Defamation
In October 2016 I received a letter from a law firm alleging defamation in relation to two blogs written by me and published on this website. I am publishing this blog in order to:- provide an update to a wide range
Continue readingCategory: Legal affairs
Why should tenants be evicted because the landlord wants to sell?
Lorne Street tenants protesting at City Chambers, Edinburgh November 2015 The American land and tax reformer, Henry George, observed in his book, Progress and Poverty, that “thirty thousand people have legal power to expel the whole population from five-sixths of
Continue readingHighland Titles Day
UPDATE 19 APRIL 2020 This blog, together with a previous one published on 29 September 2015 were the subject of defamation proceedings brought by Wildcat Haven Enterprises CIC against myself in a citation from the Court of Session served on
Continue readingOffshore landownership frustrates police investigation
In January, I blogged about the opaque ownership of Kildrummy Estate in Aberdeenshire. A gamekeeper, George Mutch, had been convicted of wildlife crime. Under Section 24 of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011, an employer or agent of
Continue readingWithout Action, Farm Evictions will Become Scotland’s Shame
The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association issued the following media release today. WITHOUT ACTION, FARM EVICTIONS WILL BECOME SCOTLAND’S SHAME The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association has welcomed the focus given to land and tenancy reform at last week’s SNP conference and
Continue readingWildcat Haven, Bumblebee Haven or Tax haven?
UPDATE 19 APRIL 2020 This blog, together with a subsequent one published on 24 February 2016, were the subject of defamation proceedings brought by Wildcat Haven Enterprises CIC against myself in a citation from the Court of Session served
Continue readingThe Scotland Bill & the Crown Estate (2)
The provisions in the Scotland Bill for the devolution of the management of the Crown Estate in Scotland are complex and unclear (see previous blog for background). Last week, the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee (RACCE)
Continue readingThe Smith Commission, the Scotland Bill and the Crown Estate
Introduction One of the Smith Commission agreements was that responsibility for the management and revenues of the Crown Estate in Scotland should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. (1) This Agreement reflected the widespread consensus in Scotland that the management
Continue readingParliament House Update 2
This blog is long overdue (as indeed are many) but I understand that the City of Edinburgh Council’s Audit Committee will shortly be considering a report into the Parliament House fiasco. It is therefore appropriate to publish this second update on
Continue readingTackling the Misuse of Rights Rhetoric in Land Reform Debate
Scottish Land and Estates, the organisation that represents some landowners in Scotland, attracted a fair bit of press coverage last month for their claim that potential reforms to Scotland’s agricultural tenancy laws could leave the Scottish Government open to compensation
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