Raising a complaint about a senior individual in any organisation can be a daunting prospect.
It can be especially difficult if the senior individual is a man and the complainer is a woman.
The committee of MSPs charged with investigating the Scottish Government’s botched handling of complaints made against former first minister Alex Salmond must understand this.
But the damning testimony yesterday from one woman suggests the Salmond inquiry is doing more harm than good.
The woman was one of the original complainers against Salmond.
She says the inquiry has become too political and, as a result, any of its recommendations will be worthless.
She also says the infighting and abuse flying around from MSPs has made the committee an ordeal for complainers.
The inquiry is one of the biggest political stories in Britain.
Salmond was subject to an unfair process overseen by senior civil servants who still remain in their jobs today.
The whole episode ended up costing the taxpayer more than £500,000.
He was also cleared of criminal charges at the high court a year ago.
It’s vital the Scottish Government has a complaints process that works on behalf of all its staff.
The Holyrood committee looking into the Salmond affair is failing to do its job.
It is failing the women who raised claims, it is failing to nail down what went wrong and it is failing to inspire any confidence that it can fix things.
The MSPs on this committee – of all parties – need to raise their game.
BoJo sideshow
Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year put the boss of Network Rail in charge of a review of transport connections between
the four UK nations.
There’s numerous ways this could be done, such as extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle, or improving the road from Ayr to the port at Cairnryan.
But the boldest idea is building a tunnel or bridge from the south-west of Scotland to Northern Ireland.
The PM’s ally – Scottish Secretary Alister Jack – has talked up the tunnel proposal this weekend.
Critics claim the cost would be astronomical, running into billions.
Perhaps the vast sums of money involved would be better spent fixing our creaking road and rail network.
Or better still, the money could help rebuild our NHS when we emerge from the coronavirus crisis.
But sensible, life-improving government spending isn’t what this is all about. It’s a BoJo sideshow, designed to make him look like a visionary.
Instead, this tunnel plan is making Johnson look like a bad joke.
