thinking Alex Salmond is either too proud or too damn busy to start a fundraiser for his legal and other bills; could you possibly, through this site, start such a fundraiser, all proceeds towards his costs/fees etc?
Thanks for your work.
Concur
I hope Fabiani has a bumper tub of Savlon in….? 🙂
It struck me when watching some of the coverage of the committee how low quality and amateurish much of it was. Post indy we need to ensure our systems of governance are overhauled and considerably reinforced and strengthened. We need powerful, well resourced committees which will hold power to account.
This farrago certainly isn’t that. Robin McAlpine was right in his earlier piece, i.e. if we want to construct the kind of better nation we all aspire to it needs a lot of institutional changes, not just more or less what we’ve got now with an army and a foreign office. The civil service, judiciary, parliament, police force, quangos: all of them need to be thoroughly overhauled.
Rev Stuart Campbell ,
Alex Salmond ,
David McKie ,
.
Just to thank all of you for allowing us to see this letter in full .
This part in particular stood out for me ,
“ Further , in our experience of the last few months , our representations appear not to be processed for many weeks and it is unclear to us or our client what reaches Committee members , in what form (i.e. to what extent redacted) and when “ .
.
How the hell can the Committee investigate exactly what happened when the evidence submitted to the inquiry isn’t seen by the committee members ? .
As has been suggested above , Alex Salmond only has to agree to a fundraiser to help assist him in any costs and I’m sure there are plenty of decent honest people willing to support him .
.
PS If nothing else the fundraiser would really annoy certain people .
Awesome letter, especially last third!
Mr Salmond is anti establishment. As such a figure, none of this is any surprise. He has to win this battle of the propaganda, too, unfortunately, for all our sakes, before the war will be won. They know he’s still a threat to their ambitions on a personal and national scale.
@ Kenny at 6.57: fundraiser for Alex so he can meet all the legal costs that the Fabiani inquiry is causing him? Yes, I think he should open one – I’m eager to donate.
On another aspect, may anyone bring a case against Scot gov, or some individual MSPs, for their role in what has been inflicted on Mr Salmond and all the other victims?
I suppose the integrity of these Inquiries, given the weight of evidence now already in the public domain, will straightforwardly hinge on the conclusions they reach. Anything less than the most damning verdict of guilty will confirm that they too have been poisoned by the radioactive groundwater that has been flowing out of the Holyrood reactor since 2017.
That sounds like a sort of witch trial but the weight of evidence is now beyond dispute. The MSM and everybody that’s anybody knows the truth, or at least enough of it to call it out. It’ll all explode on to the front pages when some newspaper, TV news agency, or establishment-approved bigwig, realises there’s a buck to be made, then we’ll see the usual feeding frenzy.
I worry about what will follow the feeding frenzy.
Maybe it’ll all work out for the best. The Scottish independence movement has been quite fake until now, in my opinion. You don’t win independence by sharing links and pasting quotes into comments forms any more than you win it by asking the man for permission to go.
Maybe it will start to resemble a real popular independence movement as a consequence of all this. The polls suggest that’s possible. But I suppose that’s a question for the masses which – along with “just how much shit are you prepared to take?”- is a much more important question than the any that the Inquiries are looking at.
Fuck sake. I’m not sure I can even be bothered making a more articulate comment. No idea how Alex has dealt with this shite for coming up 3 years now.
Levy & McRay are rather good.
N.b to self…
Not the committee too!
It reads like the committee are getting the run around, and loyalties are all over the place.
More and more I’m convinced that the Salmond affair has the potential to have a positive impact on the reformation of the Nation.
Our ancient establishment is mostly Unionist, but after a couple of decades of devolution, there’s now a fair complement of indy curious, indy positive, and the now revealed legion of indy kiddyoners.
It’s rotten.
We tend to put it on the back burner.
Too awful to contemplate.
Indy first then…
Day 1 !
Re a fund raiser for Alec, yep, good call.
I did a couple of posts the other night but they seem to have disappeared… who knows…
Anyway, I was thinking that surely there must be people inside COPFS who are thinking WTF is going on here? They surely can’t all be ignoring this as it puts them all in a very bad light. You would think that there would be internal rumblings as to the “optics” of this.
Levy & McRae and damned good lawyers.
putting the venal, or incompetent, in their place. Linda – I mean you. Do better
It’s almost as if the committee chair was hoping he’d appear and let something slip so he could be prosecuted. I wish he would do a crowdfunder for his legal bills – this must be costing him an absolute fortune.
Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right
Here I am stuck in the middle with you!
More stitching up across the political, policing and media
spectrums than in Chinese Sweat Shops.
Absolutely disgraceful and intolerable!
These crooks in charge of the prison are on the wrong side of the bars.
MaggieC says: The way it works Maggie is that you write them a letter:
They respond after a week saying they will answer the letter in a further 4-6 weeks. Sometimes they do answer it and sometimes they don’t.
If they do answer, they will answer questions you did not ask and ignore questions you did ask.
They will then tell you that the matter has been fully investigated and that the matter is now closed.
Worst offender by a mile…..John Swinney (who else)
Alex Salmond is missing-out the inquiry now. He has decided it has been got-at and I would tend to agree.
Publish letters in the press and on this website and cut-out the Fabiani/Baillie crap.
Is Fabiani;
Manipulative?
Being manipulated?
Stunningly stupid?
All 3?
More worryingly, none of this will feature in our media, least of all the BBC.
The gloves are well and truly off now. In my opinion, Ms Fabiani seems a vindictive and not entirely honest person.
What a disgrace – they deserve everything coming their way. This is very substantial stuff not just ‘our client is a bit miffed’. The lack of respect and the obfuscation reeks of something to hide. I am not one for suggesting fundraisers but I would happily contribute to help out AS as this must be taking a terrible toll.
Since so much of this whole saga seems contrary to any reasonable sense of justice, is some sort of redress available to either Alex Salmond or to his supporters? I can’t see much problem funding such redress through crowdfunding.
I’m not sure of the legal position of the Holyrood parlament so perhaps a legal expert can confirm it. If Salmond were an MSP again wouldn’t he be able to publish, as part of parliamentary proceedings, this information to support a motion of no confidence in Sturgeon.
If this inquiry doesn’t get to the truth then perhaps Salmond’s best option is to stand as the leader of a list party.
That would have the advantage of pushing the SNP to a more assertive stance.
This is what happens when you don’t read all the comments before making a comment! More than willing to contribute to one. As has been said before if nothing else it will piss off lots of people.
[…] Wings Over Scotland The injured party Extraordinary events are now unfolding on a daily basis (or even more frequently than […]
Letter/emaiL sent direct to AS on Sat 2nd January instead of following the request of, all correspondence should be sent to his lawyers (Levy & McRae)- was nothing other than an act of malice.
That is a hell of a letter. This coupled with the interrogation skills of Jackie Baillie on Tuesday (which I must compliment) is cementing things very nicely.
Names in the frame are narrowing down to Liz Lloyd Leslie Evans and the FM possibly Peter as well. The rest were just pawns in the game, used to expedite matters.
They want Alex to defend himself three times now. The last time should have been enough.
This play is coming to a close sooner rather than later because it was a stinker and the actors forgot their parts.
Viva Alex.
I find this heartbreaking, this continued baiting of AS after all that coven have already put him through. Crowdfunder for AS’ expenses that these witches are causing him to have to run up is essential, and the knowledge that it will really get to the coven and their alphabet soup make it even more essential. Time to make clear to them that we arent falling for their sick little games, we, the public, see the truth ( and thanks to Wings for ensuring we get the info laid out to us) and we do not like what they are doing one little bit. We wont stand for their deceit and despicable little manipulations. It was Alex who brought us to the verge of indy, not Lady Nicola MacBeth!
@Hatuey 7:30pm
‘The Scottish independence movement has been quite fake until now, in my opinion.’
A bit like you then.
O/T
Rghiannon Spear is list candidate for SNP Highlands And Islands
Now we know more about the timing of Leonard’s empty futile gesture..
Keeping the letter from Alex’lawyer away from the media, who will now keep most folk entertained with meaningless Scottish Labour drivel.
I’m certainly up for a crowd funder. Might help to lower the blood pressure a little, since there is absolutely nothing else I can do to help.
“You can only come to the morning through the shadow”
… what happened to Alex Salmond and is still happening (as is amply demonstrated in the letter), are along with the events surrounding Mark Hirst and Craig Murray, only some of the examples of the many shadows which currently cover and darken Scotland.
Morning, cannot come soon enough!
So much for an impartial inquiry. It’s incredible how Alex can make a mere move, such as postponing, knowing they’ll react and show their true colours. His political footwork is incredible.
I do appreciate the time and effort in writing the articles. They help to understand what is going on. I just cannot get my head around as to why.
I suspected this inquiry would be a total farce from day one. The moment they put somebody from the SNP as a convener, you knew what was going to happen-they would be brushing towards home. The other SNP member that was in the committee has already been promoted to a ministerial position. Looking at how long this is taken, how little they have advanced and how desperate Fabiani appears to be to make it all about Salmond instead of who it is about (Sturgeon and Evans), one would be forgiven for asking if this promotion was a rewarding for her merits or for her cooperation.
The minute it was clear the SGov had failed to disclose documents to the judicial review and the criminal case when asked to do so by the judge, Fabiani should have stopped the process passed the matter directly to a court of law. Isn’t contempt of court what we are talking about when somebody is instructed by a judge to release certain information but they purposely do not? So why this has not been done? Evans did not wait a second to report to the police the “assault suffered” by woman A and B even without their consent. So why is the same not happening here when it is the government at the other side of the law?
“I am very clear that the evidence to the committee, under oath or solemn affirmation, must comply with legal obligations”.
How many civil servants, witnesses had to change their statements because they lied the first time?
Well then, did they comply with those legal obligations when the civil servants/witnesses did not tell the truth the first time round, according to Ms Fabiani? And what has been done about it? Why is the expectation any different from Mr Salmond? isn’t that discriminatory?
Calling this man unhelpful is low considering how little has been done to recover those documents or ensuring his safety and security. It is very poor, particularly when he is a private citizen who has been subjected to untold injustice and now is expected to be at their beck and call when they do not even have the balls to properly interrogate those civil servants, they seemingly allow them to evade the questions, to obfuscate the inquiry and withhold evidence and even allowed one of them to not just not attend, but to give the evidence via phone. Lloyd was allowed to just submit a letter and was exempted to even giving evidence face to face.
Where are the letters from Ms Fabiani directed to Sweeney, Sturgeon and Evans in fury for not cooperating releasing the evidence? Where is the letter directed to Lloyd in fury for not appearing face to face to give evidence? Why haven’t they been released to the press like the ones towards Salmond and why haven’t they been released to the BBC before the interested parties themselves received them, like they did with Mr Salmond?
Why the discriminatory treatment?
How can she have the brass neck to demand Mr Salmond to attend when she, as the convener, cannot find the balls to demand from the court guidance so Mr Salmond can actually tell the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth without fear of being prosecuted?
What kind of surreal world is the one where Fabiani lives that she expects somebody can fulfil both requirements at the same time? She is putting Mr Salmond in an impossible situation and yet she is doing nothing to avoid it. Is this because they really want Mr Salmond to be in an impossible situation so the evidence is not released? Is this the way they expect this corrupt government to survive the inquiry, by making it a complete farce? They are taking the electorate for fools.
Where are the documents that tell us when the first time the government sought legal advice for the complaints procedure was, when the first time they were advised the procedure could be unlawful was and where is the legal advice after Mr Salmond’s lawyers issued the letter in May indicating Mr Salmond’s intention to call a Judicial review? Why haven’t those documents been retrieved when they are fundamental to establish if the Ministerial Code has been breached? How can anybody establish if they breached the Ministerial code if they are allowed to withhold evidence?
What has Fabiani offered to Mr Salmond in terms of security and protection compared with all the consideration that has been given to all those civil servants involved in the complaints procedure including Evans? Why does she deserve more consideration than him, when it is her procedure and hers and Sturgeon’s actions what are under review, not his and when it is her procedure who served the taxpayers with a bill of £500,000?
Has Mr Salmond been reimbursed for his time? Surely Evans continues to be paid from our purse for her time and it counts as working hours, don’t they?
The tweet of the BBC before the lawyers received the letter was pathetic. This now comes across as another tacky and orchestrated manoeuvre to present Mr Salmond under a bad light and Ms Fabiani seems to be the next SNP member that happily jumps in the bandwagon of beating Mr Salmond when he is actually the victim in all this. How honourable.
What will be next? Fabiani still refusing to recover the documents or securing that Mr Salmond can actually fulfil his oath without being prosecuted , but then blaming like a coward Mr Salmond for her own shortcomings? Is this how it is going to be until the report is released?
If that is the case, she may as well not bother and release the report right now. Unless she is prepared to stick her finger in the boil, recover those darn documents and ensure Mr Salmond can actually tell ALL the truth and nothing but the truth, then this inquiry is a complete waste of time and taxpayers’ money.
Much respect for bringing such vital information into public light.
It is as clear as day, reciprocal openness and transparency are fundamental factors in resolving this disgusting saga.
Further, the prejudice exhibited by the panel against Alex Salmond, brings the entire (kangaroo) inquiry into disrepute.
‘THE PAIN’…
@Hatuey (7.30) –
FFS man, why do that?
You sometimes post these great comments with all sorts of slants on myriad things (and no, I’m not suggesting we resume that auld ding-dong) and then chuck in something out-of-order as if for the sheer sake of it.
Without getting over-emotional about it, I haven’t witnessed much ‘fakery’ among the dozens and dozens of great people I’ve met as a direct result of this movement – and, more specifically, this site right here – many of whom I count amongst my very dearest friends. I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise to you to discover that I have few friends, but what few there are make me proud. And I met them here before we met in person at any number of marches, demos, you name it. We actually did stuff together to advance this movement. And we’re still doing it.
Some of them have died or are dying. You’ve conversed with (or about) some of them right here.
Hatuey, hand-on-heart, I’ve encountered precious little ‘fakery’ in the movement, and what little there has been, imo, has come from some of the figures who purport to share our wishes and make very comfortable livings by simultaneously thwarting them. I suppose that does take a special kind of talent but I’m not sure it’s one we should be encouraging.
The movement’s power lies in its cellular nature. That’s no accident – we’ve learned new ways of making our presence felt, in numbers, we needn’t be so reliant on figureheads. There is no head for the State to strike off. No matter what party wins in May, or any year after that, regardless of who the FM happens to be at any given time, it won’t change the dynamic – we’re heading for independence whether the SNP, WM or anyone else likes it or not.
Setting about making that a reality, in the absence of anything resembling natural justice from our own institutions, is a serious business. A thankless, unpaid task.
But fake?
The never ending witch-hunt of Alex Salmond. It’s like they each get a shot to “ get Salmond “ and today it’s Linda Fabiani’’s turn. Does she get some kind of perverse and deviant kick out of persecuting and making life impossible for a fellow human being? Is she as cruel and inhumane and manipulative as her Commander-In – Chief? Is she “ only following orders “ ?
The letter from Alex’s lawyer proves, beyond any doubt, that she hasn’t got a fucking leg to stand on and she has been named and shamed in a very public manner. We have your back, Alex, and always will. I will donate to any crowdfunder in a heartbeat.
Sarah says:
15 January, 2021 at 7:30 pm
On another aspect, may anyone bring a case against Scot gov, or some individual MSPs, for their role in what has been inflicted on Mr Salmond and all the other victims?
Now that I would invest heavily in.
If the inquiry hears from Alex, whenever, and he tells the truth, they’re fucked.
If they engineer some way to run down the clock or scupper it all then it’ll all still be right here, online, archived, detailed every step of the way, witnessed by thousands of us in real-time. We’ve got the whole story, chapter and verse.
So, that makes two ways they’re fucked.
And the way things are going? there’s bound to be plenty more.
The Inquiry is another Holyrood fandango…a cover-up.
Why give it legitimacy by attending? Just continue to correspond with them courteously as he is doing just now.
Public opinion is sometimes hard to judge. It is with Alex at the moment, but that could change.
It now becomes a battle of political skill…Alex versus Baillie and Fabiani.
Dear Alex
I’ve a pony ready for you any time you ask for it.
I want Salmond to sit directly opposite (eyes to eyes), he deserves to directly face such conniving adversaries, and have his say, without fear of potential criminal prosecution.
Fabiani is full of it!
“It” being that which you’d find in a fudge puddle left behind by an extremely unwell dog.
F***ING DISGRACE!!!
Alex Salmond would be pilloried by the usual suspects if he set up a crowd funder for himself. I agree a crowd funder would be very helpful to him no doubt, but someone else would have to do it. A private individual, preferably someone not involved in politics.
If this is the level of discourse, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if ‘they’ keep ‘Salmond Voodoo dolls’ at home.
There is a supposedly common expression on prison walls around he world, “God rot all lawyers” but you have to admire the skewering excellence of Levy & McRae, who have served up Fabiani’s nether regions on a platter. She should be deeply ashamed of her conduct and it’s quite clear now where her allegiances lie. She is retiring and so had nothing to lose by being even-handed but her increasingly strange behaviour in the chair is now understandable.
As others have said, Alex Salmond should consider a crowdfunder to see things through to a conclusion since legal advice and stinging action such as this can’t be cheap, particularly when he is faced with the manifest attempts of the Scottish Government to run down the clock and ramp up the costs.
I’m sure he will know the best time and manner to make his request but I think the popular response would be overwhelming, given the obvious extent of corruption in the SG and The Law.
Corrupt to it’s rotten core
‘to consider and report on the actions of the First Minister, Scottish Government officials and special advisers in dealing with complaints against Alex Salmond’
How come the Committee needs to be reminded of their remit at this stage in the proceedings?
Quite extraordinary…
Who is funding Alex’s legal costs? They must be considerable ?
Who is funding Alex’s legal costs? They must be considerable ?
What an excellent letter which holds up a mirror to the Medusa’s eyes. I have started to think ever since reading Stuart’s “The whole truth” that the primary purpose of the Inquiry is not to unearth the truth but simply to ensnare Alex. As the letter mentions Alex is a private citizen, and he has only co-operated up until now from the goodness of his heart and as someone who wishes to see justice done. Perhaps the best course of action now though would be to distance himself from the “falsehood” of the Inquiry altogether. Let them stew in their own sh*te.
However, if Alex does decide to fight them all the way then I, for one, stand with him.
Every document, letter and post produced by the small group seeking justice for Mr Salmond demonstrate that knowledge and intelligence are concentrated on their side.
Mr McKie’s letter may suggest to Ms Fabiani that hers might not be the only report produced when the Inquiry ends.
There is still time for her to do her job, but not much.
It costs a few thousand pounds for a letter like this, Colin. I know because I have had a very similar letter sent to the tools at Victoria Quay on my behalf by a equally respected Glasgow law firm.
ScotGov know this of course. It is part of their game. Run the clock down and cost the opponent a fortune in legal bills. Do nothing. Always do nothing. Wee Nicola controls everyone from the Lord Advocate downwards.
Ian Brotherhood @ 8.18
Well said Ian …. we’ve just about done all we can with Westminster at the moment and our attention should quite rightly be on Holyrood ( which after all will be our actual Parliament ) and how we direct it towards Indy.
That we’ve a Government to clean up I can’t say is surprising to me …. but I thought the one thing that could wait a bit till we’re out of the accursed Union was Scottish Law and Justice.
How wrong could I be …..?
It’s as corrupted as the Westminster system is and we must address it without fear or favour whenever and over whom ever the opportunity presents its self.
“Let Justice Be Done Though The Heavens Fall ” is the quote not “Let Justice Only Be Done If We Can Save Nicola ” …..
Holyrood.
Scots Law …
are OUR business and we can fix it …
But since Scots can walk and chew toffee at the same time it’s certainly not beyond our wit to separate out our internal scandals ( we did say we’re a normal Country did we no ) from the urgency of ending this accursed Union.
So you’re right Ian , no matter what , no matter who ….for us , Indy is always on the table till our constitutional part of Justice is done.
By the way, I just noticed The Daily Telegraph have just printed a story on this letter. Isn’t that ironic.
Nice one. The government, the committee an the SNP have treated Alex Salmond like shit – it’s continued persecution – I’d have told them to fuck off right from the start personally, but that wouldn’t have solved much I suppose.
I thought Fabiani’s letter was pretty bad, but publicising it before sending?! She’s well out of order.
I’d be up for contributing to a crowdfunder for sure.
Related read from Grouse Beater.
link to grousebeater.wordpress.com
Great letter BTW. It’s refreshing to read that at least somebody isn’t prepared to tolerate such behaviour.
I would donate to a fund to support Mr. Salmond simply because it’s a cause worth supporting, not because of who he is or what he was.
I never trusted baillie. When people praise her for asking g a rew awkward questions of the liars, you know just how corrupt the system is. And how toothless the snp have become.
Fund raise for Alex? I’m in!
Stay strong Alex!
Count me in for the crowdfunder for Alex. What better way to let him know that we’ve not forgotten him?
You really think that the tyranny and censorship evident across the water that many on here seem to be rejoicing in is not going to come here and turn on you? Time to wake up people.
They picked the wrong man to try and stitch up and it beggars belief to think that Sturgeon more than anyone wouldn’t know that, either her ego got the better of her or someone managed to convince her that this wouldn’t fail.
Justice must be served and be seen to be served.
Hell mend the lot of them, may they rot in hell.
They’ve up’ed the ante yet again with that carefully constructed public riposte which should give the committee even more food for thought in the way they conduct themselves for the remainder of time available, we hope.
It really looks as though the Establishment, State, whatever you want to call them, are just going all-out to get Salmond.
They’ve already got the man tethered at the head of the pyre. We’re the ones who have to get him off before they just set a light.
And why wouldn’t they? They have everything to lose.
AS should tread with caution. I note that an Independence activist from Fife who named a name on Twitter last August is up for sentencing on 25 February. He has been told a custodial sentence is a possibility. AS is right to be led by his solicitors. I for one don’t trust the intentions of this Inquiry. Actually if it were me, I wouldn’t appear. Too risky and it will be a circus.
Ian Brotherhood says: 15 January, 2021 at 8:18 pm
There may be a truth in what Hatuey say but now in the way he has meant.
It’s a well known fact that the Scottish independence movement has been a broad coalition or umbrella of left and right united under the cause of independence.
The indy movement has shifted to the left under Salmond as he had proved to be a winner and got into a hair breadth of securing the dream.
However, the referendum wasn’t won and the direction went to a sort of gradualist approach that didn’t involve either gradualism or independence in any shape or form.
The right of the indy movement was more than happy for this blairite/neoliberal inertia to creep in and continue. Independence isn’t going to happen any time soon so to dampen the vigour and lets be honest about it, the excess of the left, Sturgeon was supported and Salmond was thrown to the lions.
There needs to be a bit of soul searching now, what do people want? A definite change through independence or the continued neoliberal status quo offered by Holyrood?
I’m in!
Nothing more to add
@Saffron Robe, 9.03pm
the primary purpose of the Inquiry is not to unearth the truth but simply to ensnare Alex.
Yes, that is one of the aims. Another is to ruin him financially.
Alex, if you need to, run a crowd funder.
I used to think that SNP stood for ‘Scottish National Party’.
Not any more…
Sturgeon’s Nasty Party
Avoid at all costs.
Aren’t any newspaper/media in contempt of court by withholding information that they may publish that wasn’t published or given to Police at an earlier date, that they have known of, relating to this charade
Had Salmond thrown in his lot with ye olde Scottish establishment all those years ago, it is unlikely that any of this would be happening.
Gifted “outsiders” with minds of their own, such as Salmond, are anathema to that casually corrupt, oligarchic caste of imperialistically aligned arse-lickers who, up until now, have gone unchallenged.
I never trusted baillie. When people praise her for asking g a rew awkward questions of the liars, you know just how corrupt the system is. And how toothless the snp have become.
Yup. If I’d told any of the SNP people I knew back in 2012-2013 that in a few years they’d all be quite up for framing Salmond on totally spurious sex charges and the person the independence campaign would be most looking for to ask questions about those doing it would be Jackie Bailie, they wouldn’t have believed me.
@Lothianlad – ‘I never trusted Baillie’…..you’ve never said a truer few words in your life, Sir.
She’s a sand-dancer…..always wanting to appeal to both sides and always ready to jump on to the winning side at the last minute.
I wonder if Alex agrees with us?
Linda Fabiani owes Mr Salmond and Scotland a fulsome apology.
She also needs to say something honest (and thus obviously detrimental) about that lying wee scrote – mr murrell.
re fundraiser – I’m in.
I’m so pleased Alex has good lawyers. Fabiani is a biased, vindictive busted flush. I would be happy to contribute to a coowdfunder. He’s been to hell and back.
The letter has set out the facts very carefully, in a way that cannot but focus the attention of the committee on where it should be.
The cynic in me is waiting for the response thinking that it will be like dealing with the council or playing chess with a pigeon.
When all of the committee members wish Mr Murrell birthday greetings, immediately any indication of gravitas goes down the stank. It would be interesting to know which Government department is dictating correspondence on behalf of Ms Fabiani?
A colonial administration in all respects.
Tannadice Boy says:
15 January, 2021 at 9:36 pm
AS should tread with caution. I note that an Independence activist from Fife who named a name on Twitter last August is up for sentencing on 25 February. He has been told a custodial sentence is a possibility. AS is right to be led by his solicitors. I for one don’t trust the intentions of this Inquiry. Actually if it were me, I wouldn’t appear. Too risky and it will be a circus.
I understand that the Inquiry room has parliamentary privilege so I think Mr Salmond ought to be OK
FFS Fabiani is yet another MI5 plant by the looks of it.
[…] comment, corruption, disturbing, scottish politicsTrackback: trackback from your own […]
@RobertKnight
I agree, as a fellow ISP member I also think Fabiani is not that good. They do not want the criminal case papers since they will apparently help prove there was a conspiracy to frame Alex. Also Lord Wolfe the Advocate General will also have to resign. As head of the COPFS he is acting as a shield for ScotGov in this issue. You can bet he has, on the sly, seen the papers or know the contents of them.
As Alex says it has been open to the committee to ask the Court of Session order the release of the papers as it has done with the Review ones. That they have not done so tells us a lot. Why should it be up to Alex, almost bankrupted by the criminal case to incur more costs and time to go to court himself to get them released.
Gordon Dangerfield has revealed how he got similar papers released on court application to get a client of his off a wrong charge. So I have known this was possible for some months now.
Captain yossarian,
I’m pretty sure were on the right side.
Faniani is on the outer edge of the sturgeon Inner circle but still close to the the liars.
Baillie, ACH, MF and the rest are yoons to the core.
Fabiani will fall on the side of the yoons. That’s how disgusting the SNP have become.
We need to stay side by side with Alex as he Always was loyal to Scotland.
The truth cannot be defeated no matter how much it is attacked.
Ian, I stand by that description. I could have said inauthentic or lacking, I suppose.
Those who go to protests and indie marches (and I’ve been to a couple myself) are exceptions that prove the rule. The rule is that 95% of the population are asleep at the wheel.
Turning up to vote every few years isn’t enough. 200 thousand people marching through Glasgow or Edinburgh isn’t enough – the truth is they haven’t even had political representation for at least 6 years. Retweeting and liking social media comments isn’t enough. I think we all know this.
Maybe the unraveling of the SNP is just what we need. Maybe all these things, Brexit, the tragic handling of coronavirus, the inevitable economic hardship we face, and much else, are like planets that are going to align and somehow wake up the slumbering, bewildered herd. We’ll see.
At the other end of the spectrum, there’s been a real lack of political structure, organisation, and leadership. I hope the new group AUOB are creating will change all that but where is it?
@holymacmoses 10:04pm
As a private citizen? Perhaps but ought to be OK, wouldn’t satisfy me. It would be easy to make a mistake under pressure and the Lord Advocate is standing behind him waiting to pounce. At the hearing today of the Fife Indy activist the powers to be made it clear again. Unfortunately I think this activist is going down for a hefty prison sentence. The public were warned. Details of the case are covered in the ‘Dunfermline Press’ tonight.
The Answer – don’t vote SNP. Give the collaborators their P45’s and let them know it. Once they’re all gone start afresh, under Scotland’s terms and conditions. let them know, and let them know now – flush them out
Hey Ref Stu have you seen this?
Ian Brotherhood reckons you made all this up:
twitter.com/ianbhood/status/1350156195412246530?s=20
They’re doing their best to prevent him giving the evidence which will expose them. That is obvious, and I won’t be surprised if they find a reason that they can’t hear it, or that it will be so circumscribed as to be useless. That is clearly the aim, while continually attempting to trash him publicly. It is the actions of a banana govt in a corrupt country who know only too well that the truth will finish a lot of them. That it should happen in Scotland, to a man who singlehandedly put independence on the agenda for real, and in his day was a consummate political operator, and thus one who deserves the utmost respect, displays the ignominious depths to which these third rate dissemblers and connivers will stoop. There is no bar under which they will crawl to get themselves off the hook. Playing with the law in the way they do has brought the entire political and legal system in Scotland into disrepute, an achievement scarcely credible a few years ago. They are destroying the independence case, because who would want this rabble, this bunch of cheapskate charlatans and frauds in charge of such a historic and challenging transition?
@Hatuey –
I appreciate you taking the time to reply.
It’s a pity you didn’t raise any argument to back your assertion that the indy movement is ‘fake’. That will be noted by many.
What is it that you really want Hatuey?
I only ask because, well, it doesn’t appear to be Scottish independence.
In which case, why are you here?
It’ll be interesting to see if NS will still appear at the time arranged for her. She’s been hanging out to give her version of events and will be oh so happy to do so. So says she.
Will she still be so happy and in such a hurry if AS is to come after I wonder? Or will she be to busy recovering from an attack of covid?
Just as an aside is there a strain of quick covid that only affects heads of state? BJ was up and about saving the nation and proclaiming great big british shiny things after only 5/6 days, D the T was doing his exceptionalist thing after a mere 2/3 days. Just wondering.
And who do people like Fabiani think they are? Have they got no conception of the office they hold and their public duty to fulfill that role with diligence and no favour? Clearly not, they think, like the Tories at Wesminster, that it is their personal fiefdom to carry out actions to their own advantage. It is a horrible corruption of all of the standards of public office and the basic requirements of the job. Have they got such little shame or respect for the people of Scotland that they think they can ignore due procedure and carry out a personal vendetta, tarnishing the entire country and its administrative system for personal gain? Appalling.
Helen Yates says:
“Hell mend the lot of them, may they rot in hell.”
Unfortunately Helen, we’re already rotting in the hell they’ve made for us by abusing our trust, our country and our justice system.
Like many others I would be more than happy to support Alex financially in any way I can.
“Give unto Caesar what is due unto Caesar. Give unto Alex what is due unto a decent and honest man.”
In the US, an FBI criminal coup against a duly elected President (aided & abetted by bad British Actors) has just been publicly revealed (treason ?):
link to judiciary.senate.gov
link to judiciary.senate.gov
link to justthenews.com
The real ‘Inquiry’ is this blog and the rolling developments from a handful of people with the guts to speak out.
I have watched maybe 8 hours of the official inquiry including the opening’ish session in which Linda Fabiani came across as unbelievably arrogant and condescending. (I could not believe she was an SNP politician.)
My respect for Alex Salmond increases yet again. Personally I’d tell the Inquiry to go fuck themselves at this point. The game is clearly rigged. It has been from the outset.
Gregor @ 10.38pm
No one cares. It’s a pile of crap. He lost and he lost BIGLY.
@Muscleguy,
I think the term is sardonic.
“The unredacted submission… would appear already to have assisted the Commission significantly in its deliberations.”
Oof.
Just like a battery is a physical store of something non-physical, energy, money is a physical store of power.
There are a lot of people here who are very angry and very frustrated at their inability to get into the fight.
I think we all would like to see Alex Salmond re-empowered to defend himself and to go on the offensive now.
They have been and are trying to weaken AS by ‘Lawfare’. To slowly drain him of funds to defend himself. So he surrenders and retreats.
Allow us to take that threat away Alex. Not only that but to provide the funds to take them on. We got your back Alex, don’t doubt it bud.
I remember the fund raiser for the Judicial Review was doubled and closed within 24 hours or so. It was very fast even back then. I expect you’d get 10 times that now given the pent up frustration at the injustice of all of this. Don’t be be shy in asking.
When do the SNP list candidates get announced?
Will the outgoing first minister be aiming to pack the party with her pals again?
Can we expect to see appearances from fan favourites like Rhiannon Spear?
@AYRSHIRE ROB
I was merely trying to help better inform the public to the US situation.
I care a lot (each crap to their own). What happens in US greatly effects the whole world.
I guess we will see in the next few days…
In 2009, in a reshuffle, Salmond sacked Fabiani as Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture and replaced her with Mike Russell. Her ridiculous posturing now against the former FM is likely nothing but petty vindictiveness.
I remember before the 2014 referendum contributing to a “yes” video. Perhaps more than I could really afford. We qualified for the launch of the video at a posh Edinburgh south side venue.
Me and my wife sat there all proud as the video appeared on the big screen and Robin MacAlpine was part of the intro. He talked offensively in offensive language and my wife walked out. I stayed and listened. I am politically middle of the road but his woke leftism left no room for differences from the accepted wisdom. I was desperate for independence and thought I could swallow any shite for the cause. As they say going forward:
Sitting at the Alex Salmond Show in 2017 my hero was on stage and he told a foul sexually explicit joke and my wife walked out again. I stayed and enjoyed a very lively show.
My wife says she would support independence come what may but in the meantime will still call out those who annoy her and offend her sense of decency.
As for me I want independence whether I am called he she or it.
Pishy Wishart sticks in ma craw and I feel let down by John Swinney who i liked but I think on balance I will thole everything for independence. I hatewhataboutery but what about the opposition to my dreams?
Wings in the great scheme of things I regret much more than you the untimely death of Professor Neil McCormick. Why? He was the intellectual moral compass of the SNP.
I will follow the devil incarnate if he delivers Independence. Its all about priorities. Yes I am evil mibbes aye mibbes naw!
James Horace, Spear has been launched…
putting herself forward for Highlands and Islands list
Holy jesus.
How did I miss that? How did she announce? And are others announced yet too?
2 election defeats so far, but this one should be a walk in the park for her in comparison.
Can Rhiannon Spear be stopped?
@Wullie B at 8:02 pm
“Rhiannon Spear is list candidate for SNP Highlands And Islands”
Excellent base her on St.Kilda,
I’m sure her Gender Expertise will aid the 136,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins , and give the rest of us peace and quite
@Famous15 –
Your wife has walked out of two shows because of sexually explicit jokes relating to Scottish independence?
Which is the mental case – you, her, or us for listening to your pish?
@ James Horace
I think candidates are currently only putting their names forward for the local members to rank them on the relevant lists. So if she isn’t in the top two, she’s very unlikely to win a seat. She might even need to be #1. Every candidate asks to be ranked #1, of course, but that doesn’t ensure that she will be.
Rhiannon “Loud, white men must get with the times” Spear is trying once again for the political big stage.
Let us hope the ISP do the business and stop her getting in on the list in H & I.
@ Alan Mackintosh
Indeed, posted link to her tweet on previous thread, but looks like her twitter account has been terminated (again) so maybe an issue with the launch of the spear. Suggest contacting mission control for further info.
There are various others now putting themselves forward to be regional list candidates that were previously unsuccessful in being selected as constituency candidates.
Some are listed on this tweet thread should folk wish to check em out and evaluate whether they are worth casting those 2nd SNP votes their way… or not!
link to twitter.com
Famous 15
Go on, tell us the sexually explicit joke. Wings is an earthy enough place surely?
@crazycat 11:20
Correct in the 2016 election. 6 constituency SNP MSPs and 1 additional member so #1 for H and I but that’s not taken into account ISP this time round. So even #1 is not a given.
There’s an H.M. Bateman drawing; “The Witness, Or The Man Who Told Everything” (I think). I bought a print of it from Green’s years ago; gave it to the folks. Lawyers scarpering everywhere.
A very observant man.
“ What is it that you really want Hatuey?
I only ask because, well, it doesn’t appear to be Scottish independence.
In which case, why are you here?”
Isn’t this a dating website? Oh fuck.
I’ve made a terrible mistake.
So, let me get this right….
Rhiannon Spear announced her intention to stand at lunchtime.
She then got torn a new one by the whole od twitter, for standing for a third time in 6 months.
Rhiannon Spear then suspends her Twitter for the 258294th time in the last 12 months.
Really???
@ stonefree
Hey, leave those puffins alone! Surely Gruinard would be better suited coz that’s got previous for dumping toxic stuff on.
Or of course there’s Fantasy Island, where humans can change sex by just the power of thought (or lack of it)…
Great letter putting the morons in their place.
“Ian Brotherhood reckons you made all this up:”
There’s just the TINIEST chance he’s joking… ?
@James Horace says:
15 January, 2021 at 11:42 pm
“Rhiannon Spear then suspends her Twitter for the 258294th time in the last 12 months.”
258,295th actually.
Wouldn’t it be great, when the committee gleefully acquitte Sturgeon and Murrell and swinney gloats about the outcome, Alex steps forward and announces his plans to stand on the list in May… THAT would send shivers down their gravy filled spines!
Even Neosporin is’nae gonnae cure this suppuratin’ boil !
Looks like The National’s censorship doesn’t want this big topical Scottish news issue openly discussed in public: It has slapped a Premium tag on it, despite the same information being openly available here (weird):
link to thenational.scot
So just to be clear, the committee who’s purpose is to investigate the dodgy persecution of Alex Salmond is persecuting Alex Salmond. Another thought, will Jackie Baillie becoming the stand in leader of the Labour Party in Scotland have any impact on her activity on this committee?
Have them fighting fires on all fronts “
Crowd funder.
I would be very happy to contribute a couple of hundred quid.
Ian Brotherhood and Kapelmeister the joke was headlines in the Record and was to do with inviting Theresa May and he could not make her come etc and my wife is made of stern stuff and experienced many times being inappropriately poked in the whatsits in the civil service and wielded a heavy stapler effectively. Ouch!
She was a great one for the expression ‘a woman’s right to choose ‘
Like me,she chooses independence because we are normal like independence.
stonefree says:
15 January, 2021 at 11:19 pm
@Wullie B at 8:02 pm
“Rhiannon Spear is list candidate for SNP Highlands And Islands”
Excellent base her on St.Kilda,
I’m sure her Gender Expertise will aid the 136,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins , and give the rest of us peace and quite
No Fecking way am I taking her out to St Kilda, that would be tantamount to animal cruelty to those poor wee puffins, I would throw her overboard but shite floats, I would rather take out a Tory MP (I have already done that, Greg Hands, and gave him my views on independence all the way out, spoke to him about St Kilda on the way back, but didn’t know who he was until the following day, but at least he was interested in my views on both subjects,that boot would only be interested in herself)
It’s very easy to sit in a room full of co-conspirators and feel confident as you all discuss how you will get (in this case) Alex Salmond.
It all seems a jolly wheeze as the conspirator in chief tells you how it will all play out and what your rewards will be in the future.
Then you get a letter like this, addressed directly to you, pointing out for all to see, just how incompetent and dishonest your behaviour and public announcements have been!
The spotlight has been turned directly onto Linda Fabiani and this will in all probability form the first shot in a barrage coming her way in which she will be held accountable for firstly her response to the concerns raised in this letter, then any further breaches, after she has been warned in a legal letter that her behaviours are not legally fair or acceptable.
She will be having an uncomfortable night tonight, as will the Evans/Sturgeon conspirators, because another one of their pawns has been cornered and will be far less willing to go along with suggestions that she can behave in the way she has so far done.
It feels like AS and his supporters are beginning to build up a head of steam with their holding these conspirators to account and it is getting close to the point when we might grab some popcorn.
I certainly hope so!
A committee set up to find out about injustices on the way the Scottish government handled the Alex Salmond case is now showing injustices to the same man,
Not something you would expect, that sounds more like an government run down south,
Perhaps her name should not be Linda Fabiani so much as Linda Fabbricare!
God! Rhiannon Spear as a H&I List MSP. No fkn way. Definitely ISP2 for me.
Mac “I remember the fund raiser for the Judicial Review was doubled and closed within 24 hours or so. It was very fast even back then. I expect you’d get 10 times that now”
And it’s almost a certainty that Salmond will be going back to court, at least once. I guess that’ll cost the taxpayer many more millions – not that anyone gives a damn about the taxpayer these days…
I have an issue. According to the ministerial code, the government must act lawfully at all times. But didn’t the court of session deem that the Government had acted unlawfully? I can’t find the judgement text anywhere but a lot of sources use the word “unlawfully” when referring to the final ruling.
Anyway, if true, the government would be expected to resign, obviously, as I understand it. I’m pretty sure nobody is going to read this and blow the whistle but it’s surprising that it hasn’t been discussed or explained.
Well if Rhiannon ends up high enough on the list to be in with a shout it should give ISP a boost out here in the sticks. After all the hard work to stop her being our candidate if she ends up No 1 on the list it is two fingers from HQ to the grass roots. Nicola name checking her this time round is hardly the endorsement it once was given the stink hanging around the first minister and her inner circle.
kapelmeister says:
15 January, 2021 at 11:22 pm
Rhiannon “Loud, white men must get with the times” Spear is trying once again for the political big stage.
“Loud” is code for heterosexual. Genius. Insulting and patronising 45% of the electorate.
Take away independence and The SNP is fast becoming unelectable.
Davie yoga, it’s Rhiannon that needs to “get with the times” nobody wants her as an MSP, anywhere. She’s toxic waste and deservedly so.
Sorry Davie Oga, damn autocorrect!
Re: Spear.
We need someone to make a Good Guy/Wank list for the HR election as Denise did for the NEC.
Looks like ISP is getting another vote on the H&I list if the poisonous Spear is on the SNP list. It is too much to stomach suffering the Spear.
Thanks Stu for publishing the letter from Levy & McRae (Willie McRae’s old firm).
Your recent blog posts have revealed important information/facts that have shone a light & joined the dots on particulars that would never have been revealed by the MSM.
Your recent illustration of the Twitter scripted response nonsense in your ‘Everything Falls Apart‘ post was brilliant & shows the nefarious tosh that is going on.
I thank you for your spot-on writings.
Ms Fabiani as chair of the committee you do REALISE that the remit for the Holyrood inquiry is to determine and investigate the Scottish government’s handling of harassment complaints AGAINST Alex Salmond
It is therefore disingenuous and contemptible that you are NOT assisting Mr Salmond in his extraordinary and costly endeavours to help the inquiry to get to the bottom of the outrage that has been perpetrated on not just Mr Salmond but on the honest hard working taxpayers of Scotland
Not only are you NOT assisting Mr Salmond in his quest to expose and reveal the TRUTH but you are ACTIVELY working against his endeavours
In every press release you have ensured that Mr Salmond is included when you have indicated that you were outraged at the lack of urgency and transparency by the Scottish Government , you have included Mr Salmond in those outrages even although he has supported and echoed your frustration , in my and many others opinion you are doing this in an attempt to conflate feelings of outrage against both parties where only one party is guilty of subterfuge and lies and it is NOT Mr Salmond
Is rhiannon and her woke cadre all applying for list seats another attempt at diversion or minimising the ongoing clusterfcuk by Nicla and her cabal
OH LOOK A SQUIRREL
We can all agree that Alex Salmond has and is been treated in the worst kind of way imaginable ,the piece Integrity of a nation was a well written article on what has befallen him and the key players who have perpetrated it. With the stakes so high as to what will happen as a consequence of what is too come I think that some flesh needs to be put on the bones on why this situation is occurring now and to what were the possible motivations of both sides leading up to this .I,m not a great one for the smoke up your arse blowing but this does seem like the site to do this. My reasons for asking are that as discussed here the ramifications go beyond just that of a few leading figures been disgraced but could set Scottish politics and public confidence back by a decade So a few things that I would like to see
What did A Salmond do, say or threaten that scared them so much
Why has he not mounted a more open and vigorous defence highlighting these injustices and personnel attacks without falling foul of the law Is he trying to limit the damage to the wider SNP movement
Is he trying to regain control to steer the SNP back on track
Is he just out for revenge against a person or persons who did this to him
Who was chief in setting up and authorising this attack and what did they stand to gain
What was the none political involvement ie police etc and why were they so easily lead
Why has this not been reported in the main stream media and who is controlling the timing of any release
Ooh mortal.
That wound won’t whiten!
We can all agree that Alex Salmond has and is been treated in the worst kind of way imaginable ,the piece Integrity of a nation was a well written article on what has befallen him and the key players who have perpetrated it. With the stakes so high as to what will happen as a consequence of what is too come I think that some flesh needs to be put on the bones on why this situation is occurring now and to what were the possible motivations of both sides leading up to this .I,m not a great one for the smoke up your arse blowing but this does seem like the site to do this. My reasons for asking are that as discussed here the ramifications go beyond just that of a few leading figures been disgraced but could set Scottish politics and public confidence back by a decade So a few things that I would like to see
What did A Salmond do, say or threaten that scared them so much
Why has he not mounted a more open and vigorous defence highlighting these injustices and personnel attacks without falling foul of the law Is he trying to limit the damage to the wider SNP movement
Is he trying to regain control to steer the SNP back on track
Is he just out for revenge against a person or persons who did this to him
Who was chief in setting up and authorising this attack and what did they stand to gain
What was the none political involvement ie police etc and why were they so easily lead
Why has this not been reported in the main stream media and who is controlling the timing of any release
Famous 15, we are all different and some like your wife are more modest, or were bought up in an era when these things counted, as I was, nowadays it’s called old fashioned, but still a good moral compass,.
The cancel culture is everywhere nowadays, shutting folk down if you don’t fit in,
You an your wife hang in there, we are all believers of Scottish independence, no matter where our paths have come from, we can at least hope we will all meet in the middle one day soon.
The same goes to all you others out there that no longer comment.
The more that comes out, the more that it drags on, the more one realises why many voters will decide not to come out and vote for their SNP constituency candidate.
No one of sane mind wants a rotten and corrupt party in government. What they have done once they will to twice, will do thrice and the continued recalcitrance and obstruction of process reveals that there is no intention whatsoever to atone for the abuse of political opponents.
Independence is bigger than the SNP. The SNP are just a political party that has gone rogue and it’s political popularity could fade as quickly as Labours.
An ISP headed by some big names could realistically take around fifty percent of the seats and that would maybe give around 20 to 28 seats.
Individually targeted constituency seats could thereafter be targeted by other high profile individuals like for example sitting MP’s standing as independents or as another party.
None of us as independence voters owe the SNP anything, and the party, unless it changes, can be replaced. Let’s make Sturgeon and her ilk history!
The Dutch government has resigned due to legitimate child allowance claiments being accused of fraudulent claims. Oh how naieve they are, caring about their reputation, taking responsibility for their actions. Weak. If The Netherlands wants to be a “world beating”, “world class” “gold standard” country like Scotland, they need to take a leaf out of Tricky Nicky’s, all lying, cabinet of cocksuckers, and brazen it out.
link to rte.ie
Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister, on his Government’s resignation,
“The rule of law must protect its citizens from an all-powerful government, and here that’s gone terribly wrong.”
NS
“Fuds, lol”
Salmond excluded the Lord Advocate from cabinet from 2007 onwards in an effort to de politicise the role.
Yet from 2016, on the appointment of Wolfe, The Lord Advocate has returned to sitting in the overwhelming majority of cabinet meetings.
To do what Sturgeon has done, you would want a compliant head of the COPFS. I wonder if they were already planning a fit up in 2016
@Davie Oga
That would explain much of what is going on. But the question there is: Who is the puppet-master? Woolfe or Stugeon?
Linda Fabriani – sacked from FM Alex Salmond’s government.
Aye, just the person I’d choose to chair an impartial committee that will have Alex Salmond as a key witness.
Truly shocking revelations from Rev Stu these recent days . Alex Salmond always stood up for Scotland when there was only a “ handful” of SNP MP’s at Westminster. Never afraid to confront anyone trying to “ down” our country even whist overwhelmingly outnumbered by unionists. If only some of our representatives in Westminster ( and Holyrood) would show some similar gumption & backbone and take a lead from Scotland’s Statesman , and get off their knees and STAND UP for our country. It sickens me to my core to witness this vindictive cruel vendetta waged by his enemies against the man that stood alone for Scotland for so many years . His enemies are OUR enemies and we should provide this man with all the support ( moral & financial ) we can collectively muster. It’s the VERY LEAST Alex Salmond deserves from each and every one of us.
Ah but Dave ” Tricky Nicky ” ( lol ) is on a divinely sanctioned mission to save us from our poor , benighted , unprogressive selves ergo accepted ethical standards don’t apply
Can anyone in public office do a job properly? Fabiani is to investigate how others have handled things. She is under the public gaze and cannot even take the time and trouble to do it properly. In my opinion, she is in fact behaving in exactly the same way as the Civil Servants she is interviewing. The fact she is publicly disrespecting Alex Salmond and appears biased against him is absolutely unprofessional. It also brings into question whether she is the right person for this job.
Great letter but it should never have had to be written.
Count me in for a crowd funder btw!
@Ian B & Hatuey (various posts above)
This may not be a popular view, but I have to say given current circumstances, the state of the SNP right now, and the evidence of the past 6 years, there IS an uncomfortable element of truth in Hatuey’s appellation of “fake” vis-à-vis the independence movement.
Being a party of government in a devolutionary system appears to have deflected the SNP from its main aim. There is as little point giving the SNP thumping majorities if they never succeed in delivering another referendum or plebiscitary election, as there was giving Scottish Labour thumping majorities when England voted Tory.
Gradualism and the tacit acceptance by the current SNP leadership that we need Westminster’s permission to exercise self determination is in most respects indistinguishable from supporting perpetual devolution. Indeed, it can even be argued that we’d be in a better position now if the gradualists in the SNP had just been honest and tried to procure more powers for Holyrood, rather than disappear down the rabbit hole of stopping brexit and saying “pretty please, can we have another referendum”.
Since 2014, the SNP has signally failed to lay the necessary foundations for a future Scottish state, or establish clear saltire blue water between the British nationalist state and the better nation we aspire to become. The starting point after 2014 should have been that the only things Westminster should have control of were defence and foreign affairs, for which we contributed an agreed amount per year.
It should then have been a matter of “repatriating” responsibility for everything else to Holyrood and building Scottish institutions and bodies to control, govern, collect and report. Doing so would have made the GERS argument redundant because it would become apparent quite quickly who was subsidising who.
Instead, we’re left where we are today: out of the EU against our wishes, with a convincing and rising pro-indy majority. That majority is however nullified and rendered pointless by the political timidity and corruption of a governing party which appears caught in the headlights of history and has little clue how to actually translate its commanding position into an independent Scottish state.
Sorry, from where I’m sitting it looks like Scottish independence supporters (both the movement broadly and the SNP as a party) are governed – and more importantly led – by a bunch of fakes.
Gregor says:
16 January, 2021 at 12:48 am
Looks like The National’s censorship doesn’t want this big topical Scottish news issue openly discussed in public: It has slapped a Premium tag on it, despite the same information being openly available here (weird):
Try the archived version
link to archive.vn
Cheers, Sinclair. I hadn’t realised Levy & McRae were Willie McRea’s old firm. Wonder if they still have the information he was almost certainly killed for? Anyway, looks like this committee should be renamed the enquiry into bullying and harassment of Alex Salmond, as that’s what they primarily seems set up to continu doing.
Andy Ellis,
There is absolutely no fault in your argument but that can’t be the end of it. Don’t forget the SNP is a lot older than 6. That means a lot of the infrastructure is still intact and there are probably quite a few capable people scattered across the organisation that would just as effective and maybe even more so than the careerists that are currently in place. There’s a good chance the party could be recovered but it needs to be soon. Another five years of this circus and it will be damaged beyond repair. The litmus test will be whether more people in the upper levels start to speak up – not just the usual suspects. That will be the sign that there is still a desire for independence. If timidity or apathy are holding them back then the independence movement has no need of them. of those that speak up, a few heads might get lopped off by the Murrells but they can’t kill them all. The first for the chopping block would always have a place once the rot is removed.
If you take the rose coloured glasses off, what those pages signal is
“fair enough, I’ve done my bit, over to you, bye”.
@Stuart MacKay
Agreed. I know there are many good people both in the party, and the broader organisation. I’m dismayed that so few in the party leadership in particular have stood up and been counted, but that is a matter for them. I’m no longer a party member, so have no longer have a dog in that fight. I don’t believe the party can be saved anymore sadly, or indeed that it would be worth supporting even if the worst elements of the Sturgeonista Loyal Order and the woke Wahhabis are expelled or politically de-fanged.
The infrastructure of government and the existing devolutionary establishment is what needs to be thoroughly overhauled and changed. There is to my mind little point in independence if all we achieve is the current deeply flawed system, but with our own armed forces, foreign policy and head of state.
I don’t want old wine in new bottles.
“The rule of law must protect its citizens from an all-powerful government, and here that’s gone terribly wrong.” Mark Rutte
“The misrule of law must protect our all-powerful government from its citizens, and here that’s just what we’re doing.” Nicola Sturgeon
PS. It’s heart-warming to read the messages of support for Alex. I’m sure he appreciates them. I think we’d all be happy to form a schiltrom around him and carry him into Holyrood if we could!
And I don’t wish to sound like an infatuated follower of Alex Salmond in the same mould as the infatuated followers of Nicola Sturgeon. Alex took a misstep as regards currency which I think he himself would acknowledge now. However, he is also a big enough man to know that “our greatest strength is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”. (Confucius)
@saffron Robe, 1.40
Alex took a misstep as regards currency which I think he himself would acknowledge now.
See this interview date March 2017 link to archive.is
Many thanks Cirsium. It was only an intimation on my part but your reference confirms it.
Andy,
We could certainly do a lot better than a “wee bit less shite than England”. But sadly that’s what’s on offer and seems to be the limit of the government’s abilities.
An independent Scotland born from a paucity of imagination, ambition and determination forged from apathy and mediocrity. Christ, no thanks!
I wonder if there is any special training going on at HR this weekend.
“What to do and say when you get collared by Police Scotland”
Fingers have previously been pointed at J.McK for being particularly weak, on more than one occasion. She would be blubbering before she got in the back of the car.
@ Stuart MacKay 3.17pm
“We could certainly do a lot better than a “wee bit less shite than England”. But sadly that’s what’s on offer and seems to be the limit of the government’s abilities.”
Oh chapeau sir! That should go down as the gradualists campaign slogan:
“Vote Nikla to be a wee bit less shite than England!” 🙂
Andy Ellis @ 12.34
“The infrastructure of government and the existing devolutionary establishment is what needs to be thoroughly overhauled and changed.”
Well, we might also think here of former colonial India, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore etc., and of course Ireland too, at the point of independence. It is never merely the ‘infrastructure of government’ that needs changed, rather it is the very people who head up and manage and determine and implement national policy in the many national government departments and public agencies and the hundreds of public institutions, each of which also needs to be changed.
And for one rather obvious reason, which is because many if not most of the people in positions of authority in a colony during the colonial period hold and retain an allegiance to the ‘mother country’ colonial power, and hence not to the new state created or its people.
Once independent, former British colonies returned their colonial administrators and overseers and ceased recruiting from or advertising their top public sector jobs in the London Metropolitan press. If, after independence, Scotland is still primarily advertising its best jobs in London, as has been the case in living memory and beyond, then that is not independence.
And neither would it address a fundamental motivation for independence which is to remove the many institutionalized inequalities resulting from a ‘Cultural Division of Labour’ due to colonialism (Hechter 1998).
Fabiani has lined up a cushy directorship with a new East Kilbride based energy company, when she retires in May. She’s trying to damage AS as much as possible before she goes. “Rat”
@Alf Baird 3.33pm
I agree it’s about people as well as structures. As we’re seeing with recent events in Holyrood and the pursuit of Salmond, Murray, Hirst there is something deeply rotten at the heart of the Scottish establishment. Changing that requires new people as well as new institutions, but also a change of mindset and outlook.
Post independence we need to look at best practice in governance across the board to ensure we have the right institutions/structures, the right people and the right processes.
To paraphrase Sam Adams, the problem we have now is too many whose chains sit lightly upon them: they prefer the tranquility of servitude and prepared to lick the hand that feeds them. Many of them will of course vote with their feet post-indy and head south or elsewhere: again, to quote Mr Adams, may they go home from us in peace and may posterity forget that they were our countrymen.
IIRC at that meeting in Sturgeon’s house Salmond arrived accompanied not only by Geoff Aberdein but also by his solicitor and a QC. He was clearly suspecting trouble and came loaded for bear.
I presume that the legal gentlemen were being paid for their time and that Alex had consulted them prior to the meeting. In fact, he offered to show NS a copy of his legal advice that the process was unlawful, so he must have. I may be wrong but I think that the award for costs by the Court of Session only covers legal fees directly relating to the judicial review and may not cover legal fees prior to initiating the review. Add on the cost of defending the criminal trial (which must have been another 500K) and now the Parliamentary Inquiry and Alex must be out of pocket by 100s of thousands despite the crowdfunder money. (BTW how much did it raise?)
I suspect that most of the public heard “Alex Salmond awarded 512K” and assumed that he was and still is living the high life at their expense. There isn’t the awareness that in order to receive costs you have had to have spent the money first and you are just being refunded your own money (and often not in full). Nor is there an appreciation of just how eye-wateringly expensive it is to defend yourself in court, and that even if you successfully win your case you are financially ruined through legal fees and loss of income. Alex had the resources to defend himself but I doubt many of us would be able to do the same.
The indie movement will move beyond fake when it finds a way to interface with the real world of politics. For the last 6 years it’s been like a ghost in a machine; with no point of contact or means to influence that machine.
It’s essentially the same problem philosophical dualists faced; nobody can show us or explain where the soul of the independence movement engages with the body politic. As it stands, engagement isn’t possible. Thus, it’s fake. It has no relationship with reality in any meaningful sense.
That isn’t to criticise the soul. I’ve taken part in independence protests. My experience of them formed the basis of the opinions I have now.
When I watch video clips of those marches, it feels like I’m watching a procession of ghosts. It’s impossible to distinguish between an indie march and a group of people that decided to meet up for a walk. Maybe that’s all people want, a sort of rambling society for people that support independence. But it bears little resemblance to the mass political movements we see in other countries. Fake.
If the grassroots independence movement is ever to be anything more than a hobby, or a way of making new friends as some would have it (see Ian Brotherhood’s inane comments above), it needs 1) political representation, 2) structure and organisation, and 3) leadership. In short, it needs a purpose.
Far from being a criticism of those who take part in the marches, it’s a criticism of those who repeatedly hung them out to dry. Sturgeon couldn’t have been more insulting towards the grassroots. She didn’t just keep the grassroots at arm’s length, she basically declared war on it.
But it isn’t just the Sturgeon and SNP who have failed the independence movement and the grassroots. Everything is upside down. Politics and politicians should be dancing to the tunes provided by grassroots – we have it the other way around. Right now it’s run like a football club; the fans have no say or role in anything outside of turning up, buying tickets, and applauding. That’s a pretty basic organisational problem.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
I wonder if there is hostility towards Alec Salmond from the Committee clerks, and what could be the reason for it?
The idiotic redacting of Salmond’s letter to the James Hamilton inquiry suggests so in my view, and the fact that the committee makes so many errors suggests so to, because it suggests it is not well supported by the clerks.
It could of course be the case that the root cause looks different, and that the clerks are just pawns that are being pressurised too, but this does not look like a normal parliamentary inquiry
Christian Schmidt says:
16 January, 2021 at 9:12 pm
I wonder if there is hostility towards Alec Salmond from the Committee clerks, and what could be the reason for it?
I wonder what reason you might be implying?
@Andy Ellis (9.24am) and Hatuey (5.59) –
We can argue until the cows come home about the definition of ‘fake’ and whether it can or should be applied to the indy movement generally.
You’ve both detailed how it certainly applies to the ‘leadership’ (I’m assuming you mean the pushier, career-driven ‘Yes’ commentariat as well as SNP high-heid yins) but that number of folk, influential as they are, constitute a tiny fraction of ‘the movement’. They have let us down, aye, but that doesn’t justify tarring us all with the same brush.
If you really believe that the indy movement is ‘fake’, fair enough. But many of us don’t.
@Ian B
The failures in leadership and policy are a big part of my reasoning for accepting that the appellation “fake” has some merit, but ordinary rank and file members bear some responsibility as do voters.
The fact that there are many good folk out there isn’t really an excuse. When I left the SNP I knew there were good people in my branch, but I couldn’t in all conscience stay in a party that treated people the way the SNP treated Grouse Beater. Subsequent events only reinforced that view: the treatment of Hanvey and Brodie, their reaction to the Keatings case, the attempt to frame Salmond, the hostility to Plan B, the woke Wahhabis being given free rein.
There comes a point when you have to ask why the good people aren’t taking action? Do they not see what’s going on, or just not care? Paying lip service to the ultimate aim of independence is one thing, but I’m not going to hesitate calling out those who are not, at least from where I stand, truly committed to making real progress.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if they are office holders, ordinary members, voters or just supporters of the broader movement: either they believe we should tell the British nationalists when we vote, or they are content to ask. The latter aren’t nationalists in any real sense, or if they are they are a strangely etiolated type of nationalist that thinks we need permission.
It is telling that being called a “nationalist” makes many such people uncomfortable. I recall Sturgeon is on record saying she even wishes the party wasn’t called the Scottish National Party, presumably due to the gradualist distaste for the epithet nationalist: these milquetoast independence supporters don’t even have the courage to admit to being engaged in a nationalist project, because they lack the political courage and intellect to point out the differences between civic nationalism and the populism we see amongst British nationalists over brexit, or MAGA supporters in the USA.
It’s not the lack of ambition as much as the lack of progress that is frustrating. What kind of better nation can we actually expect even if these faint hearts do contrive to bring about independence?
As Stuart MacKay observed yesterday, “Vote for us for an independent Scotland that is a bit less shit than England” is hardly the stuff of the Declaration of Arbroath is it?
If the story below is true, not just another piece of National agitprop froth, and voters truly do not care if their vile political representatives try to throw innocent political opponents in prison over trumped-up sexist charges….then this country truly has become a horrible banana republic, and I genuinely want no part of it. And that is GENUINE disgust and outrage, not the fake whining shite the pompous, self-righteous young wanks spray all over social media every day.
link to thenational.scot
What I do not understand is why ANY SNP MSP or MP remains loyal to this party? After all if they can do it to Alex they can do it to any of them. Also remember Alex is not the only one to be defamed, lost the whip and been abandoned for no fault on their part.
The only excuse I can see is (to paraphrase)
‘How difficult it is to understand if a person’s salary depends on them not understanding something’
@Andy Ellis (9.18) –
Thanks for the lengthy reply. I agree with most of what you write. It’s just the ‘fake’ tag that really sticks in the craw.
@Ian B
We can dance on the head of a pin about terminology all we like, but those supporting the gradualists prospectus aren’t truly committed to achieving independence from what I can see.
Either you believe we need permission or you don’t. If people accept the former they’re devolutionists surely? ?
Fabiani is leading a burlesque – picture it now- designed to cover Nicola Sturgeons criminal arse.
What a swindle.
“Further… appear not to be processed for many weeks”.
Just how many people are in the loop behind Ms Fabiani? See also redacting.