Nicola Sturgeon’s husband suggested that pressure should be brought to bear on police investigating Alex Salmond, according to leaked messages.
In a copy of a WhatsApp exchange seen by The Times, Peter Murrell, chief executive of the SNP, said that prosecutors having brought
charges left detectives in Scotland “twiddling their thumbs”.
The messages suggested that questions should be asked of the Metropolitan Police, who had been passed complaints about the former first minister’s alleged behaviour in London.
In one WhatsApp message sent on
January 25, 2019, the day after Mr Salmond was first charged with multiple sexual assaults, Mr Murrell said: “Totally agree folk should be asking the police questions . . . report now with the PF on charges which leaves police twiddling their thumbs. So good time to be
pressurising them. Would be good to know Met looking at events in London.”
In response to Mr Murrell’s message, a senior member of the SNP said: “TBH [to be honest] the more fronts he is having to firefight on the better for all complainers. So CPS action would be a
good thing.”
Kenny MacAskill, the SNP MP and a former justice secretary in Mr Salmond’s government, said that he had been posted a copy of the messages. He has passed it to the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish government’s unlawful investigation of complaints against
Mr Salmond and the Crown Office.
“I would like the Scottish parliament and the Crown Office to investigate the contents of this document,” he said.
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The Picts - Part 2 of 2.
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By the year 550 the chaos surrounding the fall of Rome had slowed down. The eastern half of the island from the Forth southwards had become the territory of the Angles and Saxons, who were rapidly merging in the west, the Britons still held out but
gradually lost way to the Anglo-Saxons.
North of the Forth, the Picts seemed to have become more aware of their identity, perhaps seeing themselves more on a par with their new neighbours than they had done in Roman times.
It was probably in this period that they first
started carving their curious symbols on to standing stones. At first they used only rough unworked stones, many of which had been set up long before in pre Roman times. The distribution of these symbol stones is the best marker remaining today of the territory held by
The Picts, a fascinating ancient people of Scotland, are both widely recognized and yet shrouded in mystery. Unlike the Britons, Gaels, Angles, and Vikings who have ties to other nations, the Picts are uniquely Scottish.
In the annals of history, the Picts stand out as valiant defenders, repelling both the Romans and the Angles with a spirit akin to that of the legendary 'Braveheart,' which ultimately triumphed at Bannockburn. Their resilience in safeguarding the northern nation from external
threats is a testament to their enduring legacy.
One of the most striking remnants of the Picts' civilization is the intricate Pictish stones, such as the one found at Aberlemno, which depict their rich artistic tradition. Surprisingly, when the Romans first set foot in
Many years ago, my uncle Jimmy died, and before the funeral, we all gathered at my aunt Betty's house. It was 11 in the morning when I arrived (funeral was setting off from the house at 11.30am), and already everyone was half-smugged. Anyway, the funeral boys arrived and began
preparations for moving the body. They screwed the lid down and sorted-out who would be carrying the coffin to the hearse, etc. Meanwhile, some of the women were in the kitchen, and there appeared to be a little bit of panic. My sister came through, and I said,
''What's happenin' in there? '' She replied, '' Aunt Betty is looking for her teeth; she said she's not going without her teeth ''. The gents who were about to carry the coffin out began to assemble either side of the box, some of them swaying, one or two laughing,
Similarities abound - Winston Churchill regarded Dundee as a “seat for life” but his time as MP for the city came to an end 101 years ago with a crushing defeat.
Dundee was among five constituencies Churchill represented during a parliamentary career that spanned an
extraordinary 64 years.
He was elected as a Liberal in 1908, polling 7,079 votes, while the Conservative and Labour candidates split 8,384 votes between them.
Churchill remained MP for Dundee for more than 14 years, during which time he almost continuously served as a
minister in Cabinet.
However, his relationship with the populace became strained after the First World War over issues such as votes for women, his anti-socialist rhetoric and his stance on Irish home rule.
Also, he was stricken with appendicitis in the run-up to the
The Scottish Reform Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland.
The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to England and Wales.
The chief architects of the Act were
Francis Jeffrey and Henry Cockburn.
It was subsequently given the official short title of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832.
Prior to the Act, Scotland's electorate was only 0.2% of the population compared to 4% in England.
The Scottish electorate overnight soared from 5,000 to 65,000, or 13% of the adult men, and was no longer a private preserve for a few very rich families.
But....this wasn't a recently fought fight. This wasn't an overnight success. This fight, in Scotland, begins in 1816...