Author: Cameron Baillie

This author has written 35 articles

Chronically distrusted Met Police inundated with FOI requests

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  • Post last modified:8 July 2026
Chronically distrusted Met Police inundated with FOI requests

London’s controversial Metropolitan Police force is apparently inundated with a “significant volume” of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Public trust in the Met regularly ranks as very low. An automated response, seen by the Canary, to one journalist’s FOI request reveals that the Met is unable to handle the number of inquiries it receives. FOI requests are made by the press and public alike. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), public bodies and government organisations are legally bound to transparency access. The FOIA stipulates a 20-day timeframe for bodies to respond within. The automated response, shared with the Canary…

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Scottish SNP government announces popular AI data centre moratorium

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  • Post last modified:7 July 2026
Scottish SNP government announces popular AI data centre moratorium

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has announced plans to support a pause on all new AI data centre developments, the National has revealed. The move comes after many months of community protests against proposed sites across the country. There has been both grassroots and political pushback, including from several MSPs from various parties. The SNP-run government of Scotland will join calls from the Scottish Greens to support a moratorium on AI data centre developments. The moratorium will be accepted following a vote by the SNP’s National Council, a key decision-making body in the party’s organisation. The two parties hold a clear…

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Greater Manchester Police found ‘disproportionately’ anti-antifascist

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  • Post last modified:7 July 2026
Greater Manchester Police found ‘disproportionately’ anti-antifascist

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) used “disproportionate and unnecessary force” in policing anti-racist and antifascist protesters, according to monitoring groups. The antifascists were there to oppose Britain First marching through Manchester on Saturday 18 April 2026. The new report from Netpol, the Network for Police Monitoring, found that the police consistently used “disproportionate and unnecessary force” against antifascist protesters. The 42-page report, titled ‘One Day in Manchester: the policing of the antifascist counter-protest against a Britain First demonstration in Manchester, Saturday 18th April 2026‘, launched in Manchester on 7 July. The policing of the Resist Britain First anti-racist demonstration on 18 April…

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SNP ‘breaching Israel boycott vote’ over bank bond plans

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  • Post last modified:7 July 2026
SNP ‘breaching Israel boycott vote’ over bank bond plans

The SNP is breaching a historic Holyrood vote for an Israel boycott, amid preparations to issue new government bonds. The government is also accused of allowing “secrecy” around a government agency, Scottish Enterprise, which “refused to publish key information” on preventing genocide in Gaza. The Zionist occupation entity continues murdering Lebanese, Iranian and especially Palestinian civilians en-masse, largely unchecked by Western governments. Scotland’s government was among few to have taken meaningful steps in line with the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement’s urgent call. The SNP-run Scottish government confirmed nine banks chosen to support a £1.5 billion issuance of bonds. Expected…

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UK Government lied about ‘renewable’ Scottish data centre plans

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  • Post last modified:6 July 2026
UK Government lied about ‘renewable’ Scottish data centre plans

Plans for a supposedly “renewable” multi-billion pound data centre project in Lanarkshire entirely misrepresented their actual environmental and economic impacts. The Guardian‘s recent investigation reveals that the £8.2bn-valued data complex, touted as being energy self-sufficient, was unfeasible from the start. The centre and adjoining power-plant in Scotland’s central belt was supposed to be powered by on-site renewables and nuclear energy. In theory, anyway. Built jointly by US corporation CoreWeave and Scottish data firm DataVita, the complex was supposed to power itself entirely by 2030. However, internal correspondence documents obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show that the site had an…

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Future PM Burnham already upsetting some in Scotland, Wales

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  • Post last modified:4 July 2026
Future PM Burnham already upsetting some in Scotland, Wales

Andy Burnham PM has already upset millions across Scotland and Wales before he steps into Downing Street (figuratively, at least, since he apparently plans to live elsewhere). With his various pronouncements, as he tries to convince the people of Britain that he plans on “doing politics differently” from all the predecessors who promised the same, he’s forgotten some key areas. Enough BurnhamPM ‘polemics’ Firstly, BurnhamPM made the egregious error of referring to the nations of Scotland and Wales as “the regions.” Wales’ governing party Plaid Cymru directly called Burnham out online, stating: But Wales isn’t a region, we’re a country. In…

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Future PM Burnham already upsetting some in Scotland, Wales

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  • Post last modified:4 July 2026
Future PM Burnham already upsetting some in Scotland, Wales

Andy Burnham PM has already upset millions across Scotland and Wales before he steps into Downing Street (figuratively, at least, since he apparently plans to live elsewhere). With his various pronouncements, as he tries to convince the people of Britain that he plans on “doing politics differently” from all the predecessors who promised the same, he’s forgotten some key areas. Enough BurnhamPM ‘polemics’ Firstly, BurnhamPM made the egregious error of referring to the nations of Scotland and Wales as “the regions.” Wales’ governing party Plaid Cymru directly called Burnham out online, stating: But Wales isn’t a region, we’re a country. In…

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Welsh Reform politicians are embarrassing themselves in the Senedd

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  • Post last modified:3 July 2026
Welsh Reform politicians are embarrassing themselves in the Senedd

Reform’s Wales representatives in the Senedd are showing themselves up in multiple serious discussions. Supposedly the formal opposition in the nation’s devolved parliament, Reform look increasingly foolish. The Members of the Senedd (MSs) are on record making various bloopers, not taking subjects seriously, and generally cocking-up. Not worth the £80,000 salary they’re plumped with. Reform ‘having a mare’ Cardiff-based Welsh journalist Will Hayward caught one Reform MS sorely lacking when he was entirely unprepared to ask a follow-up question, or ‘supplementary,’ on the Senedd floor. MS Gareth Beer asked a question which couldn’t have taken more than 30 seconds to think of,…

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Blackpool council Reform leader exposed as BAE Systems officer, uniparty warmonger

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  • Post last modified:2 July 2026
Blackpool council Reform leader exposed as BAE Systems officer, uniparty warmonger

The Canary can reveal that Reform UK’s leader in Blackpool Council is an ‘officer’ employed at BAE Systems. BAE is a weapons manufacturer heavily implicated in the Gaza genocide and other war crimes. Reform’s Blackpool Council group leader is James John (‘Jim’) O’Neill, 69. He was elected as Blackpool’s first Reform councillor in 2024, taking the Marston ward from Labour. He states his employment on his sparsely detailed Register of Interests on Blackpool Council’s website as: “Officer, BAE Systems.” O’Neill was outside BAE’s Samlesbury manufacturing plant informing policing operations and notifying anti-genocide blockaders of “trespass” in the early hours of 29 June.…

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Exclusive: Unite tells Community members ‘cancel fuel poverty protest with Greenpeace’

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  • Post last modified:26 June 2026
Exclusive: Unite tells Community members ‘cancel fuel poverty protest with Greenpeace’

Unite Community (UC), set up by then-general secretary Len McCluskey, is the Unite union’s section for unwaged people — and Unite’s most politically active. But members and officials feel marginalised by new general secretary Sharon Graham. They resent the union’s interference in their political activities, and have now been told they can’t participate in a climate protest. Probably because of who created it, and its campaigning focus, ‘workplace-only’ Graham was planning to wind down Unite Community and merge it with the retired members’ section. Graham U-turned on the plan after Skwawkbox exposed it — but the interference continues. Graham is currently…

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Union bosses’ fossil activism makes an enemy of the global working class

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  • Post last modified:25 June 2026
Union bosses’ fossil activism makes an enemy of the global working class

Sharon Graham is the general secretary of Unite, the trade union. However, with rogue comments this week in defence of British fossil fuel interests, she appears to be making an enemy of the global working class. She’s joined by GMB chief Gary Smith, who’s been briefing the Times about net-zero ‘madness’. As the UK awaits the coronation of Makerfield MP Andy Burnham — and, perhaps more importantly, his cabinet-in-waiting — Ed Miliband’s name crops up repeatedly. This is hardly surprising, since Miliband has served different roles on Labour’s front benches, including as leader, for much of two decades. Miliband’s core commitment is…

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WATCH: Scottish MP Lara Bird mogs ‘royal’ oath with crossed fingers

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  • Post last modified:25 June 2026
WATCH: Scottish MP Lara Bird mogs ‘royal’ oath with crossed fingers

Scottish MP Lara Bird bested the archaic royal oath of allegiance with what look like crossed fingers when she was sworn into Parliament this week. Crossing one’s fingers when making a promise means that the would-be promiser has no intention of sincerely holding that promise. Bird therefore smartly worked her way around the anachronistic ‘pledge of allegiance’ to the Windsors. This amounts to what Gen-Z and Gen-A would call a ‘mogging’ of the British crown. And too right — MPs are elected to serve us all, not just one wealthy family. It’s time more MPs did the same. In making her…

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Plaid Cymru, SNP mark 10 years of Brexit with pro-EU messages

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  • Post last modified:24 June 2026
Plaid Cymru, SNP mark 10 years of Brexit with pro-EU messages

Welsh sovereigntist party Plaid Cymru has marked 10 years since Britain voted to leave the European Union with an urge to strengthen ties between the British island and the European continent. Now the nation’s governing party for the first time in its Senedd history, Plaid Cymru staked its pro-EU leanings on the significant anniversary of the fateful 23 June 2016 Brexit vote. Plaid Cymru’s official account posted on X: 10 years since Brexit – but what was it all for? The video features a number of Plaid Cymru politicians speaking about the broken promises of Brexit: 10 years on Brexit hasn’t…

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SNP ex-chief Peter Murrell sentenced to five years for embezzlement

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  • Post last modified:23 June 2026
SNP ex-chief Peter Murrell sentenced to five years for embezzlement

The Scottish National Party (SNP)’s former chief executive Peter Murrell has finally been sentenced for his conviction of embezzlement. The SNP bigwig was handed a five-year custodial sentence, or prison time, for the crime to which he pleaded guilty. Murrell is the estranged husband of SNP ex-party leader and former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon. He accepted responsibility for embezzling £400,000 of SNP party funds for personal purchases over 12 years. The 61-year-old had doctored invoices and falsified SNP accounting records to cover up how he was misusing party funds. He embezzled money to buy luxuries (like a £3500 silver wine…

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Makerfield: Here’s what really motivated voters

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  • Post last modified:23 June 2026
Makerfield: Here’s what really motivated voters

The medium-sized town of Ashton-in-Makerfield, its ~70,000 voters and its historic by-election will forever be remembered in British political history for ridding us of Keir Starmer. And a good riddance it is! Who comes to replace him may be marginally better, more of the same, or far worse. It seems unimaginable at this point that Andy ‘U-Turn’em’ Burnham will be a significant break from the Labour mold. (See: trans existence, hostile immigration policy, water nationalisation, electoral reform or Gaza’s genocide.) Regardless of what Canary reporters make of Burnham, we find ourselves naturally sympathetic with the 55% of voters who backed him…

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Greens Manchester mayor campaign in full flow, other parties nowhere in sight

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  • Post last modified:22 June 2026
Greens Manchester mayor campaign in full flow, other parties nowhere in sight

It’s just over five weeks until the people of Greater Manchester elect Andy Burnham’s replacement as mayor of the combined authority (GMCA) area. The Green Party is wasting no time in campaigning before 30 July. Less than a day after the Makerfield by-election result, the Green Party gathered for what, on paper, was their official candidate announcement. But behind the scenes and away from the screens, the party wheels were in full motion on 20 June at the Manchester Friends (Quaker) Meeting House. By the time speeches began at 2pm, the Green machine had already cleared out a hall-space full of…

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AI data centres plan causes uproar across Scotland

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  • Post last modified:11 June 2026
AI data centres plan causes uproar across Scotland

Scotland looks set for an AI data centre crisis after plans were revealed detailing a massive number of data centres planned for construction on Scotland’s Central Belt. ARPS, Scotland’s countryside charity, published an interactive map illustrating where the data centres are earmarked for. The charity compiled the data over growing concerns about the impact of the data units on electricity prices, communities and the environment. So far, at least 18 such data warehouse projects are seeking planning permission, the National reported, with a  further six in the pipeline. ARPS is calling for the ­Scottish government to implement a moratorium on these centres…

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Scottish Parliament backs luxury wealth tax on mansions and private jets

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  • Post last modified:9 June 2026
Scottish Parliament backs luxury wealth tax on mansions and private jets

The Scottish parliament has voted to approve a new wealth tax on high-end luxury goods, especially mansions and houses over £1m and private jet travel. Scottish parliament leading the way MSPs went to the Scottish parliament chamber to debate a new “fair, progressive and sustainable” approach to tax. This included the plans for a levy on private jets and houses owned by the wealthiest in society. The motion — which passed 84-28, with 10 abstentions — highlighted the role taxes play in the delivery of essential public services. The motion welcomed all of Scotland’s recent progress made towards the creation of a…

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Senior Welsh Reform politician ‘infantilises’ entire Welsh nation

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  • Post last modified:9 June 2026
Senior Welsh Reform politician ‘infantilises’ entire Welsh nation

Award-winning Welsh journalist and author Will Hayward has criticised a senior Welsh Reform politician over his comments that “infantilise” the proud people he claims to represent. The Reformer’s statement came at the Hay literary festival in Hay-on-Wye in Wales. Hayward indicated the Member of the Senedd (MS) in his post as James Evans. He’s the Shadow Minister for Health, Prevention and Sport in Reform’s Welsh cabinet. Since May’s Senedd elections, James Evans MS has occupied that position within Welsh Reform. The comments were made in the context of significant ongoing debates around devolving the Crown Estate. The MS stated that Wales…

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Mandelson ‘influential’ in electing Labour’s Scottish Secretary

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  • Post last modified:9 June 2026
Mandelson ‘influential’ in electing Labour’s Scottish Secretary

Newly revealed documents expose Labour’s Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander as a devoted friend of Peter Mandelson, publicly humiliating his position. Mandelson was “influential,” in Alexander’s own words, in securing his seat as MP for Lothian East. The SNP have called for the minister’s resignation over his apparently doting relationship with Mandelson. The disgraced corrupt former ambassador and friend of notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was well-known, well-loved, and well-connected within the Labour Party. Him and pro-corporate stooge Tony Blair shaped vile New Labour through a willingness to court power, whatever ugly face it took. However, those tight connections across the right wing…

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