Professor John Robertson OBA
Still on the BBC Scotland website – Justice secretary found to have breached ministerial code
Still on the Herald frontpage – Constance ‘breached Ministerial Code twice’
The Express, this:
and on the Scotsman frontpage – Constance won’t resign despite code breaches
Note that two of the above still suggest that resignation is appropriate.
Nowhere in the BBC Scotland text, nor in these three front pages, this concluding, definitive, statement from the independent advisers:
The principles described in the Code provide for a spectrum of seriousness from inadvertence to knowingly misleading Parliament. We have concluded that the two breaches were inadvertence without any deliberation or intention to mislead. That is at the lower end of the spectrum provided for in the Code and therefore does not call for anything beyond a reprove which should be formal and in writing accompanied by a statement to Parliament by Ms Constance to clarify the words used and thereby add to the Official Record.
Claire Loftus
John Manzoni
Ernest Ryder
Important – The independent advisers are explicitly ruling out the need for, or appropriateness of, resignation.
Why are the adviser’s conclusions fully left-out in the BBC Scotland report and not headline material elsewhere?
Some media did a better job. The North Wales Chronicle:
The advisers found Ms Constance’s breaches to be “at the lower end of the spectrum” of severity, adding: “(It) therefore does not call for anything beyond a reprove which should be formal and in writing accompanied by a statement to Parliament by Ms Constance to clarify the words used and thereby add to the official record.”
The Largs and Millport News:
The advisers found Ms Constance’s breaches to be “at the lower end of the spectrum” of severity, adding: “(It) therefore does not call for anything beyond a reprove which should be formal and in writing accompanied by a statement to Parliament by Ms Constance to clarify the words used and thereby add to the official record.”
It wasn’t hard. They just copied and pasted the text from the official report.
A one-word assessment of the ‘Scottish’ media coverage of this witch-hunt – SHAMEFUL.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The Herald in its front page intro to this story did include the comment in the report that these breaches were at the lower end of the spectrum of seriousness.
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The Herald’s fake attempt to balance their bias and propaganda, they still have it front page, they are involved in what is clearly another witch hunt against the SNP. Disgusting, but expect worse, there’s an election in May. Discrediting the SNP is the British states’ main weapon, because most people know which side their bread’s buttered in Scotland, and that bread and butter (livelihoods, NHS, free tuition, free prescriptions, child support payment, public owned water and rail etc etc) will be removed should the English oligarchs, Labour Tories and others, get to take control of Scotland and the Scottish parliament.
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indeed. The main article on the front page of the Herald today was about rents and how benefits don’t cover them. The Prof has just posted an article about it.
When I read the Herald this morning the thing that jumped out of the article was the repeated use of the word ‘State’. It wasn’t until you turned to the rest of the story on the inside pages that reference was made to the UK Gov’s leading role in this. If all you did was scan the front page article then you might get the impression that ‘State’ referred to the Scottish Gov. This of course is what the Herald was aiming for by framing the article in this way.
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…nor that the breach ” was unintentional ”.
Yet that bastion of all things legal ( except when forgetting to inform HMRC of the odd £12000 of taxable income ) , DRoss , wants to spend more of OUR money setting up an inquiry into this ridiculous waste of time .
However , this clutching at straws in an attempt to damage the Scottish Government demonstrates the feebleness and lack of credible policies from the Holyrood opposition parties .
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Oops you’re right. At the bottom. Moving too fast as usual
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BBC headline yesterday on their website:
“US discussing options to acquire Greenland, including use of military, says White House”
“acquire” ?
Acquire definition- To acquire means to gain or obtain something , either by buying , being given it or through one’s own effort , skill or behaviour.
So this is the BBC definition of what the US are discussing , as a supposed option , in relation to perhaps invading Greenland.
Just as the recent BBC HQ memo apparently stated to their BBC presenters, reporters etc when they were asked to not use the word “kidnapped” in relation to what the US did in Venezuela to the Venezuelan President and his wife.
Seems as if the BBC in relation to Trump and the US have now neutered themselves after they chose to edit Trump’s January 6th ‘speech/ rallying call’ to his MAGA supporters and so now they are being way too reticent and way too polite in them being forced , via their own ineptitude, to not call a spade a spade, but instead present a spade as anything but a spade….Ha bloody Ha.
BBC supporting and so promoting America First now ?
(Just as they, the BBC, always supported and so still support England First via English Nationalist political parties……….including the pretend parties like Reform UK).
Words are important , as is context, and the BBC knows that, also there is the importance of omissions in BBC media reports that then fail to communicate the whole story and so really are basically just promoting fake news.
BBC Verify obviously does not cover BBC Scotland as if it did then there would be no room for them to cover the news where others are and where perhaps the BBC are then failing in it’s supposed duty to tell us, the public, all of the real news where we all are. (and also all of the real news happening elsewhere too).
As opposed to the BBC’s versions of what is supposed actual news that is a heavily edited, with often a redacted version of intel not reported upon and so then it becomes very much politically comprised news , that is it is news that suits their BBC agenda.
In Scotland that BBC agenda is clearly one that wants to constantly communicate #SNPBAD while simultaneously giving a free pass to other actual #BAD UK political parties………
The evidence on this is the way when any #BAD news is linked to any UK parties it is either ignored completely or only mentioned once (with no scrutiny or challenge made upon the respective branch office manager) then if it is mentioned it is never mentioned again , while the opposite is the case for any #SNPBAD stories……..#SNPBAD news is always on a BBC loop, regurgitated and over promoted.
BBC never satisfied until they get their SNP pound of flesh, which is basically a case of any Scottish government minister eventually resigning , as the BBC will not allow the #SNPBAD news to ever go away until they, the BBC, get their desired outcome.
When Scotland is independent the BBC itself will go away as a fake political news provider ………..so that will be another win win for Scotland.
Liz S
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Very well said Liz…
On your final question, I frankly doubt it, that’s not how BBC state propaganda works – James Cook is not some rogue editor doing something BBC HQ are unaware of, they know every move and statement he is about to make in advance, all choreographed.
You may remember the disastrous attempt to portray Alex Salmond’s response to Nick Robinson’s question as ‘and he said nothing’ or words to that effect, yet what killed the propaganda was enough people having the evidence to the contrary on their phones live at the event.
It didn’t matter a damn to Sarah Smith at the time what the truth was, and James Cook dutifully followed in lying about emails he had never seen nor could, that is BBC ‘impartial’ “journalism”.
The propaganda will continue long after we’re separated as nations, as there is always a “Tokyo Lil” or Dougie Alexander to do their bidding, the few seeking to determine attitudes as if at war with the majority populace rather than in harmony – Empires don’t do “impartial”.
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James Cook is little unionist Pee-Heeing hater of all things Scottish.
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Expect the highly partisan colonial media to skew news and political reportage to disadvantage pro-indy politicians.
The SNP should stop being “nice” and call them out for the propagandists they are.
gavinochiltree
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Really good. Thanks. ________________________________
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