Buy Freedom ... Former FoI chief Kevin Dunion gives lessons to authorities

A FORMER anti-privacy tsar is coining it in by training public bodies in how to deal with requests for data.

Ex-Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion, 58, offers £1,620 classes to council, police, NHS and other state staff.

They're taught how to deal with Freedom of Information requests— including what can be censored or withheld.

Ex-journalist Bill Chisholm has petitioned Holyrood to overhaul FoI law amid fears the process is too complex.

He said: "The average citizen would need a degree or at least a certificate in Freedom of Information practice to navigate the multiple legal strands.

"While no such course or qualification is available to members of the general public, the same cannot be said for so-called FOI practitioners in the public sector."

Dunion — who promotes the schemes, run by Act Now Training in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire — insisted: "My commitment to increasing the public's right to know is well-established.

"The point of this training is to ensure authorities do provide people with information to which they are entitled."

Nats MSP Chic Brodie, far right, who plans to raise concerns about such courses at Holyrood, said: "There would be an advantage in giving new training to the public."

Dunion stood down as the nation's info chief in 2012. He held the post twice and served a total of nine years.

First published by the Scottish Sun on May 18, 2014

Comments

Cops probe 'Irish Mafia' fight nights ... Ex-lawyer's ring links to Dublin bloodbath gang ... Business 'twinned' with crime clan gym

A BOXING gym at the centre of a bloodbath gang war has a foothold in Scotland after hooking up with a former corporate lawyer. Sam Kynoch, 29, brags about his ties to the MGM base in Spain, which is run by Daniel Kinahan — heir to a £500million Irish crime empire. The ex-solicitor's MGM Scotland describes itself as the 'sister business' of the Marbella gym and he is gearing up to promote fights in Glasgow and Edinburgh. But police will monitor the shows after hitmen with AK-47s blasted a Kinahan gang enforcer to death nine days ago at a boxing weigh-in in Dublin. Labour justice spokesman Graeme Pearson MSP said: "Given the apparent association between these organisations, one would hope the authorities were focusing on any implications for Scotland." The former elite cop commander added: "I am sure the police will look very closely at this relationship." Boxing coach Kinahan, 37, was the suspected target of the Irish shooting.

Glasgow City Council's SNP leader Susan Aitken behind PR campaign to silence critical media report about suicide on River Clyde ... Council spinners cited fears of fuelling deaths ... But the politician had made a series of comments about suicides on the river just weeks earlier

One subject certain to focus the mind of a journalist it is that of suicide. Confusion surrounds what can and cannot be said. News organisations sometimes take the cautious position not to report a single word when someone has taken their own life but a self-imposed blackout is rarely necessary and serves no public interest. These guidelines from the Samaritans are helpful . Yes, it is valid to report suicides but care should be taken about doing so sensitively, avoiding sensationalism and over-simplification, and being too specific about ‘ hot spots ’ or the methods used. A welcome development has been the inclusion about how people can get help. However, one recent experience raised a new and unexpected concern – that of PR people and their political masters exploiting the media’s responsibility to be mindful and responsible. While producing this story about suicide for STV News , I conducted an on-camera interview with Glasgow taxi driver Stef Shaw, aka The Glasgow Cabb

UNMASKED: Gerbil Getaway Driver ... third suspect revealed ... Victor Gallagher 'helped killers flee'

The Scottish Sun can today reveal the third suspected member of the Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll murder squad - who police believe was the assassins' getaway driver. Victor Gallagher, 39, is thought to have been at the wheel of the motor for the underworld execution outside an Asda supermarket. Gunman Billy Paterson - part of the notorious Lyons crime gang - was recently convicted of the shooting and caged for at least 22 years. But Gallagher has not faced any charges over the gangland slaying in Robroyston, Glasgow, in 2010. One senior police source said: " Everything pointed towards Gallagher being involved in some way but he has managed to stay under the radar. "It's believed that Gallagher did not shoot Carroll but it was claimed he was the driver of the VW Golf which took the two Lyons gang gunmen to and from Asda. " The murder was the culmination of a decade-long war between the Lyons and Daniel gangs. Paterson's friend Ross Monaghan, 33,

Meet Alex Salmond's expensive legal team ... Crowdfunded cash will bankroll Court of Session battle against Nicola Sturgeon's government ... But spare a thought for the two women who made complaints of sexual misconduct against the former First Minister

MUCH has been written about how the #MeToo phenomenon which began in Holywood was confounded in Holyrood with Alex Salmond’s ugly but effective reframing of himself as the victim following allegations of sexual misconduct by two women. Plenty has also been said about the chutzpah of a wealthy former First Minister passing round an online begging bowl — stuffed with gusto by the blindly loyal — to pay his legal bills. But so far little is known about the crowdfunded team behind the impending judicial review of how the Scottish Government handled the complaints made against Salmond. Thanks to other people’s £100,007, he can afford a lot of expensive lawyers. Senior counsel Ronnie Clancy QC will lead in court. At his side will be advocate Duncan Hamilton , a former SNP MSP. Central to shaping Salmond’s case is the law firm Levy & McRae and its partner David McKie. Those who take an interest in the plots and personalities of Scotland’s legal profession will be fa

Drug dealer busted with £300,000 of cocaine is behind a drone company which has been bankrolled with taxpayers' cash ... Kieran Hope's firm won funding from the Oil and Gas Technology Centre ... But critics say it is 'unacceptable' to keep details secret from the public

A DRUG dealer caught with £300,000 worth of cocaine in a police organised crime operation has been given taxpayers’ money to grow his drone business. Kieran Hope, 29, was handed a three-year prison sentence in 2014 and two years later launched Air Control Entech (ACE) which uses drones to conduct inspections in the oil and gas industry. A year later, he secured backing from The Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) which is funded by the Scottish and UK governments, academia and industry. There are no rules against convicted criminals from receiving public money but concerns have been raised over the OGTC’s refusal to disclose how much it gave to Hope’s firm. Hope ... boss of Air Control Entech In response to STV News , they said that all such deals are subject to ‘ non disclosure agreements ’ (NDA) which are typically used in legal agreements to protect commercially sensitive information. NDAs came in for criticism when high street retail tycoon Sir Phi

JUDGES FOR SALE: Special investigation into top lawmen being lured with big money jobs in Qatar and the UAE ... Lord McGhie has been with Abu Dhabi court for past two years while ALSO sitting in the Court of Session in Edinburgh ... Veteran human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, cross-party MSPs and Dubai torture victim accuse them of legitimising despotic regimes ...

TOP judges are accused of selling the reputation of Scottish justice by working for Middle East countries with toxic human rights records. Two judges are on the payroll of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where domestic violence against women is legal and where regime critics are tortured and jailed without trial. The most senior is Lord Hope of Craighead — Scotland’s former top judge, a member of the House of Lords and ex-deputy president of the UK Supreme Court. Our investigation found that Lord McGhie has been registered to sit in the UAE for the past two years while he was also dispensing justice at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Veteran human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: " It seems highly inappropriate for Scotland's previous top judge and former deputy president of the UK Supreme Court to work for the UAE given its poor human rights record. “He is giving legitimacy to the UAE's legal system which does not conform to international stan

ABOUT >>>>>

Russell Findlay is an investigations journalist reporting on law, politics, health, business and crime. He is also the author of non-fiction books. A fter 25 years with various newspapers he can now be found at STV News

TAXI BLAZE THREAT RAP OF COCAINE GANGSTER … ex-Royal Regiment of Scotland lance corporal accused of terrorising Glasgow Private Hire taxi firm staff … thug faces jail over firearms

A FORMER soldier who supplied British Army explosives to the Daniel crime clan was accused of threatening to torch the HQ of Scotland's biggest cab firm. Martyn Fitzsimmons, 37, allegedly terrorised staff at Glasgow Private Hire (GPH), which is owned by Paisley businessman Stevie Malcolm, 54. The former lance corporal in the Royal Regiment of Scotland is said to have made the threat in a call to the firm's office in the city's east end in March. Fitzsimmons faces a lengthy jail term as a senior member of a cocaine gang which police say was " at the top of the chain " in Scotland. He and eight other men pled guilty to a string of charges involving guns, drugs and violence and will be sentenced in January 2018. The ex-squaddie was accused of making the call to Malcolm's office along with the attempted murder of Lyons mob thug Ross Monaghan outside a primary school in Penilee, Glasgow, in January. But in a deal with prosecutors, his not

SEIZED: Scotland's biggest bankrupt Gregory King forced out of £5m home in Marbella's La Zagaleta ... Ex-blue chip lawyer loses prized mansion in enclave protected by armed guards and where Putin was a neighbour ... Fraud probe financier back in Glasgow 16 years after the unsolved doorstep murder of business partner Alex Blue ... Now trustee goes after SECOND Costa del Sol casa

SCOTLAND’S biggest bankrupt has been forced to abandon his £5million Spanish mansion which was seized to pay some of his debts. Gregory King, 49, has returned to Glasgow after his trustee Adrian Hyde took control of the stunning hilltop home overlooking Marbella. The house in the Costa del Sol’s exclusive La Zagaleta enclave has been sold for €5.7million (£5.11m). Hyde is now attempting to obtain a neighbouring mansion previously occupied by King’s bookmaker dad Hugh King, 77, and worth at least as much. Hyde, a partner with CVR Global , said: “ When we took possession of the house, Mr King appears to have left in a hurry as it was full of paperwork, clothing and other personal effects. It was almost as if they had simply left on holiday but never returned. “There were two cars in the driveway and one of his many Harley Davidson motorbikes in the garage. “The house was owned by a Spanish company with a Gibraltar parent company which in turn was owned by Mr Ki

Police Scotland's former chief constable allegedly told to 'hire a Scot' as his deputy ... Phil Gormley warned there would be 'political problems' if he did not ... The order left him 'deeply troubled' ... But what did PIRC and the SPA do about the discrimination claim? ... SNP government ministers face questions about alleged meddling in policing

FORMER chief constable Phil Gormley was warned there could be ‘ political problems ’ if a Scottish candidate was not hired as one of his deputies. The former head of Police Scotland claims that the order came from Andrew Flanagan, then chairman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), during a discussion about a vacant post for a deputy chief constable. During the meeting last September, Gormley was allegedly told ‘ there would be major presentational and political problems if either of the two internal (Scottish) candidates were passed over given how this would impact on the proportion of senior officers who were of Scottish national origin ’. In a document seen by The Times newspaper, Gormley said: “ He [Flanagan] indicated that Scottish Government were party to these concerns. As a senior officer of English national origin myself, this concerned me. The national origin of any candidate (from within the United Kingdom) should have no bearing on the selection process.

Russell Findlay - @RussellFindlay1

Search This Blog