Author: caltonjock

The Scottish Government has given £215,000 to the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF), a group run by Osama Saeed, an SNP member who is about to contest the Glasgow Central seat in the next Westminster election. Most of the cash will be spent on an “IslamFest” which is being organised by Saeed and will be held in Scotland next year. But another Muslim organisation which applied for funding last year for a similar event was turned down. Last night, Muslim leaders across Scotland – including a prominent member of the SNP – expressed anger at the funding, alleging SIF was receiving preferential treatment because of Saeed’s Nationalist links. Along with Saeed, the Foundation’s members also include SNP researcher Humza Yousaf and Gail Lythgoe, the national secretary of SNP Students. SIF will spend £200,000 on the IslamFest in Glasgow next year at which Muslims and non-Muslims can enjoy displays related to Islamic culture, religion and art. The group has also received £10,152 to spend on computer and office equipment for its central Glasgow headquarters, and £5,600 for administration and volunteer and management training. The funding has infuriated senior members of the Muslim community, including the general secretary of the Glasgow Islamic Centre, Scotland’s largest Muslim organisation. It said it asked Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the MSP for Glasgow Govan, for £132,851 last year to spend on activities aimed at keeping youngsters away from extremism, but “had heard nothing”. In another case, the Muslim Sufi community asked for up to £30,000 to help fund a Sufi festival in Glasgow. They were informed by a Scottish Government official in November last year that “all resources have been committed for the rest of the financial year”. Mohammed Ashraf, of Glasgow’s Sufi community, said: “It seems just one person is having support from the Scottish Executive, and for them to put that much faith into one group is not right.” He added: “The SNP is being one-sided. Osama is close to them and obviously they have decided to put their weight behind him.”

Scottish media is reporting further details on charges of cronyism, discussed in a post from Monday, leveled against the Scottish First Minister after taxpayer money was given to the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) a new Scottish Islamic organization with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. According to one report:

By gmbwatch on April 10, 2012

The Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) has announced that it recently led a delegation of national and European parliamentarians to assess the political situation in Tunisia. According to the CEPR press release:

From March 31 – April 3, the CEPR delegation met with the Tunisian President, Moncef Marzouki, as well as the Human Rights Minister, plus the leaders of the main political parties, and youth representatives. Tunisian President with the CEPR delegation. Source: Agence Tunis-Afrique Presse.

Delegates raised the following key issues during their visit: the transition to democracy, economic challenges facing the country, the role of Islam in politics, and Tunisia’s position in international relations. Focusing on re-building Tunisia, international and Tunisian delegates expressed their support for Palestinian statehood and restoring Palestinian rights.

Leaders of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party said that the “previous administration did not do enough to help the Palestinians”.

Ennahda Party members said they were holding meetings with Fatah and Hamas to help encourage national reconciliation efforts.

President of Ennahda, Rached Ghannouchi, said: “democracy will be the answer to the whole region… there is no other way.” While Tunisia faces considerable economic problems – exacerbated by a fall in tourism and instability following the revolution – all delegates remarked on the overall sense of optimism for Tunisia’s future.

In his closing remarks with President Marzouki, Lord Alderdice emphasized the role played by Tunisians in sparking the Arab protests and claimed that: “regardless of whether or not Tunisia wishes to be a model for others, it is!”

The 2012 CEPR delegation to Tunisia: Lord John Alderdice – House of Lords, UK Dr. Phil Bennion – Member of European Parliament Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter – House of Lords, UK Mr. Pádraig Mac Lochlainn – Teachta Dála, Ireland Mr. Gerald Nash – Teachta Dála, Ireland Mr. Rare?-Lucian Niculescu – Member of European Parliament Mr. Adrian Radut – Political Advisor Ms. Clare Short – Former Secretary of State for International Development, UK Dr. Arafat Shoukri – Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) Mr. Drew Smith –

Member of Scottish Parliament Mr. James Tuite – Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) Mr. Humza Yousaf – Member of Scottish Parliament –

Last March, a post discussed a CEPR statement condemning Israel’s latest military actions in Gaza.

The CEPR Web site describes the organization as follows:

The Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) is an independent not-for-profit organisation which has been established to promote dialogue and understanding between European, Palestinian and Arab parliamentarians and policy-makers. It seeks a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on justice and the restoration of Palestinian rights in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law.

Despite its claim of independence, the CEPR is headed by Dr. Arafat Shoukri (aka Arafat Madi, Arafat Madi Shoukri) who is also the executive director of the Palestine Return Centre (PRC) in the U.K. The PRC has strong ties to the global Muslim Brotherhood and two PRC directors are also directors of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), generally regarded as part of the UK. Muslim Brotherhood.

The PRC is also listed as an affiliate of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) dominated by UK. Muslim Brotherhood groups. PRC activities are frequently promoted by the MAB, MCB, and other U.K Brotherhood organizations. PRC director Ghassan Four is also a Trustee of INTERPAL, a key member of the Union of Good and part of the Muslim Brotherhood Hamas fund-raising network .

PRC director Zaher Birawi is a Trustee of Education Aid for Palestine (EAP), also a part of the Union of Good. Mr. Birawi is also head of programming for Al-Hiwar TV which frequently features MB/Hamas individuals and organizations and was founded by Azzam Al-Tamimi, a U.K Muslim Brotherhood leader and close to Hamas.

An Israeli web site, known to be close to Israeli military intelligence, has reported that Mr. Birawi, along with another PRC Trustee are “past Hamas operatives who found refuge in Britain in the early nineties.” Dr. Shoukri is also the chairman of the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG) which was the main organizer of the unsuccessful Second Gaza Flotilla and which operates from the same address and has the same telephone as the PRC. The CEPR appears to operate largely as a lobbying group at the EU and has accompanied EU lawmakers on trips to Gaza.

The Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) led a delegation, consisting of national and European parliamentarians, to assess the political situation in Tunisia one year after the revolution. As Chair of the delegation, Lord Alderdice stated that they were “hugely impressed and encouraged by the progress made in the democratic transition of the country.”

October 2008@

A Scottish-Islamic Foundation delegation has just returned from Turkey, where they were invited for high level meetings with officials in the country. The delegation included Chairman Ken Imrie, Public Affairs Director Humza Yousaf and Chief Executive Osama Saeed. They met with Parliamentarians and officials from the ruling AK party, and a senior journalist from one of the country’s leading newspapers.

The trip comes in advance of the Islamic finance and trade expo that SIF are organising in Edinburgh in May next year, and which aims to bring investment into Scotland from the Muslim world. It recently emerged that the Scottish Government were considering visiting Qatar in order to explore opportunities. In August, the SIF arranged a meeting between Wadah Khanfar, the director general of Al-Jazeera – who are very close to the Qatari regime – and deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon, with Khanfar at the time backing and pledging his support for engagement.

A number of previous posts have discussed the background of the SIF and its relationship with the Scottish government.

Responding to criticisms about dealing with some regimes in the Middle East, an SIF official stated:

We need to deal with as progressive elements as we can. What we need to be clear about though is that engagement does not equate to silence, and if something needs to be said, we should not hold back. We hold Scotland Week in the US every year, but it doesn’t stop us saying that the Iraq War and Guantanamo Bay is wrong. There obviously needs to be red lines where international sanctions are concerned, but where normal diplomatic relations exist, what we hope to do through creating and expanding trade links is also to have a cultural and political engagement. This will be to the enrichment of all.

Scottish Muslim Brotherhood Group Meets With Turkish Officials

Members of the newly formed Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) are planning to launch the campaign, which will engage with issues such as the removal of nuclear weapons from Faslane and the environment. Women will also be given a voice within mosques and will be encouraged to form committees to decide policies specific to them. Traditional practices will be adapted to respond to Scottish society, with the intention of demonstrating the contribution Islam can make to the country, and a new mosque, currently being planned by a group of men and women that are mostly under 35, is expected to be built in East Renfrewshire, embodying the current thinking. Hamza Yousaf, director of public affairs at the SIF, said: “We believe that the very nature of Islam adapts across the centuries, but what we are doing is trying to modernise ourselves and remind ourselves of what Islam actually says, reach out to the people of Scotland.”

The report goes on to discuss plans to contribute to the Scottish economy:

Last week, the SIF met with the head of Al-Jazeera, Wadah Khanfar, after he spoke at the Edinburgh Television Festival, to discuss how Scotland can be promoted across the Islamic world. They spoke about an Islamic financial expo, due to take part in Scotland early next year, which will be a showcase for opportunities to invest in Scotland. Osama Saeed, chief executive of the SIF, said: “We showed arguably the most influential Arab around the hills and the lochs and he was really impressed. We also met with the deputy first minister and talked about how Scotland could promote itself and how little the Muslim world knows about Scotland.” Khanfar said he would consider making documentaries about Scotland and even mooted the opening of a Scottish bureau.The SIF also raised the possibility that the links made with the Islamic world could enable Scotland to act as an international peace broker, in a similar way to Norway. Saeed added: “This may even be a good opportunity to ease global tensions and we feel a responsibility to help if we can. ”

A previous post discuss plans by Al-Jazeera to set up a Scottish bureau. As that post noted, Al-Jazeera General Manager Wadah Khanfar is also tied to to the global Muslim Brotherhood as well as Hamas. The SIF report concludes by stating that the Scottish government is “firmly behind the SIF’s work”:

The Scottish government is so firmly behind the SIF’s work, particularly the expo idea, that it has donated £200,000 towards it. A spokeswoman said: “We believe that it is right to celebrate the diversity that exists in Scotland through events like this. In supporting it we will also be able to build links between communities and dispel the myths which undermine community cohesion.”

Earlier posts have discussed the aid provided by the Scottish government to the SIF.

Scottish Muslim Brotherhood Group Plans "Radical Campaign"

gmbwatch July 20, 2014 .

Featured Mideast Crisis. The Scottish government has published comments by External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf who says that Scotland “stands ready to accept Palestinian refugees” from the Gaza conflict. ‘The worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza has been well documented and the UN now estimates that over 18,000 people have been internally displaced. I have today written to the Home Secretary and told her that Scotland would be willing to accept Palestinian refugees and urged the UK to also play a part in easing the refugee crisis in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Scottish media reported that until 2009, Humza Yousaf had been a director of the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF), headed by his cousin Osama Saeed, a former official with the Muslim Association of Britain, part of the UK Muslim Brotherhood. The SIF was officially launched in 2008 and a UK think-tank has reported on its ties to the Global Muslim Brotherhood. A UK media report observed that former SIF chief Executive Osama Saeed enjoyed close relations with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond for whom he used to work as a researcher and documents Saeed’s controversial background including calls for an Islamic Caliphate and equivocal stands on terrorism. Saeed had been a candidate for the Scottish parliament on the ticket of the Scotttish Nationalist Party (SNP) and resigned his post as head of the SIF following an audit of the SIF accounts. SIF had been known to enjoy good relations with the Scottish government, receiving government funding on more than one occasion, although its links with the government were questioned by the Scottish Conservative party in 2010, noting the SIF ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The SIF ceased to exist sometime probably in 2011.

As for Humza Yousaf himself, his official biography notes that he had been a volunteer for Islamic Relief since the age of 10 and in the last two years has voluntarily worked as the media spokesman for Islamic Relief Scotland. Islamic Relief Worldwide is headquartered in the UK and has close ties to the Global Muslim Brotherhood. The GMBDW reported in June that Israel had banned Islamic Relief Worldwide from operating in Israel saying that it is involved in sending cash to Hamas. His biography also says that he “is an alumnus of the US State Department’s prestigious International Visitor Learning Programme”, known to have facilitated networking between US and Global Muslim Brotherhood groups and perhaps explaining the 2008 partnership between the SIF and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). The GMBDW reported in October 2008 on meetings between Humza Yousaf and Osama Saeed and the Turkish AKP as well as with Wadah Khanfar, at that the Director-General of Al Jazeera but also known to be close to Hamas and the Global Muslim Brotherhood. Mr Saeed is current employed as the Head of Media and Public Relations at the Al Jazeera Media Network.

Although the Minister for External Affairs and International Development is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government and the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet, the GMBDW wonders about the role of Mr. Yousaf in an independent Scottish government should that come to pass and what the implications might be for an independent Scotland’s foreign policy.

London-based Islamic Relief Worldwide was named among last year’s beneficiaries of the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund in a list revealed by SNP External Affairs minister Humza Yousaf last week. But it emerged that just four months ago, UBS bank closed an account held by IRW under counter-terrorism rules.

‘February 25, 2013 Islamic Relief Worldwide was given £398,000 last year as part of the Scottish Government’s £9million International Development Fund. But concerns have been raised after it emerged that a bank recently closed an account held by IRW and blocked all transactions because of regulations to prevent funds reaching rogue states. It was also revealed that a project director with IRW in Gaza was deported by Israel in 2006 for allegedly providing ‘funds and assistance to various Hamas institutions and organisations’. Politicians must ensure that the necessary checks are made into an outside organisation’s legitimacy whenever handing them taxpayers’ money. Jonathan Isaby, of Taxpayer Scotland It has raised serious questions over whether the ‘necessary checks’ are being made on organisations funded by Scotland’s controversial foreign aid scheme, which has cost taxpayers more than £33million since the SNP came to power in 2007. London-based IRW was named among last year’s beneficiaries of the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund in a list revealed by SNP External Affairs minister Humza Yousaf last week. But it emerged that just four months ago, UBS bank closed an account held by IRW under counter-terrorism rules. Previously, the charity had sparked controversy after a senior staff member was arrested in Israel and deported over alleged links to terrorist group Hamas. In 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Iyaz Ali, a Pakistani-born British national, was caught with ‘documents that attested to the organisation’s ties with illegal Hamas funds abroad’.

A post from November 2012 reported that Islamic Relief had recently had its bank account close by UBS in connection with counter-terrorism concerns. It was not clear from that report whether the closure applied to the Islamic Relief Worldwide and/or its U.K. subsidiary:

By GlobalMB on July 14, 2008

U.K. media has reported that the Scottish First Minister has been accused of cronyism by giving taxpayer money to the Scottish Islamic Foundation, a Muslim Brotherhood linked group headed by a prospective electoral candidate from his own party.

According to the report:

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond was last night accused of ‘cronyism’ for giving more than £200,000 of taxpayers’ money to a group headed by a prospective SNP candidate in the next Westminster election. Questions were asked as to why the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) was given funding while a similar bid by an ex-Labour councillor was thwarted by red tape. The SIF chief executive is Osama Saeed, a former researcher for Mr Salmond – who praised the group at its official launch last month. Two days later, Mr Saeed was canvassing at a local community festival in Glasgow, wearing an SNP rosette and handing out party stickers. Last night, opposition parties accused the First Minister of placing Nationalist ‘friends’ in key public roles and said Mr Saeed was using public money to boost his own profile. But Scottish Executive officials claim the SIF has cross-party support and that funding is provided for other Muslim groups. Mr Saeed hopes to become Nationalist MP for Glasgow Central at the next general election. The SIF received £16,000 for computer, office and training costs and a further £200,000 towards IslamFest – a cultural and trade event – from the Executive’s Race, Religion and Refugee Integration Fund in March.

the Scottish-Islamic Foundation

The foundation was wound up after spending several hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money with almost nothing to show for it and with large sums unaccounted for. Humza Yousaf’s aunt and mother were employed by the charity which was placed on a watch list after being described as an entry-level group for Islamist terrorists.

Last night, Glasgow Shettleston Labour MSP Frank McAveety said: ‘Mr Saeed is a key activist for the SNP and should know where and when it’s appropriate to canvass the public. ‘It’s unacceptable that, two days after being given thousands of pounds from the Scottish Executive, Mr Saeed is out campaigning and handing out SNP material at an ethnically diverse community festival. ‘The cronyism at the heart of this Government is endemic, with SNP friends being given key roles in key areas of Glasgow ahead of the next Westminster election.’ At least two other SIF members have strong links with the SNP. Public affairs group chairman Humza Yousaf is convener of Young Asian Scots for Independence and parliamentary press officer to Nationalist MSP Bashir Ahmad. Media marketing chairman Noman Tahir is also an active member of the party. Mr Saeed is a former spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain, described in the UK Parliament as the British version of the Muslim Brotherhood – a banned Egyptian group which believes in Jihad, or holy war. Mr Saeed has said he was not aware of the links between the two.

A previous post has discussed the creation of the SIF and its ties to the global Muslim Brotherhood as well Mr. Saeed’s seeming support for Scottish independence which would undoubtedly increase the importance of his organization. Since its inception, the SIF appears to have been taking on the usual subjects addressed by other Muslim Brotherhood organizations- “Islamaphobia”, government terrorism policies, and the role of Sharia (Islamic law).

Scottish First Minister Accused of "Cronyism" By Giving Funds to Muslim Brotherhood Group

(Source: “Salmond accused of £200,000 ‘cronyism’” Mail on Sunday (London) July 13, 2008 Sunday HI2

An understanding of the relevance to the SNP of the content of this article and those that follow is necessary in light of events since their publication. I commend them to you.

Global Muslim Brotherhood. By gmbwatch on January 17, 2015

Home

1. What is the Global Muslim Brotherhood?

Most observers are familiar with the pan-Islamic organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Founded in 1928 by Egyptian schoolteacher Hassan El-Banna, the Egyptian Brotherhood has been a wellspring of Islamism and political Islam since it inception. Its importance as a ‘springboard’ toward radicalization for individuals such as Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been widely discussed. Far less known is the existence of a global network of individuals and organizations that developed as Muslim Brotherhood members dispersed to other countries while fleeing the periodic crackdowns on the organization in Egypt.

Many of these Muslim Brothers (Ikhwan) settled in Europe and the United States where they went on to found what have become some of the most prominent Islamic organizations in their new home countries. Once established, these organizations began seeking legitimacy and have worked to influence and control the development of Islamic discourse and political activity in their respective countries. Less publicly, they are almost always associated with fundamentalism, anti-Semitism, and support for Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and even Hezbollah. While claiming to disavow Al-Qaeda linked terrorism, the Ikhwan are at best lukewarm in their condemnation of Islamist violence and commonly issue statements justifying and supporting such violence. When compared to the Egyptian organization, there has been relatively little scrutiny of the network that is referred to here as the Global Muslim Brotherhood. This network has become far more important to the Islamist movement worldwide than the Egyptian organization, which until recently had been largely confined to activities inside Egypt– where its members were under constant government surveillance and control until the fall of the Mubarak government in 2011.

The Global Muslim Brotherhood has been organized in the United States since 1963, when the Muslim Student Association (MSA) was established by Brotherhood members fleeing their home countries. Key figures in the MSA, as well as others linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, went on to form numerous other organizations, many of which have been recently identified by the US government in court documents as part of the U.S Brotherhood. The Global Muslim Brotherhood has been present in Europe since 1960 when Said Ramadan, the son-in-law of Hassan Al-Banna, founded a mosque in Munich. Since that time, Brotherhood organizations have been established in almost all of the EU countries as well as many non-EU countries such as Russia and Turkey. Many of these organizations have banded together into an EU-level lobbying group known as the Federation of Islamic Organizations of Europe (FIOE), based in Brussels and which includes some 26 European Muslim Brotherhood organizations as well as being the parent body for other pan-European Brotherhood bodies such as the European Council For Fatwa and Research (ECFR). The Global Muslim Brotherhood also includes important Saudi institutions, many of which were founded by Muslim Brothers who settled in the Kingdom. These include the Muslim World League (MWL) and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), both of which were created to propagate Saudi ‘Wahhabi’ Islam, a conservative version of Islam that teaches that the only true form of the religion is that which it is believed was practiced centuries ago. These US, European, and Saudi organizations, as well as Islamic organizations in other parts of the world, operate as a coherent network– sharing similar ideology, backgrounds, funding, and institutional links. They hold numerous conferences year after year, attended by the same core group of individuals.

While much remains to be learned about how the Global Muslim Brotherhood is coordinated and led, US court documents released during the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial indicate a degree of structure previously unknown. In addition, one individual holds a position of such esteem and influence within the Global Muslim Brotherhood that he is referred to here as the leader of the network. Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi is a highly influential theologian living in Qatar who also heads the European Council for Fatwa and Research and appears on a weekly Al Jazeera television program. Sheikh Qaradawi first rose to prominence through his participation on the editorial board of Al-Dawa magazine, an Egyptian publication that was allowed to circulate during the regime of Anwar Sadat and which was largely financed by money coming from Saudi Arabia. The Al-Dawa editorial board was composed largely of Muslim Brothers who had fallen out with the Brotherhood Supreme Guide over their willingness to cooperate with the Egyptian regime.

2. Is there any other evidence for the existence of a Global Muslim Brotherhood?

Several of the leaders of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood itself have acknowledged the existence of a Global Muslim Brotherhood. In July 2007, the then Supreme Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood explained:

This blessed movement founded by our martyr Imam- Allah have mercy on him- ensued a huge movement which is present in more than seventy countries all over the world, and is still spreading and bearing fruits.

Also in July 2007, Kamal al Helbawi, the MB’s former official spokesman in the West, said in a newspaper interview:

Generally speaking, no country is devoid of the MB, whether large or small, Arab or international. In the West, there is an Islamic movement that follows al Banna, but there are also others that have different references.”

In June 2008, the first Deputy chairman of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was asked about the “international Muslim Brotherhood and replied:

There are entities that exist in many countries all over the world. These entities have the same ideology, principle and objectives but they work in different circumstances and different contexts. So, it is reasonable to have decentralization in action so that every entity works according to its circumstances and according to the problems it is facing and in their framework.

John Reid, “now Baron”, (Labour Party bulldog) recently resurfaced and, declaring himself, “a man to be trusted” attacked any persons who said they would vote, “Yes” to independence. He should hang his head in shame and take himself away from politics forever. A has-been who blatantly failed the nations forces.

April 29 2006 Afghanistan:
The UK deployed over 3,000 military personnel, tasked to create a safe base and to provide leadership of the Nato-led peacekeeping force.

In direct support a large US-led force was deployed throughout the country aggressively eliminating militants.

John Reid, Secretary of State for Defence, addressing the world’s press in Kabul, spoke of how Britain would remain in the Nato offensive, emphasising the importance of preventing the Taliban returning to power.

He further stated, “We’re in Helmand and the South to assist and protect the Afghan people reconstructing their economy and democracy” and, “we would be perfectly happy to leave in three years time without firing one shot.”

In private he told the military that the area to which they had been deployed was infested with nests of vipers which should be eliminated .

The military  leader of the soldiers expressed surprise and disappointment and, warned Reid that his soldiers were not equipped nor trained to deal with problems such as indicated.

Reid blustered that they would havelearn quickly. He left the troops to their fate and removed himself to Westminster, well away from the conflict.

On his return to Westminster, he became embroiled in another government scandal.

1,200+ illegal immigrants, previously imprisoned for very serious crimes against UK citizens had not been deported on release and could not be traced.

The Home Secretary had been sacked for incompetence. Reid replaced him.

Casualties, in Afghanistan, quickly mounted up, as the British soldiers were constntly  attacked

It was noted in the Press that a USA unit located with the UK force was suffering markedly fewer casualties.

Th  Americans attributed this to the armig of soldirs with appropriate weaponry and equipmentt, effcctive protective clothing, specialst sniper kill training and back-up support.

Requests to Westminster for similar measures  to be introduced, were rebuffed, by the Treasury since finance for the mission had been previously fixed.

Casualties continued increasing and the UK media, appalled at the attrition level publicly voiced their concerns. This resulted in pressure being applied by the UK public who insisted UK forces should be properly trained and equipped.

Westminster reluctantly agreed to rectify matters and borrowed £ billions on the open market.

Major General Mackay

Britain Sent Troops Into Helmand Province With, “Eyes Shut and Fingers Crossed”

Greatly respected, Force Commander in Helmand, Major General Mackay,(in an interview in the Times), not long after he left the Army said;

“Labour’s approach to the Afghan mission had proved “very costly.  The genesis of their approach is born of complacency, the thought that, ‘we can deal with it as and when it happens. It resulted, I believe, in the upper echelons of the Labour government going into Helmand with their eyes shut and their fingers crossed.For those who fought and died or suffered injuries in that period, this proved a very costly means of conducting counter-insurgency. The issue is whether or not our politicians, diplomats, intelligence services, civil servants and senior military have done enough, adapted enough, been innovative enough or courageous enough to make tough, and more often than not, unpalatable choices.My answer to that question is that they have not or have failed to do so too often. Muddling through seemed to be the default setting, along with the protection of individual and collective interests”.

Follow up – The disastrous legacy John Reid left the Army and the nation

446 British soldiers met their deaths – a higher figure than in Iraq, or the Falklands – most commonly from improvised explosive devices buried along the dusty roads of Helmand province. They have been killed at four times the rate of US troops, a statistical disparity which nobody at Westminster seems anxious to have explained.

The maximum acceptable level of Major Combat casualties is 6 deaths per 1000.  USA forces suffered 3 deaths per 1000 in the same period.

UK forces suffered 13 deaths per 1000. (twice the normal rate).

3560 soldiers were wounded. A snapshot of non-lethal casualties showed that in one year alone, (between April 2012 and March 2013)  29 British soldiers had limbs amputated. Twelve of these were classified as “significant multiple amputees”. The average age of those who died was 22. Thirty-one were teenagers, 200 in their 20s.

Of the Afghan veterans who had made it home more or less in one piece, the most common cause of death in 2012 was suicide.

One reason for the very high British casualty rate – in the absence of written evidence – could be the ignorance and stupidity of British politicians and their carelessness about the lives of the young people they were sending into battle, the resultant failure to provide basic equipment and the deployment of personnel in ways which made no military (or any other sort of) sense.

John Swinney – The Scottish MSP who spent 20 years plotting against and destroying fundamentalist nationalists achieved his life’s ambition in leading a firmly committed gradualist SNP Government. But to where?

Swinney was born in Edinburgh on 13 April 1964. He attended the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an MA Honours degree in politics in 1986.

He married work colleague Lorna in 1991. They had two children. The marriage ended in 1998 (annulled in 2000) after he discovered she was cheating on him with a married school-teacher. She retained the family home and the children and he moved into rented accommodation.

He decided to get married again. But there was a problem. His fiancée was a committed Roman Catholic and he was a divorced protestant and a wedding would not be permitted in a Roman Catholic Chapel unless his previous marriage had been annulled which was not possible because he had fathered two children in the marriage cancelling out any possibility of an annulment. If he and Elizabeth went ahead with the marriage it would not be recognised by the Roman Catholic Church and any children from the marriage might face other censures.

His first marriage was annulled by the Vatican using an obscure technical excuse, (kept secret) to the chagrin of the Protestant Church and in July 2003, he married BBC journalist, Roman Catholic, Elizabeth Quigley. How did he manage to get an annulment of his first marriage?

https://twitter.com/i/grok/share/7Mdn9JRb9rkiDPaz2LZBCNSXD

Early employment:

Swinney was a research officer for the Scottish Coal Project (1987–1988), a senior management consultant with Development Options (1988–1992), and a strategic planning principal with Scottish Amicable (1992–1997).

Political Career 1979-2021

He joined the SNP aged 15 and was an active member of the youth wing, progressing over the years to the post of Assistant National Secretary then, in 1986, at the early age of 22, National Secretary until 1992, when he was promoted to the post of Vice Convenor, then Senior Vice Convenor (Deputy Party Leader) holding the position until 1997.

He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) in 1997, for the Tayside North constituency, and in 1999 he became an MSP for the same area in the Scottish Parliament.

He gave up the “dual mandate” as a Westminster MP at the 2001 general election to reduce his time away from home.

He supported Margaret Ewing in her 1990 bid to become SNP leader, but transferred his allegiance to Alex Salmond who won it.

Early Party and political Career 1979-1997

He joined the SNP aged only 15 and was an active member of the youth wing, progressing over the years to the post of Assistant National Secretary then, in 1986, at the early age of 22, National Secretary until 1992, when he was promoted to the post of Vice Convenor, then Senior Vice Convenor (Deputy Party Leader) holding the position until 1997.

He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) in 1997, for the Tayside North constituency, and in 1999 he became an MSP for the same area in the Scottish Parliament.

He gave up the “dual mandate” as a Westminster MP at the 2001 general election in order reducing his time away from home.

He supported Margaret Ewing in her 1990 bid to become SNP leader, but transferred his allegiance to Alex Salmond who won it.

2000 to date: The Holyrood years – MSP Tayside North (1999-2011) then MSP for Perthshire North

Alex Salmond resigned the Party leadership in 2000 and Swinney was elected Leader in the ensuing election.

2001: His leadership was ineffectual, with the Party losing an MP in 2001

2002: Swinney’s Chief of Staff, Stuart Barrowman walked away from the job just eight months after becoming the party’s top official because of savage in-fighting.

His decision to quit came as senior members of the party fought a bloody battle for re-selection as candidates for the Holyrood elections.

Barrowman was one of Swinney’s vital strategists and was in charge of parliamentary staff and the Holyrood group budget and was the key to building an effective opposition to the Labour-led Executive.

The run-up to the series of Nationalist hustings was a bruising internal battle with spin and smear campaigns being waged against some of the most senior MSPs in the party.

Informed sources advised that Party members, fed up with the dithering gradualists wished to appoint fundamentalist candidates and senior MSPs could end up well down the list – endangering their Holyrood seats.

Aug 2003: Swinney’s Leadership was challenged by Dr. Bill Wilson. Although he stood little chance of winning, it was the hope of Swinney’s critics that a “stalking horse” bid would provoke a serious challenge to a leader whose standing with Party members had been damaged further by the loss of even more MSP’s.

Critics blamed the losses on the Swinney’s style and his lack of charisma and his dictatorial style of leadership alienated a number of MSP’s including former MSP, Dorothy-Grace Elder and legendary SNP, figure Margo McDonald both of whom resigned from the Party.

A senior Party activist commented:

“This shows the widespread frustration among the grass roots. This was Labour’s worst election performance, but we could not capitalise on it – in fact we lost eight seats. And to add insult to injury, we had John Swinney and others claiming that it was a good campaign.”

2003: Swinney won the leadership contest. In a result marked by a low turnout and many abstentions an unhappy membership confirmed Swinney as Party Leader. Speaking just after the result was announced a relieved Swinney said:

“This has been an uncomfortable summer for the SNP. But we have emerged stronger. I have made it clear that I have listened to members concerns and I will continue to listen. But the row between the gradualist side of the party and those who are in favour of an independence referendum, and the fundamentalist wing, who want all or nothing, should now end. The door is shut on these arguments”.

West of Scotland List MSP, Campbell Martin was the first MSP to publicly back Bill Wilson in his leadership challenge and Swinney’s supporters feared his breaking ranks might spark an open revolt amongst the other 27 MSP’s.

Speaking to the press he exposed deep divisions in the SNP saying his position reflected growing grassroots opposition to Swinney’s lack of commitment to independence. He said:

“The SNP is supposed to be the party of independence but under the current leader we have started to walk away from our core belief. Instead, we have argued to be allowed to form the Scottish Executive and manage devolution within the United Kingdom. I am sure the leadership of the party still believes in independence, it’s just that, to them, it has become an eventual aim that would be nice if it happened but no longer the main priority”.

He futher claimed Swinney was losing support of large swathes of the SNP because of the “New Labourisation” of the party and that he had surrounded himself with a clique of MSPs and unelected advisers who were shifting the party to the right, and continued saying:

“The clique that surrounds Swinney believes that if you are not with them, then you are against them and you are fair game to be attacked – even if your “crime” is nothing more than simply disagreeing with them. In the years of his leadership a number of SNP MSPs have complained about their treatment by the clique around the leader”.

Of Dr Wilson’s failed bid, he said:

“John Swinney will be pleased with the result. But he must now look over his shoulder. Bill took almost 20 per cent of the vote which means Swinney is effectively on probation until next year’s conference. Any danger to his leadership could now surface from people within his own leadership clique, who could now see an opportunity for themselves.”

2003: Swinney hoped the prospect of a referendum would quell rebellion in the Party after he discussed his proposals with the Green Party and other independence supporting MSP’s. But Senior SNP figures, who believe victory at the ballot box is all that is needed for independence, said that Swinney was fudging the issue in failing to grasp the nettle of independence and this confused voters. One senior fundamentalist said: “What we want is independence not indecision”.

Swinney retorted: “the choice for the SNP now is to follow my route into government and deliver independence through a referendum, or go into the political wilderness as we did in the 1980s, and that wasn’t a nice place for us.”

A senior party figure questioned the wisdom of his plans to build a coalition, saying: “This smacks of desperation. Swinney wants to reform the party believing a referendum on independence is the way forward. But his ploy to silence the fundamentalists won’t work. All it does is show that we don’t have full confidence in winning a majority in the Scottish Parliament.”

2004: The European election was a disaster.

2004: Furious Swinney blamed Alex Salmond for his downfall when he bowed out from the Party leadership with an angry swipe at internal back-stabbing in the SNP. In a veiled attack on the fundamentalists he said: “You know who they are, I know who they are. Let’s make sure they don’t corrode the SNP and thwart our campaign for independence. The small but vocal minority must understand that our leader is democratically elected and once elected should be supported by every single member.”

It transpired that Swinney had thought Sturgeon was an ally but was “furious” when he was told that she had been briefing against him. He told his small group of close friends that he blamed Alex Salmond, the man he replaced, for turning Sturgeon and much of the party against him.

Convinced his support would be sufficient to tip the balance in her favour he visited Roseanna Cunningham at home and told her he would be backing her bid for the leadership.

A senior Party member said: “As the knives came out, Swinney was astonished to hear Sturgeon was briefing against him. He thought it a poor show after everything he’d done for her. He’s been destroyed by back-stabbing and is convinced Alex Salmond orchestrated a whispering campaign against him. It’s one member one vote and his move will gift 1,000 votes to Roseanna out of the 8,000 up for grabs. That will swing it for her and Sturgeon has only got herself to blame. She was Alex Salmond’s star girl then Swinney took her under his wing when he took over. Now he finds out that she’s been stitching him up at what he thinks is Alex Salmond’s instruction.”

2004: But it was Alex Salmond who returned to the role of Party leader.

2007: Under his leadership the Party won the highest number of seats, (just short of a majority) in the Scottish Parliament in the 2007 Scottish election and he was appointed First Minister. As the head of a minority administration, he was unable to secure the approval of Scotland’s Parliament for a referendum on independence.

He tempered his ambitions and emphasized his priority would be sustainable economic growth, fairer taxes, education, and environmental awareness and he quickly implemented a number of popular measures, such as freezing council tax rates. He also maintained a close watch over Swinney whom he appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth. A post in which he remained in until 2014.

2011: Expense scandals surfaced. Swinney was castigated by the press for taking a huge profit from the sale of his taxpayer funded apartment. The two-storey terraced property was sold for £430k, after being bought for £355k while he was the Leader of the SNP. After capital gains tax, his total profit was around £57,000. And in the period between the purchase and the sale, Swinney claimed more than £60,000 of taxpayers’ money to pay for the interest on his mortgage.

Swinney, at the time was overseeing the implementation of the UK chancellor’s austerity spending cuts and a public sector pay freeze, yet saw no problem in claiming a huge sum of money from taxpayers. He already earns a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary, which makes his claims and profit another kick in the teeth for hard-working families. The Taxpayers Alliance commented “the way politicians are able to make a profit from taxpayer-funded homes is a scandal.

2011: Alex Salmond’s diligence in the previous parliament was rewarded with the Party gaining an overall majority in the 2011 election and in 2012 he signed an agreement with British Prime Minister Cameron to hold an independence referendum in 2014. In the months leading up to the referendum, he inspired the pro-independence cause, steadily eroding a significant lead held by the Unionist Party’s.

2014: He emerged as the clear winner of a televised debate with Labour politician Alistair Darling, the leader of “Better Together,” the multiparty campaign committed to preserving Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom. In polls held shortly after the debate, 51 percent of those expressing an opinion favoured independence. This marked the first time since polling on the matter began that the pro-independence camp had registered a lead. Cameron’s response was to promise major new devolved powers and greater autonomy through “the Vow” (published in the Daily Record illegally, within the purgatory period).

On September 18, 2014, Scots went to the polls in unprecedented numbers, with turnout approaching 85 percent, and 55 percent voted to reject independence. In his concession speech, Salmond declared that Scotland had “decided not, at this stage, to become an independent country,” a statement that raised the possibility of another referendum on the matter at some point in the future. The day after the referendum, he announced that he would resign as first minister and SNP leader, a move that became official at the SNP’s national conference in November 2014, when he was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon.

2014: Sturgeon succeeded Alex Salmond. Swinney retained his job as Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth adding the title Deputy First Minister to his CV.

2016: Sturgeon decided to freshen-up her government with the addition of new faces and Swinney, who publicly claimed he had asked for a new challenge, was downgraded to the post of Education Secretary where he remained until 2021.

2021: Scottish Elections saw the SNP returned to power. Sturgeon, unhappy with Swinney’s performance in the Education brief, removed him from office to a new post as Covid Recovery Secretary.

Teflon John just keeps rollin along racking up political failure after failure completely oblivious to his inadequacies. A multi million pound write off disaster. Hopefully 2026 will bring his career to an end.

GROK report here:

It is a very full report covering a number (but not all) of the controversy’s involving Swinney It is a long read but well worth it.

https://twitter.com/i/grok/share/FIrTKb4XGw8sN4ZbOFtlxzHeu