National News

The two frontrunners to replace Nicola Sturgeon, and the First Minister herself, have said the SNP leadership contest does not have to be restarted. Calls had been made to restart the process after the resignation of chief executive Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, at the weekend, following a row over the party’s membership numbers. Speaking at an event hosted by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (RSA)

A headteacher is planning to refuse Ofsted inspectors entry to her school after the death of fellow school leader Ruth Perry. Ms Perry, who was head at Caversham Primary School in Reading, killed herself in January while waiting for an Ofsted report which gave her school the lowest possible rating, her family said. Flora Cooper, executive headteacher of the John Rankin Schools in nearby Newbury, Berkshire, tweeted on Monday: “I’ve

Sir David Attenborough has planted an oak tree in honour of the late Queen to officially open a new Platinum Jubilee woodland in Richmond Park. The famed naturalist and TV presenter, 96, described Elizabeth II as a “great lover of trees” and “very fond” of the Royal Parks, and said the new wood was a fitting tribute to her memory. He shared a strong rapport with the late monarch and

Boris Johnson’s legal team has handed over to MPs his defence dossier seeking to rebut allegations he lied to Parliament with his partygate denials. Sources close to the former prime minister urged the Privileges Committee to make the evidence public “as soon as possible” ahead of his televised questioning on Wednesday. Mr Johnson’s written evidence is key to his political future because a finding that he committed a contempt of

Arsenal and Chelsea are both involved as the Women’s Champions League resumes this week with the quarter-final first legs. Arsenal take on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday and Chelsea play Lyon at Groupama Stadium 24 hours later, with the other ties seeing Roma meet Barcelona and Paris St Germain tackle Wolfsburg. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points ahead of

Gino D’Acampo has announced he has quit his popular road trip show with Gordon Ramsay and Fred Sirieix amid “stressful” contract discussions. The Italian celebrity chef, 46, said he would rather step back from the ITV show, Gordon, Gino And Fred: Road Trip, than affect his friendship with his co-stars as he values it “so much”. The food show sees the trio cook and try local cuisines as they travel

Scotland’s First Minister has told how she attended a memorial service while still having a miscarriage. Nicola Sturgeon has been open about her baby loss experience in the past, but provided more detail in an interview on the ITV show Loose Women. Speaking to the hosts, the First Minister was asked how she could deal with such a traumatic experience and continue being a politician. “If you go online and

The pair claimed last year that they have a 'no-limits friendship' Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court (ICC) charged him with war crimes in Ukraine. Mr Xi’s government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish. Mr Xi and Mr Putin declared they had a “no-limits friendship” before the February 2022

The average price tag on a home has jumped by nearly £3,000 in March, driven by asking price increases for bigger properties, according to a property website. Across Britain, the typical price of a property coming on the market increased by £2,906 or 0.8%, compared with a month earlier, Rightmove said. This was mainly due to a 1.2% or £7,947 average jump in asking prices in the largest homes sector,