Nicola Sturgeon faces pivotal week with Alex Salmond reports due – The Guardian, 19/03/21

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Nicola Sturgeon is facing a critical week, with the expected publication of two crucial reports into her role in her government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations made against Alex Salmond.

In the balance is not only Sturgeon’s future as Scotland’s leader if she is found to have breached the ministerial code – a resignation matter – but the fate of her party in the forthcoming Holyrood elections and its capacity to push for a second independence referendum should it gain a majority.

The feud between Sturgeon and Salmond – her predecessor, former friend and mentor – reached another crisis point in recent days. Leaks from a special Holyrood committee revealed its inquiry had concluded, by a narrow majority along party lines, that Sturgeon misled it by giving an “inaccurate” account of her meetings with Salmond in 2018, albeit unknowingly.

DRS in Scotland facing year-long delay in setback for UK scheme hopes – The Grocer, 17/03/21

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The rollout of a bottle deposit return scheme in Scotland is facing the prospect of another year-long delay, amid continuing concerns over the practicalities of preparing store infrastructure amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministers north of the border have launched an independent review into the timeframe for the rollout, with retailers warning it will be impossible to safely pilot test DRS reverse vending machines in stores amid continuing Covid restrictions.

It is the latest blow to supporters of DRS in the rollercoaster history of the proposals.

A similar review, the outcome of which was announced in March last year, led the Scottish government to delay the proposed implementation of DRS, from an original start date of next month to July 2022. This was despite sources telling the government they believed it was highly likely DRS would now face a further delay.

Government salmon farm research ‘excluded environmental impact – The Ferret, 16th of March 2021

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Government salmon farm research ‘excluded environmental impact’

Scottish Government research into pesticides used to control the lice that infest farmed salmon deliberately excluded impacts on the “wider marine environment”, internal emails have revealed.

The Ferret’s revelation has sparked anger from campaigners, who accused the government of ignoring the damage done by salmon farm pollution because it was “inconvenient”. They are demanding that the industry cease using the sea as a “dustbin”.

 

 

 

A definite aura of conspiracy and sleaze permeates the SNP, so much so that it deserves to be hammered at the polls – The Telegraph, 18/03/21

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It is sometimes necessary to take a step back and remind oneself what we’re currently witnessing in Scotland. With an election only weeks away we have a situation where the main issue in our politics is not the economy, or education or even health, although we’re still in the throes of A killer pandemic; neither is the threat of another independence referendum….

The Hate Crime Bill: depriving women of the protection of the law – ThinkScotland, 19/03/20

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“Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence; a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all.”

THIS IS THE FIRST sentence of a statement on the United Nations homepage on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th March 2021.

Three days later the Scottish parliament voted with a majority of 50 votes in favour of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill which excludes women from protection against hate crimes – crimes committed because the victims are what they are: women.