21/05/2014 Reporting Scotland

at Six. Actions in Ukraine

The Health Secretary Alex Neil survives a vote of no confidence

in a row with Labour over hospital services in his own constituency.

Family and friends of two fishermen missing off the Aberdeenshire coast

have spent a second day anxiously waiting for news.

After last week's fiasco - tickets for the commonwealth games

these meals help you to get well soon?

Why hospital food is about to get a Masterchef make-over.

And in sport - the battle for a place in the

premiership - we look ahead to the showdown between Hamilton and Hibs.

The Health Secretary, Alex Neil, has survived a vote

Labour tried to bring him down for intervening to save mental health

They said he put constituency politics before patients.

The minister insisted he had preserved services for people

Here's our political correspondent, Glenn Campbell.

#ColourYellow when Alex Neil took over he took no time in revisiting a

decision to close hospitals. But as the local MSP for Monklands, who

gotten self-selected, it he left himself open to opposition claims of

a conflict of influence. This led to claims for him to quit. Putting his

political interests before patients, guilty. Undermining health

professionals, guilty. The key date is that he was clear in his view

that acute mental health services should be retained at all three

Lanarkshire hospitals. Within weeks, NHS Lanarkshire confirmed it

was reviewing its plans in light of the cabinet secretary having

expressed reservations. His intervention seems to have been

effective. Hours after making it, he removed himself from future

decision-making to avoid the perception of a conflict of

interest. His critics say if he was right to do that then, he should

have done so before he sought to influence the clean decision at

Monklands. Although the hospital is situated in my constituency, it

services the whole of Lancashire, up to Wishaw, up to 10% of the entire

Scottish population. Mental health for the entire nation of Scotland we

were talking about. The First Minister defended his Health

Secretary during the debate. When it came to the vote... The motion is

therefore not carried. Relief for Alec Newell and disappointment for

his critics. -- Alec Neil. How damaging has this been for Alec

Neil? I am sure he would have preferred to be the First Minister

not to face an no-confidence vote. As the First Minister pointed out,

it was the first time this tactic had been used against somebody who

had intervened to save the service in the NHS. It may be that Alex Neil

hopes that will plea to those who voted for him in his constituency in

2007 and 2011 when he stood on a ticket to preserve services at

Monklands Hospital. There are some on his side who say this has been

got up by the opposition as part of a wider campaign to attack the SNP

ahead of the independence referendum. Worth noting it was not

just Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat who voted against

him today, two Green MPs also did so. Busy he has not handled himself

well during this affair. -- they say. Thank you very much.

The Church of Scotland has moved a step closer

to ordaining gay ministers. The Kirk's general assembly voted

this afternoon to allow presbyteries to debate

whether congregations can opt out of its traditional stance and choose

to appoint homosexual ministers. If the proposal passes this

next level of scrutiny it could become church law next summer.

Friends and relatives of two missing fishermen have spent

a second day at an Aberdeenshire harbour waiting for news.

75-year-old Jim Reid and his grandson David Irvine,

who's 35 were due to return to Gourdon harbour yesterday morning.

Steven Duff is there - what's the latest?

I think hope is all but gone of finding Jim Reid and his grandson

David Irvine allies. They are from a village not far from year. They left

from this harbour yesterday in their boat. There was a big search

yesterday and an even bigger search today, an RAF helicopter joined by a

rescue helicopter. Within the last hour and a half, the Police Scotland

helicopter has been in the skies above Gordoun harbour. The main part

of the research has been a longest coastline. Lifeboats have been going

up and down and also local fishing boats searching for a second day. A

sad sight at lunchtime when friends and relatives of the men took to the

rocks of the shoreline to see if there was any sign of them. There

have been no signs of the boat or wreckage. Conditions have been good

today, visibility is good, as you can see. It is likely the coastguard

will take a decision where to go with this search and if he will

continue tomorrow. Thank you. what's the latest?

It's been called a fiasco and a farce,

and it's taken over a week to fix. Extra tickets for the Commonwealth

Games are back on public sale. A three day phased release began

this morning and so far things have been going smoothly.

The Scottish Rugby sevens squad are now in place for the game but it was

only this morning that tickets to watch them went back on sale. It is

ten o'clock, let us try and get some tickets. Something is happening.

Excellent, I am in. It seems that after major false start, Glasgow

2014 is my contract with ticket sales. That has taken me ten

minutes, one happy customer, I have two tickets for the rugby sevens.

Organisers want to put the problems of last week behind them. There were

delays last October when the first batch went on sale. This time it has

to be right. Our commitment is to get as many people as possible to be

part of the schemes. We have to give a benchmark that no less than 70% of

every session will be ticketed for the general public. As well as rugby

thousands of tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies and for team

sports like hockey and netball. Tickets will go back on sale

tomorrow for every kind of session. The ticket fiasco has been a huge

embarrassment for organisers and with two months to go, it is one

headache which seems to be going away.

You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC.

Still to come on tonight's programme:

Martyn Bennett was a pioneering piper who fused traditional Highland

music with techno beats with spectacular results.

Now, almost ten years since he died of cancer

at the age of 33, his most famous album is being re-released and his

In sport - the countdown and the build up to

and hold on tight - we're going for a spin with

If you or a loved one has ever spent any time in hospital you'll have

a view on the food, and often it's not complimentary.

But now a Masterchef style competition for NHS chefs has been

launched in an effort to improve the standard of hospital food here.

Our health correspondent Eleanor Bradford has been asking

Orkney-based jewellery brand Ortak - which closed earlier this year with

the loss of around 150 jobs across the country -

The reception was not good on the radio this morning. The food was of

a poor quality. They offered to make you toast. They offered to make

spaghetti Bolognese and I cannot have that. It was difficult and I

lost a lot of weight. It is very patchy and we should try for a

better standard for everyone. NHS kitchens produce more than 17

million -- million meals a year. Here at St John's Hospital in

Livingston, even the bread is baked from scratch. Chefs are frustrated

at the bad press. When I first worked here, I could not believe

what they do in this kitchen. It is unbelievable. I think a lot of

people say it is hospital food and therefore it will be bad. We are

trying to get away from people thinking that because it is not

true. Stephen and his colleague are entering the competition. It is

exciting. All the other hospitals are doing it and it is for the NHS

so it is exciting. We have never been in a competition with the NHS.

Critics say the government would be better off monitoring the standard

of all hospital food but the team here say the competition will

highlight the good rather than the bad.

A man cleared seven years ago of the 1977 so-called World's End

murders is to be retried. Last month

the crown was granted permission to bring a new prosecution

against 68-year-old Angus Sinclair under the double jeopardy law.

He has now been indicted for the murders

of 17-year-olds Christine Eadie and Helen Scott, whose bodies were found

after a night out at the World's End pub on Edinburgh's royal mile.

He's due to appear before the High Court in Edinburgh next month.

Six men have been arrested and charged with a variety

of offences alleging physical and sexual abuse at a Catholic school

The men, who're now in their sixties and seventies,

have not yet appeared in court, and police say their investigations

It's claimed they abused pupils at the former St Ninian's school

in Falkland, which was run by the Christian Brothers religious order.

If you or a loved one has ever spent any time in hospital you'll have

a view on the food, and often it's not complimentary.

But now a Masterchef style competition for NHS chefs has been

A freelance journalist based in Perth has been arrested in Kiev.

This amateur footage shows Graham Phillips, a freelance journalist

being questioned by Ukrainian soldiers at a military checkpoint.

He was reporting from a city in the east of the country. He was taken to

Kiev where he says he has been held and questioned as a spy. He had been

working for the pro-the broadcaster has a lot of difficulty getting some

of their reporters into the country because of a ban on reporters

getting into the country so Graham has been accessing a lot of areas

where reporters could not go. He has been collaborating with 13. -- with

our team. The Ukrainian security services said he has been held and

he would be released shortly. The console has no idea where he is now.

Orkney-based jewellery brand Ortak - which closed earlier this year with

the loss of around 150 jobs across the country -

A partnership, including some former employees of the company,

is hoping to restart production at the factory in Kirkwall.

A tidal power turbine has begun generating electricity for homes and

It's said to be the first community-owned tidal

You are producing electricity under water which is challenging. This is

challenging but it shows it can be done and electricity can be

delivered for useful purposes like for industry and also for houses.

Staff at Dundee University are voting

The university plans to cut up to 120 staff.

The University and College Union ballot closes

A former nuclear shelter in Perthshire has been sold.

The Cultybraggan bunker near Comrie was completed in 1990 at a cost

The new owner paid ?150,000, and plans to use the facility

Researchers say underwater noise is having an impact on marine

The Aberdeen University study shows that exposure to sound

from seismic surveys reduced the foraging activity

Inverness is the happiest place to live in Scotland,

That's according to a new survey, which asked people how proud they

were of their home and the friendliness of their neighbours.

Scotland goes to the polls tomorrow to elect members of the European

Parliament. Candidates are facing a tough challenge from the Greens and

from Utrecht. Meet the future, if the voters

agree. She represented Scotland in Europe for more than 20 years. This

woman hopes to win a third European seat for the SNP. They say an SNP

vote is for Scotland and against UKIP. We can be trusted to always

put Scotland's opinions first and we can keep UKIP out of Scotland. On

the stump today, Ed Balls supports Labour's Scottish Petch. Labour are

finding on the doorstep that politics is seldom simple. Labour

offers the prospect of European change. Unlike most other parties we

can make a difference in the Scottish Parliament because we set

in the second largest group and have strong policies on jobs and tax

evasion and sorting the banking crisis. Good policies and the

ability to deliver on them. The Conservatives say they would seek

reform of the European union then in three years' time a referendum on

whether Britain should quit the EU or not. Scots are concerned about

interference from Europe. They want far less of that and we promise a

change in the relationship with Europe, and then a choice enabling

Scots to make up their own minds. The Liberal Democrats now they face

a tough fight to hold rear-seat and they are fielding the big guns in

support of their lead candidate. We have been run on the doorsteps now

for the last six weeks speaking to a large number of voters they do not

want to see the break-up of Britain or the European Union. They want to

support a party putting forward a positive case for staying in

Britain, staying in Europe. The Greens offer the message of hope and

change. A vote for the Greens as a vote for the politics of hope and 40

welcoming Scotland and one that stands up for a just economy for

everyone, and for the nation of peace. A vote for the Greens is a

vote for the opposite of what UKIP stands for. UKIP is the only party

in Scotland which wants to get out of the European Union. The

Conservatives promised a referendum but they will not get at this time.

These elections matter. The European Parliament is a powerful body

cluster could be pointers towards a European election and the

independence referendum. The ballot boxes are ready.

And you can find out more about tomorrow's European

Parliament election on our website, including a list of all the

A Holyrood committee has approved plans for a mandatory 5p charge

on carrier bags in Scotland. The campaign group Keep Scotland

Beautiful backed the measure, saying the money raised should go to

charities and environmental groups. If given final approval

by the full Parliament, the charge will begin this October.

I have no idea what that was about! Bags of excitement and anxiety

the charge will begin this October. Hibernian and Hamilton Academical.

It's the first leg of the playoff final to determine whether Hibs stay

in the premiership or Accies are promoted from the Championship.

Both teams are confident they'll come out on top but it won't be

for the faint of heart. ahead for the play-offs are being

billed as the final countdown. The build-up to the first leg is well

underway. Disappointed we did not go up automatically but what we have to

do now is grasp it with both hands. What we have to do now is these two

games. A metaphor of used in football to describe ultra-defensive

tactics, parking the boss. This red London double-decker is the only

parked bus you are likely to see. Our biggest strength is going for

broadband attacking. This is our one crack at it. We have opportunity so

we will not be changing tactics. Hamilton have scored 16 goals this

season in the championship but Hibernian have only managed 31 in

the championship. We know we are capable and that has to come out in

the next two matches. If anything we will have to calm them down and make

sure they are focused on the job at hand. It has come down to Fortune

favours the brave. We have to stand up now and be counted.

for the faint of heart. And you can listen to the match live

on BBC Radio Scotland, 810 medium wave and online.

Then watch the highlights at 11:05 on BBC One Scotland.

The man in charge of the Scotland Rugby 7's side is defending

the selection of players from the country's two professional fifteen

The squad was named today, and the head coach says he's expecting

the Scots to put in their best ever performance at a Commonwealth games.

Our Games reporter Jane Lewis has more.

Ibrox Stadium preparing to host the rugby, which means the arrival of

this lot. The Scotland rugby sevens team will be joined by another 15

sites from across the Commonwealth. There are few surprises in the

Scotland squad, largely made up of players from the 15 aside version,

with only four specialists being selected. We need a mixture of power

and physicality. We have a squad to have lacked consistency on the world

stage and the one thing we need to have today is consistency, and that

has meant some have missed out. For Sean Lamb and it is a return to the

sevens game after five years. I try to get as much and as I can until

that day, so it is a chance to put the shirt on for Scotland and it is

brilliant. And for the team-mate he will make his debut in the

abbreviated version the summer. It is massive soil to be able to bring

it here to a bigger stadium and a bigger platform. Work is underway to

make sure Ibrox will be ready but the Petch is being made wider and

shorter for the rugby sevens. Now, a look at what else is

happening across Scottish sport. Andy Murray's calling

on the world's top tennis players to help fund an increase in prize money

at lower levels of the sport. Prize money on the Futures Circuit

hasn't increased since 1998. Motherwell have given fans till

November to prove they can make This is something that the players

who are playing at the top of the game have to accept and say that is

what we want to do, make tennis a better sport.

Motherwell have given fans till November to prove they can make

Fans must raise ?800,000 by then-so far they've raised just

The SFA's postponed Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths' hearing concerning

allegations of racist chanting in a pub till the 5th of June.

It's to allow police to conclude their investigation.

Ross County have signed the scorer of this goal, Joe Cardle.

The winger who's soon to be out of contract at Raith Rovers has

Inverness say they won't be selling full back Graeme Shinnie

or any other player unless they are made exceptional offers.

Aberdeen have been linked with Shinnie. More

on the Scotland sevens squad - and all the news as it breaks

Martyn Bennett was a pioneering piper who fused traditional Highland

music with techno beats with spectacular results.

Now, almost ten years since he died of cancer

at the age of 33, his most famous album is being re-released and his

Our arts correspondent Pauline McLean reports.

This is where it came from. It is not just about hip-hop rhythm and a

bit of dub. It is about coughing and spluttering and your whiskey! It was

an unlikely collaboration between Scottish folk tradition and modern

techno but the resulting album blew a breath of fresh air through

Scottish culture, and ten years on, Martyn Bennett is just as

inspirational to the makers of this show. I think it is that he is

someone who is able to be completely ancient and modern at the same time,

and somebody deeply aware of his own heritage and embedded in it, but

also massively curious and interested in all the musical styles

around him. How do you know what Mozart was thinking of? Martyn

Bennett died in 2005 shortly after the album came out so they show us

the chance for his friends to introduce his music to a whole new

generation. You would sit on the flat and suddenly off he would go

and go off climbing and we were chased after them in or of this

dreadlocked dynamo. Music is at the heart of the shore but so is

balance. This is Highland house, an unlikely blend but one the creators

hope will win audiences. A lovely day weatherwise

for parts of the country - It was very nice indeed. A lovely

evening in story what some late sunshine around but not for all.

Here is the combined satellite and radar picture. Damp for parts but

elsewhere sunny. This evening and overnight, staying cloudy and damp

but elsewhere, there with some clear skies but just a touch cooler.

Temperatures in towns and cities around about eight Celsius. A vastly

different day tomorrow, especially if you have had the sunshine, cloudy

and wet across eastern parts and the Borders. Perhaps one or two heavy

showers down towards Kintyre but by mid-afternoon, a bit of an East-West

split. Largely dry with some outbreaks of rain at times. Very

chilly with temperatures at around 11 Celsius and compared with today,

a marked difference. Brighter skies in parts so better than today but

the rain continues in Orkney and Shetland. Into the evening, the rain

pushes up towards the Northern Isles. Into Friday, low pressure

very much in control of conditions with northerly winds coming down so

quite chilly at times. Showers around and it will be fairly cloudy.

With the northerly direction of the wind, not a complete wash-out so

through the central belt not born dry but not the wrenching. Pretty

good news for the big weekend so expect some showers at times but

probably not in need of whale is! Now,

a reminder of tonight's main news. The health secretary, Alex Neil,

has survived a vote I'll be back with the headlines

at 8 and the late bulletin just Until then, from everyone

on the team right across the