The Sordid Conspiracy of Silence to Protect Sturgeon; Nicola Sturgeon's SNP Government says it has no information on 'forgotten' earlier bombshell meeting which Sturgeon was told Salmond was being investigated over sexual allegations by her government, Sturgeon 'forgot', evidence is being withheld, evidence is being removed and erased, and evidence of who removed meeting from Nicola Sturgeon's diary isn't recorded, how many people believe that Alex Salmond was a victim of a conspiracy, and the SNP Government are involved in an active cover up to suppress the truth?

Dear All 

There is a side benefit for Scots regarding the trials of Alex Salmond which you should notice and remember, you now know the extent of how utter corrupt the SNP Government is. The inquiry into the Scottish Government's handling of the affair is a scandal. It seems that those who tried to railroad and destroy Alex Salmond's career, reputation and liberty are hell bent on remaining in the shadows and getting away with it. As to the role that Nicola Sturgeon has played in this affair, that is still to be determined, but there is a spotlight on her, Leslie Evans and her husband, SNP CEO Peter Murrell, and let's not forget the 'Alphabet women'. The attempt to destroy Salmond using Scottish Government legislation was a 'one shot deal', not that it has been found to be illegal. Why would so many highly educated people put a piece of legislation in place, this is a question which you should ask yourself. If they are prepared to act illegally to someone of Salmond's status, they are willing to do it to anyone. Salmond has become a lightening rod to show up corruption in Scottish Government. 

The inquiry at the Scottish Parliament isn't going to be allowed to do its job properly, that much is clear from what has so far taken place. SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP cabal think they are above the law because they hold executive power in the land. While they do, and Westminster doesn't interfere, they are safe for the moment. One thing that tin pot dictators and political cult leaders don't get it seems is that when they eventually step down, their shield of protection vanishes. It will vanish from Nicola Sturgeon, the only hope her cabal has is to integrate themselves with the next leader for protection. One thing through-out this inquiry is that Nicola Sturgeon has been keen to stress her innocence of wrong doing, the most ignorant woman in Scottish politics apparently has a defence that she knows 'nothing about nothing ever'! 

It seems that the SNP Government has decided to follow what now must be termed the 'Sturgeon Mantra' as it is pleading ignorance about the bombshell meeting at which Nicola Sturgeon was told of sexual misconduct claims against Alex Salmond. Their take is that the Government “holds no information” about the incident, all these people surrounding Sturgeon attending meetings with her, managing her press, holding her bag and no one is taking or recording notes? This begs the question, do they take notes and record other meetings, if so, what made the Alex Salmond meeting so special that they felt that no record must be kept? It seems that evidence in the inquiry at Holyrood must be forced out by those investigating these events, but apparently it isn't being voluntary given. 

Why doesn't the people in the SNP Government want to speak the truth? 

What we do know is that a meeting took place, we know this because it has been forced out of Nicola Sturgeon by politicians at Holyrood. Fast forward to this point in the time line and the  Scottish Government claims not to know where the meeting took place. One thing to observe is that you cannot just walk into the Scottish Parliament off the street, there are checks to get you in as a member of the public. Once inside, you simply just can't walk about anywhere, there is a security force in the building, we know that Salmond was inside the building because there will be a record of that. And, we know from Sturgeon that a meeting took place as she describes it, “in my office at the Scottish Parliament”. Another interesting part of the puzzle is that the Salmond meeting was later “removed” from the FM’s diary. This begs the questions of who is tampering with the official record of the First Minister, did they act alone, where they told to alter the record and what role did Nicola Sturgeon play in any of this? The meeting has been claimed to be 'party business' and it is expressly forbidden to conduct party business on the estate of the Holyrood parliament. It seems if breaking the rules isn't just confined to the Scottish Government, it is practiced within the Scottish parliament itself. You get a sense of the contempt the SNP hold Scotland and its people in when they put themselves above the people and the rules. 

Someone who is doing rather well at ferreting out the painful truth is Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, she has repeatedly dogged the SNP Government asking for information. In her attempts to get the truth of the matters at hand, she tabled five written questions about the incident, she received the same “no information” answer to them all from parliament minister Graeme Dey. Where has the information gone, it may not be thought of as usual that a document or record is misplaced, what when an entire record and its timeline has been deliberately sanitised that should set alarms bells running. Jackie Baillie is right to say that there is a “pervasive culture of secrecy”. You can also understand why the SNP Government show a willingness to take extreme measures to protect Nicola Sturgeon. If Sturgeon falls, circumstances change then so goes their protection, and although the SNP have no problem using people, they have no problem in throwing them under a bus to save their skins. You might also ask, why does SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon need protection if she has done nothing wrong? 

We already know that Sturgeon told MSPs she had three meetings and two calls with Alex Salmond while he was being investigated by her officials. Sturgeon claims that the first was on April 2, 2018 at her home in Glasgow. I suppose Salmond's mistake was having faith in Nicola Sturgeon, something I think he has been cured of forever. It has been now been established that Sturgeon was told March 29, 2018 by Salmond’s former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, in a meeting in her Holyrood office. So, why would Sturgeon forget to tell MSPs about the earlier meeting. If someone walked into your office and told you that your mentor of 30 years was accused of being sexually inappropriate would you simply forget that? How many people do you think that Nicola Sturgeon would feel the need to tell? Given the SNP try to micromanage the news in Scotland about them, how many do you feel would be in a meeting to composite not just hers but the SNP's response?  

Sturgeon said she had “forgotten” about her meeting with Mr Aberdein, despite the toxic nature of the discussion, as it had been “in the midst of a busy day” after FMQs. Do you believe that explanation? I don't know about you, but given the low grade volumetric tripe spewed out at Holyrood, I don't think anything would make me forget that in a hurry. Her failure to mention the meeting to MSPs should be a resignation matter, not because of what she said, but where she said it. If people lie in parliament or too parliament, it undermines democracy and when they hold the reins of power, anyone who lies is untenable to remain as a Government Minister of the Crown. The questions that Jackie Baillie is asking are important, she asked when the meeting was first placed in the ministerial diary, by whom and whose instruction; when it was removed from the ministerial diary, by whom and on whose instruction; where the meeting took place; the purpose of the meeting and who arranged it; and whether there were any prior meetings between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Aberdein, and if so what was discussed. 

The idea that no answers are available to her as a member of the 'Salmond inquiry' is patently nonsense. 

In reply to the first question, SNP MSP Graeme Dey said: 

“The Scottish Government holds no information.” 

In reply to the rest, he then referred Ms Baillie to his answer to the first question. 

Ms Baillie said: 

“This is just the latest example of the pervasive culture of secrecy in the Scottish Government and the lengths to which they will go to protect the reputation of the First Minister. By failing to answer these legitimate and necessary questions, the Scottish Government has displayed a contempt for transparency and utter disdain for the work of the Committee. This is symbolic of the obstruction that the Committee has faced and the toxic political culture that the SNP government has created and nurtured. Try as they might, the truth will out and I will use everything at my disposal to ensure that this sordid episode in Scottish political history is exposed.” 

Some people might conclude that that this whole affair shows how utterly corrupt the SNP Government is, and clearly many people think that Alex Salmond was the victim of a conspiracy to get him. In the aftermath of both Salmond 'trials', that idea I think was cemented in their minds. This piece on the Wings over Scotland website maybe of some interest to you regarding Nicola Sturgeon's Chief of Staff Liz Lloyd, she is someone who the Salmond supporters have taken a keen interest in as well, she is the 'gatekeeper' to Sturgeon. 

Https://wingsoverscotland.com/all-the-jolly-boys-and-girls/ 

Finally, evidence is being withheld from the Holyrood parliament and the public, we know that now. How many people have access to and could alter the diary of Nicola Sturgeon? Very few people indeed, so the suspects of who remove the Salmond meeting from the diary is very limited indeed are we to believe the few people who can access where never interviewed re Jackie Baillies request for information? Nicola Sturgeon has been branded a liar by many including an MSP, her husband Peter Murrell faces calls to be sacked on multiple issues including the Salmond affair. Nicola Sturgeon is also very close to those who denied Alex Salmond justice and also to certain members of the 'alphabet women' who sought to destroy him and put him in prison. What the public don't know is how close Sturgeon is to them as they shield their identity via protection from the court. This scandal isn't going away as demonstrated by SNP MP Kenny MacAskill who also is a Salmond supporter. He is doing something however which may take down the Sturgeon Empire, he has taken an ultra keen interest in where circa £600,000 donated specifically to fight indyref 2 has gone. Money may make the world go round, but it can also take people down, and once the dominos start falling, the speed of collapse will shock you.

Yours sincerely

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University