Doctor turned Labor MP and self-described Israel ally condemns Netanyahu government
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Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
SNP minister says no time to relax in battle against Scotland's drug deaths crisis
Maree Todd was appointed to the role in June following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year. The SNP Government's new drugs minister has said she will never 'sit back, relax and say 'job done'' in the fight against Scotland's drug deaths crisis. Maree Todd was appointed to the role in June following the death of Christina McKelvie earlier this year from secondary breast cancer. Despite the circumstances of the appointment, the former mental health pharmacist said she was 'excited' to move from the social care brief to drugs as the Government continues its push to tackle the level of addiction and death across Scotland. The minister inherits a legacy which has been long-criticised by opponents, with Scotland having the highest drug death rates in Europe – a figure which actually increased between 2022 and 2023 in the latest available confirmed data. Just this week, figures showed the number of suspected drug deaths between March and May of this year increased by 15% compared to the previous 13 weeks. The minister said there is a 'consensus' that 'the work we are doing is the right kind of work', but the Government is responding to a 'changing landscape'. When the Government launched its national mission on drugs under the premiership of Nicola Sturgeon, the focus was largely on opioids such as heroin. But that has shifted, reflecting an increase in the injection of cocaine and the spectre of synthetic opioids known as nitazenes. On the latter, the minister said: 'They are unbelievably potent, super-strong, very tiny amounts can cause fatal overdoses easily.' As it looks to deal with the shifting threat posed by drugs, she stressed the need for the Government to be 'agile'. Todd said: 'We've just had our rapid action drug alerts and response (Radar) statistics released this week and we've seen a rise in deaths, a rise in Naloxone use, a rise in hospital admissions. 'We are seeing some absolutely significant and tangible harm occurring because of the change in the drug supply. I suppose the lesson that provides to me is that we need to be agile. 'I don't think we do one thing and this job is done and we fixed the problem that Scotland faces, we have to continually look carefully at what's happening in Scotland, understand the challenges that we're facing, understand the harms that people are experiencing.' She added: 'I don't think I would ever sit back and relax and say 'job done'. I think we've seen some significant progress, but each of these deaths is an absolute tragedy – it's a family who's lost a loved one, it's a loss of potential and contribution to our communities.' The way forward, she said , is a job for the whole of Government, saying there is a need for 'primary prevention'. The minister said: 'We need to be thinking, why is it that Scotland faces this challenge and what can we do to shift the likelihood that people growing up in Scotland will turn to drugs and alcohol as they grow older?' Earlier this year, the Thistle Centre opened in the east end of Glasgow, a UK-first safe consumption room giving those struggling with addiction a safe place to inject drugs. Since opening, the facility has supervised 3,008 injecting episodes and dealt with 39 medical emergencies, which could include administering Naloxone or even resuscitation. 'People would definitely have died if they had not been in that unit,' Todd said. "I think in March, there was a cluster of very profound overdose episodes, I think this is the issue with nitazenes, they act very fast, so people were really unwell really quickly and it takes a lot of Naloxone because of its potency.' In other parts of Scotland without the benefit of a safe consumption room where that specific batch of drug was used, the minister said: 'Where people used it, they did die.'
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
SNP Government making 'glacial progress' on removing cladding from homes after Grenfell Tower
Willie Rennie said Nationalist ministers had "no excuse" after works were completed on just 0.2 per cent of potentially affected buildings. The SNP Government has been accused of making "glacial progress" in removing potentially dangerous cladding from residential buildings in the wake of Grenfell Tower fire. Willie Rennie said Nationalist ministers had "no excuse" after official figures showed remediation work had only been completed on just 0.2 per cent of potentially affected buildings. The Lib Dem MSP said the removal of potentially dangerous cladding was an issue "where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind". The Scottish Government has estimated up to 1,450 residential buildings may need remediation work - including about 250 high-rises. But full surveys are needed to establish what needs to be done on a case-by-case basis, a process known as Single Building Assessments (SBAs). The Lib Dems today warned that just three SBAs have been completed, while there are only two buildings with active remediation work. A further 12 SBAs are underway. The slow pace is despite Government's Cladding Remediation Programme having received 600 expressions of interest, which allows those responsible for buildings to ask for them to be assessed. The MSP said the lack of progress in Scotland contrasts sharply contrasts sharply with the situation in England where 2,490 buildings identified with unsafe cladding have started or completed remediation works. Rennie said: "In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, there can be no excuses for making such glacial progress, but this SNP Government continues to blunder their way through in slow motion. "This is an issue where Scotland simply cannot afford to fall behind; by moving so sluggishly with the necessary building works, the SNP government are only increasing the risks to peoples' lives. "That's why I am imploring ministers to urgently step up the pace in fixing at-risk buildings and keep homeowners, residents and local authorities informed on developments." The Scottish Government has brought forward legislation which could see a tax charged on the construction of certain new residential properties, in line with equivalent legislation in England. The bill seeks to raise about £30m a year to help fund work to fix residential buildings with unsafe cladding which have no linked developer. Ivan McKee, the Public Safety Minister, previously said: "The Scottish government is committed to doing what is right and necessary to address the challenge of fixing buildings affected by unsafe cladding. "That includes putting the appropriate funding arrangements in place to ensure that the associated costs of cladding remediation do not fall directly onto affected homeowners. "I know that developers share our determination to keep people safe and this levy will ensure they make a fair contribution to these costs, just as they will be doing in England." He added: "I also welcome the continued co-operation of developers who have accepted responsibility for the assessments and any required mitigation and remediation of their buildings." The UK Government has already agreed in principle to devolve the powers needed for a Scottish Building Safety Levy. Labour ministers announced their intention to speed up efforts to inspect and repair buildings in response to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 72 people. The 23-storey tower's cladding is believed to have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. The Record asked the Scottish Government for comment.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Wong criticises Israel's conduct in Gaza in closed-door meeting with Israeli ambassador
In a private meeting with Israel's ambassador to Australia, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, criticised Israel's conduct in Gaza and called for it to urgently comply with international law and increase the supply of food to Palestinians. Wong's Thursday meeting with Amir Maimon was requested by the Israeli embassy, according to federal government sources, and took place inside Wong's office at Parliament House in Canberra. The meeting was held days after Australia joined 27 other countries in condemning Israel for denying humanitarian aid to Palestinians. At the time, Wong said the decision to sign the statement reflected the 'concern' and 'distress' Australians felt from seeing the images of starving Palestinians in Gaza. Sign up: AU Breaking News email The Thursday discussion followed another meeting between Maimon and lower-level foreign affairs officials in Canberra earlier in the week, as reported by the Nine Newspapers. Australian sources said Wong repeated her public criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza during the meeting with Maimon. This included a request for Israel to comply with international law and ensure enough food was being provided to Palestinians. Wong's office declined to comment on the meeting, and the Israeli embassy has been contacted for comment. Before both meetings took place, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, accused Israel of 'clearly' breaching international law and said Benjamin Netanyahu's government was 'losing support' internationally. After those comments, Wong said: 'It is forbidden to withhold aid from civilians, that is not consistent with international law, but actually, just as importantly, it's morally the wrong thing to do.' Earlier in the week, a select group of journalists attended a briefing at the Israeli embassy where Israel's deputy ambassador, Amir Meron, reportedly said: 'We don't recognise any famine or any starvation in the Gaza Strip.' In response, Albanese said that statement was 'beyond comprehension' and raised concerns about Israel restricting journalists from visiting the war-torn Palestinian territory. Dozens of Palestinians have died of hunger in recent weeks in a crisis attributed by the UN and other humanitarian organisations to Israel's blockade of almost all aid into the territory. Two Israeli-based rights groups this week declared that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, with reports citing evidence including the weaponisation of hunger. B'tselem described an 'official and openly declared policy' of mass starvation. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion On Wednesday, Australia joined 14 other countries in describing the recognition of Palestine as 'an essential step towards the two-state solution', linking progress on statehood to the upcoming United Nations general assembly meeting in September. But Albanese also criticised calls for further actions against Israel as 'slogans' as he faced intensifying pressure from his MPs, Labor members and the Greens to reconsider his position on the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He has so far stopped short of matching his UK counterpart Keir Starmer's promise to recognise the state of Palestine in September unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution. 'What I've said is that it's not the timeline, that's not what we're looking at. What we're looking at is the circumstances where recognition will advance the objective of the creation of two states,' Albanese said on Wednesday, a day before Wong met Maimon.
