Starmer challenges Sunak to force Nadine Dorries out of Commons as Tory website explains how it could happen – as it happened

Article says Commons could bypass the parliamentary standards machinery after Labour leader says MP should be forced out. This live blog is closed

Starmer says there is a massive mismatch between what the government is saying about how things are going well with the economy, and the lived experience of people.

O’Brien suggests the two teenagers Starmer met today would have been happier if Starmer was still committed to getting rid of tuition fees.

I do think the current scheme is unfair and ineffective and that is why we will change it, so the current scheme will be changed by the incoming Labour government and we will set out our plans.

I am not going to pretend that there isn’t huge damage to the economy and that has meant that some of the things that an incoming Labour government would want to do we are not going to be able to do in the way we would want in the way that we would want.

We are working up our proposals on that and I will fully come back and talk them through when we got them.

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‘I felt absolutely sick’: John Gladstone’s heir on his family’s role in slavery

Charlie Gladstone on why the only way he can live with his family’s dark past is to turn it into something positive
• William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

For Charlie Gladstone, the question is not what sort of ancestor he had, but what sort of ancestor he wants to be.

When he learned about John Gladstone’s involvement in slavery he was moved to tears. “I felt absolutely terrible. I really, really hated it. It was a shock and I felt absolutely sick.”

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My view on Scottish independence has ‘moved’, says Kezia Dugdale

When asked how she would vote in a referendum, former Labour leader in Scotland says she will ‘decide at the time’

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said her stance on independence has “moved”, as she can no longer argue for staying in the UK with the same strength she did in the run-up to the 2014 referendum.

Dugdale said she felt that Scots will eventually get a second vote on the future of the UK but did not believe another referendum would take place within the next decade.

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UK weather: more than half a month’s rain to fall in south of England

Met Office issues yellow warnings with heavy rainfall and lightning expected to cause disruption

More than half a month’s rain could fall across the south of England on Friday, which could lead to some homes and businesses being flooded, the Met Office has said.

Between 30mm and 40mm of rain was expected to fall in some areas in six hours, the forecaster said. Typically in August, 63mm of rain falls across the south-east of England over the entire month.

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Death masks help recreate face of Bonnie Prince Charlie

De-aged image offers likelife image of how prince may have looked during unsuccessful Jacobite rising of 1745

The face of Bonnie Prince Charlie has been recreated using death masks that depict him as he would have looked during the Jacobite rising of 1745.

The prince, who was renowned for his good looks, has captivated a new generation of interest through the TV show Outlander.

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Graham Linehan show staged outside Scottish parliament after second venue cancels

Makeshift outdoor show held after two venues cancel booking of comedian known for his gender-critical beliefs

A comedy event featuring Father Ted creator Graham Linehan was staged in the open air outside the Scottish parliament on Thursday evening, after a second Edinburgh venue refused to stage it.

The organisers, Comedy Unleashed, booked the plaza outside Holyrood’s main entrance, and erected a small makeshift stage for an audience of roughly 120 people, after failing to find another indoor venue.

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Strikes suspended at UK munitions plant that supplies missiles to Ukraine

Ministry of Defence agree to talks after 50 workers at site in Ayrshire were due to walk out over pay

A two-week strike due to hit a British munitions plant that supplies missiles to Ukraine has been suspended after the Ministry of Defence agreed to talks.

Nearly 50 workers at the site at Beith, in Ayrshire, which assembles the Storm Shadow and Brimstone missiles, had been due to walk out for a fortnight next Monday in a long-running row over pay and bonuses.

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Scottish public spending deficit falls as oil revenues hit record high

Both sides of constitutional debate use Gers data to argue case for and against independence

Scotland’s public spending deficit has fallen from a record peak last year, as oil and gas revenues reached their highest-ever level after a global rise in oil prices.

The government expenditure and revenue Scotland (Gers) report calculated a per-person deficit – the gap between the amount raised through all tax and spending on all public services – as £1,521 in the 2022-23 financial year, down from £2,184 the previous year.

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Shell accused of eco-destruction in push to demolish old HQ

Plan to knock down former offices in Aberdeen will release ‘vast amount of carbon emissions in atmosphere’ warn experts

Aberdeen is arguably best known for two things: granite – found in nearby quarries and used to construct almost all of the coastal city’s buildings – and oil. After the discovery of a significant reserve in the North Sea in the 1970s, Aberdeen became known as Europe’s oil capital and a thriving oil and gas industry sprang up in Scotland’s north-east.

At the centre of the boom was the multinational company Shell, which built a five-storey modernist headquarters in the city’s Tullos area, from where it operated for half a century, before moving last year. Now the building has become the subject of a bitter row after Shell announced its intention to demolish rather than upgrade and repurpose it.

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‘Twinverclyde’: 17 sets of twins to start school in one Scottish authority

Inverclyde welcomes second largest number of twins on record to start primary education

Seventeen sets of twins will start primary school in one Scottish local authority next week, the second largest number on record.

Schools in Inverclyde will welcome the twins for the first time on Friday 18 August, in an area that has colloquially become known as “Twinverclyde”.

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UK philanthropist gives almost £29m to heritage skills training

Hamish Ogston’s donation will fund up to 2,700 apprenticeships in crafts to preserve historic buildings

A British philanthropist has given almost £29m to heritage skills training, breathing new life into dying crafts and addressing the chronic shortage of specialists who can prevent historic buildings from deteriorating beyond repair.

Hamish Ogston’s donation, which has been made through his charitable foundation, will be announced on Thursday.

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Thousands of adopted children names revealed on Scottish website

Genealogy site Scotland’s People made available records of adoptions dating back 100 years, raising fears for breaches of privacy

A genealogy website operated by the Scottish government has disclosed the names of thousands of people adopted as children.

The Scotland’s People site made available the records of adoptions dating back more than 100 years, records that included the adopted child’s first name and new surname. While the Information Commissioner’s Office has not received a formal breach report, its officials were contacted by National Records of Scotland (NRS), an official arm of the Scottish government that runs the website.

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Man and woman injured after concrete slab thrown from flyover hits taxi

Police seek witnesses after pair injured by object launched from pedestrian walkway above Fife road

A man and woman have been taken to hospital after a concrete slab was launched at a taxi from a pedestrian flyover in Scotland.

The incident took place on the B921 as the taxi headed towards Kinglassie in Fife at about 12.30am on Sunday. The man and woman, both 37, were taken to Glenrothes hospital for treatment.

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Bodies of three hillwalkers recovered from ridge in Scottish Highlands

Mountain rescue teams and coastguard helicopters searched for two men and a woman on Aonach Eagach in Glen Coe

The bodies of three hillwalkers have been recovered from a mountainside in the Scottish Highlands after they failed to return from a trek, police have said.

Police Scotland said concerns were raised shortly after 9pm on Saturday when the trio did not return from their walk of the Aonach Eagach ridge in Glen Coe. Coastguard helicopter and mountain rescue teams searched the area and three bodies were found.

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First asylum seekers arrive on Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset – UK politics live

No 10 backtracks on minister’s claim 500 asylum seekers could be on barge by end of week

According to a report in the Times, Liz Truss named 16 people on her original honours list – four for peerages, and 12 people getting other honours. Two people have declined, but there are still 14 names on the list, the Times says, one person for every four days she was in office.

The Labour MP Chris Bryant says resignation honours lists should be abolished.

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Georgie Grier plays to sell-out Edinburgh crowd 24 hours after tearful tweet

Actor and writer posted yesterday after performing her show Sunsets to one audience member

An actor who went viral online after she posted a tearful tweet about performing her one-woman show to an audience of one at the Edinburgh festival fringe has played to a sell out crowd only 24 hours later.

The actor and writer Georgie Grier received messages of support from comedians including Jason Manford and Dara Ó Briain when she posted on Twitter on Thursday afternoon: “There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one-woman play, ‘Sunsets’ at #edfringe. It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s fine …?”

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Royal Mail uses drones to deliver post in the Orkney islands

Service between Stromness to Hoy and Graemsay is Royal Mail’s first permanent drone delivery service

Royal Mail has begun using drones to deliver post in the Orkney islands, helping pave the way for drone deliveries to islands around the UK and on the mainland during emergencies.

The service between the village of Stromness on Orkney’s main island to the nearby islands of Hoy and Graemsay, using aircraft able to carry up to 6kg, is Royal Mail’s first permanent drone delivery service.

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Rishi Sunak to use Scottish trip to attack Labour stance on North Sea oil

Visit to Aberdeenshire intended as chance for PM to criticise opposition with reports he could announce 100 new drilling licences

Rishi Sunak is to make a visit to north-east Scotland focused on North Sea energy that is intended to draw a dividing line between the government and Labour’s plan to ban new oil and gas projects.

While No 10 said in advance only that the prime minister would use the trip to Aberdeenshire to commit to policies connected to energy security and net zero, he is expected to announce funding for a planned carbon capture scheme in the region.

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Twins hit charity cyclist with truck then hid body in carcass pit, Glasgow court told

Disappearance of Tony Parsons in 2017 finally resolved after Alexander McKellar took girlfriend to burial site

Twin brothers who left a cyclist to die on a remote Highland roadside after hitting him with their pickup truck and hiding his body in a pit used for animal carcasses have finally been brought to justice after one confessed to his new girlfriend.

The disappearance of the “much-loved” grandfather and passionate fisher Tony Parsons in the middle of a 100-mile charity fundraiser in September 2017 left his close family “heartbroken” and the authorities baffled. He had vanished seemingly “into thin air”, according to the police who searched for him.

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Independent Scotland would base citizenship on current Irish model

Plans, unveiled by Humza Yousaf, include significantly reducing application fees

An independent Scotland would adopt an “open and inclusive” approach to citizenship based on the current Irish model, according to proposals set out in a Scottish government paper.

The plans, unveiled by Humza Yousaf on Thursday, include ditching citizenship tests and significantly reducing application fees in contrast to Westminster’s “regressive” approach to migration.

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