It is a frightening place to be when someone is out to get you but you don’t now why
Advocate Laura Wray
– Shona Robison MSP on ordeal
Former health secretary Shona Robison has urged the next generation of female politicians not to be discouraged by the harassment she has endured.
The Dundee East SNP MSP endured threatening emails and social media messages by a stalker, who in one Facebook post called for her to be “terminated”.
He repeatedly asked to meet Robison and demanded her staff tell him when she would be in her office. He was found guilty in August 2019 of stalking Robison and detained in a hospital psychiatric ward.
Robison said: “It was quite a difficult time. You feel very vulnerable when someone has identified you for whatever reason and embarks on a campaign of harassment and quite frightening social media posts.
“My case was taken seriously by the authorities and dealt with to a satisfactory conclusion. But it is a frightening place to be when you feel that someone is out to get you for a reason you can’t work out.“
Robison condemned the “abuse and bile” directed at elected female politicians on social media and also urged politicians to avoid personal attacks on each other.
She said: “I think you can engage in vigorous debate without being abusive. We might fundamentally disagree with each other around big issues like independence or social justice, but you can do that in a passionate way without resorting to hurling abuse.
“We have to make sure that when we are attacking our opponents, we are doing it on the basis of taking on the argument rather than trying to find the vulnerabilities of the person.”
Robison said that women considering politics should not be discouraged by her experience.
She said: “I would say to them don’t let instances like this put you off because there is so much good you can do as a female politician. There’s more to be gained than that has to be a lost, but you need to come in with your eyes open.
“Politicians throughout history have been a target for people who disagree with them, but the difference now is that politicians are more contactable and accessible. That is a good thing but it can also bring this negative aspect as well.
“But I would say to young women don’t let some of these instances put you off.
“Politics needs the next generation of young women to come in and make even more improvements for the lives of women and girls coming after us.”
The Queen has been photographed with a backdrop of Commonwealth flags as she celebrates the family of nations.
The image was taken during the filming of a special BBC programme featuring the royal family being screened today to mark Commonwealth Day.
The Queen was photographed in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle wearing a delphinium blue dress and jacket of silk and wool cloque by Angela Kelly.
On her left shoulder the head of state wears a chrysanthemum brooch, made from sapphires and diamonds set in platinum.
The Queen was pictured wearing the brooch when she was photographed with the Duke of Edinburgh to mark their 73rd wedding anniversary in November.
She also wore the brooch on her honeymoon in 1947, and again in pictures released to mark the couple’s 60th wedding anniversary.
Speaking on the BBC programme, Prince Charles pays tribute to the “extraordinary determination, courage and creativity” of the Commonwealth’s people during the Covid crisis.
A leading advocate is calling for young Scots with special needs to be vaccinated as a priority.
Laura Wray’s 22- year- old son, Frankie Wray, is blind and unable to walk, talk or feed himself but, because of his age, she has no idea when he will get his first Covid jab.
Frankie has been diagnosed with a rare chromosome abnormality called coffinsiris syndrome, meaning he is also vulnerable to any kind of infection.
Wray, the widow of former Labour MP Jimmy Wray, says if Frankie were to contract Covid he would almost certainly die. Because of his condition, he is also unable to receive a Covid test, unless it is given under anaesthetic.
She says parents with special needs children, like Frankie, feel they have been failed by the Scottish government’s vaccination programme.
He currently lives in a residential home in Liberton, Edinburgh run by the Sight Scotland charity where he receives expert round- theclock care.
Wray believes young people with severe disabilities like Frankie should be a priority in the vaccination programme.
The 59-year-old lawyer, who specialises in personal injury cases, has not seen her son since Christmas Eve because of lockdown restrictions.
She added: “People like Frankie a r e amo n g the most vulnerable people in our society.
“My son is profoundly physically and mentally disabled and needs constant care. He has severe and complex learning difficulties and is unable to speak or communicate effectively.
“His sight has deteriorated since he was 13 and he is now registered as blind. However he does not appear to be on any kind of priority list for a vaccination.
“There are hundreds of other children like him in the same situation. I would ask the Scottish government to prioritise vaccinations for people like my son as soon as possible.”
Jimmy Wray, who was MP
for Glasgow Baillieston for 18 years, died in May, 2013, at the age of 78 from bowel cancer. The couple married in 1999 at the Palace of Westminster when boxing promoter Frank Warren was the MP’S best man.
Wray suffered a stroke in 2004 and although separating five years later, they remained friends right up to his death. At the time, she described her husband who was from Glasgow’s Gorbals as “a lion of a man”.
Wray who got her Covid vaccination last Friday, added: “I don’t think it’s right that I have had a jab and Frankie hasn’t. I would have gladly given Frankie my vaccination if it had been possible.
“Young people like my son are falling through the cracks in the system. They all have huge underlying health problems and vulnerabilities. We have contacted the relevant authorities, but no one is able to say when Frankie might finally get his jab.”
Last month Inspector Rebus author Ian Rankin talked about the difficulties getting the jab for his 26-year-old son, Kit, who has special needs and said he also felt let down by the programme.
Rankin said that Kit, had been “forgotten” as vaccines were delivered to care homes. The author told the BBC he believed that those in Kit’s circumstances “should have been prioritised”.
Kit, 26, who lives in care in Edinburgh, received his vaccine on Wednesday.
Radio presenter Jo Whiley also spoke out, saying she was “living a nightmare” after being offered a Covid jab before her disabled sister.
The Radio 2 host, 55, said that she would give up her vaccine “in a hear tbeat” to protect care home resident Frances.
Ho u r s a f t e r W h i l e y ’s emotional plea, she found out her sister, 53, had caught the virus – in what she described as “like a plot twist from a terrible film”. She added that her “worst fears had been realised”.
Ma r k O ’ D o n n e l l , chief executive of Sight Scotland, said: “We believe young people with visual impairment and complex needs, including learning disability, should be prioritised for vaccination.
“Our view is that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation should have given priority to these young people at an earlier point.
“We would therefore share the concern of any parent of a young person in this category who has still to be vaccinated.”
The Scottish government said:“people aged 16 and above who have learning difficulties and certain underlying health conditions are part of cohort six for vaccinations and should be receiving their invites over the next few weeks.
“Wh e re people in this group are living in long- stay nursing and residential care homes, the Joint Committee on Va c c i n a t i o n and Immunisation recommends that everyone living in the same home is vaccinated to prevent the risk of exposure.”
People like my son are falling through the cracks in the system – Laura Wray