Wednesday 21 August 2013

THIS COULD BE INTERESTING...

From Yes Scotland


The First Minister has described as "very serious" a claim that an email account connected to the pro-independence campaign was hacked.

Police Scotland launched an inquiry after Yes Scotland claimed private emails were accessed from outside the organisation.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier on Tuesday that the pro-independence campaign was advised by officers to call in BT after it received a media enquiry which seemed to be based on private emails.

The paper reported the group contacted the police on Monday after BT looked at the email account and provided a list which showed it was accessed "a number of times".

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Alex Salmond said: “It’s a very, very serious matter indeed. There’s a limit to what we can say because it’s now a police inquiry, a police investigation.

"What I would say is this: If it turns out, and of course it’s still to be determined, that a newspaper has been involved in some way, given everything that’s happened over the last few years with illegal hacking and the whole scandal that erupted from that; if that turns out to be the case then it would be a very, very serious matter indeed.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “A complaint has been made by Yes Scotland regarding unauthorised access to an email account. The matter is being looked into.”

41 comments:

  1. Just look through the usual suspects and see which one isn't reporting it...

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    1. Bang on Conan...

      How you feeling?

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    2. Thanks for asking Tris.

      The wee object of my distress is at the moment sleeping off the scrambled eggs she had for dinner. The dry food I usually feed my dogs is too painful for her to swallow now.

      It can't be long.

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  2. Phone up GCHQ. They record all internet traffic automatically so will have a record of who accessed the account and what they did with the information.

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    1. Silly YES!

      They should have thought of that

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  3. I would say anyone who posts on indy blogs is having all their communications monitored.
    From a British state perspective, we are a threat to their existence.

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    1. Probably.

      I doubt we are important enough, but Stu and James will be...

      I hope they have blameless pasts.

      I think I'm gonna change my name to Niko

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    2. Juteman I agree, I'm sure we are being monitored. HELLO security services!!

      I've been quiet comment wise recently (family illness) and am about to become even quieter apparently. Over at the Guardian, any post of mine on the Scottish correspondent's articles is being removed (not "this comment removed because it breaches community standards" but vanished without a trace removed), but not on other articles so it's not a problem with my account.

      If Tris bans me, I'll start to take it personally ;-)

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    1. I wonder how many files they have on the Labour Party.

      I wonder if they have one on wee Willie Rennie... I wonder what they would put in it if they did.

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  5. and from all around they came from far and near and one by one they claimed......"I am Spartacus!" lol

    Sorry Tris I know this is an extremely serious report but couldn't help doing the old Arb lightening the moment routine. :-)

    As far as this hacking is concerned then EVERY newspaper in Britain should be THOROUGHLY investigated because I have no doubt at least ONE of these papers is at the centre of this. If, and this is a very BIG if, somehow all the papers are found to be "innocent" then there is only one other possibility.........GCHQ/MI5/MI6 carried out the hacking at the behest of Downing Street!

    Oops, I've just a wee after thought, could we possibly, just possibly, be looking at a new level of "bottom of the barrel scrapping" by Better Together here?

    Are we actually looking at, for the first ever time in British politics, a "Watergate" moment here?

    We all know how much Better Together love to lie about the prospects of the future for an Independent Scotland, is it that far of a stretch to go from lying to hacking e-mail accounts I wonder!

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    1. Aye Spartacus...

      We could be looking at something... or nothing.

      Interesting.

      Erm Are you heading for Hollywood now? Or is it broadway?


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  6. This will be something to keep a watch out for.

    Wonder what would happen if it turned out that the 'Better together' camp was doing the dodgy here?

    Could be even more provocative than another press hacking scandal?

    #all speculative naturally#

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    1. To be honest Dean, I'm trying to keep an open mind on this at the moment but secretly hoping against hope that it IS Better Together who has carried out this hacking attack on the YES campaign e-mails.

      If it does indeed prove to have been sanctioned by Better Together then I'm certain of ONE thing, RMS Better Together has sunk below the waves without trace and the constant trickle of voters currently moving over to the YES campaign will suddenly become an almighty flood!

      To be honest, I think the same thing will happen if evidence is found to prove this action was sanctioned by GCHQ/MI5/MI6/Downing Street/Westminster!

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    2. Given the absence of our rights to privacy anymore, GCHQ involvement wouldn't surprise me.

      Not much would by this point.

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    3. Actually I find that nothing much surprises me now.

      The press, BT, GCHQ...

      It could be embarrassing for whoever has done it.

      But will we ever know? Can we trust the police? Can we trust the press to tell us?

      Can we trust anyone?

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    4. I think I would trust Lorraine Kelly. She has an honest face and supports Dundee United.

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    5. Hmmm... and a comely smile... for gentlemen of a certain age.

      (John Brownlie)

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    6. Monty,

      My sons support Dundee United and I would not trust them as far as I could throw them especially when they play Hibs.

      Tris,

      Don't be naughty - Niko is the only one who can slag me off with impunity as he's my chum!

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    7. And I'm....?

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  7. Looks like Newsnet Scotland have the latest on this despicable underhanded unionist attack on a LAWFUL political organisation!

    http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-news/7902-moves-to-smear-yes-scotland-underway-as-more-details-of-hacking-claims-emerge

    Just a pity the MSM/BBC/SKY/STV are too FEART to actually discuss this topic. I'm guessing because THIS hacking story involves UNIONISTS they do NOT want to rock the boat of their fellow narrow minded and blinkered ALLEGED journalists!

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    1. Thanks for pointing this out, Arbroath.

      I think it's worth saying that everyone who serves on constitutional conventions, in government or works in the press, must have a point of view on the subject.

      The only people who don't are those who have not yet thought about whether they want to be ruled from London or Edinburgh, and people in these positions must have given it consideration.

      The fact that Dr Bulmer is pro independence doesn't compromise his position. There are equally those who serve along side him who are pro union.

      That he is commissioned to write a piece for the Herald, by the Yes Campaign is not wrong either. Academics need to live. They require to be paid and the man is freelance. Why would he do it for nothing. I wouldn't (not that I have his expertise to offer).

      Blair McD isn't doing his job for nothing. Why would Elliot Bulmer?
      **********
      From the article, and quoted from Blair McD:


      "Who else received payment? Who knew that this kind of payment was being authorised by the campaign’s chief executive?

      "What other supposedly independent voices are being paid to say what the nationalists want? What else are they willing to do to deceive the people of Scotland?"

      Very dangerous statement to make Blair. You now cannot pay anyone for doing anything without it coming back to bite you.

      You are paid yourself. Alistair Darling is being paid, (partly by me, I might add), to do his job, while not doing his other job.

      Gordon Brown the head of Better Together Apart is paid to do whatever he's sup-posed to be doing (however, he doesn't appear to be doing anything...as usual).

      And mr McD.... what about people hacking people's email accounts?

      No comment on that I see.

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    2. Where did you get your quote from tris ? It's changed from the earlier BBC one which was..."What other supposedly independent voices are being paid bungs to say what the nationalists want "?
      Your quote misses out the 'bungs'.
      History is being rewritten already.

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    3. LOL... I took it from the article Arbroath pointed out.

      I rather like the idea of Munguin's Republic changing history.

      I'll rewrite it shortly with BUNGS in 3 times...

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  8. Good point there Tris.

    Any time anyone has something print in the press in future all we need do is ask McDougall if the author was paid to write the article. After he replies, IF he replies all we do is contact the author and ask them directly if Better Together paid them to write the article.

    Let's see how HONEST McDougall and his cohorts are. Oops I forgot Better Together do NOT do HONESTY just like they do NOT do TRUTH!

    Just as a wee aside to this article. I don't know about anyone else but I am getting the strongest feeling that, from everything I read on Twitter last night, this story is NOT going to go away no matter how much the MSM/BBC/STV/SKY try to hide it and also that everyone is very VERY angry about this occurring AND nothing being mentioned in the media about it. I think this could the "light the blue touch paper and stand well back" moment of the whole referendum debate happening right in front of our eyes!

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    1. Police suspect that the alleged hacking was done from outside the UK now if I want to keep my reputation there is a media corporation from over the pond which is working for some organisation here. 2+2 = ?

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    2. Aye I've read that as well Tris that the hacker used an "overseas" web IP address. However, as someone pointed out earlier today on Twitter having an overseas IP address does NOT preclude the hacker from still being in Scotland.

      In fact any one in Scotland could use an overseas IP address. I'm not reading too much into the overseas IP address issue as implying the hacker being overseas, in fact I'd go as far as to suggest that the overseas address is actually a red herring in terms of finding the hacker overseas.

      The investigators, in my view, will have to track the IP address further back than this initial IP address.

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    3. I imagine it would be pretty silly to hack an account with an easily traceable IP address.

      It follows that they would try to disguise it in some way. I'm not savvy enough to know how to do that, but i'm reckoning using a remote address...

      But as I said, I'm good at switching the computer on...then I start to become unstuck, so what do I know....

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  9. Tris

    Be interesting to see where this goes and if there is any link to the BT campaign who seem to be in overdrive trying to take the headlines away from this story. Also Buchanan on Newsnight the bit at the end called Scotland was trying to whip up some anti english sentiment and even admitted they had covered this before. His puss was really tripping him when his 3 guests would not agree with him and noted it really wasn't an issue in Scotland at all, they were more concerned about english people using it to belittle Scots with because the law is so stupid. Buchanan even tried to say it would effect the yes campaign until it was pointed out that a lot of english people are members of it. As usual Farage in Edinburgh was mentioned, with a clip of him calling us racists, but no mention of the fact it was mainly english students at the demo as they all admitted.It was all very funny, he is such a bad journalist and without Curtis by his side he isn't even a remotely smart one.

    Really hope BT are involved in the hack though, would really make for an interesting discussion. Also, being into conspiracy, I would suspect that the YES camp are being monitored as the SNP were in the 70's. We do sadly live in Britain where the partner of someone not found guilty of anyone can be detained under terror laws for nine hours and a paper forced to destroy data in front of the third reich, sorry home office police.

    Bruce

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    1. Journalism standards are completely pathetic.

      They don't any longer report news; they pass on propaganda.

      It's incredibly sad that you can't believe a word they say.

      I think than any organisation trying to break up the state will be routinely surveyed by GCHQ.

      I read somewhere that all the Labour party was under surveillance in the 60s and 70s... on whose orders I know not (the Queen?) on the basis that they had warm relations with the Soviet Union.

      Hey ho...

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  10. tris

    well i am genuinely disgusted that the snp would resort to baseless smears
    whilst avoiding the more germane fact of the corrupt payment to a academic
    for a pro yes report....................Disgusting

    And having harboured, supported and honoured a now convicted
    wife beater and abuser for many a year...............Disgusting

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    1. So all those articles that Blair McDougall wrote for Telegraph etc were all written for free were they?

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    2. And the Huffington Post and the Guardian and....

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    3. I also forgot all the "payments" dear old McDougall has received for his "appearances" on Scotland Tonight, Newsnicht Scotland etc. I doubt very much he'd appear on any such programme without receiving some sort of payment!

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    4. Well they put him out when they found out about it, to be fair, Niko.

      Of course it might be fair to say that some of the unionist parties harboured thieves, sexual predators, paedophiles and much more, fully knowing what they were up to.

      Wasn't someone from a unionist party removed from his senior post and sent to Brussels when it was known that he visited a certain house in London, frequented by the likes of a well known disc jockey of northern origins? Wasn't there a fat old bloke that liked to spank boys' bums...

      Of course it's fair to say that although they were unionist, they were not Labour. But Labour hasn't been without its share of scandal over the years...

      Going back wasn't there something unsavoury about John Stonehouse? Harold Wilson and his lavender list? Tony Blair and Bernie Ecclestone and tobacco advertising? Tessa Jowell, her husband, and the £340,000 hedge fund? Ron Davies and his moment of madness and the three bean salad rastafarian on Clapham Common? The 2006/7 cash for honours scandal and "loans" to the Labour party? And how many of them were seriously on the fiddle before the Telegraph broke the scandal in 2009?

      I don't think that they needed to hack emails. If they had asked I'm sure the bloke would have said that he took on a job to write an article for them.

      That wouldn't have been illegal.



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  11. The boys/girls in blue are now actively hunting the hacker/s. There is only one group who would have any interest in the internal workings of the YES group which is why all of the deflection by our media in Scotland.

    Exclusive - Hacking latest: Herald newspaper was aware of Bulmer article fee request

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    1. Makes a lot of sense there CH.

      You only have to look at all the "smoke and mirrors" faux outrage coming from Baillie, McDougall etc to see they are desperate to deflect all questions to them about anything to do with hacking.

      Being someone with a very suspicious nature I find the total lack of any noise coming from the Better Together crowd denouncing this electronic attack on the YES camp highly intriguing.

      If they, Better Together, were totally innocent then surely they would have come out as soon as this news broke to condemn this. The very fact that we have never heard a word of condemnation from BT is indicative, in my view, of their complicity in the whole hacking process!

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    2. Yes, I'm inclined to agree.

      I reckon any totally innocent party in this situation would immediately condemn the use of illegal means to obtain information.

      Honestly if they had asked the professor he probably would have told them that as a freelance academic he doesn't work for nothing. He is not a member of YES Scotland, and if his expertise is sought, it must be paid for.

      He did nothing wrong and nor did the Yes Campaign.

      I would condemn the use of illegal means to get information no matter who was doing it.

      I'm really surprised that neither No nor labour has condemned this... I assume that the Tories have not either

      I wonder if that means they are happy with people hacking computers.

      Willie rent a mouth Rennie usually has something to say about anything... surely he has something to say about this?

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  12. http://wingsoverscotland.com/despatches-from-madland/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=despatches-from-madland

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  13. They tell me Ming Campbell was on telly tonight decrying the foul use of £100 to pay a "bung" (see, I used it Monty) ...

    How short Campbells memory is.

    How much did he pay his young friend to redesign his London apartment...

    Oh correction... how much was it WE paid to his young friend to have his apartment redesigned?

    What a bloody cheek these people have.

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