Scotland’s first minister resigns after failing to muster enough votes to survive a no confidence vote this week
Humza Yousaf is holding a press conference at noon, Sky News and the BBC are reporting.
Mandy Rhodes, editor of the Holyrood magazine, says she was due to interview Humza Yousaf this afternoon, but he’s cancelled.
Continue reading...Former SNP leader may stand as unity candidate as Yousaf steps down after one year in job
Humza Yousaf has stepped down as Scotland’s first minister after failing to secure enough cross-party support to survive a major crisis with the Scottish Greens.
His resignation on Monday has thrown the Scottish National party into crisis, a little over a year after he took office, with the party’s former leader John Swinney quickly emerging as the favourite to become Scotland’s next first minister. Various bookmakers said they had stopped taking bets on Swinney.
Continue reading...SNP and Scottish government go through second leadership crisis in less than 18 months
Humza Yousaf has announced that he is stepping down as Scotland’s first minister, just over a year after he was elected.
Continue reading...As the Scottish National party leader announces his resignation, we look at likely successors
Any contest to replace Humza Yousaf will present the Scottish National party with a significant problem: it has very few contenders with the experience and profile voters would expect to lead the Scottish government.
Continue reading...Teenage boys believed to be among most vulnerable to gangs using real and fake images to blackmail victims
Teachers in the UK are being asked to help spot signs their pupils are becoming victims of sextortion, with teenage boys thought to be among the most vulnerable groups.
The National Crime Agency has issued fresh guidance, saying criminal gangs – often based abroad – are using both real and fake images to blackmail their victims; sometimes going from initial contact to extortion within an hour.
Continue reading...Former Winchester mayor David McLean allegedly said ‘Sorry, Mum’ before putting cushion over her face
A former mayor attempted to smother his dying 92-year-old mother with a cushion to end her suffering in an act of “pure and simple unadulterated love”, a jury has been told.
David McLean, 72, who was described by the prosecution as an “upstanding” citizen, allegedly said: “Sorry, Mum” before putting a cushion over Margaret McLean’s face, the court heard.
Continue reading...Satellite photos show pieces of floating pier alongside vessel, which is about 5 miles from project base
A US navy ship involved in an American-led effort to bring more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip is offshore from the territory and building out a floating platform for the operation, according to satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press.
The USNS Roy P Benavidez sits about 5 miles from the pier and base of operations for the project being built by the Israeli military.
Continue reading...The creator of the highly successful crime series, set in Tudor England, was a private person who ‘preferred to be known through his novels’
CJ Sansom, the bestselling author of Dissolution, Winter in Madrid and Dominion has died aged 71, having been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare and incurable cancer that affects bone marrow, in 2012.
His publisher confirmed the news, noting that Sansom died on 27 April, just days before Shardlake, the TV adaptation of Dissolution starring Arthur Hughes and Sean Bean, is released on Disney+ on 1 May.
Continue reading...Postal company defends technology but suspends surcharge, while app allowing customers to scan own stamps developed
Royal Mail has suspended controversial fines for letters with stamps it deems counterfeit after claims that it was penalising the public for its own inadequate technology.
Addressees have been forced to pay a levy of £5 to receive post if Royal Mail suspects that a fake stamp was used by the sender. Hundreds of fines have been issued since barcoded stamps became mandatory last July.
Continue reading...Mel Stride says therapy or respite could be offered instead of Pip payments to those with ‘milder’ mental health issues
People with depression or anxiety could lose access to sickness benefits, the work and pensions secretary has said, as part of major welfare changes that have been described as a “full-on assault on disabled people”.
On Monday morning, Mel Stride announced the plans to overhaul the way disability benefits work and was due to address the Commons on the issue later in the day.
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