:00:00. > :00:00.into Friday morning and enhance the risk of flooding. That is all from
:00:00. > :00:09.us, Tonight, on Reporting Scotland: The
:00:10. > :00:14.boss of oil giant BP speaks out about independence. Bob Dudley says
:00:15. > :00:24.it poses big uncertainties for his company. And I am really looking
:00:25. > :00:27.forward to the day when I will be able to legally and officially
:00:28. > :00:30.celebrate the marriage of people like Larry and Gerry. A historic day
:00:31. > :00:34.for those campaigning for gay marriage. But as MSPs prepare to
:00:35. > :00:38.vote it through there is still opposition from churches.
:00:39. > :00:40.We look at the state of the housing market as latest figures show sales
:00:41. > :00:43.are on the rise. And the story of the former
:00:44. > :00:58.Commonwealth Games champion, who nearly wasn't.
:00:59. > :01:06.Good Evening. The man behind BP, one of the first companies behind the
:01:07. > :01:08.north sea oil boom, has told the BBC, Scottish independence poses
:01:09. > :01:13."big uncertainties" for the company, and that Britain "ought to stay
:01:14. > :01:16.together". The First Minister, Alex Salmond, says BP's chief executive,
:01:17. > :01:25.Bob Dudley, is entitled to his personal opinion on Scottish
:01:26. > :01:30.independence. Steven Duff reports. Since the very start, BP has been
:01:31. > :01:36.synonymous with exploration in the North Sea. That first trickle will
:01:37. > :01:42.grow and by 1977, supplies from the 40s field alone will amount to at
:01:43. > :01:49.least one quarter of the oil we require as a nation. BP has sold off
:01:50. > :01:54.many of its old assets but is still investing heavily, like here west of
:01:55. > :01:57.Shetland. The big players in UK oil and gas have remained quiet on the
:01:58. > :02:03.prospect of independence until today. There is much debate about
:02:04. > :02:07.the currency, what would happen with the currency and whether there are
:02:08. > :02:11.connections with Europe or not. These are quite big uncertainties
:02:12. > :02:14.for us. At the moment we are continuing to invest at the pace
:02:15. > :02:20.because these projects are underway but there is a question. I think all
:02:21. > :02:27.businesses have a concern. My personal view is, Great Britain is
:02:28. > :02:33.great and it ought to stay together, in my view. First Minister, can you
:02:34. > :02:38.give your reaction to Bob Dudley's comments please? Obviously, Mr
:02:39. > :02:42.Dudley is entitled to his personal opinion. BP have massive investments
:02:43. > :02:46.planned in Scottish waters. Rightly so, because they make a lot of money
:02:47. > :02:52.from exploiting the natural resources. There are many chief
:02:53. > :02:58.executives firmly in favour of Scottish independence. Bob Dudley
:02:59. > :03:04.welcomed primers to David Cameron to the Aberdeen headquarters in 2012.
:03:05. > :03:08.-- Prime Minister David Cameron. There are a full range of people in
:03:09. > :03:13.business in Scotland who are very worried about what the future will
:03:14. > :03:17.hold if Scotland votes for independence in September. These
:03:18. > :03:22.people and title to have their say. The Scottish government has got to
:03:23. > :03:28.start taking them seriously. Tonight, the industry body Oil and
:03:29. > :03:31.Gas UK say they are neutral organisation and will not enter into
:03:32. > :03:33.the discussion on Scottish independence.
:03:34. > :03:38.Let's cross to the Scottish Parliament now and join our
:03:39. > :03:44.political editor. On the face of it, this seems to be a gift to the no
:03:45. > :03:50.campaign. I think if you are sitting in a housing scheme in Dundee or
:03:51. > :03:57.Glasgow and you think Bob Dudley has spoken so you will vote no, I do not
:03:58. > :04:03.think that. This would seem to reinforce doubters on the face of
:04:04. > :04:06.it. What would the supporters say about it all? There are chief
:04:07. > :04:12.executives and big business leaders who support independence. BP does
:04:13. > :04:16.not appear to be sufficiently anxious that it is scaling down its
:04:17. > :04:21.investments in the waters of Scotland, quite the reverse. And the
:04:22. > :04:24.third point, if Mr Dudley is concerned about the currency and
:04:25. > :04:29.anxious to retain the currency, they say that is precisely why they are
:04:30. > :04:34.arguing for a shared currency post independence. They say this would be
:04:35. > :04:39.a case to put in favour of retaining the currency in the case of a yes
:04:40. > :04:42.vote. We leave Brian but we stay with Holyrood.
:04:43. > :04:45.Within the next few minutes, Holyrood is expected to vote to
:04:46. > :04:52.allow gay and lesbian couples to marry. The first same-sex weddings
:04:53. > :04:55.could be held this autumn. Supporters see tonight's vote as an
:04:56. > :04:58.historic moment for equality. Critics say same-sex marriage could
:04:59. > :05:04.lead to discrimination against those opposing it. Here's our political
:05:05. > :05:08.correspondent, Glenn Campbell. The celebrations of those who have
:05:09. > :05:16.campaigned for same-sex marriage started early at Holyrood. Scotland
:05:17. > :05:20.supports equal marriage. Larry and Gerry have waited a long time for
:05:21. > :05:26.their love to be recognised in marriage law. Today, there wait is
:05:27. > :05:30.almost over. Same-sex marriage is already illegal in 16 countries
:05:31. > :05:33.around the world, including England and Wales, where the first
:05:34. > :05:39.ceremonies are expected to take place at the end of March. This is
:05:40. > :05:44.one of the biggest historic moments in the history of Scotland. The
:05:45. > :05:47.Health Secretary hopes gay and is being couples will be able to marry
:05:48. > :05:55.in Scotland before the end of this year. The first weddings are likely
:05:56. > :05:58.to be in October at the earliest. 34 years after we decriminalised
:05:59. > :06:04.homosexuality in 1980, we now have full legal equality. Same-sex
:06:05. > :06:10.marriage is posed by some on religious grounds. The law makes
:06:11. > :06:17.clear that no church or faith group will be forced to solemnise marriage
:06:18. > :06:22.between two men or two women. There is a real prospect that in the
:06:23. > :06:27.future, there will be a challenge, perhaps a successful one, and the
:06:28. > :06:33.church may be faced with a choice of either having to do all marriages,
:06:34. > :06:39.same and different sex, or no marriages at all. In parliament,
:06:40. > :06:44.last-minute attempts to amend the law to bolster the rights of those
:06:45. > :06:52.who oppose same-sex marriage were defeated. We may be opening the door
:06:53. > :07:00.to more discrimination. Reform supporters said there was nothing to
:07:01. > :07:04.fear. Sunken Confetti -- some Confetti will be thrown, some cake
:07:05. > :07:09.will be eaten and with a little bit of luck, some of these people might
:07:10. > :07:17.live happily ever after. When this couple said their I dos, it looked
:07:18. > :07:21.like a wedding but they were declared civil partners rather than
:07:22. > :07:26.wife and why. They see this as a chance to upgrade their
:07:27. > :07:30.relationship. You are married but it is a gay marriage. You would never
:07:31. > :07:37.apply that to anything else in life. You would never say, I am going to
:07:38. > :07:42.do the gay dishes now. For better or worse, same-sex marriage is to
:07:43. > :07:46.become law in Scotland. We have just heard from the
:07:47. > :07:50.parliament that same-sex marriage has indeed been approved by 105
:07:51. > :07:53.votes to 80. The number of Scottish homes
:07:54. > :07:57.changing hands rose sharply over the last year. The average price of a
:07:58. > :08:00.home also increased by around ?5,000. Our business correspondent
:08:01. > :08:07.David Henderson is here and can tell us more. Are these signs of a
:08:08. > :08:14.genuine recovery in the Scottish property market? The market does
:08:15. > :08:17.seem to be picking up but some parts of the country are faring better
:08:18. > :08:25.than others. In the last year, the average price of a house rose on
:08:26. > :08:30.average by 3.1%. But there are huge variations across the country. Go to
:08:31. > :08:36.the east coast, to eat low on, property prices rose by almost 15%
:08:37. > :08:42.in the year. -- two East Lothian. On the west coast it is a totally
:08:43. > :08:47.different situation. Their prices fell by almost 9%. So huge
:08:48. > :08:53.variation. One thing is clear, more and more people are choosing to buy
:08:54. > :08:58.or sell their home. Getting ready to move. The
:08:59. > :09:02.Pickfords depot near Glasgow is filled to the rafters with boxes.
:09:03. > :09:07.They are the contents of people's homes, already to be shifted around
:09:08. > :09:12.the country. The number of house sales have risen. Staff here have
:09:13. > :09:16.noticed a steady increase in business. The market is more buoyant
:09:17. > :09:23.than what it has been. The market fell towards the tail end of 2007.
:09:24. > :09:27.We have seen a marked increase this year and we are up again on what we
:09:28. > :09:33.were last year. All the signs are looking very good for the Scottish
:09:34. > :09:36.market. So more people are buying and selling but most banks are not
:09:37. > :09:45.lending in the way they did before the financial crisis. This mortgage
:09:46. > :09:55.broker told us that still presents a big hurdle for first-time buyers.
:09:56. > :10:00.The deposits are minimum 10%. The client had to find a 10,000 pounds
:10:01. > :10:06.deposit plus legal costs and the cost of refurbishing. For some,
:10:07. > :10:10.there is a different challenge. Soaring prices. The market in
:10:11. > :10:15.Stonehaven has been pushed up by the strength of the north-east economy
:10:16. > :10:19.and that affect is having an impact elsewhere as well. Edinburgh has
:10:20. > :10:23.traditionally done better than other parts of Scotland and Aberdeen is
:10:24. > :10:28.also a hotspot. It basically comes down to where people want to live.
:10:29. > :10:32.These are the areas where you traditionally see the market
:10:33. > :10:36.performing slightly better. So the housing market has bounced
:10:37. > :10:40.back a bit. Some places faring better than others but the total
:10:41. > :10:48.number of houses which are being bought and sold are still well below
:10:49. > :10:52.where things were before the financial crisis. Average house
:10:53. > :10:57.prices are still 5% down on where they were at the peak of the market
:10:58. > :10:59.seven years ago. Thank you very much.
:11:00. > :11:03.You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC. Still to come tonight:
:11:04. > :11:06.A kiss for returning airmen, as the Dambusters arrive back in
:11:07. > :11:10.Lossiemouth from their final Afghanistan tour.
:11:11. > :11:15.In sport, the new manager of Dundee is set to be announced. We'll have
:11:16. > :11:19.the latest. And could this be an Olympic Sport? You won't see it in
:11:20. > :11:26.Sochi, but synchro skating could be the next big thing on ice.
:11:27. > :11:29.The Unite union's dismissing a leaked Labour party report on
:11:30. > :11:34.alleged vote rigging in Falkirk as a ''stitch up''. The document says
:11:35. > :11:37.there's no doubt the union recruited members in an effort to manipulate
:11:38. > :11:47.the selection of a parliamentary candidate.
:11:48. > :11:51.Last summer, allegations that the Unite union had rigged the selection
:11:52. > :11:55.of a Labour candidate provoked headlines, suspensions and briefly,
:11:56. > :12:00.the involvement of police. Central to the row, a party report, the
:12:01. > :12:05.contents of which were kept secret until now, the day the Labour leader
:12:06. > :12:09.sought to redefine relations with the unions. Among the charges in the
:12:10. > :12:13.leaked document, that members were recruited without their knowledge,
:12:14. > :12:18.pressured into completing direct debit forms and evidence that
:12:19. > :12:22.signatures were forged. Unite have dismissed the contents of the report
:12:23. > :12:26.insisting none of the charges were substantiated. They have described
:12:27. > :12:30.the document as a stitch up and repeated their call for an
:12:31. > :12:33.independent enquiry to establish what happened here in Falkirk.
:12:34. > :12:38.Officially, Labour determined that no one had broken the rules when
:12:39. > :12:42.they said in September evidence of wrongdoing had been withdrawn.
:12:43. > :12:47.Today, as the party's executive committee backed a one member, one
:12:48. > :12:54.vote system in elections, the message was to move on. Those people
:12:55. > :12:57.made complaints and they decided they did not want newspapers
:12:58. > :13:01.crawling all over the front garden and upsetting their kids and it was
:13:02. > :13:05.not worth fighting about and they withdrew their complaints. As far as
:13:06. > :13:11.I am concerned, it is just a piece of history. But locally, Labour
:13:12. > :13:16.activists say the row has damaged the party. What we have is a trial
:13:17. > :13:19.where the case for the prosecution has been heard, and inevitably when
:13:20. > :13:24.you only have the case for the prosecution, the verdict is guilty
:13:25. > :13:28.but that is not the way we do justice in this country. An
:13:29. > :13:38.investigation is still ongoing with the result still stung way. The
:13:39. > :13:45.Falkirk row is set to rumble on. The convener of the union has been
:13:46. > :13:50.sacked by the plant's operators. The union says he was dismissed in his
:13:51. > :13:58.absence and the owners say they have no comment to make.
:13:59. > :14:02.The RAF's dambusters squadron have arrived back at their home base of
:14:03. > :14:05.Lossiemouth after their final tour of duty in Afghanistan. The 140
:14:06. > :14:08.aircrew and engineers will be transferred to other units as their
:14:09. > :14:11.own 617 tornado squadron is being suspended. But as Craig Anderson
:14:12. > :14:12.reports the dambusters will fly again.
:14:13. > :14:14.Touching down on home soil, 617 Squadron arrived back to an
:14:15. > :14:18.emotional welcome from their families. It is a bittersweet return
:14:19. > :14:24.as they are saying goodbye to the aircraft they have flown for decades
:14:25. > :14:32.and they will be disbanded. It was a very emotional time. For me, it was
:14:33. > :14:37.a dream come true to go and why this fantastic aircraft, and to have the
:14:38. > :14:47.privilege to buy the last operation was amazing. Formed in 1943 to drop
:14:48. > :14:54.the famous bouncing bombs, the crew are well aware of the protest today.
:14:55. > :14:58.We had the 70th anniversary last year than that focused everyone's
:14:59. > :15:02.attention on what it meant to be a part of this, and we studied the
:15:03. > :15:15.history and made sure we understood what our forebears dead in 1943. We
:15:16. > :15:20.call them in very high esteem. -- did in 1943.. They arrive home with
:15:21. > :15:27.mixed emotions to be disbanded, although only temporarily. Today has
:15:28. > :15:35.been the end of an era. A look at some other stories from
:15:36. > :15:42.across Scotland this Monday. A leading academic has resigned from
:15:43. > :15:45.a body set up to advise the Scottish government on ferry services. He
:15:46. > :15:51.said the interests of passengers were sidelined. The government says
:15:52. > :15:55.it is disappointed and will now publish the minutes and agenda of
:15:56. > :15:59.the meetings. The continued difficulty of
:16:00. > :16:06.combating superbugs has been discussed by the board of NHS
:16:07. > :16:11.Highland. They are still failing to meet national targets for rates of
:16:12. > :16:16.transmission. Glasgow's electricity bill could be
:16:17. > :16:20.significantly reduced thanks to a move to change street lighting. It
:16:21. > :16:25.is the first local authority in Britain to take up a loan from the
:16:26. > :16:31.green investment bank. A clipper which had lain in Scottish
:16:32. > :16:37.waters for nearly a century has arrived in Australia where it will
:16:38. > :16:45.become a tourist attraction. It was built in 1864 to transport migrants
:16:46. > :16:50.to Australia. An event to mark the 700th
:16:51. > :16:58.anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn is to be cut by one day.
:16:59. > :17:01.It is now on the Saturday and Sunday with extended hours. 2000 tickets
:17:02. > :17:04.have been sold. Two treasure hunters have uncovered
:17:05. > :17:07.what's believed to be the biggest collection of medieval silver coins
:17:08. > :17:10.ever found in Scotland. Gus Paterson and Derek McLennan, from Ayrshire,
:17:11. > :17:13.made the find with their metal detectors in a field near
:17:14. > :17:23.Kirkcudbright. Willie Johnston reports.
:17:24. > :17:30.It had been a cold and miserable day of treasure hunting when in the
:17:31. > :17:35.gathering gloom has detector suddenly sprang into life. He had
:17:36. > :17:43.struck gold, or more accurately a silver penny. And not just one. He
:17:44. > :17:55.immediately said to me it could possibly be a war. We concentrated
:17:56. > :18:12.and started digging. -- hoard.. Each penny was a weak's wage. The coins
:18:13. > :18:19.spun the reign of five kings. If you look at the picture, you can see a
:18:20. > :18:23.head on one side. The coins were shown off to local
:18:24. > :18:30.schoolchildren and tonight the wider community will see them before they
:18:31. > :18:35.are taken over by the crown. They will share a finders fee. Who knows
:18:36. > :18:42.what else is out there? It is certainly worth looking.
:18:43. > :18:47.But have they found a new manager for Dundee? !
:18:48. > :18:50.Let's get the latest sport now from Rhona. The developing story of the
:18:51. > :18:54.day is who will be the new manager at Dundee with Paul Hartley the
:18:55. > :18:56.hotly touted name in the frame. Jim Spence has been following
:18:57. > :18:59.developments for us. What's the latest? We thought we might have
:19:00. > :19:05.heard by now. The Dundee chairman is in Texas and
:19:06. > :19:14.is conducting things from their but it is Paul Hartley that is the man
:19:15. > :19:20.he wants. Paul Hartley is a man with the great playing career, 25
:19:21. > :19:28.Scottish caps. I was on the streets of Dundee today and these were the
:19:29. > :19:33.thoughts of the fans. He has proved he knows what it takes to get
:19:34. > :19:44.promotion. I think he will deal better with the players. I wondered
:19:45. > :19:51.why he changed from Alloa. Here's a good manager. Dundee seems set to
:19:52. > :19:53.announce this tomorrow and we expect a press conference on Thursday when
:19:54. > :20:03.he will be unveiled. Now, a look at what else is
:20:04. > :20:07.happening across Scottish sport. After their defeat against Ireland,
:20:08. > :20:12.Scotland are expecting another forceful encounter when they meet
:20:13. > :20:16.England on Saturday. Scottish team management say the pressure on
:20:17. > :20:22.England will be just as strong. There is pressure on both teams and
:20:23. > :20:30.various pressure on us to make sure we can do ourselves justice.
:20:31. > :20:34.The Scotland cricket team have arrived home having qualified for
:20:35. > :20:39.the 2015 World Cup. They say they see their achievement is absolutely
:20:40. > :20:45.massive. They will play the likes of Australia, New Zealand and England.
:20:46. > :20:50.I cannot put it into words. It is huge for us and for the future of
:20:51. > :20:55.cricket in Scotland. We're absolutely delighted to have gone
:20:56. > :20:59.over there. Kirsty Gilmore has been short listed
:21:00. > :21:09.for the European Young player of the year. She is number 25 in the world.
:21:10. > :21:15.The South Korean won in's Carling team have completed a training camp
:21:16. > :21:23.in Aberdeen and I head of the Winter Olympics.
:21:24. > :21:26.There are more sports stories and all the latest news 24 hours a day
:21:27. > :21:29.on the BBC sport Scotland website. The winter Olympic Games will begin
:21:30. > :21:35.later this week in Sochi. Ice skating of course will feature
:21:36. > :21:38.prominently. However you will not see the event our reporter David
:21:39. > :21:48.Currie has been investigating, although there are calls for it to
:21:49. > :21:56.be included at future Games. Figure skating is difficult enough
:21:57. > :22:02.as an individual event. When two people are involved it's more
:22:03. > :22:15.complicated. Put even more skaters in the picture and you've got
:22:16. > :22:21.synchro skating. It is just great fun for everybody, any age. Anybody
:22:22. > :22:34.can join in and it is just a bit of fun. You are identical twins? Does
:22:35. > :22:40.that give you an advantage? Not really! It helps that we look alike
:22:41. > :22:45.because we have to look the same with our hair swept back but other
:22:46. > :22:52.than that no advantage. The ladies of this skating club in Braehead are
:22:53. > :22:58.the recently crowned British champions. It has been a challenging
:22:59. > :23:04.year than we have worked hard but also as a team we took quite a few
:23:05. > :23:12.risks this year. I am overwhelmed and happy for them.
:23:13. > :23:22.The British champions are always keen to try out new talent.
:23:23. > :23:33.Looks like another dreadful day at the office! Speechless.
:23:34. > :23:36.Staying with sport, in the run up to the Commonwealth Games we're
:23:37. > :23:39.bringing you stories from our past champions. This week, our Games
:23:40. > :23:42.reporter, Lisa Summers has been speaking to 74-year-old Jim Alder.
:23:43. > :23:45.He won gold for Scotland in the marathon in 1966 in Kingston,
:23:46. > :23:55.Jamaica. But as we're about to hear, things nearly went horribly wrong.
:23:56. > :24:04.It was tropical heat, 90% humidity and the race was early in the
:24:05. > :24:14.morning. It was 50 years ago but he remembers the night yesterday. I got
:24:15. > :24:17.past the world-record holder. Jim Alder had a comfortable lead in the
:24:18. > :24:25.closing stages but something went wrong. What a desperate then this
:24:26. > :24:28.is. He took the wrong way. What a disaster!
:24:29. > :24:37.There were no markers to tell me where to go. I went in the car park
:24:38. > :24:42.and into the stadium and there was the Englishman ahead of me. I
:24:43. > :24:48.couldn't believe it but I caught him 50 metres from the tape. Scotland's
:24:49. > :24:54.first gold medal... An epic effort from Scotland. He was born in
:24:55. > :25:00.Glasgow and was fostered by a couple from Northumberland at the age of
:25:01. > :25:07.nine. It is supposed to be called but it is base metal dipped in
:25:08. > :25:15.oxidised silver. He said he would love to have a role the summer. I
:25:16. > :25:19.don't know whether they will get a lord or lady involved but I would
:25:20. > :25:26.love to do it. And just one more look back to 19 66. If ever there
:25:27. > :25:36.was a true meaning of marathon effort, Jim Alder is your man.
:25:37. > :25:46.Wet and windy, I'm afraid. Fairway Drive to start but turning wet and
:25:47. > :25:52.increasingly windy. The letters across Ireland and the south-west.
:25:53. > :25:58.Of it, largely dry with clearer skies and temperatures taking a dip
:25:59. > :26:04.with some patchy frost but turning increasingly wet and windy.
:26:05. > :26:13.Temperatures for many a roundabout for Celsius. Tomorrow will be a wet
:26:14. > :26:20.and windy day with a yellow warning in place across Tayside for the time
:26:21. > :26:25.in the central belt and then turning wet as the day wears on with that
:26:26. > :26:33.continuing to spiral in and it will be windy. The West Coast will ease
:26:34. > :26:44.but still strong across the East Coast. Brighter skies towards the
:26:45. > :26:52.north and north-west. Pretty wet and windy across the Northern Isles.
:26:53. > :26:55.Overnight, the rain continues to spiral around this centre of low
:26:56. > :26:59.pressure but it feels we eventually. We can see the low
:27:00. > :27:06.pressure goes away and there is more rain in the forecast. This area of
:27:07. > :27:12.low pressure coming our way but on Thursday, a number of showers around
:27:13. > :27:17.and still windy for the south-west. For Friday, not looking too bad and
:27:18. > :27:22.it should be mainly dry but still a bit cloudy day in the east coast
:27:23. > :27:26.with outbreaks of rain. This area of low pressure is making its way
:27:27. > :27:30.across the Atlantic through the week and over the weekend that our lives
:27:31. > :27:32.meaning wet and windy conditions for Saturday and Sunday.
:27:33. > :27:43.Thanks. Now, a reminder of tonight's main news.
:27:44. > :27:48.While we have been on here, same-sex marriage has been approved in the
:27:49. > :27:58.Scottish Parliament. 105 MSPs voted in favour, . The chief executive of
:27:59. > :28:03.BP has told the BBC Scottish independence poses big uncertainty
:28:04. > :28:07.for the company. The first Minister says he is entitled to his personal
:28:08. > :28:11.opinion. Our next round-up is at 10:25pm and
:28:12. > :28:15.until then, have a good evening.