One of Scotland’s most violent gangs have been smashed by a major initiative – and it is to be copied in London in the aftermath of the English riots.

Scottish officials will try to contact Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi to establish his condition after rebels entered the Libyan capital Tripoli.

A hard-hitting TV campaign offering hope to some of the most vulnerable people in society is to be repeated after a dramatic rise in referrals.

Major plans for public sector reform across the west of Scotland have been dealt a critical blow, with a second council expected to reject merging thousands of backroom staff.

Social workers have been criticised for using £10,000 of a pensioner’s savings to pay for personal care which should have been funded by Edinburgh City Council.

A party which would have cost council tax payers in Dumfries and Galloway about £13,000 has been cancelled.

SOCIAL workers have been criticised for using £10,000 of a pensioner’s savings to pay for personal care the local authority should have funded.

AN experimental Scottish project in which police refer young gang members directly for intensive support from a local charity has achieved dramatic results by cutting offending in half.

A NURSE faces being struck off over a catalogue of vile verbal assaults aimed at elderly patients in her care.

SUICIDES in Scottish prisons are believed to have quadrupled in the past three years, prompting calls for better provision of mental health support for a growing number of vulnerable prisoners.