SNP softens North Sea stance and ‘mobile gang huts’
The Daily Record leads with a warning from a ScotRail driver that rising youth violence will claim another life, following the death of a 14-year-old. Daniel Haig, 18, was jailed for life yesterday over the stabbing of Justin McLaughlin at a train station. The train driver told the paper that trains have become “mobile gang huts” and that colleagues have witnessed stabbings and “full-scale riots on journeys”.
CCTV images from the incident showing Haig dropping his knife seconds before the murder, make the front page of the Scottish Sun. The attack was captured by CCTV cameras at the high street station in Glasgow. Justin McLaughlin’s mother branded her son’s killer as a monster and the judge condemned the petty gang rivalries that led to the murder, reports the paper.
The Scotsman leads with Scottish ministers saying the oil and gas industry will remain “for some time”. The paper says Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray refused to say whether the controversial Rosebank development should be given the green light as it was revealed Scotland’s public spending deficit had dropped to £19.1bn. The paper added that Mr Gray said Scottish ministers opposed “unlimited extraction of oil and gas” but also said “we all know that oil and gas is going to be with us for some time to come.”
The Daily Telegraph also leads with SNP ministers applauding record North Sea Tax revenues despite threatening to block any new oil and gas exploration in an independent Scotland. It also features England striker Rachel Daly and goalkeeper Mary Earps celebrating the Lionesses’ 3-1 win over Australia.
The Scottish Daily Express says the SNP’s bid to break up the UK suffered a huge blow because people in Scotland benefit by about £1,500 each due to the North Sea oil and Gas industry.
Scottish water has been accused of breaching public sector pay rules by giving its new chief executive a £50,000 pay rise, The Herald reports. The paper says Alex Plant has been given an annual salary of nearly £300,000 – £22,500 more than his predecessor, despite Scottish government pay policy indicating there should have been a 10% cut.
“Support for independence on the up”, reads the front page of The National. A YouGov survey found that support for Yes was up to 42%, but a No vote was still slightly in the lead at 44%, the paper reports.
The Scottish Daily Mail says a sharp fall in inflation has signalled that the cost of living squeeze is finally loosening “its painful grip” on millions of British households. The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation dropped to 6.8% in July, down from 7.9% in June, as energy bills fell and food prices pressures eased, the paper reports.
Britons will feel better off next year, Rishi Sunak said while vowing to flame inflation by maintaining “discipline” on public spending and tax, according to The Times. In an interview with the paper he said he “passionately” believed that he could bring down inflation and revive economic growth.
The i-newspaper says the prime minister is hopeful he will halve inflation this year. In a bullet point on the paper front page it says Rishi Sunak is preparing to launch the next phase of his economic plan.
Police have issued a description of a suspect after an 18-year-old woman was raped in Dundee city centre, The Courier reports. The paper says officers are also looking for the driver of a car the suspect may have got into after the attack – along with a potential witness.
The Edinburgh Evening News leads with a freedom of information request which revealed nearly 1,200 people have died in Lothian since 2018 after waiting more than four hours in the region’s accident and emergency departments. Some health boards – including the biggest, Greater Glasgow and Clyde – did not respond to the data request from the Scottish Conservatives, the paper says.
The man convicted of killing an Orkney woman while she was on a working holiday in New Zealand has been denied parole, the Press and Journal reports. Jahche Broughton killed Karen Aim, 26, with a baseball bat when he was 14, according to the paper. Last month the now 30-year-old appeared before the New Zealand parole board and its decision has just been made public for the first time.
A family butcher’s claim they are at risk of closure, accusing their landlord of neglecting vital building repairs, the Glasgow Times reports. Sandy Smith Butchers were asked to vacate their shop in May by landlord City Property – but they now fear they will still be out of the premises for weeks to come which will leave them in “financial ruin”, the paper writes.
The Evening Telegraph leads with a story about a mother who bought alcohol and vapes for schoolchildren in Dundee. Morag Whyte appeared in court to admit buying the age-restricted products for two youngsters earlier this year, reports the paper.
A father-of-five has been banned from the road after being caught drug-driving because he didn’t realise his vape contained cannabis, according to the Evening Express. Henry Derrett – who started vaping as a replacement for smoking cannabis – failed a drug test and has now been given a driving ban as punishment, the paper says.
