Alcohol is ranked almost as harmful as heroin and cocaine in a new drug classification system proposed by a team of leading scientists. The class A drug ecstasy, possession of which can result in a seven-year prison sentence, is placed near the bottom of a league table published today in The Lancet medical journal, which lists “harm scores” for 20 different substances.

A woman has been fined after leaving a four-year-old alone in a locked flat surrounded by ashtrays, a cigarette lighter and empty vodka bottles. Perth Sheriff Court heard the child was spotted crying at a window by a passer-by who alerted a neighbour.

The number of cases where criminals were jailed fell last year, according to figures released yesterday. The Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts figures, published by the Scottish Executive, showed fewer than 16,000 custodial sentences were imposed in 2005-06 – down 4% from the previous year.

The head of the umbrella group for Scotland’s 50,000 charities and voluntary bodies yesterday called for a leaner, more responsive civil service and a complete overhaul in the relationship between government and voters. Speaking to the What Government For Scotland conference yesterday in Edinburgh, Martin Sime, the chief executive of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), called for a reduction in the number of quangos and local authorities in Scotland.

A total of 20 soldiers have failed drugs tests after the Army carried out a raid on their barracks in Midlothian. The men tested positive for a range of drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis.

An inspectors’ report on child protection services in the Borders has said they are working well. HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) studied the quality of provision between October and November last year.

A former teacher at one of Scotland’s top private schools was yesterday imprisoned for eight months after admitting he sexually abused pupils in his care. Jonathan Quick, a retired Latin and sports teacher at Dollar Academy, abused three boys and a girl and assaulted a fourth boy in the late 1970s and early 80s.

Prisoners and staff are sweltering in “unbearable” heat inside a flagship new jail block, according to a new report. HMP Glenochil’s £20 million Harviestoun Hall opened in 2005 to replace three old buildings.

A former nurse who admitted tampering with panic alarms at a Scottish care home escaped a jail sentence yesterday. John Cruickshank disconnected emergency alarms at Grove Nursing Home in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, where he was a staff nurse.

A ruling that an armed robber’s human rights had been breached because telephone calls he made from jail were preceded by a recording stating he was calling from a prison was branded “ludicrous” last night.