Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere. 

Today

  • Goodwin avoids prosecution over RBS collapse
  • SNP MP slates Reporting Scotland as 'ludicrously provincial'
  • BBC White Paper published
  • Bank of England in Brexit warning
  • SNP MP ordered to pay £555 after expenses probe

Front pages

The Herald:

In The Herald, Helen McCardle reports on research showing Scots are at the bottom of the UK league table when it comes to being financially ready to retire. 

The National says an Australian family’s last hope of being allowed to stay in Dingwall has been dashed after a job fell through. 

The Herald: A thousand new wheelie bins are on their way to Glasgow’s Govanhill in a bid to clear the area’s back courts, reports the Evening Times. 

The Times says David Cameron, hosting an anti-corruption summit today, will announce new offences to hold firms criminally responsible for fraud committed by staff. 

Mr Cameron will be not be doing any head to head TV debates on Europe, reports the Telegraph. Instead, on ITV on June 7, the PM and UKIP leader Nigel Farage will have separate, half hour question sessions. 

Under the headline “The Migrant Baby Boom”, the Mail reports that the number of babies born in Scotland to mothers from another EU country has quadrupled in a decade to 4398. 

The Scotsman, like The Herald, pictures party leaders meeting the Duke of Rothesay after the kirking of the Scottish Parliament. 

There are unprecedented levels of security at Cannes this year, reports the FT, with 500 security agents and 200 extra police on duty. The film festival opened last night. 

Camley’s Cartoon

The Herald:

Camley takes a peek under the bed of the nine in ten Scots not investing enough for retirement. Read the story here. 

Need to know: the new Trump

IT was “just a suggestion” apparently. With three little words, Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump is trying to row back from one of his most controversial policies - the temporary banning of Muslims entering the US. 

Last December, following the Paris terror attacks, he declared: “Donald J Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”

Fast forward to yesterday when Mr Trump told Fox News Radio: “This is just a suggestion until we find out what's going on.”

So what the hell, to quote the candidate, is going on?

Three things, the last two not unconnected. 

First, Mr Trump was responding to criticism from the new London mayor, Labour’s Sadiq Khan. The candidate offered to make an exception for London’s first Muslim mayor, but it was an offer Mr Khan found only too easy to refuse. 

The Herald:

Second, Mr Trump had a meeting today with House speaker Paul Ryan, above, the country’s highest-ranking elected Republican. Mr Ryan said last week he was not yet ready to endorse Mr Trump. The two issued a statement describing their meeting as a "very positive step towards unification" that recognised "many important areas of common ground" as well as areas where they disagree.

Finally, Mr Trump needs to raise a billion dollars for a run at the White House. He does not strictly speaking need Mr Ryan’s endorsement, but it would help enormously in opening doors and bank accounts. 

But how far can Mr Trump go in this attempt at reinvention? He is already trying to turn the tables on his likely Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, by saying he is more of a friend to women than she has been given her reaction to her husband’s well-publicised infidelities. Yet it is precisely his headline-grabbing policies which have made him so popular with his core vote - angry white working class males. Finding some point in the middle between them and all those has so far offended looks impossible, but it is not the first time that one little word has been applied to The Donald. Picture: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Afore ye go

The Herald:

"Ludicrously provincial".

The view of SNP MP John Nicholson, the party's spokesman on culture, media and sport, on BBC Reporting Scotland. Interviewed on Radio 4's Today programme this morning, ahead of the publication of a White Paper on the corporation's future, Mr Nicholson, above, said of the evening news programme: "There could be Armageddon in Carlisle and they would lead on an airshow in Carluke." The former BBC journalist argued for a whole new Scottish Six type programme and said "most people would throw themselves off a cliff" rather than watch an hour-long version of the current show. 

The Herald:

"Long live the BBC!”

But Sherlock star Andrew Scott, who plays Moriarty, is the latest actor to defend the corporation ahead of the White Paper.

The Herald:

"At times it will involve us accepting suggestions made by other parties and, do you know what, I think that is probably to the benefit of democracy and governance as a whole.”

Nicola Sturgeon strikes a conciliatory tone at a press briefing. Controversial measures in this session include air passenger duty and the Football Act. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Herald:

"If companies are going to stipulate a trivial item of clothing, perhaps they should demand brogues or even a bowler hat for men. Why should women be made to look stupid?”

Baroness Lorely Burt, Liberal Democrat business spokeswoman, on hearing a temp receptionist had been sent home for refusing to change from flats to heels. The company, Portico, has now changed its rules. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The Herald:

"We had Tom Hardy here naked last week. This is a lot less exciting."

A local in the Cornish village of Charlestown is unimpressed when Boris Johnson’s Leave battlebus turns up. Above, non-BoJo lookalike Hardy. John Phillips/Getty Images. 

The Herald:

“At times it got a bit stressful on both sides.”

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on last year’s Chinese state visit. The Queen was overheard at a garden party on Tuesday that Chinese officials had been rude to her ambassador. 

The Herald:

“I better check the microphone before I start speaking. That’s probably a good idea.”

At PMQs, David Cameron tries to laugh off being caught on camera (above) calling Afghanistan and Nigeria “fantastically corrupt”. 

We don't yet know from BuzzFeed's Jamie Ross what the gift was, however. Slippers, chocs, new crown?

The Herald:

“Celebrities often kvetch about the lack of privacy and being bothered by paparazzi and things like that. These are not life-threatening problems and they get enormous advantages as they go through life.”

Woody Allen, showing his new film Cafe Society at Cannes, says the advantages of fame far outweigh the disadvantages. 

Vote Leave shows it knows how to press the British voters' buttons.

The Herald:

“A former speechwriter for John McCain said Donald Trump has an unstable personality. This is coming from the guy who wrote the words, ‘Please welcome my running mate, Sarah Palin’.”

Conan O’Brien. Darran Hauck/Getty Images

Palmerston, new start at the Foreign Office, is taking care of business. A cat needs somewhere to sit, after all. 

Diary

  • Edinburgh: Lloyds Banking Group holds its AGM.
  • London: Announcement of the Turner Prize 2016 shortlist.
  • City: Bank of England publishes quarterly inflation report and the latest interest rate decision.

Thank you for reading. See you tomorrow.