‘THREATS OF VIOLENCE AND SCOTTISH POLITICS’
ANGER OVER CLAIMS BY TOP THERESA MAY AIDE
ONE of Theresa May’s most senior advisers has sparked controversy after claiming “threats of violence” are a feature of modern Scottish politics. Philip Rycroft, a civil servant in the Cabinet Office who heads up the UK Government group tasked with keeping the UK together, made the comments in evidence to a Freedom of Information (FoI) tribunal held regarding the leak of the “Frenchgate” memo.
The memo wrongly alleged Nicola Sturgeon wanted the Conservatives to win the 2015 General Election, and the tribunal followed a Freedom of Information request seeking to have more details about the memo released, including which UK Government officials had read it.
In arguing against the information being released, Rycroft said he wanted to show that “abuse, occasionally accompanied by direct or veiled threats of violence, is a feature of the contemporary political climate in Scotland” and that anyone who participates in any way in the independence issue could face “abuse and intimidation”.
His testimony argued that disclosing the identities of those who had received the memo would “endanger [their] safety” as there was a likelihood they would be subject to “intimidation, abuse on social media and potentially threats of violence”.
In support of his argument, Rycroft made reference to a demonstration of three people at the Tunnock’s factory in Uddingston, former Labour leader Iain Gray being chased into a Subway sandwich shop, and an egg being thrown at Jim Murphy in the lead-up to the independence referendum.
Rycroft is the Second Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office, which has the remit of supporting Prime Minister Theresa May in the “effective running of government”. He is also head of the UK Governance Group, formed in 2015 to help ministers meet the “vital challenge of sustaining the UK and the constitutional settlement”.
Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, said Rycroft was wrong to characterise Scottish politics in such a way. “There’s no excuse for abusive behaviour in person or on social media, and it has sadly been a feature of politics in many countries,” he told the Sunday Herald.
“However, for Rycroft to single out Scotland in this way is quite wrong, especially in the wake of the hate crime wave which followed the Brexit vote, the racism which the Leave campaign fanned and the politically motivated killing of an MP [Jo Cox] by a far-right activist. It’s very clear that a genuine threat of serious political violence does exist, but it has nothing to do with the movement for Scottish independence,” he added.
Harvie’s comments were echoed by Willie Sullivan of Electoral Reform Society Scotland, which promotes citizen empowerment and democratic reform.
“We’re lucky in Scotland to have one of the best informed, most sophisticated electorates in the world. We ran an independence referendum which for the vast majority of people was a peaceful and invigorating experience. For anybody to suggest that political debate in Scotland is anything other than healthy is a complete fantasy. It has to be questioned whether they actually believe this themselves.
“When we see a post-Brexit rise in intolerance in other parts of the UK, it’s a shame that civil servants should be so ill-informed about the healthy political discourse that’s going on in Scotland.”
The details of the false memo were published in a front page article in The Daily Telegraph with the headline “Sturgeon’s secret backing for Cameron”. The memo – an account of a meeting between the First Minister and the French Ambassador Sylvie Bermann – stated that Sturgeon “confessed that she’d rather see David Cameron remain as PM (and didn’t see Ed Miliband as PM material)”.
However, the memo was a second-hand account of the meeting and the Scotland Office civil servant who penned it had themselves doubted whether “the FM’s tongue would be quite so loose” and warned “it might well be a case of something being lost in translation”.
Despite earlier denials, a Cabinet Office investigation found that then-Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael was behind the leak. The current Scotland Office Minister, David Mundell, was Carmichael’s deputy at the time of the leak. The tribunal was held following an FoI request seeking to have the memo, and the names of those who saw it, released. Rycroft argued that due to the political climate in Scotland, release of this information would endanger those who were named.
However, this argument was thrown out by the tribunal judge who said Rycroft’s written evidence on the issue was “unspecific” and that “he was unable to expand upon it”.
Judge Chris Ryan added: “The evidence did not go so far as to demonstrate that physical or mental health was or was likely to be endangered.”
However, the judge did rule that information was to be withheld for other reasons, including potential damage to diplomatic relations with France.
SNP MP Kirsty Blackman told the Sunday Herald the judge was right to reject the evidence provided by Rycroft. “The comments made by Rycroft are completely unrepresentative of how politics is conducted in Scotland, and were rightly thrown out,” the MP for Aberdeen North said.
“To talk of ‘threats of violence’ is inflammatory, and not something to be taken lightly, particularly in the wake of the deeply concerning and upsetting events of the last year across the UK.
“Political participation in Scotland has been reinvigorated due to the enlightening and peaceful nature of the independence referendum campaign – with people generally more informed on the issues that affect them than ever before. It is disappointing to see civil servants try to tie this healthy political participation to potential violence.”
Rycroft began work at the Scotland Office in 1989. He previously served as director-general of the Deputy Prime Minister’s office when Nick Clegg was in post and is currently one of the highest paid civil servants in the UK, earning a salary of more than £150,000.
His evidence stated that, although the story relates to the 2015 General Election, “it continues to attract strong feelings among a section of the Scottish electorate”. According to Rycroft “the strength of feeling that it aroused has not diminished significantly, and … that strength of feeling represents a risk to officials named in the information within scope of the request.”
He added that “critics of the Scotland Office and political activists would be likely to seize upon the names and regardless of any exculpatory contextual information released with them, would be likely to subject the individuals concerned to abuse and possibly intimidation”.
In giving evidence for these claims, Rycroft highlighted the activities of the pro-independence group The Scottish Resistance, saying that the group’s members had “targeted aggressively” two former Scottish Labour leaders, Iain Gray and Jim Murphy.
One of the articles presented as exhibits documented an incident where Iain Gray ran into a Subway sandwich shop during campaigning for the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. The other referenced Jim Murphy postponing a tour of Scotland prior to the referendum after an egg was thrown at him.
Further evidence provided by Rycroft of the “abusive” political atmosphere of Scotland included an “intimidatory protest” outside the Tunnock’s factory after products were rebranded as British. This protest involved three people.
Rycroft also used the example of a 50-minute sit-in at the Scotland Office in 2011 by the group Citizens United Against Public Sector Cuts. He linked this to the “highly charged political climate” which involved at least one member of the Scottish Resistance.
The judge decided that the Scotland Office was not compelled to release the information as the relevant FOI exemptions were still engaged.