Dualling date doubts and plans ‘beaver’ on

NO FESTIVE SPIRIT AT HOLYROOD

There was precious sign of festive spirit as Scotland’s politicians indulged in a fresh series of arguments over such issues as the dualling of the A9.

The road is now scheduled to be fully dualled between Perth and Inverness by 2035, more than a decade later than originally planned.

S NP transport chief Mairi McAllan outlined her new timetable for a project which has been bogged down by long delays and missed deadlines. But her announcement was immediately condemned as too little, too late by opposition parties at Holyrood.

LOTS TO MONE ABOUT

Baroness (Michelle) Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons over their associations with PPE MedPro after it was awarded multi-millionpound contracts by the government during the pandemic.

During an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, the Scottish Tory peer admitted she stood to benefit from the deal between the government and the firm and conceded she had made an “error” in publicly denying her links to the firm, but insisted that lying to the media was “not a crime”.

STORM PIA CAUSES DAMAGE

Britain was buffeted by Storm Pia, which caused problems all over the country and, at one stage, left London railway stations packed with baffled and irate customers as all services to certain destinations were cancelled.

In the north-east, there weren’t any queues – but then, ScotRail had axed all trains between Aberdeen and Inverness the day before. Many families were left scrambling to fit in their Christmas travel plans and a strike in the Eurotunnel only made things worse.

But several lorries were blown over across the Highlands, demonstrating the dangers and there are warnings of further disruption this weekend.

COUPLE MAKE HISTORY IN EV

A husband and wife from Aberdeen made history after completing what they described as a “really tough” mission to drive from the Arctic to Antarctica in an electric car.

Chris and Julie Ramsey departed in March for the Magnetic North to South Pole adventure. Their vehicle was powered for much of the journey of more than 18,000 miles by a combination of solar and wind energy.

In an online journal entry, the pair said that seeing polar bears in their natural habitat was a highlight. They wrote: “Six years ago, the idea and dream behind this expedition with purpose was born. Many thought it was crazy. Today that dream has come true.”

BEAVERS BACK IN THE HIGHLANDS

Beavers have returned to the Cairngorms 400 years after the species were driven to extinction in Scotland. A pair of the creatures were released at Rothiemurchus Estate, near Aviemore, and another pair on land owned by billionaires Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen.

It’s hoped that, over the course of the next five years, 15 families could be released in the Cairngorms National Park.

Some landowners and farmers have raised concerns about damage the animals could do to farm and woodland, but the decision was implemented under a licence from NatureScot.

TRUMP IN NEW JUDICIAL SETBACK

Donald Trump was disqualified from Colorado’s Republican presidential primary ballot due to his involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, in a legal ruling that could have implications for the 2024 race.

The Colorado supreme court said Trump was not fit to be president under the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits US officers who have engaged in insurrection from holding office.

FOOTBALL PLAN RECIPE FOR CHAOS

Revamped plans for a controversial European Super League were announced after a top court ruled that banning clubs from joining a breakaway league was unlawful.

The proposal is for a league system which would include 64 men’s clubs and 32 women’s clubs, but Aberdeen chairman, Dave Cormack, was among those who argued the move would further the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

He added: “As usual, in Scotland, we have sleptwalked our way into this without any discussion.”