Thursday, January 19, 2012

Legal Complaints CEO & ‘front runner’ for Scottish Information Commissioner role received hospitality from msps, law firms & Law Society of Scotland

SLCC & FOILegal Complaints CEO Rosemary Agnew is ‘front runner’ for Scottish Information Commissioner role. DOCUMENTS published in response to FOI requests after an investigation by Diary of Injustice today reveal ROSEMARY AGNEW, the Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) who is tipped to be the Scottish Parliament’s choice as the new Scottish Information Commissioner, replacing the highly successful Kevin Dunion, has been forced to declare multiple receipts of hospitality from law firms, the Law Society of Scotland, and from politicians such as the Scottish Parliament’s very own Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick MSP, who also chaired the selection panel of seven msps who interviewed Ms Agnew as a candidate to serve as Scotland's Information Commissioner for the next EIGHT YEARS.

The SLCC was forced to publish its “Gifts & Hospitality Register” in response to Freedom of Information requests from Diary of Injustice after this journalist began investigating rumours of multiple gifts, hospitality & undeclared contact with law firms, staff & key figures from the Law Society of Scotland including former Law Society Presidents, clandestine no-notes-taken meetings in posh Edinburgh hotels between SLCC Chiefs & shady organisations such as the Legal Defence Union, insurers such as Royal Sun Alliance PLC & Marsh UK, and MSPs & their staff.

Some of the entries in the SLCC’s Gifts & Hospitality Register, which does not appear to have been kept up to date with current events, show a range of Hospitality gifts by way of dinners & occasions attended by Ms Agnew which raise questions over the closeness of contact between key staff at the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and the legal profession, which the SLCC are supposed to be regulating.

SLCC Rosemary Agnew HospitalityHospitality rules ? 26/8/10 Rosemary Agnew John Schmidt, Regulation and Markets Shepherd & Wedderburn Festival Show (2) and Dinner, Chair also invited and attended.

30/09/10 Rosemary Agnew Patricia Goldie Scott Moncrieff – Internal Auditors Business Lunch

6/12/10 Rosemary Agnew Law Society of Scotland Law Society of Scotland Invitation to Christmas drinks party at their offices. Accepted

13/01/11 Rosemary Agnew Law Society of Scotland Law Society of Scotland Invitation to LSS Dinner with charity raffle 11th March 2011. Accepted

21/02/11 Rosemary Agnew Scott-Moncrieff SLCC’s Internal Auditors Informal Business Lunch at offices – accepted.

24/02/11 Rosemary Agnew Ayr Faculty Law Book token for delivering presentation, donated to the Office Charity

25/05/11 Rosemary Agnew Jamie Millar, President Law Society of Scotland Reception for the CEO of the Law Society of Malawi. Accepted

26.7.11 Rosemary Agnew National Museum of Scotland Museum Accepted. Invitation to reopening of the Museum.

2011_12 staff gifts and hospitality register redacted 19.811_Page1Hospitality offered by Presiding Officer & Chair of selection panel during meetings to decide new Info Commissioner 12.07.11 Rosemary Agnew Tricia Marwick MSP MSP Declined. Invitation to launch reception of 2011 Festival of Politics and the World Press Photo Exhibition in Parliament’s main hall. In one entry, dated July of 2011, the SLCC’s Chief Executive Rosemary Agnew also received an invitation from the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick, to attend a reception at the Scottish Parliament. While the hospitality from Ms Marwick was declined, it appears to have come at the same time Ms Agnew was considering her position in relation to applications & interviews held at the Scottish Parliament for the role of Freedom of Information Tsar after the current Information Commissioner, Kevin Dunion, finished his second & final term as Scotland’s Freedom of Information guardian. of Information Commissioner in which msps were speaking to candidates who were interested in taking on the

However it now transpires from an investigation, the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick who offered hospitality to Ms Agnew also sat on the all women msp selection panel which conducted the highly secret interviews of the five candidates seeking the post of Information Commissioner. The panel is rumoured in the media and by insiders to have made Ms Agnew their choice to replace Mr Dunion.

A Scottish Parliament official confirmed the identities of the cross party panel, which was made up of the following Members : Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick MSP – Chair, Margaret Burgess MSP, Helen Eadie MSP, Christine Grahame MSP, Alison McInnes MSP, Mary Scanlon MSP, Maureen Watt MSP.

While Mr Dunion is set to leave office in a matter of days, there is still no official announcement from the Scottish Parliament on who is to succeed him as the new Information Commissioner. On being quizzed about an announcement regarding the identity of who is to be Scotland’s new Information Commissioner a Scottish Parliament spokesman said: “A seven member, cross-party selection panel followed an open recruitment process with candidates assessed against a number of criteria. We expect to be in a position to confirm the nominee to Parliament, ahead of Kevin Dunion’s departure in February.”

However, amid claims msps have been looking for “a less enthusiastic candidate for the key FOI role" than Mr Dunion, who is generally regarded as being pro information disclosure, the Scottish Parliament have REFUSED to release any details about who was interviewed for the post and what information particularly concerning the candidate’s backgrounds was considered.

A solicitor from a well known law firm who have used FOI on a number of occasions spoke to to Diary of Injustice today on the subject, saying : “Given the position of Information Commissioner is of significant public interest I would have thought we are entitled to open hearings at the Scottish Parliament with the candidates appearing in front of Committees to be questioned about their attitude towards Freedom of Information rather than this secret interview process which appears to have descended into a version of the old pals act.”

He went onto say : “It seems rather suspicious to me that our msps are waiting until the last few days to announce Mr Dunion’s replacement when the position is of such importance to the public. What does the Scottish Parliament have to hide about who is taking up the role ?”

Earlier this week, in the wake of reports in the media regarding Ms Agnew’s apparent position as ‘front runner’ to replace Kevin Dunion, a key player in the recruitment process has approached Diary of Injustice for more information on Ms Agnew’s position at the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and her history of dealing with Freedom of Information disclosures after it was reported Ms Agnew has been slapped down at least FIVE times by the current Information Commissioner over significant failures in releasing information to the public & media.

Diary of Injustice asked the Information Commissioner’s office if it have been informed of who is to replace Mr Dunion in the role of Information Commissioner. A spokesperson said : “I can confirm that we have not received any notification or confirmation from the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body regarding who Kevin Dunion’s successor might be. As such it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the speculation that has surfaced in the press.”

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and Ms Agnew have not made any comment on the situation, and so far, the SLCC have not made any public moves to advertise Ms Agnew’s job as Chief Executive, which she has held for a little over a year after replacing the controversial former SLCC CEO Eileen Masterman, who resigned after a bitter exchange with Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney over issues involving meetings the SLCC held in connection with the Master Policy and claims of “ill health” which led to a secret & substantial pay-off, personally signed off by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Diary of Injustice reported on the secret Masterman pay-off scandal in an earlier article here : HUSH & MONEY : Former SLCC law complaints Chief Executive Eileen Masterman received secret Scottish Government approved payoff in deal with lawyers

If Ms Agnew is appointed to replace Kevin Dunion as Scotland’s Information Commissioner, the SLCC will be forced to recruit its third Chief Executive in three years, leading to concerns from consumer groups, clients, and even the legal profession that there is little continuity at the anti-client law complaints quango which has achieved little since being created in 2008 by the Scottish Government as an ‘independent’ regulator to deal with complaints against Scottish lawyers

Ms Agnew’s position as front runner to be the new Scottish Information Commissioner was reported in an earlier article, here : SHHH Happens : SLCC Legal Complaints CEO Rosemary Agnew tipped for FOI Commissioner role after 5 FOI ‘rebukes’ & refusals to monitor Master Policy

The Daily Record newspaper featured further comment :

stop secret Daily Record 9 January 2012STOP SECRET : Revealed: Government, police & local councils all among public bodies who flouted anti-secrecy laws

TIP FORCED TO DISCLOSE Jan 9 2012 Exclusive by Chris Musson

A WOMAN tipped to be Scotland's new anti-secrecy tsar has had a string of rulings made against her by the man she could replace.

Rosemary Agnew, who heads the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, is one of six people interviewed to be the next Information Commissioner. But Kevin Dunion has slapped down the SLCC eight times - five since Agnew took over as Chief Executive in October 2010.

Legal Reform campaigner Peter Cherbi, who had several requests knocked back by the SLCC, cast doubt over her suitability. He said : "How someone like that could be put in charge of openness is beyond me, unless they want to shut down openness and accountability."

Agnew did not respond to requests for a comment.

HOSPITALITY FREE FOR ALL AT THE SCOTTISH LEGAL COMPLAINTS COMMISSION

2010_11 staff gifts and hospitality register redacted_Page1The Hospitality Club : More gifts than complaints findings at Scotland’s law complaints quango. The SLCC’s registers of gifts & hospitality contains items such as invitations to dinners, drinks parties, lectures events and other gifts offered by several personalities from Scotland’s legal world including past Law Society Presidents Ian Smart & Jamie Millar, law firms such as Pagan Osborne, Shepherd & Wedderburn, Anderson Strathern, Beveridge & Kellas SSC, auditors KPMG & Deloitte, consumer organisations Consumer Focus Scotland & Which?, the Law Society of Scotland, Faculty of Advocates, the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, the Medical Protection Society, the Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council Scottish Committee (AJTC), Scottish Government & others. While some members of staff are identified, others apparently are not, leaving a degree of suspicion over who attended some of the events such as law lectures at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh.

77 comments:

Anonymous said...

Always nice to know hospitality gets the job and from the chair of the interviewing panel to boot!

I wonder how the other applicants will feel on hearing this?

Legal action?

Anonymous said...

Obviously they want her to black out all the paperwork

Anonymous said...

Great report, I agree with the solicitor (Choke!) who said there should have been;

"..open hearings at the Scottish Parliament with the candidates appearing in front of Committees to be questioned about their attitude towards Freedom of Information rather than this secret interview process which appears to have descended into a version of the old pals act.”

But no doubt the SNP will tellus that 'informal meetings' are an essential part of appraising candidates (i.e. oiling the gravy train wheels).

Anonymous said...

A Scottish Parliament official confirmed the identities of the cross party panel, which was made up of the following Members : Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick MSP – Chair, Margaret Burgess MSP, Helen Eadie MSP, Christine Grahame MSP, Alison McInnes MSP, Mary Scanlon MSP, Maureen Watt MSP.


FIT UP IN THE MAKING

Anonymous said...

Is this the reason the SLCC did sod all about complaints?They were all getting too much hospitality to be bothered?

Anonymous said...

Very good Peter.You seem to be well connected and know how to ask for your information from what I've been told.Keep calm and carry on as they say!

Anonymous said...

1st comment

Possibly.

At the very least it looks like Agnew had a relationship enough with the PO for her to be invited along to a party.

For the same person to be on the recruitment panel is not on.

A question for Peter - Isn't there some kind of regulation for recruitment of public positions?

Anonymous said...

By the looks of the blacked out papers they must have set out to find the worst candidate ever

Anonymous said...

A seven women recruitment panel hold a few secret meetings and choose a woman with a dodgy foi background as the new foi commissioner.

What are the odds?If this were an all male panel choosing a man we would be treated to the usual stories of glass ceilings etc

How about the hospitality offered by the chair of the panel?Now really this is too blatant to ignore.Surely a rubber stamp investigation by one of their other friends in dodgy places to whitewash it all should be held?

Anonymous said...

“It seems rather suspicious to me that our msps are waiting until the last few days to announce Mr Dunion’s replacement when the position is of such importance to the public. What does the Scottish Parliament have to hide about who is taking up the role ?”

Obviously a lot to hide given the corruption at the SLCC and Scot Parliament exposed by Peter

Anonymous said...

There's just too much hospitality there for her to be impartial.

NO CREDIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR THE JOB

Anonymous said...

Heh I wonder what Dunion thinks of all this?

All his years in the job are about to be poisoned courtesy of the SNP & a few MSPs who want their pal in the job.

Bye bye FOI!

Anonymous said...

I hear one of the msps on the panel has called you some very nasty names for this!
Maybe she got tanked up and couldnt help herself as usual!

Anonymous said...

They are dealing with this the same way as lawyers deal with clients. Corrupt.

Anonymous said...

If the same scenario happened in the House of Commons and the Speaker John Bercow offered hospitality to someone he was interviewing for the ICO job (and they ended up front runner) this would be front page stuff or main headlines on the news.

So what has happened to the Scottish media?

Are you so far behind the times and so disinterested in your country your dont take this kind of stuff apart?

Anonymous said...

Rosemary Agnew,the same person who wrote to me saying the SLCC would not enter into any more correspondence with me about my complaint.

Some hope for FOI!

Anonymous said...

The inescapable conclusion of this is Peter Cherbi is such a threat to these corrupt people with his investigations they have gathered together to shut down freedom of information by putting one of their own in the job.

Anonymous said...

To answer the first comment - If I was one of the candidates I think I'd be suspicious after reading what has gone on here

Anonymous said...

This is quite a scandal you have uncovered!
Full marks for ur persistence!

Anonymous said...

The picture says it all so how can this person even be considered to be Info Commissioner,they must want someone they can control as you say to shut everything down.

Good work Peter.

Anonymous said...

I have a feeling we are seeing the end of foi as we know it and this is why Kevin Dunion spent the better part of the last few weeks going round reminding us all about Foi and how it should be kept strong.

Diary of Injustice said...

Thanks for your comments on this article ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 18:18

There is ... although like most forms of regulation it seems to have failed yet again ... and on top of that, the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body is not and never has been ranked as an honest institution, as many already know ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 20:14

I've heard similar ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 16:42

Yes ... I also agree there should be open hearings and public questioning of candidates for such positions ... especially when the term of the position lasts for eight years ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 18:50

indeed ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 21:23

The more they tighten up the more the system leaks information out to me ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 21:02

Please send that letter you mentioned to me via scottishlawreporters@gmail.com ...

Anonymous said...

Well whatever happens and whether she gets the job or not I think msps have well & truly discredited the post of Information Commissioner and this has probably been done intentionally.Also telling there are no msps jumping up and down about it probably because they have the most to lose if another Kevin Dunion comes along and says they have to reveal all.

We should now sit back and watch as foi is stripped away right before our eyes.

Anonymous said...

The msps must be having a laugh making her foi boss..

Anonymous said...

Conflict of interest for the PO - Marwick shouldn't have sat on the interview panel certainly not chaired it.
Anywhere else they would have to run the recruitment process again but as its Scotland I suppose all this will be covered up.

Why is this not in a newspaper I wonder?
It certainly ranks as national news.

Anonymous said...

Instead of jobs for the boys its jobs for the girls!

How many other favours are there being offered we dont yet know about ?

Anonymous said...

This is like the Scottish Parliament poking the public in the eyes and blinding them and cutting out their tongues.

So much for transparency?

Anonymous said...

In one way I hope that RA does get the job, so that when the police investigate into a criminal act involving an SLCC case and the Law Society of Scotland, it will result in an even bigger scandal

Anonymous said...

What core skills can Rosemary Agnew bring to the Freedom Of Information Commissioners Role to maintain and improve it?

What examples can she show from her current role with the SLCC, that would lead anyone to believe that she has the impartiality, patience, strict adherance to the rules and ability to correspond in a way that does not enrage the reader?

She has already demonstrated through her actions that she has a basic revulsion of the freedom of information legislation as she has chosen to disregard it, against the public interest and to suit her own personal agenda, even looking to call Peoples Champion Peter Cherbi vexatious, which is in itself an oxymoron.

If there was a competition to find the single most unsuitable person for this important role then they may be homing in on the ideal candidate?

Anonymous said...

It is my opinion that if Rosemary Agnew is selected for the new Freedom of Information Commissioners Role then it is inevitable that there will be a legal challenge to that appointment.

Muttley said...

Anonymous said...
I hear one of the msps on the panel has called you some very nasty names for this!
Maybe she got tanked up and couldnt help herself as usual!
19 January 2012 20:14

If this relates to an elderly alchopop who gives head to an elderly Torie's crotch I wouldnt be too concerned about it if I was writing this up.

Put it this way.If msps feel they have to slag off journalists for doing their job then they are well up to no good.

I suggest they try a new approach to Mr C instead of displaying the usual bitterness against him if they want to save their reputations.

Anonymous said...

Yes Peter it looks like they are shutting out the truth so we can gather there is a massive scandal waiting to be found via foi sometime later this year?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
The inescapable conclusion of this is Peter Cherbi is such a threat to these corrupt people with his investigations they have gathered together to shut down freedom of information by putting one of their own in the job.

19 January 2012 21:23


Seems so.

Anonymous said...

FYI For some time the SLCC have been sounding out potential candidates to fill Agnew's job if she gets Dunion's.I think its called rigging the appointment.You might want to take a look into this.

Anonymous said...

Well done Peter what a good report and an exclusive again!

Anonymous said...

If this was about football players or managers it would be all over the papers. But it is amazing the silence from the media ,I have to assume this ,since I stopped buying newspapers purly because of their silence on such serious matters.

Anonymous said...

If she applied for Dunions job it must have been sometime in the summer of last year so why no announcement from the SLCC they needed a replacement or was she simply going to hang on there if she didnt get the 8 year foi job?

Anonymous said...

Have to admit you've given the newspapers a run for their money with this one Peter.Catching the Presiding Officer on an interview team she dished out hospitality to one of the candidates is a big no-no and someone you know at the Herald says Agnew was tipped to get the job.

This investigation of yours should be on a few front pages by any standards of a decent press.

Anonymous said...

All that black ink will follow her wherever she goes so no credibility for foi at all

Diary of Injustice said...

# Anonymous @ 20 January 2012 21:39

There's still time if she is appointed to the post ... and there are still some details to come out which may make the situation even worse ...

# Anonymous @ 20 January 2012 15:58

Thanks for the tip ...

# Anonymous 20 January 2012 12:48

What you said seems to be exactly what has happened ...

# Anonymous @ 20 January 2012 12:34

Possibly although more probably all parties will be instructed not to investigate each other ...

# Anonymous @ 19 January 2012 23:48

An excellent point ...

Anonymous said...

There's still time if she is appointed to the post ... and there are still some details to come out which may make the situation even worse ...

Looking forward to hearing the rest of it .. and good to see you holding something back to give them some more sleepless nights.

Good work Peter as always!

Anonymous said...

Must admit you show up at odd times Peter.Anyway congrats on the story as already said.Funny how yours has all the gory detail which should have gone in a paper by now.Could it be the great Mr Cherbi is a hell of a lot more determined to get to the truth than some in ivory towers who frown on web based journalism?Me think so.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a repeat of the FSA & RBS/HBOS cosy relationships where the supposed regulators and banks were attending each other's dinners etc

Do we really want someone like this as Information Commissioner ? May as well give the job to Fred Goodwin if this is the case..

Anonymous said...

When it comes to lawyers covering up for each other there is no one who does it better than the Scottish!

Therefore I am suspicious of any character who works or used to work at a "regulator of lawyers"

What kind of dummy believes this slcc is independent anyway

Anonymous said...

Yes she is not the person for the job because quite simply every time anyone else changes career they have to leave their post clear of all problems and yet here she is moving on not giving a hoot and clearly leave the person who asked for her her help to monitor the master policy in the lurch.

Good one Rosemary if your stuck we have a post vacant in greenland sifting through all santas letters with no need to reply PERFECT the job was made for you.

Anonymous said...

This is nothing short of an attempt to terminate Freedom of Information requests in Scotland.

Perhaps Mr Dunion should come out fighting and say more given his 2 tenures as Scottish Information commissioner.

Anonymous said...

Pathetic politicians are waiting until the last minute to announce Dunion's successor - clearly lots to hide.

Anonymous said...

Dnt worry Peter every one on the panel hates your guts and you want to hear what has been said between them about you in the past few days about your stuff in teh record

Anonymous said...

Really amazing no one else has tackled this yet or is it because you did the story they are frightened to touch it?

I like the way you also got hold of the evidence! through one of your own fois forcing them to publish it all!

Cracking blog Peter you really excelled yourself this time!

Anonymous said...

Been reading some of Mr Dunion's decisions on your cases against the SLCC - you ran circles round them Peter no wonder they are trying to plant someone like this to replace Dunion to stop foi dead.

Diary of Injustice said...

# Anonymous @ 21 January 2012 17:06

Feel free to post what has been said ... and mark your comment Do Not Publish if you like ...

# Anonymous @ 21 January 2012 13:34

Very good points ...

It is clearly in the public interest we all know who the candidates were for the Information Commissioner's post and how the interviews were conducted ... I will be reporting more on this in the near future ...

For those of you who have letters from Ms Agnew regarding complaints made to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, and feel those letters should be looked into by the media, please send them to me via scottishlawreporters@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

No doubt about it kid you should be on tv or at a paper you are doing it all on ablog compared to an entire newsroom of resources to do same

Anonymous said...

Interesting.On the one hand the SNP are claiming to be more open about FOI by releasing stuff about Mi5 wanting to block the act yet in secret they are trying to arrange a new FOI Commissioner with a background of blacking out FOIs to get thejob.
Its in the Herald today:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/mi5-wanted-to-scupper-foi-legislation.16517472

MI5 wanted to scupper FoI legislation
Paul Hutcheon
Investigations Editor

MI5 threatened to block Scotland's landmark freedom of information law over fears the legislation did not protect the UK's secrets, according to National Archives files.

Security Service officials are alleged to have said they could "arrange" for the Holyrood Act not to receive Royal Assent.

As a result, the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive agreed to amend their plans after the row reached the UK Cabinet.

In 2001, MSPs passed a radical right-to-know law that gave citizens a legal entitlement to information held by hundreds of public bodies.

Exemptions were in place to protect sensitive material, but it was still more far-reaching than the UK Government equivalent.

However, National Archive files from the time the initial draft bill was being discussed in 2000 reveal a cross-border rift with British spies.

MI5 was concerned the restrictions did not go far enough.

In April 2001, an email between Scottish Executive officials stated: "Not good news ... The Security Services had been raising the prospect that an Order under ... the Scotland Act be arranged to preclude our Act receiving Royal Assent."

Such orders, possible under the legislation that created the Scottish Parliament, can block Acts from being rubber-stamped by the monarch.

One of the officials said there were suspicions that "Special Branch may be the source of the Security Service concerns".

The then Home Secretary Jack Straw wrote to the then Scottish Justice Minister Jim Wallace, saying he was concerned about the release of information directly relating to the intelligence agencies, and noted there was no ministerial veto for national security.

In response, officials said Wallace was "content in principle" to make adjustments. The Scottish Executive then made alterations which brought the Scottish Act more into line with the UK legislation.

The revelation has triggered a row about the SNP's approach to releasing the files of previous governments. Whereas UK Government files are subject to the "30-year" rule, First Minister Alex Salmond has slashed this to 15 years north of the Border.

However, the correspondence on the draft FoI bill is only about a decade old, and was given the OK for release by the Scottish Government.

Labour MSP James Kelly said: "It looks suspiciously like one rule for the SNP and another for everyone else. At a time the SNP are trying to stop extending freedom of information laws for current government decisions, they are willing to selectively release files from more recent administrations."

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "This government is committed to openness and transparency – the key principle that underpins freedom of information legislation.

"More information than ever – including material from this and previous administrations – is now available for public viewing."

Anonymous said...

Oh my.Someone has been very naughty to say the least about that hospitality offer.What sort of contact has there been between Agnew and msps we dont know about yet?I'm sure the other applicants for Mr Dunion's job will be interested to read all this and will now realise they never had a chance.Or perhaps with your expose now public the politicians will have to make another choice and give Ms Agnew another job later on when things quieten down?

Anonymous said...

Seven wicked witches all sat in a row.
Gave a job to Agnew but now she cant go.

They are needing someone honest for the job of FOI.
But with the wicked panel it will never be a guy.

Alcoholics & Liars are the order of the day.
So if your true & honest definitely stay away.

Anonymous said...

Looks thoroughly fishy and look at who was on the panel to select!Some of those msps have been caught out by foi too..

Anonymous said...

This certainly proves msps cannot be trusted with public appointments like this and I agree with the solicitors comment about open hearings for jobs such as the Information Commissioner.

Anonymous said...

Hey Peter I was talking to someone you know today and he told me someone at the BBC blocked a programme about the SLCC and Law Society?

Have you heard anything about this?

Anonymous said...

if the Herald story about MI5 blocking FOISA is true then it shows we needed independence a long time ago

Anonymous said...

So when do we get to find out Dunion's replacement?!

Anonymous said...

Do we really want someone like this as Information Commissioner ? May as well give the job to Fred Goodwin if this is the case..

21 January 2012 01:03
-----------------------------------

Poor Fred, name being brought into disrepute again!

Diary of Injustice said...

# Anonymous @ 23 January 2012 19:11

From what I understand, I suspect it was probably a lawyer who blocked it ...

# Anonymous @ 23 January 2012 14:36

I agree ...

# Anonymous @ 23 January 2012 19:41

The way things are going with FOI in Scotland, the Scottish Government and public bodies are doing a far better job of obstructing FOI requests than any organisation south of the border ...

My thanks to the contributor who posted the unpublished comment in the form of poetry on topics contained in the article ...

Anonymous said...

No surprise to learn the lawyers are blocking news about the SLCC/Law Society from reaching our screens.The LSoS was caught manipulating Wikipedia and other websites so I imagine it will be an easy nod/wink from the LSoS to the beeb to cancel out any adverse coverage.
Why else would our national broadcaster have omitted any reports about the likes of O'Donnell and his kind for the past 30 years or more.

Anonymous said...

The gang of 7 will be looking for a busy news day to announce KD's replacement thus hoping the issue is put to bed

Anonymous said...

Rosemary Agnew,the same person who wrote to me saying the SLCC would not enter into any more correspondence with me about my complaint.

Some hope for FOI!

19 January 2012 21:02
===================================

Report to the Police!

Anonymous said...

So what has happened to the Scottish media?

Are you so far behind the times and so disinterested in your country your dont take this kind of stuff apart?

19 January 2012 20:43
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is Peter Cherbi the end of a dying breed in Scotland?

The last REAL journalist.....?

When did the rest of the other 'so-called' journalists give-up and sell-out the soul, 'anything for an easy life'

Just feed them the spoon fed gruel, tomorrow is another day by the time it comes they'll have forgotten all about what happened today....?

Anonymous said...

The inescapable conclusion of this is Peter Cherbi is such a threat to these corrupt people with his investigations they have gathered together to shut down freedom of information by putting one of their own in the job.

19 January 2012 21:23
-----------------------------------

This man speaks the TRUTH!

Anonymous said...

If this was about football players or managers it would be all over the papers. But it is amazing the silence from the media ,I have to assume this ,since I stopped buying newspapers purly because of their silence on such serious matters.

20 January 2012 19:02
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Scottish Media is analagous to a zombie.

Bloodied and riddled with disease but unable to be killed off unless you chop off the head.

Unfortunately, in this info-war age, the good journalists seem to have succumed to disease quickest!

Anonymous said...

If she applied for Dunions job it must have been sometime in the summer of last year so why no announcement from the SLCC they needed a replacement or was she simply going to hang on there if she didnt get the 8 year foi job?

20 January 2012 19:46
-----------------------------------

Haven't you heard?

The SLCC is to shut

Anonymous said...

What kind of dummy believes this slcc is independent anyway

21 January 2012 01:38
-----------------------------------

It is a SHAM organisation.

The Legislation to bring it in is a pathetic attempt by the Law Society of Scotland together with Polititions in the know followed by the rest of the MSP hangers on to trick the Public into believing that the end to Lawyers self regulation had come.

When in fact the opposite was the case and Lawyers are still protecting Lawyers, now they think they are doing it behind a veil and we cannot see what they are up to.

Mendatious evil tricksters.

Anonymous said...

No doubt about it kid you should be on tv or at a paper you are doing it all on ablog compared to an entire newsroom of resources to do same

21 January 2012 23:14
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knighthood?

Walk this way, Sir (in a non John Cleese way)

Anonymous said...

Here's an idea....

Why not KEEP Mr Dunion as Freedom of Information Commissioner.

Let's face it, he's done a pretty fair job has acted responsibly and in a balanced way. Just how you would expect an FOI Commissioner to act.

So, it may be against some blah de blah rules and he may have been head-hunted for another job.

Let's face it, Mr Dunion's stock is pretty high having shown creditable integrity in the role.

Here is the solution....

Sack Rosemary Agnew (let's face it, not too onerous to replace...) and use her fantastically high salary to reward Mr Dunion with a big fat bonus.

Afterall, he is one Public Official who the Public can hand on heart say, well done young man, you have shown you can be trusted and have done a good job.

Bye the way my name is not Dunion in case you are wondering but you know this makes sense...

Anonymous said...

It is worth noting that these admissions of hospitality received have been released for the attention of the Public.

With Rosemary Agnew's previous history of not wanting to comply 'in the Public interest', how can the Public be expected to believe that this list of gratuities is full and complete?

Anonymous said...

Well if she does get the job and starts closing off FOI then we all know who to thank for warning us in the first place.

I also agree with you the people standing for the Info Commissioner job need to be open and be questioned openly at a committee we can all see going on.

Anonymous said...

Another week gone by and the all women committee havent yet announced their preferred candidate to replace Dunion.

What a farce.Freedom of Information has become Freedom to corrupt under the well named SCOTTISH PARLIARMENT CORPORATE BODY

Anonymous said...

lol too busy makin spells against u

Anonymous said...

Honestly this SLCC has a cheek calling itself an independent regulator when the likes of Lockhart are going around ruining people.