Scotsman's review of the year part 3: The Queen’s death and Downing Street revolving door

JulyFormer SNP MP Natalie McGarry was jailed for two years for embezzling almost £25,000 from the party and another pro-independence group.

Former SNP MP Natalie McGarry outside Glasgow Sheriff Court during her trial.

Twelve people were arrested for driving too slowly during protests over fuel prices, as the average cost of diesel reached 199p per litre.

It emerged Scotland’s chief law officer had refused to back Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a referendum in October 2023. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC admitted she had a “lack of confidence” Holyrood could legislate for the proposed vote, as she referred the legislation to the Supreme Court.

Boris Johnson said he would quit as Prime Minister after a spate of ministerial resignations, but would remain in Number 10 while his party chose a successor. The following day, his former Chancellor Rishi Sunak threw his hat into the ring.

Members of the public at Portobello Beach amid the heatwave. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Parts of Scotland were put on alert for extreme heat for the first time, while a national emergency was declared south of the Border amid warnings of a “danger to life”.

As the heatwave continued, Scotland experienced its hottest day on record with 34.8C recorded at Charterhall in the Borders.

Taxation took centre stage in the battle between Mr Sunak and Liz Truss to succeed Mr Johnson. The former Chancellor criticised his rival by saying a “huge borrowing spree” would be needed to fund her tax cuts, after Ms Truss promised an emergency budget to reverse a planned hike in national insurance to drive growth.

The entire Cricket Scotland board resigned 24 hours before an independent report was released exposing institutional racism in the sport and the governing body.

King Charles III attends the Vigil at St Giles' Cathedral following the death of the Queen

Concerns were raised as the first refugees arrived in Leith from war-torn Ukraine aboard a cruise ship chartered by the Scottish Government to provide temporary accommodation. Critics warned the vessel had not been assessed or inspected for its suitability or safety.

The SNP leader of North Lanarkshire Council, Jordan Linden, resigned after an allegation of sexual misconduct was made against him.

August

Ms Truss described Ms Sturgeon as an “attention seeker” and said it was best to ignore her before ruling out a second independence referendum.

Queen Elizabeth II welcoming Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government.

The number of police officers in Scotland fell to its lowest level since 2008, leading to claims of a crisis in the force.

Hundreds of waste, recycling and street clearing workers in Edinburgh announced they would go on strike during the city’s festival in a dispute over pay. Within days, colleagues across Scotland announced they would also strike.

The attainment gap between richer and poorer pupils in Scotland almost doubled on the previous year. Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said comparisons with 2021, when exams were cancelled for the second time due to the pandemic, were “exceptionally unfair”.

Author Sir Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck as he was about to deliver a lecture in New York. The writer, who received death threats from Iran in the 1980s following the publication of The Satanic Verses, lost the sight in one eye and the use of one hand.

Boris Johnson addresses the nation as he announces his resignation outside 10 Downing Street

Scottish Government-owned ScotRail announced plans to place orders worth hundreds of millions of pounds for an environmentally-friendly zero-emission fleet, as part of plans to phase out diesel trains by 2035.

With the cost of living continuing to spiral, Ms Sturgeon warned lives were at risk and said the nationalisation of energy companies “should be on the table”.

Joanna Cherry, one of the SNP’s most high-profile MPs, said she was effectively “cancelled” and erased from her party’s history over her views on transgender issues. Ms Cherry has been an outspoken critic of legislation that allows Scots to self-identify their gender, fearing this will impact on women’s safety.

It emerged the long-running inquiry into the Edinburgh trams scandal was on course to cost the same amount as Sir John Chilcott’s investigation into the Iraq War. Lord Hardie, who is leading the trams inquiry, said he would not be rushed and the process would take “as long as is necessary”.

September

The body of a retired biology teacher at Edinburgh’s Fettes College was found in woodland near Kirkwhelpington, in Northumberland. Two men wear charged in connection with the death of Peter Coshan, 75.

Delivering her first speech as Prime Minister, Liz Truss said Britain could “ride out the storm” of the energy crisis. The speech outside Downing Street was delayed by a lengthy journey to meet the Queen in Balmoral.

The following day, the 96-year-old monarch postponed her Privy Council meeting after being advised by royal doctors to rest.

Then, around lunchtime on Thursday September 8, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying doctors were concerned about the Queen’s health. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge cleared their diaries to dash to Aberdeenshire, along with other members of the Royal Family.

At 6:31pm, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had died.

Addressing the nation the following day, King Charles paid tribute to his “darling Mama” and pledged that his reign would be one of “life-long service”.

On Sunday, the Queen left her beloved Balmoral for the last time as her hearse emerged from the castle gates to begin an extraordinary six-hour journey through Scotland on a route lined with mourners paying their respects. Edinburgh’s Royal Mile was packed as the cortege completed the final section to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The following day the Queen’s children walked behind her hearse as it made its way up the Royal Mile for a service at St Giles Cathedral.

The cathedral remained opened throughout the night to allow members of the public to file past the coffin.

The following day, the Queen left Scotland for the final time. She was flown from Edinburgh Airport on board a military plane to London’s RAF Northolt, before being taken to Buckingham Palace.

Like in Edinburgh a few days earlier, mourners queued through the night to file past the coffin as it lay in Westminster Hall.

Then, on Monday September 19, the nation fell silent as world leaders joined in a state funeral. The funeral procession went through central London to Westminster Abbey.

It then made its way to Windsor Castle, where the Queen was finally laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel with her parents, her sister Margaret, and her husband Philip.

As the month drew to a close, focus shifted again to Russia’s war on Ukraine, as the Kremlin was accused of sabotaging a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea supplying western Europe.

Then the Bank of England was forced to intervene to prevent a mass collapse of pension funds, in direct response to the Government’s tax-cutting mini-budget, which also saw the pound fall to an all-time low against the US dollar.

And 80-year-old William MacDowell was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his lover Renee MacRae and her son Andrew, from Inverness, in 1976. The bodies have never been found.