Wrong to link cycle attack to Spaces for People furore - Steve Cardownie

From the outset I should state that I have never read any of Edinburgh City Council Leader, Adam McVey’s statements on Twitter so I have to rely on the account of others if and when they pop up as a topic of discussion.

Adam McVey

So, when Councillor Iain Whyte takes to the pages of this paper to inform us that Councillor McVey “casually linked a criminal act where a wire was strung across a cycle-path in Newcraighall with opposition to the council’s ” Spaces for People” programme I have to accept that he is sufficiently aggrieved to bring it to our attention.

Councillor Whyte goes on to assert that “no police officer has suggested a link for this thuggery to Spaces for People or any other aspect of politics.” If all the above is true, and I have no reason to suggest that it is anything other, then we may have seen another example of political debate being perverted in an effort to smear the “other side” in this most concerning development.

Many members of the Edinburgh public have concerns regarding the ”Spaces for People” programme and have a legitimate right to express them without fear of being accused of encouraging dangerous criminal acts such as trailing a wire across a path in attempt to catch a cyclist by the neck. To suggest, as seems to be the case, that the perpetrator of this heinous crime has been inspired by the other side in a consultation exercise debases democracy and should be frowned upon.

I have highlighted community campaigns against aspects of the traffic initiatives and will continue to do so, come what may!