Woman charged over crash that killed three men near Falkirk
Families of the men involved paid tributes to the emergency services after their death.The crash was the first in a series of fatal incidents on Scotland's roads which claimed a total of eight lives in one weekend.
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The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ex-teacher found guilty of historical abuse of boys at Edinburgh Academy
A former teacher has been found guilty of 26 historical offences of sexual and physical assault against boys at one of Scotland's best-known private schools. A judge sitting at Edinburgh sheriff court ruled on Monday that John Young, known widely as Jake Young, deliberately and gratuitously assaulted boys as young as 10 while he was head of physical education at Edinburgh Academy. Sheriff Iain Nicol said in one case Young, now 91 and a former international rugby referee, carried out a 'harrowing' assault on a boy whom he repeatedly kicked and punched while the child was recovering from a spinal injury. The boy, who was 12 and walked with a visible limp because of the injury, pleaded with Young during a PE class that he was unable to pick up some weights as ordered, prompting Young to lash out at his head and kick him, causing 'substantial pain'. Young's assaults, which took place between 1966 and 1993, included twisting and squeezing boys' genitals, striking them with a cricket bat, a wooden implement or a clipboard, and looking at their genitalia under their shorts. Despite the guilty verdicts, Young will not face punishment because he was found too ill and infirm to stand trial. He is close to death, the sheriff said, so could not appear in court or mount a defence. Scotland's court service agreed instead to hold an examination of the facts hearing, a rare process in criminal cases where the allegations are made without a jury present for the judge to weigh up. The courts used the same process last year to find another former Edinburgh Academy master, John Brownlee, guilty of more than 30 assaults against boys at the school without a formal trial. The cases have come to light during a public inquiry into systematic abuse in Scottish schools and care homes, leading to a flood of compensation cases. Brownlee's 'sadistic' violence, often against pre-pubescent boys he was supposed to care for in a school boarding house, took place during the same decades as Young's assaults. Four of the 24 complainants in the Young case, who are all now adult men, were also among Brownlee's victims. Nicol cleared Young of 28 charges, mainly breaches of the peace and indecent assaults where the former master was accused in court of 'perving' on young boys by routinely watching them showering. The sheriff ruled there was strong evidence Young often did so to ensure the boys were showering and changing quickly to ensure they reached their next classes on time. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion A spokesperson for Young's victims said the verdict would provide some comfort. Many were not believed at the time. The decision to hear the case had confirmed 'the significant passage of time is no barrier in holding those guilty to account', they said. The case had shown that Young 'committed acts of cruelty and to have physically and mentally terrified many boys that he was entrusted to look after. 'The fact that numerous men came forward, many decades later, shows the severity and lifelong impact that childhood abuse has had throughout their lives, with many waiting over 50 years for justice to be served.'
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Activists at women's rights rally at Glasgow University are refused service at the student union bar 'over their opinions and beliefs' and signs 'that make staff feel unsafe'
A group of women's rights activists were refused service and kicked out of a student union bar they had booked 'over their opinions and beliefs'. Let Women Speak (LWS) had booked a private room at Glasgow University Union (GUU) where they planned to hold a social after their rally on Sunday. LWS had gathered outside Glasgow University holding banners with slogans such as 'Terf Island' and 'we are all Sandie Peggie' - a reference to the NHS Fife nurse who was suspended after objecting to a transgender doctor using the women's changing rooms. Campaign leader and gender-critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, said the male manager told them he was closing the bar because the women's 'beliefs and opinions could constitute harassment toward their staff and make them feel unsafe'. Ms Keen said the women's right group had put some of their handmade banners up on the wall but were asked to take them down. In particular, the manager said one that read 'I'm not a vet, but I know what a dog is' was particularly offensive. However, when Ms Keen asked why, he apparently refused to give a clear reason and instead said: 'It's just one of those things where we are not going to get into specifics.' 'If you're going to tell us that we're doing something wrong and tell us how to behave, then you are going to have to tell us what the specifics of that are,' Ms Keen told Daily Mail. She claims other members of staff 'broke GDPR laws' when they began filming the women during the interaction. The group eventually agreed to take the banner down and a couple of others which contained swear words but refused to remove the rest. When she asked the manager what he was going to do next, he said he would close the bar. Ms Keen said she agreed to take down a few more of the banners but the manager got 'flustered' and said he would still be shutting the bar. Some women from LWS tried to order drinks at the bar downstairs instead but were again refused service. The manager then came back and asked the group - who had paid a £150 deposit - to leave, claiming members had been 'aggressive' and were 'harassing' staff, which Ms Keen said is '100 per cent not true'. 'Now, I'm obviously not everywhere at all times, but I'm 99 per cent positive that beyond someone saying, "Why aren't you serving us? This is against the Equality Act. You're discriminating against us." I don't think that anyone was harassed,' she added. The women's right activist said the manager did not point out anyone specifically and believes his claims were a 'fabrication' which he 'used' to 'justify' asking them to leave. When asked about getting a refund for the £150 deposit they had paid, the manager told them he would 'try' to get it reimbursed. Ms Keen called the police to report the alleged 'discrimination' and said one of the officers who turned up told her the GUU may have refused their booking had they informed them it was a women's rights event. 'It wasn't a rally, it wasn't a protest, there weren't speeches. I just said to the officer, "do you really want to say that?". It's just so preposterous,' she said. Ms Keen is 'used' to incidents like this and thinks it 'just proves' she is right, but it was more distressing for other members who were newer or not as seasoned. She said: 'I think for some of them, it's the first time it's happened to them, and certainly for the young woman who booked the venue. She felt weird. She was very distressed. 'You know you paid a deposit for that venue and food is being arranged at the ticketed event, then you realise that you actually don't have the right to do that and people are quite happy to go against your rights in order to prevent you from from having.' 'You know, it's demented that we're now in an age where, someone like that, an officious little man feels that he has the power, and he did, to completely ruin our night.' She now plans to sue Glasgow University Union for 'indirect and direct discrimination'. 'I'm just constructing a bit of a letter this morning for subject access request and also comparing their code of conduct with actually what happened and how they didn't adhere to their own code of conduct,' Ms Keen said. She believes a counter-protest group who had turned up to their rally earlier in the day had put in a complaint and claims they had posted a video of the group on Instagram and tagged the union. The activist added: 'They're little authoritarians some of these kids. They think they can just stop you saying things they don't like. 'What if the staff had Palestine badges on and some guests had the Star of David around the necks? Where does this end?'
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Former Edinburgh Academy teacher abused boys for 27 years
A court has concluded that a former PE teacher at a private school in Edinburgh abused more than a dozen of his pupils over a 27-year Young, known as Jake, used excessive corporal punishment and behaved indecently towards some of the boys at Edinburgh said the 91-year-old was not fit to stand trial so instead a sheriff at Edinburgh Sheriff Court examined the facts in his judge decided it was beyond reasonable doubt that Young had carried out 26 of the 54 charges brought against him but due to his health no further action will be taken. Young was the only PE teacher at Edinburgh Academy's upper school and taught thousands of boys between 1966 and was found to have physically assaulted some pupils when he was punishing them. This included throwing a basketball at a boy's head, slapping another across the head with a clipboard and using a cricket bat to hit several boys across the was also found guilty of being cruel by making a boy take part in a PE class while he was former pupils described a pattern of him picking on those who were not good at sport. He either physically hit them for poor performance or mocked their bodies in the changing court heard how Young was a strict teacher who enforced the school rules. One of the rules was that underwear should not be worn under your gym PE teacher would line the class up and ask them to hold the waist band of their shorts out so he could check they were naked underneath. Claims of abuse have been made against 20 members of teaching staff at the private boys school, spanning between 1954 and BBC presenter Nicky Campbell is among former pupils who have spoken of the cruel treatment they suffered during their time at the school. In 2023, Edinburgh Academy issued an apology for the "brutal and unrestrained" violence and admitted "serious sexual abuse was widespread" at the school.A spokesperson for the Edinburgh Academy survivors group said: "This will now provide some comfort for all those boys, some as young as 10 years old and many of whom were never believed by anyone at the time."This examination of facts has shown that Mr Young committed acts of cruelty and to have physically and mentally terrified many boys that he was entrusted to look after during his 27-year tenure at the school."His violent, emotional, and libidinous acts are now a matter of public record."The sheriff concluded that given Young's age and health there would be no further action said that placing Young on the sex offenders register at this stage would serve no practical purpose.
