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Political will

European countries do not have the political will, or the ability to take on the task of keeping their trading sea routes free from attack and the Red Sea bottleneck will become a stranglehold on the World’s shipping denying unrestricted access to the Suez Canal and Europe. It will be back to the “round the cape” journey for shipping and the difficulties arising from that are well known and unfeasible.

In consequence there will be a major shake up in the logistics of World trade and of particular relevance is the strategic location of Scotland which is best placed and able to provide deep water shipping facilities for containers. It is the natural gateway to the Atlantic and Europe.

The Impact of Global warming on World Trade

As the seas around Russia are released from the grip of the Arctic ice studies are projecting: “remarkable shifts in trade flows between Asia and Europe, diversion of trade within Europe, heavy shipping traffic in the Arctic and a substantial drop in Suez traffic.

Russia has not been slow to recognise the new opening for trade and is building nuclear powered ice-breaker ships well capable of keeping sea channels open to commercial traffic.

Cost savings achieved using a new “Northern Channel” are eye wateringly high and joint development, with Russia or China of a new trans container facility, at the southern end of the channel, in Orkney would bring significant benefits to participating countries.

Presently the channel is freely navigable in the summer and autumn months, ice breaker support is required over the winter period but a report by the Copenhagen Business School found that large-scale trans-Arctic shipping will soon become economically viable.

Click to access Arctic%20Shipping%20-%20Commercial%20Opportunities%20and%20Challenges.pdf

6 Sep 2017: The Northern Sea Route is completely ice-free and shipping thrives

As Russian Arctic ice shrinks to this year’s lowest, a big number of ships are moving in. In waters normally covered by thick ice, ships are today sailing easily and without escorts.

Ice data from Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute show that the whole Northern Sea Route now is ice-free.

Even in the waters between the Kara Sea and the Bering Strait, normally a highly complex and ice-covered area, shipping appears smooth and easy.

The ice edge in the East Siberian Sea is now retreating to north of the 75th parallel and practically the whole Laptev Sea is ice-free.

There is only some scattered ice around the Vilkitsky Strait, the area separating the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea.

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/2017/09/northern-sea-route-completely-ice-free-and-shipping-thrives

The Northern Sea Route – The Russian Perspective

Due to global warming, it will become viable to deliver goods from Europe to the Pacific throughout the Arctic as ice floes melt.

There is reason to believe that China would be interested in participating in the development of the NSR, as the waterway will save time and can help China find a way out of the Strait of Malacca dilemma that has long plagued importers and exporters.

Efforts to open up the NSR would help pump fresh investment into the country and would benefit the development of Russia’s Far East.

The NSR has the potential to become a significant new area for cooperation between China and Russia. It is expected that the Belt and Road initiative will create an opportunity for Russia’s NSR ambitions to turn into reality.

https://sputniknews.com/infographics/201709051057097124-northern-sea-route-suez-canal-alternative/

The Northern Sea Route – The Chinese Perspective

The Northern Sea Route, one of three Arctic shipping routes that connect East Asia and Europe along the Russian coastline, is now subject to more attention than ever before. The Northern Sea Route Administration notes that in 2016 traffic volume on the Northern Sea Route reached 7,265,700 tonnes – an increase of 35 percent in comparison with 2015.

As the world’s third largest ship-owner, China has a strong interest in Arctic shipping, especially in the Northern Sea Route. That was reflected in China’s decision to include the Arctic in its Belt and Road Initiative.

On June 20, 2017, China’s National Development and Reform Commission and State Oceanic Administration published the “Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative” (the Vision). The Vision officially incorporates the Arctic into China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Moreover, before attending the G20 Summit in Hamburg, President Xi Jinping visited Russia and signed the “China-Russia Joint Declaration on Further Strengthening Comprehensive, Strategic and Cooperative Partnership” (Joint Declaration) on July 4, 2017.

Described as the Ice Silk Road, the development of the Northern Sea Route is a key area of cooperation between China and Russia.

The Ice Silk Road can be seen as a further step in shaping China’s Arctic policy. The three main pillars of this policy are: respect, cooperation, and sustainability.

Moreover, the BRI now officially extends to the Arctic, which could help achieve the objectives of China’s Arctic policy. It is now very clear that China is keen to play a role as a user of the Northern Sea Route.

As elaborated in the Vision:

China is willing to work with all parties in conducting scientific surveys of navigational routes, setting up land-based monitoring stations, carrying out research on climatic and environmental changes in the Arctic, as well as providing navigational forecasting services.

China supports efforts by countries bordering the Arctic in improving marine transportation conditions, and encourages Chinese enterprises to take part in the commercial use of the Arctic route.

So why is China keen to use the Northern Sea Route?

It is commonly known that the Northern Sea Route could shorten the distance of transportation between China and European ports.

China also sees the opportunity of resources development in the Russian Arctic. But perhaps more importantly, China believes that the Northern Sea Route is strategically important for its energy security.

China is facing the dilemma that energy from Africa and the Persian Gulf passes through waters dominated by strategic competitors (the United States and India),   threatened by piracy, or bottle-necked at the Strait of Malacca. It would therefore be helpful to have an alternative shipping route along a politically stable area.

https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/china-russia-trouble-on-the-arctic-silk-road/

Container Transhipment and Container Terminal Capacity in Scotland

Scapa Flow in Orkney provides the best available deep water port in Europe with the potential to handle any amount of major transhipment of today’s mega-size container ships.

The container port market in Northern Europe is expected to continue its upward trend, demand more than doubled over the 2001-2015 and is expected to double again between 2015-2030.

With container traffic increasing faster than output, transshipment growth will be even more rapid as carriers, due to ship upsizing, reduce the number of direct port calls and move towards hub and bespoke services.

For the fast growing Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, New Zealand, other Asian markets and existing European and North American Authorities, the efficiencies and economies will be matched by the opportunity to achieve through use of the Orkney facility, the secure gateways required.

Scotland will benefit directly from economic spin-off, and a major stimulus to the development of sea and water-borne alternatives.

Full details here:

2006: http://sutranet.plan.aau.dk/WP4/nov2006/SCAPA/FLOW/CONTAINER/TERMINAL/COASTLINK/PERTH/26/SEPT/2006.pdf

2011: https://www.computescotland.com/scapa-flow-crossroads-for-container-terminal-4184.php

2014: http://container-mag.com/2014/05/02/the-orkney-floating-container-terminal-alternative/

2004: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2004/09/19885/42553

2004: http://www.napier.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/impact-case-studies/the-greenest-port

Nov 2010: Jack Straw Labour MP for Blackburn Alerts the UK to Sexual abuse of young white girls by Pakistani men

A gang of men were convicted of systematically grooming and sexually abusing teenage girls in Derbyshire. Many of the victims were given alcohol or drugs before being forced to have sex in cars, rented houses or hotels across the Midlands. One girl described a sexual assault involving at least eight men. The nine men were convicted during three separate trials at Leicester Crown Court.

Straw said increasing numbers of Pakistani Muslim men view white girls as “easy meat” for sex abuse and highlighted it was endemic in Blackburn and in many other areas with significant Muslim populations across England.

Aug 2014: Pakistani Grooming gangs reportedly raped near a million underage non-Muslim girls and the CPS failed their pleas for justice

Jack Straw’s warning was ignored by the DPP and the CPS. Four years and 1 million more rapes later the UK public was outraged and angered by party political attempts to shift the blame away from the State onto the victims. 

Reports suggested that there were around 1,400 raped Yorkshire children, (a conservative estimate) given there were multiple rapes on each child.

Adding in the Pakistani Muslim grooming operating in Oxford, Bradford, Rochdale, Newcastle and other cities in England takes the count of rapes committed by Pakistani Muslim men against white children into the millions.

The judge in the Oxford case said the brutal rapists demeaned their victims because they did not share the men’s “religion and culture”.

Nor is it a “small number” of Muslims. It is an endemic problem in Muslim-dominated towns and cities. 

The UK public needs to see justice. That means more than “historic abuse” “no blame game” “no party politics” “look to the future” and all the other rubbish politicians wheel out. We don’t need “the police”, “the council”, “the CPS”. We need names and prosecutions.

Police officers who abetted the rape of children need to go to jail. And another thing who will be responsible for prosecuting members of the CPS for their misconduct?

Keir Starmer, the compromised, politicised Director of Public Prosecutions, said his CPS did not prosecute because they made assumptions about the credibility of the evidence of victims. The DPP and the CPS took on the role of judge and jury and failed the abused children. Why? To win Muslim votes!!! Who will be responsible for prosecuting Starmer and members of the CPS for their misconduct?

It was Labour who did this in Rotherham and Rochdale to win Muslim votes. The police, Labour PCCs, Labour councillors, Labour-leaning prosecutors. 

The Rotherham report says a Conservative councillor brought his concerns to the leader but was told not to make it public.

The Head of Children’s Services Joyce Thacker told The Times she would punish the leaker and in 2008 Labour gave her an OBE for her Services to Young People.

Labour’s greedy, sleazy pandering to Muslim votes brought about the introduction of Sharia tribunals. Labour set them up in law.

Postal vote fraud, uncontrolled immigration, Trojan Horse schools, and now this sick hell.

The Pakistani immigrant community has not fully integrated into British life. Instead of spreading out over the country and adopting British values whilst retaining their own religion, they have been encouraged to dominate towns and impose their culture on others.

Social planning needs to address the undesirability of one community” taking over an English town or city. We have seen that with our mixed Afro-Caribbean heritage Britons, with Jewish-heritage Britons and all classes and races up until now.

Politicians, the Media and the Press are persistent in their use of the expression “The Pakistani Community” providing confirmation of the failed immigration policy of the Labour Party who actively encouraged mass uncontrolled immigration of Pakistani immigrants so that they would be able to gain their votes in future elections.

Reference to “the community” should address all citizens regardless of ethnic origin. (The Sun)

White girls abused by Muslim child-rape gangs should shut their mouths for the good of diversity

Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer promoted MP Naseem ‘Naz’ Shah, who infamously shared a tweet stating “Those abused girls in Rotherham and elsewhere just need to shut their mouths for the good of diversity”.

The British-Pakistani Labour MP for Bradford West liked and shared a tweet in 2017 admonishing white, English girls who spoke out about being raped and sexually enslaved by organised gangs of Muslim paedophiles.

The UK was rocked to its foundations by the never-ending stream of scandals involving predominantly Muslim men targeting white English girls from working-class backgrounds for sexual exploitation.

Most shockingly of all is the fact that authorities and the mainstream media were aware of this for years if not decades but refused to act, even when girls and parents pleaded for help, for fear of being accused of racism by PC fanatics.

The Labour MP for Rotherham, a town where Muslim child-raping gangs were allowed to operate for years with impunity, Sarah Champion, has said that up to 1 million English girls are likely to have fallen victim to Muslim rape gangs as of 2016.

Lord John Robertson, (NATO Secretary General from 1999 to 2003)– In his 2014, address to the Brookings Institute in the USA strongly advocated that Putin and Russia be admitted to NATO saying it would reinforce the, “liberal values” of NATO. Seeking to justify his position he intimated troubles in Ukraine and Crimea should not be a bar against Russian membership. Rejecting any criticism Robertson said that he envisioned an expanded NATO that was just as effective, while involving countries that at the moment do not want to be part of the transatlantic organisation. He went on saying, “there’s no security in Europe, unless there’s an eventual perspective of an organisation that says, “we stand for values, stand for liberal values, and that has to include Russia”.

Remembering his first ever meeting with Putin, who was not yet installed as the Russian, President he said, “we had good relations. I stood beside him at a press conference on the 28th of May, 2002, after the meeting of heads of state and government at the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, flanked by himself and by Berlusconi and I just want to say what Putin actually said in reply to a question. In other words, this was not a scripted comment by him, and I think it’s very important at this time, 14 years later that you hear again what he said.

He said: “Russia always had a crucial role in world affairs. The problem for our country has been, however, that over a very long period of time a situation arose in which Russia was on one side and the other side was practically whole… the whole of the rest of the world. Nothing good came of that confrontation between us and the rest of the world. We certainly gained nothing from it.” And he then went to say: “Russia is and wants to be and remains part of the civilized community of nations. There is nothing to be gained if our voice is not heard, and we are determined for our national interest to be taken account on.”

Robertson summarised his contribution saying: “Russia is prepared to act in accordance with international law, international rules, in the course of a civilized dialogue for the achieving of common and joint ends, and those ends have been set out very clearly in the document we signed off today. I think President Putin and the Russian people need to be reminded of these words, what they signed up to, what was the joint commitment. And they should be reminded of it regularly and constantly.”

Rough Justice – An Opening Brief

“DeeAnn Kirkpatrick, a civil servant employed in Marine Scotland, made allegations of sexual harassment, racism, bullying, and assault against some of her male colleagues.

An Employment Tribunal decided that her allegations were time spent after three years and aided and supported by senior civil servants of the Human Resources team of the Scottish Government, dismissed the allegations.

The nub is that the substance of DeeAnn’s complaints was never independently investigated.”

DeeAnn’s sister Cherry, issued a statement through the Daily Record saying:

“My sister has been left absolutely devastated and feeling betrayed. How can this be justice? It’s a disgrace. She can hardly bear to look at the photograph of herself gagged and taped to a chair. It suits Marine Scotland to say DeeAnn made it all up. She has been broken by this. My sister used to be strong, brave, and outgoing. Now she is a recluse who is afraid of her own shadow.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government responded with a counter-statement saying: “The Scottish Government provides reassurance that policies and processes within the Civil Service are both robust and provide the necessary support to individuals who may wish to raise concerns.”

DeeAnn’s case had unraveled around the time the First Minister wrote to Leslie Evans asking that she put arrangements in place to ensure Civil Servants were adequately protected from any misconduct. And that the revised procedures should contain a novel clause (applicable only to Scotland) conferring on the Scottish Government the right of “lookback without limit of time.”

Note: DeeAnn’s case was thrown out because it had not been placed before the tribunal within 3 years. A copy of Nicola’s letter of 22 November 2017 to Leslie Evans is included below.

22 November 2017 Nicola Sturgeon Letter to Leslie Evans

At Cabinet, on 31 October I asked you to review the Scottish Government’s policies and processes on sexual harassment so that we could be reassured that we have effective arrangements in place in light of justifiable concern about the recent examples of misconduct across public life. You have kept me closely briefed on these issues.

I know that work is moving forward quickly and that you have already put arrangements in place to ensure that any member of staff who has concerns about the way they have been treated has the support and advice they need. You have also advised me that the review is considering how best to build on the work already being done to create an inclusive and respectful culture across the organization.

As is clear from the continued media focus on cases of sexual harassment, in many instances, people are now making complaints regarding actions that took place some time ago.

I wanted to make clear that in taking forward your review, and the new arrangements being developed, you should not be constrained by the passage of time.

I would like you to consider ways in which we are able to address if necessary any concerns from staff – should any be raised – about the conduct of current Scottish Government Ministers and also former Ministers, including from previous administrations regardless of party.

While I appreciate that the conduct of former Ministers would not be covered by the current Ministerial Code, I think it fair and reasonable that any complaints raised about their actions while they held office are considered against the standards expected of Ministers.

As you complete your review I believe it would be helpful for you to update Cabinet on the conclusions you have reached and the actions the Scottish Government has taken to provide reassurance that policies and processes within the Civil Service are both robust and provide the necessary support to individuals who may wish to raise concerns. (https://www.parliament.scot/HarassmentComplaintsCommittee/Phase1FN21.pdf)

Comment: The Permanent Secretary reports to the First Minister but is accountable to the UK Government Cabinet Secretary and Leading Civil Servant in London. Any procedure brought forward by Evans to the First Minister would need to be first approved by him and mirror those in place in London and other parts of the UK since there is no deviation in the terms of employment applicable to all Civil Servants in the UK.

More On Events at the Employment Tribunal

The tribunal had been convened to hear evidence from Canadian born, DeeAnn Fitzpatrick, a civil servant who had lodged allegations of racism, bullying, sexual harassment, and misogynism at Marine Scotland, in Scrabster over nearly a decade from 2006. (content paraphrased for ease of reading)

DeeAnn stated:

“I have worked for Marine Scotland in Scrabster, since 2006. Over this period I spoke to managers about the racist and misogynistic behavior of some of my male colleagues and asked that they put an end to it, without success.

I was subsequently warned by those self-same colleagues to “keep my mouth shut”.

In 2010 I reported to managers that the behavior of some of my male colleagues had not improved. But again nothing was done.

Shortly after I was assaulted, gagged, strapped to a chair, photographed, and mocked.

I was eventually rescued and freed by a female colleague who told me: “they don’t want a woman, especially a foreign woman here.

A male colleague, Reid Anderson told me: “This is what you get when you speak out against the boys.

I was also labeled an “old troll” and told not to even attempt to “climb the ladder of success” and, I was mocked after I suffered a miscarriage and I received anonymous abusive cards on my birthday and Valentine’s Day between 2015 and 2017.

Managers turned a blind eye to the bullying and sexist treatment I suffered at the hands of my male colleagues.

The events have taken their toll on my health and wellbeing and I have become a recluse – I stay at home suffering from depression and have harbored thoughts of suicide. Thoughts that were so all-consuming that I contacted Dignitas in Switzerland. I had had enough.”

Judith McKinnon

The Scottish Government was solely represented by their Head of People Advice, Judith MacKinnon who advised the tribunal that the persons accused by DeeAnn of wrong-doing had decided not to face their accuser because they were scared of the intense media attention the case had generated.

She further advised that the Scottish Government supported the accused officers since the disciplinary procedures of the Civil Service bestowed on civil servants the right to remain silent and that they could not be compelled to answer questions that might incriminate themselves.

She went on to say that she had read over case notes prepared by DeeAnn’s managers, who had carried out an internal department head led investigation and that she backed their findings that DeeAnn had willingly participated in the “high Jinks” culture prevalent within the department. As such there was insufficient evidence to support DeeAnn’s allegations.

The tribunal pronounced that the allegation pertaining to the incident in which she had been strapped to a chair was time-barred since it had occurred over 3 years before.

It also found that there was insufficient evidence as to who had sent the abusive cards.

The handling of events by the Civil Service Human Resources Department of the Scottish Government was mildly criticized but DeeAnn’s allegations were not upheld.

It was this rejection and final humiliation that forced DeeAnn to speak to the press. she told the Daily Record:

“It is difficult when you have spent your entire career fighting racism, misogyny, and bullies. Then to make matters worse when you report the incidents, you are the one that is being targeted by an ongoing campaign by senior management because you exposed what they have worked very hard to hide.”

Nicola Sturgeon and the “Chair” Incident

Nicola issued a statement saying that she was appalled at the revelations and pictorial evidence published in the Daily Record and ordered the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, Leslie Evans, to personally investigate the incident involving the chair and to report back to her.

Evans reported back (summarized):

“A comprehensive internal review has now concluded that the Scottish Government has robust disciplinary procedures to address behavior that falls below expected standards and I am satisfied that these have been followed thoroughly and objectively in relation to this incident.

A broad set of actions are underway in Marine Scotland to ensure a working environment that meets both the Civil Service Code and Scottish Government Standards of Behaviour.

I do not normally comment publicly on staffing matters but I am issuing this short statement to update the public record given the previous parliamentary and wider interest in this issue.

My unwavering commitment to ensuring a positive workplace for all employees in the Scottish Government remains.”

Comment: An incredulous statement to which nothing was added by the Scottish Government.  The lack of response from the Scottish Government was not entirely unexpected since whilst the Permanent Secretary reports to the First Minister she is accountable only to the UK government Cabinet Secretary located in London.

DeeAnn sacked

The interview with the Daily Record triggered a charge of misconduct against her and DeeAnn was ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing.

she was unable to attend on the day/date because her father had only recently died and her doctor had said she was not fit to travel.

The hearing was conducted in her absence and resulted in her being sacked.

The notice of dismissal procedure served on her was bizarre since it was carried out by two civil servants who despite travel restrictions being in place because of Covid-19 journeyed by car on a 16-hour return trip from Edinburgh to her home in Caithness to hand-deliver her dismissal letter.

The latest news is that lawyers acting on LeeAnn’s behalf confirmed that she would sue the Scottish government for wrongful dismissal, based on a defense of workplace stress and damage to her mental health and wellbeing.

Local MSP Rhoda Grant Fights Back

The Highlands MSP used a member’s debate on condemning misogyny and harassment at Holyrood to raise the whistleblower’s case in a speech she described as “probably the most difficult” she had ever made.

Rhoda claimed that a manager at Marine Scotland had “referred to women in extremely derogatory terms,” and continued:

“I cannot repeat the language used in this chamber, but it was racist, sexist, vicious, and degrading. DeeAnn has been subject to institutional racism, sexism, harassment, and abuse at the hands of Marine Scotland, a Scottish Government Directorate. And the abuse continued despite her raising the matter at senior levels in government. Over a number of years, the oppressive behavior was constant and undermining and DeeAnn always being held to a different standard than others. I’m told by a colleague that this was deliberate and systematic conduct by others in the office and in the line of command in Marine Scotland, designed to wear her down and force her out.”

Referring to the involvement of the press that had triggered the attention of Nicola Sturgeon who concluded the chair incident to be “completely unacceptable, whatever the circumstances.” She said to the chamber:

“DeeAnn began working for Marine Scotland in 2006 and claimed problems arose when she blew the whistle on the misogynistic behavior of her colleagues towards a younger female colleague. She then became the target of abuse – and her case came to public attention last year when a photograph was revealed showing her gagged and taped to a chair.”

“The first minister’s investigation only looked at the incident with the photograph, and it was not an independent investigation. There needs to be a truly independent inquiry into DeeAnn’s treatment. And my evidence to the inquiry was fed back directly to Marine Scotland who twisted it to be used against DeeAnn. And DeeAnn has still not been informed of the findings of the investigation, and has remained away from work on full pay, but not suspended.”

Rhoda then claimed she had discovered that the “Scottish Government HR intercepted DeeAnn’s e-mails, including sensitive exchanges with her Trade Union representative”, adding that there had been “a fully hatched plan” between Scottish Government HR and DeeAnn’s line management… which showed they intended to move her to the Outer Hebrides. When DeeAnn declared that she could not move because of caring for her ailing mother, they decided to implement their previously discussed plan to dismiss her on trumped-up charges. A move that collapsed when they failed to produce the necessary evidence. And then DeeAnn was threatened with disciplinary action for going to her father’s death bed.

Rhoda said DeeAnn’s issues at work had started after returning to work following the breakdown of a “devastating” relationship with a colleague in another office, which had resulted in a miscarriage, and the issue of a non-harassment order. Her line manager was not supportive, mocked her being off with stress, and threatened to move her to work in the office where her former partner was based – despite knowing that a non-harassment order was in place. She added that she could not repeat the “extremely derogatory” terms in which he referred to women.

Rhoda spoke further saying: “DeeAnn has been subject to institutional racism, sexism, harassment and abuse at the hands of Marine Scotland, a Scottish Government Directorate,” Calling for an independent inquiry into the case, she added: “Despite me raising this at senior levels of government on a number of occasions with the previous Permanent Secretary, with John Swinney, Richard Lockhead, Paul Wheelhouse, and the First Minister – the abuse continued.

Rhoda also revealed that the original case which DeeAnn had reported was a threat to punch another female staff member by a male fisheries officer, who was allegedly encouraged by DeeAnn’s boss “to make sure it’s a good one”.

While they were initially disciplined, the men had successful appeals. Rhoda claimed: “the Scottish Government knows the Senior Fishery Officer secretly recorded the disciplinary panel’s deliberations and learned details that then led to their successful appeal.”

As well as abuse, Rhoda said DeeAnn was: “constantly being held to a different standard than others – toil, holidays, time off for compassionate leave or for medical reasons. On every occasion, she was questioned at length, but others were not. I was told by a colleague that this was deliberate and systematic conduct by others in the office and with the approval of line managers in Marine Scotland. A process designed to wear her down and force her out.”

Rhoda then asked the Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie, if she would push Scottish Government colleagues to set-up an independent inquiry. The Minister declined to say it would be “inappropriate” for her to get involved and that Rhoda should take up an offer to meet with Scottish Government officials.

The BBC Get Involved

Adding credence to DeeAnn’s allegations a reporter with the BBC said they had seen emails confirming DeeAnn had reported the alleged attack to her manager Mr. Paske, soon after it happened, but her complaints were not taken seriously. Mr. Paske told DeeAnn:  “I will have a word with Reid Anderson and Jody Paske about this. I am sure they meant no harm and that it was boys just being boys.”  When confronted by the BBC reporter, Mr. Paske, who no longer works at Marine Scotland, said:

“The allegations were false. I can’t remember the event you mention, but if it did happen, it would have been office banter, just a craic, certainly, nothing to do with abuse.”

The BBC reported further that one of the accused persons Mr. Anderson was still employed by Marine Scotland and had recently been promoted. and that he had failed to respond to the BBC’s request for comments.

The 1820 Scottish Uprising

James Wilson, Andrew Hardie & John Baird (all weavers) were accused by the Crown of being leaders of the “1820 Rising”, a group of Scots campaigning for universal male suffrage, better working conditions and a Scottish parliament.

They, together with 19 others, mostly weavers: Thomas M’Culloch, Benjamin Moir, Alex Latimer, Alex Johnstone, Andrew White, David Thomson, James Wright, William Clackson, Thomas Pink, Alex Hart, John Barr, William Smith, Thomas M’Farlane, John Anderson, John M’Millan, Andrew Dawson, Allen Murchie, Robert Gray, William Crawford and James Cleland were tried for the crime of ” high treason” at Stirling high court on 14 July 1820.

All 23 were found guilty as charged and on 4 August 1820  were sentenced to death by hanging.

Martyrs Monument Glasgow

The Executions of James Wilson, Andrew Hardie, and John Baird

James Wilson was executed on 4 August 1820 in Glasgow. On mounting the cart that was to take him to the scaffold, the headsman was seated before him, cloaked in black, his face covered, holding a large axe in his right hand and a knife in his left. “Did you ever see sic a crowd as this?” Wilson remarked casually to his executioner. 

At five minutes to three, he mounted the scaffold and several minutes later his body was convulsing on the end of a rope, where it remained for half an hour, before being lowered and decapitated by the masked executioner, who held the bloody head aloft and proclaimed: “This is the head of a traitor.” The crowd jeered and replied with shouts of,  “It is false, he has bled for his country”!!! 

Barely a week later, on 8th September 1820, Andrew Hardie, from Glasgow, who told the spectators, (‘I die a martyr to the cause of truth and injustice’) and John Baird, from Condorrat, met the same fate in Stirling.

The death sentence on the other 19 was changed to penal servitude for life and on 15 August 1820 they were transported to the colony of New South Wales in Australia.

Westminster Government Conspiracy

It later transpired that the Westminster government, through the double-dealing of spies, actually incited the rising in the first place.

But why would a government, gripped by fear of a popular revolution, incite a general strike in Scotland?

To answer this question, we must unearth the roots of the 1820 Rising.

In 1795, following the public stoning of King George III’s carriage as it travelled to Westminster, parliament completely redrew the laws for treason, with the effect that holding public meetings in support of reform could lead to the stiffest penalties that the courts were at liberty to dispense.

The period following the American Revolution was a time in Scotland when groups including enlightened aristocrats, members of the rising middle classes, professional people, calling themselves “Friends of the People” pushed gently for reform.

The weavers in Scotland were skilled and literate people who traditionally worked to commission, chose their own hours, and managed their own lives in a way that was denied to many factory workers and along with other skilled artisans, they formed an aristocracy of labour and were proud, independent, and increasingly radical in their outlook.

After the Battle of Waterloo, a wicked recession gripped the UK and 1816 was a particularly black year for Glasgow, resulting in major bankruptcies across the city and its environs.

This sparked a gathering of tens of thousands at Thrushgrove near Glasgow, demanding but not gaining reform and the situation worsened over the next four years so that by 1820 the stage was set for the rising that would result in the deaths of James Wilson, Andrew Hardie and John Baird and penal servitude for 19 other Scottish martyrs.

The Committee for Organising a Provisional Scottish Government

There existed in Scotland a covert group called  “the Committee for Organising a Provisional government,” which consisted of committed radicals, elected by their respective unions, who would assume responsibility of organizing the new social structure of Scotland in the aftermath of a successful rising.

However, it became clear in retrospect that the committee had been infiltrated by Westminster government spies, who were rife at the time, being one of the government’s most important defences against underground radical activities.

The committee had the misfortune to convene in Marshall’s Tavern in Glasgow’s Gallowgate on March 21, 1820, in the presence of a spy. John King, a weaver from Andersonstown left the meeting minutes before the entire committee was arrested and detained in secret by the authorities.

This is a vital point in relation to the events that unfolded over the next few weeks, because the organizing committee, the body of people who would be the centre of any radical rising, were off the streets and obviously not able to organize very much from their prison cells.

King and Other Unionist Spy’s Activate the Rising

The very next day, King was present at another meeting of important radicals in Andersonstown in Glasgow. It was also attended by another three men, also government spies: John Craig, a weaver, Duncan Turner, a tin-smith, and Robert Lees, described only as “the Englishman.” King took the initiative at this meeting and reported that a large-scale rising was imminent and that all those present should make themselves ready for armed conflict.

The 1820 Proclamation

The following day, on March 23, the spy, Duncan Turner, unveiled plans for a provisional government and revealed a draft of a proclamation, inciting widespread revolt, that was to be posted around the city for the public’s attention. This proclamation is pivotal to the whole history of the rising, and, given that the real “Committee for Establishing a Provisional Government” was in jail, the proclamation was later identified as the work of government agents, and part of a larger plan to sink the radical movement in Scotland once and for all. The events that transpired provides the evidence against King and his associates, all pointing in the direction of the Westminster government treachery and entrapment.

The Rising

On April 1, 1820, the citizens of Glasgow awoke to find the proclamation posted around the city, urging them all “to desist from their labour from and after this day…and attend wholly to the recovery of their Rights.” 

The proclamation opened with a rousing ideological plea for liberty: “Equality of Rights (not of property) is the object for which we contend, and which we consider as the only security for our Liberties and Lives.” 

The plea continues to the soldiery, asking if they could really, “plunge…Bayonets into the Bosoms of Fathers and Brothers at the unrelenting Orders of a Cruel Faction.” Strong words, and if the proclamation had been a government plan to draw underground radicals out into the open, they would have perhaps been shocked at the level of response from ordinary people and workers all over West and Central Scotland. 

The following Monday, people from many different trades, but especially weaving, stopped work. They were not only refusing to work, but were in many cases preparing for war. 

Reports flooded in of groups of men engaged in military drills, and making weapons such as pikes from any material that could be obtained. Revolt was in the air. 

On Tuesday 4 April, the spy, Duncan Turner, the issuer of the proclamation, was mustering a group of about 60 men in Germiston, and using all his arts of persuasion to convince the men to march to the Carron Works in Falkirk, where they could obtain arms for the coming battles.

Not all were convinced, but he rallied those that would go with promises of meeting more men on the way to help them in their mission. He himself would be engaged in organizing other initiatives and wouldn’t accompany them on their long march.

The leader of the group was the ill-fated Andrew Hardie, and Turner gave him half a card, which, he assured him, would match exactly with another half card held by a man waiting for him in Condorrat; a man at the head of another group of fighters. In this way the group would grow, swelling its ranks until it arrived at Carron.

The Carronshore Ambush

Waiting in Condorrat was John Baird, at the head of five men, holding the half card that had been given to him by none other than John King in one of his many guises.

Both Hardie and Baird were no doubt expecting to unite with a small army when they matched their cards, and were obviously disappointed when they did match cards in the early hours of the morning.

However, John King promised more support before they reached Carron, and he himself would ride ahead to rally these supporters. It is known that by this time the army already knew of the plot to take Carron, as a Lt. Hodgson had set off from Perth to protect Carron from an attack expected that day, Wednesday 5th April.

Also, the band of radicals was spotted and reported twice following their departure from Condorrat, confirming for the authorities that trouble was afoot.

The next time the band met King, they had been marching all night, and King told them to leave the road and wait at Bonnymuir while he mustered support from Camelon.

This was the last the group was to see of King. Nor did they see more armed men rallying to their cause: instead they were shortly to meet opposing troops, with Lt Hodgson at their head, who had also left the road and incredibly found their way straight to Hardie and Baird’s band on Bonnymuir.

The ensuing battle was nothing more than a skirmish, whereby Hodgson’s force of 32 soldiers, after a volley of shots from the radicals, easily overpowered them with a cavalry charge.

Two soldiers and four radicals were wounded. In total, 19 of the radicals were taken prisoner and sent to Stirling Castle. The event in itself hardly constitutes a major rising, but other isolated disturbances were taking place across West and Central Scotland, and the journey of Hardie and Baird showed that at the fore of radical thinking was union with other groups in different parts of the country.

However, the government seemed always to be one step ahead of the radicals, with inside knowledge at every step and the core organizers had been in jail since March 21st, without public knowledge, and some very suspicious men were acting on their behalf.

The whole event was a plot hatched by Westminster government agent provocateurs in order to draw the radicals into open battle. On the fateful day of April 5th, troops took up position all over Glasgow, and although radical movements were reported all day, no attack was forthcoming.

Betrayal of James Wilson

Also on April 5th, the awful fate of James Wilson was starting to unfold. Again, one of the spies was involved, this time the “Englishman” Lees, who sent a message to the Strathaven radicals that the rising had started. 

Wilson left with a small force of 25 the following morning, carrying a banner that declared “Scotland Free or a Desert.”

By the time they neared East Kilbride, they were tipped off that an army ambush lay between them and their destination at Cathkin.

Wilson returned to Strathaven, while his men avoided the ambush and reached their destination to find no action at all at Cathkin.

By the following evening, the authorities had discovered the identity of 10 of the group, including Wilson, and held them under lock and key.

English Soldiers Massacre Citizens of Greenock

The worst violence against civilians occurred on Saturday 8th April when the authorities tried to move a group of prisoners from Paisley to Greenock. 

The citizens of Greenock attacked the soldiers who had been ordered to move the prisoners. Even after they had completed their task, the soldiers still had to fight their way back out of the town as the crowd pelted them with stones. 

The army opened fire, killing eight people, including an eight-year-old child, and wounding 10 others.

The government’s retribution was harsh, examples were to be made, and they took the form of the executions of Wilson, Hardie and Baird and the transportation to the colony’s of 19 others. 

The rising was over. There are some who regard the tragic events of 1820 as minor and of little historical importance in comparison to other Scottish rebellions. But they marked an intensification of the desire of Scots for human rights reform and their own government and the martyrs, James Wilson, Andrew Hardie, and John Baird serve as examples to those who feared that nothing can be done in the face of such a powerful centralized state as Westminster governance.

Further reading, BBC Archives:

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/1820/1820_rising.htm

https://www.academia.edu/1632963/_Betrayed_by_Infamous_Spies_The_Commemoration_of_Scotlands_Radical_War_of_1820

2021: NEC Meeting hijacked by LGBTQ activists

The LGBTQ group proposed that the SNP’s eight regional lists for the Scottish parliamentary election should include either a *BAME or a disabled candidate in the top place,.

Four regions would be allocated a BAME person and the other four a disabled person.

The proposal carried the commitment that disabled status would be by self-identification with no confirmatory checking being carried out.

Members in attendance believed it would be illegal to adopt the proposal under the equalities law.

The matter was deferred and referred to the Party’s legal counsel, Jonathan Mitchell QC who warned that the policy was legally dubious and open to challenge in the courts and any case brought by a person disadvantaged by the rule would probably succeed, and cost the SNP many thousands of pounds in legal expenses.

But the LGBTQ group insisted the proposal should be decided upon by the NEC.

The Chairperson, Kirsten Oswald decided to put the matter to the vote.

The vote was tied and it was expected that in compliance with accepted practice the Chair would cast her vote for retention of the status quo.

She didn’t and passed the motion placing the Party at great risk of legal and costly claims of discrimination.

Publishing Scotland

“Publishing Scotland” is very generously supported by the Scottish Government, benefitting from around £75m-£100m finance released to it annually through “Creative Scotland” which is controlled by SNP Minister, Angus Robertson. It is also part funded through annual subscriptions from the membership and from profits from “BookSource” a subsidiary company which has an annual turnover of £10-£ 12million.

Davinder Bedi, (husband of Kirsten Oswald the MP for East Renfrewshire) took up employment with “Publishing Scotland” as Finance Manager in 1996 and retains a position of Director of the company. He is also the Managing Director of “BookSource” the subsidiary company which has a turnover between £10m-£12m.

Sandstone Press is an active member of “Publishing Scotland”. Police investigated fraud allegations pertaining to a grant of £295,000 of taxpayers’ money given to the publisher of a book of Nicola Sturgeon’s speeches. Officers from the financial crimes unit probed claims rules that were broken when Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) awarded grants and loans to Sandstone Press of Inverness. The firm, run by SNP supporter Robert Davidson, was given £120,000 in the 12 months leading up to the publication of Women Hold Up Half the Sky: Selected Speeches of Nicola Sturgeon.

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/sturgeons-book-publisher-investigated-over-25403018

SNP minister Angus Robertson cancels book promo at event paid for by own department. He cancelled his appearance but only after the press started probing the £30,000 handed to it by a Creative Scotland, one of many departments of Government under his control.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/snp-minister-angus-robertson-cancels-25339037

Loadsa taxpayers money swishing around this aspect of government finance. Seems to me control mechanisms need tightening up. And what is to be construed by the involvement of Kirsten Oswald and he husband?

Neil Charles Gray (born 16 March 1986) was born and brought up in Orkney, and was educated at Kirkwall Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Stirling in 2008 with a first-class Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in politics and journalism. Outside politics he was formerly a keen athlete, representing Scotland, until a serious knee injury ended his career in athletics. He has three daughters and one son with his wife, Karlie. He is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

2008: Right after graduation Gray took up employment as a press and research intern for the SNP parliamentary group at the Scottish Parliament from 2008. He was also employed by Alex Neil, who appointed him to the post of constituency office manager in 2011.

2014: The selection process for the Airdrie SNP candidacy, which Neil Gray ultimately won, was not without controversy. Former diplomat Craig Murray was nominated as a potential candidate at an Airdrie Branch meeting but did not make the final list as he failed SNP candidate vetting, whereupon he commented that “I think in both Airdrie & Shotts and in Falkirk it’s evident who the party hierarchy wants to be the candidate.” Former Policeman and SNP Councillor Alan Beveridge and fellow Councillor John Taggart resigned from the party in February 2015 after Neil Gray was selected, claiming that there was a “climate of fear, intimidation and false allegations within the party” which was highlighted in the selection process.

2015: Elected MP for Airdrie & Shotts. Three, University of Stirling graduates, Steven Paterson, Angela Crawley and Neil Gray made history after being elected as MPs for Stirling, Lanarkshire and Hamilton East and Airdrie and Shotts following the Scottish National Party’s unprecedented gains in the 2015 general election.

2017: Elected MP for Airdrie and Shotts with a significantly reduced majority of 195 votes.

2019: Elected MP, for Airdrie and Shotts. Increased his majority to 5,000 votes.

Nov 2020: Announced that he would be resigning as an MP in order to try and win a seat in the Scottish Parliament at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

23 Mar 2021: Made his final speech in the House of Commons, and was appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead a day later. He is the only SNP member to have held that notional office. North Lanarkshire Council calculated that his decision to resign as an MP and trigger a by-election cost taxpayers £175,000. Gray said he’d made his Holyrood bid in order to spend more time with his young family. He said: “It was a risk, nothing is guaranteed in politics and nobody can take the electorate for granted. I certainly didn’t and we put in an incredible effort to get this result. I owed it to my family to try to be closer to home. I’m so pleased that I’ve managed to be around more and to be able to do more in my constituency. I’m so grateful.”

07 May 2021: elected MSP for Airdrie and Shotts. “Best buddies” friendship with Humza Yousaf revealed. See: (https://caltonjock.com/2025/06/14/a-whistle-blower-alleged-a-scots-businessman-and-good-friend-of-humza-yousaf-had-made-undeclared-cash-donations-in-a-cash-for-seats-operation-paul-di-mascios-nepotism-claim/)

24 Jan 2022: Appointed, Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development. He was quickly tipped for the top. After just 18 months as an MSP, the former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, appointed him to her ministerial team, with responsibility for international development and then in addition, for Ukrainian refugees. He won the One to Watch gong at Holyrood’s Garden Party and Political Awards a few months later. And when Sturgeon stood down, he was being discussed in certain quarters as a potential successor. He says he did think about it and “there were conversations had” but that, fundamentally, with four children all under the age of eight, he felt he couldn’t give the job of first minister everything that it required.

Once Humza Yousaf put his hat in the ring, Gray threw his full support behind him. “I had a pretty early conversation with Humza, obviously, and when I knew that he was thinking about it, I was pretty clear in my mind that he was absolutely the right person to take us forward. That was the right thing to do. And I gave a very early commitment that I would support him.” Gray was by Yousaf’s side throughout the leadership contest and that unequivocal support was rewarded when the new first minister gave Gray the pivotal role of Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy in his new Cabinet.

Of Humza he said: “as the fathers of young children we understand the pressures of family life and the vital role their respective wives bring to their support of them. Humza and I are friends, we understand each other, can be open with each other, be frank with each other, and we can also challenge each other, and that is so important in government when you are looking for new ideas. We both understand the importance of our family and the pressures we are all under. We meet up and we have playdates with the kids. Amal [Yousaf’s youngest daughter] is the same age as my twins, and Nadia and Karlie know each other and get on, so that’s really nice. It means we can properly reflect on how well – or not – we are doing at juggling work and family life and, just as important as it is having that strong team behind you at home, it’s also important to have that camaraderie at work as well, and have a mutual understanding of those pressures of work and having young children, because it’s not easy. He was quickly tipped for the top. After just 18 months as an MSP, the former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, appointed him to her ministerial team, with responsibility for international development and then in addition, for Ukrainian refugees. He won the One to Watch gong at Holyrood’s Garden Party and Political Awards a few months later. And when Sturgeon stood down, he was being discussed in certain quarters as a potential successor. He says he did think about it and “there were conversations had” but that, fundamentally, with four children all under the age of eight, he felt he couldn’t give the job of first minister everything that it required. (Extracted from Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood blog)

29 Mar 2023: Appointed Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing, Economy, Fair Work and Energy.

08 Feb 2024: Appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, succeeding Michael Matheson, who had ben forced to resign amid an expenses scandal.

Nov 2024: Gray faced criticism after it was revealed that he had used an official ministerial car to be chauffeured to watch four Aberdeen F.C. football matches. Gray, an acknowledged fan of Aberdeen F.C., registered the events as official government visits. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Gray also admitted to using an official car to attend five Scotland matches, and that he had been accompanied by a family member or guest to six of the matches. Gray said all the engagements were “official ministerial business” and that summaries were available for all of the meetings, but apologised for not attending “a wider range of games”, and for creating the impression that he was acting “more as a fan and less as a minister”. The Scottish Conservatives accused Gray of having a “jolly to watch the football” at the expense of the taxpayer and called for the costs to be refunded in full, while the Scottish Greens criticised him for not using public transport. First Minister John Swinney told journalists that he would not refer Gray for investigation under the ministerial code, and that he considered the matter “closed”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPRlM7yBdJ4) (reported by David Bol Deputy Political Editor)

27 Nov 2024: SNP dealt blow as NHS recovery in Scotland lagging behind target

27 Nov 2024: The SNP Health Minister has been urged to rethink the NHS recovery strategy after new analysis from the “Institute of Fiscal Studies” (IFS) found hospital performance is “still worsening.” The divergence emerged despite the Health Minister bringing forward targets designed to increase activity and increases in staffing. Between April and June, hospitals in Scotland treated 6 per cent fewer inpatient and day cases and delivered 6 per cent fewer outpatient appointments than before the Covid pandemic.

The Scottish Government’s NHS recovery plan, published in 2021, aimed to increase inpatient and day case activity to 15 per cent above pre-pandemic levels this year. The IFS said one reason for the failure to increase activity is that patients now have a much higher average length of stay in hospital, in part due to challenges with delayed discharges. The IFS analysis stressed “there is a clearer difference between Scotland and England when it comes to performance over the last year. In Scotland, almost all measures of NHS performance have worsened over the last year. For example, the elective waiting list has continued to grow from 692,000 in September 2023 to 725,000 in September 2024, and the share of patients waiting less than four hours at A&E has fallen slightly from 66.5 per cent in September 2023 to 65.9 per cent in September 2024. The only measure considered that has improved in Scotland is for diagnostic tests, where the share waiting six weeks or less has risen from 49.8 per cent in September 2023 to 53.6 per cent in September 2024. In Scotland, hospital activity remains below pre-pandemic levels, and waiting time performance has worsened over the last year. The same is not true in England, where performance remains poor, but is at least moving in the right direction. It is vital the Scottish Government is honest about the poor performanc since understanding and improving NHS performance and productivity is a major priority.

Tory MSP, Dr Sandesh Gulhane commented: “On the SNP’s watch, hundreds of thousands of patients remain on NHS waiting lists, delayed discharge has hit record levels and cancer waiting times have not been met in over a decade. The IFS’s findings should be an urgent wake-up call for Neil Gray who should be honest about the permanent crisis in Scotland’s NHS. He must accept his current approach is failing and outline a real plan that accelerates the recovery in our health service.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “This is a damning indictment of the SNP’s failure to tackle the crisis in our NHS. Ministers have repeatedly boasted about Scotland’s superior performance to England, but this report makes a total mockery of those claims. Hundreds of thousands of Scots are stuck on an NHS waiting list. Every day people sit in agony at A&E departments, wondering if they will ever be seen. This Government must stop making up bogus excuses and finally confront the emergency in front of them. That starts by rewriting Humza Yousaf’s botched NHS Recovery Plan and repairing the crisis in social care, so that more people can leave hospital on time. You can’t fix the NHS without fixing care.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the report told the Government what patients and staff have known for years, that “Scottish hospitals are buckling under the strain of SNP incompetence. The SNP pledged over a year ago that it would spend £300 million in driving down waiting lists, but just £30m of this funding has been allocated to health boards so far. At the same time, we know that there were 50,000 fewer planned ops in the last 12 months compared to same point pre-pandemic. This is simply unacceptable. Scottish Labour will tackle delayed discharge and reduce waiting lists so our hospitals can focus on emergency treatment once again.” (The Scotsman)

Jan 2025: A freedom of Information request revealed that no note was produced of the Gray’s meeting at the 2023 League Cup final at Hampden Park. Gray subsequently apologised to the Scottish Parliament for making a misleading statement. John Swinney re-iterated his support for Gray and insisted that the Health Secretary had made an “inadvertent error”.

Jan 2025: John Swinney has admitted the NHS is in “crisis” as he relaunched the Government’s plan to save the health service. The First Minster tore up earlier strategies in an attempt at slashing waiting times and tackling the “canary in the coalmine” of delayed discharge. He also insisted embattled Health Secretary Neil Gray will still be in the job by the autumn. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ldY_Sp_NI) Appears Swinney is incapable of delegating responsibility for health to his minister or the minister is incapable of doing the job. Perhaps away at the football too often.

19 Feb 2025: health secretary Neil Gray today failed to back nurse Sandie Peggie amid a row over single-sex spaces – but supported the leadership of the scandal-hit health board NHS Fife. The NHS nurse objected to trans colleague Dr Beth Upton using the women’s facility at Victoria Hospital in Fife back in 2023 – with the case subject to an ongoing employment tribunal. Opposition leaders including Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar backed Ms Peggie – but Mr Gray refused to do so when asked during a visit to the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Epy0dkG1M0). His position is at odds with guidance to the Health Board by the “Equality and Human Rights Commission” (EHRC). (https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/equalities-watchdog-intervenes-in-nhs-fife-transgender-row-involving-dr-beth-upton-5002557)

01 Apr 2025: Ordering the lifting of a long-standing salary freeze for SNP Ministers (introduced by then First Minister Alex Salmond in 2009), enabled Swinney to give all Government Ministers a bumper £30,000 salary bonus (total annual recurring increase of salary and extra’s around £1.5miillion). He was allset to pocket the rise himself boosting his take-home pay to £155,000 butl he performed a dramatic U-turn hours after the “Mail on Sunday” asked him to explain the unjutified pay rise bonanza. A source close to Swinney said the newspaper revelations had helped ‘crystallise’ his view that it would be inappropriate or him to take the rise. The annual pay for Cabinet Ministers, including the poor performing Health Minister Neil Gray pay has been increased to £116,125 PA. Junior SNP ministers now earn £100,575 PA.

The pay hike came into force on the same day that tens of thousands of Scots were plunged into higher tax brackets in a move that sparked fury among hard-working Scots. And the revelation came only days after Swinney was accused of using a trip to New York Tartan Week as a taxpayer-funded ‘jolly’ abroad.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Tax-Payers’ Alliance, said: ‘Scots will be absolutely seething at the way in which ministers are stuffing their pockets with extra taxpayer cash all while frontline services are spluttering and the tax burden is soaring. The public realm is in a miserable state in Scotland, with politicians abjectly failing to deliver on voters’ priorities, while also hammering taxpayer with some of the highest bills in the UK. If these ministers had any shame they’d be abandoning this pay rise and would not consider another one until they’ve delivered a boost in living standards, measured by GDP per capita.”

14 Jun 2025: Scandal-hit SNP health chief Neil Gray used a taxpayer-funded limo to chauffeur him to an Aberdeen pub before watching a Dons game last year. The Aberdeen fan is embroiled in a fresh ‘limogate’ storm over a trip to the city’s Brig O’ Don pub ahead of attending the side’s clash against Livingston in May last year. The journeys were incorrectly logged in the official ministerial register as trips to and from a ‘personal address in Aberdeen’ rather than the watering hole. But they were later amended after an investigation found there was no evidence of the Airdrie MSP having a second home in the region

An Introduction to the Yousaf & Qaisar families

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

A letter from a whistle-blower made bombshell claims that SNP officials received substantial donations amounting to a five-figure sums 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”. and 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.

Well, Well, Well: Another Scottish Police Force investigation into alleged fraud linking the SNP leadership to large cash handouts from Muslim interests This and possibly other incidences died a death in the legal system and went largely unreported.

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.”

The Scottish-Islamic Foundation

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

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.

Angus Struan Carolus Robertson:

20th Sep 2020: Angus Robertson slated for saying elderly deaths are a ‘gain’ for independence

Robertson said: “55,000 predominantly No supporting voters [were] passing away every year” ad when combined with more “Yes” supporting young people reaching voting age, that had produced a “gain of over 100,000 for independence” since the referendum of 2014. Critics said the comments were “disgraceful” given the recent loss of thousands of old people from coronavirus and the emergence of a potentially lethal winter surge. In response, Robertson called the criticism “politically motivated” and “manufactured outrage”.

26 Sep 2021: Robertson told to get on with the day job

Mike Russell, SNP President attacked Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture MSP for failing to concentrate on his day job after he plugged his new book online.

The spat came after Robertson took to Twitter to promote his new book, “Vienna The International Capital”. In a now-deleted response, Russell who previously held Robertson’s Cabinet position said: “Hmm – might be a breach of MSP code too. And legitimate for people to ask what he is doing in the day job”. Records show Robertson has contributed to just four parliamentary debates since being elected in May, including his oath of affirmation. The confrontation will be uncomfortable for Sturgeon, who is already under pressure from within her party over a lack of progress on an independence referendum.

An insider said: “Robertson entered Holyrood with the trumpets sounding and was feted as possessing the personality and acumen to push Westminster for a second referendum which is why he got the job.

But he has been virtually anonymous since his appointment and a group of MSP’s and party members are irate that he appears to be concentrating his time on his latest book rather than promoting independence. It is a public spat that didn’t occur previously within the Party and is indicative of a breakdown in discipline and increasing discontent over the lack of desire to push for independence. It will also encourage members to jump ship to Alex Salmond’s Alba.

31 Oct 2021: Angus Robertson cancels book promo at event paid for by his department

Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture cancelled his appearance at a literary festival funded by the Scottish government department he runs, after the press enquired about the prime speaking spot to promote his book “Vienna The International Capital”

The festival was awarded £30,000 in August from Creative Scotland a government-funded and accountable body falling under Robertson’s brief. He has now cancelled the lecture together with an advert describing the book, which costs £25 as a “beautifully written, rich and extraordinary story”.

Lib Dem culture spokesman Joe McCauley said: “At the same time as the SNP takes a scythe to cultural centres in Glasgow, the Culture Secretary is trying to plug his book at a taxpayer-funded literary event. Sadly, anyone who can’t afford the £25 recommended retail price will be out of luck because his council colleagues want to close the libraries too. Scottish arts and culture ought to be for everyone.”

Scottish Conservative Shadow ­Culture Secretary Donald Cameron added: “Angus Robertson should be focused on our recovery from the pandemic rather than promoting his own book. While everyone wishes the Borders Book Festival to be a major success, eyebrows will be raised over the fact that the Culture Secretary was given a slot at an event that was awarded a funding boost by an agency overseen by the Scottish Government just a few months ago.”

Scottish Labour culture ­spokeswoman Sarah Boyack MSP said: “It’s hard to believe patrons of the Borders Book Festival were ever banging down the door to hear from Angus about his book.”

A Creative Scotland spokeswoman admitted the festival received funding. She said: “Borders Book Festival received £30,000 National Lottery funding through Creative Scotland’s Open Fund.