The father of murdered Tayport teenager Karen Dewar has condemned Fife Council for choosing not to sever links with the residential school which was criticised over failings in its handling of his daughter’s killer.

A foster father found guilty of sexually abusing young girls in his care already had a conviction for lewd and libidinous behaviour when he was approved to look after children.

Around 1000 children are caught with drugs in Scotland every year. The figure, the most robust yet on addiction among the very young, came out yesterday as a high-profile report suggested some illegal substances could be harmless.

A Roman Catholic teenager has brought a landmark legal action against a council for sending her to live with Protestant foster parents. The young woman, identified only as “AR”, is seeking damages of £70,000 from Highland council for housing her with two sets of Protestant foster parents after she was taken into care aged 8.

Church and family groups expressed fear for children growing up in broken homes yesterday after figures revealed a soaring divorce rate, a fall in the number of marriages and the highest ever number of children born out of wedlock.

The number of ambulances covering Highland Perthshire is to be reduced from two to one, it emerged yesterday. The decision sparked claims that lives will be put at risk and treatment will be delayed by the move.

Scientists in Glasgow have devised a new method of attacking cancer cells. A team of experts from the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research gave mice a chemical which caused cancer cells to “commit suicide”.

A former scout leader who was caught with a haul of child pornography has been jailed for nine months. Computer programmer Clive Holroyd, from Drymen in Stirlingshire, was caught in a transatlantic crackdown codenamed Operation Falcon.

A second hospital in less than a week has closed a ward following an outbreak of a potentially deadly bacteria. Five patients in the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, are receiving treatment for clostridium difficile, a stomach bacteria which can infect the gut.

MSPs are expected to give final approval to a bill which will tighten disclosure rules for those working with children and other vulnerable groups. A new central barring unit is to be set up to ensure disqualified adults do not slip through the net.