16/03/2017 Reporting Scotland

independence. And that's all from the BBC News at

A war of words over the independence referendum

intensifies, with the UK and Scottish Governments

The Conservatives say any plan for a referendum

by the spring of 2019 would be rejected "conclusively".

We should be working together to get that right deal for Scotland, that

right deal for the UK, that is my job, as Prime Minister, and so for

that reason, I say to the SNP, now that reason, I say to the SNP,

now is not the time. and that Theresa's May's

position is unsustainable. The idea of the democratically

elected Parliament of Scotland, led by a party with a mandate from a

manifesto being dictated to by a Conservative Government with one MP

in Scotland is democraticalliout ray just.

Claims that lessons are not being learned by health boards who,

it's suggested, are inconsistent in their recording of baby deaths.

And departing rugby coach Vern Cotter says he'll wait

to assess his impact on the national team's fortunes till

The Prime Minister has rejected Nicola Sturgeon's plans

The First Minister had wanted to hold the vote between Autumn

But Theresa May says that clashes with the Brexit timescale -

and it wouldn't be fair to expect Scots to choose without knowing

the full implications of leaving the European Union.

She said a referendum could happen later -

Nicola Sturgeon called the announcement "undemocratic

This from our political editor Brian Taylor.

/TKEPL /KRAT /KHREU outrageous /-FPLT

European Union notification withdrawal act.

2017. Royal Assent for the act to leave

the European Union. But dissent from Nicola Sturgeon's referendum plans.

My message is very clear, now is not the time. I have explained the

reasons why, I think his we should be working to get the right deal for

Scotland and the UK with our future partnership with the European Union,

it would be unfair to Scotland, people of Scotland at the moment

that they would be being asked to make a crucial decision without the

information they need to make that decision. Constitutional issues are

reserved to Westminster, Nicola Sturgeon needs Theresa May's

agreement, she hasn't got it, and she is not happy. Here we appear to

have the Tory party with just one MP in Scotland, thinking that it is OK

for them to block Scotland's right to choose. I think that is

democratically unacceptable, but I also think it shows that the

Conservatives fear the verdict of the Scottish people. Now seems

absurd to and them the opportunity to drag us kicking and screaming

into an isolated angry Brexit Britain. That is not what voters in

Scotland chose. Scottish Tory leaders say it wouldn't be fair to

ask Scotland to decide on independence while Brexit was under

way. A referendum might be possible when Brexit was completely settled.

But what wouldn't offer dates and they deny they feared defeat It is

not I fear it. I dread it. That dread is probably shared by a lot of

people across Scotland. Remember this from last year? You

wouldn't say that constitutionally the British Government... The UK

Government should block it though. Though. Alejandro Inarritu said the

Prime Minister wasn't completely blocking a referendum she was

settingous term. Other parties say hold off on a referendum. Willie

Rennie said the SNP went sure whether they would seek full

membership of the European Union. She is sucking up to the

Eurosceptics on her on side, while cynically selling out the pro

Europeans on the sly. And Labour claimed independence

would be a disaster. Isn't it the case that according to

her own Government statistic, leaving the UK would mean ?15

billion worth of extra cuts? Feel the need to relax? Fancy this? It is

body boosting bingo promoted at Holyrood today but it takes two to

tango and Theresa May isn't for dancing.

The First Minister says her plans for a referendum between autumn next

year and spring 2019 will not be derailed by the UK Government,

and that if the Scottish Parliament votes for a second referendum next

week, then any attempt to block it will be what she describes

Nicola Sturgeon was speaking to Jackie Bird at Bute House -

a fortnight on from Jackie's interview with the Prime Minister

First Minister, Theresa May says now is not the time for an independence

referendum. What are you going to do? Firstly, I agree with Theresa

May that now is not the right time to have an independence referendum,

that is not what I am proposing, what I proposed is that Scotland

that is not what I am proposing, should have the right to choose

their own futures once the terms of Brexit are clear, but before it is

too late for us to choose a different path. Now, on the

timetable for the Brexit negotiations at the Prime Minister

has set out, that means a window of autumn next year, through to the

spring of 2019. So that is the proposition I have is set out, we

have in Scottish Government a mandate for that, we were elected

less than a year on a manifesto that set that in these circumstances the

Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold an independence

referendum, and of course there is a majority in the Scottish Parliament

to for that. I think it would be completely unacceptable and

outrageous and almost anti-democratic for a Conservative

Government with one MP in Scotland to seek to block the democratic will

of the Scottish Parliament, and stand in this way of the Scottish

people having thing right too choose their own future. Although the Prime

Minister has not stated a date when she would perhaps accept a Scottish

referendum, I think the inference seems to be today, and I would like

to get your take on this, that the implication is that it's after

Brexit has been done and dusted and is up and running, do you agree with

that? That certainly appear to be the case, the deal will have to be

done, certainly in the broad terms of it in any event, by the autumn of

next year, if the Prime Minister's timetable is to be delivered. So in

a sense, you know, if the Prime Minister is genuinely saying here

that her concern is that people should know the terms of Brexit,

then I agree with that, and that is what I have sent out. What she is

saying is, or what she appears to be saying is she doesn't want Scotland

to have the right to choose until much later, until long after the UK

is out of the EU. Let us assume she does mean potentially an

independence referendum after Brexit. You are going to the

Scottish Parliament, there will be a vote on Wednesday, if you vote for

an independence referendum, and Westminster has said no, what then?

In the last 48-hours we have seen Theresa May perform the most

embarrassing and screeching U-turn on an Iran of her own budget. We

have a mandate. We are likely next week to have a majority in the

Scottish Parliament and you are really asking me now before that

majority has been expressed, to accept that a Conservative Prime

Minister who has one MP in Scotland, has the right just unquestionablibly

Minister who has one MP in Scotland, has the right to lay down the law to

Scotland's... That is is unacceptable. That means you will

hold an independence referendum. Will consider my options and what I

should do if we get into the position where the Scottish

Parliament, having voted, we have a Conservative Prime Minister saying

she will defy the will of the Scottish Parliament. You are not

ruling out going it alone. I am not getting into that right now. I think

it is important to allow the Scottish Parliament to have its say.

Alex Salmond says you will have one of your timescale. I am determines

we less have one on my timescale. I am determined to do that because the

will of the Scottish Parliament will be respected. I saying I don't think

Theresa May's position right now is a sustainable position. We have seen

her change her mind this week, this is no The Iron lady, this is someone

whose Government is in chaos and is chopping and changing. 23 you start

campaigning with, for an independent Scotland, will you be campaigning

for that for full membership of the EU or part of the single market? My

position is Yao partnership. We have to recognise we are in different

circumstances to the circumstances we were in in 2014. We set out the

process by which an independent Scotland would become a member of

the EU at a time hen the UK was in the EU. We will be in a situation

where the UK will be coming out. We will set out the process by which we

will seek to secure our relationship with the UK. Suring coming out of

the market is a crazedy thing to do, that is why which try to see if we

can come to a compromise with the Prime Minister round single market

membership. She ruled that out with no consultation with the Scottish

Government. 55% of Scots voted to stay in the UK, then the UK voted to

come out of the EU. You can't have one democratic process you agree

with and one you don't and therefore you disregard. I am not disregarding

either of the referendum. In 2014 we didn't know the UK would come out of

the ewe. Scotland was told vote no, to stay in the EU and then in 2016

Scotland was told vote Remain to stay in the ewe. Scotland did both

but we are still face being taken out. Will you campaign for Scotland

to stay in the ewe or would you accept Scotland listen the single

market We will have to set out the process, the transition to Scotland

being in the European Union. The policy of the SNP is clear about our

desire to be in temperature European Union, because of the jobs and the

investment and collaborations that depend on that. I am recognising

that through no fault of hour ours we are facing a few colour where the

UK, the current member state is coming out and we will have to set

out the process and the transition towards the future relationship we

have with Europe. None of that could be any clearer.

When you became First Minister you said my pledge today to every

citizen in our country is simple and heart fell. I will First Minister

for all of Scotland, regardless of politics or point of view. How does

a referendum achieve that? It gives people a choice. This has... Do you

think it was divisive? No I don't. Do you think a family watching this

at home that thinking it was anything than a festival of

democracy. There will be people who think we don't want to go through

this again, but democracy is not divisive. It is how you decide the

future of country. What I said the other day is something that has

weighed ever-ly on me. If I were to sit here and say, OK, I rule out a

referendum, then, I am unilaterally deciding that Scotland will follow

the hard Brexit path come what may, no matter how damaging that is. If

that is something Scotland chooses to do that is Scotland's choice. It

shouldn't be many me that he decide that. What I am saying is when the

time is right, when there is clarity, that is a choice the people

should make. It is not a choice one single poll situation should make. I

know there is different opinions about independence and whether or

not people want a second referendum. I understand that, I absolutely

understand that. But fundamentally we have change coming. We no longer

have the option of no change, Brexit means change is coming. What we

still have power to decide is what type of change. Is it the change of

hard Brex or the change of independence we we take the future

in our hands. That should be a choice for all of the people of

Scotland. You will have an independence referendum on your own

timescale. That is my plan. The logic I have set out is one that in

the interest of the people of Scotland and let us not lose sight

of the fact that whatever your views on dense, the idea of the

democratically elected Farrellment of Scotland led by a party with

mandate from a manifesto being dictated to by a Conservative

Government with one MP is outrageous and again I think it tells us that

the Conservatives fear the verdict of the Scottish people.

Let's see what our political team make of today's events.

Brian Taylor is at the Scottish parliament and David Porter

What we are seeing is pretty high wire political manoeuvring, playing

for very high stakes, Theresa May chose her words very very carefully

today, and make no mistake, the occupant of that building behind me

decided she was going to choose today to try and make her statement

on Monday. Nicola Sturgeon took the political initiative by her call for

a second independence referendum. Today Theresa May thought she would

return the favour by trying to regain that political initiative.

And what we have seared from Theresa May is a fairly highly calibrated

rebuff of Nicola Sturgeon, but not of the Scottish people. Theresa May

is not ruling out for ever and a day a second Scottish independence,

referendum, what she is rejecting is Nicola Sturgeon's timetable for that

potential referendum, and the argument from the people in the

building be mind me goes along these line, they say Theresa May will be

looking to get a very good deal for Scotland and the rest of the United

Kingdom on Brexit and it would be a distraction to put it mildly, and

the people of Scotland need to know what by-elections, the UK is going

to come up with -- Brexit, before they can talk about constitutional

questions and the future of Scotland. So that is the rational

from Downing Street. They are also, I think trying to go over the head

of Nicola Sturgeon and appeal directly to the voters of Scotland.

What we are increasingly seeing is growing animosity in this

relationship, between London and Edinburgh, both politicians by

nature or careful but they are playing for high stakes, there will

be one Iker and the one who loses will have to make a real compromise

on this issue. Brian the battle lines could be

hardly be clearly. Why wr do we go? This is a very complex business. You

have competing mandates being cited. You have competing parliaments,

competing governments, you have Article 50, you have section 30, you

have Brexit, you have all that complexity but within that, you also

have a fairly fundamental political calculation. The Conservatives,

relatively emboldened by their relative success at the Holyrood

elections, are of the view that sufficient numbers of the Scottish

people, a sufficient quoeshent, particularly those of a unionist

inclination will be relieved that there is not the prospect of a

referendum within that 18 months to two year time scale set out by the

First Minister. For Nicola Sturgeon's part she is also

calculating, calculating that sufficient numbers of the people of

Scotland will feel thwarted and frustrated by May Mays announcement,

will feel sufficiently thwarted and frustrated that they can be cajoled

and persuaded towards support for holding that referendum and that's

the status position that we've reached frent moment. Do I expect

the First Minister to hold a referendum raldless, one without

official statute, I don't? I don't expect her to go down the gesture

politics road whatsoever. Do I expect her to try to pursue her time

scale in pressure upon the Prime Minister, absolutely, starting next

week. Brian Taylor in Holyrood and David Porter at Westminster, thank

you very much. Figures obtained by the BBC show

that just over a third of the most serious adverse events recorded

in Scottish maternity units - including the deaths of babies -

have been fully reviewed. The health secretary said

she will write to all health boards Our correspondent Lucy Adams has

this exclusive report. We've been given a number of

reasons. This man's son died during childbirth a year-and-a-half ago.

The hospital in Kilmarnock admitted failings and said his death was

unnecessary but refused to carry out a full significant adverse event

review. Luca's death sown, as far as we're aware of being investigated as

a root cause analysis, an in-house departmental investigation. It

should have been escalated to a significant adverse event. What that

means is, that gives us some answers in terms of of the clinical failings

that contributed to Lucas's death but it doesn't go into the systemic

failings, within the wider governance and management of the NHS

which I believe underpinned the clinical failings. What are the

repercussions of, that if they are meant to be learning lessons? The

repercussions is that Lucas won't be the last baby to lose his life

unnecessarily and we won't be the last family to be left totally

devastated unnecessarily. There is a K-wide project to half the number of

avoidable baby deaths by 2020, its work has already found

inconsistencies. It's extremely important, not just for the

profession, obviously, but for the parents that have experienced the

tragic loss of a bibe. So it is extremely important that health

professionals get together in a multidisciplinary fashion and review

the case, to see if lessons can be learned and often listens will be

learned and that can be fed about back to the parents. The statistics

are almost impenetrable because #45e89 boards have been using

different criteria, different definitions and different types of

reviews. We found there were 7238 significant adverse events in

Scottish maternity hospitals in the past six years. -- 723. This

includes deaths of babies. But formal respruce conducted into just

271. But formal reviews. National guidelines suggests the most serious

events should be subject to full reviews. Some boards say they

conduct other types of review or hold regular meetings to discuss

events but this is not about figures, it's about families. The

Scottish Government says it will now write actual health boards to ensure

all cases like Lucas' are fully reviewed. Next year, from 1st April,

a new duty of candour will come into place, that will put a legal

requirement on board to report and publish significant adverse event

reviews in the same manner. So that will bring a legal requirement for

consistency but meantime it is absolutely right and proper that

health boards report on these in a way that is consistent and I'll

certainly follow up on these figures to ensure that that happens. For

Fraser Morton, the most important thing now is to ensure that other

families don't have to go through the same process.

Lucy Adams, reporting Scotland. Two men have gone on trial

in the Borders, accused of hunting foxes with hounds,

which has been illegal John McManus reports

from Jedburgh Sheriff Court. On the first day of the trial here

in Jed borough the chef e Sheriff ease a court was shown a film which

had been made by an poliee at the League Against Cruel Sports. :

It was said the film showed a hunt flushing a fox out of cover using a

terrier which was then chased by hounds and Mr Hill said it was

illegal under Scottish law because hounds can only be used to flush a

fox out, not to chase and attack T Mr Hill said that guns should be

used to despatch the fox but he had not seen evidence of any guns being

used that day but he said he had seen members of the hunt trying to

distract and get in the way of the fox as it tried to eskip with one

member even sticking his leg out to try to trip the fox up. Later in the

afternoon, Terence Hill was cross-examined by the defence

council, and he showed him an e-mail which had been sent by one of the

accused Jonathan Reilly, to 140 people, telling them about the date

in time and the location of this hunt in February. Terence Hill was

asked if that surprised him but he said, no, he said that the accused

had been breaking the lute in plain sight and that telling people about

the date and time of the hunt didn't really mean anything, because he

said a lot of people didn't follow hunts these days, especially if they

were during the week, so that in his opinion, law breaking could and was

taking place right across Scotland. The trial continues here at Jed

borough. Scotland's departing rugby coach

says he'll wait to assess his impact on the national team's fortunes till

after his final game. It's against Italy in

the Six Nations this weekend. While Cotter's reluctant to pass

comment on his legacy, others are more forthcoming,

as David Currie reports. He's been nick-named Stern Vern,

his last prematch media conference was never likely to be a weepy.

You've picked your final starting 15 as Scotland head coach, is there a

wee tear in your eye and a panning of emotion in your heart when you

were doing it? W on the team sheet we had obviously a number of

players, who we prnted sure if they were going to take the field this

weekend and we couldn't really name the team until this morning. In his

first season the Scots lost all of their matches, finishing bottom. In

his second, they won two, and came fourth. With two wins already in the

bag so far this year, he could bow out with a tournament best. Would

you judge three wins in your final Championship as a success? I said

two wins before the competition. The New Zealander said he will wait

until after Saturday's match it assess his overall time in charge.

Others are happy not to wait that long. I think just the work ethic,

and what he instills in boys and the way he carries himself has been a

huge influence in the squad. He has made a huge difference to the team,

the mentality of the team and there is a feel-good factor in Scottish

rugby now T wasn't there before he arrived. Could thor doesn't

officially leave his post until June. -- Cotter. How will he spend

the rest of his time for Scotland? Stand by for a robust response Try

to make myself useful until they tell me to hugger off.

A documentary on the founder of Europe's first Tibetan Buddhist

Centre at Eskdalemuir has premiered there today.

The feature-length film tells the remarkable story of the man

who was identified as a reincarnated Buddha master as a child

and murdered three and a half years ago at the age of 73.

At 19, with Tibet occupied by China and his life in danger, he walked

through the Himalayas into exile in India. We have very strong beliefs

we are not going to kill anything in India. We have very strong beliefs

order to survive. Akong reached the UK and formed the

school at Eskdalemuir S now there is a spectacular temple. From here he

spearheaded humanitarian projects through his charity. Akong was

murdered in China in October 2013, just after authorising the film of

his life to be made. When you get to meet someone with such quality that

he had, it's impossible, as a film-maker, not to think of making a

film about him, you know. The premier was attended by the current

Abbott, Akong's younger brother who survived the long walk to freedom

with him. All his siblings will be very proud that this film was made.

It'll go all over the world because he is known in every part of the

world. The film has become Akong's memorial a lasting tribute to a

remarkable life. Now let's look at the weather.

This was the rain from the morning clearing and by the afternoon we

were left with the showers in the north-west but decent sunshine in

between especially for southern and eastern areas. In the north-west the

showers were more frequent and heaviest. This poor sheep looked

equally confused with this passing shower. For the rest of the evening

we will continue to see clear spells and showers mainly across the

north-west, turning to snow over the hills and wintriness to low levels

in the Highlands and the Met Office have issued a yellow be aware

warning for icy patches mainly across the north-west as

temperatures for roads dip close to freezing. By the end of the night

showers merging into longer spells of rain across central belt.

Temperatures in towns and cities around 2-3 Celsius. Still breezy for

the west coast but tomorrow then, cloudy with some outbreaks of rain

mainly across the west. Quite a dismal day in store for south-west

and central belt. Only really the far north seeing some glimmers of

brightness. Here is the picture for tomorrow afternoon. Shetland not

fairing too bad. Most showers across Orkney. North of the Black Isle

seeing spells. South of the central Orkney. North of the Black Isle

belt and south-west, persistent rain for a time, a grey afternoon. And

temperatures 8-10. The winds will tend to ease and for tomorrow

evening, too, quite cloudy and wet weather continues. Some clearer

spells perhaps Forestieri the north-east. Ahead to the start of

the weekend, an area of low pressure developing a complicated weather

system -- for the north-east. A cloudy picture, the best of any

system -- for the north-east. A brightness most likely across the

far north and north-east corner. The rain persistent in the south-west

but it'll become milder, temperatures reaching 10 or 11.

Thank you very much. I'll be back with the headlines

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

on the team - right across the country -

have a very good evening. It was the most beautiful view

I've ever been through.