Britain | Defying gravity

Nicola Sturgeon survives the Alex Salmond affair

A report finds the first minister didn’t breach the ministerial code

IT WAS MARCH 29TH 2018, and in an Edinburgh office building a civil servant’s birthday party was under way. After the cake and singing, Geoff Aberdein asked to speak to Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, alone in her office. What happened next is uncertain, for no one else was in the room.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Defying gravity”

Bright side of the moonshot: Science after the pandemic

From the March 27th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Britain

Crew members during the commissioning of HMS Prince of Wales

Has the Royal Navy become too timid?

A new paper examines how its culture has changed

A pedestrian walks across the town square in Stevenage

A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition

Turkeys vote against Christmas


David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary

David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office

Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration


Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses

Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not

Labour’s credibility trap

Who can believe Rachel Reeves?