UK Column News reported on the murder of Liam Fee and the implications for the Named Person scheme and wider issues beginning around 41 minutes into the programme. Please note some of the detail of abuse suffered by Liam and the two other little boys is harrowing.
Brian Gerrish followed that up by pointing to a discussion on twitter which began with BBC Scotland asking if the Named Person scheme could help prevent cases like the murder of Liam Fee in the future.
Ruth Davidson MSP responded to the tweet by informing BBC Scotland that Liam Fee did have a Named Person under the Fife pilot scheme.
"There was then a massive attack." For instance, somebody said: "You`re not using that poor child`s death as political capital are you? Tories wouldn`t do that."
"Well all Ruth Davidson was doing was telling the exact truth," says Gerrish. "and of course, in telling the truth that this little boy was under the Named Person scheme, what she is doing is absolutely highlighting that the Named Person scheme is complete rubbish and gives no child protection because, aside from anything else, the report goes back to the same failing social services in the first place."
Gerrish then questions Nicola Sturgeon`s honesty in her account of the Named Person. "She said it is not compulsory; but it is; it is compulsory to report on the child and family."
"I`m going to defend Nippy here," says Mike Robinson, "because this is a great example of why we`ve got to watch very carefully what politicians say because what Nippy said was it was not compulsory for the parents to take part in the Named Person scheme. But the parents have no part in the Named Person scheme. It`s a relationship between the Named Person and the child. That`s compulsory."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVu2OrMSmdI
I think we`ll make our own minds up about that.