The Scotsman leads with the concerns of a major charity over “the devastating personal cost of stroke” after a new report showed Scots are much more likely to suffer the life-threatening condition than residents in the rest of the UK. The paper also features a picture of the firefighter who was critically injured on Monday while tackling the Jenners blaze in Edinburgh.
A Scots counsellor who is ‘inundated’ with bullied children crying out for help has written an open letter to Nicola Sturgeon begging for action to be taken on youth violence, according to the Daily Record. The paper says Kirkcaldy-based Angela Gilluley is making a personal call for action to the first minister after being swamped by children who are victims of violent attacks from other kids.
The Herald’s front page features a large image of the interior of Glasgow School of Art after the completion of the first phase of preparation works for rebuilding its fire-damaged Mackintosh building. The paper’s main story warns tenants could still face eviction due to loopholes in the Scottish government’s eviction ban legislation.
The Scottish Daily Express leads with the conviction of a transgender woman who has been found guilty of raping two women in attacks carried out before she changed gender. Isla Bryson committed the crimes in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019 while known as Adam Graham.
The Metro leads with the same story and tells how the High Court in Glasgow heard Bryson, 31, has now started the process of gender re-assignment. Judge Lord Scott said she had been convicted of two extremely serious charges and a significant custodial sentence was inevitable.
The Scottish Sun says Bryson has been sent to the all-female Cornton Vale prison. Conservative MSP Russell Findlay told the paper: “This case is a betrayal of the victims.”
The i reports that the chancellor was surprised by the spike in public borrowing, with a Treasury source telling the paper the amount was “way higher” than expected. It says Mr Hunt will tell MPs the Treasury cannot afford to cut taxes in the Budget.
The Scottish Daily Mail says some Conservative MPs are arguing tax cuts are needed now to help balance the Treasury’s books after the national debt hit £2.5tn.
The Times says the Office for Budget Responsibility told Mr Hunt it over-estimated the prospects for medium-term growth in the economy last year and it intends to revise its forecasts down. The paper says while any recession this year will be shorter than expected, the long-term prospects are bleaker.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the West is to send nearly 200 tanks to Ukraine in a potential hammer blow for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Military researcher Kirill Mikhailov said deliveries of tanks on that scale could “change the course of the war”. The paper also says Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is facing growing pressure to cut taxes this spring after figures revealed households paid an average of £821 more in taxes this financial year.
Nearly 55% of voters would back pro-independence parties if the next general election was fought as a de facto referendum, according to a new poll which dominates the front page of The National.
The Press and Journal leads with a fatal accident inquiry which heard a man suffering from a severe psychotic disorder should not have been left to “self medicate”. David Johnstone carried out a fatal attack on 83-year-old dog walker Frank Kinnis in Moray in October 2019, around four months after he met his GP over his increasingly unusual behaviour and hallucinations.
“Lowest of the Low” is the headline in the Evening Telegraph. The paper reports a community hub was smashed up by suspects who posed for CCTV cameras.
The Courier leads with the fire at the former Jenner’s department store. On Tuesday the firefighter critically injured in the blaze was named as Barry Martin, 38, from Fife. The paper says Mr Martin is undergoing treatment in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
The main story in the Glasgow Times is a fresh appeal by a family to find a missing mother who vanished from her home on 6 June 1969.
The Edinburgh Evening News focuses on the latest phase of the 16-day wave of rolling teachers strikes. Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) are striking in two local authorities per day until 6 February and on Wednesday will walk out across Edinburgh and South Ayrshire.
The Evening Express leads with the conviction of a drug dealer who has been jailed after his DNA was found on wraps.
And the Daily Star of Scotland warns microchips in fridges, doorbells and laptops could mean Britons are being spied on.
