Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere.
Today
- Recession ‘highly possible’ after Brexit vote
- Supreme Court rules Named Person policy 'unlawful'
- Angus Robertson bids for depute leadership of the SNP
- Former FM calls for Independent Labour Party in Scotland
06.00 BBC Today headlines
Decision on new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point due … Turkish authorities order closure of 130 media organisations … Obama endorses Clinton … Health officials in Florida investigating two new cases of Zika not linked to travel … German scientists discover new class of antibiotics in nose … Office workers urged to take hour of exercise a day.
07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland headlines
Supreme Court ruling on Named Persons due ... Scotland faces post-Brexit vote slowdown, says think tank ... Scottish Parliament committee meets during recess to hear evidence on Brexit ... Hinkley Point ... Funeral today of Scots soldier who died during training exercise.
Front pages
In The Herald, business editor Ian McConnell reports on a think tank’s prediction of economic trouble ahead, including a rise in unemployment.
The Mail says there are 2000 terror suspects in the UK but only one is subject to an official anti-terror order.
Exclusive: Hannah Rodger in the Evening Times reports that disorder and vandalism is soaring in some parts of Glasgow, and residents have had enough.
The Times pictures Theresa May with Italy’s PM Matteo Renzi during talks over Brexit. Next stops for Mrs May: Slovakia and Poland.
Working in an office is “as bad as smoking” warns the Telegraph as a study published in the Lancet highlights the risks of a sedentary lifestyle.
The FT reports that the steep losses suffered by the FTSE 250 after the Brexit vote have been erased. But the Guardian says there are warning signs that the economy is being blown off course.
Camley’s cartoon
Camley’s not hanging around when it comes to assessing the economic state we’re in.
Five in five seconds: Donald and the Russians
1. What’s the story? There has been outrage over Donald Trump appearing to urge the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. He said: ”Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” He later tweeted:
If Russia or any other country or person has Hillary Clinton's 33,000 illegally deleted emails, perhaps they should share them with the FBI!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2016
2. Background? The Democratic convention was rocked by a leaked email dump which seemed to indicate party chiefs favoured Clinton over Sanders in the primaries. The Democrats were first with the suggestion that a foreign power might have been responsible for the hack. At a press conference in Florida, Trump bracketed the this week’s email story to Clinton’s use of a private email server while Secretary of State.
3. But it was a joke, right? Some are not taking it that way. Former CIA director Leon Panetta, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, called Trump's comments “beyond the pale”. Eyebrows have already been raised at Trump’s previous complimentary comments about Putin being a strong leader. More recently, he suggested that with him as president the US might not automatically come to the aid of a Nato ally.
Fmr. CIA Director Leon Panetta on Trump call for Russia HRC hacking: "That’s beyond the pale," unfit to be President pic.twitter.com/bV5rIcOr5O
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) July 27, 2016
4. The Trump campaign’s response? Denial that they had ever suggested hacking. "What he intended was hand them over, yes,” spokesman Steven Cheung told CNN. "I think that's a completely ridiculous thing to say that he's inviting a country to hack a presidential candidates' emails.” Trump ally Newt Gingrich said: "The media seems more upset by Trump's joke about Russian hacking than by the fact that Hillary's personal server was vulnerable to Russia."
Trump invites Russia to hack H Clinton’s email, essentially sanctioning foreign power’s cyberspying of ex-Sec. of State. Crazier & Crazier
— Andrew Neil (@afneil) July 27, 2016
5. A bad move by Trump? You might think, but while everyone is talking about The Donald and the Russians they are not talking about President Obama’s endorsement of Clinton (see Afore Ye Go).
Afore Ye Go
President Obama: "There has never been a man or a woman"more qualified for the Oval Office than HRC #DemsinPhillyhttps://t.co/VsD7be3ej0
— New York Post (@nypost) July 28, 2016
President Obama endorses Clinton at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia last night.
I'm on a plane with my dog crying about the @BarackObama speech happening at #DemsInPhilly right now.
— Alan Cumming (@Alancumming) July 28, 2016
Brandy might also be involved.
"It pained me that we didn't have the strength and the power and the vitality to smash her back on her heels.”
Labour leadership contender Owen Smith, referring to Theresa May. He later admitted his choice of language may have “backfired”, saying: "It's rhetoric, I don't literally want to smash Theresa May back on her heels, I'm not advocating violence in any shape or form." John Giles/PA Wire
"Jeremy has consistently called for a kinder, gentler politics. We should all reflect that in our political rhetoric.”
Smith earns a ticking off from a spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn. Jack Taylor/Getty Images
NEW STATESMAN: Summer double issue #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/jLRdlMAoKv
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) July 27, 2016
Like to be a fly on the jam at that fantasy picnic?
"No evidence has been presented to explain why a 24-hour permanent presence is essential.”
Lord Turnbull grants the Scottish Parliament’s petition to have the indycampers, who had pledged to stay at Holyrood until Scotland gained independence, evicted from Holyrood. One camper, Gary, said: ”We will keep going.”
"Our mission is to attack modern music and smash the grid. Unapologetic, unrelenting, unbridled and uncensored. Understood?”
Meanwhile, Rage Against The Machine star Tim Commerford claims to have established his own Republic of Wakrat in London's Parliament Square. Wakrat/PA Wire
"It's war, we don't have to be afraid to say this.”
Pope Francis, on a visit to Poland, responds to the murder of a priest in Normandy. He said he was not speaking of a war of religions, but of "a war of interests, for money, resources, dominion of peoples”. AP Photo/Alik Keplicz
35 years
The amount of time between John Hinckley Jr’s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and the now 61-year-old Hinckley’s release from a Washington psychiatric hospital to live at his mother’s home. AP Photo/ Steve Helber
Apple Crumble for a quid! I need to come to Sheffield more often #godsowncounty pic.twitter.com/AHEkSYAXUO
— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) July 27, 2016
The BBC's Chris Mason sounds pleased to be back up north.
5000
Number of new jobs McDonald’s will create by the end of next year, taking the workforce to more than 110,000. Rui Vieira/PA Wire
A chestnut mare, Sergeant Reckless, was posthumously awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal in London yesterday for her service during the Korean war. Reckless carried ammunition and wounded soldiers through bullets, bombs and fire. US Marine Corps/PDSA/PA Wire
Another major crack in the glass ceiling #DemsInPhilly #ImWithHer pic.twitter.com/bg13Iz3JOq
— Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) July 27, 2016
Is someone after a new job in broadcasting?
The country's political journalists losing it after seeing Larry the cat. pic.twitter.com/zzUFLpRLfh
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) July 27, 2016
From BuzzFeed's Jim Waterson. It has been a very long year...
Thank you for reading. See you tomorrow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article