Scotland's papers: Brian McKandie murder and Dundee job losses
- Published
The Press and Journal leads with the conviction of Steven Sidebottom for the "brutal and senseless" murder of Aberdeenshire handyman Brian McKandie. Mr McKandie, 67, was found dead in his cottage near Rothienorman in 2016.
The Scottish Sun calls Sidebottom the "bar bill butcher" for his "savage" attack on Mr McKandie. It reports that Sidebottom robbed him to pay a £1,500 bar tab. Mr McKandie carried out cash repairs at his home, and often joked that payments went towards "topping up" his "shoebox". Police found tins and shoeboxes containing about £200,000 at his cottage.
Police initially thought Mr McKandie's death was an accident. It became a murder inquiry after a post-mortem examination found he had suffered at least 15 blows to the head. Det Supt Iain Smith said police had apologised to Mr McKandie's family for his death not initially being recognised as murder.
The news that Dundee-based building services contractor McGill has gone into administration with the loss of 374 jobs makes the front page of the Courier's Dundee edition. The company's remaining 55 employees have been retained to assist joint administrators KPMG.
The Herald reports that leading figures including Nicola Benedetti and Dame Evelyn Glennie have spoken out in support of free music education. It follows the news that Midlothian Council is planning to cut musical instrument teaching in its schools.
The National reports that the BBC's Politics Live programme had two SNP guests out of the 79 guest 'slots' it had in January. Its front page reads: "Scotland's voice in the UK is being silenced by the BBC".
The Times reports that there has been an increase in the number of people cancelling their TV licences. The paper claims that more than 800,000 licences were cancelled in 2017-18.
The lawyer who investigated allegations of bullying involving businessman Sir Philip Green "was also a victim of the billionaire", the Telegraph reports. The paper, reporting on court proceedings, says lawyer Deborah Cooper complained she was bullied when overseeing "inquiries into accusations that the billionaire had sexually harassed women working at his company".
The Daily Record carries a story about "single mum" Terri Murray, 26, who claims MMA star Conor McGregor is the father of her child, one-year-old Clodagh. McGregor denies this is the case.
Ms Murray's claims about the MMA star also make the front page of the Daily Star". Take a DNA test, Conor" is the headline.
"Screen limit for children" is the headline on the front page of the Scottish Daily Mail. The paper reports that, "for the first time", parents in the UK will be given government guidance on how much time their children should be allowed to spend using mobile phones, tablets, video games and TVs. The guidance will say children should avoid social media before bedtime and take a break from screens "at least every two hours".
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