{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Lesley Riddoch Podcast","title":"Holding to Account","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3794,"description":"The report into the infected blood scandal has finally been published and it makes for damning reading. It found that this \"not an accident\", and that the government and the NHS had engaged in \"downright deception\" over decades.We speculate on whose head will roll as a result of the findings and marvel at the fortitude of survivors and campaigners.John Woodcock, Baron Walney , former Labour MP , chair of Labour Friends of Israel, and current chair of Purpose Business Coalition and Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption to the UK government has completed his report entitled Protecting our Democracy from Coercion.We ask if given his ties to Israel, fossil fuel companies, and the defence industry whether his independence  can be relied on.The ICC has applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity related to the war against Hamas in Gaza. Alongside the Israeli leaders, the ICC also seeks arrest warrants for Hamas’s senior leadership: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. If granted, Netanyahu would be the first Western-oriented leader charged by the ICC .What has been the reaction of both the UK and US governments? How does the rationale for UK opposition to the decision stack up against international law and its previous stance on Russian war crimes?The latest polls show a significant lead for Labour in Scotland  in voting intention at the next General Election. However it's neck and neck with the SNP when it comes to Holyrood.UK Labour has also set out its First Steps for a future Labour government.Will Anas Sarwar simply parrot the Starmer lines or will he make a separate set of Scottish pledges?What impact will the parachuting of Labour candidates from England into Scottish constituencies have on the electorate?Meanwhile Holyrood has declared a housing crisis.Should this have been foreseen given the homelessness trends over the past six years?...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/TKOlqg4xKOK2bn8lxAR0BKU_Ic-p9GXvCAC9p0Malv4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iNjdl/Y2Y2MTczOWY1OTYw/NTEzNGY3MTY2Yzgw/ODAwYy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}