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Scottish Politics

Unravelling and reporting on the many plots and subterfuges of politicians is an impossible task. It is sadly often the case that they enjoy long and successful political careers within which the finger of fate may be pointed in their direction but never sticks.

This article highlights some of the players who’s influence and machinations have shaped Scottish politics to the advantage of Unionists but to the detriment of Scotland.

Malcolm Rifkind, (the leader) :

Architect of the hated “Poll Tax” 1986.

As Minister of Defence decimated the regular army transferring responsibility for the defence of the nation to “Cruise missiles” and the Territorial Army 1994.

As Foreign Secretary had charge of Britain’s secret services 1995-2000

Founder of Better Together 1998.

Out of government. Took up executive roles in a number of Security, Defence, medical companies outside parliament 2002-2004.

Armour Group, (Rifkind, Executive Director) awarded multi-million security contract in Iraq, by Jack Straw, Labour government Foreign Secretary 2004.

Recruited Andrew Fulton, ( ex MI6 senior spook) to the Armour Group in 2007.

Returned to Westminster, ( retained and expanded a number of executive roles in private companies). Appointed Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House of Commons 2005-2010

Appointed, Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee (actively involved in the work of Britain’s Secret Services). Supported military action against Iraq, Libya and Syria 2010 -2015. 

Chairman of the British Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), overseeing MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – (the most important position in the UK intelligence community) has charge of the disinformation campaign.

Politicians for hire? Jack Straw & Sir Malcolm Rifkind embroiled in “cash for access” scandal. Rifkind forced to retire from politics. Straw denied place in the House of Lords.

Andrew Fulton ( ex MI6 senior spook) was sent to Scotland to assess the political situation and report back to Westminster 2008-9. Subsequently appointed Chairman of the Tory Party in Scotland. 

April 1998: Rifkind Calls for Pact to Block Nationalists

Rifkind called for the formation of a cross- party movement to protect the Union and prevent the SNP taking power. The former foreign secretary’s comments were the first clear indication that the Tory party north of the Border believed that Labour, the Tory’s and the Liberal Democrats needed to make common cause in an attempt to halt the rise of the SNP. He said: “I think there will be a need for a non-party movement in Scotland to support the Union.”

Scotland got that when “Better Together” was sent into action at the time of the 2014 Scottish Referendum. Planning had been in place from 1998!!

He also accused Labour of fostering the mood of nationalism within Scotland by exploiting “nationalist language” during its spell in opposition: “The genie is out of the bottle and, like all genies, once they are out of the bottle they are difficult to put back in.” (Highbeam)

 
2004: Former Foreign Minister Malcolm Rifkind Cashes in on Iraq Invasion

A private security company headed by former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind is making millions from a contract to protect Foreign Office staff working in Iraq, it emerged last night.

Armor Group, the biggest ‘mercenary’ security firm working in Iraq, is one of two companies that have raked in a total of £15m between them for providing round-the-clock cover in the treacherous environment of post-war Iraq during the past year.

Rifkind, the Tory candidate for Kensington and Chelsea, sparked protests from political opponents last month when he took over the chairmanship of Armor Group, which has 700 employees in Iraq. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted the UK government is financing the company to the tune of £50K each and every day providing protection to British bureaucrats stationed in Iraq.

Furious MPs condemned the outlay as “appalling value for money”, and claimed the Labour government should not be ploughing money into a controversial industry that is making huge profits as part of the reconstruction effort in Iraq. (Scotsman)

2007: Andrew Fulton (formerly MI6) became the first high-profile former spy to join a listed British company when he was appointed adviser to the Armor Group.

Early 2008: Increasing Strength of the SNP in Scotland Attracts the Attention of the Secret Services

The continued growth in nationalist support in Scotland alarmed the US and Westminster. The Labour Party was in meltdown and it was entirely possible an SNP government would be in place at Holyrood in 2009. This would bring with it calls for Scottish independence and a referendum. An anti-nationalist strategy was needed designed to neutralise any potential problems.

There were also on-going problems within the Scottish Tory Party, which had suffered yet another bad election defeat. Voices within the Party in Scotland had begun to raise the spectre of a split from Westminster control so that the Party in Scotland would revert to its former Unionist Party status forming its own distinctly Scottish policies whilst retaining a more hands off relationship with the Conservative Party at Westminster.

Andrew Fulton, (former MI6 senior agent and close colleague of Rifkind’s for many years) was identified as the most effective “agent for change” available. It was agreed he would apply himself and his extensive resources to the tasks of completing a root and branch reorganisation of the Tory party in Scotland, removing any person, (no matter how senior) who did not fully commit to Westminster Conservative Party ideals.

He would also design a long term strategy undermining the SNP government ensuring any referendum for independence would fail.

An informed insider wrote;

Fulton is a major player in the military corporate nexus. He has been placed in an overtly political position because the UK government is extremely worried about Scottish secession. He is there to coordinate the destabilisation of the SNP government. Golf and cappuccinos are just distractions, he is a very dangerous individual.

http://lockerbiecase.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/andrew-fulton-is-he-professor.html

Autumn 2008: Former spy Takes top Scottish Tory Job

Former high ranking MI6 intelligence officer, Prof Andrew Fulton. An MI6 spy who served behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War is in line to become chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party in a surprise move agreed by David Cameron and Annabel Goldie, the Scottish leader.

Fulton, whose last posting was “Head of Station” in Washington, has emerged as one of the favourites for the post that fell vacant when Peter Duncan, the former MP for Dumfries, stood down last summer. The appointment of the former intelligence officer, will be seen as an attempt by senior Tories to inject fresh blood and new thinking into the Scottish party, which has struggled to recover from its 1997 wipe-out when it lost all its Scottish MPs.

Fulton has operated in Scotland before. He was unmasked as a former spy in 2000 when he was forced to step down as a member of the Lockerbie Trial Briefing Unit which provided media briefings on the trial in Holland of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing.

His cover was blown soon after he was included in a list of MI6 officers published on the internet by a disaffected agent in 1999. The revelation raised concerns that he may have been in a position to influence the way the Lockerbie trial was being reported to ensure the minimum of criticism of the British and American intelligence services.

In his MI6 days, Fulton reportedly had been posted in East Berlin, Saigon, and New York. He had served as “Head of Station” in Washington, D.C., and at the peak of his career he was the sixth-most powerful official in the organization.

In 1992, Fulton became the security officer who headed up European operations: “He was one of the MI6 chiefs handed the plans to kill Serb President Slobodan Milosevic.”

He is presently the Senior adviser to the (All-Party Parliamentary MENA* Group at Westminster)

*The term MENA is an English-language acronym referring to an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including all Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries. Fulton is the senior intelligence person advising the most senior political group in Westminster on all matters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MENA http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/1578128/Former-spy-in-line-for-top-Scottish-Tory-job.html

June 2009: Is Andrew Fulton, Tory Chairman still an MI6 Spy or Asset?

The former MI6 Station Chief, is currently Chairman of the Tory Party in Scotland. He is also listed as an advisor to a number of organisations involved in intelligence matters. He has history in Scotland. He was placed by the UK government with the Glasgow University Lockerbie Briefing Unit. The title, “Visiting Professor” was awarded to him by then Glasgow University Principal, Graeme Davis. Davis held membership of, “The Scottish North American Business Council” (SNABC), chaired by Fulton.

The unusual thing about Fulton’s Professorship was that he had never worked in the legal profession in any capacity, had never taught classes and did no research at Glasgow University. So it beggars belief how he qualified as a Visiting Professor of Law? Did Graham Davis permit MI6 to plant Fulton in the University Media unit. The American ambassador to the UK, Philip Lader was also a member of the (SNABC) at the same time. Useful front for meetings to discuss Lockerbie without attracting the attention of the UK press.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/is-andrew-fulton-tory-chairman-still.html

The (SNABC) is a little known but well connected atlanticist body aimed at fostering closer relations between business in Scotland and the US. It is the Scottish chapter of the British-American Business Council. It has interesting intelligence connections.

The current Chairman is former MI6 man Andrew Fulton, who was exposed as having been a former MI6 agent whilst working inside Glasgow University based Lockerbie Commission. The former US ambassador to the UK Philip Lader (also chair of the board of spin conglomerate WPP) is also on board.

The Council retains Media House International for PR and its executive chairman Jack Irvine is a former board member.

http://powerbase.info/index.php/Scottish_North_American_Business_Council

July 2010: Veteran Rifkind to Lead MPs’ Watchdog

Former foreign secretary and defence secretary, Sir Malcolm Rifkind is perhaps the best-placed MP to chair the Commons committee on intelligence and security.

For five years until 24 February 2015 he was responsible for the security service MI6. He fully supported NATO military intervention in Libya and supplying arms to the Libyan rebels. (highbeam)

July 2011: Top Scots Tories fire broadside at Ex MI6 Spy Andrew Fulton over denial of natural justice

Ex MI6 Spy Andrew Fulton, isn’t the flavour of the month with senior Tory stalwarts with decades of service under their belt. They are rightly upset regarding the disgraceful treatment of Malcolm Macaskill who was removed as a candidate to make way for publicly unelectable Ruth Davidson. Davidson is now a Glasgow list MSP although she lives in Edinburgh.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/top-scots-tories-fire-broadside-at-ex.html

November, 2011: Scottish Tory Party duly elect Andrew Fulton’s protégé as new leader.

Order is restored in Scotland. The threat of a Scottish Unionist Party breakaway is extinguished. Conservatives on-side with Cameron have been placed in all key posts. Scottish Unionists told behave or to get on their bikes. A joyous new party leader Davidson said, “This is the first time that our members have been asked to elect a leader for the whole party in Scotland and I’ve met our members from Selkirk to Shetland and all points in between. They’ve been engaged, they’ve been enthusiastic, they’ve been welcoming and they’re excited about our bright future too.”

 
2013: Margo Macdonald wrote to the Head of the UK’s Security Service and asked for but never got an assurance that MI5 Spies would not interfere in the Independence Referendum.

In a letter to MI5’s director general, Andrew Parker, Margo MacDonald wrote: “I will be obliged if you can give me an assurance that UK Security Services will not be used in any respect in the lead-up to the Scottish referendum on sovereignty, unless, of course, the Scottish police have sufficient evidence to justify normal responses to potentially overtly criminal acts. I do understand that the Security Services are vital to all the countries and regions of the British Isles and the potential for law-breaking may be heightened during the forthcoming campaign. As action on the Security Services’ part is calculated to keep communities safe and aid cohesion, I would welcome an assurance from you that this will continue, and that no other consideration will inform your Department’s work.”

At interview Margo said the recent comments of former chancellor Denis Healey, who said the Labour Government of the 1970s had underplayed the value of oil revenues, underlined her concerns. She said: “The influence of the security services was insidious. If the opportunity came up to depress the self-confidence of Scots, then the opportunity was taken.” Asked if she believed the SNP and the wider Yes movement was currently infiltrated, she said: “Of course the security services have people in the SNP.”

A former intelligence adviser to the Joint Intelligence Committee, said he believed MI5 would monitor the independence debate. There’s definitely a national security angle to Scottish independence that the security services would be aware of and the agency would have a concern about the knock-on effect of independence on Northern Ireland.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13108551.MI5_spies_told__stay_out_of_referendum/

Early 2013: Rifkind Controlled the Secret Services Throughout the Scottish Referendum Campaign (ex MI6 senior spook)

”Sir Malcolm Rifkind known as “Malcolm the poof” is ( ex MI6 senior spook) chairman of the British parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which oversees MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – the most important position in the UK intelligence community. The ISC reports first to the prime minister, who retains – and uses – the right to censor material in ISC reports before parliament views them”.

https://thecolemanexperience.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/leon-brittan-nick-clegg-malcolm-rifkind-william-hague-dolphin-square-missing-dossiers-and-the-vip-child-abuse-connection/

 

2015: Craig Murray Provides an Informed Insight of MI5 Activities

Is it not strange that such a broad spectrum of the mainstream media react with instant vitriol to the very notion that the security services are active against the Scottish independence movement, when we know for certain that environmental campaign groups have been heavily penetrated by agents and agents provocateurs? When such tactics have been used against the Irish Republican movement for decades? When our intelligence services were up to their ears in torture and extraordinary rendition and repeatedly lied about it? When Edward Snowden has revealed the massive scale of surveillance by GCHQ?

In the days when the corporate media had a monopoly on the dissemination of information, simply shouting “conspiracy theorist”, “tinfoil hat” and “lizards” at somebody, excluding them from corporate media access, would be enough essentially to prevent anybody from reaching the public with information. But that no longer works in the age of new media, and especially it doesn’t work in Scotland after the referendum experience.

For the avoidance of doubt, let me spell this out. I have certain knowledge from an inside source that disruption of separatist activity in Scotland now features in MI5 tasking. The “tasking” of the security services – and that is what it is officially called – is a very formal written exercise conducted by the Joint Intelligence Committee on an annual basis, though it is possible (but very difficult) to insert new tasks in-year.

I have personally taken part – often – in Cabinet Office meetings of JIC sub-committees determining tasking, though in my case more for MI6 than MI5. It is a system I know very well. None of the “journalists” abusing me above has ever sat on a JIC committee. None of them actually know anything about it. None has contacted me to ask me why I have stated there is an MI5 anti-SNP operation. It is so much easier to collect your pay packet, quaff another Merlot and drunkenly catcall “zoooomer!”

2015: Julian Assange says SNP right to be concerned about MI5 spying

Speaking via video link from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he said that Scottish nationalists were not paranoid to be concerned that they were under surveillance. He told the Commonwealth Law Conference in Glasgow, “They are correct for a number of reasons.The attitude of the UK government is that this is a national security issue, that Scottish independence is, in effect, a threat to the state. This means that the full capacities of the GCHQ, for example, will be deployed. There is also the conduct of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office communicating secretly and extensively across the world lobbying other States to get involved influencing the Referendum result against the nationalists.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/julian-assange-says-snp-right-be-concerned-about-mi5-spying-1496574?

Devolved Government in Scotland

The 1999 introduction of a Scottish parliament, with devolved powers (forced on the UK government by the EC) should have been a game changer. For the first time in 300 years Scots had a forum allowing discussion of matters local to Scotland over which their elected representatives would be able to bring about change. But the established political parties simply rubber stamped the wishes of the Westminster parliament on the electorate. The Labour and Liberal Democratic coalition government, (elected to office in 1999 at the start of the new parliament) proved to be incompetent at all levels of government and voters transferred their support to the Scottish National Party (SNP) who, (with the allowance of operating as a minority government) provided progressive, efficient and enlightened government.

In 2010 the SNP were rewarded for their achievements gaining a stunning victory taking over government with an overall majority (turning the Westminster gerrymandered electoral system on its head). This period of government was very successful, even when confronted with the implementation of destructive financial austerity measures brought about by failed Westminster politics. The party was rewarded with a return to government in 2015.

The Scottish Voter

In the period up to 2005 the majority of voters in Scotland voted as their family and neighbours did. Voting was largely tribal and class driven. Workers backed Labour whilst the rural communities, white collar workers and upper classes supported the Tory party. But the impact of the Scottish Parliament, Illegal wars in Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. And the rapid expansion of the internet challenged the old ways and political party’s experienced the impact of declining voter bases as vast amounts of new information, previously denied the public became wide spread through internet driven social networking. From 2014 enlightened Scots became increasingly more independent thinking and a new class of voter was born. One which demanded from politicians information and policies relevant to their individual needs. 

The 2017 General Election and the Tories

The 2017 General Election in Scotland exposed Scottish voters to “data mining” a new form of politics providing tools and profiling information allowing Conservative candidates to communicate personally with their prospective constituents. The benefits were astounding. The Tories gained a stunning result, increasing their MP’s from 1 to 13 in total. Pollsters were flabbergasted at the turnaround in the voting since the SNP appeared to be invulnerable. But Tory candidates had been well briefed about the individual targets within their constituencies. It was a voting strategy, new to UK politics which, using predictive data models identified, engaged and persuaded voters to turnout. This was achieved through the use of internet, phone and personal surveys combined with many other data sets, created by teams of contracted data scientists, psychologists and political consultants allowing the campaign to map the Scottish electorate based on ideology, demographics, religious beliefs, strongly held opinions on key issues e.g. Independence, The Orange Lodge, Celtic, Rangers, The SNP and or political personalities.

The information gathered provided Tory campaign strategists with a predictive analysis based on thousands of data points on just about every voter in Scotland. From that teams of political consultants and psychologists, hired by the Party directed the campaign and candidates on what and how to say it to selected groups of voters. Other voter targeting, included use of Facebook adverts, one to one scripted phone calls and provision of the content of messages for door-to-door canvassers ensuring consistent communication with voters on any issue. What won the day for the Tory party in 2017 was that they utilised “data mining” to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Scottish electorate and then used every communication aid available facilitating discussions with voters about matters important to them as individuals. Throughout the campaign the Tory tactic was to constantly broadcast the “no new referendum” message stressing that this was an important major difference between the Tory and any other candidates firmly imprinting this in the electorate’s minds. In contrast the SNP campaign lacked inspiration was poorly directed and failed to get the voters out. Information is power and the laid back approach of Peter Murrell, the SNP strategist allowed the Tory Party to outwit him. He failed the Party. Had Murrell been the Chief strategist of any political party other than the SNP he would have been given his marching orders. Incredulously he was given a huge pay rise and a pat on the back.

Personal data on Facebook – Tory Strategy

The “My-Personality” app was launched in 2007. In excess of six million people completed the questionnaire, allowing psychometric centres to access their Facebook profiles. This permitted an algorithm trawl through the persons likes and social media posts. The information gathered allowed the creation of statistical models which used “digital-foot-printing” to predict personality types. The Tory Party contracted  analysts who dipped into the large database of anonymized information, and targeted the Scottish electorate.

Mar 2017: Data Mining – a Tory strategy – The Petition Against a Second Scottish Independence Referendum

A petition stating; “We in Scotland are fed up of persecution by the SNP leader who is solely intent on getting independence at any cost. As a result, Scotland is suffering hugely. The majority of Scottish voters wish to remain in the British union, despite Nicola Sturgeon’s latest demands for a Scottish referendum, according to the latest polling from YouGov.”

The petition was a “data mining ploy” prepared and added to the internet by the Tory media team. The tactic worked since it succeeded in raising the public profile of the possibility of another Independence referendum, which (at the time) had not been given mention by anyone other than the Tory Party.

Apr 2017: Use of Gathered Data – Analysis of Petition Outcome

I was aware of the Tory tactic and compiled an analysis from publicly issued data which allowed me to produce a predictive 2017 election outcome. Electorate totals were included and a percentage signatory total was established for each constituency. From that I used the mean figure of 3.75% to forward project the outcome of an Independence referendum, should one be held after Brexit.

The figures suggested that from an electorate of 4,021,203 the outcome of another referendum would result in a: 48.00% “Yes” vote in favour of independence with 52.00% preferring to remain with the Union. The information would be best used to forward plan strategy. Edinburgh, Aberdeen, East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire recorded higher than average figures favouring remaining with the Union. Other regions were less fixed.

The 2017 General Election Forecast Outcome

The General Election in Scotland will not be a re-run of the 2015 General Election and the landslide victory achieved by the SNP cannot realistically be achieved. My analysis suggests 25 seats might change hands with the Tory Party being the main benefactor and SNP financial resources and teams of activists will need to get out in force in the under-noted constituencies otherwise they may be lost.

This group of seats are marginals – Risk decreases as the % number drops:

71749: Edinburgh West, Michelle Thomson MP : 4388-6.12% Lost

69982: East Renfrewshire, Kirsten Oswald MP: 4241-6.06% Lost

66966: East Dunbartonshire, John Nicolson MP: 3977-5.94% Lost

65846: Edinburgh South, Ian Murray MP: 3579-5.44% Labour hold

73445: West Abdn, Stuart Blair Donaldson MP: 3961-5.40% Lost

80978: Edinburgh North & Leith, Deidre Brock MP: 4280-5.29% Held

66208: Paisley & Renfrew, Gavin Newlands MP: 3158-4.77% Held

68875: Argyll & Bute, Brendan O’Hara MP: 3277-4.75% Held

62003: North East Fife, Stephen Gethins MP: 2937-4.74% Held

67236: Stirling, Steven Paterson MP: 3175-4.72% Lost

77379: Ochil & Perth, Tasmina-A-Sheikh MP: 3645-4.71% Lost

79393: Gordon, Rt. Hon Alex Salmond MP: 3711-4.68% Lost

68056: Aberdeen South, Callum McCaig MP: 3618-4.65% Lost

79481: East Lothian, George Kerevan MP: 3676-4.63% Lost

72178: Edinburgh S-West, Joanna Cherry QC: 3283-4.55% ) Held

72447: Perth & N-Perthshire, Pete Wishart MP: 3033-4.19% Held

71685: Moray, Rt. Hon Angus Robertson MP: 2995-4.18% Lost

78037: Lanark & Hamilton-E, Angela Crawley MP: 3272-4.19% Held

68483: Dumfries, Clydesdale, David Mundell MP:2816-4.11% Held

74179: Berwick, Roxburgh, Selkirk: Calum Kerr MP: 3026-4.08% Lost

86955: Linlithgow, East Falkirk, Martyn Day MP:3570-4.11% Held

68609: Banff & Buchan, Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP: 2772-4.04% Lost

73445: W. Abdn,  Stuart-B-Donaldson MP: 3961-5.40% Lost

71685: Moray, Rt. Hon Angus Robertson MP: 2995-4.18% Lost

68056: Aberdeen South, Callum McCaig MP: 3618-4.65% Lost

Changing society norms – Stonewall Youth (Scotland)

LGBT Youth Scotland was formerly called the Stonewall Youth Project and is mainly funded by the state (in other words us), with over 75% its annual income coming from the Scottish Government, local councils and the National Health Service. (Scottish schools to get updated guidance on supporting transgender pupils).

Bear in mind that the co-founder of Stonewall, Simon Fanshawe, broke away from the organisation and condemned its “extreme” position on transgender rights. Yet we have the Scottish Government determined to change the Gender Reform Act (GRA) and to continue to permit children to be given permanently damaging puberty blockers, despite a ruling in the English courts that this has to stop. (Letters to the Times)

Freedom of expression amendments to hate crime bill put on hold

The Scottish Government and opposition parties have agreed to continue talks about freedom of expression elements of the hate crime bill.

It follows concern about the impact of some of the amendments proposed to the legislation on the transgender community.

The Justice Committee considered stage two amendments to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill’.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf had originally proposed an amendment seeking to protect “discussion or criticism of matters relating to transgender identity”, provided the behaviour was not threatening or abusive.

Green MSP John Finnie warned getting this section of the bill wrong would “embolden would-be perpetrators”. He said:

“Words are important. They’re important because we want to see robust provision of freedom of expression, but we also want to see clarity about hate crime. We want there to be no dubiety as to what constitutes that. There’s no doubt that if we get this wrong, there’s a danger that we embolden would-be perpetrators, reinforcing the idea that LGBTI people are, for some reason, less valuable”. (Letters to the Times)

Controversial policies for the SG dictated by “Stonewall”

People are questioning the influence of “Stonewall” on Scotland’s civil service after it emerged that controversial policies have been introduced in alignment with Stonewall’s political aims. These include a compulsory “Diversity Objective” for all staff to make the Scottish Government “a more diverse and inclusive place to work”, training on “intersectionality” and “unconscious bias”, and the use of gender-neutral language. The Civil Service is also included on Stonewall’s “Diversity Champions Index”.

Lobby groups

Transgender and non-binary policies have been revised with the collaboration of Stonewall Scotland and the Scottish Trans Alliance (STA).

And guidance has been co-produced by controversial lobby group “Mermaids” for SG employees who have a child who is transitioning or who identifies as non-binary.

Politically impartial?

The Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute, said:

“The extent of Stonewall’s influence on the Civil Service is alarming, particularly given the controversial nature of some of its political aims. Stonewall’s stance on trans issues is strongly opposed by women’s organisations, medics and faith groups. Yet, the Civil Service appears to endorse it wholesale. How does this fit with the Service’s duty to remain politically impartial? Staff are encouraged to attend training sessions on “intersectionality” and “unconscious bias”. These controversial ideas are disputed in wider society. So it’s concerning that they are written into the training schedule for Civil Service employees. The compulsory “Diversity Objective” also raises questions. What happens to staff members who hold religious beliefs which differ from those championed by Stonewall? Are they marked down? This could constitute direct discrimination on the grounds of religious belief.”

The Civil Service response – Diversity Objective

“All staff have mandatory diversity objectives and those who participate in the network use this work as evidence of meeting their objective. Performance is assessed their line manager at their in year review and end year review.

Progress is also discussed at monthly conversations. We also set out on our performance appraisal intranet page guidance on diversity objectives for individuals including ‘support, participate and be an effective member of one of our staff diversity networks or committees.

The guidance for managers states that they should “ensure that staff who participate in our staff networks are recognized through the performance management process, ensuring that this activity supports the outcome that the Scottish Government is to become a more diverse and inclusive place to work”.

Gender awareness training

An example of employee recognition in an appraisal might record: “A” is very aware of and committed to raising the profile of diversity issues. He is active on the committee of the LGBTI Allies network and has also:

• completed the Stonewall Allies Follow-up Training.
• participated in the Diversity Networks Workshop.
• attended an Intersectionality seminar.
• presented at a team meeting on diversity issues and circulated guidance material afterwards.
• attended an unconscious bias training event.

Gender-neutral language

policies have been updated to increase inclusion of gender identities and same-sex couples.

Paternity leave policy

The policy applies to all employees and a reference to ‘partner’ or ‘spouse’ includes same-sex partners and spouses. The policy now states: “Paternity leave is available to you where you are the father, partner or spouse of the child’s mother (or, in the case of adoption, you are the adopter’s spouse or partner); changed ‘adoptive father’ to ‘adoptive parent’.” ‘non-binary’ employees are enabled to use the title ‘Mx’.

Revised trans/non-binary policies

The project reviewed all intertwining aspects of trans and non-binary activity in the Scottish Government and produced six core projects:

1. A data set on staff experiences comprised from Stonewall questionnaires.
2. A revised HR policy on trans/non-binary for the Scottish Government (SG). It is intended that this policy is co-produced with key stakeholders (including but not limited to Stonewall Scotland).
3. Guidance for line managers underpinning the HR policy
4. Guidance for members of staff who have a child who is transitioning or who identifies as non-binary. The intention is for this to be co-produced by “Mermaid”, who specialise in advice to parents and families on trans/non-binary enquiries.
5. A communications and engagement plan to ensure knowledge of the policy and accompanying parental guidance is widespread throughout the organisation. The core aspect of this work will be developing a training offer for Scottish Government staff.
6. Frequently Asked Questions documents. These will be comprised of three brief and accessible documents: (1) for those who are transitioning within SG; (2) for colleagues; (3) for line managers on how best to support a trans/non-binary member of staff”.

Other views and concerns

https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202000083724 (includes two comprehensive reports the content of which gives cause for concern)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/public-bodies-pay-thousands-to-join-stonewalls-lgbt-diversity-champion-scheme-qhtm5b6c6

https://womansplaceuk.org/2020/06/27/i-am-suing-stonewall-stop-policing-free-speech/ (Alison Bailey’s story. Worth a careful read)

https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4071477-Mridul-Wadhwa-and-Rape-Crisis-Scotland (woman talk about the gender issue)

https://www.holyrood.com/comment/view,dani-garavelli-gender-equality-needed-among-political-advisers_12725.htm

https://gids.nhs.uk/ (gender confusion)

Jan 2014; The Office of Sarah and Gordon Brown

Investigation of declarations made in Brown’s parliamentary register of interests provided a picture of the until now private accounts of the company, the “Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown” is not a registered charity, it is a private limited company set up by Brown and his wife Sarah in 2010.

It allows for money raised through publications, speeches and public appearances to be invested into charitable work. Brownn is currently the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education. 

Brown declared to parliament that the total amount paid into the company since 2010 was £3,605,197.

According to a recent announcement on the company’s website £912,702 has so far been given to charity.

This leaves over £2 million to be accounted for when according to the latest available records the company had only £160,978 in cash at the bank. You can see an itemised spreadsheet compiled from Guido’s investigations here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1m06erj5LpOktUV3g95ePimcArREmJWR8VZhQxxKXmOo/edit?pli=1#gid=0

The company admits it budgets £550k-a-year for expenses to meet salaries, accommodation costs and staff expenses.

Brown can be paid as much as $100k for a single speech to investors at finance conferences in the US. In funnelling his speaker fees through the company he avoids tax on his income, even though it covers the £10k a week expenses for Gordon and Sarah to maintain the jet-set premier lifestyle they were accustomed to when in Downing Street, travelling first class around the world and staying in top five star hotels attended to by flunkies. Something Gordon would not be able to do on his backbench MP’s salary…http://order-order.com/tag/wheres-gordon/page/2/

Jan 2014; Sarah Brown’s (Gordons Wife) unpatriotic office

“The old tax havens have no place in this new world. We now call on all countries to apply international standards,” said Gordon Brown back in 2009 when he was Prime Minister.

This is only mentioned because Brown’s philanthropist wife Sarah had made an odd choice of home for her charity.

Sarah Brown is the founder and Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education – a charitable organisation whose members include heavyweights such as Accenture, Chevron and Tata.

The organisation admirably aims to bring ‘the business community together to accelerate progress in delivering quality education for all of the world’s children and youth.’

But the GBCfE is based in one of the most secretive tax jurisdictions in the world – Delaware, a state affectionately known by tax lawyers as “the Cayman Islands of North America”. The charity’s registered office is 1209 North Orange Street, a single story building which is the legal address of 285,000 businesses according to the New York Times.

The New York Times profile said that 1209 North Orange Street is home to “big corporations, small-time businesses, rogues, scoundrels and worse”.

What might have drawn Sarah Brown to such an infamous site in so controversial a state? And is there enough desk-space at 1209 to house more than a quarter of a million tenants? 

Besides, Sarah Brown should be more patriotic and back the British tax system, which treats recognised charities very generously indeed.  More here: https://www.ieyenews.com/sarah-browns-unpatriotic-office/

Q. Why, if it is a charity would it need to be registered in a tax haven ?

A. Perhaps it is not actually registered as a charity – at least not in the UK.

Many celebs register their “charities” in Delaware because their annual filings are kept confidential and there is little or no oversight. So if saving the planet requires travel via private jet, luxury accommodations, staff of well-paid flunkies and so on, no-one’s the wiser.

UK Charities risk having their operations and accounts scrutinised by the Charity Commissioner and Delaware is even dodgier than the Dutch Antilles or Panama for funny money.

This is an extract from an article written by Ray Morrell and published by Conter. I commend it as essential reading for Scots before the next Scottish General election

Before last weekend, the SNP and the Green Party’s outlook was unchallenged within the independence movement. Since 2016, the Greens have propped-up the SNP’s minority administration, and are an essentially list-based party leading some to view it as a ginger group on the dominant party.

Now the SNP have a competitor that challenges both their narrow vision of independence and their support in the lists. If the Alba Party doesn’t have any discernible policies (some should be forthcoming at a policy conference), they do have one big idea, that of the ‘supermajority’. As cynicism grows with politicians of all shades, it’s likely that a relative lack of policies won’t have much impact and the slogan can cut through. Salmond has also said that Alba wants to work with the SNP and other MSP’s to achieve independence. Alba is prepared to use alternative tactics should the Tories continue to stonewall the Scottish people. “International legal action, peaceful street demonstrations, popular will – these are all tactics but the tactics have to be founded on the legitimacy of the parliament,” Salmond said. “The parliament has to have… a supermajority that changes the balance, fundamentally, into Scotland’s favour.”

Salmond explained that Alba would aim to increase overall pro-independence representation: “At the last election there were nearly 1 million wasted SNP votes on the regional list.” This reflects a reality – the electoral system in Scotland is designed to balance list against constituency representation. However any ‘gaming’ of lists will also be open to accusations of manipulation by the British Government, who will deploy any excuse to ward-off another independence challenge.

Alba’s campaign will now put more scrutiny on the list vote, challenging the “SNP1+2” tactic, which is much better at protecting the SNP’s hegemonic position in the independence movement than it is at producing overall independence majorities. According to a recent Survation poll the SNP would elect no regional seats at all from a million votes on the list. In previous elections, it’s been the Greens who have benefited from vote-savvy independence supporters using their list votes wisely to elect a larger Indy cohort. Now the Greens have competition in this field, although it’s likely that the appeal of Alba’s call for a ‘supermajority’ will hit the SNP’s list vote more than the Greens, as more Indy voters become aware that an SNP list vote is likely to be a wasted one. Many Greens would also probably prove resistant to Alba’s more populist appeals.

Alba has announced its intention to build an “economically successful and socially-just independent country, through the pursuit of a social-democratic programme”. Late last year Salmond produced a joint paper with former SNP MSP Alex Neil, an Action Plan to tackle the Covid unemployment crisis in Scotland. Amongst its many ideas was a national housebuilding company to build an additional 10,000 energy efficient homes a year on top of existing targets, with funds made available to train apprentices to tackle the dire housing and youth employment crisis. The paper also proposed a Scottish national renewable corporation to invest in wave and tidal technologies with the development of a Scottish supply chain to ensure we face no more disasters like the recent BiFab closure.

With the election approaching the SNP led Scottish Government has announced a 4% increase for health workers, a housebuilding program and the doubling of child benefit. If Alba positions itself to the left of both the SNP and Labour on economic issues there is scope for further pressure here.

Full article here: https://www.conter.co.uk/blog/2021/3/31/alba-and-the-crisis-of-indy-movement-leadership

 

The Munchkins Need Feeding

Charities have become hungry monsters, needing ever more of our money to feed their own, not always charitable ambitions. Many registered charities claim that almost 90p in every pound donated is spent on ‘charitable activities’, but spend at least half their income on management, strategy development, campaigning and fundraising – not what most of us would consider ‘good causes’.

About 27,000 British charities are dependent on the Government for three quarters or more of their funding. Without Government cash, many would collapse. Nevertheless they spend much of their time and money lobbying the Government rather than doing what most people would consider ‘charitable work’.

 

Oct 2012; Gordon Brown’s secret army could defeat the Tory/LibDem Coalition welfare and education reforms

Long after the 2010 General Election election defeat came the realization that Gordon Brown really was a clever planner. In his last two years in office, he started preparing for a new kind of opposition. Labour might be turfed out of government, but it would carry on the fight through charities, quangos and think tanks. At one time Brown had a team in Downing Street devoted to appointments in public bodies, carefully building what would become a kind of government-in-exile. If the Tories tried anything radical – like welfare reform – then Labour’s new fifth columnists would strike.

The foregoing was evidenced when Iain Duncan Smith trailed a speech about reforming welfare and poverty and a now familiar welcoming committee rose  to greet him:

The Child Poverty Action Group declared that there are no jobs to be had, so why punish those on welfare?

Save the Children, said government cuts were a major threat to British children.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children warned that the “most vulnerable” children are “bearing the brunt” of Cameron’s cuts.

Faced with these quotes who would the average listener believe? A politician, or a charity worker. 

In 2008, Brown also changed the rules so charities could join political campaigns. In theory, they could support any party but as Brown knew, very few charities would use the new powers to demand smaller taxes. It was a masterstroke. The charities then sharpened their claws by hiring former Labour apparatchiks. Britain’s charities were nurturing a colourful, talented and efficient anti-Tory alliance.

Many of these charities were, “stuffed to the gunwales with Labour placemen” by Prime Minister Gordon Brown before he left office. Some used to work directly for Gordon Brown, while other third sector bosses worked in the last Labour government, or remain members of the party.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/09/04/uk-charity-politics-labour-links_n_5763986.html

Save the Children

In 2010 Justin Forsyth and Brendan Cox were appointed to the board of Save the Children Newly appointed (Chief Executive Forsyth), was the former Director of Strategic Communications for Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Before that he was a Special Advisor on environmental and international developments for former Prime Minister Tony Blair. His ex Labour government colleague, Brendan Cox (appointed Director of Policy) was previously a special advisor in Gordon Brown's  cabinet team.

In 2012, Save The Children, was an organisation in trouble, lacking funds it was forced to conduct its first ever public fund-raising campaign in Britain. Tory MPs claimed its charity work was politically motivated.

Forsyth left Save the Children to take up the post of Deputy Executive Director at Unicef.

He was forced to resign from his post following media revelations about his own past workplace behaviour and mishandling of a former subordinate’s sexual misconduct.

It was revealed that when Chief Executive of Save the Children he faced three complaints of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff . The complaints included sending inappropriate texts and commenting on what young female staff were wearing.  He was also accused of mishandling allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against his close ally and subordinate at Save the Children, Director of Policy, Brendan Cox, in 2015. 

Save the Children said the complaints against Cox were investigated in accordance with its procedures and confirmed that Cox was suspended and a disciplinary process began but he resigned before it was completed.

Cox has since quit the two charities he set up in memory of his late wife Labour MP Jo Cox. More here:

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2018/02/22/former-save-children-staffers-speak-out-abusive-culture-under-justin-forsyth

 

Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod)

The Labour Government spin-doctor Damian McBride resigned his position after it emerged on a political blog that he and another prominent Labour Party supporter, blogger Derek Draper, had exchanged emails discussing the possibility of disseminating rumours McBride had fabricated about the private lives of some Conservative Party politicians and their spouses.

Cafod appointed McBride as their Head of Media. He worked there until June 2014. He returned to the Labour Party as Head of Political Strategy for the Shadow Foreign Secretary, The Rt. Hon Emily Thornberry MP.

 

Trussell Trust

The high profile Trust runs a national network of food banks. Chris Mould joined the Trust in 2003 and was later appointed Chairman. He left in January 2018 to concentrate on his work with the Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion which operates in The Balkans as well as in Bulgaria.

But there is more to the Trussell Trust and Mould than meets the eye. Full story here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/well-trousered-philanthropists-tory-party-chums-and-food-parcels-for-poor/

 

Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Aveco)

Head of the charity bosses’ trade body, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, Sir Stephen Bubb was a Labour Party member of Lambeth Borough Council for Clapham Town ward from 1982.  He was chairman when the Labour group protested against rate capping by refusing to set a rate and was among 32 Lambeth councillors who were surcharged for causing the council a financial loss by wilful misconduct. The action disqualified him from being a councillor for five years from the end of March 1986. 

He came under scrutiny in August 2013 after it was reported that his 60th birthday bash in the House of Commons had been partly financed by his own charity, ACEVO. And this despite the charity paying him a salary in excess of £100,000, he still felt it was acceptable for the charity to cover some of the costs, stating “seemed just right to celebrate my 60th with a tea party in the House of Lords on Monday!”

 

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) 

Peter Watt Director of the NSPCC, was previously Labour’s General Secretary. He resigned following the revelation that a property developer had made donations to the Party through third parties.  David Abrahams, gave almost £600,000 to the Party over four years. Watt admitted to officers of Labour’s National Executive Committee that he had known about the arrangement. Under the law, those making donations on behalf of others must give details of who is providing the money.

Read: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7113255.stm

 

Royal Society of the Arts ( RSA)

Between 1998 and 2003, Matthew Taylor was the Director of the left of centre think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, In 2003 Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed him head of the Number 10 Policy Unit and gave him the task of drawing up the Labour Party’s manifesto for the May 2005 General Election.

Following the re-election of the Labour government he became Chief Adviser on Strategy to the Prime Minister and was involved in several initiatives engaging the public with the political process. He also had a key role in developing the Labour Party’s “Big Conversation” discussion forums.

In 2006 he was appointed Chief Executive of the charity, the RSA, an enlightenment, apolitical organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to social challenges.

 

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)

Geoff  Mulgan was a special adviser to Gordon Brown from 1990 to 1992 when he was shadow Trade and Industry secretary. Mulgan described himself as ‘the Clinton campaign’s link to Labour, which involved lots of telephone calls with the Americans’. Mulgan was part of a 1995 ‘secret committee’ led by Peter Mandelson ‘to examine policy changes, that were central to the modernisation of the Labour Party. The group, set up just before Blair flew to meet Rupert Murdoch in 1995,  was officially described as outside experts ‘helping to write sections of speeches and background papers’ for the Labour leader. But some senior MPs noticed that the committee was actually an exclusive policy-making forum 

Mulgan discharged a number of key roles in the Labour Government between 1997 and 2004 including director of the Government’s Strategy Unit and head of policy in the Prime Minister Tony Blairs’s office. 

NESTA was conceived in part thanks to the vision of Oscar-winning director David Puttnam, who recognised the UK’s failure to capitalise on its globally recognised talent for innovation and invention. The country was, in short, bad at turning inventions into marketable applications.

In an effort to reverse this, the UK’s first ever publicly supported national endowment was created with £250 million of National Lottery funding (later supplemented, in 2006, with a further £75 million of Lottery funding drawn down over five years). The idea was that a secure income source would enable greater risks to be taken with UK-based innovations, which could be backed over the long term without being at the behest of government funding cycles and shifts in the political wind.

In 2010, Mulgan was appointed Chief Executive of Nesta the body responsible for distributing the Labour Government’s £250 million endowment for science and technology.

Under his leadership it became an independent charity in April 2012 and its focus shifted towards innovation for public benefit as it concentrated its policies on tackling social problems in the public and voluntary sectors.

He was awarded a knighthood in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his work to advance social innovation. 

 

International Rescue 

International Rescue is based in New York and is financially supported by the UK, US and other governments and  billionaire, & political manipulator, George Soros.

David Milliband, from 2010 the President and Chief Executive of  “International Rescue” based in New York, cost the charity £1million in his first year (taking into account his £300,000 salary, relocation fees and other costs, together with the costs of importing his sidekicks, Ravi Gurumurthy and Ollie Money, (his former political strategist and PR man).

Miliband has never come cheap: in one year as the MP for South Shields in South Tyneside, he grossed £288,000 in outside earnings on top of his parliamentary salary of £65,000.

2018: International Rescue fronted by David Miliband hushed up 37 sex abuse, fraud and bribery allegations. The Department for International Development cut off funding “based on claims of “fraud, bribery and sexual misconduct” among groups awarded funds. A total of £5.4million of taxpayer cash was eventually released. Investigations are ongoing.

Tony Blair expanded his empire to include oil-rich South Sudan. His charity, now has offices in presidential departments across five African countries. His reach in Africa stretches into Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Liberia, Guinea and now the world’s newest country.

David Brown, who worked for five years in the Prime Minister’s strategy unit under Blair heads up AGI’s South Sudan operation.

Oxfam

Oxfam was reported to the Charity Commission by the Tory Party in 2014, for publishing a faux film poster, headed “Lifting the lid on austerity, Britain reveals a perfect storm and it’s forcing more and more people into poverty.” Showing a broiling sea under clouds titled: The Perfect Storm. Added were the words ‘starring zero hours contracts, high prices, benefit cuts, unemployment, childcare costs’. And a post on Twitter which invited readers to hear how Oxfam “investigated the reasons why so many people were turning to food banks in Britain 2014.” 

Worthy of consideration is that the late Jo Cox, who was head of policy at Oxfam, was previously an advisor to Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah and also worked for Baroness Kinnock, whose husband Neil was leader of the Labour party between 1983 and 1992.

It is also worth noting that David Pitt-Watson, Oxfam’s honorary treasurer, was also a special advisor (SPAD) for over 20 years and was Assistant General Secretary of the Labour Party from 1997 to 1999.

This is how the Oxfam scandal unfolded.

Oxfam was accused of covering up an investigation into the hiring of sex workers for orgies by staff working in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, which killed thousands. After the investigation the charity allowed three men, including the country director, Roland van Hauwermeiren, to resign, and sacked four for gross misconduct, according to an internal 2011 report. The UK government International Development Secretary threatened to cut off all funding to Oxfam unless the charity handed over all information on its workers’ use of sex workers in Haiti. Meanwhile, Oxfam was hit with allegations that employees used sex workers in Chad in 2006, when Van Hauwermeiren was running operations there. The Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Oxfam amid concerns it might not have “fully and frankly disclosed” all details about the Haiti allegations. Oxfam’s deputy chief executive, Penny Lawrence, resigned saying she was “desperately sorry”, as Haiti demanded the prosecutions of aid workers identified as using sex workers. More here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/oxfam-gb-released-from-supervision-by-watchdog-after-haiti-scandal-reforms

 

Apr 2021: More than 50 Congolese women have alleged that they have been sexually abused or exploited by aid workers from some of the world’s top humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam. The investigation, which took almost a year to complete, will send shockwaves through the humanitarian sector.

The allegations come two years after charities pledged to clean up their act when it was revealed that Oxfam had covered up an investigation into the hiring of prostitutes, some allegedly under age, by staff working in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Other organisations, including Save the Children and Plan International, were also embroiled in the scandal and reported cases of sexual harassment by staff members. Full report here:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/international-aid-workers-accused-sexual-abuse-congos-two-year/

Comment: The UK Charity sector is largely given over to Left-wing Labour Party political polemicist appointee’s with little, if any experience in Charity work.

Massive amounts of financial donations are inappropriately used and tens of thousands of poor and under privileged people are abused and women and young girls blackmailed into providing sexual services for highly paid charity employees. And yet it goes on and on and no one seems to give a toss!!!!

The latest scandal. Only reported. today

Apr 2021: More than 50 Congolese women have alleged that they have been sexually abused or exploited by aid workers from some of the world’s top humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam. The investigation, which took almost a year to complete, will send shockwaves through the humanitarian sector.

The allegations come two years after charities pledged to clean up their act when it was revealed that Oxfam had covered up an investigation into the hiring of prostitutes, some allegedly under age, by staff working in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Other organisations, including Save the Children and Plan International, were also embroiled in the scandal and reported cases of sexual harassment by staff members.

 

Opening narrative

In part one I outlined events from the introduction of the two crowns through to the period up to the imposition on Scots, by the English, of the 1707 Treaty of Union.

In the early part of the century, the English first tried to woo Scotland into entering an arrangement which would lead to an agreement to join the kingdoms in a union. But Scots who had endured many English invasions rejected all of the overtures.

The velvet glove approach being rejected England reverted to type and set about destroying the Scottish economy through the imposition of shipping blockades, the application of hefty import taxes on Scottish goods, destruction of Scottish commercial ventures in the Americas and Europe.

It was to be submission to English rule or destruction a process that took nearly 20 years to complete, but famine, English naval and land army blockades coupled with military and financial coercion of European countries into avoiding trade with Scotland brought hardship and death on Scots.

The final and most deplorable betrayal of Scotland was by its own King who approved the destruction of the Darien community in the Panama Isthmus aided greatly by the equally treacherous Spanish. This proved to be the straw that broke the camels back and brought the Scots to the negotiating table.

The English, well chuffed with their conquest declined to negotiate but tabled take it or leave it conditions, the signing of which would bind Scotland to England in a treaty of union. Scots may have been on their knees but they were unbowed and told the English to get stuffed. But Scots were betrayed yet again, this time by an unelected cabal of Scottish lords who sold their country out on the promise of the settlement of their personal debts.

In part two I am highlighting events of significance in the early years after the signing of the Acts of Union. Would the English honour their vows?? Dream on ! 

1707 Acts of Union – The Early years

Queen Anne was succeeded by her second cousin Sophia in 1714, then Sophia’s son, George I, Elector of Hanover. German “Geordie”, did not speak English and was not actively involved in the government of his new United Kingdom preferring to exercise physical control over his German kingdoms.

This resulted in a shift of power away from the monarch to his council of ministers, the head of which was Sir Robert Walpole who promoted himself as the first-ever Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Scotland’s economy declined markedly as a direct result of the union which brought about a major change in the marketing of goods including the removal of tariffs on goods moving between the countries.

Scottish industries such as linen manufacturing suffered badly because they were no longer shielded from English competition.

The Westminster government’s decision to equalize taxation across the United Kingdom increased taxes in Scotland fivefold and was a hammer blow to Scots who had always enjoyed much lower rates of taxation.

The increased taxation impacted adversely on key Scottish industries. The key Scottish fishing industry was subjected to debilitating new salt taxes.

But the English needed the money to pay for their expansionist policies and wars against France, Spain and other European nations, many of whom had been allied to Scotland for centuries.

Westminster also introduced customs and excise control which brought with it the employment of a huge number of customs and excise officers who enforced many new bureaucratic procedures. The result was a further marked increase in poverty as finance was taken away from Scotland to feed the gluttony of the English parliament at Westminster.

Adding insult to injury the Westminster government blatantly abused the terms of the Acts of Union in reneging on a written commitment to make payment of  a substantial manufacturing support payment to Scotland for seven years from 1707.

Westminster reluctantly agreed to make the payment, after nearly 20 years of political standoff. But only then when it was balanced against a removal of a number of tax exemptions. This type of behaviour added insult to injury and would be well-practiced in the years that followed.

In 1713 the Westminster Tory government decided, without consultation to flex it’s authority over the Scots and extend the English malt tax to Scotland provoking major public protests and noncompliance forcing the government to withdraw the tax.

The event was viewed as the culmination of many acts against the wellbeing of Scots and came very close to destroying already frosty relationships between Scotland and England. Indeed inter country relationships became so strained that a Scottish-led motion to commence proceedings to dissolve the Union came extremely close to passing in the House of Lords, failing by just four votes.

The Earl of Mar rebelled against the Westminster Abuse of Power 

Although a Jacobite and against his better judgement he supported the signing of the Acts of Union and pledged his allegiance to German Geordie, but took umbrage when, on arrival in England, the king publicly snubbed him when he welcomed him to the United Kingdom on behalf of the Scottish nation.

The then “Third Secretary for Great Britain” responded to the insult to Scotland and proposed a resolution to have the Acts of Union repealed. When this failed he resigned and returned to Scotland where he continued to agitate for the repeal of the Union.

On 1 September 1715, he raised a standard for “King James VIII” at Braemar and gathered an army of around 10,000 men which gained some successes in the North and East of Scotland. But he made three strategic errors.

1. James, who was resident in France had not been advised about the planned uprising.
2. He failed to coordinate his challenge with similar uprisings occurring in England
3. He was, as events proved, a poor tactician. At the Battle of Sheriffmuir, North of Dunblane on 13 November 1715, a large part of his army advancing from Perth met a much smaller government force under John Campbell, the 2nd Duke of Argyll. The Jacobite’s won the ensuing short battle but Mar failed to march on Glasgow and Edinburgh, a move that would have consolidated his position. Instead, he returned to Perth to regroup and lost the initiative.

Meantime James Stuart was only able to reach Scotland from France on 22 December, when he landed at Peterhead: he was too late, the uprising was all but over. The Jacobite’s abandoned Perth on 31 January 1716, and on 4 February James Stuart and John Erskine, 23rd Earl of Mar, sailed out of Montrose, bound for France. Neither would ever return.

The Westminster government got lucky when it weathered the Jacobite uprising of 1715. A crisis generated by the avarice, greed and a flawed mindset of the victor basking in the glory of conquest. Its arrogant post-union behaviour towards Scotland inflicted extreme hardship on Scots’ through the imposition of hugely unfair taxes and many other oppressive acts.

24 Mar 2021: Rape Crisis Scotland in Crisis

Women are facing delays of more than a year in getting support at some rape crisis centres and one hub has had to close its waiting list. Ten of 16 regional services reported waiting times getting longer over the past 12 months, according to information released by the Scottish Government. Victims are waiting too long for help and Edinburgh’s centre has stopped offering new appointments. Rape Crisis Scotland slammed the “agonising waits” women face, and called for all parties to commit to proper funding for services in their manifestos ahead of the Holyrood election in May.

The group’s chief executive Sandy Brindley said: “Rape crisis services should be available at the point of need but far too many survivors of sexual violence face agonising waits for support due to inadequate funding. We are asking all political parties going into the election to commit to sustainable funding for essential services like ours. Access to support when you need it should be the very least we can offer to anyone who has been raped or sexually abused.”

Central Scotland MSP Ms Lennon, whose parliamentary question uncovered the figures, added: “It beggars belief that Nicola Sturgeon’s own constituents in Glasgow are having to wait up to 12 months and in Edinburgh the year-long waiting list is currently closed. Rape survivors deserve better than these shocking delays. The SNP has had 14 years to deliver sustainable funding for rape crisis centres and has failed. We need bold action to fix this.”

Comment: The financial support to Rape Crisis Scotland and its sister organisations is hopelessly inadequate. Many “very real” incidents of rape and sexual assault on women in Scotland are not being investigated which galls many who regarded the unwarranted Alex Salmond debacle a travesty. (The Sun)

The blatant abuse of power by the SNP Government

Alex Salmond retired from the Scottish political scene in 2014 and was enjoying a new career as a political commentator with his own very succesful weekly show when, early in 2018, he was notified by an ex-colleague that he was under investigation by the Civil Service who were following up historical (2013) complaints against him from two former work associates. The sequence of events from that time until very recently caused great distress for Alex, his family and friends.

Alex was hounded from pillar to post, day-after-day, week-after-week, month-after-month, year-after-year, by “establishment” figures including those from the civil service, former colleagues, (many of whom owed their political careers to Alex) solicitors, law officers, the police, unscrupulous journalists, government funded Rape Crisis organisations, whose persistent warped press announcements on events as they unravelled caused the complainers great distress.

The attacks on his integrity and behaviour were aired in the highest court of the land and anyone who wished to be heard was given the opportunity to state their case against him to a judge and jury (primarily female). Every charge levelled against Alex was dismissed, a number scathingly commented upon by the judge as being far fetched and short on truth.

The court case and high profile inquiry’s all fully vindicated Alex and should have seen an end to the snide comments and the political and personal smears and innuendo’s but they persist, primarily fanned by persons whom Alex counted as friends.

Cost estimates to the taxpayer attributed to the vindictive and shambolic government pursuit of Alex Salmond vary between £5-£7m. Money which would have been better spent by Rape Crisis Scotland clearing up a massive backlog of genuine sexual assaults on women in Scotland

02 Mar 2018: Sex scandals in Scottish parliament under Nicola Sturgeon’s watch

Of significance is Alex Salmond’s retiral from Scottish politics in 2014.

Events recorded in this part of the article refer to the period when the Scottish Government was led by Nicola Sturgeon.

This is her and her party’s disgraceful legacy and reveals the cynicism behind the pursuit of Alex Salmond.

It was to divert attention away from the on-going harassment of women in Holyrood.

The publication date, early March 2018, is also very relevant. This was a Scottish Government survey conducted right at the start of the efforts to destroy the reputation of Alex Salmond. The report was a political bombshell and yet it does not feature in any of the copious senior management text correspondence. Nicola Sturgeon maintains she knew nothing about anything which is impossible to believe since she read and commented on the document.

The October 2017, “Me2” campaign and the Westminster sex scandal arising from it prompted the completion of a confidential survey of people employed at Holyrood, including MSPs, their staff, parliamentary workers, and news reporters. Over 1000 individuals responded and the results were shocking.

The report sent to Nicola Sturgeon at the beginning of March 2018 listed more than 200 allegations of harassment, most dating from 2016. Of the 137 women who said they had been sexually harassed, 67 reported that the perpetrator was an MSP. The report was quickly buried and only Alex Salmond was put through the ringer. Why?

The findings showed that Holyrood perpetrators were nearly always male, regardless of the gender of the victim and in the majority of cases, the alleged perpetrator was in a position of authority. Reports included 5 instances where the perpetrator had attempted to pinch or grope the victim’s bottom, and 10 where they had tried to kiss their victim. There was even 1 attempt to grope the breast of a woman, and another attempt to grab at a victim’s crotch.

The report also indicated that victims and their perpetrators were “most likely” to come from the same group of people. Nine of the 13 MSPs who had reported sexual harassment said their abuser had been another MSP. Some 40 percent of respondents said they had been targeted by a parliamentary worker, and a further 20 percent by a member of MSPs’ staff. The total percentage exceeds 100 percent, as some respondents reported more than one case of harassment.

A total of 29 percent of respondents – which is approximately 300 people – said they had witnessed sexual harassment. One-in-five women said they had received sexist comments, 16 percent reported unwanted looks or leers, and another nine percent reported unwanted physical contact.

Of concern was that 11 people who had reported harassment said their cases were not taken seriously or acted on by their managers, while four said their complaints had caused problems for them at work. Most had taken no action at all, and a quarter of respondents said they didn’t feel confident that they knew how to report such incidents. (Sputnik)

The Scottish National party (SNP) is the only party in Scotland that cannot provide evidence of overhauling its sexual harassment policy following the #MeToo revelations of November 2017. This after a confidential survey conducted on 01 March 2018 found that one in 10 staff had experienced sexual harassment, 45% of whom said that the perpetrator was an MSP.

Afternote: All political parties, apart from the SNP, introduced revised procedures after 2017. Asked for comment the SNP said it “continually looks to improve [its] policies and processes” and plans to introduce in time, trained sexual harassment advisers. The SNP is the only party which does not display a code of conduct and relevant harassment policy on its website, or offer an easily searchable contact phone numbers or email to make a complaint. Indeed the SNP code of conduct makes no mention of sexual harassment specifically. (The Guardian)

Professor Adam Tomkins (Later Tory MSP)

Tomkins, with little known family links to very senior officers in the Foreign Affairs branch of the US State Department, is an intellectual and political genius, (but perhaps only in his own mind). He is a leading constitutional scholar and latter day hard-line republican who relocated to Scotland from England in 2003, and took up employment with Glasgow University as a lecturer in constitutional law. The appointment to a prestigious post of a republican minded professor created disquiet in the minds of some and raised the question. Is this guy for real or is he a British Secret Service plant? His behaviour since confirms the latter assertion.

Getting to know you

But Tomkins new employment was gifted to him by design and it provided him with a safe passage right into the heart of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) enabling his influence on policy, report rumours, weaknesses and anyinternal strife.

2004: The Calton Hill Independence Rally

The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) arranged a rally for independence at Calton Hill in October 2004 at which the “Declaration of Calton Hill” setting out a vision of an inclusive and outward-looking Scottish republic was presented. The case advanced was for a Scottish socialist republic without a monarchy or nuclear weapons, with a currency independent of England, a much-reduced level of military spending and a relationship with the European Union safeguarding Scotland’s independence.

Addressing a cheering crowd, Law Professor, Adam Tompkins of Glasgow University, reminded them of the Queen’s previous reluctance to pay tax despite her massive income. He said that the queen had special powers or `prerogatives`, which included being able to appoint anyone she liked as Prime Minister. He continued saying “Tony Blair used these special powers to attack Iraq and there would have been no Iraq war without the support of the crown. In a democracy it is the people who are sovereign and not the crown. I strongly urge the abolition of the monarchy. If you want democracy down with the crown!” (paraphrased a wee bit)

2003: The rise and fall of Solidarity and the Scottish Socialist Party

Left wing activists Tommy Sheridan and Colin Fox set aside their political differences and formed the Scottish Socialist Party. Its arrival on the scene was immediate and the Party made significant in-roads into Scottish politics. This gave cause for concern in Westminster and triggered long-established correcting measures the implementation of which was charged to the British Secret Services.

Not long after his arrival in Scotland Tomkins established friendships with Colin Fox and other officers of the fast expanding Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and in the 2003 Holyrood election, the SSP increased their MSP representation from one to six and a number of independent MSP’s also entered the new “rainbow parliament”.

In the first year of the new parliament, the SSP fought, without success for policies such as free school meals and an end to prescription charges (both introduced in a later parliament by SNP) and campaigned against Home Office dawn raids to remove failed asylum seekers.

But the outward show of unity within the SSP was deceiving all was not well. The Unionist supporting press started to undermine the Party through the publication of rumours of leadership rivalries and misuse of funds which had placed the Party in debt. Tommy Sheridan stood down as leader in 2004. Colin Fox took over and in Parliament under his leadership, the SSP continued to pursue socialist policies, frequently disrupting parliamentary business by way of volatile protest.

Rupert Murdoch Enters the Fray

A few months after the shake up of the SSP, Rupert Murdoch’s, “News of the World” destroyed Sheridan’s political career exposing his hedonistic lifestyle using information gained from his colleagues, other secret intelligence gathering and illegal phone tapping of Sheridan and his close friends and political and legal advisors.

The editor of the News of the World in Scotland was Bob Bird, then the husband of a recently appointed BBC news-reader Jackie Bird who had returned to Scotland from London.

Sheridan fought back alleging he had been defamed and took legal action against the News of the World winning £200,000 for defamation and costs. A remarkable victory given that eleven of his former SSP officers, including Fox, gave evidence against him. A disillusioned Sheridan left the Party in 2006 and set up a new left-wing party, “Solidarity.”

The MI5 sting hastened the demise of the SSP and Solidarity who never recovered from the catastrophe and folded not long after.

With friends like his who needs enemies

The News of the World refused to give up its attacks on Sheridan and tit for tat revelations rumbled on between 2004 – 2010.

Events came to a head in 2010 with “Operation Rubicon” an inquiry into alleged criminal behaviour within the News of the World in London and Scotland. Strathclyde Police triggered a separate investigation which ran in parallel with the London inquiry.

The fall out from Operation Rubicon was devastating for the News of the World which was shut down by Rupert Murdoch as a result of being found guilty of illegal phone tapping, harassment, fraud and other charges.

The defamation case against Tommy Sheridan was reopened in response to allegations from ex-colleagues of Tommy that he had lied in court.

Tommy was jailed for perjury after a 12-week trial at Glasgow’s High Court and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Sheridan’s allegations against the News Of the World vindicated

Tommy Sheridan’s victory over Murdoch and the News of the World was confirmed when he was allowed to keep the £200,000 libel damage settlement.

Appeal court judges ruled that a civil jury were “judges of fact” and they were “entitled to believe parts of what a witness said, and to disbelieve other parts”. The jury clearly believed Tommy Sheridan had been wronged and his erstwhile colleagues were settling old scores. The judges also felt they “should not ignore” Sheridan’s proved allegations of phone-hacking by Murdoch’s empire and its “disregard for proper journalistic conduct” and “wilful contempt” of the criminal process also fed into their decision.

Many years later despite being in the forefront of campaigning for independence he is still trying to live down allegations of infidelity in his private life that if true occurred 18 years ago. His wife stood by him throughout the ordeal and their marriage is a strong as it was at the outset. I believe he deserves another chance at the highest level of politics. He would be an asset to Alba on the campaign trail

Dismantling Scotland’s judicial system by stealth

The 1707 Act of Union guaranteed the independence of the judiciary and Scottish law in perpetuity. But Westminster Unionist politicians and the House of Lords have rendered Scottish law impotent through the illegal imposition of the laws of “Greater England” on Scots for their own nefarious purposes. The insidious determination of the unionists to wipe out Scottish Law was further advanced in 1999 when the “Crown Office of Scotland” which had been independent from political interference for near 500 years was transferred lock, stock, and barrel to the control of the then Unionist supporting Scottish government. From that time the Scottish Judiciary has been subject to continuous pressure to remove from statute, trial by jury, not proven and other laws.

Removal of the judiciary system free from political control

Recent events in Holyrood have exposed the folly of transferring the administration of the laws of Scotland to the political control of the Scottish Government. The decision must be reversed without delay re-establishing the independence of the judiciary from political interference.

William Gordon Chalmers – the last truly independent Procurator Fiscal of Scotland

Aberdonian William Gordon Chalmers was the permanent head of the procurator-fiscal service from 1974 to 1984 and zealously guarded the power of the Scots over their fiscal service.

He was a man of traditional values but was endowed with great vision to build a service to meet the challenges of the future and cope with an increase in serious crime at a time of economic stringency.

He was proud of his Aberdeen roots, having attended both Robert Gordon’s College and Aberdeen University. And served as an officer with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, in the Second World War in which he was awarded the Military Cross.

After hostilities ceased he became a solicitor and practiced in Aberdeen before joining the procurator-fiscal service as a depute-fiscal in Dunfermline in 1950.

During this period he gained a reputation as a fiscal who was prepared to take on a difficult case and work on it to secure the best possible result.

Although he enjoyed good relations with the police and politicians, he was always careful to ensure his and the fiscal’s independence in the process of investigating and prosecuting crime.

In 1959 he was promoted to Senior Depute Fiscal at Edinburgh then, in 1963, entered the Crown Office as an assistant to the Crown agent before becoming Deputy Crown Agent in 1967 and Crown Agent and Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer in 1974.

In the 1960s the fiscal service was relatively small comprising 80 lawyers throughout Scotland and significant level of backlogged cases was an accepted norm. But not for William Chalmers.

Within a year of taking office he introduced the National Prosecution Service which would deal with sheriff and prepared high court cases while retaining responsibility for the prosecution of cases from government departments and local authorities.

In those early years he identified a distinct lack of alternatives to prosecution and introduced fiscal fines and fixed penalties for less serious offences. He went further and developed a system of warnings to alleged offenders and encouraged the introduction of schemes for certain offenders to be directed to social work and where applicable to make the prompt compensation for their crimes. The latter initiative was appreciated by victims who often became forgotten in the criminal process. During his tenure, the fiscal service went from strength to strength despite in latter years having to cope with a Westminster government intent on reducing public spending.

Retention of a Fiscal Service independent of Government

In his tenure he ensured the “Crown Office” would operate separate from the Scottish Office and achieved this by insisting on being directly funded by the UK treasury.

He was greatly saddened in his retirement, by changes in the fiscal service following devolution, in 1999 which he perceived weakened its independence.

He was was known to many people who had served with him as the “Real Crown Agent” and a fitting memorial to him would be for the “Fiscal Service” to recover its independence in a devolved Scotland.

William Gordon Chalmers, Crown Agent, born 4 June 1922, died 28 May 2003 (The Scotsman-Obituaries)