Lesson plan

Brian Souter

Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, Ann Gloag, he founded the Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Trains, his investments company Souter Holdings Ltd, and the Souter Charitable Trust. Souter has been politically active in Scotland, and supported the Scottish National Party (SNP) financially. In 2000, when the Scottish Executive proposed to repeal Section 2A of the Local Government Act, which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality", Souter started the Keep the Clause campaign to oppose their plans, spending £1 million of his own money to organise a private referendum across Scotland. In 2011, he was knighted for services to transport and the voluntary sector. The honour was criticised by Scottish Labour Party politicians and by gay rights campaigners. In October 2019, Souter announced the donation of 28% of the total shares in Souter Investments to charitable causes, with an estimated value of £109 million. This was described in The Scotsman as "what could be the largest charitable donation by a Scot since ... Andrew Carnegie". This came after Souter's charitable trust had already spent over £98 million supporting "13,000 worthwhile causes" over 13 years.…

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Article summary

Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, Ann Gloag, he founded the Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Trains, his investments company Souter Holdings Ltd, and the Souter Charitable Trust. Souter has been politically active in Scotland, and supported the Scottish National Party (SNP) financially. In 2000, when the Scottish Executive proposed to repeal Section 2A of the Local Government Act, which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality", Souter started the Keep the Clause campaign to oppose their plans, spending £1 million of his own money to organise a private referendum across Scotland. In 2011, he was knighted for services to transport and the voluntary sector. The honour was criticised by Scottish Labour Party politicians and by gay rights campaigners. In October 2019, Souter announced the donation of 28% of the total shares in Souter Investments to charitable causes, with an estimated value of £109 million. This was described in The Scotsman as "what could be the largest charitable donation by a Scot since ... Andrew Carnegie". This came after Souter's charitable trust had already spent over £98 million supporting "13,000 worthwhile causes" over 13 years.…

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1954-05-05 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of establishment: 1980 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. date of formation: 2012 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of birth is "1954-05-05". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of establishment is "1980". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the date of formation is "2012". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367740396

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.