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This is the real zinger in the ISC Russia report - the section called ‘failure to prepare’.
So what have we in the SNP been saying?
A thread on our record over the past few years on the Russia issue and the many facets of it
So what have we in the SNP been saying?
A thread on our record over the past few years on the Russia issue and the many facets of it
May 2016, @MartinJDocherty writes in @heraldscotland: ‘We can’t as Scottish Nationalists kid ourselves the support RT and Sputnik show for our cause is for any other reason than it misguidedly thinks that it will undermine Western institutions’ https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14490148.snps-martin-docherty-hughes-mp-kremlins-rt-and-sputnik-are-tools-for-disinformation/
July 2016, @MartinJDocherty on a @CommonsDefence report on Russia: ‘the United Kingdom does not have a Scooby what it is doing when it comes to working with like-minded European nations to deal with the profound threats posed by the Russian Federation.’ https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-07-07/debates/AC08730E-6445-4847-9148-69B0F22B46F4/SelectCommitteeOnDefence
In March 2017, @MartinJDocherty told an SNP conference event: ‘... we must, as those who believe in small nation states, be very forceful to say that when you annex 20 per cent of the sovereign state of Georgia, it’s not acceptable.’ https://www.thenational.scot/news/15165481.snp-conference-russian-threat-to-small-nations-must-be-addressed-by-scotland-says-mp/
December 2017: We (again) warned of the threat on social media platforms and Russia’s state news outlets: ‘The party has long warned of the threat from President Vladimir Putin's campaign to sow international discord using both social media and TV stations like RT’
March 2018, in response to Theresa May’s debate on Russia and National security - right after Salisbury - @MartinJDocherty and I urged the U.K. government to convince Spain to stop allowing Russian Naval ships access to ports for refuelling
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-03-26/debates/B5EF4CEE-D0E9-4613-81C4-DDD9F03015EE/NationalSecurityAndRussia
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-03-26/debates/B5EF4CEE-D0E9-4613-81C4-DDD9F03015EE/NationalSecurityAndRussia
In the same debate, @MartinJDocherty said: ‘Quite simply, the UK’s inability to meet the upcoming strategic challenges that the Russian Government pose should cause us all concern.’
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-03-26/debates/B5EF4CEE-D0E9-4613-81C4-DDD9F03015EE/NationalSecurityAndRussia
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-03-26/debates/B5EF4CEE-D0E9-4613-81C4-DDD9F03015EE/NationalSecurityAndRussia
May 2018, I set out in @scotonsunday our assessment of the Russian threat to Scotland and what it meant for the Modernising Defence Programme. A Tory MP went on the record and said my points were ‘laughable’ and a ‘narrow nationalist agenda’ https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snp-defence-policy-close-open-door-russia-294674
In June 2018, I put to the then Defence Secretary that ‘Russian influence operations... are as widespread as they are pernicious’ and this threat ought to be hardwired into security thinking, especially on securing our elections and their integrity.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-06-11/debates/5F194F93-402B-4FD7-BCF3-C631DBB0A7DA/SecurityThreatRussia
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-06-11/debates/5F194F93-402B-4FD7-BCF3-C631DBB0A7DA/SecurityThreatRussia
September 2018, when Theresa May updated Parliament on developments relating to Salisbury, @Ianblackford_MP said: ‘The threat from Russia must always be met by a united front from all of us together standing in solidarity against the abuse of power.’
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-09-05/debates/DEBE4D29-C179-48A5-837D-BF1AA880652C/SalisburyUpdate
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-09-05/debates/DEBE4D29-C179-48A5-837D-BF1AA880652C/SalisburyUpdate
October 2018, @AlynSmith - then an MEP - commissioned a report into the prevelance of bots poisoning our social media discourse. https://www.alynsmith.eu/alyn_publishes_major_report_on_scottish_twitter
November 2018, @AlynSmith called for targeted sanctions against Russia after they unlawfully seized Ukrainian boats and imprisoned Ukrainian crew members. https://twitter.com/alynsmith/status/1068523082141188099
On the very same incident I wrote this in @TheScotsman ‘This latest development should worry all of us who believe in democracy and the sovereignty of nations. Any attempt to redraw the borders of a European nation by force must not become normalised’ https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/russias-aggression-should-worry-all-who-believe-democracy-stewart-mcdonald-197888
January 2019, I talked (again) of the very specific threat to Russian interference in Scotland and why my party takes it seriously: ‘That is what they have done in France, America, the rest of the UK, and we can’t pretend that Scotland is any different.’ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-infiltration-not-taken-seriously-by-some-hwfm0k02b
June 2019, I wrote for @MoscowTimes ‘While Putin disrupts democracies, militarily violates European sovereignty and murders those considered inconvenient, we have let down those in Russia who want to see their country turn a corner and embrace democracy’ https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/06/26/russias-reinstatement-to-pace-is-a-grave-mistake-a66174
In August 2019, as Russian citizens were being imprisoned for protesting in favour of free elections, I made it clear that you can’t be with them if you’re also appearing on Kremlin controlled media outlets. https://twitter.com/stewartmcdonald/status/1157801922696503297
April 2020, I wrote for @thetimesscot: ‘we cannot allow the information space to be weaponised as an attack surface against our fellow citizens. We need an international coalition to defeat the virus of disinformation.’ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-is-infecting-the-planet-with-disinformation-zr2q3bp87
In yesterday’s @ScotNational, @AlynSmith wrote this: https://www.thenational.scot/news/18597814.alyn-smith-poison-heart-russian-report-loud-wakeup-call/
In today’s @TheScotsman I wrote this
So, far from the lie that our political opponents spout that we are somehow weak on Russia, we’ve spent years warning anyone who will listen - and those who chose not to listen - about the threat Russia presents, and we’ve been honest about the challenge for our party too.
We’ve invested a lot of political energy into this issue, and will keep doing so in future. Why? Because it’s important. Our political opponents, if they can take their head out the sand and pay attention, would do well to listen and to learn from us.
^post thread - there are plenty other examples of what we’ve been saying out there too!
