stewartb
‘Could the Covid inquiry reshape the UK?’ – this is the headline above a piece by James Cook on the BBC News website today. Mr Cook is of course BBC Scotland’s political editor whose team of journalists has been working hard to amplify the alleged ‘significance’ of WhatsApp messaging more than anything else in news reports on the Covid Inquiry’s Edinburgh sessions.
Having feasted on the Inquiry’s references to WhatsApps, Mr Cook seems to have belatedly become aware of the journalistic relevance of ‘perspective’. He writes today: ‘ Not so many years ago many of the conversations now under scrutiny — sometimes casual, sometimes consequential, occasionally both — would have been murmured on the telephone or muttered in the corridor, leaving no trace but memory.
‘In an era when much informal interaction in society has shifted from verbal to written, can those elected to lead us, and those appointed to assist them, have the full and frank discussions necessary for good governance if they expect that every word of those discussions will eventually be made public?
‘Can teams forge good working relationships in dark times without the ability to relieve pressure by sharing a private joke?’
He may be trying to come over all ‘thoughtful’ even ‘wise’ today, but none of the above influenced his editorial choices over recent days or moderated the negativity of the BBC Scotland’s coverage with its WhatsApp focus and witch-hunting tone.
One other thing strikes me as odd – both in terms of the Inquiry’s public hearings and media coverage. The former Scottish Government ministers when responding to the WhatsApp ‘issue’, focused on the significance of Cabinet meeting papers and minutes – for the record of options being put to Cabinet, of discussion in Cabinet of these options and of decisions ultimately taken. The Inquiry has access to Cabinet papers. The production of Cabinet papers and minutes is a highly developed, core skill within the Civil Service – Google searches yield detailed guidance documents from official UK government and Civil Service sources.
Can anyone recall much or any interrogation of witnesses – or any media assessment – around the ACTUAL content of key Cabinet papers: did these IN FACT – as claimed by former ministers – provide substantive records of options prepared, of the appraisal of options and the basis of final decision taking? Why does there appear to have been so little interest in examining and challenging witnesses on the ACTUAL content of Cabinet records to assess their adequacy for providing useful learning? Will this be rectified in the Inquiry’s non-public objective evaluation of ALL the evidence now available to it or will it be the inputs to public hearings that get most attention?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The enquiry is broken it is now fake and serving one purpose……to bring down the SNP and put blue Labour in power…….we have learned virtually nothing from the abuse from KC’s to Scottish Government publicly elected officials…..it is now a sham…..always was going to be…..and very disrespectful to people who lost loved ones, all the front line workers who got us through it and to the general public. Remember this is meant to be an enquiry to identify where things went wrong and in turn where things were done correctly….to learn lessons and establish a correct modus operandi in case of another pandemic…..this is not a criminal trial, which is the way the rabid media have made it, at least in Scotland……….all for political gain…all of them are complicit in their BIG LIE….come Independence they will be shown up for what they are….grandstanding, ambulance chasing, misrepresenting, blatantly lying, scaremongering, disrespectful, impune, remorseless, moronic, bile throwing, careerist, colonial, f*****s!!!
”with your mercury mouth…….”
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it has been clear for some time before the Scottish section of the enquiry opened that the unionists and their media thugs were going to use the Scottish enquiry to rubbish the Scottish Government and its advisers.
It had been clear to anyone that during the pandemic, the messaging by the Scottish Government was far superior to that in the rest of the UK and, consequently, there was far greater public compliance with the measures put in place and, consequently lower infection rates and fewer deaths per 100 000. The contrast with the bumbling and mendacious Johnson and Hancock was striking. And, then we had the appalling behaviour with parties in Downing St.
Each day, the media thugs presented their sour and biased questions to the FM, Health Secretary, advisers and received accurate and informative answers and were clearly put back into the snake pit in which they lived.
The management of the pandemic showed that, even though it was hampered by the Treasury and by UK wide plans for such as PPE, that the Scottish Government could manage a major crisis successfully.
So, the unionists, the UK state and their media heavies decided that the SG ands it’s advisers should be rubbished, and, by selective use of evidence – mainly the deletion of WhatsApps – they spun a fictitious tale of dishonesty far exceeding anything the proven liar, Johnson, was shown to have done.
Sadly, prior to this issues and pressures within the SNP which had been bubbling for several years since the attempted framing of Alex Salmond, led to the resignation of the FM. I suspect that the pressures of managing the pandemic and of 16 years in government meant that she was frazzled as Jacinda Ardren in New Zealand had become. Other things like the trans legislation and the inclusion of the Greens opened cracks. So, the unionists saw a chance to go in with boots, clubs, stones, lies, etc.
The Enquiry has been commandeered by the unionists to deal with ‘upstart separatists’ seeking to destroy, what, in the unionist mind is THE EMPIRE. The dissolution of the empire during the 20th century was characterised by British thuggery to destroy the economies of India, Malaya, many African states, Cyprus, etc and tacit support for apartheid in South Africa. The recent behaviour towards the SG is a warning – know you place, JOCKOs or there is worse to come.
The Enquiry does, indeed, have a wealth of detailed information and, Lady Hallett might well produce an insightful nuanced report which might, indeed, indicate SG achievements. But the unionists and their media will focus only on the criticisms.
However, Scottish voters like voters elsewhere are not all that easily gulled. It is possible that some are so disenchanted with politics as practised in the U.K., that they won’t bother voting.
But, Scotland does not exist in a vacuum. The humbling of the DUP in Ireland and the likelihood of SF in government on both sides of the border will strain the bonds binding the U.K. The growing support for independence in Wales with the sympathetic nods of Welsh Labour, is a further straining. The growing poverty in England and the lack of any firm offer of hope from Starmer’s increasingly City friendly stance – yes, pay your big bonuses and we won’t tax you – suggests significant pressures will build in England.
We live in interesting times.
Alasdair Macdonald
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this week has shown clearly the difference in the interrogation of Gove/Jack compared to sturgeon and the coverage in the media and the inquiries aim to try to prove that devolution doesn’t work…..but we see it for what it is and they can shove it!!
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Correct, but I’d go further in to what extent was the ‘corporate record’ at variance with what featured in the Inquiry’s examination of WhatsApp messages ?
NONE.
Jamie Dawson went to extraordinary lengths to emphasise the difference between a WhatsApp conversation and what was recorded officially as salient points in the evidence session with NS, none of the other 10+ messaging systems in common use at the time considered.
Who in their right mind would confirm that every nuance of a conversation let alone a WhatsApp or 10s of other means of communication would convey the full context of an interchange, yet that was exactly what he required of the former FM in complete isolation to that which preceded and followed – His ‘official’ brief was to elicit further information on that which had been provided to the Inquiry, not to plant doubt or make political points, yet that is precisely what he attempted to do.
That was not interrogation of evidence, it was a blatant attempt to paint SG as badly as #10 had already been revealed, and with all respect to Lady Hallett, she was complicit.
For clarity, my post over his latest article on WGD “And James Cook’s personal latest “Could the Covid inquiry reshape the UK?” https://archive.ph/FVYuS 3rd February 2024, 09:34 UTC which according to the front page was 10h old…”, but I should have added at the time of writing, a Pacific Quay/Tardis free zone…
I’ve resisted thus far reading James’s latest verbage, the subtitle to the lead photo ‘A ‘scumbag rat’ and a ‘traitor?’ Moi?’ speaks volumes – This was James at the Perth Tory Leader Conference behind the public barrier, creating a diversionary news story to avoid the inevitable embarrassment of Tories over how unwelcome they were to Scots.
Irrespective of whether the claim is to be an ‘impartial broadcaster’ or ‘journalist’, he remains ‘A Scumbag’ to me much as his predecessor the DisHon Sarah Smith….
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The point you make about the difficulty/impossibility of having a nuanced conversation via WhatsApp was one Ms Sturgeon made when explaining why she did not use that method for substantive conversations/discussions to reach decisions. She also made clear that any WhatsApp messages that contained any material relating to policy decisions was transferred to the corporate record.
Ms Sturgeon gave detailed and informative replies to the questionsshe was asked on specific points but her answers and the info contained within have been ignored by the media. Instead they have gone with the premise of the questions such as the unsuitability of Calderwood, Smith & Leitch to advise compared to scientists Vance and Whitty. In doing so the media, and others, ignore the setting up of the Advisory Group and the role they played.
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To use a sporting analogy, they “went for the man not the ball”.
We may be unable to avoid James Cook’s propaganda when the Scottish Inquiry reconvenes, but if that Inquiry focusses on cause/effect rather than political assassination, we may better learn lessons from it.
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The iinquiry is a diversion for the Westminster Government, will run for years, deliver a report that would take years to read and absorb, nothing new of worth will emerge as many changes have already been made.
Another pandemic would be kept under Westminster control so that we will never again see a WHO report on 33 European countries with Iceland leading as the country with the best outcomes for everyone over sixty with Scotland in second place and England in ninth.
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I am supremely confident that Dawson and his team of faithful and carefully chosen Civil Servants will be feverishly scrutinising the tens of thousands of documents the SG has provided to the Inquiry including Cabinet papers etc so that we indeed shall learn valuable lessons for the future……sorry there are some people in white coats wanting to take me back to the Home.
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NEVER DID AND NEVER WILL HAPPEN
NOT EVEN BY SLABBER MEMBERS
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The Cabinet papers – thousands of them – were brushed aside as incidental to the *real record* of the WhatsApp messages. Ignoring the Cabinet papers was deliberate. The grilling of Nicola Sturgeon over the WhatsApp messages lasted an excessive amount of time and her explanation of relevant material being transferred into the corporate record treated with contempt.
I doubt the thousands of pages of evidence supplied by the Scottish Government to the Inquiry will be scrutinised in quite the same way as the messages. It was all performance by Dawson and sickening to watch. The bereaved and others badly affected by the virus are not being well served by the way in which this Inquiry is being conducted.
Incidentally, the Secretary of State for (?*?) Scotland was a complete disgrace. A numbskull – rude, arrogant, nasty, unprofessional – and a total waste of space. I must say John Swinney’s assessment of him was spot on; he said Jack served no useful purpose during the pandemic.
Jack was unable to comprehend the meaning of many of the questions put to him. Some questions had to be repeated, in simpler language, several times before he could understand them. It was quite an eye-opener.
Incidentally, it was interesting that Aamer Anwar, who had convened a press conference after Nicola Sturgeon’s evidence, didn’t do the same after Jack’s evidence. That speaks volumes to me. It was a witch hunt.
A C Bruce
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Re A C Bruce’s comment about Alister Jack, I’ve got a pal who has known Jack since early childhood in Kippford and describes him as “loathesome and not very bright as a child or in later life”. Jack grew up in an entitled family (his father was Lord Lieutenant of Dumfriesshire – the absolute pinnacle of local Conservative Establishment) and, according to my friend, was insufferable and spiteful at school and in adult life, even among the local Tories.
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ken @ 12.35 am
I can well believe that. He was a belligerent dimwit. He was aware enough of his limitations though which, I think, brought out a vileness in him which didn’t belong in an Inquiry into the pandemic.
It’s astounding that he will soon be in the Lords formulating laws which Scots must obey. To be frank, that’s laughable.
He would be out of his depth in a puddle.
A C Bruce
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The ambition to obtain a shiny gong is incredibly persuasive in certain stratas of society.
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I read James Cook’s piece in amazement, and agree he appears to have toned things down after the strong reaction to Nicola’s grilling. Unfortunately the damage has been done at least with those who still rely on the BBC and newspapers for their news, I wonder how many will find this new article discreetly tucked away from view. Significantly many of the stories failed to get on to the UK home page suggesting that the whatsapp stuff might show the BBC up as hypocritical or that some of the positive stuff might come to light
As for the actual documents submitted did I hear that cabinet minutes are only published after 15 yrs? This might mean there were restrictions on what could be presented if true?
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I thought I would throw this one in mix,
Rule Britannia they say.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/royal-navy-scraps-major-warship-190000533.html
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Apparently the defence Secretary will always defend the Falkland islanders right to self determination.
so there you go.
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O/T
Open Democracy tweeted “Bankers and City-linked firms have handed Labour the equivalent of £2m since the party launched its charm offensive on big business in 2022, openDemocracy analysis of Electoral Commission data shows “
Plus when Sunak announced that his party was going to scrap the cap on Banker’s bonuses one of the vocal opponents to this was….Rachel Reeves
Now she appears to be agreeing with this move……not really shocking though is it considering WHO and WHAT she and her party now truly seem to represent ……as in they as a political party, and the next ‘presumed’ UK government, supporting the business interests of those who donate a lot of money to your party’s coffers……..thus if you, as a business owner, donate large amounts of money to a party ,as the presumed next UK government, you, as a donor, then EXPECT to get what YOU want (that is a return for the money that you donated) if that party does indeed gain power in the up and coming GE this year.
Initially Reeves was supposedly opposed to Sunak scrapping the cap on Banker’s bonuses and she said that this was ““at a time when he is urging wage constraints for everybody else, how can he remotely claim that that is fair?” and she also said re Sunak “he is asking working people to take the hit… if you are a banker, a non-dom or a private equity manager, do not worry: Scrooge has not cancelled your Christmas.”
Now…..upon her publicised so called (but is it?) U turn on this she declared to the BBC that she has “no intention” of reinstating the cap, which she suggested would prevent her from being the “champion of a thriving financial services industry”.
The reality is of course that Reeves has long portrayed the decision to scrap the cap as a basic issue of fairness.
What this does clearly demonstrate is who New New Labour , if the next UK government, will be supporting and who they will not be supporting…..thus for many struggling people within their UK there will be no real “Change” or actual “Fresh start” but instead a familiar stench of the same old same old continuation of Tory policies and decisions that will negatively impact the poorer people in their UK the most….while the wealthy will still retain their current wealth and indeed even perhaps gain more wealth while the less fortunate are made to feel as if they are less worthy as those deserving of more financial help and success by those in power. They , poorer people, are instead presented as those who are a drain upon the UK economy…….while bankers are presented as the opposite…..good luck Labour with trying to sell that as a reality (we all remember the financial crash in 2008 and whose fault that was !)
So Scots and new Scots in Scotland beware false prophets aka New New Labour as they are clearly telling you that they will be FOR the FEW (wealthy) and NOT for the MANY (poorer people).….and take note of how many ‘promises and pledges’ via Starmer that have now fallen by the wayside as he cowers under the fear of both scrutiny and criticism from both his main opponent in England, the Tories, and too their client media…..which translates as him having no REAL conviction or principles but instead he seeks to appease both those existing Tory voters and too the new Tory voters (Red Wall voters) with policies that exemplify that a New New Labour UK government will be no different from the Tory UK governments we have all suffered under since 2010 (to include a commitment to continue with Brexit and also via U turns on former pledges that are now assumed to be seen as less popular with CERTAIN voters).….in other words if you vote for New New Labour in Scotland in the next GE and expect something different for you and yours …..you will eventually get Buyers remorse.
NMRN
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A head’s up.
Next Wednesday BBC Disclosure programme at 8pm ‘Scotland’s Post Office Scandal’
One hopes they, the BBC, remember that although this is being promoted by the UK media as a ‘British Scandal’ that it was a UK government who introduced and continued with this flawed accounting software system in Post Offices around the UK and NOT the SNP.….Horizon originated in a Tory government procurement process in 1994. It was announced by John Major’s government at the 1995 Conservative Party A precursor of the Horizon system had been rolled out to 300 post offices in 1995 and Labour under Blair continued with Horizon and In 1999, the Post Office commenced the national roll-out of Horizon….
In around 2000, problems with the system were reported by Alan Bates who was the sub-postmaster of Craig-Y-Don from March 1998 until November 2003 and in 2003 Bates had his contract as sub-postmaster terminated when he refused to comply with Post Office policy. (Tony Blair was in power 1997-2007).
In January 2024 various media (including The Guardian newspaper) have reported that “Tony Blair has refused to be drawn on claims that he was warned about potential problems with Fujitsu’s Horizon software in 1998 ” (it was reported that Blair was told that in scrapping the Horizon scheme it would damage relations with Japan)
The British Post Office scandal is a series of miscarriages of justice which, between 1999 and 2015, saw over 900 sub-postmasters prosecuted for theft, false accounting and fraud for shortfalls at their branches (The Tory/Lib Dem coalition UK government was formed in 2010 up to 2015).
Horizon was developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, for tasks such as accounting and stocktaking. It was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.
The Disclosure programme is ONLY on for 30 minutes thus I fear certain pertinent information may be excluded and that this may be a case of the unfortunate ‘victims’ not only being asked about their own personal story/experiences but perhaps the programme makers (BBC) also including (encouraging) a culpability connection/factor with the Scottish government (SNP) and Humza Yousaf as the current FM.
Nicola Sturgeon FM 2014 -2023 (SNP)
Humza Yousaf FM 2023- present (SNP)
UK Governments 1997 to 2010 Labour party (Blair up to 2007 then Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010)and from 2010 up to present the Tory party…..PO miscarriages of justice against PO sub Postmasters between 1999 to 2015.
Let’s see whether Disclosure can actually just make this a documentary where victims of this scandal ,who are based in Scotland , get to tell the terrible impact that this has had upon them personally, their families and their lives and indeed is still having an impact upon them……though the programme’s title ‘ Scotland’s Post office scandal’ makes me fear this will be yet another BBC Scotland ‘operation #SNPBAD attack’, as opposed to just relaying some very sad and tragic stories from innocent victims in regards to what is very much a scandal generated and overseen by various UK government’s joint culpability in this, together with the PO…..and alas some innocent victims from Scotland were dragged into it because they are victims of yet another UK NOT OK scandal…….after all it was NOT the SNP who introduced the Horizon software to the PO throughout the UK….was it !
I may be wrong via this programme and I do hope I am….but they, the BBC do have form regarding this…..and they are masters at ambiguity too…….especially in respect to Scottish politics…..more so when it involves their blatant attempts to implicate the Scottish government in matters that have originated from WM.
NMRN
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With a working title of ‘Scotland’s Post Office Scandal’, rather than eg “The Post Office Scandal IN Scotland, the innuendo is already established – I’d guess at criticism of Scotland’s separate legal jurisdiction allowing ‘unsafe’ prosecutions to proceed…
On the UK perspective, we are being directed by reporting to blame Fuijtsu’s ‘buggy’ software, but we should stay focussed on PO management and HMG oversight – The toxic mix of covering-ups and the PO retaining legacy policing and prosecution powers was what did the damage and allowed the scandal to continue.
Any half decent project manager or Minister would have investigated and identified the problem to put it right – Despite the truly awful array of individuals who were called to give evidence to the Inquiry, there can be no doubt various individuals along the way raised alarm and were quietly buried.
The instance of the forensic accountants contracted to conduct an independent investigation perfectly examples the problem – Their contract was ended when they didn’t come up with the answer management desired – That is the real scandal.
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Indeed Bob it is as you say “criticism of Scotland’s separate legal jurisdiction allowing ‘unsafe’ prosecutions to proceed” the chosen angle which the BBC and others are directing blame upon the SNP.
However I think people in Scotland should focus upon the very relevant fact that this British mess and scandal was via a UK government who were the source of this fiasco…….as in they were the ones who introduced this into the PO……they were also dismissive and reluctant to take the action that the current UK government have now been forced to take as a result of a dramatised version of this scandal being broadcast on British TV which resulted in a media and public backlash……..
Initially blame via the media was directed at the PO managers and the only politician noted was Ed Davey for his willing acceptance of lies these managers told him and where he said “I wish I had known then what we all know now, the Post Office was lying on an industrial scale to me and other ministers.”…imagine for a moment any SNP minister in the same position as Davey and then saying this as a way to try to escape any blame ….ACH would have a field day in the media……..
It is a sad fact that the media and opposition will take any opportunity to drag the SNP into any mess that has originated from WM and via any UK government (past and present) as they cannot allow the SNP to be seen to be distinctive from the UK government, be seen as a better government and also blameless and thus they are desperate to not separate the SNP from any blame via any UK wide fiasco/scandal etc…..indeed they are very active in striving to attach blame onto them…..as are the opposition parties…… whose own parties were(are)the ones who were(are) actually to blame for many a mess ,fiasco and scandal that is very very much British in origin (in more ways than one)……….
Have a nice day Bob
🙂
NMRN
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@ Me @ 9.06pm
*John Major’s government at the 1995 Conservative Party
John Major’s government at the 1995 Conservative Party conference
NMRN
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Tories sold off profitable Royal Mail for less than it was worth. Lost £Billions. Than lost £Billions on Post Office fraud and corruption. The Tory losers. The Post Office that was left was not profitable because of Westminster fraud and corruption. £Billions lost.
An Independent Scotland mail services would have been secure. No clueless Tory plant imposed.
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