News

Five political prisoners will have their ‘godparenthood’ taken over by Scottish government ministers as part of an initiative to "amplify the voices" of those suffering human rights abuses in Belarus. The #WeStandBYyou campaign, organised by the human rights group Libereco, advocates for

A new two-part documentary series, Murder Trial: The Killing of Dr Brenda Page, focuses on the trial of one of Scotland’s most prolific unsolved murders and a family’s quest for justice. In July 1978, Dr Brenda Page, a 32-year-old leading scientist at Aberdeen University was brutally mur

Kirk Dailly has been appointed as head of the business services group at Blackadders LLP. As a partner at the firm and the existing head of Blackadders’ corporate and commercial team, he has extensive experience in the sector. He takes over from Campbell Clark, who continues as a partner and a

Dear Editor, All power to Alistair Bonnington’s elbow in suing TV Licensing. It would not surprise me if their argument was that there had been some unfortunate mistake, thus suggesting that Alistair’s experience is an exception.

A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of taping dead fish to more than a dozen ATMs over a two-month period. Police believe the 17-year-old is the prankster responsible for running an Instagram account named "fish_bandit84", which shared photos of the bizarre deeds with tens of thousands of foll

A new University of Dundee study could improve transparency and remove organisational bias from an increasingly important aspect of police and forensic scientific work. The CLARUS project has brought together organisations from across Europe to evaluate and improve how law enforcement and forensic s

Families who have lost loved ones to homicide have called on the Scottish government to grant anonymity to child victims of crime. In a letter signed by 65 people and released by Victim Support Scotland (VSS), signatories call on the government automatically grant anonymity to child victims.

Defence lawyers are preparing to boycott the pilot scheme for juryless rape trials. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) is to ballot members on the new proposal contained in the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Judges have ruled that Walkers must pay VAT on its mini poppadoms because they are really just crisps. The snack giant had argued that that its Sensations Poppadoms were not crisps and should not attract sales tax.

The recommendations of an independent group set up to advise on how Scotland’s museums and galleries can better reflect the country’s role in empire, colonialism, and historic slavery have been fully accepted by the Scottish government. Established following a motion in the Scottish Parl

A decision has been made to hold a fatal accident inquiry seven years after the death of baby Sophia Smith at the Royal Hospital for Children at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Campus, Glasgow. Crown Counsel have concluded, based on the available evidence, that there will be no criminal proc

Sophie Mills has been promoted to the new position of principal solicitor, governance and charities at the WS Society. Ms Mills will work with chief executive Robert Pirrie in assuming responsibility for the society’s administration and consultancy services to a portfolio of third-party charit

Former BBC Scotland lawyer Alistair Bonnington, 71, is suing TV licensing chiefs on the basis he was falsely accused of not paying for a licence. He said he was hounded with the threat of prosecution after moving to his new house, despite having a licence.

Stealing a dog or a cat is to become a specific criminal offence in the rest of the UK, despite the existence of the crime of theft. The Pet Abduction Bill, a private member's bill introduced at Westminster by Southend West MP Anna Firth and now formally backed by government ministers, proposes to c

Pop star Madonna is being sued by two concertgoers because she started her show two hours late. New York City men Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden bought tickets for Madonna's show last month. It was due to begin at 8:30 p.m., but Madonna did not take to the stage until after 10:45pm