The latest developments in the SNP saga make several front pages on Tuesday with First Minister Humza Yousaf defending his old boss and rejecting calls for her suspension from the party. The Daily Record quotes Mr Yousaf saying: “We are past the time of judging what a woman does based on what happens to her husband.”
Similarly, the Scotsman repeats Mr Yousaf’s comments that Nicola Sturgeon has “no reason to resign as an SNP MSP”. The paper speculates that the crisis engulfing the party “threatens to overshadow” a key statement the first minister will give at Holyrood to set out his priorities for Scotland.
Mr Yousaf also makes the cover of the National, which highlights his comment about judging Nicola Sturgeon in its headline. The paper details Mr Yousaf’s speech to the Scottish Trades Union conference (STUC) in Dundee where he said there was no reason for his predecessor to resign from the party.
The top story in the Times is Mr Yousaf’s STUC speech, highlighting plans to “squeeze Scotland’s middle class”. The first minister “sent his clearest signal yet” that he intends to further increase taxes to pay for costly public service pledges made during his leadership campaign, the paper reports.
An exclusive in the Herald reveals that first minister candidate Kate Forbes will head a new group calling for the Scottish government to do more with its powers to create a “wellbeing economy” that will eradicate poverty. Along with MSPs Ivan McKee and Michelle Thomson, she will call for a new vision for Scotland.
An investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog into Rishi Sunak’s possible failure to declare an interest is the lead in the i. The paper says a formal inquiry revealed the PM failed to publicly register shares his wife, Akshata Murty, holds in a childcare agency. Mr Sunak says he declared the link privately to the Cabinet office and is “happy to assist” with the probe, it reports.
The same story gets a humorous headline in the Metro, which contrasts the ethics probe with Rishi Sunak’s pledge to boost Britain’s maths skills.
The Daily Telegraph says single-sex schools in England will not be forced to accommodate transgender pupils under new government guidelines to be announced within weeks. A Department of Education source tells the paper that headteachers will be told they can reject “pupils of the other legal sex regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender”.
The Scottish Daily Express claims SNP MP Ian Blackford has been compared to an “SNP Comical Ali” after showing support for Nicola Sturgeon. Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhf was Saddam Hussein’s information minister during the invasion of Iraq.
The Scottish Daily Mail reports that the UK-wide test of the official emergency alarm system this weekend risks causing panic. The paper says that motoring groups have warned that drivers could be distracted by the alert, which will ring for 10 seconds at 15:00 BST on Sunday.
Former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson gives an interview to the Scottish Sun and reveals the other band members have not spoken to her since she left two years ago.
The Edinburgh Evening News highlights rent costs in the capital, with its headline claiming tenants are now spending half their salaries on rent payments.
A “bomb scare” in Glasgow’s Red Road area of Springburn makes the lead in the Glasgow Times. The paper gives residents’ reactions after they were evacuated from their homes for hours following the discovery of a suspicious device.
A property developer who was jailed over an insurance scam makes the top story in the P&J. Michael Maggs was jailed for 13 months after burning down his conversion project near Nairn when it fell into financial difficulties.
A new air link between Dundee and Heathrow is the main story in the Courier. Loganair announced its new route on Monday, calling it a “game changer”.
A story from the courts involving “catfishing sextortion” is the lead in the Evening Telegraph.
“See you in court” is the headline in the Evening Express which reports on a legal challenge facing the council in Aberdeen, after it missed a meeting with local campaigners fighting to save their swimming pool and libraries.
And the Daily Star of Scotland says that Star Trek character Captain James T Kirk would have been blind because a lack of gravity causes eyesight problems for astronauts. It also reports the Parliament’s standards investigation into the prime minister, asking: “Is dishy Rishi fishy?”
