Browse content similar to 15/11/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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clean up the environment. Thank you all very much. Tonight on Newsnight | :00:10. | :00:14. | |
Scotland. I'm sorry. The First Minister gets his sums wrong on | :00:14. | :00:16. | |
education and is forced to apologise to Parliament. What does | :00:17. | :00:19. | |
this latest row mean for his government's hard-won reputation | :00:19. | :00:25. | |
for competence and trust? And we look at how Scotland's gardens, | :00:25. | :00:31. | |
parks and countryside might look without the ash tree. And we ask, | :00:31. | :00:33. | |
what's to stop disease decimating other native species, like the | :00:33. | :00:39. | |
Scots Pine? Good evening. Days like today are the kind that every | :00:39. | :00:44. | |
government dreads, but which they all have to face. The thing is, | :00:44. | :00:53. | |
this is one the government should have seen coming. After a week of | :00:53. | :00:56. | |
furious rows over the further education sector, which involved a | :00:56. | :00:58. | |
controversial resignation and claims of ministerial bullying, | :00:58. | :01:01. | |
Alex Salmond went into the bearpit of First Minister's Questions well- | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
briefed - or so he thought. That was at midday. By 5pm he was back | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
to apologise. Jamie McIvor takes up the story. It is the big night out | :01:08. | :01:11. | |
for Scotland's politicians. The politician of the Year Awards | :01:11. | :01:14. | |
celebrates their achievements. It is maybe just as well for the | :01:14. | :01:18. | |
Scottish government that there is no prize for a bad day at the | :01:18. | :01:23. | |
office. The row over colleges has been cooking for some time but this | :01:23. | :01:29. | |
week, it caught fire. Secretly recorded meetings. The resignation | :01:29. | :01:34. | |
of the chairman of one College, and claims of bullying against | :01:34. | :01:41. | |
education secretary, Mike Russell. So inevitably, it dominated First | :01:41. | :01:45. | |
Minister's questions. Had Mike Russell been correct to say that | :01:45. | :01:51. | |
the college budget had gone up? Cabinet Secretary was in fact wrong, | :01:51. | :01:55. | |
and isn't misleading Parliament the kind of offence back should cost | :01:55. | :02:04. | |
the minister his job? I think 505 - - 45 million, to 546 million is by | :02:04. | :02:08. | |
definition an increase in funding and that is as exact an answer as | :02:08. | :02:14. | |
anyone has given in any Parliament. Mr Russell, they duly Parliament? | :02:14. | :02:18. | |
And absolutely not. People are calling for you're resignation. | :02:18. | :02:23. | |
They should call for everybody's is that resignation, as the First | :02:23. | :02:28. | |
Minister said. It seemed like they had squeezed out of another Labour | :02:28. | :02:32. | |
challenge. That is an end to the matter. She totally and absolutely | :02:32. | :02:38. | |
failed to make the case. The so- called calls for Mike Russell's | :02:38. | :02:42. | |
resignation had been pre-announced by her special adviser on Twitter | :02:42. | :02:49. | |
This Morning. So you are not going anywhere, saying? Into the left. | :02:49. | :02:55. | |
a, Labour had other plans. Labour insisted that the minister was not | :02:55. | :03:00. | |
comparing like with like. College funding last year was set at Port - | :03:00. | :03:08. | |
- 540 poor �0.7 million, but that was topped up to a final total of | :03:08. | :03:13. | |
555.7 million. This year, the initial plan figure was 506.9 | :03:13. | :03:22. | |
million. The final figure is set at 546.4 million. That, Labour says, | :03:22. | :03:32. | |
:03:32. | :03:36. | ||
means that funding has been cut, not increased. So, after lunch. | :03:36. | :03:41. | |
They Government said that the fact were being checked and the First | :03:41. | :03:45. | |
Minister was back to admit he had used the wrong figure. I take full | :03:45. | :03:50. | |
responsibility for what I see in this chamber solely have taken this | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
earliest opportunity to correct the figure. The figures should have | :03:54. | :04:00. | |
been 556 million, not 545 million, and I apologise to the chamber for | :04:00. | :04:05. | |
this error. This time Alex Salmond left looking decidedly downbeat. An | :04:05. | :04:10. | |
apology would be embarrassing for any politician at any time, but | :04:10. | :04:16. | |
does he risk real damage? In one transcript I have been described as | :04:16. | :04:21. | |
a bare-faced liar. He has been forced to deny flying over advice | :04:21. | :04:26. | |
concerning an independent Scotland's membership of the EU, | :04:26. | :04:31. | |
and referred themselves for investigation. All governments | :04:31. | :04:35. | |
strive to have a reputation for competence and trust, and the SNP | :04:35. | :04:42. | |
worked hard to build one, but if days like today do lasting damage | :04:42. | :04:52. | |
:04:52. | :04:52. | ||
to the Government's image, it could be difficult to repair it. I'm | :04:52. | :04:55. | |
joined now by Angela Constance, SNP Education minister who also has | :04:55. | :04:57. | |
responsibility for youth employment matters, and by Labour's Education | :04:57. | :04:59. | |
spokesman, Hugh Henry. I could not help but notice you were standing | :04:59. | :05:04. | |
in the lift as both of them got in. Deja correct them and said that | :05:04. | :05:11. | |
what they it said outside was nonsense? -- did you correct them. | :05:11. | :05:16. | |
That was important that the First Minister had the decency to come | :05:16. | :05:22. | |
back and say that to air his human. So you did not point that out? | :05:22. | :05:27. | |
I did not, but the facts speak for themselves. The First Minister | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
returned to the chamber by teatime and put the record straight, | :05:32. | :05:36. | |
accepted responsibility, made a very gracious apology to Parliament, | :05:36. | :05:43. | |
and I think it is very sad that that cannot be accepted. Was it | :05:43. | :05:50. | |
accepted? A was forced to come back. We raised a point of order. At | :05:50. | :05:54. | |
lunchtime he said if Johann Lamont was wrong. He has not apologised to | :05:54. | :06:01. | |
her. It is not just Alex Salmond that misled parliament. Mike | :06:01. | :06:10. | |
Russell did, as well. You, the government minister, what is Mike | :06:10. | :06:17. | |
Russell apologising for? As I understand it, Mike Russell | :06:17. | :06:21. | |
recently wrote to the education committee with the facts, as laid | :06:21. | :06:26. | |
out by the First Minister at teatime. What bike will bustle will | :06:26. | :06:31. | |
be doing is writing to the presiding officer -- Mike Russell, | :06:31. | :06:38. | |
is to apologise for the mistake he made in the chamber some months ago. | :06:38. | :06:45. | |
But the most recent backs... I am not getting this at all. What | :06:45. | :06:50. | |
exactly is Mike Russell apologising for? No, you kill me. No, you tell | :06:50. | :06:55. | |
me, you are in the Government. think Mike Russell has an excellent | :06:55. | :07:02. | |
track record... Might also was supposed to be apologising as well | :07:02. | :07:07. | |
and I am asking you what he was apologising for. He will be writing | :07:07. | :07:12. | |
to the presiding officer, with regard to the comments that he made | :07:12. | :07:18. | |
to a member in Parliament in JUN, repeating the same factual | :07:19. | :07:25. | |
inaccuracy that the First Minister did earlier today. The most recent | :07:25. | :07:28. | |
information Mike Russell provided to the education committee puts on | :07:28. | :07:34. | |
record the facts as quoted former, as quoted by the cost Minister at | :07:34. | :07:40. | |
teatime. What is Mike Russell apologising for? He should be | :07:40. | :07:44. | |
apologising for misleading Parliament, but you cannot believe | :07:44. | :07:52. | |
anything he or Alex Salmond says. Because, in JUN, Mike Russell said | :07:53. | :08:00. | |
there were no cuts. In November, yesterday, he said I never said | :08:00. | :08:05. | |
there were no cuts. He flatly contradicted themselves. The | :08:05. | :08:09. | |
ministerial code says that you should, at the air least | :08:09. | :08:14. | |
opportunity, come back and apologised to Parliament. He misled | :08:14. | :08:18. | |
Parliament in June, presented information to the committee in | :08:18. | :08:22. | |
October and did not bother coming back to apologise until the episode | :08:22. | :08:28. | |
blew up today. It is farcical, disingenuous and dishonest. | :08:28. | :08:37. | |
Labour Party are overplaying their hand here. I am trying to explain. | :08:37. | :08:44. | |
The inaccuracy of one figure in one briefing, the inaccurate figure the | :08:44. | :08:47. | |
First Minister used today, was the same inaccurate figure that Mike | :08:47. | :08:53. | |
Russell used earlier in the chamber. It is a comparison between one year | :08:53. | :09:01. | |
to the next. It is an and accuracy of 1.7% out of a budget of �500 | :09:01. | :09:09. | |
million. Alex Salmond got the figures wrong. That Mike Russell | :09:09. | :09:19. | |
deliberately get the figures wrong as well, was it coincidence? People | :09:19. | :09:23. | |
can you the inaccuracy for themselves. But, what has been | :09:23. | :09:29. | |
blown out of proportion is one wrong figure, comparing one you | :09:29. | :09:38. | |
have to do next. That is like somebody saying I or �10 million, | :09:38. | :09:44. | |
Ashley it is �9 million, but only got one figure wrong. It is one | :09:44. | :09:53. | |
figure out of a �500 billion budget. I have got the document they | :09:53. | :09:57. | |
produced. It is not about the Budget in general. It was a | :09:57. | :10:01. | |
specific reply from Mike bustled to a letter from the education | :10:01. | :10:06. | |
committee, -- Mike Russell, and these are the only figures in it, | :10:06. | :10:11. | |
so it is not like it is in the context of a tiny detail of a huge | :10:11. | :10:17. | |
budget. This is specifically about further education. It is one figure | :10:17. | :10:23. | |
comparing when you to the next, in further education. -- comparing one | :10:23. | :10:31. | |
year to the next. The people of Scotland accept that... The | :10:31. | :10:36. | |
important thing is that politicians put their hands up and accept | :10:36. | :10:40. | |
responsibility, apologise to Parliament which, in this instance | :10:40. | :10:45. | |
was entirely appropriate, and take responsibility and put their hands | :10:45. | :10:51. | |
up. You can see why people want to take recordings of meetings with | :10:51. | :10:58. | |
these people. I think that is being silly. We have two people making | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
the same mistake months apart. He chose to ignore one of the figures | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
and take a different figure from that :, because it suited him. This | :11:07. | :11:17. | |
:11:17. | :11:22. | ||
man has form with these mistakes. - - from that column. The SNP was | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
supposed to be different. We're supposed to believe that when Alex | :11:26. | :11:30. | |
Salmond said he got legal advice in terms of the debate, any normal | :11:30. | :11:34. | |
person would think that he had got legal advice and now when he | :11:34. | :11:38. | |
misquotes figures to Parliament we unjust supposed to accept it. As | :11:38. | :11:42. | |
you said, you only got one number wrong. It is the sort of nonsense | :11:42. | :11:48. | |
we're used to getting from politicians up here and down there. | :11:48. | :11:52. | |
You are supposed to be different. We are different. We should be | :11:52. | :11:56. | |
flattered that our political opponents judge us by higher | :11:56. | :12:01. | |
standards, because there have been numerous cases of ministers going | :12:01. | :12:04. | |
back to Parliament to put the record straight, where an error has | :12:05. | :12:09. | |
been made. We are different, and we will be judged on our record on | :12:09. | :12:17. | |
delivering for young people... One Modern apprenticeships, on | :12:17. | :12:22. | |
opportunities for all. The way that Alex Salmond operates is that he | :12:22. | :12:29. | |
determines the truth, and he determines the facts. You are happy | :12:29. | :12:36. | |
to let this go, now, are you? Have you got your pound of flesh? | :12:36. | :12:40. | |
Alex Salmond has misled parliament, and Mike Russell has misled | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
parliament, and there are further questions to be asked. Angela can | :12:44. | :12:48. | |
help to clear this up, if she would agree to release all the papers | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
given to Alex Salmond to help him prepare for First Minister's | :12:52. | :12:56. | |
questions, you may see the facts he had available to him, and that with | :12:56. | :13:05. | |
clear red up. -- that would clear it up. This Government has a great | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
record on transparency. This is Scotland and there is nothing that | :13:09. | :13:18. | |
:13:19. | :13:27. | ||
can be kept secret in a small The Rumsey business - it is that | :13:27. | :13:34. | |
finished he, as far as you're concerned? I think that Mike | :13:34. | :13:40. | |
Russell overplayed his hand. He is content condemning a hen for taping, | :13:40. | :13:46. | |
that is in the public domain. It was picked on the internet by | :13:46. | :13:53. | |
Scotland's colleges. I think it was an abuse of power. Would you accept | :13:53. | :14:03. | |
:14:03. | :14:07. | ||
this is an even more absurd row? do not wish and any ill will, but I | :14:07. | :14:15. | |
do not think his conduct was becoming of his position. The issue | :14:15. | :14:21. | |
is about recording something in secret and I think he has done the | :14:21. | :14:28. | |
right thing by choosing to resign. I wish him well for the future. | :14:28. | :14:33. | |
will cheer you up that Nicola Sturgeon just one apology of the | :14:33. | :14:39. | |
Year award. Beck does not bother me in the slightest. We started the | :14:39. | :14:41. | |
week speculating what Scotland's future broadcasting landscape might | :14:41. | :14:44. | |
look like. Tonight, we wonder what our physical landscape might look | :14:44. | :14:47. | |
like without the ash tree. This week, the Scottish government | :14:47. | :14:50. | |
convened a special summit meeting to discuss how to tackle the ash | :14:50. | :14:53. | |
dieback disease. It has already been detected here and, if it goes | :14:53. | :14:55. | |
unchecked, could kill millions of trees and change the face of | :14:55. | :15:04. | |
countryside, parks and gardens. But is it already too late? If it | :15:04. | :15:09. | |
continues to spread, experts warn that ash dieback could prove as | :15:09. | :15:18. | |
deadly as the Dutch elm disease outbreak of the 1970s. Last week, | :15:18. | :15:22. | |
this forest in Dumfries and Galloway was added to the number of | :15:22. | :15:30. | |
cases throughout Scotland of the chalara dieback fungus. The | :15:30. | :15:33. | |
Environment Minister welcomed representatives from various | :15:33. | :15:37. | |
forestry groups, conservation bodies and Landowners Association's | :15:37. | :15:41. | |
two best work out how best to tackle the threat. The Scottish | :15:41. | :15:46. | |
government has already conceded that eradicating the disease | :15:46. | :15:52. | |
entirely is probably unrealistic. Unfortunately, that is unlikely, | :15:52. | :15:59. | |
now it is in the wider environment. What we now have to do is to try | :15:59. | :16:06. | |
and stop the spread of that. We have to try and ensure that ash | :16:06. | :16:11. | |
trees remain in our forests and continue to contribute to the | :16:11. | :16:20. | |
ecosystem. So far, at the disease has been confirmed that 14 sites in | :16:20. | :16:24. | |
Scotland, including a private nursery in the north-east. There | :16:24. | :16:30. | |
are plans to re-test the trees in these areas to see how far the | :16:30. | :16:35. | |
chalara dieback fungus has spread. Most of those affected are saplings | :16:35. | :16:42. | |
in new developments. But two of them involve mature trees in their | :16:42. | :16:47. | |
natural environment. This makes the task of containing it even more | :16:47. | :16:52. | |
difficult. For now, they will be left alone in the hope of that the | :16:52. | :17:00. | |
strain of ash trees resistant to the disease could be found. | :17:00. | :17:03. | |
Joining me now from our Edinburgh studio is Angus Yarwood, the | :17:03. | :17:13. | |
:17:13. | :17:13. | ||
Government Affairs Manager of the Scottish Woodland Trust. What is | :17:13. | :17:19. | |
alarming is that no one seems to believe Seriously that a ash trees | :17:20. | :17:29. | |
:17:30. | :17:30. | ||
of Britain can be saved. That is G two in the larger part. Most of the | :17:30. | :17:35. | |
at ash trees in Scotland may be affected. But there will be a | :17:35. | :17:39. | |
minority of trees which have a natural resilience to chalara | :17:39. | :17:44. | |
dieback fungus and that is what we have to invest in. Do we actually | :17:44. | :17:50. | |
know that or is that something we are a sort of guessing it? We will, | :17:50. | :17:57. | |
the research from Europe, where the started, suggests that there is a | :17:57. | :18:01. | |
strain that are resistant to it. That is what the science is telling | :18:01. | :18:10. | |
us. How will long would that take to find these strains? Presumably, | :18:10. | :18:16. | |
you find some cheese which do not tally, but the you then have to | :18:16. | :18:24. | |
surmise that that is definitely the resistant type and then clone them? | :18:24. | :18:31. | |
Yes, at the meeting on Tuesday, the identified the control plan for | :18:31. | :18:40. | |
this. What was good was that there looks as if diversity is at the | :18:40. | :18:45. | |
heart of the action the are taken. For example, mature trees will not | :18:45. | :18:50. | |
be taken down at the heart disease. That is important, because mature | :18:50. | :18:58. | |
cheese can lover lot longer than you might imagine. A -- mature | :18:58. | :19:07. | |
these can live a lot longer. there elm trees growing in Britain | :19:07. | :19:14. | |
which where resistant to Dutch elm disease? I are not certain about | :19:14. | :19:20. | |
that. But as regards ash trees, there is a strain of resistance. We | :19:20. | :19:30. | |
:19:30. | :19:32. | ||
have seen that in Europe. We know there is the cry chance that some | :19:32. | :19:36. | |
cheese without a cluster that are, will not be showing signs of the | :19:36. | :19:43. | |
disease. The best way for people to educate themselves about it is to | :19:43. | :19:47. | |
go to the Forestry Commission website about it. There is a lot of | :19:47. | :19:52. | |
information about how it can be identified. Trees which are not | :19:52. | :19:56. | |
diseased were just sitting within the deceased Strand are very | :19:56. | :20:06. | |
:20:06. | :20:08. | ||
important. Just before people start singing one of their favourite | :20:08. | :20:15. | |
songs, row and trees are not affected by this? Nor, they are not. | :20:15. | :20:23. | |
This is the common ash trees which are affected. What about Scots | :20:23. | :20:27. | |
pine? There are all sorts of stories going around that this | :20:27. | :20:36. | |
disease could affect it in the future. Yes, there is the different | :20:36. | :20:46. | |
:20:46. | :20:46. | ||
disease affecting the at Scots pine and that is the big concern. But we | :20:46. | :20:50. | |
are putting all these plans in place for up ash trees and we would | :20:50. | :20:55. | |
also like to see the same process been adopted and set in motion and | :20:55. | :21:00. | |
p ready to use for other diseases when the arrive. It is inevitable | :21:00. | :21:07. | |
we will probably get more tree diseases in the years to come. | :21:07. | :21:12. | |
Please do not laugh at this question. Is it possible to | :21:12. | :21:20. | |
actually sort of vaccinate trees in some way? Not, I am afraid not. So | :21:20. | :21:26. | |
they is no way we could actually treat the Scots pine, for example, | :21:26. | :21:35. | |
before the disease arrived, so that they could be protected? Not, at | :21:35. | :21:43. | |
the moment, we do not have that capability. Okay, thank you very | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
much. Now, a quick look at tomorrow's | :21:46. | :21:56. | |
:21:56. | :21:56. |