UK News

The difficult questions over the failed Deposit Return Scheme can't be easily washed away by Lorna Slater, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity (pictured), writes Brian Wilson.

The 'absolute insanity' of the DRS won't be obscured by a Green smokescreen

Conor Matchett was named Political Journalist of the Year. Picture: Andrew Barr

The Scotsman picks up string of honours at Scottish Press Awards

Police Scotland officers outside Turnberry's hotel during Mr Trump's visit in May 2023. Picture: Robert Perry/Getty

Taxpayers to pick up policing bill for Donald Trump's visit to Scotland

Rishi Sunak's government needs to co-operate fully with the Covid-19 Inquiry (Picture: Leon Neal/WPA pool /Getty Images)

Sunak's government must be open with Covid inquiry – Christine Jardine

Haystacks and kids at Satran in 1963. PIC: Minginish Centenary Project.

Scottish island celebrates 100 years since land resettled after clearances

Would Labour leader Keir Starmer be able to reform the UK in a way that Gordon Brown could not when he was Chancellor and then Prime Minister? (Picture: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Independent Scotland must be a good neighbour to UK – Stewart McDonald

Many EU supporters are frustrated with Labour leader Keir Starmer over his dismissal of a return to the EU (Picture: Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

Brexit regret is growing and the campaign to rejoin the EU will come

Tram line construction in Princes Street in September 2009. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Edinburgh Tram Inquiry: Why is it being held? What went wrong with the project?

John Torode and Gregg Wallace, of Masterchef, are the Statler and Waldorf of TV cookery shows (Picture: PA)

How MasterChef has become a wonderfully reassuring British institution

Shipbuilding on the Clyde has a long and proud history (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA)

Ferguson Marine shipyard should not be damaged by flak directed at SNP ministers

A Russian soldier in the ruins of the Mariupol drama theatre, bombed in March last year despite a large sign saying children were sheltering there (Picture: Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin's threats are unnecessary. We already know how terrifying he is

There was so much smoke from a wildfire at Cannich, near Loch Ness, this week that it could be seen from space (Picture: Scottish Fire and Rescue Service)

Greens’ macho critics are aged toddlers clinging to Big Oil's comfort blanket

The fear in the eye of this lamb seems obvious (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A nation betrayed as UK backtracks on live animal export ban – Philip Lymbery

Droughts like this one in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, in 2021 can force people to leave their homes (Picture: Hoshang Hashimi/AFP via Getty Images)

Increasing heat is already a factor in human migration – new study

The check-in worker said some passengers got angry if their hand baggage was ruled too big or heavy, or their travel documents were questioned. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Airport check-in worker tells of horrific abuse by passengers

Union chiefs have demanded action over reports of violence

Airport check-in staff assaulted and abused by ‘thuggish’ passengers – GMB union

A former RNLI lifeboat is lowered into Martyn Steedman's camping site at Mains Farm in Thornhill, Stirlingshire (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

A holiday in a lifeboat that comes with a message for us all – Scotsman comment

Keir Starmer's foreign policy still lacks a coherent and well-formed structure (Picture: Yui Mok/PA)

Starmer must end his strategic silence on international affairs – Azeem Ibrahim

The cringeworthy Mike Kerr, lead singer of the band Royal Blood (Picture: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)

Royal Blood, not the kids in the crowd, are supremely uncool – Euan McColm

The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games featured a celebration of the NHS (Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

As patients in pain go private, the health service is being lost

All police forces must focus on their core duties of keeping us safe and fighting crime (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA)

Public services are being crushed by a lack of resources and high expectations

Child refugees in particular can experience a high level of stress that affects their education (Picture: Aref Karimi/AFP via Getty Images)

Ethnic minority children are more likely to internalise mental health problems

Martin Amis in 1991. His book Time's Arrow was a story told backwards, another example of his firecracker fiction (Picture: Rebecca Naden/PA)

Martin Amis and my part in his fabulous literary life – Aidan Smith

Rishi Sunak's Cabinet is rather different to that of his predecessor-but-one, Boris Johnson (Picture: Dan Kitwood/WPA pool/Getty Images)

Sunak's Cabinet gradually losing rightwingers amid rise of ‘one nation’ Tories

Former finance secretary Kate Forbes

Forbes seeks 'urgent' Kinloch Castle poll as millionaire condemns failed sale

Glenlee has been moored beside the Riverside Museum since 2011. Picture: John Devlin

Historic Glasgow tall ship Glenlee may have to introduce admission charges

Kinloch Castle, the Grade A Listed Building on the Isle of Rum, which the Scottish Government has been unable to sell and lies in a state of slow decay. PIC: NatureScot.

Castle at the heart of island's future as millionaire speaks out on failed sale

Asylum seekers make up a fraction of overall immigration into the UK (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Here's the truth about immigration that the Tories must face up to

The attack on the Capitol sparked the biggest police investigation in US history. Picture: Brent Stirton/Getty Images

Convicted US Capitol rioter set to arrive in Scotland later this year

Labour leader Keir Starmer seems to have changed his mind about immigration (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Tories are set to lose power but Labour are out of touch with reality

Tina Turner's decision to leave her abusive husband Ike Turner and her 1984 memoir helped break the silence about domestic violence (Picture: Frederick R Bunt/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Susan Dalgety: Violent porn turning sex into an expression of contempt, not love

The scene after a car collided with the gates of Downing Street

Man arrested after car crashes into gates of Downing Street

A Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 at the Melville Monument, which holds the statue of Henry Dundas (Lisa Ferguson)

What is institutional racism and what does it mean for Police Scotland?

The sister of Sheku Bayoh, Kadi Johnston (centre) and Human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar (right) during a anti-racism and anti-fascist march in Glasgow,

Analysis: Timing, resource questions underpin ‘institutional racism’ admission

Herring gulls are watching us and learning what's good to eat (Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds made real? Herring gulls are watching us...

People wait at a road block as smoke rises from a wildfire near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on May 6, 2016 (Picture: Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images)

Wildfires are pushing peatlands towards terrifying climate change tipping point

Boris Johnson should focus on addressing the substance of the new Partygate allegations against him (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Populist attacks on UK institutions are unconservative and dangerous

The arrogance of power may have affected both Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson (Picture: Duncan McGlynn/Getty Images)

SNP and Tories may both discover the price of political arrogance is high

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) sacked its director-general Tony Danker and suspended three other employees (Picture: John Devlin)

CBI is bruised, but not broken and Scotland needs us more than ever

Robots, in one form or another, are increasingly taking human beings' jobs (Picture: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Blade Runner made real? The rise of the robots will see 'tears in rain'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman may not be forced to resign but voters are likely to take a dim view of her actions (Picture: Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Margaret Ferrier should quit but Suella Braverman should not

A Ford Focus car set alight on Highmead Road, Ely, Cardiff (Photo: Bronwen Weatherby/PA Wire)

Cardiff riots: Police condemn ‘totally unacceptable’ violence

A police officer stands by a car and a tent near Barragem do Arade, Portugal

Madeleine McCann: Fresh searches of reservoir begin in Portugal

Children in a small boat in the English Channel are rescued after their vessel's engine broke down (Picture: Sameer al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images)

Far-right Tories are not telling the truth about asylum seekers – Talat Yaqoob

SNP MP Mhairi Black is said to be 'good when it comes to the karaoke stuff' but not so good at the rest, according to party insiders (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA)

Vote SNP and get the Tories? Nationalists seem increasingly out of touch

There's a thrill in eating tatties you have picked yourself (Picture: Maeers/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

Agritourism industry needs help from government if it is to continue to grow

Liz Tait British said some of her experiences of helping those caught up in the violence in Sudan would 'live with me forever'. Picture: Mile 91/ Elaine Livingstone

Scots aid worker tells of 'heartache' at families torn apart by Sudan violence

Staff at Craignure on the Isle of Mull have spoken out about ongoing pressures

CalMac staff taken to 'brink' amid ferries fiasco as compensation payments soar

The Corran Ferry

Military 'increasingly unlikely' to assist with Highland ferry service

Civil Aviation Authority chair Sir Stephen Hillier, centre, at Edinburgh Airport with its chief executive Gordon Dewar and chair Sir John Elvidge. Picture: CAA

Future Flight: 'Cutting emissions is aviation’s greatest ever challenge'

Donald Trump visited Menie earlier this month to "cut ribbon" on the construction of the second course. PIC: Contributed.

Trump's second golf course mapped out in dunes as diggers move in

Scottish university projects funded by the US Defence Department include research into drones, explosives, and helicopters. Picture: AFP/Getty

Revealed: Scottish universities receive £34m in Pentagon funding

The decision to house Ukrainian refugees, seen observing a minute's silence for Ukrainian troops, on the MS Victoria cruise ship explains one reason why migrants don't move to Scotland – a lack of housing (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Scotland needs to sell itself to migrants as a good place to live – Brian Wilson

Food-price inflation is an increasing problem for many people (Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Supermarkets making excess profits should face a windfall tax – Stephen Jardine

SNP supporters celebrate as the 2015 general election results come in, with the party going on to receive a record 49.97 per cent of the vote (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA)

SNP must present a credible economic vision, rather than talk down our opponents

The album cover for Blur's The Ballad Of Darren, which features Gourock outdoor pool in Inverclyde

Blur chooses image of Scottish outdoor pool for new album cover

Jacqueline Reid from Rokbak Volvo was presented the Inspirational Marketing Leaders Award last year by Drew Gillies of Denholm Associates and Star Awards host Jennifer Reoch. Image: Digital Triangle Creative Ltd

Ad Feature Rising Stars to Inspiring Leaders recognised at The Marketing Society Awards

Rishi Sunak shows off his socks to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their bilateral meeting in Hiroshima ahead of the G7 Summit (Picture: Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Why we shouldn't sneer at Sunak's sock diplomacy in Japan – Scotsman comment

Sunday Times Rich List 2023 - Scotland Top Five including Mohamed Al Fayed, Glenn Gordon, Anders Povlsen, Mahdi a-Tajir and Sir Ian Wood.

Rich List reveals five wealthiest people in Scotland in 2023

Eating more vegetables and free-range, organic meat can help create a better world (Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Why 'final' climate warning can lead us to a beautiful, compassionate world

Home Secretary Suella Braverman struck an Orwellian tone in her speech at the National Conservatism conference (Picture: Victoria Jones/PA)

National Conservatism is wake-up call about far-right politics – Joyce McMillan

St Andrews is described as a "unique and captivating" place and the stunning university campus is no exception. Founded in 1413, this is Scotland's first ever university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world.

14 Scottish Universities ranked best to worst in the Good University Guide 2023

Not all those protesting against the monarchy on the day of King Charles' coronation found themselves under arrest (Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

We all have the right to protest, but police have a duty to keep the peace

Glencripesdale Nature Reserve along the shores of Loch Sunart, Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Picture: Stephen Magee/RSPB Images

Ad Feature Friends of the Scotsman: Restoring Scotland's rainforest

A dead catfish lies on the dried-up bed of the River Agly in Rivesaltes, southwestern France last month (Picture: Raymond Roig/AFP via Getty Images)

Planet Earth is about to issue a climate warning we must heed – Scotsman comment

The man and boy were discovered dead in a flat in Argyle Street

Police investigation after man and boy found dead in flat in Paisley

With the SNP in trouble, many independence supporters may stay at home at the next general election (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

SNP needs to stand on cross-party independence ticket or many MPs are doomed

The isle of Ulva, as viewed from Mull, is looking for new residents. Picture: Richard Kellett

Family wanted for tiny Scottish island with population of 10

The Scotsman Top Stories

The new transport minister will face calls to get a grip on the crisis in Scotland's ferry network

Humza Yousaf to appoint new transport minister at the start of next week

Angus Robertson, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central, and Daniel Johnson, Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern.

SNP and Labour MSPs unite against boundary changes to key Edinburgh seats

Janine Reilly and Sharron McKean of Falkirk District Action Group who are delighted Falkirk Council are launching the pilot project to tackle issue of rats in council homes.

High ambitions: How hillwalkers can help science – without donating body parts