Nicola Sturgeon is a busy woman, so it was left to her deputy, John Swinney, to issue a reprimand to nationalists who have been issuing threats to a Scottish business woman for the crime of promoting her goods at a food fayre attended by Boris Johnson.

In most normal countries, the preceding paragraph would be a marmalade-dropping moment. They’ve been threatening who for what?

Welcome to Scotland, where citizens must constantly be reminded that it is the Conservative Party who are the villains, lest we start to examine the available evidence and draw some very different conclusions.

Michelle Maddox runs Clootie McToot, a bakery in Perthshire that manufactures clootie dumplings, a delicious Scottish delicacy that can be consumed hot or cold as part of either a dessert or a savoury dish (the term “clootie” comes from the traditional method of streaming the pudding in a cloth or “cloot”).

Maddox accepted an invitation to display her company’s wares at a Downing Street Market, hosted by the Prime Minister and during which, it was reported, he was given a free sample by Ms Maddox. So far, so normal: naturally a British food manufacturer is going to take any opportunity to improve its profile. Had she been invited to a similar event at Bute House, hosted by the First Minister, no doubt she would have accepted just as eagerly.

But now we move into the Twilight Zone of Scottish politics, where self-appointed, self-righteous Bravehearts, the kind of people who have displayed “IndyRef2” stickers in their cars since the weekend after the first referendum, have decided what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour by other private citizens. And being courteous and generous to the Prime Minister is regarded among such types as an unforgivable sin.

In fact it’s regarded as much more than a sin: it is seen as treason itself. In Scotland in 2021, it is a justification for hatred.

Maddox herself reported that she had had “an incredibly difficult 12 hours or so on my Facebook page @ClootieMcToot. I have had private message with abuse threats and orders cancelled due to attending a non-political food event at 10 Downing Street.”

She later revealed the full extent of the abuse she had received: she had been left in tears after the messages, with one threatening to damage her van, while another warned her not to “walk down dark alleyways”.

 “It’s been heart-breaking to read the messages. I was told a brick would get thrown through my van window, while another message told me not to walk down a dark alleyway. I’ve also had 12 cancellations of food orders since the video appeared online. 

“It’s politically motivated, but I don’t where its came from. We weren’t the only Scottish company there. I’m not interested in politics, I’m just interested in my business and in selling Scottish food produce.

“The messages left me in tears, but the support since has been fantastic, I’ve had a lot.”

It is perhaps naïve of Maddox to claim that she didn’t know where these threats came from. Because most people who live in Scotland and who are remotely familiar with the political landscape here know exactly where such vile behaviour comes from.

Swinney, who has a well-deserved reputation as one of Scotland’s most decent politicians, said: “This is totally unacceptable. Please just let @ClootieMcToot get on with running an excellent business with a fabulous product.”

Scotland’s political establishment prides itself on their country’s tolerance and progressive attitude. Yet this is far from the first time when independence supporters have chosen to take revenge on those it considers traitors to the cause. In Maddox’s case, she wasn’t even making a comment about independence, and the nationalist blob has dealt mercilessly with those who do. They even called for a boycott of Tunnock’s – makers of the famously Scottish Teacake – when it was announced the company had appointed former Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, to its board.

It is not Swinney’s fault that some in his movement descend to this appalling level of “activism”, where threats and intimidation have replaced open debate (probably because the latter strategy has failed to deliver independence). But neither will his admonition do any good. For all the SNP’s insistence that it represents a new kind of “civic nationalism”, where everyone’s view is respected and pride in one’s own country has usurped hatred of others, the independence movement cannot ever escape the shadow of raw, unbridled nationalism.

And when politicians like Swinney’s boss, Nicola Sturgeon, insist on “othering” any and every party remotely to the right of her as somehow un-Scottish and beyond the pale, the very worst elements of her movement will naturally take that resentment towards Westminster (aka, hatred of England) to the next level. It is then that polite association with the Prime Minister of one’s own country becomes a justification for hatred and violence.

Show me a civic nationalist and I’ll show you a nationalist.