BBC Scotland (above) today, have no space for this hot story:
A man from North Lanarkshire has been charged after over £6m worth of cannabis was seized during a massive multi-agency taskforce operation. Craig Tomlinson from Motherwell was charged with the supply of Class B drugs after British Transport Police officers targeted key stations across Manchester on Monday and Tuesday last week while intelligence led to a search of three addresses.
The multi-agency operation, dubbed Op Blume, was led by a BTP specialist County Lines taskforce and deployed officers from the dog section, Neighbourhood Policing Team, Operational Support Unit, plain clothed officers and knife arches. Tomlinson was among nine people arrested after 45 stop searches were conducted over the two days and three addresses were searched in Manchester, Rochdale and West Mercia.
STV, above did cover the story last night but are keeping it low profile:
They have said the words but, of course, not mentioned that the gang is essentially English. The Motherwell man may even be a vulnerable adult they’ve cuckooed and the judge has refused to see that.
STV are not big on reporting English County lines gangs bringing death and despair over the border but compared to BBC Scotland, at least they will mention the phenomenon.
In July 2024, I reported:
In response to my follow-up complaint showing objectively that BBC Scotland has only ever mentioned the term ‘County Lines’, in the headline to a story, twice, in 2019 and 2021 and never mentions that the flow of drugs is from English cities into Scotland. A BBC UK report in March 2024, mentions Scottish towns but does not use the term nor does it locate the gangs in English cities, as is the case, exclusively.
BBC Complaints wrote to me:
We raised your complaint with senior news editors at BBC Scotland. They have little to add to the response you’ve already received save to point out that there is no substance in your suggestion that BBC Scotland is “Uniquely…hiding this phenomenon.”
A quick Google search for ‘BBC Scotland County Lines’ and ‘STV County Lines’ is conclusive. The above table reveals clearly BBC Scotland’s unique aversion to reporting on this plague of cheap drugs, extreme violence, child abuse, prostitution and people trafficking in around 60 towns and villages across Scotland.
BBC Scotland is shamefully putting the interests of the Union ahead of the people of Scotland.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
First of all thanks for not letting this issue disappear, it was your reports that caught my interest in the first place and helped me to learn about the County Lines connection to drug busts and drug deaths. I now bore others with regular updates and know also to read between the lines when drug raids are mentioned in local and national press
Secondly, if we use the reframe the narrative strategies discussed in past posts we can collectively make sure the BBC reporting is consistently challenged and the issue becomes part of the “worst drug deaths in the world” narrative.
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Tsk, tsk, tsk, Prof. John. You missed it. The state broadcaster’s wording is revealing. What does it reveal?
They are not ‘uniquely’….”hiding this phenomenon” which means of course they are admitting complicity in hiding this phenomenon.
Very revealing, don’t you think?
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My observation to the letter.
Redrafted that could have read ‘We are not alone in blanking this activity from our news output’. They are not too bright at the Beeb!
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[there is no substance in your suggestion that BBC Scotland is “Uniquely…hiding this phenomenon.”]
“Your suggestion”, are the key words, here.
They’re not that stupid.
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with regards to your story on the “vulnerable” man from Lanarkshire, who may have even been cuckooed ….i can assure you that the judge is correct in dismissing this idea….
This man is anything but vulnerable…he would be the one to prey on vulnerable people…believe me ….
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I “love” the BBC response that they are not “Uniquely…hiding this phenomenon” So they accept the phenomenon is being “hidden” then but it isn’t just them that are doing it.
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O/T who the h**l is that Labour clown on politics show just now everything is going to be rosy
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Everybody and his dog knows that BBC Scotland is institutionally biased and fails to provide fair analysis of any story that might be to the benefit of the SNP SG, everybody that is except those who work there.
We need and independent complaints body comprising ordinary citizens. (I propose Prof JR as first chair)
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Cannabis farms resident in the UK. Albanian gangs. Produce more than imported drug. Strong scunk.
Scottish Gov funding proper rehab facilities. £250million over five years. That will keep the drug deaths down. From a higher access starting point.
Plenty of censorship going on, on the internet, even on Indy sites. Control and misinformation about outside topics,
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Slightly off topic but in the round of how BBC Scotland no longer represents Scots or Scotland it is interesting that tonight (19th) BBC Wales are showing live Wales v Iceland in the Euro match that may decide who tops their group whereas BBC Scotland to my knowledge could not even show edited highlights of Scotland’s group games against Croatia and Poland. Was going to record ‘Sportscene’ very late in the evening only to find it was showing women’s domestic football highlights. Utterly shameful.
Robbo
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