Islanders ‘badly let down’ by ‘ferry fiasco riddled with failures’

SCOTLAND’S islanders have been “badly let down” by “a ferry fiasco riddled with failures in governance, transparency, accountability, communication and record-keeping”. That’s the conclusion of the Scottish Parliament’s public audit committee in its report into the construction of Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed “Hull 802”. The committee has called on the Auditor General for Scotland…

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NHS heroes enjoy weekend hotel stays

MORE than 380 health service workers and their families stayed at Crerar Hotels’ seven venues for free last weekend as part of the “Scottish Hospitality for NHS Heroes” initiative. Paddy Crerar, the company’s founder and chairman, took some guests on boat trips, while others tucked into locally-sourced food and drink. The chain spent more than…

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A new exhibition remembers those lost on the Iolaire

An exhibition of remembrance to mark Britain’s worst peacetime disaster at sea has been opened. Running until February 1 2020 at Museum nan Eilean in Benbecula, it ensures that the memory of HMY Iolaire is never forgotten. It sank on the approach to Stornoway Harbour on 1 January 1919, with the loss of 201 Islanders returning…

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A biography of the Scottish First Minister

Nicola Sturgeon made history when she became the first female First Minister of Scotland in 2014. But what drives the SNP’s leading lady?  How has her background, family and education shaped her political life? In the first biography of Scotland’s First Minister, David Torrance examines how this woman, once described as a ‘nippy sweetie’, rose to…

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