Do not underestimate the mess we are in.  Thanks to the hapless Truss and the arrogant but inept Kwarteng, last week’s mini budget has plunged the economy of the UK into the worst crisis since Black Wednesday, thirty years ago. Funnily enough both crises have happened under Tory Governments.  What a nonsense that makes of the Tories hype that only they can run the economy effectively.

Last weekend chilling video footage emerged on Twitter which should concern us all. It appeared to show two police officers following a lone young woman home from an anti-monarchy demonstration in Edinburgh and, when challenged, saying “Tell us where you live, and we will let you go...”.  Not only did it show a scene which we would normally expect to see only in a totalitarian state, but it also showed an alarming insensitivity in the light of the circumstances surrounding the murder of Sarah Everard.

Earlier this week, I found myself standing on the platform of a packed London tube station, trying to explain to a Tory MP the complexity of the Scots’ feelings towards the late Queen, the monarchy in general and how this relates to the independence question. A thoughtful politician, he understood that support for independence is real and growing but he could not square that with the extraordinary scenes on the streets of Edinburgh, and indeed in rural Scotland, as thousands turned out to pay their respects.

A looming medical negligence scandal in England has implications for Scotland and needs urgent attention. London’s Tavistock gender clinic is facing the threat of legal action from 1000 children and their families who claim they were misdiagnosed and placed on a damaging and irreversible medical pathway without proper informed consent or consideration of alternative therapies.