A portrait of Humza Yousaf after his swearing-in at the Court of Session takes up the entire National front page. The new first minister went straight to work on naming his new cabinet, which is also pictured.
The Times concentrates on the new appointments, claiming Mr Yousaf’s pledge to form a “big tent” government was disintegrating. The paper says highly-rated ministers turned down job offers while the new FM installed his closest allies into the key positions.
The Scottish Daily Mail is less kind, calling it a “cabinet of cronies” and saying that loyalists of Nicola Sturgeon were rewarded with posts in the new Scottish government. The front page pictures Camilla, the Queen Consort, on a state visit to Germany.
Mr Yousaf has “risked further disunity” within the SNP by sacking deputy leader Keith Brown, says The Herald. The lead story says that the new FM shook off his continuity label by “casting out” older ministers in favour of a younger group. It also claims the appointment of an independence minister has courted controversy.
The Scotsman pictures Mr Yousaf with the Great Seal of Scotland on its front page. However, the lead story claims hopes have been raised in Aberdeenshire that plans for a multi-billion investment in the Acorn Project carbon capture scheme could be given the green light by the UK government.
A different story leads the i which says MPs are demanding an inquiry over an alleged conflict of interest. The paper claims Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s wife holds shares in a childcare company that will benefit from the Budget. The paper says Akshata Murty is linked to Koru Kids, one of six agencies that could see a boost in business as part of a pilot scheme to train more childminders. A spokeswoman for Mr Sunak told the paper “he has declared it”.
The Scottish Daily Express leads with a story claiming government plans to raise the pension age to 68 have been abandoned over fears of a backlash from voters. It says Pensions Secretary Mel Stride is expected to say that “now is not the time”.
The Daily Telegraph tells us that households will be penalised if they do not switch from gas under net zero plans to be unveiled later. It says the government is planning to overhaul subsidy rules so gas is less attractive than electricity in a bid to hasten the end of fossil fuels. But the proposals risk forcing household gas bills up by as much as £100 a year, while electricity costs come down, according to the paper.
Former punk rocker Feargal Sharkey makes the front of the Daily Record, in his new persona as a pollution activist. The Undertones singer reacts to claims that 14,000 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of sewage has spilled into Scottish rivers in just a year. “The filth and the fury” is its headline.
Three stories share the front page of the Glasgow Times – Sir Alex Ferguson being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, The new Scottish cabinet and gangs of youths terrorising staff at a busy fast food restaurant with racist taunts and physical attacks.
A court story involving a siege at a flat in Fife makes the lead in The Courier. James Haggerty admitted barricading himself in and setting fire to the property.
A mother’s 48-year fight to lay her baby to rest is the top story in the Edinburgh Evening News. Lydia Reid is finally able to bury the remains of her son Gary.
A North-east driver is facing jail for striking and killing a care home chef as he changed a flat tyre at the roadside, writes the P&J. John Grover was mowed down by a transit van driven by Graham Smith, 59, on the A90 in December 2021.
“Must do better” is the Evening Telegraph’s headline as it reveals a damning report on Baldragon Academy in Dundee.
And “Ta-ra Lily”, “Ta-ra Paul” is the Scottish Sun’s tribute to Paul O’Grady and his drag queen alter ego, Lily Savage, after his death at the age of 67. The paper says the announcement led to an “outpouring of grief”.
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