Lies, Politics and Politicians

EXCLUSIVE: Scottish Government unlawfully claimed Alex Salmond harassment report 'did not exist'

Scot Gov officials initially applied six exemptions to the report's release, and then decided it simply did not exist.
https://t.co/lU47pUIf1t

— Conor Matchett (@conor_matchett) May 28, 2021

Another shocking FOI revelation confirms that Scottish Ministers broke the law twice when asked to release documents on the government's handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond. 

The Scottish Information Commissioner's ruling criticised ministers for failing to respond to the FOI request within the time limits laid down and went on to say:

“There is no doubt in the commissioner’s mind that the applicant clearly identified the information he requested and that the ministers understood exactly what information they were being asked for.

“In conclusion, the commissioner does not accept the ministers’ interpretation of the applicant’s request. The commissioner is satisfied that it was clear what information the applicant had requested, and that request which specifically refers to ‘any official report’ captures the reduced decision report.

“The commissioner finds that the ministers were wrong to interpret the request the way they did.”

Sadly, this kind of behaviour from Scottish Ministers is par for the course - Scotland's FOI regime needs sharper teeth because instead of operating openly and transparently governments at all levels do their level best to obfuscate and delay.

  

Politics, Politicians and Strangers to the Truth (May 27, 2021)

I enjoyed this opinion piece by Ian Dunt on the Dominic Cummings affair - a story of liars told by liars.

Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to the prime minister, sat for hours in front of a select committee of MPs, and levelled some of the most devastating accusations ever directed against a peacetime prime minister. He laid out a narrative of ineptitude, idiocy and indecision over the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

He told a terrible story, in which the prime minister was a liar, surrounded by liars, churning out constant lies. And he showed how that culture prevented the mistakes of the past from being unearthed and therefore did nothing to stop them from happening again in the future.

But at the end of the story was a tragic punchline. Cummings was a liar too, and therefore none of his claims would be believed.

As we've seen from the Holyrood Inquiry with its missing records, conflicting evidence, selective amnesia from key witnesses and wholesale redactions - there's no reason for Scotland to patting itself on the back.

 

Sudden, Selective Memory Loss (March 26, 2021)

Peter Brookes manages to combine Nicola Sturgeon's sudden and selection memory loss with the news that Clive Myrie is taking over as the new presenter of Mastermind.