I wondered why this morning I have had so many 'hits' on the website-the Scotsman is rresponsible

The informant having failed to get another story into the Mail on Sunday has instead 'tipped off' the Scotsman. Sadly this organ did not bother to contact Huttonian to get some balance (and some facts-the first quote attributed to the ex-ambassador is fabricated even if it is coincidentally accurate!) The story of course draws on the old discontinued blog-quotes already aired by the M o S . Huttonian will not comment on future CC business except to remark that the notice calling for a special community council meeting up on the village noticeboards seems to bear little resemblance to what is decribed in the Scotsman! Nuff said.

This wretched storyhas now been picked up by Radio 5 Live and I will be given the oppurtunity to put Huttonian on the air later today. I also hope that the Scotsman will publish something of a retraction/correction in response to an email I have sent them But I am not holding my breath



Ex-diplomat in tangled web with blog VIC RODRICK



A RETIRED ambassador who braved gunfire and ambush in Middle East hotspots has started a war with residents of a tiny community in the Scottish Borders.
Peter Hinchcliffe, a former diplomat, has outraged residents in the Berwickshire hamlets of Hutton and Paxton (combined population: 400) with outspoken comments on his controversial internet site.
Villagers want the one-time UK ambassador to Jordan removed as local community council chairman because of "insulting" remarks in Huttonian, his personal weblog.
They claim he breached strict local authority rules by regularly and inaccurately featuring community council business on his personal website. This is believed to be the first time in Scotland that public code of conduct rules have been used to try and remove a community council chairman.
More than a dozen members of the tiny communities petitioned the legal department of Scottish Borders Council, calling for a special public meeting of Hutton, Paxton and Fishwick Community Council to discuss the issue.
It emerged last night that Mr Hinchcliffe’s opponents on the eight-member council plan to table a vote of no confidence in his chairmanship, forcing him to resign.
A Hutton villager, who asked not to be named, said: "There was no problem in getting the signatures. People are fed up with Huttonian."
Mr Hinchcliffe said the number of hits on his website had risen sharply as word of his online comments had gained notoriety.
He said: "I think it’s quite a funny story, but I’ve been very careful never to use things on the blog which I got in a privileged capacity as chairman."
As Huttonian, Mr Hinchcliffe commented on a council row over slurry on the roads: "These may be simple country folk in the best Ambridge tradition, but they are masters of the dagger between the ribs. Machiavelli would have been out of his depth in this company."
In another outburst on village "paranoia" he castigated the School Action Group, which has been fighting to save the village school, saying: "SAG - an unfortunate acronym for a group predominantly female."
One of the signatories asking for the special meeting is ..... *of Hutton, whose home was dubbed "......" in Mr Hinchcliffe’s blog.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Borders Council said: "We are happy to give legal advice to community council members whenever they wish."

* Name and description removed to avoid reopening old wounds
  ¶ 8:00 PM