UK MoD plan to decommission at least 7 nuclear subs in Fife, with houses less than 1 mile away and downwind by methods 1 000 times more dangerous than US methods

Professor John Robertson OBA From Brian Goodall, three days ago on Facebook: Babcock’s and MOD asked to think again on nuclear submarine dismantling process at Rosyth Dockyard. This morning at a meeting of the Rosyth Dockyard Local Liaison Committee in the Dockyard I repeated my long held view that the proposed second stage of the nuclear submarine dismantling demonstrator project, that is about to start, is a stage too far, and I ask for a rethink. The next step will see Babcock cutting out the reactor pressure vessel from the reactor compartment of the decommissioned nuclear submarine Swiftsure, in an … Continue reading UK MoD plan to decommission at least 7 nuclear subs in Fife, with houses less than 1 mile away and downwind by methods 1 000 times more dangerous than US methods

Glasgow’s miles better and ‘Fast car Phil’ needs to learn from it

Professor John Robertson OBA The Times on 23 October 2025, has the above. Before I respond to the ridiculous headline claim, who is Rodney? From the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Philip practised as a lawyer for more than 40 years, latterly as chair of Burness Paull. He also previously chaired the Senior Lawyers Committee of the International Bar Association and the board of governors of the Glasgow School of Art and was a governor of Hutchesons’ Educational Trust. Philip currently sits on the board of Dunedin Consort, as well as being a Senior Adviser to Saxton Bampfylde Ltd and has … Continue reading Glasgow’s miles better and ‘Fast car Phil’ needs to learn from it

Good God! First, Trump is the messiah, now it’s Farage as a dodgy pollster puts his followers in second place in Scotland and the Herald harkens to his angels of death

Professor John Robertson OBA You can buy a poster of Donald Trump as the messiah on Amazon. Seriously, many on the Christian right in the USA actually think he is. He may do too. Nigel Farage, if you’ve heard him speak and read of his actions, you’ll know, is not the messiah but a very nasty man. The MSM has been accused for some time of undemocratically enabling the Reform UK campaign with undue space and oxygen such as 38 BBC Question Time appearances despite 0 MPs until 2024. Does Damien Shields, above, know what he is doing? Why is … Continue reading Good God! First, Trump is the messiah, now it’s Farage as a dodgy pollster puts his followers in second place in Scotland and the Herald harkens to his angels of death

NHS England more than 100 times, 10 times per head, more privatised than NHS Scotland

in England were delivered by private hospitals and clinics in the last 12 months – that’s almost 500 000 higher than the previous year. The Health Secretary….[was not criticised for the obvious evidence of failures in NHS England.] Professor John Robertson OBA The figure, 6.15 million comes from the private sector – David Hare, Independent Healthcare Providers Network. Scotland, you ask? From Grok AI: NHS Scotland’s policy prioritizes public sector delivery for elective care, with limited reliance on the independent (private) sector compared to other UK nations. Use of private hospitals and clinics is targeted at specific backlogs (e.g., orthopaedics, ophthalmology, endoscopy) … Continue reading NHS England more than 100 times, 10 times per head, more privatised than NHS Scotland

In 2024 there were 262 mistaken prisoner releases in England & Wales but NONE in Scotland

and Wales were released when they should not have been. Former prison governors say it’s the manifestation of a broken system Professor John Robertson OBA As UK media focus today on the one case of an asylum seeker accused of sex offences against a minor, BBC UK tell us the above. In Scotland, these last few months, the MSM have had tales of crisis-hit prisons, breaching prisoners’ human rights and a level of overcrowding that cannot be ignored. In these alleged circumstances, you have to think mistakes like those above will have been made in Scotland too. No specific, documented … Continue reading In 2024 there were 262 mistaken prisoner releases in England & Wales but NONE in Scotland

After today’s Turkish ferry crew fake news and all the other s**t we have to take write to this guy

Professor John Robertson OBA There’s no point filling in a BBC Complaints form which goes to Darlington and comes back essentially unanswered. Write to this man directly, copied to your MSP, on paper preferably. Howard Simpson is the current Head of News and Current Affairs at BBC Scotland, overseeing the editorial direction for Reporting Scotland. He took on this role in May 2025, succeeding Gary Smith. As head, he leads the news teams producing the programme, including reporters, producers, and output editors. While specific programme editors handle day-to-day production, Simpson’s position makes him the key editorial figure for Reporting Scotland … Continue reading After today’s Turkish ferry crew fake news and all the other s**t we have to take write to this guy

BBC Scotland repeat their new ferry crew costs fake news trick from 2023 to widespread disgust and righteous sneering

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland has the above this morning. Soon after, Murray Foote and others hade exposed their dirty tricks: BBC Scotland had essentially ‘double-counted’ the salary and other costs of the crew members already needed to run the ferries as if they were new additional costs because of building in Turkey. In May 2023, they tried a similar, smelly, trick with this: I wrote then: Ferry operator Calmac has run up a £1.6 million bill for crewing cost for the Glen Sannox, which is still under construction. Calmac has hired 14 staff to date and they’re all … Continue reading BBC Scotland repeat their new ferry crew costs fake news trick from 2023 to widespread disgust and righteous sneering

Research – the safest place by far to bury high-level nuclear waste is in the deep clay beds of the South-East around London

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to gavinochiltree for alerting us to this. Earlier posts here have drawn attention to Scottish Labour’s complicity with the idea of reintroducing nuclear power stations into Scotland and their implicit acceptance of consequent cancer risks from their emissions directly and indirectly from the poorly stored waste in places like Sellafield, close to the Scottish border. I had not known, until reader Gavin wrote that he had seen research suggesting that these northern igneous/granite locations are actually less safe than deep clay beds. I did a quick AI search and he’s correct: Are deep clay beds … Continue reading Research – the safest place by far to bury high-level nuclear waste is in the deep clay beds of the South-East around London

Bairns lead the way with most Scottish squad players, best stadium name change and are first to cap ticket prices

Professor John Robertson OBA (Open Bairns Admirer) OK, first my apologies to Gordon Gibson, for this. Motherwell deserved better. Second, I declare my uncontrolled bias and thus must rate my researcher reliability score to be SFA. I see today that Falkirk FC, ‘The Bairns‘ of the Bairnabeu Stadium in the Bog, Falkirk, have been first in the league, to cap their ticket prices at £25, in the wake of bumper crowds this year. Also, source-free, I feel sure I’ve seen a proposal to rename the Falkirk Stadium (yawn) the St Jimmy Bairnabeu Stadium, after Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in … Continue reading Bairns lead the way with most Scottish squad players, best stadium name change and are first to cap ticket prices

Scottish Labour’s nuclear energy policy shattered by latest estimate for one half-mile deep (!) waste storage facility costing nearly £70 BILLION 40 years after a Scottish Labour council rejected the idea

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Frances McKie, once more, for this alert. When I arrived in Ayr in 1984 and began hillwalking in the nearby hills, I heard of the local community’s recent campaign of resistance to plans to bury nuclear waste under the granite 2 270ft mountain, Mullwharchar, 30 miles away but visible from the town,  in the Dungeon Hills, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range. From No2NuclearPower: The first planning application was made in January 1978 to Kyle and Carrick District Council (South-west Scotland) by the UKAEA to test drill on Mullwharchar Hill near Loch Doon on the border … Continue reading Scottish Labour’s nuclear energy policy shattered by latest estimate for one half-mile deep (!) waste storage facility costing nearly £70 BILLION 40 years after a Scottish Labour council rejected the idea