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Tuesday, August 12, 2025
I still believe what Alex Salmond told me in 2020 about the leaker to the Daily Record - but the independence movement desperately needs to move on
Nicola Sturgeon's new allegations about Alex Salmond are unwelcome, because as Gerry Hassan has pointed out, the Salmond-Sturgeon war is completely toxic and the independence movement desperately needs to just move on from it. In today's YouTube commentary I recall the lengthy conversation I had with Mr Salmond in 2020 just after his acquittal, and explain why - in spite of everything that has happened since - I'm still inclined to believe what he told me about the leaker to the Daily Record, and how that is very hard to square with Ms Sturgeon's claims to honestly believe it's conceivable that Mr Salmond himself was the leaker. I also give my reaction to Ms Sturgeon's suggestion that in 20 years' time there will be a new "British Isles confederation" involving an independent Scotland.
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I feel there’s still a lot of information out there that’s never seen the light of day. Salmond was pursuing further legal action before his passing for a reason.
ReplyDeleteImo, for the independence movement to ever truly move on from the Salmond/Sturgeon saga, the full truth needs to come out, those responsible held accountable, and only then can we begin to heal. Otherwise, there will always be a sense that something significant has been swept under the rug, and resentment will linger as a result.
held accountable to whom? McEleny? Joe public moves on. Can I sit on judgement on the albanists.
DeleteAnon @5.42pm. You can sit on judgement of whoever you want. It won't change the fact that Sturgeon conspired to send Salmond to jail. A real judge - unlike you - told you all you need to know about Sturgeon and her pals. Unfair, unlawful
Deleteand tainted by apparent bias.
The Herald were having a field day yesterday:
ReplyDelete‘Fenian B****’: Nicola Sturgeon tells of sectarian abuse campaigning in Govan**
Nicola Sturgeon has told of her surprise at the level of sectarian abuse she encountered while campaigning in Glasgow.
‘Nicola Sturgeon tells of "shame" at racism tactics in campaign team’
Nicola Sturgeon said she felt 'ashamed' that some people in her team were happy to manipulate racist sentiment in a Glasgow election campaign.
‘Nicola Sturgeon on Isla Bryson: "I lost the dressing room"’
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has admitted she still finds it difficult to define the double rapist Isla Bryson, as she acknowledged she 'should have been much more straightforward' about the offender’s gender.
‘Nicola Sturgeon: MSPs "took direction" from Alex Salmond or his allies’
Nicola Sturgeon has said she believes MSPs who sat on the Scottish Parliament committee investigating the handling of complaints against Alex Salmond were ‘taking direction’ from him or his allies.
‘Nicola Sturgeon still friends with Derek Mackay after scandal’
Nicola Sturgeon says she is still friends with a former SNP finance secretary who was forced to resign after sending 'unacceptable' messages to a schoolboy.
Anon at 4.39. There is so much in your post that is distortion. A great example of how far we have to go to heal and unite.
DeleteUnfortunately Alex isn't around to challenge what's been said by Nicola, so who knows who did the leaking. Although I had clashes with Alex in relation to policy and strategy issues back in the early and mid 1990's I always revered his political abilities. I stuck with the SNP after he left for Alba and I have always considered it very interesting that so many people whom I considered to be Alex's most trusted lieutenants (I was hever in that camp) inside the SNP also stuck with the party. I have often wondered why that was the case as many if them would have had a handle on what was going on.
ReplyDeleteStill feel it was unforgivable that they essentially airbrushed Salmond from the Parties history. Every mention of the man was removed from the website and he essentially became 'He who shan't be named'.
DeleteLike or loath him Salmond is largely responsible for taking the SNP from the fringes of Scottish politics to a Party of Government, and many to this day still see the 2007-2011 administration as being the most constructive/effective in the history of Devolution.
James the person you are referring to whom Alex told you was the leaker, and your commented that Clegg would know because of his - um um - with the leaker - if Clegg is now publicly saying he knows exactly who the leaker was - then Clegg has been an utter liar in the book Break=UP. I had assumed as the book had been legalled, that Clegg told the truth in the beginning of that book - ie that he did not know who sent the copy document to the Record.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on Alex - he knew he was going to need a huge amount of support and people on his side - he's never been an idiot. It would have been a genius move had he or someone connected to him, leaked the report to the Record - because, this is the independence movement, not a sophisticated audience, where Alex was and still is regarded as the Messiah. Alex was culling in new chums who he knew he was going to need. He seems to have been on the phone every day to about every journo there ever was - telling them what to look into and who to look into. Methinks he protested too much in reality.
And let's face it - the media, mostly male - Alex made them a lot of bucks with stories over the years, their boozie chum Alex, get down with the journos Alex, many bottles of wine and six hour lunches Alex. He knew how to convince anybody of anything. Highly skilled master strategist - you think he didn't know how to curry favour and get people on his side when he needed them - for the period of time he needed them? You know what he did when he wanted people out of the way James.
I don't have a particular bias against Salmond - but, he had a lot of babysitters who smoothed the way for him - and didn't display any thank you's when he dropped the ball and landed them in it. A man who never owned his own behaviour - it was always somebody else's fault - always. In order to get that £3m - it will have to be proved there was a conspiracy and intended stitch-up. So - naturally, Sturgeon has to again be the scapegoat and has to consistently be referred to as a liar - so that the smell is well on her before she wrote her book. Salmond was no fool. He had all the human resources to reach any goal he wanted and instead of the feeding of the conspiracy poison in his ear - he would likely have lived longer if the pressure hadn't been on him to continue that undignified pursuit.
However, £3m is a big lure and no doubt there are people needing paid back - so Sturgeon can continue to be a lone voice - because now that Salmond is pretty much declared the Saint of all things - whatever his chums want to get they will get. But there will always be doubts - no matter how good a lawyer they have to tilt his posthumous windmills and how many male journos in particular want to see their old buddy smash Nicola Sturgeon. There will always be doubts of tales from within the Salmond Camelot and his close close chums who would fib for him because he was a chum. Scotland behaves in the same very British - it's not what you know it's who you know manner - within the A and B-lister social sphere. The wee sma folk like the commoner non clubbable Sturgeon - never fit in did she.
5.24pm. Come on Nicola post under your name instead of hiding as anonymous.
Delete@5.24pm
DeleteGreat post, thought provoking. In itself it probably justifies Sturgeon's memoirs, to put her side of the story. I was against what she was going on about, but you've reset the balance.
I'd say Salmond was no fool, but also that Sturgeon was/is naive.
What a load of crap. I don't have a particular bias against Salmond - naw that phrase sums it up, just straight out bias
ReplyDeleteSturgeon lies with the ease of a duck swimming in a pond. She is a narcissistic passive aggressive.
ReplyDeleteHe’s clearly a friend, indeed THE CHAMPION of independence. She will not sleep until we are free. Absolutely not a plant, nor a hideously destructive person at the heart of government, nor indeed an utterly shameless self publicist and destroyer of every life she touched.
DeleteWhat a face for the all time half of greats in Scottish history. Her and Isla Bryson.
/s
Failed O level sociology student?
Delete“ who knows who did the leaking” get real. It was Sturgeon’s pal.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I think it's highly unlikely Wales will achieve (or ever vote on) independence. England and Wales are much more politically aligned than any of the other UK nations and the economic case for an iWales is rather thin to put it mildly.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do believe the UK will seek to rejoin the EU in some capacity in the next 20 years (basically, after the Farage project has fallen flat on its face). Scotland must be independent before that or our case will be much weaker.
A lot of what NS is saying recently is both bonkers and insulting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your video, which covers the ground well, James. Some additional comments etc.:
1. Whilst it is true the Rep of Ireland has never been part of the Commonwealth nor, I agree, ever seriously considered joining it, under previous names (Irish Free State and then Eire) independent Ireland was part of the Commonwealth i.e. to 1949 and the establishment of the Republic.
2. Wales: unlike Scotland, the Indy movement there is very closely tied to Celtic language, such that it's seen in decent part as not the Party of Wales (literal translation) but the Party of Welsh Speakers (excluding those with only some basic Welsh picked up at school etc.). In that sense, it is akin to Basque nationalism too. Whereas there are plenty of Welsh speakers in Wales, there are many folk who aren't comfortable in the language, limiting Plaid's appeal there until they can get over the perceived language barrier amongst non-speakers of Welsh.
3 Wales: also unlike Scotland, the good transport links in Wales direct you to England rather than other parts of Wales. We have the extensive Uplands between us and England (with just one motorway over them) and great transport links across the Central Belt, and reasonable ones up to Perth and then Dundee and Aberdeen. South Wales is well connected to southern England and North Wales is likewise to northern England. South and North Wales are extremely poorly connected by transport, and Mid Wales is poorly connected to everywhere. The result is to tie most of Wales to corresponding north or south parts of England.
I could go on to repeat the valid points you make eloquently in your video, but that would be redundancy so I won't bother.
Lastly: please no-one buy her awful book, even when it is remaindered down to a few quid to try and shift unwanted copies of the tripe.