20/09/2014 BBC Weekend News

The former Prime Minister Gordon Brown

has said politicians must honour their promises

on the timetable for further devolution in Scotland.

Speaking in Fife, he said civil servants were already working

on the proposals and a Scotland Bill would be ready in January.

The three main UK party leaders made a joint pledge during

the referendum campaign to hand more powers to the Scottish Parliament.

Chris Buckler reports from Edinburgh.

The Union flag still has a place in Scotland.

The referendum's No vote confirmed that, but the promise of new powers

for this nation means that major constitutional change is inevitable.

But the timing and extent of further devolution across the UK

is already at the centre of a new political battle.

again weighed into the debate in Scotland today.

Many credit Gordon Brown with boosting the No vote

in the latter stages of the campaign.

in trying to reassure people about the changes to come.

I want to make an appeal to those people on the yes side who want

complete independence than those people on the no side who want no

change and simply the status quo, that we will not see everything

changed and we will not see nothing changed, but the change that is

going to happen, in my view, will meet the aspirations and needs of

the vast majority of the Scottish people.

insisting the civil service was already working on proposals.

However, the Labour Party has expressed concern

particularly as David Cameron is tying the plans for Scotland

to proposals for change in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Scottish Nationalists say they won't accept any excuse for delays.

A lot of people voted no expecting to see more powers, and those of us

who campaigned for yes I disappointed, but we accept the

result, but we also have an obligation to make sure that the

Westminster parties keep their promises. They don't have a great

track record on it, but we need to make sure that they keep their

promises. the Scottish National Party

will face its own changes. Alex Salmond has announced

that he was stepping down as both SNP leader

and First Minister. The No vote may have

kept the UK united, but all of its nations

are undoubtedly changing. This referendum may have been

about the future of Scotland, but it's clear that its impact

will be felt far across its borders. plans for devolution in England,

Wales and Northern Ireland should happen in tandem with the

new powers devolved to Scotland. Labour has called for a slower

process for the other UK nations with a constitutional convention

next autumn. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband,

spoke this morning as he arrived in Manchester

ahead of its party conference. Now, the last few months have been

about keeping our country together. The next eight months are about

how we change our country together. So Gordon Brown saying the Scottish

timetable must be honoured, but can this Government bring in

devolution for the rest of the UK in the timetable agreed

for Scotland? That is the crucial question.

Constitutional change very rarely happens quickly, but there was a

promise before the referendum that it would in the case of Scotland,

both the Conservatives and Labour saying they will honour that

promise, but here is the sticking points - can it be hand-picked from

the promises we heard yesterday from the Prime Minister as far as English

devolution is concerned and also potentially further devolution to

Northern Ireland and to Wales? Labour as saying that they should be

separated, that evolution to England cannot be right, that there has to

be a conversation in the rest of the UK, just as there has been in

Scotland, but the Conservatives Sadie two have to remain together

and the English cannot be fobbed off. This will not be easy to

resolve. -- saying the two. Three British Muslim clerics

have made a direct appeal for the release of Alan Henning,

the British aid volunteer who's being held hostage

by Islamic State militants. In the video posted online,

the clerics say Mr Henning's kidnapping in Syria

is forbidden under Islamic law. Salford taxi driver Alan Henning was

delivering aid in northern Syria when he was captured last December.

He was working with a Muslim charity and most of his colleagues were

Muslim. I personally vouch for Alan Henning... Now three imams have made

a direct appeal to the Islamic state on social media. They are calling

for his kidnappers to release him, saying he is an innocent

humanitarian aid worker. This is to confirm that executing this man is

totally garam, is impermissible, riveted according to sharia law. --

haram. Turkey has been welcoming back prisoners of Islamic State.

They were captured when a consulate in Mosul was overrun by militants.

It is understood no ransom was paid and it is unclear whether military

action has been involved. But France has been involved in direct military

action for the first time, launching a series of air strikes and one

against what it called IS logistic targets in Iraq. British aircraft in

the region, confined to aid and reconnaissance missions.

1,100 paratroopers from across Europe

are due to make parachute jumps later today

of the Battle of Arnhem in the Second World War.

Our correspondent Robert Hall is there.

Yes, this is about eight miles from Arnhem, one of the wartime drop

zones, and remember the story that ended in Arnhem, being referred to

as a bridge too far. Here are some pictures from the time, 20,000

troops seizing a series of bridges, ending at the 1 over the Rhine at

Arnhem, a column was to have rushed into Germany, but British troops

dropped into heavy odds, heavy opposition, many were lost, and

eventually they had to be evacuated across the river. Many veterans will

be carrying the story and we will be hearing from them on BBC News.

You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel.

The next news on BBC One is at 6:20. Bye for now.

Hello, good afternoon. Certainly plenty enough weather to go around

to start the weekend, thunderstorms, fog, a lot of low cloud and even a

wee bit of sunshine. Through the weekend the storms will ease, the

cloud will lift and it will turn noticeably fresh from the north-west

of the British