A growing number of attacks on Polish bar workers is being blamed for race hate crimes rising to record levels in Edinburgh.

A Sheriff yesterday criticised the Home Office for not deporting a failed asylum seeker who was later caught handling a record haul of raw opium.

NHS staff in Scotland are taking more time off work sick – despite targets to cut absenteeism. Health service phoneline NHS 24 has the highest illness rates, with the average worker off one day in 10 last year.

The introduction of a new computerised screening system for cervical cancer has been beset by problems, with doctors revealing that patient confidentiality has been compromised. GP leaders said the switch to a central electronic database for organising Scotland’s cervical cancer testing programme had been “a shambles”.

A centre which provides cheap food and shelter for homeless people in Edinburgh is to close its doors on Friday after more than 70 years. Funding for the Ark cafe and drop-in centre in the Old Town was axed earlier this year by the city council, leaving the trust which runs it with no choice but to close the service.

The Children’s Commissioner for Scotland yesterday called for the Home Office to end immediately the detention of asylum seeker families settled in the country, describing the practice as “inhumane”.

An eight-point guide to persuading offenders to give up a life of crime is to be published today.

A report is to reveal the causes of an E.coli outbreak which led to kidney failure in children attending a Fife nursery school.

One of Scotland’s top police officers called yesterday for hard drugs such as heroin to be prescribed to addicts who have turned to crime to feed their habit.

Medical chiefs have called for a crackdown on cheap alcohol sales in Scotland. The British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland also wants a ban on alcohol advertising at sporting and entertainment events.