Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere. 

Front pages

The Herald:

In The Herald, political editor Tom Gordon reveals donations to Scottish Labour are at their lowest level since 2009. A source said: “People are not donating while Jeremy is leader.”

The National splashes on the creation of a new BBC Scotland channel, with its columnist, Lesley Riddoch, saying it feels like a box-ticking exercise which will arrive too late. 

The Times says scientists are now recommending ten portions of fruit and veg a day instead of five. 

“Did UK terror payouts go to Isil?” is the question posed by the Telegraph. It says ministers are under pressure to prove where the £20m Guantanamo Bay compensation went. 

The appointment of Cressida Dick as the first woman to run the Met is the lead in the Guardian. 

The Mail trumpets Coca-Cola’s backing for the paper’s campaign to banish plastic bottles. 

The Herald:

The Evening Times turns the spotlight on tensions over student housing. 

Camley’s cartoon

The Herald:

Camley observes the topsy-turvy world of Scottish broadcasting. 

FFS: Five in five seconds

What’s the story? A Tory MSP has criticised the SNP for finding fault with the new Scottish BBC channel, BBC Scotland. The row comes as BBC director-general Tony Hall, who writes in The Herald today, appears before Holyrood's Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee.

Didn’t Nicola Sturgeon welcome the £30m-plus investment? She did, and Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop called it “a very positive development”.

So? Ms Hyslop also pointed out that past estimates had put the cost of a new channel at £75 million annually, more than double the amount the BBC would be spending. She also said Scotland was not “on an equal footing” with other devolved nations. “The new channel will increase the proportion of the licence fee raised in Scotland that is spent in Scotland in years to come, but sadly will still fall well short of the proportionate share being spent in Northern Ireland and Wales.”

Response? Scottish Conservative shadow culture secretary Jackson Carlaw said the BBC move was good for jobs, journalism, scrutiny and programming, adding: “It's no surprise, despite this fantastic investment, to see SNP MPs complain about it. Only they, with their inherent and serial grievance agenda, could find fault with this.”

What will happen today? Committee convener Joan McAlpine will have some questions over the amount of BBC money raised in Scotland that is spent in Scotland. She said: “In 2014/15 only 55% raised was spent in Scotland, compared to 95% in Wales. Whilst this is a step in the right direction, the Committee is sure to have a lot of questions on how these ambitious targets will deliver value for money for licence fee payers in Scotland and how they are going to be delivered.” 

Afore Ye Go

We're sure Jackson Carlaw's fellow interviewees were just resting their eyes rather than sleeping.

The Herald:

Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson does a hip-hop dance move known as a “dab” during PMQs. Read Kate Devlin's sketch here. PA Wire

The Herald:

“President Trump took office one month ago. Wow, it’s hard to believe the past few years have only been a month.”

Late Night with Seth Myers

Channel 4 News' Michael Crick spots a bargain on eBay, only for the Central TV presenter turned Tory MP to accuse him of being late to the party:

The Herald:

The Herald:

“I would not normally respond to daily stories about events which happened during my time in office, but on this occasion I will do so, given the utter hypocrisy with which this story is being covered.”

Tony Blair’s response to the revelation that a British suicide bomber had been granted £1m compensation for his detention in Guantanamo Bay. The former PM said the Daily Mail had led the campaign for Jamal al-Harith’s release and the compensation was agreed by the Conservative government. Carl Court/Getty Images

The Herald:

The apology which ran on the MailOnline, which has its own editor. The Daily Mail newspaper said it had been “utterly consistent” in its condemnation of Guantanamo and concluded: “The fact remains that the actions which led to this payment were all the responsibility of Tony Blair.” 

As retweeted by one Ruth Davidson MSP.

Thanks for reading. Twitter: @alisonmrowat