Scotch whisky will be hit by the first increase in duty for a decade in this week's Budget, prompting SNP claims that Alistair Darling is damaging Scotland's economy in a bid to prop up UK finances.

The scrapping of the council tax will move a step closer this week as ministers publish plans to replace it with a new local income tax.

MPS will be given the chance to vote themselves a pay increase of up to £25,000 in a bid to end the controversy over allowances for second homes, Scotland on Sunday can reveal. 

After offending every one of Lockerbie's 4,009 residents by describing their community as a "dump", outspoken MSP Christopher Harvie has set out to insult pretty much everyone else in Britain.

Homeowners face swingeing fines of up to £500 if they fail to provide the Government's controversial 'seller surveys' for potential buyers in Scotland.

A senior SNP MSP is facing a vote of no confidence after she blocked parliamentary questions about a housing development run by a party donor.