Steve McAslan

That's why you don't like hats?

[Steve McAslan @foldedSoul]

@ScotRail What’s happening on the Neilston to Glasgow line. Announcements are inaudible, no update on app.

[Steve McAslan @foldedSoul]

@agadmator Spectacular incompetence. Now two more world titles are made meaningless.

[MSM Monitor @msm_monitor]

We've just been passed the BBC's response to a complaint after Good Morning Scotland concealed an academic's links to Labour during an interview about the winter fuel payment and a warning from Age Scotland. We've reproduced the complaint and response below. We've also included the full interview. There's something untoward at play here.

The complaint:
Good Morning Scotland conducted an interview with professor June Andrews. The interview centred around the cut to the winter fuel payment and had been prompted by criticism by Age Scotland of the UK Labour Govt's decision to cut the benefit. The charity had claimed that cutting the benefit would see more old people admitted to hospital with hypothermia.

The interview was conducted by Laura Maxwell who introduced the academic as follows "Well Professor June Andrews is an expert in the care of older people."

The academic challenged Age Scotland's claims and backed Labour's decision to cut the benefit. Professor Andrews views were later used on the programme to challenge Scottish Govt minister Ivan McKee.

The academic was presented as someone with no political allegiances or viewpoints. This was far from the truth. Professor June Andrews is a Labour supporter and party activist who makes no attempt to hide her political allegiance.

A quick glance at her social media profile - publicly available at the time of the interview - makes this clear, with post after post promoting tweets from senior Labour party figures. The academic tweeted an image during the recent general election campaign showing her with other Labour party activists as they campaigned for Labour candidate Gregor Poynton.

Section 4.3.12 of the BBC Guidelines states 'We should not automatically assume that contributors from other organisations (such as academics, journalists, researchers and representatives of charities and think-tanks) are unbiased. Appropriate information about their affiliations, funding and particular viewpoints should be made available to the audience, when relevant to the context.'

Professor June Andrews was far from unbiased. Good Morning Scotland should have told listeners that the academic was a Labour party activist and supporter. In failing to do so the programme breached Section 4.3.12 of the BBC Guidelines. A public apology is merited.

The response:
We note your comments regarding Good Morning Scotland on 28 October and the interview with Prof June Andrews.

As you mention, Prof Andrews was introduced as an “an expert in the care of older people” and was being interviewed for her view in this capacity, following Age Scotland’s claim that the cutting of the universal winter fuel benefit for pensioners will see more old people admitted to hospital with hypothermia. 

Prof Andrews, given her area of expertise, has been a contributor on a number of occasions to items regarding the care of older people and was again introduced in this context, with a range of views on the subject heard within the wider programme – this included hearing directly from Scottish Government minister Ivan McKee, as you say.

While we wouldn’t agree with a suggestion that simply holding any political views was a requisite for such an introduction, given the capacity in which Prof Andrews was invited onto the programme to speak, we would suggest that the conveyance to listeners of any political views that a contributor may hold is not limited to how a guest is introduced; for example, there is the opportunity within the line of questioning and by any political points being scrutinised and challenged – accepting that, in a live interview, in keeping the interview and programme on track, it isn’t always possible to challenge a guest on every point they’ve made and that it may be a subsequent interview or similar piece of our output that provides for other views and points to be put across.

We note your call for a public apology but don’t believe it is merited here. We would, however, remind our teams of the merit of identifying and challenging, there and then, political points made during interviews. Thank you again for getting in touch.

[Alex Salmond @AlexSalmond]

It is designed to diminish the status of our Parliament and the First Minister. Part of becoming independent is about thinking independently, not subserviently. John should have politely declined the meeting with the words “Scotland is a country not a county”. (5/5)

[Both sides of the Tweed @Dr_W_E_Bulmer]

The 'Council of Nations and Regions' has one Scottish and one Welsh representative out of 18. This shows the ridiculousness of any scheme that treats the nations of Scotland and Wales on a par, not with England, but with individual English city-regions.

[Steve McAslan @foldedSoul]

@LouiseWoolley6 It’s lovely. From Michael Nyman’s soundtrack to the movie The Piano - “The Heart Asks Pleasure First”. The melody is an old Scottish tune normally sung to the song Gloomy Winter’s noo awa’.

[Alan Ferrier @alanferrier]

In 2014 NE Scotland was promised a carbon-capture facility "as part of campaign against independence".

This commitment evaporated following the "No" vote.

Now we learn that £22bn will be invested in two "carbon capture clusters" on Merseyside & Teesside.
https://t.co/CIENt6SqSu

[Dr Paul Monaghan @_PaulMonaghan]

The massive investment in new localised infrastructure in London has transformed the Highlands of Scotland.

[Stephen Flynn @StephenFlynnSNP]

Scottish Labour are going to be absolutely furious when they realise that Scottish Labour have backed every cut made by UK Labour.

[MSM Monitor @msm_monitor]

Ignore the Indyref revisionism that's taking place on Good Morning Scotland. The truth is that the Union was saved in the final weeks by a propaganda blitz by the BBC and its Scottish sock-puppets.

This broadcast from Sept 11th, 2014 sums it up perfectly.

[Forbes Masson @forbesmasson]

Dear Air Scotia passengers, we are pleased to announce the imminent arrival of #TheHighLife original series at gate @BBCiPlayer Please have your boarding cards ready and be prepared to be impishly insulted by our cabin crew #ohdearieme ✈️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 https://t.co/tI60RTKuSe

[polo5 @poloandsons]

Reports are coming in that Police Scotland are currently seeing a spike in activity from agitators desperate to kickstart far-right riots in Scotland.
Most activity seems to be centred on the building below.

[polo5 @poloandsons]

Potential tourists will see this photo and think it's Scotland.
The BBC is now choosing to damage Scottish tourism.
This is what an enemy would do.

[Steve McAslan @foldedSoul]

@nee_massey thoroughly enjoyed your walking tour and your Sermon on the Round here. Made a great end to a fantastic weekend. My proud Southsider’s badge is intact since I didn’t know that it was the Western Baths!!

[Steve McAslan @foldedSoul]

@AndySaunders_1 @penguinrandom Ooooh, can’t wait!

[Tom French @tomfrench85]

The SNP repeatedly warned the Labour Party would have to make around £18bn of cuts or tax rises because of its damaging decision to copy Tory fiscal rules and spending plans.

Labour flatly denied this. They promised voters there would be no cuts.

Now they admit there will be 🥀

[Tom French @tomfrench85]

“Five days before the election, Gordon Brown instructed voters to back Labour to end child poverty.

“Yet, last night, Labour MPs in Scotland were instructed to retain the two child cap, which forces children into poverty.

“Prime Minister, what changed?” @StephenFlynnSNP #PMQs

[MSM Monitor @msm_monitor]

John Swinney visited St Fergus in Aberdeenshire to announce funding for a Carbon Capture project. BBC Scotland sent a camera crew, not to cover the funding announcement - it ignored that - but to confront the FM about a possible council worker strike.

BBC Scotland does this regularly. It's a political outlet, not a news outlet.

[Steve McAslan @foldedSoul]

I rated MaXXXine (2024) 8/10 #IMDb Superb conclusion to the trilogy. Does flag a little towards the end but delivers in spades before that https://t.co/aKTWHmh2wW

[Mark Donaldson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @DonaldsonESPN]

It’s coming home 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿