This is all getting a bit hot under the collar. It started with JK Rowling and the million pound donation and ended with bloodthirsty calls for one of Alex Salmond’s most senior advisers to be sacked.
First of all, let me declare my relevant interest. I shared an office with Campbell Gunn for my first six months working in Holyrood before he retired as political editor of the Sunday Post.
He was a great help to me as I tried to work out how to do my job and his advice and support were incredibly important and appreciated. I even let him off with being a St Mirren supporter.
What Campbell Gunn has done is something stupid. He appeared to question the integrity and credentials of a speaker at a Better Together rally and, by letter of the special advisers’ code, is very lucky to still be in a job.
However, as one opposition spin doctor noted this sort of thing that happens all the time. Little background notes are given to journalists to aid their side of the argument. This is usually done verbally and explicitly off the record, though.
The difference is Campbell sent this from his Scottish Government email with no caveats. He was wrong. It gave the impression that he sought to undermine a woman, Clare Lally, simply because of her Labour party connections. That led to a false claim about her relation to ex-Labour Provost, Pat Lally, when there is none.
The biggest questions in my mind are what did he possibly think the email would achieve it was sent to The Telegraph after all, unlikely to show any sympathy and why did he trust information from an online source that is so full of anger and bile it posts questions about where journalists were born?
There are much worse things, though. Like people Tweeting that Ms Lally should be “first against the wall when we get independence”. Or the vile, misogynistic abuse directed towards JK Rowling.
Or, for that matter, the violent, insulting bile spouted about Colin and Chris Weir, who have donated millions to the Yes campaign, and SNP activists like Natalie McGarry.
We must be better than this. We are better than this. Having chaired two Courier Debates events on the referendum, I’ve found our audiences in Dundee and Arbroath to be lively but respectful.
Internet numpties absolutely should not be allowed to dominate the debate. They are a woefully tiny minority of cowards who feel empowered by the fact they don’t have to actually say things to their targets’ faces.
It’s time to stick them in the bin and focus on the important issues.
P.S.
Such abuse is rightly being condemned by all political parties. So they’ll agree to get above the petty bickering they often engage in themselves, then?
Not a chance. A motion from Tory chief whip John Lamont calling for “for an end to personal attacks against all people in Scotland who choose to express a view in the independence referendum” has been signed by opposition MSPs.
However, because it only cited JK Rowling and Clare Lally as examples, the SNP’s Annabelle Ewing has submitted an amendment to include Lottery winners, the Weirs.
If you need me this weekend, I’ll be repeatedly banging my head off a brick wall trying to work our politicians out.