Latest news with #Branchform
The Herald Scotland
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Police Scotland doesn't even log the sex of suspects properly
And whilst there are far fewer of them on the roads, a vehicle fleet in which hardly an engine gets the chance to go cold from one end of the day to the next is also likely to have the odd metal-on-metal encounter with others. Paying out for such things is to be expected. If that were the end of it, I suspect the vast majority of us would shrug our shoulders and take a pragmatic view that there wasn't really much to see here. But as with so many things in policing, that is a long way short of the whole story — and the service's approach to dealing with these incidents, and the inevitable questions the payments invite, points to something altogether more concerning. Read more Our police service has wholeheartedly embraced a sackcloth-and-ashes approach to institutional failings of misogyny, racism, and sexism. Our Chief Constable was barely a few hours into the job when she told us all she agreed with her predecessor — who himself had had a Damascene conversion on this just before he retired. Indeed, such was the speed with which Jo Farrell was able to weigh up the evidence for herself that you have to wonder how it took so long for the Branchform inquiry into the SNP finances to come to a close. On top of that, the service is never shy to remind us how it fails the LGB and TQIA+ community, and has apologised for upholding the law as it now seeks to incorporate as many rainbows as possible into life as penance for its past misdeeds. Self-evidently, these kinds of pronouncements grab headlines and create a feeding frenzy of manufactured outrage, as well as cottage industries, pledges, and even more corporate jargon that allows a feeling of righteousness to wash over those at the top. New posters on walls, mandatory re-education for "wrong-think", and countless meetings to give the impression of action — all add to the necessary cleansing, and most crucially of all, serve to distract from the one true failing in the police: that of institutional dishonesty. Informed by the maxim of never asking a question you don't already know the answer to, I recently FOI'd our national service to ask how many policies, procedures, and guidance documents had been changed since Iain Livingstone told us this was where many of the institutional failures lay. Many of the claims made against the service are filed by its own officers, says Calum Steel, a former leader of the Scottish Police Federation (Image: free) Whilst I'm still in the FOI war of attrition awaiting the outcome of an appeal to get the service to properly respond, I already know the answer is none. In fact, the best one deputy chief constable can muster as evidence to support the institutional punishment-beating being meted out is that the resuscitation dummies used to practise first aid skills are all white! Now, that would be funny enough if it were true — but it's hilarious because it is not. The desperation to manufacture evidence to support the claims, and the corporate industry it now sustains, has been there from the get-go. The very day Iain Livingstone rang the bell and shouted "unclean", the service's own equality advisor was in front of the cameras declaring that the data held by the service proved there was a disparity in the service provided to some sections of the community. Cue another FOI to reveal that there was, in fact, no data — but by that time the seeds had been sown and the damage done. Police station closures are met with fantastical claims of improving officer morale and service to the public, while cutting the number of road policing officers is packaged as delivering intelligence-led patrols on targeted routes — even though road deaths are increasing. The shocking state of police morale and ever-increasing sickness rates are body-swerved with pledges that well-being is prioritised, despite HMICS investigations 'finding no recognition or reference to areas of significant stress in any of the work being undertaken in relation to well-being.' And best of all, the decline in the quality of recruits to the service is sold as evidence of a steadfast commitment to standards — despite one in five now failing vetting, against a historic position of one in fifty. Read more You'd like to believe that such a casual relationship with the truth would have some serious consequences for the service, or at least raise the curiosity of its oversight body— but so ingrained is this institutional duplicity that it passes entirely without comment. It is against this backdrop that we have to look at the compensation numbers and ask why it is that the service doesn't give even broad details of what the payments were for. After costing the public purse some £18 million, a smidgen of openness shouldn't be demanded — it should be automatic. The hard truth is, many of the claims made against the service are made by its own officers. If made public, they would point to a service which treats its own people deplorably and is never held to account for doing so — such is the consequence of the confidentiality clauses which accompany nearly all settlements. This is what lies behind the endemic confusion within the service on how to deal with issues of sex and gender, which allows the Chief Constable to say one thing while allowing her officers to do the opposite. It is an abdication of leadership and serves only one purpose: the continuing prioritisation of feelings over facts. Calum Steele is a former General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, and former general secretary of the International Council of Police Representative Associations. He remains an advisor to both
Scottish Sun
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
John Swinney accused of secrecy over Operation Branchform
One rival said the failure to be open was 'typical' of the SNP's approach JOHN Swinney has been accused of 'secrecy' over cops' SNP fraud probe. Rivals blasted the First Minister — nicknamed Honest John — for refusing to say when and how he learned Nicola Sturgeon was in the clear. 1 Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the failure to be open was 'typical' of the SNP Credit: Alamy Detectives previously arrested her and ex-Nats treasurer Colin Beattie. But both were told in March they were no longer under investigation. Her estranged husband Peter Murrell has been charged with embezzlement. Mr Swinney's officials said publishing any communications about Ms Sturgeon's position would 'risk' justice being 'seriously impeded'. But ministers previously shared an email from a top civil servant to then First Minister Humza Yousaf informing him of ex-SNP chief Mr Murrell's arrest in 2023. Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the failure to be open was 'typical' of the SNP's approach to transparency. He said: 'It is typical of the secrecy we've come to expect from the SNP Government that they won't reveal what John Swinney knew and when. 'Whenever there's an awkward story or scandal, their first instinct is to disclose as little information is possible – and this policy seems to extend to their quangos too.' The Scottish Government said: 'It would not be appropriate to comment as there are live criminal proceedings.' Police and the Crown were asked for comment. John Swinney says he's not been asked by cops for Branchform chat We previously told how the FM was accused of overseeing an 11-year "fiasco" amid a fresh delay to one of two new ferries for islanders. Swinney faced jeers as it emerged delivery of the MV Glen Rosa to CalMac had been put back nine months until next year.
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Keir Starmer won't campaign in Hamilton by-election
He was speaking at a rally to launch his bid to put Labour into power at Holyrood as the main political parties ramped up their campaigning a year out from the next Scottish Parliament elections on May 7 2026. Mr Sarwar made the comments at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall in Glasgow after he was asked by The Herald if the Prime Minister would be visiting the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency in the coming weeks, and if so what type of reception the Prime Minister would get on the doorstep. READ MORE: Poll: Farage's Reform UK could be main opposition to SNP in Holyrood next year First Minister John Swinney announces peak train fares in Scotland to end Colin Beattie has been reselected as SNP candidate after Branchform probe "I'm sure people will be delighted we have a UK Labour Prime Minister," said Mr Sarwar as he encouraged Labour MSPs, activists and members sitting in the audience at the Scottish Labour event to head out to the area to campaign. "I'm doing our campaign here in Scotland. I'm the candidate for First Minister. I'm the one that wants to beat the SNP and change our country direction. I hope that starts in Hamilton house in four weeks." He added: "So we don't expect the Prime Minister do the campaigning in Hamilon, Larkhall and Stonehouse. "He wasn't in the by elections down the road. We are leading this campaign in Scotland. It's a Scottish labour campaign to elect the Scottish Labour MSP, as part of a pathway of delivering a Scottish Labour government next year." The Herald pointed out to Mr Sarwar that the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was planning to campaign in the Hamilton by election and asked him if he was worried about the rise of Reform. Mr Farage's party last week won the previously Labour held seat of Runcorn and Helsby, won a second mayoral contest, and took control of a string of local councils in England. "We can't be complacent about that style of politics anywhere," he said. "But ultimately, if we are going to stop pushing people towards divisive politics and divisive politicians, then we need a Scottish Government that's actually going to deliver for people and the answer to people's challenges, whether about the inability to get a house, whether it be inability to get a hospital appointment, inability to get a job and the answer to those issues is to confront those challenges cusing the powers we have, rather than deflecting from those issues and talking about politicians like Nigel Farage. "John Swinney is obsessed with him. [Nigel Farage] doesn't care about Scotland. I'm focusing on the issues that matter, and ultimately, the next choice is a third decade of the SNP, or me as First Minister, the SNP have destroyed our NHS. They're ruining our public services. A vote for Reform only helps the SNP. If you want to get rid of the SNP, the way we can do that is by voting Scottish Labour."
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
MSP Colin Beattie arrested in Branchform probe reselected
He beat Kelly Parry, the leader of SNP led Midlothian Council, in his bid to be re-elected as the SNP MSP for the constituency, gaining more than 50% of votes among branch members. After the results of the ballot was announced after 6pm tonight, Mr Beattie told The Herald: 'I would thank all the SNP members in Midlothian North who have again placed their trust in me as their candidate. That trust will be respected and I will work hard to again win in Midlothian North." The backbench MSP and former banker was arrested as part of the long running Police Scotland investigation Operation Branchform into SNP finances in 2023. Mr Beattie was released without charge in April that year and in March this year it was announced he, along with former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was no longer under investigation. Read more: SNP MSPs face de-selection as contests end after independence and Branchform rows Swinney's 'new' plan on child poverty was made a legal requirement in 2017 Swinney's Programme for Government missed the mark - but maybe it was supposed to First Minister John Swinney announces peak train fares in Scotland to end However, during the local campaign to select the party's candidate for the 2026 Holyrood elections, some members questioned how effective he was in his role as national treasurer and sources told The Herald on Sunday he could be vulnerable. "People are wondering if it may be time for a change and whether he may be such a good fit?" said one observer. Meanwhile, former SNP social security minister Ben Macpherson and fellow backbench SNP MSP Collette Stevenson also faced challenges from rivals in their intentions to stand again. The Herald has not yet been told the results of those two contests. Mr Macpherson, who has represented Edinburgh Northern and Leith since 2016 and held a number of ministerial roles from 2018 to 2023, was challenged by Councillor Adam Nols-McVey, the former leader of Edinburgh city council with the latter backed by former Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard. Ms Stevenson, who has represented East Kilbride since 2021, was challenged by local activist Caroline Belch. Ms Belch was backed by the former MSP for East Kilbride Linda Fabiani, who served as deputy presiding officer in Holyrood from 2016 to 2021. First Minister John Swinney is tomorrow expected to unveil the party's full list of candidates for the 2026 Holyrood elections at an event in Edinburgh. The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn will be among the party's contenders to win a seat in the Scottish Parliament. Mr Flynn's bid got off to a rocky start last November when he declared he hoped to stand as the candidate for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. His announcement was met with anger in some quarters of the party and left many SNP MSPs wondering what was going to happen to their highly regarded colleague Audrey Nicoll. Ms Nicoll, a former senior police officer, has been convener of the criminal justice committee since 2021 and has won praise for expertly guiding huge and complex reforms through the parliament including controversial legislation relating to the early release of short term prisoners and on how sexual offences are prosecuted. She initially said she wanted to stand again in the seat at the next election, though later announced that she had decided against. Mr Flynn won the party's nomination when rival, Anouk Kloppert, an SNP councillor in Aberdeenshire, pulled out of the race at the end of March. He is to be joined by fellow MP Stephen Gethins, and former Westminster colleagues Allan Dorrans, Patricia Gibson and Alan Brown, all of whom have already been confirmed as candidates.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
What next for the SNP? Moving out from under the Branchform shadow
Nicola Sturgeon understandably says she's relieved to no longer be the focus of a police feeling will be shared by many in the has been a damaging period for the party and one that senior figures accept contributed to its collapse in last year's general Sturgeon says she's ready to move on with her life - but will her party be able to do likewise and rebuild its political fortunes? She described Operation Branchform as a cloud which has been hanging over her for years and that is absolutely the case for her party is still a difficult day - the Crown is pressing ahead with charges of embezzlement against her husband Peter Murrell, a man who was critical to the running of the SNP for 20 chief executive, he played a key role in transforming it into an election-winning he is not a household name the way Ms Sturgeon is. She's arguably the most famous woman in Scotland, indelibly linked to her party. Ms Sturgeon resigned in February 2023 and the Branchform investigation unfolded rapidly while Humza Yousaf was trying to get his feet under the table as her felt as though every time he was lining up an event or a statement to set out his leadership there would be a fresh development in Operation meant the public was largely introduced to Mr Yousaf as the man being doorstepped by reporters, saying things like "of course I'm surprised one of my colleagues has been arrested".The "optics" were also frankly disastrous when it came to a blue police tent being set up outside the home of Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon, and officers carrying stacks of boxes out of the party's police, incidentally, will forever defend the decision to deploy that famous tent. With the suburban street jammed with photographers and camera crews, they feel they had a duty to shield their sensitive work from view. In any case, senior figures in the party acknowledge that the investigation was a contributing factor to the huge losses they suffered in the 2024 general Yousaf's self-inflicted exit from office, via a row with the Greens, was another. And then there was the UK-wide context of Labour sweeping the Tories from these have also provided the chance for a clean break under John was extremely close politically and personally to Ms Sturgeon. As both SNP leader and first minister, he will hope Thursday's news is a chance to move has already begun to rebuild the SNP's position in the polls, helped by Labour's struggles in adapting to government at has helped that he has not been dogged by daily updates from Operation Branchform the way his predecessor was. Mr Swinney has had a clearer shot at setting the agenda on his own now hoping to head into the 2026 Scottish election campaign without constant questions about police inquiries. Ms Sturgeon is not even a while being very careful of the legalities, he's also starting to reframe this from something which potentially, allegedly, happened within the SNP to something which potentially, allegedly, happened to SNP has, in its decades in power, proved to be a master of a group happy to do budget deals with the Tories under Alex Salmond, to one allied with lefty Greens under Ms Sturgeon. Mr Swinney will hope he can craft yet another new - post-Sturgeon - identity, in order to retain power next year. Today was a reminder that, even in an investigation which has been running for four years now, sometimes things unfold very over a week ago Nicola Sturgeon was announcing that she was going to step down from Holyrood next year, closing a 27-year chapter of her Tuesday she released the cover and title of her memoirs, realising her lifelong dream of becoming an fact she can now look ahead to publication day without this investigation hanging over her will be an enormous there is still a way to go for her estranged husband, and by extension her case against Mr Murrell is going ahead, and remains of huge significance - the allegation of embezzlement by the chief executive of the party of government is obviously a serious marriage to Ms Sturgeon is over, but she will still of course be feeling the impact of this - not least due to the prospect of a potential trial where she could be called as a remains to be seen where the case goes from here. Mr Murrell has not yet made any plea or declaration, nor would he be expected to at this stage in the legal Crown theoretically has 18 months to move the case along to the next stage, so it is entirely possible this drags out beyond next May's Holyrood Sturgeon is keenly looking forward to a new chapter. But it may be months or even years before the book is finally closed on Operation Branchform.
