:00:23. > :00:28.Welcome to Reporting Scotland. Tonight: Alex Salmond had a good
:00:28. > :00:32.dinner West... Opposition parties called for an immediate
:00:32. > :00:40.investigation into claims that Alex Salmond offered to lobby the UK
:00:40. > :00:44.Government over the Murdoch Comp -- empire's bitter takeover BSkyB. The
:00:44. > :00:49.Scottish Football Association slap a transfer ban on Rangers after
:00:49. > :00:59.their investigation into the club and its owner. It is a disgrace.
:00:59. > :00:59.
:00:59. > :01:04.Despicable. I think there is an The club's administrators have
:01:05. > :01:08.lodged an urgent appeal. Also tonight: More than 40 years later,
:01:09. > :01:14.David Hayman returns to the Glasgow the 80 which critics said he was in
:01:14. > :01:18.danger of closing last time round. And we will be live in Hampden work
:01:19. > :01:23.Spain will come calling at the London Olympics this summer.
:01:23. > :01:28.Alex Salmond has strongly denied any impropriety end his
:01:28. > :01:35.relationship with Rupert Murdoch and his bed to take over BSkyB.
:01:35. > :01:38.James Murdoch, Mr Murdoch's son, and until recently the chairman of
:01:38. > :01:41.BSkyB, told the Leveson Inquiry into press standards that the First
:01:41. > :01:45.Minister had offered to lobby the UK Government for the controversial
:01:45. > :01:49.takeover to go ahead. Mr Salmond said there was never any contact
:01:49. > :01:55.with the UK Government over the matter. But opposition parties say
:01:55. > :02:02.he has got questions to answer. Alex Salmond has repeatedly faced
:02:02. > :02:06.criticism. This controversy centres on the former bit for full control
:02:07. > :02:12.of the satellite broadcaster BSkyB. The issue was raised today at the
:02:12. > :02:15.Levison inquiry into press ethics. James Murdoch denied that the
:02:15. > :02:19.culture secretary Jeremy Hunt had acted as a cheerleader for the bed
:02:19. > :02:23.within the UK Government. But he did agree that the company had been
:02:23. > :02:29.seeking supportive voices, one of them was the First Minister Alex
:02:29. > :02:33.Salmond. He had offered to be supportive as at a Scottish
:02:33. > :02:40.politician and leader. Now the responsibility had shifted to Mr
:02:40. > :02:47.Hunt, we were in the under Commons -- undertaking says. FPC and other
:02:48. > :02:52.places, Mr Hunt's adviser suggested we should find allies, and Mr
:02:52. > :03:02.Salmond had already said that he thought that this might be a good
:03:02. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:10.transaction for Scotland. But Mr Murdoch denied the suggestion that
:03:10. > :03:17.the suggestion from Mr Salmond was in return for our -- for anything
:03:17. > :03:21.else. I can tell you that it is false. The News Corporation bid for
:03:21. > :03:26.BSkyB was abandoned in July last year as the row broke over phone
:03:26. > :03:31.hacking. Mr Salmond's opponents said he had questions to answer.
:03:31. > :03:35.would appear the First Minister has put his office at the disposal of
:03:35. > :03:39.Rupert Murdoch and News International in a commercial bed.
:03:39. > :03:44.It now turns out that our First Minister has a working relationship
:03:44. > :03:49.with Rupert Murdoch, a man responsible for her phone hacking
:03:49. > :03:56.right across the UK. It is time Mr Salmon turned up in Parliament and
:03:56. > :04:02.explain himself. Tonight Mr Salmond denied any wrongdoing. I met with a
:04:02. > :04:12.man dot about employment in Scotland. What is in the e-mails is
:04:12. > :04:12.
:04:12. > :04:17.chatter with News International. I never phoned or spoke to Jeremy
:04:17. > :04:21.Hunt on the issue. So the conspiracy theory falls on the
:04:21. > :04:26.first hurdle. He also confirmed he remains willing to give evidence to
:04:26. > :04:30.the Leveson Inquiry. Bryan joins me now. So I'll miss
:04:30. > :04:37.that -- Alex Salmond has issued at stamen tonight. Does that answer
:04:37. > :04:43.all the questions? Not at all. He says the prospect of that his staff
:04:43. > :04:48.of utter nonsense. Get there are points he wishes to ask about, he
:04:48. > :04:57.will answer them later. Mr Salmond is not denying he was in contact
:04:57. > :05:01.with Mr Murdoch and his son. He is not explicitly denying the
:05:01. > :05:07.existence of e-mails suggesting that his staff, his aides were
:05:07. > :05:13.offering to support the BSkyB application. What he is denying is
:05:13. > :05:16.that there was any quid pro quo for favourable treatment in the sun. He
:05:17. > :05:23.denies that he contacted Jeremy Hunt. There was no letter, no phone
:05:23. > :05:27.call and he is denying explicitly any wrongdoing on his part.
:05:27. > :05:30.It is a decision which could kill Rangers football club. That is a
:05:30. > :05:35.warning from Ally McCoist responding to the news that Rangers
:05:35. > :05:38.have been banned from buying players for one year, as punishment
:05:38. > :05:42.for financial irregularities. Tonight the judicial panel set up
:05:42. > :05:45.by the Scottish Football Association which handed down the
:05:45. > :05:50.punishment was accused of not understanding the commercial impact
:05:50. > :05:52.of the ban, upon all the club and Scottish football as a whole. Here
:05:52. > :05:58.is our football correspondent Chris McLoughlin.
:05:58. > :06:01.For sale, one football club heavily in debt, unable to buy players and
:06:01. > :06:08.facing a multi-million-pound tax bill and also facing the prospect
:06:08. > :06:11.of even more for all sanctions. As the club lurches from one crisis to
:06:11. > :06:16.another off the field, on it the players have been winning and
:06:16. > :06:20.giving the fans some sense of pop. But for how much longer? The
:06:20. > :06:24.Scottish Football Association have put their club with a one-year ban.
:06:24. > :06:30.And that has led to a warning tonight from the man in charge of
:06:30. > :06:37.the team. This decision could kill our football club, a simple as that.
:06:37. > :06:43.The people who have made the decision, they are not to blame and,
:06:43. > :06:47.they are nothing like totally to blame, but this decision could help
:06:48. > :06:52.the football club. Key players at the club have clauses in their deal
:06:52. > :06:56.to lever a certain fee so Rangers could lose top stars and have no
:06:56. > :07:00.means to replace them. So it will be window-shopping only for the
:07:00. > :07:09.manager in the summer. Safe to say the fans are not pleased about the
:07:09. > :07:16.sanctions. It is a disgrace. Despicable. I think there is a --
:07:16. > :07:20.an obvious agenda against Rangers. Far, far too much. The Scottish
:07:20. > :07:24.Football Association said it tried to be independent. In terms of
:07:24. > :07:34.football such as it does not end there. The SPL is inquiring as an
:07:34. > :07:35.
:07:35. > :07:40.inquiry. An independent tribunal will decide on punishment.
:07:40. > :07:46.Our Business Editor Douglas Fraser is at Ibrox Forest. We heard there
:07:46. > :07:49.from Ally McCoist, Rangers saying that the people who imposed this
:07:50. > :07:54.transfer ban do not understand the commercial impact it will have. Is
:07:54. > :07:57.that fair to say? We got a response from the Scottish
:07:58. > :08:07.Football Association, Stewart Reagan putting out a statement. It
:08:07. > :08:13.seeks to explain the process, saying it was an independent way of
:08:13. > :08:17.reaching an agreement. It was one on behalf of Rangers Football Club.
:08:17. > :08:22.He says there is a need to reinvigorate Scottish football and
:08:22. > :08:25.that Rangers is integral to the future prosperity of the game. It
:08:25. > :08:29.points to one of the problems of a bother to have here, they need to
:08:29. > :08:33.send a signal that other clubs cannot do as Rangers has done. It
:08:33. > :08:38.has to be a tough enough penalty that this does not happen again.
:08:38. > :08:43.But at the same time they need to see that have a team like this can
:08:43. > :08:47.get back to health. Returning to health gets more difficult as a
:08:47. > :08:56.result of that judgement that they are not allowed to sign senior
:08:56. > :08:59.players. The remaining bidders will now go back and look at this. They
:08:59. > :09:03.have not said anything today about what they're going to do in
:09:03. > :09:08.response to this, but from the administrators yesterday and after
:09:08. > :09:12.this ruling, they are concerned that the complexity and hostility
:09:12. > :09:18.that is around this whole process, could force these bidders to polite.
:09:18. > :09:23.They say, it could be worse outcome for Rangers for Bob club.
:09:23. > :09:26.You are watching Reporting Scotland on the BBC. Still to come: A
:09:26. > :09:32.Canadian expert warns that an independence referendum here should
:09:32. > :09:36.ask voters just a single question. And then you wildcat family are
:09:37. > :09:42.discovered living in their Cairngorms National Park.
:09:42. > :09:47.In sport: More from Rangers including the suspension of Kyle
:09:47. > :09:51.Lafferty. And liqueurs coming to hand in. The Olympic football draw
:09:51. > :09:57.has been made - world number one Spain and heading -- are heading
:09:57. > :10:00.north. And in the women's competition, it is Olympic and
:10:00. > :10:04.world champions USA. All the sport coming soon.
:10:04. > :10:09.The trial of Nat Fraser from Elgin, who was accused of murdering his
:10:10. > :10:13.wife 14 years ago, has heard how he joked about her disappearance. The
:10:13. > :10:17.jury at a High Court in Edinburgh has been hearing evidence from
:10:17. > :10:21.Arlene Fraser's mother, Isobel Thompson.
:10:21. > :10:26.Isobel Thompson said it was the day after the Arlina missing that she
:10:26. > :10:30.learnt of what happened to her daughter. She said she drove to
:10:30. > :10:33.Elgin and top to police. The following day they went to Ali's
:10:33. > :10:37.house to follow close to her whereabouts. Staying in her home
:10:37. > :10:43.for the next because. She says sometimes they were joined by Nat
:10:43. > :10:53.Fraser. On one occasion she talked about how he spoke of how
:10:53. > :10:59.
:10:59. > :11:03.disappearance. She said:... Of her disappearance. She also told the
:11:03. > :11:13.jury she had confronted Nat Fraser, asking if he had done anything to
:11:13. > :11:14.
:11:14. > :11:19.Arlene. His reply, I would not have Arlina. She said, you would not
:11:19. > :11:23.have her anyway, she was divorcing you. She said Arlene's rings had
:11:23. > :11:27.not been seen in the house. She said that if she had seen them, she
:11:27. > :11:31.would have given them to the police. But she was aware they had turned
:11:31. > :11:36.up at the house later. In the cross-examination, the court heard
:11:36. > :11:41.that three men accused of the murder, including a man called
:11:41. > :11:48.Hector. He had left the dock and given evidence for the prosecution.
:11:48. > :11:52.She said that he would reveal the location, but he did not. She wrote
:11:52. > :12:02.and later when she felt -- was asked how she felt about where
:12:02. > :12:06.Arlene was. The trial at the High Court continues.
:12:06. > :12:11.An international elections expert has warned against a two question
:12:11. > :12:14.referendum on independence. The Canadian consultant, Ron Gould, has
:12:14. > :12:19.said one clear question with an agreement on what a clear majority
:12:19. > :12:24.would be is the best way to avoid a disputed outcome. He is a political
:12:25. > :12:29.correspondent Glenn Campbell. When the 2007 Holyrood election
:12:29. > :12:38.turned into a shambles, election watchdogs turned to an independent
:12:38. > :12:42.expert. This is the original ballot paper from 1994. This man supervise
:12:42. > :12:49.the first South African elections before Scotland -- starting at
:12:49. > :12:53.Scotland cause it -- Scotland's controversial count. He says as
:12:53. > :13:03.simple majority could be problematic. The UK is going to
:13:03. > :13:12.scream. It is not the majority of the Scottish people. The federalist
:13:12. > :13:17.stance to with joy -- dance with joy.
:13:17. > :13:22.At home, the First Minister says as simple majority has always been
:13:22. > :13:29.decisive. In this country referendum has been decided on a
:13:29. > :13:39.majority vote. That is why it is democracy, that is why it is a
:13:39. > :13:39.
:13:39. > :13:44.referendum. The number of yes Watts,... En 1979, I "yes" vote
:13:44. > :13:49.failed to deliver devolution to Scotland. Because the referendum
:13:49. > :13:54.threshold was higher than the 40% rule. The Greek Government says it
:13:54. > :13:59.would accept a simple majority as a win this time, but it has to say if
:13:59. > :14:07.it would be enough to deliver independence.
:14:07. > :14:14.What is when in the referendum? What we need is a referendum that
:14:14. > :14:18.is fair, legal and decisive. These are not the details for Holyrood to
:14:18. > :14:25.settle, they could determine the outcome of Scotland's history-
:14:25. > :14:35.making vote. I look now at what else has been happening over the
:14:35. > :14:40.
:14:40. > :14:44.A school bus driver has been praised for her leading her
:14:44. > :14:50.passengers to safety and calling the emergency services when there
:14:50. > :14:58.was at bang in the engine which could have caused a serious
:14:58. > :15:06.accident. There are safety concerns in the offshore oil industry. And
:15:06. > :15:14.help for a veterans to settle back end to every day life, money to go
:15:14. > :15:22.to 11 schemes across the country. And in expansion of life technology
:15:22. > :15:26.services in Renfrewshire. This gives us at a critical mass here
:15:26. > :15:36.and builds on the production we already have in Europe. Ultimately
:15:36. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:47.a lot it allows us to serve our customers. And an elderly female
:15:47. > :15:57.osprey of around 26 years old and on her 4th mate has had three eggs.
:15:57. > :15:58.
:15:58. > :16:08.An Aberdeenshire harbour could be improved by �2 million. A Perth
:16:08. > :16:08.
:16:08. > :16:18.Show village will twinned with an American village. Their respective
:16:18. > :16:22.
:16:22. > :16:24.names are Dull and Boring. He once played Hamlet, naked, in a 1970
:16:24. > :16:27.production at Glasgow Citizens' Theatre when he was described by
:16:27. > :16:31.one critic as, "A gibbering oaf who'd close the theatre down". But
:16:31. > :16:33.more than 40 years later, the theatre is still in business and
:16:33. > :16:37.the actor David Hayman has returned to play another of Shakespeare's
:16:37. > :16:47.great roles, King Lear. Our Arts Correspondent Pauline McLean
:16:47. > :16:52.
:16:53. > :16:58.reports. He is one of Scotland's best known film and television
:16:58. > :17:05.actors but David Hayman did not need persuading to turn -- a return
:17:05. > :17:11.to the stage for a king Lear. can be in front of a camera for 10
:17:11. > :17:21.years and there is no excitement there. Television acting is about
:17:21. > :17:22.
:17:22. > :17:30.the heaving. Bad behaviour is something David Hayman was famous
:17:30. > :17:37.for in the 1970s, whether playing Macbeth in drag or Hamlet needed.
:17:37. > :17:43.It is that kind of buzz they are keen to be capture. For us to be
:17:43. > :17:53.important and relevant for the community of Glasgow then
:17:53. > :17:55.
:17:55. > :18:01.absolutely they will come. They were looking for two old pianos for
:18:01. > :18:06.the set and in the end they got 17. It is distressing to see them in
:18:06. > :18:14.such a bad State of repair but the function, just in a different way
:18:14. > :18:21.in this respect. For many actors, King Lear is the pinnacle of their
:18:21. > :18:31.career. David Hayman has no plans to retire and is already planning
:18:31. > :18:42.
:18:42. > :18:49.more or stage appearances. Time now for some sport from Rhona McLeod.
:18:49. > :18:53.The Rangers manager, Alan McCoist, says that the planned to impose at
:18:53. > :18:56.12 month embargo on transfers could kill the club. The Rangers
:18:56. > :18:59.administrators have the written to the SFA chief executive Stewart
:18:59. > :19:02.Regan to appeal in the 12 month transfer embargo and fine imposed
:19:02. > :19:05.on the club. And they say they want to get dealt with quickly.
:19:05. > :19:07.Meanwhile, the striker, Kyle Lafferty, has received a two week
:19:08. > :19:10.suspension. The club will not reveal the reason why but it's
:19:10. > :19:13.believed he failed to report for last weekend's SPL game against
:19:13. > :19:16.Hearts. Lafferty agreed a 75% wage cut last month and renegotiated his
:19:16. > :19:19.transfer fee. It now seems unlikely he will play for the club again.
:19:19. > :19:21.The organisers of this summer's London Olympics say today's
:19:21. > :19:24.football draw will boost ticket sales at Hampden. The European
:19:24. > :19:26.Under 21 champions Spain and the defending women's champions, the
:19:26. > :19:28.USA, are coming to Scotland's national stadium. And as our
:19:28. > :19:38.Olympics correspondent, Kheredine Idessane, reports, fans here have
:19:38. > :19:39.
:19:39. > :19:46.been reacting positively to the news. They are the world and
:19:46. > :19:56.European champions. Their best young players are coming to Glasgow.
:19:56. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:03.They have brought the most recent successful players across the world.
:20:03. > :20:08.Will the fans come out for Olympic football now you? I think people
:20:08. > :20:18.will turn out in numbers at Camden because Scottish people are very
:20:18. > :20:19.
:20:19. > :20:23.passionate about future football. - - at Hampden. I am excited to see
:20:23. > :20:30.the under 21 coming through. will be good to see where football
:20:30. > :20:36.is coming from for once. I think having a big event, part of the
:20:36. > :20:40.Olympics in Glasgow makes us feel part of it. It is good. Spain
:20:40. > :20:50.against Japan and Morocco against Honduras are part of the men's
:20:50. > :20:55.
:20:55. > :21:00.group. In deep woman's group there are other international matches.
:21:00. > :21:09.There is a hope that today's draw will boost interest and also that
:21:09. > :21:15.there will be a boost for the Glasgow economy. Major markets for
:21:15. > :21:23.Glasgow, Spain and the United States bring together over 160,000
:21:23. > :21:28.visitors into Glasgow every year. Be warned, the Americans may get
:21:28. > :21:37.carried away after all, they are the world number ones and the
:21:37. > :21:41.defending Olympic champions. And we can join Kheredine live at Hampden.
:21:41. > :21:46.Are organisers now encouraged that perhaps these tickets at Hampden
:21:46. > :21:52.will now sell? They are making positive noises. They have said all
:21:52. > :21:59.along we had to wait for the draw until the interest in tickets
:21:59. > :22:07.picked up. There are 250,000 tickets up for grabs. Still 230,000
:22:07. > :22:14.are up for grabs with less than 100 days to go until the football. With
:22:14. > :22:20.Spain coming and the defending Olympic champions America coming
:22:20. > :22:25.that will certainly take some interest. One guy said he would
:22:25. > :22:30.come and watch it Spain but he would not come and watch Team GB.
:22:30. > :22:40.He does not need to worry about that, they are playing their
:22:40. > :22:42.
:22:42. > :22:48.matches down in Cardiff. That is where they have been drawn. They
:22:48. > :22:58.have been drawn in a group with Brazil, Cameroon and New Zealand.
:22:58. > :23:02.
:23:02. > :23:04.Thank you very much. Conservationists have discovered
:23:04. > :23:06.previously unknown populations of Scottish wildcats living in the
:23:06. > :23:08.Cairngorm National Park. But scientists are warning the species
:23:08. > :23:15.remains under threat because of cross-breeding with domestic cats.
:23:15. > :23:23.Our Environment Correspondent, David Miller, reports. They are
:23:23. > :23:28.bigger and fiercer than their domestic cousins of but Scotland's
:23:28. > :23:34.domestic wildcats are in danger. They have been using camera traps
:23:34. > :23:38.to find out more about these exclusive teachers with some
:23:38. > :23:44.exciting results. We have discovered a population of wild
:23:44. > :23:50.cats in the south of the national park that we did not know existed.
:23:50. > :23:56.This is about as close as any of us are likely to get to a real live
:23:56. > :24:01.wild cat but was it just about insuring that animals like best
:24:01. > :24:07.surviving in the wild or ensuring that the species prospers in
:24:07. > :24:12.future? If they are to survive and prosper by spreading into new ad is
:24:12. > :24:18.the neutering of domestic and feral cats living in wildcat territory
:24:19. > :24:24.will be vital. We are not proposing that if you live in the Highlands
:24:24. > :24:31.you cannot have a domestic cat as a pet or if you are a farmer you will
:24:32. > :24:37.not have domestic cats for rodent control but you cannot have them
:24:37. > :24:42.breeding randomly with whomever is about. We have to correct the
:24:42. > :24:48.problems we have created. Most of the problems in the wild cat have
:24:48. > :24:53.been created by people. It is not hard to see why this animal is
:24:53. > :24:59.sometimes called the Highland Tiger. It is in a battle for survival, a
:24:59. > :25:06.fight it will only when with our help. Now time for the latest
:25:06. > :25:13.weather. We have certainly seen a fair number of showers across the
:25:13. > :25:19.country today. Denied the showers will be easing. The showers will
:25:19. > :25:26.stay in play across the far north but inland across Scotland it is
:25:26. > :25:32.generally dry and cloudy. There will be some clear spells. Low
:25:32. > :25:36.pressure is the culprit behind the weather at the moment. The focus is
:25:36. > :25:44.being down towards England but at the moment we have some showers
:25:44. > :25:48.pushing in at times. Across the north and east there is a yellow
:25:48. > :25:52.warning for a heavy rain. We could see some tricky driving conditions
:25:52. > :25:59.with deriving water on the roads. Whence strengthening from the
:25:59. > :26:05.north-east. The best weather and temperatures will be across the
:26:05. > :26:12.south and west. Cloudy with outbreaks of rain continuing across
:26:12. > :26:17.the East. Orkney & Shetland will have plenty of sunshine and a dry
:26:17. > :26:25.day tomorrow. For the rest of the afternoon and into evening it will
:26:25. > :26:35.stay generally dry in those area where it was pleasant earlier.
:26:35. > :26:41.
:26:41. > :26:43.Showers elsewhere. There is an early warning for rain on Thursday.
:26:44. > :26:48.Any sudden, eastern and northern parts of the country will have some
:26:48. > :26:53.heavy and persistent rain. Temperatures around 13 Celsius at
:26:53. > :26:57.best but with the northerly wind feeling quite cool. On Wednesday
:26:57. > :27:03.there will be drier and brighter conditions towards the south and
:27:03. > :27:11.west, unsettled weather in the north. Now just before 7 o'clock, a
:27:11. > :27:19.summary of tonight's top stories. The First Minister has denied any
:27:19. > :27:26.impropriety in his relationship with Rupert Murdoch. James Murdoch
:27:26. > :27:32.told the Levenson inquiry that Alex Salmond had offered to lobby the UK
:27:32. > :27:36.Government for the controversial takeover of BSkyB to go ahead. Ally
:27:36. > :27:43.McCoist says the decision to impose a one-year transfer embargo on
:27:43. > :27:48.Rangers football club could tell it off. He has lodged an urgent appeal
:27:48. > :27:53.against the decision. The trial of Nat Fraser from Elgin who is