This opinion piece written by the Dean of Faculty, and published earlier this week, on the state of the requirement for corroboration in Scottish criminal cases following recent decisions of the Appeal Court is an interesting and, in my opinion, important read www.scottishlegal.com/articles/the...

Roddy Dunlop KC: The death of corroboration – how the law of Scotland took a wrong turn

In an extended article for Scottish Legal News, Dean of Faculty Roddy Dunlop KC warns that corroboration has now been effectively abolished in the wake of HM Advocate v PK. For centuries, the requirem...

scottishlegal.com

New from me on the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk substack "the write-round" Why can't MPs call each other liars? Part of a new series of 'why parliament is weird' a collection of gripes, oddities and head scratchers...would love to hear your takes on the weirdest things in parliament!

Why parliament is weird (no.1): Why can't MPs call each other liars?

MPs can be quite rude to each other in the House. So why can’t they call each other liars?

instituteforgov.substack.com

This isn’t right at all. He will be resigning as PM but until he goes to see The King to resign (which will be next month or September depending on the number of candidates to replace him) he is still the PM. We’ve been through the same story many times before, this should be common knowledge.

The i Paper @theipaper.com · 4mo ago

Breaking news: Sir Keir Starmer has resigned as Prime Minister Read more: trib.al/OyLpXCb

This amendment doesn’t seem to actually do anything to advance the cause of PR. Could be described as virtue signalling.

Labour4PR 🌹🗳️@labour4pr.bsky.social · 4mo ago

💥 140 MPs have now signed this amendment - most of them Labour MPs 🎯 We urgently need a National Commission on Electoral Reform ⏰ It's time for Proportional Representation

Britain's privacy watchdog quits after 'poor judgment' admission

Britain's privacy watchdog quits after 'poor judgment' admission

John Edwards says his position had become 'untenable' following investigation into conduct including inappropriate attempts at humor

theregister.com

Good morning from Pafos 🇨🇾

Yesterday, the decision in the first certification of non-compliance with a decision notice of the Scottish Information Commissioner was issued. I have written a post on my blog looking at the decision: lnkd.in/exq4Cyn8

I've written on my blog about a decision of the First-tier Tribunal where it has agreed with the Information Commissioner that information to which legal privilege attaches should be disclosed in response to a FOI request: blog.alistairsloan.co.uk/2026/05/28/w...

I've written a short post on my blog looking at the decision of the Upper Tribunal fining the University of Exeter £15,000 over a failure to comply with a decision of the First-tier Tribunal in relation to a FOI appeal: lnkd.in/ewT-eTVn

First big question for Holyrood is who will replace Alison Johnstone as Presiding Officer? Given that Labour are tied with Reform I suspect they won't be keen to give up an MSP to the role. The second big question is how they will deal with a tied second place. Probably a challenge for the new PO.

Polls are now CLOSED for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election! I can hardly believe it, but that's it, the people have spoken. Don't wait up to hear what they've said though: the count begins at 9am tomorrow. I'll have all the detail on the Ballot Box Scotland website: preview to come shortly!

Polls close for the Scottish Parliament general election in less than one hour. There is still time to cast your vote. If you have a postal vote that you didn't return by post you can still complete it and hand it in to any polling station in your constituency before the polls close.

Almost 22% of this record high Scottish prison population are on remand: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Hundreds more prisoners released early but jails still full

New data shows more than 600 prisoners have been released early from Scotland's jails since November but it has done little to ease overcrowding.

bbc.co.uk

The Upper Tribunal has recently issued a decision in an appeal where the issue of legal professional privilege was the central matter of concern in relation to a FOI request made to the Cabinet Office in 2020. I have written on my blog about that decision: blog.alistairsloan.co.uk/2026/04/20/p...

Received this in a recent FOI request acknowledgment from a Scottish public authority…might be more convenient for the authority, but given the need to be able to evidence the request should you need to go to the Commissioner it’s somewhat inappropriate

I've written on my blog about last week's important decision from the Court of Session looking at the interaction between legal professional privilege and FOI law: blog.alistairsloan.co.uk/2026/03/30/s... #FOI #Scotland #LPP #FreedomofInformation

I have written on my blog about last week's important ECJ case on if and when a controller can refuse a subject access request as excessive on the grounds that it is excessive, even where it is a first request by a data subject to a controller: blog.alistairsloan.co.uk/2026/03/25/r...

Watched Louis Theroux’s documentary on the “manosphere”. I’m sorry, but the name HS Tiky Tocky (or whatever it is) is about as far from “Alpha” as you can get…

Why do companies insist on a recorded message that says they’re experiencing higher than usual call volumes? Everyone knows it’s a lie; it’s simply they don’t employ enough people. In the last two days I’ve phoned @arnoldclark.bsky.social TSB and @virginmedianews.bsky.social; all have said the same.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Well this is going to help with the cost of living...

Oil prices jump and shares fall as conflict escalates

Experts have warned that a prolonged conflict could push global energy prices even higher.

bbc.co.uk

This is a good piece, but the attacks on Dorothy Bain are not the only recent example of attempts to undermine trust in the legal system for political gain, and the press and others who have been insinuating wrongdoing on the flimsiest of evidence are also complicit.

@siobhanwalsh.bsky.social · 8mo ago

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Worth a read

Labour governments don't come along often; it would, therefore, be good if this so-called Labour government actually started acting like a Labour government.

Laura Phillips@lauraphillips.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Shabana Mahmood: 'The PM won a five year mandate from the British people just 18 months ago. Labour governments don't come along often. It is a privilege to serve in one and we must not waste a second. The PM has my full support. Let's get on with changing the country for the better.'

The Scottish Government has announced a 13% increase in civil, criminal and children's legal aid fees with effect from 1 September 2026: www.gov.scot/news/legal-a...

Legal aid fees and fixed payments to rise 13%

Key reform see solicitors receive legal aid hike, more traineeships and tech support.

gov.scot

On Monday the Court of Session will hear a judicial review of the decision to make an order under the Terrorism Act 2000 proscribing Palestine Action. The hearing, before Lord Young, appears as though it is to be livestreamed: www.scotcourts.gov.uk/livestream/

I have written a short blog post on the Scottish Government's consultation on extending FOI laws to care homes and care at home services provided by private and third sector organisations: blog.alistairsloan.co.uk/2026/01/08/s...

MSPs will debate legal aid reform this afternoon following an important inquiry into Civil Legal Assistance in Scotland ▶️Watch the debate at www.scottishparliament.tv/ #LegalAidMatters #AccessToJustice

For my first blog post of 2026 I return to a subject that I've written about before which is section 166 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and its very limited scope: blog.alistairsloan.co.uk/2026/01/06/s...

Bulgaria is welcoming a new year and a new currency.

Bulgaria is joining the euro. Here's what it means for consumers and businesses

Bulgaria is welcoming a new year and a new currency. The nation of 6.4 million in southeastern Europe will become the 21st member of the shared euro currency on Jan. 1.

bit.ly

Mu卐 IS an absolute IDIOT! www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/elon-mu...

Elon Musk reposts image of 'Birmingham hospital' but it's actually a Batman scene

Elon Musk reposted the image claiming to show 'migrants storming a hospital', but it turned out it was actually from The Dark Knight Rises.

thelondoneconomic.com

Merry Christmas; may everyone have a lovely day.