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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 11 July 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the weekend.
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Have a wonderful weekend, all!
☀️ The weekend’s weather: A pretty grey day for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness - with fog and mist dominating the day in the east - but things should brighten across the country tomorrow. London is going to be baking hot all weekend. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Widdecombe suspect released | City’s new gap side may linger | Raising a Haaland, or two | Can Little House on the Prairie ride again? | A funny AI struggle | Dubai ruler’s vast Highland estate
📣 The man arrested on suspicion of murdering former MP and government minister Ann Widdecombe has been released from custody and is no longer a subject of investigation, police have said this morning.
The former prisons minister was found dead at her home in rural Haytor, a village on Dartmoor in south-east England, on Thursday. She was found “covered in blood after being battered to death by a lone male attacker”, police believe.
A neighbour has spoken of “a man dressed in hiking clothes” turning up in the middle of the night, only hours before her body was found. (Mirror)
Her family believes the 78-year-old spent her last moments in “abject terror” when the intruder broke in. (Daily Mail)
The alarm was raised after she failed to appear for a TV booking (Sun)
Political reaction to Widdecombe’s death has been one of shock. “People across Westminster and beyond are stunned at the news of the murder investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe,” writes Chris Mason. “The sadness at the loss of a friend to many, magnified by the horror of what we were to later learn about its horrific circumstances.” (BBC)
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, including
News of what might happen next to Edinburgh’s former Debenhams building, hit by fire this week
Insight into how Norway perfected youth development and produced Haaland - and his talented pals
Debate on whether a remake of Little House on the Prairie will succeed
A funny video of AI bots struggling to collaborate in counting to 100
Details of the Dubai ruler’s vast Highland estate (and collection of luxury SUVs)
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend.
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