‘East Coast Weasel' Labour MSP Iain Gray tries very poor attempt at political opportunism to be First Minister, 5% cut in FM salary of £129,998

Dear All

It should come as no surprise that the ‘East Coast Weasel, Labour MSP Iain Gray wants to be the First Minster of Scotland.

To that end Iain Gray has pledged to take a pay cut if he becomes First Minister in 2011.

The pledge is to be made the party's conference in Oban this afternoon that he and his Cabinet colleagues would accept a five per cent reduction in their ministerial salaries.

So Iain Gray copies the Tories in Westminster, it isn’t a very original idea and has been used before, if he had said 10% or 15% then he could have generated momentum for a Labour theme of ‘we are all in this together’.

But he flunked it, a very poor attempt at political opportunism.

He is sacrificing around £4000 off a First Minister’s salary of £129,998.

That is right folks £129,998.

All in this together; I don’t think so!

Cabinet secretaries will be giving up around £2500, which is £50 a week, talk about drop and bucket.

Rumours of an overall reduction in the number of ministers are mooted but it should be the opposite, more Ministers doing special projects that help the most vulnerable in society.

The little cut from the little man is part of a wider agenda to cut top public sector pay by five per cent and a three-year public sector pay freeze.

Gray said:

"We want to see a reduction in pay at the highest level in the public sector and I want to lead from the front. That is why I will take a five per cent cut and I commit my ministerial team to do likewise. A Scottish Labour government must lead by example."

Then he committed Labour to providing an apprenticeship place for every qualified school leaver who wants one.

That will turn out to be an empty promise because they will decide the definition of ‘qualified’.

He should call the Labour party's manifesto for next year's elections, the Half Truth Manifesto.If elected Gray hints that on the issue of council tax rises he would sanction rises of up to two per cent if councils could persuade him they had a case.

London Labour aren’t stupid, they know the public will pay if they think Labour will save services.

Gray said:

"If a council comes to the government, if it was my government, and said 'we need some flexibility to avoid the worst of the cuts', I would listen. If they could convince me what the beneficial effect of that should be, we should listen to that."

Holyrood 2011 as I previously blogged will have the narrative of explaining financial pain to the electorate.

‘East Coast Weasel’ Iain Gray knows that only an encompassing strategy will secure victory, as Labour attempts to win the Holyrood election.

George Laird was right again, what a pity it is only the Labour Party who understand what is needed to win at the ballot box.

Iain Gray won’t be campaigning on a Council tax freeze because he knows it won’t be a vote winner for Labour.

Increasing Council tax will.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Harriet Harman does a ‘Hugh Henry’ and brands Lib Dem MP Danny Alexander a "ginger rodent", where’s the cheese?

Dear All

One of the Lib Dems who has embraced Toryism with gusto is Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander.

It is difficult to describe him as anything other than a quisling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quisling

He was already slotted for the role as provisional English Governor of Scotland before David Laws MP was caught out fiddling his expenses.

Everyone in Scotland hates Tories, it is what being Scottish is all about but quislings like the Lib Dems hold a special contempt, hated on all sides.

Lib Dem support is dropping, they cheered the departmental budgets cuts and the cuts to housing benefit.

What was there to cheer about in the suffering of others?

Now, Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman launched a fierce attack on Danny Alexander branding him, a leading Government minister as a "ginger rodent".

The Labour Party, are and having been for sometime sending the signals that next Holyrood in 2011 is going to be a dirty fought election.

Another Lib Dem who came under the sniper scope was Scottish Secretary Michael Moore branded the "invisible man".

Even although I have an interest in politics, I can't remember his face or where his constituency is and if he has ever done anything of any use.

Harman is also firing up Labour to make politicians from other parties an "endangered species" by ousting them from Holyrood next May.

This shows a poor grasp of Scottish politics, the list system for some politicians is their second chance and in some cases their own chance of ever getting elected to public office because the list shuts the public out.

And of course the list system can be rigged.

She also used her speech to stress the importance of winning back power at Holyrood so that the Scottish Parliament could be a "Labour bulwark against the cruelty of the Tory-Lib Dem Government".

The Labour Party at the Westminster General Election in Scotland done very well which is surprising given the damage that Gordon Brown did to make Britain more unfair, increased the gap between rich and poor, denied and restricted justice and bankrupted the economy.

Ms Harman said:

"We are here in the west coast of Scotland, where there is a long-standing fishing community and we are second to none in our support for the fishing industry”.

She lives in London.

Havering like mad Harman said:

"Many of us in the Labour Party are conservationists, and we all love the red squirrel. But there`s one ginger rodent we never want to see in the highlands of Scotland - Danny Alexander."

In response George Lyon, Scottish Liberal Democrat election chair, said:

"There is no depths to which the Labour Party will not stoop. They aren't fit to be in opposition, let alone in government."

So, a new name enters Westminster, the "ginger rodent" and the stage is set for a vicious nasty Holyrood Campaign.

One thing the Labour Party knows is that negative campaigning works if you pick the right issues and develop a simple hard hitting narrative.

And the Labour Party will be developing such a narrative for Holyrood 2011.

They won’t be stupid enough to go with hope and aspiration in 2011; they will be going with the 'blame game' and pointing the finger at those cutting services.

The polls put Labour in the lead.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Isn’t it ironic that Scottish people have to turn to Englishman Lib Dem MSP Robert Brown to fight for human rights in Scotland, a People's Champion

Dear All

In Holyrood on Wednesday saw emergency legalisation brought in by the Scottish Government.

The Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill 2010, a piece of crap!

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/60-CriminalProcedure/index.htm

It is my opinion that the bill was a knee jerk ill considered, badly thought-out response to the UK Supreme Court decision in the Peter Cadder Case.

The purpose, to give Scottish people detained by the Police the right to consult with a lawyer which was previously illegally denied them.

But the devil is in the detail in any bill.

This is section 1 (8) which is inserted into the bill.

“In exceptional circumstances, a constable may delay the suspect’s exercise of the right under subsection (3) so far as it is necessary in the interest of the investigation or the prevention of crime or the apprehension of offenders that the questioning of the suspect by a constable begins or continues without the suspect having had a private consultation with a solicitor”.

This is the denial of the human rights that the bill was meant to uphold.

Someone was trying to be cute but proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, not intelligence but rank stupidity.

The Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill is anti human rights.

No consultation, no checks and balances, no considered opinion, no objective scrutiny.

The Scottish Government to its shame didn’t even consult the Scottish Human Rights Commission when drafting it to see if it complied with human rights law, as admitted by Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

I would now like to turn to another piece of knee jerk, badly thought-out legalisation which after being passed into law was subject to abuse to show how it all went wrong.

The Terrorism Act 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_Act_2000

This legalisation has seen over 100,000 stop and searches by police across Britain.

And last year failed to yield a single terror-related arrest, the Home Office has been was forced to admit.

Home Office figures show that out of a total of 101,248 stops and searches were made under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in 2009-10, but only one in every 200 led to an arrest.

None of these were terror-related.

Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said:

"These Home Office statistics highlight what a crude and blunt instrument stop and search without suspicion has been. It costs us dearly in race equality and consent-based policing with very little return in terms of enhanced security."

The power OF Section 44 allows officers to stop anyone in a specified area without the need for reasonable suspicion.

It was a return to the old sus law which so damaged relations with the public and Police.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sus_law

Now that Section 1 (8) of The Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill is available to Police, we will see abuse of that section under the guise of “exceptional circumstances”.

And that means more human rights challenges and miscarriages of justice could happen.

Is this part of the brave new Scotland we are heading towards, a country were human rights can be deliberately ignored and abused?

Luckily for the people of Scotland, Englishman Lib Dem MSP Robert Brown is stepping up to the plate to be a People's Champion and defend the rights of Scots.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Anvar Khan tells High Court, Tommy Sheridan shagged her under large picture of Che Guevara in Pollok, would she have preferred a landscape instead?

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Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill restricts Human Rights, High Court gets right to reject referrals

Dear All

Yesterday is the Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill was rushed through Parliament.

And already Human Rights Lawyers and Activists feel the need to speak out against it.

The bill is completely rubbish.

The Peter Cadder Case didn’t just happen, it has been known about for some considerable time.

And it was patently obvious that the UK Supreme Court was going to find in his favour.

So, why a badly cobbled together rushed bill which has critics and members of Scotland’s legal establishment accusing the Government of introducing “legislation by stealth”?

Patrick Harvie said:

“We are fire-fighting while nothing is burning down.”

To Holyrood’s shame, the scrutiny stages of the Bill were condensed from several months to one afternoon.

Where were the checks and balances?

Are we supposed to buy into the shite as it was a lengthy session that was adequate?

Yet again another piece of legalisation finds its way on to the statute books which doesn’t enhance the protection of the individual.

Despite a last minute appeal to all MSPs from the Scottish Human Rights Commission to vote against the general principles to allow for “proper consideration” to be given to the issues, this was completely ignored.

Only two political parties were prepared to heed the call, the Lib Dems and the Green Party to vote against it.

Professor Alan Miller, chair of the commission, wrote to all Members of Parliament outlining the organisation’s “significant concerns” about the use of emergency procedure.

He added in his letter warning MSPs about the “danger of rushed legislation which has not been subjected to proper consultation and scrutiny by Parliament”.

The solution to a problem is not the creation of another problem.

Miller rightly highlights that changes to the criminal appeals procedure as outlined in the Bill would have a “chilling effect” on the role of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

And another damning point which should have set alarm bells going off that the bill could “undermine access to court for victims of miscarriage of justice”.

John McGovern, president of the Glasgow Bar Association, said:

“This is legislation by stealth. There is no emergency here at all”.

McGovern also said:

“There has been no public debate on a Bill that restricts centuries old appeal rights, fundamentally questions the role of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission and will allow the police to refuse access to suspects being detained for questioning if they deem it necessary. I don’t think that is what the spirit of the judgment is. The wider agenda seems to have been to use this emergency legislation as a vehicle to restrict rather than reinforce human rights.”

What is now emerging is that stupidity is a poor substitute for intelligence.

Professor Alan Miller like others opined:

“The judgment of the Supreme Court in Cadder v HMA does not require emergency legislation”.

This tawdry piece of shit called the Criminal Procedure (Detention, Legal Assistance and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill will have to be redone in the future.

Miller as well as going through the general principles pulled out this nugget which gives the High Court the power to reject a referral from the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Whose bright idea was that?

Miller said:

“The extension to the powers of the High Court will undermine access to court for victims of miscarriage of justice. It will have a chilling effect on the important function of the SCCRC to effectively review and address SCCRC alleged miscarriages of justice.”

In a single afternoon, Holyrood’s MSPs have shown just how much poor quality in depth sits on the benches drawing £55k a year.

Here is a word some of them may remember from uni:

‘Rewrite’!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Frances Curran tells court she asked Tommy Sheridan to stand down as SSP leader at Edinburgh Hotel, Sheridan talks loyalty, Curran talks honesty

Dear All

People regard 13 as an unlucky number, for Tommy Sheridan, it certainly appears to be so.

13 is the number of witnesses ranged against him so far including, Former Scottish Socialist Party MSP Frances Curran.

At the hit trial in the High Court, she said that she asked Tommy Sheridan to step down as leader of the party.

The reason of this request she alleges is that he admitted he had visited a swingers' club with a News of the World sex columnist Anvar Khan.

Ms Curran told Sheridan's perjury trial that she heard him make the admissions during the emergency meeting at the party's Stanley Street headquarters on November 9, 2004.

Another torpedo below the water for the SS Sheridan, soon he and his wife will be floating about on the wreckage.

The next day, after having a night to sleep on it, Frances Curran and SSP MSP Colin Fox meet Sheridan for tea and biscuits in an Edinburgh hotel.

The purpose of the tea and biscuits to dull the pain of asking Sheridan to step down as leader!

She told the court:

"The court action was the big problem for us. We couldn't get the party locked into lying in a court action. We were trying to decouple the party from the court action. He could stay as convener if he was prepared to either put his hand up or shut up."

Shut up was good advice.

An exchange of views followed.

Curran:

"We said to Tommy: 'Are you going to take the court action?'

Sheridan said:

'Yes'.

Curran:" said:

“Well, we want your resignation. He said: 'For f***'s sake, Frances. I would have expected more loyalty from you. I said: 'Tommy, I would have expected more honesty and principle from you.”

Some people think once they scale the heights that everyone will rally round or be forced to rally round them but in politics, that is seldom the case.

People aren’t prepared to lie and see their own career sunk.Ms Curran also said Sheridan was convinced there was "not one scintilla" of proof that he had visited the club, and told her "There is nothing that can tie me to that".

I think a jury sitting listening to this might have other ideas.

So far what is in the public domain of who said what and when doesn’t look good for Tommy Sheridan.

Although he is having his day in Court, every day appears from this viewer to be a day closer to be banged up in Barlinnie.

The trial, before Lord Bracadale continues and the Sheridan’s deny all charges.

And before I forget, didn’t Katrine Trolle look positively beaming as she was going in and out of the High Court, rather surprising for a woman who admitted to being gang banged.

Mind you they are very liberal in Denmark.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

People’s Champion Peter Cadder, no law degree or experience, takes the mantle of de facto Scottish Justice Minister to deliver fair trial for all

Dear All

Today sees the introduction of Emergency legislation to give suspects the automatic right of access to a lawyer.

People already had the right under human rights; they were just denied the opportunity to exercise that right by the Government of Scotland.

Last night on Newsnight Scotland much was said about the Scottish “safeguards” as fronted by Paul McBride QC.

What McBride couldn’t or wouldn’t or doesn’t understand is that these alleged safeguards are enacted by the state and not the individual. The State decides what safeguards you can access during due process, completely wrong.

As such the protection is moot and irrelevant in the question of Human Rights; McBride was talking out his arse.

In the interviews with various people in the studio, the only one who in my opinion talked any sense was John Scott, the Human Rights Lawyer.

McBride kept a defence that the issue wasn’t clear cut as it seemed, I have to agree with the Labour Party turncoat Paul McBride, any dumb bastard would arrive at the same opinion.

The rest of us understand the issue perfectly well.

http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/docs/UKSC_2010_0022_Judgment.pdf

And so do people in other European and non EU Countries like Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Cyprus.

So, Holyrood MSPs have been forced by the UK Supreme Court to grant people their human rights to a fair trial.

Remember Donald Dewar?

“There shall be a People’s Parliament”.

The Criminal Procedure (Legal Assistance, Detention and Appeals) (Scotland) Bill will extend the existing maximum six-hour period for detention to 12 hours - with the possibility of extension to 24 hours.

The Queen rubberstamps it via Royal Assent by the end of the week, given all the money she gets from the taxpayer, it is the least she can do.

There is some uproar that the legal aid bill will increase by up to £4 million but so what, the right to a fair trial shouldn’t be up for discussion.

One disturbing aspect of the Peter Cadder Case is the attempt to make High Court as the final court of appeal in criminal matters.

This is completely wrong, if it wasn’t for the UK Supreme Court upholding the Human Rights of ordinary Scottish people, they would still have been denied equality of arms.

“There shall be a People’s Parliament”.

A 20 year old called Peter Cadder who has no law degree took on the mantle of de facto Scottish Justice Minister and in a single day, he ensured that the Scottish people regardless of race, colour, creed; social-economic background got their full legal rights to a fair trial.

Peter Cadder has made the biggest legal breakthrough in Scotland in 30 years.

Maybe someone should vet him as a Candidate for Holyrood 2011, the people could do with a ‘People’s Champion’ rather than some middle class cannon fodder pretending to like the working class. You know the type, the ones who won’t work for them or do activism in their political branches but are really looking for a £55k a year meal ticket and 'dafties' to work for them.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Cardinal Keith O’Brien signs petition and fully backs Megrahi inquiry call, Scotland needs more, the appeal of Al Megrahi needs to be heard

Dear All

The case of the Lockerbie bomber is a political hot potato.

On the one hand Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was convicted as the biggest mass murderer in Scottish history, and on the other, concerns that there was a serious miscarriage of justice committed to secure that conviction.

Al Megrahi was freed on 20 August 2009 because of compassionate grounds and his appeal against conviction was dropped.

He was said to be terminally ill and had three months to live.

13 months later, he is still alive in Libya.

And the way things are going will probably be alive during the Holyrood 2011 election.

He will probably feature in that crucial election as the issue of justice and law and order are always election issues and his case is special.

The release of Al Megrahi was a judgment call but given the nature of the crime, I won’t have released him because it was important that his appeal was heard.

I think like others that there is enough evidence of a miscarriage of justice.

I suspect that most people would have liked to seen that appeal taking place.

Now, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has backed calls for an inquiry into the Lockerbie bomber's conviction.

To that end a campaign group has handed over a petition to MSPs but as much as this is welcomed, this is an issue which has to go back to the Scottish Courts.
.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien is backing an inquiry because he says that without such a probe, the "web of mystery" surrounding the "horrible" bombing may never be resolved.

About 1,500 people have signed a petition by the Justice For Megrahi (JFM). They are a pressure group calling on Holyrood to urge the Scottish Government to open an independent inquiry into the Libyan's conviction.

Given that this is the run to an election year, I suspect some political parties might want this inquiry to go ahead. Not to find justice but to keep in the minds of the Scottish public that the convicted killer of 270 people murdered over the skies of Lockerbie still lives.

Cardinal O'Brien has signed the petition before it was handed over to MSPs on Tuesday.

He said:

"We're living in the 21st century now and really it shouldn't be beyond us, it shouldn't be beyond the Scottish Government, to take this on. Or are we all eventually going to die in a web of mystery about what happened at the time of the horrible Lockerbie bombing? What I am concerned with is basic justice, to find out what exactly went on. I want to find out the truth and I think when I say that I am speaking for many, many people, not just religious people, people of no faiths at all are desperate to find out what went on that time."

I campaigned that Al Megrahi should be released on compassionate grounds to have every possible opportunity to present his appeal.

I knew that if his appeal wasn’t heard that this would have disastrous consequences further down the line.

George Laird was right again.

I kept the email I sent asking for compassionate release regarding the appeal.

The Al Megrahi case is a case which goes far beyond the individual of the man because it concerns the very nature of how justice is dispensed in Scotland.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Isn’t it ironic that Scottish people have to turn to England for legal protection and enforcement of human rights, where were Holyrood MSP’s?

Dear All

The Peter Cadder Case is one of the most significant cases in recent Scottish Legal History.

Why?

Because it centres on human rights or the lack of them!

Who denied the people their human rights?

The Westminster pre 1999 and all Scottish Executives post 1999.

Since 1984, suspects in England have had the right to have access to a lawyer when detained, Scots did not.

The merits of the Cadder Case are important to Cadder but the denial of due process is of importance and concern to us all.

Now, the Scottish Government Ministers will push through emergency legislation regarded as the biggest changes in the Scottish criminal justice system for 30 years.

And they will do so in a few hours.

The Scottish Government has drawn up plans to give all suspects held by police the right to consult a lawyer; actually they aren’t giving them the right, because they already had it.

The emergency legislation is to extend the time Police can be detained without charge from six hours to a maximum of 24.

So, we have the spectacle of Holyrood officials trying to clear the parliamentary diary for tomorrow afternoon to get the new rules on to the statute books.

Not in the interests of human rights but in the interests of extending due process.

To recap, a test case was brought by lawyers for 20-year-old Peter Cadder that his human rights were infringed when he was denied access to a lawyer.

They were.

But having your human rights denied wasn’t a high priority for Holyrood’s 129 MSPs, for the last 11 years they were content to sit there, take the £55k a year plus expenses and keep their mouths firmly shut.

This lead to Cadder and his case coming before the UK Supreme Court which some Scottish politicians have actively criticised.

If it wasn’t for the UK Supreme Court, Scots would still be denied their human rights.

The European Convention on Human Rights was incorporated into Scots law at devolution so there is no excuse, none at all.

John McGovern, president of the Glasgow Bar Association is calling the Government move:
“the biggest piece of panic legislation of recent times”.

Lord Advocate Elish ‘Labour’ Angiolini stated that effectively giving people their rights would have the potential to cause enormous disruption to the Scottish legal system.

‘Labour’ Angiolini isn’t known for having a strong justice stance.

John Scott, a solicitor advocate who sounded the warning bell that there were human rights problems with the Scottish practice of denying lawyers to suspects, said:

“There is an old saying: ‘Legislate in haste and repent at leisure’. We have seen in the past that things such as anti-terrorism legislation have been used to deliver a wish list for the police. We need to take time to reflect on whether we really need to make such changes.”

A Scottish Government spokesman last night said:

“Seven judges, sitting in the highest criminal court in Scotland, have already ruled unanimously that Scots law is ECHR-compliant in this respect”.

They were completely wrong, human rights apply all the time not when it suits the establishment to give them to the individual.

The spokesman added:

“However, the Scottish Government is fully aware of the impending ruling in the UK Supreme Court in the matter of Cadder v Her Majesty’s Advocate and is planning for any impact it may have. Until a decision is made we cannot comment on the details of the case.”

In other words rather than being proactive on what is a justice issue, they are hedging their bets.

If the Cadder Case fails then they are quite happy to go back to denying people detained in custody their human rights.

What a brave new Scotland we are heading towards, doesn’t it look eerily similar the corrupt Scotland that has gone before?

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Is Kate McCann's refusal to answer the 48 questions by Portuguese Police in an interview the actions of a mother who would do anything for her child?

Dear All

Given the recent victory of Gonçalo Amaral in defeating Gerry and Kate McCann in his epic battle to uphold the principles of free speech in the Appeal Court in Lisbon; we shouldn’t lose focus that Madeleine McCann is still missing.

It was a case brought against Gonçalo Amaral which in my opinion was without merit, I blogged back in February 2010, 8 months before the Court made their judgement.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2010/02/gerald-and-kate-mccanns-right-to.html

George Laird was right again.

A victory has been won but it is not a celebration in the true sense of the word, like many I believe the victory was part paid in the shadow of innocent blood.

To that end, I would like to return to the matter of the 48 questions that the Portuguese Police put to Kate McCann and which she refused to answer.

Is the refusal the act of a mother who would do anything to get her child back?

So, let us be clear, in 11 hours of interrogation she answered only one question.

This is a mother who was supposed to be helping the Police find her daughter but she was more concerned about protecting her own position than that of her daughter.

In cases like this, you spill your guts, answer everything and even give information that the Police don’t ask, you join the searches and work night and day.

Only Kate McCann knows why she took the route of silence while being interviewed by the Police.

If Kate McCann is truly concerned about Madeleine Beth McCann then she should get back on a plane, meet with the Portuguese Police, formally ask they reopen the case and answer any and all questions.

Including the 48 questions she refused previously.

These are the 48 questions:

1. On May 3 2007, around 22:00, when you entered the apartment, what did you see? What did you do? Where did you look? What did you touch?

2. Did you search inside the bedroom wardrobe? (she replied that she wouldn’t answer)

3. (shown 2 photographs of her bedroom wardrobe) Can you describe its contents?

4. Why had the curtain behind the sofa in front of the side window (whose photo was shown to her) been tampered with? Did somebody go behind that sofa?

5. How long did your search of the apartment take after you detected your daughter Madeleine’s disappearance?

6. Why did you say from the start that Madeleine had been abducted?

7. Assuming Madeleine had been abducted, why did you leave the twins home alone to go to the ‘Tapas’ and raise the alarm? Because the supposed abductor could still be in the apartment.

8. Why didn’t you ask the twins, at that moment, what had happened to their sister or why didn’t you ask them later on?

9. When you raised the alarm at the ‘Tapas’ what exactly did you say and what were your exact words?

10. What happened after you raised the alarm in the ‘Tapas’?

11. Why did you go and warn your friends instead of shouting from the verandah?

12. Who contacted the authorities?

13. Who took place in the searches?

14. Did anyone outside of the group learn of Madeleine’s disappearance in those following minutes?

15. Did any neighbour offer you help after the disappearance?

16. What does 'we let her down' mean?

17. Did Jane tell you that night that she’d seen a man with a child?

18. How were the authorities contacted and which police force was alerted?

19. During the searches, with the police already there, where did you search for Maddie, how and in what way?

20. Why did the twins not wake up during that search or when they were taken upstairs?

21. Who did you phone after the occurrence?

22. Did you call Sky News?

23. Did you know the danger of calling the media, because it could influence the abductor?

24. Did you ask for a priest?

25. By what means did you divulge Madeleine’s features, by photographs or by any other means?

26. Is it true that during the searches you remained seated on Maddie’s bed without moving?

27. What was your behaviour that night?

28. Did you manage to sleep?

29. Before travelling to Portugal did you make any comment about a foreboding or a bad feeling?

30. What was Madeleine’s behaviour like?

31. Did Maddie suffer from any illness or take any medication?

32. What was Madeleine’s relationship like with her brother and sister?

33. What was Madeleine’s relationship like with her brother and sister, friends and school mates?

34. As for your professional life, in how many and which hospitals have you worked?

35. What is your medical specialty?

36. Have you ever done shift work in any emergency services or other services?

37. Did you work every day?

38. At a certain point you stopped working, why?

39. Are the twins difficult to get to sleep? Are they restless and does that cause you uneasiness?

40. Is it true that sometimes you despaired with your children’s behaviour and that left you feeling very uneasy?

41. Is it true that in England you even considered handing over Madeleine’s custody to a relative?

42. In England, did you medicate your children? What type of medication?

43. In the case files you were SHOWN CANINE forensic testing films, where you can see them marking due to detection of the scent of human corpse and blood traces, also human, and only human, as well as all the comments of the technician in charge of them. After watching and after the marking of the scent of corpse in your bedroom beside the wardrobe and behind the sofa, pushed up against the sofa wall, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had?

44. When the sniffer dog also marked human blood behind the sofa, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had?

45. When the sniffer dog marked the scent of corpse coming from the vehicle you hired a month after the disappearance, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had?

46. When human blood was marked in the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had?

47. When confronted with the results of Maddie’s DNA, whose analysis was carried out in a British laboratory, collected from behind the sofa and the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had?

48. Did you have any responsibility or intervention in your daughter’s disappearance?

In the interests of fairness she did answer one question; here it is;

Q. Are you aware that in not answering the questions you are jeopardising the investigation, which seeks to discover what happened to your daughter?

A. 'Yes, if that’s what the investigation thinks.'

I wonder how Kate McCann sleeps at night knowing full well, she didn’t do what any reasonable person would be expected to do in a similar situation.

Co-operate fully with the Police.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Suspended Labour Councillor of shame Ruth Black sees her closed gay centre probed by police over finances, her political career stone cold dead

Dear All

It is out; the official explanations for the closure of a controversial gay and lesbian centre, Castro which was linked to shamed ex-council boss Steven ‘bin laden’ Purcell.

A report by Glasgow City Council highlights a series of “irregularities”.

And for good measure, the Police have been called in to investigate.

The centre was dogged by allegations of cronyism which is common to all political parties in power as they fund special interest groups where their party members play an active role.

Before the shutters were dragged down, former Labour Councillor of Shame Ruth Black and her crew who ran it spent £64,000 of taxpayer money.

The rest of the cash £35,000 was not spent and returned to the Council of shame as it was part of a grant.

Ruth Black ran the centre with her long-term partner Jeannie McDougall who has links to her step-brother, the late underworld figure Stewart ‘Specky’ Boyd, and former gangland leader Paul Ferris.

Black has also been interviewed by police over the use and supply of drugs in Purcell’s circle of friends.

Yet again, the Glasgow Labour Party is linked to organised crime.

After the ‘Prince of Powder’ Steven Purcell fled the city, the murky world of how Glasgow Labour Councillors operated had a light shined on it, vast amounts of money, public money ended in the pockets of Labour Councillors of shame.

Already we have seen how Glasgow Labour Party who control the city work, jobs and contracts to family, friends, associates and Labour donors.

One Labour donor Willie Haughey who gave the Labour Party a £1 million pounds benefited to the tune of £20 million in contracts.

In Glasgow, there is an established gay and lesbian group called Glasgay.

http://www.glasgay.co.uk/

These people were bypassed in favour of Ruth Black and Castro, you could say that Glasgay are the market leader rather like Heinz is to bake beans and they missed out on that money.

At present Ruth Black is suspended by the Labour Party as the Police investigation is on going, this is the standard tactic by the Labour Party to bury their problems. One thing I think is certain is that the Glasgow Labour Party will be looking to replace her in 2012.

As for Ruth Black, her political career such as it was is heavily damaged to the extent she is a liability.

Although people can stomach financial incompetence up to a point, cronyism doesn’t sit well with the public.

It doesn’t sit well at all.

And what Labour activists will be willing to campaign for her now?

Even die hard activists draw a line in the sand sometimes when they can't stomach it.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Tory MSP says MSP’s should work longer; George Laird gives constituent’s case of a 70 year old disabled woman to another MSP, woman gets no help

Dear All

On top of lack of trust, expenses abuse; now comes the bold statement which is probably true that Politicans should work longer hours.

Who says so?

Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw!

He is of course right.

To show this isn’t a party point here is a story which affected me personally.

My friend’s mother is 70 years old, she suffers from heart and lung problems, this wasn’t helped by the fact she stayed in a damp house.

The family want to put central heating under the Government scheme, the company that was tasked to do the job wanted to rip her off.

A 70 year old disabled woman!

In March 2010 I spoke to an MSP to take up the case, the MSP knew me so I wasn’t some punter coming in off the street.

After a month, I checked back with my friend to hear that no one had gotten in touch with his mother.

The MSP and the office staff hadn’t acted.

So, I personally spoke to the MSP again and remind her, 'so sorry etc etc etc' and protestations of how good her staff are and that they will get on it.

The woman was never contacted; it was left to her son to fight for her because the MSP couldn’t be bothered.

So, yes there is scope for making MSP’s work longer hours.

That way they might decide to do the job they are paid for.

At present some MSP don’t give value for money as Jackson Carlaw rightly suggests.

The short working week in plenary sessions for just eight and a half hours is a joke.

Add to that the farce of the weekly First Minister's Questions.

First Minister’s Questions are nothing more than an outdated show carried over from Westminster where politicians try to prove they are clever.

Another function of the event is to teach MSP’s to be able to ask questions and raise points of order.

Carlaw says this is "tedious verbal torture", with failings on all sides.

The West of Scotland MSP gave his opinion on the day Scottish Conservatives gather in Eastwood for the region's annual conference.

A dead party with has no clear idea of how to win the support of the ordinary Scottish working class.

Carlaw was elected in 2007, so he is the first to really speak out and break ranks.

He said:

"It is time for us to start giving value for money from our Parliament, it is time for MSPs to work harder to hold the Executive to account and to better scrutinise the legislation we pass."

Unfortunately some MSP’s are too thick to hold the Executive to account.

He added:

"By no means is this a criticism of any MSP or any party. Nor am I seeking to present myself as some sort of political paragon. But I do believe Parliament could work harder on behalf of the people of Scotland."

And perhaps when give a constituent’s case of a 70 year old disabled woman they might take it up in future.

To say that the MSP let me down badly is an understatement, it is now 7 months since the MSP received the case and not even a letter of acknowledgement to the woman.

Is that MSP a People’s Champion?

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

George Laird predicts that Scottish students frozen out of university, George Laird right again, Scots don’t control Scottish University education

Dear All

A while ago I made the salient point that Scottish people were getting frozen out of their own higher education system which they pay for through taxes.

Now, it is in the public domain that record numbers of Scots missed out on a university place this year.

George Laird was right again.

So, when did I know that Scots were to be curtailed?

When I read the Court Minutes of human rights abusing Glasgow University which had a plan to increase the ratio of foreign students to domestic students to increase income well over 5 years ago.

This didn’t just happen.

Now there are calls for protection of higher education from funding cuts.

Note calls for the protection of funding, not of Scottish students.

Official figures show there was a 6.9% decline in the number of Scots going to Scottish universities in 2010 compared to the previous year.

27,194 to 25,307 is a step backwards and how can a country fight for independence when no one is fighting to educate its people?

And guarantee Scots get their place.

Liam Burns, president of NUS Scotland said:

“How on earth is it acceptable that during an unprecedented increase in applications to higher education, universities take on fewer students? We should be treating the increase in applications during the recession as a huge opportunity for Scotland as a whole, not a devastating crisis for thousands of talented individuals.”

The problem with universities is that they have been effectively left to become little mini unionist empires without proper scrutiny.

The greed culture seen in Westminster is very much alive and kicking in the university system.

Money can’t go to support Scottish students but thousands can be hived by management staff via expenses.

Yes, greedy senior management and teaching staff would do a Labour MP proud which probably explains why universities warehouse MP and ex MPs.

They keep the contacts so as to keep the revenue streams.

Rather than pumping excessive public cash in failing institutions like Glasgow University ranked 128th in the World, money should be diverted to colleges.

Why is there no serious reform by political parties?

No one has the courage to think real reform; the university sector is too large, too expensive and become unaccountable. The closure option and or scaling down are required with more funding going to college level so that ordinary Scots get the opportunity of higher education.

Why are Scottish political parties not fighting to protect Scottish students?

That is a question should ask them and listen carefully to what they say next. One thing for sure they won’t be able to answer your question, rather they will try and divert the question to an economic issue.

Increased College funding should be the focus of any party wishing to form the next Scottish Government.

It is time to scale back institutions which are too much of a drain on the public purse when so many of their courses could be provided cheaper by Colleges.

University empire building must be tackled because Scottish students are the ones who are losing out on their education in their own country.

Not only are Scots not getting their right to education, they also don’t run their own universities.

Some Scottish political parties like to remind us that they are “people’s parties”, so when are they going to stand up and fight for ordinary working class Scots?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Is it any surprise that Scots are snubbing council leisure centres, poor facilities, poor strategic vision and lack of learning culture kill community

Dear All

One of the things we know is that there is a massive financial crisis which is going to result in savage spending cuts.

In Scotland, the health budget of the Scottish swallows up a third of the Scottish grant.

It is therefore essential that measures are put in place to encourage Scottish people to be fitter.

One of the sure fire methods to achieve such a goal is the taking up of sport.

The benefits of sport are well documented and play into the Tory/Lib Dem approach of ‘big society’.

Sport builds healthy bodies and healthy minds, it develops social skills, leadership and team building, and it is ‘big society’ in miniature.

Almost two-thirds of Scots do not use municipal sports and leisure facilities.

The reason is two fold poor facilities and lack of tuition, the learning culture espoused by politicians effectively doesn’t exist to any great degree.

And that is that failure of a learning culture coupled with poor facilities which make Scots less inclined to use Council facilities.

If a learning culture was in place, attendance and numbers would rise.

When people use a Council facility, they get a standard induction and then they are left to their own devices, sink or swim. They can have personal training but that costs a premium.

My friend is a personal trainer in London, he charges £45 an hour which is a reasonable rate for London, in Scotland, the rates vary but a rough guide is £15 to £25 an hour.

Councils spend a fortune propping up leisure centres with funding of more than £650 million a year.

And they make no attempt to create a market and build a sports community.

The building of community can only come from a learning culture, the more knowledge people in a gym, the higher the technical standard. Some people don’t feel comfortable with instructors preferring to get help from a friend because the environment feels alien.

The first hurdle that both the instructor and trainee have to overcome is the issue of attendance of the trainee. To that end training plans must have goals, short term and long term.

Success isn’t simply measure by physical condition because the learning element must be taken into account.

And People will respond to a challenge if the instructor gains trust.
Scotland’s spending watchdog says local authorities should attempt to find out why so many people fail to take advantage of everything from swimming pools to civic golf courses.

That is simple; education which plays such a big role in society is missing; activities therefore become hard and difficult.

Another massive problem is that facilities are not designed for teaching and are dumb down to the lowest common denominator.

Facilities need to be designed as they would be to cater for the elite.

In Glasgow there is a policy of anti free weights, this was a major mistake on behalf of the Labour Controlled Council. The plan was to encourage ordinary people in and get rid of what is termed ‘the bears’.

When ‘the bears’ left they took their knowledge built up over many years with them leaving a desert!

In an instant, places like Glasgow Council killed the learning culture and community with a single stroke.

If you want to see how poor Glasgow Council facilities are check out both the Kelvinhall and Gorbals facilities.

The Kelvinhall free weights room is a scandal, years ago when I walked in my first thought was what the fuck is this?

At the brand new shiny Gorbals Leisure Centre, the fitness room is too small and extremely poor.

State of the Art!

No just a state.

The instructors relegated to little more than janitors.

And the irony is that the people who would be tasked to make a fitter and healthier Scotland are paid so little under a top heavy management devoid of talent and ideas.

Prove of the pudding.

Almost two-thirds of Scots do not use municipal sports and leisure facilities.

Reform is a word banded about mostly by people using slogans to get noticed with little real credibly ideas but reform of sports and leisure facilities is essential to deliver a fitter and healthier Scotland.

That means a learning culture and better facilities, both fit for purpose.

So, no political party in Scotland has delivered a proper and credible alternative to ensure a fitter and healthier Scotland because they wrongly think new means good and they don’t know what they are talking about either.

Do I?

I passed my fitness exams in weight training and circuit training scoring 95% and 92% in the written papers; I passed exercise counselling exams scoring 94%, I taught at Glasgow University were my students had competed in various sports at the top level.

The picture used in this post says it all, too small and cramped, is this what really passes as a world class facility?

No, but it is what is pushed on Scots by people who don’t know any better.

Is it so strange they don’t want to use it?

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Team McCann suffer major body blow as Portuguese Appeal Court Judges uphold Gonçalo Amaral's right to free speech, his book returns to bookshops

Dear All

I believe in freedom of speech, people have that fundamental human right, I also believe that if you exercise that right you have to take responsibility for what you say.

To be blunt, tell what you believe is right and true.

3rd May 2007 was the day that Madeleine McCann went missing from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz.

Despite an investigation, she has never been found and is believed by many people to be dead.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have said that they left the children unsupervised in a ground floor bedroom while they ate at a restaurant about 130 yards (120 metres) away.

They walked off and left three children under 5 alone to their utter shame and damnation.

I remember Gerry McCann from my time at Glasgow University, he was the kind of person when you walked passed you instinctively turned round and checked.

Something in the eyes cold, dead and lifeless like a shark.

While people searched for Madeleine McCann on the night she was reported missing, both her parents didn’t search for her.

Quite soon after the disappearance, a McCann Circus sprang up with journals, newspapers, television documentaries, news programmes, British Government Ministers, ‘B’ list Celebrities, Gossip Columnists and bulletins all propagated the abduction story which there is no evidence to support.

The only fact is that Madeleine McCann is gone.

If there is a hero in this story it is a simple man, Gonçalo Amaral, the Policeman assigned to investigate the case.

He doesn’t believe the abduction story like many others and after being removed from the case went on to write a book about the events surrounding it.

“The Truth of the Lie” is available to read online and doesn’t fit with the crafted PR image that Gerry and Kate McCann want to see in the public domain.

To that end they got an injunction against Gonçalo Amaral to financially break him but the smug McCanns' underestimated Portuguese Justice.

Now, the Portuguese Court of Appeal has overturning the ban on Goncalo Amaral’s book.

It is a victory for freedom of speech, a victory for justice and a victory of Goncalo Amaral.

It is also a defeat for Gerry and Kate McCann, their days of gagging people are fast running out.

The Appeals Court of Lisbon says:

“The contents of the book does not offend any of the fundamental rights of the applicants [the McCann couple and their three children]” and “the exercise of its writing and publication is included in the constitutional rights that are assured to everyone by the European Convention for Human Rights and by the Portuguese Republic’s Constitution”.

Both Gerry and Kate McCann should be returned to Portugal and reinvestigated by the Portuguese Police as Arguidos.

The McCann’s have rights, something they showed scant regard in relation to Gonçalo Amaral.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Banning smoking in private cars is a violation of people’s Article 12 rights; it is a step towards eroding Human Rights under the guise of health

Dear All

One of the limited freedoms we have is the right to choice, limited as it is in Scotland.

Smoking is legal; smoking in public places is restricted by law.

As a non smoker, I like the fact that publicly and private owned buildings are smoke free.

Now there is said to be Pressure is growing on the Scottish Government to ban smoking in cars.

This is a step too far into civil liberties and must be opposed.

As much as banning smoking in public places is correct, banning smoking in private cars is wrong; people have the right to choose.

It could also be an infringement of human rights, the right to privacy; the confines of a car are the same as the confines of a house.

Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

To impose a ban is anti human rights because it is an interference of privacy in a private place.

The health argument of passive smoking is well documented and known and already parts of Australia, Canada and the United States have already passed laws prohibiting smoking in vehicles when children are passengers.

The nanny state can only be allowed to go so far, if civil liberties are to be protected.

A consultation on similar legislation for Scotland is recommended in an action plan describing the next steps Scotland should take to tackle tobacco is funded by Cancer Research UK.

Cancer Research UK boards members are part of the social elite network which operate in Britain.

Through-out the entire country a whole unaccountable shadow government exists filled with people from these networks.

If you check the board of Cancer Research UK, you will quickly see, no one from a working class background sits on their board.

http://aboutus.cancerresearchuk.org/who-we-are/how-we-are-governed/trustees/

It seems that poor ordinary people are excluded from the board, just like they are excluded from all the social elite networks which operate in Britain.

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of Ash Scotland, said:

“There was a fear in some quarters that people would say ‘job done’ and move onto something else. But tobacco continues to have a huge impact on Scots’ health and also Scotland’s economy and we feel we need to keep the pedal on the gas and not let that momentum drift.”

The goal is a total ban on smoking in this country and Duffy is possibly of the opinion that breaching human rights Article 12 is an end that justifies the means.

It isn’t, as a non smoker who has asthma I still respect people’s right to choose.

Tampering with human rights isn’t a human right.

The current smoking ban is correct, anything further which violates privacy is wrong and erodes hard fought rights that ordinary working class people fought for.

It is a step on the road to a fascist state.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Top Danish Totty enters Tommy Sheridan trial claiming Sheridan had sex with her twice, public gallery might fill up with people in rubber macs!

Dear All

Everyone likes a bit of drama, which probably explains why people tune into Eastenders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

In a sea of trouble people even like to peek at others problems even if they are make believe.

As the ‘hit’ trial of Tommy Sheridan continues down at the High Court, sex has reared its ugly head.

It is alleged that Tommy Sheridan had sex with a married member of the Scottish Socialist party on at least two occasions.

Only two?

Katrine Trolle who is originally from Denmark is certainly worth firing into more than that!

She alleges she had "flirted" with Sheridan during the SSP's campaign for the Anniesland by-election.

So much for the work ethic!

She also said the former MSP had initially been "quite interested" in Danish "liberal values on pornography and sex".

As well as the rest of the male population of Glasgow!

The ‘Rumble in Cardonald’ was described by her in these terms:

"While we were leafleting we had been flirting quite a bit and he asked me if I would come and see him. Obviously, I agreed and he came to pick me up a little bit away from where I was staying. I was staying with my then mother-in-law and it would have looked suspicious. He picked me up and we went to his house. I think I had a glass of wine and without much further ado we went up to the bedroom and had sex."

One glass of wine and she drops her knickers, not even a cheeseburger to make up the pretence of a meal?

The next encounter she alleged was a much more a steamy affair, she said she got the bus from Aberdeen.

Sheridan met her at the bus station taking her his brother-in-law Andrew McFarlane's house in Cardonald.

She said:

"He hadn't actually said we were going to his brother-in-law's house. I was thinking I was going to see him. As we drove over to his brother-in-law's house, it slowly dawned on me that all three of us were going to have sexual intercourse”.

How could she arrive at this conclusion?

The trip to McFarlane’s house could have been a cover story for Sheridan to justify being in Glasgow under the guise of politics.

The best concealment is out in the open.

She added:

"We arrived and Andy opened a bottle of wine so he and I could have a glass of wine. Tommy went upstairs and not long after I went up there as well”.

Why?

She goes on:

"I was getting undressed, or Tommy was helping me to get undressed, when Andy appeared. We spent most of the night having sexual intercourse."

One wonders how much weight her testimony will carry with the jury, I can’t see someone like Sheridan sharing with anyone especially with his brother in law who might rat him out.

Is Andrew McFarlane going to take the stand and be quizzed on the alleged threesome?

He would be a good witness for Sheridan because if McFarlane says he wasn’t part of banging the arse off Katrine Trolle, it creates doubt in the mind of the jury and plays well into the theme which Sheridan could be trying to develop that he is the victim of a campaign.

And Sheridan needs to get some points up on the scoreboard; so far, he has been batting zero zero zero.

The trial, before Lord Bracadale continues and may attract people wearing rubber macs tugging away on the back benches!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Tory MP Liam Fox shows ‘Glasgow University’ style thinking putting lives in danger, Defence Review cuts place the UK in a more dangerous place

Dear All

The Tory axe assisted by English Lib Dems is going to fall in Scotland as Tory MP Liam Fox eyes up Scottish defence bases for closure.

Two of Scotland’s three RAF bases are said to be under the threat of the axe as fears grow that the fleet of Tornados and Nimrods will be cut permanently to save up to £10 billion over five years.

The air bases are well known, Lossiemouth and Kinloss.

The Tory/Lib Dem Government wants a cut in the annual £37bn defence budget by 8%.

How much money could be saved by not taking part in economic foreign wars headed up by the US is a point worth debate.

It is time that the UK stop pretending it is an international superpower and the world’s policeman. It is a third rate country with second rate ambition.

Ann McKechin, Shadow Scottish Secretary on hearing of the proposes said:

“Scotland has a key role to play in defence and the defence review has been rushed simply to make financial cuts, rather than consider what is in our country’s long-term national security interest. The speed it has been conducted at puts our capabilities and industry skills in Scotland at risk.”

Quite so dear!

It is estimated almost 6000 people depend on their livelihood directly from employment at the bases with £158m a year being pumped into the local economy.

As well as the 6,000 closure has a knock on effect as many more people, thousands in fact will be hit resulting in indirect job losses.

RAF Leuchars in Fife which is known for housing the multi-role Typhoon combat jets is thought at present to be secure.

One thing worth noting is the quickness that the review has taken place, this is all about cutting budgets, and not about long term defence.

The Army, Navy and Airforce are being geared up for local insurgence work rather than their traditional warfare roles.

Police actions seem to be the order of the day.

This is a mistake and short term thinking.

David Cameron, Nick Clegg, George Osborne and Danny Alexander have endangered the security of the United Kingdom.

Wednesday’s Spending Review will see the Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the £5.2bn contract to build two aircraft carriers continue on the basis of it is too expensive to cancel.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox would is shaping up to be a political liability hasn’t fought the MOD corner to great effect.

Fox, formerly of Glasgow University is like a toady is going along with the cuts.

He is as bad a war leader as ‘Bungling Bob’ of the Labour Party.

The Military Chiefs have flagged up the problem of lack of fighter plane cover; Former First Sea Lords Admiral Lord West and Admiral Sir Jonathon Band have said that if the Argentines retake the Falklands it would be impossible to mount a serious attack to turf them out.

Lives have been put in danger because of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition and Liam Fox.

Fox is simply displaying typical Glasgow University thinking and contempt for ordinary working class soldiers who would be required to put their lives on the line, he thinks people are there to be used.

The Defence Review will flag up further down the line as the disaster it undoubtedly is.

Scotland and ordinary working class people lose out again under the Tories.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Tommy Sheridan case produces a ‘new star’, former MSP Rosie Kane easily defeats Sheridan in mano-a-mano legal mental combat, Sheridan floundering

Dear All

Tommy Sheridan case saw a 'new star' emerge, former MSP Rosemary Kane.

As an aspiring legal eagle and eager beaver Tommy Sheridan took on former MSP Rosemary Kane in legal combat mano-a-mano.

He lost, as I continually say he needs a trial lawyer, everyday it is like reading about car crash TV.

Rosie Kane was giving evidence in the witness box relating that she “took bets” in the Scottish Parliament about the identity of an unnamed MSP involved in a tabloid sex scandal.

Standing on the moral high ground of ‘it’s not me and I am having a laugh’ she wandered around Parliament talking to people about the News of the World story.

There was a mention of giving 500-1 odds that the person at the heart of the story was Conservative leader Annabel Goldie.

I am sure that Ms. Goldie will be pleased that she is so highly thought of that she would be considered worthy a bet.

Ms Kane during cross examination said “not in her wildest dreams” did she think it was about her party’s leader.

She told Sheridan:

“I had heard about the News of the World article and I have then gone into parliament having no clue about what was about to unfold. Thinking it was a bit of a joke, I had gone round taking bets about who it was, saying Annabel Goldie 500-1 and stuff like that”.

She added:

“I even came to you and asked what you thought. At that point I had to be taken out of parliament and asked to shut up. I was saying, ‘Who did you think it could be?’ I was blaming… everybody. I was having a laugh.”

She said she was taken out of Parliament and told to shut up by former Scottish Socialist Party MSP.

Sheridan in a fit of mental madness asked the witness what was funny about the situation.

I think everyone can see the funny side of a sex story whoever is involved because it is funny and it is chip paper wrapper unless someone wants to make a big deal of it.

Kane said:

“It was a joke, Tommy. I used to be someone you used to get on with. It was a joke.”

And then Kane dropped a Hiroshima type bomb saying:

“Carolyn told me it was you.”

Doesn’t Sheridan know how to ask questions so that he gets the answers he wants?

Like a man drowning and clutching at straws Sheridan then asked the witness if she was still involved in the amateur dramatic society.

What relevance has this to do with the matters at hand? Is he looking for help for future job opportunities post trial?

Is he thinking of doing panto?

Kane replied to the accused:

“Are you?”

Kane slapped Sheridan down like a bitch.

In trying to throw dirt to muddle the water and raise doubt Sheridan’s cross-examination regarding a gathering of key SSP figures which he claimed it was a “secret meeting”.

How does he know it was secret if he wasn’t there?

Kane rubbished that claim by describing it as a “gathering of friends” at someone’s flat which she said Sheridan had been invited but did not attend.

This is another example that demonstrates that Sheridan needs a trial lawyer.

I don’t think he is up to the task, as I previously said, he will need more than Glaswegian patter to win.

When asked about her recollection of the meeting, she said:

“Tommy, it’s six years since and I have lost two jobs, two parents and I have got a grandwean coming. It’s not the biggest thing in my mind, so on you go.”

Tommy Sheridan isn’t the most important person in her world but she is one of the most important to enter his, she might be the person who sends him to jail.

More madness followed when Sheridan asked why she did not try to speak to him directly about the claim made by colleagues that he was the unnamed MSP who had visited a sex club.

She said:

“I didn’t feel that I could, given what it was about. It was disgusting. Tommy, it was traumatic. I was working with women who had been caught up in a trafficked situation. This flew in the face of everything that we stood for… it wasn’t a wee thing, Tommy, it wasn’t a faux pas.”

Talk about putting your foot in it, Sheridan ever heard of doing background research?

Sheridan and his wife Gail, both 46, deny all allegations of perjury against them.

Kane says that ‘The possibility of doing a Hugh Grant was discussed’, I think given what is unfolding down at the Court, Tommy Sheridan should think of doing a ‘Ronnie Biggs’.

Sheridan VS Kane in my opinion produced a clear win for Rosie Kane and the Crown Office.

Mano-a-mano, she verbally kicked his ass and rode him like a bitch from the witness box.

Sheridan is mentally on the ropes, tiny whities pulled down; tongue hanging side of the mouth, eyes rolling, gasping like a fish out of water, both arms hanging over the dock.

Sheridan and his wife Gail deny all allegations of perjury against them.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University