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Assisted dying report says government must get 'actively involved'
Away from First Minister's Questions, political correspondent Rachel Amery has written about a new assisted dying report.
Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said a new Westminster report into assisted dying should give the public “reassurances” any change in the law in Scotland will be done right. The Scottish MSP is pushing for new legislation to be introduced at Holyrood.
Read the full story on the assisted dying report
Sarwar also zeroes in on the Emma Caldwell case
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has also discussed the fallout from the guilty verdict against Iain Packer over Emma Caldwell's murder.
He says the "cultural" issues linked to 19 years passing between the discovery of Caldwell's body and "justice" still existed.
Mr Sarwar has cited both misogyny and the failure to properly take forward the testimony of victims as issues within the system.
The FM says: "This government takes seriously the premise of all our public institutions, that they should be, of course, to encourage whistleblowing, to encourage anyone concerned to come forward."
FM says he will meet with Emma Caldwell's mother
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tories leader, wants an urgent statement, within "days", on how the Scottish Government will proceed.
Mr Yousaf says he will meet with Emma Caldwell's mother and her legal representative - who is, in this case, Aamer Anwar - as soon as possible.
The FM agrees "women have waited for far too long" for the outcome of the case.
"I will meet with Margaret Caldwell," Mr Yousaf says.
'What are you waiting for', Humza Yousaf is asked
The mother of Emma Caldwell has meanwhile asked Humza Yousaf “what are you waiting for?” as she called for a public inquiry over the investigation of her daughter’s murderer, Iain Packer.
Douglas Ross has read out a statement from Emma’s mother, Margaret Caldwell, via her lawyer Aamer Anwar, at Holyrood.
He said: “Margaret had a message for the First Minister, she said this: ‘If Mr Yousaf genuinely cares about the victims and my Emma, then he has no other option, but to organise an independent public inquiry’.
“And she continued: ‘With respect, what are you waiting for?'”
Should there be a judge-led public inquiry following the Caldwell case?
When questioned on the subject, Humza Yousaf says he does not rule out a judge-led public inquiry following the sentencing of Iain Packer for Emma Caldwell's murder.
But the First Minister says there is still an "ongoing legal process" and that Packer has the right to appeal.
"But let me be absolutely clear - a judge-led public inquiry is absolutely something we are exploring," he says. "It is absolutely not off the table and it it something we're giving very serious considerations to given the systemic failings of this case."
Asked whether a judge for any public inquiry should be chosen from outside of Scotland, Mr Yousaf says that is "worthy of consideration if we get to that position".
The full details of the failings in the Caldwell case can be read here
And First Minister's Questions are underway for another week...
...and Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross has immediately raised the case of Emma Caldwell.
Iain Packer, 51, was yesterday found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of Miss Caldwell's murder, 19 years after her body was discovered.
"He should have been behind bars years ago," says Mr Ross.
Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens should never have been given a job as a police officer and chances to stop the sexual predator were repeatedly ignored and missed, an inquiry has found.
Police "repeatedly failed" to spot warning signs about his "unsuitability for office", a damning report concluded amid fears many more women and girls could have been victims of Couzens.
Publishing her findings on Thursday, inquiry chairwoman Lady Elish Angiolini warned without a radical overhaul of policing practices and culture, there is "nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight".
Three different police forces "could and should" have stopped Couzens from getting a job as an officer, she said, as she identified a catalogue of failings in how he was recruited and vetted, and how allegations against him were investigated.
Miss Everard's family said in response they believe the 33-year-old marketing executive died because Couzens was a police officer, adding: "She would never have got into a stranger's car."
Branding Couzens a "predatory sex offender and murderer", the inquiry laid bare a history of alleged sexual offending dating back nearly 20 years before the off-duty armed Metropolitan Police officer abducted Miss Everard in March 2021.
According to the report, over the last two years the inquiry uncovered evidence Couzens was accused of a string of other incidents of sexual abuse, including a "very serious sexual assault of a child barely into her teens".
The findings identified at least five incidents which were not reported to police, with Lady Elish saying she believes there could be more victims.
Setting out a raft of recommendations to "make sure something like this can never happen again", Lady Elish said: "Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. And, without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight.
"Now is the time for change."
She urged "all those in authority in every police force in the country" to read the report and "take immediate action".
Among the measures, Lady Elish called for an urgent review of indecent exposure charges against serving officers and said reports of the crime need to be taken seriously.
Miss Everard's mother Sue, father Jeremy, sister Katie and brother James said in a statement: "It is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. Whilst holding a position of trust, in relative he was a serial sex offender.
"Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed.
"We believe that Sarah died because he was a police officer - she would never have got into a stranger's car."
Couzens - who will never be released from prison - used his status as a police officer to trick Miss Everard into thinking he could arrest her for breaking lockdown rules in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hairy Bikers star and TV chef Dave Myers dies at age of 66.
TV chef Dave Myers, best known as one half of the Hairy Bikers, has died at the age of 66, according to a statement from his co-star Si King on social media.
He found fame alongside King, his friend of 30 years, as part of the motorcycle-riding cooking duo.
He reached new fans in 2013 when he took part in Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Karen Hauer and reaching week seven of the BBC competition.
Myers, born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, first announced he was receiving treatment for cancer in May 2022, but did not specify what type he had been diagnosed with.
The statement from King said: ” I’m afraid I bear some sad news. Most of you will know Dave has been fighting cancer for the past couple of years.
“Last night, on 28th February 2024, with Lili, Dave’s wife, his family, close friend David and myself by his side, he passed away peacefully at home.
“All who knew Dave are devastated at his passing. His beloved wife brought him such happiness as did her children, Iza and Sergiu who Dave loved like his own.
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