Alison Atack

Solicitor and Law Society of Scotland President 2018/19

[Scottish Rugby @Scotlandteam]

Scottish Rugby is immensely saddened to learn of the death earlier today of former Scotland and British & Irish Lions centre, Scott Hastings. He was 61.

[alexmassie @alexmassie]

Surprise!

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

Born in 1832, Jonathan the tortoise turned 193 today. Yes… 193. This dude is literally the oldest land animal alive. He survived 2 world wars, outlived 40 U.S. presidents, 8 British monarchs, and probably watched more drama on Earth than all of us combined.

He can’t see and smell anymore, but he still recognizes his caretakers just by voice and touch like a wise old gangster. Think about this: Jonathan was alive before the lightbulb existed… and there is a high chance he might still be here AFTER some of us are gone. Happy birthday legend... keep confusing time, history, and all of us… and may you live many more years!

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

Another deeply troubling move from this increasingly authoritarian government.

The Labour Party has removed the whip from Karl Turner — one of the most outspoken critics of plans to restrict our long-standing right to trial by jury.

The Chief Whip didn’t even have the decency to tell him in-person. Instead, the decision was briefed to the press and followed up with an email citing his remarks and conduct. Apparently, speaking forcefully in defence of fundamental liberties is now a problem.

Meanwhile, Lammy presses ahead with his sinister proposal restrict our right to trial by jury — despite having no manifesto mandate. He also continues to ignore the serious warnings from the country’s most senior legal figures.

Whatever your politics, the right to a fair trial by jury is a cornerstone of our system. This Government is a disgrace.

Credit to @KarlTurnerMP for taking a stand.

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

As another man who once worked with me declares himself saddened by my beliefs on gender and sex, I thought it might be useful to compile a list for handy reference. Which of the following do you imagine makes actors and directors who aren’t involved with the HBO reboot of Harry Potter so miserable?

Is it my belief that women and girls should have their own public changing rooms and bathrooms?

That women should retain female-only rape crisis centres?

That men don’t belong in women’s sport?

That female prisoners shouldn’t be incarcerated with violent men and male sex offenders?

That women should remain a protected class in law, because they have sex-specific needs and issues?

That language should reflect reality rather than ideological jargon, especially in a medical context?

That women shouldn’t be harassed, persecuted or fired for refusing to pretend humans can change sex?

That women should not be threatened with violence and rape when they assert their rights?

That freedom of speech and belief are essential to a pluralistic democratic society?

That troubled minors, especially those who are gay, autistic and trauma-experienced, should be given mental health support instead of irreversible surgeries and drug treatments on non-existent evidence of benefit?

That gay people shouldn’t be pressured to include the opposite sex in their dating pools, nor should they be smeared as ‘genital fetishists’ when they don’t?

That cross-dressing heterosexual male fetishists aren’t actually oppressed, but having the time of their lives piggybacking off gender identity ideology?

That said ideology, and the privileged, blinkered fools pushing it because they suffer zero consequences themselves, have done more damage to the political left’s credibility than Trump and Farage could have achieved in a century?

Let me have your thoughts.

[Susan Dalgety @DalgetySusan]

The wonderful @suzanne_moore on Jenni Murray’s legacy:
“As she fought for us, we must now fight to make sure she is remembered with the respect she deserves.” Are you listening Harriet?
Share link to full article
https://t.co/4Y4ku5RfOt

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

🚨📣 New FSU Member Testimonial

Polly Clark is a novelist and TS Eliot Prize–shortlisted poet who recently published Afterlife: New and Selected Poems.

Before publication, Polly was informed by her publicist that Gutter Magazine had selected her book as its ‘Book of the Month’, describing it as ‘funny, feminine and violent; confessional yet mysterious’.

The review was initially published but disappeared after a few days.

When pressed on why it had been removed, Gutter said: ‘A reader drew our attention to social media posts by Polly Clark that they considered to be offensive.’

Gutter added that it is a ‘welcoming publishing space’, including for trans writers and that, by promoting Ms Clark, it ‘risked undermining this goal’.

Ms Clark has raised the issue with both Gutter and Creative Scotland — the body that provides funding to the magazine — but neither has agreed to reinstate the review or address its removal.

Gutter has described this as an ‘editorial decision’, while Creative Scotland has stated that it ‘does not play a regulatory role’ in relation to the organisations it funds.

Far too often, writers are censored because someone has taken offence at their work. In this case, it is almost certainly due to Ms Clark’s gender-critical views — which are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last April.

The Free Speech Union and Freedom in the Arts are supporting Polly and have helped her submit a Subject Access Request (SAR), as well as draft complaint emails to Creative Scotland.

We are awaiting the SAR results.

Watch Polly below 👇

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

Leading lawyer who has represented wrongly convicted sub-postmasters quits over David Lammy’s ‘tyrannical’ jury reforms.

Flora Page KC has resigned from her role at the legal services watchdog in protest against Lammy’s sinister plan to curb our ancient right to jury trials. She has said that the government’s plan would “rip the heart out” of the rule of law and that she will now focus her efforts on campaigning against these reforms.

Flora has also taken aim at the Prime Minister for sanctioning the “act of tyranny”, which she describes as “a sign that this government has completely lost its way”.

She also criticised the Justice Secretary and Courts Minister Sarah Sackman for “hijacking the suffering of victims” by arguing that the reforms are necessary to deliver justice for victims of crime.

We all know Lammy’s plan won’t work. The Institute for Government has shown that his plan would save only 2 per cent of Crown Court time — not the 20 per cent he promised.

This is an authoritarian government hellbent on taking away our liberties.

How many more leading figures in the law have to tell the government this is a bad idea?

Get a grip @DavidLammy.

Read more below 👇

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

📣🚨The Free Speech Union is mounting a legal challenge against the Government over its official definition of Islamophobia — now repackaged as 'anti-Muslim hatred' — and its appointment of a new 'tsar' to punish people who fall foul of it.

This amounts to a Muslim blasphemy law via the back door. The definition is vague and subjective, and will be weaponised to silence legitimate criticism and debate about Islam, Muslims, and Islamic practices and history.

The FSU’s General Secretary, Lord Young of Acton, said: “This is the most serious threat to free speech the Government has come up with so far — the only area in which it’s achieving any success.

“If we don’t win this fight, tens of thousands of people a year could lose their jobs at the say-so of a Labour-appointed ‘tsar’. It’s dystopian.”

Public bodies will adopt this definition — despite it being non-statutory — with the same zeal the police have shown in investigating and recording non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). It is predicted by one of the drafters of the definition that it could lead to around 20,000 reports of 'anti-Muslim hostility' a year. At present, the number of recorded anti-Muslim hate crimes is around 4,000.

In a free society, no religion should be shielded from legitimate criticism. This proposal places one faith above the rest.

The Free Speech Union is bringing a legal challenge on two grounds.

First, the definition relies on nebulous, legally undefined terms such as “negative and prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims”, making it incoherent and irrational — and ripe for weaponisation.

Second, adopting such a definition cuts across legislation already enacted by Parliament and therefore breaches the public law principle known as “occupying the field”. Under this established public law doctrine, new regulations, put in place by ministers, must not replace existing legislation. It is constitutionally unlawful. In this case, the body responsible for protecting Muslims from discrimination is the Equality and Human Rights Commission, not an anti-Muslim hostility 'tsar'.

Parliament voted to abolish blasphemy laws 18 years ago. We can't let this Government resurrect them via the back door.

This is one of the biggest battles the Free Speech Union has ever taken on in its six years — and we need your help. Judicial reviews are expensive, but this is a fight we felt we had to take on.

Donate to our crowdfunder below👇

[David Davis MP @DavidDavisMP]

For those of you interested in jury trials, this is Parliament at its best. 👇

[Peter Stefanovic @PeterStefanovi2]

🚨On Tuesday the Prime Minister will order MPs to vote to undermine and restrict a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy - the right to trial by jury.

The rebellion is growing. It’s time for all MPs to step up and send a clear message that we will not allow his government to set us on a path to toward authoritarian justice.

CONTACT YOUR MP NOW before it’s too late - tag them to this film and ask them to oppose the Prime Ministers appalling plan

[James Melville 🚜 @JamesMelville]

UK 🇬🇧

The Drax net zero con-trick - where a massive polluter has become a net zero manipulator. Yet more net zero environmental destruction masquerading as “saving the planet”.

The Labour government is trying to force through an extension that would give Drax an estimated £1.8bn in taxpayer funded subsidies on top of the £11bn it has already received.

Drax has burned an amount of wood equivalent to 300 million trees. Burning wood creates 18% more CO2 emissions than coal.

And here’s the con trick: Drax is a sneaky way of exporting our CO2 emissions. We pay billions of pounds to cut down ancient forests in the US and Canada, ship the wood across the Atlantic in diesel tankers, then burn it in a Yorkshire-based power station.

And here’s the kicker - the CO2 emissions tally is not counted against the country that burns it, but the country that grows it. So Drax emissions are counted against the countries who grow and export the wood for Drax - like Canada and USA…not UK who burn it. So the UK can reduce CO2 figures by importing the burning wood grown elsewhere.

A gigantic net zero con-trick.

[Dr Pam Gosal MBE @DrPamGosal]

Sexual crimes, rape and attempted rape have all skyrocketed in the past year.

Yet John Swinney thinks that Scotland is safer under the SNP's soft-touch approach to justice which fails to protect the victims of these horrible crimes the majority of which are women and girls.

It is little wonder he refused to back my Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill.

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

“The notion that Britain — the birthplace of free speech— could produce its first free speech refugee is a damning indictment of @Keir_Starmer’s government”.

If the Crown Prosecution Service gets its way, Britain is on course for an Islamic blasphemy law via the back door.

Hamit Coskun set fire to a Quran outside the Turkish consulate and was violently attacked by a religious fanatic — Moussa Kadri — brandishing a knife.

In two-tier Britain, it was Hamit who was convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence, while the man wielding a knife on the streets of London was spared jail.

Hamit’s conviction was overturned last October by Mr Justice Bennathan, who recognised that his actions may have offended many Muslims, but that the right to freedom of expression “must include the right to express views that offend, shock or disturb.”

The CPS was not content to leave it there and has appealed to have his acquittal overturned.

If the CPS wins, it will give the green light to religious fanatics to violently enforce an Islamic blasphemy code on the streets of Britain — with the nod of the CPS. Hamit has said he will be left with no option but to flee to the US.

Parliament abolished blasphemy laws 18 years ago because they were incompatible with a free society. Beliefs — religious or otherwise — should not be shielded from insult or challenge.

Yet even if the CPS loses, a blasphemy law is set to arrive in the form of the Government’s official definition of “anti-Muslim hostility”, drafted by a working group of five members, all with ties to Islamist organisations.

It is important to ask whether the CPS would even bat an eyelid if someone torched a copy of the Bible outside the Vatican embassy in London.

FSU Campaigns Officer @MaxHThompson has written for @ConHome👇

[Sharron Davies HoL MBE @sharrond62]

Congratulations Team GB 🙌🏼

[Muriel Gray @ArtyBagger]

Ok. This is beyond incredible. You may need to be from Glasgow to understand how amazing it is. It’s the ACTUAL JAPANESE AMBASSADOR! In the Hyndland bear flat!!!!!!

[Hiroshi Suzuki @AmbJapanUK]

Nothing beats the original. Chicken Tikka Masala at Sheesh

[Annemarie Ward 💜 @Annemarieward]

A diplomat standing in @KelvingroveArt , gazing up at @artist_dali Christ of St John of the Cross, holding a Paddington Bear, strangely perfect. A Japanese ambassador, a Spanish surrealist, a Scottish gallery, and a small bear from darkest Peru all looking up at Christ suspended over Glasgow. If that’s not a parable about hope and unlikely grace, I don’t know what is.
Soft power, meet soft toy. Wonderful.

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

“It’s pretty clear where the state’s priorities lie.”

Lucy Connolly was sentenced to 31 months in prison for an intemperate and ill-judged post on X in the wake of the tragic Southport murders — a post she deleted within three hours.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) fast-tracked her prosecution to make an example of her. This required the consent of the Attorney General, Lord Hermer. Despite claims that he had no involvement, we now know he was all too willing to sign on the dotted line.

Through a Subject Access Request, it has since emerged that the CPS designated Lucy’s case as an emergency, requiring rapid sign-off from Lord Hermer on a Friday night.

Interestingly, the CPS were not as efficient in the prosecution of Kneecap rapper Mo Chandra: they were a day late in securing the Attorney General’s consent, a failure that ultimately caused the case to collapse.

Watch General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, Lord Young, outside the Ministry of Justice 👇

[Martin Lewis @MartinSLewis]

Just had one of those somewhat depressing reminders of the capriciousness of life. It's absolutely pouring, and I stopped to chat to a homeless chap (who'll remain anonymous), I often pass on my way to work, chat with and help out.

He had a friend with him, also homeless, and when he realised it was me, wanted to ask a question... to be honest I wasn't expecting it to be about pension tracing.

Turned out he was an ex-soldier, been on the streets a few years, but had lots of jobs in the past, and lots of pensions, including some final salary. We went through how to trace them and how to get help and he took notes.

I asked his age, and was disappointed to find he was only 48, so still far away from being able to get succour from the money that is hopefully in those pensions. He was happy though, to know there was a way to find the money he had sitting somewhere.

I've been thinking about it since. In a way he has money, but no money and no home. He served our country but now sits huddled under the overhang of a street to keep a bit drier.

We discussed shelters and charities that could help, but he was resistant, he didn't like the pressure or mixing in that way.

There is no denouement to this post. No stark moral message. I just thought it worth noting.