Category Archives: Nicola Sturgeon

‘An emblem of Scotland’: how Irn-Bru stole the show at Cop26

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Scottish fizzy drink already had deal shutting out rivals, but praise from Sturgeon and AOC was golden marketing moment

As Cop26 draws to a close, the climate summit’s big-name sponsors have been left scratching their heads as to how the plucky Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru managed to steal the limelight in the marketing ambush of the year.

The status of the bright orange drink as the summit’s surprise curiosity made global headlines earlier this week when the US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted an Instagram video of herself praising the beverage after having her first taste.

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‘Love it’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives verdict on Scottish favourite Irn-Bru

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US congresswoman posts video of herself sampling the drink at Cop26 after being given a can by Nicola Sturgeon

Cop26 is not short of controversial subjects, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated she is not afraid to get stuck into the big questions: namely, would she like the Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru?

The bright orange drink has become the surprise curiosity of Cop26, and is on sale throughout the SEC convention centre due to a deal between building’s owners and drinks manufacturer AG Barr. Delegates from all over the world have been sharing their thoughts on its unique taste, with mixed reviews.

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‘The time for change is now’: demonstrators around the world demand action on climate crisis

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Up to 100,000, including Kahnawake Mohawk delegates, brave Glasgow rain as 22 arrested after scientists blockade bridge

People on almost every continent were gathering for marches and rallies on Saturday to mark a Global Day for Climate Justice, halfway through the Glasgow climate change summit.

Activists in the Philippines, eight hours ahead of the UK, had already finished their rally as protesters gathered in Scotland. There were also rallies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and France. The Belgian arm of Extinction Rebellion occupied a street in Brussels.

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Scotland proposes Covid vaccine certificates for nightclub entry

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Nicola Sturgeon says certificates in limited scenarios could protect public health and boost vaccine take-up

The Scottish government is proposing vaccine certificates for entry to nightclubs and large-scale indoor and outdoor events in an attempt to curb escalating Covid infections before the autumn.

Announcing the plans, which MSPs will be asked to vote on next week, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said that – although expected with schools returning last month – “the scale of the increase [in infections] in recent weeks has been very concerning”.

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Scotland to hold its own coronavirus public inquiry by end of year

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Move follows pressure from grieving families to begin investigation before end of year

The Scottish government will hold its own public inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic by the end of the year, after pressure from relatives who lost loved ones to the virus.

The announcement came after the deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for Covid recovery, John Swinney, met representatives of the Scottish branch of the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice.

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Sturgeon admits link between Euro fans travelling and rise in Covid cases – video

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The Scottish first minister has said she thinks there is a link between Scotland fans travelling for Euro 2020 games and the rise in Covid cases in Scotland. 

Asked if the Scottish government should have done more to stop fans travelling to matches, Sturgeon denied taking a soft approach. She added the government could not stop fans without tickets travelling to Wembley. Public Health Scotland will be doing more analysis of this, she said

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Scotland’s Covid travel ban extended to Manchester and Salford

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Nicola Sturgeon prohibits non-essential travel as Delta variant spreads through north of England

Nicola Sturgeon has imposed a travel ban between Scotland and Manchester and Salford as a result of rising Covid cases.

The restrictions, which will come into force from Monday, add to travel limits put in place last month as the Delta variant spread rapidly through the north of England.

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Glasgow to stay in toughest lockdown level as Covid cases rise

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Nicola Sturgeon says it would be premature to move city out of tier 3 while situation remains ‘fragile’

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed Glasgow will remain in Scotland’s second toughest lockdown regime for at least another week, and said the country as a whole may not move down a tier, after Covid cases continued to rise.

The first minister said the latest infection and hospitalisation figures in Greater Glasgow and Clyde showed cases were rising, so it would be unwise to move the city down from tier 3 to 2 this weekend.

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Glasgow protesters rejoice as men freed after immigration van standoff

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Hundreds of people surrounded vehicle men were held in and chanted ‘these are our neighbours, let them go’

Campaigners have hailed a victory for Glaswegian solidarity and told the Home Office “you messed with the wrong city” as two men detained by UK Immigration Enforcement were released back into their community after a day of protest.

Police Scotland intervened to free the men after a tense day-long standoff between immigration officials and hundreds of local residents, who surrounded their van in a residential street on the southside of Glasgow to stop the detention of the men during Eid al-Fitr.

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SNP election win: Johnson sets up summit as Sturgeon pledges second referendum

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First minister says there is ‘no democratic justification’ for No 10 denying second vote

Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to press ahead with plans for a second independence referendum after the Scottish National party won its fourth consecutive Holyrood election, triggering a constitutional battle with Boris Johnson.

In a letter issued before the final results were declared, Johnson attempted to blunt Sturgeon’s attack by urging the first minister and her opposite numbers in Wales and Northern Ireland to join a UK-wide Covid recovery summit involving all four governments.

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Johnson faces MPs’ fury over Downing Street sleaze claims

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Labour urge Speaker to summon senior minister as poll reveals 40% of voters think Tories are corrupt

Labour is aiming to force a senior minister before parliament this week to account for the growing sleaze crisis engulfing No 10 – amid growing cross-party uproar over a collapse in standards at the heart of government.

The Observer understands the opposition is hoping to persuade Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, to grant an urgent question on Monday that would mean a senior minister – most likely the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove – being summoned to the Commons to account for the crisis, explain steps being taken to end it, and take questions from MPs.

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Sturgeon blasts decision to refer Holyrood bills to UK supreme court

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Scottish first minister calls UK government decision ‘morally repugnant’ as bills were passed unanimously

Nicola Sturgeon has condemned the UK government’s decision to refer two bills passed by Holyrood unanimously to the supreme court as “morally repugnant” amid an outcry from MSPs.

The Scottish parliament passed the United Nations convention on the rights of the child bill and the European charter of local self-government bill in the weeks before it went into recess.

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PM will allow second referendum if SNP wins, says Sturgeon

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Scottish first minister tells Guardian fresh poll impossible to resist should her party land majority next month

Boris Johnson will not oppose a second independence referendum if the Scottish National party wins a majority in the election next month, Nicola Sturgeon has said, with some UK government ministers reportedly conceding it is an inevitability.

In an interview with the Guardian, Scotland’s first minister said: “If people in Scotland vote for a party saying, ‘when the time is right, there should be an independence referendum’, you cannot stand in the way of that – and I don’t think that is what will happen.”

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Nicola Sturgeon accused of misleading parliament over Alex Salmond

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Holyrood committee highly critical of Scottish first minister’s accounts of meeting with former mentor

Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of misleading the Scottish parliament over her dealings with Alex Salmond, but not knowingly, in a highly critical report by MSPs.

A specially convened Holyrood committee voted by a 5-4 margin to find the first minister had misled parliament over her accounts of a meeting with Salmond, her former mentor, in April 2018.

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Sturgeon welcomes ‘official, definitive, independent’ ruling she did not breach ministerial code – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on this story, you read the news report here

The army’s increased deployability and technological advantage will mean that greater effect can be delivered by fewer people. I’ve therefore taken the decision to reduce the size of the army from today’s current strength of 76,500 trade trained personnel to 72,500 by 2025.

The army has not been at its established strength of 82,000 since the middle of last decade.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Germany extends partial lockdown; Irish PM speaks out against vaccine export ban

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has said that Nicola Sturgeon is not “free and clear”, despite being exonerated by the independent adviser on the ministerial code, because the Scottish parliament’s committee has not yet published its report on her. In a statement he said:

The first minister has been given a pass because it has been judged her ‘failure of recollection’ was ‘not deliberate’.

I respect Mr Hamilton and his judgment but we cannot agree with that assessment. Nicola Sturgeon did not suddenly turn forgetful.

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Most Scots would back remaining in UK, new poll suggests

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Respondents say their trust in both Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond dented by Holyrood inquiry

Most Scots would vote to remain in the UK if an independence referendum were held tomorrow, a new poll has found.

The survey of 1,015 Scots suggests that 46% would vote against Scottish independence, compared with 43% in favour.

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Salmond inquiry having ‘chilling effect’ on women, say experts

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Campaigners believe Holyrood crisis may prevent women from coming forward to report harassment

The Salmond inquiry is having a significant impact on the momentum for change brought about by the #MeToo movement, according to experts and campaigners on workplace harassment.

They have told the Guardian the political crisis convulsing Holyrood has also had a “chilling” and “demoralising” effect on women in terms of their confidence in reporting unacceptable behaviour.

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Nicola Sturgeon says harassment policy was not there ‘to get Alex Salmond’ – live updates

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Scotland’s first minister is appearing before MSPs, amid multiple allegations that she broke the ministerial code

Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservatives, asks about the extent of ministerial overview of the judicial review brought by Salmond over the investigation into harassment allegations against him?

The first minister replies that she was a named party. It was not something that she discussed every day. She says it was “not an unusual degree of involvement or oversight”, pointing out that there have been several judicial reviews against her government.

Mitchell says no one would want to come forward because of the way these complainers were treated.

Sturgeon says they are the most important people in this story. They were let down by government mistakes.

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Sturgeon faces calls to resign over actions in Salmond crisis

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First minister was given legal advice about significant potential conflict of interest but case continued

Nicola Sturgeon faces calls to resign after previously secret legal advice and new witness evidence raised fresh questions over whether Scotland’s first minister misled parliament about the Alex Salmond crisis.

On Tuesday evening the Scottish government released confidential legal advice that showed its lawyers had warned Sturgeon and her most senior officials that evidence of a potentially unlawful conflict of interest inside the government was “extremely concerning” and a “very real problem indeed”.

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Alex Salmond: weak leadership could hurt case for Scottish independence

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Former first minister launches a stinging attack on the SNP during evidence to a Holyrood inquiry

Alex Salmond has suggested that weak and incompetent leadership of Scotland’s institutions could undermine the case for independence, in a bitter attack on his former allies and party.

The former first minister said huge deficiencies had been exposed in the running of the Scottish government and the Crown Office, as he blamed both institutions for forcing him to live through a “nightmare” during the last three years.

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