Nicola Sturgeon in row over when she knew of complaints against Alex Salmond

school results scandal.The First Minister praised Professor Mark Priestley, who came out for the SNP at the general election, for his skills and experience and said he is the right person for the job.Education Secretary John Swinney this week made a u-turn after confirming that around 120,000 downgraded results would be reversed following a backlash by pupils and parents.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood,

Kenny MacAskill has criticised the Scottish Government for “failing” to hand over all the papers in the Alex Salmond probe. MacAskill rejected claims some information had to be censored and backed a Holyrood committee’s demands for full disclosure.

Alex Salmond fiasco has clashed again with the Scottish Government on the operation of the probe.

Alex Salmond is scheduled to be broadcast on the BBC next week. Presented by Kirsty Wark, one of Scotland’s top journalists, it includes interviews with some of the women at the centre of a trial that saw Salmond cleared.

pupils across Scotland caught up in an exams fiasco which penalised pupils in poorer communities.The First Minister made the significant apology days after pupils protested and calls were made for Education Secretary John Swinney to resign.At her regular briefing, Sturgeon said: "I do acknowledge that we did not get this right and I am sorry for that."The U-turn comes after defending a system brought in to grade pupils who were unable to sit normal exams because of the Covid-19 health

Nicola Sturgeon has said it is "bonkers" for people to question her commitment to Scottish independence as she confirmed her intention to stand in next year's Holyrood election. The First Minister also stated she would serve another full term if elected in the 2021 vote for the Scottish Parliament.

Covid cases has broken out in the Greater Glasgow area. The First Minister said there were 17 confirmed cases in Scotland's largest health board yesterday - which includes the city as well as the neighbouring council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

Nicola Sturgeon has said all pupils who are unhappy with their exam results will be able to appeal them for free as the Scottish Government faced mounting criticism over how grades were awarded. For the first time in more than 130 years, Scottish youngsters did not sit down for exams in May as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

bars and restaurants could face a “further shutdown” if Scots do not abide by strict public safety rules.The First Minister said pictures of a large queue outside an Aberdeen bar had made her want to cry.A key part of the Government’s policy of coming out of lockdown involved the reopening of pubs and restaurants.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood, Westminster and local councils, with a current focus on

pub too often after alarm at a rise in coronavirus cases.Around half of the latest positive cases of Covid-19 were among people in their 20s and 30s.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the levels are a reason for caution, while other parts of the world have also seen infection rates among young people surge.At a coronavirus briefing on Friday, Sturgeon said "nobody can safely get Covid", despite the disease causing more fatalities among older people.Urging people to "stick rigidly" to the latest

coronavirus cases.The warning against non-essential travel also applies to anyone in affected areas, including Manchester, who had plans to visit Scotland.First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the restrictions in the most significant step back to lockdown since the height of the pandemic in the UK.Sturgeon said: "I'm grateful to the Prime Minister for the update on the recent developments in the north west of England and all four nations agreed on the importance of sharing localised

coronavirus rate was five times lower than in England. The First Minister said she stands by the view despite the UK’s statistic watchdog warning the Scottish Government should not have made the "uncaveated" comparison.

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that pupils will be in the classroom full-time when schools return next month.Pupils will begin to return from August 11 and all young people will be back in full-time education by August 18.In a statement to Holyrood this afternoon the First Minister did say that some local authorities may opt for phased return but all pupils will have returned to school by August 18.A Scottish Government report reads: "The expectation is that all schools will reopen by August 11,

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterNicola Sturgeon has confirmed Scottish schools will reopen from August 11.The First Minister said she expected all pupils to be back in full time education from August 18 at the latest.In a statement to Holyrood this lunchtime, Ms Sturgeon confirmed classrooms would re-open in full rather than adopting a "blended" learning approach, which had once been proposed.Every school will have to carry out a

Alex Salmond debacle.A Holyrood committee wanted documents relating to the Government’s botched Salmond probe by the end of this month, but a civil servant has said even the end of August is “unlikely”.Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans cited “data protection obligations” and “legal restrictions” as reasons for the delay.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood, Westminster and local councils, with a current focus

Spanish sun.The popular tourist country was kept off Scotland's first list "air bridge" destinations because of concerns with the rate of Covid-19 infections.But the Scottish Government went on to remove the requirement earlier this week, despite the infection rate tripling.Today, Sturgeon defended the decision but also urged Scots to holiday at home unless it's "essential".Asked about the basis for the easing of Spanish travel restrictions at today's coronavirus briefing, Sturgeon said Spain's

MSPs looking into the botched probe on harassment allegations against Alex Salmond have raised concerns key information might have been redacted from government documents. A batch of over 150 documents was put on the Scottish Government’s website last week with some parts blanked out to comply with strict public freedom of information rules.

Covid-19 in recent days could be linked to the outbreak at a call centre in North Lanarkshire.

Alex Salmond.The First Minister compared the fallout to a “grieving process” and said it would be a “relief” to have her say on events that led to their friendship souring.In an interview with Times Radio, she also claimed independence would happen "sooner rather than later".Sturgeon has spoken in the past about the huge influence Salmond has had on her political career.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood,

Alex Salmond.Her view is contained in a batch of over 150 documents published on the Government website.They also show that one of the females who complained about Salmond was shown a draft of the new complaints procedure before she formally alleged wrongdoing.Get all the top Scottish politics news sent straight to your Inbox by signing up to our Politics newsletter.We cover Holyrood, Westminster and local councils, with a current focus on how our governments are handling the coronavirus