Alex Salmond - court case concluded

[Tangled Metal]

And the snp website is starting to remove any reference to his role in the lead up to the indy ref too. The SNP don't want to associate now. Are they in on the conspiracy? I wouldn't put it past Sturgeon (the cut price Merkel). Would you?

It's all fishy if you ask me!

[Ben@Forest]

Salmond is not a force in Scottish politics anymore. The independence refendum was lost, he is not the leader and he lost his Westminster seat in 2017. He has also taken flak for broadcasting for RT. Why would there be a conspiracy to bring him down now?

Furthermore anyone making conspiracy allegations may be contributing to the culture of disbelief surrounding sexual misconduct. I'm sure that if Salmond is found guilty they'll all come back on here and apologise profusely.

No.... thought not.

[Canuk]

Salmond is not a force in Scottish politics anymore. The independence refendum was lost, he is not the leader and he lost his Westminster seat in 2017. He has also taken flak for broadcasting for RT. Why would there be a conspiracy to bring him down now?

Furthermore anyone making conspiracy allegations may be contributing to the culture of disbelief surrounding sexual misconduct. I'm sure that if Salmond is found guilty they'll all come back on here and apologise profusely.

No.... thought not.

I have no doubt that Salmond is being tried justly for the crimes he is accused of, and that the law and legal probity is being upheld. Also that the outcome of the trial will not be biased in any way by politics or political interference.

Its the timing that I find suspicious. Right before a major vote in Parliament and just two months before a potential crash out no deal, which Sturgeon will absolutely capitolise upon to leverage Scottish independence. The crimes were allegedly committed 5 years ago...

[pwa]

Whatever the truth behind the allegations against him, Alex Salmond is a very well known person with some sort of celebrity status and it would be extremely odd if this hadn't made the front page, just as it does when the alleged perpetrator is a Corry star.

I'm disappointed that he has these allegations against him because I have always quite liked the Alex Salmond I've seen on TV. Intelligent, witty, tends to answer questions... But if he does turn out to be guilty, I hope he gets what he deserves. We will see.

[Oldjohnw]

I doubt it is conspiracy: just ordinary, dirty politics. At least with the SNP. Scottish Courts and due process work reliably.

[pwa]

How can a politician be held accountable for alleged crimes if doing that results in folk saying it is politically motivated? We are not Donald Trumps and we don't believe in that garbage. This is the police and the Scottish judicial system doing a job they ought to be doing, without fear or favour.

[Tangled Metal]

Salmond is not a force in Scottish politics anymore. The independence refendum was lost, he is not the leader and he lost his Westminster seat in 2017. He has also taken flak for broadcasting for RT. Why would there be a conspiracy to bring him down now?

Furthermore anyone making conspiracy allegations may be contributing to the culture of disbelief surrounding sexual misconduct. I'm sure that if Salmond is found guilty they'll all come back on here and apologise profusely.

No.... thought not.

I hope you didn't take my post as making allegations of conspiracy. I was trying to take the mick out of that idea. My humour works for me but I don't know any everyone else!

Personally I wonder what this case has to do with the Westminster vote next week. Sturgeon has no say in that vote directly. It's a UK wide issue but this case is Scottish and more specifically about the individuals concerned. Shouldn't be a political matter just a law and order matter.

[Ben@Forest]

Its the timing that I find suspicious. Right before a major vote in Parliament and just two months before a potential crash out no deal, which Sturgeon will absolutely capitolise upon to leverage Scottish independence. The crimes were allegedly committed 5 years ago...

The Westminster timetable can hardly be planned for by the Procurator Fiscal. Under different circumstances the Brexit deal would have been signed.by now. And if the authorities had decided to wait after all the administration was lined up that would be politically motivated.

I don't think Salmond would have enough clout to change people's minds anyway; the faithful will love him but for everyone else his star has waned.

[Canuk]

As I predicted last night the conspiracy machine has gone into full swing on the usual suspects websites. I expect video experts 'explaining' it to us on YouTube in the next few days.

Trial by online conspiracy theorists. Like I said none of this concerned me in the slightest till yesterday. And like they say in politics, there's no such thing as coincidence.

All that said, ever since Lockerbie there seems to have been a large cloud over the link between politics and Police Scotland and the Scottish courts

[Tangled Metal]

Why do you go to those outlets? It sounds like you don't like conspiracies but you're visiting sites and watching videos about them. Why? Why give these people air?

[thirdcrank]

... it was replaced by the Venezuelan crisis about 7am ...

On yesterday's BBC evening news, Venezuela was covered by a graphic of a map of South America with that country highlighted, then cut to our own correspondent with the White House as a backdrop.

[Canuk]

Why do you go to those outlets? It sounds like you don't like conspiracies but you're visiting sites and watching videos about them. Why? Why give these people air?

Why do I go to them? I don't. They just exist and they pop up in news feeds and YouTube recommended viewing all over the world. I'm aware of conspiracy theorists and to be fair not all of them are far off the mark, nor crackpots. I cite David Icke's predicted downfall of Jimmy Saville (and the reason why) some 8 years before the event. I count myself lucky as having a sense of reason and discernment, able to make my own mind up. Some people are not so fortunate.

IMO there is something rotten at the core of Scottish law and policing. I could cite several examples here but like you say, why add fuel to conspiracies when reality is probably more bizarre.

[Canuk]

... it was replaced by the Venezuelan crisis about 7am ...

On yesterday's BBC evening news, Venezuela was covered by a graphic of a map of South America with that country highlighted, then cut to our own correspondent with the White House as a backdrop.

No such thing as coincidence

[bikepacker]

++1 ... It's almost as if "someone" is keeping past misdemeanours in a bag waiting to pounce at the right time .....

A charming fellow to be sure, but not my cup of tea.

I once met him at a wedding in Banff and found him to be anything but charming.

[Ben@Forest]

++1 ... It's almost as if "someone" is keeping past misdemeanours in a bag waiting to pounce at the right time .....

A charming fellow to be sure, but not my cup of tea.

I once met him at a wedding in Banff and found him to be anything but charming.

I think all successful politicians have to be superficially charming. As Bob Monkhouse said, 'Sincerety. Once you can fake that you can do anything'. Politicians may be charming and sincere, but in private are neither (of course this applies in many trades, not just politics).