Britain Today.

[BIAD]

In the US, this sort of 'distraction' is common and I'm just wondering if the UK are -and have, attempted this type
of hindrance to divert the public eye.

Alex Salmond held the title First Minister for the Scotland and was the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP)
until 2014. In 2018, he resigned from the party after allegations arose of sexual misconduct in 2013 while he was
First Minister.

On 24 January 2019, Police Scotland arrested Salmond, and he was charged with 14 offences, including two counts
of attempted rape, nine of sexual assault, two of indecent assault, and one of breach of the peace. He appeared in
court on 21 November and entered a plea of "not guilty".

The trial started on 9 March 2020 and on 23 March 2020, Salmond was cleared of all charges.
A jury found him not guilty of 12 charges, one charge was dropped by prosecutors earlier in the trial while one charge
was found not proven.

But later -something that the mainstream media of the UK were reluctant to investigate, there were rumours that his
successor to the Leadership of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, had been involved in a conspiracy to tarnish Mr Salmond's
career by using these sexual claims to bring his downfall.

The whole situation is only now beginning to see the light of day and Nicola Sturgeon's husband seems to be an integral
part of this alleged clandestine operation. It's supposed to be all about secret discussions, texting and using the media
who favour Scottish independence.

One thing that will always bother me is when the MSM write of Nicola Sturgeon, they always give her the title of 'Ms' and
yet she is married to a man with the surname 'Murrell'. This in itself -in my view, is another reason why the media like
to paint this lady with striking colours.

Anyway, this entirely-different incident occurred on Thursday 4th February and I'm probably just overreacting.
 (Just as a heads-up, there's an update on the stabbing incident at the botttom of this posting.)

One 'stabbed' and Kilmarnock hospital locked down following 'serious incidents'

'At least one person is reported to have been stabbed during three "serious incidents" in East Ayrshire.
University Hospital Crosshouse in Kilmarnock was placed in lockdown on Thursday evening, with ambulances
diverted to University Hospital Ayr as police dealt with the unfolding events.



The three-hour lockdown was lifted shortly before 23:00.
The PA news agency said it understood at least one person was stabbed. There was no official confirmation
from Police Scotland. Officers were called to the first incident at the Crosshouse site at about 19:45 on Thursday.
They believe another in the centre of Kilmarnock about 20 minutes later and a serious crash on the A76 may be linked.

The incidents are not being treated as terror-related.

In a statement on Twitter Police Scotland said there was no cause for concern for the wider community.
It added that inquiries were at an early stage and that the areas involved have been cordoned off.
The second incident was on Portland Street, which is about two miles from the hospital, at about 20:05.
Officers were called to the crash on the A76, on the outskirts of the town, at about 20:30...'

Archived BBC Article: (More in the link)

Alex Salmond inquiry: Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell to testify after compulsion threat

'Nicola Sturgeon’s husband is to give further evidence to the Holyrood inquiry into the Alex Salmond affair after
MSPs [Member of the Scottish Parliament] agreed to use compulsion powers if he refused.
SNP [Scottish National Party] chief executive Peter Murrell is expected to be grilled about text and WhatsApp
messages about Mr Salmond which he has previously said under oath do not exist.

Mr Murrell had twice failed to appear before the inquiry after being recalled to clear up contradictory evidence he
gave in December. He skipped proposed dates on January 26 and February 2 after taking legal advice.
That followed Labour urging the Crown Office to investigate whether he had “perjured himself” at his first appearance.
However Mr Murrell has now reluctantly agreed to return to the committee on Monday, February 8.


Mr Salmond, Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell.

The climb-down followed growing exasperation among MSPs at his attempts to evade questioning.
The Scottish Tories earlier this week threatened Ms Sturgeon with a Holyrood vote unless she made her party’s top
official comply with the recall request.



The Tories planned to table a motion accusing Ms Sturgeon of misleading parliament given she told MSPs in October
the SNP would “cooperate fully” with the inquiry. It is understood MSPs on the inquiry agreed to use parliament’s power
to compel the appearance of witnesses if Mr Murrell refused to appear at all. 

Though it did not make the ultimatum explicit to Mr Murrell, it is understood he was aware of it - and of the political damage
it would cause his wife and the SNP for him to be seen being dragged to testify. The inquiry is looking at the Scottish
Government’s mishandling of sexual misconduct complaints made against Mr Salmond in 2018 by two civil servants.

The former First Minister had the exercise set aside in a judicial review, showing it was “tainted by apparent bias”,
a Government flaw that left  taxpayers with a £500,000 bill for his costs.
He was later charged with sexual assault but cleared on all counts at a Highh Court trial last March.

The inquiry last month used parliament’s powers to compel the production of documents for the first time against the Crown
Office in relation to WhatsApp and text messages involving SNP chief operating officer Sue Ruddick.
Mr Salmond had pushed MSPs to seek the files, which were obtained by his trial defence team, so that he could tell the
“whole truth” under oath.

He had been threatened with prosecution if he released the confidential material himself.
The inquiry refused to publish the material it was sent by the Crown, as it involved private messages from different women
in a “safe space for confidential support”.

However MSPs were not satisfied the Crown had released all the relevant material it had asked for, including messages
involving Mr Murrell, and want it to check again. Mr Murrell has already admitted sending two text messages to Ms Ruddick
on the day Mr Salmond was charged with sexual assault in January 2019, urging further police and prosecution action.
Giving evidence in December, he denied any similar messages existed.

He also denied using the WhatsApp message service, but after it emerged a WhatsApp account was linked to his mobile
phone, he was forced to revise his evidence and said merely that he not use WhatsApp at present.
Mr Murrell also contradicted himself by saying he had and hadn't known Mr Salmond was coming to his home on 2 April 2018
to talk to Ms Sturgeon, and that he had and hadn't been there at the time. 

SNP MP Kenny MacAskill, a supporter of Mr Salmond, last month claimed senior SNP and government figures were part of a
WhatsApp group called ‘Vietnam’ which discussed Mr Salmond in the run-up to his trial, including how to encourage a witness
to testify.

Mr Salmond’s supporters claim he was the victim of a high-level conspiracy to stop him making a comeback and rivalling his
estranged successor. Ms Sturgeon has dismissed that as a “heap of nonsense”.
Mr Salmond is scheduled to give evidence on February 9, Ms Sturgeon on February 16...'

The Herald:

Update:

Kilmarnock stabbing – Two women and man dead after ‘nurse and another person’ knifed at hospital followed by car crash

'...Two women and a man died after the incidents, Police Scotland confirmed today.
A 39-year-old woman was found injured in the car park outside Crosshouse Hospital at 7.45pm on Thursday.
She received medical care but died at the scene.

The second incident occurred 20 minutes later in the town's Portland Street, where a 24-year-old woman was stabbed.
Emergency services attended and she was taken to Crosshouse Hospital where she later died.

A further incident, a fatal road crash, occurred on the C50.
Emergency services attended but the 40-year-old man driving the car was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the three incidents were linked and an investigation is ongoing.
Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain said: "A number of locations remain cordoned off as officers continue
to conduct inquiries.

"We are working to confirm the full circumstances of what has happened. If anyone has any information which could assist our
enquiries, please do contact us. "Understandably, people will be shocked by what has happened. We are still in the process of
establishing the full circumstances, however, I would like to reassure people that there is no wider threat to the community.
"Officers will be on patrol and anyone with any concerns can approach these officers."

Local journalist Alex Tiffin said he had been told by a police source that the events in Kilmarnock were linked to a "domestic
incident on a horrific scale you thankfully rarely hear of."
Crosshouse Hospital was under lockdown for about three hours while ambulances were diverted from the area.
The local council said the scene will remain cordoned off today...'

The Sun: