First Minister Humsa Yousaf’s plan to trigger independence talks with the UK government after winning a majority of Scotland’s seats at Westminster features in Scotland’s newspapers. The i reports that an SNP draft strategy to be put to members at their conference next month suggests even a drop of 18 seats to leave 30 SNP MPs would be enough to start negotiations.
The Scottish Daily Mail writes that the plan – signed off by both the First Minister and SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn – has been described as “crackpot”. It says the party could face significant losses in the General Election and still claim a mandate for independence.
The National reports that the motion to be put to the party conference will emphasise gaining SNP seats in the House of Commons, rather than consider vote numbers.
Accusations of a “cover-up” over renewable energy figures make the lead for the Scotsman. It reports that Humza Yousaf has been urged to refer himself for an alleged breach of the Scottish ministerial code over his handling of a correction. During a First Minister’s Questions in June he told MSPs Scotland had the majority of the UK’s renewable energy resources, when it was actually 26%.
The Scottish Daily Express reports that civil servants spent weeks trying to come up with an excuse for Mr Yousaf’s figures, leading to the Scottish Lib Dems saying his apology was “reversed engineered” to mislead parliament.
An earlier boost in support for Labour is drifting back to the SNP in Scotland, the Times reports. It says the polling data could be a blow for Keir Starmer in his bid to win the next General Election.
The Herald reports that scientists in Scotland are hoping a cure for Parkinson’s – a brain disease which affects one in 375 adults in the country – could be possible within the next three years. It also pictures former Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the front page, alongside a warning about increasing poverty. Mr Brown said he was seeing problems that he never thought he would “see again in his own lifetime”.
The murder of taxi driver George Murdoch in Aberdeen still haunts a police officer 40 years after the death, the Press and Journal reports. The family still hopes to find out who killed the 53-year-old.
The Daily Telegraph reports that children who have not had MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccines may be forced to self-isolate for 21 days due to a rapid rise in measles. The paper reports that modelling data suggests up to 160,000 measles infections could occur in London alone. It also notes that Scotland is facing a demographic “time bomb” after the census revealed declining birth rates and rising numbers of pensioners.
An Oban takeaway owner told the Daily Record he fears for his business after 14 immigration officers stormed his premises and interrogated four members of staff.
The case against a man suspected of killing Madeleine McCann is beginning to “fall apart”, the Sun reports.
The Edinburgh Evening News writes that AirBnB property owners in the city are scared to apply for the new licences because of increasing hostility against them.
The trial of seven men and four women accused of being part of a child abuse and witchcraft ring heard a police interview with a girl who said she was shut in cupboard in the “beastie house”, the Glasgow Times writes.
The Evening Express reports on a man who was injured in a fall from a second floor flat above the Red Lion pub in Aberdeen’s Spital area.
An 11-year-old was knocked unconscious when he was hit by an electric scooter in the street, the Evening Telegraph writes.
The Courier leads with tributes to a 42-year-old woman who died of a rare cancer.
The Daily Star reports that a rogue Russian pilot fired two missiles at an RAF surveillance plane in October last year, describing the miss as being “seconds away from World War Three”.
