The belief that obesity can be thwarted by getting overweight children to take more exercise is misplaced, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Glasgow found that pupils at nursery who took part in exercise classes were no slimmer than other children. It is thought the children compensated for activity by eating more, or taking it easy for the rest of the day.

First Minister Jack McConnell dashed hopes of extra funding for councils to care for the elderly last night. His comments – in front of an invited female audience at the Press and Journal-hosted Ask Jack session in Inverness – will alarm councils reeling from cuts in social work budgets.

Cancer patients are facing unfair dismissal and discrimination at work, a BBC investigation has revealed. Some have even been sacked after being refused time off for treatment. A new law which came into force at the end of last year has given much stronger protection at work to people with serious illnesses like cancer.

Education inspectors have commended Aberdeen City Council for its community learning and development services in three of its deprived communities. The report from HM Inspectors follows investigations into provision in Seaton, Tillydrone and Woodside carried out earlier this year.

Immigration officials yesterday abandoned a dawn raid on a family of failed asylum seekers after demonstrators gathered outside the tower block where they live. An early-morning candlelight vigil was being held by up to 200 people outside the Kingsway Court flats in Glasgow when police and immigration officials arrived at 6.40am to detain a family of Turkish Kurds. After angry scenes in which other asylum seekers and supporters shouted at officials, it emerged the parents of the family to be detained, Ali and Fatma Uzun, were not at home – they had joined the protest.

More than 60 of Scotland’s most dangerous sex offenders, freed from jail, have had emergency court orders placed upon them amid fears they will strike again. Rapists, paedophiles and other violent criminals have had sexual offences prevention orders (SOPOs) taken out against them to stop them approaching women and children, entering public parks and going near primary schools.

Longer waiting times and cutbacks in services are on the cards for some of the most vulnerable people in the Highlands who rely on “free” community care, councillors were warned yesterday. Inverness councillors must still find £400,000 of savings in this financial year to balance their social work budget.

A Scottish expert on manic depression has warned people against self-diagnosing the illness after a high profile documentary by Stephen Fry. Dr Benjamin Baig, who worked on Scotland’s national guidelines for bipolar disorder, said he was not convinced the evidence presented in the programme showed the comedian suffered from the condition.

The Shadow Health Secretary today promised that a Tory government would stop “snatch squads of social workers” taking children into care unnecessarily. Andrew Lansley said a Conservative government would instead back the family. The father-of-five used the party conference in Bournemouth to start a debate on how public services work for children.

A Tayside company has been named as a finalist in the Scottish Modern Apprenticeship Awards 2006. Specialist healthcare services provider Castlebeck, which has units in Dundee and Lockerbie, is one of two finalists in the category for medium-sized employers. Modern Apprenticeships combine paid employment with the opportunity to train for jobs at craft, technician and management level. In Scotland, they are managed by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.