LET'S DO IT FOR THE KIDS

Girl beaten up on school bus meets Swinney for talks | Teen's mum backs Record campaign to aid youngsters

- RUTH SUTER

FIRST Minister John Swinney has vowed to tackle youth violence in Scotland after meeting a teenage victim and her mum.

Kaylynn Donald, 13, sat down with Swinney at Edinburgh's Bute House on Wednesday as she pleaded with him to hear from those impacted by an epidemic of brutal attacks on kids.

The courageous youngster secured the meeting after mum Vicky, 38, penned an open letter to the FM in June, calling for urgent action following the "senseless" death of 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon in Glasgow.

The teenager died in a city park and a 13-year-old boy has since been charged with his murder.

Vicky, from Fife, has campaigned against youth violence since Kaylynn was savagely battered on a school bus in 2022 and is backing the Record's Our Kids... Our Future campaign.

The incident, which was filmed and uploaded to social media, left the schoolgirl suicidal and requiring mental health support.

The mum and daughter asked Swinney to hold a fresh summit on youth violence that will hear directly from victims and their families after a similar summit held last year - which excluded victims and was held behind closed doors was slammed by campaigners as "nothing more than a talking shop". Speaking to the Record after Wednesday's meeting, Swinney said: "When I met Kaylynn and her mum, I told them how sorry I was about everything they have experienced over the past two years.