Dear All
Former SNP Deputy Leader appears on TV in relation to the Alex Salmond scandal, at 83 years of age, Jim Sillars hasn't lost any of his mental capability. He is as sharp as a tack. I met him during the Brexit campaign at an event I organised in the Palace of Arts, he has a remarkable grasp of politics and is someone who is an engaging speaker. In my time, I have met some really engaging speakers, and Jim Sillars ranks up there will the likes of Gordon Brown and Alex Neil. They bring a style which educates and entertains you, they have the gift of craft of being able to interweave facts and personal experience. A good political talk should be like a good play, it should have pace, correct tempo and of course, a few funnies.
In an interview with the Scottish Sun, Jim Sillars said:
“I
for one, I’m a member of the party, I am not voting for them. I believe that
there’s a fair degree of political corruption now loose inside the higher
echelons of the SNP. And my conscience doesn’t allow me to vote for people I
find highly dubious.”
If
you have watching the news, other people have also sprung out the work to
denounce what has been going on. The catch all phrase which best sums it up is
#SNPCorruption. Jim Sillars is not alone, SNP MP's Kenny MacAskill and Angus
MacNeil have also spoken out, only today, SNP MSP Alex Neil came right out and
said that:
“If it was proven there was a conspiracy – everybody involved in the conspiracy I think would be getting their jotters.”
You might say he was hedging his bets, but fact he has came out is as significant as others. You could if you were so minded use the term 'conspiracy', because it is a word in common usage which describes what happened to Alex Salmond. The Scottish Government led by Nicola Sturgeon deliberately tried to railroad him through and illegal process. And they knew they were trying to railroad him through an illegal process once it was told to them. There then followed a cover up after Salmond won his judicial review. From the attempt to stitch him up, that led to the criminal trial, because I suspect that the people involved panicked. This led to the 'hunt' for women to make allegations against Alex Salmond. The approach seem to be 'more the merrier' or to give it its legal name the moorov doctrine. The doctrine is based on multiple people who give evidence against an individual accused of a crime who don't have any connection. In the Salmond criminal trial, this method was used because the Crown Office thought that 'volume of evidence' would trump 'quality of evidence'. The Crown thought that so many charges would generate even a single conviction, thus those involved in the conspiracy against Alex Salmond would be safe, Alex Salmond would be destroyed and they would be off the hook, and their part covered up forever.
But they didn't think this through, like the guy who keeps the hole, they just dug themselves in deeper. They didn't reckon on the jury, a jury most made up of women, who sat and listened to these women who occupied high positions in Scottish public life. The Crown Office failed to deliver for Nicola Sturgeon's SNP Government, the verdict she wanted. Since the Alex Salmond verdict, you may have noticed that:
1/
The Crown Office hasn't gone back for a retrial, why is that?
2/
None of the 'alphabet women' have gone public, even although some people have
worked out their identities and how close they are to Nicola Sturgeon.
3/
None of the 'alphabet women' have taken out a private prosecution.
4/
None of the 'alphabet women' have sued Alex Salmond.
5/ None of the 'alphabet women' have sued the Scottish Government.
Does any of this make you sit and ponder?
As Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said at First Minister's Questions (FMQs), the SNP is rotten at the core and “poisoning Scotland’s democratic institutions”. She is of course right, the SNP came up with a strategy which was to infiltrate and control power at all levels of public life either directly by joining groups or getting obedience. So, what do I men by all levels of public life? I mean they occupy seats in community councils, councils, NGOs, third sector charities, MSPs and Westminster. The SNP have formed a massive 'spad' army to watch the people in government departments, to watch and report disloyalty. I would say it's like Nazis Germany or Stalin's Russia, control by fear. Fear of loss, fear of losing their jobs by not being faithful to the regime run under Sturgeon. What the SNP are doing is simply to the work undertaken by Beria. Lavrentiy Beria is someone of historical interest during the second world war, his methods can be seen in how the SNP operate in Scotland, but Beria isn't a person who got away with his crimes. After a trial, he was shot through the forehead, regarded by Stalin as his 'Himmler', he was drunk on power and possibly mad. He was responsible for what was termed 'the purges' in Russia, deemed later as an act of terrorism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria
Although Nicola Sturgeon and Co will never go as far as having anyone shot, there are many of the Scottish public and beyond who believe that Sturgeon wouldn't have any problem jailing an innocent man. In her recent party political broadcast on the BBC, which is a disgrace, she used the Covid 19 briefing to attack Alex Salmond again. Which brings us to Jim Sillars' letter to Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government, and someone who doesn't have a future, Leslie Evans. And it appears she is someone who isn't bright enough to turn Queen's evidence and spill her guts. I am reminded of something said by Nicola Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell, wrote in a text:
“The more fronts he is having to firefight on the better for all complainers.”
Now,
it seems:
“The more fronts Nicola Sturgeon is having to firefight on the better for all complainers, Alex Salmond, disgruntled SNP and indy members and the opposition party.”
Here is the full Jim Sillars' letter and then I will get back to you at the bottom.
"JIM SILLARS LODGES FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST THE FIRST MINISTER
25th.
February 2021
Ms.
Leslie Evans
Permanent
Secretary
Scottish
Government
St.
Andrew’s House
Edinburgh
EH1
Dear Ms. Evans,
FIRST MINISTER IN BREACH OF THE MINISTERIAL CODE ON 24TH FEBRUARY 2021
I wish to lodge a complaint of breaches of the Ministerial Code by the First Minister on Wednesday 24th. February, 2021. The substance of the complaint, and the facts it is based upon, are set out below.
As the complaint could be seen as being in the context of matters being examined by the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, to which you have given evidence, you may think it inappropriate for you to be the official dealing with this complaint. If that is so, then I request that the next person in seniority should take this as addressed to them. I would like to be informed of who will deal with this complaint, should it not be you.
In her daily press briefings on the pandemic, the First Minister has consistently refused to answer questions on issues other than Covid-19. Yesterday, however, instead of refusing to respond to questions on matters irrelevant to the purpose of the press briefing on Covisd-19, she deliberately chose to do so. Not once, but five times. It can be seen here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/mOOOspr6/coronavirus-brefing-reaction-24022021.
You will note “coronavirus briefing.” The national broadcaster was in no doubt of the purpose of First Minister’s appearance. These briefings have all along had only one purpose. The timings show her response to questions which were asked as the briefing continued. I have had them double-checked as to times:
30.20 Question from James Matthew (SKY News)
First Minister spoke for 48 seconds on what can fairly be described as the Salmond issue.
32.57 Question
from Peter Smith (ITV)
First
Minister spoke for 5m 16secs on Salmond issue
52m
49scs Question from Simon Johnson (Daily Telegraph)
First
Minister spoke for 1m 36scs on Salmond issue
1h.
Question from Michael Blackley (Daily Mail)
First
Minister spoke for 52 seconds on Salmond issue
1h
02m “Question from Richard Percival (Daily Express)
First
Minister spoke for 59 seconds on Salmond issue.
In total, she spent over 9 minutes of a meeting called to inform the public, through the media, including BBC television, of the government’s continuing action on the pandemic crisis, not to express her views on clearly separate matters arising from the Parliamentary Inquiry.
Of course, the First Minister was not to know that the first question from James Matthew was not about Covid-19 and government policy in dealing with. But she did not, as on previous occasions, refuse to answer and re-state the purpose the briefing was convened for. Nor did she do that when the second question came from Peter Smith, and the others. The only conclusion that can be drawn from her action from 30.20 on, points to it being no accident; a deliberate choice.
When I state “the Salmond issue” above I mean what can be seen from the BBC iplayer – a sustained attack on Mr. Salmond on matters relevant to the Parliamentary Inquiry, but not remotely connected to a Covid briefing.
The complaint is, therefore, based on the attacks on Mr. Salmond in a forum that had been arranged by the Scottish Government to inform the public on a subject, the pandemic, a matter of serious public concern, in which maximum publicity would be given to the words of the First Minister. It is a gross breach of her duty to use that Government sponsored forum, for a public attack on Mr. Salmond in matters not related to the purpose of a briefing to which the media had been invited.
I submit that it is a breach of the Ministerial Code to allow, and then use, a public health Covid briefing to launch an attack on Mr. Salmond in the context of matters arising from the Parliamentary Inquiry. By her conduct as recorded by the BBC, she is in flagrant breach of the Clause 1 of the Code, and Clause 10 governing the conduct of Ministers and the Presentation of Policy.
It is not for me to question a decision by the First Minister to make a public attack on Mr. Salmond. But if she wished to do so, then she could have arranged a press conference on the subject, which would have been the proper and legitimate forum in which to do so. Abusing the Government Covid briefing was neither proper or legitimate. That is where the Code has been breached.
However, there are additional breaches of the Code which are quite extraordinary, unique in their gravity, and a matter of deep concern for all who understand the implications of what the First Minister said in those 9 minutes.
During her attacks on Mr. Salmond she said:
“The behaviour complained of was found by a jury not to constitute criminal conduct and Alex Salmond is innocent of criminality, but that doesn’t mean that the behaviour they complained of didn’t happen and I think it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that”
Unlike the First Minister, who did not attend Mr Salmond’s trial, the jury was there for every second. They saw Mr. Salmond, cross examined, precisely denying that the alleged behaviour happened. The jury saw and heard prosecution witnesses under cross examination. The jury’s conclusion, with a majority of women on it, was to acquit Mr. Salmond. If as the First Minister states the jury’s verdict means that the complaints they had before them in evidence did in fact happen, then the only logical conclusion you can draw from her words is that the jury was wrong in its verdict – 13 times.
Those were weasel words employed by the First Minister, and any reasonable person would draw more than an inference from them that the jury was wrong. The First Clause of the Ministerial Code (1.1) states that “Scottish Ministers are expected to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety.” The First Minister’s comment on the trial verdict, breached those standards.
I have been in public life for over 60 years, and in the course of it studied how heads of state and governments in the democracies have behaved in office. I cannot recall one single incident when the head of a government so egregiously questioned the verdict of a jury, or event thought it a proper and legitimate discharge of their duty to do so.
It is vital to the health of a democracy that Government more than any other part of our society maintain a scrupulous distance between it and intervention, even post-trial intervention, in our criminal justice system. That is the standard reflected in Clause (1.1) of the Code. Clause 1.3 states, inter alia, that Ministers “should uphold the administration of justice.” The First Minister, knowingly, breached those parts of the Code with her comments on the trial.
I submit that there is overwhelming evidence that on several counts the First Minister has engaged, deliberately, in grave breaches of the Ministerial Code.
Jim Sillars"
Hi, glad you made it through, the key part for me is:
“The behaviour complained of was found by a jury not to constitute criminal conduct and Alex Salmond is innocent of criminality, but that doesn’t mean that the behaviour they complained of didn’t happen and I think it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that”
Is Sturgeon actually saying that an attempted rape actually happened? To me, I am struggling to understand her warped mentality because there is no such thing as non criminal attempt rape. Rape is a criminal offence, attempted rape is a criminal offence, is Sturgeon saying that Alex Salmond is really guilty and that the jury just got it wrong? The jury got it wrong on all 13 charges? So, what were the charges because you need to understand them and then think over what Sturgeon has alleged.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/alex-salmond-court-case-charges-full-2441107
Finally, Alex Salmond made a joke when asked about his meetings with David Cameron, he responded, 'he disnae call, he disnae write', it seems that there are plenty of people geared up to complain about Nicola Sturgeon and her dodgy corrupt government. You can understand why now the Nicola Sturgeon and SNP are shutting down political campaigning by opposition parties. Sturgeon doesn't want people on doorsteps talking about the corruption of her SNP government or the fact they tried to put an innocent man in prison.
Ruth Davidson sums it up well when she said at FMQs:
"Is saving your own skin worth all the damage you’re doing?"
Apparently yes seems to be the answer, Sturgeon thinks she can ride out the storm, but she is mistaken, because its too late, people know what happened, people know the players, people know what they did, and that they did it while holding political office, and as part of Nicola Sturgeon's inner circle.
Yours sincerely
George Laird The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
I understand that Alex Salmond will be in the Holyrood chair for 4-hours tomorrow. That's more than enough time. He thrived in the bear-pit of Westminster and so the Inquiry team will not concern him at-all. He'll do very well.
ReplyDeleteThen it's James Wolffe on Monday. I don't know how long he gets. Jackie Baillie had a dry run with him yesterday and he bottled it. During his first appearance in front of the Fabiani Inquiry, he was confident and smiling, confident that they couldn't do him any damage. It's different now; they can do him great damage and I expect Jackie Baillie to make it her own pet project to bring-down the Lord Advocate..
Then it's the wee hairy on Wednesday. If she lasts that long (I think she will).
The jury did not find Salmond guilty on a single charge. They didn't believe the witnesses. It's no doubt very, very unusual for that to happen. To be found not guilty on that number of charges, but that's what happened.
ReplyDeleteWhat do I take from that.....that the charges were bogus to begin with and that Salmond was framed.
Am I alone in thinking this? Maybe at one time I would have been in a minority, but after tomorrow I will be in the majority.
Brilliant georgieboy
ReplyDeleteCrookie
ENJOY
https://www.captiongenerator.com/2147477/Sturgeon-get-bad-news
I am shocked and outraged at this disgusting, lying, deceitful, corrupt, vindictive excuse for a woman. I never liked her either politically or as a person, but I never imagined that she'd stoop this low.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Alex Salmond either, but I support him 100% in his fight for justice and the truth. It is a malevolent, evil, cruel, nasty and selfish thing to deny a man his right to personal liberty for political gain.
Sturgeon is sick-minded. She's stooping to the same levels as Putin, Maduro, the Iranian mullahs, and the Saudi monarchy. She's got to go, and her lousy, stinking party with her.
Liam Fox yesterday prepared the ground for a suspension of Holyrood. Andrew Neil added his weight to that earlier today.
ReplyDeleteThere would be no great gnashing of teeth if it were to close. It has failed to deliver. Whether it ever opens again will depend I think on Sturgeon's performance on Wednesday.
If she struggled with Willie Rennie today, then the omens are bleak for Wednesday.
Stop this mince,the lassie is concentrating on saving lives ffs! Only way out of this ridiculous London control is independence,get a grip(and a backbone)
ReplyDeleteDear Mark
ReplyDelete"Stop this mince,the lassie is concentrating on saving lives ffs! Only way out of this ridiculous London control is independence, get a grip(and a backbone)".
Was Nicola Sturgeon saving lives when the SNP put infected elderly people into sterile care homes from hospitals?
Please come back with an answer even if it is mince.
As for backbone, you will find if you look at the top of the page, you will find that I have plenty of that, I got the first criminal conviction of one of the top 7 cybernats in the UK.
George
What disappoints me at the moment is the inaction of Alister Jack. He's responsible for the Devolution Settlement. His role hasn't been diminished by the introduction of Holyrood. He just appears to me to have chosen to do nothing.
ReplyDeleteA great letter by Jim Sillars. No-one will reply. All at Holyrood St Andrews House and Victoria Quay elect not to communicate with the proleteriat. They seem to get away with it; I don't know why.
Mark - you may be interested to know that the Minister for old-folk is Christina McKelvie. She hasn't contacted one single care home since the epidemic began almost a year ago. An unbelievable statistic. She's one a a number of SNP Ministers who pick-up nice money for fuck-all.
ReplyDeleteSturgeon has bought the loyalty of the Crown Office. They have a budget of £160m per year and already have racked-up liabilities of almost £100m this year alone due to the RFC balls-up.
ReplyDeleteOrdinarily, key figures within the Crown Office would be bagged. Not so. Sturgeon has kept all of them in place and made them slaves to her demented demands for loyalty and obedience.
I'm sure that Jackie Baillie knows that.
The key opinion is that of James Hamilton. Due in the next week or two. He should report on whether Sturgeon mislead Parliament or not. That's why Wolffe is busy redacting statements, because they prove that Sturgeon lied.
ReplyDeleteIt my opinion, it would be extraordinary if he found that she hadn't mislead Parliament.
In the past FM's have been bagged for much less and so we shall wait and see.
I wouldn't bet against Salmond giving a sparking performance tomorrow and then announcing that he's standing in May.
ReplyDeleteStanding in that tool Angus Robertson's constituency (Central Edinburgh, I think) would suit just about everyone.
If that were to happen of course, Sturgeon and Wolffe would both be fucked. They'd be lucky to keep themselves out of prison because old Salmond will come after them and be supported in so doing by the majority of Scots.
Might we see Alex Salmond and George Galloway at Holyrood after May? Mind-you, Boris might just decide to scap the joint. Personally, that would be my preference. Although Alex and George would provide good entertainment value from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWhat can you say. She's lost the plot. The whole thing stinks to high heaven. Is she to be dragged out of Bute Hose screaming?
ReplyDeleteDear Anon
ReplyDelete"What can you say. She's lost the plot. The whole thing stinks to high heaven. Is she to be dragged out of Bute Hose screaming?"
Are you screamophobic?
I am sure there are some places that Nicola could get locked up, and some with stunning countryside views.
George
Agreed. Prison time is required. Several MP's went to jail for the Westminster expenses scandal. A few previous FM's went due to expenses. David McLetchie due to taxi fare receipts. So, Sturgeon, Swinney, Murrell, Evans and woman H should be facing jail time.
ReplyDelete6-years of Sturgeon has left many in Scotland seriously pissed-off. I am one of them. There will be calls for a criminal trial and I would support them.
ReplyDeleteShe is now so badly damaged that even Willie Rennie is helping to sink her. Like Trump, I detect a slight psychological problem and so she has to go.
It was all too much for her. She was consumed with hubis from the start. It has taken us 6-years to get rid of this idiot.
From today's Scotsman: 'The Faculty of Advocates has said it is “concerned” at the focus on the Crown Office and Scotland’s court services in the increasingly bitter row engulfing the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament over redacted elements of Alex Salmond’s evidence to a Holyrood committee investigating how complaints of sexual harassment against him were handled.'
ReplyDeleteToo fuckin bad. Sort-out your greedy and bent lawyers. They disgrace Scotland.
From The Spectator: "You've got an SNP gov't minister in charge of the Crown Office. The Crown Office is basically aligned with the SNP - Shocking"
ReplyDeleteRetirement to the Portuguese villa is looking more and more likely. The rat deserting the sinking ship springs to mind whilst leaving the rest of the country to clear up the complete and utter mess she has made of it
ReplyDelete'What about respect for Parliament? The Crown Office - Scotland’s public prosecutors - pressurised Holyrood to censor Salmond’s evidence against Sturgeon. The CPS would never dream of trying to thwart a Westminster inquiry in this way.'
ReplyDeleteThis was said by The Spectator's Fraser Nelson in response to an appeal by the Law Society 'to respect lawyers because they work impartailly for our protection.' If you believe that shite, you will believe anything.
I understand that you have been let-down in the past by Scottish lawyers. So have I. It's all coming-out in the wash now. Some of them are crooked and need to spend a few years behind bars alongside some of our most senior Holyrood parliamentarians.
SPADS around Sturgeon, as well as the ministers and MSPs are, characterised by supine mediocrity and handsomely rewarded for it. This government is reminiscent of a ponzi scheme and we know how they always end up. It only remains to be seen whether the ponzi king and queen get away with their ill gotten gains
ReplyDelete"I am sure there are some places that Nicola could get locked up, and some with stunning countryside views".
ReplyDeleteThere's a few open prisons in England with stunning countryside views but I believe Scotland does not have any open prisons for female inmates. P.S, Sorry for the awful spelling George.
I'm watching this live the standard of the SNP MSP are pretty low and the chairwoman (Fabinai?) seems like a confused grandma at a Parish Council - she's forgotten to formally suspend proceeding at the break twice now.
ReplyDeleteSomeone collect grandma!
We now live in a country where the prosecutors can prosecute the innocent and nothing can be done about it.
ReplyDeleteIf you are not a millionaire or if you cannot crowd-fund, you are fucked, I'm afraid.
Interesting to see what this does to SNP support. Last week I was told it had dropped by 11%. It now looks like that was a bum-steer but I can see it dropping to around 40% by election time.
Murdo Fraser and Jackie Baillie were the stand-out performers today. Concise and to the point.
'WE NEED A GOVERNMENT WHICH CAN PROTECT ITS CITIZENS FROM ARITRARY AUTHORITY' - Alex Salmond
ReplyDelete'Salmond challenges Inquiry: is there anybody who thinks the censored bits of my evidence compromises the anonymity of the complainants?'
ReplyDeleteThis, and the refusal by the Permanent Secretary to hand over documents specified in a Warrant.
I notice Swinney is keeping his head down: 'NOT ME!'
Give it time to settle, George. Today we witnessed a masterclass from one of the most accomplished parliamentarians this country has ever produced. The story is now seeping into the conciousness of ordinary Scots. They are thinking: 'This guy has been driven to the brink of ruin....is that what we do nowadays in Scotland?'
ReplyDeleteThe answer to that question is: 'Yes, that is what we do to folk in modern Scotland'.
Salmond was magnanimous towards Sturgeon; far more magnanimous than he had to be. I think the weekend papers will do a great deal of damage to Sturgeon. The English press especially don't like her at-all and her nervous disposition leads me to believe that she is now holes below the water line.
I can think of a number of questions that Baillie and Fraser will ask her that are unanswerable.
Scotland is now fucked. It is a dead man walking. It cannot go-on and Salmond explained that to all of us. We need a change.
Great article. Managed to get some time to watch clips of the Committee yesterday.
ReplyDeleteOne of the key things I noticed is the almost understated way that both Alex Salmond and Jim Sillars make their points. No bombast, bullshit, gesticulating wildly, strained voices or anger. Both use controlled language with a minimum but effective amount of effort.
I don't think, nor do I want Salmond to return to politics. He failed in 2014 when at the height of his power. He is in part responsible for the rampant division that runs through Scotland. But to be, as is alleged, deliberately targeted in such a manner, using the facilities of the state, is appalling. It is an abuse of power.