20/09/2014 BBC Weekend News

Gordon Brown urges Scotland to unite - after the divisions

The former prime minister insists promises to give Scotland more

powers will be honoured - despite a warning

from the SNP that the Westminster parties can't be trusted.

Promises that were made last week about change, about the delivery of

further devolution must be, and I believe, will ensure, will be

delivered. Muslim clerics make a new appeal

for the release of Alan Henning, the British aid worker held hostage

by Islamic State extremists. And 70 years on, thousands

of paratroopers take to the skies The former Prime Minister,

Gordon Brown, says Westminster politicians will honour

the timetable they've promised Speaking in Fife, he said civil

servants are already working on the devolution proposals, and a Scotland

Bill will be ready in January. David Cameron has suggested

constitutional change in Scotland and England should go side by side,

and Scottish nationalists fear the It does not look like a divided

nation. No rallies, no speeches, no fights on the streets of Glasgow

today. Scotland is getting back to normal. But that does not mean

politics has gone away. Gordon Brown made a promise before the

referendum, a No vote would still mean change, more powers for the

Scottish Parliament over tax and benefits. Today he insisted he would

keep his word. I want to give people in Scotland and assurance that when

they were told two weeks ago there would be delivery after decision

day, that delivery has started. There is a time to fight but there

is a time to unite. This is the time for Scotland to unite and see if it

can find common purpose. Mr Brown insists that will happen and soon.

But the proposed timetable for more devolution is tight. By Saint

Andrews Day, the 30th of November, the plans would be set out at

Westminster. The plans would be published by Burns night, the 25th

of January. It would only become law by the general election on the 7th

of May. But will it happen? Already, the parties are arguing about what

should be on the table during these talks. Labour are saying they should

focus solely on Scotland but the Prime Minister is arguing that

greater powers for England should be considered on the same timescale.

Labour's old foes in the SNP are sceptical about the process, saying

it is already behind schedule. Will they support the new powers? The

party will meet and take a view on all of these things. Remember, the

devolution proposals will come from the unionist parties. We are in

favour of Scottish independence if the proposals are strong, of course

we will not stand in the way. In the meantime, the SNP must find a new

leader. They will have a tough task bringing party and country

together. Scotland is still on a journey and it is not clear where it

is heading. The Labour leader Ed Miliband has

said there can be no "quick fix" programme of devolution in England,

Wales and Northern Ireland. He's proposing a "constitutional

convention" to discuss change, Carole Walker reports

from Manchester, where Labour supporters are gathering

for their annual party conference. Ed Miliband is under pressure to say

what he will do to ensure England gets a full deal. Will you back home

rule? He says that should be part of a wider rethink of decision-making

across the UK to be sorted out next year, not linked to the extra powers

pledged to Scotland. We know that yearning for change is their right

across our country. Constitutional change matters, but we know

something else matters even more. This country does not work for most

working people, and we, the Labour Party, are going to change it.

Labour-saving are committed to more devolution but even some of the

party's own MPs with seats in England's say that unless the

concerns of their voters are addressed now, they will be kicked

into the long grass. The Tories say any plans for Scotland must be

matched by a new deal for England. What Labour are offering is a

constitutional deal after the next election. We give Scotland full

devolution and we expect English people to swallow that without

getting anything back in return. That is not acceptable to the people

I represent or to the people of England as a whole. At this

Manchester restaurant they believe the recipe for success is to devolve

more power to local bodies. The purse strings can strolled --

controlled by central government. I believe that has the disadvantage

because of local groups want to tap into that resources, they have to go

all the way to London and it often takes a long time for anything to

get done. Cities like Manchester would like more power and money.

That is a very different issue to questions over who should vote on

English matters at Westminster, or the demands of Wales and Northern

Ireland, resolving the many complex arguments over the way the country

is run, is unlikely to be settled until after the election.

Well, Carole Walker joins us live now from Manchester. What are the

difficulties for the Labour leadership, this whole issue of

constitutional change? Certainly, it is difficult for Ed Miliband.

Certainly another senior Labour MP came out this afternoon and said it

was vital to see is what he called the historic opportunity after that

Scottish referendum to address the concerns of the English. He was

talking in particular about that question about whether Scottish MPs

should continue to be able to vote on matters which affect only the

English, when English MPs do not vote on matters which are devolved

to Scotland. This is a sensitive issue for Labour in particular,

because if you do restrict voting rights of Scottish MPs, that could

make things difficult for a future Labour government. They might

struggle to get some key bits of legislation through. What Ed

Miliband is insisting is for now, what is important is to deliver on

the promises that were made to Scotland, but David Cameron is

saying that should only be in Tandon with addressing the English

question. There is deadlocked and it is hard to see how that will be

resolved before the election. Thank you.

A group of Muslim clerics has made a new appeal to the extremist

group, Islamic State, to release the British hostage, Alan Henning.

He was kidnapped in Syria last December, while he was

In an online video, the clerics say that harming him

Salford taxi driver Alan Henning was delivering aid in Syria last year

when he was captured in December. He was working with a Muslim charity

and most of his colleagues were Muslim. Now three Imams have made a

direct appeal to the Islamic State on social media. They are calling

for his kidnappers to release him, saying he was working with a Muslim

charity and most of his colleagues were Muslim. Now three Imams have

made a direct appeal to the Islamic State on social media. They are

calling for his kidnappers to release him, saying he's wrong, is

impermissible, permit a bull according to sharia for a number of

reasons -- permissible. In Turkey plane carrying dozens of

hostages freed Islamic State arrived back in anger. This woman broke past

security officials to greet her relative. The group included women

and children who were captured by militants in Mosul. How they were

freed remains a mystery. It is understood no ransom was paid and no

force was used. Elsewhere in Turkey, tens of thousands of Kurds have been

pouring across the border from northern Syria. They fled their

homes ahead of a new onslaught by Islamic State fighters. Witnesses

said the militants were killing anyone left behind.

Britain and France have agreed new measures

intended to prevent illegal migrants reaching the UK from Calais.

The UK will provide ?12 million over three year, to help fund more

barriers around the port and tighter checks on vehicles.

Hundreds of paratroopers have jumped from planes

in the Netherlands to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem,

The original operation saw almost nine thousand allied servicemen land

behind German lines - where they were defeated

Robert Hall is in Arnhem for us this evening.

Blossoming above their heads of the old drop zone at Ginkel Heath, the

paratroopers of today saluting the paratroopers of the past. This is

the story of that glorious yet tragic operation... Operation Market

Garden was intended as a masterstroke, huge airborne assault

to seize a number of bridges, a rapid movement on the ground but the

British, north of Arnhem, quickly ran into trouble. They could lay off

and pick you off, kind of thing. If we wanted to get a gun out of

action, we had to send a patrol out and do it man to man, kind of thing.

These men know they were the lucky ones. Thousands were killed or

injured in the bridge. I found myself gazing down the barrel of a

tank. I did not like it very much! Anyway, this dam thing fired off,

practically blew the whole house up. In 1944 the red berets were welcomed

as liberators. To the Dutch, they are still heroes. But as they recall

those September days, remaining veterans questioned the loss of

life. It was a big mistake, a Bridge too far was the answer. The link

between past and present end-users. The honoured visitors grow fewer,

but this community has sworn never to forget them -- the link between

With all the sport, here's Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes

Good evening, let's start with football and there are six

matches in the Barclays Premier League today and plenty of goals.

The late kick off is still going on but Liverpool had the worst possible

start at Upton Park - 2-0 down to West Ham in the first seven minutes.

Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho the scorers.

Midway through the second half, Liverpool pulled one back through

Rakieem Salaam in. -- Rakieem Salaam.

Earlier, Danny Wellbeck scored his first goal for Arsenal as they

The England striker also set-up the opener for Mesut Ozil in a flurry

Some relief for Newcastle Manager Alan Pardew today, his side are off

the bottom of the table - but still without a league win this season.

They had to come from 2-0 down to draw with Hull.

Substitute Papiss Cisse scoring both their goals at St James Park.

Queens Park Rangers twice came from behind to draw 2-2

Niko Kranjcar with a superb free-kick two minutes

from time - his first league goal for three years.

There were no goals though at Turfmoor as Burnley

and Sunderland are still yet to win in the league this season.

And Southampton are up to second in the table after beating

Inverness Caledonian Thistle are back on top of the

Aberdeen won 3-0 at home to Ross County and Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow's Singapore Grand Prix

in pole position, pipping his title rival and team mate Nico

Rosberg by the tiniest margin in a thrilling final qualifying session.

Nick Parrott watched the action for us.

A spectacular location set the scene for a dramatic show. Lewis

Hamilton's battle with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg has been

worthy of a soap opera. But it was Felipe Massa who almost stole the

show. He set the fastest time during the first round of the final

session. Mercedes struggled at first but they managed to remember their

lines on the final runs, as Rosberg set the time to beat. Moments later,

Hamilton picked into the acclaim of the crowd by just seven thousands of

a second. It was the closest qualifying this season and a vital

one for the Britain at a circuit, where more often than not, the

driver starting from poll position goes on to win. There is so much

pressure. One small little mistake can lose a lot. Hamilton will be

hoping for back-to-back victories. Don't expect to horse race, with

Daniel Ricciardo close behind them in third.

London Cup. They beat Warwickshire by three wickets in the final of the

Gareth Breese hitting the winning runs on his last

appearance for the county as Durham easily reached Warwickshire's total

There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel, we are back