Cops swamped by sex crimes
of Westminster turmoil for years and years. Scotland cannot afford the Union but it can more than afford to be independent.”
Mackay’s predecessor as Finance Secretary, John Swinney, attacked former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, who last week criticised the Tory and SNP Governments.
Swinney said: “Gordon Brown broke his silence, again, and decided to share his wisdom – and his idea was breathtaking. He proposed a delegation – crossparty no less – go to London and beg Boris Johnson’s Treasury for more money.
“His only answer to poverty is to try to reason with a reckless Tory Government that cares nothing about tackling child poverty and hope to get some scraps from the Tory table.”
He added: “That sums up the difference between Gordon Brown and the Unionist parties and our party and the independence cause.
“They care more about protecting the Union than they do about child poverty. We want independence to enable us to eradicate child poverty. Theirs is not a plan. The solution to Scotland’s problems do not lie in London.”
He said: “Unlike Gordon Brown’s abdication of responsibility, we don’t need or want anyone else to solve our problems.
“We want people like him and the Tory Treasury to get out of our way and let us get on with the job.”
Meanwhile, fellow Cabinet secretary Mike Russell told activists that the European Union could impose a border between Scotland and England after independence. SENIOR police officers are overburdened with “risky” numbers of rape and serious sexual assault cases, the Justice Secretary was warned last night.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) – which represents rank and file officers – claimed investigators are juggling up to 100 cases at any time when they should be dealing with “four or five”.
Official figures last month showed sex crimes are at their highest level since records began.
Reported rape and attempted rape stats have more than doubled since 2010-11.
SPF general secretary Calum Steele, general secretary of the SPF, highlighted the growing pressure in a public showdown with Humza Yousaf at the SNP conference in Aberdeen. He said: “We have senior investigating officers in some parts of our country who are managing caseloads on an ongoing basis of about 100 rapes and sexual assaults at any one time.”
Steele also said police buildings are crumbling, vehicles are barely roadworthy and even claimed officers won’t get paid after February – two months before the end of the financial year.
Yousaf branded the payment claim “outrageous”. SNP activist Jack Capener did not hold back when denouncing Boris Johnson, above, branding the Tory PM as a “muckle glaikit numpty”. Muckle means “large”, glaikit translates as “stupid”, while numpty is a “stupid person or idiot”. He was being generous. NICOLA Sturgeon delivers her keynote conference speech.