News

New figures show that police recorded 48,564 shoplifting offences, up from 42,271 the previous year. David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said more had to be done to tackle the problem.

A man has been arrested for allegedly dressing up as his dead mother in order to claim her pension while hiding her mummified body at home. Police in the Italian city of Mantua have released photographs of Graziella Dall’Oglio and her 56-year-old son, who used a wig and makeup to steal her ide

The cost of public inquiries in Scotland has exceeded £250 million, with the bill rising by almost £30m in just nine months. Figures show that between 2007 and September 2025, the total bill for the cost of inquiries was £258.8m.

Sexual crimes were seven per cent higher compared to the year ending September 2024 (increasing from 14,651 to 15,704 crimes), and 12 per cent higher compared to the year ending September 2021 (increasing from 14,052 to 15,704 crimes), new figures from Scotland’s chief statistician show. In th

Legislation to correct an error in law for owners of unoccupied properties’ liability to pay non-domestic rates has been published. The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 devolved to councils the power to provide discounts to owners of unoccupied properties from 1 April 2023.

Newly reopened after an award-nominated refurbishment, The Auction Rooms at 22 Queen Street provides law firms with secure, high-end offices and in-house concierge within a Grade II listed townhouse — plus outstanding client and partner meeting space in Edinburgh’s most prestigious New T

The first discretionary fatal accident inquiry (FAI) in relation to the procurator fiscal’s ongoing investigation into Covid-related deaths has commenced with the lodging of a first notice into the death of Donald Singer.  Mr Singer, 66, a crane operator working offshore on the Ninian Sou

CMS has announced the appointment of Susie Lind, one of the UK’s leading figures within the renewable energy sector. She joins as an Edinburgh-based partner within the firm’s energy and infrastructure team. Ms Lind brings more than 20 years’ experience within the sector operating i

Justice Secretary David Lammy is considering major curbs on the ancient right to be tried by a jury, with proposals to guarantee it only for defendants facing charges such as rape, murder, manslaughter or other offences meeting a public-interest threshold. A leaked internal briefing prepared by the

Landlords need to be aware of the potential future impact of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, according to property firm DJ Alexander Ltd. The firm is concerned that many landlords may not appreciate the significance of the changes outlined in the Act, which has now received its royal assent.

World-leading security experts have been forced to re-run an election after being locked out of their own ultra-secure system. The International Association of Cryptologic Research (IACR) announced on Friday that it could not access the results of its annual committee elections.

Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, is under criminal investigation for Holocaust denial. Public prosecutors in Paris launched an investigation after Grok appeared to verify false claims made on X by a French neo-Nazi previously convicted of Holocaust denial offences.

Concentrated ownership, absentee landlords and a lack of transparency in how land is managed are some of the concerns the public has over land in Scotland according to a new report, published by the Scottish Land Commission.  Developed through the ScotLand Futures initiative, the report reflect

Survivors who escaped El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur State have told Amnesty International how fighters with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) executed scores of unarmed men and raped dozens of women and girls as they captured the city. Amnesty International researchers interviewed survivors w

US legislation making strangulation a serious criminal offence has been linked to reduced intimate partner homicide rates, with 14 per cent fewer women killed and 27 per cent fewer male victims in the 18-49 age group. Strangulation statutes are a relatively recent development in criminal justice, wi