In your briefing today:

📣 Andy Burnham is appointed Prime Minister today: he’s expected to unveil a “pragmatic” approach to North Sea oil and gas almost immediately, with the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments likely to be given the green light and the possibility of further development opened up.

Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell told the BBC a “change of emphasis” rather than a u-turn in policy would see the North Sea opened up. (Mail)

📣 Spain won the World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0 in New Jersey in a grimly poor final that went to extra time. The win sparked wild celebrations across Spain after match made attritional by their opponents, Argentina, who then started a brawl at full time. Legendary Argentinian captain Lionel Messi left what is likely to be his final World Cup without another winner’s medal.

📣 Former Amnesty International employees in Scotland have warned the organisation faces damage to its reputation - and the loss of donors - in the aftermath of its report which labelled a string of women’s rights, counselling and Christian groups “anti-rights”.

The report has since been withdrawn, but former employees say the damage has now been done. “You wonder what has gone wrong that somebody was able to pull this report together and at director level,” one insider told the Herald.

Author JK Rowling has invited organisations considering legal action against Amnesty to apply to her Women’s Fund, after her women-only sexual assault support centre, Beira’s Place, was named in the report. (Herald)

Every tool you're paying for right now was built by someone who's never done your job. They guessed at what you needed, wrapped it in a subscription, and now you're locked in - paying monthly for software that's 80% of what you actually want.

That other 20%? It's costing you time, workarounds, and money every single week.

Justin Burns figured out how to close that gap. He builds the exact tool he needs using AI - no code, no developers, no waiting. And this July 22-24, he's showing you how to do the same thing, live, in three days.

The event is free. The app you walk away with is yours.

Grab your seat for the Apps Built With AI Summit and stop paying for software that almost works.

Register free here — replays available for all who sign up.

Register For Free Now!

📣 A wildfire broke out on Arthur’s Seat, with smoke visible from Fife and fierce flames visible into the night. There were no reported casualties from the blaze, on the Salisbury Crags spur of the famous hill. (Edinburgh Live) (🎥 Video)

📣 Four conmen who scammed the NHS of £6 million in a technology scam got £500,000 in legal aid as they attempted to avoid prison. (Daily Record)

📣 Nearly two-thirds of Scots would welcome technology that stops them accessing social media at night, a poll says. (Herald)

📣 Two American troops have been killed in an Iranian missile attack on a base in Jordan, as the US bombing of Iran escalates and Tehran continues its revenge attacks on neighbouring states. (AP)

📣 Ukraine has struck oil depots and another fuel facility in Russia this morning, with three more “shadow fleet” tankers also hit in the Black Sea. (Independent)

📣 One to bear in mind as you head on holiday: the EU’s new border control system is tripling time at passport control, according to the boss of Rome’s main airport. (BBC)

⚽️ Spain beat Argentina to win the World Cup, digging out a 1-0 win in a catatonically dull final marred by Argentina’s cynical tactics. It was miraculous, yet inevitable, the South American side had only had one player sent off during the match amid a string of fouls, yet Spain did what England could not and persevered with their possession-based game. Ferran Torres finally - finally - scored the winning goal in extra time. (Report & highlights)

🏃 Scotland’s Josh Kerr broke the men’s mile world record - and immediately hinted he could attempt a new fastest time. Kerr was roared on by 60,000 at London Stadium on Saturday night, but said that “on another day, with maybe a little bit more favourable wind, I could maybe take another little chunk off it”. (🎥 See his amazing run, read the report)

🏎️ Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways with a win in the Belgian Grand Prix. (Sky Sports)

🗣️ After Andy Burnham is appointed Prime Minister today, what’s he going to do? The weekend’s papers were full of thoughts: the Sunday Mail claimed an exclusive column from the incoming PM himself, in which he repeated promises to “extend devolution” to “restore hope” while also putting “local people in the driving seat”. He wants to see both the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas projects go ahead, and give the green light for more North Sea exploration.

Elsewhere, the Sunday Telegraph thought he might scrap some policies (ID cards the biggest) and unveil a raft of new ones, targeting the cost of living. Free bus travel for 11-to 16-year-olds could be on the list. The Sunday Times thought he’d move to put Thames Water, that perenially failing utility company, in special administration. And the Sun on Sunday reckoned he’ll head around Britain’s seaside towns this summer “on a listening tour dubbed ‘Burnham-on-Sea”.

Given all those stories will likely have been briefed in by Burnham’s team, you can expect all three to happen.

🗣️ The most pressing doomsday AI scenario might not involve killer robots or sentient computers: the world’s smartest thinkers, by Bloomberg’s reckoning, think “the end of civilisation as we know it will likely be caused by income tax erosion”.

It’s an analysis perhaps most interesting for its historical analogies - not least to the industrial revolution and the “Engels pause” when productivity soared over a 40-year period, yet real wages stagnated and - for many - living conditions worsened.

“Everybody’s now suddenly reading up about Engels’ pause,” former Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg says in an interview, laughing. (Bloomberg)

🗣️ Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s iconic Glasgow School of Art building will not be restored to its former glory, it’s expected to be announced on Wednesday this week. Instead of another “faithful reinstatement” of the incredible interior, as promised five years ago, it’s likely a modern building will be constructed within the building’s shell. (Sunday Post has the exclusive)

🗣️In Saturday’s Party Line, I wrote a little on a theory about why we spend so much on tunnels. The story centred on Michael Dnes, the former civil servant who’s advocating a different method of drilling a tunnel to link Manchester and Sheffield - one that’s able to cut costs by 90%, and is used in Norway.

Since then, Michael has written again, on why - when he was the civil servant running road development in England and Wales - he failed to get the job done.

The story he tells perfectly showcases the banality of bad government: the lazy slackness in the groundwork, the lack of leadership and oversight in the process, and the opaque decision-making at the end. (Limbostructure)

🗣️ What should be the dead, dry heart of Australia is awash with water after unusually heavy rains. Kata Thandi-Lake Eyre is full for the first time in 50 years and teeming with life. Nobody’s quite sure how, but word is out among Australia’s pelican community. (🎥 ABC News) (Sydney Morning Herald)

Sent this by a friend?