Former deputy editor at The Herald, Alf Young, has joined The Scotsman’s team of columnists along with former STV presenter and broadcaster Stephen Jardine.

According to a report on the media site, Allmediascotland, both journalists will contribute to a revamped Perspectives section of the Edinburgh-based daily.

Young will write on Scottish politics and social affairs, and Jardine on food and drink. Jardine and former BBC Scotland Reporting Scotland editor, Jim Duff, recently launched a PR agency specialising in food and drink: Taste Communications.

The Scotsman editor, John McLellan, is quoted as saying: "We are delighted to welcome them both to The Scotsman stable, and for Alf it represents a return after some 25 highly-successful years at The Herald.

"It reinforces The Scotsman's position as the most important newspaper in Scotland when it comes to top-quality news analysis and political debate across the spectrum.

"With the likes of Bill Jamieson [executive editor], John McTernan, Peter Jones, Allan Massie, Joyce McMillan, Joan McAlpine, Lesley Riddoch, Brian Monteith and George Kerevan, no other paper offers such a diverse range of views, so critical at this pivotal moment in Scottish political history."