Campaigners warn against ‘false sense of security’ and say asylum seekers in Scotland are fearful of the far right
Anti-racism campaigners have vowed to show the far right they are not welcome in Scotland after an anti-immigration rally was organised in Glasgow.
But they warned against a “false sense of security” as the disorder witnessed across England and Northern Ireland earlier in the month has not been seen in Scotland.
Continue reading...Emma Ramsay, 19, was on holiday with friends in San Antonio and police are treating her death as an accident
A Scots law student has died while on holiday in Ibiza after reportedly falling from a sixth-floor hotel balcony.
Emma Ramsay, 19, is reported to have died in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a fall at a beachfront hotel in the resort of San Antonio, in the north-west of the Spanish island.
Continue reading...Three-year campaign by parents of aid worker killed in Afghanistan brings 19 trainee doctors to Scotland
A group of trainee female doctors from Afghanistan have travelled to Edinburgh to complete their medical degrees after the Taliban forced them to quit studying.
The 19 women arrived in the UK on Tuesday after a three-year campaign by the parents of Linda Norgrove, the kidnapped Scottish charity worker who was killed during a botched rescue attempt by US special forces in 2010.
Continue reading...Design with bees on reverse, part of collection inspired by plants and animals, was voted people’s favourite
The first £1 coin bearing the official portrait of King Charles III has entered general circulation as part of a collection inspired by plants and animals found across the four nations of the United Kingdom.
The latest design, featuring two bees, has been issued to Post Offices and banks, with nearly 3m coins making their way into tills and pockets.
Continue reading...Meghan Gallacher says allegations about Ross’s actions in leadership contest pose risk to party’s reputation
One of the candidates standing to replace Douglas Ross as leader of the Scottish Conservatives has resigned as the party’s deputy because of “deeply troubling” allegations about Ross’s conduct over the leadership contest.
The Telegraph on Thursday reported that senior party figures alleged Ross had planned to quit as leader a year ago and install as his successor the current favourite to replace him, Russell Findlay.
Continue reading...Daily 5% visitor beds surcharge that will cover hotels, bed and breakfasts and AirBnB could raise up to £50m a year
Councillors in Edinburgh are hoping to build new council houses and improve public parks thanks to a new tourist tax that could raise up to £50m a year.
The city council is expected to become the first in the UK to introduce a comprehensive visitor levy using new government powers, with tourists and visitors paying a daily 5% surcharge on their beds from July 2026.
Continue reading...At Edinburgh fringe event, former first minister uses colourful language in recalling events that led to his resignation from Holyrood
The former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf has admitted that he “fucked up” by sacking the Greens from his government.
Earlier this year, the Greens forced a vote on the Bute House agreement – the alliance of the Scottish National party and the Greens – over the ditching of a key climate pledge.
Continue reading...Day begins in chaotic fashion with thousands of pupils receiving blank emails instead of their exam results
The pass rate has fallen while the attainment gap has widened across all Scottish school qualifications after a chaotic start to the day when thousands of pupils received a blank email instead of their exam results.
The chief executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Fiona Robertson, apologised to the estimated 7,000 young people affected, blaming a technical issue that was “resolved swiftly”, with the correct results emails sent out by 9.30am.
Continue reading...An antenna park has divided the community living beside a world heritage site in the Scottish Highlands
On a small croft in the shadow of Ben Tongue, a 302-metre high mountain in the Scottish Highlands, Ian and Rachel Broughton lead a quiet life, growing produce and relishing the calm of their rural haven. But changes are afoot.
The retired couple are horrified by plans for a radar station for the Sutherland Spaceport, one of the UK’s first spaceports, on the summit of the mountain, with a new service road that will skirt within metres of their 170-year-old stone cottage.
Continue reading...Stella Maris criticises decision to remove her from two roles after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid
The rector of St Andrews University has been dismissed from the institution’s governing body and her position as a trustee after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid.
Stella Maris criticised the decision to remove her from the two roles, which came after the university commissioned an investigation into an email she sent in November to all St Andrews students calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Continue reading...National Whale and Dolphin Watch organisers say data collected will help with research into marine mammals
Hundreds of wildlife enthusiasts are expected to gather along UK coastlines over the next 10 days to count and record whales and dolphins.
The National Whale and Dolphin Watch, taking place from 26 July to 4 August, is hosted by the Sea Watch Foundation and aims to get volunteers to observe and record sightings of the UK’s most impressive marine mammals.
Continue reading...Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis, which lived 166m years ago, ‘a piece of the puzzle’ explaining mammals’ success
The remains of a diminutive mouse-like creature that lived 166m years ago could help answer one of biology’s biggest questions of why mammals have become so successful, fossil experts say.
Krusatodon kirtlingtonensis belongs to the immediate predecessors of mammals and lived alongside the dinosaurs during the middle Jurassic age. But while it was originally known only from individual teeth, researchers have now reported two partial skeletons.
Continue reading...Tourist hotspots including Ullapool and Fort William badly hit as biting insects enjoy damp, humid conditions
Scotland’s wet summer is providing perfect conditions for surges of midges, with experts saying worse is yet to come.
This week the Scottish Midge Forecast predicted high numbers of the biting insects, reaching peaks of four and five on a scale of one to five.
Continue reading...St James’s Park in central London records highest reading, with health alerts in place across the Midlands, eastern and southern England
UK temperatures have reached their highest point of the year so far, the Met Office has confirmed, with 31.9C recorded at St James’s Park in central London.
The high temperatures, which were recorded largely along the eastern half of the country, came as the majority of schools in England and Wales closed for the summer.
Continue reading...Northumbrian village was named as nation’s favourite, just ahead of Portmeirion and St Andrews
Bamburgh, the Northumbrian village known for its sprawling sand dunes and imposing castle, has retained its title as the UK’s best seaside destination for the fourth consecutive year.
A survey of 4,700 people by the consumer group Which? placed the Northumberland coastal village as the nation’s favourite, ahead of Portmeirion in Gwynedd and St Andrews in Fife.
Continue reading...Home secretary to host meeting of government’s Defending Democracy taskforce after reported rise in harassment during election campaign
More in Common, the group that campaigns to reduce polarisation in politics, published a good slideshow presentation last week, based on polling it carried out, giving an analysis of the general election results. It has followed that up today with the publication of a 129-page report on the election, based on the same polling and on what it learned from focus groups.
One of the main interesting points it makes is that the government will be judged, above all, on whether it can bring down NHS waiting lists and the cost of living, polling suggests. The report says:
How does the public plan to judge the government on its delivery of change and what benchmarks will they use to evaluate progress?
First and foremost, the public will look to NHS waiting lists and the cost of living to judge Labour’s success or failure. These are top performance indicators for every segment, with the elderly tending to be more concerned than average about waiting lists and younger generations more so about the cost of living. As inflation falls and interest rates seem set for a summer cut, waiting lists are arguably the new government’s key challenge in maintaining public support.
Continue reading...Rescuers including vets rush to save 12 survivors from 77-strong group lying on Sanday shore
Dozens of long-finned pilot whales have died after a 77-strong pod came ashore on an Orkney beach in what could be the biggest mass stranding in decades.
Twelve of the animals at Tresness beach, on the island of Sanday, were still alive, but according to rescuers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), it was thought unlikely they could be saved.
Continue reading...Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has urged the party to avoid descending into ‘bitter infighting and finger pointing’
Former education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins, who resigned after Boris Johnson rejected his £15bn Covid catch-up plans, is to advise the new government on driving up school standards and finding solutions to teacher shortages and high absence rates.
The Department for Education confirmed on Tuesday that Collins, a widely respected figure in the sector, has been appointed a non-executive board member at the DfE. As such his role will be to support and challenge the department in its efforts to raise standards in England’s schools.
I’m delighted to be returning to the Department for Education. There are real challenges facing our schools and I am looking forward to being part of a renewed drive to ensure that we tackle these with bold and fresh new ideas, to deliver high and rising standards in every corner of the country.
Sir Kevan has been an outstanding force for good in schools, especially his work advocating for our teachers and children during the pandemic and he will play a crucial role in advising the department.
Continue reading...Labour’s election manifesto committed party to recognising Palestinian state as part of a process that results in a two-state solution with Israel
Reynolds says he is not supposed to pre-empt what will be in the king’s speech, but he says it is no secret that the government is going to prioritise its employment rights reforms.
Jonathan Reynolds is being interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg now.
I do want things in exchange for money we’ll co-invest with the private sector around jobs and technology.
I think that’s a reasonable way to make sure public money is being well spent and I believe there are things, capacities, the steel industry needs in future that could be part of that conversation and that’s what I’ll be having in the next few days …
Continue reading...Labour leader said he wanted to restore service and respect in politics and ‘end the era of noisy performance’
Clive Myrie is opening the BBC’s election night coverage. He is co-presenting with Laura Kuenssberg.
No 10 has also announced knightoods for four Tories in the dissolution honours – Oliver Dowden, the deputy PM; Julian Smith, the former chief whip and Northern Ireland secretary; Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary; and Alister Jack, the outgoing Scottish secretary – and one damehood, for Thérèse Coffey, the former deputy PM.
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