Scottish Conservative councillor quits party in protest at lack of support for fitness industry

Outlander star Caitriona Balfe has launched her own Scottish gin - and it's for a great cause.The Irish actress, who plays lead Claire Randall/Fraser in the show, has created Forget Me Not Gin to support the arts and "acknowledge the positive contribution creative industries make to society".Posting on her official Twitter account, Caitriona wrote: "This is a very special product that has combined my love of collaborating with friends, drinking and finding ways to support our beleaguered

holidaymakers in a last-minute dash to beat the 14-day quarantine rule on returning from France.Eurotunnel trains sold out and air fares were up to six times more than normal, although ferries increased capacity.Many Brits were caught off guard by the short notice of the Government deadline – and struggled to make it in time.But one resourceful musical ensemble sailed back over the English Channel on a fishing boat and beat the new quarantine rules by just 10 minutes.The Dunedin Consort, from

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our personalised newsletter.A hero soldier’s final moments as he dashed to freedom from a Japanese POW camp have been revealed 75 years after VJ Day.Ben Bradford-Martin, of 1st Battalion, the Cameronians, was listed as missing for decades, presumed killed in Burma during World War II.But as the country paused to remember the 75th anniversary of Victory in Japan Day yesterday, a historian revealed he had details of his escape and

David Bowie from the depths of space - with a live rendition being beamed up from Scotland. The late star man's hit Space Oddity will be played to the travellers on the International Space Station through a performance being sent up from the Mull of Kintyre music festival.

We’ve been oggling Nicole Scherzinger and boyfriend Thom Evans’ dreamy holiday to Portugal lately as the pair zoomed off to soak in the sun post-lockdown. And now it looks like they’re in yet another screensaver-style location with all the palm trees and blue skies you need.

Leigh Griffiths has received another warning over his conduct after holding a gathering at his house. Pictures emerged on social media of a get-together at the Parkhead star's house that appeared to breach the Scottish Government's current social distancing guidelines.

NHS heroes deserve to have their pay looked at, say Scottish Labour. The party called for talks ahead of a planned protest by health and social care workers in Glasgow today.

Douglas Ross has made a gaffe within hours of becoming Scottish Tory leader after effectively conceding defeat at the next Holyrood election.He said after the election he hoped to lead a “strong” Tory party that would provide “opposition” to the SNP.SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said: “This is a gaffe royale, even by Douglas Ross’ standards. He has conceded defeat before the election has even been called yet.

Join thousands of others who have signed up for the Daily Record newsletter.A Wishaw gym owner has hit out at the Scottish Government over a lack of support during the Covid-19 pandemic.Scott Allan runs Rivals Gym, a martial arts school in Wishaw, and said he has “no idea” when he will be allowed to open his doors to his students.He has also said he has received very little help in terms of money from the UK or Scottish Governments, as the building the gym is in is too big.Speaking to the Wishaw

Scottish Gas workers have balloted for industrial action in a row that could lead to hundreds of staff going out on strike in a dispute over conditions.Centrica, which owns the utilities giant, last month said it could fire and rehire its entire UK-wide workforce of 20,000 if they didn’t agree to changes to their contracts.The firm - which has more than 1,000 workers based north of the Border - claimed such a bold move was only an "insurance policy" but issued statutory HR1 and s188 notices

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Join thousands of others who have signed up for the Daily Record newsletter.The leader of North Lanarkshire Council’s Conservative group has criticised payments of more than £12.2 million made by the authority to departing staff in recent years.Councillor Meghan Gallacher, who serves in the Motherwell West ward, says these figures highlight how council resources have been “stretched to the bone” by Scottish Government cuts to local authorities.The council has made 475 agreements in just the last

reimpose quarantine restrictions on passengers arriving from Spain has been branded "shambolic" as opposition parties questioned the U-turn. It was announced on Saturday evening that thousands of Scots holidaymakers will have to self-isolate at home for two weeks when they return from the popular tourist destination due to rising virus infection rates in the country.

leading universities could lose millions in tuition fees if escalating tensions between the UK and China leads to Beijing discouraging students from studying overseas. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have been increasingly reliant on cash generated by the thousands of Chinese students who arrive in Scotland each year to study at the country's historic seats of learning.

Boris Johnson has said "the Union has proved its worth" during the coronavirus pandemic despite rising support for Scottish independence in recent months.The Prime Minister praised "the might of the UK Treasury" for setting up the furlough scheme that has seen hundreds of thousands of Scots kept in employment during lockdown.Speaking at a Downing Street press conference today, Johnson also claimed there had been "very close collaboration" between the four nations of the UK in responding to the

Leigh Griffiths the riot act after his patience snapped with the striker.The Hoops boss slammed Griff for putting on weight in lockdown and blasted his social media ‘nonsense’. Lennon insisted the Scotland star had let his team-mates down and the hitman is now fighting for his Parkhead future.Lennon said: “I’m not happy.

coronavirus pandemic.It follows the UK government announcing an unprecedented £1.57 billion in grants to support the arts sector.The country’s Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced the news during the First Minister’s daily briefing yesterday (July 11), revealing that the Music Venue Trust had worked with the government to secure the funding, and that it will be used to “quickly provide” stability to small venues as they remain closed over the coming months,” as the Sunday Post reports.It

Johnny Beattie was an outstanding comic performer but more than that, he was a lovely, lovely man. I did several pantomimes with Johnny when he was a Dame and I was daft Wullie.