The last of the six fingerprint specialists at the heart of the Shirley McKie scandal has been sacked, prompting another legal action which could lead to a compensation bill of hundreds of thousands for Scottish ministers.

Police in Inverness have set up a new unit which will concentrate on domestic violence, cases involving vulnerable adults and child protection inquiries.

A woman in a wheelchair who was indecently assaulted by a man posing as a doctor yesterday spoke for the first time about her ordeal.

A report into Scotland’s most notorious child sex abuse scandal has concluded that Orkney Islands Council was negligent and an eight-year-old girl should not have been taken into care, The Scotsman has learned.

Twenty years ago the idea of using tiny balloons to inflate blood vessels as a treatment for heart attack may have seemed pure science fiction.

Pupils will take the plunge in the north-east this month with a sponsored swim to raise funds for their caring friends. While most youngsters enjoy free time after school, for many others homework means just that – they are the young carers who look after ailing or disabled parents or relatives.

Deaths from severe heart attacks after hospital admission have nearly halved in six years due to advances in medical treatment. In the largest study of its kind, reseach led by Edinburgh University analysed more than 44,000 patients in 14 countries.

A scientist will tell delegates at a major asthma conference in Glasgow today that a mother’s diet in pregnancy could affect a child’s chance of developing asthma.

Today one in 90 Scots suffers from dementia. By 2031 it will be one in 50. During the life of the next Scottish Parliament alone, the number of people living with the condition will climb by almost 4500. But the charity Alzheimer Scotland says the country is not coping.

Firefighters said a swift response from the emergency services saved the lives of 60 people during a major fire at a care home. Residents and members of staff were removed from Douglas View care centre in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.