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

Today

  • Somme commemorations in UK and France
  • Gove sets out case to be Tory leader; May is front-runner
  • Bank of England governor in "post-traumatic stress" warning
  • Revealed: Secret talks on Scotland’s EU position
  • NHS 24 call system delayed till 2017

06.00 BBC Today headlines

Gove leadership bid speech … Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell delivers Labour’s response to Brexit … Centenary of the Battle of the Somme marked … Hole in ozone layer shrinking, say scientists … US authorities investigating first death in electric car … Wales play Belgium tonight in Euro 2016 quarter final. 

07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines

Somme commemorations ... Gove speech ...McDonnell ... EU Trade Commissioner says no trade talks before Brexit ... 50 people take own lives in hospital ... Charity warns of soaring skin cancer rates ... Glasgow subway closes for four weeks from tonight ... Spacecraft almost at Jupiter.

Front pages

The Herald:

In The Herald, UK political editor Michael Settle reports on Tory leadership manoeuvres, with one ally of Boris Johnson calling Michael Gove’s actions “one of the biggest acts of treachery I have ever seen.”

The National says: “Bye bye Boris, what a mess you’ve left us”. 

The Daily Mail declares: “It must be Theresa for leader”. 

The Times says Boris Johnson offered to step aside for Theresa May if she would, in turn, stand down before the 2020 election. It also reports that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of linking Israel and Isis. 

The Telegraph says friends of Mr Johnson are citing Chancellor George Osborne as Mr Gove’s co-conspirator. 

The FT leads on Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s warning that the UK was suffering “economic post-traumatic stress disorder”  and that another round of monetary easing could be necessary. 

The Guardian reckons interest rates could fall to 0%. 

The Sun’s headline is “Brexecute”, with the paper declaring Boris Johnson’s career “wrecked”. 

The Herald: The Evening Times praises 11-year-old Liam Boyle from Glasgow, who suffered hand injuries in the M&D’s rollercoaster crash, for his calm and bravery. 

Camley’s Cartoon

The Herald:

Camley has a punt on the Tory leadership race movers and shakers. 

Ten in ten seconds: that was the week that was

This time last week, the world was waking to the news that the UK had voted to leave the EU. Here are a few other things, some serious, others not, we have learned in the last seven days:

1. The Goves are aff the Johnsons’ Christmas card list. The Camerons’ too, if you believe the rumour at Westminster yesterday that the Justice Secretary was acting on behalf of Cameron-Osborne to stop Johnson. 

2. Usain Bolt should resist any challenge from Nicola Sturgeon. Scotland’s FM was among the first out of the blocks last Friday, placing indyref 2 on the table. A couple of days later she sprinted to Brussels for meetings to put Scotland’s case. 

3. Sarah Vine, wife of Michael Gove, wears boxing gloves while typing. How else did that email urging her husband to extract guarantees from Boris Johnson accidentally find its way to “a member of the public” then Sky News?

4. The British state can pass the Chicken Licken test. With a prime minister resigning and a leader of the opposition besieged, the sky might have fallen in, but the lights stayed on. 

5. Mark Carney (below) is cool enough for school. The Bank of England governor was quick off the mark last Friday, offering £250 billion to steady the market, which it did. Yesterday, Mr Carney said "monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer” meaning, according to some, interest rate cuts. 

The Herald:

6. Makers of bulletproof cars, unsinkable ships and shark-proof cages are hoping to test Jeremy Corbyn to find out the secret of his survival success. Will Angela Eagle, whose bid for the leadership was expected yesterday, announce today?

7. The EU has “transitional holding pens”. Not the latest development in farming techniques, but the place where Scotland might reside before being accepted back into the EU, according to Dr Kirsty Hughes, a former EC political adviser. Read Daniel Sanderson’s story here. 

8. Michael Heseltine really dislikes Boris Johnson, saying of him yesterday: ”He's like a general who marches his army to the sound of the guns and the moment he sees the battleground he abandons it. I have never seen anything like it and he must be answerable for the consequences. But the pain of it will be felt by all of us and, if it doesn't get resolved shortly, by a generation yet to come.”

9. Theresa May is the bookmakers’ 2-1 favourite to win the Tory leadership and be the UK’s second woman PM. 

10. In politics, as in life, as in Hollywood, William Goldman’s maxim - “Nobody knows anything” - is as good a guide as any. 

Afore Ye Go

Just what you were waiting for, Michelle Mone's view

The Herald:

“If anyone wants me to sign a piece of parchment in my own blood saying I don't want to be prime minister, then I'm perfectly happy to do that.”

One of many protestations by Michael Gove to idea of his becoming PM, this one issued in 2012 to Sky News. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

The Herald:

“Poundland Lannisters.”

A Game of Thrones-inspired description of Michael Gove and his wife Sarah Vine, above, after her email, urging him to extract guarantees from Boris Johnson, was leaked. 

The Herald:

“I just get on with the job in front of me.”

Theresa May’s Ronseal, does what it says on the tin, pitch. Scottish Secretary David Mundell is backing her. 

From our own Kate Devlin

The Herald:

"Boris follows the Bullingdon playbook: you break it and someone else has to fix it.”

LibDem leader Tim Farron

From the Spectator's Isabel Hardman

The Herald:

"It's jolly good theatre but this is not the contest for the president of the Oxford Union, it's the decision about our next prime minister on what is probably the most difficult wicket any time since 1940.”

Former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell 

The Herald:

“You spineless ****. You lead this ludicrous campaign to leave EU. Win, and now **** off to let someone else clear up your mess.”

Some Scottish plain-speaking, directed at Boris Johnson, from actor Ewan McGregor (above, in 2013, receiving his OBE).

From Jim Pickard, FT

The Herald:

"I'm not prepared to shrug my shoulders and simply accept that a Tory government that we didn't even vote for here in Scotland can drag us out of the European Union against our will, and I think a majority of people here in Scotland agree with that position.”

FM Nicola Sturgeon. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Herald:

"She is still up for it.”

An ally of Angela Eagle MP, who was expected to launch her challenge to Mr Corbyn yesterday, only to delay. Carl Court/Getty Images

The Herald: Paul Flynn, Labour

“I believe my appointment to this post will be a trailblazer, one that will lead to all-octogenarian shortlists in the party.”

Labour MP Paul Flynn, 81, is back as a frontbencher following mass resignations directed at unseating Jeremy Corbyn. 

From Jamie Ross at BuzzFeed News

The Herald:

"He is, for the Scottish National Party, a formidable adversary.”

Commons leader Chris Grayling responds to Alex Salmond calling Michael Gove “Lord Macbeth” for his dispatch of opponents. Jack Taylor/Getty Images.

The Herald:

"At one point she directed a fierce and offensive tweet at Kettering claiming she'd never heard of it and implying that no-one knew where it was.”

Kettering Tory MP Philip Hollobone complains about actress Lindsay Lohan’s pro-EU tweets. He suggested she come and switch the Christmas lights on to make up for the slur. Over to you, L-Lo. David McNew/Getty Images

It turned out to be a golf trophy won by Brian Taylor. From the BBC's Philip Sim.

Thank you for reading. See you on Monday.