
Civil servants using work laptops to watch porn and place bets
Civil servants working from home have used their official laptops to visit pornography and gambling sites.
In the past six months at least 16 attempts were made to view pornography or visit bookmakers online using devices funded by Scottish taxpayers, records show.
The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives under freedom of information law and first reported by the Scottish Mail on Sunday.
Since November, there have been six attempts to access Pornhub, six for Betfair and four for Paddy Power on Scottish government devices. Officials said Netflix use was so prolific that discovering how many times it had been viewed would not be cost-effective.
The revelations come after Michael Matheson, then an SNP minister, chalked up an £11,000 bill on his
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BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Lockerbie: Remembering the victims of Flight 103
Almost 40 years on, it seems surprising there are still new stories to tell about the Lockerbie destruction of Pan Am 103 in the skies above the small Dumfries and Galloway town on 21 December 1988 is one of the most chronicled events in recent British history.A bomb exploded in the plane's cargo hold, causing the Boeing 747 to break up at 31,000ft as it flew from Heathrow to New 259 passengers and crew on board were killed, along with 11 people in Lockerbie who died when the plane fell on their homes. It remains the biggest terror attack to have taken place on British tends to focus on anniversaries, but the past six months have brought two big-budget television dramas and later this year a play about the town's response to the disaster will debut at Glasgow's Citizens a BBC Scotland documentary aims to tell some of the less well-known stories about those who died on the flight, and about those they left behind. Among the victims on the plane was Tim Burman, a 24-year-old banker who was flying to New York to spend Christmas with his girlfriend, Rose was the youngest of four and the only boy. His three sisters - Rachel, Tanya and Fiona - remember him as an "arty, sporty" brother who was keen on the environment and loved running in the Scottish says: "He genuinely was easy-going and fun, really good fun".Rose, who Tim met while he was on a gap year in Australia, says: "I enjoyed his sense of humour, his style, sense of adventure, ability to get on with everyone. They all mourn his lost potential. His sister Tanya says: "He's both the brother we had, but also a victim of Pan Am 103."Rose believes Tim and his death created a huge bond between them all."Tim is everywhere in the conversation and the mannerisms of Rachel, Tanya and Fiona," she says. "Our connection is held together by him still." Olive Gordon was 25 and a hairdresser from Birmingham. She had bought a last-minute ticket on Pan Am 103 and was planning on enjoying some shopping in New York in the run up to Christmas."She was just yapping. She said 'I'm going to America tomorrow. Going to buy stuff'. She loved shopping," her sister Donna describes Olive as "very bubbly, very full on. You just would not forget her if you knew her".Olive was one of nine siblings. "I have always asked 'why her? why my sister?'" her brother Colyn says. "And it's something that you sort of battle with. And I'm still battling with it, a little bit. Well, not a little bit, a lot."Her family believe she would have been in business now, something involving hair and beauty."She would probably be an influencer right now," Donna says. William MacAllister, known as Billy, was a 26-year-old professional golfer from Mull. He was heading to the USA for a romantic break with his girlfriend friends say Terri was hoping Billy was about to golf pro Stewart Smith worked with Billy at a course in London and remembers his friend as a natural comic with a zest for life."He was a very funny guy. Great sense of humour, great sense of fun," he says."He had moved to Richmond Park, so I went across and worked with Billy. Imagine living in London in the mid-80s when you're mid-20s, both of you."We had some great times."Back in Mull, family friends have put a memorial bench on the course at Tobermory, where they say Billy played every day after school and every weekend from the age of 12. They remember him as "some guy".Family friend Olive Brown says: "Every December I do have a wee sad moment, thinking he's not here. All that potential, enthusiasm and ability got caught short." Colyn and other members of Olive Gordon's family visited Lockerbie in the days after the disaster. It was a shocking scene."I remember the crater, this huge hole, and these little bits all over the place. It just had this smell. My God, my sister was found here. Somewhere here," he says. In the weeks that followed, members of the local community came together to wash, press and package up the belongings of those who had died on the plane. The Lockerbie laundry has become a symbol of the kindness shown by the people of the town. They treated the dead and their families with love and care while coping with their own immeasurable says: "Just thinking about it now makes me emotional. Because these people, they don't know you, they've never met you. But the way they treated you is as if they were family."The people of Lockerbie showed how humanity works. How to display compassion, to display love. I'll never forget them."I don't know if it's quite macabre to say this but I've always said I am glad that's the place that my sister's life was ended. Because of the type of people that live in this place." The events of the night of 21 December 1988 have resonated across the 2001, a Libyan intelligence officer, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, was convicted of the bombing and 270 counts of murder, following a trial in front of three Scottish judges sitting in a special court at Camp Zeist in the co-accused, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, was found not from terminal prostate cancer, Megrahi was released from prison in Scotland on compassionate grounds in 2009. He was returned to Libya and spent the next three years living in a villa in Tripoli before finally succumbing to his illness in 2012. Ten years later, Libyan Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, known as Masud, was taken into American custody after being removed from his home in is awaiting trial in the USA, accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103. Today, the town of Lockerbie remembers the disaster in its own, quiet, from the secondary school can apply for a scholarship to spend a year at Syracuse University, in memory of 35 students from there who died in the is a memorial garden on the edge of the town, as well as plaques in Sherwood Crescent and Park Place, the two sites where most of the plane came Tundergarth Church, which overlooks the field where the nose cone was found, is also a site of more than anything, the Lockerbie bombing victims are remembered by those they left year in Tobermory, members at the golf club play for the cup which carries Billy MacAllister's his friend Stewart has a special reason to remember him."He had a big impact on my life really because, had Billy not enticed me to go and work over at Richmond, I would probably have not got to know my then girlfriend, who became my wife. My life would have been a very different one from what it became," he says."What a shame he didn't get a chance to go on and fulfil his potential."For Rose, Tim's early death has shaped the course of the past four decades for all those who loved him."I think the gift that Tim's given us is to live our lives. I always feel that I owe that to him. Get out and do it."Olive's death has had the same effect on Colyn and their siblings."Olive would have wanted us to live a good life, a full life. Like how she lived. Having a good time."Lockerbie: Our Story will be available on the BBC iPlayer from 22:00 on Monday 2 June and will be shown on BBC Two at 21:00 and BBC Scotland at 22:00 on Tuesday 3 June.


South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Farage as PM could push independence support close to 60%, poll suggests
The survey by Norstat for the Sunday Times, which spoke to 1,007 Scots between May 27 and May 30, showed support for separation currently sits at 54% in Scotland. But if Reform UK were to win the next general election that figure could near the 60% level some believe should be the tipping point for another referendum. The figure rose from 50% in the last Norstat poll in January. The highest that support for independence has reached in recent years is 58%, in an Ipsos Scotland poll for STV News in the early months of the pandemic, as Nicola Sturgeon received plaudits for her handling of Covid-19. But the increase comes as support for the SNP continued to fall ahead of next year's Holyrood elections, with the party dropping two percentage points in both the constituency and regional list votes to 33% and 28% respectively. Labour's support rose slightly to 19% in constituencies and 18% in Scotland's regions. But Reform UK would see a surge, if the poll was to reflect the returns seen next May, with Mr Farage's party jumping to 18% in constituencies and 16% on the list – up two and three percentage points respectively. Meanwhile the Scottish Tories dropped two points to 13% locally and remained at 15% in the regions. The figures come ahead of a by-election in Lanarkshire this week, after the death of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie. According to polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice, in projections for the Sunday Times, John Swinney was on track to win an unprecedented fifth term in office for his party next year, securing 54 seats. Labour would drop to 20 seats, while Reform would win 18 in their first full political test in Scotland. Meanwhile, the Tories would drop from being the second biggest party to the fourth, with just 17 MSPs, followed by the Lib Dems on 11 and the Greens on nine. The poll also looked at Westminster voting intentions, with the SNP recording 31% of the vote, followed by Reform surging into second on 21% and Labour dropping 15 points from last year's election to 20%. The Conservatives sit at 12%, while 8% said they would vote for the Lib Dems. But despite leaping into second, Nigel Farage's party would not return a single MP, the polling expert said, with the SNP rising to 30, Labour falling to 16 and the Lib Dems and Tories remaining on six and five respectively. SNP depute leader Keith Brown said his party has 'momentum' and Labour has lost Thursday's by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. 'In government, Labour has taken away the winter fuel payment, cut £5 billion of support for disabled people and watched on as energy bills rose by £150,' he said. 'With an SNP Government, the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse are getting action on what matters to them: bringing back the universal winter fuel payment, record funding for our NHS and key costs lower, with peak rail fares scrapped and lower income tax for the majority of taxpayers. 'The Labour Party has let you down and Farage is trying to stoke division, but the SNP is always on your side.' Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'Scotland has been let down for too long by this tired and out-of-touch SNP government. 'After 18 years in charge, the SNP has left our NHS at breaking point, our economy flatlining and our schools tumbling down the international league tables. 'This week the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse will get a chance to call time on SNP failure and choose a new direction with Scottish Labour. 'It's clear the SNP does not deserve to win this by-election and only Scottish Labour can beat them.'


Times
5 hours ago
- Times
AI could free 30,000 civil servants from routine admin, study finds
Nearly 30,000 civil servants could be freed from carrying out routine admin every year if AI is rolled out across Whitehall, a government study has suggested. More than 20,000 civil servants across Whitehall took part in a three-month trial to use generative AI for help with tasks such as drafting documents, summarising meetings, and handling emails. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said this saved the equivalent of giving 1,130 full-time workers out of the 20,000 a full year back every year. Extrapolated across the whole civil service workforce of 514,395 people, the trial suggests 29,063 could be freed up for other work using AI. It comes as a study from the Alan Turing Institute found AI could support up to 41 per cent of tasks across the public sector. The artificial intelligence institute found that teachers spend nearly 100 minutes a day on lesson planning but up to 75 per cent of this could be supported by AI, while civil servants spend about 30 minutes daily on emails, where it is believed AI could cut this effort by more than 70 per cent. Civil servants in the government trial used AI to cut through jargon and streamline consultations, while work coaches utilised it to speed up support for jobseekers. They used tools such as Microsoft 365 Copilot to assist with drafting documents, summarising lengthy emails, updating records, and preparing reports. Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, will highlight the results alongside Sir Tony Blair at the SXSW London festival on Monday. The two will discuss reimagining government and public service delivery in the age of AI. Last month, a separate government trial found AI is more impartial than civil servants in analysing responses to new policies and consultations. A new AI tool to sort responses to public consultations found that about 75,000 days of work could be saved, while civil servants themselves said it removed opportunities for them to 'project their own preconceived ideas' into processes and 'takes away the bias and makes it more consistent'. • Consult, the new tool that will be used across government, is part of Humphrey — a bundle of AI tools being used across Whitehall and named after Sir Humphrey Appleby, the fictional permanent secretary in Yes Minister. The tool categorises responses under broad headings and assigns them based on whether they agree or disagree with proposals or if they are unclear. At present this is done manually by civil servants who comb through about 500 consultations a year, with responses in the thousands. The tool will also help with the increasing number of template responses to consultations organised by campaign groups. However officials also said there was a rise in the number of campaigning organisations that encouraged people to use AI to write consultation responses, which could lead to a situation where AI is analysing responses written using trial of Consult was used to analyse responses to a Scottish government consultation on cosmetic procedures. Testers found that the majority of the time the AI agreed with what a human reviewer would have said. Officials who worked with Consult on the test said they were 'pleasantly surprised' that AI analysis provided a 'useful starting point' in its initial analysis, with others noting that it ultimately 'saved [them] a heck of a lot of time' and allowed them to 'get to the analysis and draw out what's needed next'. Kyle said: 'These findings show that AI isn't just a future promise — it's a present reality. Whether it's helping draft documents, preparing lesson plans or cutting down on routine admin, AI tools are saving civil servants time every day. That means we can focus more on delivering faster, more personalised support where it really counts.'