9am Briefing: Holyrood ministers slam airport drop-off fee plans

CONTROVERSIAL proposals for a £1 drop-off charge at Edinburgh Airport have suffered a major blow after ministers joined the mounting group of people opposing the plan.

The Scottish Government said the proposal for the country's first terminal drop-off fee is "not supported by ministers" and that it would be better to improve public transport rather than punish motorists.

The other main political parties also oppose the scheme.

Edinburgh Airport predicts nearly one million drivers will pay 1 to use a new "fast track" drop-off zone from October.

Manufacturing pick-up set to end

RECENT modest growth in the manufacturing industry is not expected to continue, according to a new survey.

There were signs of a manufacturing-led recovery during the last three months but it is unlikely to continue in the short-term because of increasing cost pressures, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce's (SCC) Business Survey found.

It also noted a "pick-up" in the tourism sector and "slight signs" of increased activity in construction.

However, this was against a backdrop of forthcoming public sector cuts which will have a knock-on effect on suppliers.

SCC's head of policy and public affairs Garry Clark said: "These results show that we cannot take the recovery for granted.

Cancer breakthrough could save lives

UP TO 800 Scottish women every year could be saved from death from breast cancer, thanks to a development by Edinburgh University scientists.

Researchers from the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit have become the first to identify a gene's key role in causing the spread of common HER2-positive breast cancer to other parts of the body.

The gene is called C35 and becomes overactive in this type of tumour, but drugs in development could potentially kill cancer cells which used the gene. It is thought this type of drug would therefore be a new treatment for HER2 positive breast cancer.