Scotland News

[Evanvincent]

Young Andrew McGill will represent Scotland under-17 at the Celtic XC event

Livingston Athletics club member Andrew McGill has been selected to represent Scotland under-17 at the Celtic XC event later this month.

The competition, which takes place in Stirling, will see Scotland take on teams from Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.


Four club athletes took part in last week’s Festive Handicap 2019. Stephen Marshall led the Livi runners home in 36th place with a run time of 39.13 and handicapped time of 1:24.08.

[Evanvincent]

Website problem hits Bank of Scotland customers

The Bank of Scotland has said customers have been affected by a problem with its website. Online banking services were first reported to be unavailable early on New Year's Day. At about 11:00, an update on the bank's Twitter feed said it did not have an estimated time for when the website would be working again. It added that staff were working on the problem and they hoped to have it "back to normal soon".

The problem has also affected Lloyds and Halifax customers. A Bank of Scotland spokeswoman said: "We're aware that some of our customers are experiencing problems logging on to Online Banking. We're working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and apologise for any inconvenience caused."

[Evanvincent]

Scotland’s best-uncapped team? Bruce Aitchison makes a late run

THIS was really tough! I have picked from players I know, a lot of what I’ve heard, and remember that in my lifetime, it has been easier to get capped than ever before meaning a lot of players I wanted to pick have played for Scotland through World Cups, tours, appearances off the bench, etc. I have shown undoubted bias in my selection but I have resisted the temptation to pick myself, as I haven’t ever retired from international rugby, so it still might happen! When I was a lad, Fridays in February and March saw the U21s and A Teams play at the same venue before the main event at Murrayfield the day after. Thousands packed into club grounds watching quality players playing a quality standard and I loved it. I saw heaps of great players who wanted to be at the ‘Big Dance’. I loved the district games and remember fondly the South v All Blacks at Netherdale in 1993. Some of them make this XV.

[Charliegrover]

The 'Intolerable' Cost Of Scotland Staging The G8 Summit


Tensions over the £72m cost of policing the 2005 G8 summit at Gleneagles have been revealed in newly released government papers. They show the then Scottish Executive wanted the UK government to cover the full amount. But resistance from the UK Treasury saw it only contribute £20m. National Records of Scotland files show former first minister Jack McConnell warned his administration was being placed in an "intolerable position". Warnings that the executive would expose fears about the cost of G8 summit security publically were issued, the papers reveal. A huge police presence, with officers drafted in from across the UK, was put in place for the 2005 meeting of leaders from the world's foremost industrial nations. Trouble flared on a number of occasions with confrontations between police and protesters in Edinburgh and at Auchterarder, next to the summit venue.

[Albert Davis]

Scotland Lock Nears Exeter Chiefs Move




Glasgow lock Jonny Gray is expected to join Scotland team-mate, Stuart Hogg, at Exeter Chiefs next season.

Gray, 25, is set to leave Scotstoun when his contract expires at the end of the campaign, with the Premiership leaders his likely destination.
Having lost Hogg, Finn Russell, Josh Strauss and other key players in recent seasons, Warriors will embark on a major recruitment drive for next term.They have agreed a deal to re-sign Leone Nakarawa until the summer.

[Albert Davis]

Scotland 'could Have Helped Hundreds Avoid HIV'


Hundreds of people could have avoided HIV infection from contaminated blood products if help had been sought from Scotland, new evidence suggests.
A letter dated January 1990 shows a Scottish facility had spare capacity to produce the blood-clotting agent Factor VIII, used to treat hemophiliacs.
Instead, English health authorities continued to import large amounts of Factor VIII from risky sources abroad.

[Evanvincent]

Monica Lennon says Scottish Labour must split from UK party


Scottish Labour must split from the main UK party if it wants to end its "long-term losing streak", one of the party's MSPs has claimed.

Monica Lennon said Scottish Labour, which won just one seat in last month's general election, was still treated as a "branch office" by London.

And she warned that "epic change" was needed to avoid further decline.

Ms Lennon said this should include Scottish Labour becoming a separate political party in its own right.

She said the move would prevent Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard being undermined by UK party figures such as shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who contradicted Mr Leonard's opposition to a second independence referendum in a interview at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

Mr Leonard has pledged to hold a "public listening exercise" as part of attempts to understand why Scottish Labour suffered such a "profound defeat" in the election.

[Evanvincent]

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland fundraisers help more people really live their lives

More than 2900 people took part in various fundraising events throughout 2019 to raise vital funds for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. And the charity heroes raised over £469,000 to help people live their lives to the full. The money raised will help people across Scotland who are living with chest, heart and stroke conditions to regain their confidence and rebuild their lives.

The charity is calling for people to become fundraising superheroes in 2020 and sign up to the range of events it has on offer. From the iconic Forth Bridge Abseil and Scotland’s beastliest obstacle races to running and walking events including the Kiltwalks, the charity has a diverse variety of event to suit everyone.

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland is calling on supporters old and new to take on an event to help more of the one in five people in Scotland who are affected by chest, heart and stroke conditions. Lawrence Cowan, director of communications and supporter fundraising at Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, said: “We are so thankful for the thousands of people who took part in our events over 2019, whether it was in memory of a loved one, a defining moment in their recovery journey or to raise vital funds to support friends, family or colleagues. “Thanks to their support we can help more people across Scotland rebuild and live their lives to the full.

[Albert Davis]

Bank Payday Glitch And Christmas Murder Probe


A system error has left customers of Clydesdale, Yorkshire and Virgin Money banks without wages or benefits, the Daily Record reports. Clydesdale Bank said it had now updated all accounts overnight and anyone affected financially would be "put right as soon as possible".
The Fife edition of The Courier reports that a 23-year-old woman has appeared in court in Kirkcaldy accused of the murder of a 25-year-old man on Christmas Day.
The rest of Saturday's papers, including The Herald, splash on the US assassination of Qasem Soleimani, one of Iran's most powerful leaders. The paper highlights that Iran has "vowed revenge".
"Britain braced for Iran revenge," says the Scottish Daily Mail. The paper reports concerns of security officials who fear UK citizens in the Gulf - or British troops in the region - could be in the firing line as Tehran plots retaliation.

[Evanvincent]

Gusts of up to 70mph possible as Met Office issues yellow weather warning

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning and said that winds of up to 70mph could hit the North East. The warning is in place from 5am until 9pm on Tuesday and it says there is a "small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur". Strong winds will hit parts of Scotland and northern England and there's even potential for 80mph gusts around some exposed coastal areas. In our region, the warning affects Newcastle , Gateshead , Northumberland , Durham , Sunderland and North and South Tyneside.


A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "A windy period is expected for parts of Scotland and northern England on Tuesday. The most likely scenario is for the strong or very strong winds to develop across coastal parts of northern and western Scotland, with strong gusts across parts of northern England, central and eastern Scotland. "Gusts of 60-70 mph are possible, with potentially 70-80 mph gusts around some of the most exposed coastal sites."