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One more time – flammable cladding is not that dangerous if……

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Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve been constructing this ‘tower of knowledge‘ for years now and virtually nobody, including the Scottish Government, seems be even aware of it. Based on the expert advice of a reader of TuS and a retired architect, as I understand it, flammable cladding is not dangerous enough, on its own, to cause a towering inferno and the deaths of hundreds, IF you have cavity fire barriers preventing the fire from spread from floor to floor, due to a chimney effect as happened in Grenfell. This fact is proven by four recent tower block fires in Scotland … Continue reading One more time – flammable cladding is not that dangerous if……

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8% of the population but nearly 16% of foreign direct investment and 10 years of leading all UK regions other than London but it’s not big news

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Professor John Robertson OBA From EY UK yesterday, the above graph, and: Scotland secures decade stretch as top UK FDI location outside London Scotland secured 135 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2024 and has cemented its reputation as the top UK FDI location outside London after marking a decade in the position. Despite a drop of seven projects (-4.9%) on the year before, this is still the second highest annual number of projects recorded, according to the latest EY Scotland Attractiveness Survey. Against a UK and Europe backdrop of a marked decline in project numbers, Scotland’s share of projects … Continue reading 8% of the population but nearly 16% of foreign direct investment and 10 years of leading all UK regions other than London but it’s not big news

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Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Orkney Islands Council has accepted it must remain part of the UK – after spending two years exploring opportunities for greater autonomy. Officials looked into various models for “alternative governance”. These included changing their status in the UK or even potentially becoming a self-governing territory of Norway. A report to councillors concluded the proposals were too difficult and too expensive and members agreed to investigate a single authority model to reform how public services are delivered instead. Two years ago TuS reported on this and the following was written … Continue reading Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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As 47 families complain about maternity care in another NHS England health trust, why Scottish media struggle to compare

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today: Dozens more parents demand maternity care inquiry – When Tassie Weaver went into labour at full term, she thought she was hours away from holding her first child. But, by the time she was giving birth, she knew her son had died. Doctors had previously told Tassie to call her local maternity unit immediately when she went into labour, she says, because her high blood pressure and concerns about the baby’s growth meant she needed monitoring. But when she first phoned, despite being considered high risk, a midwife told her to stay … Continue reading As 47 families complain about maternity care in another NHS England health trust, why Scottish media struggle to compare

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The last word on the damaging misrepresentation of Scotland’s ferries – cheaper, safer, more inclusive and more popular than any other public service

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This first appeared in the June edition of Scots Independent Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve written on ferry services, globally, more times than I can remember in vain attempt to get the Herald and other media to stop publishing downright lies about CalMac which inevitably must be seeping into the public consciousness and, I feel sure, damaging the confidence of travellers from all over the UK and beyond with negative economic consequences for the islands. I’ve tried to put CalMac’s relatively minor problems into a global context, revealing the very real crises in affluent societies from British Columbia, through Washington … Continue reading The last word on the damaging misrepresentation of Scotland’s ferries – cheaper, safer, more inclusive and more popular than any other public service

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Starmer v Saville – As head of the Crown Prosecution Service how did Starmer avoid scrutiny on the decision not to prosecute Saville on the grounds of “insufficient evidence?”

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By JB Answer: He passed the blame onto the police and a prosecuting lawyer who was actually working for Starmer, him obviously being the lawyer’s boss at the time. Our not then Prime Minister, but head of the CPS said: “These were errors of judgement by experienced and committed police officers and a prosecuting lawyer acting in good faith and attempting to apply the correct principles.” Oh! Nearly forgot A spokesperson for the CPS said:  “in line with the established data retention policy”, none of the records for the decision not to charge Savile in 2009 were kept.” Keir Starmer … Continue reading Starmer v Saville – As head of the Crown Prosecution Service how did Starmer avoid scrutiny on the decision not to prosecute Saville on the grounds of “insufficient evidence?”

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The history of the Tories, Liberals and Labour in covering-up systematic child abuse by MPs that underlies the more recent inaction by government and by police on grooming gangs

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By JB Independent Inquiry Child Sex Abuse From the 2012 investigation  ‘Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Linked to Westminster’. “This investigation concerns institutional responses to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation involving persons of public prominence who were associated with Westminster. Westminster is defined in this report as the centre of the United Kingdom’s government, government ministers and officials, as well as Parliament, its members and the political parties represented there. Seven topics were covered in evidence. These were: police misconduct, political parties, whips’ offices, the Paedophile Information Exchange, prosecutorial decisions, the honours system, and current safeguarding policies in … Continue reading The history of the Tories, Liberals and Labour in covering-up systematic child abuse by MPs that underlies the more recent inaction by government and by police on grooming gangs

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Increase in school leavers finding positive destination after school to more than 93% and far better than in England at only 79%*

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Summary statistics for follow-up leaver destinations, no. 7: 2025 edition published today: This statistical publication provides information on the follow-up destinations, nine months after the end of the school year, of 2023-24 school leavers from publicly funded secondary schools in Scotland. Key points *There will no doubt be problems in comparing with England but the latest figures (2022/2023) published in February 2025 for Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment was only 79.6% https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/16-18-destination-measures/2022-23 *Regardless of details of data collection and classification which may be there, imagine this was the other way round? Continue reading Increase in school leavers finding positive destination after school to more than 93% and far better than in England at only 79%*

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Child abuse – Labour and Conservative history of neglect, even sickening collusion – As ‘Scottish’ Labour MPs now attempt to help Starmer by calling for a pointless grooming inquiry here how the SNP’s Named Person Scheme which they u-turned on could have saved thousands in England

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Sky News, 11 years ago: The former head of a paedophile group said Harriet Harman “didn’t even try” to stop his organisation’s involvement with the civil liberties council she worked for. Tom O’Carroll, who was chairman of the now defunct Paedophile Information Exchange, said neither Ms Harman or her Labour colleagues wanted to “rock the boat” for fear it might damage their careers.1 Many younger readers will wonder what on earth can this be. The Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was a British pro-paedophile activist group, founded in October 1974 and officially disbanded in 1984. The group campaigned for the abolition … Continue reading Child abuse – Labour and Conservative history of neglect, even sickening collusion – As ‘Scottish’ Labour MPs now attempt to help Starmer by calling for a pointless grooming inquiry here how the SNP’s Named Person Scheme which they u-turned on could have saved thousands in England

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England facing the ‘Jaws of Death’ as water runs out in only 20 years now and Scotland’s 30 000 freshwater lochs replace oil, gas and renewables in the struggle for independence

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today, England’s water deficit is exciting headlines across the UK media but we saw similar warnings more than five years ago: In 2019, I wrote: From @ArchbishopStua1 (Who could he be teasing there?) today, this: Without significant action, the National Audit Office (NAO) forecasts that the total water demand will start to exceed supply in England no later than 2034. Be under no illusion English Privatised Water Companies need access to the water in Scotland. https://x.com/ArchbishopStua1/status/1846584824129298790 and from the Guardian in June 2023: Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/jun/15/drought-is-on-the-verge-of-becoming-the-next-pandemic#:~:text=Without%20significant%20action%2C%20the%20National,England%20no%20later%20than%202034 In the … Continue reading England facing the ‘Jaws of Death’ as water runs out in only 20 years now and Scotland’s 30 000 freshwater lochs replace oil, gas and renewables in the struggle for independence