- £24,000 fine for Legionnaires' case
- Judges bid to speed up hacking case
- Olympic security test at Hampden
- Gun murder conviction appeal fails
- Scots 'devo-max' option highlighted
- Frew accused breaks down in dock
- Teaching union selects new leader
- Firefighters tackle scrapyard blaze
- Buying homes 'cheaper than renting'
- Housing budget set for 41% cut
- Contamination found at nuclear site
- 'Sustainable' joint campus opens
- Clinic 'can boost IVF success rate'
- Cyclists in cancer charity ride
- House move costs up 69% over decade
- Two hurt in police car accident
- 'Scots should decide on referendum'
- Trump wants windfarm public inquiry
- Former Labour MP Eadie dies aged 91
- Pair hunted after armed bank raid
Politics
Gagging order to be imposed on Tommy Sheridan as part of parole deal
TOMMY Sheridan, the former Scottish Socialist leader, is believed to be the first person in Scotland to be served with a ban on speaking in public as part of his parole conditions when he is released from jail on Monday.
84 comments
Fears over pressure on ‘civic Scotland’ to back devo-max
THE leaders of a civic Scotland campaign to give greater powers to Holyrood have been warned they must remain politically neutral, amid fears Alex Salmond is leaning on them to back a second referendum question.
71 comments
David Cameron refuses to act over Stephen Hester’s ‘bewildering’ bonus
THE UK government last night appeared to wash its hands of the bonus of almost £1 million awarded to RBS chief executive Stephen Hester, despite a clamour for ministers to intervene and block the award.
15 commentsYoungest ever politician ‘retires’ to go backpacking at age of 23
AT AN age when most teenage boys are sleeping or trying to impress girls, John West was elected Scotland’s youngest councillor. By the age of 18, he was deputy provost of Aberdeen and set for a life dedicated to politics.
5 comments
Analysis: If this were done in another country, we would be outraged
I HAVE never heard of a condition like this being imposed, although I’m aware that there are restrictions on serving prisoners being able to speak to the press.
5 comments
Analysis: Saying No to independence is not enough
FOR the first time in five years, the constitutional question is now a live issue in Scottish politics. Faced with seismic political change over the past five years and the relentless rise of the SNP, no-one is in any doubt about the scale of the challenge facing Scotland and the unionist parties.
21 comments
On The Scotsman iPad app: Alf Young examines the potential problems for Scotland following independence
EARLIER this week, on the anniversary of Scotland’s poet Robert Burns, the Scottish Government outlined its proposals for a referendum to determine the country’s future.
1 commentThree still probed over MPs’ expenses
Police and prosecutors are still examining the expenses of three parliamentarians.
Stephen Hester profile: Countryside passions in personal life
STEPHEN Hester grew up in relatively humble circumstances in Yorkshire, where he attended a comprehensive school before going to Oxford University, but now enjoys the high life of a top executive in the financial world.
Lords boost for PM’s Big Society
Legislation to promote David Cameron’s Big Society agenda through the use of public contracts has cleared its first hurdle in the House of Lords.
Edinburgh reveals £2m budget surplus
EDINBURGH City Council has revealed a surprise £2 million budget surplus which it plans to spend on community projects.
Peer warns of oral ministry
The Freedom of Information Act risks forcing ministers and civil servants into a system of “oral government”, where important discussions are not written down, former Cabinet Secretary Lord O’Donnell has warned.
1 comment
Analysis: Symbol of banking’s greed or modest motivational tool?
DR RUTH Bender and Dave Watson argue for and against Stephen Hester’s bonus award
Chickenpox forces Moore to call off his talks with First Minister
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has been forced to postpone a key meeting with Alex Salmond about the independence referendum after falling victim to chickenpox.
5 commentsMinister’s pledge on ‘pay-day loans’
Enterprise minister Fergus Ewing has promised to “explore” a proposed change to the law that would cap the amount of interest companies in Scotland can charge for “pay-day loans”.
1 commentMother of military policeman killed in Iraq plans legal action
THE mother of a military policeman killed by a mob in Iraq is planning legal action to force the Ministry of Defence to hold a public inquiry into his death.
OFCOM and PCC to be called to Leveson inquiry
THE Leveson Inquiry into press standards will hear from the heads of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) and broadcasting regulator Ofcom next week.
Alex Eadie served ‘diligently’ says former PM Brown
TRIBUTES today poured in to former long-serving Midlothian Labour MP Alex Eadie, following his death at the age of 91.
Police ‘will axe 2,000 backroom staff’ even before single force
POLICE are planning to shed 2,000 support staff to meet budget cuts and prepare for a single Scottish force, in a move which has sparked fears of a depleted front line, with officers carrying out civilian roles.
27 commentsCameron tells Europeans to be bold
David Cameron delivered a scathing assessment of Europe’s failure to promote economic growth yesterday as he urged it to be “bold” to promote business.
8 comments
Scots alcohol-related deaths double during last 30 years
THE number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland has more than doubled in the past three decades, latest figures show.
41 commentsModerator chides Israel over Palestinian rights
THE Moderator of the Church of Scotland has said Israel has acted “irrationally” in its treatment of the Palestinian people.
HMRC grants strike breathing space
PEOPLE who miss next week’s tax self-assessment deadline will not be fined because of a strike by tax office staff.
Donald Trump urges independent Scotland to defend coast
DONALD Trump has said an independent Scotland would need to protect its coastline after he failed to win support for his opposition to an “eyesore” offshore wind farm from a local planning authority.
22 comments£15m fund to pay-off staff as part of college mergers
A £15 million “transformation fund” for Scotland’s colleges will be used to speed up mergers by paying for voluntary redundancy schemes.
Tributes after former MP Alex Eadie dies aged 91
Former Labour MP for Midlothian Alex Eadie has died, the party announced yesterday. He was 91.
Michael Kelly: Don’t forget the mothers in abortions row
NURSES’ rights aside, the overriding moral duty is to give grief-stricken women the best of care
9 comments
Joyce McMillan: ‘It won’t work’ is not good enough
Independence debate is fully joined and hell mend unionists who have nothing positive to offer
34 commentsDavid Arnott: Holocaust memorial offers way forward
JUST before Christmas I visited the Yad Vashem Memorial in Jerusalem. The name comes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah: “I will give them a memorial and a name.” Its function is to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust for future generations.
George Kerevan: Oil will smooth way to economic independence
The UK, because of City influence, has not truly capitalised on North Sea bounty, but by creating a wealth fund Scotland could
14 commentsTom Peterkin: World’s press are kept waiting for Salmond
WHEN Alex Salmond invited the world’s press to Edinburgh Castle this week, he was at pains to offer the cadre of 50 or so foreign journalists a “warm” welcome.
6 commentsTam Dalyell: Why don’t we stop trying to annoy the English and just say goodbye to Holyrood instead
I INCURRED much displeasure from some (not all) of my Scottish colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party in 1989 for being the only Labour MP to decline to sign the Claim of Right.
44 commentsUlster’s troubles ‘could flare again’ if Scots vote for independence
Independence for Scotland risks re-igniting conflict in Northern Ireland, a former first minister of the province has warned.
We need second question, says Wright
One of the architects of devolution is to launch a campaign for a second referendum question on more powers for Holyrood.
4 comments
Scottish independence: Posing a simple question proves far from easy
POLLSTERS, academics and politicians are divided over the fairness of the SNP’s preferred referendum question, raising the prospect of it being thrown out by electoral chiefs in charge of overseeing the historic vote.
917 commentsThe First Minister’s wit and wisdom have SNP back-benchers rolling in the aisles
AMID all this referendum talk, Alex Salmond has somehow found the time to renew his subscription to the “Laugh At Your Own Joke Club”.
14 commentsMandarin rejects fresh calls for action against SNP adviser in fake letter row
Scotland’s top civil servant has rejected opposition calls for fresh action in the fake letter row surrounding one of Alex Salmond’s closest advisers.
5 comments
Alex Salmond: ‘Chancellor would bite our hands off to keep the pound’
ALEX Salmond insisted that a UK chancellor would be “biting our hands off” for an independent Scotland to keep the pound, as he told MSPs that 67 nations across the globe shared their currencies in the same way.
103 commentsUK’s Falklands defences ‘up to the task’
The Argentinians do not have the military power to seize the Falkland Islands, even if they wanted to, Defence Minister Gerald Howarth said yesterday as he accused the country’s government of “sabre-rattling”.
RBS bows to pressure with £900,000 bonus for Stephen Hester
A HIGHLY controversial bonus for the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been capped at just under £1 million, the organisation announced last night.
15 comments
Chancellor would welcome post-independence currency union - Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond today claimed a British Chancellor would be “biting our hands off” for an independent Scotland to keep the pound as its currency.
36 comments
Webchat: Debate the SNP’s independence referendum plans with Kenny Farquharson
Scotland on Sunday deputy editor Kenny Farquharson is online from 3pm today to discuss the SNP’s consultation paper on a referendum on Scottish independence.
2 comments
Danny Alexander questions timing of Scottish independence referendum
THE Scottish Government’s referendum plans came under scrutiny today as Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander questioned why Scots will have to wait “a thousand more days” before the vote is held.
273 comments
Tom Nairn: Creation of the future means unravelling past
2014 and all that is part and parcel of a re-evaluation of the idea of nation state
6 comments
Scottish independence referendum: One question, ten words, you choose video
SCOTLAND would embark on a future as an independent country in May 2016 if voters support the SNP’s plans to secede from the UK, Alex Salmond has declared.
734 commentsTavish Scott: Home rule parliament within UK is best option
IT is all over. Well it is now. That, to paraphrase the famous, or for the Tartan Army, infamous, commentary which accompanied Geoff Hurst’s third goal in the 1966 World Cup Final, is the position in Scottish politics today.
11 commentsMartin Sime: Time to take stock of devolution’s future
NOW that both UK and Scottish consultations on the referendum have been published, it’s a good time for politicians to step back from the wrangle about legal powers and timing, and for calm heads to think about the kind of Scotland we want to see.
2 comments
Bill Jamieson: A question of money for Scotland
Could we really go it alone while relying on the Bank of England as our lender of last resort?
8 comments
Scottish independence referendum: The nuts and bolts of the most important vote in 300 years
THE clearest picture yet of Alex Salmond’s route map to independence has emerged in the SNP’s referendum document.
35 comments
Scottish independence referendum: Alex Salmond takes to the world stage to sell Scotland’s story
HIGH on the Edinburgh Castle ramparts, stormy gusts buffeted the 16th-century Great Hall where Alex Salmond told the world of the plans he hopes will change the course of Scottish history forever.
84 comments- Scottish independence: Backlash warning as English identity rises
- Scottish independence: Momentous day as Salmond outlines referendum vision
- Scottish independence referendum: Fresh trouble for Alex Salmond over adviser’s damning e-mails
- Warning from woman left brain damaged after binge accident
- Map-makers admit Greenland gaffe
- Scottish independence: Momentous day as Salmond outlines referendum vision
- Scottish independence: Posing a simple question proves far from easy
- Scottish independence: Backlash warning as English identity rises
- Scottish independence referendum: One question, ten words, you choose
- Scottish independence referendum: Fresh trouble for Alex Salmond over adviser’s damning e-mails
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Weather for Edinburgh
Saturday 28 January 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: East
