People who gave themselves permission to identify complainers in the Salmond case have already been jailed for between 6 & 8 months for contempt of court. To suppose these consequences couldn't be visited on you for doing the same thing is courageous, but I suggest you don't.
It is true to say the 2016 Act only applies to disclosures or threats of disclosure - so the bare act of *creating* a digital or even artistic representation of a person in an intimate situation isn't criminalised under the section, in the absence of disclosure with intent to cause specific harms.
You might argue the mens rea of the offence is too limited - a crime is only committed if its established the pepetrator either "intended" to cause the victim "fear, alarm or distress" was "reckless" about causing same, but even this would catch what Labour is talking about here.
The 2016 Act already applies to images which "appear to show" someone in an intimate situation covered by the legislation and the definitions section is clear it applies to "altered images" - clearly bringing deepfake pictures and video within scope.
One criminal justice policy from today's Scottish Labour Manifesto. I'm not entirely sure what the "loopholes" in the current legislation are supposed to be. "Disclosing, or threatening to disclose, an intimate photograph or film" is already an offence. www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2016/22/...
To the prison hulks! Plenty room on the Thames. Or the Clyde, come to think of it...
Fantasy plans to imprison thousands of people in imaginary prisons isn’t victim-centred or hardline – it’s quackery and charlatanism and should be confronted as such. Today's column on this week's wild Scottish Tory manifesto on criminal justice. www.thenational.scot/politics/260...
'a new Chagos bill is not expected to feature in the King's Speech in mid-May.' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The BBC article doesn't explicitly use the D-word to describe the legal basis of these letters, but it sounds like the care home company may have threatened defamation proceedings against these people, given the reference to "serious harm." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Crispin Odey “forced to accept” that the FT was “likely to succeed in establishing” its public interest defence in defamation case. www.ft.com/content/6966...
The Ted Heath exoneration.
Memorably, I once got one application which actually plagiarised a negative review I gave to a journal submission by the same author (which was also falsely listed the rejected article as imminently published in the application...)
Only if the aforementioned is caught shoplifting silk ties on three separate occasions.
"Assuming that there is precisely no chance of us putting our platform into effect - these are our policies."
Given the current state of the debate and Sarwar's newfound enthusiasm for jailing shoplifters, we can probably expect some kind of gestural version of this in the Scottish Labour manifesto too.
A reminder, if it was needed, that "more people in more jails" is just about the only justice policy you can conceive of which is almost never called upon to justify the cost in terms of public spending. (Spoilers: it'd be A Lot.)
In their 2026 manifesto, the Scottish Tories are effectively proposing to double the Scottish prison population (currently over capacity at 8,000) with precisely no serious proposals for how to pay the capital or revenue cost (roughly £47k per prisoner per year) of doing so.
"Ultimately, the electorate decides what counts, what they care about, and who wins. And they’re entitled to take into account whatever they like – including your religion." Today's Herald on Sunday / Sunday National bit. www.thenational.scot/politics/259...
One of the more surprising recent paragraphs from the Appeal Court's recent judgment in Sean Kirkup v HM Advocate... www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/mtpd4e...
British citizen who returned to Scotland from South Africa in 2021 after threats faced by his mother fails in attempt to persuade Court of Session he should be treated as "analogous to a refugee" for the purposes of university tuition fees. www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/n3nbzc...
Statler and Waldorf as you've never seen them before...
I do know what you mean tho' - I was saying to a colleague earlier that the granite buildings, beyond being famously grey and sparkly in the sunshine - had a different quality and texture to standstone.
This is top Jonathan Mackie content.
I demurred! In fairness, mid-Argyll is about as far away from Aberdeen as you can get on the mainland - though Amy did study there as an undergrad...
It *did* snow. I wasn't dressed appropriate.
Crying out for the Herbert Morrison / Ernest Bevin treatment. When someone suggested to Bevin that Peter Mandelson's grandfather was "his own worst enemy," Bevin responded "not while I'm alive he ain't."
That's a fair description of myself. But what about the built environment?
This week, I was in Aberdeen! My first ever visit to the Granite City (potentially a cancellable admission) thanks to the kindly invitation from the team at Aberdeen University Law School to present some of my research on reporting restrictions & scope for reform. A flying but fortifying trip.
Lord Malcolm suggests "it seems clear that the Commissioner was unhappy that the Ministers did not volunteer the documentation to him, and that this was a factor, in our view an illegitimate factor, influencing his decision on the public interest test" ordering disclosure.
Inner House of Court of Session strongly emphasise importance and public interest in upholding legal professional privilege, concluding the Scottish Information Commissioner made "error of law" in ordering Scottish Government disclosure. www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/zzgbx5...