Neil McIntosh Editor of The Scotsman

Hello Voornaam,

Good afternoon from The Scotsman.

We're trying something new today. This is the first edition of what will be a daily email to The Scotsman's subscribers. Today I'm also sending it to registered users, too, in the hope you'll find it interesting. And we'd love to have you join our growing army of subscribers.

The intention is these regular updates will give you a little more insight into what's going on in our world, and what people are thinking. In these complex and busy times, our aim is to ensure Scotland's National Newspaper can be a trusted guide that sets out and explains what you need to know... and maybe edits out the stuff you don't.

It's a busy day for the first email. The UK Covid Inquiry has been in Scotland since last week, and the evidence it is hearing continues to paint a picture of a systematic deletion of WhatsApp messages and other evidence through the crisis. Today, Scotland's chief medical officer advised colleagues to delete messages at the end of every day, in a group chat after officials exchanged banter about cannabis.

Our live coverage of Storm Isha has had to report on the death of an 84-year-old man, today, amid widespread damage and disruption. I'm sure many of us were woken by the wild winds last night; it may take a few days for the chaos they brought to be fixed.

And, finally, some good news: women who have had the HPV vaccine are not developing cervical cancer, according to a study by Public Health Scotland. The study, run in collaboration with the universities of Strathclyde and Edinburgh, found not a single young woman who had the vaccine had gone on to be diagnosed with the cancer. Given the vaccine also protects both sexes against a variety of other cancers, it's a great breakthrough.

Thanks for your interest in The Scotsman - as ever, do let me know your thoughts via scotsman.editor@jpress.co.uk.

Best,

Neil