Scotland’s pre-eminent crime writer joins broadcaster Jo Whiley berating ‘woeful’ treatment of people with learning difficulties over Covid

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Kit Rankin just loves being around people, says his father Ian. “He loves hugs and if you go near him you’re getting a hug whether you want it or not.

“He’s better known around the streets of Edinburgh than I am,” adds the crime novelist with a wry laugh. “People stop me and say ‘Oh, you’re Kit’s dad’, because when he’s taken out to do the shopping everybody notices him because he’s blond and he’s laughing.”