Robert Fergus

Dec 4, 2024 | thetimes.com | Robert Fergus |Ed Halford

A Scottish volunteer fighter who joined the Ukrainian war to fight for President Putin has gained Russian citizenship. Ross McElvenny, 25, from Newton Mearns near Glasgow, arrived in Russia on a tourist visa in August, despite lacking either military experience or Russian language skills. He studied IT at a college in Glasgow after attending Falkland House, a residential school for boys in Fife, including those with autism, who need extra support for learning.

Dec 4, 2024 | thetimes.com | Robert Fergus |Aysun Bora |Greig Cameron |Kieran Andrews

Scotland’s finance secretary has set out her budget, which she said “offers hope for Scotland’s future”. After announcing the Scottish government’s tax and spending plans for the next financial year to Holyrood, her speech was accompanied by a budget bill, putting the plan into a legal document. MSPs will not vote on the bill until February, when the SNP government hopes the law will be passed.

Dec 3, 2024 | thetimes.com | Ed Halford |Robert Fergus

​Doctors and clinicians have condemned SNP ministers for a lack of “clear vision” for the NHS, claiming that the health service is failing to deliver some of its basic functions. Patients are still being treated according to a pre-pandemic action plan devised before Covid exacerbated waiting times and surgery backlogs, according to Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of British Medical Association Scotland.