Scotland’s papers: UK and EU ‘ready to sign deal’ and freezing Christmas

image captionMany of the Christmas Eve front pages lead on reports that the UK and EU are close to signing a Brexit trade deal. The Times says the UK and EU are on the “verge” of an announcement that will define their relationship for decades. The agreement, it adds, was delayed as lawyers and negotiators attempted to translate the final compromises – particularly on fishing – into a binding legal text.

image caption“Deal” is the single-word headline for the i. The paper says the UK is set to avoid a “chaotic cliff-edge exit” from the EU with just days to spare, after diplomats made a breakthrough.

image caption“Hallelujah. It’s a Merry Brexmas”, is the Scottish Daily Mail’s take. It quotes sources saying Boris Johnson’s agreement will avoid tariffs but they expect a backlash from Eurosceptic MPs over fishing rights, where the PM is said to have given ground.

image captionA previous picture of Boris Johnson making a “V for victory” sign is on the front page of the Scottish Daily Express. The “deal is done” and Britain is heading for a “golden new era”, says the paper.

image captionThe Daily Telegraph says confirmation of a deal was expected after 24 hours of intensive telephone negotiations between Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It also highlights plans for Scots over the age of 80 to be first to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine if it is approved.

image captionThe National leads with an exchange between the first minister and Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie during FMQs. Mr Rennie claimed that Ms Sturgeon’s push for independence was like another Brexit, breaking up “another economic union”. Ms Sturgeon dismissed the comment saying the only reason Scotland was facing a no-deal Brexit was because it was not yet an independent nation, the paper reports.

image captionThe Scotsman leads with evidence given by Scotland’s national clinical director, Jason Leitch, to the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 committee on Wednesday. Prof Leitch said that a March-style lockdown may be needed to suppress the new strain of the virus, rather than measures used in November, the paper reports.

image captionA “game-changing” vaccine is “just weeks away” says The Scottish Sun, after Health Secretary Jeane Freeman gave a statement in Parliament updating members on testing and the vaccinations programme. Ms Freeman said that, if approved, the Oxford/AstraZeneca drug could be ready to roll out in a primary care setting by 11 January, the paper reports.

image captionThe Daily Record reports that Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross missed a Scottish government “lockdown summit” for party chiefs because he was acting as an assistant referee at a Rangers game. The leader of the Tories at Holyrood, Ruth Davidson, is believed to have taken Mr Ross’ place at the meeting.

image captionThe same story makes the front page of The Press and Journal, which highlights the new vaccine will first be rolled out to over-80s who are not in care homes. Ms Freeman said the jab would make it easier to vaccinate people in a “wider range” of settings, the paper says, as it does not have the same storage requirements as Pfizer’s.

image captionThe Evening Express gives the latest on a bid to change the law by the family of Aaron Rossiter, whose body was moved from his flat after he died. It is not a crime under Scots law to move a body, unless it was in an attempt to conceal a crime.

image captionThe Evening Telegraph reports on the death of a 44-year-old man involved in an “overhead cable tragedy” while working in a garden. The paper also carries a dramatic image of the remnants of a bus in Angus which was destroyed after catching fire.

image captionIt will be the “coldest Christmas for 10 years” according to the Daily Star of Scotland, which predicts “chaos” on the one day household mixing is permitted.

image captionThe Courier reports that the Stone of Destiny will return to Perthshire as the centrepiece of a new £26.5m museum, following a campaign backed by the paper. The historic stone was originally kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey in Perthshire.

image captionOver 900 “violent” assaults have taken place on council staff in the last year, according to the Glasgow Times. The figures have been called “unacceptable” and “shameful” by GMB Scotland, as council employees stand a “one-in-three chance” of being attacked at work.

image captionThe Herald’s front page is designed as a message of hope following what it calls “one of the hardest years in living memory”. The paper has highlighted some of the people and uplifting stories which have come about as a result of communities coming together during the pandemic.

image captionAnd similarly, the Edinburgh News kicks off Christmas Eve on a positive note, reporting more than 25,000 gifts and food parcels have been donated to a campaign by the charity Social Bite. The items are due to be delivered to some of those hardest-hit by coronavirus, such as those who have been isolated or lost their jobs.