Revelations from Scotland’s former first minister make several of Scotland’s front pages. The Scottish Daily Mail reports that speaking at a 70-minute Edinburgh Festival Fringe event, Nicola Sturgeon told the audience she was desperate for the police investigation to be over, describing her experience of the SNP funding probe as “traumatic”.
The Scotsman reports that Ms Sturgeon said she had no idea of the scale of the investigation into the SNP finances until her husband, party chief Peter Murrell, was arrested. It adds that she maintained her innocence and said she had to “have faith” in the police inquiry. The paper also features a picture of Aberdeen student Anastatia Mayers on Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism flight.
Under the headline “We don’t talk about the tent”, the Scottish Daily Express reports that Ms Sturgeon revealed she and her husband do not discuss the inquiry, and that she thought the decision to erect a tent in their garden while police searched their home was justified.
Reporting on the same festival interview, the Herald says Sturgeon has “publicly and irrevocably” turned her back on her former mentor and predecessor Alex Salmond by saying she did not want to reconcile with him.
The Times takes a different look at the SNP, leading with a poll by Sir Professor Sir John Curtice that found the slump in the party’s support was caused more by the leadership of Humza Yousaf than the arrest of Sturgeon and her husband. The Times also has a story on the number of migrants arriving on British shores on small boats hitting six figures.
SNP plans for independence feature on the front page of the Daily Telegraph’s Scotland edition, which notes that government officials have warned that it could take up to eight years for Scotland to rejoin the EU, and that passport checks would likely be introduced at the border with England.
Anastatia Mayers’ decision to have a Saltire flag on her suit as she took her winning place on the Virgin Galactic tourism flight makes the front page of the Scottish Sun. The 18-year-old University of Aberdeen physics student, who is from Antigua, became the youngest person to enter orbit.
Controversial plans to build a private holiday compound for the “mega rich” on the banks of Loch Tay make the front page of the National after it was revealed that the developers took almost a year to respond to questions posed by the community.
The Metro is leading with the news that Wilko has collapsed into administration after failing to secure a rescue deal. The chain has so far been unable to find enough emergency investment to save its 400 shops and 12,500 workers. The Metro says the 93-year-old homeware retailer could “vanish like giants Woolworths and C&A”.
The i leads on a story about a “mortgage rates war” as 13 lenders cut prices while millions still face hikes after the base rate rises. Halifax is set to sharply cut rates on some of its fixed mortgage deals, while NatWest follows suit with HSBC and Nationwide having cut some rates. But experts tell the i that there will be no return to very low rates.
The Press and Journal reports that a photographer who “lured” young women with hopes of fame has been found guilty of sexually assaulting five women.
An Edinburgh Fringe audience made a run for the door after a man burst in “waving a gun”, the Edinburgh Evening News writes. Comedian Ralph Brown was performing his show Ralpha Male on Wednesday evening when a man brandished what was later found to be a replica or BB gun.
A couple “cheated death” when a slab was dropped onto their taxi from a bridge, the Daily Record reports.
The Courier writes that Amanda and Terry Finlay were injured when the concrete slab hit the taxi they were travelling in, but the driver and their children were unscathed. A 14-year-old boy has been charged, the paper adds.
A 21-year-old woman pleaded guilty to voyeurism after being caught on camera in a nightclub toilet, the Evening Telegraph reports.
The Evening Express reports that a 38-year-old woman has been jailed for attacking a 92-year-old stranger on a park bench.
