Files reveal that former Ugandan leader Idi Amin once threatened to invade Scotland
Dictator Idi Amin
THE Army were placed on standby to defend Glasgow and Edinburgh airports amid fears he might try and force his way into a Commonwealth event at Gleneagles.
There would be few New Zealanders who would fail to recognise the significance of the Gleneagles agreement.
The Commonwealth Heads of State meeting in 1977 discussed the South African question and unanimously adopted the Gleneagles Agreement, promising to ‘discourage’ contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organisations, teams or individuals from South Africa.
Despite Gleneagles, Robert Muldoon made it clear that the government would not allow political interference in sport in any form. The NZRFU took this as a green light, and in September 1980 invited the South Africans to tour the following year.
Despite the arrogant stupidity of Muldoon the 81 Springbok tour was the beginning of the end for the South African government. New Zealand came close to civil war and the tour was cancelled after huge protests at rugby grounds throughout the country.
NEWLY declassified files have revealed deranged dictator Idi Amin once threatened to invade Scotland.
As well as being a Kiwi I am by birth Scottish so as you can imagine this story also has some amusement value as well for me. Talking of which remember this ?
The former Uganda ruler was banned from a Commonwealth conference at Gleneagles in 1977.
But the Army were placed on standby to defend Glasgow and Edinburgh airports amid fears he might try and force his way into the event.
Secret documents reveal how ministers were concerned that Amin, who murdered more than half a million people during his brutal nine-year reign, could arrive in Scotland “accompanied by at least 250 of his very formidable bodyguard” to storm the Perthshire summit.
I doubt they would have been be up to the SAS on home turf. Talk about over reacting.
Britain had cut all ties with the bloodthirsty tyrant – dubbed the Last King of Scotland for his fondness for the country – a year earlier after horrific details of his leadership in the African republic emerged.
The alert was sparked after radio stations in Uganda announced the dictator’s intention to enter the UK to join other leaders at Gleneagles.
The bizarre episode emerged after secret files were released under the Freedom of Information Act.
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