Just heard William Hague on Sky's Sunday Live programme describe Alan Johnson's criticism of the UK govenrment's response to the weather as "a heavy snowfall of political opportunism." I wonder if Hague's Conservative and Liberal Democrat colleagues in Scotland are listening? I also wonder whether Johnson's attempt to politicise the weather will become a central editorial focus for the BBC? No sign of his comments leading their website. On the Andrew Marr show earlier, the tone was fluffy. Nobody called for for the UK transport minister Phil Hammond to resign. Blog reader Andrew Stuart has written an open letter to Conservative and Liberal Democrat MSPs saying:

"Doubtless you are now aware that hundreds of drivers were stranded overnight on the M6 motorway in Greater Manchester last night.Since this already happened in Scotland on the M8 and a Transport Minister resigned should Philip Hammond not do likewise? After all it would appear to be a shambles if he cannot avoid what has already happened and for which you wanted someone to resign for and even consider a vote of no confidence. I would hate to think that your previous reasons and rhetoric were purely political at a time when all politicians should have been focused on keeping the country moving rather than indulging in silly political posturing.I look forward to your answers to my question and a similar level of rhetoric and criticism on this shambles as you individually deployed last week.

Today the M25 is set to be "closed for some time." Where are the gloomy voice-overs about the world ending? It all vindicates my column last week claiming BBC Scotland's politicised snow coverage violated the Editorial Values enshrined in its charter. I also took the opportunity to question why so many BBC Scotland journalists and executives had close Labour Party ties. Atholl Duncan, head of News and Current Affairs at BBC Scotland wrote to The Scotsman to complain. But although he accuses me of being "inaccurate" he provides no facts to back up this assertion. He also points out that I am an SNP candidate - but that is clearly labelled on my columns, while the politcal leanings of BBC Scotland journalists and decision makers are not made public.

There is much more to be done on this subject, I have skirted the surface of the problem in the BBC and intend to continue to raise these concerns. The response to my column shows that many people share my views. Here is the column:

"THE BBC's editorial values document is stirring stuff for journalists - I felt a renewed sense of virtue course through my veins with every paragraph. But though I read till the uplifting end, nowhere did I find the phrase "not for viewers in Scotland", meaning that the coverage last week of the snow chaos story did not meet the standards laid down in the BBC's charter.

Top of the list of values is Trust. Under this heading it says: "We are committed to achieving the highest standards of due accuracy and impartiality and strive to avoid knowingly and materially misleading our audiences." Then comes Truth: "Our output will be well sourced, based on sound evidence, thoroughly tested." After that, Impartiality, defined so "no significant strand of thought is knowingly unrepresented".



On Fairness: "Contributors and audiences will be treated with respect." On Public Interest: "We will be rigorous in establishing the truth of a story and well informed when explaining it. Our specialist expertise will bring authority and analysis to the complex world in which we live."



BBC Scotland failed to live up to these ideals the moment Raymond Buchanan demanded an apology five times from the former transport minister Stewart Stevenson on Newsnight Scotland last Monday. The chaos on the motorways emerged in late afternoon and nobody knew the cause other than snow. All except Mr Buchanan and his producers, who asked Stevenson to apologise before they asked for any update or explanation.



There was no attempt to "establish the truth", nor of "treat audiences and contributors with respect". And "analysis of the complex world we live in" was missing too.



Stevenson performed badly by failing to empathise with stranded motorists and insisted the service was "first class", a clumsy attempt to acknowledge emergency workers. But many viewers also found Buchanan's approach insulting to their intelligence. For every person angry at the charmless politician, another thought it absurd to blame him for a blizzard. By the following morning the BBC was on a mission, not to explain, but to gain the upper hand. They had become part of the story and that was how they approached the matter for the rest of the week. It was personal. When Stevenson appeared on Tuesday's Good Morning Scotland he was ambushed by not one but two presenters who hit him with Monday weather reports.



The unmedia-savvy minister seemed caught with his thermals down. In fact, no forecast predicted anything other than "more snow" of 2cm-5cm, not the heavy falls of up to 20cm which hit us.