Does Scotland’s First Minister believe all trans women are women?

Scottish Gov has just implemented an effective ban on trans prisoners who’ve committed sexual & violent crimes against women being moved to a women-only prison. @itvnews We ask this because ScotGov just tightened prison policy for trans people only. Cisgendered women cannot be sent to a men’s prison, regardless of crime - such fundamental rights of being a woman cannot be removed. But it is different for trans women. This has broader implications

SNP says indyref2 on 19 Oct 2023. That’s not in their hands & we’ll say what Supreme Court says.

What is in their hands is the pledge to fight the next UKGE on a single issue: should Scotland be an independent country.

This strategy gets more interesting when you dive deeper. Firstly, the FM is defining how to make an election a de-facto referendum: campaign using the same question as was asked in 2014; declare victory if >50% of the vote.

No detail on how a victory on these terms would deliver independence, or if they want a subsequent indyref.

Nicola Sturgeon confirms her first step will be a consultative vote to “ascertain the views of the Scottish people.” She proposes it be the same question as 2014 and she intends to hold this on 19 October 2023. @itvnews Nicola Sturgeon says she expects this process will end up in court. She says she has already accelerated this by consulting the Lord Advocate and the LA will refer the proposals to the Supreme Court this afternoon.

Essentially FM is not waiting for a legal challenge to come in.

This is Lakhvir Singh who was locked in the back of UK Immigration Enforcement van for 8 hours today, before ‘people power’ in the Glasgow community forced a u-turn. He’s now released and back with family. Our exclusive on @itvnews at 10 tonight.

https://twitter.com/peteradamsmith/status/1392903416276557831

This is @AamerAnwar - the human rights lawyer who negotiated for the two men’s release today. @itvnews tonight.

Update on DUP vs Arlene Foster.

My understanding is 80%+ of DUP’s electoral college now signed letter of “no confidence” in Foster & her team. They also want to remove senior advisor Emma Little-Pengelly, party chief exec Timothy Johnston, & director of comms John Robinson. Crucially this DUP revolt is also going after Nigel Dodds. For context, Dodds is revered as DUP royalty. To openly call for him to go is extraordinary but shows the strength of feeling.

Rangers have just written to FM Nicola Sturgeon expressing concerns over comments from her government about the club’s “silence” over crowds assembling. They’ve outlined it was Rangers officials who initiated contact with ScotGov & SPFL back on 22 Feb.

https://twitter.com/peteradamsmith/status/1368899620370321411

RFC say club specifically liaised with police & ScotGov about how to “utilise” manager Steven Gerrard’s profile to reach fans with messaging, and highlight his subsequent comments on Friday and Saturday reminding his team’s fans about “safety” & “social distancing” in a pandemic.

Rangers win the Scottish Premiership.

Thousands gather in celebration at Ibrox stadium in defiance of lockdown. After 10 years it’s the longest Rangers have been without a major trophy. More on @itvnews tonight. These are the scenes at George Square 3 miles from Ibrox. @itvnews

Extra legal advice to the ScotGov in their Alex Salmond case released today: counsel is trying to convince them to concede to “stem substantial expenses” in a case that was failing.

This is 17 Dec 2018. It was eventually conceded in Jan 2019 & cost tax payers more than £500k.

https://twitter.com/peteradamsmith/status/1367579018200023044

Scottish Gov’s legal counsel is quite clearly expressing frustration with being asked to continue defending a case that is so deeply flawed. There is also criticism of the ScotGov for redacting documents without telling them.

The inquiry is expected to get to the bottom of this

“I have believed for some time that there was...a ‘witch-hunt’ against him after receiving what I considered to be an improper request from SNP HQ seeking to damage Mr Salmond.”

Statement from Anne Harvey, Principal Assistant to Chief Whip with SNP at Westminster. @itvnews Anne Harvey says she has “offered to provide a detailed affidavit along with the contents of this statement to Mr Salmond’s lawyers.” @itvnews

The WHO: “We do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus."

But aren’t lockdowns quite effective? Depends what we consider success & who we compare with.

Much of Europe, like UK, has relied almost entirely on locking people down. Results are mixed. The hardest part for most countries using national lockdown has been coming out of lockdown. Much of Europe, like the UK, is stuck in a cycle of lockdown, easing a bit, locking down again. The only clear way out now is a reliable vaccine programme.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 “Stay at home” message will become law in Scotland from midnight tonight.

People only allowed to leave home for exercise, to care for someone, or to go to work. People are asked to work from home if they can.

Only 2 from 2 separate households can meet outdoors. @itvnews Nicola Sturgeon says those in shielding category should work from home if they can, and avoid going to work if they can’t.

Schools will be closed to most pupils (except vulnerable children & kids of key workers) until at least February. Online learning from next week. @itvnews

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 24 hours until new restrictions in Scotland & some businesses don’t know if they will close for 16 days.
⛔️ Rules say licensed restaurants in central belt must shut.
✅ Licensed cafes can stay open (with no alcohol).
🤔 But how do you tell a restaurant from a licensed cafe? Can pubs and restaurants rebrand themselves swiftly to focus on selling coffee and cake in the hope it pays the bills? The Horseshoe Cafe has a certain ring to it.

Scotland’s phase 1 out of lockdown:
👭meet people from other households (outside)
🏌️‍♀️play golf, tennis, bowls, fish

📚 Big one: From 11 August all schools will reopen (blended model of part time school & home schooling). Teachers resume in June to prepare classrooms. @itvnews Scotland’s public health message remains unchanged until 28 May: STAY AT HOME. People being asked to wait patiently for phase 1 to begin.

Shielding of Scotland’s most vulnerable people will continue until 18 June then reviewed. @itvnews

Asked about @BBCMarkDaly revelations, @NicolaSturgeon says the public weren’t told that Coronavirus had been in Edinburgh in February due to concerns over patient confidentiality but all relevant contact tracing was done and Scotland’s FM is satisfied it was handled properly. Asked about why she didn’t agree with respected scientists who advised her not to abandon ‘contact tracing’ so early in outbreak, @NicolaSturgeon says she has many people offering input & as FM has to listen to best science available which she says she did.

Trying to help two homeless men in Glasgow find accommodation for the night. It’s so much harder than I naively imagined it would/should be, and infinitely more complicated.
Step 1: go to a night shelter. Except there are currently no night shelters in Glasgow city centre. Step 2: contact @GlasgowCC - they have homeless casework teams covering the city. Trying to call them isn’t straightforward, though. It’s almost constantly engaged because they’re overloaded. I’ve been trying since yesterday, finally got through at 3.20pm today. It’s bad news.