This is a picture that has never before been pieced together - mainly because previous investigators did not have all the information at their disposal - even Parliament did not know about some aspects of sovereignty until April 2004 and others have not been prepared to confront this aspect of the problem. The idea that the government and the Crown may have been unscrupulous in their dealings with Shetland would be impossible to contemplate - and yet that is exactly what the history shows.

Many Shetlanders are aware that something is not right in Shetland's history, but it's difficult to put a finger on it.

Shetland has a rich and unique history - some of which has been hidden and obscured for centuries for reasons that are deeply embarrassing to the UK government. My research has led me to the inescapable conclusion that at no point in Shetland's history did the Crown acquire ownership here. Ownership would be required to incorporate Shetland into the realm at some point, but that seems never to have happened. If it never happened (and nobody can provide a date when it did), it places Shetland in an extremely interesting position.

It means the Crown's assumption that it owns the seabed around Shetland has no foundation. Consequently any licenses, leases and rents concerning the seabed are valueless and may well be fraudulent. It means that Shetland's inclusion in the EEC against its will has no substance. It means that the UK government had no right to use Shetland's fisheries as a bargaining chip to enter the EEC.

Oil worth over £5 billion is quietly shipped out of Shetland's oil terminal at Sullom Voe every year. That's five billion reasons to keep the people of Shetland in the dark about who owns their islands.

These are the kinds of issues that are so embarrassing to the government and the Crown and why the people of Shetland cannot be allowed to know their true history. As the evidence accumulated, it became clear to me that I was uniquely placed to be able to do something about the situation. I have now reached a point in my life where I can devote my whole time to this issue. As I speak to more and more people, telling many of them details of their history they were completely unaware of, I hope that enough will have the courage to join with me in seeking a better deal for Shetland. Although they may not realise it, the power is in the hands of the people of Shetland. For too long Shetland has been seen as a place from which to take - it's time to put something back. 

Why would Shetland wish to remain under the control of the EU - an organisation of unelected, unaccountable and power-hungry bureaucrats? Why would we wish to remain part of an organisation so corrupt that it has been unable to get its accounts audited for the past fifteen years?

See the Europe page for details of how the EU was set up by deceit from its very inception.

Solving Shetland's problem could lead to unparalleled prosperity and the effects would extend far beyond Shetland. The whole world is facing the crisis of powerful vested interests taking over and subverting democracy for their own ends. Although Shetland's strength is in its legal position, nothing can happen unless the people of Shetland want it to. If they have the courage to take their destiny into their own hands, they may provide a lead for others to follow. Shetland is a small place, but it may hold the key to some world-wide problems. Once things start to move, the momentum will be unstoppable.

Your generous support will enable all this to happen.

Keep asking: When did the Crown get ownership?