Some of the most viewed stories in the first year of new website are surprising. Some aren’t. Here’s the top ten...

1. He cannot talk, read or write, but Tories want severely disabled Stuart Chester to fill in 20-page form to keep benefits: August 31

A SEVERELY disabled young man, unable to talk, read or write and who needs round-the-clock care from his mother, has been asked by the Department of Work and Pensions to fill in 20-page form to prove he is unfit to work.

By some distance this was the most read story on The National’s website in 2015. The tale of Stuart Chester caught up in the bizarre, unthinking, bureaucratic world of the DWP’s benefits regime seemed to exemplify all that was wrong with the thinking of Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare programme. Since then, and with little surprise, we’ve learned that Stuart’s case is not a one-off. Whether it be on sanctions, workfare or the horrific rape clause to be applied to child benefits, 2015 was the year that the DWP was exposed as a genuinely dysfunctional government department where evidence comes second to prejudice.

2. Lesley Riddoch: BBC’s coverage of Mhairi Black’s speech was embarrassing: July 16

“ELECTRIFYING, said the Daily Mirror. A viral hit, said The Guardian, featuring the smiling 20-something on its front page. Scots MP takes Westminster by storm single-handed, said Channel 4... and what did Reporting Scotland make of the phenomenon that was the blockbusting Commons debut of Mhairi Black MP? They talked over a 20-second clip of her speech, but allowed viewers to hear the deputy speaker tell SNP MPs not to clap at the end of it. Twice.”

A fair bit has happened since the SNP’s May election win, the impact of Mhairi Black’s maiden speech is easily forgotten.Black was one of the last of the SNP MPs to make their maiden speech. The bar had already been set fairly high with strong performances from Tommy Sheppard, Joanna Cherry, Philippa Whitford and Brendan O’Hara in particular.There was a lot of pressure. Black had become something of the focal point for the domestic and international media, in many ways the human face of the new intake of SNP MPs. Her speech lived up to that pressure. Within days the speech had been watched more than 10 million times. Reporting Scotland’s coverage of the speech by the youngest member of parliament since 1667 was about 30 seconds long, with a voiceover from Jackie Bird. People weren’t very happy.


3. Party activist trapped as Glasgow SNP office is attacked by a gang of thugs: May 1

AN SNP activist had to lock herself in a campaign office for her own safety after being terrorised by a 12-strong group of thugs walking behind an Orange Order flute band procession. While attacking the office in Dumbarton Road, the woman was verbally abused with shouts of “f*** your SNP”, “youse are a********” and “why don’t you get to f***” However, they fled before police arrived.

The popularity of this story was probably down to the fact that it challenged the perception that it was the independence supporters who acted in a thuggish and boorish way. Many of those who campaigned for a Yes vote and then went out and knocked on doors for the SNP and the Greens were pretty upset at the coverage being generated by the confrontational tactics of groups like the Scottish Resistance. This story was evidence that SNP supporters and candidates were being intimidated.

4. Washing-up liquid greases the wheels in West Linton lorry jam: October 22

Two bottles of Fairy Liquid came to an ingenious rescue yesterday when they unplugged a lorry stuck fast in the picturesque Scottish Borders village of West Linton.The old “I was just following my satnav” excuse. A poor lorry driver gets stuck in the historic roads of West Linton just as The National’s man in the Scottish Borders, Martin Hannan happened to be walking past. He watched on for hours as they tried to rescue the lorry.

It looked properly stuck until some quick-thinking rescue man went to the local Co-op for a couple of bottles of Fairy Liquid. With some judicious application on wheels and walls and with “a careful bit of rowing”, the lorry was freed. Much to the relief of the residents of West Linton.

The comments on this article are a mixture of people blaming the driver for not being able to read old paper maps and others questioning if it was really Fairy Liquid that was used. Reader, it was. Our man on the scene tells us it was on special offer – £2 for two bottles at the Co-op. Other washing up liquids and other supermarkets are available. And this deal probably isn’t on anymore. Check before you buy. The National cannot refund you the cost of your washing up liquid.


5. Nato General Sir Richard Shirreff warns air strikes on Syria are unsafe: November 30

A SENIOR military figure has warned UK air strikes on Syria will not defeat Daesh and could be the first step towards Britain being involved in a “bloody” and protracted war. General Sir Richard Shirreff spoke out after David Cameron last week pressed the case for bombing missions over Syria.

The vote in Parliament had been a long time coming. David Cameron was desperate for the UK to play its part in the war against Daesh in Syria. However, after the defeat over a previous attempt to launch air strikes against the despotic, brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, Cameron would be sure to only ask for the House of Commons backing if he knew he could win.For many the problem with airstrikes in Syria were both the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. Could we be sure sending in the RAF would make a difference? Could we defeat Daesh without giving succour to Assad or some of the more unpalatable groups in the resistance?

But, crucially, the question that has not yet been answered, was could we meet the objectives of the mission without any one single British soldier putting one solitary boot on the ground. General Shirreff suggested that we couldn’t. If there was a defining moment of this parliament it was two days later when MPs backed the proposals.


6. Fans urged to cut themselves in response to news Zayn has left 1D: March 27

SCOTS girls as young as 10 are being urged to cut themselves in a self-harming social media campaign launched in reaction to the news that Zayn Malik has quit the chart-topping boy band One Direction ... Messages of support for Malik soon took a more sinister turn as the hashtag #cutforZayn began trending and horror photos emerged from fans who appeared to have harmed themselves and were asking others to do the same.

Stories involving One Direction are always going to be popular on the net. This one came to The National from one of our readers, worried about the influence the #cutforZayn hashtag might have on her daughter. It seems almost too ridiculous that anyone would hurt or cut or mutilate themselves because of a band, but plenty did when Zayn Malik decided to walk away from the band. When you’re a tweenager, and One Direction are your life, then something like this can have a massive effect. When Take That announced they were splitting up, special phone lines were set up, but now, with Twitter fans from all over the world can get together and share their grief. And that can in turn lead to some gruesome twists.


7. Beach warning as dog dies: June 11

A MYSTERY virus linked to three beaches in Fife has been blamed for the death of one dog and for making several others ill. Pet owners have been advised to keep their animals away from Seafield and Ravenscraig beaches in Kirkcaldy and nearby West Wemyss beach.

This is, we believe, still a mystery. No one is too sure what caused the dogs to fall ill and die. Certainly, it has not stopped people walking their dogs on the beach. The person whose dog had died took to our comments the next day to answer questions from concerned locals. Her dog, she said was fully immunised. “I’m certain it was [dog-to-dog disease] Parvovirus.”

8. Was King Arthur a Glaswegian from Govan? March 3

HE is thought to be more myth than legend, but after 1,000 years as the ultimate British hero, evidence has emerged that King Arthur lived most of his life in Strathclyde and may well have been a Glaswegian.

If a newspaper asks a question in the headline then you should likely assume that the answer is no. Certainly many people contacted this paper over that headline to say just that. This is one of those articles that would only ever appear in The National. Some crazy left-field academic with an unusual take on Scottish history. The reaction to this article was quite something. There was much heated debate in the comments about whether this was true and, indeed, new. Intriguingly (and perhaps with tongue firmly in cheek), one person commented: “It has long been rumoured that Merlin lived out his last years on the Isle of Arran so this may not be as far fetched as it would seem.” There will be plenty more of this to come in 2016 from our new history columnist Hamish MacPherson.


9. Does Question time have a problem with the SNP? May 22

FEARS were raised last night that the BBC is now consigning SNP representatives to Scottish-based programmes, despite its new status as the third-largest political party in the UK. Before the General Election on May 7, the Liberal Democrats were regular members of the panel on the BBC’s leading political programme Question Time when they were the third-biggest party. However, last night was the second time the SNP did not feature.

Forget what we said about question marks in headlines. When The National contacted Question Time’s press office prior to the programme being screened across the UK last night to ask why the SNP were not represented for the second week in a row, it responded: “You do know it’s in Derby this week?” and then added: “It will be coming up to Scotland soon.” It seemed to take the BBC a while to recognise that the SNP were the third biggest party in Westminster. Although an SNP representative is on more often now than they were previously they tend not to get on with the same regularity as the Liberal Democrats or even UKIP, a party with one MP who openly hates his leader.


10. Diners cancel George Square bookings ahead of Orangefest: June 4

BUSINESSES in Glasgow’s George Square have already been affected by Saturday’s Orange Order organised festival.One restaurateur, told The National that all but one of his bookings for Saturday had cancelled in the past 24 hours.

Orangefest sort of crept up on businesses in Glasgow. Although the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland had done everything by the book, and the council too had done all they were supposed to, nobody really knew about it until it hit the papers the week before. The heritage and cultural event was supposed to be a more inclusive event, an attempt to educate and raise awareness of the true side of the Orange Order. This was their way of trying to get some positive PR and prove that they weren’t the heavy bevvying thugs that they are sometimes made out to be.

People in Glasgow reacted with horror to the idea. Thousands signed a petition calling for the festival to be cancelled. Orangefest went ahead in the end. There were no protests, no skirmishes or fights. Just rain. Heavy rain and strong winds. There was little incendiary about the event. It was much more about the history of the order. There were lectures and marching displays. In the rain. Apart from the odd, confused tourist, most of those who there were already committed signed up members. Organiser said it was a success and that they might consider it again in 2016.