Scotland's Papers: Water boss bonuses and tourist tax warning
The Herald on Sunday reports that Scottish Water bosses have received nearly £1m in bonuses despite public sector pay rules that suspended the payments. Three bosses at the water company have received £969,000 in performance related pay-outs between them, on top of their six-figure salaries, the paper says.
The Sunday Mail leads with a woman who has spoken about her escape from her ex who has now been jailed for life after murdering his partner. Charly Sharp broke up with Christopher McGowan after her mum warned her “she would end up dead”, the newspaper reports. Last month, McGowan was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years behind bars for the brutal murder of his new girlfriend Claire Inglis.
Concerns that the introduction of a tourist tax in Edinburgh would send “an unwelcome message” to the world is the lead for Scotland on Sunday. According to the paper, industry chiefs from the Edinburgh Hotels Association and the chamber of commerce have raised concerns that the proposed levy would create a “negative sentiment” and put tourists off visiting Scotland’s capital.
The Sunday Post has a special report on how government ministers allegedly “avoided scrutiny” during the Covid pandemic. The paper says ministers held unrecorded meetings and provided incomplete details of contacts with officials.
“The explosions never stop” is the stark headline on the Sunday National. It reports on airstrikes at a UN shelter and hospital in Gaza. On Saturday, the UN refugee agency confirmed a school it runs in the Jabalia refugee camp had been hit. The Israeli defence force (IDF) said it had not targeted the location "but the explosion may have been a result of IDF fire aimed at another target".
The Mail on Sunday continues its serialisation of a book by former MP Nadine Dorries. The latest headline is a claim that the Conservative Party "covered up" for a "serial rapist MP".
The Sunday Express quotes a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor from the north of England who says pro-Palestinian marches have left him fearing for his life for the first time since fleeing the Nazis. He said a "brewing hatred which has infected swathes of the country" had reminded him of the persecution he faced during his childhood in Germany.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that an adviser to the Metropolitan Police was filmed leading chants of "From the River to the sea" at pro-Palestinian rally in 2021. The UK government has said the slogan is "deeply offensive" to many as it could be seen as an "expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased ".
"The Lamb Shank Redemption" is the headline for the Daily Star on Sunday as it says Britain's loneliest sheep has been rescued after at least two years stranded up a cliff face. The paper describes it as the "greatest resc-ewe baaa none".
