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The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, told Sky News on Thursday evening she stood by all her evidence to the committee. What has been clear is that opposition members of this committee made their minds up about me before I uttered a single word of evidence. Their public comments have made that clear,' she said. So this very partisan leak tonight before they’ve actually finalised the report is not that surprising'

Despite Scotland suffering heavily under the weight of the Covid pandemic, Ms Sturgeon has persisted with her independence ambitions throughout the crisis. In January her nationalist party set up an independence "taskforce" in anticipation of a second referendum. And launching her election campaign this week, she focused on giving Scots another chance to vote to leave the UK, seven years after they opted to stay in.

An opinion poll showed Alex Salmond’s party on just three percent of the vote, with polling expert Sir John Curtice saying it appears to be "all over" for him before Scots have their say on May 6. And adding to the scepticism, Ms Sturgeon said: "We shouldn't assume that Alex Salmond is going to return MSP to Holyrood". The SNP leader added she "could not envisage" working with him or his new party because she does not think the group will help the cause for Scottish independence. She explained: "I can't and don't envisage working with him, or his new party.

The First Minister was scathing in her review of Mr Salmond's bid to make a comeback to frontline politics at May's Holyrood elections. Last week he was named as leader of the pro-independence party and has since gained support from the likes of Nigel Farage. But just a week after he launched his ambitious drive to return to the Scottish parliament as an MSP, it appears to have gotten off to a sluggish start.

Messages disclosed by a whistleblower show there was a “concerted effort” by senior SNP figures to encourage complaints against Alex Salmond, a former Conservative minister has claimed. Tory MP David Davis made the claim as he used parliamentary privilege in the Commons to raise concerns about the Scottish government’s unlawful investigation into the former SNP leader.

At least 10,000 children in care were placed in potentially unsafe accommodation including caravans, tents and barges, a Sky News investigation has found. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "Vulnerable children under 16 are too young for the type of accommodation that provides a place to stay but not the care and support that they need. The action taken today, supported by the sector and in response to their views, is an important step in making sure children in care are placed in settings that give them the highest chances of success."

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that local councils used unregulated accommodation to house vulnerable children - even though these settings were not subject to inspection or regulation by Ofsted. Between January 2019 and December 2020, at least 9,990 children were placed into unregulated accommodation by 86 local authorities. At least 20 children were sent to live in tents or caravans, 17 were placed into hostels, and seven were housed in barges on canals.

Nicola Sturgeon is standing by her most senior civil servant whose “individual failings” were central to the unlawful investigation of Alex Salmond which “badly let down” female complainers, according to a report by an inquiry. Senior government sources said there was some surprise that the committee report into the Salmond affair failed to call for Leslie Evans, the permanent secretary, to resign after it was highly critical of her actions.

Appearing before the committee, Ms Sturgeon condemned Mr Salmond's actions, telling MSPs the details of complaints against him were "shocking" and his behaviour "was not always appropriate". "What happened is this and it is simple. A number of women made complaints against Alex Salmond," she continued.

Earlier on Wednesday the first minister rejected what she called "the absurd suggestion that anyone was acting with malice or this was part of a plot against Alex Salmond". After nearly seven hours of questioning by MSPs, Ms Sturgeon said: "I have learned things about Alex Salmond over the past couple of years that have made me rethink certain things I thought about him. "No doubt he would say the same about me."

Nicola Sturgeon has accused Alex Salmond of failing to apologise "for behaviour on his part", and denied there was ever a plot to "get him". Maintaining throughout her evidence to the Holyrood enquiry that she did not intervene in the Scottish government’s investigation into her predecessor, Ms Sturgeon said: "I think the only person who should apologise for behaviour on his part – which he was asked to do on Friday and failed to do – is Alex Salmond."

Answering questions from Independent MSP Andy Wightman, Ms Sturgeon says she now knows there had been an incident which Alex Salmond had apologised for in 2013. However, she did not know that at the time and did not hear about concerns back then. She says Mr Salmond was "a tough guy to work for" and that she did address times when she felt he was crossing a line or risking crossing it - although this did not relate to behaviour of a sexual nature. Ms Sturgeon insists that governments should be able to investigate sexual harassment claims against former ministers, and says she fundamentally disagrees with Mr Salmond's view on this.

In eight hours of evidence from the first minister, a lot of ground has been covered by this committee. Nicola Sturgeon has given a long, detailed defence of her actions and those of her government. It boils down to this: she admits mistakes were made, but says people were trying to do the right thing in investigating Alex Salmond. But today is unlikely to put some of the big questions to bed. Ms Sturgeon still faces big questions over whether she broke the ministerial code. She has denied it – but an independent investigation is taking place. The committee is still to see messages which Mr Salmond believes show a plot against him.

While access to basic education has improved, Yemen still faces significant challenges, includinig girls' enrollment, retention and completion rates, teacher quality and instructional materials, and emergency or conflict afflicted areas.

Some British firms could be complicit in the use of forced labour in China's Xinjiang region, an MPs' report says. It states there was a lack of transparency in firms' supply chains and failures in government. Xinjiang, in north-west China, is home to the Uighur Muslim population. China has been accused of committing genocide and crimes against humanity through its repression of the Uighurs - allegations it denies.

Mr Wolffe told the committee: “Any suggestion, from any quarter, that the Crown’s decision making has at any time been influenced by irrelevant considerations, or improper motivations, would be wholly without foundation. Insinuations or assertions to the contrary are baseless. Can I say absolutely that the Crown is not party, would not be party, to any improper conduct.” Well he would say that wouldn’t he?

On Tuesday Mr Wolffe was recalled to the committee investigating the government’s handling of allegations against Mr Salmond, just days after the former first minister had called on him to consider his position during an explosive evidence session. A huge row erupted last week after the Scottish Parliament redacted part of Mr Salmond’s evidence a day after it had been published, following legal concerns raised by the Crown Office due to issues related to potential contempt of court. The committee has also been forced to use special powers to try to obtain evidence from the Crown Office.

The under-pressure head of the Crown Office has defended the way it has handled Alex Salmond’s inquiry evidence as a “vindication of democracy”. Lord Advocate James Wolffe took aim at “baseless” allegations that the Crown Office had intervened in the Holyrood probe to protect the Scottish Government, saying it was “wholly without foundation” to suggest there had been any “improper” conduct. He also argued that it was “wrong” to say his various roles could not be carried out with integrity, amid questions over the ability of the lord advocate to be both the head of the prosecution service and the government’s top legal officer. It is all wrong to be doing the two jobs, he cannot remain impartial. This is a typical example of the shambolic SNP.

The separation of powers – or lack thereof – has become part of the scandal. Tomorrow the Lord Advocate, the Crown Agent and the Advocate Depute are all appearing before the Holyrood inquiry to speak about their role. And hopefully, why they were trying to censor a political inquiry in defiance of the High Court judgment.

Yemen considers education vital to eliminating poverty and is focused on ensuring that all children have access to quality education. The country’s development plans consistently prioritize human development and the education of the labour force.

First, the committee tried not to publish Alex Salmond’s full evidence against Nicola Sturgeon citing legal reasons. That defence fell apart when The Spectator went to the High Court. Then, outrageously, the Crown Office (Scotland’s state prosecutors) told the committee to censor Salmond’s evidence. Leading to a question: what on earth was it playing at by interfering with parliament? Would the Crown Prosecution Service ever dare to interfere with a Westminster inquiry in this way? And how can the Crown Office claim to be independent when it’s led by a member of Sturgeon’s cabinet?

It's not the crime, it's the cover-up: just as Watergate exposed the workings of the Nixon White House the Salmond inquiry is giving the world a glimpse of how the SNP works in Edinburgh. And how the SNP-led committee investigating Nicola Sturgeon is shameless in its determination to rig the system.

Westminster is attempting to “bypass the Scottish Government” by giving UK ministers powers in areas that are reserved for Edinburgh, the SNP has claimed. The United Kingdom Internal Market Bill gives ministers the power to fund infrastructure and development anywhere in the UK, which the SNP say is an attack on devolution because areas such as transport and regional development are reserved powers held by Holyrood. Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Bill will “help deliver the single biggest transfer of powers to the devolved administrations since their creation”.

John Swinney is being given a 24 hour deadline to release the government’s legal advice on the Alex Salmond case or face a vote of no confidence in him as Deputy First Minister. The Scottish Conservatives are threatening to lodge a motion of no confidence in Nicola Sturgeon's second in command at Holyrood on Tuesday. The Tories are giving Swinney 24 hours to agree to release the legal advice or face a vote to remove him from office. The Deputy First Minister has previously ignored two cross-party motions in the Scottish Parliament attempting to force the government to comply with a parliamentary majority telling it to publish the advice. The committee investigating the Scottish government’s handling of harassment complaints against former leader, Alex Salmond is renewing a demand for the documents, after hearing the former First Minister’s explosive evidence last Friday.

Shamima Begum, who left the UK for Syria to join the Islamic State group as a teenager, will not be allowed to return and fight her citizenship case, the Supreme Court has ruled. The court said in a unanimous ruling that her rights were not breached when she was refused permission to return. Ms Begum, 21, wants to come back to challenge the home secretary's decision to remove her British nationality. She is currently in a camp controlled by armed guards in northern Syria. Ms Begum was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls left the UK in February 2015 and travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State group. In 2019, the then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped Ms Begum of her citizenship on national security grounds.