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Scotland’s new first minister is set to be announced today.

Nicola Sturgeon’s shock resignation sparked an explosive leadership contest with rows over religious beliefs, arguments about the recollection of past events, and widespread criticism of secrecy surrounding the vote.

The contest has 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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Scottish National Party leadership election
(left to right) SNP leadership candidates Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes taking part in the SNP leadership debate in Inverness. Picture date: Friday March 17, 2023.
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Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes at a leadership debate in Inverness earlier this month

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former community safety minister Ash Regan are all in the running for the top job.

Whoever becomes the new SNP leader and first minister will face a number of difficult challenges as they take office.

Here are five of the key priorities that are expected to be at the top of their agenda.

Scottish independence supporters march through Glasgow during an All Under One Banner march. Picture date: Saturday May 14, 2022.
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Scottish independence supporters at an All Under One Banner march in Glasgow last year

Defining a clear plan for independence

The campaign for Scottish independence did not stop following the results of the 2014 referendum.

The SNP leadership candidates each believe they can lead Scotland to independence but are yet to define a clear route to indyref2.

A special conference due to be held earlier this month to discuss plans was postponed following Ms Sturgeon’s resignation.

Ms Sturgeon’s preference was to treat the next general election, which will be held no later than 24 January 2025, as a de facto referendum.

The new leader will not be obligated to follow the same course and an alternative could be to treat the next Holyrood election, due in 2026, as a de facto referendum.

However, the UK government refuses to consent to a second referendum and the UK Supreme Court last year ruled that the Scottish parliament cannot legislate for another vote without Westminster approval.

Independence supporters will be keen to hear what the new first minister’s plans are to overcome the block, while those who wish to remain part of the UK will be hoping for another decade of fruitless campaigning.

People take part in a demonstration for trans rights outside the UK Government Office at Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh. The UK Government made the decision on Monday to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, passed by the Scottish Government in December, to prevent it obtaining Royal Assent and becoming law. Picture date: Thursday January 19, 2023.
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Protesters took to the streets after the UK government blocked the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

How to progress with gender recognition reforms

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill has been a contentious issue within the SNP.

In October last year, Ms Regan quit as community safety minister shortly before MSPs began debating the first stage of the bill. A total of seven SNP MSPs broke the whip to vote against the bill, which would make it easier for trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate.

It then became a constitutional dispute in January when the UK government took the unprecedented step of using section 35 of the Scotland Act to block the bill from receiving royal assent and becoming law.

The new first minister may wish to challenge the intervention in court. The bill could also be dropped altogether or amended to satisfy the UK government.

Mr Yousaf has stated it would be “responsible” to drop a potential legal challenge if the lord advocate believed the Scottish government would lose.

Ms Regan believes any court challenge would fail, while Ms Forbes has previously pledged to amend the legislation to ensure it cannot be blocked again.

Whatever the decision, there will be displeasure from certain camps and allies of the party.

Peter Krykant lays a wreath depicting 1935 the number of overdose deaths in Scotland during a ceremony to mark International Overdose Awareness Day outside the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh. Picture date: Tuesday August 31, 2021.
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Campaigner Peter Krykant laying a wreath outside the Scottish parliament to mark International Overdose Awareness Day in 2021

Tackling Scotland’s drug deaths shame

Drug misuse continues to blight Scotland’s neighbourhoods.

Official data released last year showed there were 1,330 deaths in 2021 due to drug misuse.

It was the first time in eight years the figure had decreased, but Scotland continues to have the highest drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe.

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

The Scottish government has been attempting to increase access to rehabilitation and support for problematic drug use, including opening two family rehab centres.

An additional £250m has also been invested to tackle the “drug deaths emergency”.

Read more:
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SNP has lost around 30,000 party members since 2021
Does hunger for independence remain in Scotland’s ‘Yes’ towns and cities?

In Full: Watch the SNP Leadership Debate

The new first minister is being called to back the Scottish Conservatives’ Right to Recovery Bill and see it through parliament.

The proposed legislation would enshrine in law the right of those struggling with addiction to access their preferred method of treatment, unless ruled harmful by a clinician.

Wendy Duncan spoke to Sky News about her views on Scottish independence
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Wendy Duncan said Scotland is an ‘EU leader when it comes to drug deaths’

When Sky News visited Scotland’s “Yes” towns and cities to see if the hunger for indyref2 remained, one woman said tackling drug-related deaths should be high on the agenda.

Wendy Duncan, 80, told us that the campaign for independence was a “waste of money and a waste of time”.

She added: “We’re an EU leader when it comes to drug deaths. It’s a scandal and the government should be concentrating on those types of things in Scotland.”

File photo dated 09/04/18 of money and a Scottish purse. Just 13% of Scots believe their community is equipped to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, a new poll has found. The poll, commissioned by Places for People Scotland between February 3 and 6, found that 56% of the 1,199 respondents to the ScotPulse survey did not think their community was thriving. Of these, more than a third (35%) said that a lack of good quality housing was what resulted in their communities not thriving. Issue date:
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One woman told Sky News that ‘everything is going up in price, except wages’. File pic

Alleviating the cost of living crisis

The country barely emerged from the COVID pandemic before it plunged into a cost of living crisis.

Households are having to spend more on food and general bills and have seen their energy costs soar.

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Inflation takes surprise leap with food and booze costs to blame

Businesses have also been hit. The chip shop industry is just one of many that has been battered recently with the price of fish, cooking oil and energy skyrocketing.

As one Glasgow woman told Sky News: “Everything is going up in price, except wages. The new first minister should make sure the minimum wage goes up.”

Jean Whyte spoke to Sky News about her views on Scottish independence
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Jean Whyte said she fears for those living off benefits and those not in work

In Dundee, Jean Whyte, 66, said she fears for those living off benefits and those not in work.

Ms Whyte said: “[My partner and I] are lucky that we have a wee bit of money behind us. But we used to donate to a food bank every two weeks – that’s now once a month or every six weeks.

“I have heard that a lot of people who used to donate to food banks are now using them.”

Clinical staff and nurses make final preparations during the completion of the construction of the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital, built at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, to care for coronavirus patients.
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Although a pay deal has been accepted, union bosses say this ‘will not solve’ the NHS Scotland staffing crisis

Turning the NHS around

Scotland’s NHS is yet to recover from an extremely difficult winter which saw A&E waiting times reach record levels.

Although A&E performance has improved since the start of the year, key treatment time targets were again missed earlier this month.

NHS 24 staffing has been increased to help cope with the demand and up to £8m is being provided to health boards to alleviate pressure from delayed discharge.

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Scotland is in the grip of an NHS crisis

Unison, GMB and Royal College of Nursing members recently accepted the Scottish government’s pay offer, but union bosses have warned the deal “does nothing to solve” the NHS Scotland staffing crisis.

Patients are said to be “waiting too long for routine operations” and staff are working under “unacceptably stressful conditions”.

Margaret McGuire and Catherine McGroggan speak to Sky News about their views on Scottish independence
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Margaret Maguire and Catherine McGroggan said Scotland was ‘suffering’

In West Dunbartonshire, Margaret Maguire and Catherine McGroggan told Sky News that the country was “suffering”.

Ms McGroggan, 73, claimed the Scottish government continues to blame a lot of the NHS’s struggles on the pandemic.

She stated: “That was two years ago, and people are still struggling to get an appointment with a doctor. I’m not online so how is someone on the phone supposed to see my hands if I’ve got an issue with them?”

Ms Maguire, 75, added: “They are playing on the pandemic too much.”

Other issues that will be high up on the agenda

  • The bottle deposit return scheme
  • The dualling of the A9
  • The future of Scotland’s oil and gas industry
  • The National Care Service
  • Lowering the poverty-related attainment gap in schools

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With all eyes on who becomes the new leader of Scotland, improving results in these key areas will be a crucial challenge for the next first minister.

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Lucy Hargreaves was shot dead in 2005 – her home set on fire. A suspect in her murder is still at large

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Lucy Hargreaves was shot dead in 2005 - her home set on fire. A suspect in her murder is still at large

Britain’s most-wanted fugitive is still on the run – exactly 20 years after the fatal shooting of a young mother of three.

Kevin Parle is a suspect in the murder of Lucy Hargreaves, 22, who was shot dead at her home in Liverpool before the house was set on fire on 3 August 2005.

Since then, after many appeals for information, there has been no confirmed sighting, word or trace of him.

Two decades on, Ms Hargreaves’ family have had no justice. Two young men prosecuted for her murder had charges dropped when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence against them.

In a statement marking the anniversary of her death, they said: “The way we lost Lucy is not something families can ever truly come to terms with – it is still incredibly difficult and painful to think about.

“Over the past 20 years, people will have talked with family and friends. A number of people were contacted by males using a phone that was stolen along with a vehicle used in Lucy’s murder.

“We appeal directly to them to please come forward. Now is the time.”

Kevin Parle age progression prediction pics
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Police prediction of how Kevin Parle has aged since 2005. Pic: Merseyside Police

Three men burst into Lucy’s home 20 years ago today, shot her dead as she slept on a sofa, and set alight the duvet she’d been sleeping under.

It’s believed the gang were looking for her boyfriend Gary Campbell, who was upstairs. He fled from a window with their two-year-old daughter and then tried in vain to save Ms Hargreaves.

Mr Campbell had allegedly been a passenger in a stolen car that had hit and killed a young boy 12 years earlier, supposedly the motive for the shooting. He denied he was in the car at the time.

Lucy Hargreaves with her three children
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Ms Hargreaves with her three children

Howard Rubbery, head of the Serious Crime Review Unit at Merseyside Police said: “The family remain absolutely devastated by Lucy’s death.

“It’s important to note Lucy is an absolutely innocent victim. She’s not from a family of criminality. She wasn’t involved in criminality.

“The hunt for Kevin Parle is very much on, and we ask anybody with information, anybody who is close to Parle and knows where he is, to please come forward.

“There were three males responsible for this offence and we are looking for justice for Lucy’s family in relation to all three.

“I do believe that there are people out there who have yet to speak to the police, even though it’s 20 years on, who hold information that’s absolutely vital to our investigation.”

Police believe Parle, now in his 40s, fled to Spain where he hid among the vast expat community with criminal help.

Several years later, I tracked his movements to a holiday complex near Torrevieja, where staff convinced me he had stayed there for several weeks.

Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley
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Former detective Peter Bleksley says Parle is being protected

‘Huge value to organised crime’

Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley, who recently spent four years on a personal hunt for Parle, also visited the complex and said: “He was bold and he was brash and he had a girlfriend at one point.

“The police actually should have captured him there, but they were too late.”

He claimed he nearly caught up with Parle at a villa elsewhere in Spain, but spooked him into disappearing again.

Mr Bleksley hosted an award-winning podcast and wrote a book in which he chronicled his manhunt.

He said: “Kevin Parle has remained hidden because he is funded, protected, looked after and of huge value to global, serious and organised crime.”

Parle can’t be hard to spot – he’s well-built, 6ft 5in tall, red-haired with a face scar and, originally at least, has a Liverpool accent. Of course, he might be dead.

Mr Bleksley said: “I can think of many reasons why certain criminals would want to get rid of Kevin Parle because he could, in terms of evidence about the cases that he’s wanted for, should he flip and become a witness for the Crown, be highly damaging for a lot of very tasty criminals.”

16-year-old Liam Kelly
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16-year-old Liam Kelly was shot dead a year before Ms Hargreaves. Pic: Merseyside Police

Parle is also wanted in connection with the murder of 16-year-old Liam Kelly, who was shot dead over an alleged £200 debt in June 2004, a year before Lucy’s death. Parle was arrested and questioned, but then freed on bail.

There have been reports of the fugitive in Australia and Dubai, but nothing to corroborate any of them.

If he’s alive and if no one is prepared to shop him, what might lead to his capture?

“I think when he has a fallout with those who have guarded him, funded him, fed him, put a roof over his head and all of that, maybe even paid for his plastic surgery that could have altered his appearance,” Mr Bleksley said.

“When he finally has a fallout, when he’s no longer of use, then perhaps that will be the day that somebody goes, Peter, he’s here.”

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Rival groups face off outside migrant hotel – as asylum seekers ‘blow kisses’ at protesters

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Rival groups face off outside migrant hotel - as asylum seekers 'blow kisses' at protesters

Several demonstrators have been detained after rival groups faced off over a hotel accommodating asylum seekers in north London, with police breaking up brief clashes.

The Metropolitan Police has since imposed conditions on the protest and counter-protest outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington.

The protest was organised by local residents under the banner “Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no”.

The group of several hundred people waved union flags and banners, and one man chanted: “Get these scum off our streets.”

Anti-immigration protesters outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in central London, which houses asylum seekers. Pic: PA
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Anti-immigration protesters waved Union Jack flags. Pic: PA

A larger group staged a counter demonstration to voice support for asylum seekers, bearing a banner that read: “Refugees are welcome.”

People inside the hotel, believed to be migrants, watched on, with some waving and blowing kisses from the windows.

More on Migrant Crossings

People believed to be asylum seekers waved from the windows of Thistle City Barbican Hotel. Pic: PA
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People believed to be asylum seekers waved the hotel windows. Pic: PA

Pro-immigration protesters gather outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in central London, which houses asylum seekers. Pic: PA
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Pro-immigration protesters gathered by the Thistle City Barbican Hotel. Pic: PA

A man wearing an England football shirt was detained by police after getting into an altercation with officers.

There have been nine arrests so far, seven of which were for breaching conditions police put on the protests under the Public Order Act.

Rival groups separated by police

Another protest was scheduled in Newcastle on Saturday, outside The New Bridge Hotel, as anti-migrant sentiment ripples through some communities around the country, also flaring up recently in Epping.

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Last week: Protesters divided over migrant hotels

The counter-protest in London was organised by local branches of Stand Up To Racism, and supported by former Labour leader and Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn.

Other community groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party were also involved.

Groups online that backed the original protest include “Patriots of Britain” and “Together for the Children”.

At one point, a large group of masked protesters dressed in black, calling themselves anti-fascists, appeared from a side street and marched towards the rival group outside the hotel.

The two groups briefly clashed before police rushed in to separate them.

Masked protesters gather outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in central London, which houses asylum seekers. Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Supporters of local protest group "Thistle Barbican needs to go - locals say no" gathering outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel. Pic: PA
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Supporters of local protest group ‘Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no’. Pic: PA

Why are asylum hotels used?

The government is legally required to provide accommodation and subsistence to destitute asylum seekers while their claims are being decided, most of whom are prohibited from working.

A jump in the use of hotels since 2020 has been attributed to the impacts of the COVID pandemic, a backlog in unresolved asylum cases, and an increase in the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

However, the number of asylum seekers living in hotels has fallen recently, from 38,079 at the end of 2024 to 32,345 at the end of March 2025, according to the Refugee Council.

How police tried to keep groups apart

The police imposed conditions on both groups in London to prevent “serious disorder” and minimise disruption to the community.

Those in the anti-asylum hotel protest were told to remain within King Charles Square, and to gather not before 1pm and wrap up by 4pm.

Those in the counter-protest were to required to stay in an area in Lever Street, and assemble only between 12pm and 4pm, but were still in eye and ear shot of the other group.

Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, in charge of the policing operation, said: “We have been in discussions with the organisers of both protests in recent days, building on the ongoing engagement between local officers, community groups and partners.

“We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides.

“Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely, but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.”

Meanwhile, the protest in Newcastle was promoted by online posts saying it was “for our children, for our future”.

The “stop the far right and fascists in Newcastle” counter-protest was organised by Stand Up To Racism at the nearby Laing Art Gallery.

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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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