Nicola Sturgeon is to face her final First Minister’s Questions on Thursday after more than eight years as head of the Scottish Government.
06.03.2023 - 19:53 / dailyrecord.co.uk
A South Scotland MSP is at the centre of a gathering political storm over the SNP leadership campaign.
Emma Harper sent out an email to local SNP members backing Humza Yousaf’s bid to become party leader and Scotland’s next First Minister.
The move breached party guidance and prompted SNP chiefs to suspend her email privileges on Saturday.
The under fire MSP was also told to issue an apology for breaking electoral rules.
Under the process, the party’s internal systems must not be used to promote one candidate at the expense of the others.
But neither leadership contenders Kate Forbes nor Ash Regan were mentioned in Ms Harper’s email – which went out from an official SNP account to thousands of potential voters across the south of Scotland.
Strict party guidance governing elections ban the use of party email systems “to seek to influence the votes of members in the election”.
Ms Harper told the Standard: “I have accepted my error and I apologised to all three candidates. I have nothing further to add.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “Email privileges provided to elected representatives cannot be used for this purpose.
“The national secretary has reminded all parliamentarians and councillors of the restrictions in place during the leadership election campaign.
“Ms Harper accepts that she was in the wrong and has offered an apology to the three candidates for her mistake.”
In her email on February 24, Ms Harper praises Mr Yousaf as the candidate best suited for the job without reference to Ms Forbes or Ms Regan.
She said: “I believe Humza Yousaf to be the best person for this role.
“Humza has had many of the toughest jobs in government over the last 10 years.
“However, as you will be well aware, my priority – as
Nicola Sturgeon is to face her final First Minister’s Questions on Thursday after more than eight years as head of the Scottish Government.
Mountain Rescue teams have joined the search for a man who vanished while walking in Fife. Police issued an appeal earlier today to try and trace Craig Williams, 29, who was last seen walking from Naysmyth Place in Kelty towards Lochore Meadows, near Harran Hill, at around 10.45am.
Snoop Dogg arrived in Scotland this week and was met at the airport by a bagpipes player giving a rendition of ‘Still D.R.E.’ – see it below.The rapper is currently on his ‘I Wanna Thank Me’ tour of Europe, which has been rescheduled a host of times since its initial announcement in 2019.On Thursday (March 16), he played Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, and upon landing at Glasgow Airport, a bagpipe player broke into a rendition of ‘Still D.R.E.’ on the runway.Clearly enjoying the show, Snoop danced away on the tarmac before pointing at the musician and giving him a thumbs up before departing in a car.You can see the video below via Snoop Dogg’s Instagram, alongside details of Snoop Dogg’s remaining UK tour dates – buy any remaining tickets here.A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)Snoop Dogg will play the following shows:MARCH 202321 – London, O2 Arena26 – Dublin, 3Arena27 – Leeds, First Direct Arena28 – Birmingham, Resorts World ArenaLater this year, the rapper will join Wiz Khalifa and head out on a massive joint tour of North America titled ‘High School Reunion’.Snoop announced the 33-date run via a poster on Instagram on March 7. The tour will kick off on July 7 in Vancouver before wrapping up the run in Irvine, California on August 27.
Nicola Sturgeon 's sister has said she would "rather vote Tory" than SNP leadership candidates Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.
Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Nearly a week after the Oscars, the hurt and disappointment of a missed opportunity still weighs heavily on the minds of some South Asian American dancers, who are setting out to ensure it never happens again. Many in the South Asian dance community were dismayed by the astonishing dearth of South Asian representation in the “Naatu Naatu” performance at Sunday’s Academy Awards. While singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava were on hand to perform their hit tune from Tollywood smash “RRR” — which made history for India that night by winning best original song — they were joined on stage by not a single dancer of South Asian heritage.
Kate Forbes has pledged the Scottish Government cabinet will undergo a “refresh” if she is elected First Minister - as her campaign trail came to Perthshire this week.
Once is a coincidence, twice is a pattern? Katie Maloney had some serious questions about Raquel Leviss‘ dating preferences before news broke about her affair with Tom Sandoval.
A campaigning MSP has vowed to defeat plans for a controversial holiday resort in Balloch “one last time.”
Jimmy Kimmel will take centre stage as host of the 2023 Oscars. It will mark the comedian’s third time hosting the awards ceremony.
#Vanderpump cast member who’s texted her. Can you guess? SUR’s servers and bartenders were initially a hard partying bunch with dreams of modeling, acting and music careers. Vanderpump acted as both mother hen and referee to her staffers, counseling them as they dated and mated — almost exclusively with each other.As the seasons wore on, the stars began to all have similar facial features as they spent their Bravo earnings at the cosmetic surgeon.
A single mum with cancer given just months to live is desperate to spend her final days in her native South Africa.
Doubly romantic! Christina Hendricks announced her engagement to boyfriend George Bianchini, revealing that there was more than one proposal.
Shoppers could make huge savings on groceries by picking up products that are past their best before dates.
Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz will miss season 3 of Winter House, ET has learned. A source tells ET, “Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz were anticipated to film for season 3 of Winter House, but will now miss filming due to the Vanderpump Rules saga. The cast is heading to Colorado this weekend, but now that cameras are back up for, the Tom's will be filming for that.”“There is a possibility the duo could go to Colorado later, and come in near the end of the season.
Raquel Leviss is coming clean. Amid allegations that she had a months-long affair with Tom Sandoval during his relationship with Ariana Madix, Leviss spoke out about the scandal in an exclusive statement to ET.Read her statement in full:Raquel LevissLeviss' statement comes after she sent legal letters to Sandoval and her castmates about the situation.
Raquel Leviss is sending out legal letters to the cast. After reported that Ariana Madix learned of Tom Sandoval's alleged affair with Leviss by discovering a NSFW video of her on his phone, a source tells ET that Leviss is sending out legal letters to her co-stars in regard to the video.«Raquel did send legal letters to several members of her cast,» the source says.
The latest figures from Social Security Scotland show that at the end of February, 2022 there were 124,081 people living in Scotland receiving additional financial support through Attendance Allowance. Across Great Britain, there are now more than 1.5 million people over State Pension age getting either £61.85 or £92.40 each week through the benefit.
SNP leadership contender Kate Forbes’ husband attended a private Tory hustings in the race to elect the next Conservative leader.
Two former government ministers have claimed SNP leadership candidate Humza Yousaf deliberately avoided a Scottish Parliament vote on gay marriage.
A dentist who illegally shared intimate photos of his ex on a website for swingers while "advertising" himself to others has failed in his bid to overturn his conviction.