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Professor John Robertson OBA
In the Daily Record yesterday, the above headline and:
Three men and a woman were jailed today after taking part in rioting that brought “great terror” to an Ayrshire village as police were forced to deploy riot officers and dog units, writes Dave Finlay. During the violent disorder in Auchinleck police came under attack with bricks and rocks and firefighters who were deployed to tackle a blaze had to wait until the mob dispersed for fear they would be the targets of assaults. Jenna Bryce (31), Christopher Turnbull (35), Terrence Taylor (36) and John Gordon (44) admitted that in November 2023 they “did form part of a mob of evilly disposed persons which acting of a common purpose did conduct itself in a violent, riotous and tumultuous manner to the great terror and alarm of the lieges and in breach of the public peace”.
The court heard that in November Bryce posted on Facebook that she wanted as many people as possible to “get the boys out from Lambfair Gardens in Auchinleck”.
Notice the age of the ‘gang’ members? Why did they act in this way? In the same report, we can read:
After Bryce was arrested she told police that she accepted posting on Facebook calling on people to attend at Old Avenue, in Auchinleck, but said she was not the only one sending such messages and that the “full town was there”.
Mr McDonald said: “She told the police that she thought this would be a display of local unity to show these people that they were not welcome and that the youngest members of the group got out of hand.” The court heard that there was a suspicion in the community that certain houses were being used by drug dealers who had come to the area.
Who did they think ‘these people’ were? The Record does not tell us but in comments under previous TuS posts we see this kind of comment:
I live in Cumnock, next town along, about a mile from Auchinleck. The protests were local communities rallying against drug dealing gangs “cuckooing” in the houses of people in the area. Auchinleck, Cumnock and Catrine I have heard specifically. These gangs are purported to be from the Bradford area. Some of the things they are alleged to have done are,
giving young girls drugs then photographing them in indecent poses while they are “out of it”. We are talking 13 / 14 year olds
locking two young boys in a room to fight , the winner gets free drugs
making a young woman put a firework in her trouser pocket and setting it off in exchange for drugs
threatening to rape and groping women on the street
The police have been present in riot gear as the protests could quite easily turn very nasty but as previously stated the context of why these protests and gatherings are taking place are not being reported.
Knowing of this makes the labelling of the locals as a ‘gang’ in the headline, a sad and ironic reversal.
There’s clearly a gap here between what locals know and what our MSM is prepared to talk about if it might be seen to be racist or to weaken the case for the Union. Imagine if these were Scottish drug gangs terrorising small town England. You can see the headlines without much thought.
Could this riot have been prevented by earlier action to deal with the Bradford gang?
In Policing county lines gangs in Scotland: Is a lack of mainstream media coverage making it more difficult? in April 2024:
BBC Scotland has only once reported on county lines gangs operating in Scotland, in May 2021. Whether this lone story even made it from their website into a broadcast is uncertain. The other major TV news broadcaster, STV, does report the activity of these gangs on their website, but again I noted that a dramatic report of raids on March 15 2024, in Aberdeen, and even references to seized XL Bully dogs, was not subsequently broadcast.
Tabloid media in Scotland such as the Mail, Sun and Daily Record are reporting on county lines gangs from Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle and other cities, crossing the border into Scotland to terrorise small towns. Social media too is alive with reports of the abuse of the vulnerable.
However, now five years after the first reports of police raids on these gangs, the TV news broadcasters, BBC Scotland, STV News and the ‘serious’ press have a clear and strong tendency not to report these dramatic events, despite their being of significant concern to their audiences.
Consequences for policing
Why is this? Understanding newsroom cultures and the fast, often knee-jerk responses to incoming stories is not easily done, and suggestions of conscious political agendas operating in them can be over-stated.
Decisions about what policing to prioritise, what crimes to resource, and which of these most deserve investment in intelligence gathering and pre-emptive action, are being made within a middle-class world informed by media operating carefully to avoid divisive and sensitive issues.
More plausible, to my mind, is the notion that a culture develops within media organisations over many years, to predispose decisions about what to report and what not to report.
Professional journalists, often graduates of the same elite Scottish universities, who have moved for careers mainly within the same national broadcasters and ‘quality’ press, who mix professionally and socially with similar professionals in government, in education, policing and other public services, tend to ‘know’ without the need for debate, what is appropriate.
County lines gang members are predominantly, almost entirely, from ethnic minority groups from only English cities, and they are operating in small towns across the UK, causing extreme suffering.
For Scotland’s news broadcasters and elite press to report them in full would be to expose for mass public consumption, narratives that would unavoidably fuel racist and anti-English sentiments. Journalists at BBC Scotland, STV News, the Herald and the Scotsman sense these dangers and will not go there.
That is all-too understandable but there are consequences for policing in those towns damaged by county lines activity.
Decisions about what policing to prioritise, what crimes to most resource and, critically, which of these most deserve investment in intelligence gathering and in pre-emptive action, are being made within a middle-class world informed by media operating carefully to avoid divisive and sensitive issues and also lacking in local knowledge.
It seems all-too plausible that this explains how a full-blown riot risking the lives of locals and officers could have been allowed to explode, despite warning signs in the local press and in social media for days and weeks beforehand.
What happened in Auchinleck may be brewing in other Scottish towns so dealing with ‘these’ gangs is now a national priority.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The Right Wing politicians in England are constantly moaning about ”Two-tier policing ” as they claim that ”lefties” are treated more sympathetically .
However ,there is undoubtedly a ”Two-tier” approach to reporting by the MSM in Scotland .
The absence of publicity on cross-border English drug gangs would suggest that the MSM are adopting the ”Two-tier” approach to an ever increasing problem. But this is simply one aspect of their ”Two-tier” reporting north of the border .
Their constant denigration of the Scottish NHS , the SNP Government , CalMac Ferries are clearly evidence of the toxic approach that the MSM have adopted since the SNP came to power .
EVERY medical issue is laid at the door of the Scottish Government with Ministers being ambushed by ‘irate’ reporters/politicians , while in England horrendous Maternity Hospital failures resulting in numerous deaths of mothers/ babies are NEVER politicised .
The modern day Burke & Hare ( Baillie & Gulhane ) are constantly wheeled out by the BBC/STV , hypocritically condemning the Scottish Government for providing a Service which in almost every measure is far better than its English equivalent , yet this is NEVER mentioned .
”Two-tier” in Scotland means simply all aspects of SNP Government are criticised ( whether justified or not ) and EVERY positive is ignored, even when this is copied , belatedly , by Westminster .
Heads I win , tails you lose , Scotland !
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I’d spotted the same story on the BBC Scotland site yesterday and commented on it in your post ” Anybody spot the missing element ” – That missing element was the recognised phrases ‘County Lines’ and “Cuckooing”, substituted with ” drug dealers who were allegedly using houses in the area “…
Had the media not been so averse to calling this out for what it was, a ‘County Lines’ invasion, and building public awareness, matters could taken a very different course from some locals feeling compelled to form a vigilante group…
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