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Humza Yousaf has won the SNP leadership contest and is set to be named as Scotland’s new first minister, replacing Nicola Sturgeon.

The explosive leadership contest was sparked following Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation last month.

Lorna Finn, the SNP’s national secretary, stated that the total turnout in the leadership election was 70% with 50,490 of the SNP’s 72,169 members casting a ballot.

For first preferences in the single transferrable vote system, Mr Yousaf took 24,336 (48%), Kate Forbes took 20,559 (40%) and Ash Regan took 5,599 (11%) of the vote.

When second preferences were distributed in the second stage, Mr Yousaf took 26,032 (52%) and Ms Forbes took 23,890 (48%).

Sturgeon’s replacement promises independence – follow live updates

(left to right) Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, after it was announced Humza Yousaf is the new Scottish National Party leader, and will become the next First Minister of Scotland. Picture date: Monday March 27, 2023.
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Mr Yousaf saw off competition from Ash Regan and Kate Forbes

Following his win, Mr Yousaf said: “Leadership elections, by their very nature, can be bruising.

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“However, in the SNP we are a family.

“Over the last five weeks we may have been competitors or supporters of different candidates.

“We are no longer team Humza, or team Ash, or team Kate, we are one team.

“We will be the team, we will be the generation, that delivers independence for Scotland.”

Mr Humza will now face a vote at Holyrood on Tuesday before being formally confirmed as first minister.

Any MSP from any party can also be nominated for the vote. Following brief speeches, MSPs will then vote for their preferred candidate.

In the unlikely event of the Scottish Parliament not being able to elect a first minister within 28 days, an election will be held.

After Ms Sturgeon announced her intention to step down, Mr Yousaf, Ms Forbes and Ms Regan, who have all been ministers in the outgoing first minister’s cabinet, entered the race for the top job.

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Nicola Sturgeon urged her successors to work together as a team and act with kindness

The leadership contest featured rows over religious beliefs, arguments about the recollection of past events, and widespread criticism of secrecy surrounding the vote.

The contest also led to a number of other resignations, including that of Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell as SNP chief executive.

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Sky’s Beth Rigby was joined by Nicola Sturgeon earlier this month

Mr Yousaf faces a number of difficult challenges as he takes office.

Key priorities will include defining a clear plan for independence, how to progress with the controversial gender recognition reforms, tackling the country’s drug-deaths shame, alleviating the cost of living crisis, and turning the NHS around.

Mr Yousaf said: “I feel like the luckiest man in the world to be standing here as leader of the SNP. A party I joined almost 20 years and that I love so dearly.”

Mr Yousaf recalled how his grandparents had moved from the Punjab to Scotland more than six decades ago

He said: “As immigrants to this country, who knew barely a word of English, they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that their grandson would one day be on the cusp of being the next first minister of Scotland.”

Prior to the leadership vote, Mr Yousaf said if elected as first minister he will be a leader for “all of Scotland”.

He added: “I will work every minute of every day to earn and re-earn your respect and your trust.

“I will do that by treating you, the people of Scotland, with respect.

“There will be no empty promises or easy soundbites when the issues in front of us are difficult and complex.

“Because government is not easy and I won’t pretend that it is.”

Humza Yousaf reacts as he is announced as the new Scottish National Party leader in Edinburgh, Britain March 27, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
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Ms Regan, Mr Yousaf and Ms Forbes on Monday. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Following her defeat, Ms Forbes congratulated her colleague.

She said: “I’ve been proud to share a platform with both him and Ash over the last five weeks, and I know we will continue to work together, to make the lives of all of Scotland’s people better on the next stage of our journey to independence.

“Whatever the robust disagreements or frank exchanges of the last few weeks, I am confident we will unite behind Humza as our new party leader in the shared and common objective of independence.

“Uniformity is not unity – we can debate and disagree well, and then work together. To end poverty. To speak up for the marginalised. To create better jobs. To serve our people.

“I wish Humza well as he does just that.”

Ms Sturgeon paid tribute to the three candidates.

She added: “Most of all I congratulate Humza Yousaf and wish him every success.

“He will be an outstanding leader and first minister and I could not be prouder to have him succeed me.”

Sir Keir Starmer also sent his congratulations.

He tweeted: “Congratulations to Humza Yousaf – the first first minister of an ethnic minority background is a significant moment for Scotland.”

But the Labour Party leader added: “The SNP do not have the answers on the NHS or on the cost of living crisis. Only Labour can provide the change that Scotland needs.”

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross also congratulated Mr Yousaf.

He added: “As the main opposition party, we will hold Humza Yousaf to account when he lets the Scottish people down.

“Unfortunately, we have serious concerns about his ability. For the good of Scotland, we hope he does not lurch from failure to failure as he did when he was Nicola Sturgeon’s health secretary, justice secretary and transport minister.

“Humza Yousaf’s election as leader shows that the SNP government are moving further and further away from the real priorities of the Scottish people to obsess over independence.

“The Scottish Conservatives will continue to focus on the issues that matter to people across the country, such as strengthening our economy, supporting our struggling NHS and helping families with the global cost of living crisis.”

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Jon Ruben remanded into custody on child cruelty charges after children fell ill at summer camp

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Jon Ruben remanded into custody on child cruelty charges after children fell ill at summer camp

A man has been remanded into custody charged with child cruelty offences after allegedly lacing sweets with sedatives.

Jon Ruben, 76, of Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday after youngsters fell ill at a summer camp in Stathern, Leicestershire.

He has been charged with three counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

The charges relate to three boys at the camp between 25-29 July.

A general view of the scene in Stathern, Leicestershire, after a 76-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of administering poison at a summ
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The scene in Stathern, Leicestershire. Pic: PA

Ruben spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.

Police received a report of children feeling unwell at a camp being held at Stathern Lodge, near Melton in Leicestershire, last Sunday.

Officers said paramedics attended the scene and eight boys – aged between eight and 11 – were taken to hospital as a precaution, as was an adult. They have since been discharged.

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Police said the “owners and operators of Stathern Lodge are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident”.

Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, after officers initially reported the incident as having happened on Monday, only to later amend it to Sunday.

It is still unclear when officers responded and whether that is why the watchdog referral has been made.

Ruben will next appear at Leicester Crown Court on 29 August.

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‘This shouldn’t have happened’: Bishop who interrupted church choir in dressing gown apologises

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'This shouldn't have happened': Bishop who interrupted church choir in dressing gown apologises

A bishop who interrupted a church concert in his dressing gown – and told singers to “leave his house” – has formally apologised to the choir.

Jonathan Baker was filmed standing barefoot at a microphone as he criticised performers for making a “terrible racket” at St Andrew’s Church in central London.

Addressing the City Academy Voices choir directly, the bishop of Fulham said: “I write to apologise for the distress and offence I caused in bringing the concert to a premature end.

“This should not have happened … I also apologise for remarks which were made in haste, and which have understandably caused hurt and distress.”

The bishop, in his dressing gown, gave the choir a dressing down
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The bishop, in his dressing gown, gave the choir a dressing down

Mr Baker had demanded for the performance to stop because it was 10pm – and says he didn’t realise the choir had booked the church until 11pm.

In the statement obtained by Sky News, he added: “I have lived here on site at St Andrew’s for 10 years, for much of which City Academy has rehearsed and performed here.

“You have been, and continue to be, welcome – and I hope that you will be able to continue the relationship with us.

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“I can give you every assurance that the events of Friday evening will not recur, and I apologise again to performers (especially those unable to perform at the end of the evening) and the audience alike.”

The choir performed their last song
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The choir performed their last song

The choir was performing to a 300-strong audience in Holborn when the lights were suddenly turned off, with Mr Baker declaring the concert was “over”.

A church employee then asked the crowd to leave quietly and for the musicians to step down from the stage, attracting boos from the audience.

The choir went on to perform one last song, an A cappella version of ABBA’s Dancing Queen, before bringing their show to a close.

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Bishop
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Jonathan Baker has apologised

One member of the audience, who was attending with his 10-year-old daughter, told Sky News he initially thought the interruption was a staged joke.

Benedict Collins had told Sky News: “This work deserves respect, not to be disparaged as a ‘terrible racket’. The people here had put their heart and soul into it.

“The bishop cut them off in midstream, preventing soloists who had worked their hardest from singing – and preventing the audience, which included people of all ages, from enjoying it to the end.”

The choir told Sky News it was “upsetting” that they were unable to finish their show as planned, but “hold no hard feelings and wish the bishop well”.

A spokesperson added: “If anyone is thinking of joining one of our choirs, the City Academy Voices rehearse on Mondays in central London. Dressing gowns optional.”

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X criticises Online Safety Act – and warns it’s putting free speech in the UK at risk

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X criticises Online Safety Act - and warns it's putting free speech in the UK at risk

The Online Safety Act is putting free speech at risk and needs significant adjustments, Elon Musk’s social network X has warned.

New rules that came into force last week require platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X – as well as sites hosting pornography – to bring in measures to prove that someone using them is over the age of 18.

The Online Safety Act requires sites to protect children and to remove illegal content, but critics have said that the rules have been implemented too broadly, resulting in the censorship of legal content.

X has warned the act’s laudable intentions were “at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach”.

It said: “When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of ‘online safety’.

“It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made.”

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What are the new online rules?

X claims the timetable for platforms to meet mandatory measures had been unnecessarily tight – and despite complying, sites still faced threats of enforcement and fines, “encouraging over-censorship”.

More on Online Safety Bill

“A balanced approach is the only way to protect individual liberties, encourage innovation and safeguard children. It’s safe to say that significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK,” it said.

A UK government spokesperson said it is “demonstrably false” that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech.

“As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression,” they added.

Users have complained about age checks that require personal data to be uploaded to access sites that show pornography, and 468,000 people have already signed a petition asking for the new law to be repealed.

In response to the petition, the government said it had “no plans” to reverse the Online Safety Act.

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Why do people want to repeal the Online Safety Act?

Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage likened the new rules to “state suppression of genuine free speech” and said his party would ditch the regulations.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday that those who wanted to overturn the act were “on the side of predators” – to which Mr Farage demanded an apology, calling Mr Kyle’s comments “absolutely disgusting”.

Regulator Ofcom said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into how four companies – that collectively run 34 pornography sites – are complying with new age-check requirements.

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These companies – 8579 LLC, AVS Group Ltd, Kick Online Entertainment S.A. and Trendio Ltd – run dozens of sites, and collectively have more than nine million unique monthly UK visitors, the internet watchdog said.

The regulator said it prioritised the companies based on the risk of harm posed by the services they operated and their user numbers.

It adds to the 11 investigations already in progress into 4chan, as well as an unnamed online suicide forum, seven file-sharing services, and two adult websites.

Ofcom said it expects to make further enforcement announcements in the coming months.

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