What we learned this week….
HUMZA Yousaf has endured the equivalent of a honeymoon with the Borgias and the new First Minister’s fortunes didn’t improve during another week of drama.
On Tuesday – the same day Mr Yousaf presented his priorities for the Scottish Government which included delays to the controversial deposit return scheme, a ban on alcohol advertising and national care service plans – the SNP’s treasurer, Colin Beattie was arrested by police investigating the party’s finances, then released without charge.
There was no sign at Holyrood of former FM, Nicola Sturgeon, who said she was working remotely, but that didn’t stop opponents from calling for her to be suspended while the police probe continued, even as a leaked video emerged of her telling party members in 2021 that the organisation’s finances were “fine”.
PM faces rules inquiry
MEANWHILE, in London, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had problems of his own after it emerged he faces a probe under the parliamentary rulebook because he didn’t mention his wife’s shares in a childcare firm during a hearing in Parliament.
No wonder Armando Iannucci stopped writing the political satire The Thick of It.
THERE were further woes for Sunak when the deputy PM quit on Friday. Having to leave a job is never good but the cause of Dominic Raab’s departure is fairly shocking.
He resigned after an an inquiry found he acted in an intimidating and aggressive way
with officials. The probe found the behaviour could have amounted to bullying.
A royal visit
A FACILITY “of international significance” was opened with a regal flourish on Inverness Campus by the Princess Royal and could bring new jobs to the Highlands.
The £9.5million initiative is a collaboration between Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the University of the Highlands and Islands.
It’s hoped the centre will attract more life science companies to the region and encourage collaboration between academic researchers, industry and the health sector.
New look for RACH waiting room
DRAGONS, castles and colourful fish now adorn an Aberdeen children’s hospital after the Archie Foundation unveiled a new mural decorating the walls of the outpatient unit in the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
Renowned Aberdeenshire illustrator Johanna Basford, was tasked with transforming the waiting room and children and their parents quickly voiced their approval.
THERE was colour of a different kind when two Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted the proceedings at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield before one of them transformed the green baize into a bright orange facade as he stood on top of the table.
Aficionados of the game wondered how hot-headed Alex “Hurricane” Higgins might have reacted if this had happened during his career at the Crucible. Suffice to conclude the balls wouldn’t have been the only red thing on the premises.
Red card woes
ABERDEEN captain Graeme Shinnie will miss his side’s match against Rangers tomorrow after the Dons lost their appeal over his contentious red card at Ross County.
Pittodrie boss Barry Robson believed it was a harsh decision and the club backed the manager. However, the SFA’s judicial panel protocol sparked fury when they not only upheld the original verdict, but handed Shinnie a four-match ban, which will lead to the influential player sitting out a crucial part of the season.
Aberdeen subsequently responded with a furious volley of their own. Just the usual fun and games in the nation’s favourite sport.
A LEADING Scottish ultra-marathon runner was disqualified from an event after it was discovered she had used a car during part of the route.
Joasia Zakrzewski finished third in the GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 50-mile race – but officials later found out she had travelled by car for 2.5 miles.
The 47-year-old GP, from Dumfries was tracked on GPX mapping data covering a mile in just one minute and 40 seconds. She apologised, but is now under investigation.
KATE Bush’s Running Up That Hill is among the contenders to win a prestigious songwriting award, a little matter of 38 years after it was originally released.
The singer’s 1985 hit burst back into the public gaze last summer after appearing in the Netflix show Stranger Things, which gave Bush her first top 10 hit in the US.
It has now been shortlisted in the “most performed song” category at the Ivor Novello Awards, which celebrate outstanding writing and composition, and Bush will face competition from the likes of Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran.
Contest with a difference
A CHILDREN’S cat-hunting competition – yes, you read that correctly – in New Zealand was cancelled, following a furious backlash to the event.
Organisers of an annual hunt in North Canterbury were castigated after they announced a new category for children to slaughter feral cats for a prize of around £125.
The event drew immediate condemnation from animal welfare groups. And Downing Street feline, Larry, responded: “WTF New Zealand?! I thought you guys were cool?”
WTF New Zealand?! I thought you guys were cool? https://t.co/fycR67WJ6v
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) April 19, 2023
