Mail on Sunday

Landowners Grouse at Plan to Protect the Capercaillie

IT is one of Scotland's most iconic birds and saving it from extinction has already cost taxpayers [pounds]5.5 million. But now officials want to give the capercaillie the protection of powerful wildlife legislation - a move that many Highland landowners fear could put their livelihoods at risk.

What Mandy Really Thought of Brown

PETER MANDELSON was last night linked to a series of vicious personal attacks on Gordon Brown and other senior Labour figures after banning explosive details of his private indiscretions from being published in a new book. A series of Press reports that described the Prime Minister as 'niggardly, brooding, credit-grasping, impossible to work with and fatally flawed' can be traced back to meetings attended by Lord Mandelson.

Nhs Calls in Private Detectives to Trap Sick Pay Cheats

THE NHS has hired 'spies' to expose hospital staff who cost the taxpayer millions of pounds by faking illnesses and taking long- term sick leave. The Scottish Mail on Sunday has learned that a pilot project involving a firm of private investigators was so successful that health chiefs are now expected to extend the scheme.

How the Tories' Secret Network of Whitehall Moles Spooked No10 ; As Labour Fears a Spy in the Treasury, an All-Party Group Threatens to Hijack the Queen's Speech

THE heavy-handed methods used against Tory MP Damian Green and alleged Home Office whistleblower Christopher Galley come amid reports that the Conservatives have a network of Whitehall moles. According to one senior Tory, the party is receiving secret information from up to six insiders who are determined to expose what they regard as Government blunders and other information considered to be in the public interest.

Climo Rises to Challenge for Ayr ; Premier Round-Up

FRAZIER CLIMO snatched the honours with a 19-point haul, which featured a try double, as Ayr kick-started their Premiership title quest by crushing crisis-club Hawick 29-0 at Millbrae. Climo was immense as the hosts made amends for last week's loss at Melrose, but it took Ayr until the dying seconds to secure the vital bonus point. Damian Kelly and Richard McCallum added the other tries.

Macleod so Relieved, and Angry, Over Drugs Hell ; Scotland Star Left Bitter Over the Lengthy Battle to Clear His Name

OVER the last five weeks, Scott MacLeod has been banned from playing rugby for the second time in a year. During that time, he has missed two matches for his club side, Llanelli Scarlets, three Scotland internationals, been branded a drugs cheat and has had to spend thousands of pounds of his own money proving his innocence. Even now that the legal wrangling seems to be over, provided the World Anti-Doping Agency agrees with UK Sport's findings, he knows his reputation will remain tarnished ...

Cross Relishing the Challenge of Trying to Oust Rival Murray

WITH Euan Murray pulverising anyone foolish enough to get in his way in the autumn internationals, Geoff Cross has had to spend the last month watching the Scotland No 3 jersey slip beyond his reach. It must have been frustrating for a man who makes no secret of his desire to play international rugby, but rather than be downbeat, he insists he feels invigorated by the gauntlet Murray has laid down and inspired by the example set by his rival.

I'll Find a Way to Compete ; Lawwell Hits Back at Talk of a Continental Glass Ceiling and Promises Not to Give Up On Euro Dream

CELTIC chief executive Peter Lawwell has dismissed last Tuesday's shock European elimination as 'a blip' for an otherwise progressive club that will never, under his guidance, give up trying to stage a break-in at the closed shop of the Champions League elite. There was an increasingly familiar and depressing story in midweek, when 13 of the 16 slots in the post-Christmas knockout stage of the world's flagship club tournament were booked with one matchday left in the group phase. All the usua...

Foster: I'll Be Back ; Scots Trainer Vows to Regroup After His Shock Ashgrove Rift

GEORGE FOSTER intends to snub offers to return south and continue to train in Scotland providing a deal with a new backer comes to fruition. The Kelso-born handler walked away from his role at the Ashgrove training centre on Friday in the wake of a bust-up with his employer Ian Ross, the owner-founder of the [pounds]2million complex near Dalkeith.

Banker's Birth Ordeal

AN investment banker has given birth to a baby girl just hours after suffering a vicious assault outside her [pounds]1.5 million home. Anastasia Bloom, 34, who is a director of Morgan Stanley, was attacked by a hooded teenager in Hampstead, North London, where she lives with her husband and two children Alex, seven, and five-year- old Sophie.

Pressure Is Piling Up On Rangers Now, Says Smith

WALTER SMITH last night conceded that the SPL title pressure is already being felt by Rangers after defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle. The Ibrox side were outplayed and overpowered in Edinburgh yesterday, losing 2-1 just a few hours before Celtic registered a routine victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle which established a seven-point gap at the top of the league table.

Prize Funding ; Lawwell Promises Cash for January to Ensure Strachan Wins Title Race

PETER LAWWELL last night pledged to back manager Gordon Strachan in the winter transfer market to ensure that Celtic recover from their European exit with a stronger squad and a fourth successive SPL title. The Parkhead chief executive described the shock defeat in Aalborg as 'a blip' and set a target of improving the team, which is currently on a 12-match winning streak in the league and seven points clear of Rangers after a 1-0 victory over Inverness yesterday, during the January window to ...

... But, When I Do Give It Up, I'd Like to Start a Football Revolution

GORDON STRACHAN wants to reshape the football landscape of an entire country when he eventually gives up top-level management. Strachan has declared himself available to share, then implement, his ideas for a soccer structure 'from eightyear-olds and upwards' in a revelation that should alert the SFA.

I'll Never Understand How Fans Can Have a Go at Gordon, Says Wilson

MARK WILSON has offered a most vehement and impassioned defence of Gordon Strachan and told the snipers they will never break the bond between the Celtic manager and his Parkhead players. Describing some of the abuse he heard aimed at Strachan immediately following Tuesday's defeat as 'shocking', Wilson insisted this setback cannot be allowed to reopen the gulf between manager and supporters.

Maloney: I Have Never Seen the Boss Look so Depressed

SHAUN MALONEY admits the look on Gordon Strachan's face after Celtic had crashed out of Europe said more than words could possibly have expressed. According to the forward, his normally ebullient manager was desolate in the wake of his team's 2-1 Champions League defeat by Aalborg, unable to mask his feelings as he resisted any temptation to lambast his players 'Disappointment was written all over the manager, beyond anything I had seen before, and beyond disappointment really,' said Maloney....

Kill to Your Last Breath ; Terrorist Tells of Order to Slaughter Innocent Britons

THE only terrorist captured alive after the Mumbai massacre has given police the first full account of the extraordinary events that led to it - revealing he was ordered to 'kill until the last breath'. Azam Amir Kasab, 21, from Pakistan, said the attacks were meticulously planned six months ago and were meant to kill 5,000 people.

Aussies On the Charge ; Golf

RICHARD GREEN warned World Cup rivals Spain not to take anything for granted after Australia put themselves into a share of the lead with a nine-under-par 63 in the thirdround fourballs yesterday. Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal combined for a superb 63 in second-round foursomes on Friday to move four strokes clear at the top of the leaderboard at Mission Hills in China.

Appleby has a Lot to Learn ; Boxing

BRITISH featherweight champion Paul Appleby is going back to the drawing board following his latest success against English veteran Esham Pickering. The 21-year-old South Queensferry boxer retained his Lonsdale belt at Bellahouston Leisure Centre on Friday night by dint of a unanimous points win.

Giorgios Bid for the Berkeley Hotel Is Turned Down

GIORGIO ARMANIS attempt to buy one of Britains most famous hotels has been turned down flat. The 74-year-old Italian designer offered an eyewatering sum for the five-star Berkeley hotel in Mayfair but was told he could have it only if he bought its two sister London hotels.

Turning Defence Into Offence... ; Black Dog

THE first thing Id like to say is what a great job Gordon is doing, were the opening words of ex-Defence Secretary turned Celtic Football Club chairman John Reid in a private speech to the Royal United Services Institute. Anyone who thought Reid had buried the hatchet with fellow Scot and Labour foe Gordon Brown was soon put right. Im talking, of course, about Gordon Strachan, the manager of Celtic, he smirked.