The Auditor General last week criticised the SNP for failing to record the crucial decision, to go ahead with ferry contracts, that of so far costs the taxpayer £0.25 billion. In response, a Scottish Government spokesperson said, a thorough search has been conducted and the paperwork cannot be located. That is laughable. A few weeks ago, the First Minister was telling us that a big boy did it and ran away. Now the dog is eating all our homework. These excuses would not cut it in a primary school classroom, so do you really expect anyone to believe this? Will you tell us where has that crucial document gone? First Minister, first of all, there are more than 200 documents amounting to more than 1,500 pages relating to those decisions already in the public domain. They were published by the Scottish Government and they have been there for quite some time for anyone to read and scrutinise. There is one piece of documentation that is not there, which is the formal record of the decision to proceed with the final contract award. That is absolutely a key decision. However, there are two further points that I think it is important to make. First, there is no evidence that this has been withheld. In fact, let me quote the Auditor General. Last week, our judgment was not that evidence had been withheld from us during the course of our audit work, but rather that an important piece of documentary evidence was not prepared in relation to the judgment that ministers arrived at. Secondly, what is missing is a note confirming that ministers have considered the issues and the risks and decided to proceed. However, that is nevertheless clear in all the surrounding documentation. There was advice to ministers on 8 October. I am summarising here that we would welcome the minister's confirmation that he has considered the CMAL note to be aware of the procurement and financial risks and content to give approval to CMAL to proceed. The day after that, on 9 October, Transport Scotland writes to CMAL and says, and I quote, "...the Scottish ministers have also seen and understood the CMAL risk paper and have noted and accepted the various technical and commercial risks identified and assessed by CMAL and have indicated that they are content for CMAL to proceed with the award of the contract." So the minister's decision is actually narrated in the letter that Transport Scotland writes. So there is one link in the chain that is missing, but you can still very clearly follow the chain of events, something that Douglas Ross clearly hasn't even tried to do. Let's try and get this straight. At the time, Nicholas Sturgeon said, this was one of the achievements we are most proud of. Now we are expected to believe that there is not a shred of evidence about the final crucial decision. They were so proud of it that they didn't want anyone to know about it. First Minister, given your pride, that should have been hanging on your wall. Maybe that's it. Maybe that's where the document is, hanging up in Nicholas Sturgeon's wall in Bute House. Of course, the excuse that we have just heard from the First Minister is that there are hundreds of documents available, but wow, it's not the one that we need. It's not the one that Auditor General was looking at. The vital document has vanished into thin air. So can the First Minister say, with a straight face, that this does not look like an almighty cover-up? I'll ask again because she didn't answer. Where has that document gone? That document would have been an email or a note that would have said the minister's content on the basis of the reasons set out. Douglas Ross says, first of all, it was and is an achievement to have saved almost 400 jobs, 400 people, as we speak, working in Ferguson's shipyard right now, earning a wage supporting their families. I know that jobs don't matter that much to the Conservatives, but they matter to this Government and they always will. So let me run through it again. On 8 October 2015, a submission goes to ministers asking for confirmation that ministers have considered the seamal note, are aware of the potential procurement and financial risk. Of course, the mitigations are set out in this submission and are content to proceed. The next day Transport Scotland writes to seamal and they say, Scottish ministers have seen and understood the risk paper and have noted and accepted the technical and commercial risks and have decided to proceed. The decision is recorded there. The bit that is missing is that linking the chain in between the two things that simply say that the minister is content, but the fact that ministers were content is narrated in the document the next day. Can I suggest to Douglas Ross it might be a good use of his time to actually go and read the 200 documents and the 1500 pages that are published on the Scottish Government website? Douglas Ross? Can I say to the First Minister it might be a good use of her time and this Parliament's time if she answers the question, because again there is nothing. This is Nicola Sturgeon, who has more ministers than ever before, more special advisers than ever before, more communication staff than ever before, and none of them can find the vital link that is missing. The First Minister claims to be a master of detail. Right up until the point that the Government makes a mistake, then are memories like a sieve. Every time the going gets tough, we hear she can't recall, she doesn't know, she's not sure. We are supposed to believe a quarter of a billion pound decision was either never written down, has vanished or has been illegally destroyed. The First Minister has botched this and covered up mistakes. Those trying to get to the bottom of this have been unable to, because Ferguson Marine employees can't speak openly because of SNP gagging orders. The First Minister could change that. Will she tell us, and she's rifling through her folder, how many gagging orders were issued and will she wave them all today to end this secrecy? I'm going to keep asking where has the vital document gone. E-mail, as the Auditor General said last week, has not been withheld. It was, in his judgment, not prepared, so I am answering that question, but let me set out again. On 8 October 2015, a submission goes to ministers setting out CMAL's concern, setting out the issues with the guarantee, setting out the steps that had been taken to mitigate those risks. That was what ministers considered. Then, on 9 October, the very next day, Transport Scotland narrates to CMAL. Yes, it is a third time, because Douglas Ross doesn't seem to want to understand it, so I'm going to read it perhaps a bit more slowly. When people are asking questions or responding to questions, I would be grateful if everyone else could cease from contributing at that point. Let me read it again a bit more slowly. The Scottish ministers have also seen and understood the CMAL risk paper and have noted and accepted the various technical and commercial risks identified and assessed by CMAL and have indicated that they are content for CMAL to proceed with the award of the contracts. On the basis of the advice on 8 October, that is the decision that is narrated to CMAL on 9 October. Secondly, on the issue of non-disclosure agreements, the Scottish Government negotiated with the previous owners of the Yards administrators to secure the release of their employers who gave evidence to the committee inquiry from their terms and conditions of employment confidentiality obligations. The Scottish Government fully complied with London Scotland's inquiry and will encourage everybody to do so fully with any future investigations or inquiries. Again, I'm asking questions that Nicola Sturgeon won't answer. I specifically asked how—well, SNP members don't want to hear this, but I asked how many gagging orders are in place, so how many are there, and will the First Minister agree to waive them today? Because he has quoted the Auditor General from last week, let's quote him from this morning. He told the Public Audit Committee of this Parliament that he would speak to Ferguson employees if those gagging orders were removed, so let's allow him to do his job, First Minister. And the Auditor General also said last week, and I quote, We recommend that there needs to be a fuller review. Lessons learned feels too glib to describe the circumstances before us. But all we've heard from Nicola Sturgeon is one glib statement after another. When asked to apologise to the islanders, she dismissively said, for goodness sake, that was the response from Nicola Sturgeon to islanders who are struggling right now. Her feeble excuse for wasting quarter of a billion pounds on these ferries is it's regrettable. First Minister, it is not regrettable. It is scandalous. It is absolutely scandalous. And we know advice was given to Government ministers not to go ahead with the deal, and we know they ignored it. So can the First Minister finally come clean and tell us? She mentions Scottish Government ministers, but did she personally see that advice not to proceed with this deal before the decision was made? And for the fourth and final time today, will she tell us where that vital piece of documentation is? The leadership is in some difficulty, but this really is desperate stuff. I have quoted from the advice given to ministers. I have quoted from the Transport Scotland letter that went to Seymal narrating the decision that ministers took, but let me go back to issues of nondisclosure agreements. Nobody in the employment of Ferguson Shipyard will be prevented in any way, shape or form, from speaking to Audit Scotland and speaking in full to Audit Scotland. I can point again to the fact that it was the Scottish Government that negotiated with FMLs administrators to release employees from the confidentiality obligations that they had back then. Everybody will be fully free and unable to speak to Audit Scotland. Secondly, in terms of my views on island communities, I think—I will be corrected if I am wrong here—that the official report will show the regret that I expressed about the impact on island communities. Next, in terms of a fuller review, I think that the first exchange that we had on this issue after the Audit Scotland report was published, I pointed to the recommendation about a fuller review and said that we would be considering the terms of that. The Auditor General said last week that the focus now, the priority, must be on completing the ferries and a key milestone, of course, was delivered in that vein yesterday. Lastly, I take full responsibility for everything that this Government does. I always will, and perhaps that is the difference between me and some other leaders across these islands. Question number two, Anas Sarwar. Presiding Officer, today is workers memorial day. We pause to remember all those who have lost their lives simply doing their jobs and resolved to campaign for workplaces free from harm. Yesterday, a judge at the High Court of England ruled that the policy of discharging positive and untested Covid patients into care homes was unlawful, unreasonable and irrational. It was described as one of the most devastating policy failures in the modern era that cost lives. Does the First Minister accept that her decision to send untested and positive patients into care homes in Scotland was unlawful, unreasonable, irrational and cost lives? No, I do not accept that, although those matters are now rightly and properly that will be scrutinised by the public inquiry that is under way in Scotland and, of course, the parallel public inquiry that will take place into those matters UK-wide. Of course, those matters that will be rightly and properly scrutinised should any legal cases be brought in Scotland. I think that the most important thing that I want to say today is that my thoughts are with every single family who has lost a loved one during the course of the pandemic in care homes and, indeed, across wider society. We are obviously aware of the ruling at the High Court yesterday regarding decisions made by the UK Secretary of State for England. The priority of all of us during this pandemic has been to save lives at all points. We have sought to take the best decisions based on the best scientific and clinical evidence that we had at any given time. All nations develop guidance based on what we understood at the time. The guidance in Scotland is broadly similar to the guidance that was in place in England but not identical. There were some differences in the versions of the guidance. One of the things that our guidance emphasised from 13 March and 26 March 2020 was that residents should remain in their rooms so far as possible, and routine visiting should be suspended. We also required isolation from the 26 March 2020 of anyone discharged to a care home who had been in contact with Covid cases even if they were not displaying symptoms. It is right and proper that those matters are fully scrutinised by the public inquiry. The last thing that I would say, Presiding Officer, is that—and I have said it before—there is nothing anybody in this chamber will say to me that makes me feel the weight of those decisions any heavier than I already do and will do for every day of the rest of my life. I took all of those decisions, as did my ministers, as did the Government in good faith, based on the best information that we had at the time. I am sorry, but that last part is fine in words, but it is an extraordinary and unthinkable answer that we do not accept the judgment, particularly when the almost identical thing happened in Scotland. Let us look at what the judgment makes clear. Our rational, unreasonable and lawful, given what Governments knew, is to look at what happened in Scotland. As early as 4 February, the Government's advisers were suggesting that asymptomatic transmission was a possibility. On 13 February, the Government's advisers were saying that asymptomatic transmission was likely. On 13 March, despite warnings from care home staff this Government's guidance said, do not hinder discharge from hospitals. On 26 March, this Government's guidance said that individuals being discharged from hospital do not routinely need confirmation of a negative Covid test. As late as 17 April, this Government's health secretary was saying that there was still not a strong case to test patients before discharge, even though testing guidelines had changed in England on 15 April. By the time that the Government changed its guidance and guidelines on 21 April, nearly 3,000 untested people and 75 known positive cases had already been transferred into Scotland's care homes. Does the First Minister accept, in the words of the families affected and impacted, that this was a shameful, unforgivable, criminal act that cost lives in Scotland? My thoughts will be with bereaved families every single day of the rest of my life. This is not about not accepting a judgment. The Scottish Government will look very carefully at the terms of the judgment yesterday that we have already started that process. However, that was not a case about the situation in Scotland. Therefore, that is just a statement of fact. It is not a judgment about the situation in Scotland, so it is not about not accepting that judgment. It is about recognising that very important fact. The guidance, as I have said and as anybody can look and see, was broadly similar in Scotland to England and indeed in Wales with a Labour Government. That is nothing to do with politics, but there were some differences. For example, at a time when there were mixed views, if I can put it mildly, about the risks of asymptomatic transmission, our guidance from as early as 13 March was recommending that residents remain in their rooms and from 26 March recommending isolation, 14-day isolation, of anyone discharged to a care home, even if they did not have symptoms. Clearly, the risk of asymptomatic transmission was in mind to some extent at that point. Those are matters that will be fully scrutinised by the public inquiry under the convenership of Lady Poole, a High Court judge in Scotland. If there are other processes brought in Scotland, then that scrutiny will be brought to bear there, too. Of course, there has been analysis undertaken by Public Health Scotland of discharges to care homes. The finding of that analysis was that there was no clear statistical evidence that hospital discharges were associated with care home outbreaks. Instead, it was care home size that was more strongly related to outbreaks. That is the analysis that has been done so far, but it is right that there is full analysis and full scrutiny by the independent public inquiry whose work is now getting under way. I remind the First Minister that, yes, families will be hearing the sympathies that the First Minister has expressed, but they will also hear the ducking and diving that the First Minister has expressed as well. I am sorry, Mr Swinney, that you are right. It is a disgrace. Disgrace to those who lost a loved one in a care home. I have already narrated the timeline that happened in Scotland, but let us look at the consequences of the shameful decision. In the first wave of the pandemic, 4,073 people died with Covid in Scotland. 1,900 of them were in care homes. That is almost 50 per cent. By the time that the Government acted, half of all care homes in Scotland had a Covid outbreak. First Minister, families have been through the heartbreak of losing a loved one. Many of them could not be there at the final moments. It seems that the First Minister is suggesting that those families should perhaps go through the court system here in Scotland to get to the truth. Do not force those families to relive that heartbreak all over again. Being dragged through the courts with the emotional toll that comes with it, having to spend thousands of pounds in order to get you to admit the truth, do you finally accept that your Government's decisions and actions were unlawful, unreasonable, irrational and cost lives? On an issue as serious as this, Anna Sarwar is shamefully misrepresenting my words. I did not suggest that people should have to go to court. What I recognised was that people have a right if they so choose to go to court and they may choose to do that. That was not a suggestion that they should. I believe that people should get the answers to the questions that they have around all aspects of the handling of the pandemic, without having to do that, which is why this Government has set up an independent public inquiry chaired by a high court judge. Jackie Baillie, from a sedentary position, is asking me how long. Can I refer her to the Inquiries Act 2005? The conduct of the public inquiry and the rhythm of reporting and the time that it takes for it to report is entirely a matter for the independence of that inquiry and not for ministers. Jackie Baillie, from a sedentary position, I think should stop indulging in political commentary and engage in the importance of those issues. I do not have to be reminded of the numbers and the consequences of this pandemic. Those facts and figures and the human consequences are embedded in my soul and will always be. That does not mean that my decisions and my actions and those of my Government should in any way not be subject to scrutiny. They should be subject to full independent scrutiny and that is exactly what the independent public inquiry is going to do. That is what families deserve and they deserve that that process takes place in a proper way and I am determined that they get that. I will now move to supplementary questions that I call Alastair Allam. It was reported this week that, despite soaring energy prices, the UK Government's working group to address the cost of living has not met since the start of the party gate scandal and also that the chancellor had said that it was, quote, silly to boost support for energy bills. Does the First Minister share the view of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this week that the UK Government's response to the crisis has been woefully inadequate? Yes, I share that view. I think that the response of the UK Government has been woefully inadequate. Most of the resources, most of the levers to tackle this crisis lie with the UK Government. Some, not all, I accept, but some of the factors driving this crisis have happened at the hand of the UK Government to not least the impact and implications of Brexit, the removal of universal credit from the most vulnerable families. It is time that the UK Government stepped up and responded properly. The comment of the chancellor that it would be silly to provide help for people now is deeply offensive to those right now across Scotland, across all parts of the UK who are struggling to heat their homes and struggling to feed their children. It is time for Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson and the UK Government to step up and to act. Russell Finlay. A young woman called Jess Insub believes that she was spiked during a night out in Glasgow and she's bravely spoken publicly about her distressing ordeal as a warning to others. But due to a 34-hour delay in police taking a sample show, most likely never know what happened to her, let alone get justice. Instead of yet more SNP talking shops, can the First Minister tell us when her Government will start taking this dangerous and predatory crime seriously? We do take it seriously and let me put on record my sympathies to the young woman for her experience. I think that every woman in the country understands how serious offences like this are and the impact and the consequences they have on lives. Clearly how the police conduct criminal investigations is a matter for the police. It is not rightly a matter for ministers. I am certainly very willing to correspond with the chief constable on this particular case to seek an explanation such as he is able to give for the situation that has been narrated in the chamber and to ask the justice secretary to write to the member in due course. Those are serious crimes and I know that the police take them very seriously and the Government does too. Jackie Baillie Delayed discharge is increasing. The number of people dying while waiting to be discharged is also increasing, almost 400 people in the last year alone. Each of these statistics is a loved one who died unable to get the care package that they needed. The SNP promised to end delayed discharge over seven years ago, but three health ministers later have simply failed to do so. Despite initiatives that I am sure we will hear a list of from the First Minister, delayed discharge has gone up by 57 per cent, so it is clearly not working. Does the First Minister agree that this is a scandal and the human cost of the SNP's failure to take effective action? Jackie Baillie says that three health ministers later, what she admits to say of course, is a global pandemic later, which has impacted on these things in Scotland, in England, in Wales, in Northern Ireland and probably in literally every country in the world. Delayed discharge is unacceptable and that is why she is right to say that I will talk about the actions that we are taking because the actions are important. 62 million pounds to enhance care at home, 48 million pounds to increase the pay of those working in the social care sector, 40 million pounds to support interim care arrangements, 20 million pounds to enhance multidisciplinary teams, two new programmes that have been launched, the interface care and discharge without delay programmes supported by a further 10 million pounds. We will continue to take the action and make the investments to get delayed discharge down in our NHS as we recover across society from the impact of the global pandemic. Christine Grahame has had to restrict its timetables and essential services in my rural constituency due to a shortage of bus drivers following Brexit. The UK Government refuses to place bus drivers on its shortage occupation list as the UK Migration Advisory Council does not consider this occupation meets the threshold. I think that that is completely wrong. Does the First Minister agree? Christine Grahame is highlighting an issue that is relevant in her local authority area, but it is, sadly, all too evident in other areas and in other industries as well. We are experiencing a shortage of bus drivers and haulage drivers and workers for many parts of the food and drink industry and in the health service and in social care. Scotland is, as we warned, paying the price for a Brexit that we did not vote for. Despite repeatedly asking for a formal role in determining what occupations are in shortage in the devolved nations, we have been denied this, so we have been unable to ensure that bus drivers are included in the shortage occupation list. I understand that the UK Government will be reviewing this list later this year and we have asked for full involvement in that process, but we have also set up our own group involving operators, COSLA and other public agencies to find ways to resolve such workforce issues. Those issues are caused by Brexit. They are the fault of the Conservative Government, and it is high time that it took action to address those issues. I have been contacted by many students who feel sick with worry because of the decision of their college lecturers to go on strike during the most critical phase of their studies just before their final assessments and exams. With classes being suspended, students face getting no feedback on assessments. They are unsure if exams are going to go ahead as planned, and they even face taking exams without having completed their courses. It is clear to see that students are the real victims in this dispute. What support is the Scottish Government prepared to offer students who have been left hanging for the second year in a row due to the failure of management and unions to settle their dispute? I know that the member is aware that colleges are independent institutions. It is for employers to negotiate with unions' pay and conditions. I would expect to see employers get round the table with the college unions and come to an agreement that takes away the risk and the reality of strike action. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with all parties to ensure that there is a process with constructive conversations on both sides. However, I would say to colleges and employers in this matter to ensure that they are engaging to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We will continue to support students in every way that we possibly can, but the way we will support students best is to ensure that employers get round the table with the unions and resolve this dispute. In making a successful bid to host the Global Seafood Alliance Conference in autumn of 2024, Scotland has been selected to host a major international event. This will put the spotlight on the world-class and highly sought-after produce that comes from Scotland's seas and oceans. Last night, I had the pleasure of sponsoring an event in Parliament, celebrating the tastes, sounds and culture of the island of Bute, including smoked trout and salmon. Will the First Minister join with me in congratulating Seafood Scotland for putting this bid together and wishing them well in showcasing some of the very best seafood available anywhere on the planet? I thank Jenny Minto for that question, and I would take the opportunity to congratulate Seafood Scotland for its work. The prestigious event will be held in Scotland in 2024, the first time it has been held anywhere in the UK, and it will be a global showcase for Scotland at its best. The seafood sector has faced enormous challenges as a result of Brexit, and it is really heartening to see our investment deliver innovation, sustainability and quality be recognised internationally. Our recent launch of the Blue Economy vision underpins our commitment to help producers continue to deliver high-quality produce from clean, well-managed Scottish waters. It is a great recognition of the dedication that our seafood producers have demonstrated and a platform for Scotland to continue to shine globally. I hope that everybody in the chamber will join me in congratulating Seafood Scotland on such a success. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether Police Scotland's procedures and training for responding to cases of domestic abuse are sufficient. The training and development of officers and the operational delivery of policing is, of course, a matter for the chief constable. That said, I am assured that Police Scotland is committed to proactively targeting perpetrators and protecting victims and their families from the horrors of domestic abuse and the significant harm that it does. To support implementation of the Domestic Abuse Scotland Act 2018, the Scottish Government provided funding for the training of 14,000 police officers and staff and the appointment of 700 domestic abuse champions to embed training and sustain organisational change. Officers in Scotland are therefore more aware and informed now about the dynamics of domestic abuse. Police Scotland is also undertaking divisional reviews on their policing response to domestic abuse across the country, which includes partnership and multi-agency engagement and working. Today, Caroline Lyons, mother to Louise Attson, who was murdered in 2020 by her boyfriend, who had convictions for abusing women, is here in Parliament calling for a swift fatal accident inquiry after Police Scotland admitted to 18 separate errors, meaning that her daughter was never notified of her partner's violent history. Does the First Minister therefore agree that the current system is simply not doing enough to keep victims safe and that a measure, such as domestic abuse register, is needed to ensure that any potential victim knows where, sorry, when they are at risk? First Minister, can I take the opportunity to welcome Louise's mum to the chamber, although I am sure that she does not want to be here in the circumstances in which she is? I absolutely understand her desire for a fatal accident inquiry and for that fatal accident inquiry to be taken forward as quickly as possible. It is the case, of course, and I know members across the chamber understand that the Lord Advocate is constitutionally responsible for the investigation of deaths in Scotland and conducts that responsibility independently of Governments, so decisions on whether or not a fatal accident inquiry is held and the timing of the initiation of such an inquiry is also a matter for the Lord Advocate, but I will make sure that the detail of this exchange is brought to the attention of the Lord Advocate later today. On the other parts of the question, which I think are entirely reasonable, the proposal for a domestic abuse offender register, we keep the law under continual review and we are always open to exploring options to reduce crime, particularly crime of this nature, so we will look carefully at the detail of any measure put forward and the Justice Secretary, I know, would be happy to engage on that. Of course, there already is a domestic abuse disclosure scheme in place in Scotland. The purpose of that scheme is to allow people to make informed decisions about their situation when they may be at risk in a relationship, and that scheme also allows Police Scotland to tell people that they may be at risk, and that information can be given even if it has not been asked for. Finally, I think that we always have to be open to improvements here. There is a real need for us to do everything possible to protect women and children in particular, because they are most often the victims of domestic abuse to protect women and children as much as possible, so the Government will remain open to any suggestions and proposals that are brought forward. In terms of this particular case, it is of course right that any issues there are properly scrutinised in the course of the fatal accident inquiry process, which as I said is a matter for the Lord Advocate. As the regional MSP is a privilege to host Louise Aitson's family in Parliament today on what is the second anniversary of Louise's death, I want to thank them for giving all of us the opportunity to remember Louise, because she is a person that matters today. In life, Louise gave so much love, care and service to others. This is Louise. We should remember her, and saving other women's lives will be her legacy. As the family are in the gallery today and look forward to meeting other MSPs after questions today, will the First Minister join me in paying tribute to Louise's mother Caroline Lyon and also to Marion Scott in the Sunday post for their work in securing this important fatal accident inquiry? The First Minister has recognised the importance of that work continuing or starting at urgent pace so that lessons can be learned. Will she also confer on when domestic homicide reviews will be introduced? On that latter point, I will return to the member with a specific answer to that so that I am giving the right information. I thank Monica Lennon for remembering Louise and the way that she has in the chamber. I want to pay tribute to Louise's family, not just for being here today but for raising those issues. I can only imagine how incredibly difficult it must be for any bereaved family bereaved in those circumstances to do that, but doing it makes sure that we can act to reduce the risk that other women are subjected to domestic abuse and suffer as Louise did. I want to not just pay tribute to them but to thank them for the courage and the bravery that they are showing. There are clearly questions around Louise's situation and we have heard them already in this exchange. That is why it is right that the fatal accident inquiry takes place, but it is also right for me to say that the conduct of that must be allowed to be independent and I hope that it gives the family answers and comfort. For my part, I will continue to ensure that the Government acts in all possible ways to do everything that we can to protect women from domestic abuse. I believe that Louise's family's bravery and courage at such a sad time and on such a sad day for them will help with that. I did not know Louise, but I am sure that she was a wonderful young woman, but I am sure that she would be very proud of her family today. To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the climate change makers impact report from the Scottish Children's Parliament. I welcome the impact report. A fundamental part of Scotland's climate assembly process was the involvement of children. I am pleased that the impact report recognises the Government's work to ensure that children's voices are heard. We are committed to upholding children's rights, demonstrating, of course, through our approach to incorporating the UN convention. This inclusion of children reflects our commitment to empower children and to respect, protect and fulfil their rights. In the impact report, children ask us to do more and that is what we intend to do. At COP26, I committed to on-going meaningful engagement between the Scottish Government and children and young people, and I remain committed to that. I am very grateful for the children's hard work and for their creativity and commitment. I thank the First Minister for her answer and also a warm welcome to all the young people in our public gallery today. Can I ask more broadly what role does she see organisations such as the Children's Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament playing in shape in future policy, particularly in areas such as addressing the climate emergency, where we see time and time again the value of bringing younger generations into the conversation? Both the Youth Parliament and the Children's Parliament do a fantastic job and have a key role to play. Our annual Cabinet meeting with children and young people demonstrates, I hope, the on-going commitment of the Government at the highest level to meaningful engagement with children and young people on the issues that matter most to them. The Scottish Government core funding, which is over £580,000 this financial year of the Children's Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament, will continue to support children and young people to participate in climate decision making. The Scottish Youth Parliament's work at COP26 was very successful and that includes partnership working with the Scottish Parliament and the Children's Parliament on the moment. Their work, as Scottish Delegates for the Conference of Youth, led to the public commitment that I gave to work with children and young people to tackle climate change going forward, and I want to reiterate that strong commitment today. To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will investigate the reported increasing number of children being referred to the gender specialist clinic in Glasgow in light of reports of a similar inquiry that is planned by the UK Government. We are aware that referrals for young people's gender identity services have increased in Scotland, as they have throughout the UK. The recent interim report from the CASS review into those services in NHS England highlighted the importance of robust data collection and the impact of long waiting times. We have already in Scotland recognised the need to improve services, including for young people. That is why we plan to provide £9 million over three years to support improvement in service delivery, data collection, research and support. We do not look to replicate the work of the CASS review, but, as we have previously said, we will carefully consider its findings in the context of NHS Scotland's services. I thank the First Minister for her answer. According to recent reports, 263 patients under the age of 18 are being treated at the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow. Almost 1,000 are on the waiting list for their first appointment, including 86 prepubescent children. At least 98% of children who consent to take puberty blockers go on to have sex hormone treatment that can cause irreversible changes to their body. Those figures are alarming. We need to balance up the need to help those who are definitely suffering from gender dysphoria, with the need to protect vulnerable young people who are unsure of their identity and risk embarking on gender hormone treatment prematurely. Will the First Minister commit to a similar inquiry that is announced by the UK Government to ensure that our young people are safeguarded? I think that safeguarding is important, but it is also important that we properly understand and apply principles of safeguarding. The Scottish Government and I hope that everybody would recognise that it is really important and right that trans people or anyone who is questioning their gender identity should have access to the right support at the right time for them. One of the biggest issues here is the waiting times for access to NHS gender identity services for both adults and young people, which is why we are making the investments that I referenced in my original answer. It is also important to recognise that, in Scotland—this is a matter of law under the Age of Legal Capacity Scotland Act 1991, an act that predates the life of this Parliament—any person under 16 can consent to a medical procedure or treatment where the qualified practitioner attending them considers that they are capable of understanding the nature and the possible consequences of that procedure or treatment. Decisions on the type of treatment to prescribe are rightly for clinicians to make in consultation with any patient following an individual assessment. On the issue of puberty blockers, it is also important to narrate this. The Sandyford Young People Service has reported that, in the period from 2011 to 2021—a period of 11 years—in total, less than 193 young people were referred for an appointment with a hormone specialist. That is an average of eight per year. The numbers being prescribed hormones was even less than that. Let us take those issues seriously. I think that we owe it to everybody also to treat those issues incredibly, sensitively and to have at the heart the rights of all young people to get the advice that they need at the time that is right for them. To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government can take to encourage more women to stand for elected office. First Minister, I think that it is important to record the good news that this Parliament now has a record number of women MSPs, although it is not yet 50 per cent. I think that we should aspire that all our parliaments should have representation at national and local level to properly represent the society that we live in. There is no doubt at all that women in society, including women in public life, continue to face unacceptable levels of sexist and misogynistic behaviour. I believe that that does and is putting many women off standing for elected office. It harms democracy, it harms all of us and it is completely unacceptable. Those things need to change. To change that, we need to see men ending their sexist and misogynistic behaviour and to be much more aware of their actions and words and the impact of them. In terms of the Scottish Government's role, we fund projects to support and equip women to stand for elected office. That includes in gender's equal representation project to help political parties to increase their diversity and the young women lead programme and elect her, which empower women to stand for elected office. I thank the First Minister for her answer. The comments directed at Angela Reiner reported that the weekend were deeply sexist and misogynistic. Indeed, misogyny is something that women face not just in elected office but daily. Can the First Minister outline what work is under way to eliminate prejudice and misogyny in Scotland? Will she join me in condemning the comments made towards Angela Reiner? I am glad to hear the support across the chamber for Angela Reiner. I stand in solidarity with her and condemn unreservedly the comments that were reported on Sunday. I, like everybody else, or most other people, were absolutely appalled both by the male Conservative MP who thought that it was okay to make those pathetic and derogatory comments but also by the fact that we still live in a society where it is deemed acceptable for a story like that to be published in a major newspaper. I think that there is a lot of reflection needed on both of those points. Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with, in my case, the daily male's tactics of attempting to reduce women politicians to their legs, a tactic that, to the best of my knowledge, is never used to dismiss and degrade male politicians in the way that happens to female politicians. Sadly and depressingly, the story just highlighted what women already know and many women already experience on a daily basis. There is deep-seated sexism and misogyny in society, and it needs to be addressed. We will continue to take the actions that I set out in my earlier answer, but I am also pleased that, in a response to the work of Baroness Kennedy's misogyny working group, we also committed to consult on draft legislation in advance of introducing a bill to specifically tackle misogyny. That is something for all of us, but men, in particular, to reflect on, we will rule the day that we make it more difficult and less attractive for women to come forward for election to public office. It is time to draw a line in the sand, and it is time for men—not all men are misogynists—but misogyny comes from men, and it is time for them to change.


Immunotherapy has become increasingly popular in the past few decades due to its ability to treat various diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, inflammation, and autoimmunity. Nanomaterials have been used to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies by improving the stimulation of immune cells, targeting specific areas of the body, and reducing side effects. Recent studies have shown promising results in treating these diseases with nanomaterial-based immunotherapies. This article was authored by Sean Ruffin, Wei Guisou, Joan Meenley, and others.


The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of millions of people, particularly those who have been working remotely during lockdowns. A study conducted in the United Kingdom found that sedentary behavior was associated with poorer mental health and lower work productivity among remote workers surveyed during the first COVID-19 lockdown. However, positive lifestyle changes such as increased well-being and physical activity were also reported, with many respondents reporting more time spent walking and engaging in moderate and vigorous exercise. The study highlights the importance of promoting sustainable remote working arrangements for policy makers and employers to support the well-being of their employees. This article was authored by Jessica Abigail Tronco Hernandez, Fabio Parente, Marca Faggy, and others.


Hi, I'm JB Sharma, and I'm an emeritus faculty member at the University of North Georgia. I'm also affiliated with Hageo Spatial Institute, the Lewis Frank Rogers Institute of Environmental Spatial Analysis, and I have been a faculty member for about 35 years, and I have been teaching and doing research in remote sensing for the past 20 years. We live in the greater Atlanta area in Gainesville, Georgia, where we have lived for over 30 years. I have a great and abiding interest in science literacy for all, and I have a special interest in problems that connect physical measurement with social problems and issues, and remote sensing and geographic information sciences are just the right sciences to build these bridges. Remote sensing has now become local, and what that means is that we will need this expertise seeded across our cities, our counties, our townships, such that this technology is used for governance, natural resource management, security applications, and have the kinds of capabilities that 21st century smart living spaces will need. I have several personal hobbies that inform and complement my professional work as well. I like to sail in Lake Lanier, I like to garden, I like to do woodwork and make rustic furniture, and I like to read and I like to hike in the forests of North Georgia.


Thank you for coming. Can everyone hear me? Okay. Great. Thank you, John. It is my third time here, so it's a real pleasure. I feel a little intimidated with a grippa over there staring down at me, so I better do good here. I'll just do that. First I just want to click it here. Oh, you've got to turn it on.  These are my first two books. The first book, Rhode Island Campaign, is about the French and American, the first time the French got involved in the Revolutionary War, and it was right here in Newport. So I went through a lot of French naval records, and of course the American Army records. Fascinating story, definitely the most complete history of the conflict. A lot of it happened right outside the porch here and in the bay when the French ran up the Narragansett Passage, and also the most accurate detailed description of the Battle of Rhode Island. And the other one is Kidnapping the Enemy. I spoke on that about a year ago. That's half of the book. It's about captured Prescott up here at Prescott Farm by William Barton, for Barton's name. So a great story. The other half is the capture of General Charles Lee. Barton captured Prescott so he could exchange Prescott for Lee. Lee was definitely one of the more eccentric officers on either side of the conflict in the Revolutionary War. For example, he always had a pack of dogs following him. Now these days dogs are very common. But back then it was seen as eccentric. And one time a genteel young woman went up to him and said, General Lee, do you like dogs? And he said, yes, madam, but I detest bitches. That's the kind of guy he was. What can I say? Both these are on sale at the gift shop as well as the spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island. This is not working out. Now I want to mention the new website. And thanks, John, for mentioning that. We have an article every week on Rhode Island history. It's intended for a popular audience. They're short articles. We have a team of 25 established Rhode Island history authors on board. You know, Pat Conley, the historian Laureate, has done an article. Frank Grzib, Russell D. Simone of Aquedinic Island. Fred Zillion is on the team. So definitely encourage you to check it out. And as a matter of fact, if you'd like an email from me announcing the new article for the week, please put your name down on this sign-up list. I'd appreciate it. And I have Commander Johnson's pen in my hand, so I'm hoping to get that back at the end. But I really hope you can sign up. I'll give you two just in case. Here's the pen. Okay, my talk today is about spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island. And one feature of spies is that they were normally ordinary people. They weren't officers. They weren't wealthy persons or famous persons. But these ordinary people risked their lives to promote the cause they believed in. And the cause wasn't just the patriot cause to support independence from Great Britain. It was also the loyalist cause of retaining the crown as the Great Britain as the mother country. In effect, there was a small-scale civil war here in Rhode Island. And both sides had family members whose descendants went back to the 17th century in Rhode Island. Now, there are three periods I'm going to talk about. The first during the Revolutionary War. And the first period is from April 1775 to April 1776. At that time, Captain James Wallace had a small fleet of warships, and he terrorized Narragansett Bay. And threatened Newport with bombing but never actually did it. But he did raid Jamestown and burned some buildings and killed a few people. The second period started in December 1776 when the British occupied Newport. And they did so for three years. The third period after the British left was from July 1780 to September 1781, when a French fleet and army allied with the American army occupied Newport.  They were. If the Americans and French had been able to capture Newport from the British in 1778, that could have ended the war. It could have been an early Yorktown. And when the French arrived in Newport in 1780, General Clinton, the British commander, wanted to attack the French and drive them. And if he had been able to defeat them, he could have driven the French out of the war. Now, the history of spying is about stories. I can only tell you a few of them today, but I'll start with Walter Chaliner, who was a staunch loyalist, who was the sheriff of Newport County for seven years before being dumped by patriots in 1774. Now, after the Battle of Bunker Hill, an American army surrounded Boston. But there were some loyalists in that area, and they wanted to escape. So some of them came down here, and Walter Chaliner helped to have them transported on board Captain Wallace's ships in Narragansett Bay. Now, one night, Chaliner's main assistant, William Crossing, helped by an unnamed African-American man, rode more loyalist escapees to Captain Wallace's ship, the HMS Rose, in Narragansett Bay. Here's a drawing by Captain Wallace of the HMS Rose, the one on the left. So he was, Captain was a very good drawing. He was a terrible person, but he was a good, good drawer. And of course, you might remember the replica of the HMS Rose that John Millar started. And if you don't know, it was used in the Pirates of the Caribbean as a ship and in Master and Commander. Now, at the time, one of the men on board this ship was an American sailor. He had been captured earlier in the day. And when he went to the fire to warm himself by the fire on board the Rose, he recognized William Crossing. And later, the next day, the sailor was allowed to go back to Newport. And this man went directly to Patriot authorities. And he said, I saw William Crossing on board the Wallace's ship. And that meant that William Crossing was helping Captain Wallace. So Crossing had to go into hiding immediately. And Walter Chaliner was known to be a good friend and close to Crossing. So he was hassled by Patriot guards. Eventually, Chaliner said, I need to escape. I need to get away. Otherwise, I would be put in jail. All the boats had been taken up because they didn't want Crossing to get to Wallace. So Chaliner found a long wooden plank, brought it to the Newport wharves and said to a buddy of his carpenter, make me a seat. So we made him a seat. And then one night, he brought the plank down to the water and started to row to the Wallace's ship two miles away. Can you believe it? During his perilous journey, he experienced, quote, very great danger and fatigue. Choppy water overset his plank several times. But being very strong and determined not to die after several hours hard labor, he finally reached and boarded the British ship. Now we jump to the British occupation of Newport and the rest of Equinic Island, which started in December 1776. And here's a nice image of an early 20th century. And you can see the British flat boats carrying the red coats toward Middleton and Weaver's Cove. The Americans couldn't handle this great expeditionary force, so the British easily took Equinic Island as well as Jamestown. Here's a classic picture of Newport. You can see the church spires. There were more than seven denominations in Newport and the oldest Jewish synagogue in North America. Now, the British and Americans immediately started creating their own spy networks. The punishment for being caught as a spy was hanged, being hanged. And an officer was not granted the more humane alternative of being shot by a firing squad. And here's a famous, most famous spy who was hanged, at least for British spy. That was John Andre. He was convicted as a spy and he did not appear in officer's clothing and he was hanged, even though he wanted to be shot. He begged Washington to be shot, but Washington did not agree. Now, my sister said at an earlier program this week that it's kind of gruesome to have this up here for 10 minutes, so I'm going to go to the one after it. Now, I'm aware of only one person who was hanged as a spy in Rhode Island. His name was John Hart. He probably hailed from Little Compton. Hart was part of a bold British plan to circulate counterfeit continental money in New England, so the idea was he would give it to his loyalist buddies in Rhode Island. Loyalist buddies would pay their taxes with it and then it would help to ruin the local economy. In addition, Hart was using Newport as a base. He would sneak over across the bay in the Narragansett North Kingstown, recruiting soldiers for loyalist regiments that were forming in Newport. He also at one time tried to capture delegates to the State General Assembly when the General Assembly was meeting in Kingston, Rhode Island, but his days were numbered. George Washington himself warned Rhode Island authorities about the counterfeiting plot and General James Varnum of East Greenwich led a party one night looking for Hart. His party would come across Tories in the road and they would threaten them with hanging and worse if they didn't disclose where Hart was. Finally they found out, they surrounded a house in Exeter and they captured Hart. Hart admitted he was brought to Providence. He admitted his offenses at a court marshal. He was convicted of being a spy and a few days later he was hanged. So they had quick justice in those days. It should be noted around this time that several loyalist spies in the Hartford area doing the same thing that Hart was doing were also hanged. Interestingly not all spies were hanged. Ebenezer's Slocum of North Kingstown was a staunch Tory and he admitted to crossing over, sorry I'll take questions afterwards, thank you. Ebenezer's Slocum of North Kingstown admitted crossing over from Narragansett to Newport, Newport, meeting with the British commander in chief on two occasions, but he wasn't hanged. He was put in jail for several months and then released. Now the most spectacular success of any spy in the Rhode Island theater was by Isaac Goodman of Newport. He was a Jewish doctor who had immigrated to Newport in 1774. So he didn't have enough time to be inculcated with the independent spirit of Rhode Island. It had only been here a few years. So he was a loyalist. He agreed to service a spy in 1777, early 1777. He went to the mainland with the goal of trying to find out are the Americans trying to form an expeditionary force to take over Newport and the rest of Equinic Island. With his German accent making him stand out, he was quickly identified as a Tory and put in jail. And he languished in jail for months. Meanwhile, New England forces finally were indeed forming a expeditionary force to attack the British garrison in Newport. It was a secret expedition. So you had drafts of troops from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, mostly Cape Cod area, thousands of them coming to Tiberton. So they would come to Halin's Ferry, Fogler Ferry, and they were going to invade Equinic Island. Back in Providence some months earlier, Goodman had been released. He had a court date, but no one showed up to testify against him. Rather than escape back to Equinic Island, he decided to continue his spying activities. And he apparently made friends with American officers because he knew all about this expeditionary plan to attack Equinic Island. Back on Equinic Island, the British commander had no idea. He was about to send 20% of his force to raid New Bedford. But at one o'clock in the morning on the very day that the Americans were going to invade across the Sakana Channel, Goodman was escorted into the headquarters of the British commander. Stunned, the British commander canceled the expedition's outside Rhode Island and put his men on high alert. And after that, the expedition called Spencer's expedition really had no chance of succeeding. Now during Spencer's expedition, the Americans had their own spy, William Taggart Sr. And he lived about three miles east of New Port, in the eastern part of Middletown. His son, William Taggart Jr., would secretly roll over from Little Compton. His son was an officer in the American Army and visit his father's house in British-occupied Equinic Island. The son would obtain accurate reports from his father where the troops were located, where the regiments were located, artillery and placements. And then he would go back the same night and he would meet with General Spencer, the American general. Now the British spy, Isaac Goodman, almost uncovered William Taggart Sr.'s secret work at his crucial meeting with the British commander. Goodman stated that the Americans, quote, have exact intelligence of everything doing on Equinic Island and that some rebels were lately at the house of a person who conveys information to them. Goodman must have some really good loose-lipped contacts to find out that information. Fortunately for the Taggarts, he didn't know the name of the Taggarts or the exact house in Middletown. Still, matters didn't turn out very well for the Taggarts. After the second invasion attempt, Taggart decided to escape across the Count of China to join the Americans. The British found out that he was the spy and the British commander ordered the German troops to level his house. So his barn and everything was, quote, dirt. Now, I write about several women who were spies. It was thought by some that women could not work as spies, but of course that made them even more effective spies. Are there any female spies out there today? They're good at spying, I think. There was Mary Wenwood, who traveled to Newport to work for the second most infamous spy in New England history, Dr. Benjamin Church. Who was it? Actually, I should say traitor and spy. Who was the most famous traitor and spy in New England history? Benedict Arnold, whose father was a governor of a grandfather was a governor of Rhode Island. The best female spy was Anne Bates. Anne never entered Rhode Island, but she worked as a British spy during the Rhode Island campaign during July and August of 1778. After she was recruited in British held New York City, so the British held New York City, she disguised herself as a peddler selling threads and ribbons and needles, which infantry soldiers needed. She was able to travel to Washington's camp near White Plains, and she would count the artillery pieces. She would identify regiments and brigades and their locations. Importantly, she tried to find out whether the Americans were sending reinforcements to the east to Rhode Island to help with the siege of Newport. On one occasion, she even entered the house then being used as Washington's headquarters and saw General Washington and overheard a general talking about invading Long Island. She would make grueling trips between New York City and back to Washington's camp. Here's a copy of a report by a British, her handler, a British Secret Service officer. You could see, it starts with, she went into camp. It was always the woman or she, it never named her. But this would go on for pages. Fortunately, it was good handwriting, so I could read it. Unfortunately, in September 1778, she saw a British deserter in camp who knew her. So the British deserter left, British regiment came to the Continental Regiment in White Plains. That put her in a dangerous position, so she stopped spying on Washington's camp at that point. In her pension application years later, she made the claim that her warnings to British bymasters of Lafayette, going with reinforcements towards Rhode Island, led British Clinton, General Clinton, to send his own reinforcements, which saved the British garrison. But several historians have agreed with that, and they've claimed that Anne Bates is one of the most effective spies in early Great Britain history. But the timing doesn't work. I discovered from this British memorandum book in the Library of Congress that she didn't tell her British handlers that Lafayette had left for Rhode Island with reinforcements until August 19th. But in fact, Lafayette left on July 22nd. And the French Navy, the large expeditionary force, arrived right out here in the tip of Narragansah Bay on July 29th. So the timing doesn't work. But still, she was a remarkable woman and a talented spy. Now, during the Rhode Island campaign in August 1778, American General John Sullivan was on the lookout to hang any spies. And here's an image of the siege of Rhode Island. This is not the battle of Rhode Island. I bought this on eBay for $100, so keep your eyes open. You can see the British soldiers to the left with their bearskin caps. I like the soldiers on the right with their floppy hats. And on the right, in the distance, you can see the artillery being fired from a hill and then landing on Honeyman's Hill in Middletown, which is near Easton's Palm. Now, General James Varnum of East Greenwich advised Sullivan that it is absolutely necessary to hang some person as a spy in terrarium to prevent intelligence from your army to the enemy. When a real spy cannot be obtained, a scoundrel under the influence of Toryism may be deemed a proper villain. Wow, that Varnum was cold-blooded. He accused the Tory of being a spy, and the unfortunate man was put on trial, but he was found not to be a spy and was released. Meanwhile, the British bemoaned the fact that they had no spies to provide them with intelligence of what they really wanted to know, which was where is Sullivan going to attack? As an alternative, they adopted another strategy, kidnapping civilians, mainly in Jamestown and Narragansett. Here's what two kidnapped civilians from Jamestown on August 2nd, 1778 reported. The account of these people is that a very formidable attack will be made unless very soon. Sullivan, with 15,000 men being in our neighborhood, they talk of making four different attacks, viz. One from Cananacut or Prudence Island, one from the east side from Foglan under the cover of French frigates, and the principal one on the north end of the island from Howlin's Ferry. Dostang, who commands the French fleet, is pressing them to commence their operations as soon as possible, but the rebels are not yet in readiness. Wow, I could not have given a more accurate description of my book of the current situation at that time. It just shows to go, shows, it goes to show how civilians obtained sensitive military information, just the new spread like wildfire. Rhode Island had its own Benedict Arnold. The trader's name was Metcalfe Bowler. Prior to the war, he was one of the richest men in Rhode Island. He was a haughty Newport merchant, and he owned one of only two horse-drawn coaches in the colony. There's a picture of a portrait of his wife in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, obviously wearing a nice silk blue dress with ruffles. He represented the colony in the Stamp Act Congress, and he was a prominent son of liberty. He was Speaker of the House of Deputies in the General Assembly after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and he supported the Patriots. But within days of General Clinton landing British troops in Newport in 1776, Bowler sent him a letter offering his assistance as a spy. It appears he was motivated to save his fine house in Portsmouth, and he had one of the best gardens in all of New England. Now after the Rhode Island campaign ended, General Clinton visited Newport and met with Bowler. The two agreed that Bowler would send written reports that only Clinton would read. Clinton then was then based in New York City. Now Bowler wasn't much good as a spy if he was in Portsmouth, so he agreed that he would move to Providence, and that's where the headquarters of the American Army were in Rhode Island. Their Bowler sometimes met with the commanding general Horatio Gates, who would bluster that he would hang the first spy that he met. Bowler somehow sent secret messages to Captain Henry Savage here in Newport, and then Savage would forward them by ship to New York City to Clinton. On one occasion, Bowler even informed Clinton that a strong brigade of Continentals had departed Providence, so that Providence was vulnerable to an attack, and he recommended that Clinton attack Providence, and burn it down, so pretty shocking. Fortunately, Clinton wasn't interested in raiding Providence at that time. Now Bowler lived out his days in Providence struggling as a small shopkeeper. He served the minor government positions. He was never allowed into the back into the leading positions. You can see he signed his name here, M. Bowler. In 1786, he even sent George Washington a book he wrote on agriculture, which was found in Washington's library at his death. Had Washington known he was a spy, I don't think he would have kept it. Bowler's role as a spy was not uncovered until historians found his letters to Clinton in the 1920s. The most successful American spy in Rhode Island, Theater of War, was the unobtrusive Isaac Barker. He was a 26 year old man living in Middletown, about three and a half miles east of New Port, and importantly he was a mile from the Sakana Channel, so he wasn't right on the coast. Barker was active after the Rhode Island campaign from September 1778 to October 1779. I have found 38 reports that Barker made for the commanding general Horatio Gates. Barker was assisted by Lieutenant Seth Chapin of Sherburne's Regiment of Continentals. The 24 year old Chapin was stationed with a small party of men on the coast in Little Compton, and Chapin and Barker worked out a system of signals. So Barker would have a stake and a crutch on a stone wall. He would position at certain ways and convey certain information. For example, that there was a Tory fleet that was heading out to Nantucket, which happened several times. Now sometimes, well, here's a map of Middletown. You can see the Barker house right there, and a distance from the coastline where he would go. So he was a little bit protected because he wasn't right on the coast. Sometimes the message was for Chapin to ride over in a boat at night and pick up a secret message under a large rock on the coast. And here's a picture of that rock today. Barker was so effective at conveying intelligence that the British began to suspect that there was a spy working in that area. But he was effective at not getting caught, and he never was caught. General Gates once sent intelligence from Barker to Samuel Adams in Boston. Gates wrote, it comes from a person who was never deceived in the information he procures from Bird Island. After the war, Barker's application for a revolutionary pension was rejected. The reason was he had never enlisted. So even though he was risking his life for the American cause, unlike other soldiers who served in the war, he wasn't given a pension. You can see his pension application I found in the National Archives rejected. But knowing he had to make the best case to get a pension, it was good for us because he had a very detailed pension application. Here's part of his pension application. Not a very good map maker, but at the top are some of the signals that he used. Now on July 10, 1780, a French fleet carrying some 6,000 French soldiers commanded by Lieutenant General Rochambeau arrived off Newport. And here's Rochambeau greeting his troops who were landing on the on the Long Wharf in Newport. The plan was to use Newport as the primary base of French operations against the British. Meanwhile the British commander-in-chief Henry Clinton wanted to attack the French in Newport before the French could establish their defenses. And if he succeeded he could drive France out of the war. Here's an image of General Clinton. This is the background of a number of amazing spy stories dealing with Newport, only a few of which I can mention here. Part of the story involves the Culper Spy Ring, which was the focus of AMC's turn cable television series and the best-selling book, George Washington's Secret Six. Prior to the arrival of the French at Newport, General George Washington called on the services of the Culper Spy Ring and he says, hey I need you to tell me if General Clinton is planning to invade Newport. And that ring was based in Long Island. So Major Benjamin Talmadge, Captain Caleb Brewster, Abraham Woodhol, Austin Rowe, Robert Townsend, they did brilliant work. And they discovered and reported about Clinton's large force gathering on the north side of Long Island. Within ten days of the request they gathered the intelligence and sent it to Alexander Hamilton, who was Washington's young aide at Washington's headquarters. At the time Washington's headquarters were across the Hudson River. Hamilton then sent an urgent message by express to the Marquis de Lafayette. At that time Lafayette was going east. He left a few days earlier heading to Rhode Island to meet with his French buddies. This intelligence from the Culper Spy Ring is sometimes credited with alerting General Rochambeau and the American Commanding General at the time William Heath of the planned invasion by Clinton, which allowed them to prepare their defenses and fend off the invasion. Here's a beautiful French map. You can see where French had artillery on where Fort Adams is, on Goat Island, on Rose Island, and they had their ships lined up as well and in between the islands and the firing line was right in the middle there and if the British fleet wanted to go up Narragansett Passage, that's what they would have faced. Now the first word received by General Heath of Clinton's plans did not come from the Culper Spy Ring. Instead it came from the Sloup Gates, who's captain boldly sailed it from Stonything, Connecticut evading the British blockade of Narragansett Bay and arriving at the Newport Wars about 3 p.m. on July 24th. The Sloup carried Samuel B. Webb, a colonel of a continental regiment named after him, who was then on parole as a former prisoner. Webb had actually been captured in Long Island Sound as he was on a boat about to raid Long Island. He was brought to Newport and he was generously and quickly paroled and allowed to go back to his home in Weathersfield, Connecticut, to sit out the war until he was exchanged. But when he heard from his pal Major Talmidge that the French Free had arrived in Newport, he thought well I'd like to go visit them and some of my friends in Newport, so he and four buddies did that. But it was a risky adventure, their ship could have been caught by British frigates in Long Island Sound. Now after leaving Central Connecticut coast on July 18th and making their way over in a leisurely fashion, they arrived in Stonyton on July 23rd and they heard the stunning news of Clinton's imminent attack on Newport. When they arrived in Newport the next day, they brought with them a written statement from one Clark Pratt, who had left Long Island on July 23rd, probably by whale boat, then crossed over to Stonyton. On Long Island, Pratt had met a man who had departed York City on July 21st and this man informed Pratt that the British troops had embarked on the ships carrying them to the eastward, they numbered about 10,000 and that they were on transports poised to head to Newport and invade Newport. Webb's actions delivering this valuable intelligence against the interests of the Crown violated his parole, but he felt it was important to do. He then immediately penned letters to the Rhode Island governor and the general in charge of the militia in southeastern Massachusetts asking for a militia to be raised as quickly as possible and to send reinforcements to Newport. The message from the Culper Spying Ring wasn't the second warning to arrive in Newport either. That honor went to Colonel Henry Babcock from Westerly, Rhode Island. Babcock, it seems, had met the same man who had recently arrived from Long Island at Stonyton. Babcock sent his children's tutor and Mr. Whitman to deliver the written message. Despite the way the matter addressed in his letter, let's see, I think we got mixed up here. Babcock made a trivial request of Heath to allow Whitman to board the French flagship. So this Whitman is the tutor and he says, as Mr. Whitman was never on board a ship of the line before, so not that anyone else had either. Babcock sent another message the next day about a gentleman who had been on Long Island and who stated that, quote, the British officers flatter themselves of entirely captivating both the French fleet and army of his most Christian majesty. Now the express rider carrying Hamilton's dispatches from New Jersey finally arrived at Lafayette's headquarters at midnight on July 25th. So while the Culper spine ring performed highly dangerous and excellent work, they should not be given all the credit. Washington had other intelligence sources to draw upon. Now General Clinton in turn wanted his own intelligence. He wanted to know, have the French established their defenses? Have they put artillery out? Have American reinforcements arrived? He needed a spy and he got it in the form of Thomas Hazard who was a small Newport merchant and a farmer from North Kingstown. Hazard surreptitiously arrived from Long Island and he departed the same way. He gave Clinton a detailed map and report of the French defenses and the recent arrival of the Rhode Island and Massachusetts militia. This is in Clinton's papers in the Clement Library. You can see, similar to that map before, he shows the ships and on either side of Goat Island, then called Fort George and he says 5,500 have embarked. Those are the French troops and 2,000 militia have arrived as reinforcements. As it turned out, due to British missteps and miscommunication, as well as Hazard's report, Clinton did not attack the French forces in Newport. So the French were here to stay in Newport, waiting for an operation to use their Navy and Army forces to defeat the British. Then a Tory spy ring in Newport began to operate. The Tory spies were led by Dr. John Halliburton of Newport. He was a Scottish immigrant doctor. He was known to be a Tory, but because he was a doctor, it was important to have him so they let him stay in Newport. Now one at a time, Tories would sneak out of Newport to the British fleet in Long Island Sound and to General Clinton, headquartered in New York City and they would tell them about French military developments. For example, in early February 1781, Halliburton sent out Tory William Brenton from Newport, of course you know Brenton Neck, Brenton Park, to warn British commanders of French plans to send out a squadron of ships with 1,300 soldiers on board to attack Portsmouth, Virginia. At that time, Benedict Arnold had a small British army in Portsmouth. He had turned traitor at that time. So they were going to combine with American forces and try to capture Arnold and his troops. But Brenton left Newport, found out about this information, got in touch with the British Admiral in Long Island Sound and the British Admiral quickly sent his own fleet to Portsmouth and they actually arrived at Portsmouth before the French fleet. They took a shortcut along the coast where the French kind of looped around. After a short and sharp engagement, the French returned to Newport and their mission had failed all because of the spy. Here's a nice pen and ink drawing that the French did of the French ships arriving back in Newport. Now, American counter-espionage efforts made the following discovery of where the Tory spine ring meant in Newport, at least for a time. They met at the boarding house on Thames Street operated by Mary Olmey who was a strong Tory whose son had escaped to New York City.  Her husband actually fought on the American side during the Rhode Island campaign. She once wrote to her husband, My dislike of the nation that you call your friends, meaning the Patriots, is the same as you knew me. And she called America's new allies Cursed Frenchmen. So she was a staunch Tory. The Americans filed the following report on Mary Olmey's house. This house stands alone, is near the wharf to which is an entrance by a garden door. There are many false secret entries. It belongs to Walter Chaloner, remember him? It is occupied by a widow who has three children. Another son stays at New York. This last man comes regularly once a week and arrives in an open boat and gets into the garden.  There he finds 10, sometimes 15 persons who come half after night and stay until within an hour of daybreak. During the meeting there are always sentries at the four corners of the house. These meetings have been held regularly since the arrival of the French troops at Newport. They have stopped two days since. It is thought they meet in another house but we don't know where. Now how did the Tory spies get to the British off of Long Island and New York City? Typically they would take a small boat from Newport across the bay to Jamestown and then to the mainland Narragansett. Then they would head toward the beaches. There they might have a prearranged assignment to be picked up by a small boat sent by a British frigate. If they didn't then Tories could give them small boats and they could make their way and go to Block Island which was dominated by the British Navy and then from there they could just hop over to Long Island and ride down to New York City. You can see how close everything is. On August 3rd, 1780 Joseph Babcock of Westerly informed Red Island's governor the following. Last night a man since supposed to be a spy inquired whether there was no way to cross over from the beach at Westerly to Block Island. Babcock continued this fellow though dressed like a tar meaning a sailor outwardly yet was accidentally observed to be well dressed underneath. Later they saw small British boats from British frigates off the coast but Fogg then obscured the boats. Now I don't have time to describe all of the spy efforts by the Tories operating out of Newport. I will say that on August 1781 Dr. John Halliburton conveyed accurate intelligence to General Clinton that the French were vulnerable to attack in Newport and they really were. And if Clinton had attacked he would have definitely crippled the French effort but Clinton was stymied by and doing so by his own Royal Navy and the Tories in Newport were unable to discover the most important intelligence of the war and that is that of strong powerful French fleet was sailing from the Caribbean and would cooperate with the French fleet in Newport and Washington's army and trapped the British army at Yorktown. Here's an image of Rochambeau and Washington meeting at Yorktown at the Great Victory. Now even after the stunning loss by the British at Yorktown the war continued for two more years. They continued to hold New York City. Dr. Halliburton remained in Newport but then one of his old couriers arrived in Newport of course spies need couriers to go from here to there and this courier tried to blackmail him and succeeded for a while. Frightened that he would be discovered as a spy Dr. Halliburton decided to escape to Newport and travel by small boat to British Hale Long Island. In the depth of winter in February 1782 aided by only one man Halliburton took a small boat and headed to Long Island but then the two men suddenly found themselves in a fierce winter storm that almost tossed him out of the boat. With the onset of frigid weather their boat became quote enclosed in a body of ice. And the poor doctor remained there for five hours even though he was just 100 yards from the Long Island shore. Finally he got to land and he made his way to Newport to meet with General Clinton. In a meeting with General Clinton Halliburton complained about the low reward he was offered for his buying services. He told Clinton to his face with a plainness of character that if my intelligence had made proper use of his majesty's affairs would have worn a very different aspect. Despite this impertence Clinton gave the doctor a pretty generous award and he continued to serve as a doctor for the British Navy at Halifax, Canada. Now there are lots more stories to tell but I don't have time to tell them. You have to read the book to find out. Thank you. Yes? Who did all the hanging in the Army or the other civilians? You said the hanging these guys got on and this guy I mean they did with the different courts? Different courts. It was a court martial that John Hart was hanged. It was an American military court martial that most of the people that were hanged were actually deserters. The British hanged one or two deserters. Now there were lots of British and German deserters who escaped to the American across the bay to start a new life and the Americans hung one too in Providence and threatened to hang a lot more. The Americans weren't necessarily going over to join the British they were trying to go back home. One more question. What happened to all the rum the slave traders super traded went on? That just went on and nobody ever deserved it? No it pretty much stopped because you had the American privateers actually stopped the British slave trade. The British slavers were the biggest slavers. I mean Newport and Rhode Island was definitely the biggest slave traders in the 13 colonies but by far the biggest slave traders were the British and American privateers including from Rhode Island stopped that trade. I came across one situation where Crep and George Babcock he was actually John Hart tried to capture George Babcock George Waite Babcock and later Babcock was captain of a privateer he went to Africa he must have known the area and he captured a bunch of British slavers he brought 300 slaves to South Carolina sold them there. So that was one of the most successful privateer ventures of the war. Thank you. But after the war it started up again of course. Where do you find the written reports that you've been showing us? Well in various places you know it's not easy to research about spies you know it's tended to be secret so it could be tricky. The best source was probably Clinton's papers at most of which are held at Clement Library and Ann Arbor, Michigan. There are I've quoted some letters from Rhode Island State Archives also American reports Washington records and the Library of Congress and a fair bit of written material too that's been published over the years but it was really a challenge to bring it all together to to make this book. A couple things it was Benedict Arnold the governor who ordered guns on God Island to fire in support of a smog not a British ship in support of a smuggler I don't know if you were aware of that. Well I think that was Stephen Hopkins. In the earlier one. You think that was in an earlier one? Yeah. In 1680 or something? Yeah. And also did you ever run into Captain Eldridge from Jamestown? Captain Eldridge. Was he the have I run into Captain Eldridge from Jamestown? Not that we brought in for you. Yeah. Yeah. You know Legend of Sleepy Hollow you never know what's but was he the one who was he had the gun in Jamestown? Yeah. He found the gun and just set himself up in businesses and artillery batteries. Yeah. Well he he fired a gun at Captain Wallace's ships and and there against the bays from Jamestown and Captain Wallace didn't like it so he sent a rating party to Jamestown and they killed one 80 year old man they shot him in the stomach and he died later and they burned about 10 houses so that was I don't think he fired any more guns after that. You say a word about Prescott out in Fort Smith and Militant? Well half my book is about that I'm kidnapping the enemy and he was kind of a petty tyrant he would see no that's not true he would hit see Quakers and they wouldn't dump their cats at him and he would knock their hats off and pin them against the snow wall there was a American privateer captain who was captured and he hit him in the head with and so you damn rascal damn rebel there was a poor Burrington Anthony was a 300 pound militia officer he was caught put in jail and Prescott would go over there almost every day and threaten to hang him you know so he was that kind of guy but one of my favorite stories about Prescott was Benedict Arnold when he was on the right side the American side he was one of our best generals in Canada Prescott was in Canada at the time Prescott put a bounty on Arnold's head of a thousand pounds Arnold responded by putting a bounty on Prescott for 500 pounds even the British newspapers like that in my book I have some great quotes from British newspapers making fun of Prescott always you know he's sleeping with a woman up there and you know he's was brought out without his pants on and all this other stuff but it was it was kind of funny but actually there's no proof that he was sleeping with a woman he was up there to be close to the action most of the action was that Helen's Fairey Fairey in that area so he knew that at night that was the best time for there to be raids he wanted to be closer to the action in the day he would go back to Newport did you have the the general we use book of was that light horse Eric no this is Charles Lee he was an Englishman and unrelated to the Virginia Lees yeah yeah you spoke of a female spy having access to military camps is that where the term camp follower comes from what was she doing there well she was selling she was a peddler she was selling threads and needles and ribbons you know they needed the soldiers needed these kind of items you know so they needed to fix their own clothes camp followers are exactly that they're women who were with American regiments each regiment had their own camp followers mostly married women married to soldiers and they would help out they did important work washing clothes fixing them selling beer now and again Molly Pitcher I don't know if she I think she was a local woman I don't think she was a camp follower but so they you know even the British the British also here in Quiddock Island had many camp followers as well did the Quakers play any quiet in this one way or another or were they strictly neutral during the conflict Quakers what was the role of Quakers most of them were neutral you know they didn't believe in war so they wouldn't if you stuck with the Quaker philosophy then you didn't pick up a musket a lot of them were pretty conservative and were actually more sympathetic with the British but as Prescott said said one day if the Quakers would only be Quakers I'd be okay with them you know so what happened to the British spies who were Americans after the war where they caught and hung up well when when the British left Newport a lot of them left with the British and then they went to New York City and then eventually in 1783 they left New York City and most of them went to Canada so a lot of the Newport Tories strong Newport Tories including some that's you know officers who served in loyalist regiments and spies they went to Canada and started a life there a few of them went back to England Isak Goodman went back to England he was in very poor circumstances he asked for a pension got a little bit but not much and Bates went back to England she got a little bit not too much some of them went to the Bahama or Ireland some went to the Bahamas especially the Jewish merchants after Wallace started threatening and then the British sacked I guess St. Eustatius is what I'm thinking of the British sacked St. Eustatius and stole a lot of their goods anything more one more I think you know people were very experienced with boats you know with Barton's raid you know they found men in the first Rhode Island state regimen experienced in boating so they they took their five boats across from Warwick neck to to Middletown so that was pretty common and during the Rhode Island campaign there was you know they had to get the army off the Quiddock Island that was in great danger of losing the army but they were very effective they found a lot of boatsmen and they had a lot of boats and and did a great job of evacuating without loss of a single man actually there was they say a single man but I did find one person who was not told that he was supposed to evacuate and he was captured but one other thing of associated group the Native Americans turned you know figures in with a few of the Native Americans in their stories but how about Rhode Island did he anything well the story with the Native Americans is really the you know often intermarried with the African Americans the free slaves and so a lot of them joined the first regiment and I talked about them in the Rhode Island campaign book and they were the first regiment played a key role in the Battle of Rhode Island so a lot of them were not they called them African Americans but they were really a mixed mixed blood interestingly I played on the South Kingston basketball team with a guy named Victor Hazard and he was African American and Narragans to India and there's an historian Joanne Mellish who was a very good historian a professor at University of Kentucky on this period in Rhode Island and at the time Victor Hazard was working as a dean of students at the University of Kentucky and Joanne Mellish didn't know him and he she went up to him and said do you have some Narragans in Indian blood in you he couldn't believe it that happened in Kentucky what was the extent of the Indian support to the British Indian support of the British well not not much around here the Indians were not by then there were only a few hundred in Southern Rhode Island the main Indian support was in Western New York Joseph Brandt the Iroquois the Indians coming down from Canada they raided a lot of the pioneer settlers of the Mohawk Valley and Western Pennsylvania there were some terrible atrocities there so that was hard there were a few American Indians and from Sturbridge village area I believe that helped serve as guides for the Americans okay well thank you very much for my question thank you


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Hi guys and welcome back to my channel. Today I am so excited for this video because it's a little bit different than something that I normally do But I think you guys are gonna really enjoy it I have partnered up with FabFitFun and they have sent me their summer box and I'm gonna show you guys What's in it? So as nurses We are constantly taking care of others and I think it's important to not only take care of yourself But to treat yourself as well And so that's why I'm excited to show you this box because I think it's a great way to treat yourself Give yourself a little gift something that you can use something that you love and it's super awesome And I'm excited to show you so FabFitFun is a seasonal subscription Which means you get it four times a year and the boxes are valued at over $250 so this is their summer box and it's $49.99 for the subscription, but if you use promo code AA you get $10 off your first box Which is awesome. 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I love great way to just refresh your skin and I definitely can use this I don't think I mentioned all these products are full-size So you're getting full-size actual products not like travel-sized things So that's pretty awesome. This next thing is a sunscreen which oh, I am like obsessed with finding good sunscreens, especially ones that like Don't feel like sunscreen if that makes sense like I want to put a sunscreen on But I don't want it to be like super thick and cakey and just greasy and oily So this is a Kula sport sunscreen spf 50 with white tea. It's moisturizing and most of the ingredients are Organic, which is awesome. It's worth $32 Which you can tell by the price that it's going to be um a good quality sunscreen and it feels very like Sheer and like very light, which I like because I like I said, I don't like cakey sunscreen and It smells good. It has like a floral scent. 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