Fresh questions about police accountability have emerged after Scottish ministers confirmed that a law requiring officers to give evidence to independent investigators did not apply in the death of Sierra Leonean man Sheku Bayoh in May.

Police Scotland commanders issued new guidelines in March with the agreement of the Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution authority, which amended the standard rules for inquiries into police conduct by the independent police investigations and review commissioner (PIRC).

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Gay rights campaigners have welcomed a report showing that Scotland is the best country in Europe for LGBTI legal equality. The 2015 Rainbow Europe Index was compiled by ILGA-Europe, an international human rights association.

Scotland comes ahead of the rest of the UK and Europe in the legal protections it offers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

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Criminals have dodged more than £25 million in fines imposed by Scottish courts since the SNP came to power, according to new figures that the Conservatives called an “insult” to victims.

The figures, obtained from the Scottish Court Service (SCS), showed arrears of £21.5 million have been built up since 2008 thanks to offenders not paying.

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Scotland has avoided the “serious consequences” of separation, the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has said, hours before Catalan MPs are to vote on an independence referendum stridently opposed by Madrid.

In a video statement that avoided any mention of Catalonia, Rajoy expressed his content with the outcome in Scotland and took aim at the Scottish independence movement.

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