Celtic face threat of multimillion pound compensation claim(The Times)

Response from Willie Rennie

Sorry for the late reply. As I am not a local constituency MSP it is difficult for me but I have been watching and reading the efforts of Adam Tomkins who has raised it in Parliament and through the media. I have contacted him to ask if I can be of assistance with seeking a resolution and justice for these appalling events.

Willie

Willie Rennie
Leader, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Member of the Scottish Parliament, North East Fife

Three sentences! Disgusting from a leader of the opposition. It’s a nation scandal it shouldn’t matter it’s not in his constituency. Sums up the farce that is the Scottish Parliament.
At least he is not dismissing the story out of hand.
 
Would a child policy not be required for any workplace where children might be?

As in, not in a factory or pub where they're not allowed but in a football club where ball boys are used or young fans are taken on tours etc?


That was kind of my point but I take on board what you are saying with regards to ball boys and tours. I wouldn’t mind seeing the policy as I reckon it would put that to bed in regards that the club and the boys club are two cheeks of the same arse
 
I see that the Labour Lords have taken out a full page ad in today's Guardian attacking Corbyn and his handling of the antisemitism that is ripping the Labour party apart, stating that he has failed the test of leadership.

Could we look at doing something similar? Maybe work with the victims and their families to put something out calling on others that may have been affected to come forward and tell there story? Dont make it petty point scoring like there infamous Swiss ad but an ad with a purpose to highlight the widespread abuse that took part, showing victims that they will have a support network and that this isn't going to just go away or be brushed under the carpet.

Just a thought.
 
Patrick McGuire, a partner at Thompsons Solicitors who is pursuing claims against Celtic FC on behalf of dozens of abuse survivors, said: “ This is yet more evidence, if any more evidence is required, of the absolute legal interconnection and interdependence between Celtic Boys Club and the football club.”

Yeah yeah yeah. More hot air from Paddy.

Celtic are staring him down almost daring him to serve those writs - yet he just keeps talking.

Could it be he's not that confident of winning?

Paddy's starting to give me the fear.
 
No but when the story broke and the jail sentences were being handed out I was asking if she ever brought it up at Hollyrood.
If she did then I must have missed it.
Has she said anything regarding the paedophile ring and the ongoing cover up ?

Davidson had an open goal here given Sturgeon's disgraceful treatment of the Gray family.

Unfortunately she shat the bed.

I think Wee Nikla sees Ruth Davidson as a figure of fun.
 
I’m putting the reply from Ruth Davidson on the thread again as people keep asking to see it. I know it’s already on the thread but obviously some haven’t seen it.


Thank you for writing to me with your concerns surrounding historical child abuse within Scottish football.

The reports that have emerged in recent years are extremely distressing, and while it is welcome that Jim Torbett and others have been convicted for their depraved acts, this issue clearly goes wider. Any further allegations of criminality must be swiftly investigated by the police so that further criminal proceedings can be brought where necessary.

The Scottish Football Association’s Chief Executive has apologised to those young people who suffered sexual abuse in football and I think he was right to do so. The Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football commissioned by the SFA found child protection policies at all levels were and still are not fit for purpose. The report has made a number of recommendations to address this and I believe they should be implemented as soon as possible. It is vital that we in Parliament play our part in holding the SFA and other bodies to account on this
Further to this, my colleague Adam Tomkins, MSP for Glasgow, has written to Ian Maxwell, chief executive of the SFA and to Peter Lawwell, chief executive of Celtic FC to seek urgent meetings on this subject. Through a series of criminal trials, we now know something of the scale of the abuse committed by a number of the men associated with Celtic boys’ club. What we do not know is what Celtic FC knew about these offences and when they knew it. These questions must now be independently and fully investigated and, if necessary, a compensation scheme should be established such as that set up earlier this year by Manchester City FC.

It is clear that victims of child abuse in football have been let down, and I very much hope Police Scotland, clubs and the SFA will give them the closure they need and the justice they deserve.

Please be assured the Scottish Conservatives will closely monitor developments on this matter over the coming weeks and months.

Thank you once again for taking the time to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Ruth Davidson

Rt Hon Ruth Davidson MSP
Leader of the Scottish Conservatives
MSP for Edinburgh Central
Scottish Parliament
 
In fact I have read that statement.
I was wondering if any of the opposition leaders have directly brought this up at Hollyrood and asked wee Nickla what she plans to do about it and why her party saw fit to exclude sporting and religious institutions from any historical child abuse investigations.

The opportunity to keep it in the public domain on live TV and make life very uncomfortable for the SNP.
 
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Can anyone please help me by listing a comprehensive list of their sponsors? It would save me time and hassle if possible. It's a nightmare trying to find what you're looking for owing to the huge amount of posts in this thread. I do have quite a lot from various posts of course, but a more substantial list would be great.

I've been trying to put together an email/letter for the last couple of weeks and due to other personal things, it's been taking a lot longer than I thought, plus the fact that there's a lot of info within it. I'm determined to finish it today, regardless of everything else and really get it blasted out to each and every one of them.

I know many others have contacted them and received various replies, including 'lip service' for the most part. I want to use a slightly different tact from the previous emails/letters, to build on the quite superb job that many on here have already done and hopefully prompt a reaction from them. Well done each and every one of you who did something, even if it was just one email. Imagine if we all did this.

Nothing rude or insulting, that simply wouldn't entice a reply. Everything said as I genuinely feel about their association and support for that disgusting club. It is long, so maybe only a few would read it all, but even if they pick away at it, they'll hopefully get a real understanding of the victims plight and question themselves, or their superiors. We can but try.

I'll move onto politicians and other relevant bodies when I'm happy with my efforts on this one and get the time to do so.

Keep up the stunning work so far one and all. I'm sure the many victims and their families take great comfort in the fact that some of us genuinely do care about them, unlike the present Government and their cohorts.
 
In fact I have read that statement.
I was wondering if any of the opposition leaders have directly brought this up at Hollyrood and asked wee Nickla what she plans to do about it and why her party saw fit to exclude sporting and religious institutions from any historical child abuse allegations.

The opportunity to keep it in the public domain on live TV and make life very uncomfortable for the SNP.
Please believe me we are bombarding opposition leaders,MSP’s, MP’s, press outlets and a lot more. Some of us on here are also in touch with the families so we have also got to be careful what’s posted. I can openly tell you that some aren’t wasting our time any longer on the SNP. Votes before justice.
We also have the lurkers watching every move. It’s frustrating mate to the point of anger. We can only post facts. We mainly have to consider the feelings of the victims and families. That’s priority here.
 
Can anyone please help me by listing a comprehensive list of their sponsors? It would save me time and hassle if possible. It's a nightmare trying to find what you're looking for owing to the huge amount of posts in this thread. I do have quite a lot from various posts of course, but a more substantial list would be great.

I've been trying to put together an email/letter for the last couple of weeks and due to other personal things, it's been taking a lot longer than I thought, plus the fact that there's a lot of info within it. I'm determined to finish it today, regardless of everything else and really get it blasted out to each and every one of them.

I know many others have contacted them and received various replies, including 'lip service' for the most part. I want to use a slightly different tact from the previous emails/letters, to build on the quite superb job that many on here have already done and hopefully prompt a reaction from them. Well done each and every one of you who did something, even if it was just one email. Imagine if we all did this.

Nothing rude or insulting, that simply wouldn't entice a reply. Everything said as I genuinely feel about their association and support for that disgusting club. It is long, so maybe only a few would read it all, but even if they pick away at it, they'll hopefully get a real understanding of the victims plight and question themselves, or their superiors. We can but try.

I'll move onto politicians and other relevant bodies when I'm happy with my efforts on this one and get the time to do so.

Keep up the stunning work so far one and all. I'm sure the many victims and their families take great comfort in the fact that some of us genuinely do care about them, unlike the present Government and their cohorts.
Contact QC wine and he should be able to tell you
 
Please believe me we are bombarding opposition leaders,MSP’s, MP’s, press outlets and a lot more. Some of us on here are also in touch with the families so we have also got to be careful what’s posted. I can openly tell you that some aren’t wasting our time any longer on the SNP. Votes before justice.
We also have the lurkers watching every move. It’s frustrating mate to the point of anger. We can only post facts. We mainly have to consider the feelings of the victims and families. That’s priority here.

I'm in your corner mate.

Haven't been up to speed with Scottish politics and was just wondering if any of the opposition leaders have brought this up on FMs questions.
 
Yeah yeah yeah. More hot air from Paddy.

Celtic are staring him down almost daring him to serve those writs - yet he just keeps talking.

Could it be he's not that confident of winning?

Paddy's starting to give me the fear.
If he wasn't confident of the legal connection between "entities" he is hardly likely to publicly repeat his claims which would leave him open to legal action if Celtc were to challenge him.

Tellingly, they haven't made any attempt to have him retract or apologise for his comments.
 
Take them to court now. Why delay if you had so much evidence Patrick McGuire?

I worried this is an effort to try and group all claimants together and deal with them as softly as possible. I notice his company ‘Thomson’s solicitors’ also advertise of Super scoreboard
Which show do you think disaffected victims of abuse in football are likely to listen to?
 
I'm in your corner mate.

Haven't been up to speed with Scottish politics and was just wondering if any of the opposition leaders have brought this up on FMs questions.
Let’s hope Adam Tomkins goes all the way mate. I received a positive reply recently from a Westminster MP. If you look back a few pages it’s been posted. Plenty going on behind the scenes. I can assure you of that.
 
I see that the Labour Lords have taken out a full page ad in today's Guardian attacking Corbyn and his handling of the antisemitism that is ripping the Labour party apart, stating that he has failed the test of leadership.

Could we look at doing something similar? Maybe work with the victims and their families to put something out calling on others that may have been affected to come forward and tell there story? Dont make it petty point scoring like there infamous Swiss ad but an ad with a purpose to highlight the widespread abuse that took part, showing victims that they will have a support network and that this isn't going to just go away or be brushed under the carpet.

Just a thought.

Have been following from time to time the Led by Donkeys Brexit campaign.The politics are what they are but the style of the campaign of putting factual comments on strategic billboards throughout the city certainly gives good general exposure.It would need funding of course and an astute adverting company.
 
Davidson had an open goal here given Sturgeon's disgraceful treatment of the Gray family.

Unfortunately she shat the bed.

I think Wee Nikla sees Ruth Davidson as a figure of fun.
The opposition have several open goals - health, education, transport, the police and now this

They've bottled it every time. I get the feeling it would be quietly ignored no matter who was running the country
 
Take them to court now. Why delay if you had so much evidence Patrick McGuire?

I worried this is an effort to try and group all claimants together and deal with them as softly as possible. I notice his company ‘Thomson’s solicitors’ also advertise of Super scoreboard
From what I can gather there are dozens of victims pursuing compensation, the first of which has to stick to open the floodgates, and the wheels of law turn very slowly, I would expect CFC's lawyers have already made an attempt to settle this out of court without any media glare.

McGuire's job is to get the very best outcome for his clients and generally are on fixed percentage of the settlements.
 
I see that the Labour Lords have taken out a full page ad in today's Guardian attacking Corbyn and his handling of the antisemitism that is ripping the Labour party apart, stating that he has failed the test of leadership.

Could we look at doing something similar? Maybe work with the victims and their families to put something out calling on others that may have been affected to come forward and tell there story? Dont make it petty point scoring like there infamous Swiss ad but an ad with a purpose to highlight the widespread abuse that took part, showing victims that they will have a support network and that this isn't going to just go away or be brushed under the carpet.

Just a thought.
Would have to be family/victim led and probably lawyer led as you wouldn't want to prejudice the ongoing claim.
The lawyer representing families seems very reactive to any info especially new info that is damning of Celtics cover up. Particularly the recent shared child care policy being made public.
I wonder if it is by design that they are being reactive rather than proactive? Perhaps they know ALL the details will come out...they just need a National inquiry or day in court to out everything
 
The person that replied to you is also in touch with the families mate. So I’m afraid you’ll have to buy it. Like I said we are in constant contact with the families.

I don't have to buy anything.

That person has been wrong in the past. I'm also in touch with one particular family and they are growing very impatient with Thompsons.

It's time for McGuire to stop barking and start biting.
 
If he wasn't confident of the legal connection between "entities" he is hardly likely to publicly repeat his claims which would leave him open to legal action if Celtc were to challenge him.

Tellingly, they haven't made any attempt to have him retract or apologise for his comments.

Only one way to find out then, isn't there?

Serve the papers and let's see who blinks first.
 
I don't have to buy anything.

That person has been wrong in the past. I'm also in touch with one particular family and they are growing very impatient with Thompsons.

It's time for McGuire to stop barking and start biting.[/QUOTE

I’m not going to argue with you. Your entitled to your opinion. Can I ask you if you have been active in anyway. As I’m sure I’ve had a disagreement with you before on this issue.
You seem to be on here doubting people quite a lot.
If you have any doubt who jf1960 is then I can direct you to people on here who will gladly let you know what he has done.
 
I don't have to buy anything.

That person has been wrong in the past. I'm also in touch with one particular family and they are growing very impatient with Thompsons.

It's time for McGuire to stop barking and start biting.
I’m not going to argue with you. Your entitled to your opinion. Can I ask you if you have been active in anyway. As I’m sure I’ve had a disagreement with you before on this issue.
You seem to be on here doubting people quite a lot.
If you have any doubt who jf1960 is then I can direct you to people on here who will gladly let you know what he has done.
 
Must admit to agreeing with this.

If there's so many victims coming forward then surely there would be more support for the Gray family on twitter?

Bud, I'm not on twitter, like many other folk.

Like those mentioned above, emails and letters have been sent to the appropriate people in support of the Gray family, all the while none of us are on twitter.

I wouldn't use twitter as a lone gauge of support and given the ages of most of the victims,(know they aren't pensioners) twitter use may be unlikely with them. Not many victims would take to a public site either, hard enough for them going to a lawyer I imagine.

If we had an approximate idea of the number of victims already listed, we will see the extent of the support the families have within the group of victims.
 
I’m not going to argue with you. Your entitled to your opinion. Can I ask you if you have been active in anyway. As I’m sure I’ve had a disagreement with you before on this issue.
You seem to be on here doubting people quite a lot.
If you have any doubt who jf1960 is then I can direct you to people on here who will gladly let you know what he has done.

If you check my post history you will see that I've been fulsome in my praise for many of the posters on here and the huge time and effort they've put in.

However, If it's all right with you, I'll decide who and what I want to believe.
 
I'm in your corner mate.

Haven't been up to speed with Scottish politics and was just wondering if any of the opposition leaders have brought this up on FMs questions.
This hasn't been brought up at First Minister's Questions by opposition leaders or anyone else. When I was in touch with Adam Tomkins I urged him to bring this up at FMQs, but even if he wanted to there is no guarantee that his question would be picked by the Presiding Officer.

The ideal scenario would be for the Tories to lead on this issue at FMQs ie for Ruth Davidson to use her suite of questions to expose the SNP on this issue. For that to happen, however, the Tories would have to be confident that it carries enough political capital - if they feel they can damage the SNP more by attacking them on Health or Schools that particular week then that is what they will do. I suspect the Tories might not feel this issue carries enough weight on its own for them to use Davidson's FMQ questions on it. The key (if it is possible) might therefore be convincing Ruth Davidson that this issue can form part of a wider suite of questions exposing the SNP for pandering to a particular group of voters at the expense of justice.
 
I think lawyers have a duty to try to settle litigation out of court, it proves to the Judge if it does go to court eventually, that all avenues were open to discussions and talks pursued to settle amicably. Although i'm not a Lawyer, but i went to the High Court in Edinburgh to try to get compensation for a loss of a limb resulting from an industrial accident. It was certainly an eye opener to the complexities of litigation. So i wouldn't call Thompson Solicitors for laying the correct ground work and the length of time it takes.
 
Would have to be family/victim led and probably lawyer led as you wouldn't want to prejudice the ongoing claim.
The lawyer representing families seems very reactive to any info especially new info that is damning of Celtics cover up. Particularly the recent shared child care policy being made public.
I wonder if it is by design that they are being reactive rather than proactive? Perhaps they know ALL the details will come out...they just need a National inquiry or day in court to out everything

Absolutely, I wouldn't want our name or badges on any ad but if we could help the families out with the cost, then it might be worth considering and it's one way to throw a spotlight to what's going on up here.
 
Not only has Scotland become a soft touch on paedophiles its now the drug death capital of the world. Thats some job the SNP are doing on behalf of its voters. Are any of them actually qualified to do their jobs?
It's only going to get worse. You put up the price of alcohol and the kids will turn to cheap drugs.
 
Great work folks. Every time I come into the thread it's seems that someone has applied more pressure or had some meaningful correspondence from people in positions of power.

Pressure being applied to both the Bheasts and to the politicians seems like a very sensible approach.

I do wonder if there is legs in approaching some more of the high profile charities that operate and wondered if that had been explored?

Those suggesting adverts - is that going to be in print (Metro, Times or The Sun (as much as I dislike them), or perhaps paying for a promoted tweet?
 
Can anyone please help me by listing a comprehensive list of their sponsors? It would save me time and hassle if possible. It's a nightmare trying to find what you're looking for owing to the huge amount of posts in this thread. I do have quite a lot from various posts of course, but a more substantial list would be great.

I've been trying to put together an email/letter for the last couple of weeks and due to other personal things, it's been taking a lot longer than I thought, plus the fact that there's a lot of info within it. I'm determined to finish it today, regardless of everything else and really get it blasted out to each and every one of them.

I know many others have contacted them and received various replies, including 'lip service' for the most part. I want to use a slightly different tact from the previous emails/letters, to build on the quite superb job that many on here have already done and hopefully prompt a reaction from them. Well done each and every one of you who did something, even if it was just one email. Imagine if we all did this.

Nothing rude or insulting, that simply wouldn't entice a reply. Everything said as I genuinely feel about their association and support for that disgusting club. It is long, so maybe only a few would read it all, but even if they pick away at it, they'll hopefully get a real understanding of the victims plight and question themselves, or their superiors. We can but try.

I'll move onto politicians and other relevant bodies when I'm happy with my efforts on this one and get the time to do so.

Keep up the stunning work so far one and all. I'm sure the many victims and their families take great comfort in the fact that some of us genuinely do care about them, unlike the present Government and their cohorts.

@Timskelper PM sent
 
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Great work folks. Every time I come into the thread it's seems that someone has applied more pressure or had some meaningful correspondence from people in positions of power.

Pressure being applied to both the Bheasts and to the politicians seems like a very sensible approach.

I do wonder if there is legs in approaching some more of the high profile charities that operate and wondered if that had been explored?

Those suggesting adverts - is that going to be in print (Metro, Times or The Sun (as much as I dislike them), or perhaps paying for a promoted tweet?

I’d suggest 3 Billboards.

Might get a wee mention in USA :D
 
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