Nicola Sturgeon was told about Alex Salmond concerns months before formal investigation

coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The First Minister also hit out at “selfish and irresponsible" Covid idiots after more than 300 people were thrown out of an illegal rave at a rented Scots mansion.Police  shut down the party at a £1625-a-night property in Midlothian on Saturday night.

post-Brexit trade envoy has been condemned by Nicola Sturgeon as a "sexist, misogynist and climate change denier" who should not represent the country abroad. Scotland's First Minister ripped into the legacy of former Australian PM Tony Abbott, who is being lined up for the job by Boris Johnson.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterSixteen new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Ayrshire during the past 24 hours.It takes the total number of positive tests in the region since the outbreak began to 1,340.Across Scotland, a total of 123 people have tested positive during the last day.No new deaths have been reported, with the number of people in Scots hospitals at 251, five of whom are in intensive care.Nicola Sturgeon

First Minister vowed to look into the rise in cases over the last 48 hours. There were 123 new cases of coronavirus in Scotland registered overnight - after the 88 announced yesterday.

coronavirus.

house parties this weekend to help protect older relatives from lethal Covid-19. Nicola Sturgeon and Scotland's top police officer made a joint plea as new laws come into force to ban large gatherings indoors.

carnival operators make a living during the pandemic. Scotland's travelling funfair operators have not been able to earn a living since March and might not be able to run local fairs for another three months, an MSP warned.

harassment to a woman who went on to lodge a complaint against Alex Salmond. Senior official Nicola Richards told MSPs under oath that a draft was shared in late 2017 before the policy was changed to include the conduct of former ministers.

address claims senior government staff were advised not to be alone with Alex Salmond during his time as First Minister. Leslie Evans had initially told members of a Holyrood committee last week that she could not comment on the matter, prompting criticism from opposition MSPs.

Nicola Sturgeon has made a renewed call for the UK Government to extend the furlough scheme beyond October amid fears unemployment will rocket when it is removed. The First Minister said the Treasury should follow the example of France and Germany by extending economic support for businesses which were forced to close during lockdown.

Nicola Sturgeon described the 43 positive cases identified so far, as part of an outbreak at the 2 Sisters food processing plant, as "a significant cluster". Of those cases, 37 are factory workers and six are contacts.

Nicola Sturgeon has said she was not aware of female civil servants being advised not be alone with her predecessor Alex Salmond.But she said MSPs probing the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations made against the former first minster were “perfectly entitled” to take up this issue.She vowed she was “absolutely committed to fully complying with the inquiry”.Her comments came after concerns were raised about “huge swathes” of information provided by the Scottish

Join thousands of others and get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox every Friday.Nicola Sturgeon claimed she was not aware of female civil servants being advised to avoid being alone with former first minister Alex Salmond.Sturgeon was confronted with the direct question during First Minister's Questions two days after MSPs were prevented from probing the allegation in parliament.The First Minister said MSPs were "perfectly entitled" to take up this issue and vowed she

Nicola Sturgeon has said Scotland is not in the midst of a second coronavirus wave despite a recent spike in cases. The First Minister said at the Scottish Government's briefing on Wednesday that the increase - from two daily cases in early July to 50 in the most recent figures - is a "spike in the first wave".She added it is not clear if there will be a second wave of the virus.

Join thousands of others and get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox every Friday.Nicola Sturgeon said there are no outbreaks of coronavirus in primary schools after concerns pupils were testing positive.The First Minister confirmed more cases since the return to class full time in Scotland last week, but said they were linked to communities rather than schools."We are not seeing outbreaks in primary schools, we are seeing individual cases of primary school aged

pupils contracting Covid-19 is inevitable, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The First Minister spoke about the clusters of the virus across the country, including those affecting schools, at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

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.