By Professor John Robertson
There’s not a mention of the Welsh Transport Secretary nor of the UK Transport minister in this BBC Wales account of a tragic death on the railways, they share responsibility for.
But on BBC Scotland, in August 2020:
On BBC Scotland’s The Nine last night, James Cook, repeatedly interrupted the Scottish Transport Secretary, Michael Matheson to say:
Well, exactly! Well, that’s rather the point! Isn’t it. We hear that are these problems. In 2014, a report specifically mentioned this exact area being greatly affected by earthslips. A report last month warned that there had been over six times more flooding events in the year to 2019/20 and earthworks failures nearly trebled. Did you read that report? And if so, what action did your government take on it?
For whatever reason, Matheson did not expose Cook’s misrepresentation of the responsibilities for rail infrastructure and allows him to burst in again with a further implication.
Let’s be clear. Rail infrastructure is a reserved matter, presumably in case the UK Government ever feels the need to use it for some strategic purpose which the Scottish Government might object to and try to obstruct.
Full responsibility for the funding, the maintenance, the inspection and the warning to operators of risk, lies with the UK agency Network Rail which in turn is responsible, only, to the UK Minister. The report was a report for that UK minister and though the Scottish Government may or may not have received a copy, it could not have acted upon it.
Why was Cook not aggressively asking Grant Shapps, the UK Minister for Transport, the questions he misleadingly threw at Matheson?
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The differences in reporting are so skewed it’s embarrassing and yet it’s so very difficult for half of Scotland to grasp. I’m continually told I am biased for posting articles like yours. I’ve even been called racist. I’m beginning to feel like the grumpy old wife they think I am because when I look at my FB feed it even depresses me.🙂
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Not grumpy or racist for pointing out the truth. Some folk will swear till they are blue in the face that BBC Scotland is wonderful – fair enough, you were telt though!
A problem for BBC Scotland is that their younger audience, always getting older as time passes, do not entertain the BBC for news output, good or bad.
Whilst, for those of us who have witnessed BBC Scotland’s biased reporting, will never entertain them again and rail against them to others when the opportunity arises.
BBC Scotland’s reach and audience is steadily diminishing and it is going the same way as the “Scottish” newspapers. Good riddance to the lot of them.
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“Why was Cook not aggressively asking Grant Shapps, the UK Minister for Transport, the questions he misleadingly threw at Matheson?”
Apologies, but how do you spell Qi*ling is it with an ‘S’ or a ‘Z’?
As it is, I am not that sure, but I do get the feeling sometimes that some of our MPs and MSPs don’t know what is, or isn’t, reserved.
They should be forced to do a weekly workshop on this until they do know. It really is important.
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The unionist propagandists know EXACTLY what is devolved and reserved and use it to their gain, they “purr” over the confusion of many Scots over their lack of knowledge, their English run uk media will deliberately not mention what powers or lack of powers the Scottish Parliament has, always blaming SNP government even if it is out of their scope, Nicola Sturgeon was always concise in shutting them down…we need to have that grit and fight again!!!
JB
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“Why was Cook not aggressively asking Grant Shapps, the UK Minister for Transport, the questions he misleadingly threw at Matheson”?
That’s easy .
Because his job, Cook, as a BBC employee, is to both protect and also try to obscure any negativity for those political parties who are in opposition to the SNP. (while doing the opposite when interviewing any Scottish government minister, but only while our Scottish government is the SNP).
“There’s not a mention of the Welsh Transport Secretary nor of the UK Transport minister in this BBC Wales account of a tragic death on the railways, they share responsibility for”.
Well that’s because someone in the BBC Welsh team recognises how crude and inappropriate it is to politicise a member of the public’s tragic death just to get one over on that particular political party/government.
While also they, BBC Wales, may consider it to be very insensitive for the relatives , witnessing them, as a media , trying to play politics on the death of one of their loved ones.
(Perhaps that determination (on blame) should be for a future inquiry / investigation to establish culpability at government level)
“James Cook, repeatedly interrupted the Scottish Transport Secretary, Michael Matheson”
Well that’s how they, the BBC, deal with the SNP however they do allow the opposition to articulate their points without interruption. In fact sometimes it sounds like they, the opposition, are giving a party political broadcast that the BBC are endorsing.
Of course to interrupt someone mid flow does two things.
One the person is unable to make his or her full point so the audience does not get to hear a full response from the interviewee.
Also the person being interrupted may forget the point they were trying to make in their response before they were so rudely interrupted before they gave a full answer to the question being asked.
I mean what is the point of asking a Q if you do not want to listen to the answer or even allow an answer to be (fully) given ?
(That’s a tactic though by the BBC and one that we in Scotland witness far too much)
Labour, Tories and Lib Dems deviate from the Q being asked and just repeat different versions of #SNPBAD and also they all tend to waffle guff unrelated to the Q being asked. (without interruption by the BBC Interviewer).
“Rail infrastructure is a reserved matter”
Well you are assuming that all people in Scotland even know about Reserved and Devolved matters.
And also even know what is reserved to the UK government and what is devolved to the Scottish government .
Also the golden rule is that apparently only Labour in Wales are, as a devolved government , impacted by reserved policies via the former Tory UK government, while Scotland and it’s devolved government are apparently 100% liable for all blame on all of the reserved and devolved matters. (via both the UK Govt. and they themselves as the Scottish Govt).
Simples.
Honestly if want actual truth and also want honest reporting on UK politics then the last place you would go to get it would be anywhere ‘but’ a BBC website, BBC TV or Radio news programmes , a BBC political interview , a BBC Politics show or a BBC Political debate programme.
That’s true that is.
(As verified by BBC Verify needing BBC Verify to exist and also as corrected and clarified by the BBC’s Clarifications and Corrections section of their BBC website also apparently needing to exist. Also known as the BBC trying to self regulate their output- and failing miserably).
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O/T
MSM Monitor twitter:
“Unite spent £112m of its members’ cash on a hotel project that has since been valued at just £29m. A KC-led inquiry also identified a missing £14m which has been described as a “mystery” and does not feature in the project’s final accounts. No blue tents?
BBC article under UK Politics “Serious Fraud Office probe £112m Unite union hotel”
Project initiated under former Unite boss.
Also revealed in this article was that “In 2022 South Wales Police searched the union’s London headquarters as part of a separate bribery, money-laundering and fraud investigation. The force has told the BBC that the investigation is ongoing”.
I cannot recall seeing that story in either the news “where I am” or in the news “elsewhere, as in UK news” .
That is seeing it as a story as much as I saw, heard and read about the SNP Financial Police investigation story that exploded onto our screens on all UK news channels – both TV & Radio- and also all UK newspapers (repeatedly).
Unite are the Labour party’s biggest Union backer so I cannot wait to hear the Labour PM and all other Labour politicians speculate and accuse Unite of being as #BAD in the same way that both the PM and many Labour politicians have accused the SNP of being #BAD in relation to the Police investigation into them.
Both Unite and the SNP have been accused of misusing members funds (Cash).
Guess which one will be seen as the #BADDEST by the media and others (especially by the Labour party).
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aye but, why do the likes of Matheson end being made to look stupid and incompetent by these BBC charlatans?
surely they would know by now what is coming, and be briefed and prepared for the bs to be thrown at them.
and rebut the bs with strong and confident answers.
it can’t be that hard.
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The Mick Lynch response of “That’s a lie” / “Your lying” is probably best, then just walk away.
Keeps it short and hopefully James Cook would burst into tears.
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Yes and wasn’t it amazing how nobody sued him or the programmer which is normally the reason they give for not liking or allowing someone to call another a liar. What a field day the SNP could have, they might even cause the self combustion of James Cook or Sarwar.
Golfnut
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So I remember an interview on the BBC, it’s was Brillo speaking to Derek Mackay.
Brillo started with his usual pish, reading out some dodgy stats and figures.
DM laughed at him, saying he didn’t recognise any of the stats and where did he { Brillo } get that stuff from.
The angrier Brillo got the more DM laughed at him.
It was brilliant stuff from DM, and I was quite pissed off when he went and fucked up.
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Shared this in a Facebook group and the FB Nazis didn’t like it – they removed the post for being against Community Standards, but didn’t give any other information.
Once more and I’m out apparently…
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MSM Monitor Tweet:
“A complaint lodged with the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit on Aug 19th has not been addressed over two months later, breaching the target of 35 working days. It relates to this broadcast on July 23rd which BBC Scotland accepted was false but refused to publicly correct”
I also saw reported on 24 July 2024 , via a BBC article, was quotes from Blair McDougall the new Labour MP elected in Scotland on the two child cap.
“Mr McDougall said the two-child cap was having a “huge impact” on people and that he expected it to be abolished “as quickly as possible”.
“However, he said the move had to paid for “somehow”, and that public finances had been left in an “absolute mess” by the former Conservative government”
“He added: “Lifting kids out of poverty is what Labour governments do. It’s in our DNA.”
( it is now 23 October 2024 and the two child cap still exists as a Labour policy as they decided not to “Change” what was formerly a Tory policy but instead they, Labour, have chosen to retain it and go against what McDougall said was “in their, Labour governments, DNA to always do”)
As to “the move having to be paid for somehow” well it is , so far, obvious who Labour expect to pay for what they say is the ‘absolute mess left by the former Tory government” and that is not the wealthy or large corporations but instead the parents of those kids living in poverty .
(And now also paying are the pensioners too, to include WASPI women , who are still being ignored and neglected by the new Labour government , just as they were also ignored and neglected by the former Tory UK government. The same Labour party that formerly said they supposedly supported the WASPI women and the great injustice done to them under the former various Tory government(s). Proving that words are indeed cheap when Labour speak them aka obvious virtue signalling by Labour politicians).
Also in this BBC article:
“Mr Sarwar has described the cap as “heinous” and said he would push Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to scrap it”
“Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown told Radio 4’s Today programme that the policy is “condemning children to poverty”.
(So instead of , as said by McDougall, “Labour abolishing the two child cap “as quickly as possible” as a policy” . What actually happened was that “Seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended for six months after voting against the Labour government on an SNP amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap”)
The SNP amendment failed to pass and Blair McDougall was one of the Labour MP’s who voted against the SNP amendment to scrap the two child benefit cap – so that he kept the Labour whip as he put his party before all of the “kids in poverty” or so it seems).
Gordon Brown was rolled out prior to the GE to convince us that Labour would be the solution to the Tory problem and now since the GE, as in now that the (his) job is done, where is he and why are we now not still seeing more front page articles in the Daily Record where he assured us Labour would be ” a pioneer for slashing child poverty rates across the UK”.
Reality is “The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland reported that abolishing the cap, which it estimated would cost £1.3bn a year, would lift 250,000 children in the UK out of poverty, including up to 15,000 in Scotland”.
Also “New figures, published by Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) last week, found 1.6 million children are impacted by the Labour government’s two child benefit cap – with families losing up to £3,455 a year per child”
“The charity found 300,000 children would be lifted out of poverty, and a further 700,000 would be in less deep poverty, if the two child cap was abolished”
Here are some of the Daily Record articles prior to the GE with false declarations via Gordon Brown:
“Voting Labour is the way to eradicate poverty”
“Labour will turn the tide on poverty despite the two child cap”
So “turn the tide on poverty despite the two child cap” yet he, Brown, also said the “two child cap was “condemning children to poverty” so that is some contradiction from him or was it just Brown yet again conning people in Scotland to side as in vote for with Labour in the GE.
As to Sarwar supposedly going to “push Keir Starmer the PM into scrapping the two child cap” well his supposed pleas must have fallen on deaf ears as it has not been scrapped has it, but do we even believe he would or did do just that, me personally I think not.
Then of course we heard Anas Sarwar make a ridiculous excuse for Labour’s two-child benefit cap U-turn and that was when he “defended Starmer’s unwillingness to scrap two-child benefit cap. Where he, Sarwar, insisted he was still against the rape clause but warned that immediately scrapping the two-child limit could “spook the markets”.
So “spook the markets” or “condemn children to poverty” well for Labour seems an easy decision to make and they chose the latter.
However the BBC still pretend that Sarwar is fighting for Scotland and all of those in poverty, including children, yet just like the Labour MP’s elected in Scotland in the GE, he Sarwar, toes the Labour UK party line and so more voters in Scotland should remember that in 2026 as Henry McLeish once confirmed that Labour at Holyrood take their instructions (orders) from Labour at WM.
Scotland you have been warned.
Do not vote Labour in 2026 as you will be voting for more bad policies via Labour UK (who will be the actual ones in charge at Holyrood and not Anas Sarwar or his supposed government ‘ministers’).
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