Sunday Herald
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‘Bill Walker approved disastrous press release’
Iain Maciver said tonight: “I took all the blame on national TV and in the press, and the torrent of horrendous personal abuse that followed which almost finished me and my family, until I could catch out the real culprit. There was nothing else I could do with honour.”
Reminder from last Monday - Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: “These comments from Bill Walker’s PR man are a disgusting coda to a shameful set of actions.”
Some interesting local reaction passed to me from the Facebook page of a man based in Maryhill, near Stornoway, whose comments suggest he is a Christian, a PR adviser and is teetotal.
John MacLeod shared a link.
What an embarrassment this man is to our island.http://news.stv.tv/scotland/238971-iain-maciver-admits-bill-walker-msps-statement-is-pr-disaster/
Bill Walker’s media spokesman admits MSP’s statement is ‘PR disaster’
news.stv.tv
Iain Maciver apologised to Diana Walker over the media release.
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9 people like this.
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Bill Greig Oh dear. He’s PR’s version of the Titanic without the style and class. -
Paul Pia It is an indictment of our political system that a man like that was chosen as a candidate – what was the selection committee thinking about? -
Ali MacKay Saw him on news last night, watched in disbelief. Clown. -
Angus Mackay He appears to think that it was only the fact that he sent it that was wrong…… -
John MacLeod Iain X Maciver is a well known personality in the Western Isles… we’ll leave it there. But even the TV appearance is a disaster; I had an excessively exciting month in a similar and impossible role for Western Isles Health Board in 2006 – at a time when its affairs resembled downtown Beirut in the mid-1980s – and had to do the odd bit of ‘crisis PR’ telly. I had the wits to insist on nice out-of-doors locales, to be interviewed standing and to wear a suit and tie… Iain is slumped, slovenly dressed, and with the air of a man helping the police with their inquiries. Amateur Hour. -
Orica MacDonald It wasn’t far of trending today. Poor show. -
Bill Heaney Oh, dear. -
John MacLeod Aye. For his many admirers on Lewis, it would take a heart of stone not to laugh… no one has done more, locally, over the last two decades to bring journalism into disrepute.
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Betsy Martin At least The churches are getting respite while he is involved in this burach ! -
Bill Greig It is a measure of Mr Walker that he used Mr Maciver as his spokesman.
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John MacLeod Indeed. Scotland Tonight just reported Mr Maciver as a ‘self-proclaimed PR expert.’ *purred* *extended claws*
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Domhnall Ruadh Poor Iain X. You have to admit, though, that he is a dab hand with the shovel…. -
John MacLeod As in, when you’re in a hole, stop digging? (Or not, as evidenced here.) This man has hurt, defamed and destroyed so many people over so many years that I find myself suffering a serious dose of compassion-fatigue… I shall bear it bravely.
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Chrissie Smith Uh! John. Has he any admirers in Lewis? -
John MacLeod He has some, unfortunately; nowhere in Britain are Christians more in evidence than they are here, but nowhere else are they more hated. He has largely built his career on painting the picture of an island under the fist of so many Ayatollahs, and – unfortunately – there is a market for it.
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Magz Macleod He’s sorry he sent the wrong message out? How about an apology for describing Mrs Walker in the most derogatory terms? Whatever the ins and outs of this case, Mr Maciver’s performance, both in terms of his initial publication and subsequent ‘apology’…See More -
John MacLeod Well, I think we all knew his character already, up here. Hopefully this will be an eyeopener for the papers hereto so happy to run his material, consult him on Western Isles stories and listen to his boozy smears against people he doesn’t like.
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Magz Macleod So he deliberately smears a woman who has already been brutalized by her husband. What a ‘gentleman’ – not
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Domhnall Ruadh I did indeed john mean to salute the sheer indefatigueability of his forearms in this regard..
- Cheskin
Mr Maciver is outspoken and can be controversial like so many journalists of the age. He defends minority groups and the underdog as he has every right to do. I am bitterly disappointed that local people who call themselves Christians rushed to kick him when he was down and unable to prove what happened. What they wrote on Facebook tells us a lot about the type of people they really are. As a Christian that pains me as what they did goes directly against biblical teaching. I cannot defend their actions. Now that the facts are emerging and that Mr Maciver was undoubtedly taken advantage of, I hope Mr Maciver will receive many apologies.
Though we do have our differences of opinion,what an unedifying spectacle indeed was the ‘ Daniel in the lions den ‘ confrontation between Iain Maciver and the self-righteously outraged ranks of Edinburgh’s political establishment who,presumably, have never in their lives said anything they later regret. Whilst above him circled a flock of menacing incessantly twittering birds as malevolent as any eye-pecking Hitchcock creation
Don’t let the b . . . . . ds grind you down. Iain
D