News

The sister of a man with severe learning difficulties has failed in an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to appoint a local authority social worker as welfare guardian to her brother. The woman complained that the mental health officer who prepared a report which favoured the council’s applica

A group of four councils who broke away from local authority representative body Cosla has threatened to take the Scottish government to court if ministers continue to freeze them out of funding talks. At the moment Holyrood will only negotiate with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosl

Lord Wallace of Tankerness Lord Wallace of Tankerness has suggested Holyrood may need more MSPs with the new powers transferred from Westminster following Lord Smith’s review.

Liz Truss Plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a "British Bill of Rights" are to go ahead according to Justice Secretary Liz Truss.

A man has pleaded guilty at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for the 2012 destruction of religious monuments in Mali, marking the first time ever a defendant accused of war crimes has entered a guilty plea. Islamist Ahmad al-Mahdi pleaded guilty, telling judges he did so with deep regre

Mary Sharpe A charity founded by an advocate has published a paper on the effects of compulsive internet pornography use.

A case against former Heart of Midlothian chairman and solicitor Leslie Deans has been dropped as a result of insufficient evidence. Mr Deans, 65, along with six others, faced money laundering charges in relation to a 2013 fraud inquiry.

Islamic extremists likely to radicalise their fellow inmates are to be held in special prison units, Justice Secretary Liz Truss has announced. The plans will go along with new vetting measures for Muslim prison chaplains and the removal of extremist literature from institutions’ libraries.

The owners and publishers of the now defunct News of the World, which was ordered to pay £200,000 in damages after the former MSP Tommy Sheridan won a defamation action against the Scottish edition of the newspaper, have had an application for a new trial refused. Judges in the Inner House of the C

David Anderson QC The UK’s spies should be permitted to continue harvesting huge amounts of data from email, according to the independent reviewer of terror legislation.

Alan Meek Alan Meek provides an update on the BHS saga.

Dominic and Nikita

The US Department of Justice is to phase out private prisons amid safety concerns. Thirteen private prison contracts will not be renewed over the coming five years.

Maya Foa The family of an 81-year-old British journalist fear he could die in a Bangladeshi prison from ill health within months if he is not released. Shafik Rehman, who used to work for the BBC, has now spent four months detained without charge.

The beneficiaries of a trust fund which was created by a now deceased woman to reduce the impact of inheritance tax on her family have had a petition for rectification of a deed of appointment refused by a judge in the Court of Session. Lord Turnbull ruled that the deed accurately expressed the inte