The cost of running the Scottish Government and its various quangos has increased by 60 per cent in just six years as questions are asked surrounding the value for money.
Scotland’s faceless civil service costs taxpayers £1.6bn, a huge 60 per cent rise in seven years. New figures revealed that the cost to run Scotland’s bloated government rose from an estimated £1.010bn in 2016 to £1.623bn in 2023.
This cost includes the staff salaries from the Scottish Government and the majority of quangos in the country. It includes spin doctors, with Humza Yousaf’s team of press officers reaching a record £3.7m in October last year.
In terms of solely impartial bureaucrats within the SNP/Green executive, the cost has doubled from £126.32m to £270.29m since 2016, and this rose by just over £23m in the last year from £247.27m.
Staffing numbers have soared by almost 70 per cent in the same timeframe, from 5,380 to 9,175. This excludes agencies such as Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland.
Over the last year, there has been a 4.75 per cent rise in civil servants employed across quangos (2,475) while the headcount within the Scottish Government increased by 325 (3.67 per cent). This rise was criticised by the TaxPayer’s Alliance who pointed out that publicly-funded jobs should be falling sharply due to the end of Brexit negotiations and the Covid pandemic.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told the Herald: “With the tax burden at near-record levels, Scots are paying through the nose for the boom in public sector employment. What’s more, there is a growing sense that public services in Scotland are worse than before the hiring spree, not better.
“Only once Holyrood is honest about what the state can reasonably be expected to do can we wind down functions and scrap unnecessary jobs.”
The SNP were previously criticised for hiring a growing army of spin doctors with the cost of press officers at Holyrood doubled from £1.8m to £3.7m since the nationalists seized power in 2007.
Scottish Labour’s Daniel Johnson described this cost as “proof positive that the SNP is more interested in laundering its reputation than delivering for the people of Scotland.”
We previously revealed that the taxpayer forked out more than £12m in three years to pay the wages of highly paid “chief” civil servants. These included the director general of health and social care Caroline Lamb who pocketed £192,500 a year, permanent secretary John-Paul Marks on £167,500 and corporate director general Lesley Fraser who made £127,500.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government continually monitors the cost of its operations through effective vacancy management and recruitment controls. Pay and workforce issues will continue to be linked to both the delivery of the Government’s agenda, fiscal sustainability and reform to secure the delivery of effective public services over the medium term.
“Historically, the growth in Scottish Government workforce numbers reflects factors including the addition of new powers and the need to address external challenges such as EU exit, the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine response. Our approach to public sector pay is fair and progressive with specific controls for higher earners, to help ensure that public sector pay remains affordable and delivers value for money.
“Public bodies are best placed to assess both the opportunities and action that must be taken to ensure fiscal sustainability, with budgetary allocations providing the parameters for this. In doing so, public bodies should prioritise delivering efficiency and managing pay sustainably.”
30 April 2021: Pandemic levels had fallen, and stringent COVID-19 lockdown regulations, first introduced in March 2020, had been eased to “step two” rules. Indoor socialising was still banned, with exceptions for events “reasonably necessary” for work purposes, and where “the gathering is reasonably necessary for campaigning in an election”. The government had also issued guidance, for election campaigning said “You should not meet with other campaigners indoors.” Restaurants were only permitted to serve food outdoors for groups of up to six people or up to two households, and indoor service was not allowed.
30 April 2021: Shortly before the Hartlepool by-election and local elections Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Deputy Leader Angela Rayner together with 15 other Party supporters used the offices of MP Mary Foy for a meeting. Around 10 pm, a passerby filmed a 34-second video through the office window shortly after 10 pm which showed Starmer and some of the group, drinking beer and eating. The video was passed to the “Reclaim” Party leader Laurence Fox who uploaded it to his Twitter account.
1 May 2021: The Sun used a picture from the video, showing Starmer with a beer, in a brief story it put online later that day which included the statement that “people would be asking questions about Starmer’s involvement, and Labour’s rebuttal that it was a permissible work event, and the pictures from the video were out of context.
2 May 2021: the “Sun on Sunday” published the story on page 2 of its print edition, a placement usually used for political stories that are not expected to be widely read and in a further development confirmation of the accuracy of Labour’s rebuttal was provided in documents and a time-stamped video sent to “The Guardian” which showed Starmer actively engaged with other participants, between 10:41 and 11:19 pm discussing and editing a video to be used in an International Workers’ Day message. An aide who had been with Starmer then sent the final edit at 1:56 am, possibly after returning to their hotel. The Sun dropped the story.
January 2022: In his response to Partygate allegations Prime Minister Boris Johnson referred to the Durham event in his less than sincere apology to Parliament for attending a “socially distanced drinks” gathering, saying he had believed it was a work event. Starmer said Johnson had breached the Ministerial Code by misleading Parliament, and asked him to resign. The Tories called Starmer a hypocrite, alleging that he had similarly breached lockdown rules.
7 February 2022: Durham Constabulary cleared Starmer over the allegation saying they had reviewed the video and did not believe an offence had been established, so would take no further action.
12 April 2022: Johnson was given a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for breaching COVID-19 regulations. Starmer again said Johnson should resign. In response, the Tories demanded a formal investigation of the 30 April 2021, events in Durham.
22 April 2022: Tory MP Richard Holden wrote to Durham Constabulary saying “In light of the tests applied by Metropolitan Police for the level of a Covid regulations brief, I believe there is a strong public interest in Durham Constabulary reviewing its decision not to investigate the Starmer incident further.”
27 April 2022: Holden tweeted “Durham Police leave the door open to re-examining as Durham Deputy Chief Constable to ‘make enquiries’ with investigation team against Starmer”, with a copy of the police letter stating “I will make inquiries with the investigation team and will update you at the point at which I have been able to conclude those inquiries.” Labour said Holden had wrongly characterised the letter, the police stated “As a courtesy, we have replied to Mr Holden to confirm we have received that letter and will consider its contents before responding in due course.”
4 May 2022: Starmer was interviewed on Good Morning Britain by Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid. He said: ” a takeaway was ordered, after the participants and myself had finished doing “pieces to camera”, “clearing documents” and “preparing for the next day” of campaigning. Restaurants and pubs were closed, and takeaways were really the only way we could eat. We picked up plates of food from the kitchen got on with the work”. It would be quite wrong to describe anything that happened as socialising. “The Times” reported later that it had been told by Labour sources that Starmer had the beer at 10 pm because of a delay due to the takeaway being delivered an hour late.
5 May 2022: The day of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections, Starmer said he had not had any contact from Durham Constabulary.
6 May 2022: Durham police stated that “following the receipt of significant new information over recent days”, an investigation “into potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations relating to this gathering” was being conducted. Durham police did not indicate how this compared to the stringent thresholds the Met had set for opening investigations into allegations. The Guardian said that “the news is deeply uncomfortable for the Labour Party leader, who had called for Boris Johnson to resign when he was investigated for a breach of the law”. In a media interview, Starmer said, “We were working in the office, we stopped for something to eat. No party, no breach of the rules,” and, “The police have got their job to do, we should let them get on it. But I’m confident that no rules were broken.”
7 May 2022: Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary under the previous Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, expressed her view that Starmer should “consider his position” if he were to receive an FPN from the police, but did not believe that he would get one.
9 May 2022: Starmer announced that he would resign as leader of the opposition if he were to receive an FPN for a breach of COVID-19 regulations. Rayner also said that she would resign if she were to receive an FPN. Starmer stated his intent to demonstrate “different principles to the prime minister” (who had already been given an FPN for a breach at Downing Street), and said, “The idea that I would casually break the rules is wrong. I don’t think those who are accusing me of it believe it themselves … They are trying to say all politicians are the same. If the police decide to issue me with an FPN, I would of course do the right thing and step down, The British public deserve politicians who think the rules apply to them.” Replying to a media question about the possibility that the police might say there could have been a breach of rules but not issue an FPN, he said, “The penalty for a Covid breach is a fixed-penalty notice. That’s a matter of law. And I’ve set out what my position is about that.”
10 May 2022: A Government source suggested Durham Constabulary could be under “undue pressure” to clear Starmer or refrain from fining him noting that the media editorial comment said, “Superficially of course, he appears to be doing the decent thing, though frankly, he didn’t have much choice.” Starmer supporters were of the view that Durham police would be reluctant to give him an FPN because they concluded that in May 2021 Dominic Cummings had committed a minor breach of lockdown rules at Barnard Castle but that no action had been taken against him. The Durham police would be aware of political fallout if they appeared to be treating Starmer more leniently than the Met had treated Johnson. Policing minister Kit Malthouse said Durham police would “operate professionally to the high standards we expect of them, irrespective of any alleged pressure.”
14 May 2022: At a Darlington Borough Council meeting, a Councillor referred to the Metropolitan Police. and said: ” That force has issued more than 100 fines in its investigation into possible lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and across Whitehall following the “partygate” scandal. Whereas Durham Police previously stated it would not give retrospective fixed penalties for breaching Covid restrictions at the time of Dominic Cummings’ infamous trip to Barnard Castle as it would be unfair to treat him differently. Is it a fixed policy for Durham police that they will not issue retrospective fixed penalties or will they review this, and who will decide this and how will they account for this decision?”
Nigel Bryson, The Deputy police crime commissioner of Durham responded: “I expect the Keir Starmer “beer gate” investigation will lead to discussions over police policy. But it is the Chief Constable’s operational responsibility. I believe the investigation will be reopened based on new evidence relating to a high-profile politician from the Labour Party. We’ll have to wait until they’ve done their investigation. Once the investigation is concluded and the results are public, then it can be an issue of whether we think there was an inconsistency of policy or an inconsistency of approach.”
A second Councillor referred to Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Joy Allen’s known friendship and her membership of the Labour Party and asked how the PCC would hold Chief Constable and the force to account regarding the investigation into Keir Starmer. She said: “My concern is… if you’re of the same party as the person that your force is investigating, you are undoubtedly compromised and cannot be effective in that role and hold the police accountable for their investigation.”
Nigel Bryson responded: “The commissioner cannot direct operations of the police because the Chief Constable is responsible for the operational side of policing and until we get some kind of result we’re not in a position, whoever it is, to be able to pre-judge. If we intervene, that will be seen as political interference with the process. So we have to go through the process and then see what the investigation comes out with. It’s not up to the Commissioner to interfere with the investigation. Whenever the investigation comes out, we will be looking at whether their approach across the board has been consistent, whether there needs to be any change in policy. But we can’t get there until that investigation is completed. I understand what it looks like… but that’s the system. We’re all, I think, waiting for the results of that investigation. And then we’ll see what we need to do.”
31 May 2022: Starmer and Rayner received police questionnaires which they returned to Durham police on 17 June.
17 June 2022: Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has extended Durham Constabulary’s Chief Constable Jo Farrell’s contract by three years. The Chief Constable’s current contract was due to expire on June 9, 2024, but has since been extended until June 9, 2027. Commissioner Joy Allen said: “I extended the contract to ensure continuity of leadership in what is a challenging period for policing. Jo has been an inspirational leader of Durham Constabulary since taking up the role in 2019 during which time the force has faced several challenges, including policing the Pandemic and the changing face of criminality. I’m delighted that she has agreed to this contract extension. It removes uncertainty, brings continuity of leadership in times of challenge and change and enables future planning to be undertaken with confidence. Jo is quite frankly an inspirational Chief Constable, respected throughout the force, my own office, our many partners and indeed across the whole force area. Since my election, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership abilities, evidenced by the positive outcome of the recent inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS); progress of the new investigative hub which will give improved investigative performance and long-term estate resilience, and ongoing practical demonstration of the Force’s values. Her commitment to the delivery of my Police and Crime Plan will bring sustainable benefits to communities across the area, already we are witnessing service improvements and greater visibility. I am delighted that she has agreed to this contract extension which is good news for the entire workforce and the wider community.”
Jo Farrell added: “It is a privilege to serve as Chief Constable of Durham and I would like to thank the PCC for the opportunity to continue the work which we have started and see through those changes which will make County Durham and Darlington a safer place for all.”
When she was promoted to the role of Chief Constable in June 2019, Jo Farrell became the first woman to hold the post in the force’s 180-year history. Within months she was faced with steering the force’s response to the unprecedented challenge of policing the pandemic and protecting the public through the most testing of times.
7 July 2022: Boris Johnson announced his resignation.
8 July 2022: Starmer and Rayner were cleared. Durham Police issued a statement: “Following the emergence of significant new information, an investigation was launched by Durham constabulary into a gathering at the Miners’ Hall, in Redhills, Durham on 30 April 2021. That investigation has now concluded and all attendees to the meeting have been cleared of any wrongdoing. The finding was that: ” due to the application of an approved exception, the meeting was considered to be categorised as reasonably necessary work.”
8 July 2022: Concerns surface that Starmer’s connections to Labour’s Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham influenced the decision not to issue an FPN.
13 July 2022: Skwawkbox’s questions to Durham police go unanswered after sources close to the matter provide new information
Keir Starmer and his supporters have used the decision of Durham Constabulary not to fine him over his ‘beergate’ gathering to claim that there was never any question that he had done anything illegal – and his allies have attacked reports on Skwawkbox and in other media that he had received a fine. However, information provided by sources close to events in Durham indicates that the police investigators recommended fines for Starmer’s ‘dinner’, as his agenda for the day described it – but that fines were withdrawn after the force’s leadership was pressured. Skwawkbox reported last week that Starmer had received a fine and that the Labour leader had twice failed to deny that one had been issued. According to sources in Durham, the force’s investigation concluded that the law had been broken and that fixed penalty notices should be handed out. However, senior figures then withdrew the fines.
Skwawkbox sent the following questions to Durham Constabulary’s press office:
Who was the investigating officer? The investigation report recommended fines, according to sources – who made the decision not to impose them? Why is the force insisting on an FOI request to release the investigation report, rather than release it on request for transparency? The Met handles all issues relating to the ‘work’ of the opposition leader. Why did Durham retain this decision if it didn’t think it was a social event? Starmer’s own office’s agenda for the day included ‘dinner’ in Durham, not a working snack. Why was this disregarded? Why wasn’t the CPS brought in to decide when the Durham force accepted the event was a breach, before applying an exemption? Who made the decision not to involve the CPS? Were any face-to-face interviews conducted? Why were people asked to be witnesses?
In response, the force simply re-sent its original 8 July statement that it had decided not to fine Starmer and others. Skwawkbox pointed out that its questions all arose after the issuance of that statement and asked for a substantive response. No reply had been received by the time of publication some eight hours after the deadline, leaving questions about the process and who was involved in the decision-making unanswered.
During an earlier telephone call, the force responded to Skwawkbox’s request for a copy of the investigation report by saying that it would have to be done via a Freedom of Investigation Act request (FOIA) – confirming in the process that a report exists. Public bodies have obligations under the FOIA – but are not required to receive one to disclose information to journalists for the sake of transparency. FOIA requests can take many months to complete if the responding organisation disputes its obligation to disclose and the requester is forced to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
According to parliamentary figures spoken to by Skwawkbox, the Metropolitan Police handle any investigations relating to the leader of the opposition at work, requiring the matter to be handed to the Met as soon as Durham Constabulary began to consider categorising Starmer’s ‘dinner’ – as described in the agenda for the day that his office sent to attendees, contrary to later claims that the get-together was just grabbing food and drinks as part of a meeting – as a work event.
Some three weeks before the force published its decision, Durham’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner gave Durham’s Chief Constable a contract extension worth some £550,000, despite criticism of the force’s performance.
It should not be lost to readers that any investigation of the leader of the opposition should have been conducted by the Metropolitan Police in the first instance, not the Durham Chief Constable. This is particularly relevant since Starmer was accompanied by 2 armed police officers and 2 close protection officers throughout his stay in Durham and it would be for them to report any incident to their supervising officer at the Metropolitan Police
Keir Starmer was asked on two separate occasions to comment on reports that he had received a fine which was withdrawn and did not deny it.
Summary of a report written by Hannah Rodger, Sunday Mail, Chief Reporter
Not including Scotland’s 32 local authorities, 14 health boards, police, fire and ambulance services, Scottish taxpayers are picking up a £22million annual bill for the salaries of chief executives and committee members of almost 100 public bodies, (quangos) including some people don‘t even know exist:
Scotland’s Water Quangos: Four quangos manage elements of Scotland’s water systems.
Former Scottish Water CEO Douglas Millican who departed in May 2023, received £520,000 in payments in 2022. This included a salary of £270,000, a long-term incentive payment of £160,000 and a bonus of £80,000. Disasters under his watch include sewage spills directly into Scotland’s rivers, lochs and seas and a heavy fine imposed on it in May 2023 for releasing chemicals into a Fife river that killed hundreds of salmon and trout in October 2018. His successor, Alex Plant, was awarded an even higher annual salary of £295,000.
Alex Sutherland, CEO of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS), on an annual salary and incentives exceeding £400.000 was sacked at the beginning of December 2023 following revelations of financial irregularities. See the 2022/23 audit of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. The annual salary and incentives of the CEOs of the other two quangos including, the Scottish Canals, Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland is around £400,000.
The Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA) – is supposed to decide which NHS dentists and consultants should receive awards for outstanding work but have not granted any since 2010 when the Scottish Government froze the awards budget. With no real work done in the past year, more than £100,000 has been spent keeping them running.
The School Closure Review Panel (SCRP) is supposed to examine any school closures by councils which are later called in by Scottish ministers but there have been no refferals since 2021. Despite this, SCRP incurred running costs of £76,000 last year.
The Forestry Commission, which managed forests in Scotland, England and Wales, stopped taking responsibility for Scottish and Welsh sites in 2019. The Welsh government merged the work with other organisations to form one new body.
But the Scottish Government formed two bodies to replace it – Forestry And Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry. They each have a chief executive paid up to £115,000 and £90,000 plus incentives annually. A Scottish Forestry spokesperson said: “Scottish Forestry regulates and supports the whole forest industry, including the private sector, whilst Forestry and Land Scotland directly manages the 650,000 hectares of national forests to provide multiple benefits for Scotland’s people. The agencies were set up five years ago as part of fully devolving forestry to Scotland. Before this, both bodies already existed, but in slightly different forms. The Scottish Parliament unanimously agreed that it was necessary to establish two separate forestry agencies to carry out the entirely different functions. The salaries of both Chief Executives are part of the standard civil service senior management grades.”
Ferry chiefs who presided over the scandal of delayed contracts and broken-down boats were paid well over the odds to manage their organisations. Tim Hair, the turn-around director at Ferguson Marine, was given a £591,232 plus incentives fee for his work while Robbie Drummond, CEO of Calmac was paid around £156,000 plus incentives. He stated that: “CalMac is not a quango, it is a private company delivering contracts secured competitively. We compete in the private sector to attract staff and recruit staff from some of the best maritime, vessel management and transport companies in the UK, and to do this CalMac must pay its team competitively. David MacBrayne Ltd’s Duncan Mackison, who left last year and was not replaced, was on as much as £190,000 plus incentives annually while Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) director Kevin Hobbs was paid £148,127 plus incentives, last year.
The Scottish Trades Union commented: “The STUC has always argued for directly democratically accountable bodies to run our public affairs and that position has not changed. It’s intensely curious, if not blatantly hypocritical, that governments are calling for wage restraint and turning their fire on low-paid public sector workers who have had their wages cut in real terms, yet this standard doesn’t seem to apply further up the career ladder. It’s not too much to ask that each and every organisation undertaking a public function is fit for purpose and delivers high-quality services, including sufficient pay for those at the bottom too. Workers deserve nothing less. The SNP are presiding over an increasingly bloated number of quangos rather than delivering the best value for money for taxpayers. Given these quangos are linked to many of their huge failures – including the ongoing ferries scandal – there are serious questions for ministers to answer as to why costs are threatening to spiral out of control.”
Redress Scotland commented: “A serious review is needed to decide how many of these organisations are needed in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis when our NHS, our schools and hundreds of Scots are struggling just to get by.”
Political opponents commented: “When the SNP came into power, they promised the ‘bonfire of the quangos’ but under their leadership the amount of public money being used to support quangos and spin has swelled year upon year. At the same time as local government has seen its budgets slashed, the SNP has elected to pour more and more money on arms-length bodies that fail to deliver value for money.”
December 2023: A row broke out after it emerged the SNP-led Government appointments committee had nominated Michael Russell to be chair of the Scottish Land Commission SLC Quango on a split decision. Russell had stood down as SNP President in anticipation of being appointed to the near £400,000 annual salary and incentives post. A full vote of MSP’s will now consider the appointment at Holyrood.
Former Green MSP Andy Wightman, a land reform expert and probably the best qualified person for the post, tweeted: “Depressing that the vote as to whether to recommend Mike Russell as Chair of Scottish Land Commission broke along party lines. Decisions like this should not be political but, in the circumstances, it is perhaps not surprising that the SNP & Greens didn’t want any scrutiny.”
13 January 13, 2002: The NHS can be saved says health minister Malcolm Chisholm: The new year has started as the last one ended for new health minister Malcolm Chisholm – in crisis. The hepatitis C compensation row will be followed next week by two tricky announcements about long-term care of the elderly, in which it seems certain the Executive will admit to a (pounds) 23 million hole in its budget and not enough care home beds to deliver on its promises. And don’t bet on good statistics on bed-blocking, or delayed discharge as the minister prefers it to be known.
25 January 2002: Hospital trust ‘is unmanageable’; Staff grievances come to a head at North Glasgow in a devastating letter to the NHS board: Hard on the heels of the crisis at the Beatson Cancer Centre, which led to its management being wrested from the hands of the trust. Next week the Glasgow area will face the most far-reaching decisions about its health services since the formation of the NHS. The new shape of acute hospital services throughout the city, probably involving some closures, and certainly some new buildings, will be determined at a day-long meeting of the Greater Glasgow NHS Board. However, the past three months have already ensured that life at Scotland’s biggest hospital trust – North Glasgow – will never be the same again.
26 January 2002: Squalor and filth patients must face daily in the flagship infirmary: An inspection team discovered shocking scenes of squalor at Scotland’s largest hospital. At Glasgow Royal Infirmary, bloody surgical scrubs are dumped in a cockroach-infested lift used to carry patients’ meals. Infectious waste lies mixed with other linen. Piles of waste in tunnels below the Victorian-era hospital have created fire traps. Staff have to wash in a stinking bathroom with piles of filth on the floor and damaged brickwork that could harbour germs. The images have been released after the joint management and union team found filthy conditions throughout the infirmary, the mainstay of health bosses’ plans for a £550m shake-up of hospital services.
19 April 2002: No Mercy If NHS Spending Fails: Severe political embarrassment could be the eventual outcome of First Minister Jack McConnell’s spending spree on health. Yesterday he announced that every penny of Scotland’s bonus from the Budget would be spent on the National Health Service. That is a considerable hostage to fortune. The Government is promoting the claim that higher taxation is a moral imperative to fund the NHS. That notion is based on the presumption that all that is wrong with our health service is lack of money. Most informed observers believe that the underlying problem is the inflexible structure of this ailing State monopoly. It is neither callous nor socially irresponsible to suggest that part of Scotland’s Budget nest egg should have been devoted to other vital services, such as education, transport and law enforcement.
22 June 2002: Chisholm Vow to Halve NHS Waiting Times Is Attacked as ‘Unrealistic’: Patients will wait no longer than six months for hospital treatment by 2005, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said yesterday. This would halve the present 12-month period which the NHS sets down as the longest a patient should wait between seeing a consultant and receiving treatment. The move follows last week’s announcement that ministers have bought the HCI private hospital in Clydebank, near Glasgow, which Mr Chisholm claims will remove 5,000 patients a year from the waiting list. But last night critics dismissed yesterday’s targets as unrealistic and warned the much-trumpeted purchase of HCI alone could not solve Scotland’s health service woes.
18 July 2002: Unhappy history of executive who drank from the poisoned chalice; Problems of North Glasgow Hospitals Trust led to chief’s departure: IT was widely suspected to be a poisoned chalice, but, for Maggie Boyle, there was little reason to believe she could not handle the job. She had risen swiftly through the health service ranks from the job of auxiliary nurse, and in 1998, after 23 years in the NHS, was ready to take on her biggest challenge yet – the chief executive’s post at the new North Glasgow Acute Hospitals Trust. She was acting chief executive of West Glasgow Hospitals University Trust at the time, and her decision to take up the post added the Royal Infirmary, Stobhill Trusts, and the Glasgow Dental Hospital to what was already a heavy responsibility. The decision to amalgamate the hospitals under one trust and place Miss Boyle in charge also made her one of the most powerful women in the Scottish health service, on a huge six-figure salary.
22 August 2002: Health minister calls for end to spin as colleague bids hasty exit from key meeting on Glasgow hospital closures; Row as Chisholm cuts waiting lists: The executive yesterday tried to draw the sting from one of the opposition’s most potent issues by abolishing the highly controversial deferred hospital waiting lists. Malcolm Chisholm, health minister, claimed the move, which will result in a single type of waiting list for hospital treatment, was being done in the interests of openness and transparency. He made a candid statement about the need to end government spin, saying: “If problems are more obvious, it is better to face up to that. The public is sick and fed up with the traditional point of view, which is just to put the best gloss on things. “Let the truth out and deal with things as they exist.
28 August 2002: Minister’s U-Turn Adds 25,000 to the NHS Waiting List: The controversial deferred waiting list for NHS patients is to be scrapped. Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said all patients would now be put on a single list with a guarantee of treatment in 12 months, falling to six months by 2005. Critics had alleged that the deferred list, which contains patients whose planned hospital treatment has been postponed, kept thousands off the main list, allowing the Scottish Executive to falsely claim improvements in waiting times. The move effectively adds 25,270 people from the deferred list to the main NHS waiting list in Scotland. Between 1993 and 2002 the main list fell from 84,521 to 71,965 – a drop of 12,556 – but during the same period, the deferred list grew by 11,819 from 13,451 to 25,270.
27 September 2002: NHS board crisis team: Trouble-shooters have been sent in to sort out the struggling NHS board in Argyll and Clyde. Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm wants them to solve “long-standing managerial problems”. No details of the difficulties were given but they are thought to involve clashes between senior staff and budget problems.
8 October 2002: We Were So Niave to Be Taken in by New Labour’s Chicanery … All of Their Attempts to Save the NHS Have Proved Disastrous; A Retired GP and Former Labour Supporter on Why She Will Stand against the Party over Its Health Policy: When Labour won power in 1997, there was a tremendous sense of optimism among members of the medical profession in Scotland. We genuinely felt, on that glorious summer day five years ago when Tony Blair became Prime Minister, that things would change. After so many years of Tory rule, everyone agreed there was an overwhelming need for reform in the Health Service and that it was a time for universal celebration. Similarly, when devolution became a reality, its supporters – and I was among them – saw the Scottish parliament as a symbol of the country’s great potential. Now, in 2002, two years after I retired as a GP, I feel stupid – and deeply embarrassed – that we were all so naive and that my colleagues and I were effectively taken in by New Labour’s chicanery. I feel ashamed of my support for Labour and for devolution because all the attempts to save the NHS and turn around its fortunes have proved utterly disastrous. For many, the ‘reorganisation’ of Glasgow’s hospital services has come to symbolise Labour’s intense arrogance.
12 November 2002: Hospitals remain in grip of strike action: The wildcat strikes that have taken hold at hospitals across Glasgow showed no sign of abating yesterday, leading to fears that operations could be cancelled by the end of the week. Nearly 400 administration staff at six sites controlled by North Glasgow University NHS Hospitals Trust failed to show up for work yesterday while the trust held an emergency meeting to plan for the weeks ahead. Health managers say they will be able to continue all routine and emergency work at the hospitals this week, but fear some elective operations will have to be cancelled after Friday if the dispute goes on. A spokeswoman said: “The staff who have walked out deal with patients’ records and these have already been prepared for clinics and all operations for the next week.
17 December 2002: NHS board cash crisis: Watchdogs have slammed a health board which faces a massive budget shortfall. In a bombshell report, the troubled Argyll and Clyde NHS Board was criticised for poor management which has created a “dire” financial crisis. The contents were so damning that four top-level health managers resigned before publication. Investigators hit out at the “dysfunctional and inappropriate management culture” for creating “financial instability” within the Board. Up to 100 angry NHS staff and patients packed an extraordinary board meeting to discuss the report’s findings at Dykebar Hospital in Paisley last night.
30 January 2003: Hepatitis Patients to Get £15m but Only If Westminster Agrees; Chisholm Admits Scottish Parliament Could Be Overruled: Patients in Scotland who contracted hepatitis C during NHS treatment could share a £15m compensation package, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said yesterday. But the move can only go ahead if the Westminster Government agrees the Scottish parliament has the power to implement the deal. Mr Chisholm yesterday unveiled his proposals for a long-awaited compensation scheme for around 570 patients who caught the deadly liver virus through blood transfusions or other treatment during the 1970s and 1980s. He said all patients who caught hepatitis C from infected blood should receive £20,000 and those who went on to develop life-threatening complications would be awarded an extra £25,000.
5 March 2003: NHS reform in Scotland hinges on nurse numbers: new White Paper will fail to improve care unless shortages are tackled, warns RCN: Proposals to reform the NHS in Scotland will fail to deliver their objective of improving patient care unless nurse shortages are tackled, the RCN has warned. A White Paper, Partnership for Care, was launched at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary last week by Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm. It promises nurses that the NHS in Scotland will become an `exemplary employer’ with a culture of lifelong learning. Staff will be entitled to receive continuing professional development, appraisals and personal development plans, the White Paper says. It also reveals plans to invest in a network of one-stop occupational health centres at NHS workplaces that will provide a fast-track rehabilitation service for staff.
17 June 2003: GPs oppose the closure of A&E: Executives of Argyll and Clyde NHS Board face the wrath of GPs and their patients from north of the Clyde tonight at a public meeting over the planned closure of accident and emergency services at Vale of Leven Hospital. However, the public’s view was already clear last night after a grassroots meeting in Dumbarton, attended by about 300 people, at which the decision was roundly attacked amid calls for a steering committee to be set up to take the campaign against the closure further. Every GP practice in Dumbarton, Alexandria, and Helensburgh signed a letter published in The Herald today expressing no confidence in the NHS board, which lost four executives last year in a purge by the Scottish Executive.
30 August 2004: Hospital technicians secretly removed body parts from corpses: Technicians at three Scottish hospitals were paid £1 a time to remove glands from the brains of corpses without the permission of relatives. The payments were made by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which used the pituitary glands to manufacture human growth hormones for treating children with growth disorders. Now organ retention campaigners have demanded an inquiry into the unauthorised procedure during post-mortem examinations at the Western Infirmary, the Royal Infirmary and Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow. An inquiry in 2001 found that the hospitals, along with Gartnavel General, had a store of almost 4,500 organs – the second biggest in Britain behind Alder Hey in Liverpool. Organs were routinely removed from dead patients without relatives’ permission but the inquiry was never told that technicians at the hospitals received payment until the mid-1980s for removing the organs.
7 September 2004: Labour MSPs turn up the heat on Chisholm over hospital reforms: Pressure was mounting on Malcolm Chisholm, the health minister, from inside his party last night to step in and halt plans to centralise hospital services across Scotland. He was given a torrid time by Labour MSPs at a private group meeting last week over moves by health boards to rationalise services and close key departments at local hospitals. Many MSPs, particularly those in the west of Scotland, have been inundated with letters of protest from constituents unhappy with their health board’s plans to reorganise services in their area. They have passed on these concerns to Mr Chisholm in an increasingly vocal manner, letting the minister know that the protests will get worse unless he is seen to intervene against the health boards.
9 September 2004: Time to act on NHS cutbacks; Call for ‘clear national strategy’ in health service: Jack McConnell suffered a backlash over the crisis in the health service last night after he refused to halt hospital cutbacks. Health boards across Scotland have had to cut frontline services as they struggle with mounting costs of wages and drugs. The closures and cuts come despite record levels of investment in the health service, with the annual budget climbing to £ 8 billion. Health campaigners descended on Holyrood yesterday, demanding action to stop the decline of hospital services after the Scottish Executive rejected calls to get involved. They cheered from the public gallery as SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon gave an impressive performance, forcing Mr McConnell onto the defensive over hospital closures to cheers from the public gallery and her party’s benches. Labour MSPs sat in silence.
10 September 2004: Health in crisis nervous MSPs demand a freeze on hospital cuts: Labour MSPs yesterday demanded a moratorium on hospital re-organisation across Scotland, in the face of mounting public anger at the plans. The call coincided with their party colleagues at Westminster summoning Malcolm Chisholm, the health minister, to attend what will be a stormy meeting of party colleagues at the House of Commons on Tuesday. Labour MPs want him to explain the risks the health plans pose to their re-election campaigns. At Holyrood, there is growing unrest among previously loyal supporters of the Scottish Executive. They backed a moratorium on change until an expert group on NHS re-organisation reports next March. Labour MSPs joined other parties on the health committee in warning that a national strategy must be in place before more major changes are approved.
10 September 2004: Labour Revolt over Health Service Cuts: The First Minister was facing open rebellion from his party last night as the crisis in the health service escalated. Jack McConnell and Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm came under huge pressure to prevent a string of hospital closures and cuts to frontline services. Labour MSPs on the Scottish parliament’s health committee joined opposition politicians in demanding an immediate halt to any cutbacks, at least until next March when a national review of NHS services is completed. Local health boards are being forced to slash vital services due to rising staff costs, despite the fact the Scottish Executive is pouring £ 8 billion into the NHS.
22 September 2004: Chisholm Warned on Cuts: Pregnant women and babies could ‘die in ambulances in snowdrifts’ this winter because of hospital cutbacks, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm has been warned. Mr Chisholm was attacked by MSPs of all parties, including Labour, yesterday as he appeared before Holyrood’s health committee. He faced a grilling over cutbacks which have provoked a national protest campaign. Jamie Stone, Lib Dem MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, warned that lives were being put at serious risk because Mr Chisholm was ‘wrecking’ the health service. He reacted angrily to Mr Chisholm’s assurances that no cuts would be allowed if they jeopardised ‘clinical safety’.
4 October 2004: Chisholm sweats it out as McConnell ponders reshuffle: Speculation was mounting last night over the future of Malcolm Chisholm, the embattled health minister, who could lose his job if Jack McConnell decides to carry out a reshuffle. It is believed that Mr Chisholm has been called to a meeting with the First Minister at 9 am today to discuss his position, following a wave of protests across Scotland over hospital cuts. Tom McCabe, the deputy health minister, who has impressed in recent months with his efficient handling of the nationwide consultation on a smoking ban, is expected to meet the First Minister shortly afterwards. The meetings have fuelled speculation that Mr Chisholm will be asked to step aside, possibly into the post of social justice minister, with Mr McCabe taking over at health.
15 April 2005: Labour catches a cold over health gaffe North-south divide on waiting times laid bare: Labour’s Scottish manifesto launch backfired yesterday by reminding voters that NHS waiting times can be twice as long in Scotland as in England. The gaffe allowed the SNP and Tories to make the health service the dominant issue of yesterday’s campaign, as they highlighted what has become Labour’s Achilles’ heel in Scotland despite record investment. After the launch, both parties pursued Jack McConnell over the differences at the first minister’s questions, accusing him of letting down Scottish patients. Labour had intended to use the launch of the 118-page booklet to focus attention on the “harmony” between the party’s ministers in Holyrood and Westminster, a relationship they said would suffer if the Tories were elected on May 5.
The families of Scottish-born Humza Yousaf and Anum Qaisar were immigrant Pakistanis who settled in Glasgow. Both of their fathers were qualified accountants and Qaisar’s father was also a Company and Managing Director of several wholesale and retail clothing concerns. The families have been friends for many years.
Anum Qaisar the Early Years
Anum was raised in Motherwell and studied politics at the University of Stirling. She was an active member of Scottish Labour and became general secretary of Muslim Friends of Labour. She campaigned for a “Yes” vote at the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and joined the SNP later that year.
In 2015 the politically ambitious Anum failed in her bid to be selected as the SNP candidate for Edinburgh Eastern at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election and became a Parliamentary researcher at Westminster for Carol Monaghan MP.
She married Dr Usman Khalid Javed in 2015. Her wedding was attended by Sturgeon, her husband Murrell, Humza Yousaf and other members of the SNP NEC. The couple legally separated in 2021 not long after she was elected to serve as the MP for Airdrie & Shotts.
2021 Airdrie & Shotts By-Election
In April 2021, Anum was selected as the SNP candidate for the 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election and won it, becoming Scotland’s second female Muslim MP. The election had been triggered by the resignation of the sitting SNP MP Neil Gray so he could take up an MSP post at Holyrood in the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
The SNP was accused of “parachuting” Yousaf’s favourite into the election, to the detriment of local candidates following reports that her rich family were unhappy she had not been selected to fight the 2016 Holyrood election and had made their feelings known.
North Lanarkshire councillor, Paul Di Mascio, said he would have won the support of local members to stand in the 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election and claimed that his candidacy had been blocked by the cabal of Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell and Kirsten Oswald with the former two attending the wedding of the winning candidate.
He went on to say:
“I was interviewed by SNP chair and business convener Kirsten Oswald and then told that I had failed the process. There wasn’t much explanation given. Other local candidates weren’t even given an interview. Branch members then had a candidate who was not from the area imposed on them through a process that had been manipulated to make sure Anum won. I received messages of support from many councillors, sitting MPs and MSPs as well as local activists and people who had held senior positions within the party who thought it was a disgrace and themselves eluded to the whole process being manipulated or fixed from start to finish. The feeling was that the system was being manipulated to favour those selected by the leadership of the party – Nicola Sturgeon, Peter Murrell and their cronies. Rumours have been circulating for years about nepotism behind the scenes and nothing would now surprise me.””
Local MSP Neil Gray, who himself is not local, was hugely supportive of Anum, who had appeared from nowhere and had the support all of a sudden of Neil’s office staff and others who subsequently became employees when she was elected.
SNP – Police Investigate Allegations of Illegal Cash Donations
“Operation Branchform” detectives investigating claims that over £600,000 donated by supporters of independence for the “ring-fenced” purpose of a second referendum has been spent fraudulently received a letter from a whistleblower making bombshell claims that Party officials received substantial donations amounting to a five-figure sum from a Scots businessman friend of Humza Yousaf that were never published in line with electoral rules which require any donation over £500 to be declared. Failure to do so is a criminal act. The Lord Advocate, the country’s chief prosecutor, was sent the details.
A source close to the SNP said:
“It is well known that the businessman at the centre of these allegations is friendly with Humza Yousaf. They have known each other for quite a long time and have been seen chatting on many occasions at social gatherings. I would say they are friends.”
The author of the letter wrote that the businessman “expressed and boasted on several occasions in public spaces that he had donated ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ to the SNP over many occasions and years” and also alleges he was observed handing over “cash in white envelopes”.
It continued:
“I must disclose this information to assist your investigation and for the public interest. It would be an injustice not to inform you.”
It goes on to name the businessman and the politician they are related to, as well as SNP figures said to be aware of the donations. Details also included the timings of the donations.
Nicola Sturgeon was subsequently arrested and quizzed for seven hours as part of the inquiry. Her husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was previously arrested, as had former treasurer Colin Beattie. All three were released without charge pending further inquiries.
Humza’s First Wife Dr Gail Lythgoe
Gail was born in Essex, England, in 1988 to Chartered Surveyor, Andrew Lythgoe and her Scottish-born mother. The family preferred the Scottish way of life and moved back to Scotland soon after Gail’s birth and have resided near Glasgow for over 30 years.
Her family are staunch supporters of Scottish independence and Gail and her father pounded the streets of villages and towns in the West of Scotland for years doorstepping residents for the SNP, delivering the message of independence.
She first met and was smitten with the tall, debonair, rakishly handsome, clean-shaven, privately educated man of means, Humza Yousaf at an SNP conference in Perth in 2007.
Their relationship deepened over the next three years and they married in 2010.
A gifted academic, she studied at Edinburgh University between 2006-2010 and gained a degree in Law then went on to complete her PhD on the topic of “The territoriality of international law and global governance” at Glasgow University between 2010-2011.
Over that period she was also a key member of the SNP, serving as the student wing convener from 2010-2012, and parliamentary assistant to MSP Joan McAlpine from August 2011 to April 2012. And on the National Executive Committee (NEC).
She also actively participated in the “Yes Scotland” campaign during the 2014 referendum.
Gail-Her Faith and the Scottish-Islamic Foundation (1)
2010: It is a bright, cold afternoon in the west end of Glasgow, and the queue at KRK Continental Food, a halal butcher, snakes out of the door. Today is Eid Ul-Adha, the Islamic festival commemorating the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah.
Muslims are supposed to mark this by arranging for lambs to be slaughtered – an act known as Qurbani – and donating meat to the poor.
Members of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation have arranged to pick up lamb and give it to asylum seekers who would not otherwise be able to celebrate Eid.
It is, at once, an act of devotion and social justice. The SIF is a not-for-profit organisation seeking to demonstrate the good that Muslims can bring to Scotland.
Inside the butchers, people shout orders over the whine of the band-saw. This scene feels ancient and elemental. Seven men are working in a small meat-smelling space. One wears a chain-mail glove to protect his hand from the knife. Carcasses, headless and hoofless, are carried in from a van, cut off the bone into fat-free bite-size pieces, then bagged and boxed.
The lambs were killed yesterday, in Paisley, by Shaukat Ali Faisal, a 65-year-old who slaughtered 1,015 in a single day. With the knife poised on each animal’s throat, he said the name of the person who had arranged the Qurbani and a blessing in the name of Allah. The butchers take extra care when preparing this meat. It’s a devotional ritual important to the community.
Their cars loaded with meat, the SIF team drive to Kingsway Court, an estate of multi-storey blocks. Outside the community centre, people are queuing for food.
They are from Afghanistan, Kurdistan and Somalia, among other countries. The Qurbani is handed out in blue bags, together with rice and ginger. There is liver and other innards for those who want them, but the kids running about seem more interested in the jumbo tins of Quality Street.
Distribution is being coordinated by Gail Lythgoe, wife of Humza Yousaf, who is a strikingly intelligent 21-year-old in the final year of a law degree. Raised as a Christian, she began to lose that faith in her teens and converted to Islam in January 2008. She remembers her maternal grandmother’s funeral as the turning point. The minister’s sermon didn’t ring true.
She became an atheist, but a period of depression led her to feel that something was missing from her life. She began reading up on different religions. Islam didn’t occur to her at first. It seemed so distant from the life of an independent-minded young woman in the West. But following the destruction of the World Trade Centre, Islam became much more part of the public discourse and she began to explore it. As a faith, it seemed to fit better with how she saw herself and the world.
More Background Info On Gail-Her Faith and the Scottish-Islamic Foundation (2)
When Gail talks about her conversion it sounds almost as though she thought her way towards Islam, arriving at religious belief by a completely rational and analytical process. But she insists there was also a leap of faith and passion. “You have to love Allah,” she says. “The way that I came to love Islam was by learning about it.” Other than when she prays, she doesn’t wear hijab – the head covering of Muslim women. “No, not yet,” she says. “I’m still finding out what the Quran says, what the Hadith of the Prophet says, to find out if it is 100 per cent required of me. My mum and dad, and my family and friends, won’t accept it unless I’ve thought it through properly.”
She says that, historically, it was better for Muslim women to cover themselves as it meant they would be treated with more respect. But she recognises that, now, on the cusp of a career in the 21st century, life could be worse for her if she does. “I live a very public, active life and I think, ‘How do I do this?’ Because people won’t give me jobs when I wear it, or they’ll treat me differently, or think I am some weak idiot who lets men rule. They won’t know my own story.”
Her faith journey is fascinating. One might think that a white feminist social activist would be an unlikely candidate for conversion to Islam. Yet it means a lot to her and she speaks about it very eloquently. When Gail talks about her faith, she sounds at peace; she sounds in love. “I wouldn’t be able to go back to not being a Muslim,” she says. “I love what Islam brings to my life and I don’t think I could ever disobey the God that I love.”. Cooking smells drift down from hundreds of kitchens. The Qurbani is being put to good use. https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/faith-and-religion-in-scotland-1740067
Afternote: The foundation was wound up after spending several hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money with almost nothing to show for it and with large sums unaccounted for.
Humza Yousaf’s aunt and mother were employed by the charity which was placed on a watch list after being described as an entry-level group for Islamist terrorists.
2017 – Gail and Humza Divorced
Difficulties surfaced in the marriage in the Autumn of 2015. But there was no public hint that their marriage was over until early December 2016 when the then Scottish Transport Minister (May 2016 – 26 June 2018) was charged with driving without insurance and blamed his ‘embarrassing error’ on his separation from his wife. He was fined £300 and handed 6 penalty points.
Gail divorced Yousaf early in 2017, a seismic event, given the circumstances contributing to the end of her marriage also forced her to leave the SNP.
In the run-up to the 2019 general election, she posted a photo of herself on Twitter posing with a Green campaign leaflet advocating diversity in Glasgow’s voting habits urging voters not to vote for political parties hijacked by “cults” but instead to lend their support to the Scottish Green Party which at that time had not yet been hijacked by a bunch of loonies.
Humza Yousaf’s Second Wife Nadia Maged El-Nakla
Yousaf married divorcee Nadia (his second marriage) in 2019. They have a daughter Maya, born in 2019 and a daughter from her previous marriage. They live in Broughty Ferry, a smart suburb a few miles east of Dundee. An arrangement which has attracted criticism since he represents the Pollock constituency in Glasgow some 50 miles to the West.
Her father is Palestinian but she was born in Scotland. She has relatives in Gaza and in 2021 she told how she was in constant contact with her brother Mohammed, his wife Duas and their three children amid conflict in the region.
She became an SNP councillor for the West End of Dundee in 2021, the first minority ethnic SNP candidate to be elected to the city council. After winning the council seat she said: “I want to take time over the next five years to invest in women and get them into politics because, in the Broughty Ferry ward, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a female councillor in I don’t know how long.”
Nadia also worked for Scottish Government minister Shona Robison and previously stood as a candidate for the SNP in North East Scotland in the 2021 Holyrood election but was unsuccessful.
The Gaza Strip 2015: Yousaf, Scotland’s Minister for External Affairs, accused the UK government of barring him from visiting Gaza to see the impact of £500,000 of Scottish government aid sent to the region. He repeatedly calls for: “Palestine to be recognised as an independent state”, for an arms embargo on Israel, and refers to Gaza as “being a place where people are starving and dying a slow death”.
The Gaza Strip 2021: Yousaf wrote on Twitter: “Wife has been in floods of tears all evening. Her brother lives in Gaza with his wife and three young children. He tells us it’s raining rockets.”
The Gaza Strip 2023: Nadia’s parents Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, became trapped in the Palestinian territory after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. They were there visiting relatives when Israel declared war on Hamas after its gunmen launched an attack on Israel and allegedly killed 1,400 people. Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Palestinian territory and invaded it. In a statement to the press, Yasouf said: “We are very pleased to confirm that Nadia’s parents were able to leave Gaza through the Rafah Crossing. These last four weeks have been a living nightmare for our family, we are so thankful for all of the messages of comfort and prayers that we have received from across the world, and indeed from across the political spectrum in Scotland and the UK.
Dozens of Nadia’s extended family including her brother, who works as an emergency doctor in Gaza, his wife and children, grandmother and stepmother remain in Gaza located in Deir al-Balah an area south of the Gaza River, the line which Israeli Defence Forces ordered Palestinians to move beyond.
Controversy: Nadia and Yousaf sued Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry in 2021 for £30,000 after an allegation that it unfairly discriminated against their then-two-year-old daughter Amal.
The couple initially made their complaint about the nursery after Amal was refused a place while, they said, applications submitted by friends and family for “white Scottish-sounding names” were accepted.
They launched the legal proceedings through lawyer Aamer Anwar in August 2021 before making a complaint to the Care Inspectorate, which was upheld, later that year.
They later withdrew their action stating they were content that the Care Inspectorate had supported their claim.
2020 – Tragedy – Unable to add to Family
Nadia was 11 weeks pregnant at the start of the Covid lockdown in early March 2020 when she felt that something wasn’t quite right. Symptoms had simply vanished overnight, and she knew instinctively from painful experience that her pregnancy was over.
In less than three years, Nadia has experienced five pregnancies, with just one of those successful when daughter Amal was born safely at 36 weeks in May 2019. And when they discovered they were expecting again at the start of this year, there was no disguising their fears. Nadia said: “I had been scared about being pregnant, not just because of what had happened in the past but also because Amal was so young and I was quite scared about having two children under two, but the fact is, I was even more scared that it just wouldn’t last and that this pregnancy would end like all the others before it. Sadly there will be no more children.
Yousaf worked in a “Call Centre” for a short time before becoming a spokesman for the controversial Islamic Relief. Controversial because in 2020 the entire UK board were forced to stand down after an anti-semitism scandal. As a Government minister, in 2013, he signed off a Scottish government donation for the organisation, totalling £398,000.
He was the President of the Glasgow University Muslim Students Association and a member of the Student Representative Council when he attended Glasgow University, where he graduated with a degree in Politics in 2007.
After graduating, he worked from 2007 as a parliamentary assistant to the first Scottish Muslim MSP Bashir Ahmadin, until the MSP’s death two years later.
He participated in the USA Foreign Office, CIA-funded “International Visitor Leadership Program” in 2008.
He was first elected to Holyrood as a list MSP for Glasgow in 2011 and then the MSP for Glasgow Pollock in 2016.
The Increasing Influence of Islam
The Yousaf family acquired influence in the planning and execution of SNP politics soon after Humza joined the Party in 2007. A situation created by the rapid and continuing growth in the West of Scotland in the number of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan and Southeast Asia.
Muslim votes greatly assisted the SNP in its efforts to gain political power and governance in Scotland. All good things come at a price and the Yousaf family, (shades of the Kennedys in the USA) and their supporters would call in favours at a time of their choosing.
They duly did so when Yousaf, as Justice Minister brought forward his flagship policy, “The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill” in 2019, which he promised would add many additional protections to minorities while maintaining existing rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The bill becomes effective at the beginning of 2024 and despite many amendments, there are still concerns among many Scots about its draconian content, aspects of which continue to be subject to criticism by the Scottish public, the Catholic Church, the National Secular Society, the media and writers.
Yousaf’s links to Hamas – Holyrood Meeting With Former Hamas Leader
In 2008, Yousaf, then a parliamentary assistant to MSP Bashir Ahmad and his cousin Osama Saeed, who used to be an aide to former SNP leader and first minister Alex Salmond, arranged a meeting between Linda Fabiani the Scottish Culture and External Affairs Secretary and former *senior Hamas commander Mohammad Sawalha (described by BBC Panorama as the mastermind behind much of Hamas’ political and military strategy) who was accompanied by two other Hamas supporting activists, Anas Altikriti and Ismail Patel. Iraqi-born Altikriti frequently voiced support for Hamas, saying it was “fighting back” against Israeli occupation. Patel, who founded the Midlands-based Friends of Al-Aqsa said: “The current political map of Palestine… will have to include Hamas and Fatah amongst other political groups. Hamas is a resistance movement against colonial oppression and the backbone of Palestinian resistance.
Soon after the meeting Yousaf and Saeed established an Islamic lobbying group, The Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF). Its first chief executive was Saeed who had previously expressed support for Islamists including Anwar al-Awlaki, the extremist preacher who inspired numerous Muslim terrorists, but who, he said, “preached nothing but peace.”
The SIF was awarded £405,000 in grants from the SNP government and announced the country’s biggest ever celebration of Islamic culture in Glasgow for June 2009. But the project collapsed and SIF was forced to repay £128,000 of the taxpayer funds it had received, with £72,000 already spent. Yousaf was also a director of SIF Ltd between May 2008 and September 2009.
Afternote: SIF was wound up after spending several hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money with almost nothing to show for it and with large sums unaccounted for. Humza Yousaf’s aunt and mother were employed by the charity which was placed on a watch list after being described as an entry-level group for Islamists.
*Sawalha was Hamas’ West Bank military chief before being appointed to its political leadership. He reportedly fled the Gaza Strip in 1990 after being placed on a wanted list by Israel. Hamas had at the time been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the US, but the UK did not follow suit until 2021. Sawalha attended the meeting at Holyrood as a representative of Islam Expo, which was funded by a £2 million grant from Qatar and held in London in 2006 and 2008. The Expos, run by Sawalha, included an appearance by Sheikh Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a Pakistani politician who praised the Taliban as “just and honourable men.” Lord Carlisle, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said: “Yousaf must address the circumstances in which he judged it appropriate to have close contact with Hamas supporters.
Financial Aid to the Hamas-Ruled Gaza Strip
The international community has sent billions of dollars in aid to the Gaza Strip in recent years to provide relief to the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the isolated, Hamas-ruled territory. The aid is intended to ease the burden on civilians of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed on Gaza when the Islamic militant group seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. Israel says the heavy restrictions on trade and movement are needed to keep Hamas from enhancing its military capability, while critics view it as a form of collective punishment. Israel and Hamas have fought five wars since 2008, the most recent in 2023.
Israel closely supervises aid to try to ensure it bypasses Hamas. But the Hamas-run government benefits from foreign countries footing the bill for schools, hospitals and infrastructure, allowing it to conserve its resources, including the taxes and customs it collects.
Scottish Financial Aid to the UN’s Gaza Appeal:
Yousaf pledged to donate $1 million as Scotland’s humanitarian funding to the UN’s Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) appeal.
Transport Minister (2016 – 2018)
Faced with a growing crisis on the railway network Yousaf, responding to the transport workers unions call for his sacking he admitted he knew nothing about the transport brief before his appointment.
According to reports, there was chaos across Scotland’s railway when a train broke down outside Edinburgh station. Critics blasted the incident as the latest example of poor performance from an Abellio Scotrail service which they say has gone from bad to worse.
ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan said: “The Scottish Government’s response to the rail crisis has been pathetic. The Transport Minister has stood by while Abellio Scotrail takes Scotland’s passengers and taxpayers for a ride. Nicola Sturgeon must take personal responsibility for this situation as her government awarded this contract. She should sack her incompetent Transport Minister. You can’t control what you don’t own so the Scottish government should do the decent thing and return the railway to public ownership.”
Yousaf was quizzed in October at Holyrood over his administration’s handling of the beleaguered network amid stalled projects and declining services. following the release of a report from quango Transport Scotland which revealed the cost of five schemes had risen to from £1.1 billion to £1.5 billion. Including the stalled electrification of the flagship Glasgow-Edinburgh line which is over budget by £136 million – significantly more than forecast when its seven-month delay came to light.
Yousaf told MSPs the Scottish Government is, “monitoring closely every single project” while describing himself as “not being an expert”. He said: “There are things we can do to ensure we are monitoring closely every single project hence why we have established a projects board portfolio-wide. But we do rely on Network Rail as the contractor to ensure that when they give estimates those estimates at the design stage and developmental stage are well detailed and the fact that years on they can come and say that compliance issues that I think – not being a transport expert – that I think they should have been cited on these issues well well in advance at design stage. To come back years later and say that is costing ‘x million pounds’ is not an acceptable situation.”
Tory Leader Douglas Ross, was scathing in his assessment of Yousaf stating: “He was the Transport Minister who drove without insurance. He delayed the dualling of the A9. And he clapped like a seal when Sturgeon launched the windowless MV Glen Sannox in 2017.” (It was said to have had painted on windows at the time of the launch) and the ferry is still not in service 6 years later.
20 Nov 2017: – Humza Yousaf Transport Minister Speaks Out:
The Holyrood Magazine interviewed the Transport Minster who said he was determined to achieve a balance between his job and his personal life stating: “The mistake I have made previously was throwing myself into my work without regard to the consequences that would have on my relationships, whether that was my marriage or even other relationships with family. Sometimes you learn that lesson only when it is too late. My marriage broke down for several reasons which I don’t need to go into. It ended amicably between Gail and me…but certainly, one of the issues, which is entirely my fault and not Gail’s in the slightest, was paying too much attention to my work without realising the impact that had. If I look at my personal life, I’m in a happier place now than I have been in a long, long time, with no disrespect to my previous partner at all, but simply that I have managed to get my priorities in a much better place now. If I have learned one lesson over the last five years, it is to dedicate more time to the ones that I love. Transport minister is, frankly, bloody stressful enough, let alone any other job that carries even more weight and even more responsibility.”
Mental Health: Yousaf said that during the stressful time as Transport Minister, he was also facing the breakdown of his first marriage and had received professional counselling aiding his mental health. He said I am not sure if I could have continued to be a minister if I had not sought help. I think counselling has given me resilience.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice (2018–2021)
Rewarding mediocrity, Sturgeon promoted the unqualified Yousaf to the post of Cabinet Secretary for Justice. The first ever person appointed to the role without holding a university degree in Law. In his time in office crime figures rose from 244,504 to 246,511.
Yousaf, a champion of anti-free speech laws criminalising “stirring up” so-called “hatred” even in a person’s private home, ventured: “Are we comfortable giving a defence to somebody whose behaviour is threatening or abusive, which is intentionally stirring up hatred against, for example, Muslims? Are we saying that that is justified because that is in the home?”
He also ranted in the Scottish Parliament against the 91.8% of white people in high office in Scotland and asserted that “Scotland has a problem of structural racism.” Full details here:
March-December 2020 – Covid-19 Pandemic – Social Distancing Restrictions:
Nicola Sturgeon imposed social distancing regulations between March and July restricting the movement of Scots. She added a shutdown of all major events and banned any meeting between couples who did not live together.
On 11 May restrictions were eased to allow Scots to go outside more than once a day to exercise but it had to be done close to home which meant no travelling to other council areas and socialising had to be with members of the same household. couples who lived apart were permitted to have sex but only if restrictive conditions were complied with and the change did not extend to romances out of the family environment. Any affairs taking place from this point on would have broken all of these restrictions.
That ban was lifted in July when Sturgeon issued a notice stating that, “people who were part of a non-cohabiting couple, regardless of their living arrangements, no longer need to stay physically distant from each other, indoors or outdoors.” The wearing of facemasks in public remained prevalent beyond August and local lockdowns were still in place.
September saw the reintroduction of restrictions on meeting indoors for the residents of Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire and Glasgow and included rules banning any meeting with people from other households in indoor household settings.
New restrictions were further enforced over Christmas and New Year with travel bans. By 4 January 2021, there was another full-scale lockdown forbidding anyone from leaving their home except for essential purposes.
Sunday, 7 November 2021-The Secret Affair Between 2 Prominent SNP Politicians
Police were called after the partner of an SNP politician at the centre of the affair claimed her relatives had turned up at his home making threats. The man told officers he was shouted at and intimidated by two men outside his house and ordered to stop talking about the alleged affair.
Police Scotland confirmed they had attended the incident. A source said:
“They were trying to put pressure on him and his family to shut up. The police had to be called.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said:
“Around 11.20 am on Sunday, 7 November 2021, we were called to a report of a dispute at the property. Officers attended and advice was given.”
The SNP has robustly denied rumours of the romantic relationship between the two highly-placed figures and said they are “categorically untrue”.
Both parties involved, widely known in political circles, cannot be named for legal reasons.
The aggrieved partner of the politician said:
“I’ve thought long and hard about going public about this, but I feel I can’t. I am fearful about the repercussions if I do, and I have to protect my family at all costs. That’s the most important thing for me.”
An SNP spokesman said:
“We are aware of rumours being reported in the media concerning two particular politicians, which first circulated at the start of 2021. No substantiation for these rumours has ever been offered, very simply because these allegations are categorically untrue.”
Police Scotland and financial stress-Chief Constable resigns
Sir Iain Livingstone dramatically advised in February 2023 that he was quitting his post some two years before the end of his employment contract announcing deep concern about “systemic under-funding” of the authority which severely compromised the ability of the police force to investigate crimes due to budgetary pressures. Not long after press releases warned that the Police force was hopelessly underfunded due to unsustainable salary costs brought about by excessive increases in the wage bill not financed by the Government. Some media outlets forecast that 1500 job cuts would need to be implemented within the year. Livingstone, who had been responsible in recent years for building the force wanted no part of the imminent many nights of long knives.
Police Scotland recruiting a “WOKE” Chief Constable: The post was advertised at great cost throughout the UK, in journals and in the press and contained the brief that the new chief constable would be in position by June 2023. The successful candidate would be expected to possess the qualities of ownership, collaboration, support, inspiration, critical analysis, innovation and open-mindedness and would confirm they understand their own emotions and know which situations might affect their ability to deal with stress and pressure.
There were only two applicants. Not surprising the post is toxic!! Police Scotland’s deputy chief constable, Malcolm Graham and the chief constable of Durham Constabulary, Jo Farrell.
Ms Jo Farrell: Who came to prominence across the UK in June 2021, when her contract was controversially extended by three years by the Labour Party-controlled Durham Police Authority, only weeks before she had cleared the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner of breaching strict Covid lockdown regulations in Durham, in April 2021, after they had been pictured drinking beer and eating a takeaway curry with colleagues. An event given the title “Beergate” by the media. Farrell concluded there had been no breach of the ban on indoor mixing as the gathering was work-related. Her critics alleged she had been got at!!!!
Sam Fowles is a constitutional barrister, lecturer at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Institute for Constitutional and Democratic Research. He wrote: Durham police have a history of deference to power. They refused to fine Dominic Cummings, then a senior government advisor, for his (now infamous) Covid infected trips to Durham and Barnard Castle (despite admitting that he likely committed an offence). A week later, they fined two people (not members of the government) for the same thing. It was claimed the decision was based on a policy of not taking retrospective action on lockdown breaches. While Farrell was not prepared to make an exception for Dominic Cummings, a senior government official, she appears to have done so for the leader of the opposition. This shouldn’t be about politics. I have no party affiliation so no particular dog in this fight. But one’s support for the Labour or Conservative parties should be irrelevant to one’s commitment to democratic norms. The police must protect the public, not wield the law as a weapon against the government’s political enemies. Anything else is an abuse of power. Regardless of the outcome of its investigation, Durham Constabulary and Jo Farrell have serious questions to answer.
Mr Malcolm Graham: whose career began in 1995 at Lothian and Borders Police, was formerly assistant chief constable for major crime, public protection and local crime when Police Scotland was created in 2013. He became Deputy Chief Constable in 2019. A police source said before the interviews that the last quote counted against Graham being appointed.
Jo Farrell was successful in her application and will take on the post in early October 2023.
About Jo Farrell
Recently appointed to the post of Chief Constable of Police Scotland there is a paucity of information about her personal life of career before 2002 when carefully staged photo opportunity releases began to appear.
Jo Farrell was born on September 1968 in Merseyside, England. Nothing much is known about her early life except that her family moved to Cambridgeshire when she was about 15yo from where she attended Sheffield Polytechnic, completing a degree in Business in 1991, before starting a career in the police force as a Constable in Cambridge, gaining promotion in 1996.
In 2002, aged 34yo, she joined Northumbria Police as a Chief Inspector, gaining promotion to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable, overseeing community policing and communications .
In November 2016, aged 48yo she joined Durham Constabulary as the force’s Assistant Chief Constable and was promoted to the role of Chief Constable in June 2019, aged 51yo.
Farrell is a very private individual and chooses not to share any information about her family. But an article published by the Scottish Daily Express suggests that she is married to a retired police officer. Her family is comprised of three children, two stepsons and a daughter.
Chief Constable Livingstone His “institutionally racist” Police Force Jo Farrell and Storm Babet
What a bummer. Livingstone, as Chief Constable, was responsible for policing in Scotland for six years and was therefore accountable for the perilous financial state of the force when he resigned. But he was weirdly commended by the press and other organisations for his resignation statement admitting the force he had led for six years was “institutionally racist and sexist”. FM Humza Yousaf said the admission was a “moment of vindication” for people of colour in Scotland. Livingstone did not explain his statement or the significance of his contribution which was remiss since he had been with the force in a very senior role from its inception some 10 years before. No blame to be attributed to himself!!! and he must have known his words would have a devasting impact on an already demoralised force.
That was it. No presentation of evidence showing the areas of responsibility where his force had failed where racism, sexism, discrimination and crimes had been commonplace or what had been done by his senior officers to address the issues and take corrective action.
Police Scotland ended up where it is today because the past ten 10 years have been marked by senior police officers presiding over a proliferation of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) preventing former officers and members of the public from reporting racism, sexism, misogyny and other wrongdoing. Those who spoke out were ignored and castigated whilst guilty parties were protected and promoted resulting in the rise of management mediocrity in the force.
Fallout: Newly appointed £250pa Chief Constable – Jo Farrell, perhaps recognising she had been handed a “poisoned chalice” decided she needed to complete an externally sourced urgent investigation into the financial viability and structural organisation of the authority and recruited Assistant Chief, Gary Ridley, a trusted colleague from her previous place of employment with Durham Police Authority to assist her.
It is not known if she consulted with any of her management team colleagues or gained the authority of her reporting managers before taking the action which is unprecedented in Scotland. Police operational matters are rarely revealed to the public and answers may never be provided to the public.
A charge from Durham Police Authority to Police Scotland for Ridley’s time, travel, accommodation and subsistence, if recovered would be around £9000 weekly. Let us hope the financially challenged organisation negotiated a part-freebie, at the very least.
And early reports released through the “Chinese whispers” grapevine are not encouraging. Rumour had it that a brutal cull of police officers and civilian workers is to be expected with up to 1500 positions being left unfilled forming part of a staff reduction and coupled with large numbers of early retirements clearing out the less able from the force. But even that might not be enough to restore order.
Leading Durham Pride 2021
Scotland’s new Chief Constable Jo Farrell promised to prioritise trust, confidence, high performance, and officer and staff wellbeing as she took command of the national police service on Monday, 9 October 2023
Chief Constable Farrell made a commitment to focus on threat, harm, and risk, and on prevention and problem solving, during a swearing-in ceremony at Police Scotland Headquarters, Tulliallan.
She also committed to prioritising the wellbeing of Police Scotland’s officers and support staff.
Chief Constable Farrell said: “I believe passionately in the value policing brings to our communities: keeping people safe from harm, protecting the vulnerable, bringing criminals to justice, solving problems, and reducing offending. We stand up for and with our communities, which strengthens them, improves their well-being, and allows them to prosper.
“My operational focus is on threat, harm, and risk. Police Scotland will focus on prevention, problem-solving and proactivity, and on looking after our hard-working officers and staff so our people can deliver our vital public service.
“Police Scotland is a highly credible public sector organisation known for its compassion and it attracts huge public support. It is a privilege to be entrusted with the leadership of so many talented, professional, and courageous police officers, staff, and volunteers.”
Storm Babet 18 – 21 October 2023
On Monday 16 October 2023, the Met Office issued yellow and amber, (increased to red in Scotland) weather warnings, (repeated daily until Saturday 21 October 2023 covering most of Scotland, and the northeast of England, that a 500-mile-wide wall of hefty rain and 70mph+ gale-force winds would dump around 10 inches of rain on the affected areas causing widespread flooding, power cuts and travel disruption between Wednesday and Saturday. Warnings were issued that the heavy rain would create “fast-flowing and deep floodwaters” posing “danger to life” and essential services such as road, rail, sea, air travel, electricity, gas, water and mobile phone signals would be disrupted. Travel by road was discouraged due to the dangers presented by excessive surface water exacerbated by debris blocking drainage systems and culverts, etc. Rivers would be unable to cope with catchments saturated from recent heavy rain and flooding and major flooding was expected. The east coast main rail line connecting Aberdeen to the rest of the UK, with its history of coastal landslides was expected to close.
Noteworthy Events between 16-21 October 2023
18-20 October, Rescue teams had to be deployed to Brechin, Angus, and other areas in the county after flood defences were breached and hundreds of homes were flooded and/or left surrounded by water. And the picture had not improved much despite the sterling efforts of many volunteer rescue teams. 27,000 homes were left without power for days and many cold wet, hungry and depressed Scots had to be rescued and taken to secure centres. The RAC reported that the huge amount of rainfall continued to make road travel inadvisable, and impossible in many areas due to floodwaters, fallen trees and debris.
19 -21 October, a 57-year-old woman’s body was recovered from the North Esk River in Angus, Scotland after she was swept into the Water of Lee. A tree hit a van on the B9127 road in Whigstreet, Angus, killing the 56-year-old driver. The east coast rail network between Aberdeen and the rest of the UK was closed. A man was trapped inside his vehicle in floodwater near Marykirk, Aberdeenshire. Police searched until 23 October when they found him dead inside the vehicle. A large plane skidded off a runway due to the high winds whilst landing at Leeds Bradford Airport, causing the airport to close. All of the passengers were evacuated from the plane safely. 45 workers were airlifted off of the Stena Spey drilling platform in the North Sea by HM Coastguard after four of the platform’s eight anchors detached themselves due to the severe weather. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks finally restored power to around 36,000 customers, but 700 properties were still waiting to have power restored. Other power outages included 40,000 Northern Powergrid and 14,000 Scottish Power customers.
On Friday 20 October, at the height of the storm the recently appointed Chief Constable of Police Scotland, Jo Farrell, commandeered an on-duty traffic police officer to drive her to her home in Northumberland and an ex-colleague from Durham police, a resident of Gateshead home to Gateshead……… Part 1
Storm Babet and JO Farrell’s abuse of her authority
It was against the foregoing background that Jo Farrell decided at the height of the storm, at the end of an exhausting week, which she now regrets, to commandeer an unmarked police car to chauffeur herself and Ridley to their homes in Northumberland and Gateshead.
The car was driven by a traffic police officer, (one of only two officers covering the Lothians) who was forced to abandon his duties and return to his Livingstone Depot and swap cars following his removal from his more appropriate duties, providing emergency cover for the public, for over 6 hours covering a round trip of about 250 miles. Other aspects, some with lesser consequence include the driver illegally deploying a “blue light” to speed up his response to the newly issued instructions and the increased risk to himself driving unnecessarily in very hazardous conditions.
The source of the leaked information told The Scottish Sun: “It’s an awful lack of judgement – and a kick in the teeth to frontline officers.”
Tory shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay said: “The new chief constable is tasked with making extremely difficult financial decisions which makes her misuse of police resources even more jarring. There are many unknown details and unanswered questions, including what, if any, consideration was given to the safety of the officer who was ordered to complete this 250-mile round trip in dangerous weather conditions.”
Recently retired Serious Crime and Drug Squad officer, Simon McLean told The Sun newspaper: ‘It’s inappropriate and not the impression you want to make on your new force in the first few weeks – misusing resources like that, it’s terrible”
David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, commenting on Farrell’s apology said: “If the Chief Constable has made an error of judgment then it’s appropriate she apologises for that.”
The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) said it was “aware the Chief Constable used a police vehicle following the cancellation of a * scheduled train journey. The chair had discussed this with the Chief Constable who had apologised. The authority considers the matter closed”. *Play on words and circumstances. Police Scotland and Scottish Rail issued train cancellation notifications followed by an announcement of the closure of the rail network much earlier than offered.
The newly appointed Chief Constable will not be surrounded by friendly faces in the force and many leaks, some very damaging may be released to the press over the next year. Will Jo Farrell survive? Four Chief Constables departing in difficult circumstances in a short period and her dodgy start after only 11 days in post does not augur well for her future.
Police Scotland civilian finance chief has been handed a secret early retirement pay-off after making a failed bullying claim against the Chief Constable.
Deputy Chief Officer David Page, who earned up to £195,000 a year, accused Jo Farrell of ‘prolonged patterns of bullying’.
Mr Page lodged his grievance shortly after she took up her post in October last year, inheriting financial turmoil as the service faced budget cuts of up to £20million
But a Scottish Police Authority (SPA) probe established she had ‘no case to answer’.
Mr Page, a former Army intelligence officer, has been off sick since he made the claim, and yesterday it emerged he had taken voluntary early retirement.
The SPA said it could not provide details of his settlement.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘The paying public are entitled to know the terms of substantial pay-outs involving highly paid individuals in charge of state bodies, especially where there have been allegations of wrongdoing.
‘After more than a decade of policing scandals, it is incumbent on ministers, the SPA and the Chief Constable to rebuild the trust of frontline officers and the public.’
Ms Farrell – former chief constable of Durham Constabulary – apologised last year after she commandeered a police vehicle to be driven 120 miles from Edinburgh to her home in Northumberland, after her train was cancelled.
Gary Ridley, the assistant chief officer at Durham, was also in the car from Edinburgh and was dropped off at his home in Gateshead.
Mr Page, 61, went off sick shortly after Ms Farrell took up the £248,724-a-year job and his concerns partly related to Mr Ridley’s ‘unpaid advice’ to her on issues including budget challenges, strategic planning and reducing bureaucracy.
Mr Page had similar responsibilities and it is understood he claimed he was treated with disrespect, which amounted to alleged ‘bullying’ behaviour – a claim that was later rejected.
At a meeting of Holyrood’s criminal justice committee last year, Ms Farrell defended bringing in Mr Ridley, saying: ‘Having been in policing for more than 30 years, I have a network of people whom I know bring value to policing, and Mr Ridley is one of them.’
Outlining the scale of the financial crisis at Police Scotland, Mr Page told the SPA in September last year that ‘slash and burn’ budget cuts would be needed and that ‘every penny is a prisoner’.
The SPA confirmed that Mr Page had left the force after eight years’ service.
It said he ‘exited the organisation under terms consistent with the current approved voluntary redundancy/voluntary early retirement scheme’ but refused to comment on the detail of the sums involved for ‘data privacy reasons’.
According to the SPA’s annual accounts, the ‘cash equivalent transfer value’ of Mr Page’s pension in March last year was £306,000.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘The Chief Constable’s aim is to bring the frontline of Scottish policing to the strongest position possible within the resources available.’
The Moat disaster
Jan 2016: Northumbria Police V David Rathband’s family
The High Court case of former policeman David Rathband’s family who allege the senior officer, Supt. Jo Farrell, in charge of the manhunt for Raoul Moat, had failed in her duty of care by not issuing a timeous warning to police officers on duty on the night their brother was shot by Moat.
Former policeman David Rathband, 42, was blinded when crazed gunman Moat shot him twice in the face and permanently blinded him as he sat in his stationary patrol car at a roundabout on the outskirts of Newcastle. Unable to cope with the stress he committed suicide in 2012 by hanging himself at his home in Blyth.
Relevant Events: A massive manhunt was already underway for crazed gunman Moat in the North East of England after he had shot and murdered two people. On the night of PC Rathband’s shooting, Moat spoke to a Northumbria Police call handler for almost five minutes, saying he would kill any officer who came near him, that he was not coming in alive and that he was hunting for officers to kill. He ended the call at 00.34.
Unsuspecting, on-duty, PC Rathband, who was not advised of the immediate threat to his life had parked his patrol car close to a roundabout, on the outskirts of Newcastle and was shot by Moat twice in the face and permanently blinded only eight minutes later, at around 00.42. Moat later turned the gun on himself after he was cornered by armed police.
The QC for the family told the court Supt. Farrell should have issued a warning after Moat issued his threats. He said: “An appropriate warning is not rocket science. It’s a very simple warning commonly used by police forces, “keep mobile”.
Moat was wanted for murder and he had phoned the police. He had made threats to shoot or hunt for police officers. There should have been a warning, a simultaneous warning that was easy to compose, easy to formulate and easy to disseminate. And which would have had the impact of telling the police officers they were at risk.”
The QC defending the conduct of Supt. Farrell told the court a finding against the force would engender defensive policing and harm future police operations. He said: “It would distort operational thinking. It could deny the police the freedom to act in the way they deem necessary and in the public interest. What Supt. Farrell has regard for the public interest. What would happen with operational disruption and what would happen to the public? It is not melodramatic to propose that if Supt Farrell had rushed there would have been a different family with a different complaint, possibly equally as serious. That’s the balance Supt. Farrell had to consider in the heat of the moment.”
The judge later rejected their claim, saying it was “well-established law” that police did not owe the public or officers a “private law duty of care” when making operational decisions.
Afternote: Police officers and the Public should take careful note of the judgement. Bad policing decisions resulting in injury or death are defensible in law. Sad but true
Supt. Farrell – Northumbria Police Authority V the Late PC Rathband’s family
Additional reporting: The judge ordered PC Rathband’s family to settle Northumbria Police Authority’s £100,000 costs that day. With added costs over the next few months, the charge against them was increased to around £200,000. A warning indeed to anyone contemplating a similar action against authorities in the future and there are some who will support the protection of the system over claims from individuals. However, the judge may have delivered a judgement that fitted the needs of the state by avoiding creating a precedence.
About Raoul Moat: Northumbria Police Authority was forewarned, (before Moat’s release from prison where he had done time for assaulting a child under the age of 8 and his ex-girlfriend) in an extensive written report provided to it by, the Prison Authorities about Moat’s mental instability, and his placement from prison, of an order with a gun supplier for a modified shotgun and his much stated to fellow lags of his intention to cause chaos on his release. No mention is given to this information which if it had been given the attention it deserved would have alerted Supt. Jo Farrell and avoided unnecessary casualties.
The 5 shells Moat pumped into his first victim, the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend had all been modified to kill, (metal pellets removed and replaced with a single lump of lead shot). Shells used to wound his girlfriend and PC Rathband were unmodified.
The judge laboured the point that Supt. Jo Farrell, the Incident Officer in the Control Room, had been placed in an impossible situation having been given less than 5 minutes to decide whether to alert police officers, deployed in the area near the place where Moat had telephoned a few minutes before and briefed police of his intent to continue taking his revenge on society by tracking down and dealing with any police officer who had previously arrested him. One officer on duty fitted the bill PC David Rathband.
Cumbria shootings: Derrick Bird’s rampage: The timeline of events on 2 June 2010 during in taxi driver Derrick Bird shot dead 12 people and injured 11 more in west Cumbria. The massacres in Cumbria only 4 weeks previously should have alerted the Northumbria Police Authority to give serious consideration to abandoning “single-car deployment” when Moat started his killing spree the day before he shot PC Rathband. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10259982
PC Rathband and his previous association with Moat: Moat, had an extensive record of minor misdemeanours and his contact with elements of crime in Northumbria was well established. He also operated a small gardening business, owned a truck and was a regular user of the A1. There had been a spate of scrap metal thefts and Northumbria Police Authority decided to crack down on the criminals.
PC Rathband routinely patrolled the A1 and had arrested Moat, whom he suspected was transporting stolen scrap metal. A day later he spotted Moat on the street and checked the follow-up report and was astonished to note that, yet again Moat had been released with the recommendation “NFA” (no further action).
The Rathband Tapes – 14 podcasts – Listen in then decide if Northumbria Police Authority senior officers covered themselves in glory
For over a decade, conversations between the late David Rathband and his ghostwriter Tony Horne, have remained locked in a vault. Now for the first time, Tony shares them with David’s twin, Darren – and you. Darren and Tony walk you through the story from its humble beginnings in Staffordshire to its tragic end in Northumberland. You will hear, David’s own account of being shot and the subsequent trial of the two accomplices in the case, the untold story of dealing with becoming blind and the fatigue of the endless admin involved, tensions he held within Northumbria Police, depression, Pride of Britain Awards. Going from hero to zero overnight, and ultimately how the twins warned that David’s suicide was inevitable. In this emotional and painful story – albeit with the twins’ dark sense of humour, you will hear David. In his own words. https://tunein.com/podcasts/True-Crime/The-Rathband-Tapes—Trailer-p3739208/
David before Moat shot himDavid after Moat shot him
2014 David Cameron, only one day after the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, took a giant public dump on Scots by introducing English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) without consultation, which is at variance with the 1707 Treaty of Union. A position that was later toughened up to become a “veto” in the Conservative 2015 election manifesto.
But Cameron had blundered badly, having (with other political leaders) signed a public “vow” committing Westminster to substantially extending devolution to Scotland, only to slap a series of retrospective conditions on it. A huge kick in the teeth to the “no” voters in Scotland, and not wise. But Cameron had blundered and his jacket would hang from a shuggly peg from then on.
Months later, in the 2015 UK General Election, Scots responded electing 56 MPs from 59 seats available. A result which exposed the fraud exacted on Scotland by Westminster Unionists in September 2014. This was a declaration of independence.
The opportunity to declare independence was shunned by Nicola Sturgeon, the recently elected SNP Party Leader, who was basking in the acclaim of LGBTQ activists, her Government and its massive cohort of newly elected MP’s who decided to go to London and settle down gaining themselves, the SNP and those associated with it around £40 million each year plus a very generous non-contributory pension from the public purse. That is around £200 million over the lifetime of a parliament.
Sturgeon, in pursuit of agenda’s other than independence and not always within her competence studiously ignored the will of the Scottish electorate which returned an independence supporting majority of MP’s in every General Election since the 2015 landslide an undeniable fact that the 2015 declaration of independence remains extant.
Ardent Thatcherite and unionist Michael Forsyth went on to challenge the way in which Cameron played the EVEL card. He said: “Instead of going up to Scotland the next day (after the referendum) and saying ‘look we’ve got to look at this now from the point of view of the whole United Kingdom’ and started the English votes for English laws thing which was not a unionist position and that shattered the unionist alliance in Scotland against the breakup of the United Kingdom. I don’t support English votes for English laws. It doesn’t seem to me to be a very good policy to try and deal with the rise of Scottish nationalism by stirring up English nationalism. We need to find ways of binding the United Kingdom together, of binding that partnership together. Questioning the legitimacy of SNP, MPs is unwise and runs counter to the assurances offered during the referendum about guaranteeing an inclusive UK and I have limited sympathy for Labour, who now find themselves being devoured by the nationalist tiger.”
Forsyth’s views matched what I thought the morning after the Scottish referendum – that Cameron was playing a partisan game that was certain to inflame Scottish nationalism with an English betrayal only hours after the vote, damaging the Union he claimed to champion in the interests of short-term electoral gain.
But when Cameron made his play to English nationalism he did not think through what the impact would be in Scotland and was arrogant enough to assume that it didn’t matter now the Referendum was done, or insincere enough in his professed concern for the Union (which is part of his Party’s name) that he didn’t actually care as long as it boosted his chances of re-election this time round. David Cameron, fool or knave? It’s a hard choice (though there is an obvious answer).
Liz Lloyd, former Strategic Adviser and Chief of Staff to the First Minister of Scotland recently took up an appointment with Flint Global as a Specialist Partner delivering insight and analysis on issues including Scotland, politics in Scotland & the UK, and the constitution.
The appointment should alert Scottish independence supporters to her the nature of her tenure as Chief of Staff and Strategic Adviser to Sturgeon.
The “Picture Post” (1938-1957) portrayal of Scotland perpetuated the themes of Empire and Identity.
Its depiction of Scottish history was scarce and comment was largely restricted to the institutional differences from England and coverage of pageantry.
The narrative it promoted conveyed the residual strengths of the British Empire, with increases in royal visits suggesting “concessions to combat the perception of Scotland’s diminishing nationhood.”
Because of the publications adherence to an overarching sense of Britishness, no coherent idea of Scottish national identity in or for itself emerged.
Instead, Scottish articles were conveniently subsumed under a handful of stock categories, each of which played a part in the representation of British culture, in a sense “the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.” The “we” here was an English one that looked at Scotland.
Much boiled down to the presentation of stereotypes: picture stories about the kilt, ships being built and launched, and miners coming from the “filth of the pit” to “the row of mean, sordid houses”, of “grey fishing villages.” In sharp contrast there is the scenic beauty of the landscape. And then there was Glasgow.
Scotland was imagined either as a place of “grave beauty” and “wild, infertile districts such as the Highland [deer] forests”; or the home of scandalous urban poverty, appalling housing and rickets.
Symbolism of Crown Authority
The symbolism is clear from depictions of George VI opening the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow and the richly ceremonial images of Queen Elizabeth’s 1952 trip to Edinburgh.
A photo-essay of her rain-sodden voyage in the Hebrides was rather less formal, although the opening line of text served to remind readers of the ritual aspect: “To go to Scotland in August has been a habit with the Royal Family since Queen Victoria’s time.”
“Bed Socks for a Queen” sought to make the link between everyday working life in Scotland and the wardrobes of the grand: “Through five generations, this factory in Edinburgh has been making quality footwear for monarch, soldier, sportsman and glamour girl.”
Meanwhile, the effort to convey an impression of Anglo-Scots unity led to some extraordinary tweaking of the historical record. A wartime propaganda piece juxtaposed photographs of Fort George with images of Culloden Moor where the names on the stones are the same names which label wooden crosses in the sands of the Egyptian desert now.
The men of the Highland Division – the men who stormed the Axis lines at El Alamein – are the kith and kin of the clansmen who rose for Bonnie Prince Charlie in the ’45 … neither the men nor the lands they live in have changed … they’re fighting for the same age-old Highland cause.
The saddest part about the Battle of Culloden is the fatalities on either side– nearly 2,000 Jacobites were killed. Only 50 died on the British side.
Scottish military stories were few, although articles about clan gatherings, Highland games, and the aforementioned kilt, in conflating “Highlander” with “Scot”, provided a spurious sense of national singularity.
Unsurprisingly, discussions of a separate national identity were few during the war years. However, an intermittent dialogue around nationalism was ongoing.
Some Scots blamed Westminster’s dismissal of independence claims for Scotland’s manufacturing industry falling into dereliction.
Yet, railed Compton Mackenzie embracing the Scots audience, “it is our own fault”; so long as “we” submit to London control, we can only blame ourselves for industrial decline, unemployment and rural depopulation.
His 1939 article stressed growing political support for the Nationalists, sporting a photograph of graffiti with the caption “few Englishmen have heard much of the discussion on Home Rule for Scotland – but a plea for it covers almost every bridge on the Edinburgh-Glasgow road.”
Mackenzie’s article unleashed a slew of correspondence. Some questioned the wisdom of publishing material suggesting British disunity in the face of impending world war, blithely adding that “Scotland sends its best to England and we are glad to have them”.
But political nationalism resurfaced very quickly in 1945.
Responding to a line in the King’s speech at the opening of the first post-war Parliament that “the special problem of Scotland” would gain ministerial attention, the Nationalist John Kinloch described how the country’s greater resources, output and manpower were accompanied by greater unemployment, poverty and death rates, a predicament he attributed to “Scotland’s subordinate governmental position.”
When subsequently the devolution minded Scottish National Assembly drew up a Covenant supported by thirty-six percent of the Scottish electorate, Fyfe Robertson remarked that “the English press can almost be accused of a conspiracy of silence” for ignoring important constitutional concerns.
His subsequent investigation asking “Are 2,000,000 Scots Silly?” reported “a new liveliness and confidence largely due to a new awareness of nationality.”
Despite Robertson’s claim of “massive” English indifference, the article sparked a rush of letters, an edited postbag being published under the heading “The Question That Has All Britain Talking.”
For all this, the next month, as “Queen Elizabeth of Scotland” rode in state up the Royal Mile, a decidedly unionist Picture Post praised the protective loyalty of the Royal Company of Archers, contending that “If the Scottish Republican Army were to start any trouble they would soon resemble a row of over-patriotic pin-cushions.”
Elizabeth was never crowned Queen of Scotland
Sport, Arts and Entertainment
Sports coverage as existed tended towards elitist pursuits – deer stalking and grouse shooting, yachting, rugby union, and – guaranteed to captivate visually – skiing.
Despite its mass popularity, and, indeed, its importance as a lighting-rod for the solidarity of skilled workers, football received scant coverage.
Until a 1955 initiative which saw the launch of “A Great Scottish Football Series” profiling all the major teams in successive issues, the only stories are a piece considering the precarious survival of amateurism, and two negative articles about fan behaviour. “The Football Ticket Stampede” (1952) attempted to explain an incident when 12,000 Glaswegians waiting for tickets for the England v. Scotland game ran amok.
An English sports journalist noted that the Rangers v. Celtic match was traditionally considered “an opportunity to get rid of your empty bottles and vent your religious bigotry.” His article drew indignant responses from many Scots, some accusing the author of being anti-Celtic, others anti-Rangers, others simply arguing that in highlighting the Old Firm’s routine rivalry he was promoting a caricature. “He airs, in true English fashion, the old lie that civil war is our national pastime.” Outside Glasgow, argued another, “people go to see a football match, not two teams representing different religions.”
Moral and Social Issues
For a country supposedly steeped in Presbyterian culture, discussion of religion was rather thin: a photo-essay on the parish kirk of Burntisland, showing “the whole history of the Reformation made permanent in stone”; a quirky tale about the Arbroath padre using ship-to-shore radio telephones to entertain fishermen; and a story about the activities of industrial chaplains questioning the contention that “the Church has lost touch with the workers.”
Nevertheless, complemented by articles on the Iona community’s mission “to bring Christianity to the workers of Glasgow”, this struck a tone very much in sympathy with the magazine’s visual ethos, where locals were pictured engaging in social activity.
Commentary on social issues ranged from health and education to youth crime and immigration. In a debate conducted via the letters page concerning the scourge of “young thugs”, a reader commented give one family a house with modern conveniences; another a room in which there are no sanitary arrangements, in which plaster is falling off the walls and people are forced to sleep four or five in one bed.
Which will be the readier to conform to social laws? Which will produce the delinquent children? This is glaringly obvious in Glasgow, where housing conditions are the worst in Scotland and criminal figures are the highest.
The problems of the “swarming tenement” were being dealt with, but “not always imaginatively” through re-housing schemes lacking in social amenities, as the image of the violence-prone slum continued to cling to the city.
Some Glaswegians protested that this was distortion, others that “slums are not an excuse for filth”, while “I’ve had it drummed into me that England is the most democratic country in the world. I find it hard to believe after seeing those slums…. Thank you for opening my eyes.”
Health and social welfare
When doctors attributed Scotland’s singular failure to improve tuberculosis mortality to “scandalous overcrowding in insanitary, badly-ventilated and sunless houses” and lack of hospital accommodation, the Picture Post showed people being encouraged to attend mobile X-ray units using incentives such as raffle tickets and images of futuristic infirmaries.
Holiday advertisements taken out by bus and ferry companies and holiday resorts portrayed yachting on the Clyde, the diverse delights of Arran, pony-trekking, and school adventure holidays. The escapism was further highlighted by photographs of spectacular mountain scenery, majestic sea cliffs and snowbound landscapes.
By 1945 readers were suggesting that the “private wilderness” be handed over to ex-servicemen to farm – “Why does the Government talk about emigration to the Dominions, when Scotland is almost vacant” – and, indeed, land settlement schemes were being developed. The question was posed: “Why can’t the Highlands … be opened up for the Gorbals dwellers?”
“I went on a tour in the Highlands and the conditions are awful”, added a correspondent, “deserted shielings and poverty-stricken crofts, next to mansions whose owners only come in the grouse season and take no interest in their poor tenants”, while another cited “appalling” unemployment figures and referred to “one long tale of misery” since 1745 with “huge areas denuded of people” to make way for sporting estates.
Reconstruction and Modernity
During the inter-war years the Labour Party “pushed the notion of a democratic and radical Scotland which had been under the heel of a corrupt aristocracy … The Scots were a democratic and egalitarian people.”
But the Party did not betray any lasting nationalist commitment and in the immediate post-war years Scottish developments were very much regarded as part-and-parcel of Britain’s wider economic renewal.
Picture Post published a “Plan for Britain” in January 1941. The modernizing vision of “rationally ordered sites and spaces” was embraced by Tom Johnston, appointed by Churchill in February 1941 as Secretary of State for Scotland.
A Labour stalwart, Johnston was “a giant figure …promised the powers of a benign dictator” went on to set up some thirty-two committees and developed planning perspectives in concert with the various socio-economic issues.
Johnston’s single most successful venture, the Hydro Board, was designed to alleviate a British fuel crisis while promoting industrial recovery, re-population and electrification in the Highlands.
Power generation carried much symbolic weight in the push for reconstruction. However, initial proposals were strongly opposed.
A graphic feature on the Glen Affric scheme set the alliance of “beauty lovers” fearing the loss of sanctuary, holiday resort and sporting preserve against the plight of local people.
While the text conveyed a good deal of technical detail, economic and political, regarding the progress of hydro-electrification, its human dialogue came from conversations with the local crofters.
Subsequently, a reader wrote in to re-iterate the stark contrast between the lovely landscape and the “abject poverty” and “backwardness” of its inhabitants.
“New hope for the Highlands” ran another article, as “Highland glens light Highland homes.” With dams “surprisingly hidden in the hills”, aqueducts and pylons were “a small price to pay for new prosperity” and relative national efficiency, the more so as a UK fuel crisis loomed.
Re-forestation and ranching added optimism, yet with “roads inadequate beyond belief”, “archaic farming methods” and “progressive deterioration of morale and opportunity” the Highland economy remained precarious, albeit that the sight of Highland cattle presented “A Highland Idyll.”
In January 1955, Picture Post released a special supplement. “Festival Scotland” which was both informative and promotional, a shop window of the nation’s attractions and advertisement of its successes.
It provided a potted inventory, incorporating articles on religion, the arts, nationalism, food, fishing, Highland games and Gaelic, but also shipbuilding, shopping, manufacturing, the Scottish joke, history and national identity.
In a foreword, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh noted that he regarded the Edinburgh Festival as “the focus of the post-war revival of Scotland.”
For the tourist, there was advice on “where to go and what to see” from the Secretary of the Scottish Tourist Board as well as guidance on “How to see Scotland”, each itinerary “a gateway to romance” in places “where the dolce far niente of the Mediterranean is matched by the quiet Celtic ways and gentle manners.”
Similarly, Nigel Tranter stressed the urgency of building a Forth river crossing, whether a bridge or a tunnel: “right in the heart of industrial Scotland, precious hours are wasted while cars, lorries and ambulances wait for overworked ferry boats.” Doubtless these writers added weight to debate – much nationalistic, much eccentric yet there is something of the feel of a patrician coterie pontificating from their shared literary quarter in New Town Edinburgh.
Dalmellington, Ayrshire
Nevertheless, a certain gritty realism remains apparent, for instance in a fine portrait of Dalmellington. Here much is redolent of the emerging community studies tradition in British sociology, with its analysis of social segmentation, gendered mores, statistics of religious observation, and anthropological, almost colonial distancing – “Even the “natives” can be sub-divided, for the men who have come down from the now abandoned hillside hamlets … still cling together. You can see at the local dances how much Dalmellington is a man’s world … the young men stood in large clusters talking to each other. There are 1,709 adult communicant members of the Church of Scotland.”
The daily dominance of the mining industry is evoked in the accompanying pictures and their captions, which highlight the day-shift waiting for the bus at 6 a.m., then leaving the pit at 2.30 in the afternoon; meanwhile, the text beside an image of the Saturday dance notes: “it was a grand evening – even for the back-shift who couldn’t get there till after eleven.” There is also a debunking of stereotypes – “curiously enough, Dalmellington does not look like a typical mining village… you do not find there the long, repetitive rows of houses … Instead you see a large country village built around a square … at the edges you find twentieth-century suburban-style houses.” Finally, we read: “There is the insularity of the villages, and, on the other hand, there are the young people’s July excursions to Blackpool.”
This is mid-1950s Scotland in the throes of modernization and a tension between cultural continuity and economic change. Subsequent readers’ letters endorse the “strong community spirit of Dalmellington’s citizens”, extending this sensibility to the city:
Although I have lived in Glasgow all my life I do not think of myself as a Glasgow man. When I was a child the word “home” as it was used by my parents meant not the city tenement, where we lived, but a croft on the Isle of Mull. There may be thousands of Glasgow citizens like me, and perhaps it is because to so many of us our real background is in the Highlands, or the country places, that Glasgow, despite its size, is … like an overgrown village.
Complaints over London dominance of the BBC were being addressed as the network sought to embrace regional broadcasting, they saw no cause for alarm, continuing to represent Scotland as resolutely provincial. (This was, after all, one area of the country where people were still getting their news stories from the press.)
In this imaginary of the nation “Edinburgh is a village where everybody meets everybody else” Characters abound in the Old Town, for it retains many of the qualities of a self-contained community. Neighbours are known to each other.” Glasgow’s “warm-hearted loyalty” draws much praise, while the nation becomes a cultural space in which each major city is given a defining character.
A story about Inverness strikes at the contradictions of capitalism: “Inverness is the great paradox of the Highlands today, the shining example of prosperity and growing population amid economic malaise and depopulation.”
These contradictions are played out in a number of articles concerning the Hebrides. “The Last of the Gaelic” bemoans the “hopeless stand” of a once-widespread language, the “wild, departed spirit” of a dying way of life on Eriskay. Once “peopled by enterprising fishermen”, but now “an island of the old and infirm, with a few horses laden with “creels” to act as transport”, Eriskay’s way of life is being rapidly dispersed by “the dramatic invasion of an air service from the mainland.”
Seaweed-processing came and went on South Uist, where, however, more obviously political concerns had emerged over the proposed siting of a guided missile range. A local wrote to warn that “the entire peace of the island, as well as its crofting and craftsman traditions are likely to be shattered … by the arrival of troops.”
He was not alone: “The Fighting Priest of Eochar” presents “the story of a courageous Hebridean and his fight to save the future of his parish”, the very place that had been so sympathetically photographed the previous year. Again, in the images, there are the expressive rugged faces, mirroring the wind-torn landscape; again, the odd juxtaposition of a precious living on the cusp of change: “On her croft, by the rocket site, a woman finds barbed wire – and wonders.”
Meanwhile, some Hardy images of figures silhouetted against a broad sky suggest a vanishing spiritual purity in a mechanistic industrial age: “the eternal bounty and struggle of life in its simplest, and at the same time, most profound form. I came away from the Crofters’ Isle cleansed and refreshed.”
This dialectic of tradition and modernity, development and dependency, finds broader resonance across the Highland region. “No Future for the Highlands?” asks: “What shall we do to arrest the process of decay … which threatens disaster in the North?” The inner malady of depopulation and ruined cottages. “Some townships will perish within a generation”;
A futuristic shot of Herculean engineering, carries the caption: “Due for completion in 1957, the Loch Shin hydro-electricity scheme employs 900 men, nearly 4/10 of them from the Highlands. But the permanent staff may total only 30.”
Against such brooding concern, “The Road to the Isles” is sanguine. A picture of a woman at a water pump might not suggest progress or engagement in the process post-war industrialization. But the caption suggests otherwise: “Where guidewives gossip in Gaelic, in the old village of Glencoe. Crofting has ceased, and most of then men are employed in the aluminium works at Kinlochleven.”
Vignettes of the triumph of the machine age find their crudest visualization in a photograph of fish being blown sky-high. The caption reads: “Depth charge in the loch. Seventy tons of gelignite are detonated to destroy pike and perch before this water is stocked with young salmon from the hatcheries.”
Dounreay: Radioactive waste was disposed down the Shaft from 1959 to 1977, when an explosion ended the practice
” As with the guided missiles on South Uist, the motives for scientific advancement concerned strategies other than the strictly socio-economic. They indicated the continuing role of Westminster government in the political management of change. External control of the Scottish economy was welcomed as inward investment.
Where Clydeside shipbuilding, like other heavy industries, had figured in the wartime propaganda effort and “men who build the ships that sail the seven seas” were still honoured reflecting the mood of post-war optimism in its embrace of manufacturing as the route to economic buoyancy.
Promotion of the “American Invasion” was accompanied by photos of the Queen visiting an adding machine factory, a “bonnie Scots lassie” checking clock mechanisms, more “Scots girls at work on assembling components of electronic devices”, rubber footwear, mechanics at an IBM plant.
Here were the newly “thriving towns” of the Central Belt, its oil refineries, rolling mills, and, indeed, fresh orders for the shipyards.
“Let Glasgow Flourish” brought characterful resilience to the fore: “Thrice within a couple of centuries, Glasgow has reeled from the impact of economic forces beyond its control.
Each time it has recovered. Now it faces the hazards and opportunities of a new industrial age…. Here is vitality, energy in abundance. Here is the Vulcan’s forge of the North.”
Cue pictures of busy quaysides, locomotive and tobacco production, golf club manufacturing, and “a pavement of biscuits” on the conveyor belt at the Glengarry Bakery, churning out “a quarter of the total chocolate biscuit output of Britain.”
In the “breath-taking panorama of Glasgow”, was an optimism underpinned by commitment to adaptation and diversity. And not just in the big conurbations. A social commentator said “Kilmarnock has been called “a planner’s delight, ready-made for prosperity.” Where else can one find such a remarkable variety of industry? With full employment, progressive businessmen, and a rigorous spirit of craftsmanship, its future seems secure.
“But is the town really slump-proof?” With images of tractor assembly lines, shoe patterns, distilleries, men at Glenfield and Kennedy, hydraulic engineers, “leading organisation of their kind in the British Commonwealth”, and sub-heads such as “Cushioned against depression”, the answer was a resounding Yes!
Mass production without tedium, in the highly modernised assembly department of British Olivetti, Ltd., at Queenslie Industrial Estate, a young lass from Airdrie, dexterously plays her part in the building of a portable typewriter. Many of these machines go to Australia and New Zealand; also to Africa.
“The Hospital of the Future” provided “an exclusive peep into the first complete new hospital to be built in Britain since the war” at Alexandria. Futuristic architectural images accompanied the “new design for living – for patients and hospital staff.”
The fight against urban health problems was still being conveyed by photo-journalists with characteristic vigour. In March 1957, a double-page feature showed long queues awaiting X-raying under the banner “Glasgow Blasts TB.”
TB Epidemic in Scotland. X-Ray Coaches deployed from all over the UK to Assist
Caused by overcrowded houses and poor diet.
While nationalization, new towns, engineering projects, tourism and Edinburgh Festival culture were promoted as the New Scotland, so the meaning of nationhood came under fresh scrutiny as unionist-nationalism declined.
Contradictions surfaced over the presentation of national identity, and, relatedly, land use and access, that are still important today. “An American in Scotland” opined “they have mountains like the Alps and roads like Burma”.
while the historical Scotland author, Nigel Tranter provocatively argued that a new road should be built through the Cairngorms. It was only, he said, “the remoteness of legislators, hunting, shooting and fishing interests, those benefiting from other roads and the sanctity-of-the-wild enthusiasts” that were preventing the construction of “a glorious, a darling road.
Likewise, when a reader responding to an article on the “strange collapse” of Scotland’s former aviation industry pleaded “Let us concentrate on our tourist industry and have more beaches, better roads and better hotels rather than more factories, with their dirt and smoke”, he was effectively arguing for the preservation of an invented tradition – romantic tourism – within a framework of modern industrial development. In grasping the horns of a dilemma first captured visually through the hydro-electric debate, both writers were perhaps more prescient than they imagined.
Conclusion
1955 was a pivotal point, for it was in this year that two significant events occurred:
A General Election on 26 May in which the Unionist party reached its zenith of 51% of the Scottish vote, never to be achieved again.
The promotion of British national identification through Tory anglicisation and the growth of Nationalism in Scotland.
A complete run of Picture Post is available in the National Library of Scotland. A fully searchable archive may also be consulted via (http://www.gale.cengage.co.uk/picturepost)
Her demeanour, dress sense and confrontational behaviour was evident in her student days and her aborted legal career and lifestyle before politics.
But Nicola Sturgeon claimed she earned her nickname because she tried to emulate male politicians aggressive and adversarial practices at the start of her parliamentary career.
She claimed she was surrounded by “middle-aged white men” and behaved in a way about conforming and fitting in. That was also reflected in how she dressed.
Her belief was that fitting in with the behaviour of men required females to become adversarial and aggressive in pursuit of winning their arguments since assertive, aggressive, and adversarial male politicians are seen as strong leaders.
But her recurring failure to gain a seat as an MSP by popular vote was a worry for the Party leadership and Angus Robertson finally persuaded her to abandon her long held feminist principles and abandon her “nippy sweety” behaviour.
Sturgeon, the fashion icon and Scotland’s first lady in waiting was relaunched at the start of the Scottish Independence campaign in early 2014
The makeover and extensive coaching designed to improve her delivery of policies to the public and parliament must have cost the Party many millions with a new expensive outfit being produced every day and many Scots believed the massively hyped transformation was real and would deliver change and were happy to clinb on-board the “Sturgeon for Independence” bandwagon.
The period 2014-2023 exposed the disgusting scale of the Robertson/Sturgeon “ponzie scheme” and Unionist media outlets are actively participating in the continued cover-up of the abuse of the Scottish electorate.
caltonjock 