2 March 1979
YES BUT NO
FOR DEVO
By Our Political Correspondents
Scots woke this morning to the news that although they voted for a Scottish parliament, not enough voters had taken part to force Westminster to pay attention. Because the bar was set at 40 per cent of the available electorate, Scotland will not have a direct say in its own affairs.
The high threshold came about thanks to an amendment put forward by George Cunningham, a Scot who represents a London seat.
‘Those who did not vote were therefore effectively counted as a No vote,’ an SNP spokesman said last night. ‘If you applied those rules in a General Election, hardly a single MP would be elected.’
Ignored
‘The wishes of 1,230,937 Scots have been completely disregarded. Jim Callaghan’s government should hang their heads in shame.’
A senior Scottish Labour MP said, ‘I understand why people might feel aggrieved but it’s not as if an overwhelming majority voted for it.’ Fifty-one point six per cent of votes were cast for the devolved parliament, with 48.4 per cent against.
But a leading Yes campaigner has complained that the electoral registers are so out of date and inaccurate that in many parts of the country, achieving a 40 per cent vote would be next to impossible. ‘The government tried to appease the Scots by making it look as if we could have a say in our own future. But they were determined to keep their hands on Scotland’s oil.
‘Scotland said yes last night, but Callaghan’s corrupt government will keep saying no.’
5 March 1979
ARREST IN TARTAN
TERROR PLOT
By Alison Burns
A third Glasgow man has been arrested in connection with a horrifying plot to set off terrorist bombs in Scotland.
Roderick Farquhar fled the city hours before police pounced on the extreme nationalist plotters who had already bought explosives from the IRA.
But police were tipped off that Farquhar was still in touch with a contact in Glasgow. Detective Chief Inspector David Buchan revealed that his officers had put that contact under surveillance.
‘Our undercover officers followed him to Manchester, where they witnessed him meeting Farquhar. With the assistance of officers from Greater Manchester Police, Farquhar was taken into custody.’
‘We are not looking for anyone else in relation to this conspiracy,’ he added.
The suspect’s two accomplices have already been charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and will appear at the High Court later this year.
4 May 1979
GOODBYE JIM
HELLO MAGGIE
By Our Political Correspondents
Margaret Thatcher is celebrating becoming Britain’s first woman prime minister. In a decisive victory, her triumphant Tories trounced Jim Callaghan’s Labour government.
Not all votes have been counted, but although Scotland still has an overwhelming Labour majority, the Tories are likely to command a majority of over 40 in the House of Commons.
It was a catastrophic night for the SNP, whose support for bringing down Callaghan’s government cost them dear. Their vote collapsed and they lost nine seats, leaving them with only two MPs.
A senior Labour Party figure told us, ‘It’s clear that the voters who deserted the SNP in droves have migrated straight to the Conservatives. If anyone doubted that the Nats are just Tartan Tories, this result should put them right.’ (Cont p2)
10 May 1979
HOW CLARION EXPOSED
KILLER BROTHER
Evil man who murdered reporter found guilty thanks to us
Exclusive by Alison Burns
Last night Joseph Sullivan began a life sentence for the murder of his brother, Clarion reporter Daniel Sullivan.
This was the final page of a chapter that began when I discovered Danny’s brutally murdered corpse in a pool of blood in his living room.
I’d come to have Sunday dinner with Danny, 27, at his flat in Fraoch Street in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. But when I arrived, he’d clearly been dead for some time.
Horror
It was a devastating discovery.
Our first story together was a happy accident. We were both travelling back to Glasgow after New Year with our families when our train was stuck in the blizzard and a woman went into labour.
We went on to complete two major investigations that produced headlines for the Clarion. Both have led to a series of arrests and convictions for crime ranging from tax fraud to conspiracy to cause explosions.
But when the police arrived at Danny’s flat that day, they weren’t interested in anyone we might have crossed. Because I had discovered his body and because I didn’t have an alibi, I became their prime suspect.
Accusations
During a long interview, they persistently accused me of having killed my friend when fighting him off during a sexual attack. They bullied and threatened me so much I betrayed Danny’s biggest secret – that he was gay.
But that wasn’t enough to clear me. Next they accused me of attacking him because he’d rejected my sexual advances. They badgered me for hours before finally giving up when their colleagues found a better suspect – a young man who had regularly visited Danny at his flat.
Even though there was no evidence against him except that he’d been in the flat for a short time on the night of Danny’s death, they arrested him.
It was only when I started to dig deeper that the truth emerged. First, I heard that police had found a fingerprint that didn’t match the suspect.
Fraud
Then when I spoke to neighbours, I discovered Joseph Sullivan’s distinctive car had been seen in the street later that evening.
The final piece of the puzzle came from a former Special Branch detective who had visited the murder flat that fatal night. His explosive testimony – given anonymously to protect his identity – revealed that he’d arrived to interview Danny shortly after Joseph had left and found him dead.
He admitted he should have reported it to Strathclyde Police but claimed that would have compromised an ongoing operation.
It was evidence that damned Joseph Sullivan. But why would a man kill his brother?
The answer lies in the first investigation we conducted together.
Danny told me his adopted brother had let slip a careless remark about tax-dodging schemes run by the insurance company he worked for. Danny enlisted my help. We were shocked to discover Joseph was a key player in the scheme, but because he was Danny’s brother, we did what we could to keep his name out of the headlines.
When police swooped on the insurance company, Joseph was able to lie convincingly about his role because we’d suppressed his involvement. But his bosses knew better and he was sacked from his job as a clerk.
Guilty
He blamed Danny for what had happened and turned their parents against him. Danny was heartbroken when his mother refused to have anything to do with him.
Danny had done nothing wrong but he felt guilty. Because he was about to take on the Tartan Terrorists undercover assignment that he feared might cost his life, he not only made a will leaving everything to his brother, he also told Joseph what he’d done.
As the prosecution outlined at the trial (Full report, p5–6) Joseph didn’t want to wait for the money – around £20,000. He wanted to go abroad and start a new life. So he went to see his brother and demand an upfront payment.
I know Danny would have offered what he had to hand, which would have been no more than a few hundred pounds. That wasn’t enough for Joseph. He needed Danny to be dead. In the row that followed, he grabbed a heavy onyx candlestick and smashed it into his brother’s head.
He thought he’d wiped it clean of prints, but he’d missed the thumbprint that convicted him.
If not for the investigation mounted by the Clarion, an innocent man might be in jail and a guilty man enjoying the proceeds of his vile act. Now Joseph Sullivan’s conviction means he cannot benefit from Danny’s will.
Danny Sullivan loved his job and he loved the Clarion. We’re proud to have been at the heart of bringing him justice.