Wendy Alexander is facing her first crisis as Scottish Labour leader after several senior party figures expres-sed doubts about her leadership skills.

Almost 50 MSPs have given parliamentary jobs to members of their immediate family , a Sunday Herald investigation has revealed. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of public cash have been taken out of the Holyrood expenses scheme to put MSPs' spouses, children and in-laws on the state-funded payroll. 

The Scottish government's transport agency is considering demolishing the Forth Road Bridge - at a cost of nearly £130 million . A report by Transport Scotland, released under freedom of information law, reveals that consultants have been asked to estimate the cost of dismantling the entire 43-year-old structure. 

Justice Secretary Jack Straw will today offer the government's first major hint that Labour's Westminster policy on retaining the current constitutional status quo between Scotland and England is about to change. 

The SNP will press ahead with targets to reduce primary class sizes , despite a continuing row with the largest local authorities over the cost of implementing the election pledge.

A High Court judge has bitterly attacked social workers, accusing them of conspiring to destroy the successful work of an outward-bound scheme which rehabilitated young offenders . 

Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell has suffered another challenge to his authority after one of his party's MSPs said he should be replaced by Charles Kennedy.