‘Distressing’ images and videos were circulating after 74-year-old was struck by a single-decker in Cowgate area
Police have asked the public to stop sharing “distressing” images and videos after a man died in Edinburgh on Saturday evening.
The 74-year-old man was struck by a single-decker bus in the Cowgate area of the city, when the streets were busy with weekend revellers.
Continue reading...Godley, whose comedy drew upon her Glasgow upbringing, died ‘surrounded by her loved ones’, her management says
Janey Godley, the Scottish comedian and author whose quick wit led her to swap pint-pulling in Glasgow for international standup tours, has died aged 63.
She died in a hospice “surrounded by her loved ones”, her management said on Saturday. Godley had announced she was receiving palliative care in September after her terminal cancer spread.
Continue reading...Greek Cypriot Costa Koushiappis to be removed from UK even though his application is pending with Home Office
An EU citizen caught up in a Home Office backlog of applications for post-Brexit residency status is to be deported by Border Force officials in Scotland.
Costa Koushiappis, 39, who is Greek Cypriot, has been told to show up at Edinburgh airport at 7am on Friday to be forcibly put on a flight to Amsterdam just weeks after he received an email from the Home Office to say it could take a further 24 months to process his application for status.
Continue reading...Analysis from business and trade department says bill will significantly strengthen workers’ right. This live blog is closed
In the past the weirdest budget tradition was the convention that the chancellor is allowed to drink alcohol while delivering the budget speech. But since no chancellor has taken advantage of the rule since the 1990s (and no one expects Rachel Reeves to be quaffing on Wednesday week), this tradition is probably best viewed as lapsed.
But Sam Coates from Sky News has discovered another weird budget ritual. On his Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast, he says:
Someone messaged me to say: ‘Did you know that over in the Treasury as they’ve been going over all these spending settlements, in one of the offices, its full of balloons. And every time an individual department finalises its settlements, one of the balloons is popped.’
There couldn’t be a more important time for us to have this conversation.
The NHS is going through what is objectively the worst crisis in its history, whether it’s people struggling to get access to their GP, dialling 999 and an ambulance not arriving in time, turning up to A&E departments and waiting far too long, sometimes on trolleys in corridors, or going through the ordeal of knowing that you’re waiting for a diagnosis that could be the difference between life and death.
We feel really strongly that the best ideas aren’t going to come from politicians in Whitehall.
They’re going to come from staff working right across the country and, crucially, patients, because our experiences as patients are also really important to understanding what the future of the NHS needs to be and what it could be with the right ideas.
Continue reading...Olympic cycling champion says doctors have told him he has two to four years to live
Tributes have poured in for the Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy after he revealed he had received a terminal cancer diagnosis.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Hoy, who won six golds and one silver medal for Team GB, said doctors had told him he had between two and four years to live.
Continue reading...Met Office issues warnings for across the UK as the first named storm of the season sweeps in
Parts of the UK have been battered by strong winds and heavy rain, as Storm Ashley – the first named storm of the season – swept in.
The Met Office said the storm was likely to bring a threat of injuries and danger to life, with winds of up to 80mph and heavy rain expected in some areas.
Continue reading...John Taylor, 44, found with serious injuries outside Kilwinning home in what police believe was ‘targeted attack’
A murder investigation has been launched after a man died in what police believe was a “targeted attack” outside his home in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.
John Taylor, 44, was found with serious injuries outside his home in Pollock Crescent on Friday at about 1.55pm, Police Scotland said.
Continue reading...Forecast of high winds and rain leads to cancellation of event that was due to take place in Portsmouth on Sunday
High winds and rain expected from Storm Ashley have caused organisers to cancel the Great South Run, which was due to take place on Sunday.
Great Run, which organises the annual 10-mile race in Portsmouth, said it had been monitoring weather conditions and they “haven’t improved to a point where we can safely stage Sunday’s event”.
Continue reading...Former first minister established party as a political force but questions later emerged about influence he wielded
Alex Salmond cemented his place in British political history in May 2011 when he and the Scottish National party did something extraordinary.
They won an overall majority at Holyrood, under a proportional system designed to promote coalitions, not one party’s domination. With the SNP winning 69 of Holyrood’s 129 seats, the result delivered two things that defined Salmond’s legacy.
Continue reading...First minister John Swinney says predecessor, who died on Saturday, ‘had a huge impact on our public life’
John Swinney has paid tribute to Alex Salmond’s “colossal contribution” to Scottish and UK politics, as allies of the former first minister mourned his sudden death on Saturday.
Swinney, the incumbent first minister, said Salmond had had a huge impact on public life by forging the Scottish National party into a force capable of winning successive elections and then by bringing Scotland “incredibly close” to independence.
Continue reading...Ex-leader of the SNP, who has died at 69, described by Keir Starmer as a ‘monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics’
Politicians and commentators in the UK have been paying tribute to Alex Salmond after the death of the former first minister of Scotland on Saturday.
Keir Starmer called Salmond a “monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics”.
Continue reading...High-profile politician reported to have collapsed after delivering speech in North Macedonia on Saturday
Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who led Scotland to the brink of independence, has died at the age of 69.
Salmond served as first minister of Scotland from 2007. He stood down from the role after failing to secure independence in the 2014 referendum, handing over to his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon.
Continue reading...Tory leadership also suggests it was a mistake for him to order murals at a children’s asylum centre to be painted over
Keir Starmer was “appalled” by reports that Israel deliberately fired on peacekeepers in Lebanon, Downing Street said this morning.
Asked about the prime minister’s reaction to the story, a Downing Street spokesperson said:
We were appalled to hear those reports and it is vital that peacekeepers and civilians are protected.
As you know, we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to suffering and bloodshed. This is a reminder of the importance of us all renewing our diplomatic efforts.
All parties must always do everything possible to protect civilians and comply with international law. But we continue to reiterate that and call for an immediate ceasefire.
The very hard Brexit forced through by Boris Johnson means that we are for now driving with the economic handbrake on – we can’t let that handbrake off. It is what is, It is difficult to see this being reversed within the next decade.
The truth is it could be a conversation that starts in 10 years’ time. It could be longer, but the beginning of a conversation is not the end of that; it’s not the resolution of our relationship to the European Union.
I think it’ll be very hard to persuade people in the European Union to revisit, to reengage and start getting into another negotiation about Britain’s membership of the European Union, for a long time to come. I’m sorry to say that but they have had up to here with us.
Continue reading...Labour peer says in meantime it is essential to try to reduce damage of Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson
Peter Mandelson has suggested the UK could start talks on rejoining the EU in 10 years’ time, much earlier than Keir Starmer believes.
Lord Mandelson told an audience in Edinburgh the “truth is that [reversing Brexit] could be a conversation which starts in 10 years’ time”, but only if EU member states were willing to consider it.
Continue reading...Police discovered ‘much-loved’ Martin Forgie dead at property in Ellon on Wednesday
A 44-year-old man has been arrested after the death of a “much-loved” 36-year-old man in Aberdeenshire.
At about 8.35pm on Wednesday, police were called to a property in the town of Ellon, where Martin Forgie was found dead.
Continue reading...Willow was event’s surprise victor, and is now strategising for the world championships in Finland
Hannah Willow had little doubt what she wanted. She wanted the glory of being crowned Glasgow’s first champion tree hugger. And she got it.
“I thought it was just a charity event,” Willow said, after her triumph in the inaugural event on Sunday. “When I was told it was a competition my inner child took a somersault; I didn’t realise that until just before it started.
Continue reading...Trio face one more round of voting by MPs before party members have their say on final two
The prison system in England and Wales was “teetering on disaster” when Labour came to power, James Timpson, the prisons minister said today.
Speaking at his first Prison Governors’ Association conference in Nottingham since he took on the role, Timpson said:
It has not been easy to rehabilitate offenders in a system teetering on disaster.
We have to take the tough decisions bringing changes to release to ease the pressure on our prisons. It was quite frankly a rescue effort. If we had not acted our justice system would have grinded to a halt – we would have faced a total breakdown of law and order.
Unison said it has given notice to Perth and Kinross Council for strike action by members in schools and early years centres.
The union, which is the largest local government trade union in Scotland, hopes targeting the action in Swinney’s constituency will “bring home to him the importance of finding a fair settlement” to the council pay dispute.
Continue reading...Health leaders tell government to follow Scotland and Wales on cost of cheap booze after Darzi report on death toll
Ministers are facing pressure to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol after Lord Darzi’s investigation into the NHS highlighted the “alarming” death toll in England caused by cheap drink.
Public health leaders are this weekend calling for urgent action to increase the price of cheap alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences. A two-litre bottle of cider can be bought in England for under £2, which equates to 22p per unit of alcohol.
Continue reading...One year on, we speak to those who have lost more than 50 relatives and who call some ministers’ support for the Israeli government ‘shameful’
In September 2023, 45-year-old Mohammed Ghalayini travelled to Gaza from Manchester, where he had lived since 2004, to visit family. He was still there on 7 October when Hamas’s attack on Israel killed 1,200 people. In Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza – which to date has killed more than 41,000 people – he and his family were displaced multiple times, faced shortages of food and water, and endured the relentless sound of drones.
Ghalayini is now back in the north of England, but nearly a year into Israel’s war in Gaza, he says every day still brings bad news – whether from family members in WhatsApp messages, or in updates on Facebook, which has become like an “obituary page”. Ghalayini said he feels helpless.
Continue reading...Scottish standup posts video saying she is getting palliative care and will be going into a hospice
The comedian Janey Godley has revealed she is receiving end-of-life care after her terminal cancer spread.
The 63-year-old announced she would be getting palliative care and going into a hospice in a video shared on social media on Wednesday.
Continue reading...