Political stories dominate the headlines on Sunday morning. We could face a snap general election, according to The Sunday Times Scotland. The paper claims Theresa May’s aides are drawing up contingency plans for a possible snap election in November. However Downing Street later issued a statement calling it “categorically untrue”. The paper also carries a story claiming Scotland could face an “autumn of discontent” with a wave of public sector industrial action threatening to bring schools, rubbish collections and burials to a standstill.
Scotland on Sunday weighs up the leadership of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in its cover story. An opinion piece on the prime minister says “only deluded – or calculating – Brexiteers could draw any comfort from her bulldog spirit” and that last week was the Labour leader’s chance to “declare Brexit a disaster”.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, a donor who gave £1.5m to the Leave campaign and £375,000 to the Conservative Party has said he is ready to fund a new pro-Brexit party to deliver “what the electorate thought it would be getting”. Jeremy Hosking said Leave voters were “being heated up slowly like laboratory frogs” under the PM’s Chequers plan. The paper says pressure is growing on Mrs May to back a Canada-style trade deal with the EU.
“Apologise to Scotland” is the Sunday National’s headline. The paper says Scottish Brexit secretary Michael Russell has demanded Theresa May apologise after her government was caught “pleading with the EU to do nothing to help Scotland.” It follows newspaper claims last week that officials in Brussels had been briefed by Whitehall to find a solution to the Irish border in a way “that it is not applicable for Scotland.”
The Scottish Sunday Express also leads on Brexit, this time praising Theresa May for her “finest hour”. The newspaper reports a “defiant” Mrs May has insisted the UK must “hold its nerve” in negotiations with the EU on the Brexit deal.
Allegations of sexual misconduct against Alex Salmond are the subject of the Herald on Sunday’s lead story. The paper claims police have extended the period of their investigation to cover 20 months which includes the period of Scotland’s independence referendum.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday leads with an exclusive on Sheku Bayoh, the man who died in police custody in 2015. The paper claims officers investigated as part of an inquiry into Mr Bayoh’s death will not face criminal charges.
Mental health is the subject of the Sunday Mail’s splash. The paper reveals a shock report on the rise of young women struggling to cope. The paper says Scottish government researchers have found that social media, the pressures of school work and poor sports participation are feeding “an explosion in mental health problems”.
The Scottish Sun on Sunday’s lead focuses on a story about former footballer Craig Thomson who was convicted of grooming underage girls in 2011. The paper claims he joined a playgroup for vulnerable children on a trip to Edinburgh zoo.
The Sunday Post runs with claims an Asian heart patient was questioned by police who “suspected his life-saving backpack was a suicide bomb”.
