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STV News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- STV News
More than 300 injured in A9 crashes in four years as Tories call for action
The Scottish Tories say 'enough is enough' as more than 300 injuries in crashes were recorded on the A9 in the past four years. The road has been at the centre of a political storm for years after substantial delays to a project that would see it dualled between Perth and Inverness – a route which includes First Minister John Swinney's North Perthshire constituency. In 2011, the Scottish Government pledged to complete the project by this year, but in 2023 it was pushed back by a decade, at a cost of £3.7bn. Figures released to the Scottish Tories through a freedom of information request found 28 people were killed between 2021-22 and 2024-25, with 13 in 2022-23 alone. In total, there were 321 collisions resulting injury during that time, 134 of which were considered to be serious and 159 were minor. Scottish Tory transport spokeswoman Sue Webber accused the Scottish Government of a 'shameful betrayal' of those who rely on the road. 'These shocking figures reveal the appalling casualty toll on the A9,' she said. 'The SNP first promised to upgrade Scotland's most dangerous road in 2011, yet 14 years later lives are still being lost and motorists and local communities will have to wait at least another decade for upgrades that should have been completed by now. 'The SNP's shameful betrayal of those who rely on the A9 – including John Swinney's own constituents – is unforgivable. 'Every day that goes by without this vital road being dualled is putting more lives at risk.' The Conservatives have suggested passing an emergency law which would speed up the process, including by expediting environmental studies, which they claim could see the road dualled by the end of the next Scottish Parliament. 'Enough is enough. Dualling this road is a matter of life and death,' Ms Webber said. 'That's why the Scottish Conservatives are stepping up with bold action to get the job done, by proposing an emergency law to fast-track the dualling of the A9 by the end of the next parliament.' The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
28 killed and more than 300 injured on A9 since 2021
Read more: A promise to fully dual the single carriageway between Perth and Inverness by 2025 was first made in the SNP's 2007 manifesto, with plans to widen around 80 miles of road in 11 sections formally set out in 2011. However, little more than 11 miles — in just two sections —were dualled in 12 years. Six miles of the trunk road from Moy to Tomatin, south of Inverness, are currently being upgraded under a £185m contract. In 2023, the Scottish Government admitted the dualling would now not be completed until 2035 at the earliest. According to the figures obtained by the Tories, 28 people were killed between 2021–22 and 2024–25, including 13 in 2022–23 alone. There were 321 collisions resulting in injury during that period, 134 of which were considered serious and 159 classed as minor. Scottish Tory transport spokeswoman Sue Webber accused the Scottish Government of a 'shameful betrayal' of those who rely on the road, which runs through the First Minister's Perthshire North constituency. 'These shocking figures reveal the appalling casualty toll on the A9,' she said. 'The SNP first promised to upgrade Scotland's most dangerous road in 2011, yet 14 years later lives are still being lost and motorists and local communities will have to wait at least another decade for upgrades that should have been completed by now. 'The SNP's shameful betrayal of those who rely on the A9 — including John Swinney's own constituents — is unforgivable. 'Every day that goes by without this vital road being dualled is putting more lives at risk.' The Tories have suggested passing emergency legislation to accelerate the project, including expediting environmental studies — a move they claim could see the A9 fully dualled by the end of the next Scottish Parliament. 'Enough is enough. Dualling this road is a matter of life and death,' Ms Webber said. 'That's why the Scottish Conservatives are stepping up with bold action to get the job done, by proposing an emergency law to fast-track the dualling of the A9 by the end of the next Parliament.' Read more: Fergus Ewing, the newly independent MSP for Inverness and Nairn, said: 'Evidence from the Road Safety Foundation has shown that the risk of being in a road accident is three times greater on single carriageways such as the A9 compared with dual carriageways — and ten times greater than on motorways. 'Because the A9 now changes from dual back to single and so on, this further heightens these risks. With no central barrier to separate the cars, head-on collisions are a far greater risk.' The ex-SNP minister added: 'Every single one of these accidents involves a family, and those where deaths have occurred will be devastated. 'The dualling of the A9, promised by this year, will not happen by 2035 in my view — and at the heart of my campaign in Inverness and Nairn will be that the next Government must complete the dualling. "It is my unfinished business. It's the SNP's shame. 'Never have promises been so clearly broken — and the lack of any sense of contrition or humility from the SNP leadership is in itself surely reprehensible.' A Transport Scotland spokesman said: 'Our sympathies are with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones and those who have been injured on Scotland's roads. 'One death is one too many, which is why we have increased our road safety budget to a record £48 million to address road casualties across the road network. 'The Scottish Government is committed to fully dualling the A9 and there is now continuous dualling construction taking place on the A9 from now until 2035 with the third section Tomatin to Moy already under construction and the award of the fourth section Tay Crossing to Ballinuig this summer and with the procurement process for the fifth section Pitlochry to Killiecrankie starting this summer, which will mean 50% will be dualled by 2030, 85% by 2033 and completion by 2035. 'We have prioritised funding for A9 Dualling within our annual budgets and we are also actively considering whether there is any way that we can fast-track work, including opportunities for undertaking 'advance works' ahead of main construction contracts. 'In the meantime, additional investment has supported junction improvements, improved markings and targeted road safety campaigns to improve A9 safety.'
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Scottish ferry staff fail drug checks for weed and cocaine after random tests
The ferry firm has a 1,700-strong workforce FAIL THE HIGH SEA Scottish ferry staff fail drug checks for weed and cocaine after random tests Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) STAFF at Scotland's national ferries operator have tested positive for drugs amid random checks, we can reveal. Caledonian MacBrayne chiefs caught workers for cocaine and cannabis in a £192,000 screening programme. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Calmac staff failed drug tests for cannabis and cocaine (STOCK IMAGE) Credit: Alamy Three were found to have smoked joints and one had used cocaine between 2022 and 2024. The data, released through freedom of information, comes as a four-year contract has seen hundreds of staff within the 1,700-strong workforce tested by a third party contractor. Scottish Tory transport spokeswoman Sue Webber said: 'CalMac have a hard enough job providing adequate services for islanders due to the SNP's chronic mismanagement of the ferry fleet, without having to contend with problem staff. 'And taxpayers fleeced over this scandal should not have to shell out £200,000 just to check if folk are in a fit state to work.' A total of 222 workers were tested in 2022, with one positive for cannabis. In 2023, 115 staff were screened resulting in one confirmed cocaine case. Last year, tests on 159 workers showed two staff had taken cannabis. And 57 tests so far this year are all clear. CalMac refused to release the seniority of drug-positive individuals, or which ships or ports they operated from. The company said: 'Testing is essential for identifying potential risks and deterring misuse. At least 18 people injured after fire in Ryanair plane at Majorca airport as passengers abandon jet by clambering over wing 'It ensures we maintain a safe working environment. "We follow best practice in procurement to ensure value for money.'
Scotsman
26-06-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
A special sort of heartlessness
That the council prevents private school pupils undergoin treatment at Edinburgh's Sick Kids from attending in-hospital classes beggars belief, says Sue Webber It doesn't matter if it's been policy since 2015 – that Edinburgh City Council prevents a handful of seriously ill private school pupils undergoing lifesaving treatment at Edinburgh's Sick Kids from attending in-hospital classes beggars belief. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Surely common decency should dictate that if free-at-the-point-of-need applies to healthcare, then it should also apply to the education of an eight-year-old with cancer. It really does take a special sort of heartlessness for a hospital to allow a little boy fighting for his life to be told he can't have classes with his friend because of some ideological/financial stance taken by petty bureaucrats. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Private schools, which operate on a not-for-profit basis, can't stop paying a bit of a teacher's salary because one pupil is on long-term sickness absence, or to expect a missing pupil discount for their maintenance costs. And as new George Watson's head Lisa Kerr has pointed out, her school is teaching at least one senior pupil from a state school unable to provide tutoring for one of their subjects, and the family is not asked for payment. But what is being forgotten is that private school parents have paid twice, for school fees and through their taxes from which they receive no rebate for not taking up the place the state is legally obliged to provide, until their worst nightmare unfolds and their child contracts a potentially fatal illness and needs schooling in an Edinburgh hospital. The SNP's bedtime revolutionary Finlay McFarlane, who defended this policy at last week's education committee, should be ashamed of himself. Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian
Scotsman
26-06-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Veterans deserve mental health support
Those in uniform deserve our support, says Sue Webber Last October NHS Lothian announced it was axing its funding for the Veterans First Point service, which by its own figures had provided mental health support for 2500 military veterans over the past 15 years. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... These are people who, lest anyone forgets, have sacrificed their mental health in the service of our country so we can sleep safely at night, and in any civilised society the need to care for them would be unquestioned, and what those in uniform deserve. But to save just over £200,000 a year, NHS Lothian was prepared to break this covenant, and along with the fellow Lothian MSP, the SNP's Fiona Hyslop, at a meeting last week we were able to challenge officials on their decision. The officials noticeably winced when Fiona Hyslop told them that veterans minister Graeme Dey was particularly angered because the decision had not been reversed despite increased funding for mental health. And their answers were strangely and unacceptably woolly. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With reason, senior medics argue about their overall funding, and there is an ongoing campaign by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland to hold the SNP to its promise to spend 10 per cent of health budgets on mental health, which at the last calculation was over £220 million short. But the £200,000 saved from Veterans First Point will make little difference to a shortfall of that scale, and when the illness has been suffered in the service of our defence, one way or another the commitment to come to their aid should be absolute. Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian
