/qresearch/ -  Q Research

>>24079313

It's becoming really tedious having to doctor the text now before I can comply with 20 line rules. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Anon doesn't know if anyone here knows of Alex Krainer or his posts.

This is a recent post I want to share. The short version is that Alex K has many skills but the point of this post is his knowledge of history and how politicians manipulate their citizens into wars and is concerned the same broad-based process is underway now.

I expect most here already now this but Alex starts with multiple individuals using the same words claiming RF wants to attack Europe and seems genuinely concerned that European citizens will be fooled by the same old lies and methods. Fair warning he is not a fan of the "British Empire" and it's history and described some of it in detail. For anyone not that interested in history details just note the way and by whom the wars are created and citizens manipulated. MSM fear porn supported by politicians.

He is trying to find a way to warn ppl in Europe about the lies and media manipulation and that is why I share this. I hope it helps.

>>24079336

I had asked as International Baker to have it raised to 45 lines due to the nature of the expanded buns used in several of the breads and BO agreed to do so

UK and France to send troops to Ukraine if peace deal agreed

Jaroslav Lukiv and Wyre Davies,Kyiv 6 January 2026

The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is made with Russia, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

After talks with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to deter future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.

Allies also largely agreed robust security guarantees for Ukraine and proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of territory is still being discussed.

Russia has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a "legitimate target".

Moscow has not yet commented on the announcements made in the French capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Heads of state and top officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in Tuesday's talks in Paris.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Starmer said: "We signed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

"This is a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term.

"It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future."

The UK prime minister added London would participate in any US-led verification of a potential ceasefire.

Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff said "durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine - referring to a key demand made by Kyiv.

Witkoff said the allies "largely finished" their work on agreeing security protocols "so that people of Ukraine know that when this [war] ends, it ends forever".

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's special envoy and son-in-law, said that after a deal Ukrainians needed to know that "real backstops" were in place to ensure war would "not happen again".

Meanwhile, President Macron said Ukraine's allies had made "considerable progress" at the talks.

He said "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv had been agreed in the event of a potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a "huge step forward" had been made in Paris, but added that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the end of the war.

What Ukraine calls security "guarantees" and what American officials have described as security "protocols" may leave some wiggle room for Trump in the event of coming to Kyiv's defence after a future Russian attack - but there is no doubt Zelensky feels he and his European allies have secured an important concession from Washington.

We heard few, if any, new details about where a future ceasefire line would be drawn and what territory, currently occupied by Russian forces, Ukraine would agree to surrender.

That prospect is still something many Ukrainians would find hard to swallow, especially as Russia continues to strike against cities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine on a daily basis.

But as the snows fall and bitter winds sweep in from the east, Zelensky knows the only alternative to a ceasefire and subsequent peace deal, is another costly, attritional winter of warfare with the inevitable loss of life that will hit Ukraine far harder than Russia.

Ukraine's president clearly hopes that guarantees of American monitoring, a multinational force on Ukrainian soil and more weapons support for his armed forces, will convince a sometimes-sceptical population that he is right to sue for peace, bolstered by a growing international coalition.

But, in concluding the Paris press conference, Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday's "milestone" did not necessarily guarantee peace. Real progress still needs Russian support, and Moscow has been notably silent in recent days about diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Putin is known to oppose the prospect of a European-led international force in any disputed areas and will be reluctant to halt his troops', albeit slow, advance if Moscow's war objectives have not been realised.

More:

www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17zee20qpzo

>>24084035

>BO agreed to do so

Good news.

Any idea if/when normal perameters will resume??

>>24011623, >>24011628, >>24011633

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15443183/Cost-Scotlands-historical-child-abuse-inquiry-soars-nearly-120million.html

Cost of Scotland's historical child abuse inquiry soars to nearly £120million

GRAHAM GRANT

7 January 2026

The total cost of Scotland’s historical child abuse inquiry to taxpayers has soared to nearly £120million, the Mail can reveal.

Prosecutors said the bill for the Crown Office to assist the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), launched back in 2015 by embattled Justice Secretary Angela Constance, was more than £5million so far.

It means taxpayers have shelled out about £119.8million including costs run up by other agencies such as Police Scotland – and the bill continues to rise.

The disclosure comes amid a row over the overall cost of public inquiries which has risen to nearly £260million, sparking claims that they have become ‘lawyers’ picnics’.

Last night Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘This inquiry is crucial in helping to ensure victims get the answers they deserve, but costs cannot continue to spiral out of control.

‘Questions must be answered as to why the bill has risen so much in such a short space of time given the huge pressures on the Scotland’s finances.

‘These costs will undoubtedly also be putting pressures on other aspects of our justice system which has been slashed to the bone after years of cuts from the SNP.

‘Given the inquiry has already been running for over a decade, ministers must guarantee ongoing costs will deliver value for the taxpayer.’

Bosses of the SCAI revealed last year that the cost of the statutory probe itself had reached £102million – the first time it had risen above £100million.

Police Scotland has spent an additional £12.3million, meaning the known cost so far to the public purse when Crown spending is taken into account is £119.8million.

It comes as the force continues to battle financial problems amid an explosion in violent crime, which is up by 73 per cent since 2021-22 according to the recent Scottish Crime and Justice Survey.

Launched in 2015 by the then Education Secretary Ms Constance, the SCAI was aimed at ‘shining a light in the dark corners of the past’.

The SCAI has produced a series of hard-hitting reports into a range of institutions including fee-paying Gordonstoun School in Moray, the King’s former school.

It said child abuse was ‘normalised’ at the school with an ‘extremely violent culture’ in some boarding houses.

Lady Smith found that children who boarded at fee-paying Gordonstoun School in Moray were ‘exposed to risks of sexual, physical and emotional abuse’.

It also produced a damning report on the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, which ran the notorious Smyllum Park orphanage near Lanark, which has committed to paying in up to £10million to a Scottish Government redress fund for abuse survivors.

Last year a former top judge raised fears that taxpayers’ money is being wasted because SNP ministers do not act on the recommendations of public inquiries.

Lord Hardie, who led the long-running £13million inquiry into the Edinburgh Tram Project, called for a new parliamentary body to be set up to monitor the way the Scottish Government responds to the findings of inquiries it sets up.

Last month (DEC) a Holyrood committee recommended that public inquiries should have fixed budgets and defined timescales to drive down rising costs.

The unanimous report by a cross-party group of MSPs recommended that any notification for an extension of an inquiry should be reported to parliament.

Since 2007, when the SNP took power, the report notes 11 Scottish public inquiries - six of which are still active - cost the taxpayer £258.8million in 2024-25 prices.

Kenny Gibson, the committee's convener, said: ‘It was sobering to hear from one witness that in Australia, public inquiries are referred to as “lawyers' picnics” for the level of fees earned, and there's a view that the situation is similar in Scotland.’

A Crown Office spokesman said the SCAI is ‘examining the profound harm caused to children by abuse in institutions and supporting that work is an important public responsibility’.

He said: ‘The expenditure reflects specialist teams working over several years to review complex historical material so the inquiry can properly establish the facts and criminal cases can be prosecuted.’

The SCAI, chaired by retired High Court judge Lady Smith, declined to comment on the latest figures but last years its bosses said they continue to ‘make excellent progress towards fulfilling its wide-ranging terms of reference’.

The Scottish Government said public inquiries ‘operate independently of government and the chair has a legal duty to avoid unnecessary costs’.

>>24079313

>>24079323

>>24011647

https://youtu.be/TEI0oAJ5kRw

Announcement by Mark Sexton, relating to correspondence sent to the President of the United States

Ethical Approach UK

771 subscribers

603 views 5 Jan 2026

The correspondence referred to in the video can be viewed and downloaded at:

https://ethicalapproach.co.uk/corresp…

>>24090295

24090300

>>24011647

https://ethicalapproach.co.uk/2026_for_the_record.pdf

Why the Record Is Important in 2026

1. Introduction

2026 is not significant because of any single decision, disclosure, or controversy. It is significant because it marks the point at which the factual record concerning Covid-era governance in the United Kingdom has become sufficiently complete that silence itself now carries constitutional meaning. This paper explains why the creation and preservation of an accurate public record is not optional, not adversarial and not contingent on outcomes - but a constitutional necessity.

2. What “the record” means in constitutional terms The constitutional record is not a narrative. It is not opinion. It is not the sum of institutional statements. It consists of:

• official correspondence,

• sworn testimony,

• disclosed documents,

• formal refusals,

• jurisdictional deflections,

• and acknowledged absences of oversight.

Crucially, what institutions decline to do or say is as much part of the record as what they affirm. In constitutional systems, record is how legality is later assessed when contemporaneous accountability has failed.

3. Why record matters when remedies fail

Constitutional systems presume that:

• courts will supervise legality,

• oversight bodies will intervene where needed,

• and accountability mechanisms will function in sequence.

Where those assumptions hold, record is secondary to remedy.

Where those assumptions fail, record becomes the only remaining safeguard.

When no institution accepts responsibility:

• record preserves truth against erasure,

• record prevents retrospective reframing,

• record fixes knowledge in time.

In such circumstances, the absence of a record is itself a constitutional harm.

4. Why 2026 is a threshold year

By 2026, several conditions now coexist:

• Sworn evidence has entered the public domain confirming extensive executive, policing and prosecutorial coordination during Covid.

• Governance structures have been acknowledged which operated outside judicial scrutiny.

• Courts, regulators, inspectors and auditors have either declined jurisdiction or closed engagement.

• No domestic authority has asserted clear responsibility for restoring constitutional normality.

At this point, the question is no longer whether concerns were raised, but whether they were preserved. 2026 is therefore not about escalation - it is about finalisation of record.

5. Record is not an attack on institutions

Preserving record is not hostile to institutions.

On the contrary:

• it allows future scrutiny to be fair rather than speculative;

• it prevents individuals from bearing responsibility that properly belongs to systems;

• it ensures that history is written from evidence, not inference.

Institutions which have acted lawfully have nothing to fear from a complete record.

Institutions which have not, should fear only the consequences of their own silence.

6. Why outcomes are not the point

A common misunderstanding is that record exists to force an immediate result.

That is incorrect.

Record exists so that:

• future courts are not misled by partial histories;

• future inquiries are not constrained by missing context;

• future generations can distinguish error from concealment.

Outcomes belong to institutions.

Record belongs to the public.

7. The constitutional duty to preserve

When:

• all reasonable domestic avenues have been pursued,

• concerns have been articulated in good faith,

• and engagement has been declined or deflected, the duty does not end. It shifts, from remedy to preservation.

Placing concerns onto a durable public and international record is therefore not escalation. It is the minimum constitutional act required to prevent erasure.

8. Conclusion

History does not judge constitutional systems only by the decisions they took, but by the warnings they received and how they responded, or neglected to respond to them.

In 2026, the record now exists.

What is done with it is a matter for institutions. That it exists at all is a matter of constitutional responsibility.

Happy New Year to you all.

Ian Clayton

5 January 2026

>>24011623

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-67144375.amp

Man jailed for abducting schoolgirl while dressed as woman

18 October 2023

A man who abducted a primary school girl while dressed as a woman and then sexually assaulted her in his Borders home has been jailed for 20 years.

Andrew Miller, who is also known as Amy George, offered to give the girl a lift home in February this year.

But Miller, 53, instead drove her to his own house, took her into a bedroom and refused to let her leave.

He then subjected her to a series of sexual assaults over the course of the next 27 hours.

The High Court in Edinburgh also heard Miller will be supervised on licence for eight years in addition to his custodial sentence.

Passing sentence, judge Lord Arthurson told Miller the narrative was "frankly nauseating in terms of its depravity and criminal sexual deviancy".

He added: "The abduction of young children from the streets of our cities, towns and villages for the purpose of their sexual torment over a prolonged period by a captor is mercifully rare in this jurisdiction.

"It is a uniquely appalling crime striking, as it does, at the heart of family life and, indeed, the very fabric of our society."

He described Miller's offences as "brazen and chilling" and said his intentions were "wicked and predatory".

Lord Arthurson continued: "The suffering of your victim and her family at your hands has been incalculable and life-changing.

"The trauma further inflicted by you upon her local community and the wider public is also immeasurable."

During his risk assessment Miller referred to the abduction, which he carried out at 17:55 on 5 February, as a "game".

In relation to the ending, he told the reporter he "went into business mode trying to think of a solution".

The court previously heard the girl, who did not know Miller, was only able to escape from the bedroom after he fell asleep on the second night of her ordeal.

At 21:24 on 6 February, she found his landline and dialled 999. Minutes later nine police officers arrived at the property to rescue her.

Miller - a father of three who lived alone - was still sleeping when officers arrived to arrest him.

In May, the court was told that Miller identifies as transgender and in the process of transitioning to female. He had owned a butcher's shop in Melrose which had been closed for several months before the abduction.

At the time of his arrest, he was presenting as Amy George but confirmed he wished to be addressed as Andrew Miller using "he" pronouns for simplicity.

The girl later told police how she had been unable to get a bus home and so started to walk when she was approached "by a lady in a car" who offered to give her a lift.

She said she had accepted the offer and got into the Jaguar car because she was cold and believed the "lady" to be non-threatening.

Miller instead took her to his own three-bedroom detached bungalow in a residential street in the village of Gattonside, near Melrose, where he placed his arm around her neck and carried her to the main bedroom, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

He also watched pornography and fetish videos on television, with the girl describing how she had seen "weird" things.

'Fear and distress'

She repeatedly asked to be taken home but Miller refused, saying that he intended to keep her for a week and that she was his new family.

The court heard that it was only by "complete fortune" that the child was able to escape once Miller fell asleep on a bed next to her.

She deliberately knocked a glass off a table and then turned on a light to see if he would wake up.

The girl then managed to escape the bedroom and called 999 from his landline.

The court was told that the girl's "fear and distress was palpable" in the call and her relief at hearing the police arrive at the house was obvious.

Officers found Miller still sleeping and wearing a bra, silicone breasts, female underwear and tights.

The girl was taken to a nearby hospital to be medically examined.

Miller told the police he had stopped to "help" the child as she "looked freezing", saying it was a "motherly thing" and that he was being a Good Samaritan and had "put her in bed with me to warm up".

He previously pleaded guilty to the charges against him at the High Court via videolink.

The offences included abduction, sexual assault, possession of 242 indecent images of children and intentionally causing a child under the age of 13 to look at a sexual image.

Miller will be held in a male prison in line with new guidelines for trans prisoners who commit sexual offences that were introduced following an outcry over the Isla Bryson case.

Bryson was initially placed in a female prison after being convicted of raping two women while she was known as a man called Adam Graham.

>>24011623

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20260107/281986088932019

Health chiefs apo­lo­gise to ‘tor­tured’ vic­tims of child abuse at psy­chi­at­ric unit

Gra­ham Grant

7 Jan 2026

HEALTH board chiefs have apo­lo­gised to abuse vic­tims at Scot­land’s first chil­dren’s psy­chi­at­ric unit. Lady­field in Dum­fries was estab­lished in 1951 as the res­id­en­tial chil­dren’s arm of the Crichton Royal Psy­chi­at­ric Hos­pital.

A report out­lining the phys­ical and sexual abuse that took place forms part of sub­mis­sion to the Scot­tish Child Abuse Inquiry.

The long-run­ning stat­utory probe, chaired by Lady Smith, is examin­ing his­tor­ical alleg­a­tions of mis­treat­ment of chil­dren in care facil­it­ies across Scot­land.

In a sub­mis­sion to the inquiry, a rep­res­ent­at­ive of NHS Dum­fries and Gal­lo­way described the abuse of vul­ner­able young people at the unit as ‘deeply troub­ling’.

He added that the health board stood ready to assist Police Scot­land and the Crown Office in any ongo­ing or future crim­inal invest­ig­a­tions that might arise.

One male sur­vivor told the inquiry he was ‘men­tally tor­tured’ and ‘picked on by so-called adults who were get­ting paid to look after me’.

The man said in a state­ment: ‘They were get­ting paid to tor­ture me and other kids. That went on

‘Took advant­age of their vul­ner­ab­il­it­ies’

until the day they shut their doors. It went on through the 80s and 90s; other kids went through it.’

In a tran­script of her testi­mony, NHS Dum­fries and Gal­lo­way chief exec­ut­ive Julie White offered ‘a whole­hearted, sin­cere apo­logy’ to all those who were failed.

Lady­field closed in 2001 and all res­id­en­tial men­tal health pro­vi­sion for chil­dren and young people is now provided out­side Dum­fries and Gal­lo­way.

Law­yers for the board said in a state­ment to the inquiry: ‘Chil­dren in the estab­lish­ments for which the board was respons­ible were often vic­tims of trauma prior to enter­ing those estab­lish­ments. Those caring for them ought to have under­stood the beha­viours such trauma might induce and how to respond.

‘That is often referred to as a trauma-informed approach to caring for chil­dren.

‘Instead, it now appears that some of the chil­dren cared for by the board encountered staff who were either unable to care for them appro­pri­ately or, even worse, took advant­age of their vul­ner­ab­il­it­ies.’

At a health board meet­ing last month, the chief exec­ut­ive ‘acknow­ledged the con­di­tions the chil­dren exper­i­enced were totally unac­cept­able and offered a full and unre­served apo­logy on behalf of the board to those indi­vidu­als affected’.

Minutes state: ‘It was noted NHS Dum­fries and Gal­lo­way no longer have inpa­tient men­tal health care facil­it­ies for chil­dren.

‘Assur­ance was provided that any child or young per­son who goes out­with the region for treat­ment, the NHS Dum­fries and Gal­lo­way clini­cians involved in their care main­tains respons­ib­il­ity for them.’

It was also noted that the health board has ‘robust pro­cesses in place to deal with any alleg­a­tions of any poor prac­tice by clini­cians in terms of their child pro­tec­tion pro­cesses’.

>>24011623

>>24098495

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79r1245dv9o

Health board apology over psychiatric unit abuse

6 January 2026

A health board has offered an unreserved apology to victims of historical physical and sexual abuse at what was Scotland's first residential psychiatric unit for children in Dumfries.

The details are included in a report outlining NHS Dumfries and Galloway's submission to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry., external

The long-running inquiry is examining historical allegations of mistreatment of children and young people in care facilities across Scotland.

Ladyfield in Dumfries was established in 1951 as the residential children's arm of the Crichton Royal Psychiatric Hospital.

In a submission to the inquiry, a representative for the health board described the abuse of vulnerable young people at the unit as "deeply troubling".

He added that the current health board stood ready to assist Police Scotland and the Crown Office in any ongoing or future criminal investigations that might arise.

In a transcript of her testimony, NHS chief executive Julie White offered "a wholehearted, sincere apology" to all those who were failed.

Ladyfield closed in 2001 and all residential mental health provision for children and young people is now provided outside Dumfries and Galloway.

This stuff was going on all over the country in mental health facilities. In Gartnaval Royal Hospital from the year 1960 until 1970, there were 28 fatal accident inquiries into deaths there. A friend's mother was one such "victim". She was incarcerated there and the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) findings were that she broke through 3 locked doors to access a medicine cabinet and died from a drug overdose. Not true. They were conducting drug trials on people incarcerated there, in her case because she was a young (21) woman pregnant out of wedlock. All 28 FAI reports, findings are gone…destroyed. All were working under Donald Ewan Cameron (MK-Ultra, CIA mind control) and his pal McNiven.

Fatal Accident Inquiry paperwork must be preserved under the law for a period of 100 years. All in this 10 year period at the same location have been destroyed. This has been confirmed by Greater Glasgow Health Board and the National Record of Scotland's head of Legal Services.

>>24011647

https://ethicalapproach.co.uk/a_message_for_the_media.pdf

A Message for the Compromised Media Professionals

A Notice of Record, Responsibility, and Reckoning

This document is not written in anger, nor in pursuit of retribution. It is written because a record now exists and because silence in the presence of that record has consequences.

Over the past several years, substantial documentary evidence has entered the public domain concerning the operation known as Operation Talla: a UK-wide policing command structure operating across all forces, under National Police Chiefs’ Council coordination, during the COVID-19 period.

That evidence does not come from rumour, social media, or anonymous sources. It comes from police disclosures, sworn testimony, internal directives, Freedom of Information responses, and statutory inquiry records.

The media’s role in relation to that record is now unavoidable.

1. What the Record Now Shows

The documentary trail establishes, beyond reasonable dispute, that:

A large, structured evidential submission (CRN 6029679/21) was made to the

Metropolitan Police in December 2021.

That submission was multi-module in scope, encompassing:

testing governance, non-pharmaceutical intervention harms, coercive policy effects, clinical practices including Midazolam and DNRs, suppression of therapeutics, regulatory capture and enforcement, vaccine authorisation and pharmacovigilance failures.

The matter was treated internally as legally sensitive, including referral to legal services for oversight advice.

Despite this, the case was later publicly reframed as narrow, informal and limited to a single theme, before being closed.

No CPIA-compliant criminal investigation was undertaken.

These are not interpretations. They are institutional facts, now fixed in record.

2. What the Media Was Told and What It Repeated

During the same period:

Media outlets repeatedly asserted that “no evidence” existed. The matter was characterised as fringe, conspiratorial, or settled. Public concern was framed as misinformation rather than as uninvestigated allegation.

The scope of the evidential submission was routinely misrepresented or ignored.

In several instances, reporting relied upon police assurances that now stand in direct contradiction to disclosed internal handling.

This creates a problem - not for campaigners, but for journalism.

>>24011647

>>24099179

…………………………………………………………………………………….continued………………………………………………………………………………………..

3. The Distinction That Now Matters

There is a difference between:

reporting uncertainty before evidence is available and maintaining certainty after the record contradicts it.

The first is journalism.

The second is institutional alignment.

No journalist is expected to prejudge guilt.

But nor can journalists legitimately continue to assert absence of substance where procedural seriousness, legal oversight and evidential scale are now documented.

At this point, silence is not neutrality.

4. The CPIA Problem the Media Has Not Addressed

Under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, once a crime reference is issued, police are obliged to pursue reasonable lines of enquiry - including those which may undermine any decision to close a case.

Where:

a CRN is issued, evidence is multi-module, legal services are consulted, and no investigation occurs, the question is no longer “Were allegations true?” The question is “Why was the statutory process not followed?”

This is a constitutional issue.

It is inherently newsworthy. And it is one the media has not asked.

5. The Cost of Continuing Silence

Media professionals should understand the risk now crystallising.

The documentary archive is growing. Disclosures are timestamped. Contradictions are internal, not external.

At some point, the question will no longer be why the police acted as they did, but why journalists repeated explanations that did not withstand disclosure.

History is rarely kind to those who mistake proximity to authority for protection.

6. What Is Being Asked and What Is Not

No one is asking journalists to endorse conclusions.

No one is asking for sensationalism.

No one is asking for alignment with campaigners.

What is being asked is far simpler:

Acknowledge the existence of the record.

Accurately represent its scope.

Ask why contradictions within official accounts were not resolved.

Examine why legal oversight attached to a matter later described as trivial.

Report the procedural questions honestly.

That is not activism.

That is journalism.

7. A Final Observation

Institutions often survive crises by narrowing narratives.

Journalism exists to prevent that narrowing from becoming truth.

Operation Talla is now documented.

Its handling of reported crime is now evidenced.

The contradictions are now on the public record.

Those facts will not disappear.

The only remaining variable is who chose to look away and who did not.

Kind regards to you all.

Ian

Ian Clayton

Ethical Approach UK

8 January 2026

P.S.

This message is not an ultimatum.

It is a marker.

The record is no longer emerging.

It has emerged.

What happens next will define reputations - not in the moment, but in retrospect.

Say what you like, the life of a conspiracy theorist is a bloody tiring one. Mentally, physically and emotionally. I could do with a holiday, but the wages are shite. :)

>>24011647

https://ethicalapproach.co.uk/SRA_TALLA_and_Professional_Justice.pdf

The Solicitors Regulation Authority, Operation Talla and the Erosion of Professional Justice

Executive Summary

This paper examines the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) handling of disciplinary proceedings against solicitors Philip Hyland and Lois Bayliss in relation to statements they made concerning Crime Reference Number (CRN) 6029679/21.

It demonstrates that the SRA’s actions cannot be viewed in isolation. Rather, they sit within a wider institutional environment created by Operation Talla, in which policing bodies departed from ordinary crime-recording and investigative duties, delayed disclosure of critical decisions and asserted positions which were later shown to be materially inaccurate.

On the evidence now in the public domain, the SRA relied upon Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) assertions that no investigation existed. Those assertions were wrong in law and misleading in fact.

The SRA’s acceptance of them resulted in serious professional jeopardy to solicitors who were, in substance, correct.

This paper argues that the SRA thereby became an unwitting (or insufficiently critical) participant in a broader pattern of institutional narrative-protection, with profound implications for professional regulation, access to justice and constitutional integrity.

1. Background: CRN 6029679/21 and the Public Record

On 20 December 2021, a report alleging serious criminal conduct was submitted to the Metropolitan Police Service. A Crime Reference Number, CRN 6029679/21, was issued.

Under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA) and its Code of Practice, the moment police seek to ascertain whether a crime may have been committed, a criminal investigation exists as a matter of law.

Subsequent disclosures now show that:

• The matter was treated internally as legally sensitive and system-wide in scope;

• The MPS referred the case internally to its Directorate of Legal Services for advice relating to closure;

• A decision to close the matter was reached weeks before any closure letter was issued to complainants;

• National policing structures, including the NPCC under Operation Talla, were engaged.

Yet publicly, and for a prolonged period, the MPS asserted that there was “no investigation.”

2. The SRA Proceedings Against Hyland and Bayliss

In 2022 the SRA recommended referral of Lois Bayliss and Philip Hyland to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Central to the allegations against them was the claim that the solicitors had misrepresented the status of CRN 6029679/21 by asserting that a live criminal investigation existed.

The SRA relied upon representations from the Metropolitan Police that no investigation was underway.

This reliance is critical.

Evidently, the SRA must not have taken care to independently test the legal meaning of “investigation” under CPIA, nor did it interrogate whether the police’s assertion was compatible with:

• The issuance of a CRN;

• The assessment and review of evidence by police;

• The involvement of senior legal oversight within the MPS;

• The delayed communication of a closure decision. Official SRA documentation in our possession indicates that the SRA repeatedly relied upon police assertions concerning the existence and status of a criminal investigation, without undertaking independent verification. In doing so, any inaccuracy or incompleteness in the police account was necessarily imported directly into the SRA’s own disciplinary decision- making.

In effect, the SRA appears to have adopted a policing narrative at face value.

3. Why the Police Assertion Was Legally Impossible

The CPIA Code of Practice defines a criminal investigation to include investigations whose purpose is to ascertain whether a crime has been committed, with a view to the possible institution of criminal proceedings.

There is no lawful concept in CPIA of:

• “Assessment without investigation”

• “Initial review but no investigation”

• “Triage outside CPIA”

• “Policy screening before investigation”

Accordingly, once the MPS received the allegation and considered the evidential material to determine whether criminality might be disclosed, an investigation existed by operation of law. The solicitors’ statements were therefore entirely correct.

The MPS position, relied upon by the SRA, was not merely debatable but legally untenable.

>>24011647

>>24099482

…………………………………………………………………………..continued…………………………………………………………………………..

4. Operation Talla and Institutional Narrative Control

Operation Talla created a national command framework in which Covid-related matters were managed centrally.

Evidence now shows that:

• Certain categories of allegations were diverted away from normal crime-recording pathways;

• Decisions were aligned across policing bodies outside judicial scrutiny;

• Legal meaning was settled internally rather than tested in court;

• Disclosure to affected parties was delayed or incomplete.

Within such a framework, it is unsurprising that external regulators encountered a distorted picture. However, professional regulators exist precisely to resist untested institutional assertions, not to amplify them.

5. The SRA’s Regulatory Failure

The SRA’s handling of this matter exposes several failures:

1. Failure of Legal Analysis

The SRA failed to apply the statutory definition of “criminal investigation” under CPIA.

2. Failure of Independence

It must have accepted police assertions without forensic scrutiny, despite the obvious reputational interest of the police in denying investigative status.

3. Failure of Proportionality

It pursued severe disciplinary consequences against solicitors on a contested factual basis that could and should have been tested.

4. Failure of Curiosity

It did not question why a closure letter was issued weeks after a decision had apparently been reached.

In consequence, the SRA acted on an incomplete and misleading account of events.

6. The “Bulldozing” of Lawyers

In May 2021, Dominic Cummings publicly indicated, to a Parliamentary Select Committee, that if lawyers obstructed the vaccination programme, ways would be found for Government to bulldoze them out of the way.

The treatment of Hyland and Bayliss occurred approximately eight months later.

Two solicitors, asserting the existence of a live investigation into vaccine-related allegations, found themselves subjected to regulatory sanction based on a police narrative now shown to be false.

Whether by design or coincidence, the effect was the same: lawyers raising inconvenient truths were neutralised through regulatory process.

7. Judicial Consequences

When the matter of CRN 6929679/21 later came before the Administrative Court, in 2023, the court was presented with a context in which:

• Police asserted no investigation existed;

• The broader Operation Talla framework was undisclosed.

The result was a judicial decision made on a materially incomplete constitutional record.

8. Conclusion: The SRA Within the Talla Frame

The SRA may not have designed Operation Talla, but by uncritically adopting police assertions generated within that framework, it became part of the same systemic failure.

This was not a mere regulatory misstep.

It represents a collapse of professional justice, in which the regulator tasked with upholding integrity instead punished those who spoke accurately, while insulating institutional falsehoods from challenge.

The implications extend far beyond two solicitors.

They strike at the heart of regulatory independence, the rule of law and the ability of professionals to speak truthfully without fear when institutions themselves are in error.

This now raises the constitutional severity of what has been uncovered.

Ian Clayton

8 January 2026

>>24011647

>>24011627

https://ethicalapproach.co.uk/email_to_UKcovid19inquiry_07012026.pdf

Email from Ethical Approach to the UK convid inquiry

From:

Ethical Approach UK

To:

UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry

Date: 7 January 2026 at 20:15

Dear Sir or Madam

Re: Notice of Material Contradictions on the Inquiry Record - Operation Talla Governance

I write respectfully and in the public interest, to place before the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry a short analytical report identifying a number of material contradictions and unresolved anomalies which now appear on the Inquiry’s own public record concerning the origin, authority and governance of Operation Talla. This correspondence is not a submission, does not seek findings and does not invite the Inquiry to take any procedural step. It is provided solely to ensure that the Inquiry is formally sighted on matters arising from sworn evidence and counsel submissions already before it, for such consideration as the Inquiry may deem appropriate.

1. The enclosed document

The attached report, titled:

“The NPCC, the Anomalies and the Inquiry” is confined strictly to:

• sworn testimony given to the Inquiry,

•oral submissions made by King’s Counsel on behalf of Core Participants, and

• official Inquiry transcripts and exhibits.

It identifies mutually incompatible accounts on the Inquiry record regarding:

• when Operation Talla was established,

• by whom it was established,

• under what authority it operated, and

• how it functioned as a national command structure.

These inconsistencies are not peripheral. They go to the constitutional character of Operation Talla itself.

2. Nature of the anomalies identified

By way of summary only, the report highlights that the Inquiry record presently contains:

• sworn evidence asserting national NPCC Gold Command leadership from March 2020;

• oral submissions by King’s Counsel asserting that Operation Talla was established by Police Scotland in January 2020;

• subsequent command directives treating Operation Talla as a UK-wide authority structure; and

• no clear reconciliation of these positions within the Inquiry’s own published material.

The report also notes the absence of any visible indication, on the public record, that these contradictions have been examined, tested, or clarified by the Inquiry itself.

3. Purpose of this notice

This notice is provided:

• without allegation of bad faith,

• without criticism of the Inquiry,

• and without expectation of response.

Its sole purpose is to ensure that the Inquiry is aware of the existence of these documented anomalies on its own record, given their potential relevance to public confidence, institutional accountability and the constitutional context within which the matters under examination arose.

Whether the Inquiry considers that any further reflection or clarification is required is entirely a matter for the Inquiry.

4. Public interest

The matters raised concern:

• the clarity of national policing authority during a period of emergency,

• the relationship between executive coordination and judicial oversight and the integrity and coherence of the Inquiry’s evidential record.

For those reasons, this notice is submitted in the public interest and with appropriate constitutional restraint.

I would be grateful if this correspondence and the attached document could be retained on the Inquiry’s record in such manner as the Inquiry considers appropriate.

Yours faithfully

Ian Clayton

Lead Investigator

Ethical Approach UK

Contact:

ethics@ethicalapproach.co.uk

>>24099513

……………………………………………………………………………..continued2…………………………………………………………………………….

Attachment:

the_npcc_the_anomalies_and_the_inquiry.pdf

Recorded Contradictions in the Origin, Authority and Governance of Operation Talla and the Absence of Inquiry Resolution within a Statutory Public Inquiry

1. Purpose and Scope of This Report

This report examines material contradictions now present on the official record of the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry concerning the origin, command authority and governance structure of the policing framework known as Operation Talla.

The analysis is confined strictly to sworn testimony, formal submissions by King’s Counsel and disclosed documentary evidence already before the Inquiry. No allegation of bad faith is made against any individual or institution. The purpose is to identify objective anomalies, assess their constitutional and legal significance and consider the Inquiry’s apparent failure to address or reconcile them.

2. The Central Contradiction on the Record

2.1 Statement by Counsel to the NPCC

In Module 2A (Scotland) of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Rory Phillips KC, appearing as Counsel for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, stated in opening submissions that: Police Scotland established a formal response to the pandemic at a very early stage, with the setting up of Operation Talla in January 2020.

This statement is:

made by a King’s Counsel, on behalf of a national policing body, in a statutory public inquiry and preserved as part of the official Inquiry record.

It places:

origination with Police Scotland, timing in January 2020 and status as a formal operational response.

2.2 Sworn Evidence of NPCC Gold Commander

This account is irreconcilable with sworn oral evidence given by Martin Hewitt, former Chair of the NPCC and designated Gold Commander of Operation Talla, who testified that:

• Operation Talla was established in early March 2020;

• it arose following national coordination discussions between Chief Constables;

• it was a UK-wide NPCC-led operation, not force- initiated; and

• it was designed as a national coordination framework,not a pre-existing force operation.

Both versions cannot simultaneously be accurate.

3. The Position of Police Scotland and Alan Speirs

3.1 The Speirs Directive

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs issued a directive dated 25 January 2022, later disclosed under FOI, which states expressly that it was issued: on the advice of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the UK Gold Command.

This directive:

• treats Operation Talla as an existing national command authority;

• presumes settled national legal conclusions regarding crime reports;

• instructs officers to reject certain categories of reports;

• diverts those reports into SID/CVI systems, rather than crime recording; and

• implicitly treats the reporting of alleged crime as potentially improper conduct.

3.2 The Temporal Incompatibility

If Operation Talla was:

established by Police Scotland in January 2020 (per Phillips KC), then Alan Speirs could be seen as operating under a pre-existing Police Scotland-initiated structure.

If, however, Operation Talla was:

established nationally by the NPCC in March 2020 (per Hewitt), then the Speirs Directive represents force-level reliance on a national command structure that itself has uncertain provenance.

The Inquiry record currently does not resolve which of these positions is correct.

Ian Clayton

7 January 2026

>>24099513

>>24099556

………………………………………………………………………continued3…………………………………………………………………………

4. Absence of Institutional Clarity

4.1 What the Record Shows

Taken together, the Inquiry record now contains:

• a KC attributing origination to Police Scotland (January 2020);

• a Gold Commander attributing origination to NPCC national coordination (March 2020);

• a senior Scottish commander acting on NPCC and UK Gold advice in 2022;

And no documentary evidence clarifying:

• who authorised Operation Talla,

• under what legal instrument,

• with what defined remit,

• and subject to what oversight.

The effect is that no institution appears, on the record, to hold a coherent or settled account of Operation Talla’s legal genesis.

5. The Role of the Statutory Public Inquiry

5.1 The Inquiry’s Mandate

A statutory public inquiry exists to:

• establish facts,

• resolve contradictions,

• test institutional accounts, and

• restore public confidence through clarity.

5.2 The Evident Gap

Despite the contradictions being:

• explicit,

• material,

• sworn,

• and central to national policing authority,

there is no indication on the Inquiry record that:

• witnesses were recalled to reconcile accounts;

• counsel were questioned on inconsistencies;

• findings were made on origination or authority; or

• the Inquiry sought documentary corroboration.

This absence is itself constitutionally significant.

6. Legal and Constitutional Implications

If unresolved, these contradictions give rise to serious issues:

• Ultra vires command risk

• A policing command structure may have operated without lawful foundation.

• Absence of accountability

• No institution appears able to state definitively who was responsible.

• Judicial displacement

• Courts were sidelined while legality was settled internally.

• Inquiry sufficiency concerns

The Inquiry record contains unresolved contradictions of high materiality.

7. Conclusion

This report does not allege misconduct.

It establishes that:

• the official record of a statutory public inquiry contains unresolved and mutually incompatible accounts of the origin and authority of Operation Talla;

• those contradictions directly affect the lawfulness of policing decisions taken under that framework; and

• the Inquiry itself appears not to have interrogated or resolved those contradictions.

Where a public inquiry leaves foundational anomalies unexamined, the responsibility to note them does not disappear. It transfers to the record.

Final Observation

The issue is no longer whether Operation Talla was justified. It is whether any institution can now say, with certainty, what it was, who authorised it and under what law it operated.

At present, the Inquiry record does not provide that answer.

>>24011642

https://youtu.be/iapIsrO33RM

King Charles Under Fire: ‘Betrayal’ Claims Emerge

Lauren The Insider

69.1k subscribers

23,787 views 8 Jan 2026 #LaurenTheInsider #RoyalFamily #RoyalFamilyNews

Lauren The Insider speaks with Bishop Cei in a frank and explosive discussion following King Charles’ Christmas speech. In this interview, Bishop Cei shares his personal views, arguing that the King is embracing political messaging, promoting “woke” ideology, and failing to represent the wider population.

⚠️ These opinions are solely those of Bishop Cei and are presented for discussion and analysis.

This channel exists to ask the tough questions mainstream media often omit. Nothing presented is intended to incite hatred or harm of any kind — viewers are always encouraged to form their own opinions through independent and extensive personal research.

>>24011647

>>24011647

https://ethicalapproach.co.uk/public_notice_re_MPS_and_constitutional_correspondence_09012026.pdf

Public Notice - Transparency Statement

In the course of an ongoing independent investigation into UK-wide COVID-era policing arrangements, I wrote on 9 January 2026 to a member of staff within the Metropolitan Police Service Directorate of Legal Services (DLS).

The correspondence concerned whether a specific Crime Reference Number, which was the subject of judicial review proceedings, had been closed pursuant to a centrally coordinated policy framework (Operation Talla / Gold Command), rather than following a case-specific evidential assessment and whether that basis had been disclosed to the Court.

A clear request was made for clarification on that point, limited solely to issues of disclosure and the duty of candour owed in public law proceedings.

The Metropolitan Police Service has declined to provide a substantive explanation and has indicated that it will not engage further on the matter.

In the interests of constitutional transparency, I place this fact on the public record.

No further correspondence with the MPS Directorate of Legal Services is anticipated in relation to this issue.

Ian Clayton

Lead Investigator

Ethical Approach UK

9 January 2026

>>24099675

>>24011642

https://youtu.be/g5wGBDWclKA

PROOF of CORRUPTION and HYPOCRISY: The BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

Britain Fights Back

12k subscribers

3,632 views 5 Jan 2026

J

ust a silver haired old lady trying to make sense of what's going on.

>>24011623

>>24011627, paedophilia is also a pestilence.

>>24011628

>>24011633

https://youtu.be/XukNnmoQIEQ

Met Police CAUGHT Hiring PREDATORS to Meet Diversity Quotas in SHOCKING Scandal!

Loegrine

192 subscribers

4,258 views 8 Jan 2026

Met Police CAUGHT Hiring PREDATORS to Meet Diversity Quotas in SHOCKING Scandal!

A terrifying internal review has exposed the true scale of the Metropolitan Police vetting crisis, and it goes far deeper than simple incompetence. Julia Hartley-Brewer breaks down the "Operation Jorica" report, revealing how the force didn’t just miss red flags, but actively overruled security experts to wave dangerous individuals through the door.

The scandal centres on a "Disproportionality Panel" explicitly designed to review and overturn vetting rejections to improve diversity statistics. At the same time, the Home Office penalised the force over £30 million for missing recruitment targets, creating a perverse financial incentive to prioritise quantity over safety.

This video breaks down:

How a secret internal panel overruled security decisions to hire rejected applicants.

The £31 million "clawback" that forced the Met to choose between funding and standards.

Why over 4,500 officers were hired without mandatory Special Branch intelligence checks.

The shocking case of Cliff Mitchell: Vetted, rejected for a r*** allegation, then hired anyway.

The "Two-Tier" system: Why the Met welcomes criminals but purges officers for "gender critical" beliefs.

This isn't a story about a few files getting lost. It is a story about a calculated trade-off where ideological quotas and government funding were prioritised over the safety of women and children.

Watch the full clip, see the evidence, and decide: Was this a mistake, or a policy choice?

>>24099893

https://youtu.be/S-tnny5EujY

‘UNBELIEVABLE!’ | Met Police hired a man accused of raping a child to fulfil DEI quotas

GBNews

2.06m subscribers

59,459 views 8 Jan 2026 #ad #dei #metpolice

Beat the system with TallyMoney. Gold you can spend. Discover more here:

https://click.tallymoney.com/A64P/df0… #ad

Patrick Christys calls for the scrapping of DEI schemes, as it is revealed that the Met Police hired a child racist because he was black and they wanted ‘to hit a diversity target’, calling it ‘unbelievable!’

https://youtu.be/vcxG772hwM0

Scottish Templars Secret in 1446: What Really Happened When Sinclairs Carved Templar Symbols?

Royal Veins

2.05k subscribers

2.5k views 1 day ago

>>24099942

https://youtu.be/XBYHJqFqado

Scottish Templars First Arrival 1128: What Really Happened When Hughes de Payens Visited Scotland?

Royal Veins

2.05k subscribers

334 views 9 Jan 2026

https://youtu.be/xa9nVfrpfgQ

Scottish Government not informed of US use of airport during seizure of Russian-flagged tanker

The National

13.4k subscribers

1,349 views 8 Jan 2026

John Swinney has said his Government was not informed of the US operation to use a Scottish airport during yesterday's seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic

Just not trustworthy that lot.

>>24100013

>Just not trustworthy that lot

What are they odds they got the hint?

>>24100899

>What are they odds they got the hint?

Pretty good I imagine. I'd not bet against it.

>>24011628

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/snps-stealth-tax-dragged-450000-36534334

SNP's 'stealth' tax has dragged 450,000 Scots into a higher tax bracket

Nurses, teachers and cops are all forced to fork out more income tax than their English counterparts in order to pay for freebies and a generous benefits system, thanks to the Scottish Government.

David Walker

12 Jan 2026

The SNP has been accused of using middle-earning Scots as "cash cows" after its "stealth tax" dragged 450,000 taxpayers into a higher tax bracket. Nationalist politicians have increased income tax levels at almost every single Budget since being handed the powers over them following the Scotland Act.

All the extra cash raised has been plunged into the social security system and paying for freebies such as tuition, prescriptions and bus travel for under-22s and over-60s. Even the likes of teachers, nurse and cops are hit in the pocket by strict tax thresholds, and have "broader shoulders," as always mentioned by the SNP.

SNP's 'stealth' tax has dragged 450,000 Scots into a higher tax bracket

Nurses, teachers and cops are all forced to fork out more income tax than their English counterparts in order to pay for freebies and a generous benefits system, thanks to the Scottish Government.

New analysis showed that the number of Scots paying higher rate income tax is 2.5 times greater than when the Nationalists first took charge of setting it. The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimate that 788,000 workers will be higher-rate taxpayers in 2026-27, assuming John Swinney’s government once again freeze the threshold in tomorrow’s budget. That compares to just 318,300 in 2017-18, when the SNP began setting rates and bands.

It means that annual pay rises could prove meaningless to many workers as they are dragged into a higher tax bracket. Due to SNP freezes, the threshold for paying the higher rate has barely moved (from £43,430 in 2017-18 to £43,663 in the current tax year). Had the threshold moved in line with rising salaries, only those earning more than £58,500 would now be higher-rate taxpayers.

The Scottish Conservatives described this policy as a “brutal and deepening stealth tax” on hard-working, middle-income Scots, who they say are being clobbered to pay for the SNP’s ballooning welfare bill. Shadow finance secretary Craig Hoy is calling for the thresholds at which workers start paying income tax – and then pay the higher rate – to be increased in line with inflation in the budget, along with a cut in the basic rate to 19 per cent.

He said: "These figures highlight how the SNP are using middle-income Scots as a cash cow to fund the ballooning benefits bill. The SNP’s freeze on thresholds is a brutal and deepening stealth tax on hard-working Scots, because it drags more and more people on relatively modest incomes into higher tax brackets.

“This isn’t those with the broadest shoulders, as the SNP try to pretend. John Swinney’s government are clobbering nurses, teachers and police officers – and it has to stop. Scots households are struggling to cope with rising bills from two high-tax, left-wing governments, and are crying out for help. Scottish Conservatives are committed to giving workers and businesses a break by reining in Scotland’s unaffordable welfare bill.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government's tax decisions enable us to deliver higher investment in the NHS and policies like free tuition not available anywhere else in the UK, while ensuring the majority of taxpayers are expected to pay less income tax than elsewhere in the UK. Tax policy for 2026-27 will be announced at the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026.”

Will it light a fire under anyone's arse? A bushfire made up of tumbleweed?

>>24011644, >>24011635, >>24011633, >>24011628

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/john-swinney-broke-ministerial-travel-36532646

John Swinney 'broke' ministerial travel rules as he rushed to USA to meet Donald Trump - with £30k trip having no impact for Scots

The First Minister enjoyed business class flights to Washington DC where he pressed the US President on whisky tariffs, despite the Scottish Government having no role or power in negotiations.

David Walker

11 Jan 2026

John Swinney enjoyed business class flights when he rushed to the USA to hold talks with Donald Trump about whisky tariffs. He racked up a near £30k bill for the junket to Washington DC which has had no impact at all on the taxes facing the Scotch whisky industry.

And the First Minister also stayed with Lord Mandelson, the UK ambassador at the time, despite the SNP calling for his lordship to be removed. He has been accused of breaching Scottish Government travel policies due to choosing the most expensive way to head stateside.

According to newly released figures, he spent nearly £7,600 on flights and subsistence during his three-day trip to Washington in September last year. He was accompanied by an entourage of nine officials, with about £5,500 being spent on flights for Mr Swinney's private secretary, with £4,500 going on travel for the communications officer. His chief of staff Colin McAllister racked up £6,473 in travel costs.

We previously exclusively revealed that about £1,800 was spent on "photography" with an image of Mr Swinney in the White House being published on his official pages. A total of £2,444 was splashed out on car hire, with another £1,142 being found for business lunches and meetings.

Mr Swinney has refused to comment on whether he was comfortable with being hosted by Mandelson during the three-day-trip, with him being sacked two days later after new details emerged about his association with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn is leading the charge for his lordship to be removed.

Questions have also been raised about whether the First Minister breached his own government's travel policies which stipulate that economy class should be used for flights of ten hours or less. Business-class seats are permitted only if the flying time on a specific flight is more than ten hours one way, or "unless otherwise agreed".

Flights from Edinburgh airport to Washington DC take seven to eight hours. Critics blasted Mr Swinney for this huge spend, as Scottish Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden said: "Scots facing rising bills will question why they have had to fork out for John Swinney and his senior adviser to fly business class on this trip. It appears the rules were shifted so they didn't have to slum it in economy class. John Swinney is happy to lead from the front when it comes to his government frequently breaking the rules."

The UK Government is in charge of negotiations with the White House for trade deals, with the SNP Executive having no role in this whatsoever. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander described the First Minister's trip as a "photo opportunity" which didn't have any impact on whisky tariffs.

Imports from the UK into the US are still subject to a 10 per cent import levy. Tariffs are costing the sector £4 million a week, the Scotch Whisky Association said. Global sales of Scotch fell by 3 per cent in the first half of 2025 when US import taxes were imposed after Trump's inauguration.

The Scottish Government said that ministers and officials are permitted to travel by business class, by prior arrangement, where this is unavoidable due to urgency or availability. In addition the first minister's travel requirements are understood to be defined by security requirements.

A spokesperson added: "This cost was for a return flight to the USA to support the first minister in meetings in Washington DC to set out the case for a reduction in tariffs on Scotch whisky. The United States is the largest and most valuable market for Scotch whisky, with exports worth nearly £1 billion in 2024, highlighting how crucial the US market is to the Scotch whisky industry."

https://youtu.be/lscs5ZgNQrE

WATCH Stone Masons Create a Millstone by Hand in 1966!

>>24108869

WATCH Stone Masons Create a Millstone by Hand in 1966!

You can watch it this time. Watching the work that goes into one of these things and you can't help but think it to be a waste to throw it into the depths of the sea?

>>24108885

https://youtu.be/k7vo9nDUzUE

>>24108893

Quarrying and crafting.

>>24011630

>>24011628

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/asylum-seekers-cameron-barracks-free-36539486

==Asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks to get free mental health support while locals must wait months

The 'bespoke' healthcare package on offer for up to 300 undocumented male migrants will include mental health support – but locals have to wait five months or fork out to go private

Ben Borland

12 Jan 2026

Asylum seekers housed at Cameron Barracks in Inverness would be given access to free mental health counselling as part of plans drawn up by the UK Government.

The revelation was described as a "massive slap in the face" to local people in the Highland capital, who must wait around five months before starting regular sessions on the NHS. Alternatively, one hour of private therapy costs between £40 to £100.

The Home Office says it has yet to make a "final decision" on whether it will use the barracks to house up to 300 men who have entered the UK illegally, mainly on small boats across the English Channel.

It has already caused huge anger in Inverness, even before details of the "bespoke" healthcare package were revealed. Reform UK spokesman Thomas Kerr said: "The Cameron Barracks is simply the wrong location for a facility like this. Local people are rightly angry. To now learn that taxpayers will also be paying for mental health support for people who have come to this country illegally is a massive slap in the face."

The use of the barracks – along with another military base in East Sussex – was announced in October last year and is a key plank of the bid to shut down controversial asylum hotels.

The Home Office has a statutory duty to provide healthcare to asylum seekers, sparking fears the city's overstretched public services would be put under even more strain. But Highland councillors have been told that by having trained therapists on site, it would mean "minimise the impact" on the NHS.

A briefing note sent to councillors before the migrants' arrival says: "Primary healthcare will be available on site, including mental health support. Funding for these services will be provided by the Home Office to minimise impact on local GP surgeries and NHS resources."

Isabelle MacKenzie, a Scottish Conservative councillor who represents the ward where the barracks is located, accused the Home Office of giving "preferential treatment" to asylum seekers. "It's almost like they're getting a bespoke service," she told the Sunday Times. "They're getting a roof over their head. They're getting fed and watered. They're getting their basic necessities and any medical needs are being catered for."

Edward Mountain, a Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, said it was "galling when many of those living in Inverness and the Highlands are finding it increasingly hard to access mental health services in their community".

Asylum seekers had originally been expected to arrive last month, but this was delayed due to refurbishment work required to make the facility fit for purpose. It had most recently been used as transitional accommodation for the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

The Ministry of Defence has offered the barracks – formerly the base of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders – to the Home Office for 12 months. After that, the barracks will return to the MoD as part of its training estate.

Canada #87

‘I Didn’t Know About Epstein’s Crimes Because I’m Gay’: Disgraced Former British Ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson Uses the ‘Gay Card’ To Try To Evade Responsibility

by Paul Serran Jan. 11, 2026

Mandelson thinks we are all gullible simpletons.

Disgraced former British Ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, has claimed to have been ‘kept in the dark’ about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes ‘because he was gay’.

The Telegraph reported:

“The peer was sacked as ambassador to the United States last year after it emerged [that] he had urged the financier to fight for early release from prison.

Lord Mandelson claimed that, because of his sexuality, he was ‘kept separate from what [Epstein] was doing in the sexual side of his life’.”

He described Epstein as his ‘best pal’, but argues he was kept ‘at the edge of this man’s life’.

“In his first interview since losing his job, Lord Mandelson refused to apologize to Epstein’s victims for writing to him after his conviction for sex offences, claiming he was not culpable for any of Epstein’s criminal activity.”

Even a Labour Cabinet minister was led to say he had been guilty of ‘deep naivety’.

BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg carried water for him, and asked whether he was never offered sexual favors by Epstein ‘because he was gay’.

“He replied: “Possibly, some people will think that because I’m a gay man, I was unsensitized, or I wasn’t attuned to what was going on. […] I don’t really accept [any guilt]. I think the issue is that because I was a gay man in his circle, I was kept separate from what he was doing in the sexual side of his life. […] I mean, he in a sense had three buckets of people in his life, the business and the financial, the political and the academic, and then what he was doing with young women.”

More:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/i-didnt-know-about-epsteins-crimes-because-im/

>>24115680

https://youtu.be/5MGWAaabfZI

Lord Mandelson says Jeffrey Epstein friendship was 'a terrible mistake' | BBC News

BBC News

19.1m subscribers

34,799 views 11 Jan 2026 #LordMandelson #JeffreyEpstein #UKPolitics

Lord Mandelson has said he never saw girls at Jeffrey Epstein's properties, and declined to apologise to the late paedophile's victims for maintaining his friendship with the American because he was not "knowledgeable of what he was doing".

Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg in his first interview since being sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US over his links to Epstein, he told us that he thought he had been "kept separate" from the sexual side of the late financier's life because he was gay.

He was fired after emails emerged showing supportive messages he had sent to Epstein after the American was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The former ambassador said the only people he had seen at Epstein's properties were "middle-aged housekeepers".

He said he would have apologised were he "in any way complicit or culpable" but stressed that was never the case.

>>24011628

>>24011639

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/disgraceful-snp-go-court-stop-36529420

'Disgraceful' SNP go to court to stop release of secret Nicola Sturgeon files as publication would be 'difficult' for John Swinney

The Scottish Government confirmed it was challenging a decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner to demand the release of files relating to the ministerial probe into Nicola Sturgeon.

David Walker

10 Jan 2026

The SNP Government has been branded "disgraceful" after opting to take the Scottish Information Commissioner to court to block the release of secret Nicola Sturgeon files. There has been a costly four-year battle over the publication of evidence given to former ministerial code adviser James Hamilton.

He investigated whether the former First Minister broke the ministerial code through evidence she gave during the Holyrood Inquiry into the botched probe into Alex Salmond. He ruled that it was up to MSPs to decide whether she broke it, a resignation offence, but the Scottish Greens saved her.

Applicant Ben Harrop wants some of the written evidence provided to Mr Hamilton to be published but this has been blocked, even with the information commissioner repeatedly ruling against the government. And now John Swinney has green lit yet another costly court battle, appealing the watchdog's decision.

In a letter, Lorna Gibbs, Deputy Director, Improving Public Engagement at the Scottish Government, wrote: "The First Minister has taken the decision to appeal this Decision Notice, and the appeal was lodged with the Court of Session yesterday, Thursday 8 January 2026. This process will now be taken forward by the Scottish Government’s litigation team.

"The Scottish Government is lodging this appeal…because it considers the Scottish Information Commissioner erred in law in determining the government’s application of the FOISA s.26(c) exemption in relation to contempt of court. The Scottish Government cannot release information which would amount to a contempt of court."

It is understood that SNP Ministers are relying on an argument that removing redactions would lead to jigsaw identification of some of Mr Salmond's accusers. Ms Sturgeon was accused of misleading MSPs when she failed to mention a key meeting she held with Salmond adviser Geoff Aberdein about the allegations, and she knew about them earlier than she told the inquiry.

Mr Harrop has been trying since April 2021 to get this evidence published, with the government previously arguing that it didn't hold it, with this argument obliterated in a matter of seconds by the Court of Session. Now it is claiming it can't publish it due to contempt of court, arguing the information commissioner is wrong to demand its release.

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Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton said in November: “This was a very complex case, and that complexity was compounded by the way in which elements of this case were handled by the Scottish Government. When a public body seeks to withhold information under FOI law, it is the responsibility of that body to appropriately make their case to me.

"It is not for my staff to identify sensitive information on behalf of an organisation, or to make the case for an exemption on its behalf. Authorities must, therefore, ensure that its case is fully and appropriately stated in its entirety. It is also particularly disappointing that, had it not been for the diligence of my staff and their forensic analysis of this case, many of the failures that arose may have gone undetected.

"While there is no evidence of impropriety, this nevertheless reflects poorly on the Scottish Government handling of this case, and I trust it will take urgent action to prevent such occurrences happening again.”

The fact the government is going to court again, spending public money, has been criticised by rivals. Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: “The SNP government is addicted to secrecy and will go to any lengths to cover up its wrongdoings. This appeal is another example of the SNP squandering taxpayers’ cash in a desperate attempt to defend Nicola Sturgeon’s shameful actions during the Alex Salmond inquiry.

“The public will rightly be asking what this sleekit government has to hide and why their money is being wasted time and time again on trying to prevent scrutiny.”

Former Nat MP Joanna Cherry added: "Of course they will because if the truth got into the public domain, it would be very difficult for Sturgeon and Swinney not to mention others. Plus, it’s not their money they’re spending on defending themselves. It’s public money. Our money taxpayers money. It’s disgraceful."

And ex-SNP Health Secretary Alex Neil wrote: "This is disgraceful behaviour by the SNP. It’s clear they’ve got a lot to hide! Donald, the founding principles of the Scottish Parliament - openness, transparency and accountability - are being undermined by the SNP government. This is very damaging to the independence cause. Unfortunately too many people put party before cause."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government has lodged an appeal with the Court of Session challenging the Scottish Information Commissioner's decision on a freedom of information request for evidence submitted to the Hamilton investigation.

"We consider that the Commissioner erred in relation to the law on whether the information can be withheld because it risks breaching contempt of court orders. The Scottish Government cannot release information which would amount to a contempt of court.It would otherwise not be appropriate to comment on what is now live litigation.”

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>>24004276

>>24004281

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/holyrood-inquiry-scotlands-grooming-gangs-36489008

Why was Holyrood inquiry into Scotland's grooming gangs held behind closed doors?

The Express Investigates: We reveal that SNP Ministers were warned about grooming gangs in Glasgow 12 YEARS AGO and told that at least one teenage girl had died as a result of sexual exploitation in the city

Ben Borland

07 Jan 2026

With the SNP Government still refusing to call a public inquiry into grooming gangs, ministers have come up with all sorts of excuses and explanations.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance even broke the ministerial code after she misquoted an expert in saying she didn't support a Scottish inquiry, claimed to MSPs that she hadn't done so and then delayed in correcting the official record.

But no senior Nats appear to be in any rush to point out that the Scottish Parliament has ALREADY carried out a lengthy and detailed investigation into grooming gangs operating with apparent impunity in Scottish towns and cities.

The Scottish Daily Express tried to examine the work carried out by MSPs in 2013 and 2014 – and found that nine of 13 committee sessions during the long-running inquiry into 'Tackling child sexual exploitation in Scotland' were held in private, with no records ever published.

Four more meetings saw evidence given in public from high-ranking public figures, which was later discussed in private by the MSPs on the public petitions committee and their adviser, Dr Sarah Nelson.

The committee eventually published a report, in January 2014, with 28 recommendations for the SNP Government of the day. It contained some bombshell details, notably the fact that Scottish professionals feared being branded "racist" if they took action against ethnic minority grooming gangs.

This echoed the scandal south of the Border in towns such as Rochdale and Rotherham, where the police and social workers failed to intervene and allowed hundreds of young girls to be raped and abused as a result of 'woke' cowardice.

Ultimately, however, despite a 12-month inquiry, the MSPs were unable to obtain any definitive numbers on the extent of grooming gangs and their victims in Scotland.

Meetings where grooming was discussed in private

January 22, 2013 (committee ranked a list of candidates for committee adviser)

February 5, 2013 (committee considered a paper by Dr Nelson)

February 19, 2013 (committee considered a paper by Dr Nelson)

March 5, 2013

April 16, 2013

April 30, 2013 (evidence heard in public from SNP minister, before a private discussion)

June 11, 2013 (evidence heard in public from charities, before a private discussion)

June 25, 2013 (evidence heard in public from Crown Office and Police Scotland, before a private discussion)

October 1, 2013

October 29, 2013 (evidence heard in public, before a private discussion)

November 26, 2013 (issues paper considered)

December 17, 2013 (draft report considered)

January 7, 2014 (draft report considered)

Dr Nelson, a research associate at CRFR, Edinburgh University, was regarded as one of the UK's leading experts on child abuse. She was later awarded an OBE before her death in 2025. She produced at least two papers for the MSPs to consider, but these have never been published either.

The evidence that was heard in public, however, contains some extraordinary details – including a reference to the tragic death of a teenage girl more than a decade earlier and the admission that ministers already KNEW grooming was taking place in Scotland on a similar scale to other parts of the UK.

On April 30, children's minister Aileen Campbell said the government had commissioned research, published in October 2012, which found that "although there is a lack of research on child sexual exploitation in Scotland, what is known is consistent with what is known to be taking place in other parts of the United Kingdom".

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Later that year, on June 11, Daljeet Dagon, of Barnardo's Scotland, spoke about "a young person in Glasgow who died", adding: "We all knew that she was involved in sexual exploitation, was accommodated and was involved in drugs and alcohol. When she came out of a secure setting, she died within seven days. That is when Glasgow pulled together: we had an inquiry that established the vulnerable young person procedures that are still operating in the city 12 years on."

This is believed to be a reference to Michelle Kearney, who died after overdosing on heroin in a flat in Glasgow in October 1999. She was 16 years old and social work bosses ignored a children's hearing recommendation that she be remanded into secure social care.

There is no evidence that Michelle fell victim to an organised grooming gang, although at the Fatal Accident Inquiry it was stated that she "started working as a prostitute" when she was still below the legal age of consent – and today, the case would be considered very differently.

Staff feared being 'branded as racist'

During that same session, some attempts were made to address the key question of whether one or more particular ethnic minority group was more involved in committing organised sexual abuse of minors. Deputy committee convener Chic Brodie, from the SNP, asked: "How do we look at perpetration without either being culturally insensitive or, in case we might create racial tensions, taking no action against abusers?"

Anela Anwar, from the Glasgow charity Roshni, responded: "What you are trying to get at, deputy convener, is that we have to admit that yes, across the Asian and African minority ethnic communities there are individuals who exploit young people, as there are in the mainstream white Scottish community.

"Minority communities also need to accept that fact. However, we should not stigmatise or stereotype one specific community as being the only type that will perpetrate child sexual exploitation, because that is not helpful."

However, she admitted that front-line staff, when confronted with a case involving a "minority ethnic perpetrator or victim" would "leave that situation alone or step back, which often happens when people fear that they will get things wrong or be branded as racist".

Two weeks later, the committee heard from then Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham and Alison Di Rollo, then head of the national sexual crimes unit at the Crown Office.

However, they did not discuss Operation Dash or Operation Cotswold – the two police investigations into organised child sexual exploitation (CSE) by mainly ethnic minority men in and around Glasgow.

The committee DID state: "In February 2013 police established a research cell to scope the scale and extent of CSE in the 12 local authorities of the (then) Strathclyde Police force area." No figures from this research cell were ever revealed in public. In addition, Mr Dagon told the MSPs: "I was chatting to panel members earlier. People will be aware that in Glasgow we have had Operation Cotswold. There was significant learning from Operation Cotswold, particularly for the police."

Previous reports by the Scottish Express have shed light on these two linked operations. Cotswold was launched in 2011, and expanded and renamed Dash two years later. In total, the police identified between 100 and 140 potential victims across the west of Scotland, some of them as young as 10 years old.

Some 27 suspects were reported to the Crown Office, although there were just four convictions in total and only two abusers were given given custodial sentences. One of them was failed Afghan asylum seeker Javaid Akhond – the only man ever named in connection to either Dash or Cotswold. He was 20 when he was sentenced to six years in prison in October 2014 for the rape and sexual abuse of three girls aged 12, 13 and 15.

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'We ignore this issue at our peril'

The publication of the committee's report made headlines and triggered a debate in Holyrood, along with promises that "lessons would be learned". But in 2014, there was only one story dominating the headlines – the looming independence referendum. And although most of the committee's recommendations were eventually taken on board, some members of the committee felt their report had been kicked into the long grass.

In October 2014, the then-SNP back bencher John Wilson said: "The Rotherham case is only one of many that we are becoming aware of. When we carried out our inquiry, we sought assurances that procedures and practices are in place in Scotland that will prevent a repeat of what happened south of the Border, but I am not entirely convinced that we have such procedures."

And his fellow Nat MSP Chic Brodie, who passed away in 2022, warned "we ignore this issue at our peril". He continued: "As an acquiescent back bencher, I am not sure whether I am angry or disappointed… We had a full and comprehensive inquiry that embraced goodness knows how many witnesses. If the report of that inquiry is lying on somebody's office shelf, I would like to understand why, and I want to know why we are reinventing the wheel.

"There should be a fairly robust question from this committee as to why the matter is not being given the attention that it deserves. I suspect that we are now reacting to what happened in Rotherham although there are issues on our own doorstep that we need to address."

More than 10 years later, as the clamour grows for a full public inquiry to look into the exact same scandal, many will ask why the Scottish Government – then and now – has failed to act.

https://youtu.be/ScJM0i-iiLI

Canada #87

Globalist World Health Organization Says Boozy Europe Is Making Alcohol Cheaper, and Putting Lives at Risk – So, Their Solution Is: TAXES!

by Paul Serran Jan. 14, 2026

The old – and drunk – continent.

Europe has a drinking habit – or is it a problem?

Those of us well informed by the independent media are not inclined to listen to the World Health Organization’s advice any longer – if we ever did.

The WHO campaigners are out in force saying Europe’s hard drinking habits ‘are putting lives at risk’.

The crux of the UN agency’ ‘warning’ is that, instead of ‘making alcohol harder to afford’, what many European governments are doing is allowing a lowering of the prices.

Politico reported:

“Beer has become more affordable in 11 EU countries since 2022, and less affordable in six, the WHO report revealed Tuesday. There was a similar but even more dramatic trend for spirits, which became more affordable in 17 EU countries and less affordable in two. And for wine, 14 EU countries do not tax it at all, including big producers Italy and Spain, the report found.”

Oh, no – beer is cheaper! It must be the end of the world.

So, the detestable Tedros Ghebreyesus has the nerve to share his ‘brilliant idea’: TAXES.

Whatever ous views on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks, taxation is never the solution, and health policy must be instituted at national level, with each country freely exercizing its sovereignty.

After discussing the health hazards of alcohol consumption, the WHO solution is a ‘masterpiece’ in Globalist thinking.

“The WHO said governments should target alcohol consumption to protect people from its ill effects. Increasing the cost of booze through taxes is one of the most effective measures governments can take, the WHO said. Yet, some EU countries have minimal or no taxes on certain types of alcohol.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/globalist-world-health-organization-says-boozy-europe-is/

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>>24011628

The Scottish Government introduced Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol in 2018. The policy, implemented in May 2018, was the first of its kind globally.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg2d2kdgzeo

Minimum price of alcohol in Scotland rises by 30%

30 September 2024

2524 Comments

The minimum price at which alcohol can be sold in Scotland has risen by 30% in an attempt to keep up with inflation over the past six years.

The minimum unit price (MUP) has not changed since it was set at 50p per unit of alcohol when it was first introduced in May 2018.

It has now increased to 65p per unit, meaning a typical 12.5% bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than £6.09 and a can of lager will be at least £1.30.

MUP is not a tax to generate income for the government. Instead it aims it to reduce the availability of cheap alcohol in shops by setting a minimum price.

For example, a bottle of vodka will now cost at least £17.06 in Scotland - about £5 more than many supermarkets are selling it for in England, where there is no minimum pricing.

A graphic showing the new prices of wine (up from £4.69 to £6.09), cider (up from £2.50 to £3.25), lager 9up from £1 to £1.30), vodka (up from £13.13 to £17.06) and whisky (up from £14 to £18.20)

Scotland was the first country in the world to set a minimum price at which alcoholic drinks can be sold when the policy was introduced in May 2018.

The policy was mainly aimed at strong cheap alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets.

Before it was introduced, super strength cider (7.5%) was sold in two litres bottles for as little as £1.99.

After the legislation was introduced that same two litre bottle could not be sold for less than £7.50. Under the new 65p minimum unit price it will now be £9.75.

A Public Health Scotland study published in June last year found the MUP scheme had helped to reduce alcohol-related health inequalities.

Based on comparisons with England, it estimated there were 13.4% fewer deaths related to alcohol than would have happened without the policy, as well as 4.1% fewer hospital admissions.

However, the number of people in Scotland whose death was caused by alcohol remains at a high level, with the figures for 2023 showing the largest number of deaths in 15 years.

In September last year, a study by Sheffield University suggested the policy had become less effective due to inflation.

The report found the original 50p price had been reduced by inflation to the equivalent of just 41p.

It also said heavier drinkers increased their alcohol consumption during the Covid pandemic, cancelling out some of the beneficial impacts.

The increase in the MUP was announced in February.

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Alcohol harm

Some groups representing the off-licence trade have previously expressed opposition to any increase, but alcohol recovery charities have been supportive.

GMB Scotland, representing members across the drinks industry, warned that the policy was already risking jobs and investment and questioned its "unproven" health benefits.

The Federation of Independent Retailers warned that raising the minimum price could put retailers at an increased risk of alcohol being stolen.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said he was confident the scheme had saved hundreds of lives.

He said the price increase was due to inflation.

"Obviously by increasing it we would hope we would see a further improvement in the situation alongside the other aspects that we are looking at, including alcohol advertising and marketing," Gray said.

Willie Rennie of the Scottish Liberal Democrats backed the move.

He said: "The original impact of minimum pricing has decreased over time as inflation has eaten away at the effectiveness of the policy.

“More than 20 people a week in Scotland die due to alcohol misuse. The opponents of minimum pricing need to explain what alternatives they are proposing to tackle the pressures that this imposes on our health and justice systems.”

Carol Mochan, Scottish Labour's spokeswoman for Public Health, said frontline alcohol and drug services needed "proper resourcing" from the SNP to be effective.

She added: "Scottish Labour will consider any evidence-based plans to improve public health, but the SNP must acknowledge that there is no one silver bullet."

Not a 'miracle cure'

Scottish Greens health spokeswoman Gillian Mackay said MUP should be "an important part" of the nation's health strategy but wider work was needed as it was not a "cure-all".

However, Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said MUP was not a "miracle cure" and "simply punishes responsible drinkers".

Graeme Callander, from the WithYou alcohol support group, said it was "unbelievable" that the money raised goes to retailers and the alcohol industry.

"This revenue could make a real difference if it was instead directed towards improving and increasing the availability of alcohol support services - because these services will ultimately help to save lives,” he said.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap) and Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) said the minimum unit price had to be uprated annually to prevent "cheaper alcohol that causes the most harm" becoming more affordable over time.

Both groups also said the government needed to do more than just MUP if it is to tackle the "public health emergency" of alcohol harms, and criticised it for "dragging its feet" over alcohol marketing reforms.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of AFS, said her charity was calling for an alcohol harm prevention levy on alcohol retailers, which she said the Fraser of Allander Institute estimated could raise as much as £57m a year to invest in alcohol treatment services.

>>24015980

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c050e7nmpyno

Labour MSP urged to quit over friendship with sex offender

15 January 2026

Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy has been urged to immediately quit Holyrood following a fresh report about her friendship with a convicted sex offender.

Last month, the Glasgow politician announced she would not seek re-election in May after it emerged she maintained contact with a former Labour councillor following his conviction in 2017 for having indecent images of children.

The Daily Record, external has since reported that Duncan-Glancy continued her friendship with Sean Morton after he was jailed last year for further offences.

Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he was not aware of the details of the report, but said he expected the "highest standards" from his MSPs.

Morton, a former councillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde, was ordered in 2017 to carry out unpaid work and put on the sex offenders register after he pled guilty to possessing indecent child images and extreme pornography.

Duncan-Glancy, who was elected to Holyrood in 2021, stood down from her party's frontbench in December after the Daily Record reported that the pair had maintained contact.

The MSP, who had been selected to stand for Labour in May's Holyrood election, later said she would stand down at the poll, saying she did not want "a personal friendship to become a distraction".

It has now emerged that Morton was jailed in January last year after pleading guilty to possessing indecent photographs of children and breaching his sexual offences order. He was given two 16-month sentences, backdated to May 2024.

The Daily Record said Duncan-Glancy continued the friendship following his release, reporting Morton attended her birthday celebrations late last year.

Duncan-Glancy asked a question during First Minister's Questions on Thursday via video link.

She has been asked to comment.

'Disturbing saga'

SNP MSP Rona Mackay MSP said: "These latest revelations raise serious questions about Anas Sarwar's handling of this disturbing saga.

"For Ms Duncan-Glancy's friendship to continue with Mr Morton until she was approached by the Daily Record is staggering - but the news about Mr Morton's further convictions in 2025 make Scottish Labour's decision to approve her candidacy, given her friendship with Mr Morton, utterly unbelievable.

"If Pam Duncan-Glancy is not fit to sit on Labour's front bench or be a candidate, then this latest information shows she is not fit to carry on as an MSP until the election in May."

Sarwar, speaking after First Minister's Questions, said he was did not know the details of the latest news report.

He said Duncan-Glancy had "already accepted her error of judgement in maintaining with this individual".

Sarwar told BBC Scotland News: "And as you know she is not a candidate come the election in May."

He said he expected the "highest standards" from his MSPs and said he had sought "certain reassurances" from Duncan-Glancy.