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2024 in Scotland

Events from the year 2024 in Scotland.

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2024 in: The UK • England • Wales • Elsewhere
Scottish football: 2023–24 • 2024–25
2024 in Scottish television

Incumbents

Events

January

  • 1 January – Police Scotland launch a murder investigation following the death of a 38-year-old man who was shot outside an Edinburgh pub shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve. A second man injured during the incident has been taken to hospital.[1] The deceased man is subsequently named as Marc Webley.[2]
  • 3 January – Police say they are "extremely concerned" for the safety of Laura Wilkie, a 43-year-old woman from Ayr, who has been missing since 18 December 2023.[3]
  • 4 January –
  • 5 January – Fugitive Nicholas Rossi, wanted in the United States on rape charges, is extradited from Scotland.[6]
  • 6 January – A 32-year-old man and 25-year-old woman have been arrested and charged with murder over the death of Marc Webley on New Year's Eve, police have confirmed.[7]
  • 8 January – Scottish Government papers reveal that a fragment of the Stone of Destiny gifted to Alex Salmond in 2008, and thought to be lost, is being held by the Scottish National Party at its headquarters.[8]
  • 9 January – BBC News reports that a ban on American XL bully dogs is likely in Scotland by the end of January.[9]
  • 10 January –
    • First Minister Humza Yousaf confirms those in Scotland convicted because of the Post Office scandal will be cleared following a similar announcement at Westminster for England and Wales, and that he will work with the UK government to bring this about.[10]
    • It is reported that David Page, the deputy chief officer at Police Scotland and the force's most senior member of civilian staff, has made a complaint against new Chief Constable Jo Farrell, doing so within weeks of her arrival.[11]
  • 11 January –
    • First Minister Humza Yousaf confirms that the Scottish Government will "in essence replicate" the law in England and Wales banning unlicensed ownership of American XL bully dogs.[12]
    • Plans are announced for West Town, a £2bn 7,000 home development on land near Edinburgh Airport.[13]
  • 13 January – A 70-year-old woman is charged after a car ran into protesters at a pro-Palestine march in Edinburgh.[14]
  • 14 January – Ramsay El-Nakla, the brother-in-law of Humza Yousaf, has been charged by police in connection with drugs offences.[15]
  • 15 January –
  • 16 January –
    • A yellow weather warning is in place for snow and ice for the whole of Scotland.[18]
    • Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, Scotland's most senior lawyer, apologises to victims of the Post Office scandal, saying they were let down by the justice system.[19]
    • Finance Secretary Shona Robison confirms that the Scottish Government is to cut at least 1,200 funded university places as they cannot afford to continue paying for additional places created during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]
  • 17 January – The UK government is seeking legal expenses from the Scottish Government over its challenge against the veto of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.[21]
  • 18 January –
    • Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown announces that Scotland will introduce legislation to ban the sale, breeding and abandonment of American XL bully dogs, replicating the law for England and Wales, at a date to be confirmed later.[22]
    • Nuns Sister Sarah McDermott and Sister Eileen Igoe, and carer Margaret Hughes, who mistreated children at Smyllum Park, an orphanage in Lanark from 1969 until 1981 when it closed, are each sentenced to three years in prison.[23]
    • Helen Goss, the mother of an eleven-year-old girl from Aberdeenshire with long COVID, launches legal action against NHS Grampian for what she says are the health board's "multiple failings" in the care and treatment of her daughter.[24]
  • 21 January –
  • 22 January – ScotRail announces another suspension of train services from 7pm the following day ahead of the arrival of Storm Jocelyn.[27]
  • 23 January – The Rail Accident Investigation Branch launches an investigation into a collision between a train and a fallen tree at 84mph (135 kmh) at Broughty Ferry on the Perth to Aberdeen line during Storm Gerrit in December 2023.[28]
  • 26 January – French Holocaust denier Vincent Reynouard, who spent two years on the run in Scotland before being apprehended by police in November 2022, loses his appeal against extradition to France, where he faces charges of inciting hatred and denying the occurrence of the Holocaust.[29]
  • 28 January – The Met Office records a provisional peak temperature of 19.6°C (67.3°F) at Kinlochewe in the Scottish Highlands, setting a new record for January temperatures in the area.[30]
  • 29 January –
    • Edinburgh City Council implements a ban on pavement parking.[31]
    • Engineers begin four days of work to install netting above the railway at Ratho to prevent potential rockfall, causing disruption to Central Belt railway services while the work is carried out.[32]
    • Robert O'Brian and Andrew Kelly are to appeal against their sentences for the murder of Caroline Glachan.[33]
  • 31 January – The Scottish Government confirms it will introduce a ban on the sale and exchange of American XL bully dogs from 23 February, while a licence to own one will be required from 31 July.[34]

February

  • 1 February –
  • 3 February –
    • A bus driver, subsequently named as Keith Rollinson, dies in hospital at Elgin following an assault at a bus station in the town the previous evening. A 15-year-old boy is subsequently arrested and charged with murder.[37]
    • Transport Scotland has put forward proposals for road tunnels linking parts of the Western Isles, and linking Mull to the mainland.[38]
  • 4 February –
    • The Scottish Information Commissioner, which oversees Scotland's freedom of information laws, launches a probe into the Scottish Government's use of informal messaging such as WhatsApp after "significant practice concerns" were raised by the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.[39]
    • The Met Office issues a yellow warning for floods for western and northern Scotland as the country experiences heavy rainfall.[40]
  • 6 February – Elena Whitham resigns from the post of Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy for health reasons.[41]
  • 8 February –
    • Michael Matheson resigns as Scotland's Health Secretary ahead of the publication of a report into £11,000 of data roaming charges accrued by his Parliamentary iPad. He is replaced by Neil Gray.[42]
    • The Scottish Government announces a rise in the minimum unit price for alcohol from 50p to 65p from April, subject to parliamentary approval.[43]
    • Edinburgh City Council says that 200 people have been fined since it introduced a ban on pavement parking on 29 January.[44]
  • 9 February – Donald Cameron, a Conservative list MSP for the Highlands and Islands, announces he is standing down from the Scottish Parliament to take up a seat in the House of Lords and a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Office.[45]
  • 10 February – Police Scotland are investigating 22 deaths that occurred at the Fullarton Care Home in Irvine, North Ayrshire during the COVID-19 pandemic. The home was one of the worst affected during the early days of the pandemic.[46]
  • 12 February –
  • 13 February – Former NHS worker Tracy Menhinick, who gave a young boy "industrial amounts" of the laxative lactulose, is found guilty of poisoning the child following a 19-day trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.[49]
  • 14 February – Jordan Mitchell, who spoke about his desire to commit mass murder in Falkirk during a hospital visit, and who said he had killed animals, is given an Order for Lifelong Restriction by the Court of Criminal Appeal.[50]
  • 15 February – Glasgow City Council and North Lanarkshire Council vote to freeze council tax for the 2024–25 financial year.[51]
  • 16 February –
    • Former footballer Ciaran Dickson is sentenced to six years in prison by the High Court in Glasgow for the hit-and-run killing of Aidan Pilkington in September 2021, when he was more than three times over the drink drive limit.[52]
    • Scotland is to scrap its Super 6 rugby series and reinstate a national "A team" as part of a comprehensive restructuring programme.[53]
  • 17 February –
  • 20 February –
    • Heather Woodbridge, aged 29, is appointed as leader of Orkney Islands Council, becoming Scotland's youngest council leader and the first woman to lead Orkney Islands Council.[56]
    • The BBC announces plans to reshape the BBC Scotland TV channel, including axing the hour-long news programme The Nine and replacing it with a 30-minute programme.[57]
  • 22 February – Argyll and Bute Council votes to raise its council tax by 10%, and rejects the Scottish Government's council tax freeze by doing so.[58]
  • 23 February – The Scottish Government publishes draft legislation proposing a ban on the sale of disposable vapes in Scotland by 1 April 2025.[59]
  • 24 February – Police Scotland begins an investigation after burnt human remains are found near Motherwell Football Club.[60]
  • 25 February – The Scottish Government confirms that Economy Secretary Màiri McAllan, who is pregnant, will take maternity leave during the summer, becoming the second Scottish Government minister to do so.[61]
  • 26 February –
    • Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose burnt body was found on a football pitch.[62]
    • First Minister Humza Yousaf describes council tax rises in Scotland as "unjustifiable".[63]
  • 27 February –
    • MSPs vote 68–55 in favour of the 2024 Scottish budget, which includes a council tax freeze and 45% and 48% income tax rates for higher earners.[64]
    • Fergus Ewing loses his appeal against a week-long suspension from the SNP group at Holyrood in September 2023 after he criticised the party leadership.[65]
  • 28 February – Following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Iain Packer is found guilty of the April 2005 murder of Emma Caldwell, a sex worker whose body was found in woods five weeks after she disappeared from Glasgow. Packer, who is also convicted of 32 other offences against women, including rapes and sexual assaults, is sentenced to at least 36 years in prison, the second longest prison sentence to be handed out by a Scottish court.[66]
  • 29 February –

March

  • 1 March – First Minister Humza Yousaf announces that his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, is expecting a baby in July, making him the first Scottish First Minister to become a parent while in office.[69]
  • 7 March –
  • 8 March – The creators of Wirdle, a Shetland dialect version of the Wordle game, announce the game's withdrawal following legal threats from The New York Times, owners of the original game.[72]
  • 9 March – A Daily Telegraph report alleging a conflict-of-interest involving First Minister Humza Yousaf after the Scottish Government donated £250,000 to the UN agency UNRWA, which supports Palestinian refugees, is rejected by Yousaf as an "outrageous smear" and a "far right conspiracy".[73]
  • 10 March –
  • 11 March – The driver of a double decker bus is arrested after the vehicle's roof is ripped off after crashing into a railway bridge in West Lothian. No passengers were aboard the bus at the time.[76]
  • 12 March – Professor Jason Leitch announces he will leave his role as National Clinical Director at the end of April.[77]
  • 13 March – Five people are taken to hospital for treatment after a bus crashes into a high rise block of flats in Paisley, Glasgow.[78]
  • 14 March –
  • 15 March – Following trial and conviction at the High Court in Glasgow, double murderer Peter Duffy is sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Emma Baillie, and brother, John-Paul Duffy, in separate incidents in Coatbridge in 2022.[81]
  • 17 March – HMP Kilmarnock becomes the first privately-run prison in Scotland to pass into the ownership of the Scottish Prison Service after its contract with Serco comes to an end.[82]
  • 19 March – Scottish Prison Service director Allister Purdie gives evidence to the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry, and apologises to the family of Callum Inglis, who died at Addiewell Prison during the pandemic, after his family learned of the death through word of mouth before they were told formally by prison authorities.[83]
  • 21 March –
    • The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body confirms that members of Scottish Parliament staff will no longer be allowed to wear rainbow lanyards, or any other badge or jewellery associated with social issues, while at Holyrood.[84]
    • The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill passes its final vote in the Scottish Parliament. Among measures it introduces is a licensing scheme for land where grouse shooting takes place, and regulations for traps.[85]
  • 22 March –
  • 27 March –
    • Following a three week hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, former private school teacher John Brownlee, who worked at the Edinburgh Academy between 1967 and 1987, is found to have physically abused bos in his charge. He will not face trial though as he was earlier deemed to be medically unfit to do so.[88]
    • A group calling itself INC Ransom threatens to publish data stolen from NHS Dumfries and Galloway.[89]
    • VisitScotland announces that its 25 information centres will close over the next two years.[90]
  • 28 March – The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, a bill to legalise assisted dying in Scotland and drafted by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, is introduced into the Scottish Parliament.[91]

April

  • 1 April – The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which creates a new crime of "stirring up hatred" relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex, comes into force in Scotland.[92]
  • 2 April –
    • The Scottish Government publishes a consultation on legislation to ban egg producers from housing chickens in cages in Scotland.[93]
    • Police Scotland says that comments challenging Scotland's new hate crime law made by the author J K Rowling are not being treated as a crime.[94]
  • 6 April – Changes to Income tax in Scotland come into force, with a new "Advanced" rate for those earning over £75,000.[95]
  • 8 April –
    • Ritlecitinib, provided under the brand name Litfulo and used to treat the most common forms of alopecia, is licensed for use by the NHS in Scotland.[96]
    • Father and son Ian and Dean McLeod are sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum terms of 34 years for the 2022 murders of Derek Johnston and Desmond Rowlings with the use of a blowtorch at a flat in Edinburgh.[97]
  • 9 April – Former NHS worker Tracy Menhinick is sentenced to seven years in prison after poisoning a young boy with "industrial" amounts of laxative.[98]
  • 10 April – Police Scotland says it received 7,000 online reports of alleged hate crimes during the first week of new laws enacted by the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act.[99]
  • 11 April – Glasgow is named as a potential host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games following Victoria's July 2023 decision to withdraw as host because of rising costs.[100]
  • 14 April – First Minister Humza Yousaf condemns Iran's attack against Israel, describing it as an "extremely worrying development.[101]
  • 15 April – Police Scotland make their first two arrests for alleged offences breaching the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023.[102]
  • 17 April – MSPs vote to increase the minimum alcohol price by 30% from September, when alcoholic drinks will rise from 50p to 65p per unit, with the increase in line with inflation.[103]
  • 18 April –
    • Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and husband of Nicola Sturgeon, is re-arrested by Police Scotland and charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the SNP.[104] Murrell also resigns his membership of the SNP.[105]
    • The Scottish Government scraps its target of achieving Net Zero by 2030, as well as annual and interim targets for reducing greenhouse gases, and instead replaces them with a system measuring emissions every five years.[106]
    • Following a review of gender services in England, NHS Scotland pauses the use of puberty blockers for children in Scotland, while Glasgow's Sandyford Clinic says 16- and 17-year-olds will need to wait until they are 18 to be prescribed the drugs.[107]
  • 19 April –
    • At the High Court in Glasgow, Kristofer Johnstone is sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of the rape and abuse of two girls between 2003 and 2018.[108]
    • The Scottish Greens announce their intention to hold a vote on whether to stay in government with the Scottish National Party following the SNP's decision to scrap key climate targets.[109]
  • 20 April – BBC News reports that the SNP will form a minority government if the Scottish Greens vote to end their power-sharing agreement.[110]
  • 21 April – A 20-year-old man is charged after a car appeared to drive at pro-independence marchers in Glasgow the previous day.[111]
  • 22 April –
    • Donna Marie Brand, one of three people convicted of the 1996 murder of Caroline Glachan, is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years.[112]
    • John-Paul McLaughlan is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years after admitting the murder of his partner, Stacey Warnock, who was stabbed multiple times following an argument at the couple's home in December 2022.[113]
    • NHS Dumfries and Galloway apologises for any anxiety caused by a cyberattack, described as a "targeted and continued incursion", which occurred in March.[114]
  • 23 April –
  • 25 April – 2024 Scottish government crisis: The Scottish National Party's coalition in the Scottish government with the Scottish Greens collapses as the SNP withdraws. The SNP announce their intention to continue as a minority government. The Scottish Conservatives call a no confidence vote in First Minister Humza Yousaf.[117]
  • 26 April – 2024 Scottish government crisis: Humza Yousaf says he will not resign as first minister of Scotland despite facing a motion of no confidence in his government.[118]
  • 28 April – 2024 Scottish government crisis: BBC News reports that Yousaf has ruled out an electoral pact between the SNP and Alba Party after Alex Salmond suggested the party would support him in a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament.[119]
  • 29 April – 2024 Scottish government crisis: Yousaf announces his resignation as both leader of the SNP and first minister of Scotland when his successor is chosen.[120]
  • 30 April – Officials at Holyrood confirm that Labour's motion of no confidence in the Scottish Government will be voted on by MSPs the next day.[121]

May

  • 1 May – MSPs vote 70–58 to defeat a motion of no confidence in the Scottish Government.[122]
  • 2 May – John Swinney is set to become the next SNP leader and first minister after Kate Forbes confirms she will not seek the party's leadership.[123]
  • 5 May – John Swinney warns that any bid to challenge his election as leader would delay rebuilding the party amid reports party activist Graeme McCormick is set to put his name forward.[124] He subsequently announces he will not launch a challenge and endorses Swinney.[125]
  • 6 May – John Swinney is confirmed as Leader of the Scottish National Party after being unopposed in the leadership election, and begins his second tenure in the post.[126]
  • 7 May – John Swinney wins the backing of the Scottish Parliament to become Scotland's seventh First Minister, and will be sworn into office the next day.[127]
  • 8 May –
  • 9 May – Swinney confirms to the BBC that the SNP's strategy of using the next general election as a mandate for a second referendum on Scottish independence remains.[131]
  • 10 May –
  • 11 May – Scotland's warmest day of the year so far is recorded by the Met Office, with a temperature of 25.7°C at Cassley.[134]
  • 13 May – At the High Court in Kilmarnock, Uber driver Kunathilinghan Mohanthas is sentenced to seven years in prison for killing Christopher Hanton, who he left for dead in Glasgow city centre after ordering him out of his car and knocking him over as he performed a three-point turn in August 2023.[135]
  • 14 May – MSPs unanimously approve the Housing Cladding Remediation Bill with 116 votes in favour of the legislation that seeks to address problems with cladding on buildings and avoid a similar incident to the Grenfell tower fire in Scotland.[136]
  • 15 May –
    • The Scottish Government declares a national housing emergency during a parliamentary debate at Holyrood, citing UK government budget cuts and austerity as the reasons for a shortage in housing.[137]
    • Justice Secretary Angela Constance confirms that the Scottish Government are to seek powers to facilitate the early release of prisoners in order to prevent overcrowding in prisons. The rules would only apply to those serving under four years and would not apply to those convicted of sexual or domestic violence related offences.[138]
  • 18 May – Four police officers are injured and 19 arrests made in Glasgow city centre as fans celebrate after Celtic win the Premiership.[139]
  • 21 May –
    • Scottish culture secretary Angus Robertson calls for an urgent meeting with Creative Scotland after an arts project involving real sex was given over £100,000 in government funding.[140]
    • Aberdeen sheriff Jack Brown is to be removed from office over sexual harassment allegations after a tribunal finds he has committed "serious improper conduct" towards two women.[141]
  • 23 May –
    • Police Scotland announces that it has submitted a "standard prosecution report" concerning its investigation into SNP finances to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.[142]
    • First Minister John Swinney announces he will not accept a parliamentary committee ruling to exclude Michael Matheson from Holyrood for 27 days over his £11,000 iPad charges bill, claiming the decision is "prejudiced" due to the involvement of a Conservative MSP who previously made comments about Matheson.[143]
  • 25 May –
  • 29 May –
    • MSPs vote 64–0 to exclude former Health Secretary Michael Matheson from the Scottish Parliament for 27 sitting days, and to suspend his salary for 54 days, after he breached expenses rules by accululating an £11,000 bill on his parliamentary iPad. The governing SNP abstains from voting, and calls for a review of the complaints procedure, suggesting it could be open to bias.[146]
    • Dundee becomes the second city in Scotland to introduce a low emission zone.[147]
  • 30 May – Police searching for a father and son missing after hillwalking in Glen Coe confirm they have found two bodies.[148]
  • 31 May – Scotland's UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifier match against Israel is delayed after a protestor padlocks himself to the goalposts at Hampden Park.[149] A 24-year-old man is subsequently charged over the incident.[150]

June

July

  • 1 July –
    • Balmoral Castle opens to the public for tours for the first time, with daily tours running until 4 August.[187]
    • Steve Carson is to step down as Head of Multi-Platform Commissioning at BBC Scotland in September, in order to take up a senior role at Irish broadcaster RTÉ.[188]
  • 2 July – After rejecting a pay offer in May, waste and recycling staff belonging to Unite in half of Scotland's councils vote to strike.[189]
  • 3 July –
  • 5 July –
  • 6 June –
    • 2024 United Kingdom general election in Scotland: Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire becomes the final constituency to declare its election results, and sees the number of Liberal Democrat MPs rise to 6 in Scotland after they defeat the SNP to win the seat.[195]
    • The number of COVID-19 hospital cases in Scotland have surpassed the previous winter's peak, data shows, with 448 people in hospital with the disease in the week ending 30 June, an increase on the previous week, and above the winter peak of 388.[196]
    • A team looking into how the Cass Review could apply to Scotland's health services for children and young adults recommends the Scottish Government pause the use of puberty blockers until further research into them is conducted.[197]
  • 7 July – Keir Starmer makes his first visit to Scotland as prime minister, for a meeting with First Minister John Swinney.[198]
  • 9 July –
    • In an open letter to SNP members following the party's defeat in Scotland, former deputy leader Jim Sillars has described John Swinney's leadership as "a busted flush" and Nicola Sturgeon as "Stalin's wee sister".[199]
    • Brian Boyd, the Provost of Angus, resigns after berating a female councillor to the point of tears at an open council meeting.[200]
  • 11 July –
    • The SNP confirms it will have to make the majority of its Westminster staff redundant after Parliament reduces its "Short Money" – the annual amount paid to opposition parties – by £1m.[201]
    • Data from Public Health Scotland indicates there were 49 COVID-related deaths in the week ending 1 July, with numbers having increased on previous weeks, while data obtained by BBC News indicates that as many as 260,000 people in at risk groups had not received a booster vaccine during the Spring 2024 programme when it ended on 30 June.[202]
    • The Court of Criminal Appeal reduces the sentence of teenager Daniel Haig, sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2021 murder of Justin McLaughlin, himself a teenager. Haig will now be required to serve 13 rather than 16 years before becoming eligible to be considered for parole following an appeal against the original sentence handed out in August 2023.[203]
    • A pod of 77 whales dies after washing ashore on a beach in Orkney in what is believed to be the largest incident of its kind for several decades.[204]

Scheduled events

Sports

Holidays

Source:[207][208]

Deaths

See also

References

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