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The Guardian, above, today, opens with:
Bereaved families who lost loved ones to Covid have accused the former Welsh health minister of incompetence and arrogance after he revealed that all his WhatsApp messages from the time had been lost.
Then, they have these damning words:
Speaking outside the hearing, Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees, who leads Covid-19 Bereaved Families Cymru, said: “He makes [the former UK health minister] Matt Hancock look like a strategic planning pandemic genius. He wasn’t prepared. He didn’t react. It was all just so casual. Thousands of people died in Wales because of these decisions. There was no sense of urgency. He was meant to be in charge of protecting our loved ones and he just didn’t. His arrogance is astonishing.”
BBC Wales, by contrast, pushes the same bereaved families to the end of their report but find only that they were ‘not impressed’ and have no actual quotes from the day.
They allow him this:
“So, in hindsight we weren’t as well prepared as we could have been and we weren’t as well prepared as we thought we were – and that’s not just in Wales but the rest of the UK”
with no comment from an opposition politician and no reference to the higher Covid death rate in Wales – 377 per 100K in Wales, 325 in Scotland and 338 (if you believe them) in England.
Imagine this was in Scotland?
First, you’d see:
Our best analysis of Covid deaths over the whole pandemic suggests that Scotland and England were very similar.
Then this:
During the first two weeks of the inquiry sitting in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon has been accused of an instinct to hoard power rather than seek help.
Finally, Ms Sturgeon is accused of “playing politics” when she should have been focusing on public health.
And, of course this:
Speaking outside the Edinburgh venue at the end of the day’s evidence on Wednesday, lawyer Aamer Anwar made a statement on behalf of the Scottish Covid Bereaved group. The group has accused the former first minister of a “betrayal of the many promises she made” during the pandemic.
Mr Anwar said: “Nicola Sturgeon as first minister became Scotland’s master of spin and today was the greatest trial she has ever faced to date. “There was no hiding place, no toleration of spin, no acceptance of tear-filled sorrow.”
He said that in comparison to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ms Sturgeon “projected a daily image of sincerity in wanting to do right by the people of Scotland during the pandemic”. But he added that her “carefully crafted image” had been left “shattered by her own hands”.
Mr Anwar continued: “Those who lost loved ones were convinced that they would no longer be invisible in their misery, and Ms Sturgeon would do everything possible to illuminate the truth. That was the very least she owed to those who lost their lives to Covid. “Today Nicola Sturgeon stands accused of a betrayal of the many promises she made, including that ‘nothing would be off limits’ in the public inquiries.”
No such presence for the bereaved families, no such language, will appear on BBC Wales.
Regular readers will see little new here but for much more evidence the differences with BBC Wales see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=BBC+Wales
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68535441
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67981188
Talking-up Scotland / Facts on NHS, Crime, ferries and everything else you can think of 
And here was I thinking that only Scottish officials deleted WhatsApp messages. I can’t help thinking back to that ‘trial’ we had in Scotland where everyone connected to covid was ridiculed daily in the press and on SM. It seemed to be at that point these messages reached the height of importance with accusations being fired at Nicola Sturgeon from the press, politicians on X, all the British newspapers and even national news. Until Alister Jack stepped into the dock and, as casually as you like, announced he had deleted his too almost daring the questioner to quiz him which, of course, he did not. All of a sudden the deletion of WhatsApp messages seemed to lose traction.
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Reading that part about Nicola Sturgeon, I just can’t actually make out what it is she is meant to have done wrong. It’s word salad at best. Anwar greatly lets himself down in his judgement imo.
Of course Scotlands SNP politicians are treated very differently by the ‘media’, it’s all by design to undermine the legitimacy of the party as a whole. A friend of mine in Northumberland was recently ridiculing A.Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon for their names. Her attitude towards Scotland’s democratically elected party of government is one of mild contempt mixed with ridicule. The BritNat media do a perfect job including the pretendy lefty Guardian rag, in belittling the SNP. She did however wonder why the police were taking so long, ‘months’, in their investigation into tent saga, SNP money, with no apparent charges being made. Sigh.
I see via business insider news, that STV staff are going on strike, to be seen out picketing soon. It’s owned by a London based company. Anyway, what a loss to ‘Scottish’ broadcasting eh, bring a tear to a glass eye so it would. 😫
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Well said ArtyHetty.
Have a lovely day (see you on the other site….you know the one where I get to obsess about JM…wink wink….LOL)
NMRN
🙂
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Never mind the Welsh Covid inquiry….the only story in town is the doctored Royal picture…..now that’s news !…..we do need to keep up you know…..and get with the program !
NMRN
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”get with the program” Photoshop you mean?
Other image editing programs are available!
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It certainly could not have been doctored in England – they’re all on strike!
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“It certainly could not have been doctored in England – they’re all on strike” !
LOL…brilliant.
NMRN
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I’m sorry but cannot agree BBC Wales are protecting Labour, rather than properly reporting – It’s fair to highlight the difference in treatment to that of BBC Scotland reporting on SNP (and indeed Greens), but the latter should NOT in any way be regarded as normal.
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Yes, I agree.
Consider this from the Welsh bereaved families: “He makes [the former UK health minister] Matt Hancock look like a strategic planning pandemic genius. He wasn’t prepared. He didn’t react.“
It is a frankly ridiculous assertion, but for most campaigning groups using language without gross hyperbole and personal nastiness is par for the course. I know that this was a harrowing period for many of us and many bore the burden with fortitude and without blaming other people for the effects of a virus we had not come across before.
Undoubtedly, with hindsight, there were things that could have been done, but, ignoring Westminster for the moment, I think the politicians and health offers in the devolved administrations were sincerely trying to do their best. And, they were trying to do this in the face of unremitting hostility from the media.
Johnson, etc, at Westminster, conducted themselves appallingly and their petty considerations and contempt for the rules they set for the rest of us was shocking and resulted in deaths.
BBC Scotland and the Scottish media have afforded groups like the bereaved families and Mr Aamer Anwar to make unchallenged malevolent assertions against the Scottish Government and health professionals. It has verged on lynch mob rhetoric.
No, BBC Wales are attempting to do balanced objective reporting.
Alasdair Macdonald
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“unchallenged malevolent assertions against the Scottish Government and health professionals. It has verged on lynch mob rhetoric.”
Indeed spot on Alasdair.
NMRN
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Yes, but what would bbc be reporting if Plaid Cymru had been the government in Wales…..I would reckon much the same as their Scottish branch….Scotlandbad/Walesbad….Englishcolonialismgood!!! All media currently protecting BritishLabour very little democracy remains!
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I should like to add the observation that the entire WhatsApp in devolved administrations was a setup, a diversion, from the very beginning – Only #10 used as the principal method of communications, nobody else did, and I DO mean NOBODY - Look to one of the first London hearings where it was confirmed by #10’s chief of staff that he had to summarise briefings to WhatsApp as that was Johnson’s preferred method.
It is not the absence of WhatsApp messages which is the problem, it is the lack of recording salient discussions and pivotal decisions on permanent record which has been the problem in #10. Did Jason Leitch’s dialogue with Humza Yousaf have any relevance to what happened in the UK during Covid ?
Quite why the Inquiry has been convinced to follow this squirrel or the media report on it made no sense until the faint but distinct odour of Eau de Latrine, made in London, became obvious.
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