THERE are probably a few people in the Yes movement who think that the UK’s secret services are paragons of virtue and would not do anything as sneaky as spy on independence-supporting individuals or groups.
There is also a sizeable body of Yessers who believe that the spooks are on the case of the Yes movement – but whatever the truth, there’s no doubt that the British state is obsessed with secrecy.
This week, in Dollar, you can hear from two men with inside knowledge of the British state and its secrets.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown MSP will be in conversation with Clive Ponting and Colin Milne on Friday at Dollar Civic Centre from 7.15pm.
The topic will be “Secrets of the British State”, and our readers are advised to book early on eventbrite. Thanks to sponsorship by Clackmannanshire East Branch of the SNP, the event is free.
Publicity for the event states: “There is growing evidence that many of the people who rejected independence are reconsidering their position due largely to recent events.
“Our evening will give the opportunity to hear from two guests who have worked within the British establishment and how they arrived at a similar view on the constitutional question.”
Colin Milne was born and educated in Dollar and Aberdeen University, served in the Royal Navy and is on the board of Dollar Academy. Milne served in the Falklands and in the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war.
After leaving the Royal Navy, he flew helicopters in the North Sea, was a chairman in BALPA – the pilots’ union – and provided evidence on helicopter safety to a House of Commons committee.
Clive Ponting, who was born and educated in England but now lives in the Scottish Borders, was a high-ranking civil servant in the Thatcher era and later became a reader in politics and international relations at Swansea University. He has published 15 books on world and environmental history and 20th-century politics.
He was, of course, at the centre of the controversy over the sinking of the Argentine warship the General Belgrano, and he was arrested following the leaking of documents to Tam Dalyell MP which showed that Royal Navy submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Belgrano while it was sailing away from the Falklands. Ponting was then put on trial, and despite the efforts of the judge and the British establishment to find him guilty, he was acquitted by the jury.
Likely questions to be discussed on Friday include: Was the EU referendum free and Fair? Who was behind Cambridge Analytica? What did the “dark money” laundered by the DUP buy? Who will determine Scotland’s future – her people or the British State?
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