Ciaran Martin was right at the heart of the British government – he was one of the architects of the 2014 referendum, the UK’s lead official on the constitution, and helped run GCHQ. Now, in an explosive intervention on the eve of the Scottish...

HMS Glasgow has reached a significant moment as the full size of the ship is revealed.

THE LEADER of Northern Ireland’s Alliance Party has warned the SNP and Conservatives against using divisions around the constitution to secure votes in the election, arguing the issue is a "disruptive force" which has not served her country well...

NICOLA Sturgeon is on course to win a majority at the Holyrood election on Thursday, a new poll for The Herald has found.

It is not hard to imagine what Boris Johnson would have made of the cash-for-curtains affair had he still been writing his newspaper column. He’d have fulminated in cod rage at the PM turning the Downing Street flat into a Balinese bordello, in ...

MINISTERS face an official sanction after the nationalised shipyard company at the centre of Scotland's ferry building fiasco failed to file four sets of financial accounts on time, the Herald can reveal.

MINISTERS have been warned of the risk of deaths as they forge ahead with a 10-year timescale to provide an permanent solution to Scotland's most notorious stretch of road - having sanctioned paying £25m on consultants alone.

Police dispersed more people for Covid breaches this week than any other seven-day period since the beginning of the pandemic.

The weather for March was perfect – glorious, noted St Kilda minister’s wife Alice MacLachlan in her diary, “just like summer and so warm.”

A potential for coronavirus cases to “reignite” remains as many adults are still unvaccinated, a former chief scientific adviser to the Government has warned.

With trillions of dollars invested in the US economy and recovery programmes that have drawn comparisons with the presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt, Joe Biden’s short time in office has already proved an eye-opener. Foreign Editor David Pratt r...

Euphemia Bourhill had been touring fairs as a gingerbread and fruit seller when she suddenly disappeared. Last seen on October 15, 1847, on the outskirts of Edinburgh after the Mid Calder Fair, the 50-year-old’s badly mutilated body was found by Ca...

Nicola Sturgeon has said that tackling Covid will remain her top priority if she is re-elected and urged the people of Scotland to give both votes to the SNP to secure experienced leadership in Holyrood.

AT first glance, the long finger of land jutting out into the sea at Chanonry Point is nothing remarkable. There’s a pebbled beach that, on a clear day, gives decent views across the Moray Firth towards the battlements of Fort George.

From savouring the soothing benefits of nature to the feel good factor of lending a helping hand to others, it’s been the simple things that have got many through the misery of lockdown.

Much has been said about returning to a “new normal”. Depending on your health or employment status, the last year and a bit certainly has been anything like “normal” for any or us. Many have lost loved ones, millions have been furloughed,...

With its purple flowers and broad green leaves, it has gone from favourite plant of the Georgian era to unwelcome guest that just doesn’t seem to want to go away.

A host of Scotrail services have been cancelled or are running at a reduced service as a result of strike action.

An East Kilbride chip shop covered a Colin the Caterpillar cake in batter and fried it as part of a special promotion.

The vast majority of councils in Scotland are on track to be placed in Level 2 of Covid restrictions in Scotland.

THE seat that includes Holyrood, Edinburgh Central is also home to the hottest fight to get into it.

Hundreds have gathered to take part in a socially distanced Scottish independence in Glasgow, while others gathered at the other side of the square for a pro-Union event.

Alex Salmond has claimed that Scotland should go for a "clean break" over debt with the UK during any independence talks.

SOME superheroes are invulnerable. Their creators, on the whole, tend not to be.

SCOTS journalist Andrew Marr is at the centre of a new BBC probe over 'bias' after telling millions of his viewers that those who are not interested in the funeral of Prince Philip are "wrong".

There have been 175 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Scotland in the past 24 hours.

THERE is a classic work of literature which neatly encapsulates this surreal election. Unfortunately, it is not Utopia nor yet an uplifting scientific vision of a glittering future, replete with contented citizens.

ALBA party MPs have missed every single vote in Parliament since defecting from the SNP and announcing their bids for Holyrood.

AT another time, Anas Sarwar and Gordon Brown would be walking, talking adverts for how good an independent Scotland could be. In vastly different circumstances, each benefited from the qualities long associated with this country.

BELTANE

IN south Denmark, the ferry Ellen sails quietly from Fynshav to the island of Æro in the west Baltic Sea without trailing even the slightest puff of diesel fumes in her wake.

ONE in 14 patients admitted to hospital since Britain's vaccine rollout began had had at least their first inoculation, with over 100 mostly frail elderly patients dying with Covid more than three weeks after receiving the jag.

The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls

During her 27 years in the prison service, Vanessa Frake encountered some of the most notorious criminals Britain has seen, including Moors murderer Myra Hindley and serial killer Rose West. She was bitten and punched by violent prisoners, dealt r...

Conservative Party staff have been given one week to hand over all communication related to renovations of Boris Johnson’s flat in 11 Downing Street or face criminal consequences, according to reports.

MEMBERS of Parliament have called for urgent action to remove export barriers four months into the disastrous hard Brexit engineered and executed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his associates.

BETWEEN them, Australia, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have recorded 12,953 confirmed Covid deaths out of a combined population of 162.6 million.

IT must have been her stirring and moving to the end of the bed that woke me. I looked at the wall clock – 2.30am – and then the end of the bed.

MINISTERS have been served with a pre-action letter as hundreds of Scots bars and clubs mount a collective court action over 'unlawful" Covid restrictions which they say are decimating the industry.

POCKETS of poor connectivity could hamper the economic recovery for some in Scotland’s largest city, it is claimed.

IN interviews, Nicola Sturgeon usually manages to mask her incompetence with her trademark articulacy, but even she was reduced to pretending that the line had broken to give her a few more seconds to think in the course of what proved to be a very u...

The yellow roses on Margaret Waterton’s backpack drew attention as she and her friend walked 10 miles around South Lanarkshire prompting car horn beeps and waves from passing drivers.

AN INTERNATIONAL student, who arrived in India amid the devastating coronavirus crisis, says she has barricaded herself in her home out fear for her life in the virus-stricken country.

Film of the Week

AFTER a nightmare year for the hospitality industry, big decisions have had to be made by many hotel owners. One such was taken a few weeks ago by Gillian and Mike Lacey-Solemar concerning their beautiful estate – Achnagairn near Inverness. Busines...

Willie Rennie has claimed the Scottish Liberal Democrats is the only party that has a track record of gaining seats in Scotland and can help stop a second independence referendum.

Fire crews battled a huge blaze in Dunfermline after a Stagecoach bus went on fire near a Tesco Superstore.

HERE’S a confession. I have always been fascinated with politics and intrigued by politicians. As next week’s elections approach with all the charm of a partner with a grievance, I realise that this is a minority view.

THERE’S something embarrassing about me. No, madam, though I frequently make out otherwise for laughs, I do not have – and have never had – either syphilis or haemorrhoids.

Anas Sarwar has called on the SNP to act to avoid a "summer of discontent" after council workers voted to reject a 2% pay offer.