By stewartb: Published on 22 May in the British Medical Journal there was an editorial calling for a “transparent rapid review of where we are and what needs to be done to prevent and prepare for a second wave”. The editor of the BMJ, Fiona Godlee, on C4 News this evening (23 June) referred to this and another request for an enquiry that had been made recently via the BMJ. In the course of the interview she referred in terms, to the need to resolve issues with ‘devolution’ in advance of a possible second wave. I was curious to find … Continue reading A second covid wave in England may bring the unfinished devolution agenda to a head

In the Herald today: ONLY one in every 200 Covid tests carried out in Scotland is now detecting a positive case, as the prevalence of the virus continues to fall. The ratio of positive to negative test results indicates that Scotland “is on the safe side” in terms of controlling the pandemic, according to a scientific briefing paper that draws comparisons with the performance in New Zealand and South Korea. Typically, the Herald headline understates this dramatic good news for all of us and which demolishes all of the attacks from Carlaw, Leonard and the many others desperate to prove Scotland is … Continue reading Tories silenced as major success in testing reveals Scottish Government strategy pushed infection level toward zero to match New Zealand and South Korea

Professor Bauld did not explicitly say that we should have a border but the evidence she offered made it seem necessary when you consider not just coronavirus but other potential epidemics spreading north. More on these below. On BBC Newsnight, last night, from Professor Bauld after being asked: England accelerating on the exit from lock-down. Can you support this? said: Well, I think the public health community is very anxious. Even though we see fewer than a thousand cases today, the estimates from ONS are around 3 000. We still have far higher level of cases than other European countries … Continue reading Leading academic makes the case for a border to protect Scotland from coronavirus second wave in England

‘Andrew McKie is a political columnist for The Herald and former Obituaries editor of the Daily Telegraph.’ Described as a ‘Conservative voice‘ in David Torrance’s Whatever Happened to Tory Scotland (£0.99 in The Works, Ayr High Street), McKie is famous for his obituary of Roy Hudd, describing him as ‘a wide-ranging actor and comedian who was an expert on music hall and variety.’ Ah, I’m not going to read the full thing today. I’ll just deal with the headline which few will go beyond. In the Herald today, he writes: Opinion: Andrew McKie: There is no basis for arguments that Scotland has handled this crisis better Oh, yes there … Continue reading SNP Government success in suppressing covid-19 is very real but once more the Herald gives space to these lies, from an Obituaries editor!

In a report of the kind of high quality journalism we’ve seen before from this writer but all too infrequently in the Herald these years, the headline does not do justice to Stewart’s final thoughts and given it is an opinion piece why was there not the courage to say: Opinion: Catriona Stewart: Police were wrong to corral peaceful protestors After an extended account of the events with the obligatory recognition of the difficult challenges faced by the police, with which I agree, it is only at the end that we see what the writer thinks. Surely it would be … Continue reading Corralling peaceful protesters: Herald headline hides their own writer’s well-argued conclusion

That’s the page after BBC Scotland staffer Billy Cumberland (16) clarified the headline. The BBC Northampton staff, gentle folk clearly, had gone for this: Coronavirus: 36 test positive at Desborough care home It is accurate, but really? Cumberland had to sort out the text too, to bring out the true message. Here are the key points, from within the mushy Northampton text with his additions in bold: Thirty-six people have tested positive for coronavirus at a care home which admitted three hospital patients who later turned out to be infected because the hospital did not test them properly and then … Continue reading 36 infected in care home as hospital dumps untested old folk! Reporting Scotland team sent to BBC Northampton to sharpen coverage of care home deaths!

stewartb In the letter to The Herald from (seemingly) Ian Murray MP’s election agent, this stood out: “… the SNP Government has tried to integrate health and social care, but it has systematically cut local authority funding, and INTEGRATION HAS NOT HAPPENED.” (my emphasis) It’s really not hard to refute this claim. However, it’s the kind of public assertion from a notable political activist that brings NO credit to the Labour Party in Scotland. Or perhaps it’s just the kind of knock-about political banter – the not to be take too seriously, over the top political rhetoric – that some … Continue reading More on the Scotland in Union letter

In a startling piece of twisted logic, the Herald promotes an attempt to blame the Scottish Government for the failures of the private care sector, ignoring the hard evidence that agency staff and not discharged hospital patients brought the virus into the care homes and that failed basic infection control there allowed the deadly spread. On 29th April, Robert Kilgour was blaming lack of funds for the deaths though infection control has been a long-established, costed, practice through annual flu outbreaks. As for the lack of funds, as recently as last August, he had boasted: Care home operator Renaissance Care … Continue reading The honest truth about care home deaths and profits

This, passed to me by @Sheilz4indy, simply and utterly smashes the campaign to undermine the Scottish Government’s strategy for schools, by Lord MacConnell of that trough, Jackson Carlaw, BBC Scotland and others too wee to mention: Continue reading The ‘Back to school whatever the cost squad’ demolished across social media

In the Herald today, a letter attacking the ‘SNP Government’s’ handling of NHS Scotland and, in particular the issues of bed-blocking and discharges to care homes. https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/18532508.letters-need-national-care-service-work-alongside-nhs/ Thanks to one of our wonderful feeders, we can reveal that the author, unmentioned, was Ian Murray’s ‘wonderful agent’: More worrying, however, Tate is a member of Scotland in Union’s undercover letter-writing group. This letter-writing group organised by Scotland in Union is essentially a covert propaganda unit, clearly aware of the need to keep their existence secret. They are writing to journalists, hoping to influence them and readers, pretending to be simply members … Continue reading SHOCK: Herald publishes anti-SNP unattributed letter by Ian Murray’s election agent and member of Scotland in Union’s covert propaganda letter writing group