07/12/2011 Reporting Scotland

Welcome to Reporting Scotland. Tonight on your national news:

Jailed for life, the serial offender with a history of violence

who murdered Lanarkshire student Reamonn Gormley in an unprovoked

attack. Scotland prepares to be battered again, a red alert from

the met office with a warning of 90 mile an hour winds for tomorrow.

And later in the programme: there's been another murder. Another one.

The longest ever said of Taggart of all time. The Channel five

presenter Matthew Wright is forced to apologise after making these

comments about the murder of a teenager on the Western Isles.

And delivering another little angel, the mother who's been in labour for

three weeks producing sixteen babies.

The man who murdered the Glasgow University student Reamonn Gormley

in Blantyre last February has been sentenced to life in prison. Daryn

Maxwell will have to serve at least 19 years before he can be

considered for parole. In a moving statement, Raemonn's family told

how they think of him first thing in the morning, last thing at night

and a hundred times in between. Our Home Affairs correspondent, Reevel

Alderson reports. Arriving to hear his sentence, Mr

Maxwell already has three sentences for violence, he must serve at

least 19 years. Barry Smith was armed with a chisel and although he

did not use it he admitted the couple, side. He has been jailed

for eight years and three months. Raymond's family issued a statement

saying they are still struggling to come to terms with his death. The

statement continued. Two His death deeply affected the

community, with hundreds attending his funeral. The priest who

conducted the service said that has affected his family, whose

suffering from his death. family will never be the same again,

they will never forget. A good family, could community support.

They will not wake up from this nightmare. The devastation was felt

on the other side of the world, where he had taught in a primary

school. The head teacher remembers him as an inspirational figure

loved by the community. Even now, all this time later, not just the

school but the whole village. All of the young people in the school,

tears everywhere. He was stabbed in the neck by Maxwell at the end of

this lane. He staggered back to the pub where he had watched football

that evening, but as he lay dying from the fatal wound, he pleaded

with those around him, please don't let me die. Within a few days of

his murder a walk was commemorated to remember his life. 3000 people

took part. It has turned into the anti- knife group, Campaign for

change. His family have said there has been some sort of justice but

it has brought no comfort. Gales of up to ninety-miles-an-hour

are set to rip through central Scotland tomorrow. The Met Office

has taken the rare step of issuing a Red Warning. And ministers are

warning of serious disruption to road and rail services.

There's a very high like a it of travel destruction, including

closes of Bridges, so we are advising people that we are putting

in place provisions. We can move debris away from transport

corridors, and we have chainsaws to make sure we can get any debris

away from Julie Peacock is at the Forth Bridges for us now. Julie,

what more can you tell us? expect this storm to break -- bring

big problems. Dangerous driving conditions, even the possibility of

power cuts in some areas. The storm is expected to hit between 3pm and

6pm tomorrow, and people are beginning to make their way home.

Police are telling drivers that congestion on the road will be

extremely difficult. Expect some serious delays. Transport: are

saying you may as well forget about the bridge has like the one behind

me being open. As for the Rail, we are expecting delays, ScotRail are

telling people to check before they travel. How rare are discussed at

this time of year? We can expect a Red Warning tomorrow, and normally

once or twice a year, but in Shetland she may wonder what all of

the fuss is about. On the 1st December were gusts of 90 mph, but

this warning is about where it hits, the central belt where there is a

large population, big buildings and where the possibility for damages

far greater. The government are taking this very seriously, holding

a cabinet meeting tonight to see how this will impact on other

services like schools. Some councils, like Stirling, have

decided to close all of their schools and lunchtime tomorrow.

the latest on school closures and travel disruptions you can go to

The family of a teenager murdered on Lewis have condemned the Channel

5 presenter Matthew Wright for comments made on his show about

their son's death. Liam Aitcheson's body was discovered in a derelict

building on the outskirts of Stornoway last week. It was the

first murder there since 1968. Raymond Buchanan reports.

Police are still trying to find out who killed Liam. The 16 year-old

body was discovered over a week ago in this derelict building. Murders

are rare in the Western Isles, so rare they make headlines across the

UK. On Channel 5 yesterday, the death featured in a paper review on

Matthew Wright's programme. first murder in the Hebrides, on

the Isle of Lewis. The first one for 40 years. The longest episode

of Taggart of all time. His family reacted to the broadcast with a

statement to police. We are very disappointed with the offensive

nature of the programme, this is very upsetting and insulting. Not

just for the family but the whole community of the Western Isles.

This morning Matthew Wright apologised. Some of you have been

upset about the Commons yesterday in the paper review. I would like

to apologise if that is the case. I did not want to belittle anybody.

Just a few minutes later on a chat about controversial celebrities, he

suggested he was being crucified by complainers. People are trying to

now me to the cross to shut me up. I would like him to see -- I would

like to see him off the air. He has gone way too far, not good enough.

He apologised sort of, but in a very grudging manner. Disgusted by

his behaviour. A off, still decide if the broadcasting code has been

broken. -- off,. You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC.

Still to come on the programme. The number of teachers working in

Scotland's schools has fallen to its lowest point since 2007.

In sport: Celtic give an international defender a trial.

Find out why a former first minister says there's a wind of

change sweeping through Scottish football, stay tuned for the

A mother accused of murdering her baby son and then pretending he was

alive for months, has told a court how the boy's birth had "saved her

life". Kimberley Hainey was giving evidence in her own defence at the

High Court in Glasgow. She denied that she left Declan alone

overnight; claiming she only left him for short periods of time.

Catriona Renton reports. She was composed, well-spoken and

articulate when she went into the witness box to give evidence on her

own behalf this afternoon. She moved here it, with her five-month-

old son Declan in September 2008, she admitted to the court that she

had previously had problems with drink and drugs and was on the

methadone programme, but she said having Declan saved her life. She

said "I was happy, he was happy." she said everything revolved around

her child, she just wanted to get her and Declan settled, to come off

the methadone programme and get a job. To get Declan into nursery,

and have a happy family life. Evidence has already been heard

that because of her drug problems she was given intensive support at

the family matters project, which at the time was based here in

Paisley. But she said she did not feel she needed their help and she

wanted to put that chapter of her life away. It was easier to us to

She claimed it was only for short periods or when she would nip

across the road or have a baby monitor with her. She denies all of

the charges against her and will continue to give evidence tomorrow.

The number of teachers working in Scotland's schools has fallen to

its lowest point since 2007. And the vast majority of school

children are now being taught in buildings rated good or

satisfactory. Just two of the findings among a raft of statistics

released today. Our education correspondent Seonag Mackinnon's

here to tell us what they tell us about how well our children are

being taught. The Number of teachers is down 656

on last year. And down 3659 since the SNP came to power in 2007.

That's partly due to falling numbers of pupils. And, the numbers

spending their first 3 years of primary school in class sizes of 18

or less is also down to just over 20%. The fact children do more time

on an individual basis of the teacher helps. It is important, for

the young the years. I would prefer a smaller classes, but I can

understand. Cutting class sizes in early primary, a goal for the

Scottish government since it came to power. As of late it has been an

aspiration, but the figures today show it is very much that. Under

the circumstances it is very hard to do. But all parents and

educators except that small class sizes are important, but how we get

to that and how we keep making progress is an issue of our

financial times but we will keep pushing. A tough financial climate

also means new teachers are struggling to find secure, long-

term jobs. Far more difficult for new teachers to get permanent jobs.

Many more into temporary. That is very insecure, once that gets

Around, fewer people will want to enter teaching and there will be

problems getting good quality teachers and the future. This

teacher has recently qualified and is trying to find a permanent job.

He still has to live with his parents, because short-term walk

often comes out of the blue and is badly paid. Every morning I hope

for a phone call, if nothing, I will sit and wait and hope I get

work in the afternoon. A children's lives can be determined by how well

the education service performs. So, what about exam results? Well

the number passing 5 good Standard Grades is static at 78% The number

passing three highers is up slightly to 26 %. That's partly

down to a tough job market encouraging more to stay on at

school. The good news, 360 of those schools now have refurbished or

Some of the other stories across Some of the other stories across

Scotland this Wednesday... Calls to build a stretch of the

controversial new Beauly to Denny powerline underground have been

rejected by the Scottish government. Energy Minister Fergus Ewing

instead passed plans to reduce the visual impact of the line of 50-

metre-high pylons in the Stirling area.

A claim that offshore workers are entitled to extra paid leave has

been rejected by the Supreme Court in London. The UK's highest court

has ruled against workers seeking paid leave on top of their two

weeks-on, two weeks-off shift pattern. Unions warn the decision

could lead to industrial action. Drink-driver Ross Parker killed a

charity worker after going down the wrong side of a motorway for a mile,

the High Court in Glasgow has heard. Parker ploughed into Margo

Boulazreg's car on the M8 in the city, as she took her son to a

night out with friends.The 36-year- old admitted causing death by

dangerous driving and was remanded in custody until sentencing next

The vast size of China and the speed of its economic growth has

opened up huge opportunities for Scottish business - and not just in

whisky and salmon exports. With one billion consumers, it also

represents a vast market for Scotland's renewable energy sector.

China is on the fast track to replacing America as the world's

largest economy. It could happen in two years. From the window of this

21st century train, you can see that high-speed expansion brings

with it a lot of it environmental cost. The economy is growing almost

as fast as this 200 miles per hour bullet train, but desperately needs

to find new and cleaner sources of energy to fuel its development. It

still has a number of wind farms, such as this one on the border with

Mongolia. It is making advantage of Scottish technology. We have got a

lot of clients who used to work on offshore wind projects who have now

come back to work on land project. We have grown together in the

industry with them. Today, the First Minister visited the first

solar Power and city. Just as China leads the world and solar Power, we

lead the world in wind and wave power. I am going to announce a new

initiative in that. The scale of China's Energy Challenge is awesome.

It will take a lot of renewable power to replace the 3 billion

tonnes of coal that it uses each year. But that could be a mine of

opportunity for those at the cutting edge of new environmental

technology. Scotland's councils paid more than

�750,000 to school bus operators during last winter for services

which were cancelled because of the weather. Figures obtained by BBC

Scotland also show wide variations in the contracts local authorities

have in place for providing the service. Today, all councils are

being called on to review their contracts. The are the mainstay of

rural education, but notoriously fragile. When bad weather strikes,

school bus runs are often closed down before the schools. In many

cases, the operators are still being paid. We have got payments to

make, such as to the drivers, to the insurance and one rates for a

or property. We simply cannot say that we cannot pay similar because

the weather was bad. Of the total paid, Aberdeen Show had the biggest

bill, at �317,000. Second was West Globe Inn, 114,000 and Perth and

Kinross, just shy of �90,000. Added together, it tends to �767,000.

these times of tight public spending, there has to be a look

into this. In Aberdeenshire, the staff pays half for the first 10

days of the Year that services are cancelled. It is a bit built in

resilience, so that the contractors no one advance what the situation

is and can budget for that. Today, at least one authority says it

plans to review future future agreements to get the best value

for money. Now, let us get the So Scotland failed to qualify for

the European Championships, crowds are dwindling and some of our top

clubs are in financial difficulties. But do not despair, the future is

much brighter, according to the man the Scottish FA asked to recommend

changes to the running of our national game. Six months since the

SFA accepted Henry McLeish's proposals, he says a wind of change

is now sweeping across our national game. The former First Minister has

been out of politics for a while, but he still has plenty on his mind.

There is the important stuff like the report future of Scottish

football. More progress has been made in the last six months than in

the last 60 years. Certainly, the wind of change is blowing through

the football authorities and, particularly, the Scottish Football

Association. On his recommendation, the have introduced a performance

director, the Dutchman who has said he will bring in total football at

all level. It has also modernised the committee system and the

disciplinary procedure. Some aspects have not been brought in

yet. Creating 1 body to run Scottish Football, by reducing the

top league from 12 teams down to 10 and introducing a pyramid system so

that smaller clubs can get involved in the senior set-up. I think he

knows in his heart of Hearts that if it happens within the four years

it will be good. He is asking for this in two years. Part of this is

because of the difficult financial situation, which would inevitably

delay some aspects. See you in six months' time.

Celtic have taken the Algerian international defender Rafik

Halliche on trial. The player has fallen out of favour at the English

club Fulham. The 25-year-old partnered former Rangers player

Madjid Bougherra in central defence for Algeria during the last World

Cup. Hearts have offered contract

extensions to at least four first- team players, even though they have

not paid them their full wages for November.

Meanwhile, a number of players are speaking to the players' union

about their non-payment, saying they will have difficulties in

meeting financial commitments if they do not get paid within the

next ten days. Scotland's women curlers are

through to the medal play-offs at the European Curling Championships

in Moscow, but the men's future is hanging in the balance. David

Murdoch's rink ended the round- robin stage with a win over Sweden,

but defeat by France in this match earlier means they now have to wait

to see results elsewhere before they will know if they can progress

to the play-offs. Now to the story of the mother who

has been in labour for three weeks. So far, she has given birth to 16

babies - and even more were due today. Gavin Walker went along to

see if Ann the Angel Shark, the first of her species to conceive

and give birth in captivity, could deliver four more of her endangered

young ones. Mitterrand, the world record-breaking angel shark. She

gave birth to the first babies end captivity. There are four babies

remaining unborn. We are hoping to get the last pops out. They are

using the lure of putting a camera into the uterus and pulling it out,

hoping that the Sharks will fall. Thankfully, they did not have to

wait too long. It is such that unique opportunity to get a record

of how big the half when they're born. It is great information that

we can use for subsequent pregnancies. So far, the young ones

seem to be responding well to life on the outside. Meanwhile, she is

in line for a well-earned rest. Get that one in some tea and toast!

Winter was a long time coming, but it seems we hav hit it with a

vengance. Here is Christopher with Yes, we start with the earth

weather warning from the Met Office that we have been hearing about. We

start tomorrow with some cool and clear conditions overnight. During

the night, at heavier rain operation and that is going to

bring with it some snow and ice, which will wish East word. Behind

it, slightly milder conditions, so will be falling here as heavy rain.

However, the focus of our attention has to be on the wind. It is due to

this rapidly decreasing area of low pressure pushing in from the

Atlantic. We can see the wind whipping around on the map.

Tomorrow, a way it was rush hour across most of the country. As we

go through the morning until lunchtime, the wind will reach its

height, from 3 o'clock on words. Nearly all the country will be

affected. There will be an amber warning for everywhere, except

Orkney and Shetland. But in the Central Belt, that warning will

become red, with gusts expected between 18 miles and 90 miles per

hour. What does that mean? It could mean power outages, structural

damage and the cancellation of transport services. As we got into

the evening, the low pressure will pull away and the wind will begin

to ease down for most of us. From the pet pressure Chard, that the it

will push towards Scandinavia and take the wind with that. We will

see an arctic plunge in temperatures towards the end of the

week. We will see heavy snow showers in the northern part of the

country and down the west coast. 10 be just three or four degrees and

it will feel bitterly cold with the wind in the north. I will be back

with the latest detail at 1030. Now, just before seven o'clock, a

summary of tonight's top stories... The man who murdered the Glasgow

University student Reamonn Gormley in Blantyre last February has been

sentenced to life in prison. Daryn Maxwell will have to serve at least

19 years before he can be considered for parole.

David Cameron has again promised to protect Britain's interests at this

week's crucial EU summit on the Eurozone debt crisis. He is coming

under increasing pressure from his own backbenchers, who urged him

during Prime Minister's Questions to oppose further integration.

Gales of up to 90 miles an hour are set to hit central Scotland

tomorrow. The Met Office has taken the rare step of issuing a Red