The Scottish Greens have pledged to introduce a misogyny bill to the next Scottish parliament.

Gillian Mackay, who co-leads the Greens in Holyrood with Ross Greer, said that the party would look to bring Misogny and Criminal Justice bill forward, which she says would tackle misogynistic harassment, incitement and abuse by recognising misogyny as a specific offence in Scots law.

Mackay criticised the SNP had previously announced it was dropping plans for a designed around misogyny in favour of amending the already existing hate crime act to include sex for not acting with “urgency” on a “national emergency”.

Mackay said:

Violence against women and girls is a national emergency which must be urgently tackled.

Sadly, we haven’t seen that urgency from the Scottish Government to date, who shelved their plans.

That is why the Scottish Greens will step up and work for the Misogyny and Criminal Justice Bill that Scotland deserves, bringing misogyny into Scots law as a specific criminal offence.

As well as a stand-alone bill, the Greens have also promised to fund violence prevention services in local councils, schools and community organisations to tackle violence against women and girls.

Meanwhile, Peter Mandelson’s replacement as British ambassador to the US has said the relationship between the two countries is in the middle of an “extraordinary moment”.

Speaking in Washington on Friday, Sir Christian Turner said that the transatlantic relationship, which has become strained due to tensions over the Iran war and Donald Trump’s intense criticism of Keir Starmer for his supposed lack of support in the conflict, was still “one of the deepest and closest alliances in history”.

He said:

I’ve now been in this job for about two months, and they said, ‘Come to Washington for a rest. It’ll be very calm. It’ll be very quiet. You’ll be okay.’

And we’re in the middle of this extraordinary moment, geopolitically, geoeconomically, and indeed for the transatlantic relationship.

It is, of course, all relative – 250 years ago we had a small disagreement. We were in the midst of a dispute back then.

To our credit, we’ve only tried to burn down the White House once since, and what began in that moment of tension has been forged into one of the deepest and closest alliances in history.

He added:

I like to think it’s a pragmatic partnership. It’s not one based in backwards looking and nostalgia. It’s looking forwards as it really secures security and prosperity for both Britons and Americans alike.

One the central characters in the latest uproar over the failure in Peter Mandelson’s vetting is Sir Olly Robbins, a former member of the Foreign Office who was forced to quit on Thursday after new revelations about the process were revealed by the Guardian.

With Robbins due to appear before a committee of senior MPs next week, new information about how the process failed is expected to emerge. But what do Robbins know, and how was such a colossal mistake allowed to happen?

Daniel Boffey’s analysis of Robbins, his role in the process and what his now former colleagues think of him is an important read ahead of any bombshells that may come out of next weeks grilling.

The news of Peter Mandelson failing his vetting process has left many across the UK astonished, including members of Keir Starmer’s cabinet.

A new report from the Guardian details how senior government ministers were reported as feeling “pure, unbelievable shock” at the revelations that Mandelson still found his way back into government despite the extent of his relationship with Epstein coming to light before his appointment.

You can read the full report from Kiran Stacey, Paul Lewis and Pippa Crerar below: