28/08/2014 Reporting Scotland

week. Great, Peter, thanks very much. It

Prime Minister comes north to emphasise the economic benefits of

the union. But Alex Salmond says independence would encourage

enterprise and a more just society. We will have the latest on the

referendum campaign. Later: How both sides are targeting the so-called

missing million, people who don't normally vote and are now being

encouraged to sign up to the electoral roll.

Why'd you want to register now? Because I want to vote Yes. You're

definitely No? Excellent. Also tonight?

The first managerial Casualty of the season as Derek Adams parts company

with Ross County. And as this Shetland Cave the biggest in the

UK? A geologist says it is bigger than

the previous record-holder in the Cheddar Gorge.

Good evening. The Prime Minister will tell a business audience in

Glasgow tonight that Scotland's prosperity is closely linked to the

union, and that independence op is too big a risk. David Cameron is on

a campaign tour here, urging people to vote No in the referendum next

month. But Alex Salmond argues that with independence must Scotland can

foster more enterprise and create a more just society. Here is our

political editor Brian Taylor. Ahead of tonight's dinner, the Prime

Minister visited a business based near Glasgow airport, and argued

that independence involves uncertainty. While within the union,

the Scottish economy had thrived. He found a range of opinions among the

workforce. Do you feel you are getting the

information you need to make your mind up? I am a Yes man.

My heart is seeing boat Yes. You can have the best of both

worlds. Today, there are advantages of being part of the UK single

market with a single currency. All the powers of the Scottish

Parliament already has two help the creation of jobs exist, and there is

a record of hundred and 57,000 new jobs. Of course, with the sorts of

fiscal devolution that we are looking at, there will be further

opportunities for Scottish politicians in the Edinburgh

parliament to make further decisions to help growth and jobs here in

Scotland. But touring a garden centre near

Aberdeen, Alex Salmond highlighted plans such as tax incentives and

enhanced childcare to help both employers and workers.

And Mr Salmond challenged the Prime Minister to a televised debate,

claiming his rival was out of step with Scotland.

I think the Prime Minister is the No campaign in China. Let me run

Scotland from London, and I will pay the occasional site visit to see how

you are getting on. The people supporting Jesper business, they

want an entrepreneurial Scotland, and they also want a just society.

That is exactly the combination that Scotland is going to vote for.

Or another front, there is Douglas Carswell, the Tory MPs who has

defected to UKIP. Nationalist said it marked another step in the UK

quitting the European Union, against Scotland's will. The David Cameron

said he was determined to secure a better deal for Britain in the EU.

Meanwhile, a group of business leaders have released a letter

signed by 200 figures from Scotland's business community,

backing independence. It comes after a similar move by

prounion businesses yesterday. Our economic 's correspondence is here.

Tell us more about this letter. There are plenty of recognisable

names, from big companies in the latter, that has been signed today.

They are essentially saying that only in an independent Scotland

would entrepreneurs get the support they need to create more jobs. That

is a very different message to the one we were getting yesterday from

businesses who are in favour of remaining in the union. Really, it

shows there is No united voice from within the business community. They

are essentially just as divided as the rest of the country at the

moment. In reality, each company would be affected differently by

independence, depending on their size, location, and where they are

doing most of their buying and selling. I spent some time today

listening to those when it comes to the right support

for business, the man behind the property firm Springfield, he is

convinced that an independent Scotland would be the best

structure. Sandy Adam Hansen more than 1000 staff working for him

across Scotland, and he signed today's letter because he brings his

business would get a boost if the Scottish Government had more power

to help. We are operating now with our hands

tied behind our back. We have seen in the last 15 years how successful

we can run our country with devolution, with limited powers, and

like the guys on the building site here, we served our apprenticeship,

and it is time that we went on the tools.

But when we look at the tool box, heart the tools are missing.

Sandy is not alone in that view, but plenty of other country bosses do

not agree. You cannot seriously believe that a

proposition that says we will reduce taxes and increase public spending

is credible. My worry is that taxes would go the opposite way and that

taxes would go up, both at an individual level and potentially at

a business level to make the books of an independent Scotland balance.

How do we make sense of this? To what extent is this a clash of

business ideologies as much as it is our politics? That seems to be the

case. AI to very well reasoned arguments.

Yesterday, we heard about the fear and uncertainty from prounion

groups. That is often something businesses are planning to try and

avoid, that kind of fear in the future. And equally, we have heard

today from entrepreneurs who have seen the value of taking a risk in

order to get hold of a bigger opportunity, so this seems to be a

real clash of convictions from companies of all sizes.

Thank you very much. We are joined now by Nick Robinson,

the BBC's Westminster political editor, who is at Linwood in

Renfrewshire, where David Cameron visited today, and our own political

editor Brian Taylor is at the Hilton hotel, where the Prime Minister is

due to speak this evening. Brian, three weeks until polling day. How

is the visit of David Cameron and the various business arguments we

have just been hearing their going to affect both campaigns, do you

think? I think it adds to the mix. It is an

intriguing dinner here, because of spending constraints imposed by the

electoral commission. They have had to scale down the numbers, roughly a

quarter at ending and No flowers on the table. But it is a small dinner

and a big decision. David Cameron, I am sure, will address it in that

way. He will argue there is a business case for the disparity

believes Scotland has sustained within the union, but he says it is

more than business. It goes into the nature of the relationship across

these islands. An intricate tapestry of businesses, family as well, but

also a long-standing history and common values. At the same time,

Alex Salmond believes that there would still be a social union across

the islands between Scotland and the remainder of the United Kingdom, and

he believes that Scotland could have an enhanced asperity approached, but

also social justice. I believe the First Minister will return to the

topic of child care, improving that. That was a big element of the White

Paper, and I think that was a big element of the White Paper, and I

think, Brian. Nick, how are London based

politicians, both in the Coalition Government and the opposition,

viewing all of this now? Is there a sense that perhaps they are now

considering the possibility of a Yes vote?

There will be nervous before polling day. There are nerves in these few

days when people are using their postal votes, but I still hear

Westminster politicians in private at least, in all the big parties,

saying that they believe that Scotland will vote No. They are

still confident, in other words, of victory, but they are well aware

that David Cameron and the Conservative Party are toxic to many

Scottish voters. That is why he treads very carefully when he

travels up here. They are worried not just in the Tory and Liberal

Democrat parties, but above all, in the Labour Party, that Alex Salmond

is saying to traditional Labour voters, then in the West of

Scotland, for example, here in Glasgow, lend me your vote once, and

then you can be shot of the Tories for good. You can be shot of those

cuts, the austerity, the threat to the NHS, and Yes, the threat

highlighted today by the defection of a Tory MP to UKIP, Britain

leaving the EU. So that is what worries Westminster politicians, and

it means that although they say they are confident, there is quite a lot

of this going on behind-the-scenes. Nick Robinson and Brian Taylor,

thank you both very much. If you want to hear more about how

the referendum vote may or may not affect your personal finances, then

watch What's In It For Me? Tonight on BBC Two. A geologist is claiming

that the biggest cave in the United Kingdom is in Shetland, not as

previously thought in the south of England at Cheddar Gorge. The

academic has carried out two surveys he claims are conclusive, and

believes all he needs now is independent verification.

This is a popular destination for any visitor to the islands, because

the scenery is stunning. Shetland has many geological wonders, the

great black cliffs here being just one of them. But what most people

don't realise when they come to visit these clips is that the

biggest geological wonder isn't actually what they are looking at,

it's what lies beneath them. This sea cave has been known about for a

long time, and when the sea is calm enough, it can be visited by small

boats. It has been hollowed out of the box and it rocked by the sea,

and its main entrance is big enough to sail a fishing boat through.

Local geologist Jonathan Swale visits here regularly, and recently

he used a laser range finder to measure its internal dimensions. He

was amazed at the results. This is possibly the biggest cave chamber in

Britain, at least on the basis of having done a quick measure of it a

month or so ago. That is what is tempting me to come

back and try to get the better survey.

On this occasion, he has more complex equipment to get more

accurate readings, and the results have confirmed his suspicions. With

a floor space of 5600 square metres, it is one and a half times the size

of the previous UK record holder at Cheddar Gorge in Somerset.

The results have yet to be independently verified, but Shetland

is already internationally recognised as a GEO Park for its

complex geology. Being home to the biggest cave in Britain would be

another feather in its cap. If you still need to register to

vote in the independence referendum, there are only five days left, and

with the race looking like it could be a close one, both sides are

working hard to ensure their voters turn up at the polls. Our referendum

correspondent has more. Every day, this stall sits outside a

shopping centre in the Glasgow estate of Castlemilk will stop it is

not just to encourage people to vote Yes, it is to encourage them to vote

fall stop. It is signing of households. Why do you want to vote

now? Because they want to vote Yes. Why have you never registered? I was

never really interested, because Westminster controls Scotland.

This group say they have sign up over 200 voters in the last few

weeks. The disillusioned, the disengaged, those looking for

change. Many have turned them the missing million, those who do not

usually vote, and many here believe they will vote Yes.

I am 46 this year and I have never voted. I got involved because I have

got a son who is 11, and I think it is so important that we get

independence for the kids, for their future. In the east of the city in

Shettleston, the local MP is trying to do the same for the No side.

Looking good. I have to say, come to the East End

of Glasgow, you get a financial expert!

In this area, a third of households live on benefits, and crucially,

only a third of people voted in the last Holyrood election. You

definitely know? Excellent. He hasn't got this sorted

out at all, as he? Margaret Curran acknowledges people here want

change, but believes her constituents are saying No to

independence. Can I give you a leaflet? That is

our arguments about why we are voting No, and why we recommend a No

vote. We need to get people out to vote

because this is such an important decision. I think people really do

understand that this is once and for all. Once we have made this

decision, there is No going back. Around 10% of people in Scotland are

not registered to vote. That is around 400,000 potential ballot

papers to be crossed. If new voters have been signed up, what difference

would it make to the outcome? If we discover when we get the detail that

the Castlemilk 's of this world, and places like it, these are places

where registration has gone up most, then maybe, as a result, this will

help the Yes side. On the other hand, it could also be

true that perhaps the more middle-class, educated folk are

perhaps rather more aware of the opportunity to get their names on

the register, and so maybe they will be the ones who end up using this

procedure just as much. There are still five days left to

register to vote, and in this poll, every vote counts.

And Scotland 2014 will continue its examination of the referendum issue

this evening. Here is Sarah Smith. What is a homeless voted to make of

the Prime Minister arriving here to attend a swanky dinner with some of

Scotland's most successful business people? What will all Scottish

voters make of it? On the programme tonight, we talk about what David

Cameron had to say, and whether or not he is really a vote winner for

Better Together. The budget airline Ryanair has

confirmed it is to continue flying from Prestwick airport next summer.

The announcement last month that it was to begin operating from Glasgow

led to renewed fears about Prestwick's viability as a passenger

terminal. Let's take a look now at other

stories from across the country. The operators of a ski resort in

Aberdeenshire where chairs from a ski lift plummeted to the ground

will not face prosecution. Eight people were injured, including five

children, in the accident last February. The Health and Safety

Executive save the chairlift had been properly inspected and

maintain. Objectors to redevelopment plans in

Aberdeen city centre have been having their say at a public

hearing. Some fear the new Marshall Square office and retail, let's will

obstruct the 17th century proper schemes house. The landmark building

is only recently been revealed through demolition of the council's

1960s headquarters. Scotland's red squirrels are facing

a new threat, a form of lepers in. Scientists in Edinburgh are

investigating the disease, which has been recorded from Dumfries

Galloway to the Moray Firth. They want the public to report sightings

of diseased squirrels. Red squirrels are in decline,

threatened by the grey squirrel, and the ready have this major threat of

the squirrel pox virus, so really, this is the last thing they need,

another disease that could potentially threaten the population.

Scotland's biggest celebration of world music and dance starts

tomorrow in the capital. The 20th Edinburgh Mela opens with an

ambitious new production involving the Scottish chamber Orchestra. 20

years of Tam McGraw is quite an achievement, and we are planning a

really amazing extravaganza of festivities this year.

-- 20 years of Mela. It starts on Friday night with The King Of

Ghosts. The ice bucket challenge has been blamed on for the shutdown of a

water supply on an island. The challenge has become a craze

with politicians and others in the public eye. A decision to approve

lands for a ?43 million waste incinerator at Invergordon has been

quashed. It was given the go-ahead after a

public enquiry. The Highland council and Harrods boss Mohamed fired's

estates challenge the decision. Judges have ruled that the enquiry

must now be reopened. Could the classroom of the future be

one in which there are no paper and no pencils? With most people back at

school, already thousands of youngsters in schools have been

issued with their own LA dry devices for use in school and at home.

Joanne McCauley has more. A French lesson with a difference.

These pupils in Edinburgh are using electronic tablets to work out a

translation exercise. Everyone in their year group has

been issued with their own online device to use in class and at home.

Pupils can type up phrases or words, and the app can speak back to them,

so they have that opportunity to listen to it in their own time,

learn the pronunciation of words, and build up their confidence.

I think it also helps to really students.

Several schools in Edinburgh have been pioneering the use of personal

electronic gadgets, so is this the end of traditional materials?

We still have paper and pencils in classrooms where that is

appropriate, and that will continue. Where technology is

appropriate, that will be used. But I think we are moving to a world

that is online, digital things are sent allegorically, and we had to

prepare our students for that world, so it is only right and fair that we

prepare them in school as well for that.

The huge range of material available means that students' needs can be

addressed. I have dyslexia, so for English,

just being able to write essays on it, it is really easy for me to go

and change and improve my essay skills.

Students and parents had to sign a user agreement, and there was

concern about internet safety. We certainly run workshops with

students to talk about the pitfalls and things you have to be aware of

when using social media, so I think it is actually helping to address

that national issue. This coming term at the academy,

four out of six year groups will be issued with Aaron electronic devices

to use in lessons, and that is an example many more schools are likely

to follow. A five-year-old boy from Dumbarton

who wrote to his hero, the Commonwealth gold swimmer Ross

Murdoch is going to meet him. The boy's mother contacted Ross on

Twitter. Last night, we told you how he wrote a letter, addressed to Ross

Murdoch, Commonwealth champion, ballot. Brian told Rossi was his

biggest fan. And now, the sport.

Good evening. Ross County Ali first premiership club to sack their

manager this season after just four league matches. They have dispensed

with the services of Derek Adams and his father George, who was the

director of football. Andrew Thompson reports from Dingwall.

For the journalists this morning expecting to speak to the manager,

we were surprised by being handed this statement, saying effectively

that Derek Adams and his father George had been sacked with

immediate effect. Just four games into the new football season. Ross

County suffered four straight defeats in those matches, and

despite Derek Adams' remarkable achievement in taking his small-town

former Highland league side to a Scottish cup final in 2010, and

winning promotion to the premiership, the club has decided it

is time for a change. We certainly wouldn't be where we

are today without their contribution over the years, and I really need to

emphasise that we are eternally grateful to them for that. But we

just feel that we need to go in a different direction, and we need to

move on. As well as his successors, there was

also controversy at times from Derek Adams, such as this bust up with for

missing -- former Saint Mirren manager. What can we do two we will

have to see what happens. I think they basically had done as much as

they could, as far as they went. They did a lot of good for us. We

had a lot of good days out. But we have to look to the future now. The

board meet this evening to begin considering a replacement.

In the meantime, their captain and coach will take charge of the team.

Celtic's newest signing says their failure to qualify for the Champions

League did not make him have second thoughts about joining the club.

Here he is at Celtic Park today. The International from Ghana has agreed

a one-year loan move from a Russian side.

We have the Europa League. We're looking forward to playing Champions

League, but we could make it, because we lost. That is part of

football. We have appreciate what we have now, and to make use of it,

because the Europa League is also good.

Andy Murray plays the German qualifier Mattias packing at around

midnight on the second round of the US open tennis. He says he is fully

recovered from the tramp he suffered in his opening match, and is looking

forward to renewing his acquaintance with the German.

We grew up playing a bit together when we were 13, 14 and 15 years

old. We would have played a few times in the juniors as well. He has

come through on to talk a little bit later, but he is a tough player. He

obviously had a very good win in the first round. He was a tough

opponent, and I will need to be ready.

Stephen Gallagher is six shots behind the leaders in the second

round of the golf. This is one of the birdies that got away in a level

par round of 72. He will need some of those in the coming round if he

is to earn automatic quality patient of the European Ryder Cup team. He

needs to finish in the top two for that. Golfers from around the world

tee off in the Scottish ladies open tomorrow, and there is a strong home

contingent in the field, among them the defending champion Katrina

Matthew will stop although she is hoping for a win, she is also

looking ahead to the Olympic Games in Rio in two years' time.

Blustery but sunny conditions are across East Lothian, for the premier

competition in Scottish women's golf. Katrina Matthew the defending

champion and favourite to collect the cheque for the winner here on

Saturday afternoon, but in two years, she is aiming for gold in

Rio. I will definitely go. The first time

golfers back since about 1900, an obvious, the Olympics is probably

the biggest sporting event in the world. To have that opportunity to

go and play and represent your country would be great.

Another Scot, Kylie Walker, is already a two-time winner on the

tour this year. She says more can be done to bring more girls into the

sport in Scotland. I think if you just generate a bit

more interest from a younger age, and keep it going through the

teenage years, make it fun, then I think there would be a lot more. But

certainly, right now we have quite a lot of Scottish girls on tour this

year, which is great. Carly Booth won this competition two

years ago, but she has a rather unusual way of limbering up for a

tournament. She insists this is a perfect way to

prepare for the weekend. Of course it is. Backflips are a

part of me, part of who I am, so if you see me doing a backflip, you

know it is just me being myself. If you win on Sunday afternoon, can

we expect if you backflips from you? 100%, yes.

Last of Albany, a little teaser for you. Can you guess what is in the

box? Any ideas? No? Well, let me tell you. It is the Cricket World

Cup trophy. Some Scotland internationals got their hands on it

today, probably for the one and only time in their careers. It is on a

promotional tour of the country. Next year, the Scots will be taking

part. That is the sport for tonight. Thank you bring much.

Let's have a look now at the weather.

Thank you bring much. Let's have a look now at the

weather. Thank you very much.

Hello. The sunshine eventually came out across a good part of the

country, and we can see it quite clearly on the satellite picture.

The weather front bushes is way northwards, taking the rain with it,

and that stark contrast, the trailing edge of the cloud going

from grey skies to blue as the sun comes out. This evening, generally

drive for most. We say goodbye to the rain, but it is not dry for a

long time. The next weather system works in overnight, cloudy, wet and

windy conditions. All those factors combined mean not a cold night in

towns and cities. Double digits. Tomorrow, low-pressure showing its

hand. A wet and windy start, fairly cloudy at times, and the wind

strong, particularly in the south-west. As we had through the

morning, we start to see the cloud thinning and breaking at times, were

the showers merged to form bands of rain. Although they do push through

quite quickly, it will be wet fulsome. We can't take the graphics

literally, because they are showers, and could occur almost anywhere. A

snapshot at four o'clock, a case of windy conditions across the south,

some bright or sunny spells. Temperatures up to 18 degrees, but

bands of wet weather coming through as well. Around the Moray Firth, 19

degrees in the sunshine, and towards sky and Wester Ross, showers could

be there for some time. Fairly breezy, showers for the afternoon up

here. For the rest of the afternoon into the evening, we hold onto a mix

of weather. Some pretty wet weather to end the day. Towards Saturday and

the weekend, a change in wind direction. More north-westerly,

feeding in showers to the Highlands and Islands, and over towards the

coast as well. Generally for central and southern Scotland, largely dry

with some brighter skies, and the wind is a bit lighter in line.

Heading into Sunday, low-pressure pulls away. A ridge of high pressure

builds, so a bright, sunny start, but look out in the Atlantic, as a

weather front brings some rain at some point on Sunday. I will bring

you the timing is tomorrow. Thank you very much.

Now, a reminder of tonight's menus. The Prime Minister David Cameron

will tell a business audience in Glasgow tonight that Scotland's

disparities closely linked with the union, and that independent others

too big a risk. Alex Salmond argues that with a yes

vote, Scotland can foster more enterprise and create a more just

society. The Conservative MP Douglas Carswell

has unexpectedly defected to UKIP. The MP for Clacton has triggered a

by-election, which he says he will contest on behalf of his new party.

Mr Carswell, euro-sceptic, says he does not believe the Prime Minister

is serious about changing Europe. This the Cameron has called his

defection deeply regrettable and counter-productive.

That is Reporting Scotland. I will be back at eight o'clock and the

late bulletin just after ten o'clock. Until then, from everyone

here, have a good evening.