• Police submit first charge file relating to Mohamed Fayed
• Rennie urges Dalzell investigation amid reports of misuse of taxpayer money
• Almost 10,000 waiting on care package or assessment
• SNP urged to change course to get 770,000 Scots treated
• Harley: Pause GP walk-in centres as low attendance rates persist
• Chou Turvey responds to recorded crime increases
• Green: SFC report shows public sector reform falling short

Police submit first charge file relating to Mohamed Fayed

Commenting on the update from the Metropolitan Police that Operation Cornpoppy detectives have submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a Charge decision, Dave Robertson MP and Wendy Chamberlain MP, Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods – the cross-party campaign in Parliament – said:

This will be a huge moment for many survivors – whether this first charging decision relates to them or not.

As a group they have been waiting years, and in some cases decades, for justice.

We are pleased to see the Metropolitan Police pushing ahead in its investigation by referring this charging decision to the Crown Prosecution Service.

We recently met with the force, who assured us that progress on the investigation is accelerating, and we will keep supporting survivors to be heard by the all the institutions involved in this case.

They deserve certainty that every aspect of the abuse they suffered at the hands of this trafficking network will be pursued to the fullest extent possible.

Rennie urges Dalzell investigation amid reports of misuse of taxpayer money

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie has today written to Cabinet Secretary Stephen Flynn urging him to investigate significant allegations about the operation of the Dalzell steel plant, including misuse of taxpayer money, non-payment of pension payments, theft, collapsing maintenance standards and the sourcing of steel slab from Kazakhstan, after he was approached by a number of sources at the plant over recent goings on.

Mr Rennie’s letter is as follows:

Dear Stephen,

I am writing with regard to the Dalzell steel plant.

This is an issue that I have taken an interest in over the years as I wish to see Scotland maintain domestic steel capacity.

At this stage you will be familiar with the travails of the site’s present owner Sanjeev Gupta and his GFG Alliance business empire. I understand from recent media coverage that the Scottish Government are now investigating misuse of loans provided in respect to the Lochaber aluminium plant, also part of Mr Gupta’s network.

I have recently been contacted by a number of sources at the Dalzell plant who raised a number of concerning issues and I am now writing to you to seek confirmation as to the following points and to ask what action your government will now take to ensure fair treatment for Scottish taxpayers and the workers at the plant:

• Whether it is correct that rather than sourcing steel slab from British steelmakers, the Dalzell plant has been sourcing raw materials from Kazakhstan?

• What engagement the Scottish Government has had with bosses at the Dalzell plant given that the plant has been effectively mothballed for the past twelve months with workers on reduced payments?

• Whether it is correct that payments into the employees pensions have stopped as Aviva will not accept the payments that the plant’s operators are forwarding due to concerns over the source of these payments?

• Whether the Scottish Government assesses that there are major issues that will stop the plant from running in the very near future? My contact is warning that the furnaces that heat the slabs are on their knees due to lack of maintenance and investment.

• Whether it is accurate to say that there is now a shortage of fitters and electricians?

• What action the Scottish Government has taken in response to reports that the plant was ransacked and nearly every piece of copper stolen from it preventing the installation of key equipment?

• My contacts have also warned that the £7 million owed to the Scottish Government was not spent on the Dalzell plant but was in fact transferred elsewhere.

In my previous exchanges with Scottish Government ministers on this matter, I have been left concerned that no one has ever been able to explain whether or when government loans are likely to be paid back, whether Mr Gupta’s businesses are in breach of their deals with the government and what this could all mean for Scottish taxpayers.

I hope you will be able to furnish me with some answers,

Yours sincerely,

Willie Rennie

Almost 10,000 waiting on care package or assessment

Responding to new figures that show, 9,736 people were waiting to receive a social care package or to be assessed for one at the beginning of July, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said: