TODAY’S WEATHER

☀️ No surprises: it remains very fine indeed, if warmer in the west than the east. So as much as 23 degrees in Glasgow today, but 18 in Edinburgh and 16 in Aberdeen. London will make 21 degrees. And the fine weather continues as far as the forecasts can see. (Here’s the UK forecast).

THE BIG STORIES
MSPs slam “unacceptable” use of money at regulator | Critical UK / EU talks | Celtic fans told to stay away

📣 Scottish Government officials failed to stop “unacceptable use” of public funds at the water regulator, Water Industry Commission for Scotland (Wics), according to a damning report by MSPs, published today.

Holyrood’s public audit committee said a lack of expenditure oversight at the organisation was "simply unacceptable". Its chief executive, Alan Sutherland, and chairman Donald MacRae stood down in the wake of reports in 2023 and 2024 which found lavish spending on personal development, dinners and expenses, including a £170 Mulberry wallet and £100 gift cards for every member of staff. (BBC) (Read the full report - PDF)

📣 Keir Starmer’s attempt to move the UK closer to the EU continues today with talks in Albania. The process is being dogged by demands for greater concessions from the UK over university fees for European students and access to UK waters for EU fishermen. There are also disputes over a defence and security pact, which would give UK firms access to EU work. A summit on Monday in London forms a hard deadline for a deal. (Guardian) (The Times £)

• Starmer’s UK-EU reset: Is another Brexit row looming? (City AM)

• Analysis: Is Britain really inching back towards the EU? (BBC)

📣 Celtic fans are being urged to stay away from an unofficial “title party” in the centre of Glasgow tomorrow after the club’s game against St Mirren at Celtic Park. Last year’s equivalent gathering saw 25,000 people attend, with 19 arrests and injuries to police officers. Combined with an Orange Walk taking place in the city centre that morning, it may be a good day for those not involved to head for the hills. (BBC)

FROM THE WEEKLY MAGAZINES
Gordon Brown continues his quiet diligence, the rich flee Britain, and why free speech is under threat

🗣️ Yesterday, one famous son of Kirkcaldy, Adam Smith, featured prominently here. Today, another: Gordon Brown, interviewed at length in The New Statesman. Kate Mossman spends the day with him, starting early in North Queensferry - but not as early as he does - and paints a picture of a former Prime Minister who still dwells deeply on the issues of the day, and wants to contribute… but in ways far removed from his old foil, Tony Blair. No fuss, no institute, but ideas and detail and hard work, especially around child poverty.

“Sitting by a big sunny window,” writes Mossman, “he sketches out a new, ‘fifth’ economic world order. ‘The unipolar, hegemonic American order is gone and cannot be brought back. We are in a multipolar world now – there are global problems that cannot be solved without working together. […] This is the last gasp of America trying to dictate to the world on its own terms, without trying consultation and negotiation. They will never be able to do that again.’” (New Statesman £)

🗣️The Spectator is worried about the number of people fleeing Britain. Specifically, the number of rich people who are getting out - 30,000 millionaires, all gone, spelling trouble for “London’s private members’ clubs, top schools, luxury car dealerships and estate agents” (I sense some of you may not be struggling to sense much emotion at this stage.)

But, insists, the magazine, it is unprecedented - it’s an outflow unmatched in the developed world, with the only other city to be losing millionaires in this way right now being Moscow. For them it’s sanctions. For the UK, it’s the tax burden being blamed.

“It’s hard to feel sorry for the ultra-wealthy,” concedes Michael Simmons. “But the reality is we need them, because Britain is dangerously dependent on its highest earners. The top 1 per cent of earners pay nearly 30 per cent of all income tax.”(The Spectator £)

🗣️The Economist says JD Vance was right: Europe has a free speech problem. Moreover, it highlights the UK as one of those places - Hungary is worst - where the problem is especially acute. “The obvious retort is that [Vance] is a hypocrite,” says the newspaper in a leader. “The White House in which J.D. Vance serves is an energetic foe of speech it dislikes, deporting students for their political views, harassing critical media and bullying universities. But just because he is a hypocrite does not mean he is wrong.”

Britain’s problems include its overzealous police, who scour the internet for posts that might be offensive. Thirty people are arrested every day for what they say online. (Douglas Murray also writes about this in this week’s Spectator). “The aim of hate-speech laws is to promote social harmony,” says the Economist, “Yet there is scant evidence that they work. Suppressing speech with the threat of prosecution appears to foster division. Populists thrive on the idea that people cannot say what they really think, a view now shared by more than 40% of Brits and Germans.” (The Economist £)

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 Reform UK is a much bigger threat to Labour in Scotland than it is to the party in the rest of the country, according to polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice. He’s told The Scotsman that “north of the Border, Labour losses to Reform are about 50 per cent above the GB-wide figure.”

He says the party has “managed to lose support more rapidly and more heavily than any previously elected government because the electorate has not embraced them, they have no clear story and they made promises on tax”. And he warns the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, due in less than three weeks, will give an insight into whether the SNP can see off Labour’s challenge next year in the full Holyrood elections. (The Scotsman has the exclusive)

📣 The increasing cost of Scotland’s ferries was a focus of First Minister’s Questions yesterday, with the cost of the two Ferguson Marine ships has now risen to four-and-a-half times the original cost, while bills for maintenance have also shot up. (The Herald)

• The cost of the two ferries is now approaching the original price of the Queen Mary 2. (The Scotsman)

📣 There’s been a 19% jump in Americans looking to buy properties in Scotland, according to online estate agent Rightmove, “attracted by its cities, glens and the geographical distance from Donald Trump”. (The Herald)

AROUND THE UK

📣 Thames Water might be close to insolvency but the government will have to use new powers to stop its bosses paying themselves hundreds of thousands in bonuses from a £3 billion emergency loan. The company argues its senior managers are its “most precious resource”. (The Guardian has the exclusive)

📣 The assisted dying bill for England and Wales faces its latest House of Commons test today: Esther Rantzen, who has stage four lung cancer, has urged MPs to back Kim Leadbeater’s “strong, safe, carefully considered bill”. (Guardian)

📣 US singer Chris Brown has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent, after he was arrested in Manchester yesterday. (BBC)

AROUND THE WORLD

🌎 I had no idea “atmospheric rivers” were a thing until I read this report on appalling weather and loss of life in the mid-east US, where they’re bringing vast amounts of rain and causing flash floods. (USA Today)

• “Atmospheric rivers are typically several thousand kilometres long and only a few hundred kilometres wide, and a single one can carry a greater flux of water than Earth's largest river, the Amazon River.” (Wikipedia)

🌎 More than 2,000 Starbucks baristas are on strike in the US and Canada over the company’s new dress code, which requires them to wear black shirts and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms. (AP)

🌎 The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs continues: it was claimed in court yesterday he overdosed on opioids at a 2012 party in the Playboy Mansion. Former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, eight months pregnant, spent hours testifying under cross-examination. (Independent)

🌎 In the Eurovision Song Contest… Israel’s entry, sung by Yuval Raphael, made it through to the final, despite protests at the nation’s participation. The final, being staged in Basel, Switzerland, takes place tomorrow night. Tomorrow’s Party Line, sent to my wonderful paid subscribers, will provide a more in-depth preview of the event. (Independent)

SPORT

⚽️ The close-season merry-go-round appears to be starting before the season’s over…

• Derek McInnes has made his farewells at Kilmarnock, ahead of becoming manager at Hearts. (The Sun)

• Steven Naismith, ex of Hearts… could take over at Kilmarnock. (Record)

• Rangers will learn within the next two weeks if Davide Ancelotti will become their new boss. He’s had “positive discussions” but both parties have other options to consider, too. (Rangers Review £)