05/05/2016 Reporting Scotland

Tonight, party leaders cast their votes as Scotland goes to the polls

in the Holyrood elections. A police officer tells of the mayhem seen at

the home of this child on the night he died. Tributes paid at the

funeral of the Afghanistan veteran who collapsed and died during the

London Marathon. Also in the programme, join me on the Isle of

Arran to discover why millions, perhaps billions of these tiny

plastic beads are being washed up on Scotland's shores. And on the beat

with the police. The Scottish officers who have become an Internet

hit with their dance moves. People across Scotland have been

casting their votes at polling Four million are registered

to vote in the election, which will see 129 MSPs returned

to the Scottish Parliament. And for the first time

in a Holyrood election, 16 and 17-year-olds are also

eligible to vote. Here's our political

correspondent, Lucy Adams. Smiles, sunshine and a surfeit of

handshakes. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon arrived at the Broom

community hall in Baillieston this morning with her husband and chief

executive Peter Murrell. For what will be the most powerful Holyrood

parliament since the act of union, Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal

Democrat leader, marked his ballot in Kelty bridge in rural

Kinross-shire. Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale cast her vote

in Edinburgh, accompanied by her partner, Louise Riddle. Scottish

Conservative leader Ruth Davidson also voted in Edinburgh with her

partner, Jen Wilson. And Scottish Green co-convenor Patrick Harvie was

at his Glasgow Kelvin target seat. People across Scotland have been

heading to the polling booths. It is the fifth Scottish Parliamentary

elections since the parliament was created but the first in which 16

and 17-year-olds will be able to vote for the country's 129 MSPs.

About 4 million people are registered to vote in this election.

Each of them will be asked to mark a cross to select their constituency

MSP, of which 73 will be elected, and to vote for the country's 56

regional MSPs, allocated to parties through a form of proportional

representation. The holing booths will close at 10pm this evening and

ballot papers will be hand counted throughout the night, with the first

results expected around 2am, and live coverage from the BBC

throughout the night. As Lucy was saying, the polls

close in just over three hours' time with counting

going on throughout the night. We'll be on air all night

with our election results coverage, We are on air from 10:30pm and we

will be with you throughout the night, bringing new law the key

moments. Our reporters are on location at council across the

country. We will be broadcasting live from Shetland to Dumfries. I

reckon we have got this covered. I will be offering analysis, insight,

assessment of the results, the personalities involved and what is

on offer. I will have breaking news from across the counts and we will

keep you up-to-date with the headline is not only in Scotland but

the rest of the UK, so you don't miss a thing. Scotland's political

landscape looks set to change. We will be showing you how, using state

of the art graphics. Last time we will be showing you how, using state

voted in 2011, this was the result in the 73 constituencies. The

Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, Lib Dems orange and SNP yellow.

There were also 56 MSPs elected through the regional vote, including

a couple of Greens. Eight regions, seven MSPs apiece, but tonight we

are starting again. The map is about to be redrawn. In our election cafe,

we bring together Scotland's media, spin doctors and young people to

give us their views. We will be keeping an eye on social media,.

Stay in touch by spending election night with us. Join us at 10:30pm

here on BBC One for the most comprehensive election coverage in

the country. And tomorrow we're bringing

you specially extended editions of Reporting Scotland at both 1.30pm

and 6.30pm to bring you all the news, developments

and reaction to the election. The Liam Fee murder trial has heard

a police officer describe a scene of "mayhem" at the toddler's house

on the night he died. PC Leanne St Aubyn told the court

she had been called out after reports of a two-year-old

in cardiac arrest who may have been Earlier jury members wept

while watching a video of Liam's body lying on the floor

of his bedroom. Lisa Summers reports from the High

court in Livingston. Jury members looked visibly

distressed as they watched the 12 minute long video. The film shows

the interior of the house near Glen Rhodes where Liam lived with his

the interior of the house near Glen mother, Rachel, and her partner

Naomi. It was filmed hours after the toddler was pronounced dead. The

young boy's body is seen on the floor, dressed in pyjamas. His left

leg bent at the knee, his right leg straight. Nearby is a travel cot and

a buggy, a number of family pictures on the walls. Immediately

afterwards, the jury asked the judge for a break. Both accused could be

seen crying. Later, APC told the court she went to the Fees' house

after receiving reports of a problem in cardiac arrest. She described the

scene when she arrived as mayhem. She said sometimes Rachel Fee was

crying, sometimes subdued. She said paramedics were trying to

resuscitate Liam. The officer said Rachel brought another young boy to

him and said, tell them what you have done. PC Sam Goodwood told the

court he had also attended that night. He said the young boy mumbled

something like, I strangled Liam. He said he took the boy to the police

station where he later said it wasn't an accident and he meant it.

Under cross-examination, the prosecution agreed that Rachel Fee

fell to her knees when paramedics told her they couldn't save him.

Rachel Fee denied murdering Liam on March the 22nd 2014 and blaming his

death on that child. The trial continues.

You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC.

Still to come on tonight's programme:

The dance routine that has turned a group of Police Scotland officers

into an Internet hit. In sport, could the door be open for drugs

cheats, as the anti-doping agency stops funding tests in Scottish

football? And a new deal for the SPFL, enhanced coverage promised,

but will it keep fans happy? Around 400 mourners gathered

in Dunfermline for the funeral of an Afghanistan veteran,

who died after collapsing 31-year-old Captain David Seath

suffered a suspected cardiac arrest while running

and died later in hospital. He was described as a hero

and an inspiration. A sombre moment as family, friends

and colleagues of David Seath gathered to remember the man they

described as the life and soul of the party. To reflect that

sentiment, the family asked that it be a celebration of his life and

bright clothes should be worn. The tribute read on behalf of his

brother -- his brother said how proud they were that he had been an

officer of 29 commando agement royal art really. Colleagues from the

regiment in Arbroath where he was based paid their respects. Villa it

is great sadness that we are here today to say farewell to Captain

David Seath. He was an inspiration to us all and I could not have

wished for a final officer. He will be sorely missed in our thoughts and

prayers are with David's loved ones at this trying time. Last year he

led a team of young people for the annual ten tours we can hike on

Dartmoor. When we start the challenge we like to finish it.

After the service, mourners lined up behind the coffin of David Seath,

draped in a union flag. They followed the first as it moved

slowly away from the church for a private burial. -- they followed the

hearse. The congregation heard it was fitting that his final act was

supporting others. Captain David Seath was running the London

Marathon for the charity out the heroes. He collapsed three miles

from the finish line. -- Help For Heroes. Rinse and family day they

will balk at final three miles in his memory. -- friends and family

say they will walk that final three miles.

A 31-year-old Bulgarian man has been jailed for life for the murder

of a Perthshire jeweller, who he hit over the head

Nikola Zhulev was earlier convicted of killing 49-year-old

Alan Gardner at his home in Balbeggie in April last year.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Judge Lady Rae told Zhulev he had

carried out a "planned, premeditated killing" of Mr Gardner,

a vulnerable man whom he had "mercilessly exploited".

Zhulev will serve at least 21 years in prison.

A construction worker, who died after an incident

on the new Queensferry Crossing, has been named.

62-year-old John Grant Cousin from Northumberland was working

on the bridge being built across the Firth of Forth.

He is thought to have been hit by a moving boom on a crane

An investigation is being carried out by Police Scotland

A Renfrewshire family is calling for an independent review

into the automatic early release of prisoners in England and Wales.

It follows the murder of their son, Craig Hepburn, four years ago

at the hands of two men, who were being supervised

in the community, after serving half of their sentences imposed

Our home affairs correspondent, Reevel Alderson, reports.

Craig Hepburn, a member of Milngavie Pipe Band, was 19 when he

was murdered near Huddersfield on a family visit enjoying an evening in

a local pub. In a random act, Craig was attacked by Anthony driver and

Luke Elliott, who stabbed him 11 times and kicked him as he lay

bleeding in the gutter. Both were on licence, released early from prison.

It has left Craig's parents wondering why the men, who each had

a string of convictions for violence, were free to kill their

son. The justice system, had they made them serve their full-time,

there need to be tougher sentences handed out for crimes like this and

they should have to serve their whole time and not be allowed out

early. If they are out on licence, they should carry that through. The

national offender management service carried out a review of the case

last year. Concludes that Luke Elliott, convicted of murdering

Craig, had been recalled to prison for breaching licence conditions but

was rereleased three months before the killing. Anthony driver,

convicted of manslaughter, as four previous convictions and was also on

licence. The report says it wasn't sufficiently controlled within his

licence after breaching it several times. For every paragraph in that

report, there are lessons to be learned. We would like to see those

lessons learned, but you will be certain another family in ten years

from now and those same lessons will certain another family in ten years

have to be learned. The national offender management service says it

will carefully consider any findings offender management service says it

in this case but it couldn't say whether any of its recommendations

had been carried out. The Hepburns want an enquiry into an early

release in England to ensure other people don't suffer like they have.

A look at other stories from across the country.

More than 170 jobs are to go at an oil and gas shipping company

based in the North East, with nearly 100 people

Harkand Group, which provides inspection and maintenance services

for the offshore industry, has gone into administration

because of losses caused by the continuing low price of oil.

The redundancies will be made amongst staff in Aberdeen,

and they'll be further job cuts in London The parent company

of the helicopter operator CHC - which owned the helicopter involved

in Friday's crash in Norway - has taken steps in the US

courts to protect itself from its creditors.

CHC Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

to allow it more time to restructure its finances.

The company says it's been hit by a downturn in business

following the oil price crash, and this move is unrelated

Campaigners in Sleat in the Isle of Skye are demanding

the return of the Coruisk ferry to the Mallaig-Armadale route,

describing the current service as an "utter shambles."

They say weather and tidal conditions have

Operators Cal Mac say they are looking at ways of making

changes to the timetable that will help address concerns

We want to ensure the return of the vessel, which was built specifically

for this route, which has been operating since 2003.

A spoof tourist brochure for a non-existent island has

appeared at a number of sites around Orkney.

The publication features an island called Mama Westray and claims

actress Cate Blanchett is a regular visitor.

Some of the attractions include fish-eating pigs

and "the world-famous Tomb of the Haddock".

There is concern among some locals on the real island of PAPA

Westray that the brochure could cause confusion.

The public's being urged to help track the spread of "nurdles"

You may not have heard of them, but nurdles are tiny plastic pellets

used in the manufacture of a huge range of everyday items.

And they're being washed up in their billions.

Our environment correspondent, David Miller, has been on a "nurdle

Scotland's coastline, it's beautiful, but discarded plastics

are an ever-present threat. We have grown accustomed to scenes like

these. But there's another problem washing up on our shores - nurdles.

The next time you are at the beach, keep an eye out. There is a good

chance you will spot some for yourself. After a few minutes of

searching, I have found dozens of these tiny plastic pellets. The

question is, what are they? Where do they come from? What impact are they

having on our marine environment? This factory uses billions of them

every week. It produces data cables. The team here works to ensure

spilled pellets don't get washed down the drain and out to sea. I

like to spend a lot of time outdoors, whether that be in the

hills or on the beach, so for me, personally, it is a good cause, to

take on board, but as a business as well, it is also very important to

us. The pellets are transported by the lorry-load. They may be

manufactured in Scotland, or shipped in from abroad. One lost load can

cause problems for decades. Maybe even centuries. It makes me feel sad

as a Scotsman, on some of these beautiful beaches that we have

around our coastline, and you go along and they are spoiled. That is

only 50 grammes of them. But look at that, the volume that's there. It's

horrendous. Really is. But other companies may be less conscientious

and scientists studying seabirds are worried. Maybe 15% of puffins will

have some plastic within them. Certainly these very small plastic

pellets are a bigger problem for something like a puffin than the

larger plastic items that will affect some of the others species.

Up there is where we would find the most nurdles. Reports from

volunteers across Scotland and beyond are being used to build-up a

volunteers across Scotland and detailed picture of the scale of the

problem. It helps us build-up an evidence base and collect data to

show industry that there is a problem on our beaches, so if you

are on your beach, keep telling us about any nurdles you find and we

will be interested to hear and it will help to contribute to solving

the problem. The search goes on. But we have already discovered this is a

problem we are handing on to future generations.

Let's get all the sport now, from David.

An anti-doping expert's told BBC Scotland friction between the SFA

and the body that carries out drug testing could leave the door open

UK Anti-doping says it'll provide no funding for tests in Scottish

The SFA is unhappy but will now fund testing itself,

A stark reminder that football is not immune to an issue very much in

the public eye. Two months ago, BBC Scotland revealed that only eight

drugs tests had taken place in Scottish football in nine months.

Since then, a further 20 have taken place, all of which were funded by

UK Anti-Doping, but today they have confirmed to BBC Scotland that it's

withdrawing all of its funding to Scottish football for the next 12

months and finance will only be provided in special circumstances.

They said: There is a degree of bemusement

within the SFA headquarters over that decision, particularly in light

of the fact that they will continue to part-fund the anti-doping

programme of the much-richer English Football Association. The Chief

Executive says her organisation can only do so much.

This anti-doping expert says such a frosty relationship between the two

could create problems of its own. The worst case scenario is, if there

is a fragmented approach, from those organisations, and then there is a

lack of testing, then people who plan to dope could see the loopholes

and exploit them. plan to dope could see the loopholes

is deemed low-risk with Jordan McMillan the only player currently

banned. The Scottish Premier Football League

say its new broadcasting deal with the BBC will lead to enhanced

coverage of the game The league have agreed a four-year

package with the Corporation But will the new agreement assauge

critics of the BBC's Hello, good evening and welcome...

It is over 40 years old and is now the only Scottish football

highlights show on terrestrial television. Today's agreement means

four more years of Sportscene. Neither the BBC or the SPFL will

confirm how much the deal is worth. The league's Chief Executive simply

says the SPFL board has been very robust and clear in its view of what

we believe Scottish football coverage is worth and we are pleased

this has been taken on board and reflected by an improved agreement.

The new deal doesn't mean live league games on the BBC. But there

is a promise match coverage will be improved. As well as the television

highlights programme and our match commentaries and what we provide

online, we will also be offering clips on social media, the coverage

will be more extensive, there will be more cameras at all of the games

rather than a select few. Supporters are already voicing their opinions

and they will be disappointed at still having to wait till Sunday

night to see the best of the weekend's action. If the show is to

go out on a Sunday, we have to have improved HD quality television

pictures, we need a decent coverage of every match, not just the ones

involving Rangers and Celtic and we need content that the fans don't see

at the moment, which is cutting-edge analysis, referee opinions, fan

input. You will be able to judge for yourselves in the BBC's TV coverage

is enhanced by the new deal. But you will have to wait till the titles

roll at the start of next season. Andy Murray remains on course

to defend his title He beat Gilles Simon of France to go

through to the quarterfinals. A very stylish match-point

here as the Scot claimed his 14th Murray will next face a quarterfinal

clash with Tomas Berdych. That is all from me.

How is your running man? I'm more jogging man! Come on then! Later!

Thank you very much. A group of Police Scotland officers

have become an Internet hit, after being challenged to show

off their best dance moves Their "running man" routine

was filmed in front of one of Scotland's most famous landmarks

and it's been viewed hundreds If you walk down the Royal Mile...

On duty at Edinburgh Castle, nothing out of the ordinary, unlike PC Mark

Love's last visit. Were you in a viral video? That's him. And his

colleagues about to baffle the tourists. I wanted the iconic

backdrop of the castle so we had that, we hijacked a piper from the

backdrop of the castle so we had Royal Mile and brought him up and

thought we would include a bit of Ceilidh dancing as well. That didn't

go particularly well, but the idea was it was supposed to contain this

"running man" dance. How it looked compared to expectations, I will let

you decide. Why? The answer lies with this fleet-footed officer in

New Zealand, the star of a recruitment video aimed at showing

the lighter side of policing. Then, the Internet took over. The NYPD

were challenged to offer their own take on the "running man". In turn,

the gauntlet was thrown down to Police Scotland. I was mortified at

the time, to be honest. The reaction since has been really positive. We

have had Strictly Come Dancing on the phone this morning trying to

sign us up(!) Not quite Strictly viewing figures, but in 24 hours,

around 500,000 people have watched online. It is now the turn of

officers in London, Toronto and recruits at Scotland's police

college to determine whether the "running man" challenge has got

legs. Christopher will not appreciate

being asked to do his "running man" dance, am I right? Possibly! You

might be dancing on the desk at the end of this weather forecast! Hello.

It was a lovely spring day across many parts of the country. It will

feel like summer for some at the end many parts of the country. It will

of the weekend and into next week. This evening, some late sunshine

around. Really quite pleasant in the day. Any showers across the far

north-west will fade, maybe one or two for the Northern Isles, but most

will be dry overnight, light winds, temperatures in towns and cities

around 7 Celsius. In the countryside, it will be cooler. So,

to tomorrow. It is a dry day, it's a bright day. There will be some high

cloud for central, southern and eastern parts, so a hazy look to

things. It won't spoil things at all. Across the north-west, that is

where the best of the prolonged sunshine will be. By mid-afternoon,

16, 17 degrees in the south-west. That cloud thick enough potentially

for the odd light shower, but you will be unlucky if you catch one.

Always cooler towards the east coast with the breeze coming in off the

North Sea. Best of the sunshine towards the west. Far better here

tomorrow compared with today. Fairly pleasant for the far north and the

Northern Isles. Rest of the afternoon into the evening, some

late spells of sunshine to enjoy. And into the weekend, on Saturday we

were talking yesterday about this area of rain pushing up from the

south. It is still coming, but it is further west, which means we should

stay dry. We are dragging up warmer air from the south. However, look at

the sea surface temperatures, and with the breeze coming in over the

east coast, it will be chilly. This is how we look on Saturday.

Reasonably dry, but there will be some haar around. That will take a

while to clear back. In the west, best of the sunshine around the west

coast and temperatures again warmest in the south-west, coolest in the

east. Sunday, some low cloud to start the day, but that should burn

back. In the west, in the sunshine, 20 to 23 Celsius, always cooler on

the eastern coast. Come a mile or two inland, it will improve. Monday,

temperatures into the mid-20s, particularly in the west.

Now, a reminder of tonight's main news:

People across Scotland have been casting their votes at polling

Four million of us are registered to vote in the election,

which will see 129 MSPs returned to the Scottish Parliament.

I'll be back with the headlines at 8.00pm and the late bulletin just

Until then, from everyone on the team - right

across the country - have a very good evening.