Scottish Daily Mail
THE TWO LAME DUCK LEADERS
JOHN Swinney and Keir Starmer have been reduced to ‘lame duck leaders’ after two seismic by-elections fired up their would-be successors, it was claimed yesterday. The First Minister was left badly wounded after a historic SNP defeat in Aberdeen South...
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Toddler critical after being ‘thrown’ into crocodile pit at zoo
A BOY of three was seriously injured after being thrown into a crocodile pit at a zoo yesterday. The traumatised youngster was taken to hospital after he was dramatically pulled from the enclosure. Last night witnesses said the little boy’s rescuer...
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VOICE OF COMMON SENSE ON SNP’S SOFT JUSTICE
MORE criminals should be locked up to put an end to Scot- land’s ‘soft-touch’ justice system, a senior police officer has said. Chief Superintendent Rob Hay also demanded a review of guidelines urging lenient treatment of thugs under the age of 25 on...
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PUTIN OPENS FIRE IN THE CHANNEL
A RUSSIAN warship fired warning shots at a yacht in the English Channel yesterday. The British-flagged Bright Future was shot at after it came within just 150 yards of the Admiral Grigorovich in heavy fog. The heavily armed Krivak V-class frigate...
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The eight missed chances to save baby Preston from evil adoptive fathers
OFFICIALS missed a string of chances to save a baby sexually abused and murdered by the teacher adopting him. Serious questions were being asked last night about the scrutiny faced by Jamie Varley, 37, and his boyfriend, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32,...
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£200M WORLD CUP JACKPOT
SCOTLAND is set for a World Cup economic boost of more than £200million after the national team won its first match in the tournament for more than 30 years. Richard Marsh, a leading economist and government adviser, said the gain was likely to be the...
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COME ON SCOTLAND! LET’S MAKE HISTORY
SCOTLAND’S national side has been buoyed by an outpouring of support at home and abroad as the men’s team look to make history at the World Cup. Steve Clarke’s players are about to start their campaign at football’s biggest show for the first time in...
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GOD HELP US!
KEIR Starmer is ‘unable’ to defend Britain, his own Defence Secretary said yesterday as he quit with a furious blast. John Healey accused the Prime Minister of being too weak to face down Rachel Reeves over the defence of the nation. Mr Healey...
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PRESSURE GROWS ON SWINNEY OVER SNP CASH AUDIT
A FORMER SNP treasurer has urged John Swinney to launch a full audit of party accounts over the past decade following the Peter Murrell scandal. Douglas Chapman quit his role in charge of the SNP’s finances in 2021 in protest at not being given enough...
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SPEND NOW ON DEFENCE OR WE WILL PAY A ‘COST IN BLOOD’
BRITAIN faces a ‘blood cost’ if Labour keeps dithering on defence, Keir Starmer was warned last night. Former Nato chief General Sir Richard Shirreff said the country could suffer ‘catastrophic costs’ unless the Government moves to shore up our...
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ALL AT SEA!
BRITAIN’S flagship £3.5billion aircraft carrier has broken down again as ministers wrangle over boosting defence funding. HMS Prince of Wales, which has been plagued by problems since entering service, was forced into port in Norway for repairs,...
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NOW SNP FACE GRILLING FROM THE TAXMAN
THE SNP could face a tax probe into whether it reclaimed VAT on bogus purchases made by Peter Murrell. John Swinney yesterday disclosed his party had ‘already opened up discussions’ with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Murrell’s admission that he...
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HOW CAN ANYONE TRUST A WORD THE SNP SAYS?
THE SNP has been accused of ‘hoodwinking’ its own members after John Swinney admitted a £667,000 ‘ringfenced’ referendum fund was used for election spending. The First Minister said the cash was used for ‘ongoing activities’ despite promises that it...
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MURRELL’S WEB OF GREED LAID BARE
PETER Murrell’s extraordinary web of greed has been laid bare as fresh details emerged about his embezzlement of £400,000 of SNP funds. The High Court in Edinburgh yesterday heard that the party’s former chief executive had unfettered access to the...
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Labour’s poisonous puppet master and a £1million cover-up
THE Mandelson Files yesterday exposed the toxic infighting at the heart of Labour. Hundreds of documents showed ministers and officials sniping at each other over the fate of Keir Starmer’s ‘beleaguered’ Government. The chaos was compounded by...
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AND STILL SHE WON’T SAY SORRY!
DEFIANT Nicola Sturgeon has refused to apologise to SNP donors over the embezzlement scandal. The former First Minister also said she will not help them recoup the missing £400,000 by handing back gifts bought by her estranged husband Peter Murrell...
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WILL STURGEON BE GRILLED AT WESTMINSTER?
NICOLA Sturgeon and John Swinney could be hauled before a powerful Westminster committee and forced to testify what they knew of the SNP embezzlement saga. The Scottish Affairs Committee (SAC) has been asked to intervene after the First Minister...
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STURGEON: LIES AT HEART OF MY MARRIAGE
Denies she knew anything about his £400k fraud spree Admits they were so rich she wouldn’t have questioned spending NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday broke cover for the first time since her now estranged husband pleaded guilty to embezzling more than...
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WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE, MR SWINNEY?
JOHN Swinney has been blasted for trying to ‘dodge scrutiny’ after ruling out any further probe into the SNP’s financial scandal. He insisted the police investigation into Peter Murrell was enough, despite the party hierarchy being accused of shutting...
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DO US ALL A FAVOUR AND JUST PARK IT!
JOHN Swinney faced ridicule yesterday after launching another push for independence based on ‘security and prosperity’ amid the SNP fraud scandal. The First Minister appealed for trust as his party reeled from the guilty plea of former SNP chief...
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HOW ON EARTH DID STURGEON NOT KNOW?
PETER Murrell was locked up yesterday after admitting embezz- ling more than £400,000 from the SNP. The former chief executive of the party was led away from court in handcuffs. He was initially charged with using more than £459,000 of the SNP’s funds...
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SNP: WE’LL NEVER CUT BACK £7BN BILL FOR BENEFITS
THE SNP will never slash Scotland’s run- away £7billion benefits bill, the finance secretary said yesterday. Jenny Gilruth was branded ‘out of touch’ after signalling she would rather slash all other areas of public spending before tackling the...
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‘SCARED’ SNP RISK OIL JOBS DISASTER
KEMI Badenoch has accused John Swinney of ‘running scared’ from the Greens over his party’s failure to back two controversial oil and gas developments. Speaking during a visit to Scotland’s oil capital, the Conservative Party leader urged voters to...
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Brain drain as young people f lee Labour’s broken Britain
THE UK is facing an escalating ‘brain drain’ as young people turn their backs on Labour’s broken Britain. Data shows 75,000 more 16 to 34-year-olds left the country last year than returned home. Across all age groups, 136,000 more Britons left than...
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PUTIN JETS MENACE RAF PLANE WITH ‘CRAZY IVAN’ STUNT
RUSSIAN jets brazenly imperilled an RAF spy plane in the closest confrontation yet between the two countries’ air forces. Vladimir Putin’s pilots flew reckless passes at more than 500mph in the terrifying incident over the Black Sea. One of the...
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FOR THE SAKE OF SCOTLAND ... DROP IT!
JOHN Swinney has been urged to drop his independence plans ‘for the sake of Scotland’ after MSPs reappointed him First Minister. Russell Findlay, leader of the Scottish Tories, warned him not to get ‘distracted’ by the constitution and focus instead...
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SWINNEY DOUBLES DOWN AMID SINN FEIN OUTRAGE
JOHN Swinney has provoked fury by doubling down on his call for peo- ple to ‘move on’ from Sinn Fein’s IRA links so he can join forces with the Irish nationalists. The First Minister said he had ‘no intention’ of apologising after being accused of...
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Rugby legend Scott dies on tragic wife’s birthday
RUGBY legend Scott Hastings has died after a four-year cancer battle – on the day of his late wife’s birthday. Hastings, 61, was a member of Scotland’s famous Grand Slamwinning team of 1990 alongside older brother Gavin. His wife Jenny vanished in...
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STARMER FACES HIS WATERLOO
KEIR Starmer is facing his Waterloo after Andy Burnham was given the green light to fight a by-election on the anniversary of the famous battle. Labour’s National Executive Committee yesterday waved through permission for the Mayor of Greater...
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LABOUR’S GREAT PRETENDERS
KEIR Starmer’s Government was frozen in the headlights last night as the plots to topple him finally burst into the open. On another dramatic day at Westminster, Andy Burnham announced plans for a return to Parliament, where the self-styled ‘King of...
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STREETING TO IGNITE LABOUR DAY OF ANARCHY
WES Streeting will plunge Labour into civil war today by quitting the Cabinet to mount a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer. The Health Secretary is ready to fire the starting gun this morning following yesterday’s face-to-face showdown with...
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PARALYSED BY LABOUR CHAOS
LABOUR’S civil war triggered a markets meltdown yesterday – and left the Government ‘paralysed’. Keir Starmer was locked in an extraordinary standoff with his MPs last night after he brushed aside calls to quit and told rivals Wes Streeting and Angela...
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Starmer on the brink as Cabinet ministers tell him it’s time to go
KEIR Starmer’s premiership was in freefall last night as Cabinet ministers urged him to quit. Dozens of Labour MPs called for the Prime Minister to resign after a last-ditch fightback speech failed to quell a growing mutiny. Last night, Labour sources...
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TIME TO END THE DIVISION... AND START DELIVERING
JOHN Swinney’s call for another independence referendum following last week’s Holyrood election has been rejected by the UK Government. Labour ministers said their position ‘remains exactly the same’ and they will not support another vote on...
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THINK AGAIN, MR SWINNEY!
JOHN Swinney is facing demands to drop his independence referendum push after he failed to secure the majority he said would be a mandate. The SNP suffered losses compared with the last election in 2021 and saw its vote shrink markedly while still...
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SWINNEY ROCKED BY POLL SETBACK
JOHN Swinney looked set to miss his target of an SNP majority last night as voters rejected his divisive independence plans. The final polling analysis of the election campaign put the SNP on 56 MSPs, nine short of overall control of Holyrood. A...
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SWINNEY’S DAY OF RECKONING
IT is a high-stakes election that will shape the future of Scotland – and a day of reckoning for the SNP. After 19 years of failure and incompetence, voters will today get the chance to unseat a government that is dedicated to breaking up Britain....
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FINDLAY’S ELECTION BATTLE CRY TO SECURE THE UNION
RUSSELL Findlay has urged voters not to end up with ‘serious buyer’s remorse’ by unintentionally letting in the SNP in tomorrow’s election. The Scottish Tory leader warned of the danger that John Swinney will cling on to power as a result of a surge in...
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VOTE TO STOP SNP PLANS FOR NEVERENDUM
SCOTLAND will immediately be plunged into ‘fresh constitutional chaos’ if the SNP wins a majority after John Swinney declared he would begin talks on another independence referendum on day one. The SNP leader said he would plan to start discussions...
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FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE, CHANGE THE RECORD!
JOHN Swinney has been blasted for vowing to prioritise independence from day one of a new SNP government – even if he fails to win a majority. Despite months of claiming only outright victory would give him a credible mandate, the First Minister will...
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KING KEEPS CALM AND CARRIES ON
KING Charles has vowed to persevere with his State Visit to the US today despite an apparent assassination attempt on the President. Sources told the Daily Mail the monarch is determined to ‘keep calm and carry on’ – and that if the Government wants...
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BACKLASH OVER SNP’S SHAMEFUL BID TO WOO SINN FEIN
JOHN Swinney is facing a growing backlash over his ‘beyond the pale’ bid to work with Sinn Fein on breaking up Britain. Former Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw, who was at his party’s conference when an IRA bomb went off at the Grand Hotel...
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IT’S,MY LIFE MY CHOICE
THE sky is a glorious blue. The cherry trees are in full bloom. It is the sort of day that makes you feel glad to be alive. Isn’t it, Wendy? Wendy Duffy gives a little half smile. ‘I won’t change my mind,’ she says. ‘I know it’s hard for you,...
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Starmer’s support starts to crack
CRACKS are appearing in Keir Starmer’s Cabinet as he comes under mounting pressure over the Peter Mandelson affair. In an extraordinary parliamentary hearing yesterday, a mandarin sacked by the Prime Minister revealed the ‘atmosphere of pressure’...
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REFORM’S ELECTION LEG-UP FOR SWINNEY
SUPPORT for Reform is handing the SNP a huge boost in what is the most ‘fragmented’ election since devolution, pollsters claim. Luke Tryl, UK director at More in Common, said there is still a ‘high degree of uncertainty’ about next month’s Holyrood...
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DAY STARMER HAS TO STAND UP AND TAKE THE BLAME
KEIR Starmer will today be told to finally take responsibility for the Mandelson scandal and stop blaming everyone else. The Prime Minister will begin a makeor-break week for his faltering premiership by facing angry MPs over his involvement in the...
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STARMER’S TWO TOP AIDES KNEW ABOUT MANDY WEEKS AGO
TWO of Keir Starmer’s top aides knew about the latest Peter Mandelson scandal for weeks, it emerged last night. Amid fresh accusations that Sir Keir has lost control of his Government, it was revealed the country’s top civil servant, Dame Antonia...
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STARMER ON BRINK AS HIS MANDELSON ‘LIES’ ARE EXPOSED
KEIR Starmer was facing mounting calls to quit last night as it emerged Peter Mandelson was made US ambassador despite failing security vetting. Foreign Office officials pushed the controversial appointment through regardless, it was revealed, and the...
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KEMI: WE MUST ACT NOW TO STOP SNP
SCOTS Unionist voters are being urged by Kemi Badenoch to unite to help stop the SNP ‘tearing our country apart’. The Conservative leader launched an appeal to back her party on the regional list ballot paper to prevent John Swinney securing a...
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As beaming Kate reads our scoop on her new chap, we’ve got the FULL inside story!
WHEN Kate Garraway arrives at ITV’s studios for her early morning presenting role on Good Morning Britain, she’s usually flustered and frazzled. Occasionally late, she is described as ‘chaotic’ by the co-stars who adore her. Her punctuality is a...
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Southport killer’s parents ‘should have stopped him’
THE Southport attack would not have happened if the killer’s parents had done their ‘moral’ duty and reported him to police, a damning report revealed yesterday. Axel Rudakubana’s parents knew their son was hoarding an arsenal of weapons, including...
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SWINNEY SAVAGED OVER NHS WAITING TIMES SHAMBLES
A RATTLED John Swinney was savaged over the SNP’s dismal record on the NHS on live TV last night. In the first leaders’ debate of the election, the First Minister was hammered by audience members over the state of the health service after 19 years of...
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WE’RE SITTING ON A GOLDMINE!
NORTH Sea oil prices have surged to a record high – piling pressure on Labour to abandon Ed Miliband’s ‘mad ideology’ and allow lucrative drilling. The jump in prices caused by the Iran conflict means the UK is sitting on increasingly valuable...
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FINDLAY’S WARNING OVER THE GREEN PARTY EXTREMISTS
THE Scottish Greens were yesterday branded extremists who want to abolish prisons and legalise class-A drugs. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay warned that rapists and murderers would be free to roam the streets while drug deaths would soar further...
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A BIZARRE KIND OF VICTORY
DONALD Trump’s peace deal with Iran was hanging by a thread last night as Tehran halted tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. It warned that unauthorised ships would be ‘targeted and destroyed’. As the White House declared a dramatic and decisive...
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NIGHT THE WORLD HELD ITS BREATH AND PRAYED
DONALD Trump threatened to wipe out the ‘whole civilisation’ of Iran as peace talks went down to the wire last night. The US bombed Kharg Island and Israel pounded bridges, railways and roads across the Islamic republic as the two allies appeared to...
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TORY BLUEPRINT TO GET SCOTLAND WORKING AGAIN
TAX cuts and curbs on the soaring benefits bill will be included in a new Tory blueprint to ‘get Scotland working’. The Scottish Conservative manifesto which will be unveiled today is set to focus on policies aimed at boosting jobs and the economy...
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TRUMP DROPS F-BOMB ON IRAN
DONALD Trump ordered Tehran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz in an expletive-laden ultimatum yesterday. Emboldened after the rescue of a second downed US airman, the President posted: ‘Open the f***in’ Strait, you crazy b ***** ds, or you’ll be living...
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RACE TO FIND PILOT SHOT DOWN BY IRAN
AMERICA and Iran were last night locked in a tense race to find a US pilot downed by Tehran. The war in the Middle East took a dramatic turn yesterday when an F-15E jet on operations over southern Iran was shot out of the sky. One of the two-person...
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DRIVERS FACE EASTER FUEL PUMP MISERY
MOTORISTS filling up for their Easter getaways face breaking the bank after the war in the Middle East sent prices through the roof. Drivers are paying more than £2 a litre for both petrol and diesel in some areas of Scotland as the cost of a tank of...
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NOW TRUMP GOES TO WAR ON NATO
DONALD Trump threatened to ditch Nato last night after European allies turned their backs on his war in the Middle East. The US President was expected to use an overnight address to the United States to register his ‘disgust’ for the historic alliance...
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TRUMP’S TAUNT EXPOSES A PM WITHOUT A PLAN
DONALD Trump told Britain to ‘go get your own oil’ yesterday, sparking questions about how the Government plans to deal with the global fuel crisis. MPs accused Keir Starmer of being a ‘rabbit caught in the headlights’ with no clear blueprint for the...
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BBC CRISIS AS ANOTHER SCANDAL-HIT PRESENTER IS SACKED
THE BBC was plunged into fresh scandal yesterday as one of its most high-profile radio stars was sensationally axed. Radio 2 Breakfast Show host Scott Mills was hauled off air last Tuesday and his contract has now been terminated over his ‘personal...
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BETRAYAL OF THE STRIVERS
MPS and benefit claimants are to receive bumper payments this week to help cushion them from the cost-of-living crisis. Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week ruled out blanket measures to help families cope with the energy crisis triggered by the war in...
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PRESSURE GROWS ON SWINNEY OVER SNP SEX PREDATOR
JOHN Swinney has been told to apologise to victims of an SNP sex predator. The First Minister is also under pressure to explain why complaints about Jordan Linden were ignored as he was accused of a ‘reprehensible silence’ over how the SNP high-flier...
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SHAME OF THE SNP SEX PREDATOR
FORMER SNP council boss Jordan Linden has been found guilty of sexually assaulting five young men. One of his victims was just 17 years old, while he also sexually harassed a 14-yearold boy. Once a rising star in the SNP, the 30-year-old was found...
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£1.5BN PLANS AXED AMID CHINESE SECURITY FEARS
A CHINESE energy company has been blocked from opening a major wind turbine plant in Scotland over concerns about ‘economic coercion’ and ‘national security’. Ming Yang had proposed a £1.5billion facility at Ardersier Port near Nairn, claiming 1,500...
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MIDDLE CLASS ‘TO FOOT BILL’ FOR REEVES’ BENEFITS ST FUEL BAILOUT
MIDDLE-CLASS families were last night warned they face subsidising an energy bailout for those on benefits. Rachel Reeves has pledged support for ‘those who need it most’, amid fears the Iran conflict will trigger a crippling hike in energy bills this...
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TRUMP BLINKS FIRST
DONALD Trump yesterday dramati- cally pulled back from the brink on his threat to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants. As the hours ticked down to a deadline for the mullahs to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the US President suddenly claimed Tehran was on...
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WHY DID PM KEEP PUBLIC IN DARK FOR 3O HOURS AFTER CHAGOS STRIKE?
KEIR Starmer was last night accused of a cover-up after failing to tell the public about an Iranian missile attack on a British overseas territory. The Government finally admitted that missiles had been fired at Diego Garcia more than 30 hours after...
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