We here at the SNP take allegations of bullying very serious – whether it’s Wastemonster bullying the Scottish Parliament, Labour bullying SNP members, the Tories bullying SNP members, people on Twitter with 4 followers bullying SNP members or somebody throwing their weight around by trying to viciously inject facts into an independence debate – we’re always the first to stick up for the bullied party, be they an SNP politician, a member of the SNP or just a supporter of independence. We like to think our record of standing up for the people we agree with in the face of bullies is exemplary.

This is why we’re so disgusted that Stephen Daisley should use his high profile Mail column to lash out at the SNP, John Nicolson and Pete Wishart. It’s a ugly sight to see a man punching down like that. Using his ability with words and stuff to lash out at a defenceless ruling party and two MPs who have nothing in their hearts but love for their independence-supporting constituents.

The only “crime” that Daisley can pin on these two upstanding Scottish citizens is that they didn’t like his writing. Honestly, does Daisley want us all to live in Nazi Germany? Isn’t it perfectly reasonable that these two men, men of fine judgement, may not like his writing? Doesn’t the right of free speech allow them to air these views? Has their right to peaceably assemble, perhaps with some senior STV executives, while they’re airing these views been repealed?  And don’t those same executives have the right to run their company as they and we see fit?

What Daisley is demanding is that these basic human rights are stripped away. He seems perfectly willing to reduce us to slaves, toiling away in his own Ministry of Truth. His article is nothing less than a full-frontal assault on all human rights and we sincerely hope to see it read out one day as evidence at his war-crimes trial at the Hague.

Daisley, disingenuous to the last, actually tries to suggest that Wishart and Nicolson were the ones acting improperly and that Scotland has become a one-party state. Of course he knows perfectly well that, now we’ve got the Greens house-trained, we’re a two-party state. Nowhere in the article does he mention, even in passing, that he had the complete freedom to set up his own television station and broadcast whatever vile messages the Westminster culture, media and sport committee would let him.

Daisley’s article then is nothing less than the opening blast of the trumpet that calls for a charge towards the marching of jackboots and the slamming of concentration camp gates. He is happy to trample over the huge number of Scots who have democratically called for independence and made their pen crosses next to the name of their SNP candidate.

In light of the enormity of writings we hope that our friends at Wastemonster will join with us in demanding that there is no further platform provided for his vile writings unless he shows himself willing to respect human rights and democracy by writing what we tell him to.