‘The Queen yesterday issued an extraordinary call for caution in the Scottish independence referendum, urging Scots to consider ‘carefully’ whether they want to leave the United Kingdom. In the strongest indication yet that Her Majesty wants the Union to stay together, she told a member of the public: ‘I hope everybody thinks very carefully about the referendum this week.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: ToryDiary: It’s against the Tory interest for Scotland to vote No. But here’s why we hope it does.
‘David Beckham last night pleaded with Scots not to break up Great Britain. The Team GB Olympics ambassador said their “historic bond” with England is “the envy of the world”. He added “What unites us is greater than what divides us. Let’s stay together.”’ – The Sun (£)
>Today: Andrew Allison on Comment: Why I, an instinctive Unionist, now support an independent Scotland
‘David Cameron will fly to Scotland on Monday to issue a final “patriotic” appeal to Scots not to vote to leave the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister heads north from London, where he has been dealing with the crisis surrounding the beheading of British hostage David Haines, and will appeal to Scots not to “break up our family of nations”.’ – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: A close No would open an opportunity for Cameron
‘MPs are angry that their leaders signed up to the plan, insisting that it should only go ahead if Scottish MPs are thrown out of Westminster or if their voting rights are curtailed. The Tories are expected to propose a ‘grand committee’ of English MPs for matters only affecting England. A poll found 47 per cent of English voters support the idea, with nine per cent opposed, and there have been calls for a vote to settle the issue before next year’s General Election.’ – Daily Mail
>Today: The Deep End: Cosmopolitan conservatism won’t solve the Conservative Party’s London problem
>Yesterday: MPsETC: Redwood returns
‘Hundreds of pro-independence supporters descended on the BBC’s Glasgow headquarters on Sunday to rage against the Corporation’s pro-UK “bias” and “lies”. Protesters demanded BBC political editor Nick Robinson be sacked and chanted “you can stick your license fee up your a***” as they waved Saltires and Yes Scotland banners.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘A manhunt is under way to find the British hostage still in the hands of fanatical murderer Jihadi John. Special forces and intelligence officers have been ordered to urgently locate Alan Henning, 47, who travelled to Syria to deliver humanitarian aid.’ – Daily Mail
Editorials:
>Today: Charlotte Leslie MP’s column: ISIS. Putin. Which way do the enemies of both England and Scotland want to vote to go on Thursday?
‘Austerity politics were rejected again by European voters last night as the Swedes dumped their cost-cutting conservative government in a revolt against cuts to generous welfare state provision and privatisation. The defeat of prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, 49, after eight years in power will come as a blow to David Cameron, who counted him as a key ally in the push to reform the European Union.’ – The Times (£)
‘Bullingdon members would never have battered a pub landlord unconscious — the central incident in the film. The club dinner at which this happens is clearly based on a Bullingdon evening in 2005. In a spine-shudderingly embarrassing evening, Bullingdon members got into a mass brawl and damaged a 15th-century pub in rural Oxfordshire. Horrifying, yes — but the point was that they were beating each other up, not the landlord. In fact, he said they kept on breaking off from the fight to apologise to him.’ – Harry Mount, Daily Mail
‘To attack Johnson as a buffoon is a pretty bad idea. For it is by his buffoonery that he gets a hearing. By creating the expectation that he will be entertaining, he encourages people to turn out and see him. If Johnson were merely a buffoon, the attack would work. But one would have to be quite stupid, or else wilfully blind, to write him off in that way.’ – The Times (£)
‘A high-profile MP has hit out at prosecutors for failing to convict a “vile” and “unbearable” stalker she claims has harassed her for seven years. Nadine Dorries, who shot to fame after her appearance on the reality TV show ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’, said the “cyber-stalker”, who cannot be named for legal reasons, should have been taken to court under new stalking laws.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Local councils are heading for a legal showdown with the government after defying a request to scale back production of free newsletters described as “taxpayer-funded propaganda”. Eric Pickles, the communities secretary, told several authorities five months ago that they were breaching rules on municipal publicity. His officials are now preparing to take legal action.’ – The Times (£)