Sturgeon responds to Ross question on prisoner early release
Following the sentencing of Jason Graham for the murder of Esther Brown, Ross asks Sturgeon about the Scottish Government’s approach to prisoner early release:
Jason Graham was released early. He wasn’t monitored properly. Yesterday he got 19 years – yes, a long sentence – but not nearly enough for such a horrific crime. This week the Scottish Government launched a consultation proposing that violent criminals could get out after just six or seven years. The document suggests long-term prisoners could be considered for release after a just a third of their sentence…First Minister, can you honestly say your government’s approach to justice is keeping the people of Scotland safe?
Sturgeon responds:
My thoughts and sympathies are with Esther Brown’s family and her friends. Absolutely nothing I or anyone else in this chamber can say will ease the pain that family is suffering…In terms of automatic early release, of course this is an issue of contention and has been for many years in this parliament. This government legislated back in 2016 to end the previous system of automatic release for prisoners and that could not be retrospective legislation but it was an important move to make.We will continue to ensure our justice system continues to protect people from criminals and ensures victims get the justice they deserve. But also a justice system that tries to ensure – and I’m not talking about this case when I make this point – the principles of rehabilitation and reducing reoffending are at its heart.
Sturgeon: Cambo oil field ‘should not get the green light’
In Holyrood, Lennon questions The First Minister on the Cambo oil field:
There is no rigorous climate change test that Cambo can possibly pass, so the First Minister must do more than ask the UK Government to simply reassess the proposed oil field. [The First Minister must] oppose Cambo in the strongest possible terms and provide the political leadership that has been lacking.
Sturgeon responds:
I don’t think we can go on extracting new oil and gas forever, that is why we have moved away from the policy of maximum economic recovery. And I don’t think we can go and continue to give the go-ahead to new oil fields. So I don’t think that Cambo should get the green light…I have set out a proposal for a climate assessment and I think the presumption would be that Cambo couldn’t and shouldn’t pass any rigorous climate assessment
However, The first Misiter said that final approval for the oil field was reserved to the UK Government.
Sturgeon on Godley comments: ‘These things happen’
Sturgeon comments on Godley’s offensive comments:
The tweets that were brought to my attention yesterday were completely unacceptable, completely beyond the pale. I would not in any way, shape or form seek to defend them.
When asked about the decision to scrap the videos:
These things happen. The important thing is that action was taken. The most important thing to me from the start of this pandemic has been the integrity of our public health message and that has involved difficult decisions from me over the past 18 months and that’s the priority we have attached to this particular incident…Janey has apologised – I think she has been pretty straightforward and dignified in her apology. She’s a comedian – as she said herself she thought it gave her licence to say things that she now accepts were completely out of order and unacceptable. When people make mistakes, the culture we live in, the climate we live in these days is pretty unforgiving. Therefore, I’m a great believer that when people make mistakes, and I apply this to myself as well, it’s really important to hold your hands up to it and apologise where that is required. But perhaps we should all recognise that none of us are infallible.
Hair: Shipyard turnaround ‘most challenging in UK’
0 0 Mark Devlin Mark Devlin2022-01-31 16:31:412022-01-31 16:32:35Hair: Shipyard turnaround ‘most challenging in UK’Conversation Nation interview
Yaccarino discusses embracing differences and navigating a new media landscape.
Apologises for offensive comments
Godley apologises for her offensive comments.
I have used phrases, words, comments with horrifically despicable undertones and you can’t just pass that off as comedy. I accept any criticism that comes my way..If I don’t own the shame of these phrases and words, I would be disingenuous to everybody who has ever supported me. I’m sorry, I will be better and I can’t apologise enough.
Salesforce Connections interview
Yaccarino is interviewed for Salesforce Connections, where she talks about how opening up to her team invited their advice and support, and how being the only woman at the table was an opportunity to stand out.
MSNBC interview: Women in charge
Yaccarino is interviewed by Brzezinski, primarily about women’s role in business:
I think the tendency for women to [keep their heads down] stems generationally. If you were too aggressive as a woman, you [were seen as a too] ambitious woman, to the detriment of others. But for a man, you’re interpreted as a hard-charging executive and in the leadership club that deserves to be in the C-suite. So, I think women tend to play it safe because a lot of leadership qualities historically were looked upon negatively towards women.
Hamilton clears Sturgeon of breaking the ministerial code
The independent enquiry led by Hamilton into whether Sturgeon deliberately misled the Scottish Parliament over what she knew or didn’t know about the Alex Salmond saga, clears her of any wrongdoing in a report. He acknowledges that while her recollection of some events was incorrect, this was due to a genuine error rather than because of any attempt to deceive.
I am of the opinion that the first minister did not breach the provisions of the ministerial code in respect of any of these matters.
On that basis he concludesd that she had not broken the ministerial code. Hamilton also looked at her failure to record specifics of meetings and conversations with Alex Salmond and while he disagreed with her that they were not Government business he acknowledged that keeping a record of those events might have prejudiced the proceedings.
Regarding the accusation that Sturgeon had attempted to influence the investigation itself over whether Salmond harassed staff, it was found that she had not done so. Salmond had also raised that complaint that Sturgeon had broken the law by failing to listen to the advice of her legal advisers that there was not a sufficiently strong case against him to justify proceeding. Hamilton concludesed that failing to follow the advice of your advisers does not mean that you have broken the law itself.
Scotland on Sunday interview
Mark & Mary are interviewed in Scotland on Sunday about The Majority and the #ResignSturgeon campaign.
We represent the silent majority of people in Scotland, who are angry and frustrated by Nicola Sturgeon’s shenanigans bringing international shame on Scotland. When we left that time, the SNP were just 5 per cent in the polls and just a nutter and cranks, or rightly viewed that way. To some extent the big question was ‘how did this happen?’. We talked about the boiling frog, the frogs in the pot that don’t realise they are being slowly boiled. The casual nationalism and seeing that is quite disturbing – this rise in anti-English sentiment, a rise in centralisation of power in Edinburgh, just things that people in Scotland might not notice as much…The response was very positive and it’s clear people are looking for something, and I think that’s why we’ve grown quickly, to 14,000 followers on Twitter and 25,000 on Facebook.
On the Scottish Parliament, Mark says:
The nature of constitutional arrangement should be something that should be looked at at all times. There should be more discussion on what alternatives there are to a Scottish Parliament and is the Scottish Parliament delivering for the Scottish people? For the last 14 years it hasn’t delivered. Does that mean it has to be abolished? I don’t know. If you have a system that can be taken over by nationalists and used as a vehicle for separation, then I think it doesn’t fit the purpose or intention of what it’s for.
Pandemic shutdowns add £4.3 million costs
An extra £4.3m in costs have been added to the cost of the MV Glen Sannox and it sister ship. The Port Glasgow shipyard had to suspend working for four months during the first lockdown and was closed for another four weeks earlier this year. The shutdowns cost £3.3m and £1m respectively.
Tunaround director, Tim Hair, says the Covid shutdowns were being treated as “exceptional costs”, but the previously-announced remedial work, costing £110m-£114m, remained within budget. Hair said that 80% of design work was now signed-off by regulators and that the latest delivery schedule of April to June 2022 for Glen Sannox, and December 2022 to February 2023 for the second ship, was still achievable. Hair says the yard should be able to take on new work from next spring.
To date, 191 applications have been received for skilled workers, with 40 so far identified as having the relevant skills.
Next In Marketing interview
For the Next In Marketing podcast, Yaccarino discusses NBCUniversals’ ambitions for its video service Peacock, and why she’s convinced advertising will play a vital role in the streaming wars. She also breaks down how marketers have been responding to the Covid-driven economic slowdown and what she thinks that will mean for the future of the TV upfront model.
Gadde permanently suspends Trump from Twitter
Gadde, the head of Legal & Policy at Twitter, tweets that Trump has been banned from using the platform, ‘due to the risk of further violence’:
The account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence. We’ve also published our policy enforcement analysis – you can read more about our decision here:
Which links to Twitter Safety’s posts about the ban:
After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence. In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open. However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules and cannot use Twitter to incite violence. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.
The account of @realDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended from Twitter due to the risk of further violence. We've also published our policy enforcement analysis – you can read more about our decision here: https://t.co/fhjXkxdEcw
— Vijaya Gadde (@vijaya) January 8, 2021
NYWICI Matrix Honoree portrait
A selection of women from from NBC Nes, MSNBC and CNBC, including Julia Boorstin, Mika Brzezinski, Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager, Sheinelle Jones, Hoda Kotb, Andrea Mitchell, Natalie Morales, Stephanie Ruhle, and Savannah Sellers discuss Yaccarino’s carrer and why she earned the Matrix Award from NYWICI. Brezinksi:
It’s our honor to present the 2020 Matrix Award to Linda Yaccarino
Yaccarino:
How can you follow something like that?…Honestly, I’m in complete awe. Every day in studios just like this one. The strongest women in news, by a mile, bring millions and millions of people the information that they need. They’re heroes in representing women in communication. It’s the career opportunity of a lifetime to work in this role, where I get to champion the work they do every day. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Future of Television fireside chat
Yaccarino is interviewed about the future of television, by NYWICI (New York Women in Communications, Inc) Immediate Past President Judith Harrison. The discussion includes section on workplace culture; diversity equity and education; and ‘doing well by doing good’.
Matrix Award winners’s advice
Yaccarino is interviewed for a profile on NYWICI Matrix Award winners. She empahsises the importance of diversifying skills.
Creative, technical, and interpersonal skills are important in our industry. But too often, people—and especially women—are reduced to one thing. So my advice is to build a skillset as multifaceted as you are. You must constantly broaden your mind, and refuse to stay in your lane. Stay curious and remain a lifetime student. Because I cannot stress this enough—turn to others around you for help and inspiration. We should rely on a lot of people: the trailblazers, mentors, peers who can we can listen to, learn from and form our own opinions.
Signal 2020 interview
Yaccarino is interviewed by Battelle about her role at NBCUniversal, the launch of Peacocks.
We have a huge diversity of brands, therefore a huge diversity of knowledge and access. In two really specific areas: We have an incredible purview of how consumers want to interact with us, and therefore we’re able to talk with marketers [like Proctor] about how they want to, or should be, maximising doing business with us.
The Information interview
Yaccarino is interviewd for The Information’s 2020 WTF Summit:
Every business has gone though such an incredible structural change that it’s very clear we need to change the way we do business. All of us. To transform our industries, as marketers, will help jump-start the economy. Marketing creates demand. Demand creates sales. Sales develops jobs. Therefore, it is almost a higher calling that marketers in every business come together to jump-start the economy.
McColl: Ferries ‘should be scrapped’
The former chairman of Ferguson Marine says he is taking legal advice on whether the Scottish Government’s report on his management, drawn up after it took ownership of the yard, was defamatory. He says the report is aa “snow job” to cover up the role of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, the government agency involved in procuring the ferries. McColl says design changes by CMAL caused the delays. and cost overruns.
[Criticism of the management team is] outrageous and unacceptable – the team selected were some of the best in the UK, and head and shoulders above those in there now. I’ve asked if we can sue them for defamation of character. There needs to be an inquiry. The way they’ve handled this is incompetent.
McColl also challenged the Scottish government’s plan to spend £100 million completeing the ferries, which would write off more than £80m already spent on them, as well as the £45m in loans from the Scottish government that have already been written off.
You’d be better building from scratch and to a design that’s more suited to what’s needed. They could probably build three smaller vessels for less than £100m and it would give them more flexibility.
Administrator lists debts: Taxpayer owed £50m
A “statement of affairs” produced by Deloitte, the administrator of the shipyard, show £49.7m is owed to the Scottish government – nearly £5m more than previously revealed. The Scottish government said it provided two commercial loans totalling £45m to Ferguson Marine, on which interest applies. The new figures also reveal that two partially-built CalMac ships at the centre of the firm’s collapse have been valued at £48.3m, nearly half the value of the £97m deal agreed to build the ships. Ferguson Marine went bust owning more than £73m. Further details from the document show that:
- £15.8m is owed to finance firm HCCI
- The Scottish government is owed £49.7m
- A total of £3m is owed to Clyde Blowers Capital, owned by former Ferguson boss Jim McColl
- There is an outstanding debt of £426,000 owed to HMRC
- The 300-strong workforce is owed £164,000 in overtime, holiday pay and pension contributions
- £1m is due to the European Commission.
- £3.9m is owed to business creditors, including a number of local Inverclyde companies