Cat Headley
@Cat_Headley
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Solicitor, former Labour Scottish Parliamentary candidate, occasional political commentator with STV and BBC Scotland. Vice-chair of These Islands.
Joined October 2010
Welcome to the world of tampons and sanitary towels.
I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve already spent a small fortune on masks, admittedly as a result of losing them or forgetting them at home. It’s fine for me, I can afford to buy more on the road. For those on low incomes, though, this could quickly become a problem.
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For once,I hope Prince Philip is eye wateringly rude to a foreigner.
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I am Scottish. I voted for Scotland remain in the UK in 2014. I would do so again. I am no less Scottish for doing so. I am no less ambitious for my country for doing so. This may be inconvenient to those who do not agree with me on independence but do not try and erase who I am.
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Sarah Vine,on national TV, speculates that a midlife crisis may have been reason a Tory MP (allegedly) sexually assaulted women and took lines of coke and expresses sympathy. Helen Lewis’ reaction on the sofa speaks for me.
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I have quit the Labour Party. I can not stay while it uncritically defends Assange (whatever rights/wrongs of extradition may be). It is an insult to victims of sexual violence. The last straw after the disgrace of antisemitism,the response to Salisbury & Brexit prevarications.
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Desperately want @AngelaRayner to tweet and pic of her and @Keir_Starmer having a beer and curry tonight.
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Could you maybe use the name and photo of the woman - a prominent KC who has very active in civic Scotland - that has been appointed the Advocate General for Scotland rather than the name and photo of her father?.
Former Labour leader John Smith's daughter joins UK Government in top law role.
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Now a Grace Jones super fan after seeing her at South Facing festival last night. The voice, the body, the outfits, the presence. Most of set in thigh high heels,a corset and a thong before finishing with the entirety of Slave to Rhythm doing a hula hoop. And she is SEVENTY SIX.
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I’m so proud of my friend @ayeshahazarika for calling out Nigel Farage in the clearest of terms. How she was able to do so with such composure,I have no idea. She shouldn’t have to do this,but while broadcasters continue to give him platform,she and others will have to do so.
Baroness Hazarika: "Nigel Farage really reveals his true colours. he's a nasty race baiting character. I'm a proud Indian, Scottish, British Muslim & I just swore my allegiance to King & Country on the Quran. ". #TrevorPhillips #bbclaurak
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SNP 2007: “We’ll abolish student debt!”.SNP 2011: “We’ll scrap Council Tax!”.SNP 2016: “We’ll eradicate the Educational attainment gap!”. SNP 2021: “We’ll end child poverty!”
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Anyone expecting any sort of contrition from Johnson over his Saville slur being hurled by a mob at @Keir_Starmer as he is bundled into a police car should remember his reaction to @paulasherriff in 2019 when she pleaded that he stop using phrases that appeared in death threats.
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My mum has sent me the pitch that the Reform candidate made to the great voters of Orkney via the local paper and it is WILD. Like a conspiracy theory bingo card.
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If the SNP membership is still c.104k,then less than 2% of the Scottish population will decide the next FM. I don’t have an issue with that,that’s the system. But if you were calling the Tories doing the same a democratic outrage six months ago,you’d best be able to justify that.
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I maybe should have said this about 60k likes ago but this sub tweet wasn’t intended as a dig at @lewis_goodall personally,more a reflection on the discussion of masks and comparison with sanitary products and period poverty. P.S shaving products are not an equivalent. 😘.
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I’m ashamed that I haven’t said this before but I’m saying it now: the abuse that @RosieDuffield1 gets is an utter disgrace. When she spoke out & spoke her mind about Brexit, antisemitism & domestic abuse,she was heralded. Now,she can’t appear on QT without constant pile on 1/2.
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Have been reflecting that perhaps enjoying the stunning collapse of the SNP facade is bit unseemly & ungracious. Then I reflect on how anyone who had the audacity to disagree with them have been called traitors,quislings, anti-Scottish,anti-progressive & I realise I don’t care.
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I know Scottish politics has been weird for a while,but the co-leader of the “Green Party” having a pop at *Greenpeace* and defending the FM over equivocation about a new oil field is 2miles past the looking glass and down a road to the left.
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Corbyn can share platforms with people whose views he ‘completely rejects’ on antisemitism but can’t share platforms with Tories in run up to EU referendum to campaign against Brexit. Right.
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I had not realised until today that the bollards outside Corstorphine Primary School aren’t your average street furniture design. 😁👏🏼
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I’d have a lot more respect for the “this is as much about democracy as it is about independence” line if a) there had ever been any genuine respect for the 2014 result and b) there was any indication that SNP would genuine respect the result if they lost again.
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If I got an appointment for a 1am vaccine,I’d get dressed up like I was going out out.
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Edinburgh and all of Scotland have given the Queen a remarkable send off. The sun shone and our nation sparkled. Well done to the thousands involved in organising it all.
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Now,make Lee Anderson deputy chair of the Conservative Party.
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Why couldn’t Labour’s position on Assange be “He needs to answer the allegations of rape he has avoided for 7 years but we have concerns about the implications of extradition request”? Would that have been so very difficult? I’m angry,disappointed and ashamed that it hasn’t been.
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If the SNP ever achieved Indy,I would imagine the same fate would await them as has the Tories post Brexit: In power but riven by divisions over “true” Indy,squaring unsquarable circles and having to persuade voters that promises are being delivered when they never could be.
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Not only is Scottish nationalism different from all other nationalisms,it seems Scottish green politics is also different. Aren’t we lucky to be so fantastically exceptional?.
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We are in danger of over “legalising” Cummings saga & clouding most simple part of this which is also most offensive to people outside “the bubble”: his predicament was one faced in millions of homes. We stayed because we believed we had to; he left because he believed he could.
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I don’t understand why ‘outwith’ isn’t a word outwith Scotland. It’s such a sensible word.
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“Independence feels frustratingly close.” . Yousaf displaying that keen political judgement that characterised his tenure as First Minister.
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Baroness @ayeshahazarika of Coatbridge pays tribute to her parents,1st gen immigrants who came to Scotland in 60s, as she expresses her pride of being the first person of Indian Assamese heritage to enter the British Houses of Parliament & the privilege of being Scottish. ❤️🌹
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I thought that nothing - NOTHING - could top the independence readiness thermometer for God tier political hilarity but if the SNP is brought down by Sturgeon’s husband buying a £100k campervan with money stolen from an indyref crowdfunder then I’m not sure what I’ll do.
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I’m sorry,but this is nonsense. Whatever else you might think about the U.K. gov response on Coronavirus v Scot Gov, an independent Scotland would NOT have been in a position to underwrite a huge part of the economy in the way U.K. has since March. Don’t insult our intelligence.
Nicola Sturgeon: ‘If Scotland was an independent country we’d be doing these things ourselves.’.
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Not content to wait until an actual referendum campaign,the SNP candidate standing against @jackiebmsp prints this fantastical claim about pensions in an independent Scotland as part of Scottish Parliament campaign. Education? Health? Drug deaths? Nope. Just unicorns.
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This is not Scotland v Westminster;this is a choice about alternative futures for Scotland - a decision that the majority - by a 10% margin - made in 2014 and you wish to reverse. Those “unionists” were and are Scots - do not “other” us. And who are you say we were “wrong”?.
Excellent discussion on @TimesRadio . Scotland is rising and Westminster is in denial. Unionists making the same arguments as 2014. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Bring it on #WhyNotScotland ?.
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Poor Prince Andrew. He has such ghastly luck when it comes to friends and associates being perverts.
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This is the grave of Betty Corrigall in Hoy,where she lived in the 1770s. Aged 27 she was unmarried and got pregnant. The father abandoned her & fled to sea. She committed suicide. She was refused a cemetery burial & was buried,unmarked,in the peat hills. /1
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There is now a man outside the Russian Consulate wearing yellow chinos and a blue blazer. Solidarity New Town style.
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I will always be grateful for the life changing opportunities I have been afforded by the Labour Party, the amazing friends I have made, in particular the sisterhood of the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme. I make no judgements of those who stay,this is a personal decision.
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“Trump is at worst a Russian agent and at best,a useful idiot.” Ouch. 🔥@Scaramucci to @ayeshahazarika @TimesRadio.
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Personal news klaxon: very proud to say I have been promoted to Partner at @DigbyBrownLLP and I’m so delighted I could burst.
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Although this remains my favourite @willie_rennie campaign moment and it came from @kezdugdale. (For those unaware of the context,Kez had been publicly outed shortly before this and it was a sublime way of responding 👌🏼👏🏼🌈)
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.@RosieDuffield1 is a valued friend of mine and I’m ashamed that I’ve not felt able to defend her publicly before.Disagree with her views but the level of animosity directed at her,is both disproportionate & unhealthy.And if you want to block me for speaking up for a friend,fine.
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How about men stop using the rape and assault of women by other men as a punchline?
Going into the studio is “like going into Harvey Weinstein’s bedroom - you hope to emerge with your dignity intact” Gove on #Todayat60.
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To left leaning voters,tweeters and commentators south of the Border who have been cooing about the SNP since 2016 and are now becoming aware of the just how broad a church they are on all issues bar independence for the first time,I can’t wait til you read about John Mason MSP.
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Beattie wasn’t aware of purchase of a campervan by SNP until he was. Flynn told Blackford a new auditor was appointed in April or maybe he didn’t. Yousaf says it would be surprising if someone in his party used a burner phone but it depends on your definition of a burner phone.🤪.
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In December 2020, Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre were recruiting trustees. This was part of their application form. While I could understand exploring some of these points at an interview,I found it quite surprising & unusual that they wanted statements in writing. I did not apply.
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It’s such a shame there was no room for the press at the SNP’s launch today. They are such a modest bunch,always favouring small,low key events. I mean,there really was no alternative.
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A cynical person would note that by postponing announcement of full roadmap out of lockdown,it schedules an update on the full release for just before the election. .
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So after creating a statutory right on NHS waiting times that was unenforceable, the SNP have now created a statutory obligation on fire alarms that will not be enforced. This is no way to legislate. Or govern.
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At A&E with dad,who has been hiding increasing chest pains and holding off going to hospital “until after Christmas”. 😢 Thankfully,he seems a bit better. So grateful to NHS24, ambulance & Ninewells staff working this Christmas. 🙏🏼❤️.
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I’m going to mute this tweet now,which seems to have resonated in a way I would never have imagined with a typed it,after a couple of gins and a couple of red wines last night. Anyway,all you sisters out there - don’t let the bastards grind you down. 💪🏼💋.
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The cost of an NHS worker bonus: £500.The value of an issue to stoke grievance at WM: priceless.
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An amazing friend of mine told me how she & her mum have a special way of sending support inspired by geese. Geese at the back of the V honk to encourage the ones at front to keep going. So when they to send support in testing times they say “honk honk”. So,“honk honk” everyone.
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A picture can say a thousand words. And Alistair Darling’s eyebrows can speak for millions of people.
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Exceptionally clear explanation of why @metpoliceuk refusing to investigate #partygate is such a problem legally and ethically by @JolyonMaugham of @GoodLawProject on @TimesRadio just there. Worth a listen back if you missed it!.
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Did BBC Seven Days yesterday and @jessicainsall - accountant and former auditor - gave a really interesting perspective on why the SNP has been struggling to find a replacement auditor. Have a listen 👇🏼 A perspective I hadn’t picked up before. @BBCScotNine
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There is something so very on brand about ScotGov ministers boasting (inaccurately) about number of Ukrainian refugees they will take at same time as planning to put said refugees up in such poor conditions that they get hauled up by the Ukrainian consul general.
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Eye catching stat in today’s @thetimes. If at least 10 of Boris Johnson’s resignation honours are approved,he would have personally appointed about 12% of peers in the House of Lords. Bloody ridiculous system.
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.@Conservatives have questions to answer. Spencer arrested in April. Stood as Tory council candidate in May. Attended Cooper's election count as Tory rep in Dec. Only suspended when he pled guilty in Jan. @andreajenkyns MP gives him character reference.
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Are you actually kidding with this headline????? In 2020 can we PLEASE end the reduction of women in politics to their reproduction activity?.
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A reminder that Derek Mackay’s conduct was considered by police to not amount to criminal. Certain behaviour can make you unfit for membership of a political party and for political office - or frankly for public respect - without them needing to clear the bar of being criminal.
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I doubt I’m the only Scots lawyer on Twitter considering regulation 12 of the Workplace (Health,Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the principle of contributory negligence this afternoon….
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I don’t think I have ever known an organisation so adept at “heads I win,tails you lose” than the SNP. Disingenuousness with a straight face.
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I’m astounded and,frankly,disappointed that Sturgeon sat there and didn’t challenge Cox on any of that stuff,which is pretty insulting to at least half of the people in Scotland. Not only did she not challenge,she appeared to endorse.
“My country has to be free.”. “Anybody who comes here sees the difference between the north and the south.”. “Country first. Not politics. Country first.”. Sturgeon then bemoans the fact that Brian Cox sees this so much more clearly from New York than people who live in Scotland.
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This is a really grim and desperate response to a question about deaths in a Scottish hospital. This is beneath Yousaf and the office of FM.
First Minister Humza Yousaf: "We've seen, just yesterday, a demonstration of the lack of leadership that Anas Sarwar is able to show. [if] Anas Sarwar can't even demand that his own Labour MPs back a ceasefire, then that's not a version of leadership that I will subscribe to."
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Chatting to a supporter of Scottish independence tonight. I suggested that desire to do things differently domestically might be understandable but would be hampered by a £12bn annual deficit which would alter public finances. “That’s not true,we pay in more than we take out.” 😑.
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I wouldn’t pretend to know Keir Starmer but I find it very difficult to imagine him saying he “hates tree huggers”.
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😁❤️💪🏼
Jackie Baillie has told how she was “humbled” to be made a dame in the King’s first Birthday Honours.
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Feels like maybe Glasgow should have been locked down,as other areas were,weeks ago. Why it wasn’t ought to be a significant question.
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I’m glad I went out in the middle of the night for the fresh snow fall in quiet. It’s all rather mushy now.
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Anyone at a black tie dinner in Edinburgh be like “I know a place” and takes you to Fingers. (I have been that person).
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The reaction of the SNP to the first stirrings of unpopularity will be interesting to watch.
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Is there a German word for genuinely wanting England to win but not wanting the reaction to England winning?.
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“Of the 13 leaders of the Tory party since 1945, only three have not become prime minister. They were William Hague, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard, all seen off by Blair.” .I had not realised this before and I am agog.
This is very good and, more importantly, very funny.
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No filter,no people. I spent half my life in Orkney and it still has the capacity to leave me speechless.
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Alex Bell implies that at the time of the Sturgeon standing down there was an ongoing police investigation into possible perjury in the Salmond trial? Did I miss this or is this new information?
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This is dangerous and alienating rhetoric straight out of a populist playbook. While it might be suitable for leader of a political party or campaign,it is not for the elected leader of the nation. Just as it wasn’t when Boris Johnson did it.
Sturgeon rebrands Yes campaign as 'Scotland's democracy movement'
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And if any of you know me IRL or have followed me on here long enough,you’ll know I’m hardly type to bite my tongue. That I have felt unable to speak up for a friend for fear of personal repercussions,should give you an insight into how unhealthy the whole discussion has become.
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Right now, in this moment, with 7 months til an election where the issues that determine day to day lives of people in Scotland - health, education, housing, crime, transport, culture - THIS is what the SNP do a PPB on?! No wonder Scotland has stagnated under 13yrs of SNP Gov.
👇 All these people have one thing in common. 🏴 They’ve changed from No to Yes. #ChangeMustCome
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I got into politics in 2013 because of indyref & became a Labour candidate year later for 2016 election,but never thought that we wouldn’t have moved on from constitution by time we got there. That 5yrs later it still dominates our politics over everything else is just so grim.
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You know what’s a really good way of showing that accusations you’re abusing power or trying to cover things up are entirely baseless? Holding back damning stuff like this until after the FM has given evidence.
Extra legal advice to the ScotGov in their Alex Salmond case released today: counsel is trying to convince them to concede to “stem substantial expenses” in a case that was failing. This is 17 Dec 2018. It was eventually conceded in Jan 2019 & cost tax payers more than £500k.
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Just found this in my phone and am laughing like a drain. An absolute classic.
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Headley: Independence could give me the physique of Beyoncé.
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I once aspired to be an elected politician. No longer. After a mental health breakdown last year during the GE campaign and knowing from elected friends what they go through,I don’t want that life. I know so many people - particularly women- who feel the same.
No one can know better than @RuthDavidsonMSP how to run her life. But there's something wrong with our politics/system when such a talented politician feels becoming PM would be a such a threat to their mental health and relationship.
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As a friend on WhatsApp has just said, “These kids already did a national service - it was called lockdown.”.
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