Data leak of Afghan scheme was 'serious departmental error' says defence secretary
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Brian Cox: Trump talking 'b*******s' on Scottish independence
Why you can trust Sky News Hollywood actor Brian Cox has told Sky News that Donald Trump is talking "bollocks" after suggesting there should be 50 or 75 years between Scottish independence referendums. The US president said a country "can't go through that too much" when questioned by reporters during his visit to Scotland this week. The Emmy-winning star, who is an independence supporter, has hit back, branding him "that idiot in America". The 79-year-old told Sky News: "He's talking bollocks. I'm sorry, but he does. It's rubbish. Let's get on with it and let's get it [independence] done. We can do it. "It's been tough as there's a great deal of undermining that has gone on." 2:13 SNP fraud probe causing 'harm' Mr Cox said the police fraud investigation examining the SNP's finances has done "enormous harm" to the party and wider independence movement. Nicola Sturgeon was arrested as part of the long-running police probe but cleared of any wrongdoing earlier this year. The former first minister's estranged husband Peter Murrell, who was SNP chief executive for two decades, appeared in court in April to face a charge of alleged embezzlement. He has entered no plea. Brian Cox is preparing to return to the Scottish stage for the first time in a decade in a play about the Royal Bank of Scotland's role in the 2008 financial crash. Ahead of the Edinburgh festival performances, the veteran actor told Sky News: "I think it's a masterpiece. It's certainly one of the best pieces of work I've been involved in. 'My friend Spacey should be forgiven' The Succession star was also asked about his "old friend" Kevin Spacey. The former House of Cards actor, 65, was exiled from the showbiz world in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct. Spacey has admitted to "being too handsy" in the past and "touching someone sexually" when he didn't know they "didn't want him to". Spacey stood trial in the UK for multiple sexual offences against four men in July 2023 but was acquitted on all counts. Mr Cox told Sky News: "I am so against cancel culture. Kevin has made a lot of mistakes, but there is a sort of viciousness about it which is unwarranted. "Everybody is stupid as everybody else. Everybody is capable of the same mistakes and the same sins as everybody else." Asked if he could see a return to showbiz for Spacey, Cox replied: "I would think so eventually, but it's very tough for him. "He was tricky, but he has learnt a big lesson. He should be allowed to go on because he is a very fine actor. I just think we should be forgiving."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Civil service internships to be restricted to working class
The government will tighten eligibility criteria for Whitehall internships as part of a broader push to make the civil service more representative of the working class. According to the BBC, the main internship scheme will now be limited to students from 'lower socio-economic backgrounds'. Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the minister responsible for civil service reform, said that Whitehall needed to reflect the broader community. 'We need to get more working-class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country,' he told the BBC. ' Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.' The changes are expected to take effect from summer 2026 and will give young people experience writing briefings, planning events, conducting policy research and shadowing civil servants, according to the broadcaster. The existing work summer placement programme, which lasts up to eight weeks and is paid, is open to undergraduates in the final two years of their degree. The Duchy of Lancaster has been contacted for comment. The move comes after the Government announced plans to move thousands more civil servants out of London as part of plans to 'radically reform the state'. In May, the Government confirmed it would cut the number of civil servants working in London by 12,000 and shift jobs to a series of new regional 'campuses' across the country. Mr McFadden said at the time that the Government would be relocating a 'substantial number of roles'. 'The aim is to reduce the London count by about 12,000. That will save us £94 million in lease costs because the properties in London are very expensive. 'And we will move thousands – it's difficult to put a precise number – thousands of those jobs to new themed campuses around the country,' he told Times Radio. The changes will also see 11 Government office buildings in London close, including one of its largest Westminster sites, in a move expected to save £94 million a year by 2032. The move will see two new major 'campuses' created, one in Manchester focused on digital innovation and AI and another in Aberdeen on energy. Manchester is already home to major offices of the science and culture departments, while Aberdeen houses the new Great British Energy headquarters. Other roles will be created in Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York, with the changes expected to bring £729 million to the local economy by 2030.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Call for community ownership of Scottish forests to combat corporate influence
In three new discussion papers, Willie McGhee and Jon Hollingdale analysed the effectiveness and impact of industrial forestry on local areas and for meeting national targets. McGhee is a forest manager and owner, and Hollingdale is an independent forestry and land use researcher. The papers were commissioned by Community Land Scotland, which is the lead body representing community landowners in Scotland. Dr Josh Doble, director of policy and advocacy at the organisation, said: 'These papers are designed to prompt discussion about industrial forestry and what an alternative forestry sector could look like in a Scotland which prioritises sustainable timber, community wealth building, climate and biodiversity.' Dr Josh Doble (Image: Nick Mailer) Research in the paper concludes that more community ownership and management of woodlands, and more diverse ownership of forests across Scotland would increase community wealth, lead to greater environmental benefits, and produce more actively managed forests in Scotland. It calls for changes to forestry management practice, reducing reliance on clear-felling, increasing the length of forest rotations, and a moratorium on planting peaty soils which they say would allow Scottish forestry to more effectively capture and store carbon. McGhee said: 'We should be doing more intelligent and nuanced forest management to protect soils and soil carbon and to create diverse timber producing forests, both native and exotic conifer, managed on longer (harvest) rotations or as permanent forest." READ MORE: 10,000-acre Highland forest gains special European status in UK-first Hollingdale's paper states that the financial advantages of land ownership and the largely unregulated land market facilitate speculation are long-term obstacles to community wealth building. Furthermore, he says recent price spikes and the limited supply of forest land add further barriers to the ambitions of communities. Hollingdale argues that Scottish Government policies betray a reluctance to tackle emissions at point of consumption or to facilitate a systematic and measured land use transition. Instead, they say, policymakers remain wedded to the discredited notion that large scale, extractive private investment is essential to deliver woodland creation and have focused on devising new incentives to attract external investment. Hollingdale said: 'The current mix of incentives and mechanisms does little to promote active management of existing woods or the creation of the mixed multipurpose forests. 'The focus on area targets and the absence of measures to drive land release constrain afforestation to marginal ground and perpetuate the dominance of poor-quality plantations and ultimately will do little to tackle the climate crisis.' READ MORE: See the Glasgow tree shortlisted for UK Tree of the Year Dr Doble said: 'Community Land Scotland members have raised concerns about the impact of industrial coniferous forestry in their local areas. 'We as an organisation are concerned about the role of industrial forestry corporations and asset management organisations in further consolidating the ownership and management of Scotland's forests. 'If Scotland wants to be timber secure, and produce high quality timber for construction, how our forests are managed needs to be reformed. 'A clear way of reforming them would be to change some of the ownership patterns, allowing more local ownership and ensuring forests are actively managed over longer timescales to grow quality timber'.
