Fears over deadline as questions raised over SNP exec’s complaint
Witness riddle over party official’s claim
law, heart transplant patient and his wife share their gratitude for donor’s gift
it, recorded a final message on his phone for Jenny.
Fortunately, Luke’s emergency surgery was a success, and after one false alarm, he received the lifechanging news that a donor heart had been found in September 2019, three months after he was first admitted to hospital.
He said: “I just so happened to be awake at 4am when the transplant coordinator passed my room to see the light on, and came in to share the news that a match had been found. It was a surreal moment when my surgeon bounced into my room a couple of hours later to tell me this was a perfect match for me in every way.
“Of course there were risks, but there was no way I wasn’t having the surgery. Right from day one it had to happen. It was the easiest hard decision I’ve ever had to make. It boiled down to having a transplant – or dying.”
While Luke was in theatre, Jenny waited anxiously for news. And, after a five-hour surgery, was advised Luke had made it through the operation. And the prognosis was looking good.
“As soon as they reattached the heart it was beating so strongly, there was no need for any outside assistance,” Luke said.
The following day, Luke was taken off the ventilator and, only 24 hours later, was able to stand up. Just 12 days after the lifesaving op, he was back home.
Now, 18 months on, he’s feeling like his old self again – albeit with a new heart. And he claims lockdown has provided the perfect opportunity to get back on his feet.
“I’m feeling normal-ish now,” Luke said. “The recovery has been slow and will be an ongoing thing for the rest of my life.
“I have to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to take medication because missing a dose could be fatal, but things are good.
“Lockdown has been a blessing as it has meant slowing down and just letting myself get better instead of putting myself under pressure to do it quickly.”
He added: “The most important thing is that I’m alive today, and that’s thanks to my donor. I’m sad that someone else had to die for me to live, and I think about that every day.
“But if that person hadn’t signed up to be a donor, things could have worked out differently.”
Luke and Jenny have both written to the family of the donor, to show just how grateful they are at Luke’s second chance at life.
“I can’t put into words how valuable this gift is, and I want to make sure I make the most of that gift every day,” Luke said.
Luke is glad to hear the law is now changing.
“In my opinion it has always needed to be an opt-out system,” he said.
“I have always been registered as a donor, and have since used my experience to raise awareness, particularly within the forces. Everyone in my unit has now signed up to be a donor, as they realise this can happen to anyone at any time.
“It’s important to respect that everyone has a choice, but I would urge everyone to look at the impact organ and tissue donation can have on people’s lives.”
A senior SNP official’s account of being physically assaulted by Alex Salmond was questioned again yesterday.
The party’s chief operating officer Sue Ruddick issued a statement on Monday, as chief executive Peter Murrell gave evidence for the second time to a Holyrood committee of inquiry, to highlight the “bullying” behaviour of MSPS asking to see messages between them.
She said her messages were private and revealed that she had reported “an act of physical aggression” by Mr Salmond to police after an incident on the campaign trail 10 years before.
Howe ve r, A n n e Ha r v e y, an assistant to the chief whip for the SNP at Westminster, then claimed she was the sole witness to the alleged incident and Mr Salmond had only “brushed past” Ms Ruddick on a stairwell of a block of flats while campaigning in a by- election in Glenrothes in 2008.
Su b s e q u e n t l y, Ms Ruddick insisted Ms Harvey was not present but The Sunday Post understands Ms Ha r v e y ’ s name was given to the police as a witness by Ms Ruddick. She was subsequently questioned by police officers for nine and a half hours over two interviews.
Police Scotland said t h e re was “insufficient corroborative evidence” to charge him. At Mr Salmond’s criminal trial last year, he was cleared of 13 charges relating to sexual assault and harassment at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Miss Harvey’s statement last week suggested a “witch hunt” had been improperly launched by the SNP to encourage more allegations against Mr Salmond as the police investigation continued. A message to her from Mr Murrell suggested the police in London should be “pressured” to investigate allegations there and said it would be better if Mr Salmond was facing investigation on as many fronts as possible.
Chris Mceleny, leader of the SNP group on Inverclyde Council, has urged the party to investigate concerns that o f f i c i a l s w e re encouraging complaints against Mr Salmond.
He said: “It’s not credible for people to pretend this issue doesn’t need addressed. If the party’s business convener, Kirsten Oswald, fails to do her job, the national executive committee should have a vote of no confidence in her and use their powers to suspend chief executive Peter Murrell and launch an independent investigation.”
The Scottish Co nser vative s said: “A variety of SNP witnesses have given conflicting accounts around various alleged incidents relating to Alex Salmond and these latest contradictions raise further serious questions.”
Meanwhile, Mr Salmond’s legal team remains in discussions with the committee to establish if he will be able to give evidence, with a written High Court ruling expected to clarify the situation within days.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to give evidence in two weeks’ time, followed by publication of the report, before parliament goes into recess for May’s election.
MSPS investigating the Scottish G o v e r n m e n t ’s handling of complaints against the former first minister meanwhile have expressed concerns the SNP will attempt to “slow- walk” a Holyrood debate on the findings of their report.
Lib Dem MSP and committee member Alex Cole- Hamilton said: “The Scottish Government has slow- walked every aspect of this inquiry. I think it is probably in their interests for it not to be met with parliamentary debate.”
Scottish Labour interim leader and committee member Jackie Baillie said: “The priority is to get a report published and hopefully, if there is time, there can be a debate in parliament too.”