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In your briefing today:

• The alleged shooters in the Bondi Beach massacre were “inspired by Islamic State”, it has been claimed.

• Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit for defamation against the BBC

• Angela Constance faces a vote of no confidence today

• The new chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, has warned Britain exists in a “space between peace and war”

• Rangers managed a narrow, nervy 1-0 win over Hibs, to hit third place

📣 Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the BBC, demanding up to $10 billion in damages for “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” editing his 6 January 2021 speech, before the insurrection, for use in an episode of Panorama just over a year ago.

Before the lawsuit was filed, Trump had told reporters in the Oval Office that the BBC had “literally put words in my mouth”, suggesting the Corporation had used AI to fabricate the quote.

In reality the Panorama edit took two sections of his speech, almost an hour apart, to suggest Trump had told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.” (Guardian) (BBC)

📣 Scottish justice secretary Angela Constance is expected to face a vote of no confidence later today. The move comes after opposition parties at Holyrood accused her of misrepresenting the position of an expert on grooming gangs, Prof Alexis Jay, and misleading parliament. (BBC)

• Labour tabled the no confidence motion, and it’s being backed by the Conservatives and Lib Dems. Now the Scottish Greens are being urged add their support. (Holyrood)

• A mum whose daughter was raped by a grooming gang has pleaded with MSPs to fire Angela Constance as Justice Secretary. In a harrowing open letter, the woman accused Constance of lying and said she had lost the support of victims. (The Daily Record has the exclusive)

• SNP ministers have been accused of hypocrisy after attacking the BBC for a “misleading” caption… but rallying round Constance in the fight to save her job. (Mail)

• Constance has warned of delays, adjournments and appeals in sexual offence cases after a Supreme Court judgment, handed down last month, said accused people in Scotland had seen their right to a fair trail placed at risk by the way the trials had been conducted. (Herald £)

📣 The mass shooting on Sydney’s Bondi Beach was “a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State,” Australian police have confirmed overnight. Islamic State flags were found in the car used by the father and son accused of carrying out the massacre. The older man, named as Sajid Akram, was shot dead. His son, Naveed, was being treated at a hospital. (AP)

• Jews in Scotland are “living in fear” of hate attacks, according to the chairman of the Jewish Council of Scotland. (Mail)

• The alleged gunmen spent most of November in the Philippines, police in Manila have confirmed. (BBC live coverage)

• More tales of heroism from Bondi Beach, although this one has as tragic ending: dash cam footage has emerged of another beachgoer tackling the gunmen right before they started their rampage. He, and his wife, were later pictured motionless. apparently shot by the terrorists. (Mail)

• A police officer stopped one of the terrorists with a “once in a lifetime shot” (Sun)

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AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 There are claims Scottish private schools are exploiting “soft touch” rules on extra help in exams after claiming their pupils suffer from various forms of disadvantage. At one school - St George’s in Edinburgh - 56% of pupils have extra support at national 5 level, against a national average of 21.4%, and 19.8% at state schools in poorer areas. (The Times (£) has the exclusive)

📣 Plans for a 50mph national speed limit across single carriageway roads in Scotland have been scrapped after a public outcry. (STV)

📣 The Edinburgh Festival Fringe will have a new HQ open for the 2026 festival: The Scotsman gets a video tour of the building as it’s renovated. (Scotsman £)

AROUND THE UK & WORLD

📣 The new chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli, has warned Britain exists in a “space between peace and war” with Russia, with the UK facing an “interlocking web” of threats.

Delivering her first speech in her new role, Ms Metreweli also said the world was being remade by technology, with tech companies and their bosses becoming as powerful as states. (BBC)

• It’s an interesting speech. The full text is worth your time. (GOV.uk)

• Some detail from the Times coverage: Ms Metreweli chose not to deliver her speech from abroad, as is traditional, but from her private dining room at MI6’s headquarters in London. And she was wearing a large spider brooch, a predilection about which she first wrote - pseudonymously - in a 2002 article in the FT. Her love of brooches, reports the paper, echos a habit of Miss Moneypenny, the fictional character in the James Bond films. (Times £)

• The head of Britain’s armed forces, meanwhile, warned our “sons and daughters” must be ready to fight in the event of an attack by Russia. Chief of Defence staff Sir Richard Knighton made a case for “defence and deterrence”, and said the security situation was “more dangerous than I have known during my career”. (Independent)

📣 Health secretary Wes Streeting has branded doctors in England “self-indulgent” and “dangerous” after they voted to push ahead with a five-day strike in the run-up to Christmas. The British Medical Association’s (BMA) resident doctor members rejected a last-minute offer from Streeting to halt the walkout, which starts tomorrow at 7am. (Independent)

📣 The son of film director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner has been arrested and is being held on suspicion of murder, after the couple were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday.

The Los Angeles Police Department said on Monday that Nick Reiner, 32, had been arrested and that he was in custody with no bail. (BBC)

• Nick Reiner has long had very public struggles with addiction, and has family. He became a drug addict as a teenager; his parents saw him use cocaine, heroin and acid. (🎁 WSJ - gift link)

• There are claims Nick Reiner was involved in an altercation with his father at a party hosted by Conan O’Brien over the weekend (Mirror)

SPORT

⚽️ Rangers moved up to third in the Scottish Premiership with a 1-0 win over Hibs at Ibrox, but it was far from a fluent display - it was a “nervy and narrow” win, says Kheredine Idessane. (BBC)

What it does do is position Rangers just behind Celtic in the table… with both teams faltering, goodness knows what positions they’ll find themselves by the time of the New Year Old Firm game.

• Five talking points from the game (Daily Record)

• Rangers on a Rohl - just three points behind Celtic (Sun)

⚽️ Kilmarnock have sacked their manager, Stuart Kettlewell, after their winless run extended to 10 games with a 2-1 defeat at Aberdeen last weekend. (Sky Sports) (Club statement)

⚽️ More entertainment down south, with Manchester and Bournemouth producing an entirely unexpected eight-goal thriller. Ending at 4-4, Ruben Amorim will take heart from United’s attacking play. But their defending was “amateurish” according to the Guardian, and a throwback to their illustrious past, according to the BBC. (Guardian) (BBC) (🎥 Highlights)

📣 Ideas takes a break today to make space to tell of - and set in context - the various developing news stories we’re seeing. Normal service should return tomorrow.

👍 That’s your Early Line for the day

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