The ‘creepy’ use of their own children to make political points is still with us

Professor John Robertson OBA In October 2025, a Lib Dem EdinburghCity Councillor, Sanne Dijksta-Downie, used her 6-year-old daughter’s cancer diagnosis and recovery to suggest some sort of crisis in NHS Scotland under the heading ‘COST-CUTTING EVERYWHERE’. Bizarrely, her first example of cost-cutting was that there were never enough pillows for parents staying over on the ward! She went on then to bemoan the quality of pizzas given to patients and cups of tea and biscuits requiring to be provided by charities. She then complains about having to help with feeding, washing and toileting. Isn’t that a good thing for the … Continue reading The ‘creepy’ use of their own children to make political points is still with us

Scotland has the lowest difference in excess mortality between summer and winter despite consistently seeing the coldest winters

stewartb O/T Tho’ staying with the challenges of winter, a newly published research paper published by UK Parliament Post has noteworthy statistics on levels of winter mortality across the UK. It reports a statistic favourable to Scotland and therefore worthy of mention – after all, if not here, where? (We know that favourable statistics about life in Scotland are strong candidates for media bias by omission and if the same research had reported an unfavourable statistic, someone in BBC Scotland or their ilk would have noticed and amplified it.) Source: Hassan and Chapman (Sept 9, 2025) Winter mortality. UK Parliament Post. (https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0752/POST-PN-0752.pdf ) Background: ’Winter mortality in … Continue reading Scotland has the lowest difference in excess mortality between summer and winter despite consistently seeing the coldest winters

How dangerous is it to live 5km from a nuclear power station like Labour’s new one proposed for Anglesey, 360km from Westminster? It depends whom you ask but EVERY German study says it doubled childhood leukaemia risk

Continue reading How dangerous is it to live 5km from a nuclear power station like Labour’s new one proposed for Anglesey, 360km from Westminster? It depends whom you ask but EVERY German study says it doubled childhood leukaemia risk

Scotland’s flu season starts early but with TWICE as many jags done, 30% more beds and 71% more nurses, SNP better prepared

in Scotland in the past week, up 72%. The number of patients admitted to hospital has almost doubled too according to Public Health Scotland data, Experts have been warning of an early flu seasonwith a new variant that spreads more easily and may be more severe. Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Reporting Scotland last night had the above, missing key facts on vaccine uptake and the resilience of NHS Scotland. Here they are: Scottish Government significantly widened access to free flu vaccine to give more than twice as many, per capita, protection from worrying new mutation First, availability in England – … Continue reading Scotland’s flu season starts early but with TWICE as many jags done, 30% more beds and 71% more nurses, SNP better prepared

English judges in England’s Supreme Court over-rule Scotland’s research based changes to protect victims of rape like this

Professor John Robertson OBA There was little chance that the Sunday Daily Record would report this honestly as their Holyrood 2026 campaign in support of Anas Sarwar kicks on. The above victim’s mother is concerned about a recent decision by the Supreme Court in London, which though not competent in Scots Law is, in the context of the Union, superior to the highest courts in Scotland and can exert considerable pressure on them, even over-turn their verdicts, such as in the case of Nat Fraser’s murder conviction which it quashed in 2011. The Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act … Continue reading English judges in England’s Supreme Court over-rule Scotland’s research based changes to protect victims of rape like this

German researchers reveal how radioactive emissions spike up to 500 times everyday running levels during inspection or refuelling to put unborn and younger children at great risk of cancer and further undermine Labour’s plans for new nuclear power stations in North Ayrshire and East Lothian

As the authorities approve [15 September 2025] the progress in reducing hazard at the Hunterston B nuclear site in North Ayrshire, I’m deeply suspicious and reminded of the harm that was done over 45 years. By Professor John Robertson, OBA Hunterston B Nuclear power station, in North Ayrshire, Scotland, was in operation for nearly 45 years, from February 1976 until November 2021.1 In that time, there will have been around 30 re-fuelling instances2 and up to 300 inspections.3 During these events, there are spikes of radioactive emissions. Researchers in Germany, published this in 2011: According to the International Physicians for the Prevention … Continue reading German researchers reveal how radioactive emissions spike up to 500 times everyday running levels during inspection or refuelling to put unborn and younger children at great risk of cancer and further undermine Labour’s plans for new nuclear power stations in North Ayrshire and East Lothian

Global thyroid cancer ‘surge’ – Scottish Labour policy challenged as new research reviewing more than 2 000 studies finds increased risk of thyroid cancer for those living near nuclear power plants

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Health yesterday reported on a global surge in thyroid cancer with: It’s long been known that exposure to large amounts of ionising radiation in childhood can cause thyroid cancer. In the years following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, rates of the disease skyrocketed in children in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. One study found that amongst Japanese atomic-bomb survivors, about 36% of thyroid cancer cases since 1958 could be attributed to childhood radiation exposure. From The National on 9 July 2024: SCOTTISH Secretary Ian Murray has repeatedly refused to say the new UK Labour government will not overrule its devolved counterpart to see nuclear projects built in … Continue reading Global thyroid cancer ‘surge’ – Scottish Labour policy challenged as new research reviewing more than 2 000 studies finds increased risk of thyroid cancer for those living near nuclear power plants