9am Briefing: Minute's silence for firefighter killed in blaze

Mr Williamson, 35, was killed as he fought a blaze at the Balmoral Bar in Dalry Road in the Capital.

It was the first firefighting death in history of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service.

Torness security slammed

SECURITY procedures at Torness nuclear power station in East Lothian have been criticised after a pretend terrorist gained access to the reactor during a role-playing exercise.

Exercise Lindisfarne was carried out in March to test the plant's defences against potential terrorist attacks.

During the exercise, a person playing a terrorist using a stolen security pass got into the plant and damaged the reactor, caused casualties and took several staff members hostage.

Operator British Energy has revamped its emergency procedures in the wake of the exercise.

Bank giants have axed 7,000 jobs

BANKING giants RBS and Lloyds Banking Group axed more than 7,000 jobs in Scotland in just 12 months.

The two Edinburgh-based institutions, which were part-nationalised during the credit crunch, have been steadily shedding employees in a bid to make savings.

Their staff numbers, along with those for the UK's other nationalised bank, Northern Rock, are now published under government figures for public sector employment.

During the first quarter of last year, the three banks employed 43,600 people in Scotland, but by the first quarter of this year, that had dropped by 17 per cent to 36,300.

Fisherman saved by lifeboat

A FISHERMAN was rescued from rocks at Prestonpans by lifeboat after the tide came in around him. The 57-year-old from Musselburgh walked out to the rocks at low tide on Saturday to fish for mackerel, but strong winds caused waves to break around the rock. A member of the public called the coastguard at around 3pm.

In a separate incident, two men were rescued from their yacht just off Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth yesterday afternoon.

The two were aboard the yacht Tay Rival and called for help when they developed engine problems around 3.45pm. The Queensferry Lifeboat took them ashore at Aberdour.

An hour later, three men were taken to safety at Burntisland by the Kinghorn lifeboat after 999 calls from members of the public who had seen them attempting to swim a rubber dinghy in to the beach.

Conan Doyle book to raise 400,000

A BOOK by Edinburgh-born author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is expected to fetch up to 400,000 at auction at Sotheby's in London on Thursday.

The copy of the first Sherlock Holmes adventure, A Study in Scarlet, is inscribed – one of only two such inscriptions in existence.

The inscription reads: "This is the first independent book of mine which ever was published, Arthur Conan Doyle."