Rishi Sunak has jetted off to Granada for a European Political Community summit on migration following his speech at party conference, but he may find himself returning to some legal trouble.
Chris McEleny, the general secretary of Alex Salmond’s breakaway Alba Party, has reported Rishi Sunak to the police for potential contempt of court. In his speech, Sunak said that under Tory rule, the spectre of Scottish separatism had been quashed and that “Nicola Sturgeon wanted to go down in the history books as the woman who broke up our country. But it now looks like she may go down for very different reasons.”
In Scottish law, there are strict rules about what can be said and reported regarding ongoing criminal investigations. McEleny said: “Operation Branchform should be free to pursue its investigation fearlessly without interference from Rishi Sunak.
“The Prime Minister is commenting on, and making an assumption about a live Police Scotland investigation…It is too important a matter to allow interference from the Prime Minister in this act of contempt when many people await the facts of Police Scotland’s investigation.”
Tough crowd, I guess.
Not just that, but Britain’s newest lawbreaker Chris Packham is also said to be considering taking Rishi to court. This time, not for a bad joke, but for delaying the country’s environmental commitments.
In a letter to the PM, wildlife presenter and noble advocate for climate justice said that he would apply to the High Court for a judicial review into the recent delays in banning gas boilers and petrol and diesel cars. Packham believes this breaks Britain’s binding yearly commitments to reaching net zero by 2050.
According to Packham’s epistle to the Tories: “Even before this spontaneous, ill-judged and – we contend – unlawful announcement, the UK Government’s plans to meet its legal net zero commitments were shambolic and destined to failure.”
The letter added: “Reneging on clear-cut, measurable and guaranteed means of reduction without offering real alternatives to balance the targets is reckless and irresponsible.
“And claiming this is about protecting the poorest in society – it’s worth noting that when the policies were enshrined in law they were signed off by the chancellor of the exchequer, and that was Mr Sunak.”
Who would want to be the Prime Minister? Both cases will almost certainly come to nothing, but still.
Meanwhile, Sunak’s Scottish counterpart (or devolved underling) Humza Yousaf has been recognised as so inspirational as to make it on the cover of, checks notes, Time magazine!
Yes, the fierce intellect behind the draconian Hate Crime Bill and the man who accused Scotland of having too many white people in positions of power despite presumably knowing its demographics, has joined the pantheon of Time cover stars such as Freud, Chaplin, Hemingway, Stalin, Sinatra et al.
Maybe there will be complementary copies at Glasgow’s shiny new drug-taking room.
Write to us with your comments to be considered for publication at letters@reaction.life
