Good morning and welcome to The Midge, your first bite of the day’s politics from Scotland and elsewhere.
Today’s top stories
- Ward closure report kept secret until after election
- Holidaymakers head home from Sharm el-Sheikh
- Third of 1000 Syrian refugees coming to UK set for Scotland
- Fireworks at FMQs over tax credits cuts
- Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson named “insurgent of the year” at Spectator awards.
06.00 BBC Radio Four Today headlines
Intercepted communications between militants in the Sinai boost plane crash bomb claims … President Obama says bomb theory being taken “very seriously” … Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says it would be “morally indefensible” for Britain to stand on sidelines on bombing of Isil in Syria … UK Government considers raising £9,000 fees limit for English universities if they can prove they are worth it … Sir Cliff Richard interviewed by police for second time … 15 killed after dam bursts in Brazil.
07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines
Several hundred Scots holidaymakers among thousands boarding 25 flights from Sharm el-Sheikh to UK today … Flights to resort remain suspended … Defence Secretary Michael Fallon convinced Britain should extend action against Isil in Syria … Sir Cliff Richard interviewed by police … Labour MSP's review into Police Scotland to claim “business case” for single force creation was not made … British astronaut Tim Peake heads to Moscow for final training before space mission.
The front pages
The Herald has an exclusive on the withholding of a report into the closure of a children’s ward until after the Holyrood elections next May.
The Evening Times’ exclusive reveals Glasgow youngsters are using “dial a drink” services on social media to buy alcohol.
The National completes a hat-trick of exclusives with a report on Dundee West SNP Chris Law’s letter to BBC Scotland director Ken McQuarrie asking him to respond to claims of alleged bias in the corporation’s referendum coverage.
The Times, The Guardian, and The Mirror have pictures of one-year-old Layla Richards, the first person in the world to have her cancer “reversed” by a gene therapy. The Times’ splash details increasing speculation the downing of the Russian Airbus over Egypt on Saturday was caused by a bomb in luggage, while The Guardian and the Scotsman go on the flight home today of British tourists from Sharm el-Sheikh.
Under the headline “The winter A&E lockout”, the Scottish Daily Mail’s exclusive says thousands of patients face being turned away from emergency departments this winter because they are “not ill enough”.
The Telegraph spoke to English Education Secretary Nicky Morgan on her visit to Scotland yesterday as new figures showed pupils from wealthier homes were seven times more likely to get three As at Higher than those from poorer backgrounds. Ms Morgan said she was keen to share “ideas and best practice” with the Scottish Government.
The Financial Times splashes on Bank of England proposals to rein in credit to avoid the low interest rate-fuelled recovery becoming “dangerously unbalanced”.
Further woes at the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow form the splash at The Daily Record, which reports that an elderly patient died in a corridor after waiting eight hours on a trolley for treatment.
The i and The Independent say a “diplomatic crisis” is brewing between the Kremlin and Number Ten as the latter is accused of failing to share intelligence on the Sinai crash.
The Sun has an exclusive on the finding of a woman’s dismembered remains in a bin outside a flat in Montrose.
Camley's cartoon
MPs, MSPs and others digest the new surveillance plans of Home Secretary Theresa May.
Behind the news
Poll positions: Voters might not have the date of next May’s Holyrood elections in the diary, but the political world is never relaxed about coming polls. Evidence of that emerges in The Herald’s story today on the withholding of a report into the downgrading or closure of a children’s ward. Political correspondent Daniel Sanderson says the review into paediatric services at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, West Lothian - which serves the constituencies of SNP Ministers Angela Constance and Fiona Hyslop - is set to be finished by March 31. But it will not be released to the public till June. Shona Robison, the Health Secretary (above), said the Scottish Government had no involvement in the timing of the review.
Way out East: The heat was turned up further on the Scottish Government yesterday over tax credits cuts during a fractious First Minister’s Questions. Nicola Sturgeon said she intended to bring forward “credible, deliverable and affordable” plans to make up tax credit cut shortfalls, accusing Scottish Labour of spending the same money twice in its calculations and being “less Keir Hardie than Laurel and Hardy.” But Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale (above) claimed this was the week when “the SNPs constitutional games came unstuck”. Squirrels made an appearance too - Tom Gordon explains in his FMQs sketch.
Cleaning up: A good lunch was had by all at the Spectator Westminster awards yesterday, with the London magazine showing it has been keeping an eye on Scotland. Besides Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson winning the insurgent of the year award (prompting her to Tweet: “Detergent of the year? I’m not bad with a mop and bucket if I do say so myself.”), the SNP MP Tommy Sheppard (above) won newcomer of the year.
The Diary
Scotland
International Development Minister Des Swayne is in East Kilbride to announce new health partnership between Scotland and Africa to improve treatment for burns patients.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visits bottle manufacturer Ardagh Glass.
Labour MSP Graeme Pearson to deliver Pearson Review into Scottish policing.
Westminster
Private Members Bills
Afore ye go
“Will I be here again?”
“I didn’t want you here tonight.”
A typically barbed exchange between ITV-bound BBC Economics Editor Robert Peston and Eddie Mair on PM which ended, as ever, in laughter.
Labour MP Dennis Skinner (above) has been told to “shut up” more times than any other politician in the past 200 years, according to a study by linguists and historians at the University of Glasgow. The Beast of Bolsover has been told to pipe down 40 times in his 45 year parliamentary career.
“The Vulcans”
What George W Bush’s foreign and defence advisers, including Donald Rumsfeld (above) and Paul Wolfowitz, called themselves during the 2000 election campaign, according to a new book on Dubya’s dad, Destiny and Power: the American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush by Jon Meacham.
Thank you for reading The Midge: Your first bite of the day’s political news from Scotland and elsewhere. See you on Monday.
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