Category Archives: Scotland

Glasgow churches subjected to anti-Catholic abuse after Rangers win

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Aftermath of Scottish Premiership victory on Saturday marred by vandalism, unrest and abusive behaviour

A number of churches in and around Glasgow were subject to vandalism and anti-Catholic abuse over the weekend, the Guardian has learned, as Rangers supporters rampaged through the city centre on Saturday.

Windows were smashed at the St Maria Goretti church estate in Cranhill, north-east Glasgow. At another church, which has asked not to be identified, a banner with anti-Catholic slogans was draped across railings in time for evening mass, before it was removed by church officials. There were further reports of abusive heckling of those within church grounds. The Guardian understands that two incidents were reported to Police Scotland.

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17 May reopening: how Covid measures across Britain are changing

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Coronavirus restrictions are set to be eased in England, Wales and most of Scotland from Monday

Coronavirus restrictions will be eased further on Monday in England, Wales and most of Scotland. Northern Ireland will review its measures on Thursday, with a view to lifting more restrictions on 24 May.

The next phase of relaxation comes despite the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, though Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the variant could make it “more difficult” to achieve the final step in England’s roadmap in June.

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Twenty arrested after Rangers fans march in central Glasgow

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Three police reported injured after crowd gathered to celebrate title win despite rising Covid infection rates

Rangers supporters who marched on Glasgow’s George Square to celebrate their club’s Scottish Premiership win, as the city faces a surge in Covid infections and an extension of lockdown, have been condemned as selfish, irresponsible and endangering lives after the rally descended into violence.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was “utterly disgusted by the Rangers fans who rampaged through the city”, condemning the “violence, vandalism and vile anti-Catholic prejudice on display”.

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‘A special day’: how a Glasgow community halted immigration raid

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Activists and local people tell how they forced the release of two men detained in an enforcement van

It was just after 9am on Thursday and he was finishing breakfast when the callout came. Kenmure Street’s “Van Man” – the activist who spent nearly eight hours squeezed underneath an immigration enforcement van to prevent the detention of two men on Glasgow’s southside – was on his bike in minutes.

“It’s not often you can catch raids in the act like this, but the southside has a lot of folks pulling together,” he said. “The only way that day could have ended was with our neighbours’ release; there were simply too many local people standing in the street for the police to have taken the van away. The strategy does work – and we want the world to understand that it was the people on the streets who won that victory, not the politicians.”

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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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Nicola Sturgeon says it would be ‘outrageous’ to block second indy ref

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Hostilities intensify between Holyrood and Westminster as SNP secures historic fourth term

• Elections 2021 live - latest news and reaction

Nicola Sturgeon has told Boris Johnson that a second independence referendum is “a matter of when, not if”, after the Scottish National party secured a historic forth term at Holyrood on Saturday with a pro-independence majority of MSPs returned despite tactical voting by pro-union supporters.

Scotland’s first minister made the assertion in a telephone call with the prime minister on Sunday evening, despite senior Conservative figures questioning her mandate.

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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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Elections 2021: Labour wins mayoral races in Greater Manchester and West of England, holds Welsh Senedd – live

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All the latest news and results as counts continue in England and Scotland after Thursday’s elections

Scotland’s first list results are out, with Central Scotland declaring the following:

First list declaration out - for Central Scotland, it's Leonard (Lab) Kerr (Con), Lennon (Lab), Simpson (Con), Griffin (Lab), Gallacher (Con), Mackay (Green). So three Labour, three Tory, and one Green.

Asked whether it was realistic to have a referendum in the first half of parliament, Nicola Sturgeon said that while getting through the pandemic has to come first, it looks as though it is “beyond any doubt that there will be a pro-independence majority in Scottish parliament”.

She told BBC News: “By any normal standard of democracy that majority should have the commitments it made to the people honoured.

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Trident could be forced overseas or halted if Scotland gains independence

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Continuing UK’s nuclear deterrent would probably require help of an allied country, defence expert says

Trident could be forced to the US or possibly France if Scotland became independent because there is no alternative port immediately available elsewhere in the UK, according to a retired admiral responsible for Britain’s nuclear policy.

Unless Scotland were to agree to lease back the Faslane submarine base to the rest of the UK, continuing Trident would probably require the help of an allied country or the nuclear deterrent would have to be halted completely, the expert said.

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UK scientists find evidence of human-to-cat Covid transmission

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Researchers in Glasgow find two cases where cats were infected by owners with coronavirus symptoms

Two cases of human-to-cat transmission of Covid-19 have been identified by researchers. Scientists from the University of Glasgow found the cases of Sars-CoV-2 transmission as part of a screening programme of the feline population in the UK.

The cats, of different breeds, were living in separate households and displayed mild to severe respiratory signs. Researchers believe both pets were infected by their owners, who had Covid-19 symptoms before the cats became unwell.

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Covid variant first detected in India is found in the UK

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Seventy-seven cases of B.1.617, which has potentially worrying mutations, reported in England and Scotland

A coronavirus variant with potentially worrying mutations that was first detected in India has been found in the UK.

In total, 77 cases of the variant, known as B.1.617, have been recorded in the UK up to 14 April, according to the latest update from Public Health England (PHE), released on Thursday. Of these, 73 were recorded in England and four in Scotland.

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Scotland to lift Covid restrictions ahead of schedule

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Nicola Sturgeon says ‘Covid is in retreat in Scotland’ as travel and outdoor rules eased

Nicola Sturgeon has accelerated the relaxation of restrictions on travel and outdoor meetings as she said Covid was “in retreat” in Scotland.

Announcing the changes, which will allow Scots to meet up with family and friends across the country outside in larger groups, the first minister said that from this Friday:

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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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Spring cold snap hits as England relaxes Covid lockdown restrictions

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Snowfall in some areas dampens hopes of businesses reopening their doors for first time in months

The lifting of lockdown restrictions to allow people in England to use pub beer gardens and dine in the outdoor areas of restaurants is being met by snowfall, as a spring cold snap hits.

The inclement weather will come as a blow to thousands of businesses that were hoping to welcome back customers on Monday after months of restrictions.

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Union in peril as PM ‘speaks for England alone’, former civil servant warns

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Philip Rycroft says PM’s ‘muscular brand of unionism’ has deepened divisions between four nations

The pandemic has seeded the idea of a prime minister “who speaks for England alone” as relations between the four nations of the UK deteriorate amid “deep-rooted complacency”, a senior former civil servant has warned.

There is widespread ignorance towards the union, meaning ministers can be kept in the dark about major reforms with little consideration for the four nations, Philip Rycroft, the permanent secretary to the Brexit department until 2019, says in a report.

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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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Brazilian Covid variant: what do we know about P1?

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What threat does variant that is causing devastation in Brazil pose, and how is it different?

The P1 variant is causing devastation in Brazil, where an uncontrolled Covid pandemic is raging. P1, behind the terrible scenes of hospital overload in Manaus with patients’ relatives pleading for oxygen cylinders, is now the dominant form of coronavirus in many of Brazil’s cities and partly responsible for the high death toll. Other Latin American countries have closed their borders and restricted travel to and from Brazil but P1 is now in at least 15 countries in the Americas, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

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Brexit: Scottish dog food firm relocates to France due to export red tape

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Owner says he decided ‘enough was enough’ after encountering more and more trade barriers

The founder of a Scottish dog food business has told how Brexit forced him to move to France after his exports to the EU were halted because of the new trade barriers in place since 1 January.

After 10 weeks of daily calls and emails to government representatives, who he said were “absolutely terrible”, Antoon Murphy said he was left with no other option than to relocate or face losing the business.

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What is allowed under Covid lockdown rules around the UK?

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How restrictions are being eased varies in the UK’s four constituent parts

The lockdown is being gradually eased in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the details of how and when this is happening vary in the four constituent parts of the UK.

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