When They Decide to Get You 484


Alex Salmond’s jeopardy has caused me a dreadful shudder of recognition and empathy. I too was accused of hideous offences under a civil service disciplinary code and barred from taking any action to defend myself. I was not allowed to speak to anybody at all about the charges, and particularly not allowed to know the identity of my accusers, or to organise witnesses in my defence – which appears the exact procedure which Alex Salmond now, with absolute justice, complains of. These Civil Service disciplinary investigations are contrary to all rules of natural justice, and designed to facilitate executive stitch-ups, not to uncover the truth.

As with Alex Salmond, some of the accusations against me were hideous – offering visas in exchange for sex, for example. They were so hideous that the mental anguish of not being permitted to take any normal steps to defend myself caused me a mental breakdown. I know what Salmond must be feeling. I received psychiatric treatment in St Thomas’ Hospital for a condition called “learnt helplessness” – meaning it was the dreadful experience of having things done to me which I was not permitted to take any normal steps to counter, which caused my clinical depression.

The charges against me were entirely fake and entirely vexatious, even malicious, issued after I had objected to British complicity in torture in the “War on Terror”, which the government denied at the time, calling me a liar, though now admits. The charges were designed to destroy my reputation. You can read the full story in my book “Murder in Samarkand”, widely available in libraries. I believe it conveys the anguish that “learnt helplessness” can cause.

To be plain, I was told not to reveal the existence of the charges to anybody at all and specifically forbidden from contacting witnesses. Nevertheless the charges were such obvious nonsense they eventually collapsed and I was found not guilty of all eighteen charges – but found guilty of breaking the order to keep the charges secret, in organising my defence. Not keeping the charges secret is the only disciplinary offence of which I was ever convicted.

The extreme Kafkaesque nature of this is only increased by the fact that the government themselves had revealed the charges in the widest possible manner, by leaking them to the Daily Mail, in the effort to permanently ruin my reputation. A number of the charges were sexual, such as having a secret flat to entertain prostitutes – again, totally untrue, but great for the tabloids. The use of false sexual allegations to destroy threats to the political elite is routinely deployed – Alex Salmond joins Julian Assange, Tommy Sheridan (whose recent court victories against the Murdoch press went totally unreported), Scott Ritter and myself among recent victims of this tactic.

There is one important difference between Alex Salmond’s case and my own – I requested several times that my case be referred for police investigation but the FCO refused, whereas the Salmond allegations have been referred. The case of Michelle Thomson, the entirely innocent former MP whose career was deliberately destroyed by Police Scotland keeping an investigation open for years into simple matters that could have been cleared up in a week, makes this a limited comfort. I don’t doubt we will see years of this nonsense against Salmond before it is finally dismissed.

“Safe” members of the establishment elite can conduct the most blatant of crimes and never get prosecuted at all. The late Tessa Jowell engaged repeatedly and personally in blatant money laundering of crooked Berlusconi funds that would have had anyone but a senior politician locked up. Amber Rudd was a Director of a share ramping scheme that ripped off hundreds of investors. Michelle Mone is currently engaged in a Ponzi scheme badly disguised as a crypto-currency. None of those will be prosecuted.

I would suggest that the financial affairs of the vast majority of the wealthy and powerful would not stand up to close investigation and scrutiny. But in the normal course of events the powerful are shielded from such scrutiny. Paul Manafort’s financial dealings would have been actionable at any time in the last few decades. It is only when caught in the mass fishing expedition of the Mueller “Russiagate” investigation that he gets convicted – for matters nothing to do with the ostensible reason for the investigation. Which is not to say the convictions are a bad thing, just that if you scratch below the surface of any multi-millionaire or any friend of the powerful, you will be able to convict them. They should all be scratched, not just those whom other wealthy individuals regard as a threat to the political order.

Prosecution is not happening in the Manafort case from motives of preventing financial impropriety of the rich – 99.9% of that is overlooked, all the time. It is happening because for some reason the neo-conservative Establishment in the United States continue to see Donald Trump as a threat. What I do not understand is why they see Trump as a threat to Establishment interests, as he has given no indication he means to follow through on any of his anti-establishment or non-interventionist campaign rhetoric. The Establishment are not those who should feel threatened by Trump.


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484 thoughts on “When They Decide to Get You

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  • Tony_0pmoc

    Personally, I didn’t care that much either way on the result of the Scottish Referendum. All I really wanted to see was a true democratic vote implemented. I did a straw poll in my local pub, and the overwhelming opinion, was that if the Scottish want to have their own Independence, then that’s fine with me – typically phrased if The Scottish want to Go their own way then Great. Most are whingeing miserable bastards, who hate the English, and always support whatever team is playing England. They never support us, They can Fck Off.

    As I had nothing much better to do, I followed the proceedings, as closely as I could objectively without actually being in Scotland where we got married.

    On the day of the referendum, all the available live feedback was overwhelmingly in favour of Scottish Independence.

    I watched the count, and the subsequent videos posted over the next few days.

    I was almost totally convinced that Yes Won for Scottish Independence, but that the Result was Bent to No, by massive corruption of the postal vote by the Intelligence Services, together with massive corruption by many of the vote counters, who were largely Scottish Labour Party supporters.

    I reckon you were robbed.

    Much the same happenned with the BREXIT vote, but the Intelligence Services thought the Jo Cox Death – was enough to get the result, and they didn’t quite try hard enough to “Fix” the actual vote. I was totally Amazed the following morning at the Result.

    Tony

    • Nick

      Tony, thanks, interesting post. My own personal experiences would agree with that. It does appear that trust in authority has taken a massive beating recently.

      I often thought that the internet – very arguably a tool for control – evolved in ways in which people (especially at the top, who understand and control many things, but not computers) failed to anticipate.

    • ADHD

      Hi Tony,

      Normally I don’t post unless I have something I want to disagree with or wanted to add something. But, this your post just gave me so much food for thought I just wanted to thank you for putting it up.

    • JOML

      Tony, I agree with your post, bar “Most are whingeing miserable bastards, who hate the English, and always support whatever team is playing England. They never support us, They can Fck Off.”
      This stereotypical pish, although undoubtedly there will be a few who do fit that description, although I would argue they are in the minority – and probably unlikely to vote!
      I’m sorry you appear to have had such a bad experience of Scottish people but, personally, I haven’t based my opinion of the English on their stereotypical football fans. Hope your future experiences are better. In the meantime, hope you enjoy this… a Scottish-English combo!
      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnzpg5GgQCo

  • Cesca

    Sorry if any1 else has posted this vid, it proves JC was talking about a particular group of Zionists and there was NOTHING anti-semitic about what he said. His speech begins at 7.04 ending about 14.20, it’s a great speech too: Britains Legacy in Palestine Conference – part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBouC-XpJx4

  • Observer

    If you were burgled way back in 2013, could you wait till 2017 to report it? Would you?

      • Observer

        Am i correct in my understanding that the alleged events took place in 2013, but were not brought to formal investigation till 2017?

        • Nick

          I think you are correct in your understanding. At least I don’t think you’d say it without these facts in your corner.

          If you were saying why not immediately? Now that’s another interesting question, but it doesn’t invalidate the accusation.

          • Observer

            I’m not sure the accusation is ‘valid’ at all, but if she/they sat on their hands mulling it over for four years, it is very suspect, irrational behaviour in my reading. Isn’t that why we have police stations and officers on duty 24/7×365?

          • Paul Barbara

            @ Observer August 25, 2018 at 22:15
            There are certain organisations, often so-called ‘Security Services’, which make it their job to amass compromising information on politicians and other high-profile people. Often they will ‘create’, or at least facilitate, the ‘compromising information’ (Kincora Boys School). They will have this info on their files, for the time when it may be useful to blackmail the person, or destroy their reputation. Eazy-peazy.
            Had the person victimised, such as a lady being taken advantage of, tried to blow the whistle when the incident occurred, she may have come up against police stonewalling (as the accused was not at that time seen as a threat by the PTB).
            She may have even been threatened herself, to keep quiet.
            But as time goes by, the perp becomes a perceived threat to the PTB, so the lady in question is sought out and ‘persuaded’ to bring charges.
            A possible scenario? I would say an extremely likely one.

        • Cynicus

          “Am i correct in my understanding that the alleged events took place in 2013, but were not brought to formal investigation till 2017?”
          ——-
          That is my understanding too. Perhaps the reason is the new, zero- tolerance policy of Nicola Sturgeon on sexual harassment provided a newer, looser investigatory framework?

    • stu mac

      @Paul Barbara
      The abuse at Kincora Boys Home was kept under wraps for years by the Secret Services as it provided them with useful blackmail material on some politicians. That shows how they will stoop to anything, absolutely evil. One spook, Colin Wallace found it too much and attempted to report it but found himself framed for a killing. (See Paul Foot’s book “Who Framed Colin Wallace?”)

  • squirrel

    Craig, if you do not understand why the establishment feel threatened by Trump (which they do), perhaps it is you who is not fully cognisant of the game.

    • Nick

      I’m going to shut up after this, I promise. But why is ooh say for example, US nationalism is bad, but Scottish nationalism good?

      • JOML

        Nick, I don’t think Scottish nationalism involves bombing other countries, screwing trade through sanctions, etc. Can you not see the difference?

        • Nick

          JOML, I promised to shut up, and have already broken my promise. There’s a definite difference between a nuclear world super-power and Scotland.

          Let me ask you this question: if an alternate reality produced a pre-eminent Scottish power, would it more be moral than than the current US?

          • JOML

            I don’t know, Nick, but I’d hope it would be different. However, given Scotland is a small country of 5-6 million people, I can guarantee it would not cause the same death and destruction the US has brought and bringing to this world. I hope this makes sense to you.

          • Nick

            JOML, I’d hope so too. I’m just throwing it out there. My last contentious comment before I crash out: Isn’t Trump a little bit Scottish?

          • Nick

            JOML – I watched that video, thank you enjoyed it.

            Scotland is indeed a beautiful country.

      • Tom Platt

        Civic nationalism, a form of nationalism whereby the people who are best placed to run a country are the people who live and work there, is being advocated by SNP, Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour for Independence, Scottish Libertarians, SSP, Solidarity etc. How this very democratic Scottish Civic Nationalism compares with US Nationalism depends what you mean by US Nationalism Nick.

        • Nick

          Tom, I’m actually not sure what I meant last night. My head is a wee bit fuzzy this morning. 😉

          Good point – I would add it seems to me that it is the idea of exceptionalism which is the dangerous difference.

          • Jo1

            “I’m actually not sure what I meant…”
            Some of us figured as much last night Nick. ?

        • Dave

          Civic nationalism can work if there is a shared culture with a predominant ethnic group, but not otherwise because it will result in a schism, because ethnicity is part of your cultural identity too. But civic nationalism still needs to be culturally exclusive to stay united, that is, it has to drop multi-culturalism if not multi-racialism. Put another way if the immigration to London had gone to Scotland instead, civic nationalism wouldn’t survive, but different forms of separatism would emerge.

      • ADHD

        US nationalism is fine and so is Scottish nationalism. The US is really an imperial power, though (that’s not so good). US imperialism is bad and Scottish imperialism would also be bad (although, it might be nice to see the world wearing kilts instead of slacks for a change).

  • Gordon walker

    I totally understand having been arrested charged and found guilty of theft that was entirely false . Whilst trying to clear my name quietly I have yet to do so . It is my reputation they were after you become invisible. The press social work even my own lawyers stated I had confessed to the theft . Bail conditions restricted my chances and I found that police and those investigation only put to getter a prosecution case .justice is a joke the legal system is flawed and punishment dished out not relative to the crime . Saying it’s a set up gets you know where . I was a broken man for a while but have bounced back realising that they try an silence you because of your strength. I remain resilient . The Alex affair is dreadful throwing a great man to the dogs . He is well known. I was really nobody. But these events have shown me that others ruin lives deliberately the system including sherif court justice in Scotland police and soft police social workers. Have a script to go in every situation. Believe the accuser .vilify the accused . Aided of course by exaggerating press . Good luck of course. Keep speaking up .

  • E

    For this news to be broken on Aug 24th, when it was known and planned to release the first of the no deal technical notices, is beyond suspicious and cannot be coincidence. It’s hard to overstate the significance of those notices, and what they might mean for brexit, May’s government and ultimately the unity of the UK. And yet there has been some sort of media blackout or smokescreen surely as the news has all been about salmond

  • Charles Bostock

    Why do so many commenters appear to find Mr Salmond innocent of the charges at this stage of proceedings?

    Is that attitude not as reprehensible as the attitude which says “he is guilty” at this stage of proceedings?

    Not only reprehensible but also intellectually challenged and deeply dishonest.

    • George

      Innocent until proven guilty. Otherwise it’s a witch hunt. But you already know that.

    • Jo1

      Charles
      Many commentators here have pointed out the clear issues with these developments. I am in that group. I believe in a fair system for situations like this and, so far, this new system at Holyrood seems highly flawed to me. And, just to be clear, I would take the same approach no matter the political persuasion of the person at the centre of such a disgraceful process.

      When serious allegations are made no advantage should be given to either side. In this case the accuser is favoured indeed if the accused is actively prevented by the civil service from access to all facts and when witnesses for the accused are ignored by the senior civil servant leading the investigation.

      When, in the light of that, the accused seeks to delay publication of the allegations, via a legitimate process because he has been unable to access all of the detail he is entitled to, he should surely not then be publicly accused, by the lead investigator, of trying to “gag” her! The highly charged language used by Leslie Evans is hostile and inexcusable given her senior position. More importantly, it is absolutely prejudicial to the case and, in my view, she should be disciplined for bringing her office into disrepute as she has clearly failed to show impartiality.

      Rather than see what has happened here, it is a pity the Scottish media prefers, instead, to wet itself in the excitement of having Salmond on the rack.

      What is also clear is that, in what was supposed to be a confidential investigation, someone is leaking details of it to the press. (In case you’re unsure, that is a serious offence.)

      So, all in all, I may be “making” judgments about this case. But I do so based on FACTS before us all right now. So I offer no apology for that.

    • sean wood

      Sir are you bieng satirical? I was under the impression that in law one is assumed innocent until found /proven guilty.
      How is this principle reprehensible, intellectuly challenged & deeply dishonest?

  • Charles Bostock

    Why did those who alleged paedophilia by Edward Heath wait for decades before coming forward with their allegations?

    And why did we see no posts on here asking that question?

    Possible answer : the mainstream on here likes Mr Salmond but does/did not like Mr Heath.

    Double standards like that are a sign of feeble intellectual grasp and deep dishonesty.

  • Rob Royston

    I used too think the World of Nicola Sturgeon, I had heard so many good things from people whose work had brought them into contact with her as an MSP.
    It may have been her support for Hillary over Trump that made me start to wonder. At the time I worked with many Americans and it was obvious that many of them supported Trump. The First Minister of the Scottish Parliament was bad mouthing the man most likely to be the next President of the USA. Trump may not have built his wall yet but Sturgeon had cut herself off long before the Americans voted. Not the way you expect a Stateswoman to act.
    Now we find out that she signed off on Civil Service workplace procedures that allow for allegations against ministers to be released to the press with full disclosure about the accused, before any criminal charges are laid. No sooner was the ink dry than two complainers from five years previously made complaints against her predecessor and the author of the procedures rushed the story to the press.
    She’s obviously smart, is she blinded by her feminist views?

    • ADHD

      So many heads of state attacked Trump before he was elected (a very unusual and foolish thing to do to someone who may well be the next POTUS) that it must have been planned and coordinated. That’s quite a chilling thought.

      As regards the Civil Service workplace procedures (as you present the sequence of events) the only reasonable conclusion to draw is that Sturgeon was part of a plot to besmirch her predecessor. It seems to have echoes of the Assange smear. The main reason must be to hobble Scottish independence. But, there also seems to be an immediate need to do it now. I think the immediate reason might be to silence independent voices before an incident of some sort; I wonder whether there is something big planned for Syria.

      Has Paul Dacre been required to resign as editor of the Daily Mail for similar reasons. Mainly, because he was in favour of Brexit but, specifically at this time, because he couldn’t be relied on to support the government line over some big event (which, I think will be in Syria).

      It feels like things are being put in place.

      • Little Bat

        ADHD, I, too, am very worried about Syria. The powerful interests who played for regime change and lost, either have to accept defeat, or start something. The actions against Iran, indicate that they wish to start something.

      • Paul Greenwood

        Likewise the placing of McCain today in newspapers across the world suggests The King is dead. It is quite remarkable what prominence he is given. One rather forgets he was rejected as presidential candidate by US voters in 2008 in favour of the unelected Senator Barrack Obama (even though it now appears that election had FBI “assistance” for Obama) and that he failed in the primaries in 2000. Or that his Vietnam combat experience was 15 minutes in total. Or that in GRU files are supposedly the interrogate tapes of this PoW son of the Admiral commanding US Navy forces off the Vietnam coast. Or indeed his wife’s family connections to the Bronfman bootlegging empire and the rewards lavished on her father for sitting out jail time for a murder committed by another bootlegger in Arizona – a major beer distribution concession which is what has funded McCain for decades

        • exiled off mainstreet

          McCain’s father’s effort as admiral to neutralize the USS Liberty sinking, an Israeli war crime during the six day war which was a major event towards making the client state in effect the tail wagging the dog for the last 50 years since this occurred, is a major salient fact remaining unmentioned in the elegies for this war criminal.

          • ADHD

            What you are saying is essential true but there are two possibilities for the incident. That Israel conducted the operation to trick the US into a wider war (principally, to blame and then attack Egypt). The other possibility is that it was the US and Israel acting together to achieve the same result.

            The likelihood is that it was the US and Israel acting together because there is evidence that US forces were deliberately prevented from going to the aid of the USS Liberty.

            Finally, we know the truth only because (despite an unremitting, murderous and unmerciful attack including the use of napalm) Israel failed to sink the USS Liberty and failed to eliminate all witnesses.

            (The official story, that it was a mistake, by Israel is just not credible.)

          • Paul Barbara

            @ ADHD August 26, 2018 at 16:38
            LBJ planned it with Deputy Israeli Ambassador Ephraim ‘Eppie’ Evron (who was probably Mossad’s head of station in DC).
            And the US was going to nuke Egypt in ‘retaliation’. Nuke armed A4’s from the 6th Fleet and a base in North Africa were on the way to bomb Egypt, when they were recalled when just three minutes to targets, because the Liberty got out an SOS and refused to sink.
            Read Peter Hounam’s ‘Operation Cyanide’; the world was probably nearer to WWIII than even with Cuban missile crisis.
            Also, the BBC had commissioned Peter Hounam to make a documentary on the Liberty (link below); he wrote the book after reesearching for the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjOH1XMAwZA (1 hour).

  • ADHD

    I just saw an extra-ordinary documentary “The Magnitsky Act: Behind The Scenes” by Andrei Nekrasov.

    Nekraso who was obviously supportive of Bill Browder set out to make a documentary about the death of Sergei Magnitsky but the story he intended to tell didn’t make sense. It is an incredible examination of how everybody (even the most well-meaning) fall in line with a lie and how the truth doesn’t matter when it comes to condeming a whole country, Russia, and Putin.

    It is utterly different to any other documentary that I have ever seen and well worth watching.

  • Jean Fowler

    I think this appalling treatment of any individual to be denied the rights of a fair hearing.
    We are supposed to uphold the belief that someone is innocent until proven guilty.
    The timing of this allegation against Alex Salmond couldn’t be more crucial or more potentially damaging to the interests of Scotland’s future hopes of Independance.
    Thankfully Alex has the gumption to challenge this injustice.

  • mark golding

    Is SRU officer Sergei Skripal dead? The truth can be disclosed, the mystery revealed removed from treason arguably for compassionate concerns. Why is the British state mute on the Skripal family interrogation?

    • Paul Greenwood

      Surely you mean former GRU officer and MI6 operative who was deeply involved with Pablo Miller who in turn was in the Boris Berezhovsky quagmire. Just as Litvinenko was a bag man for Berezhovsky and into some nefarious sidelines whilst supposedly sustained by MI6 in the UK so too Skripal obviously had lucrative sidelines to afford a £350,000 house and for his son to own a £400,000 house unmortgaged so his divorcing wife could have her share transferred to Cyprus to fund her new relationship.

      http://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/03/06/a-hundred-grand-and-hundreds-of-betrayed-agents

  • Paul Greenwood

    I do wonder why Paul Manafort has not been obliged to repay Oleg Deripaska what he siphoned off but then again Deripaska is not flavour of the month in US and probably could not show a clean trail to ownership of the $60 million either

  • Ian Spencer

    Murder in Samarkand is a brilliant book & essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the corrupt nature of the elite.

  • exiled off mainstreet

    It is obvious bollocks, and the kafka methods used by the British establishment exposes its nature as a cynical form of old boy fascism. Salmond is a threat because he doesn’t buy the whole Russia war crap and, of course, for his being an exponent of Scottish independence. The Russia thing must be paramount because the Scotland thing has been documented for decades, whereas they are only going after him now, years after he stepped down from SNP leadership. Thus, the vicious attacks are only because he won’t go along with yankee imperium client status. Perhaps it is not fully fair to call it the yankee imperium, since the British spy state seems to be part and parcel of the multi-national effort to bring about armageddon and, thereby, extinction.

    • Paul Greenwood

      I suspect Salmond is being compromised because of something not apparent to the public. Just as these accusations have been pulled out from behind the arras so I suspect the reason for the setup is still behind the arras

      • Doug Scorgie

        Perhaps Salmond is considering a return to the top job and the unionists and powers in England are terrified at that possibility.

        • Kathleen Choucha

          Possibly elections coming up later in the year and they want to ensure that he doesn’t stand for re-election.

  • Sharp Ears

    The witch hunt against Jeremy Corbyn continues. It’s many days since the release of that old video feat. Jeremy yet this morning on LBC it was being regurgitated by Tom Swarbrick. He is an ex SPAD in Theresa’s office at No 10. Who did he have on the line to give the ‘story’ some more welly? This blogger. Richard Millett whose blog content is vile incidentally.

    Blogger targeted by Jeremy Corbyn’s claim that ‘Zionists have no sense of history or English irony’ demands an apology and says British Jews fear for their safety
    25 Aug 2018,
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6097163/Blogger-targeted-Jeremy-Corbyns-claim-Zionists-no-sense-history-demands-apology.html

    Yards of the stuff. It’s a wonder that the pot which these people have been stirring for weeks now, hasn’t boiled dry and burnt.

  • Gordon Reid

    I know Alex and firmly beleive that he is not any kind of sexual predator. He is anyone’s worst critic at times aggressively Bullish but never shown any sign of misogyny quite the opposite hes aggressively bullish in equal measure to anyone he disagrees with. I was shocked to hear of the accusations . But in reflection i know Alex will characteristically never give up until he has a boot on the throat of this finger pointing guilt without evidence culture that permeates all of society at the moment.

  • Alyson

    There is an integrated threat to democracy, which Bernie is trying to get to grips with in the US. Democracy is under threat from many angles, the media being the main one, but in tandem with other pushes to deliver a different outcome. https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america
    Economics is the fundamental issue, regarding Scottish independence, EU membership, post Brexit tax haven financial trading, or deficit spending on government bonds to invest in jobs and infrastructure under a Corbyn led Labour government. The current level of fake news and interference by a foreign power are the modus operandi of the current incumbents. The security forces are employed to protect the nation’s interests. I quite like Tughendat….

  • Lopd

    “What I do not understand is why they see Trump as a threat to Establishment interests”.

    Excuse me but I don’t believe that is a sincere statement :). I believe you understand.

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