Pro-Palestine protesters disrupt John Swinney Edinburgh Fringe event
Police have been called in to remove pro-Palestinian protesters from an event with First Minister John Swinney at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Mr Swinney was speaking to comedian Susan Morrison when the event was disrupted five times by six different groups of protesters who held up signs that spelled the word 'genocide'.
As the event went on, tensions rose between the protesters and other members of the crowd, with three police officers called in and the First Minister's security team forced to keep people back from berating Mr Swinney on the stage.
The protesters shouted at the First Minister to stop funding arms companies through the Government's commercial arm Scottish Enterprise, as well as to describe the ongoing crisis in Gaza as a 'genocide'.
The First Minister sat quietly during the protests.
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Scottish Sun
11 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside SNP's internal battle as ‘real reason' for Kate Forbes resignation revealed
Her Scottish Government critics have been described as a 'nest of vipers' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KATE Forbes decided to quit Holyrood after tiring of being undermined by Cabinet colleagues, insiders have claimed. The Deputy First Minister revealed she will depart in May for more time with husband Alasdair and daughter Naomi. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 3 Kate Forbes will stand down as an MSP next year 3 MSP Kate Forbes plays with her daughter Naomi at nursery in Scottish Parliament Credit: Euan Cherry - Commissioned by The Times 3 Kate Forbes with husband Ali and their daughter Naomi Credit: EPA It came as a source described her critics in the Scottish Government as 'like a nest of vipers" who made her life "as difficult as possible." The Deputy First Minister chose daughter Naomi's third birthday to tell boss John Swinney she was ditching the cauldron of Holyrood to enjoy 'the precious early years of family life'. But party sources said Ms Forbes had also grown tired of being 'undermined' by cabinet colleagues who saw her as a threat to Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan — seen as a future Nats leader. One insider said: 'Perhaps if Kate hadn't been getting tripped up at every step by people who are meant to be on her side then she would have stayed on. 'But given the personal sacrifices, it is clearly not worth the effort any longer. 'The family issues are clearly a huge factor for Kate but may not have been insurmountable if other things were different.' In her letter to the First Minister, Ms Forbes, 35, said she had given 'careful thought' to her future before deciding she 'does not wish to seek re-election' at next May's Scottish Parliament elections. And she told broadcaster LBC of a lack of 'support' for parents at Holyrood. She added: 'I'm not the first mum who's also an MSP to cite motherhood as a reason for standing down.' The Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP since 2016 said: 'It is partly because of the eight-hour return drive I do every week, and the minimum five-hour drive across the constituency. Kate Forbes picks her biggest scandal of the SNP's time in power 'It's one thing to try to get home every night to see them, it's another to face the prospect of going full weeks without being there.' Another source said: 'John Swinney simply saw Kate as window dressing for a certain section of the Scottish electorate. 'Swinney has not had the courage to stand up to the likes of McAllan and [Education Secretary] Jenny Gilruth. "They will think they've won, but the SNP will be in a worse place and in a worse position electorally without Forbes.' And former SNP special adviser Geoff Aberdein said there was 'no doubt' Ms McAllan has ambitions to rival Westminster chief Stephen Flynn as Mr Swinney's heir apparent — but both lacked Ms Forbes' economic competence. Mr Aberdein told the Holyrood Sources podcast: 'I'm not saying there aren't people in the party who are viewed as credible in the business community, but nowhere near as credible as Kate Forbes. 'There will be some in the party who will be quite pleased by this decision which really frustrates me because, whether you agree with her brand of politics or not, she is a huge electoral asset.' Now a managing partner at the True North think tank, Mr Aberdein said he has been inundated with messages from business leaders lamenting Ms Forbes' departure. He said: 'She's extremely credible to the business community and that is a gap that John Swinney is going to have to fill. 'That is a major problem and I hope it is not a major recalibration, because if you don't have voices within your party that can speak to that then that is a huge weakness.' A senior Scottish Government source rejected the claims that cabinet rivalry was a factor in Ms Forbes quitting. They said: 'This is utter rubbish. Kate has set out her reasons for standing down.' And Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville dismissed claims that Ms Forbes threw in the towel because she had become disenchanted with the SNP. She said: 'Political hacks are trying to find another angle but maybe, just maybe, it's about someone doing what's best for her and her family.' Ms Forbes, who married husband Alasdair MacLennan in 2021, became the Scottish Government's youngest Finance Secretary when she succeeded shamed Derek Mackay in 2020. She came under fire for her views on gay marriage, abortion and trans rights. And she publicly opposed Nicola Sturgeon's doomed plan to allow people to legally change sex through self-declaration. Several senior Scottish Government figures rejected Ms Forbes' stance, including Mr Swinney, despite his own Christian faith. Her profile continued to rise, however, and in 2023 she narrowly lost to Humza Yousaf in a bitter SNP leadership race. Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry acknowledged the Deputy First Minister's announcement that she was stepping down to spend more time with family but said there is 'probably a bit more to it than meets the eye'. She said: 'I have the utmost respect for Kate and I think it's a bit of a disaster for the SNP.' Former SNP MP Angus MacNeill, said: 'Kate wouldn't be walking away if there was a prospect of the SNP delivering independence.' He added: 'When there is no strategy, just cluelessness, a groundhog five years at Westminster's devolved parliament ain't so appealing.' Mr Swinney said: 'I pay tribute to Kate for her invaluable contribution to public life over the last ten years. "The challenges of frontline politics are considerable, and I understand the decision she has made, although I wish it was not the case.'
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
SNP in disarray as Deputy First Minister becomes latest to flee sinking ship
The SNP is in disarray after the Deputy First Minister announced she will quit at next year's elections, sparking claims she is deserting a 'sinking ship'. Kate Forbes announced her decision not to seek re-election as her daughter turned three, saying she does not want to 'miss any more of the precious early years of family life'. Allies of Ms Forbes claimed that her decision to quit may have been partly down to 'disgraceful' treatment during her leadership contest against Humza Yousaf, when senior figures including Mr Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon raised concerns about her stance on issues like same-sex marriage. Her announcement is a further blow to Mr Swinney ahead of the election, as she is widely regarded as one of his most capable ministers and has helped try to repair the SNP's relationship with the business community. Scottish Conservative MSP Meghan Gallacher said: 'Despite our political differences I completely understand and appreciate Kate Forbes reasons for standing down. I wish her and her family well for the future. 'However, the departure of his Deputy First Minister will come as a hammer blow to John Swinney ahead of next year's election. 'He made the choice to bring her back into the heart of the government last year and would have wanted her to play a key role in the campaign. 'Kate Forbes is the latest senior figure to desert the SNP's sinking ship and clearly has no wish to hear voters' anger after 18 years of the nationalists' failing Scots on so many issues. 'If Scotland is to move on from the SNP's never-ending obsession with independence, then we must remove them from office next year and get the focus back on Scotland's real priorities.' Fergus Ewing, who backed Ms Forbes' previous leadership bid and is now an independent MSP, suggested that her treatment by senior figures in the previous contest, including Mr Swinney questioning whether her opposition to same-sex marriage made her an appropriate candidate to be First Minister, had played a part in her decision. Mr Ewing said: 'With Alex Salmond's death the SNP lost the best leader it has ever had, with Kate Forbes' decision to stand down the SNP has lost the best leader it should have chosen. 'As a dear friend of Kate's, I absolutely understand her decisions to bring up her family but the way that Kate was treated during the leadership election between herself and Yousaf was disgraceful. 'Yet despite being attacked by John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon during that campaign because essentially they argued her Christian beliefs somehow disqualified her from being SNP leader, Kate turned the other cheek and did so with astonishingly good grace. 'The SNP has now lost the outstanding talent of her generation and perhaps that loss resulted from the SNP ceasing to be a broad church, tolerant of different views, and latterly descended into a form of cult or sect where dissent was unacceptable and rational argument was almost absent from debate.' Ms Forbes, who narrowly lost a fractious leadership contest to Humza Yousaf in 2023 but was brought back into government last year as Mr Swinney sought to heal divisions in the party, said she has 'consistently put the public's needs ahead of my family's' and now does not want to 'miss any more of the precious early years of family life'. Including Fergus Ewing and John Mason, who were both elected as SNP candidates in 2021 and have since left the party, Ms Forbes becomes the 25th Nationalist to step down from the party at next year's elections. Others include former First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and a score of former failed MPs have been accepted as potential candidates for the 2026 election. Anne McLaughlin, Kirsten Oswald, Anum Qaisar and Tommy Sheppard have also been named on the approved list. It comes after the SNP suffered a damaging defeat in the recent Hamilton by-election. Labour's Davy Russell won the SNP seat with 8,559 votes, a majority of 602 over the Nationalists. The vote followed the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, who had represented the constituency since 2011. Ms Forbes came under attack from a range of SNP MSPs during the 2023 leadership contest for her position on same-sex marriage and other beliefs she holds as a member of the Free Church of Scotland. In a radio interview in 2023, Mr Swinney, then the Deputy First Minister, urged party members 'to decide if someone who holds those views would be an appropriate individual to be SNP leader and first minister'. She had been expected to put her name forward as a candidate to be Mr Yousaf's successor when he resigned but instead agreed to join Mr Swinney's team rather than standing against him, in what opponents billed as a 'stitch-up'. Ms Forbes was a prominent critic of the proposed gender reforms when Ms Sturgeon was First Minister, signed a letter raising concerns about them and said she wouldn't have voted for them. She also recently confirmed that she 'unequivocally' backs the protection of single-sex spaces. Other prominent internal opponents of the SNP's self-ID agenda included Joanna Cherry, who lost her seat in last year's general election and does not intend to stand for Holyrood next year, Ash Regan, who defected to the Alba Party, and Fergus Ewing, who will stand for election as an independent candidate for Inverness and Nairn. Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie thanked Ms Forbes for her service over a decade in parliament and wished her well in future endeavours and spending time with her family, but added: 'But it cannot have escaped the notice of voters that many of the SNP's former rising stars are abandoning the stage, often to be replaced by defeated names of yesteryears and anonymous party apparatchiks. 'Kate Forbes was the future once - but now, like many of her counterparts in the SNP, she can see the writing on the wall. The truth is this is a tired government with no vision and no ideas.' In a statement which shocked Scottish politics yesterday morning, Ms Forbes said she had informed her local constituency association that she would not seek re-election next year. She said she is 'wholly supportive' of Mr Swinney and will campaign for the SNP in next year's election. But the Deputy First Minister, who is also Economy Secretary, said: 'I have grown up in the public eye, getting married, having a baby and raising a young family. I have consistently put the public's needs ahead of my family's during that time. 'I am grateful to them for accommodating the heavy demands of being a political figure. Looking ahead to the future, I do not want to miss any more of the precious early years of family life - which can never be rewound.' In his letter responding to her resignation, Mr Swinney said he is sorry she has taken the decision 'but recognise and understand the reasons for doing so'. He said: 'You have made a huge contribution to public life in Scotland and have been instrumental in making progress on economic issues for my Government. 'You have much to be proud of in all of the work you have undertaken but I am especially heartened by the effect of your leadership on advancing support for the Gaelic language. 'We all wrestle with the inevitable conflicts between family and public life and I sympathise with the dilemmas you have faced. I wish you, Ali and your family well and much happiness in the years ahead.' At an event in June, Ms Forbes admitted she was 'unsuccessfully' trying to juggle bringing up her daughter and her Cabinet job and raised fears that childcare issues may have contributed to many female MSPs leaving politics. She also urged the Scottish Parliament to follow the lead of the House of Commons and set up its own nursery.
Telegraph
42 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Tourists could have to pay $15k deposit to holiday in US
Tourists and people visiting the US for business could have to pay up to $15,000 to enter the country under new proposals put forward by Donald Trump's government. The State Department announced it its launching a 12-month pilot programme under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds when applying for a visa. The price range of the bonds will vary between $5,000 (£3,700), $10,000 (£7,500) or $15,000 (£11,300). A preview of the bond notice, posted on the federal register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication. The department said it would be necessary to ensure that the US government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa. 'Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,' the notice said. The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said. The bond could be waived depending on an applicant's individual circumstances. The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which enables travel for business or tourism for up to 90 days. The majority of the 42 countries enrolled in the program are in Europe, with others in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere. Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have never been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond. The Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that some visa renewal applicants would have to undergo an additional in-person interview, something that was not previously required. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.
