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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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”.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...First minister also says UK government’s hotel quarantine plans ‘do not go far enough’
Nicola Sturgeon has questioned whether Boris Johnson’s planned trip from London to Scotland on Thursday is “genuinely essential”, suggesting his visit makes it harder to convince the public to stick to travel restrictions.
At her daily briefing, when she also warned that the UK government’s hotel quarantine plan for travellers “does not go far enough”, Scotland’s first minister said that while she was sure the prime minister and his advisers would take care to make sure no laws were broken, “we all have to make judgments on what we genuinely think is essential”.
Continue reading...First minister says she will hold advisory referendum, whether Westminster consents or not
Nicola Sturgeon says she will hold an advisory referendum on independence if the Scottish National party wins a majority in May’s Holyrood elections, regardless of whether Westminster consents to the move.
Her party is setting out an 11-point roadmap for taking forward another vote, which will be presented to members of the SNP’s national assembly on Sunday.
Continue reading...Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, announced to the Scottish parliament that her cabinet had decided to introduce from midnight on Monday a legal requirement to stay at home, except for essential purposes.
The new 'stay at home' Covid rules, mirroring the very strict controls imposed last March, would also be legally enforced and greatly restrict who was able to travel, the Scottish government’s cabinet agreed earlier on Monday
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Continue reading...Scotland’s first minister was photographed breaking rules by taking her face mask off at a wake
Nicola Sturgeon has apologised for breaching Covid rules after she was photographed without a face covering at a wake.
The Scottish Sun published a picture of Scotland’s first minister standing talking to three people at a social distance, but with her face uncovered, while she was attending a wake after the funeral of a Scottish government civil servant who died with Covid.
Continue reading...First minister tells MSPs tough restrictions were ‘essential’ to suppress new strain of virus
Nicola Sturgeon has warned MSPs she may have to introduce full lockdown measures across Scotland in the coming days to contain the faster-spreading Covid variant, which has already led to Wales bringing forward a countrywide lockdown from last Sunday and Northern Ireland announcing a six-week lockdown from Boxing Day.
Sturgeon used her weekly coronavirus statement to the Scottish parliament to tighten level 4 measures – the strictest of Scotland’s five-tier system of Covid controls and which all of mainland Scotland will enter from 26 December.
Continue reading...Revolt criticising policies on independence, economy and transgender rights could also see Alex Salmond return to party
Nicola Sturgeon faces a growing rebellion over her leadership style that is expected to involve Alex Salmond being readmitted to the Scottish National party next year.
More than 20 activists, councillors and MPs critical of Sturgeon’s leadership and her policies on independence, the economy and transgender rights were elected last week to the party’s national executive as office bearers and ruling committees, to the shock of party leaders.
Continue reading...Eleven council areas in west and central Scotland, including Glasgow, will enter level 4 lockdown – the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions – from 6pm on Friday. The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she understood people's frustrations, but the prospect of a vaccine would mean returning to normal from spring. Non-essential shops are to close, along with pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and visitor attractions, but schools will remain open
Continue reading...Eleven local authorities to enter level 4 – highest of Scotland’s five-tier system of virus controls
More than 2.7 million Scots will face near-lockdown restrictions for three weeks after Nicola Sturgeon imposed the country’s highest level of Covid restrictions across the west of Scotland.
Following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, Scotland’s first minister told MSPs that 11 local authority areas would enter level 4 – the highest of Scotland’s five-tier system of virus controls – from 6pm this Friday for a limited period.
Continue reading...Latest updates: PM gives televised address after Sunak extends furlough until end of March
Q: What is your response to concerns about the data presented by government? (See 4.11pm.)
Johnson says the government is happy to share the data it has.
Q: Won’t we have to live with restrictions for some time?
Stevens says the NHS is prepared for coronavirus.
Continue reading...Covid means large family gatherings are out as country awaits unveiling of five-tier system
The idea of a normal Christmas this year with large family gatherings is “fiction” and people should be “digital-Christmas ready”, Nicola Sturgeon’s public health adviser has said.
Jason Leitch, the Scottish government’s national clinical director, who regularly flanks Sturgeon in her daily coronavirus briefings, told BBC Radio Scotland it was too early to say what the situation would be in late December. But Christmas would “absolutely” not be normal.
Continue reading...Nicola Sturgeon’s 16-day ban called ‘dysfunctional’ after contradictory statements
Scotland’s nationwide crackdown on indoor drinking descended into chaos on Thursday evening, less than 24 hours before strict new regulations on hospitality are due to come into force.
Many business owners in central Scotland, where a 16-day shutdown of pubs, restaurants and cafes that serve alcohol was announced by Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday, claimed that they were still uncertain whether they were expected to close at 6pm on Friday as trade bodies described the Scottish government’s behaviour as “dysfunctional”.
Continue reading...Bar and restaurant owners say they are ‘getting picked on’ and measures will hit young staff
The Scottish government is facing a fierce backlash after Nicola Sturgeon announced a crackdown on indoor drinking in licensed premises, as one leading adviser said more needed to be done to ensure people were sticking to the rules in their own homes.
Scottish pub, bar and restaurant owners expressed anger and despair at “catastrophic” and “scapegoating” new regulations that are set to last for 16 days across the country, and people on online forums decried the “prohibition” that would result from harsher restrictions in central Scotland.
Continue reading...Latest updates: Johnson asked to defend Covid strategy in PMQs; Prof Stephen Reicher warns UK risks chance to avoid stringent lockdown
Boris Johnson has always been weak at PMQs, but mostly that has primarily come over as a performance problem. Today he was a bit stronger than usual performance-wise, but it was obvious that, even if he possessed the parliamentary oratorical brilliance of someone like William Hague, he would have failed to have come out on top because he’s handicapped by a fundamental policy problem; he is trying to defend a Covid strategy that just isn’t working.
Sir Keir Starmer highlighted this best in his fourth question. He asked:
In Bury, when restriction were introduced, the infection rate was around 20 per 100,000. Today it’s 266. In Burnley it was 21 per 100,000 when restriction were introduced. Now it’s 434. In Bolton it was 18 per 100,000. Now it’s 255. The prime minister really needs to understand that local communities are angry and frustrated. So will he level with the people of Bury, Burnley and Bolton and tell them, what does he actually think the problem is here?
In the prime minister’s own local authority Hillingdon, today there are 62 cases per 100,000 yet no local restrictions. But in 20 local areas across England, restrictions were imposed when infection rates were much lower. In Kirklees it was just 29 per 100,000. Local communities, prime minister, genuinely don’t understand these differences. Can he please explain for them?
For the prime minister’s benefit, let me take this slowly for him. We support measures to protect health. We want track and trace to work. But the government is messing it up and it’s our duty to point it out.
Taiwo Owatemi (Lab) says Coventry is running out of brownfield sites. So where will the new homes it needs be built?
Johnson says there is abundant brownfield space all over the country. He says as the former planning authority for London, he knows. He says rules are making building difficult. He will turn generation rent into generation buy.
Continue reading...First minister also confirms 10pm curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants from Friday
Household visiting will be banned across Scotland, as Nicola Sturgeon moves to limit a key driver of coronavirus infections before the winter.
While Boris Johnson’s statement on Tuesday did not include direct limits on socialising, Scotland’s first minister said she would be extending nationwide from Friday the ban on household visiting already in place in the west of Scotland, where she said the limits were already having an impact on escalating infection rates.
Continue reading...Local lockdowns in school holidays, travel restrictions and shutting hairdressers among possible measures
Scottish ministers are considering far-reaching restrictions to combat the surge in Covid cases including local lockdowns linked to school holidays next month, travel restrictions, closing play parks and shutting down hairdressers.
The measures were revealed in a leaked document marked “official sensitive”, which also shows the Scottish government could issue a “general message” that people should again stay at home accept for essential shopping and exercise and also avoid public transport.
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