Updated: Former Tory councillor poses as just a journalist to attack the SNP in the Scotsman

Not-so-secret former Edinburgh Tory councillor, John McLellan (above), is in the Scotsman again today, with naked anti-SNP commentary posing as the news.

He claims:

The fifth “Building a new Scotland” paper is unveiled today by First Minister Humza Yousaf and his £98,000-a-year minister for independence, Jamie Hepburn, and compared to the previous damp squibs it promises to be thoroughly saturated.

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/series-of-snp-scottish-government-pamphlets-is-just-carrying-on-their-independence-charade-john-mclellan-4232580

Scottish Government ministers have capped their salary for the last 14 years at the 2009 level of £81,449 and the difference returned to the public purse which amounts to well over £1,250,000 added to public expenditure.

Some more details suggesting McLellan might not be all that ‘professional’:

On 23 June 2012 McLellan was appointed director of communications of the Scottish Conservatives. McLellan advised Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson on communications strategy, direction and content.

In the May 2017 Scottish local government elections McLellan was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council as Conservative councillor, one of four councillors for the Craigentinny & Duddingston Ward. He didn’t stand last time.

He was a member of the  Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (2006–12).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McLellan_(journalist)

The last one suggests an affinity with the preservation of the UK beyond what most other Unionist journos feel they need to demonstrate.

McLellan’s commitment to quality journalism is always not evident:

England’s good progress? Why not Scotland’s good progress? I suppose it was the first country he thought of.

Actual progress in vaccination? See this:

9 thoughts on “Updated: Former Tory councillor poses as just a journalist to attack the SNP in the Scotsman

  1. What I find amusing is that for many Tories, in one breath Scotland does not exist as a country/nation and in the next,Scotland and it’s government are really bad in comparison to a country called England.
    Cognitive dissonance aka Unionism.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. May I endorse and second Lizfountainbridge’s remarks re Mr McLellan. I used to do shifts at The Hootsman when he was a staffer there – an odious little man, suffering badly from Small Man Syndrome, and a shite journalist.

      I may be wrong, but, I think his career benefited greatly from Oor Andra “Brillo” Neil’s short spell as HIgh Heid Yin at the paper – a time when Proud Scots But were promoted beyond their ability.

      Liked by 3 people

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