A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison following a threatening and abusive behaviour offence in Ravelston.
Marcus Laidley-Sobers pleaded guilty to the offence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, 22 June, 2026. He was sentenced at the same court today – Wednesday, 8th July, 2026.
Police received a report of threatening behaviour in the West Court area of Edinburgh on Thursday, 20 March, 2025.
Laidley-Sobers was arrested and charged in connection with the incident on Wednesday, 2 April, 2025, following the execution of a warrant.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry, Specialist Crime Division, said: “Laidley-Sobers will now face the consequences of his actions.
“Bringing another individual to justice is testament to the continued hard work and dedication by detectives, specialist officers and partners across the country.
“Police Scotland remains committed to the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce and its national strategy.”
Operation Portaledge is the ongoing investigation into violent incidents in the East and West of the country.
Come and work with us! We are hiring a P/T Community Gardener to work with a new group which you would form.
This is a social and supportive group which will be facilitated compassionately. It will centre around food growing, meal sharing, and biodiversity awareness, and will be based mostly in the Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre garden.
There will also be opportunity for day trips to other inspiring natural community spaces and working in partnership with other community groups.
We want every child in Edinburgh to walk into school feeling confident, comfortable, and ready to learn. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Give Today to make supporting our Kit Out a Kid campaign easier than ever!
By using our dedicated Give Today online wishlist, you can buy the items we need most—from polo shirts and cozy sweatshirts to joggers and socks—in just a few clicks.
How it works:
1. Click the link below to visit our Give Today shop.
2. Choose the items you’d like to donate.
3. Check out! Give Today handles the rest and ships your donations straight to our Hub.
Every single item purchased helps a child to thrive. Thank you for your support!
Two of the UK’s leading specialist law firms have joined forces with Cerebral Palsy Scotland to launch a new Legal Support Network aimed at improving access to expert legal advice for people with cerebral palsy and their families.
The network, spearheaded by Cerebral Palsy Scotland, brings together legal specialists with expertise in cerebral palsy, birth injury and disability-related law to help families access trusted support from professionals who understand the lifelong impact of the condition.
Founding partners Slater and Gordon Lawyers and Irwin Mitchell will work with the charity over the next year to develop a new model for legal support, informed by the experiences of people with cerebral palsy and their families.
Stephanie Fraser, CEO at Cerebral Palsy Scotland, said: ” People with cerebral palsy and their families often face complex legal issues throughout their lives.By bringing together some of the UK’s leading experts in this field, we’re creating a network built on trust, expertise and shared values.
“This initiative is about making it easier for families to find the right support, at the right time, from professionals who genuinely understand their experiences.”
As part of the initiative, partners will help develop a code of practice to support best practice when working with clients affected by cerebral palsy.
Representatives from both founding law firms welcomed the opportunity to support the initiative.
Derek Couper, Principal Lawyer, Slater and Gordon, said: “Cerebral Palsy Scotland plays an outstanding role in helping people across the country affected by the condition, and without them, their tailored support would be very hard to access.
“Their own research shows the struggle people experience in finding resources and understanding how to navigate their lives, which makes the support of this charity absolutely invaluable.
“Slater and Gordon in Scotland is delighted to partner with this incredible charity and to offer their beneficiaries across the country access to high-quality, accessible and expert legal advice.
“We have a team of experienced solicitors ready to listen to the needs of individuals and families living with cerebral palsy, and to take action where appropriate in pursuit of achieving the highest standard of living.”
Darren Deery, Head of Clinical Negligence Scotland, Irwin Mitchell: “We are proud to support Cerebral Palsy Scotland in launching this important initiative. Through our work, we see the profound and lasting impact cerebral palsy can have on individuals and their families, and how important it is to have access to clear, specialist legal advice at the right time.
“This network is a positive step towards ensuring families can access trusted expertise in a way that is joined-up, compassionate and focused on their needs.
“By working in partnership with Cerebral Palsy Scotland and others, we hope to help improve understanding and make it easier for people to access the support and answers they deserve.”
The charity hopes the network will become a trusted source of specialist legal support while encouraging greater understanding of the legal, practical and emotional issues experienced by people with cerebral palsy and their families.
Blackhall Library has reopened in a new temporary facility next to Davidson’s Mains Primary School.
The service previously operated via a mobile library bus, following the closure of the original Blackhall Library building on Hillhouse Road in 2023 due to the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
The new temporary building is providing access to library services while work continues on a long-term plan for the library and other community services in the area.
The library sits within the school’s grounds, but has its own dedicated entrance and is separated from the school by fencing. Signage has been installed at the gates to help guide people to the new building.
The new library is open 10am to 8pm Monday-Wednesday, and 10am to 5pm Thursday to Saturday.
Regular events and activities for adults include:
Writing Group: Tuesdays 6pm to 7pm, monthly
Book Group: Wednesdays 6pm to 7pm, monthly
Library Link: Wednesdays and Fridays, fortnightly
Craft activities for children and young people are also available on Fridays from 2 to 3pm, with Bookbug sessions running on Tuesdays from 11am to 11.30am. The library will also be running a programme of activities and events over the school holidays.
The enclosed site includes relaxing and secure outdoor space for the community to enjoy.
Spacious community rooms are also available to book for meetings and events. Information on pricing and booking can be found on the Council’s website.
The process of developing the temporary library has included engagement with the Davidson’s Mains Primary School community to ensure the facility supports the needs of the school, its pupils and staff.
Additional works have been carried out at the school to support the delivery of the library, including new fencing and works to the playground to provide new fire safety spaces. New road safety improvement works are also underway outside the school, including pavement widening.
Culture and Communities Convener, Cllr Margaret Graham said: “The arrival of the new temporary Blackhall Library is fantastic news for the local community, bringing an exciting range of events and activities back at a convenient and central location.
“We’ve already had some excellent feedback from library users of all ages, and it’s been particularly pleasing to see young people and their families embrace the service as part of their regular school day.
“The original Blackhall Library was a very popular resource and provided a wide range of library services, community events and activities. We know it’s important that people across Blackhall, Davidson’s Mains and the local area have access to quality local services in places that are convenient and accessible, and this new building has been designed to fit that need while we continue to develop plans for its permanent replacement.
“We have an opportunity to develop a new range of modern and accessible services through the long term replacement, and we need to make smart choices to invest in the future of the area. We’re looking forward to announcing more details and public engagement soon.“
Work is ongoing to develop plans for the long term replacement facility. Council officers have been engaging through local community organisations and workshops with pupils at local primary and high schools.
An engagement display has also been set up in the new temporary library to present some of the feedback received and to gather views from library users.
This work is helping to build a detailed understanding of the types of services people across Blackhall, Davidson’s Mains and the wider local community would like to access in a future library facility.
A 12-week public engagement process will launch on the proposals later this year. The findings of this initial engagement work will be used to inform the design of the proposed long-term solution, which will then be presented for formal public engagement.
Millions of calls were likely mishandled over nearly a three-year period, preventing or delaying customers from switching away to a better deal.
Investigation uncovers deliberate call-dropping tactics, excessive and unnecessary call transfers and putting customers repeatedly on hold for no reason.
Commission scheme effectively encouraged and financially rewarded call centre agents for behaving in this way.
Ofcom has today fined Virgin Media £28 million for putting customers on millions of calls through unreasonable effort, hassle and difficulty when trying to switch to another provider.
In the UK’s competitive market, telecoms customers can choose from a wide range of providers, services and packages – often saving hundreds of pounds by switching to a new deal. The ability for customers to shop around, switch and save is particularly important given the current cost-of-living crisis facing UK households.
Our rules – known as General Conditions – are clear that the conditions or procedures telecoms providers have in place must not act as a disincentive for customers who wish to cancel their contract.
Having received significant volumes of complaints from Virgin Media customers reporting difficulties in cancelling their contracts – and following unsuccessful engagement with the company to address this issue – Ofcom launched an investigation to establish whether the company had complied with its duties.
What our investigation found
Our investigation uncovered systemic and repeated failings in Virgin Media’s contract termination procedures. Millions of calls made by customers between 1 January 2022 to 11 September 2024 were likely to have been mishandled by call agents in order to delay or prevent customers from cancelling and switching to a competitor.
In summary:
Virgin Media split its retention team into two ‘tiers’ of agents. Only agents in the second tier were able to process cancellations. This resulted in over a million callers being made to repeat their request to at least one further agent to stand any chance of having their cancellation processed.
Customers reported making multiple attempts to cancel through repeated calls to the retention team and through other contact channels, and in some cases resorted to cancelling their direct debits, which led to further difficulties such as missed payments impacting their credit score.
We uncovered widespread and, in many cases, deliberate mishandling of calls by retention team agents. Behaviours and tactics included: repeated attempts to pressure customers to stay, even when they had made it clear they wanted to cancel; unnecessary or excessive call transfers to other departments; excessively, unnecessarily and repeatedly keeping customers on hold; deliberately dropping calls; and failing to process cancellations on the system.
Virgin Media effectively encouraged the use of these behaviours to deter customers from cancelling by financially rewarding them through its commission scheme. Its training and guidance for agents also failed to prevent these behaviours while inadequate quality assurance and monitoring meant they were often overlooked. Additionally, the company did not have proper oversight of its third-party call centres or quality monitoring.
As a result, we have concluded that Virgin Media’s two-tier cancellation process and agent behaviours caused customers on millions of calls unreasonable effort, hassle or undue difficulty when trying to cancel.
These failings likely acted as a disincentive to switch for customers across millions of calls – delaying or preventing them from taking advantage of a competitor’s offer, against Ofcom’s consumer protection rules.
Financial penalty
As a result of Virgin Media’s serious failures, Ofcom has fined the company £28 million, which will be passed on to HM Treasury.
In setting the penalty amount we took into consideration, among other things:
the significant harm experienced by those customers affected;
Virgin Media’s repeated failures to act to identify and prevent the harm;
the financial gain the company is likely to have made;
Virgin Media’s repeated failure to comply with our information gathering process during our investigation; and
the fact the company has been fined previously for a breach of the same rule in 2018.
The penalty includes a 30% reduction on what it otherwise would have been, given Virgin Media admitted its failing and agreed to settle the case.
Natalie Black, Ofcom’s Group Director, Infrastructure and Connectivity, said: “The facts are clear. Virgin Media made it harder for customers to cancel their contracts and then did not fully cooperate with our investigation. As a result, we are levelling our largest ever fine under our consumer protection rules for direct harm to consumers.
“Today, we are sending a clear message that any provider who wilfully acts against the interests of their customers will pay a heavy price. And by introducing the One Touch Switch Process, we‘ve put in place further safeguards to prevent this from happening again.”
Virgin Media has made a number of important changes, including to improve its commission scheme, training and quality assurance and monitoring.
As part of our decision, we are requiring Virgin Media to check that every affected customer who complained has received the compensation or other remedies they were entitled to. The company must complete this in six months.
Want to be part of something that makes a real difference?
We’re on the lookout for passionate volunteers who want to make a positive impact in their community and work with amazing young people.
As a Scran volunteer, you’ll be part of a welcoming, supportive family that’s committed to creating opportunities, empowering young people, and making a difference together.
An Army veteran from Melrose says that taking part in disability sports saved his life – and he wants to encourage others who live with life-changing health conditions, injuries and disabilities to try adaptive sports.
Neil Dewar, age 59, suffered devastating injuries in 2006, due to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion, whilst on patrol in Iraq.
He has disabled limbs, spinal and neurological damage, which means that he now relies on a wheelchair; and he also has Combat PTSD. But introduction to adaptive sports through the veterans’ organisation Help for Heroes has changed his life. He’s now a passionate advocate for disability sports.
Neil said: “I want to encourage other veterans across Scotland, whatever their level of ability, to try adaptive sports. I’m about to attend my seventh Community Sports Series event, which is taking place in Edinburgh in July, and I can’t rate these events highly enough.
“You get to take part in sports taster sessions, in a safe and relaxed environment, meet some great people, and maybe find a new interest and make new friends. I know a lot of people who come along who go on to take up a sport with their local club, which helps them with mental health and physical challenges.
“Without sport I don’t think I’d be alive. It’s helped with my mental health and my physical wellbeing, and I’ve been able to compete all over the world.”
Neil is the current GB and European wheelchair champion for modern pentathlon. He’s on the Paralympic pathway for the GB wheelchair Curling team and is hoping to make the UK Invictus Games team for Birmingham 2027.
The Community Sports Series event is taking place on 11 and 12 July at the Oriam Sports Centre, Edinburgh. Participants will have the opportunity to try walking football, supported by the Heart of Midlothian community team, non-contact boxing, supported by Port O’Leith Boxing Club, wheelchair basketball supported by Edinburgh Giants, walking netball, para-darts, rowing, archery and non-contact martial arts.
The event is open to veterans and their family members and there is no charge for taking part.
Neil added: “You might be feeling isolated due to an on-going injury or illness – adaptive sports, and events like the Community Sports Series, can give you something to look forward to. Veterans’ family members can get involved as well. But it’s all in a very relaxed environment and the coaches are so supportive.”
Help for Heroes champions the Armed Forces community and helps people live well after service. The Charity supports veterans and their families with their physical and mental health, as well as welfare and social needs. It has already supported tens of thousands – and won’t stop until every veteran gets the support they deserve.
The Charity supports veterans and their families from any branch of the UK military, regulars and reserves, irrespective of length or place of service, and locally embedded civilians who worked under the command of UK Armed Forces.
Builds on five years of success engaging more than 20,562 visitors and 2,536 young people
Jupiter Artland Foundation has announced the launch of Jupiter+ Nation in Dumfries, the fifth iteration of its pioneering youth and community engagement programme and the culmination of five years of sustained investment in young people, artists, and communities across Scotland.
Beginning in Dumfries and designed to grow nationally, Jupiter+ Nation marks a significant evolution in Jupiter Artland’s commitment to widening access to contemporary art and creating meaningful pathways into creative careers.
Running in Dumfries at Loreburne Shopping Centre, High Street, Dumfries from 31 July, with an associated programme from 28 August, the project transforms a vacant former estate agent’s office inside the Loreburne Shopping Centre into a free-to-visit contemporary art space, anchoring an ambitious free learning programme expanding nationwide.
The exhibition and programme ends on 6 December 2026.
Since launching in Perth in 2022, Jupiter+ has transformed vacant high street spaces into sites for world-class contemporary art, creative learning, and youth engagement. Across Perth, Ayr, Paisley and Dundee, the programme has welcomed more than 20,500 visitors and engaged 2,536 learners through exhibitions, workshops, artist commissions, mentoring and youth development initiatives.
What began as a local experiment has become a nationally significant programme, demonstrating how contemporary art can create opportunity, confidence, and cultural participation in communities across Scotland.
Jupiter+ Nation now becomes the umbrella identity and long-term home for this work: a permanent national platform connecting young people, artists and communities through contemporary art.
After Dumfries, the programme will continue to create opportunities for participation, artist development and cultural engagement, building a growing national network across Scotland.
The exhibition in Dumfries this season features Growing Pains, a striking, site-specific multimedia installation by award-winning artist Lindsey Mendick.
Referencing her own teenage years in the early 2000s, Mendick transforms the former commercial office space into a haunting, humorous, and deeply immersive environment exploring the uncertainty, awkwardness, and social hierarchies of adolescence.
Using the metaphor of an estate agency, a business built entirely on peddling aspirational lifestyles, the installation features an intricate, spiralling office desk displaying eight Alice-in-Wonderland-style ceramic dollhouses bursting with teenage figures. The exhibition explores themes of social mobility, identity, and the transitional thresholds of youth, alongside an accompanying video piece.
Nicky Wilson, Director, Jupiter Artland, said: “The programme’s fifth year marks a major milestone. Through artist-inspired learning, youth leadership programmes, residencies and public commissions, Jupiter+ has worked with schools, colleges, universities, and community organisations across the country, helping young people develop creative skills, discover new pathways, and build confidence in their own voices.
“Independent evaluation across the programme shows strong evidence of impact.
“In Dundee, participants reported feeling more confident sharing their own experiences through creative work, and 73% of learners said they felt more inspired to use creativity to speak up about issues that matter to them after taking part.
“More than three quarters agreed that exhibitions like Jupiter+ create spaces where young people can ask big questions and imagine new futures.”
At the core of Jupiter+ Dumfries is a barrier-free educational outreach offer.
As in every iteration of Jupiter+, every secondary school, college, and community group in Dumfries and Galloway is invited to take part in fully funded, tailored learning sessions.
The launch of this national programme comes as the Milburn Review brings renewed national attention to the scale of youth disengagement across the UK.
Jupiter+ Nation stands as five years of working evidence that creative participation can open new pathways for young people, an approach aligned with Scotland’s Developing the Young Workforce strategy and the widening-access ambitions of A Blueprint for Fairness.
Participant feedback reflects the programme’s wider ambition. One young person commented after their experience: “I learned to not be afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone. Have confidence in myself.”
Another described the experience as “liberating and freeing”, highlighting the importance of creativity as a space for experimentation, expression and personal growth.
Exhibition Dates:
31 July – 6 December 2026 (Tuesday to Friday for booked sessions; extended public opening hours to coincide with holidays and regional events).
Location: Loreburne Shopping Centre, High Street, Dumfries, DG1 2BD. Jupiter Artland
Alongside its learning programme, JUPITER+Dumfries presents a public programme of free artist-led events that encourages creativity, dialogue and civic participation across the region. To be announced.
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