YES Skye and Lochalsh have arranged a Zoom conference on borders, custom issues and revenue raising opportunities in an independent Scotland.
They have secured the expertise of Bill Austin for the event at 7.30pm on Wednesday, November 25, which is free but requires registration with eventbrite.
The group said: “Bill Austin is well placed to share his experiences, having authored two books Free Scotland and Front Line Duty: Scotland’s Revenues, Borders and Defence based on his extensive career with HM Customs & Excise (HM C&E), the Territorial Army and as a researcher.
“Bill served as a higher executive officer with HM C&E between 1977 and 2007 in the UK (including Northern Ireland), Republic of Ireland and France. Concurrently, he also served as a Territorial Army officer from commissioning at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1985.
“Between 1999 and 2007 the author served on continuous ‘Special Leave’ for those eight years from HM C&E to the UK regular Army, in the rank of major, serving in Customs/Borders anti-smuggling roles on four Operational Tours; one United Nations tour in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and three Nato tours in the Balkans.
“Bill is also a chartered member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport and a member of the International Network of Customs Universities.”
Bill is currently retired but, from January 2021, plans to research an MPhil at the University of Aberdeen.
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