From BBC UK today: Almost 9,000 people in England and Wales required to have an electronic monitoring tag did not have one, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found. They are likely to include violent offenders and prisoners released from jail who need to be checked on. The NAO said, as of March 2026, prison authorities were reviewing around 8,900 cases of individuals recorded as having an active monitoring order but no tag. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cze9z81d183o In Scotland? Scotland has subjected its electronic monitoring system to independent expert review and research which identified strategic and developmental issues such as … Continue reading Why Scotland’s prisoner tagging scheme is not in crisis – Violent offenders amongst 9 000 un-monitored in England & Wales

The Herald today has the above and only this to explain it: Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with a drugs recovery in Girvan. Around 11am on Thursday, July 2, officers executed a warrant at a property in the town’s Dalrymple Street. Police said a cannabis cultivation was discovered within with an estimated street value of £300,000. and: That’s it. Might they have investigated who these men were and how they got to Girvan? Could they be trafficked by a county lines gang from London or Birmingham? Yes, it is highly plausible that Cam Vu Phung (30) and … Continue reading Vietnamese slaves trafficked into Ayrshire to grow cannabis by an English drug gang is too hard for the Herald to investigate

Widely broadcast and prominently reported on its website today by BBC Scotland, the above and: A widow says she was left facing an impossible choice after her husband’s death – sell the family home or return to work and put her two sons into full-time childcare. Lorraine Wallace, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, is now campaigning for changes to better support grieving families after her bereavement support payments (BSP) ended. Her husband David was diagnosed with bowel cancer in January 2023 and died 21 months later, aged 44. He is survived by Lorraine, 42, and their sons Adam, 10, and 8-year-old Joey. … Continue reading Bereavement support – Hiding the overall responsibility of the UK Government AND the Scottish Government’s attempt to reduce funeral poverty

James Cook this morning on the Jackdaw platform talking about energy security and the environment, at length, but missing a few things. We do get to see this: I doubt they checked with James on the above image, making all-too-clear, the Scottish context for this debate. He managed to mention the UK Government twice but did not tell us what the Scottish Government position is on these two fields. Of course, neither he nor the BBC team in Burnhamland, will be telling anyone, far less Scots, this: 60% of gas and 95% of oil production comes from Scottish waters. https://www.gov.scot/publications/oil-and-gas-production-statistics/ … Continue reading James Cook on Jackdaw telling Scots hee-haw about their 89% of UK tax revenue from oil and gas and nearly £9bn share only 3 years ago