The Herald

Clyde carrier costs put jobs in jeopardy Hundreds at risk as memo reveals bill has risen to GBP5bn

A GBP1BN hike in costs to build the Royal Navy's two biggest- ever aircraft carriers on the Clyde has put hundreds of jobs at risk. The GBP4bn project provides a lifeline for the BAE Systems and BVT Group consortium to build sections of the carriers, but the rising bill has raised the prospect of up to 500 redundancies across UK yards to control costs.

Brown's policy bid to rescue premiership

GORDON Brown's bid to save his beleaguered premiership and stay in power beyond 2010 was rubbished by opposition parties as an uncosted ragbag of "rehashed initiatives". The draft Queen's Speech of 11 new Bills, together with a policy document, Building Britain's Future, set out the UK government's programme for the runup to the General Election and will effectively form the basis of Labour's next manifesto. Apart from a nationwide initiative to get young people back into work, the thrust of ...

Postcode lottery for 1m Scots allergy victims

MORE than one million people in Scotland who suffer from allergies are being failed by the NHS, according to an official report. It warned of a "fragmented" service with a lack of specialist care for children and adults with conditions ranging from asthma and hayfever to food allergies.

Schoolgirl is youngest to die from swine flu in Britain 196 new cases confirmed in Scotland

A SCHOOLGIRL has become the youngest person to die from swine flu as the total number of people with the virus passed the 1000 mark in Scotland yesterday. The victim from Birmingham had "other serious underlying health conditions" as was the case with Jacqueline Fleming, 38, from Glasgow, who died after giving birth prematurely earlier this month and a 73-year-old man who died on Saturday night in a Paisley hospital.

Most Scots want greater tax powers for Scottish Government

MOST Scots want the Scottish Government to have greater powers over tax but only after the move has been agreed in a referendum, it emerged yesterday. An ICM poll for BBC Scotland found 56per cent of those interviewed said there should be a vote while 37per cent believed the change could be made without asking and 7per cent remained undecided.

Clyde could be home to a floating bar and restaurant

A NEW hotel, which will have a bar and restaurant floating on the Clyde, is planned for Glasgow city centre. The development will also include a land-based hotel, floating offices and studio spaces.

Treasury in court over bank's 'destructive projects' EXCLUSIVE

CAMPAIGNERS for social and environmental justice will today take the Treasury to court for allowing the Royal Bank of Scotland to continue with policies that breach government rules on climate change and human rights. The Statement of Grounds for seeking judicial review states: "RBS has the worst record by far of any UK bank when it comes to financing projects around the world which cause environmental damage, including through increasing carbon dioxide levels and thus contributing to climat...

Hydro's potential to power all Scots homes in a decade Energy firm reveals plan for 70per cent capacity boost

SCOTLAND could be generating enough hydro power to meet the equivalent needs of every household in the country in less than 10 years. The claim was made yesterday as Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) unveiled plans for two new large-scale pumped storage hydro electric schemes in the Great Glen, which could increase Scotland's hydro capacity by more than 70per cent.

Councillor disputes MoD sums for quitting St Kilda

THE Ministry of Defence has not fully costed its proposed withdrawal from the Uists and St Kilda with the loss of 125 jobs at the Hebrides missile range, it was claimed yesterday. The cost of returning St Kilda to the way it was would cost tens of millions of pounds, it was claimed, undermining the whole point of the proposal, which was to save GBP50m.

Labour chooses lecturer to run in by-election

THE Labour Party last night selected law lecturer William Bain as its candidate for the Glasgow North East by-election. Mr Bain, 36, was born and brought up in Springburn in the heart of the constituency and is currently secretary of the local Constituency Labour Party. He said: "This is my home and I know the challenges and problems that local people face every day."

Is it closing time for pubs at the heart of Scottish communities? Uncertain future but book celebrates historic bars

RAISE a glass to Scotland's secret weapon in the tourism battle. A new book was launched yesterday hat aims to celebrate the role pubs play in communities across the country and to pull in even more punters. Raising the Bar, which was produced by Historic Scotland and the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), looks at how some of the most historic public houses in Scotland have survived and developed.

Financial concerns cause Dark Star chain to collapse

A SECOND company run by Glasgow tycoon Alistair McKever has gone into administration. Dark Star Scotland Limited, one of Scotland's largest bar, restaurant and hotel businesses, announced the development yesterday.

Plan for fashion stores at Glasgow Airport

GLASGOW Airport is set to literally become the most fashionable airport in the UK after a retail consortium announced plans to open 11 stores as part of its multi-million pound revamp. The McArthurGlen Collezioni will provide another distraction for departing passengers with, what it says will be a "stylish, curved avenue of stores" in the new-look departure lounge selling "full price" fashion labels. It is the first UK airport to welcome the collection, which is already occupies areas of Ve...

Beleaguered Brown prov ides an easy target for Opposition potshots 'Rehashed' pre-legislative programme rings hollow 'Rehashed' pre- legislative programme rings hollow ANALYSIS

THE Conservative contention is simple: the king has no clothes. David Cameron declared the pre-legislative programme nothing more than a collection of "rehashed initiatives" while Nick Clegg branded it a "hotchpotch of unrelated Whitehall schemes, a ministerial cut- and-paste job".

Mandelson suffers setback after plans to privatise Royal Mail shelved

LORD Mandelson, the Business Secretary, suffered his clearest setback since rejoining Gordon Brown's government yesterday when he had to admit that his plans to sell a 30per cent stake in the Royal Mail are on hold. The admission by the Prime Minister's closest cabinet ally that the privatisation legislation was being "jostled for space" in the legislative programme and will now happen "later" delighted Labour backbenchers who had threatened a Commons revolt on the issue that could have split...

Cameron announces his frontbench colleagues are to give up second jobs

THE "millionaires row" of Tory frontbenchers in David Cameron's shadow cabinet are to give up their lucrative second jobs - but not until the end of the year. Two days before new rules insisting MPs declare all outside earnings comes into force, Mr Cameron announced that his team would give up their outside interests even though he did not think these were incompatible with being an MP.

The women risking it all to help future generations In his final report from Afghanistan, our reporter meets pioneering females

IT may just be made from sheets of wood nailed together, but Sheila has tried her best to make her room feel more homely. The bed is strewn with a patterned blanket, the floor is covered with a bold red Afghan carpet and the shelves are filled with trinkets and make-up. There is one thing in the room though that is particularly special to Sheila: a picture of her six children in America. Every day that picture reminds her of home, but it also reminds her of something less comforting - the ri...

Queen set to issue cash plea as she dips into reserve funds Cost of keeping royals rises to GBP41.5m

THE Queen is expected to ask for the first increase in the Civil List for 20 years after accounts showed she is likely to run out of funds by the start of 2012 - the year of her Diamond Jubilee. Accounts released yesterday show she was forced to take GBP6m from a reserve fund to help pay for the running of the Royal Household.

Culloden welcomes special guests

AT some point down the years Her Majesty the Queen must have pondered where she would have been had Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army not turned back at Derby in December 1745. Such thoughts would have returned to her yesterday when she visited the National Trust for Scotland's (NTS) new GBP9.5m Culloden Battlefield visitor centre, outside Inverness.

Action to cut deaths from heart attacks and strokes Plan for defibrillators in public places

AMBITIOUS plans to cut Scotland's high death rates from heart disease and strokes were announced yesterday by Nicola Sturgeon. They include the possibility of installing at airports and railway stations defibrillator machines that can restart the heart in the event of cardiac arrest by delivering an electrical shock.