Martyn McLaughlin
@martynmcl.bsky.social
Investigations correspondent & columnist The Scotsman & Scotland on Sunday. Personal account. Views my own.
www.martynmclaughlin.com
www.martynmclaughlin.com
EXCL: The chief exec of the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service has warned its independence risks being undermined by politicians calling for contentious terror laws not to be enforced & stressed the prosciption of Palestine Action doesn't prevent Gaza protests www.scotsman.com/news/crown-o...
August 31, 2025 at 7:37 AM
EXCL: The chief exec of the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service has warned its independence risks being undermined by politicians calling for contentious terror laws not to be enforced & stressed the prosciption of Palestine Action doesn't prevent Gaza protests www.scotsman.com/news/crown-o...
All three women I spoke to were raped by Aaron Carson Swan, a controlling domestic abuser who was sentenced to six years in prison last year after being convicted of four counts of rape, one of sexual assault and one of abusive behaviour between 2013 and 2020.
March 23, 2025 at 8:52 AM
All three women I spoke to were raped by Aaron Carson Swan, a controlling domestic abuser who was sentenced to six years in prison last year after being convicted of four counts of rape, one of sexual assault and one of abusive behaviour between 2013 and 2020.
When they eventually received the transcripts from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, all three women were sent emails, with one survivor discovering a message in her junk folder, an experience she described as “shoddy” and “triggering.”
March 23, 2025 at 8:35 AM
When they eventually received the transcripts from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, all three women were sent emails, with one survivor discovering a message in her junk folder, an experience she described as “shoddy” and “triggering.”
EXCL: Rape survivors have condemned a pilot scheme introduced by the Scottish Govt to help victims obtain free court transcripts, warning that delays & “insensitive” engagement left them feeling “fobbed off” and “treated like a number.” Thread 👇 www.scotsman.com/news/rape-su...
March 23, 2025 at 8:25 AM
EXCL: Rape survivors have condemned a pilot scheme introduced by the Scottish Govt to help victims obtain free court transcripts, warning that delays & “insensitive” engagement left them feeling “fobbed off” and “treated like a number.” Thread 👇 www.scotsman.com/news/rape-su...
Another addition to the recent run of fine covers in @privateeyenews.bsky.social
March 19, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Another addition to the recent run of fine covers in @privateeyenews.bsky.social
Tomorrow, Scorecard: The Business of Golf, the week-long series I've written for @scotsman.com, looks in closer detail at the finances surrounding another famous Scottish golfing mecca. Stay tuned, and subscribe to support quality journalism. www.scotsman.com/subscriptions
March 18, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Tomorrow, Scorecard: The Business of Golf, the week-long series I've written for @scotsman.com, looks in closer detail at the finances surrounding another famous Scottish golfing mecca. Stay tuned, and subscribe to support quality journalism. www.scotsman.com/subscriptions
The 47 year-old hails from a prominent family in Austria that has owned Herbstein Castle, a grand and imposing clifftop bolthole, since the 13th century, near to which his father, Count Otto Herberstein, developed a popular zoo visitor attraction.
March 18, 2025 at 9:52 AM
The 47 year-old hails from a prominent family in Austria that has owned Herbstein Castle, a grand and imposing clifftop bolthole, since the 13th century, near to which his father, Count Otto Herberstein, developed a popular zoo visitor attraction.
The coverage of the changes at Carnoustie forms part of Scorecard: The Business of Golf, a week-long series I’ve written for @scotsman.com, looking at the finances underpinning the sport in Scotland. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.
March 17, 2025 at 9:17 AM
The coverage of the changes at Carnoustie forms part of Scorecard: The Business of Golf, a week-long series I’ve written for @scotsman.com, looking at the finances underpinning the sport in Scotland. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.
The eight-time Open host has been owned by Angus Council and its predecessors since 1892, when Arthur George Maule Ramsey, the 14th Earl of Dalhousie, sold the land to townsfolk in 1892 amid fears it was about to be acquired by the Army. It has since staged some of The Open’s most famous moments.
March 17, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The eight-time Open host has been owned by Angus Council and its predecessors since 1892, when Arthur George Maule Ramsey, the 14th Earl of Dalhousie, sold the land to townsfolk in 1892 amid fears it was about to be acquired by the Army. It has since staged some of The Open’s most famous moments.
That arrangement runs until 2033, but the investors and the cash-strapped council are in talks over a new management agreement that could run until the 22nd century, raising concerns that the world-renowned Open venue could effectively be privatised.
March 17, 2025 at 9:04 AM
That arrangement runs until 2033, but the investors and the cash-strapped council are in talks over a new management agreement that could run until the 22nd century, raising concerns that the world-renowned Open venue could effectively be privatised.
But the Swords are among a tiny minority of 9/11 victims’ families denied access to the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which has allocated billions to thousands of people. The reason? Essentially, because neither Mr Sword nor his family were US citizens at the time.
March 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
But the Swords are among a tiny minority of 9/11 victims’ families denied access to the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which has allocated billions to thousands of people. The reason? Essentially, because neither Mr Sword nor his family were US citizens at the time.
Derek Sword, from Dundee, was working in the south tower of New York’s World Trade Centre when it was struck by the hijacked United Airlines flight 175. Less than three weeks previously, the 29 year-old proposed to his partner, and according to his family, he planned to put down roots in the US.
March 16, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Derek Sword, from Dundee, was working in the south tower of New York’s World Trade Centre when it was struck by the hijacked United Airlines flight 175. Less than three weeks previously, the 29 year-old proposed to his partner, and according to his family, he planned to put down roots in the US.
Today marks the final instalment in @scotsman.com's Justice Denied series, scrutinising pressures across Scotland’s criminal justice system. Spanning exclusive news stories, interviews, analysis, it’s spanned 14 stories across the past seven days. Here’s a breakdown of the coverage 👇
February 24, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Today marks the final instalment in @scotsman.com's Justice Denied series, scrutinising pressures across Scotland’s criminal justice system. Spanning exclusive news stories, interviews, analysis, it’s spanned 14 stories across the past seven days. Here’s a breakdown of the coverage 👇
Lengthy delays which force victims of serious sexual crimes to wait years for cases to conclude are resulting in some women asking to abandon their pursuit of justice because of the “unbearable” hold-ups. Day four in @scotsman.com's Justice Denied series: www.scotsman.com/news/crime/j...
February 20, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Lengthy delays which force victims of serious sexual crimes to wait years for cases to conclude are resulting in some women asking to abandon their pursuit of justice because of the “unbearable” hold-ups. Day four in @scotsman.com's Justice Denied series: www.scotsman.com/news/crime/j...
The best @privateeyenews.bsky.social cover in some time, I'd say.
February 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
The best @privateeyenews.bsky.social cover in some time, I'd say.
Today, @scotsman.com launches Justice Denied, a week-long series I’ve produced scrutinising the extraordinary pressures in Scotland’s criminal justice system. For all the progress made since the pandemic, severe and emerging challenges are having a profound impact.
February 17, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Today, @scotsman.com launches Justice Denied, a week-long series I’ve produced scrutinising the extraordinary pressures in Scotland’s criminal justice system. For all the progress made since the pandemic, severe and emerging challenges are having a profound impact.
Trump will attend the opening of a second course at his Aberdeenshire resort, which has failed to turn a profit since being incorporated nearly two decades ago, and which remains reliant on more than £40m in interest free loans from Trump directly.
November 19, 2024 at 9:11 PM
Trump will attend the opening of a second course at his Aberdeenshire resort, which has failed to turn a profit since being incorporated nearly two decades ago, and which remains reliant on more than £40m in interest free loans from Trump directly.
Given X's Russian disinfo sexbots don't do #caturday, it's been ages since I posted a photo of my exotic shorthair, Angus. But in keeping with Bluesky's playful, genial spirit, here he is. He's a bit older, lost an eye, and has been through the wars. But like all of us, he's hanging on in there.
November 16, 2024 at 1:17 PM
Given X's Russian disinfo sexbots don't do #caturday, it's been ages since I posted a photo of my exotic shorthair, Angus. But in keeping with Bluesky's playful, genial spirit, here he is. He's a bit older, lost an eye, and has been through the wars. But like all of us, he's hanging on in there.
The event has caused consternation among some at Trump’s most esteemed international resort. Long-standing sources I spoke to expressed significant disquiet, and said an unwritten rule that Trump’s politics wouldn’t interfere with Turnberry’s day-to-day biz seems to have been discarded.
November 12, 2024 at 9:26 PM
The event has caused consternation among some at Trump’s most esteemed international resort. Long-standing sources I spoke to expressed significant disquiet, and said an unwritten rule that Trump’s politics wouldn’t interfere with Turnberry’s day-to-day biz seems to have been discarded.
But the tie-up goes way further than the performance itself. Hopkins’ website is offering her supporters discounted accommodation at Trump’s property, and she is also offering a £300 ‘VIP’ ticket for a private dinner with her at Turnberry’s Ailsa Craig suite the evening before the show.
November 12, 2024 at 9:19 PM
But the tie-up goes way further than the performance itself. Hopkins’ website is offering her supporters discounted accommodation at Trump’s property, and she is also offering a £300 ‘VIP’ ticket for a private dinner with her at Turnberry’s Ailsa Craig suite the evening before the show.
But the event at Trump Turnberry represents a new chapter in their association, and raises widespread Qs about how Trump’s politics are bleeding into his property - an historic Scottish venue that has served as a four-time host of golf’s Open Championship.
November 12, 2024 at 9:13 PM
But the event at Trump Turnberry represents a new chapter in their association, and raises widespread Qs about how Trump’s politics are bleeding into his property - an historic Scottish venue that has served as a four-time host of golf’s Open Championship.
I’ve learned that Trump's flagship hotel and golf resort in Scotland is to stage a show by Katie Hopkins, who achieved notoriety after comparing migrants to cockroaches and claiming a photograph of a drowned three-year old Syrian refugee had been “staged.”
November 12, 2024 at 9:08 PM
I’ve learned that Trump's flagship hotel and golf resort in Scotland is to stage a show by Katie Hopkins, who achieved notoriety after comparing migrants to cockroaches and claiming a photograph of a drowned three-year old Syrian refugee had been “staged.”