The day after I publish my article accusing the corporate media of being an active part of the conspiracy against Alex Salmond, and of giving disgracefully selective, slanted and biased coverage of the evidence of his trial, the Daily Record has decided to investigate my home and personal finances. Is not life full of little coincidences?
I received this email from the Daily Record’s political editor.
I replied to him politely. This was probably a mistake – I should have just told him where to go.
But I cannot get over the idea that this is absolutely illegitimate. It is a plain attempt to bully and harass me for having published the truth about what really lay behind the Alex Salmond case. Who put up the Daily Record up to launching an investigation into my personal circumstances? It is of course the paper to which was leaked the very detailed and most salacious of the false accusations against Salmond. Who trawled the land register to find my home purchase?
The key point is not one mainstream media journalist has even attempted to refute the facts of my article J’accuse. It is packed with facts. Might not the political editor of the Daily Record better spend his time researching the conspiracy against Alex Salmond, rather than threatening an independent journalist for the crime of doing journalism?
I greatly dislike bullies. I do hope you feel the same. Mr Hutcheon’s contact details are there. If any of you feel like phoning, texting or emailing Mr Hutcheon to suggest he might be better employed investigating the facts of my article about the Salmond fit-up, rather than pursuing a journalist, you would earn my eternal gratitude.
It goes without saying that this blog is free to read. I have always stated that I do not wish anybody to support my work if it costs them the slightest personal hardship. If anybody wishes to cancel their subscription because I am doing up a house to run as a b & b, I shall not be in the slightest upset.
UPDATE the Daily Record have now published their stunning investigative article, together with a large picture of my house. My wife and family are very upset by this.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/alex-salmond-blogger-trial-high-21789285
What I am now waiting for is all these people to step in and condemn the publishing of my home and the subsequent risk to the security of my wife and family, with as much vigour as they today defended the privacy of the Edinburgh third house of the Head of MI6.
Tumbleweed rolls by.
With grateful thanks to those who donated or subscribed to make this reporting possible.
This article is entirely free to reproduce and publish, including in translation, and I very much hope people will do so actively. Truth shall set us free.
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Darn… everyone got in before me. Everything I would like to have said – has already been said by the wonderful people on this blog. So heartwarming!
I felt so downhearted when I read Craig’s post (especially knowing how this cruel and vicious attack would have been such a punch in the gut for our honest and sensitive “man in the gallery”). But by the end of reading the comments, I felt positively elated!!
We know who you are, Craig, and what you stand for. Never doubt that.
I was going to go straight to the subscription button. But, no, hang on….. Before I do that, I do need to state for the record, (the Daily Record – Hutcheon obviously reads this blog!), that you have one more subscriber, Craig!
Oh, and please do continue to let us know when you need top-ups for your “reporting” assignments. Best value for money going!
Well Said Susan
We Do Not Forget The Daily Records Part in Killing our Indy Ref With their Lies.
And Now we have the Lie…that the Daily Cartoon.. Swung to the Indy Movement…. Don’t Buy it.
Increasingly, I find the Fake News is happy to reveal itself. It no longer even pretends to be news, and is just the Daily Hatchet Job, mostly fact free. And Craig almost certainly gets higher readership than the Daily Discord. Am I alone in wondering how these MSM newspapers survive? The Guardian pretends to have ‘reader donations’, but I suspect … other donations are a factor. The Daily Discord? Who knows. Nobody reads it, and nobody cares.
I’d bet that not even a single reader of this blog cares what Craig spends his money on. A B&B is a potentially solid investment, hope it works out.
Ciaris, you point out how blatant some fake news is. Then you asked:
” Am I alone in wondering how these MSM newspapers survive?”
Well, although you, me and many others can see the fake news for what it is, there are plenty that are taken in by it. The owners of these propaganda machines recognise the value in steering thought, and would continue to print regardless of profitability. If it keeps their stooges in parliament, where they are able to give them tax breaks, they won’t be out of pocket.
@ Ben K April 1, 2020 at 05:20
Exactly; look at the London Evening Standard – given away at most London Tube stations, and supermarkets – must cost a fortune. Who reads the ads? It’s just the steering the minds of the masses in the ‘News’ that is the objective, paid for by company ads whose CEO’s agree with the way the minds are being steered (rather than by whether their products are bought).
The old Daily Worker was said to be kept afloat by stacks of papers being bought up by Soviet agents back in the day. Hopefully the Soviet Union still covertly supports good blogs and news sites.
Have no fear, ‘Our Lot’ have no compunction in supporting the toadying MSM.
I wonder if Hutcheon has had a free holiday in Florida recently?
If not, he should read Udo Ulfotte’s book, to learn how it works (though he writes as though he already is fully cognisant, a paid-up member already).
Craig, I am absolutely sure that more Scots read your blog than any of Mr Hutchens articles. Therefore you have considerable power over him, I should think that if a few people came forward regard any nefarious or illegal behaviour by Mr Hutchens over the year (perhaps like most journos he indulges in the old Bolivian peculiar, and has been caught at it by a reader here?)
Or perhaps maybe publishing his address here for every Scots indie supporter to see may make him go away. Do not be cowed by this fool. You have the upper hand.
I just quickly googled “blog journalism site:heraldscotland.com” (without the quotes) and found this first attempt, there have been other similar articles in the Herald comparing “real” journalists with bloggers of anyone can be bothered:
:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13083173.we-must-keep-the-press-free-in-the-uk-and-in-scotland/
” Journalism – real journalism – involves more than simply expressing an instant opinion on Twitter or on a blog. Real journalism involves work. It involves digging and cultivating sources who are willing to reveal information – sometimes at considerable risk to their own jobs – which those in power want suppressed. The decision to talk privately with a journalist can be an act of bravery which relies on trusting the journalist not to reveal his or her sources.”
Oops.
Oh dear, another one, this time googling “blog journalism hutcheon site:heraldscotland.com”
“Context is everything. An individual’s right to privacy is diminished if they have broken the law and embarked on a cover-up. By contrast, stepping over the line in pursuit of gossip, prurience or misery is contemptible.”
https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13041468.not-all-journalists-are-hacks/
“By contrast, stepping over the line in pursuit of gossip, prurience or misery is contemptible”
Whatever happened to that fine young investigative reporter?
What a desperately pathetic piece by Hutcheon and The Daily Scumbag.
Disgusting “We Know Where You Live “ type gangsterism threat.
You have shown over many years what real journalism is.
Hutcheon and his dirty little rag would do well and try and learn from you how to be a proper journalist as compared to their hack gangsterism.
They are scum of the lowest kind.
Their circulation freefall shows clearly what decent people think of them.
Thanks to Hutcheon and his rag you now have another subscriber.
You got another small new subscription from me too
Resorting to ad hominem attacks instead of dealing with the issues is shoddy stuff and the Daily Record man deserves all the flak the gets and should get. Whatever the size and cost of Craig’s house is of no consequence whatever to asking for voluntary donations to keep the blog running, which must cost Craig a considerable amount of his time as well as money to maintain the site.
Any contribution no matter how modest is an expression of support for its aims.I have no problem with any of that.
As for the taped recording, which I had not read about before in detail, I would have thought it equivalent to phone hacking as an invasion of a person’s privacy and a clear breach of data protection as such a recording would not have been made by chance, whether by M!5 …. or the Daily Record.
I just read the article… I’d treat it as publicity. Not worth reacting to
Re Mr Hutcheon’s letter – it is encouraging to see him use paragraphs of more than one sentence.
Take it easy on the Daily Record. There is, after all, a shortage of toilet paper.
Humbert Wolfe’s famous rhyme comes to mind re. Hutcheon:
You cannot hope to bribe or twist
(thank God!) the British journalist.
But, seeing what the man will do
unbribed, there’s no occasion to.
Just bought Sikunder Burnes for my Kindle and will try to set up a standing order tomorrow morning. Hutcheon is the best recruiting sergeant you’ve ever had, Mr. Murray.
Mmm, I see Paul Hutcheon has tweeted that he is really sorry, he got it wrong, it was very shoddy journalism, gutter-press stuff, totally unprofessional and unethical, and inhuman as well. He provided a picture of himself in sackcloth and ashes – not a pretty sight.
Yesindyref2
Let’s see him print a front page saying sorry to Salmond for publishing the lies of the alphabet sisters.
Let’s see him publish a front page saying sorry for the notorious VOW in 2014.
@ yesindyref2 April 1, 2020 at 02:00
Yes, I saw that as well. We seem to be the only two who have noticed!
Paul Barbara
Are you sure it wasn’t an April fool.
Silver lining…
Your readership is about to increase and more people will become more enlightened :0)
I am not sure whether this has been mentioned
The Wikipedia page of the Daily Record gives this as a list of columnists:
Current columnists[edit]
Mhairi Black – Member of Parliament for SNP.
Kezia Dugdale – Former Scottish Labour leader.
Des Clarke – Comedian & Radio Host, works include; Capital Scotland Breakfast Show and Breaking the News.
Nicola Sturgeon – Leader of SNP.
Coleen Nolan – Singer and TV Host, works include; Loose Women and This Morning.
So why are Mhairi Black and Nicola Sturgeon Columnist for a pro unionist tabloid?
Here is the link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Record_(Scotland)
Is that a Wiki from 2011 ..The Daily Record and all “north of the border” newspapers owned by Trinity Mirror merged into a single entity that, as of late 2011, included 300 reporters working on 20 print titles and 36 websites
The Daily Record.. Tried to LIE that they Regret ‘ the Vow ‘ They Regret their Lies….Cheating Scotland out of independence… NO….THEY DO NOT
NOW WE KNOW THEY DON’T..Thanks to Craig
Its quite a nice shack, although I don’t think the garage roller door fits well with the period style. I would have done something different there, perhaps swing doors with angled boards. However swing doors probably don’t work as reliably when set up for powered opening/closing. You pays your money and takes your choices.
Arby
Unless you are in a news blackout area and live in a dim soundproof room, surely by now you know what the answer to your question is. Unless of course you get all your news from the Corbett’s report and some other website that used to be good but now populated with crackpots.
Just emailed Hutcheon –
“Interesting attempt to try to smear Craig Murray, but ultimately a damp squib as I’m sure readers will have noted your signal failure to refute, rebut or contradict any of Mr Murray’s comments regarding the Alex Salmond trial. It seems as though you’re completely unequipped to play the ball, so in desperation you’ve chosen to play the man instead.
Readers driven to Mr Murray’s blog by your article will also note that *nowhere* does he “ask readers for £100 a month to keep his blog going”. The subscription/donation feature is a fairly standard drop-down menu of the type used by numerous websites and featuring many different options, but nowhere does Mr Murray ever “ask for £100 a month”, he has never to my knowledge demanded any specific sum – in fact, he repeatedly asks readers *not* to subscribe if it is going to financially stretch them.
Here’s a thought: why not use actual evidence and/or rigorous analysis to refute Mr Murray’s comments on the Alex Salmond case or the Salisbury poisonings? What you’ve written is just lazy, sneering, ill-researched and wilfully inaccurate misrepresentation; now who’s the conspiracy theorist deserving of mockery…?”
As the man in the lift said ‘Going down’.
Year (period) Average circulation per issue
2005 (October 454,427
2010 (January) 323,831
2012 (May) 281,465
2015 (May) 193,907
2016 (December)160,557
2017 (January)155,772
2019 (June)111,524
2019 (December)104,906
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Record_(Scotland)
I read this blog from Pakistan. I don’t have a pound/dollar account and need to find a way to subscribe/donate.
Your work is essential to humanity.
Daily Record ignores Craig Murray’s reporting, goes after Craig Murray instead: https://stevenson.scot/daily-record-ignores-craig-murrays-reporting-goes-after-craig-murray-instead
You always know you are entering a coven when the rules don’t make sense. I mean, this is not the action of one person working alone but a complete group mindset like Islamic State.
In this sect, you are not only allowed to buy a business but the sect is jealous of your business for itself.
This trait, of having bonkers rules like Islamic State, tells you immediately that the sect is owned by Big State, not idealistic individuals. In fact the picky insinuations of this toy soldier Psul Hutcheon, in this political manifesto of hate called the Daily Record, expose Nicola Sturgeon as a member of a Labour, feminist cult with it’s own dogma, manifesto and broadsheet.
One thing cults hate is exposure. As an Englishman living in an immigrant ghetto in Birmingham, I constantly have to push back against the mindset of the community because when I started you were not allowed to be English, speak English or dress English . I detect the same stench of prejudice coming from this Scottish Labour rag. In Scotland Labour failed the community so reinvented itself as feminist. Now that feminism has infiltrated its political opponent, the SNP.
Or as my wife says: ” better if he hadn’t touched it”.
Or the ad: ” My husband is doing DIY. Are we insured for the damage? “. By continuing to pick on Craig a whole week after the not guilty verdict, the whole coven of Blairite malignancy is exposed for what it is. Bigotry envy malice against the Scottish Independence movement
I’m seeing reports that Sturgeon has suspended jury trials. Wow. Just effing wow!
And here is confirmation that NS signed up for (an unpaid) weekly opinion column for the Daily Record.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/politics/scottish-politics/348571/sturgeon-warned-over-column/
Word of warning that there are enough clues here to positively identify the property and source a lot more information, including internal images on Zoopla.
Lets identify Hutcheon’s home and all his sources of income.
It would be interesting to see stats for your blog traffic and twitter followers. The way I read that it’s almost as if you took a paid ad in that shit sheet!
I suspect most FB contirbutors interested in politics know the pathetic standards of the Daily Record. On most occasions a one-way-street to the Unionn (2014). It certainly affords good coverage for the Betting Fraternity but little else. Suggested by some FB devotees to join the Daily Mail as an alternative substitute for toilet rolls if the current demands are exhausted. I find Craig Murray’s reply to Hutcheon’s sarcastic inference on his income totally acceptable. I could assume Hutcheon gives his TV fees for appearances with the likes of Gordon Brewer to one of his charities, if any. After the pressures put on Craig Murray by the Forces of London, Craig has every right to let the Public know what really goes on down there behind closed doors. I would caution Craig against possible retaliation from his known possible assassins when he tells the truth about the respectable offices (??) of the Brtish Secret Service Departments, now headed, I’m told, by a Scot. With Hutcheon’s pitiful article about Craig Murray and the consequent campaign launched by his Paper on the Murray Family, I sincerely hope the circulation of the Daily Record “DIES IN A DITCH”.
Yer typical smear. If anything, such ad hominem should tell people you’re onto something, but I fear this tactic is now considered a high art for debate within general society, what with the countless ‘fascists’, ‘communsts’, and ‘conspiracy theorists’ floating around everywhere!! /sarc
The Broken Record continues its campaign to prove that the high in Scotland is wrong and the women were right.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/alex-salmond-trial-witnesses-deserve-21775615
It is difficult to see what this means for the future of justice. If a trial by Jury has found the accused not guilty then surely he cannot continue to be hounded by the press or any other organisation. This must be covered by the law of double jeopardy. The only recourse for those involved is an appeal through the courts not through megaphones surely.
When they talk about “trial witnesses” do they mean the several women who spoke on behalf of the defence, some of whom are SNP members?
Always remember that the aim of a newspaper headline is to sell the newspaper. “Politician does naughty things” sells the paper; “politician doesn’t do naughty things” doesn’t sell the paper. Sex sells the paper, chastity doesn’t. The MSM are businesses, and it’s the legal duty of a business to act in the interests of its shareholders. Here the interests of the shareholders is to sell papers, not to find the truth.
“Always remember that the aim of a newspaper headline is to sell the newspaper”
This is a very naive take on the MSM, in fact the aim of the headline is the exact opposite: to get the intended message across to all the people who don’t buy it.
Newspapers don’t make money because they don’t have to.
This attack on you will be seen for what it is.
It will serve only to reinforce the rotten abusive nature of the deep state and its agents. The MSM are by articles like this demonstrating how much of an extension of the deep state that they are.
Not so long ago few people would believe that they lived in a country where the security services were involved in setting people up, promoting fake news. Sending people to the gulag on trumped up charges was only something that happened in dictatorial Russia. Fake news was only something that happened in soviet Pravda.
Now they know the truth. Alex Salmond’s witch hunt and attempt to jail him showed that. This badly timed zap temp to discredit a Craig Murray who has been exposing the Salmond stitch up attempt shows that.
The UK is not a democracy. Quite the reverse and this latest attempt to discredit what I’d describe as the free press shows that in clear perspective, and more people now know than previously knew.
Well done agent Hutcheon. A double agent who in doing his masters bidding has actually aided the cause of bringing light to where there is darkness.
And another small comment if I may.
Well done Paul. By the actions of agent Paul Hutcheon, who I think also used to write for the Herald, you can take credit from the fact that this attack on you lets us all know that your message is getting through and that the deep state know it.
It also shows that we may be nearer independence than we think and that is why the deep state is now so desperate to take down those who would help steer us there.
We owe you a debt of gratitude for your part in presenting assiduously checked facts in the cause of Independence and a fairer society. Thank you.
At least it doesn’t sound like you are using the untaxed proceeds of your blog to go into the AirBnB business with your mansion.
Even if he was it would hardly ennoble your apologetics for a corrupt establishment. Nothing can.
What a silly remark. I started taking donations two years ago. The one and a little bit taxable years so far the subscriptions did not cover the expenses, by a margin. Travel is the biggest single expense item, as I suspect for many freelance journalists. They will in the current year – partly thanks to Mr Hutcheon. But probably won’t take me over the personal allowance threshold.
I try to be polite to everybody who comments here, and to answer. But any more nasty and unfounded personal attacks and you will be banned.