My latest Scotsman column, published in today's paper (17th Feb '26). There are so many witch-hunts going on just now, it’s hard to keep up, and guilt by association is the new mood. Anyone who was even in the outer orbit of Jeffrey Epstein is being cast out. King Charles is discovering that he is his brother’s keeper after all, while supporters of Lord Peter Mandelson continue to wonder how it was that he did not change his spots. Guilt by association is now ascendant. You don’t have to have...

Many good people have served on the Scottish Police Authority, but none have had a democratic mandate. This is the subject of my column, out in today's Scotsman (3 Feb 2026). There’s no doubt that police reforms in England and Wales are long overdue. Last reorganised in the 1960s, various attempts to overhaul structures have been successfully nudged into the long grass. Now we have another bold new vision. Don’t hold your breath, but if this initiative does go ahead, I hope our neighbours...

Health and safety regulations can be a pain in the neck - until they save lives This is my latest column, published on 20th January 2026. Hands up, I’ve sometimes not been a great fan of the ‘health and safety’ movement. The regulations designed to keep us safe have often, in my experience, been used as an excuse for inaction and a block on initiative – the dead hand of ‘thou shalt not’. There are often times when there’s a thin line between being risk averse and risk aware, but there are...