News

Scotland is facing a danger to life situation as torrential rain continues to batter the country, causing widespread flooding, landslides, and travel disruption. The Met Office has issued five flood alerts and 53 flood warnings for various regions, as well as yellow and amber weather warnings for rain and ice. Ten people rescued by helicopter after landslides One of the most dramatic incidents occurred on Saturday morning, when ten people were airlifted to safety by a coastguard helicopter after their vehicles became trapped by landslides on the A83 and A815 in Argyll and Bute. Police Scotland said there were no reported injuries, but both roads remained closed. The landslides were…

A survey of police officers in Scotland has found that many of them felt ‘disempowered and disenchanted’ after the chief constable said the force was institutionally racist. The survey, conducted by the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), also revealed that officers felt ‘undermined and undervalued’ by the senior leadership and the media. Chief constable’s admission sparked backlash The survey was carried out in response to the comments made by chief constable Iain Livingstone in June 2023, when he admitted that Police Scotland was institutionally racist and pledged to tackle the issue. He said: “I recognise that, as the leader of policing in Scotland, I need…

A group of villagers in the west coast of Scotland have achieved a remarkable feat of securing ownership of a large area of land that will be used for rewilding and creating affordable homes for local people. A landmark deal with a rewilding firm The villagers of Ardgour, a small community in the Lochaber region, have signed a landmark deal with Rewilding Britain, a charity that promotes restoring nature and wildlife to degraded landscapes. The deal involves the purchase of 1,500 hectares of land from the Ardgour Estate, which has been owned by the same family for over 600 years. The purchase price of £1.6 million was raised through a combination of grants,…

A proposal to build a 36-story student tower block on the site of a former tax office in Glasgow has been submitted to the city council. The project, named The Ard, would be the second tallest building in Glasgow, after the 127-meter-high Stobhill Hospital. A new landmark for Glasgow The Ard would be located on India Street at Charing Cross, where Portcullis House currently stands. Portcullis House was built in the 1970s and later became home to HM Revenue and Customs. The developers, Watkin Jones Group, purchased the property in August 2020 and plan to demolish it to make way for…

Scotland could save billions of pounds by scrapping the Trident nuclear weapons system and investing the money in social security, according to a new report by the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND). Trident: a costly and immoral burden The report, titled “Trident: a costly and immoral burden”, argues that the UK’s nuclear deterrent is not only a threat to global peace and security, but also a drain on public finances that could be better spent on welfare, health, education and other public services. The report estimates that the UK spends about £5.2 billion a year on maintaining and operating Trident, which…

Green Party co-leader accused of lobbying for private company Lorna Slater, the co-leader of the Scottish Green Party and the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, has been accused of lobbying for a private company in which she holds shares. Slater made a phone call to the Scottish Government’s energy consents unit on behalf of Orbital Marine Power, a tidal energy company where she worked as an engineer before becoming a minister. Slater claimed that she was only seeking information on the status of Orbital’s application for a marine licence, which was delayed due to a legal challenge…