Dear All
The trial of Nationalist MSP Bill Walker is
getting hot like a scandal episode of a television soap opera. One of his ex
wives has told a court he punched her in the eye two weeks before their
wedding.
Bill Walker, a close colleague of
Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is on trial at
Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Where’s Nicola?
Bill Walker is accused of a string of
assaults against four women over a 28 year period.
Where’s Nicola?
Is this one battle that where she doesn’t
want to be seen at when a “yours for Scotland” warrior is in action?
Best not to turn up, after all, Alex
Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon are at present trying to woo the women’s vote with
tales of nirvana, milk and honey and everything will be peachy in the garden.
Bill Walker’s first wife Maureen Traquair has
graphically told the court she had to buy concealer for their wedding day in
January 1967.
Apparently she wanted to look her best on
her wedding, and a black eye would spoil anyone’s wedding photos on the big
day.
“Yours for Scotland” Walker is alleged to
have assaulted her on three occasions at addresses in Edinburgh.
Ms Traquair, 66, said:
"It was two weeks before we married
and I was hit on the eye by Bill. I had a black eye for two weeks and we had to
go and buy green make up for the actual wedding."
One can only wonder how a jury sitting
listening to this tale unfold will react to that gem of domestic bliss.
She then told the court about the couple's
life in Chicago, America, Chicago is called the ‘windy city’ and it appears
that according to Ms Traquair, Bill Walker has plenty to say about the issues
of the modern woman working.
She said:
"Bill didn't want me to work, he was
quite clear that his wife would not work. I had to refuse the first job I was
offered."
Ms Traquair however decided to take
employment and went on to describe an occasion after she had started a job.
As a good gesture, she bought her husband a
gold watch for Christmas with her first pay cheque.
Everyone loves presents, especially at
Christmas, but Bill apparently wasn’t pleased, she added:
"He opened it then he stood up and
left the apartment and threw it down the chute to the furnace. He said I was to hand my notice in at the
first opportunity and that I wasn't allowed to work."
Bill Walker is one of Alex Salmond’s
biggest cheerleaders in Holyrood, Bill thumps the table at Holyrood when
Salmond rallies the troops for battle.
Asked by rising star fiscal depute Les
Brown about her clothes, she said:
"Bill would take me out and he would
approve or disapprove. I had to try the clothes on and he would decide whether
or not I could have it."
Such a style guru, I had no idea, and as I
recall Alex Salmond is pretty adamant about the ‘talent’ in the SNP.
Here is his exact quote:
“my problem is that I have too many
talented people and not enough Cabinet positions”.
Bill Walker, a talented man, possibly in
line for controlling Scottish broadcasting in an independent Scotland?
Dress sense with Walker!
As well as enjoying America, Bill and his
wife also lived in France.
Viva La France!
However, France, a land of love wasn’t so
lovely for her, as she described how on another occasion she had returned home
late, Bill Walker wasn’t happy.
She said:
"He was furious that his meal wasn't
made. I was told my place was in the kitchen."
Hasn’t he ever heard of cereal? Surely
emergency cornflakes must have been in the home!
Hasn’t he heard of takeaway?
What about toast and scrambled egg?
After France, the couple returned home to
Scotland, this is where she described an assault after confronting him about
suspicions he was seeing another woman.
Ms Traquair continued:
"I said I believed there was another
woman involved. He said there wasn't and then he hit me on the face, a hard
slap on my face."
The couple was divorced but rekindled their
relationship in about 1984, during a meeting when she had decided to call the chance
to re-marry off; she said he was again violent towards her.
Ms Traquair added:
"He tore the engagement ring off my
finger. I told him 'you've made it easy for me, I've no intention of marrying
you ever again'."
Under cross examination by Walker's lawyer,
solicitor advocate Gordon Martin, Ms Traquair denied that she was telling a
"pack of lies designed to destroy him out of vengeance."
She responded:
"He knows what he did. I'm not lying.
I'm not a person who is vengeful. I'm here because the police came to me and
asked me to answer questions."
If I was sitting in that jury, I would have
to look at Gordon Martin, what a gift for a Fiscal Service;
“I'm here because the police came to me and
asked me to answer questions."
Rather knocks his line of questioning out
of the park!
Let’s just remind ourselves of that classic
line again:
“I'm here because the police came to me and
asked me to answer questions."
Nationalist MSP Bill Walker denies 23
charges of assault and one of breaching the peace.
The MSP’s alleged victims are Maureen
Traquair, Anne Walker, Anne Louise Paterson and Diana Walker between January
1967 and January 1995.
The alleged assaults are said to have taken
place at addresses in Edinburgh, Stirling, Midlothian and Alloa.
Bill Walker, of Alloa, Clackmannanshire has
lodged a special defence of self defence in relation to three of the charges.
It seems that there are quite a lot of
witnesses rounded up by the Crown for this case so it could take quite a while.
Despite the SNP being notified about Bill
Walker prior to the Holyrood 2011 election, it doesn’t appear yet again that
anyone at the SNP HQ was listening.
One of the alleged victims’ relatives also went
to seek help from Scotland’s unpopular Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and
as is the old story with the Scottish National Party, complaints not
investigated properly.
How do we know that?
There is a trial before Sheriff Katherine
Mackie.
Bill Walker was elected as an SNP MSP for
the Dunfermline constituency and according to reports; he has experience of
fighting against knives!
Don’t expect Nicola Sturgeon to be anywhere
near this, she is trying to win the Scottish women’s vote, however, Ms Traquair
looks like she has already captured it.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow
University
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