TODAY’S WEATHER

☀️ A pleasant, dry and mostly sunny spring day for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Not so much in London, though, which will see rain at lunchtime before getting brighter later. (Here’s the UK forecast).

THE BIG STORIES
Trump demands 100% tariff on foreign films | Terror attack foiled with only hours to go | VE Day celebrated

📣 Donald Trump branded foreign films a “National Security threat” overnight, and demanded an immediate 100% tariff on films “produced in foreign lands”. It’s news that could hit the UK hard, with the potential to disrupt some huge productions slated for release soon. (BBC)

• “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform. “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” (Truth Social)

• Holywood has been left scrambling for answers, with immediate concerns around several big, foreign-shot “tentpole” productions set for release. The new Mission: Impossible film was filmed around the world, while a John Wick spinoff was made in the Czech Republic. The next Avengers film is being shot in London, with plans for Spider-Man to be produced there too. (Hollywood Reporter)

• Movie and TV production is worth £1.4 billion a year to Britain, the world’s second-largest TV exporter and fourth-biggest film exporter. But even before Trump’s comments the sector has struggled of late. (Economics Observatory)

• Screen Scotland has - or had - an ambition for Scotland to become a “centre of global production” by 2030 - the screen sector contributed £627.1m to the Scottish economy in 2021. (Prolific North)

📣 An Iran-backed terrorist attack in the UK was thwarted only hours before it was due to take place, reports claim this morning. “Counter-terror officers and Special Forces raided two suspected Iranian cells in a ‘highly significant’ operation to tackle growing activity by the hostile state in the UK.” (Daily Mail)

• There was a plot to “target a specific premises”, police said. (The Times £)

📣 King Charles will lead the VE Day celebrations today with the Royal Family putting on a united front after Prince Harry reignited his row with Buckingham Palace last week. Thousands will line the streets of central London to watch a military procession and a Red Arrows flypast, with actor Timothy Spall reading out Sir Winston Churchill’s victory speech from 8 May 1945. (Independent)

• Keir Starmer praised the “selfless dedication” of those who served in the military in a message marking today’s VE Day commemorations. (Guardian)

• Orkney’s vital role - and heavy losses - during World War II. (Scotsman)

IDEAS
Five things we learned at the weekend

🗣️Nigel Farage as Prime Minister is a possibility that “may still be discordant for some”, but is “no longer ridiculous”, reckons Tim Shipman’s analysis after last week’s local elections in England. There’s a sense that a more businesslike Reform UK has stepped up a level, allowing it to win double the Conservative vote and secure 677 seats and 10 councils. The next hurdle is to see if Reform can “get things done in local government.” Meanwhile, Professor Sir John Curtice says Reform’s surge was no protest vote. (Sunday Times £) (BBC)

🗣️Kemi Badenoch is at risk of losing her job. Her performance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show would not have reassured many. She said protest was “in the air” these elections, and she was working on a “slow and steady” plan to return to government by the decade's end. That message has been consistent, but it may be that Conservatives, faced with a Reform threat many think is existential, decide they don’t have time for Badenoch to figure it out. (BBC)

🗣️John Swinney’s pitch to keep his job arrives tomorrow. The First Minister’s last Programme for Government before next year’s Scottish elections will set the tone for the campaign, reckons David Bol. Expect to see some familiar themes: action on the NHS, something on net zero, a(nother) push on the government’s “number one priority” of eradicating child poverty, and measures to stimulate economic growth. Expect, also, to see some controversial bills fall by the wayside to create parliamentary time for new, more popular stuff. (Scotsman)

🗣️Prince Harry’s call for reconciliation with his family went down badly: the backlash was consistent and widespread. “Oh, Harry. This is not what reconciliation looks like,” wrote Roya Nikkhah in the Sunday Times. “Harry does not appear to have anyone around him to ask: ‘Is this really wise?’” reflects Rhiannon Mills on Sky. A “palace insider” suggests to the Telegraph the Duke of Sussex has “simply lost touch with reality”. The Mail thinks Meghan Markle’s PR “cheerleader” brokered his interview, and is to blame. (Sunday Times) (Sky) (Telegraph £) (Mail)

🗣️ There’s a sixth sense you didn’t know you had: interoception. That’s how we process the signals that tell us when to eat, rest, get away from danger and more - in other words, how we interpret the signals that are utterly vital to our survival. Now, research suggests it helps us cope with the modern world. (The Observer)

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 First Minister John Swinney says there’s “a very real possibility” Nigel Farage could be the UK’s next Prime Minister. (Scotsman)

• But Labour leader Anas Sarwar says Swinney is using Farage as a “bogeyman” to distract from SNP failure (STV)

📣 Around 500 babies have died in Scottish hospitals since 2019 but health authorities continue to dodge scrutiny or share lessons learned. Health boards were told to share and learn from tragedies after high-profile deaths a decade ago. But some are still refusing to publish information which might prevent future deaths. (Sunday Post)

📣 A children’s charity has warned inaction on child poverty is a “deliberate act of state harm”, ahead of tomorrow’s unveiling of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government. (Herald £)

AROUND THE UK

📣 Downing Street appears to be backing cabinet minister Lucy Powell after she apologised for appearing to suggest it was “dog whistle” politics to discuss the grooming gangs scandal. (Guardian)

📣 Fourteen children have been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, after the death of a boy in a fire at a Gateshead industrial estate. (Independent)

📣 The UK is a “compliant servant of communist China” according to US trade advisor Peter Navarro. The country risks becoming a “dumping ground” for Chinese goods that can’t be sold in the US, he warned, adding: “If the Chinese vampire can’t suck the American blood, it’s going to suck the U.K. blood and the EU blood.” (Telegraph had the exclusive)

AROUND THE WORLD

🌎 Russia built an elaborate sabotage network around Europe which was undone earlier this year: the Guardian has an intriguing long read into how the network was formed and broken up, elements of which read like a film script. (The Guardian)

🌎 Trump’s big deliverable in his first 100 days? Revenge. “No modern president [has] worked so quickly to knock out the foundations from left-wing institutions." (Semafor)

🌎 A huge moment for US investors: Warren Buffett plans to step down as Chief Executive. Over 60 years, he has delivered stunning investment returns, and an eagerly anticipated annual investor letter full of “folksy wisdom”. (WSJ gift link 🎁)

SPORT

⚽️ Rangers and Celtic drew 1-1 in the final Old Firm game of the season. The football was low-key, the main headlines supplied by a bottle flung from the crowd, and an offensive fan display. Rangers, soon to be under US ownership, issued a statement critical of both shortly after the game. (Guardian) (Daily Record)

• Rangers interim manager Barry Ferguson says his club need to get on with appointing a permanent coach. At least one sportswriter panel thinks he won’t get it. (Daily Record)

⚽️ Here’s a terrific long read from Alan Pattullo on Scott McTominay, how he came to be a Scotland player and how he’s on the verge of greatness with Napoli, as the first Scot to win the Scudetto (now only two wins and a draw away after Napoli’s win on Saturday night). (The Scotsman)

🏉 A record crowd at the Hive witnessed Edinburgh’s Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Bath. “Edinburgh can have no regrets or complaints,” writes Graeme MacPherson. (Offside Line)

🏏 Scottish Cricket fans have a new place to read about their sport: the good people behind The Offside Line have branched out and just launched The Inside Edge, a twice-weekly subscription newsletter covering the Scottish game.

Editor David Barnes is promising coverage of the Scottish game “from grassroots to the international stage”. It’s great to see independent Scottish publishers branching out - good luck to them. (The Inside Edge)