Update on the land piracy and official corruption in Palnackie in Scotland
One of the most impactful articles I have written is the Pirates of Palnackie last August (update in September) , where I documented the skulduggery of various official bodies who have been facilitating dodgy land deals, and acting against the public interest. The story of “land piracy” caught local attention, and is of national and international importance. This is because it highlights the struggle to maintain public assets and facilities — and the freedom to travel — in the face of opposition from asset strippers, privatised utilities, corrupt officials, antagonistic locals, and captured media.
The society we have been offered by those hitherto in power is one where we “own nothing and are happy”. By implication, we have would have to rent everything in perpetuity, and only have privileges — not innate rights. If we want to have a society that is more aligned to our values — of abundance and freedom — then we have to step up and govern infrastructure assets that enable those benefits. That in turn means we have to master being lawful trustees of those assets, and act appropriately as beneficiaries. If we neglect to protect our assets and interests, then we deserve to remain as feudal serfs.
Palnackie is a village in southern Scotland on the Solway Firth, and has a tiny historic harbour on the River Urr. At the heart of the matter in Palnackie are two things: a fraudulent land deal, whereby the beneficiaries of the Urr Navigation Trust (like boat owners) are being denied their harbour use rights; and a mismanaged harbour redevelopment project, funded by Scottish Water, which has raised issues of the recognition of lawful (public) authority by those (of the private) in power. If we achieve accountability in this case, then it is a historic reversal in the long-term decline of public assets and spaces in Britain.
Let’s cover the compromised land deal first. To recap, the public land on one side of the harbour was sold for £1 to a fake charity (as nakedly privatising it was too obvious). This was done despite it being held in perpetuity for the beneficiaries of the Urr Navigation Trust, being the users of the river. This trust was established in 1901 by Parliament for the people, so has serious standing. The corrupt cabal who sold it were essentially unelected impostor trustees, acting in their own interest, and were assigning public land to themselves nefariously. The undervalued deal was flagged up to the land registry, and I personally was one of the people who wrote urging them to investigate it fully.
Before the deal was finally approved, one of the former trustees wrote stating that they had been tricked into signing the land deal. I won’t reprint her name as she has “come clean” and acted honourably as the victim of deceit, but she states in an email:
“I, foolishly, stupidly did not read all [the sale documents], as he [Anthony Walker] kept saying he was in a hurry and had to get round some of the others, not wanting to make the journey over again from where he lived. I assumed that I was signing the 99 year lease, not a deed of sale. I bitterly regret that stupid mistake, but accept that I made it. If I had realised that they were selling the land at Palnackie instead of leasing it I would have had far more questions, especially relating to the land at Dalbeattie Harbour. Selling the land was not mentioned while I was attending meetings.”
The same Anthony Walker stood in front of the parish council and publicly admitted to having deceived one of his fellow trustees. On this basis I assert that Anthony Walker MBE should be put on trial for criminal fraud as there is a case to answer. However, he isn’t the worst con artist in this matter. The land registry is also in on the game! Despite knowing that there was a prima facie case of fraud, and that the sale was unlawful as it transferred the land from the beneficiaries (harbour users) to the village council’s fake charity, they waived the deal through. That makes them an accessory to crime.
I myself got a note from Registers of Scotland:
You objected to the registration of the application in your e-mail of 17/09/2023. The application was submitted by a firm of Scottish solicitors who are bound by legal and regulatory duties not to make the Land Register inaccurate (s111 with a corresponding criminal sanction at s112, both Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012). That firm certified that the application would not make the register inaccurate.
The Keeper is a registrar with no powers of investigation, arbitration, or determination. It is not possible for the Keeper to investigate matters which may precede registration to determine those facts and their legal effect on that application. It is the role of the Keeper to register applications which meet the provisions of the 2012 Act.
Registration is not immediately determinative of a title position and if it is determined that registration of an application has caused the Land Register to become inaccurate, then rectification of the Land Register can be sought.
Remember this is the sale of harbour land done without permission of the Minister, which is required, so is flat-out unlawful. Yet the colluding and money-driven solicitors gave the knowingly defective deal the nod. That’s it as far as the land registry is concerned; they are relieved of any obligation to adhere to the law. Now can you see how corrupt our society is? This is the same problem I encountered with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Following low-level administrative rules is used to override far more serious and superior law, including criminal matters such as fraud. This part of the story is far from over yet, and I will return to it in another article soon.
We have covered the land on the left (north) side of the Palnackie harbour inlet, let’s now focus on the right (south) side. This failed retaining wall is (at last) being renewed by Scottish Water in accordance with their legal obligations as landowner. They already placed a sewage tank in the beauty spot, acquiring the land as part of that previous project. The wall replacement is being carried out by the contractor George Leslie Ltd, and has unraveled as its has collided with the rights of the boat owners and the law governing the harbour.
Scottish Water are acting as if the law doesn’t apply to them, and this has now escalated. What you see in this picture is a serious crime being committed, with a potential life imprisonment sentence if convicted, as the digger arm is blocking the entrance to the open and active harbour. It is the legal equivalent of bursting the fence of an airport with a lorry and parking it on the active runway; it doesn’t matter how busy the port is, you always assume an emergency is about to happen, and the blockage imperils life and limb. You never, ever do this to safety-critical infrastructure, and the punishment is severe for a good reason.
The tall ship La Malouine plus a separate fishing boat had departed on the previous high tide, in anticipation of the harbour being closed for the works to be done. The sailing ship had a newly renovated engine, on its first sea voyage. If anything had gone wrong, it would have had to return to this port. Instead, the moment the boats were gone, George Leslie Ltd got their digger out and blocked the channel to prevent shipping coming in. The digger operator was put under arrest by the harbour master, and the police called for assistance. You can listen to the arrest below — it’s quite a drama, especially where another employee assaults and tries to run down a disabled woman.
The digger driver’s boss blamed “I was only obeying orders”. He didn’t grasp that the person who “pulls the trigger” is accountable; you can’t shift the blame. It took over four hours for the police to resolve the situation and ask for the digger to be moved. Being a somewhat unusual situation compared to your standard domestic tiff or small theft, the police had to consult with the coastguard on the law with respect to the harbour. Meanwhile, it transpires that the work was being done without lawful authority for Scottish Water or George Leslie, as the permission to do construction works had expired, and there was no notice to mariners to close the port.
Now, I want you to meet lovely Barry the boatman. In the process of relocating the boats a high tide, he slipped and fell into the water. Because the mislocated sewage tank is flooded with sea water at high tide, it was a coffee brown effluent that he fell into, and became seriously ill, having to go to hospital. If the rogue former trustees of the past had been doing their job and looked after the public interest, the sewage tank would never have been allowed to be sited there. Barry has thankfully recovered, but could have died or suffered long-term harm; there are real human costs to their privateering.
As a little aside, I notice that the Scottish Water website has “© Copyright 2024 Scottish Water”, but as with “TV Licensing” a trademark cannot own a copyright. Furthermore, the website seems to lack the necessary company disclosures under the Companies Act 2006 — at least I cannot find them. Makes you wonder if they have been up to no good with legal persons and the assignment of assets versus liability… there’s a recurring theme here! The law is ruthlessly applied to the “little man”, but is optional for those aligned to the establishment powers, who hide behind unaccountable legal fictions. This will continue for as long as we refuse to act and hold individuals to account, no matter what the cost.
These goings on have been front page news in the local Lügenpresse, the Galloway News. If I have time I will do a dissection of the character assassination by “journalist” Stephen Norris of those who are holding power to account, as cowardly and manipulative fake news deserves a bit of unexpected exposure. You would never guess from what is written that Scottish Water were directing their agent George Leslie to commit serious crimes. The harbour is due to be filled with stones for the construction period. Those who use the harbour have had not had a written guarantee these will be removed, and it will be returned to a harbour, but are blamed for delays.
Everything is inverted in this PR for crime posing as journalism. The machiavellian schemers and scumbags paint themselves as victims, persecuted by those who in actuality are have rights as trust beneficiaries, and are asserting the primacy of the rule of law. This is standard practise for the narcissists and psychopaths who have taken control over our communities and cities, and we all have some blame to shoulder for letting it happen. These mobsters are fully invested in the big lie, and have no choice but to keep doubling down, until there is a final “crunch” and the public get angry — and have had enough.
Having stolen the land, the corrupt officials are now trying to evict the actual beneficiaries from the harbour and adjacent land. Yet there is a common law right of navigation on the river, and right to roam the access land. Even the dodgy land deal to the fake charity Buittle Quest comes with burdens on the title to maintain access. This is a fundamental test of the rule of law and its ability to protect the public from powerful interests acting with the colour of authority, but not its substance, to colonise our own countryside.
The underlying power struggle is between the rule of law as the sole authority (making us all equal), versus the perceived authority of favoured institutions aligned to particular local interests (like the police and press). The trust port’s actual users, warehouse owners, and lawful stakeholders have gone through the legitimate process to become trustees of the Urr Navigation Trust, in accordance with the 1901 order. This puts them in an unusual position in Britain, as they are full-blown legal custodians of public infrastructure, like say Transport for London, but as a fully autonomous non-governmental body.
Consider the genuine Urr Navigation Trust to be “Transport for Palnackie (and beyond)” to grasp the genuine authority this gives. It puts “the small guy” on a level legal playing field with major state institutions, and that’s rare. Such lawful authority in the hands of ordinary people is unpopular with the local self-interested power clique, who are used to getting their own way by bullying people to conform to their will. The rogues can keep pretending to have the authority, but they are overreaching, and risking criminal accountability as a result.
I will be putting out a separate article about the High Court hearing in London on Monday of next week with respect to the trusteeship of the Urr Navigation Trust. You are invited and asked to attend case PT-2023-000945 with Justice Adam Johnson is at 10am at the Rolls Building on Fetter Lane in London. (Parties are Darren Scott, Tim Dennis, John Hunter, Roy Kerr, David Ofeltd, Heather Young, Simon Matthews, James Lye versus Anthony Walker, Andrew Clark, Clifford Henderson James, Smith Erica, Johnson John Robertson.)
We need the public to come to show they care about their assets and holding lax or corrupt powers to account. Meet at 9.30am outside. I plan to be there, along with “Pirate Tim” and the crew. Harbourmaster Darren Scott is taking the lead. It’s “only” a jurisdiction hearing with respect to the (former) trustees and misuse of funds, but it’s important nonetheless.
As quite a few of the beneficiaries and trustees from Palnackie are coming, and it’s a financial strain to travel that far, I am asking readers to support them and help cover their costs. I will pass on everything raised. The old rogue trustees gave all the cash assets away to their cronies.
Arrangements will be confirmed via my Telegram channel.
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