Scottish toxic waste is being dumped on developing nations

By Christine Lavelle

AN investigation has revealed that tens of thousands of tonnes of toxic waste from Scotland are being illegally dumped in Africa and Asia each year.

According the Scottish Government’s environmental watchdog, the offloading on developing countries has been aided by organised crime groups.

It includes broken televisions, microwaves, tyres and contaminated paper from Scottish homes and businesses.

The waste is said to be endangering the health of people in Nigeria, Zanzibar, Ghana, Indonesia, Pakistan and China.

But, in a major crackdown, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has stopped eight shipments of the illegal trade this year.

Police arrest over a dozen suspected gang members during raids

By Christine Lavelle

SCOTLAND’S notorious crack cocaine gangs were targeted during a series of dawn raids by police today.

At least a dozen people and several thousands of pounds worth of drugs and cash were seized in the major operation involving some 100 police officers.

Shamed dad used disguised kid porn website

By Michael MacLeod

A DAD has been banned from using the internet after logging-onto a fake astronomy website that was actually plagued with child porn.

Francis Cassidy, 48, had over 400 images of pre-teen children being abused, 19 of which were at the second-worst level of depravity known to police.

He escaped prison today (Tues) with community service at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after being deemed “low risk” to the public and his own children.

But a sheriff warned him that he would be jailed if he ever looks at illegal porn again.

Speed cameras are illegal says highland lawyer 228

By Michael MacLeod

A ZANY legal campaigner has told the High Court that speed cameras are illegal.

Highland lawyer Robbie the Pict says speed cameras and red light cameras have never been registered or approved by the UK Parliament.

The 61-year-old raised the legal point after being clocked doing 85mph on the A74 in Dumfriesshire – a road bound by the national speed limit.

He said he was “confident” of winning the case, which could in theory see £600 million paid back to drivers.

The speed camera crusader plans to take his case to the High Court in London after having his case heard yesterday (Wednesday) by a judge at the Scottish Court of Appeal in Edinburgh.

He said he wanted to see an end to police “cash harvesting” with speed cameras.

He said: “To the man on the street the implications of what I’ve discovered are enormous.

“They claim I was doing 85mph, so I’ve said they must first prove that the road has a 70 mph limit.

“I don’t think they can, because it’s not been established in law that a duel carriageway is a motorway – it’s an illusion.

“They can’t just declare that a road is a motorway without the secretary of state having each road registered in writing, which they don’t.

“And every speed measuring device in Scotland lacks a parliamentary order, as required.

“It’s a departmental cock-up of an enormous degree.”

Currently speed cameras are signed off by the home secretary’s officer, but Robbie the Pict says the law states each model of camera must be approved with its own act of parliament.

His claims were described as “astonishing” by Lord Drummond Young.

He told the campaigner: “If the point is good it would affect almost every prosecution in the last 24 years, which is an astonishing situation.”

The Highland lawyer was all set to give his argument in full when defence advocate Chris Shead asked for more time to investigate the background of the rules.

Robbie the Pict, real name Brian Robertson, successfully campaigned against a toll on a bridge linking Skye to the mainland.

He said he was worried his case could be halted by “the politicisation of the courts.”

“This is a big test because all I’m doing is statue law out loud, but the political implications are huge.

“It means all road traffic endorsements are unsafe.

“They won’t automatically be quashed – you would have to get them quashed to get your money back, but that’s where the £600 million cash harvesting figure has come from.

“The only thing that would stop this would be the complete politicisation of the courts, and we are trying to put a stop to that in Scotland.”