Brexit news – live: Salmond will not appear at Holyrood committee and trade deal delay ‘prolongs uncertainty’

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has admitted that the government unit tasked with countering support for Scottish independence has been hit with “troubles and difficulties”.

His comments follow the exit of two leading figures from the union unit this month, amid reports of tensions over strategy.

Our reporter, Adam Forrest, has the full story below:

Nearly £10bn remains invested in fossil fuel companies through local government pensions, it has been revealed.

Figures obtained via freedom of information requests show that local authority pensions invested £9.9bn in fossil fuels in the financial year of 2019 to 2020 - a 40 per cent decrease on the amount invested in fossil fuels in 2017.

Our climate correspondent, Daisy Dunne, has the full story below:

Some of the world’s poorest countries could be charged for access to the UK’s “surplus” vaccine supplies, a government minister has suggested.

Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad repeatedly refused to rule out making developing nations pay, triggering fresh criticism of the uncertainty over when jabs will be sent overseas.

Our deputy political reporter, Rob Merrick, has the full story below:

The number of people claiming universal credit in the UK has doubled since the start of the pandemic, with 6 million now receiving the welfare benefit, new figures have shown.

The data comes amid concern over plans to remove the £20 uplift to the benefit which was introduced due to the economic impact of Covid-19.

Our social affairs correspondent, May Bulman, has the full story below:

The Crown Office has expressed concern about the publication of Alex Salmond’s written evidence by the Scottish parliament over the handling of harassment allegations against him.

In his evidence, Mr Salmond accused Nicola Sturgeon of misleading parliament and breaching the ministerial code, while also describing the Crown Office as “not fit for purpose” under its current leadership.

Following its publication, the Crown Office - the body responsible for prosecuting crimes in Scotland - sent a letter to Holyrood's corporate body that raised concerns and reportedly asked for redactions or for the evidence to be removed from parliament's website.

“The Crown Office wrote to the SPCB last night,” a Scottish parliament spokesperson said.

“We have asked the Crown Office to clarify its concern so that we can respond today.”

A Crown Office spokesperson declined to comment on the contents of the letter but said “in all cases where the Crown becomes aware of issues of potential contempt, these will be considered carefully and action will be taken if considered appropriate”.

Mr Salmond is due to appear before the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, set up to look into the unlawful investigation of allegations against the former leader of the SNP.

Labour has urged the government to address the “scandal” of higher living costs faced by black, Asian and other ethnic minorities in the UK.

A new report by academics at Bristol University has found those on low incomes are more likely to be paying extra costs for essentials, such as electricity and gas.

Our reporter, Adam Forrest, has the full story below:

Evidence from Alex Salmond will be removed from the Scottish parliament website before a redacted version is published later, Holyrood’s corporate body has said.

The change follows concerns raised by Scotland’s prosecution service after the former first minister’s written evidence to the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish government’s botched investigation of sexual harassment claims against him was published on Monday evening.

A Scottish parliament spokeswoman said: “Following representations from the Crown Office on Monday evening, the SPCB (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) agreed collectively this morning that it will remove the Alex Salmond submission on the Ministerial Code from its website with immediate effect and republish it later today in a redacted form. The SPCB will respond formally to the Crown Office shortly.”

Racially aggravated hate crimes in Scotland have fallen by a fifth (20 per cent) in the last five years while such attacks against transgender individuals have doubled in the same period, new figures show.

Hate crimes relating to the victim’s race fell from 4,967 in 2014-15 to 3,969 in 2019-20 while crimes targeting the transgender community increased from 48 to 96. The figures showed a 30 per cent rise in crimes where sexual orientation was the aggravating factor, with 1,314 recorded last year, compared to 1,010 in 2014-15.

Race-related incidents still accounted for more than three-fifths (62 per cent) of the 6,448 recorded hate crimes in 2019-20 in Scotland.

Twenty per cent of incidents were linked to sexual orientation, 8 per cent to religion, and 4 per cent to disability. Transgender identity was seen as the aggravating factor for 1 per cent of hate crimes and in 5 per cent there were multiple aggravators.

Justice secretary Humza Yousaf said the report “provides more detail of how hate crime affects our communities and is a timely reminder that crime motivated by hate is an all too common occurrence, with real-life impacts on victims and those around them”.

He added: “Just from those that are reported, we know that an average 18 hate crimes are committed every day in Scotland.

“The fact that visible minority ethnic groups, which represent 4 per cent of the population, experience two-thirds of all race-related hate crimes shows we have much more to do to overcome prejudice, while the findings also highlight the need for more to be done to ensure workplaces are an environment free from hatred and from fear.

“The report also highlights the risk that police face in the line of duty on a daily basis where almost one in five recorded hate crimes involved a victim that was a police officer.”

A government review of Covid vaccine and testing certification could lead to a ban on demands for proof of immunity in certain circumstances, Boris Johnson has suggested.

The PM’s comments raise the possibility that the review, to be led by Michael Gove and report by 21 June, will bar employers from implementing “no jab, no job” rules or pubs and restaurants excluding people who have not been vaccinated.

Mr Gove’s review is expected to look not only at the question of vaccine passports but also into whether people could be issued with official certification to prove a recent negative Covid-19 test, possibly in the form of an entry on the NHS smartphone app.​

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi previously warned the implementation of vaccine passports could lead to “discriminatory” issues.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

Boris Johnson has suggested that journalists are always “abusing” others and that “guilt” led him to swap the profession for politics.

Speaking to a group of schoolchildren, the prime minister said: “When you are a journalist you think ‘great, great job’… But the trouble is that… sometimes you find yourself always abusing people or attacking people.”

Our Whitehall editor, Kate Devlin, has the full story below: