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That impossible desire

Alex Salmond has cancelled his testimony to a Holyrood inquiry after a dossier of claims he made against Nicola Sturgeon was heavily censored following pressure from Scottish prosecutors.

Opposition MSPs said that the Scottish Parliament was left facing a “credibility crisis” after Mr Salmond’s written submission was finally published by the legislature on Monday, only to be pulled Tuesday morning, on the eve of his scheduled appearance.

The Crown Office expressed “grave concerns” over the publication of the evidence, believed to relate to a court order that prevents publication of information likely to lead to the identification of complainers in Mr Salmond’s criminal trial.

A redacted version of Mr Salmond’s dossier, with around 500 words deleted, was released on Tuesday afternoon.

Can they all lose?

14 thoughts on “That impossible desire”

  1. I live in Scotland and unless you dig around you have no idea as to what is going on. The events surrounding the Salmond affair, no other way to call it, are both egregious and a great worry, not to say stain on democratic values, with the government/SNP busily trying to avoid the ugly truth getting out there.
    What is particularly unedifying is the lack of serious investigation by the MSM media and the evident anti-Salmond bias.
    For the record, I should say I am not a Salmond supporter but the very strong evidence of a stich-up makes one wonder whether one could get an honest trial in Scotland these days.
    More publicity needs to be shed on these events as this is the only way we will get to the truth. Many people have lied in court and in parliament and need to be held to account. Alas, the opposition is pretty incompetent.

  2. Lets hope so Tim. But the Wee Ginger Cunt has suction power like a limpet. And Scots in general seem to love socialism a lot more than Scotland.

    Any decent crew in Westminster–bad joke I know–should have shut both the SNP and Welsh Labour–ie devolution itself– down long ago. Drakeford is a minor Commissar but his bullshit (and Krankie’s) have served to help with Bogus Johnson’s casedemic farce. So their antics will be allowed to continue. Regardless of specific and general cost.

    The Scots Assembly should have been shut down over the “Commissar for every child” cockrot. That Johnson seems to be doing/saying nothing about that SOS Humza’s ending of free speech in favour of RoP blasphemy laws says everything about Blojob Johnson. Even Camoron–as his 2011 Epidemic emergency plan shows–would have been a better PM.

    Krankie CANNOT be embarrassed out of the job. Short of being arrested and dragged away–which both she and Humza do indeed deserve–she will find a way to stay.

    Even if Beijing Blojerk didn’t find her virus antics useful to his own deceitful cause –he doesn’t have the balls to grasp the nettle and bring devolution down.

  3. Bloke in North Dorset

    This is another one of Blair’s I’ll thought through reforms. They thought they were being clever and stitching up Scotland as a Labour fiefdom for posterity.

    The Spectator’s played a good role in this affair, going to court to get the judge to rule on what can be said and publishing Salmond’s evidence. There’s some good articles on the Coffee House blog and last night’s Coffee House podcast is a good place to start for those who haven’t been following it.

    Tim’s right, both sides losing is the only sensible outcome.

  4. Devolution was possibly Blair’s stupidest policy, not least because it failed miserably to rein in the nationalist vote.

    I have got to the point where I’m happy for the Jocks to fuck off whenever. However, I know that is exactly how the SNP wants the English to feel.

  5. @Peter is correct. For most Scots this scandal exists beneath the radar. SNP appear to have played a blinder in stitching up civic Scotland and the MSM. Much like Nazi Germany when you joined the party in order to get on – all hail the glorious leader, etc. I know we take the mick out of Angela Rayner but the poor girl comes across as upper-middle class compared to the SNP birds. Have been struggling through ‘Shuggie Bain’ to better inform myself.

  6. The Crown Office expressed “grave concerns” over the publication of the evidence

    The “grave concern” being that if that evidence was allowed into the record then First Minister and full-time Wee Jimmy Krankie impersonator, Nicola Sturgeon would have to resign.

    The evidence was published a while back now and although Nicky might say it’s all pish and wind, others (even some in her own party) have explicitly said it amounts to lying to Parliament and she needs to resign. I’d tend to agree.

    We’ve got Scottish Parliamentary elections here in May and while the Tories, Labour and Limp Dims are a woeful bunch there are enough people that are sick and tired enough of Nicola’s continual banging on about Independence and trying to upstage BoJo or pretend that BRExit never happened that a snub against the SNP is inevitable. Won’t do any good though, since the demented porridge wogs of the SNP in the central belt will vote for anyone wearing a bumblebee black-and-yellow rosette of the SNP, but it might be enough of a fall in support that the membership decides to call time on the deranged ramblings of Kim Jung Sturgeon.

    As for the other half of Fishgate, former First Minister Alex Salmond has past the point of any political redemption now, regardless of the truth or otherwise of his allegations. Now he wants revenge and it’s seriously personal.

    Neither of them can “win” this, but Nicola Sturgeon has a lot to lose and Alex Salmond would love to be the one to take it from her.

    I can’t see this obvious attempt by the Clown Office to make the problem go away through procedural games. The inquiry needs to put on their big boy pants and do a little “speaking truth to power”.

  7. This is nothing that cannot be easily resolved by installing Capt Potato as Lord Thistlearse of Whollyrude and allowing him free rein to lead the Scots to the sunny uplands of independence and economic glory.

  8. This is nothing that cannot be easily resolved by installing Capt Potato as Lord Thistlearse of Whollyrude and allowing him free rein to lead the Scots to the sunny uplands of independence and economic glory.

    Sure. Why not? It would certainly accelerate us towards the breaking point and Auld Reekie has plenty of lamp-posts and hempen rope that needs a bit of weighted stretching.

  9. “Devolution was possibly Blair’s stupidest policy”

    Ooooh I don’t know there’s some pretty stiff opposition! Iraq of course, opening the doors on day 1 to the Eastern European accession states, ramping up mass immigration, allowing the one eyed Scot to imagine he’d invented perpetual economic growth, The Equality Act, The Climate Change Act, any of those would stand a good chance of beating devolution to the title of ‘Worst Blair Policy’. I know the last 2 were under Brown, but he was continuity Blair in my eyes.

    And of course there’s the Blair policy that got away – joining the Euro, which but for the One eyed Jock we probably would have been signed up to. Which certainly would have been the most disastrous of all……..

  10. So Much For Subtlety

    Guido publishes the bit where Salmon says that Surgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament? Why was that banned?

    I can understand protecting children who have been sexually assaulted. I understand – but do not agree – with banning divorce proceedings.

    But this looks nakedly political. Why shouldn’t we know whether or not Sturgeon lied to Parliament? That sounds like the definition of public interest

  11. He’s got some wacky points of view, but I believe Craig Murray over any MSM source (if they even bothered to talk about this).

  12. Guido publishes the bit where Salmon says that Surgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament? Why was that banned?

    Because it would embarrass the Dear Leader, obviously!

  13. It was a staple of 1970s and 80s American TV that the hero’s car would break down in Hicksville, which happened to be run by a corrupt mayor and his sheriff sidekick. The flimsy plotline was just an excuse for the Bionic Man or Woman/Incredible Hulk/Charlies Angels et al to duff up a load of henchmen. Thing is, devolution and the Mayoralties in England’s big cities actually seems to have created this situation.

    We have banana-republic devolved nations and corrupt mayors who allow their police to run wild, nicking people for sitting on park benches. This is some sort of Anthony Burgess-like dystopia that has been created. I always thought Devolution a stupid idea and the fact that it passed 50.5-49.5% on a 50% turnout in Wales was hardly a ringing endorsement, it was obvious to anyone with one-eye that it was an attempt by Labour to turn Wales and Scotland into er… Socialist Banana Republics. I thought the mayoralties a good idea though… how wrong I was.

    By the by, I think that both sides can lose in this one.

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