27/04/2012 Reporting Scotland

Hello and welcome to the programme. The headlines: fight years for

these two men for sending parcel bombs to Celtic's Neil Lennon.

The club says it sent a signal to others that this kind of behaviour

will not be tolerated. The Blue Knights and the Sale

Sharks joined forces in a bid to buy Rangers Football Club.

Hollywood comes to Edinburgh as the stars of a new film promote the

true story of the Scott are forced to help build the Thai Burma

Railway during World War Two. found them both nothing but a

delight, and you do feel at times a little overwhelmed by the enormity

of the story. And also tonight, this Edinburgh

policeman steps into the boxing ring for charity against the twice

former heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon.

To Ayrshire men have been jailed for five years each for sending

parcel bombs to the Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two prominent fans

of the club. The judge at the High Court in Glasgow said the actions

of a 44-year-old Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie, who is 42, were

incomprehensible. He said he could not fathom what was in their minds

when they sent the packages. They have supportive and

affectionate partners, children and families, today Trevor Muirhead's

wife walked away from court alone, Neil McKenzie's brother gave this

reaction. It is not justice. Did they listen to what was said in

court? Know. The judge said it was incomprehensible that two such

family men in their 40s could engage in such reckless and serious

criminal conduct. Sentencing Trevor Muirhead and Neil

McKenzie to five years each in prison, the judge told them they

could have expected likely sentences of hears it into double

figures for the crime they were convicted of, but he said it was

immediately obvious to him that he was not dealing with what would

properly be thought of as acts of terrorism in any sense at all.

The judge said, I cannot fathom what was in your mind to act as you

do it. Last month, the men were found

guilty of plotting to severely injure the Celtic manager Neil

Lennon, the late Paul McBride QC and the former MSP Trish Godman.

Five suspicious packages were set in total for the post in Ayrshire

where the men left, two of them to Mr Lennon. CCTV should Neil

McKenzie buying items for the packages which included cheap

watches, nails and peroxide. During the trial, MacKenzie said he

learned how to make the device is in part by watching the television

show the 18th. Initially, the pair had been charged with conspiracy to

murder. The packages they made were not viable, another school or -- a

tiny amount of explosives were find that in only one of the packages,

and there were no detonators so they face the West -- lesser charge

of conspiracy to assault. Neil Lennon said he was disturbed to

find he had been targeted. Celtic Tonight, these two family men, no

it may be years before they will be back home. A reckless crime that

has cost them dear. The Blue Knights consortium led by

Paul Murray and Brian Kennedy, owner of the book beating Sale

Sharks have joined forces to make an offer for Rangers. Our football

correspondent joins us. This could be very significant, it is about on

the table. Kennedy and Murray announced they were joining forces,

and after the company that provided working capital to Craig Whyte

announced they were pulling out, Brian Kennedy as you mentioned the

aura of Sale Sharks, has already had a soul did not back. He said he

was never keen to be part of a consortium, but appears to have

changed his mind on that. They say the bet is substantial, but also

say that any it is conditional on a CVA, that is where creditors agree

to take one be so much on the pound, been approved by the creditors and

Mr White's shares being acquired. That could be the tricky part.

I also spoke to Paul Murray just a few moments ago and he told me that

the bet is bigger than that of Bill Miller, the American who has

another bed on the table. He is looking to take the club and

liquidate its in some form and bring back Rangers in some form of

new company. Paul Miller and the Abu -- Paul Murray and the Blue

Knights have always been against this and say that as far as they

are concerned that a new company is a new company and you can dress it

up whatever way you like. No word yet this evening from Bill Miller.

What about the administrators? are expecting a statement from them

this evening. It is unclear exactly what it will say. I do not believe

they will announce the preferred bidder this evening, so it is

awaiting game for Paul Murray and Brian Kennedy.

You are watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC. Still to come: calls

for the scheme to keep youngsters in school and out of trouble, they

have been extended across the country.

In sport, Ally McCoist has no regrets about calling for the SFA's

judicial panel to be named, despite the repercussions could. Find out

why. We are in Dublin with Edinburgh rugby and this little

fellow ahead of the biggest game in the club's history.

The Chief Inspector of Scottish presence is calling for the

creation of behaviour units in more schools to prevent young people

from ending up behind bars. The proposal from Brigadier she Munro

as a response to a report on page unit at Dunfermline High School

which is credited with turning round the troubled pupils.

An ordinary classroom with something extraordinary going on.

Through talk, schoolwork and visits to places like prison, this unit is

preventing some from joining others in going off the rails. They all

dropped out of school in fourth gear, not at college or doing

anything. They are just going out and misbehaving and getting in

trouble. Hopefully I will not go to jail, and making sure I don't.

not standing up here and writing all day! It is staffed by an

organisation that works with young people in trouble. We have built up

relationships between them and the unit's staff, in a way that perhaps

teachers cannot do. Pupils do not feel able to make those

relationships with teachers, despite her best efforts.

efforts are having an impact. The number of exclusions has dropped by

72%. It was one of the pupils that sense

that a place like this can change lives, every school should have won.

It is an message heard by prison chiefs. Dunfermline High School

annual cost for this unit was �28,000 the year lonely, or

thereabouts, the cost of a present place at the young offenders'

institute is over �30,000 per prisoner. That seems to me to be a

pretty good deal. The unit appeared to benefit more

than just the young people in it. By removing the people it does

allowed us to get on with her work as well. It means that those who

are comfortable working in a normal class situation can do that

undisrupted, and those who do need that additional extra support can

get that through the inclusion Unit scheme. Let's name successful

people. Provision for pending exams, the class is disruption three.

Today's report appears to confirm that a behavioural unit staffed by

professional staff from an outside agency can benefit the whole school.

The trial of the Elgin businessman Nat Fraser has heard that he

confessed to a friend that he had murdered his wife 14 years ago.

Hector Dick told the High Court in Edinburgh that Mr Fraser said the

body was burnt at the would be no DNA. Nat Fraser denies murdering

his wife Arlene and has lodged a special defence of recrimination,

saying that if Arlene was murdered then Hector Dick was responsible.

Now to next week's council elections and another of her pieces

are looking at crucial councils. Today, Edinburgh. Local politics in

the capital has been overshadowed Claudia's by the debacle of the

trams. All main parties are keen to focus the minds of voters on

Thursday on a wider range of issues. Will it succeed? For rival

candidates, campaigning could be adding to his business. A new

leader required for the Conservatives! So candidates may be

hoping that voters do not keep their mind on the road either. At

least these roads. Almost everyone has a view on the trams. Terrible.

But will the trams fiasco p a big factor in the council election? For

candidates, it is not so much do not mention the trams as it is

remember that this election is about more than just the trams.

am not finding the trams particularly important. We're

fighting this election on issues that I think matter to people, that

they tell us matter to them, about the education of children and the

state of their schools. The culture and leisure facilities in the city.

The economic competitiveness of the city. The council has been run for

the past five years by the Liberal Democrats and the SNP in coalition.

They say they work well together for the most part. So just how do

they compete against one another now? We watch to tell the people of

Edinburgh that we have the -- we have been the junior partner so far

and we believe we have punched above our weight, and be believe

that if we are returned to the council is the senior partner in a

coalition that we can take the city forward. And of course, the economy

is the byword for this. Labour hope they might become the biggest party

again. The Tories and the Greens are fighting hard, too. We will

bring priorities back down to being controlled by local people, not by

bureaucrats or politicians in the city Chambers. We will make

Edinburgh council the first co- operative Council in Scotland where

local residents will have a much bigger say. We are offering a

return to Conservative commonsense and value for money it from the

council. There is a feeling that the Lib Dem SNP and penetration are

not delivering on the basics. Degrees what an end to and the

current situation and what to secure jobs and renewable energies,

and we want to protect council assets like schools and leisure

facilities. The parties all say that Thursday

is not a vote for the trams, but will voters see it that way?

I looked out at what else has been happening across the country this

Friday. Aberdeen's crime rate has been

slashed over the past five years according to Grampian police. They

say it reported incidents of vandalism, violence, vehicle crime

and housebreaking have plummeted. At training yacht with 60 people on

board including 11 children sparked a rescue operation of I or my

yesterday. The Albert venture was drifting after becoming entangled

in a rope. Com or Sherborne and NATO exercise stood by as lifeboats

went to help. -- Khan warship. Glasgow is bidding to host the

World Track Cycling sapping chipped in 2016. The event will be held in

the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome. The track is being laid for the 2014

Commonwealth Games. We would have every cyclist across the planet

come here, lot of media and TV interests. It would bring us world

attention. And you visitor attraction which allows people to

watch rare red kite up close has been opened in the Highlands. The

distinctive birds of prey were hunted to extinction in Scotland in

the 1870s, they were reintroduced 20 years ago. This is a fantastic

place to see them, there are a number of red kite pairs nesting

around here. We have created a feeding station where the kite can

come in. There are more stories from you in there and all of the

latest news 24 hours a day on the BBC Scotland website.

Actor Colin Firth said he is overwhelmed by his latest film role.

Playing a real life Scott PoW. The actor plays Eric Lomax, who was one

of thousands of prisoners forced to build the Thai Burma Railway in the

1940s. Eric Lomax is now living in the Scottish Borders and later went

on to meet and forgive one of his captors.

Another day, another Hollywood movie begins filming in Scotland.

Behind the glitz, a real man and a true story. The film is based on

the memoirs of Scots prisoner-of- war and Eric Lomax, one of

thousands forced to build the infamous Burma railway line. At a

quarter of prisoners died, and many were tortured. Although Eric Lomax

arrived, it was at great cost. Now in his 97 living in the borders, he

has met Colin Firth and help to tackle an over on a story. Because

the story is such a big one, and it is about a generation prior to my

home, it can feel a little abstract. It can feel a bit out of reach.

That is something I think we are struggling with all the time. To

actually meet him personally humanised it all. He is a human

being, he is not an iconic representation of an event.

film also focuses on Eric's a extraordinary decision to meet and

reconcile with one of his tormentors. It was his wife Patti

who was instrumental in that. She I found the subject matter very

moving and the power of loving someone through trauma, I found

that appealing and I could relate to it. So, I thought this would be

something I would be honoured to do. Filming has already begun in

Edinburgh and will continue until it transfers to Thailand and then

Australia. It is hoped that this extraordinary story of courage and

endurance and forgiveness will be brought to new generations.

What an amazing story. Here is David now with the sport. Thank you

very much. Alan McCoist says he stands by his demands for the

identities of an independent tribunal to be made public. Rangers

were handed a 12 month transfer embargo by the three-man panel, who

have since been named on the internet and subjected to abuse.

That has led to calls for the football authorities to defuse the

mayhem. Rarely have preparations for an Old Firm game that been the

subject of such little attention. Instead the focus is on that

Rangers's off field issues. A transfer embargo is the most recent

of their wallets. Ally McCoist demanded to know the identities of

those to make that decision and was obliged on social network sites.

One was the Wraith Rovers director Eric Drysdale who has since been

subjected to abuse. Does Ally McCoist regret his choice of words?

Her not to tall. A lot of people misinterpreted my statement as some

form of apology. It is anything but. I stand by everything I said. I was

delighted to see Mr Drysdale come out and disagree with my comments.

I have nothing but their utmost respect for him now I know who he

is. Rangers supporters are furious that ending up as collateral damage.

-- Wraith Rovers. They called on the football authorities to defuse

the current mayhem. Why is it not enough that the club know you as

taking the decisions? Everyone should know, there should be

transparency and clarity. That is not working. We know but you do not,

that is not right. Everybody should know. Now everyone does and

probably we have not heard the last of this subject.

Edinburgh Rugby are preparing for the biggest match in their history.

They play Ulster tomorrow in Dublin for a place in the final of the

sport's Heineken European Cup. Edinburgh are very much the

underdogs but that is just the way they seem to like it as Jim Mason

reports from Dublin. A musical welcome awaits Edinburgh rugby fans

on Grafton Street. Today is a chance to savour the atmosphere and

tomorrow it is down to business. Edinburgh left this morning knowing

it is the biggest game in their history. Things happen in sport and

at the moment we have momentum and confidence, we are a dangerous side

and we have confidence. I would not like to be playing as, there is no

guarantee we will win but if we perform we have a good chance.

believe that Edinburgh Rugby wears the underdog tag well. Given their

performance this season, I expect the expectation is for them to

progress to the final. We can take that. In Dublin, both sets of fans

expect a close game. Whenever Ulster are favourites, they make a

mess of it. Iron way when they are called favourites but, yes, the way

they had been going, beating Munster, they have to be favourites.

There is something there. I think the players have it in them. Come

full time tomorrow, Edinburgh will be hoping for a Heineken Cup crock

of gold. Listen to live coverage of the match tomorrow at 5:00pm. Andy

Murray has failed to reach the last four of the Barcelona Masters

tennis. He was beaten by the 9th seed, Milos Raonic in straight sets

today. The Canadian winning 6-4, 7- 6. It is the second successive week

the world No. 4 has been beaten at the quarter-final stage of a clay-

court tournament as his preparations for next month's

French Open in Paris continue. The two greatest Scottish snooker

players of all time are playing against one another for the first

time ever in a world championship. Seven time winner Stephen Hendry is

ahead at the moment. He is 5-3 up on four-time winner and defending

Champ John Higgins. However, it is the best of 25 frames and the match

resumes at 7pm. That is the sport tonight.

We stay with sport, with news of an unlikely boxing match. In one

corner a police officer from Edinburgh who is a complete novice

- in the other a former world heavyweight champion. This weekend

Detective Constable Steve Livingstone is stepping into the

ring with the American Tim Witherspoon - and it is all for

charity. In a gymnasium in Edinburgh, a boxer works at the

back. Steve Livingstone is new to the sports and on Sunday he takes

on the twice former world heavyweight champion, Tim

Witherspoon. This is the man he will be boxing - Tim Witherspoon,

now aged 54. The least I could do was prepared to get into the ring

with him and ask him why I. What on earth possessed you to get into the

ring with a former head they won't -- heavyweight will champion?

are some excellent charities and doing it for her. -- I am doing it

for. It is labelled the Battle of the badge between Lothian And

Borders Police and the New York police department. He was not told

to his opponent would be. When I told him it was Tim Witherspoon, I

could feel the trepidation in his voice but their excitement after

that was outstanding. At six foot five, he is no weakling but he

admits his boxing skills are puny. I had seen and fight on YouTube and

some exhibitions and he knows exactly what he is doing. He will

be able to avoid anything I throw at him. He will have no trouble

avoiding me as an ex-world champion. If a guy comes out to hurt me, I

will let him know! Bank! As he completes his preparations, a

tricky dilemma, he wants to do well but perhaps not too well.

Before the weather, a reminder that our money expert will be back a

week on Wednesday. He will answer questions on tax and any problems

you might have with tax codes. Let you might have with tax codes. Let

us see how the weekend weather is shaping up.

Not too bad at all, hello there. It is in a day of sunshine and showers

across Scotland. We can see the showers making their way towards

the south. We will continue to see a few in the Central Belt and

borders over the next couple of hours, but they will fade away this

evening. It will be dry and cold and frosty. It will be a dry night,

at clear and cold. Temperatures down to one Celsius. Some parts of

the countryside will be down to minus two. A widespread frost as

well. It stars dry and chilly tomorrow but bright. It will remain

that way for much of the day. Plenty of sunshine in the forecast.

There will be some cloud but not bad at all. Come mid-afternoon,

highs of 11 Celsius. In the sunshine, it will feel pretty good.

Further north, highs of nine or eight Celsius. Show risk is minimal,

more likely in the north-west and down the east coast and perhaps

over Shetland. If you're hill walking or climbing up in the West,

the summits will be cold. Plenty of sunshine around and winds will be

light from a northerly direction. Across the Cairngorms, we could see

the odd light shower. Plenty of dry and bright weather around there as

well. Unusually, we have skiing forecast because we have seen a lot

of snow, especially over the Cairngorms. It is worth checking to

see which runs will be open and the visibility will be fantastic. Your

last chance for a bit of skiing. Overnight on Saturday, dry and cold

once again with a widespread frost. Into Sunday, all that rain down

south and low-pressure but nothing to do with us, we have high

pressure and plenty of sunshine. Saturday and sunshine do not look

bad at all. The northern part of the country holds on to the

sunshine, clouding over in the South, perhaps some rain but not

until after dusk. The rain spreads towards us for Monday but it is

appears for Tuesday and Wednesday as high pressure re-establishes

itself. Enjoy the weekend. Just before 7pm, a summary of our top

before 7pm, a summary of our top stories. Two men have been jailed

for five years each for sending parcel bombs to Celtic manager,

Neil Lennon and two prominent fans of the club. The judge said the

actions of Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie were incomprehensible.

The Blue Knights consortium led by Paul Murray and Brian Kennedy, the

owner of the rugby team Sale Sharks have joined forces to make an offer

for Rangers. Ticketus, who had been part of the Blue Knights group,

earlier withdrew their commitment to fund a takeover bid.

An inquest into the death of MI6 officer Gareth Williams, whose body

was found padlocked inside a bag heard two expert witnesses tried

hundreds of times to lock themselves into a similar bag and

failed. One said Mr Williams could have locked himself into it but

only with considerable difficulty. Barclays shareholders have revolted