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No evidence that any SNP MSP was spied on by staff

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Professor John Robertson OBA In my post earlier, I pointed out that there were no confirmed reports, ever, of an employer being spied on by an employee in the UK but many of the opposite. The supposedly Scottish media and Jackie Baillie have loved the rumours and have made as much hay as they can with them but even this morning BBC Scotland has burst their balloon with: The Scottish Parliament says no “covert bugging devices” were involved in reports of MSPs being secretly recorded by members of staff. The Scotsman newspaper reported that a former worker had placed “listening … Continue reading No evidence that any SNP MSP was spied on by staff

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Media-driven hysteria – there is not one proven incident of an employee in the UK ever bugging their boss but a few the other way

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Professor John Robertson OBA I used to be a sociologist but I’m better now, though I still love a good moral panic. Remember the last one? Spiking women with date rape drugs by hypodermic needle, almost impossible, rather than spiking drinks, worryingly easy. Why has it stopped? Not one arrest. I asked AI – Have there been any reports of proven cases of an employee bugging their boss in Scotland? No publicly reported or documented cases in Scotland appear to involve an employee successfully planting a covert bugging device (such as a hidden microphone, audio recorder, or camera) on or … Continue reading Media-driven hysteria – there is not one proven incident of an employee in the UK ever bugging their boss but a few the other way

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There have now been 5 tower block fires in Scotland since 2000 and none have gone up like Grenfell – here’s why, for the 5th time

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Professor John Robertson OBA Notice anything about that tower block fire? No towering inferno, again From BBC Glasgow & West yesterday: A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fire in a flat at a tower block in Coatbridge. Two people were treated by ambulance crews following the blaze at Calder Court in Whifflet which was reported at about 06:45. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said crews in 11 fire engines and one height vehicle were working to extinguish the fire. A spokesperson said: “Two casualties are in the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service and crews … Continue reading There have now been 5 tower block fires in Scotland since 2000 and none have gone up like Grenfell – here’s why, for the 5th time

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Will Dame Jackie Baillie call for probe into her UK Labour government’s plans to spy on millions of the poor and hungry and Labour MSP putting cameras in toilets?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Leaping gleefully onto the allegations that 3 MSPs and ministers were spied on by SNP parliamentary staff, Dame Jackie Baillie has called for a probe. She shows little sign of wanting to probe Labour MSPs with paedophile pals or Labour councillors who are paedophiles. So that we don’t think she is being a bit of a hypocrite will she also call for a probe into her own party’s plans to spy on millions of poor folk to make sure they really are poor, ie little in their bank accounts, with this: The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) … Continue reading Will Dame Jackie Baillie call for probe into her UK Labour government’s plans to spy on millions of the poor and hungry and Labour MSP putting cameras in toilets?

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Top 1% US researchers find ‘significantly increased cancer incidence’ for those living near nuclear power plants at a level that would mean an additional 10 000 avoidable cancer cases 30km around Hunterston if Scottish Labour get their way

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the highly-rated Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in the USA yesterday: In Massachusetts, residential proximity to a nuclear power plant (NPP) was associated with significantly increased cancer incidence, with risk declining by distance, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was published Dec. 17 in Environmental Health. It was conducted by researchers in the Department of Environmental Health, including corresponding author Yazan Alwadi, PhD student, and senior author Petros Koutrakis, professor of environmental sciences. Despite widespread—and potentially expanding—reliance on nuclear power in the U.S., epidemiologic research investigating … Continue reading Top 1% US researchers find ‘significantly increased cancer incidence’ for those living near nuclear power plants at a level that would mean an additional 10 000 avoidable cancer cases 30km around Hunterston if Scottish Labour get their way

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Crime clear-up in Scotland around 12 times better per head than in England

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: December 2025 The clear up rate for all recorded crimes was 56.0% in 2024-25, up from 54.1% in 2023-24. Crimes against society (93.8%), non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4%) and sexual crimes (56.9%) continued to have higher clear up rates in 2024-25 than crimes of dishonesty (35.1%) and damage and reckless behaviour (31.0%).1 For England, from: By specific crime types (year ending March 2025)2: Theft offences: 7.3% charge/summons rate. Violence against the person: around 5-6%. Sexual offences: 4.2%. Burglary (residential): around 4.7%. Robbery: 7.5%. Not all the categories match … Continue reading Crime clear-up in Scotland around 12 times better per head than in England

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Since SNP came to power, massive reductions in property and violent crime, with increases in clear-up and confidence walking home

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: December 2025 published yesterday: Property and violent crime has fallen by 37% since 2008-09. Increase in crime clear up rate. The clear up rate for all recorded crimes was 56.0% in 2024-25, up from 54.1% in 2023-24. Crimes against society (93.8%), non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4%) and sexual crimes (56.9%) continued to have higher clear up rates in 2024-25 than crimes of dishonesty (35.1%) and damage and reckless behaviour (31.0%). Number of victims of homicide at the lowest level since 1976. There were 45 homicide victims recorded by the police … Continue reading Since SNP came to power, massive reductions in property and violent crime, with increases in clear-up and confidence walking home

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How Brexit destroyed Scotland’s endless trade surpluses

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Inflation Adjusted HMRC Regional Trade Statistics for Scotland Q3 2025 published yesterday: When comparing the year ending September 2025 with the previous year, the value of Scotland’s international goods exports increased by 1% to £24.1 billion, while Scotland’s goods imports increased by 3% to £24.3 billion. Overall, Scotland’s total international trade (imports + exports) in goods increased by 2%. Over the longer term, Scotland’s international goods exports have decreased by 12% in the year ending September 2025 compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2018. Over the same period Scotland’s exports to the EU have decreased … Continue reading How Brexit destroyed Scotland’s endless trade surpluses

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In 2024 alone Scotland’s surplus electricity trade was worth between £2 and £3bn

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q3 2025 published yesterday the above and: Total electricity consumption in Scotland in 2024 was 21.7 TWh. This is down 26.6% from the 2005-2007 baseline figure when 29.3 TWh of electricity was consumed (the baseline is the average consumption from 2005-2007 https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-statistics-for-scotland-q3-2025/pages/electricity-consumption/ How much was produced? From the same source: In 2024, 51.8 TWh of electricity was generated in Scotland. Of this, 73.1% (37.9 TWh) was generated from renewable sources and 91.5% (47.4 TWh) was generated from low carbon sources (renewables + nuclear + pumped storage). In comparison, 49.9 TWh … Continue reading In 2024 alone Scotland’s surplus electricity trade was worth between £2 and £3bn

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In 2024 alone Scotland’s surplus gas trade was worth between £7 and £11bn

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q3 2025 published yesterday, the above chart and: Total gas consumption in Scotland in 2024 was 41.7 TWh. This is down 30.2% from the 2005-2007 baseline figure when 59.8 TWh of gas was consumed (the baseline is the average consumption from 2005-2007; Figure 1). Gas consumption in the domestic sector in Scotland was 25.1 TWh in 2024. This is a 27.7% decrease compared to the 2005-2007 baseline when 34.7 TWh of gas was consumed (Figure 1). In 2024, 16.6 TWh of gas was consumed in the non-domestic sector. This is … Continue reading In 2024 alone Scotland’s surplus gas trade was worth between £7 and £11bn