Money makes the world go around

 

 

1 July 2014: Who sat with whom at the 2013 Conservative Party fundraising dinner with an £11,000,000,000,000  guest list

This is a table-by-table breakdown of some of the business tycoons, foreign investors and lobbyists who were invited to the Tories’ annual summer fundraiser at Old Billingsgate market in London on 24 June 2013. The information is based on the guest list leaked to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian. Donations as recorded in the Electoral Commission register since it began in 2001.

 

 

 

Table 1: The Prime Minister’s table: Sponsored by Howard Shore (£1000 per head). At least £1,545,470,588 in combined wealth at the table.

 

 

 

* David Cameron: Prime Minister. How Rich and Wealthy Is David Cameron?  Some say David Cameron is the second most powerful man after Barack Obama and is close to taking over, what is for certain is that the British Premier is actually very rich and wealthy. The Prime Minister comes from a long line of wealthy fathers and has believed to amassed a lot of money as one generation has passed onto the next with interest,  this does not sit very well with the British public who are broke however many people who have worked with the Premier are coming out and letting the public know how much David Cameron is worth.

 

 

The David Cameron image is very important to him and sometimes money gets in the way. David’s grandfather and great uncles were also financiers and stockbrokers and have been linked to many great deals,  Sir Ewan Cameron; one of David’s great grandfathers helped the all powerful Rothschild sell war bonds during the war making enormous amounts of money at the cost of many Jewish lifes.  It is not clear how much he has but it has been speculated that it is around £100m or maybe even more. The Premier sometimes hides his fortune because it tarnishes the David Cameron image of conservatism and looks very elitist. If you now combine all the areas the Cameron’s make money from it is speculated that the total amount comes to £150m if you add all the property and financial assets, this is something that does not sit well with the British public who are arguably going through one of the toughest recession of our time while paying the Premier for his second home.  There has been speculation that David would have waived his salary however this would have created even more speculation. If you want to know How Rich and Wealthy Is David Cameron then read on.

http://www.infobarrel.com/How_Rich_and_Wealthy_is_David_Cameron_2012_-_British_Prime_Minister_Net_Worth_-_Samantha_Cameron_Money

 

 

 
* Samantha Cameron: Prime Minister’s wife. Loadsa money daughter of a viscount. Related to royalty. Samantha Cameron also has a family history of being very rich, her Father Sir. Reginald is said to be worth £20m and her stepfather Viscount Astor is said to be worth £130m, with all this money flying around Samantha is bound to be rich too!

 

 

 
* Howard Shore: Founder of Shore Capital. Outspoken critic of EU regulation. Personal donations: £23,940 Personal + company donations: £499,330.  http://www.cityam.com/212921/shore-capital-backs-uk-bid-reform-eu

 

 
* Andree Shore: Wife of Howard Shore. Major Shareholder in husbands company. http://www.shorecap.co.uk/shares-and-significant-shareholders/

 

Andree Shore (R)

 
* Nicholas Berggruen: Billionaire investor, philanthropist and art collector with interests in global governance. Wealth: £1,176,470,588. http://conservativeread.com/bilderberg-conference-2014-eating-our-politicians-for-breakfast/

 

 

Nicholas Berggruen (Centre)Nicholas Berggruen

 
* Darko Horvat: Slovenian financier who is thought to reside in Switzerland Wealth: £189,000,000. Among those who did get to chew the rhubarb with Dave and Sam was Darko Horvat. Party sources stonewalled when queried about Horvat’s presence hard by the seat of power; maybe he was there to advise on the problem of chronic indebtedness. Once third in the Slovenian rich list, Horvat took a haircut, amounting to whole-body depilation, when an over-leveraged property venture in Las Vegas launched just before the crash (he already owned the Hotel Plaza in New York, flogged by Donald Trump to finance divorcing Ivana) belly-flopped, leaving Darko with several hundred million dollars in liabilities and just a few hectares of Nevadan rubble as collateral. He was a trailblazer in the Slovenian privatisation drive that doubled the national debt and lumbered the country’s banks with toxic assets. Darko now slums it in St Moritz with only £180 million or so to his name.

 

 

 

 

 
* Jared Carney: Founder of Lightdale, a California consultancy, with business interests in Singapore, Canada, UK, Brazil and China. Has extensive business experience, is very well connected, and a strong interest in healthcare. http://www.lightdalellc.com/team/

 

 
* Sir John Ritblat: UK property billionaire. British Land’s former chairman and chief executive. Now chairman of governors of the Alpha Plus group of schools. Wealth: £180,000,000. 514th on the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List. ‘He is a charming old rogue, a bit of an old-fashioned spiv,’ said one analyst who knows and likes him. Invariably impeccably attired in pin-striped suit and spotless handkerchief in the top pocket, arriving in a chauffeur-drive Bentley for meetings, he fits the archetypal impression of a property developer. But it is through his financing innovations, rather than his development prowess, that he will be most remembered. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/jul/16/theobserver.observerbusiness3    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1118642/Ritblat-firm-wields-jobs-axe-crisis-bites.html

 

 

 

 

Table 2: The Home Secretary’s table: Sponsored by Howard Shore (£1000 per head). At least £1,800,000,000 in combined wealth at the table.

 

Theresa May
* Theresa May: Home Secretary and MP for Maidenhead.

 

 

Frances Osborne Nee Howell and Husband georgeFrances Howell
* Lord De La Warr (William Sackville): Director of Cluff Natural Resources, Holder of underground coal gasification licences in England Wales and Scotland. http://www.cluffnaturalresources.com/projects.aspx   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10518369/Coalition-backs-coal-based-energy-revolution.html

Frances Osborne Nee Howell a direct descendent of Edward the first, is the eldest daughter of Conservative Minister Baron David Howell. Her Great Grandmother was the infamous Idina Sackville (the Bolter). Directly related to Lord De La Warr she married 5 times had numerous lovers and was into wife swapping in a big way. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2511499/Idina-Sackville-portrait-woman-hooked-seduction.html

 

Lord De La Warr (William Sackville)Idina Sackville

 

 

 
* Dr Jim Hay: Another oil linked billionaire. Wealth: £300,000,000. Personal donations: £184,700.  307th on the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List. Worked for BP for 27 years, is a well-known racing horse and stables owner and is a close friend of Carole Middleton. He was chemical development director for BP Chemicals, leaving the company in 2002 before the Texas City refinery blast in 2006 in which 15 people died and around 500 were injured, having been asked in 2002 to follow up on how the refinery had deteriorated.

Hay broke off from BP in 2002 and acquired Dubai-based Fosroc chemicals company from his former employer. Fosroc is part of JMH Group, a property development, construction and chemicals company that he co-owns with his wife Fitriani Hay (beloved of the high society glossies). http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/newsdesk/energy/news/tory-donors-linked-unconventional-gas-industry

 

Dr Jim Hay and Kate Middleton’s father together as Ascot

 

 

* Viscount Astor:  Conservative peer in the House of Lords. (Son of the infamous Lord Astor heavily involved in the 1960’s Profumo Affair that brought down Harold MacMillan’s Tory government. A scandal that exposed the hypocrisy of an establishment quick to take offence. What’s new? One also that exposed the dishonesty of the police and prosecuting authorities and of the security services. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2536258/Why-I-admire-Mandy-Rice-Davies-Viscount-Astor-Camerons-father-law-tells-reconciliation-showgirl-involved-Profumo-scandal.html  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/profumo-affair-50-years-top-1931952

Lord and lady Astor & DavidStephen Ward Christine Keeler (R)

Mandy Rice DaviesJohn Profumo (R)

 

David Cameron’s father-in-law has said he may have to put on a “Rob Roy-style Scottish accent” to stop the Scottish National Party launching a “Mugabe-style” raid on his family’s estate in Scotland. Viscount Astor, writing in this week’s edition of The Spectator magazine, said he was worried the SNP was planning land reforms to take away estates from large landowners north of the Border. The concerns had worsened after the general election when the SNP won 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland.

 

Lord AstorLord Astor’s father – Mandy Rice Davies lover

 

 

Mr Cameron has been a regular visitor to the 20,000-acre Tarbert Estate on Jura, which is run by a company registered in the Bahamas Tax haven named after the Astors’ home in Oxfordshire.

Lord Astor, a former Tory minister, married Annabel Astor, Samantha Cameron’s mother, in 1976 after her divorce from Sir Reginald Sheffield. He recalled how his American grandparents were treated with suspicion by the people of Jura when they bought the estate nearly a century ago but they “became well liked in the community”. He said that following the SNP’s startling victory “families like us worry that we will find ourselves regarded as foreigners again in our own country”.

He added: “Are we really going to have to defend owning so many acres of hill when 500 acres of hill may be only worth the same or even less than one acre of good farmland in he lowlands of Scotland? “Is it because we don’t sound Scottish? We should not all have to sound like Rob Roy. “If the SNP wants us all to speak with a certain type of Scottish accent, what does that say to the many hundreds of thousands in the immigrant community who have lived in Scotland for a long time but still speak with the accent of their birth? Are they not Scottish?”

A spokesman for Ms McLeod said: “People in Scotland are having a mature and respectful debate on how land ownership can deliver greater public benefits, and Viscount Astor should consider whether some of his remarks meet the standards of debate that they expect. “The recent consultation on land reform shows that there is popular support for our proposals for an accountable and transparent system of land rights that promotes fairness and social justice, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11619189/David-Camerons-father-in-law-offers-to-adopt-a-Rob-Roy-style-Scottish-accent-to-stop-Mugabe-style-landgrab-by-SNP.html

 

 

 

 
* Lord Sterling: Conservative peer in the House of Lords. Finance Director of General Guarantee Corporation from 1962 to 1964. Founded his own company, Sterling Guarantee Trust in 1969. Chairman of P&O from 1983 to 2005. Merged it with Sterling Guarantee in 1985. Special adviser to successive trade secretaries in the Thatcher government between 1982 and 1990. Created a life peer in her resignation honours list in December 1990. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/9307702/George-Osborne-lacks-vision-and-Vince-Cable-is-not-up-to-the-job-claims-Lord-Sterling.html    http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/36781/jewish-man-becomes-royal-navy-admiral

Lord Sterling

 

 

* Wafic Said: Syria born and living in Monaco and the UK among other abodes, he is worth around £2.5bn. Chairman of Said Holdings, a Bermuda-based investment company.  55th on the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List. Broker in controversial British Aerospace arms trade deal with the Saudi government and Margaret Thatcher in the late 1980s. The deal was paid for in £15bn of Saudi oil – 600,000 barrels were delivered per day. Said denies receiving any money from the deal and says he played a minor part in the negotiations. Saïd has historically been one of the Tory party’s most prominent donors, giving more than £500,000 in donations through his wife.

 

Rosemary Said and Wafic Said

 

In 2005 Saïd’s daughter Rasha was recorded as donating £47,000 to the party – when she was only a teenager. The Electoral Commission said there had been no wrongdoing, accepting the ‘clerical error’ stating Rasha instead of her mother Rosemary. Nowadays Saïd is a philanthropist and chairman of Saïd Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-registered holding company that has a varied portfolio of global investments including Saudi firm Daiym Holdings, http://www.dayimholdings.com/corporate.pdf which has a joint venture with the Indian Punj Lloyd Group to build oil, gas and petrochemical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

* Rosemary Said: Wife of Wafic Said. Major donor who gave £580,000 in the last two years. Personal donations: £679,266. Rosemary’s daughter Rasha Said first made a name for herself by donating money to the Tory party, just as her controversial billionaire father did in the past.

But there was nothing conservative about her multi-million-pound wedding at France’s Palace of Versailles. In scenes that defied David Cameron’s austerity policies, the 26-year-old London-based socialite staged one of the most expensive marriage celebrations in recent history.

 

Palace of VersaillesPrincess Michael of Kent

 

 

The lavish affair was attended by senior Conservatives including International Development Minister Alan Duncan, at the palace that was once home to France’s notoriously spendthrift kings. Miss Said’s wedding to fellow PR worker Khaled Khawaja, 27, featured a two-hour live performance by pop star Robbie Williams and a 15ft-high tiered cake. Among the 700 British guests were the Duchess of York and her daughters, the Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, Princess Michael of Kent, Sir Michael Caine, Tory grandee Nicholas Soames, hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and his family, Samantha Cameron’s mother, Viscountess Astor, and Sotheby’s boss Henry Wyndham.

It was paid for by 72-year-old tycoon Wafic Said, a close friend of Margaret Thatcher and one of the Tories’ most prominent financial backers before being linked with a shady arms deal. Those who accuse Mr Cameron of being an out-of-touch member of the upper classes will also have raised an eyebrow at the presence of his mother-in-law, Viscountess Annabel Astor. Her daughter, Samantha Cameron, frequently tries to play down the family’s privileged background, as does Eton-educated Mr Cameron.

Mr Said’s donations were banned during a sleaze crackdown because he was not deemed to be a British resident, but in 2005 Miss Said was recorded as giving £47,000 to the Conservatives. Then a teenager, she would not have had enough money for the donation, prompting claims that she had unlawfully acted as a ‘proxy’ to her father. But the Conservatives said it was a clerical error, and that the money had come from Rosemary Said, Miss Said’s British mother. An enquiry carried out by the Electoral Commission found there had been no wrongdoing, and Miss Said remains a Conservative supporter.

 

 

Rasha Said and Khaled Khawaja Fergie & her Daughters

 

On Saturday her family and friends filled Versailles, the palace most commonly associated with the Sun King, Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette. The monarchs’ high living cost them their heads during the 1789 French Revolution, but this weekend’s guests had no thought of anything spoiling their merriment as they tucked into a cordon bleu vintage banquet in a resplendent state room. Dressed in black tie and ball gowns, they filed through the world famous Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed to officially end World War I in 1919.

On Saturday evening, the revellers were serenaded in the manicured Orangery gardens by Robbie Williams – a singer who is unlikely to provide a private performance for less than £1million. ‘It was an incredible celebration – one that couldn’t be more luxurious,’ said one of the guests. ‘Many of the guests were so rich they arrived by private jets, but even they were surprised by how lavish the whole thing was. ‘The whole thing would have cost many millions. People came from all over the world, but there were plenty of Conservative Party supporters from England.’

Speaking about her big day earlier this year, Miss Said said modestly: ‘We want to keep it very private. It is an occasion just for our family and friends’, but this did not stop well-connected friends posting pictures on social media sites which can be viewed by the general public. These included pictures of the couple preparing to be married, and a photograph of their huge cake.

As well as hiring out Versailles, Mr Said organised a pre-wedding celebration and dinner at the Paris Opera on Friday night, filling it with fresh flowers and dancing ballerinas in honour of his only daughter. He had originally wanted the wedding to take place in Damascus, where he was born, but the ongoing revolution in Syria made this impossible.

The entire extravaganza in France rivalled the celebrations of another of Britain’s richest men, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose daughter Vanisha married at Versailles seven years ago. Mr Said, who sold a collection of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels for almost £8million in 2010, spared no expense for Cheltenham Ladies’ College-educated Miss Said and her new husband, a trainee at Lord Bell’s PR conglomerate, Chime Communications.

 

Peter Mandelson

 

The Said family are based in Monaco for tax reasons, but also divide their time between homes in Paris, Marbella, Saudi Arabia and London’s Eaton Square, as well as a £50million Oxfordshire estate. Mr Said admits that he played a ‘small’ role in the controversial 1986 Al Yamamah deal which saw Saudi Arabia buy £40billion worth of fighter planes from the UK amid allegations of bribery.

As well as Baroness Thatcher and her son Mark, close personal friends include numerous other senior Conservative politicians and former Labour minister Peter Mandelson. Mr Said gave £25million to Oxford University in 1996 to found the Said Business School, and now travels the world in his own Boeing 737, making business ‘deals behind the scenes’. Mr Duncan confirmed he was at the wedding, while Downing Street said they ‘weren’t going to deny’ that Viscountess Astor was there too.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2151080/Rasha-Said-wedding-Wafics-daughter-marries-Khaled-Khawaja-Palace-Versailles.html#ixzz36CtC1e8N

 

Alan Duncan Vicountess Astor Wedding Guest

 

 

 

 

Warships from eight NATO countries participated in live-fire self-defence exercises of ship and missile systems near Scotland on Sunday.

 

 

St KildaCape Wrath Bombing ranges

 

 

Scotland – Beautiful above – but deadly below and at sea

The Westminster government handed the USA large areas of Scotland’s mainland, islands and maritime areas forming part of a long term lease lend scheme ensuring the UK would be provided with nuclear weapons at an advantageous price.

Weapons currently include the Trident and around 200 nuclear warheads.

Successive Westminster governments routinely claim the weapons systems provide the UK with an independent nuclear deterrent but this is not the case since all systems fall under the control of the USA at all times and as such their use could never be authorised by a UK Prime minister.

The fore-going begs the question, why the hell do we have them?

 

 

 

It is  fact that the US navy has been forbidden  for a number of years from using high intensity sonar in  US maritime areas because such use brings death and destruction to many of the oceans mammals who totally rely on their own form of sonar to communicate and organise their pods of youngsters and older members.

The Westminster government tolerates no such interference in Royal Navy operations or training.

So it’s a case of “come on over twice a year  boy’s to the Yanks and many other NATO naval forces”.

Joint operations involve the use of high frequency sonar, 1000 kilo bombs.

Carpet depth charging and bombing  of  large areas of the sea-floor and use of missiles.

The sea floor around the West coast of Scotland is a very large midden chock -a-block full of nasty debris, left overs from over 100 years of continuous abuse by the navies of the world at the invitation of Westminster.

 

 

 

 

18 April 2008: Stranded Whales – Navy denies Use of Sonar Cause of Problem

The Royal Navy has denied sonar noise from warships caused whales to strand themselves on beaches.

The service was responding to concerns from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) ahead of the start of a major military exercise.

Society officials said 43 marine mammals have died since February.

Joint Warrior, to be staged off the west coast of Scotland, involved 36 warships and about 70 aircraft from the UK and 16 NATO countries.

The Royal Navy assault ship, HMS Bulwark, Type 23 frigates, mine-hunters, two submarines and Royal Marines took part.

Live firings at ranges and simulated bombing runs against island airports were amongst the activities.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) said there have been stranding of Cuvier’s, pilot and Sowerby’s beaked whales.

The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to find out whether the first stranding of Cuvier’s off the islands of Islay, Tiree and Harris coincided with the use of military sonar.

A spokesman of WDCS, said: “So far, we have received a less than satisfactory response from the MoD, which indicates that sonar-related whale deaths are not being taken seriously and does not ease our suspicions that these events were indeed associated with naval activities.”

The Royal Navy told BBC Scotland that no whale stranding had been attributed to its use of sonar.

No vessels were in the area using sonar at time of the February stranding, a spokesman added.

The navy said it could not dispute sonar noise had an impact, but the service regarded itself as a world leader in using it responsibly.

Low frequency active sonar – the loudest used by the Royal Navy – will not be used outside of war-time when marine mammals were close by, the spokesman said.

He said specialists on board submarines can detect whales and dolphins using highly sensitive hydrophones.

Held twice a year, the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force-run exercise involve the US, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, Latvia, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Turkey, Portugal and Norway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/mobile/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7354852.stm

 

 

28 October 2010: Experts monitor South Uist whales

Animal welfare experts visited South Uist to monitor the activities of a pod of pilot whales which had swum into Loch Carnan, a sea loch on the island. There were fears that the whales were about to beach themselves.

The area coastguard said the group of about 25 whales was still swimming in relatively deep water and had shown no signs of distress. They were last spotted near a small pier in Loch Carnan.

Officers from the Scottish SPCA and experts from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group are on South Uist to monitor the animals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11643819

 

 

 

29 October 2010: In pictures: Whales off course in Uist loch. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11654151

 

 

 

29 October 2010: Threat of mass whale stranding in South Uist remains

A group of whales in danger of becoming stranded off the coast of South Uist continue to be monitored.

The Scottish SPCA said the 24-strong pod of pilot whales are currently swimming freely in the bay at Loch Carnan, but the threat of stranding remains present.

The Scottish SPCA and British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) launched a rescue operation after members of the public had seen the animals close to shore.

Two teams of volunteers, including 10 medics and three inspectors from the Scottish SPCA, travelled from the mainland to the site, taking three vehicles, two rescue trailers and four sets of rescue pontoons.

The rescuers have also enlisted the help of Project Jonah, the New Zealand-based marine mammal rescue organisation which has experience in mass whale stranding and will be providing advice over the phone should a stranding occur.

A Scottish SPCA senior inspector said “After treacherous weather conditions overnight, we are relieved to report that although the pod of whales are still in the bay, they are swimming freely and have not yet stranded.

There are several juveniles in this group and they all seem to be quite happy at the moment.

We are privileged to see these animals up close, but we are also very aware that the threat of stranding remains, which would, of course, be disastrous.

We will continue to monitor the whales throughout the day, ready to act should the danger of stranding become a reality.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11652688

 

 

 

 

30 October 2010: South Uist whales ‘now safe’ at sea

Animal rescuers believe a pod of whales which were in danger of becoming stranded in a sea loch off the coast of South Uist are now safely at sea.

The Scottish SPCA and British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) had been monitoring the whales since they were spotted at Loch Carnan on Wednesday.

The coastguard reported no sign of the 24-strong pod on Saturday morning.

There were concerns the whales were in distress but experts said the behaviour was typical of adults protecting young.

A Scottish SPCA senior inspector said: “The coastguard has been out this morning and there was no sign of the whales, which is very good news.

There was a real fear of mass stranding and, while there is no guarantee they won’t return, we are hopeful the whales are now safe at sea and will stay there.

It may be that the juveniles in the pod were sick or too young for the rough seas and the adults kept them close to the shore for safety.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11659010

 

 

 

 

7 November 2010: Whales found dead on Donegal beach

Scientists have taken skin and tissue samples from 33 pilot whales which died off the coast of County Donegal.

Environmentalists are trying to establish how the whales beached on Rutland Island near Burton-port.

It’s thought they were the same group spotted in the Outer Hebrides at the end of October.

An expert from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said it was one of the biggest mass deaths of whales in Irish history.

He expressed concern that Royal Navy sonar equipment could have played a role adding that the Royal Navy had been exercising in the area off South Uist at the time but had moved away.

He said “Thirty or 40 pilot whales were spotted off the Outer Hebrides at South Uist last week.

It looked like they were going to strand. It was bad weather. They were not seen again. They’re a very strong and social group… so the sick and the healthy died here together.”

Campaigners are concerned that the latest very high frequency sonar equipment used routinely by the Royal Navy could have disturbed the navigational skills of this deep diving species of whales.

But a spokeswoman from the Royal Navy said that when the whales were spotted near South Uist, the closest navy ship was 50 miles away.

At that distance, she said, there was no way that the sonar equipment could have affected them.

But the pod had been spotted near Uist, between 24-36 hours following exposure to very high frequency sonar and at that time the Royal Navy and the Whales were very closely located.

Previously, the Royal Navy has denied that sonar noise from their warships could cause whales to beach.

However, in America, the US Navy was ordered not to use mid-frequency sonar during training exercises from 2007 and 2009, after a judge found in favour of campaigners who argued the devices harmed marine mammals in the area.

A team from Galway,  Mayo, Institute of Technology travelled to the scene off Donegal to take samples from the mammals.

Skin samples were also be sent to the Irish Cetacean Genetic Tissue Bank at the Natural History Museum in Dublin.

Sixty whales died in the 1960s off the west coast of Kerry and 35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-11705622

 

 

 

 

20 May 2011: Fear for mass stranding of whales on South Uist

Marine animal experts are preparing for a potential mass stranding of more than 60 pilot whales in South Uist in the Western Isles.

The whales were spotted in Loch Carnan on Thursday afternoon and about 20 were said to have cuts to their heads.

It is thought the injuries may have been caused by the whales’ attempts to strand themselves on the rocky foreshore of the sea loch.

However, animal welfare experts think they may not be in imminent danger.

A spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), at the scene, said “low tide has come and gone and the whales have remained out at sea.

They are not in imminent danger of stranding. We are just keeping an eye on them and see what they do next.

We are trying to make sure they don’t become distressed. Rather than try to stop them coming ashore, we would let them come ashore and then try to deal with that situation when it arose.

We have got several sets of pontoons with us, which is our whale re floatation equipment, and we have got more on the way.

We have currently got 12 sets congregating on the Uists, which is basically every set in the UK. We are going to let them play out whatever role they want to do and take it as it comes.”

The pod had been moving back and forth from the shore and rescuers said the animals were “very vocal”, which may be a sign of distress.

The whales, a deep water species, have moved from the loch back to a nearby bay, where they were first spotted.

In October 2010 a pod of pilot whales were in danger in the same sea loch. Days later, 33 whales, thought to be the same group, were discovered dead on a beach in County Donegal.

The Scottish SPCA, said: “It is incredible that a second pod, this time probably more than twice the size of the one previous, has arrived in the same area.

There is no reason we know of why they would have come to the same location.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13466462

 

 

 

 

20 May 2011: In pictures: At risk South Uist pilot whales.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13469173

 

21 May 2011: Whales at risk of beaching on South Uist leave loch Carnan

A pod of more than 60 whales at risk of beaching in the Western Isles are leaving the area and attempting to swim south.

Marine experts said the whales had moved from Loch Carnan, South Uist, but were “hugging” the coastline.

The pod was first spotted on Thursday afternoon and it was feared they could die in a mass stranding.

The Scottish government has sent marine protection vessel Hirta to shadow the pod’s movements.

A spokesman said the use of acoustic devices would be avoided.

Weather conditions were poor with high winds, rough seas and moderate visibility due to low cloud and rain.

A spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), said: “Medics on the scene at Loch Carnan, South Uist, are reporting that the pod of pilot whales has now moved from the location they were in earlier and appear to be endeavouring to leave and head south, but hugging the coastline.

The remainder of the coastline is predominantly rocky with numerous inlets and bays which give a separate set of dangers to the creatures.”

Volunteers are keeping watch for the whales around these dangerous areas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13483100

 

 

 

 

23 May 2011: Two whales found dead in Loch Carnan

A second pilot whale has been found dead in a Hebridean loch after experts feared more than 60 of the animals had been at risk of becoming beached.

The pod had left the shallow waters of Loch Carnan in South Uist on Saturday, but returned later that night.

They have now headed out of the area – but an animal welfare charity confirmed another whale’s body had been found.

Tests on a body found earlier suggested the female died from disease, not because it was stranded on rocks.

Marine experts said the rest of the pod had now  had left the area but those involved would continue to monitor the Pod’s progress south.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13496653

 

 

 

 

22 July 2011: Fifteen pilot whales in trouble in Kyle of Durness

Two whales have come ashore and up to 15 others were in difficulty in shallow water at Kyle of Durness, on the north Highland coast.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the whales were believed to be from a pod of as many as 60.

A Royal Navy bomb disposal team training in the area has offered its help in any rescue effort.

Highland Council countryside rangers and coastguard volunteers have been monitoring the situation.

A (WDCS) field officer, said the area was remote and it would take rescuers sometime to reach the scene. He said: “It is going to be tricky.It is a remote and difficult place to get to.

The latest report is that two of the whales were stranded on the shore, 15 were in shallow water and at significant risk of becoming stranded and at least another 20 whales appeared to be heading towards the shallows. Whales failing to make it back out to sea do not survive.

Post mortem examinations will then be completed with the aim of identifying what caused them to come ashore. This enables the Stranding Scheme to monitor trends in causes of marine stranding which in turn allows identification of any new or developing hazards to marine mammals in Scottish waters.”

 

 

 

 

23 July 2011: Volunteers monitor coast for fresh whale beaching

Rescuers who guided 44 pilot whales out of shallow waters are monitoring a remote Highlands coastline to make sure they do not become stranded again.

Medics from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, the coastguard and the Navy were called to the Kyle of Durness after the pod of more than 60 was spotted.

Forty-four were encouraged back to sea but 25 did not survive.

Rescuers said that three whales still alive would be euthanased as their condition was not good for refloating.

Post mortems examinations will be carried out out on bodies on the shore to find out the cause of the stranding and the deaths of the whales.

The team of helpers managed to rotate whales that were upside down to prevent them from drowning when the tide came in.

Medics from as far as Newcastle responded to the incident and nine sets of pontoons were delivered to the site overnight.

Although they were not used because the estuary flooded too quickly, they will remain on the site in case they are needed.

A number of volunteers are currently searching the coast, lochs and headlands for evidence of the whales which had returned to open water.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14260666

 

 

 

25 July 2011: Whales stranded in Sutherland ‘seemed healthy’

Experts examining the carcasses of 25 dead pilot whales say they were apparently healthy animals before getting stranded on a Sutherland beach.

They were part of a pod of 60 whales which got into difficulty in Balnakiel Bay and the Kyle of Durness. Rescuers managed to help most to deeper water.

Scientists have now taken samples from the dead whales to try to establish why they beached. One of the team told the BBC that the animals showed no obvious injuries.

However, she added that more detailed analysis was needed before they could speculate on why they came ashore.

About 25 of the 60 whales which got into trouble did not survive, and post-mortem examinations are being carried out out to establish the cause of the stranding and the deaths of the whales.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-14276042

 

 

April 2015: UK Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme (2011-2014)

Mission: To provide a coordinated approach to the surveillance of cetacean stranding and to investigate major causes of death of stranded cetaceans in the UK.

The project will also collect data on UK stranded seals, marine turtles and basking sharks.

The outputs form this project include the ability to determine the causes of death in cetaceans and using stranding events to monitor the incidence of disease to identify any substantial new threats to conservation status, will ensure that the UK complies with a number of national and international agreements, obligations, including the habitats directive and the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic and North Sea (ASCOBANS). Objective parameters:

* Collate, analyse and report data for all cetacean stranding around the coast of the UK.

* Determine the major causes of death in stranded cetaceans, including by-catch and physical trauma, in order to identify any substantial new threats to their conservation.

* Undertake surveillance on the incidence of disease in stranded cetaceans in order to identify any substantial new threats to their conservation status.

* Investigate any interaction between feeding behaviour, fisheries and stranded cetaceans through examination of the contents of the stomach, recording any evidence of ‘litter’.

* Maintain a database bringing together accurate and geo-reference data on both stranding and post mortem data, allowing end users to interrogate such data using the Internet.

* Make information on stranding and post-mortems results available departmental quarterly and publicly available by annual reports.

 

 

 

 

April 2015: Today it was revealed that the deaths of a large number (at least 19) of long finned Pilot Whales near the range in 2011 was caused by military activity (the disposal of ordnance on the sea bed) at the military range.

The reference contained the assessment of the sequence of events that led to a significant loss of marine life.

With characteristic understatement the marine scientists employed by DEFRA to draw up the report suggested how such events could be avoided henceforth by adopting the following measures in ‘mitigation’:

1). Consider deployment of acoustic monitoring equipment in the waters around Garvie Island to properly characterise the extent and magnitude of the detonation blast profile.

Systems for real time monitoring are available and this is probably more effective in the long term and more reliable in poor weather.

2). Consider deployment of passive acoustic monitoring equipment as a tool to assess the presence of ecolocating odontocetes in the critical area.

3). Train and use marine mammal observers to be stationed on appropriate vantage points to scan for cetaceans along a section of coastline either side of Garvie Island and develop systems for relaying this information to central control.

4). Improve communication systems between members of the disposal team and shore based observers.

5). Avoid serial detonations in a small time window.

6). Whenever possible, the type of charge used to deactivate devices should be one which burns out rather than explodes the target (a technique routinely used in some parts of the world.)

Burn out systems enjoy a good success rate with no significant extra cost in terms of time, resources or diver safety.

Given the potential damage to marine life from the ‘high order’ explosions of conventional disposal techniques, it is questionable why this method has not been used routinely in the past.

 

 

 

 

20 June 2015: SNP criticise undersea detonations after whale deaths

The SNP has called for an end to explosives being detonated in the sea around Scotland following a report into the deaths of 19 whales in 2011.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) study suggested military activity may have harmed the long finned pilot whales.

The 19 were among 39 that stranded at Kyle of Durness a day after three explosions at nearby Cape Wrath.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it accepted the report’s findings.

Seventy distressed whales were spotted in the shallow waters of the Kyle of Durness on 22 July 2011.

Despite attempts by rescuers to coax them back out to sea, 39 were left stranded by the tide.

Defra’s report into the incident said that three 1,000lb (454kg) explosives were exploded underwater at the nearby Cape Wrath military firing range the day before the stranding, while there was another blast shortly after the animals got into difficulty.

The report said it would be reasonable to conclude that these underwater detonations may have had a significant effect on the behaviour hearing and navigational abilities of the animals.

 

 

 

 

Rob Gibson, SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, said: “This report confirms what we already suspected but the Ministry of Defence tried to cover up – the detonating of bombs led to the whales being deafened, forced off course and dying on the beach at Kyle of Durness.

The efforts of the local people in the Kyle of Durness to save the beached whales were incredible – but sadly the animals could not be saved and many died.

Scotland’s seas are blessed with many marine mammals, including more than 20 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

It is our responsibility, where possible, to do all we can to protect these wonderful and popular species.”

He also criticised the length of time it had taken for the report to be published.

A spokesman for the MoD said: “The MoD accepts the findings of the Durness Mass Stranding report which identified a number of possible factors that may have influenced events, one of which was the detonation of underwater explosives. ”

The recommendations will be considered by the MoD and implemented where appropriate.

Additional mitigation has already been put in place during munitions disposal activities conducted since 2011.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-33268200

 

 

 

 

11 April 2015: NATO ships arrive in Scotland for massive joint exercises

The exercises entail deployment of substantial NATO maritime resources, although the UK itself lacks maritime patrol vessels for North Sea security.

A recent report by the European Leadership Foundation also found that many NATO members were cutting overall military spending.

The Royal United Services Institute estimated that the UK is set for even deeper cuts to military budgets, and will reallocate ‘war pensions’ into military spending to meet NATO targets.

Not withstanding financial difficulties NATO’s Standing Naval Forces arrived in Scotland for the largest-ever Joint Warrior Drill, which included 50 ships, 70 aircraft and 13,000 personnel from 14 countries.

Joint Warrior is held twice a year – in April and October. Naval and aerial activities are concentrated off the coast of Scotland, including amphibious landings. The exercises have been going on for a long time.

In total nearly 12,000 military personnel are involved giving it a powerful level of robustness.

Many nations participate, including: The US, The Netherlands, Canada, France, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Germany and others.

 

 

 

 

Captain Gennaro Carola, Standing NATO Maritime Group Two’s (SNMG2) Chief of Staff said: ” This exercise provides opportunity for us to work with our Allied shipmates.

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Hamm, USS Vicksburg’s operations officer said: “for most US Sailors, our training and qualifications are done with other US Navy.

Ships; multinational exercises like this help our sailors learn how to cooperate and excel with other navies in a challenging and multidimensional environment.

The aim of the exercises is to provide complex and coordinated training between military forces from various countries and to integrate land and maritime forces.

They will also have an anti-terrorist dimension. Joint Warrior is a very good opportunity to showcase the interoperability skills we as an Alliance maritime force are always perfecting.

With this exercise we have a chance to work together on a large scale and to implement all of the lessons learned from our previous exercises. It will be an exciting and busy time at sea,”

 

 

 

 

Many of the aircraft involved will fly from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and Prestwick airport, a pseudo civilian airport with an extra long runway to the South of Glasgow in Ayrshire

Plane spotters are apparently already flocking to Prestwick, according to local media, while local residents in the Northwest of Scotland have been warned that they might be disturbed by low flying helicopters.

A government spokesman said: “Prestwick stands ready to play its part in Joint Warrior and our involvement shows we have the expertise, capability and resources to routinely host Europe’s largest military exercise.

We look forward to hosting numerous aircraft including various fast jets, helicopters and transport aircraft such as Hawks, Falcon 20s, A340s and C130s, from the RAF and the Royal Navy as well as those from many other NATO countries including France, Belgium and Holland.”

 

Prestwick’s Chief Executive Iain Cochrane said.

“Many of the ships involved have already started arriving at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde to the west of Glasgow.

The Royal Navy has said that jamming will be limited to an area in the Northwest of Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland has warned hikers that there may be disruption to GPS devises and to take a map and compass as well.

The last time Joint Warrior took place in Scotland in 2011 jamming was suspended after complaints by fishermen in the Western Isles.

The war games come just weeks after a Scottish fishermen, Angus Macleod, said the nets of his trawler were snagged by a submarine resulting in his nets being dragged continually in front of his boat.

Such encounters can be dangerous for fishermen and he said he and his four crew were “extremely lucky”.

http://rt.com/uk/248921-nato-scotland-joint-excercises/

 

 

 

 

 

The West Coast of Scotland – An Island Fortress – A Sea and land Nuclear Death Zone

The west coast of Scotland is one of the most intricate and beautiful landscapes in the world.

Children, when asked to draw maps of Britain, usually depict it as a muddle of spikes and blobs reaching into the Atlantic.

From the Solway Firth in the south to Cape Wrath in the north, estuaries and sea lochs bite far into the high and uneven ground of the mainland.

Offshore lie 589 islands, as well as numerous rock islets and reefs.

The largest and most westerly chain, the Outer Hebrides, provides a 150-mile-long barrier to the wind and seas which blow and swell, uninterrupted by land, all the way from North America.

The barrier means that coastal waters are relatively sheltered. Glaciation has also made them remarkably deep.

In the few miles between the island of Raasay and the mountains of Torridon the sea reaches down in places for more than 1,500 feet—the greatest sea depth off the British coast.

North of the Firth of Clyde there are very few towns or large villages, and none other than Oban and Stornoway of a scale that might support a medium-sized supermarket.

The population of the Hebrides peaked in the census of 1841, but then came clearances and potato blight and the vanishing of the herring shoals.

Large tracts of the west coast are empty, visible life confined to sea birds, seals, rabbits, deer, and the descendants of the sheep that Highland landlords exchanged for people (deported to Glasgow and Canada) in the nineteenth century.

 

 

These conditions—deep water, few people on the land, plus easy access to Soviet navy routes—made the west coast of Scotland an ideal place to maintain, test and store all kinds of weaponry during the Cold War.

And to continue a technical, military history that began a hundred years ago with torpedo ranges in the Clyde sea lochs and anthrax trials which poisoned the island of Gruinard (the plan, ‘Operation Vegetarian’, was to wipe out Germany’s cow population by bombing them with anthrax-infected cattle feed).

Today, the Scottish west coast continues to be the most heavily armed region of Britain and quite possibly Europe, offering mountains and glens for low-flying fighter and bomber exercises, sea and moorland for uranium-depleted artillery fire, underground storage for nuclear weapons and naval fuel, emergency moorings for nuclear submarines.

The loveliness of the changing light on sea and mountain makes it hard to imagine the ominous technology buried beneath.

 

 

 

 

The missile testing range on South Uist, now run by the Anglo-American defence company QinetiQ, was set up in the 1950s to test the Corporal nuclear missile system bought from the USA.

It is one of the busiest such ranges in the world, and one of the longest, stretching far into the Atlantic. In a secret report from 1981, declassified in 2002, the Naval Radiation Protection Services (NRPS) discovered that between 1967 and 1980 the launching site and surrounding area had been contaminated by large amounts of Cobalt-60, a radioisotope sprayed from the back of moving missiles to help radar track them.

The report concluded that ‘both the ammunition technicians at RA Range Hebrides and possibly the general public were being placed at unnecessary radiological risk’.

An earlier investigation in 2002 found that 352 drums of waste from the decontamination process were buried at the range.

Most submarine exercises in Europe take place off the west coast of Scotland.

Following the sinking of the trawler Antares by the submarine Trenchant in 1990, a system called ‘Subfacts’ was introduced.

This divides the seas off the west of Scotland into ‘Submarine Exercise Areas’ (SEAs) and a daily broadcast tells fishermen which to avoid.

In November 2002, the nuclear-powered submarine Trafalgar crashed into the Isle of Skye at fifteen knots and a depth of fifty metres while practising torpedo evasion tactics.

 

 

 

 

The most north-westerly point on the British mainland is an 8,400-acre weapons range and army exercise area.

Cape Wrath (a Norse word for ‘turning point’) has the highest sea cliffs on mainland Britain.

The Naval Gunfire Support Range is used by Royal Navy and other NATO vessels as a practise area for 4.5-inch and 5-inch guns.

The cliffs, an important nesting ground for birds, rise to almost 1,000 feet and are used as ranging marks for the guns.

Nearby Garvie Island is the only place in Europe where aircraft can drop live 1,000lb bombs.

Cape Wrath assumed greater importance when US ships lost access to ranges in Puerto Rico in 1999 after a civilian was accidentally killed.

 

 

 

 

In November 1990, the nuclear-powered attack submarine Trenchant caught the Kintyre-based trawler Antares’ nets and dragged her to the bottom of the Arran Trench, between the Isle of Arran and the mainland.All four crew of the Antares drowned.

Among the submarine crew were officers reaching the end of the six-week ‘Perisher’ submarine commanders’ course.

The subsequent inquiry blamed ‘partial breakdown in the watch-keeping structure and standards’ on board Trenchant.

Every summer, aircraft, surface ships and submarines in the west of Scotland are brought together for the ‘Neptune Warrior’ war game.

Elaborate scenarios written by military planners test the preparedness of officers and men.

These might be exercises in ‘conventional warfare’, a terrorist attack by patrol boats, ‘Bosnian enclave’-type situations, or even how to deal with troublesome members of the press.

 

 

 

 

Luce Bay is a QinetiQ-owned testing range for weapons launched from jets and helicopters.

Damage to the marine environment from bombing exercises is such that the sea bed has been fitted with special mattresses to absorb the explosions.

The bay is also used for NATO training exercises. In September 2003, a NATO exercise named ‘Northern Light’ practised a large-scale amphibious landing employing around fifty ships and submarines and thirty-four aircraft.

The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency’s Noise Range at Loch Goil can provide sound analysis of all the systems on a ship or submarine.

The loch, which is deep and quiet, is lined with hydrophones which map the unique sound signature of a vessel.

 

 

 

 

There are many fuel stores holding hundreds of thousands of tons of petroleum under Scotland’s glens.

In addition to the nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed Trident fleet at Faslane also houses five conventionally armed Swiftsure-class nuclear submarines, ships of the Third Mine Countermeasures Squadron and the Northern Ireland Squadron.

In 2001, Commachio Company of the Royal Marines was transferred to Faslane to protect the submarine fleet.

Faslane will also house the new Astute-class submarines and Trident’s replacement.

The armament testing range at Dundrennan near Kirkcudbright covers 4,500 acres and its danger zone extends over 120 square miles of the Solway Firth.

Since 1982, more than 6,000 depleted uranium shells, usually in the form of anti-tank munitions, have been fired from the range into the Solway Firth.

Most of the twenty tons of shells remain on the sea bed. Depleted uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

Dundrennan is also the planned site for controversial electro-magnetic ‘super-gun’ trials on behalf of the US military.

The gun is able to hurl a projectile at 7,500 mph, more than five times the top speed of Concorde.

Each shell will be about a foot long and as narrow as a broom handle.

The kinetic force with which it hits its target will be so great that it is unlikely to require any explosive warhead.

 

 

 

 

Faslane, the base for the Trident submarine fleet, employs 7,000 people (primarily military) and stretches along the banks of the Gare Loch behind razor wire, guarded by armed police and infrared cameras.

At the mouth of the loch is the ‘degaussing range’ at Rosneath, where submarines are demagnetized to ensure they do not trigger floating mines.

 

 

 

 

A ‘Z’ Berth is a jetty or mooring buoy for nuclear submarines in case of emergencies. Scotland has five.

When plans for the ‘Z’ Berth in Loch Ewe were discovered, all 500 residents around the loch were issued with potassium iodate tablets as a precautionary measure.

The 200-odd warheads that comprise Britain’s nuclear deterrent are stored in air-locked vaults behind concrete and steel blast doors buried in the hillside at Coulport, twenty-seven miles from Glasgow.

 

 

 

 

The Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap was a key battleground in the Cold War.

Soviet submarines based at the pens on the Kola peninsula had to pass through the gap before going on patrols around the world and could be detected and tailed.

The US took responsibility for the Greenland to Iceland sector, the UK for the rest.

The primary defence from the 1970s on was SOSUS, a system of underwater hydrophones strung out at depth across the ocean, which was said to be able to hear a submarine 1,100 miles away and pinpoint its location to an area of ten square miles.

Portpatrick, on the Scottish mainland, overlooks the narrow channel between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

At its deepest point is a long trench, Beaufort Dyke, which was used for dumping munitions and radioactive waste after the Second World War.

An estimated 1.7 million tonnes of weapons including artillery shells, phosphorous flares, mortars, incendiaries and cluster bombs have been jettisoned off boats, supposedly into the dyke.

Two tonnes of low – and medium-level radioactive waste have been added to the Irish Sea by private companies, including the defence contractor Ferranti.

Around 14,000 tonnes of phosgene-charged rockets were also dumped into Beaufort Dyke.

Phosgene was used by both the Germans and the Allies. It is a colourless poison gas, designed to incapacitate rather than to kill, which acts as an acute respiratory irritant, causing severe lung damage.

 

 

In 1995, 4,000 phosphorous incendiary bombs were washed up on Mull, Oban, Arran and other parts of Scotland’s west coast.

A British Gas pipeline had been laid through the heart of the dump and its trenching machine dispersed thousands of shells.

Subsequent enquiries found that bombs had been dumped well short of the intended site, some only three miles offshore in as little as fifty metres of water.

http://granta.com/Military-Landscapes/

 

 

 

 
Cape Wrath – Killing Ground of the Whales

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) owns a 59 square kilometres (23 sq mi) area of the cape, known as the Cape Wrath Training Centre.

The cape has been used for training exercises from the early years of the 20th century, with the first bye-laws established in 1933 to allow use of the area as a firing range.

The area was used originally as a naval gunnery range and was bought by the MoD in 1999.

Since 2005 the area has been used as a multi-nation services training area and is one of the sites used in the Joint Warrior exercises, Europe’s largest military exercise, and by other NATO operations.

Training is allowed on up to 120 days a year, usually taking place in the spring and autumn, although times can be unpredictable.

The range is usually open for public access during the summer period and there is rarely firing on Sundays.

The MoD owns a number of the surviving buildings in the area and operates observation posts and sentry posts during training.

It is used for naval gunfire practice and for army artillery and mortar range firing.

Disused military vehicles are often used as targets.

The RAF uses An Garbh-eilean (Garvie Island) as a target for a range of training operations.

It is the only place in the Northern Hemisphere where NATO forces combine land, air and sea capabilities in assault mode for training manoeuvres, deploying ordnance up to 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs.

Firing on the range is controlled from Faraid Head close to Balnakeil.

 

 

 

In 2008 a heath fire was caused on the range during a period of live firing using Tracer (phosphourus) ammunition. An area of around 137 hectares (340 acres) was affected.

Scottish Natural Heritage estimated that the area would take 10 years to return to its normal environmental conditions.

Concern has also been raised of the effects of military exercises on nesting birds, on sheep during lambing season and the effects of noise on local residents.

A shell fired during exercises caused concern in 2002 when it landed 8 miles (13 km) off target near the mouth of Loch Eriboll and around 1 mile (1.6 km) from houses.

The MoD expressed an interest in extending its land holdings on the Cape in 2012 after being given the opportunity to purchase 24 hectares (59 acres) surrounding Cape Wrath Lighthouse by the Northern Lighthouse Board.

The plans were opposed by the Durness Development Group which cited concerns that historic buildings might be destroyed and that visitors may be unable to access cliff top paths.

The group registered an interest in the land using community right to buy legislation and a petition opposing the sale attracted thousands of signatures.

In May 2013 the MoD announced that it would not be continuing with the purchase.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Wrath

 

 

 

 
4 August 2002: Why sonar harms whales and dolphins

Environmental campaigners in America are concerned about a new danger to the world’s whale population.

It’s sonar – powerful sound waves used by submarines and ships to track activity underwater.

Research has shown that the sonar waves can be heard by whales and dolphins – and campaigners believe it may be causing the whales to beach.

The American navy starts using a controversial new low-frequency system next month, even though some types of sonar have already been blamed for causing stranding.

It was a stranding of rare beak nosed whales in the Caribbean which gave scientists their first proof of the harm sonar can inflict. In spite of the efforts of local people, six whales died.

Post mortem examinations found that their inner ears had been severely damaged.

Whale experts believe mid-frequency sonar caused the stranding.

This new sonar system is lower and louder and travels a great deal further.

The noise can be likened to a jumbo jet taking off.

The American Navy says it needs the more powerful device to keep track of potentially threatening submarines.

But it’s continuing to research into the effects of sonar on marine life.

A consultant to the United States Navy said:  “There is no finite correlation between low frequency sonar and negative effects on marine wildlife. Can marine life hear it?  Yes. Does it have a major effect? We don’t know.”

This uncertainty alarms wildlife groups. They’re now threatening legal action to protect sea-life from the sonar.

Whale campaigners views are unequivocal “Very intense sound can have severe consequences, even death.

It causes us great concern that the navy proposes to deploy one the loudest sound systems devised by man over 80 per cent of the world’s oceans without really understanding what the implications are.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/2168168.stm

 

 

 

 

7 August 2007: Whale fears silence US Navy sonar

In a legal action brought by a coalition of animal welfare groups against the US Navy the Navy has been ordered not to use mid-frequency sonar equipment during training exercises off the coast of California.

A federal judge ruled in favour of the campaigners who argued that the devices harmed marine mammals in the area.

They said noise pollution from sonar disorientated whales, causing them to become stranded on beaches.

A navy spokesman said they would appeal because the injunction jeopardised the nation’s safety and security.

The campaigners, in a statement following the ruling, said “The court’s order confirms that during sonar testing and training, the navy can and must protect whales and other marine life in the extraordinarily rich waters off our southern Californian coast.

The federal judge recognised that the Navy’s own assessment concluded that the sonar exercises would “cause widespread harm to nearly 30 species of marine mammals, including five species of endangered whales”.

The US Navy’s Third Fleet commander said “This court decision prevents us from using active sonar. It potentially puts American lives and our national security at risk.”

 

 

 

 

In 2006, a UK government-commissioned report called for more research into the effects of noise pollution on marine animals.

It concluded that there were many noise sources in the seas, including seismic surveys for oil and gas, shipping, offshore wind farms, military sonar and scientific research.

The study by the Inter-agency Committee on Marine Science and Technology (ICMST) identified 13 cases of stranding by whales and dolphins that appeared to be linked to noise adding that most of the cases did involve naval vessels.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/mobile/sci/tech/6934715.stm

 

 

 

 

 
Willie “off with his head” Rennie and his double standards
Willie Rennie, at the time he was elected leader of Scotland’s Lib Dems after their demolition in the 2011 Holyrood elections promised to “rediscover the party’s soul and rebuild trust with voters”. Willie claimed to be an honourable man who would have no truck with anyone in public office who did not measure up to exacting standards he demanded of himself. Those who failed, for any reason would be expected by Willie to resign. Indeed there were occasions when it seemed Willie couldn’t rise to speak or give interview to a compliant Unionist press without a shout of “Off with his/her head”. In his time as leader willie has called for the resignation of:

* Former First Minister, Alex Salmond
* Former SNP Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill.
* The Head of Police Scotland, Stephen House.
* The head of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Martin Sime.
* Former SNP Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson. (Forced from office because he failed to control extreme weather conditions and heavy snowfall.) But should we be expecting a politician to control the weather? Willie had no doubt. The answer was a resounding Yes!! He had to resign.

 

 

 

 
But hold on just a mo! What about “Frenchgate”? The exposure of former Scotland Secretary Alistair Carmichael, after much prevarication by himself, of his disgaceful, underhand leadership and devious direct involvement, with others in an attempt to smear Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. There have been strident calls from across the political spectrum, the public and the press for the exposed rogue and liar to stand down from the seat he won by a whisker in the Westminster Election for Orkney and Shetland. Based on voters intent throughout Scotland it is extremely doubtful that (given his deceitful behaviour, without shame lying about Nicola Sturgeon) Carmichaels ability to retain his seat would have been very badly compromised. So that he took his place at Westminster brings politics into disrepute.

And what about Willie and his principles? Scotland waited and waited for an utterance and the word “Resignation” It was not to be. Finally, after much pressure Willie issued the following contemptible statement:

“I have discussed the serious nature of the publication of the Scotland Office document with Alistair Carmichael. He fully understands the impact it has had on his reputation. He deeply regrets his actions, has accepted responsibility for his error of judgment, apologised to Nicola Sturgeon and the French Ambassador and declined his ministerial severance payment. I have known Alistair for almost thirty years and have worked closely with him in parliament for almost a decade. I have always been impressed by his energy, dedication and professionalism. He has served Orkney and Shetland for fourteen years and has been elected on four separate occasions. It is clear to me that recent events are an aberration. As a liberal I believe that people deserve a second chance. I hope fair minded people would agree that Alistair Carmichael should be given that second chance.”

 

 

 
The Scottish public are not stupid. Willie Rennie’s blind hatred of the Scottish National Party has no place in Scottish politics. He should resign his post immediately and allow some other fair minded person to lead the Lib/Dem Party before he leads it to oblivion.

 

 

 

 
My top staff aren’t worth their extravagant pay extraordinary confession from boss of RBS

The boss of bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland revealed that many of his top staff ‘aren’t worth’ their extravagant pay and bonus deals.

In an extraordinary admission, the chairman said legions of traders and financiers at RBS’s investment bank were not generating enough profits to justify their lavish rewards.

He told a conference on restoring trust in the banking industry: “I’m sure that we’re paying many people who aren’t worth it – maybe that’s the issue.”

The declaration by the RBS boss is also likely to inflame public anger over the pay deals on offer at the bank, which has received more than £45b in government cash since its implosion.

More than 100 bankers at the group’s investment banking wing were paid a bonus of at least £1million last year – even though the Edinburgh based giant racked up losses in excess of £28billion.

 

 

But, defending the practice of handing fat bonuses to staff at its so-called “casino” division – even if it meant that some bankers were paid too much for their efforts he said: “We see people who are worth a lot of money (to us), who when they leave take a lot of business with them,”

He further claimed that RBS, which is 84 per cent owned by the taxpayer, was powerless to rein in rewards as this would trigger a walk-out of top staff. He said: “If you are the bank that decides to cut bonuses for the most important people, you’ll be the first with a franchise-destroying defection.”

So the UK electorate is forced to stand back and witness a rapid, public funded banking recovery from a financial crisis created through the greed of those who stand to benefit most.

Seizing the opportunity and with embarrassing haste, banks embarked on a virtually unprecedented hiring spree, driving up wages across the London Square Mile.

RBS, which employs 160,000 staff across the globe, last night maintained that very few of its staff enjoy bumper bonuses and salaries.

But the bank handed out a gigantic £1.3billion to its 16,800 investment bankers last year. On average, this is equal to a bonus of around £77,400 each.

But, in mitigation the Chairman offered that RBS had “virtually” eliminated cash bonuses, with most rewards paid out in shares and other stock, and staggered over a number of years so that they can be clawed back.

 

 

 

 

His comments were echoed by Barclays chairman, who added that “unilateral action by any single bank (would) not provide a practical solution” to the problem of ever-rising pay for “star” performers.

The revelations lift the lid on the bonus arms race that is currently sweeping through the Square Mile. Goldman Sachs recently handed tens of millions in bonuses to its 80 London-based partners to prevent more senior staff defecting to rivals.

The headline is incomplete, should it not have read “My top staff aren’t worth their extravagant pay”, but “what the hell, we are being subsidised by the taxpayer so lets make hay while the sun shines”.

They and all of the banking industry know that those in government have not the guts or the brains to stop one of the massive injustices of all time. Instead they hit the soft target, the Taxpayer. (Daily Mail)

 

 
A Boom in Hedonistic “Greed is Good” Spending is Sweeping Through London

The return to “flaunting it” mirrors the conduct of the cinematic symbol of eighties excess, (Michael Douglas’s amoral trader Gordon Gekko.) West End stores, clubs and restaurants have been astounded by the sustained growth in guilt-free spending.

 

 

 

 

A spokesman for Selfridges said: “The range and style is more obvious’ or ostentatious than ever. Stuff is just flying off our shelves. There are a lot of £1,000-plus shoes being sold.”

Particularly popular are Alexander McQueen Loki’ankle boots at £2,195 a pair and Christian Louboutin Margot platform shoes costing £1,575.

 

 

 

fashion and luxury goods groups report that sales of their  £1000 Prada bags had exceeded expectations. The ‘Neverfull’ handbag from Louis Vuitton at £900 is very popular

 

 

 

Bollinger UK, imports £140 a bottle Special Cuvée into Britain because demand is so strong. A spokesman said: there was a time when people certainly didn’t want to be seen with an expensive bottle of champagne — but we’re past that phase now.”

 

 

 

Bugatti and Ferrari have sold out of their latest models

 

 

 

The spending boom is being fuelled by the prospect of yet another year of bumper bonuses in the City — an estimated £10billion will be handed out this winter

And there is the influx of rich high spending Arabs influx of high-spending

The opening of a number of rejuvenated nightclubs and hotels after sumptuous makeovers is also being seen as a sign that it is acceptable to be rich.

 

 

 

Tottenham Court Road lap dancing hangout Spearmint Rhino, which fell heavily out of favour during the credit crunch years, is booming. A club spokesman said: “We sold out of  £395 a bottle champagne last night.

 

 

 

He went on: six City guys came in and dropped £5,000 to take the VIP area for the evening.

A few nights ago we had four guys from the Middle East who bought £20,000 in chips for dances and drinks. After service charges they spent £24,000.

It’s great to be back to the days of five or six years ago. Those sort of customers are starting to come back, there’s been a huge increase just in the past five or six weeks.”

 

 

London is also being assisted by France’s burka ban with many wealthy Arabs boycotting Paris. Saudis who divert to London spend an average of £40,000 each.

They will easily spend £5,000 or £10,000 a night on the casino tables at Les Ambassadeurs (in Park Lane) or treat their friends with the best champagne as Scott’s.

 

 

The Arabs absolutely love the British. They must have the best of everything and do their shopping in Mayfair.

 

 

 

 

 

5 March 2010: One of David Cameron’s Shadow Cabinet dragged drunk from a strip club

One of David Cameron’s Shadow Cabinet was dragged drunk from a strip club, it was claimed yesterday. The scandal was exposed in the Tory-supporting Daily Telegraph but the individual was not named. Shadow Scotland Secretary David Mundell, 47, the only Tory MP north of the border, denied rumours it was him.

 

 

 

The father-of-three, who separated from his wife before the last election, repeatedly refused to comment when the Mirror first put the claims to him. He also passed up nine chances to refute he was a regular at the Spearmint Rhino lap-dancing chain. But several hours later he issued a “categoric denial” through the Conservative Campaign HQ.

 

 

 

A party spokesman said: “What was said in the Telegraph today is not him. I can tell you that 100%.” The spokesman said he couldn’t comment on whether Mr Mundell was a regular at strip joints, saying: “I don’t know.” Earlier Mr Mundell had pleaded he needed time to read the Telegraph before responding to claims that he was the politician involved.

 

 

Asked whether it was true he goes to Spearmint Rhinos, he said: “I’m not making any comment on that.” He added: “I’m not going to make any comment whatsoever until I have seen this piece.” http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/we-quiz-top-tory-mp-on-lapdancing-205562

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TTIP and Education Provision in the UK

A direct consequence of TTIP – It is anticipated state education will be dismantled over an extended period of 10 years to be replaced with Schools free from Council Controls – changes will apply in all countries making up the UK and NI – Rupert Murdoch has been reorganising News International bringing in educationalists anticipating major investment in education delivery in time.

 

 

28 September 2008 Power to the Parents – Tories pledge 3,000 independent schools in education shake-up

More than 3,000 new independent schools would be set up by a Conservative Government in the most radical shake-up of British education since the war. This week’s Tory conference will be told the local authority monopoly over schools would be abolished within weeks of the party coming to power – a move that would almost certainly trigger mass strikes. Scores of ‘bog standard’ comprehensives could be driven out of business by ‘free schools’, funded by the taxpayer but with a private school ethos. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1063398/Tories-promise-3-000-independent-schools-parent-power-revolution.html

 

27 July 2011: News Corp looking to set up its own free schools in the UK and NI

Of all the meetings that cabinet ministers had with News International executives (on average, a member of the cabinet met a Murdoch executive every three days), it is Michael Gove’s that are the most eye catching. The Education Secretary listed 11 meetings at which executives from the company were present, including seven with Rupert Murdoch. Gove met the News Corp head more times than any other minister.

Here’s the full list:

19 May 2010 Rupert Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks, plus more than ten others. Dinner and general discussion.

10 June 2010 Rebekah Brooks, plus several others. Dinner and general discussion.

17 June 2010 Rupert Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks and News International executives and senior editors. Lunch and general discussion.

21 October 2010 Rupert Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks, James Harding (The Times), Dominic Mohan (The Sun), James Murdoch (News Corporation), Colin Myler (News of the World), John Witherow (Sunday Times) plus more than ten others. Dinner after Centre for Policy Studies lecture.

30 November 2010 Rebekah Brooks, Will Lewis (News International), James Harding (The Times). Academy visit.

17 December 2010 Rebekah Brooks, plus several others. Social.

25 January 2011 Joel Klein (now News Corporation, former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education and Assistant Attorney General to President Clinton), visiting UK as guest of DfE to explain and discuss US education policy success, including large conference platform and assorted dinners with senior figures from education and the media, including Rupert Murdoch. Including private and public events https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Klein

31 January 2011 Rebekah Brooks, plus several others. Dinner hosted by Academy sponsor Charles Dunstone.

19 May 2011 James Harding (The Times), Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch (News Corporation), Rebekah Brooks. Breakfast and general discussion.

16 June 2011 Rupert Murdoch plus several others. Dinner and general discussion.

26 June 2011 Rupert Murdoch , plus several others. Dinner and general discussion.

 

 

 

 

It all suggests, as Andy Burnham said, a rather strange set of priorities. The shadow education secretary noted that in his first seven months, Gove “didn’t manage to visit a single sixth form college, further education college or special school.”

So, what’s the explanation? Gove is, of course, a former Times journalist, who, we know from the register of members’ interests, received £5,000 a month for his weekly column. He is also due to write a biography of Viscount Bolingbroke for the Murdoch-owned Harper Collins. Then there’s his friendship with Murdoch consigliere Joel Klein (he sat next to Wendi Deng at the select committee hearing).

The former chancellor of the New York department of education, who is now the head of News Corp’s new “management and standards committee” and the CEO of its growing education division. Significantly, it was Klein’s charter schools that served as one of the key inspirations for Gove’s “free schools” project.

A spokesman for Gove said: “He’s known Rupert Murdoch for over a decade. He did not discuss the BSkyB deal with the Murdochs and isn’t at all embarrassed about his meetings, most of which have been about education which is his job.” The News Corp head, it seems, is taking an increasing interest in the subject.

At last month’s Times CEO summit he called for all pupils to be provided with tablet computers, adding that he would be “thrilled” if 10 per cent of News Corp’s revenues came from education in the next five years. Wireless Generation, an education technology company recently acquired by Murdoch for $360m, was awarded a a $27 million no-bid contract by the New York education department.  http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/ceo-summit/article3070325.ece

It begs the question of whether News Corp is looking to set up its own free schools. In response to such a query, Times columnist and executive editor Daniel Finkelstein tweeted:  “News Corp is indeed taking an interest in the creation of new schools. That is precisely what mtgs were about!”

Update: The Sun’s former political editor George Pascoe Watson (now a partner at Portland Communications) notes on Twitter “Is News Corp looking to set up its own free schools?  The Sun+Civitas already have done.” A glance at the Civitas website shows that the Sun funds a Saturday school at the Ensign Youth Club in Wapping.  http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/07/murdoch-news-education

 

 

6 March 2015: David Cameron plans a huge expansion of controversial fee schools.

The Prime Minister will announce plans for at least 153 new ones on top of the 255 already open. Mr Cameron will say:  “Every time I celebrate the opening of a fee school… I’m so glad, that many more parents can share the peace of mind you feel when your child is getting a great education.” Since 2010 parents have been able to set up fe schools, but some closed due to bad management.

The draft speech was sent to axed fee school architect Michael Gove but not the current Education Secretary. According to the leaked draft of the speech, Mr Cameron will say: “We’re going to dramatically expand the fee schools programme.

I am announcing 48 new ones. “And I’m saying that if you vote Conservative, at least 153 will open in the next Parliament – providing 100,000 good school places.” Fee schools were introduced in 2010 to allow parents and community groups to set up their own establishments.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/david-cameron-plans-massive-expansion-5288276

 

 

 

 

 
9 July 2015: EU Parliament backs TTIP resolution

Despite vocal criticism, the EU Parliament has approved a non-binding resolution on the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, bridging a gap in protracted negotiations on the secretive trade pact between the EU and the US.

The resolution was approved by the majority of the parliament with 436 ‘Yes’ votes coming up against 241 ‘No’ votes in Strasbourg on Wednesday in hopes of influencing the TTIP negotiations between European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom and the USA.

Washington insists that for negotiations to be successful a dispute body must be incorporated into the final agreement.

http://rt.com/news/272563-eu-parliament-ttip-trade/

 

19 February 2015: Tories in Scotland attempt to get Schools to opt-out

Ruth Davidson Tory Party Leader in Scotland, at First Ministers questions, sought to get the First Minister to agree to release a primary school in East Dunbartonshire from local authority control.

As a proponent of the fee schools model being deployed in England, Davidson questioned whether the Scottish Government would, in accordance with the parents’ wishes, allow the school to be transferred away from the local authority and into a trust.

This comes on the back of the First Minister stating in December that she would listen with an open mind to any suggestion that would improve Scotland’s education system.

Sturgeon agreed to meet with the parents, listen to their concerns, and if required explain to them why she would not allow any possibly transfer.

However, she refused Davidson’s request for a ‘Parents Power’ law, which would enable such transfers to occur.

 

Michael Gove

 

 

Buzzfeed Links. All worthy of checking out to gain a flavour of Michael Gove

13 May 2013: Gove and his advisors – either through stupidity or mischievousness – failed to place me, my website, or the lesson into its appropriate context. His criticisms betray a lack of knowledge, understanding, and interpretation that would make a GCSE History student blush with shame. http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/read-this-history-teachers-spectacular-response-to-being-ins#.bbG3padmy

30 September 2013: 11 Strange Facts About Michael Gove – A curious character. A very curious character. http://www.buzzfeed.com/aljwhite/11-strange-facts-about-michael-gove-dnmr#.cl8DlnGoA

3 February 2014: Michael Gove Was Introduced As A Fan Of “Real Ale And Real Women” On A TV Quiz Show – videos – The future education secretary appeared on “Top Club” in the 1990s. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/michael-gove-was-described-as-a-fan-of-real-ale-and-real-wom#.duDkbKEaM

 

 

 

 

27 March 2014: Watch Michael Gove Rap Wham! Lyrics – The education secretary spat out George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s rhymes while on a school visit. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/watch-michael-gove-rap-wham-lyrics#.lbV473dey

3 May 2014: Attacking Michael Gove is one the best tactics for UK political parties in the run up to the next general election, according to a BuzzFeed/YouGov poll of 1,900 people. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/attacking-michael-gove-is-one-of-the-easiest-ways-to-win-in#.ayK3wlkPa

19 May 2014: Michael Gove’s Converter Academy Schools Disproportionately Serve Wealthy Families. Researchers warned in 2010 that the Education Secretary’s academies policy would increase educational inequality. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jonstone/michael-goves-academy-schools-disproportionately-serve-wealt#.ro6AweDaV

 

 

 

 

9 June 2014: Michael Gove believes that Britain must stand up to fundamental Islam, part of his reputation as one of the few members of the cabinet who could be branded a true neo-conservative. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/michael-gove-wrote-a-book-on-islamist-extremists-and-this-is#.sl8YVk8OE

10 June 2014: Michael Gove, the education secretary who yesterday announced that “British values” will be actively promoted in all schools, has previously branded attempts to define Britishness as “rather unBritish”. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/michael-gove-previously-said-it-was-unbritish-to-define-brit#.ueVy3ABZ5

15 June 2014: Please Take A Moment To Enjoy This Video Of Michael Gove Falling Over http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/please-take-a-moment-to-enjoy-this-vine-of-michael-gove-fall#.unBGmbDng

 

 

 

 

 

20 June 2014: Nick Clegg’s advisers argued private companies should be allowed to run state schools for profit, Michael Gove’s former aide has claimed. Dominic Cummings, who spent four years pushing through reforms as the education secretary’s special adviser, says top members of the Deputy Prime Minister’s team argued in favour of schools being run for profit during the early years of the coalition government. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/nick-cleggs-team-supported-for-profit-state-schools-claims-e#.bgVx03LjA

22 September 2014: Who Said It: Dolores Umbridge Or Michael Gove? Was it the Hogwarts high inquisitor or the former UK education secretary? (16 questions) http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/give-it-a-gove#.glDvE9MxY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1960: The Long and Winding Road to a Devolved Parliament in Scotland

1967: In the late 1960s, support in Scotland for the pro-independence Scottish National Party was growing (seen spectacularly in Winnie Ewing’s victory at the Hamilton by-election of 1967). This created panic at Westminster and both Tory and labour Party’s responded.

1968: The Conservative Party in Scotland was traditionally a unionist party. But at the Conservative Party Conference of 1968, held in Perth in Scotland, Edward Heath announced a party policy of support for devolution. Heath then formed a constitutional committee chaired by former Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home.

1970:  The committee produced “Scotland’s Government”, a report that recommended the creation of a Scottish Assembly with 125 elected members and powers to initiate and discuss bills. However, all Bills were to require approval of the United Kingdom Parliament.

1970: The 1970 General Election was won by the Conservative Party, and Heath became Prime Minister. However, the electoral weakness of the Nationalists removed the political pressure for devolution, causing it to slip from the agenda.

1974: The two general elections of 1974 saw the return of a minority Labour Government and advances by the Nationalists (they won 7 seats in the February election and 11 in the October election). Labour was thus dependent on Nationalist support in Parliament.

1979: Despite opposition from within its own party, the labour government passed the Scotland Act 1978. This act provided for devolution, subject to approval by a referendum which took place in 1979. The referendum had been “rigged to fail” by the labour Party and the required mandate for devolution was not delivered.

Under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher the Conservatives had returned to a policy of opposing Scottish devolution. However, former Tory leader Alec Douglas-Home was still able to urge Scots to vote ‘no’ to Labour’s proposal in 1979, with the promise that a Conservative government would offer a “better” bill.

A general election was held late 1979, which was won by the Conservatives, who despite being the only major party now opposing constitutional reform and a reducing return of MP’s in each election in Scotland, went on to win electoral victories in 1983, 1987 and 1992 steadfastly ensuring that no further legislative progress would be made.

 

 

1980: Campaign for a Scottish Assembly

The Campaign for a Scottish Assembly (CSA), was formed in the aftermath of the 1979 referendum that failed to establish a devolved Scottish Assembly. Launched in 1980 and led by Jack Brand (1) and later headed by Jim Boyack (father of current MSP Sarah Boyack), the CSA contained individuals committed to some form of Home Rule for Scotland. Most were members of the Labour Party, but many Scottish National Party members actively participated.

The CSA kept up the pressure for devolution in the early years of the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, which was totally opposed to any form of Home Rule. Faced with the Tory Party intransigence the CSA came to the stance that the cause of Scottish devolution would be best served by a convention with more democratic legitimacy invested in it.

The CSA organised a committee, chaired by Professor Sir Robert Grieve,(2) which published the “Claim of Right for Scotland.” The Claim held that it was the Scottish people’s right to choose the form of government that best suited them (a long-established principle, first formally stated in the Declaration of Arbroath, 1320), and which also recommended the establishment of a convention to discuss this.

 

 

1989: The Scottish Constitutional Convention

The Convention was established in 1989 after prominent Scottish individuals signed the Claim of Right, and superseded the role of the CSA.

Various organisations participated in the Convention, such as the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Green Party, the Communist Party, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, the Small Business Federation and various bodies representing other strands of political opinion as well as civic society in general. Representatives of the two largest churches – the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church – as well as smaller church groups were involved as were some non-Christian communities which decided to participate.

Initially the Scottish National Party (SNP) participated, but the then party leader Gordon Wilson, along with Jim Sillars, decided to withdraw the SNP from participation owing to the convention’s unwillingness to discuss Scottish independence as a constitutional option.

The Conservative government of the day was very hostile to the convention and challenged the local authorities’ right to finance the convention, although the courts found that they were in fact entitled to do so.

Under its executive chairman, Canon Kenyon Wright, (3) the convention published its blueprint for devolution, Scotland’s Parliament, Scotland’s Right, on 30 November 1995, St Andrew’s Day. This provided the basis for the structure of the existent Scottish Parliament, established in 1999.

1. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:r4-BT9CjwDEJ:www.heraldscotland.com/comment/obituaries/dr-jack-brand.23032638+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

2. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/professor-sir-robert-grieve-1.654593

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenyon_Wright#cite_note-2

 

 

 

 

The Scotland Act 1998

1998: The election of Labour in 1997 led to a second devolution referendum. Again the Conservatives opposed devolution in the 1997 debate but this time their opposition was unsuccessful, and the Scottish Parliament was created by the Scotland Act 1998. Subsequent to its creation, the Conservative Party indicated its acceptance of Scottish devolution as an irreversible political fact.

 

 

September 2007: Council of Economic Advisers (Scotland)

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a group of eminent economists and captains of industry who advise the Scottish Government. It was established in 2007, meeting for the first time on 21 September. Minutes of its quarterly meetings will be published a fortnight after each meeting. It is intended that the council will publish an annual report on the condition of the Scottish economy. Members at time of establishment:

Sir George Mathewson (convener), former chief executive and then chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland; previously chief executive of the Scottish Development Agency
Frances Cairncross, Rector of Exeter College at Oxford University; previously journalist at The Economist, chair of the Economic and Social Research. Author.
Sir Robert Smith, chairman of the Weir Group and Scottish and Southern Energy; non-executive director of 3i group, Standard Bank Group and Aegon UK; chair of the Smith Group
Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at George Mason University and visiting Professor of Economics at the University of St Andrews; has been consultant for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve Board, the United Nations, the OECD, the European Commission and various central banks.
Professor Alex Kemp, Schlumberger Professor of Petroleum Economics at the University of Aberdeen; previously advised the World Bank, the United Nations, and various governments
Jim McColl, Chairman and Chief Executive of Clyde Blowers
Professor Frances P. Ruane, Director of Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute; previously Associate Professor of Economics at Trinity College, Dublin
Professor John Kay, a fellow of St John’s College, Oxford, visiting professor at the London School of Economics, regular contributor to the Financial Times; previously Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor at the London Business School and the University of Oxford
Crawford Beveridge, Executive Vice President and Chairman of Sun Microsystems in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; previously Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise
Professor Finn Kydland, Henley Professor of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara; awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in dynamic macroeconomics
Professor Sir James Mirrlees, Professor Emeritus at Cambridge University and distinguished professor-at-large at the Chinese University of Hong Kong; awarded the Nobel Prize forhis work on economic models and equations about situations where information is asymmetrical or incomplete.    http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Economy/Council-Economic-Advisers/Membership

 

 

December 2007: The Calman Commission

The Commission on Scottish Devolution, also referred to as the Calman Commission, Scottish Parliament Commission or Review was established by an opposition Labour Party motion passed by the Scottish Parliament on 6 December 2007, with the support of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The governing Scottish National Party opposed the creation of the commission. Its terms of reference were “To review the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998 in the light of experience and to recommend any changes to the present constitutional arrangements that would enable the Scottish Parliament to better serve the people of Scotland, that would improve the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament and that would continue to secure the position of Scotland within the United Kingdom.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Scottish_Devolution

 

 

November 2008: Expert group examining new powers for Holyrood has “tampered with the evidence” to suit the Labour Party, one of its own economic advisers suggested last night.

Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett, one of 11 economics experts tasked with examining tax powers north of the border, said its final report did not have “much legitimacy” because it was skewed towards preserving the status quo. Hughes Hallett said he had wanted the expert group to look at whether the Scottish Government should be given the power to borrow money but claims this was glossed over in the final report. He told Scotland on Sunday: “Had it been a criminal issue, you would call it tampering with the evidence by not considering all the options.”

The Calman Commission, which was set up to look at all aspects of constitutional reform, itself appointed an expert group of economists to specifically study the case for extending the tax powers of the Scottish Parliament. Hughes Hallett was a member of that group, which published its report earlier this month, laying out options for giving Holyrood greater financial powers.

In the final version of the report, compiled by the experts under the leadership of Professor Anton Muscatelli, the principal of Heriot-Watt university, Hughes Hallett said debt was hardly mentioned. He said: “There is a very brief note that debt and borrowing may be necessary, but there is no discussion of any of the consequences or consideration of how much debt a Scottish Government can issue.

The issue is how we can manage debt and how it can be issued. It would be helpful to know what that was.” Hughes Hallett added that he could understand why the Labour Government might not want such issues fully explored if ministers were not keen on handing over more powers to Holyrood. He said: “You can see from the London end why they might not want to get into some of these issues.

I can understand the political view from London that you don’t want to go into it. “I could imagine that if you’re a sitting government, you probably have vested interest in keeping things more or less as they are. There may be all sorts of political reasons for keeping things as they are and they are legitimate. But they are not reasons to keep options out of the discussions.”

Hughes Hallett explained that the ability to issue debt was essential if Scotland were to replace the current Barnett Formula funding mechanism with an assigned taxation system, which would see the Scottish Government’s funds being calculated on the basis of the tax revenues paid by Scots to the UK Treasury.

He said the ability to issue debt was essential because tax revenue adjusts quickly to variations in income, but public expenditure for projects such as new schools and hospitals adjust at a slower pace. Therefore the ability to raise money by going into debt is essential to keep projects going when tax revenue diminishes during economic downturns. “You can’t just close hospitals and schools every time the economy slows down,” Hughes Hallett said.

He also argued that the report had omitted to explore fully the merits of other economic models that could form the basis for a new constitutional settlement for Scotland. “If you have to decide what you want and if people can’t find that laid out, it (the report] doesn’t have much legitimacy.

“What’s missing here is any consideration of how these sorts of schemes might work.” Hughes Hallett said the report failed to examine the “trade-offs” between various systems. The economist claimed the report did not properly analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the Barnett Formula, assigned taxes and fiscal autonomy.

A Scottish National Party spokesman said: “From what we know about the Calman Commission, it doesn’t meet the challenges of the times in that Scotland needs to build a lion economy, but it appears that all it has produced is a constitutional mouse. Certainly what was intended to be a an entirely independent review has become far too closely connected and controlled by the UK Government.”

A Calman Commission spokesman said: “This was an independent report, which was handed to the commission and it would be inappropriate for Sir Kenneth Calman to make any comment.”

http://www.scotsman.com/news/calman-evidence-was-tampered-with-1-1301807

 

 

 

 

December 2008: Limited Powers transferred to Scotland over planning and nature conservation matters at sea

During 2008, agreement was reached to transfer responsibility for all planning and nature conservation matters at sea up to 200 miles from the Scottish coast to the Scottish Government. The change has implications for the offshore industry, wind and wave power and to a lesser extent, fishing, though responsibility for fishing quotas remains an European Union issue and oil and gas licensing and permitting remains a reserved matter.

 

 

 

 

August 2009: Scottish Independence Referendum Proposal Rejected

In August 2009 the SNP announced a Referendum Bill would be included in its package of bills to be debated before Parliament in 2009–10, with the intention of holding a referendum on the issues of Scottish independence in November 2010. The bill did not pass due to the SNP’s status as a minority administration, and due to the initial opposition to the Bill from all other major parties in the Scottish Parliament.

 

 

 

 

July 2011: Scottish Independence Referendum Proposal Passed  By Scottish Parliament

Following the Scottish Parliament general election, the SNP had a majority in parliament and again brought forward an Independence Referendum Bill. The Scottish Government also suggested that full fiscal autonomy for Scotland (known as “devo-max”) could be an alternative option in the vote.

 

 

May 2012:  Negotiation of the Edinburgh Agreement (2012)

The UK government legislated to provide the Scottish Parliament with the powers to hold the referendum. The “devo-max” option was not included, however, as the Edinburgh Agreement stipulated that the referendum had to be a clear binary choice between independence or the existing devolution arrangements. The Scottish Independence Referendum (Franchise) Act 2013 was passed by the Scottish Parliament and campaigning commenced.

 

 

 

 

September 2014

Two days before the referendum was held, with polls very close, the leaders of the three main UK political parties publicly pledged to devolve a form of “devo-max” to the Scottish Parliament if independence was rejected. They also agreed to a devolution timetable proposed by Gordon Brown.

Approximately 25% of the electorate had voted by “Postal Ballot” at the date of Gordon Brown and the three main political party’s  intervention Under the rules of the referendum the entire process should have been declared null and void and the referendum re-run with the 2 options being placed before the electorate. This was not done.

Voting took place on 18 September 2014 and independence was rejected by a margin of 45% in favour to 55% against. The following day David Cameron announced the formation of the Smith Commission to “convene cross-party talks” concerning “recommendations for further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Scottish_devolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 February 2015: If you wish to keep a cobra as a pet – First remove it’s fangs

There is no guarantee that a future UK Government could not hold up Holyrood decision-making indefinitely under Scotland’s new devolution settlement, according to a Scotland Office minister.

The Westminster establishment has repeatedly dismissed SNP claims that they have written a right of “veto” into the draft devolution law to prevent Holyrood making benefit changes that Westminster might find unacceptable.

But implementation of any proposed Scottish benefit change must be agreed beforehand with the UK Government, fuelling SNP accusations that Westminster could use this clause to hold up benefit changes unpalatable to Westminster for years.

David Mundell, Scotland’s only Conservative MP and junior minister in the Scotland Office, told Holyrood’s Welfare Reform Committee that he would personally make sure an agreement on benefits does not take years.

But he said he “couldn’t guarantee” he would be around after the 2015 general election. But, he said it would “not be feasible in terms of the political reality” for any future government to hold up Scottish benefits amid the inevitable outcry it would provoke from MSPs.

But he refused to commit to redrafting the “Scotland Bill” removing the SNP’s supposed “implication” of veto, saying only that the clauses “are out for discussion and consideration” and open to Scottish Government “feedback”.

 

 

 

Q & A Session
SNP MSP Kevin Stewart: “Could you give us some clarity on how long a consultation between the two governments could go on for?”

Mundell: “Over my period in the Scotland Office I found that sometimes these matters can be resolved in hours and sometimes they take considerably longer. But I am making it clear that there is goodwill on our part in terms of bringing these objectives about.”

Stewart: “Can you confirm to the committee that it would not be a matter of many years for one of these consultations to be dragged over?”

Mundell: “If it’s anything to do with me, which I can’t guarantee, it would not be a matter of years.”

Stewart: “As you say, you can’t guarantee that it will be you. Could you confirm that one of these consultations cannot go on indefinitely, which is effectively a veto?”

Mundell: “Nobody wants to see that happening. I think everybody also understands the politics of Scotland, the respect that the UK Government has demonstrated for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament, and would not engage in that sort of subversive delay because it would simply not be feasible in terms of the political reality. I’m sure you (MSPs) and others would be making that point. There would be no intention to veto proposals put forward by the Scottish Government, either upfront or by some sort of behind the scenes way.”

Stewart: “So it would have been better if the language in the draft clauses had been put in a different way?”

Mundell: “The draft clauses are out for discussion and consideration. There is an opportunity for the committee, for individuals within the parliament, for the Scottish Government, and we’re in a very close dialogue with John Swinney who is leading for the Scottish Government in these matters in relation to the clause. If there is particular feedback in relation to the clauses then that can be given.”

Stewart: “But you can categorically say that although the implication in the language in the clause is of veto that there is no veto.”

Mundell: “Well, I wouldn’t have taken that implication of veto. I take the clear position of working together, but there is no veto.”

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/politics/david-mundell-promises-goodwill-under-devolution-settlement-1.823271

 

 

Seems to me Cameron and the Tory’s are setting out to de-fang the Scots