23/03/2016 Reporting Scotland

Tonight on Reporting Scotland: The former First Minister Alex

Salmond has admitted the case for currency options

in an independent Scotland needs to be refurbished.

The murder of 15-year-old Paige Doherty - police appeal

for the public's help as they try to piece

A deal to save two steelworks could be within reach tonight -

but will full production resume at the Dalzell

The inquiry into historical child abuse calls for victims to come

The former first minister Alex Salmond has admitted the case

for currency options in an independent Scotland needs

to be refurbished so it can't be gazumped by opponents

Tonight would have been the eve of Scotland's Independence Day had the

referendum voted to leave. In the referendum debate, currency

questions were crucial. You can't tell us what currency we will have.

What is best for Scotland is keeping the pound sterling. Alex Salmond

said Scotland could keep the pound in a currency union with the rest of

the UK, but the UK Chancellor said no. It is clear to me I could not as

Chancellor recommend that we could share the pound with an independent

Scotland. 18 months on, the figurehead of the Yes campaign

wants his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, to revise the currency

case he made. I think she is quite right to want

to look at the essential case for independence, and do some

refurbishing and presentation to make it appropriate for the New Age,

and not just for a few years' time. Should that include leading again at

currency options? Yes, the argument you have to put forward is one which

can withstand any position adopted by your opponents, see you mustn't

allow yourself to be gazumped by your opponent. This summer, the SNP

will embark on a new initiative to build support for independence.

Nicola Sturgeon promised a fresh push the independence. Those who

lead the No campaign are not impressed. I think Alex Salmond has

a bit of a cheek 18 months later acknowledging that his currency case

was always flawed. People in Scotland have been well served by

the pound and well served as part of the United Kingdom, particularly

with the short-term instability we have seen in the last few years on

the world economy. Competing claims over currency were never put to the

the world economy. Competing claims test, because Scotland voted no to

leaving the UK. But this debate over the pound still matters, because the

argument over independence hasn't gone away, and many in the yes

movement would put money on their being a referendum rerun sooner

rather than later. Glenn joins us now from the

parliament. What is your take on Alex Salmond's comments? I think

they are interesting for two reasons. Alex Salmond like Nicola

Sturgeon and others are talking about another referendum without

setting a timetable for that, and secondly, because Alex Salmond, you

will run member, refused to say what his currency plan B was during the

last campaign, although it was implied that if the UK wouldn't let

an independent Scotland share the pound in a currency union, that

Scotland could use the pound anyway in an arrangement known as

sterlingisation which would come with its own challenges. Alex

Salmond is broadly in the same place, he is not saying we should

adopt the euro or a separate Scottish currency if there was a Yes

vote in the future, but clearly he thinks those on the yes side of the

independence arguments need to develop better arguments to persuade

people that an independent Scotland could keep the pound in any

circumstances. Thank you very much, Glenn.

Police investigating the murder of Paige Doherty near Glasgow say

they're crucially looking for people who were in the area on Monday,

The 15-year-old from Clydebank was last seen on Saturday

Paige Doherty was last seen here at 20 past eight on Saturday morning

buying a role on her way to work. The owner of the shop next door

knows her family well. He is thought to be one of the last people to

speak to her before she disappeared. About quarter past eight on Saturday

morning, I said to her, all right, Paige, and she waved. And then I

never saw her. When I heard the news I was devastated. I can't say much

more. I hope they find the killer. She would then have walked along

here to get her boss to work. Police want to know if anyone was seen

acting suspiciously around here on Saturday. She was on her way to her

part-time job as a junior at a hairdresser. Her mother reported her

missing after she failed to arrive there. Her body was found here on

Monday at about quarter to one in the afternoon. This is the A82 great

Western road, a main dual carriageway into Glasgow. Police

made this appeal for what they are describing is crucial information.

This road is usually very busy, and the area is popular with joggers and

dog walkers. People are asking people -- police are asking people

to cast their minds back to see if they saw anyone behaving

suspiciously in this area on Monday. Today, Paige 's mother release this

appeal. Tonight, police say they are working

around the clock to find her killer. They say they are encouraged by the

response from the public so far. A deal which could save

Lanarkshire's Clydebridge and Dalzell steel plants is close -

but the likely buyer, Liberty House, says it may not

be concluded tonight. Over now to David Henderson who's

outside the Dalzell plant Large-scale steel production in

Scotland used to provide more employment than any other industry,

but now it looks to be sold for just a pound.

Five months ago, the owners of Scotland's last big steelworks

announced plans to close them. It dealt a hammer blow to the

workforce, and marked the end of a chapter in Scotland's industrial

history. But now, there could be a fresh start. All these signs look

set to change. Tata steel wants to sell up to an international metals

firm, Liberty House. But how can they succeed where Tata failed?

firm, Liberty House. But how can steel industry is in crisis with the

market swamped with cheaper Chinese steel. Liberty House's tactic is to

undercut the opposition by recycling some of the millions of tonnes of

scrap steel exported from the UK every year. We have a different

business model, we have already proven that in Newport, so we are

looking at offsetting the costs, using slabs which are more

competitive than that I -- tartare competitive than that I -- tartare

-- Tata can produce. It has been a harsh winter, with most workers laid

off. Just 50 are left, among the union direct Ross Clark. We have to

sit down and get the place operational, secure our customer

base and make this place profitable, and have a sustainable steel

industry. Steel-making was once Scotland's biggest industrial

employer, and it has dominated Motherwell for decades. People here

employer, and it has dominated want these plants saved. It was a

big loss to the area, the whole of Lanarkshire suffered when that

closed, so I imagine it would make a difference. Steel has been important

for a long time, especially with Motherwell, and a lot of jobs have

been lost. It needs to be kept. The town is dead and buried without the

steel industry. Fan out, ADA is close, but only when it is done can

the hard work really begins. A deal has apparently been very close for

weeks, so what is holding things up? Three potential sticking points, the

first of them is clean-up costs. This is an old site, quite a dirty

site, inevitably, because of steel production on the site, and Liberty

House don't want to be responsible for the clean-up cost of that was

what Russell acquired in the future. They want Tata steel to have to deal

with that. The second is carbon dioxide and the carbon tax. It

produces carbon dioxide, and they do not want to be banned to the strict

letter of the law, because ultimately, they say that if scrap

steel is taken from here to China and brought back again, that

produces more carbon dioxide than if it is produced here. And the final

sticking point is they want a bulk deal on electricity, phone now and

into the future, because inevitably it takes huge amounts of energy to

melt that metal, to take it to a point where it is red-hot, and they

need cheap electricity to make their business work. All of these

potential deal breakers, all of these will have to be negotiated

over the coming hours and days. Thank you very much, David.

At Holyrood, MSPs gathered for the final time before heading

Scotland goes to the polls on May 5th.

Today was a day for emotion, for farewells - and for a bitter

political dispute over tax and spending.

This from our political editor Brian Taylor.

A public book of condolence has now been made available. Hollywood

history, Tricia Marwick presided for the last time this term, and Nicola

Sturgeon facing her last questions before the election. And on the

throne, King Robert the Bruce, proudly recreating Scotland's past

of MPs. But in the chamber, they are concentrating on the future. The SNP

have said they will not alter tax rate in Scotland fan out, and Labour

said that was missing an opportunity. This First Minister who

has campaigned for years on the mantra that more powers means fewer

cuts now refuses to use the powers to stop the cuts. The SNP will

reverse a planned tax cut far higher earners, but Nicola Sturgeon said

increasing the very top rate could backfire, if folk moved to avoid the

tax and cut Scotland's revenue. Doing it in the phase of analysis

that says that right now it could reduce the amount of money we have

to invest in our National Health Service and our public services

would not be radical, it would be reckless. It would not be daring, it

would be daft. The liberal Democrat said that Scottish education would

suffer. The opportunity to transform education is missed. Nursery

education targets will be missed. The attainment gap in schools will

keep being missed. The First Minister said the fiscal framework

meant Scotland would be recompensed for UK tax plans. That would

generate investment for services. Patrick Harvie of the Greens

championed land reform. We still have hugely concentrated patterns of

land ownership in Scotland, and that needs to change. MSP Stewart

McMillan plays Burns great-aunt of a common humanity watching from the

gallery, Sheila Wellington, who sang that very song on Parliament's

opening day in 1999. -- great anthem of a common humanity. They followed

the Piper down the chamber towards the garden lobby. There they gather,

those who are departing and those who hope to return, shaking hands,

hugging, even the occasional selfie. And from this happy scene, straight

onto the streets. Willie Rennie joins a student protest. Ruth

Davidson takes the Conservative election message out and about. The

Scottish Conservatives don't believe that we should put a sign of the

board of says, higher taxes here. We also don't think that people in

Scotland should have to pay more tax. Labour prepares its election

pitch, that offer on tax and spending. And the SNP must do their

election candidates, but who will win? That's your choice.

As the starting gun sounds, how are they all faring in the polls? It is

intriguing in the chamber this afternoon, one MSP challenge the

First Minister to pursue and act on a particular policy question after

the election, it appeared like, sounded like a concession that the

SNP was set to return to power with wicked irony and a cheeky grin,

Nicola Sturgeon thanked her rival for the vote of confidence.

Certainly the SNP do appear from the polls to be substantially ahead of

their labour rivals, the Conservatives, and a bit further

behind the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. But elections can be chancy

thing is, they rest perhaps on one word, one action, one comment, one

promise. Certainly that is the case of individuals. And bear in mind

that in this place behind me here, it already makes much of our laws,

it will soon be in charge of our income tax. These elections are a

big deal. Thank you, Brian. And as the campaign gets under way, so do

our televised election debates. Join Glenn Campbell

for the Scottish Leaders Debate tomorrow evening on BBC One

Scotland at nine o'clock. On that final day of debate MSPs

sent their condolences to those affected by the Brussels

terrorist attacks. The politicians took part

in a minute's silence as a mark of respect for those

killed in the bombings A book of condolence was opened

in the Parliament's main hall for messages of sympathy

and support, as flags flew The public inquiry into allegations

of child abuse in Scotland has The inquiry, under Susan O'Brien QC,

will take four years to investigate the extent of abuse of children

in care and identify Our Social Affairs Correspondent

Reevel Alderson reports. Educational institutions such as the

former Fort Augustus Abbey School will come under the scrutiny of the

inquiry if there are allegations of abuse there. So will residential

care settings like these homes where children were looked after. It will

be a lengthy process. QC Susan O'Brien has set out how the inquiry

into highly sensitive allegations and events will be conducted.

If you were in the care of the state in any sense, then we would like to

hear from you. In addition, we would like to hear from people who attend

or attended private boarding schools. One of the problems facing

the inquiry is they don't know how many people may come forward to give

evidence, and they don't know the scale of the documentation which may

be involved. A similar inquiry in Northern Ireland received 30,000

pages of documentation from one charity involved in just four cases.

The inquiry has been welcomed by this man, regularly beaten and

locked in dark rooms when he was in care almost 50 years ago. All we

wanted was to be loved and feel secure, and they took that away from

us, and our trust. Hopefully if the public inquiry goes well, people

will start to move on to try to put the past behind them and get back to

will start to move on to try to put a normal family life. I have

grandchildren now and I don't want to miss them growing up.

Outside the hotel where the inquiry launch was staged, some survivors

protested that the inquiry is not wide enough. Allegations of abuse at

day schools, children's organisations and Church Paris is --

church parishes will not be conducted. I was abused at the age

of five in a catholic Remy school. That does not factor, but my private

also abused. All by Catholic Church also abused. All by Catholic Church

-- Catholic clergy. The Catholic Church is not in inquiry, per se.

She never mentioned justice. Survivors are being urged come

forward, the chair of the inquiry says it is vital. The inquiry is not

just for survivors of abuse in the past, it is also, for some Scottish

children yet to be born. More than 50 doctors in Aberdeen

have condemned plans which they say would see people with the most

serious injuries transferred Our health correspondent

Eleanor Bradford joins me now. Eleanor, what exactly

are these doctors saying? All these doctors walk in trauma

care, meaning they see the mysteriously injured, people who

have been in car crashes, for example. Those kinds of patients are

seen in four hospitals across Scotland, Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow

and Edinburgh. But there is a review of trauma care and away and the

doctors say the plan at the moment is to reduce these four centres to

two in Glasgow and Edinburgh. They say that is fine for the 75% of

people living in the central belt, not so much for the 25% living

elsewhere. The idea of placing two in the central belt and leaving the

North with nothing does not seem fair or equitable to my colleagues,

and I think people in the North Scotland need to know this is on the

table and make decisions about what they think before it becomes a fatal

company. Does the comparative difficulty of rural roads play a

part? There is a difficult balance to strike. Doctors who work in big

specialised centres have better outcomes, patients get better

results. On the other hand, transport plays a part. In Scotland

we only have five or 600 series trauma cases a year, which is not

that many, so we had to balance these competing demands. But we know

it is a real hot potato in the run-up to the election and local

hospital services are an issue close to voters' hearts. The Scottish

Government says all options are on the table, including retaining all

four trauma centres. The Lib Dems say the SNP must come clear if it

has secret plans so the electorate knows what it is voting for.

Scottish Labour says meetings were held last week in which it was made

clear that only Glasgow and Edinburgh were being proposed,

despite the fact that Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has some better

facilities. Thank you. Enterprise Areas, which were

announced five years ago as a key part of the Scottish

government's economic strategy, have been found to have

had barely any effect. Firms were to be attracted

with business rate deals, tax breaks and support

with recruitment and training. But Highlands and Islands Enterprise

has reviewed the policy across Scotland and found

minimal impact on jobs, no evidence of inward

investment or of any training A plan to transform one

of Scotland's most famous modernist ruins into an arts venue has been

given more than 4 million St Peter's Seminary in Cardross

was built in the 1960s as a training college for priests

and closed in the 1980s. The A-listed building,

near Helensburgh in Argyll, is derelict but considered by some

to be a modernist masterpiece. It is currently hosting

the Hinterland sound Someone who always puts on a show,

David! The Scotland manager is once again

stressing he does not have great players at his disposal. Gordon

Strachan says the side could trust better because of attitude and

commitment and wants to see those qualities in the friendly tomorrow

against the Czech Republic in Prague, where this report comes

from. Czech Republic squad are warming up

behind me. While most of Scotland sits at home and mulls over perhaps

once again what could have been, the Czechs and the supporters will be

enjoying the big occasion in France, because they qualified, unlike

Scotland. In the absence of Petr Cech, they are not filled with

superstars, that they topped their qualifying group ahead of Turkey,

Iceland and the Netherlands. So perhaps Gordon Strachan and his

players can learn a thing or two from the Czech Republic?

At the moment we do not have great players, but we have a great group

of players who want to do well for their country and put themselves out

for the country. And a group of players we have got here. We can

make ourselves into a very good side. The friendly tomorrow night

marks the beginning of preparations side. The friendly tomorrow night

for World Cup qualifying for Strachan and his players. The squad

he has brought to Prague is largely Strachan and his players. The squad

recognisable, but it is a chance for players like Ross McCormack to

perhaps take eight flame and cement their place in future squads. Steven

Fletcher pulled out this morning through illness. Darren Fletcher and

Alan Hutton are the only survivors from the last time they played in

Prague, the infamous game when Craig Levine, the then manager, was

criticised for playing without a recognised striker, in the infamous

4-6-0 game. There have been two more wins for Scotland's women curlers.

Eve Muirhead's rink are joint top with Switzerland and Canada

with four matches of the group stage remaining.

Now to a motor sport, and one that's fast,

and doesn't involve brakes - speedway.

The season gets under way this weekend, and for one of the three

Scottish clubs in the British League, there's something extra

special about the 2016 campaign.

The engines are finely tuned and so, hopefully, other riders, for a

season rich in significance to Glasgow Tigers. This is the 70th

season, the club almost went under a couple of times, financial problems

and suchlike, so to be standing here 70 years, it is good. Plenty of

excitement today at the Ashfield Stadium, and it is just a practice

session. The riders can't wait to get racing for real. And to achieve

their targets. I think the main one as a team is to win trophies, we

have the team on paper to do it, we have to follow it through, and on a

personal note I want to go back to being number one in the league. New

boy Ben is not the only cap acrid tiger hoping to be top dog. They are

putting together a really good line-up, we should be able to get

going. Ambitions? I would love to reach number one spot and for us to

make the play-off finals and win. The ambition is to make their 70th

season memorable. It will be up to the Glasgow Tigers' seven riders to

make sure it is. Time for me to disappear into the

sunset. The high pressure we have enjoyed

for the last ten days is moving away. Flashback to yesterday, this

comes from one of our Weather Watchers in Newport on Tay in Fife,

but today it is very different. We have had a weak weather fronts

bringing patchy a la breaks of light rain and drizzle, but not much

rainfall. It has been largely dry for many. The week weather front

will continue to create woods, clearer skies for the first part of

the night, but the next weather front is edging in, bringing

strengthening winds and wet weather. In the east, and a clearer skies,

temperatures close to freezing. A few pockets of frost. For tomorrow

morning, quite cloudy and wet, mainly across more western areas.

The weather front is not making much progress further eastwards. Largely

dry skies and sunshine install. It will be drier for most of us by the

afternoon. Here is a snapshot of the afternoon, showery outbreaks across

Dumfries Galloway with cloudy conditions. Sunny skies for a time

across the central belt, temperatures of 8210 Celsius, baby

11 degrees for Aberdeenshire. -- of eight to 10 Celsius. In time for

Good Friday it should become drier with scattered showers. Good Friday

does not look too bad, a good deal of sunshine, especially for more

central, southern and eastern areas. By the afternoon, the next weather

system approaches, bringing further wet and windy weather. Temperatures

between nine and 11 degrees. Friday night will be quite windy, for

Saturday it looks to be the wettest day of the long weekend, I'm afraid.

There will be a good deal of rainfall for western areas and

temperatures of eight or 9 degrees. That is your forecast.

I'll be back with the late bulletin at 10:30pm.

Don't forget the online service as well. From everyone here, good

night.