Four Scottish Conservative leadership candidates have warned the party must answer "serious questions" amid reports Douglas Ross plotted to leave Holyrood for Westminster last year.
A joint statement from Murdo Fraser, Brian Whittle, Liam Kerr and Jamie Greene expresses "deep concern" at the alleged conduct of the outgoing party leader.
The Telegraph reports Ross had asked the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey candidate Kathleen Robertson if he could replace her in July 2023, a claim he has denied. It is also alleged he said he would prefer leadership candidate Russell Findlay to replace him.
The letter from four of the six leadership candidates states: "As candidates for the leadership of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, we are deeply concerned by the disturbing claims reported today about the conduct of Douglas Ross in relation to his seeking candidacy for a number of seats in the recent General Election.
"The reports also reference his plans and preferences for a replacement leader to take over the party upon his departure which are relevant to the transparency and fairness of the current leadership contest we are participating in. These allegations raise serious questions for the party which, in our opinion, require to be answered before current leadership election proceeds further.”
According to the Telegraph, Ross met with Robertson last year, with sources alleging he said his “heart was in Westminster, not Holyrood."
Following the news, Meghan Gallacher resigned as Scottish Conservative deputy leader amid concerns over the alleged conduct of Douglas Ross. The leadership candidate said she resigned at 1.55pm on Friday, citing concerns her role would present a "conflict of interest" as she seeks to replace Ross as the head of the party in Scotland.
That's it for today's live blog. We'll be back on Monday morning with all the updates through the day from Westminster and beyond.
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The Home Secretary has announced a unit dedicated to preventing violent crime among young people will be established by the Government, to give teenagers the best start in life
The "young futures" unit will include setting up youth hubs and identifying those most at risk of being drawn into violence, exploitation, crime and anti-social behaviour.
Cooper said teenagers today have it "much, much harder" than previous generations, because they face pressures from social media, county lines, and child criminal exploitation.
She told The Guardian: "It’s part of our cross-government mission to halve serious violence and also rebuild confidence in policing and the criminal justice system. As part of that, the young futures programme is a 10-year vision, about how we prevent young people being drawn into crime in the first place, and also about how we give their future back."
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner with Josh Littlejohn MBE, founder of Social Bite, and Ewan Aitken, CEO of Cyrenians,
PA
The Deputy PM was given a guided tour of the Social Bite Village in Granton, including a look inside one of its Nest Houses, which have been occupied by almost 100 people who were previously homeless over the last six years.
She said: “The Social Bite Village is an amazing project that is helping people in Edinburgh who are dealing with homelessness, and building a solution to the problems with temporary accommodation
"As a Government, we will take action to build more social and affordable housing, give families a better route to a secure home, and get back on track to ending homelessness for good."
Social Bite founder Josh Littlejohn said: "The housing emergency is one of the most significant issues affecting the UK today, so we were delighted to welcome Angela Rayner to the Social Bite Village to discuss our pioneering approach to ending homelessness.
"The Deputy Prime Minister was keen to learn more about our supported community model and the innovative manufacturing process behind our Nest Houses, which gives people living in our villages a welcoming space in which to make a fresh start."
Outgoing Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross alongside former deputy leader Meghan Gallacher in the main chamber
PAIn a statement the outgoing Scottish Tory leader said: “It is with regret that I accept your resignation as deputy leader. It has been a pleasure to work with you over the last two years to take the Scottish Conservative Party forward and challenge the SNP Government.”
He said Gallacher should be "rightly proud" of her achievements in the role, including in her opposition to the Scottish Government’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
However, he added: "I accept your reasoning that as you are a candidate in the leadership election you have felt it necessary to resign your party role to avoid any conflict of interest. As you know, I have committed to remaining neutral in this contest."
A cronyism row continues in the Labour Party after a businesswoman, whose company made donated £67,000 to the party, was given a top civil service jobGetty/ LinkedInA cronyism row continues in the Labour Party after a businesswoman, whose company donated £67,000 to the party, was given a top civil service job.
Emily Middleton was handed director general in the Department for Science and Technology just weeks after the donation. Some senior Tory MPs have questioned whether Sue Gray was behind the appointments amid cronyism concerns.
Middleton was a partner at the consultancy firm Public Digital, which made two donations to Labour frontbencher Peter Kyle.
Kyle at the time, was the shadow science secretary, before being given the same role in Government after Labour won. Shadow Home Secretary, James Cleverly said the appointment raised concerns about "Labour’s very questionable civil service recruitment practices".
Britain's Foreign Secretary David LammyReutersForeign secretary David Lammy has called for "the fighting to stop" as he says now is the time for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Lammy travelled to Israel with French foreign minister Stephane Sejourne, for the first joint UK-France visit.
Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, the foreign secretary said: "This is a war and a crisis that has taken so many lives across the region, and of course began with the most horrific events on October 7.
"But as we head now into 315 days of war, the time for a deal – for those hostages to be returned, for aid to get in in the quantities that are necessary in Gaza and for the fighting to stop – is now.
"And of course that is the message that we have jointly underlined to ministers today, both in Israel and of course in the occupied territories."
Bridget Phillipson
PAEducation secretary, Bridget Phillipson has suggested that private schools closures or struggling with their finances because of parental choice.
It comes after two schools in Scotland announced this week that they would close - partly due to VAT being added to fees from January.
Phillipson suggested that any closures were down to parental choice.
“Private schools are businesses that can make choices about how they manage their budgets, the level of fees that they charge, and ultimately, it’s about how attractive they are to families in terms of the numbers of students that are sent there," she told Sky News.
"We have seen private schools in recent years whack up their fees year on year, way beyond inflation,, and that has priced out lots of people. Some of the examples that are being discussed are schools that were already experiencing big budget shortfalls, weren’t attracting the same numbers of students that they might like to attract, and that’s what’s driving what we see here."
Louise Haigh is the Minister for TransportGB NewsMinisters have refused to say how much taxpayers will have to contribute towards the pay rise for train drivers.
The 15 per cent rise for workers - announced on Wednesday - will cost more than £100 million.
Louise Haigh, the transport secretary hit back saying the extra £9,000 to the average driver is worth more than the £850 million cost that the railways have lost in revenue.
Caroline Abrahams of Age UK said that older people felt ministers were prioritising public sector workers over pensioners.
"We have been inundated with messages from pensioners who are angry and upset about the impact on them of losing their winter fuel payment this winter and, in the light of news stories about various industrial disputes being settled, some are also commenting that they feel they are being treated as a lower priority and that this is unfair," she told The Times.
Helen Whately, the shadow transport secretary, added: "The government has chosen to prioritise the unions over passengers and taxpayers — and pensioners, too."
A senior Government source said they could not comment on "live talks" but insisted a settlement with the unions was in the best interests of taxpayers and passengers.
Simon Clarke also served as Sunak’s number 2 at the Treasury
PASir Simon Clarke has shared his support for “extraordinary” Kemi Badenoch to be the next Conservative leader.
Clarke wrote in The Telegraph that Badenoch “will never shy away from levelling with the British people about the challenges we face”.
He argues that she is the best placed to lead the party in the "uncertain years" ahead.
Clarke - who was chief secretary to the Treasury under Johnson - said: "Kemi voted for Brexit, and will fight any attempt by Labour to drag us into the nightmare position of being a rule-taking shadow member of the EU.
"She is a low-tax, small-state Conservative who will ensure we go into the next election with a credible plan to deliver a government that does what it needs to do well, but is wise enough to know where its boundaries should end."
The UK economy has grown by 0.6 per cent in the three months to June in a boost for Labour.
Britain is the fastest growing economy in the G7 so far this year after it expanded more than the US and twice as fast as France.
Yael Selfin of KPMG described it as “another gangbusters quarter”.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the increase was in line with financial chief's expectations and comes after an expansion of 0.7 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Aslef chief Mick Whelan
PAThe train drivers’ trade union has not demanded an end outdate "Spanish practices" which includes the right to re-start a lunch break if spoken to by a manager.
Aslef have accepted a 14.25 per cent pay rise, after the Government granted a "no strings" deal with the union.
However, it was revealed last year that there are a number of costly working practices - including the right to paid time off for medical checks if staff use microwaves.
The policy, dating from the 1980s, reads: "All staff working with microwave ovens shall be permitted to take time off from work, with pay, for a medical check of any effects on them from the microwave ovens."
