We still know far too little about what happened at the Park Inn, but we know enough to be careful & considerate in our approach. This isn't a story, these are real people with families. There've been heightened racial tensions in Glasgow recently, we can't let this inflame them
Exclusive: The Scottish Greens have expelled a number of members who declared "sex is a biological reality".
An official complaint accused them of making the party less safe for trans and non-binary members.
Dreadful news here as Edinburgh's Filmhouse and the Edinburgh International Film Festival, as well as the Belmont in Aberdeen, cease trading immediately. Yes, rising energy bills is a named factor
Having been moved over by Ofgem after my gas & electricity provider collapsed,
@BritishGas
had this in store for me.
I had been paying just over £90 so this is 5.8 times more and I look forward to calling them tomorrow.
#CheckYourBills
, folks
Truss entered today to an M People song and proceeded to hail Suella Braverman's forthcoming legislation on asylum and Rwanda. Here's M People singer Heather Small in August
We're moving on up! It's absolutely brilliant to see Heather Small, UK soul star and former M-People lead singer, supporting our
#StopRwanda
campaign. To have the backing of someone like Heather means everything to us – and to the refugees we're campaigning for.
Really quite something to hear departing Tory MP Nicholas Soames, a man who woofed at Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh in a Commons debate 2 years ago, sadly telling the BBC how that parliament has lately become 'a rougher, coarser place'
What is debated or not debated in the House of Commons speaks volumes about UK principles and priorities. There are volumes written between the lines in this answer to
@TanDhesi
on
#FarmersProtests
Over 100,000, incredibly from all 650
#UK
constituencies (inc 3K+ from Slough), signed online petition;
adding to 100+ MPs who wrote to PM.
Given arrests of journalists and activists like
#NodeepKaur
, need Parliament debate ASAP on
#FarmersProtest
-largest protest on the planet.
Jagtar Singh Johal has been detained & awaiting trial for years. Will Boris Johnson's current visit to India mark a turning point?
#FreeJaggiNow
campaign is urging him to act
Brother of British national, Jagtar Singh Johal, wrongly detained and tortured in India has a message for
@BorisJohnson
as he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “Please bring my brother back home.”
#FreeJaggiNow
The claims in this story were verified by several sources before publication two days ago. There has been no public rejection of any of these allegations since then. Questions of transparency and accountability remain.
This is at almost £21k now. The reason I think that matters is that the immigration system may not have cared about
#MercyBaguma
and her child, but 1400 donors do. What a senseless loss:
From the beginning, there was concern that Jagtar Singh Johal's case wouldn't conclude quickly. Yet it's still hard to believe the
#FreeJaggiNow
campaign is today entering its fourth year. How much longer?
From the manner of arrest to alleged torture, constant delay and shock new charges, this case has many troubling features but *somehow* doesn't get the coverage you'd expect for a UK national. It's been almost 3.5 years
Jagtar Singh Johal was tortured. He shouldn't be facing the threat of a death sentence in India today. He should be back home in Dumbarton, Scotland. The UK needs to speak up for Jagtar.
#FreeJaggiNow
#FreeJaggi
👉🏾
Not giving away any secrets when I say this 👇 went down pretty well today. Interaction rate through the roof and lots of positive feedback from sometimes unexpected places. Well done team 💪
#buyapaper
Tomorrow's front page: This is where we would have reported on Theresa May's visit to Scotland. We were barred from her press conference with the other newspapers, so we have refused to cover it.
Back from a wee walk where I've been musing on
#SPE21result
, particularly Moray. Given
#Brexit
support here and the shift to the Tories in 2017, Richard Lochhead's hold for the SNP would be notable anyway - but he increased his majority with a swing from the Tories to the SNP.
Thank you to everyone who spoke to me for this piece. I'd be grateful if you'd read it. In Dungavel detention centre, there's a man who has lived in the UK for 16 years and wants you to know what has happened to him:
Scottish Parliament history - Kaukab Stewart is the first ever BAME woman to become an MSP (she's won in Glasgow Kelvin for the SNP). This is a properly historic moment.
#SP21
🚨A wee bit of personal news: I've finished up at The National and Sunday National and am delighted to be joining
@HolyroodDaily
as of March 7. Will be in touch with contacts, but you can always get me on here and via the usual number - look forward to chatting
Jagtar Singh Johal had chilli paneer with his family for his 30th birthday. That was 5 years ago and today he turns 35 in a cell far from home, still awaiting trial after more than 4 years imprisonment. This is what
@FreeJaggiNow
campaign is doing:
2/5: Members had signed the Scottish Green Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights. It said (among other things): "Women, as a sex, are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation & their empowerment is essential to our work as environmentalists"
Just got an alert about a likely
#Omicron
case in my kids' school. We've not been contacted as close contacts and don't live in Glasgow (but still in NHSGGC area). This strain is travelling and we all need to do our bit to stop the spread. If you're not exempt, please
#WearAMask
A big 'hiya' to everyone voting for the first time today - let's all use our votes
#ScottishElections2021
Sudanese refugee will be the 'happiest man' when he votes in first Scottish election
4/5: The complaint against members said they "MUST be removed from the party with immediate effect, to ensure the safety of all trans and non-binary members".
One member told me that anyone who tries to raise the issue is "hounded out".
Thanks to
@DerekMackaySNP
for a frank and revealing interview about experiencing childhood homelessness, coming out and the 'art of the can-do' - Derek Mackay: 10 things that have changed my life
Instagram removed the
@FreeJaggiNow
page without warning or explanation: 'Censorship' as Instagram removes campaign to free
#Scottish
man held without trial in
#India
5/5 The Scottish Greens said: "We hope this decisive action will send a clear message that we stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community now and forever"
I bet homeschooling, done properly, is lovely. We've been back in 'class' less than a day and I'm ready to pull the plug on remote learning. Juggling full-time work with this is nigh-on impossible.
JAGGI ARRESTED & TAKEN FOR INTERROGATION
@FreeJaggiNow
revealed
#JagtarSinghJohal
was arrested today & taken for interrogation RE a crime that happened whilst he was in prison.
Historically, torture occurs in police custody, prompting concern for Jaggi's safety.
#FreeJaggiNow
A good few of these tweets doing the round from ministers inc Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab - No 10 clearly working hard to win public sympathy for an indefensible breach of its own rules
📢We believe the Government has failed to make the case for repealing and replacing the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights in the form proposed. We've written to
@DominicRaab
with our concerns.
Read the full letter:
#ScottishElections2021
- anyone still waiting to vote, you've half an hour. Anyone in a queue by 10pm will be able to cast their vote so stick with it - it's your future!
And architect and accountant and senior lecturer and...
#HighlySkilledMigrants
MPs hear tales of 'lives ruined by the Home Office' – including IT expert
Publicly interrogating misogynistic abuse online - in the course of her duties - saw a woman MP need police at her surgery. It's 2019 and true equality for women is nowhere near to being achieved.
I look forward to my male colleagues quoted in this article being equally condemnatory of the vile misogyny on
@twitter
which has so escalated that I had to have a police escort at my constituency surgery after I called it out at
@HumanRightsCtte
#onlineabuse
How would you cope if your husband was imprisoned for two years without trial? Thanks to the wife of Scot-in-India Jagtar Singh Johal for sharing her story as she begins her own legal battle with the UK Government:
Ian Blackford wants to know about peerages for MPs, particularly Alister Jack. "The Prime Minister clearly doesn't get how corrupt this all looks... the Scotland Office is now to be led by a Baron-in-waiting"
#PMQs
Can we stop the paternalism on
#EqualPayGlasgow
? Every woman I spoke to today was clear - this isn't a political issue (SNP v Labour) for them. They voted to strike. This talk of puppets/kids - why don't we trust working class women to know their own minds?
#GlasgowWomensStrike
First
#Waspi
, now this - no wonder so many older women feel ignored, overlooked and angry.
Thousands lose out in Westminster's £1bn pension scandal caused by outdated IT
The Jagtar Singh Johal case has always been extraordinary. That the new revelations are seeing a unified response from across politics shows how important this development is
Jagtar Singh Johal: UK Government under pressure over India 'collusion' claims
"There have been so many mentions of ‘we’, ‘the nation’ or ‘the country’ all in reference to England, you would need Carol Vorderman on hand to work out the total":
@GavNewlandsSNP
's letter toTV bosses on 'completely England-centric coverage' of Euros
Gobsmacking - "This clause would give Priti Patel unprecedented power to remove your citizenship in secret, without even having to tell you, and effectively deny you an appeal."
Rishi Sunak has confirmed July 4 for the general election. But with the stereo on full blast and the rain pelting onto his shoulders, he's done so with zero gravitas
27years ago today I was chased, attacked & my teeth smashed out by Glasgow Police & told ‘This is what happens to black boys with big mouths’- took me 4years to win in court, but since then I have learned Freedom & Justice not handed to you, you must always fight for it✊🏽🎗
THE head of the civil service has been asked to investigate data breaches within the UK Government after the personal concerns of an MSP's constituent were leaked to a Tory MP by the
#Brexit
department:
And now the Sikh community in Scotland, which sent food to hospitals and set up food banks last year, is reeling: "The community has gone above and beyond in contributing to the country... Many of us feel let down. We have got to fight back"
'an open prison' - one highly skilled migrant on the impact of visa battle. So many now waiting on outcome of
@sajidjavid
review into 'bad character' clause 322.5
Strong stuff from
@DerekMackaySNP
today - Whitehall 'doesn't get' devolution,
#Holyrood
is treated 'as a sub-department to be managed' and the fiscal framework isn't set up to cope with a hard
#Brexit
: SNP says UK Government 'doesn't get devolution'
Thanks to everyone who gave me their time and thoughts at today's
#indyref2020
. I'm typing up umpteen pages of shorthand notes now as we put tomorrow's
@SunScotNational
together
We did it! Some sound issues at the start, but thanks to everyone who came along to
@ScotNational
’s first ever independence rally. What an amazing day. Now sign up to support us so we can do more!
UK citizen Jagtar Singh Johal now reports symptoms of
#COVID19
but has not been tested, his brother says. Jaggi has rarely been allowed to speak with his family during his 3.5 year detention in India.
Priti Patel has a message for the Kenmure Street protesters who stopped a Home Office immigration raid - but she's delivered it in a speech at a Tory think-tank event. So who is this message really for and what is it really saying?
Alok Sharma's symptoms aren't funny. This is a dreadful virus and he's in at least a couple high risk groups (male, BAME). This is why so many MPs didn't want to go back yet. Many will now have to self-isolate for 14 days but all will be hoping he's OK. Don't joke about it.
I'm pleasantly surprised to have been shortlisted in a couple of categories in the Scottish Press Awards. One of the pieces I entered was this one about Heyam Srour. She was a very special woman so this is for her:
Incredibly powerful testimony from asylum seekers and a damning indictment of a failing system at the launch of the independent inquiry by Baroness Helena Kennedy for
@refugee4justice
My last exclusive of 2018 is about a case I've been following since 2017. Will
#Dumbarton
man Jagtar Singh Johal still be in pre-trial detention in
#India
this time next year? His lawyer told me the UK government must help him.
#FreeJaggiNow
As a new parent, I had this whimsical idea that putting my kids to bed would be a warm and fuzzy experience but it has now been 13 years of abject fuckabouttery and I simply don’t know what I was thinking
Anyone who expected a one-note speech from
@NicolaSturgeon
there will be disappointed - moves to regulate
#airbnb
lets, funding for families, deposit help for first time buyers of up to £25k, declaration of a
#ClimateEmergency
as well as determined
#indyref2
push