22/04/2014 Reporting Scotland

of blue results. He spent just ten months in the

Tonight on Reporting Scotland: The baby ashes scandal - hundreds of

grieving families didn't know their babies remains had been disposed of.

Now those families may be a step closer to finding out what happened.

She said I'm really, really sorry. We just don't have your ashes. And

we have believed that all that time. As it turned out, it's lies.

Also on the programme: Our ageing population and the independence

debate. Gordon Brown warns of a pensions time bomb but the Yes

Campaign says pensions here are "more affordable".

A seven-year-old boy who was severely burned in Aberdeen last

Friday dies in hospital. And as David Moyes leaves Manchester

United, why fewer Scots are working as managers in the English Premier

League. It was a scandal that affected

hundreds of grieving families - the remains of babies they'd lost

disposed of without their knowledge. Tonight, those families may be a

step closer to finding out what happened at Mortonhall. For almost a

year, the former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angionlini has been

investigating the way the Edinburgh crematorium handled babies' ashes.

Her report, which is expected to be critical, is now in the hands of

Edinburgh Council who're preparing to pass its contents on to parents.

Morag Kinniburgh reports. Fraser was born in 15 years ago on

Remembrance Day. He lived for five minutes. We had

him in our hands. Then he moved on to another world.

He was cremated here as Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh. His

parents were told there would be no ashes, but it later emerged that

there were ashes - buried, scattered without his parents permission.

I remember speaking to the woman. She says I'm really, really sorry.

We just don't have ashes. And we have believed that all that time

since 1999. As it turned out, it's lies.

Hundreds of parents have been affected in the baby ashes scandal

that emerged in 2012. We hope that they hope this report will help them

come to terms with what happened to their babies ashes.

It's important that this never happens again. We need better

communication between hospital staff and crematoriums. Parents deserve

that. I have a lot of anger because they

deprived me. No one has any right to deprive a mother of her baby's

ashes. Somebody, somewhere decided, for whatever reason, that my baby's

ashes weren't worth anything. Some families are considering legal

action. Others just want to know what happened to the remains and why

they were treated with such little respect.

The report is expected to be critical. It is also focused on the

role of the NHS and the funeral directors. There could be widespread

repercussions across the whole of Scotland, as a further reports is

published later on this brain. For now, many hundreds of anxious

families are wondering and waiting. How much longer does Edinburgh City

Council need to sit on this report? It was submitted last Wednesday and

yet we still don't know when it will be given to the families. The

council have said in the last hour that it will be released in the

coming days. -- they will be writing to the families in the coming days.

Scotland's ageing population and the cost of paying for it has taken

centre stage in the independence debate. In a speech tonight, the

former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned that an independent

Scotland would face what he describes as a pensions time bomb.

But the Yes Campaign says pensions here are "more affordable" than the

rest of the UK. The latest Scottish government

figures show that in 2012, just under a million people, or 17 % of

the population, was 65 or over. But by 2037, it's estimated the number

of over 65s will be up to almost 1.5 million and they'll account for a

quarter of the population. Well, our political editor Brian

Taylor is at Glasgow University where Gordon Brown has been making

his speech. What's he been saying Brian?

This is the view from Glasgow University, spreading out over the

city. Gordon Brown's views were expressed tonight at the University.

He cited the BBC and the private sector, he cited public-sector

employment, but his big initial emphasis was on pensions. He said

that Scottish pensions were more reliance than elsewhere. Here is

what he had to say. It is a system which has benefited

Scotland. We have more disabilities and more pensioners. The system is

the right one. You pay and more pensioners. The system is

National Insurance. You've paid it all your life and you

National Insurance. You've paid it benefit that is equally spread to

mitigate the risk across the widest group possible.

In response to that, the Yes Scotland campaign say that issues

like NHS funding are already being handled in Scotland. They would be

successfully handled in Scotland. They says Garland is potentially

more wealthy than the remainder of the UK, therefore, more able. --

Scotland is potentially more wealthy. Tarmac --

more generally, people in Scotland will look to the Scottish Parliament

in looking after older people. There would be free national care and free

travel. It is a better bet for looking after Scotland's older

people than Westminster. Why has Gordon Brown chosen to make

this speech now and why for Better Together?

That latter point is a good one, Jackie. Several speeches under way.

This is his first speech aboard the Better Together campaign. I think it

is stressing the unity of that campaign. It has been under some

scrutiny from its opponents and in the media. Secondly, his message

about public-sector employment and pensions is particularly salient.

A seven-year-old boy who was severely burned in Aberdeen last

Friday has died in hospital. Preston Flores suffered the injuries in the

incident near his home in the Bedford Avenue area. His mother

Louisza said Preston was a special little boy and his loss had ripped

her family apart. Steven Duff reports.

Seven-year-old Preston Flores and his mum Louise. His death, she

says, has ripped her family apart. He died in Edinburgh's Royal sick

Children's Hospital in the early hours of this morning.

It was Friday afternoon near his home in Aberdeen's Bedford Avenue

when he received terrible burns. Neighbours described seeing him on

fire and in great pain. At his school today Preston's classmates

returned from their holidays to the news of his death. Dot-mac he was

the kind of kid who would often be found smiling.

Some of the children were very upset. We looked at photographs of

him in happier times. The challenge for staff at the

school is how to explain the death to his friends.

Accidents like this do happen and it's very sad. To try to reassure

children that going out to play is not dangerous in itself is

difficult. Only Scotland are treating what

happened as a tragic accident. The family says he meant the world to

them and will always be deeply missed and loved.

Members of Margo MacDonald's family were at the Scottish Parliament this

afternoon to hear party leaders pay tribute to the independent MSP who

died earlier this month. The First Minister, Alex Salmond, described

her as "the finest parliamentarian" to serve at Holyrood. Here's our

political correspondent, Glenn Campbell.

At Holyrood, MFP is made condolences to Margo MacDonald's families.

Inside the chamber, the presiding officer wore bright colours as she

led tributes to one of Scotland's brightest political stars.

We will never see your light again. The First Minister recalled Margo

MacDonald falling asleep when, as a student, he gave her a lift.

It was the only time I ever got a word in edgeways.

He also praised her Holyrood contribution.

She is the finest parliamentarian we have ever seen.

She gave tips on everything from politics to fashion.

Her advice on jackets to wear, make up to buy, all of that made her more

endearing still. She had also been taken under Margo

MacDonald's wing. She was gutsy but she also had a

real warmth. The Liberal Democrat leader compared

to Tony Benn. She could deliver unpalatable

messages in an appealing way. The Green party leaders Sumter up

simply. I think we will all miss her on a

daily basis. -- the Green party member summed her up simply.

The cafe in Parliament is informally known as Margo's. A conversation in

here will sparkle that bit less now that she has gone.

A 26-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a

two-year-old girl in Fife. Kevin Park from Kelty made no plea or

declaration at Dunfermline Sheriff Court and has been remanded in

custody. Madison Horne was taken to hospital in Kirkcaldy on Sunday

evening where she was pronounced dead. The little girl's family say

she was a much loved daughter who will be sorely missed.

A look at other stories from the across the country: A man has died

after his car left the road, rolled down an embankment and crashed into

a greenhouse in Edinburgh. At least 20 firefighters were

involved cutting At least 20 firefighters were

vehicle but he was pronounced dead at the scene in the city's Colinton

area. Finance Secretary John Swinney has

revealed that a power cut which affected more than 200,000 homes in

northern Scotland was caused by a fault at a station near Inverness.

He told the Scottish Parliament that Scottish and Southern Energy is

confident the incident will not be repeated.

MSPs have been hearing concerns about plans to shut the emergency

services control rooms in Inverness and Aberdeen. The Scottish

government says the creation of single fire and police services and

up to date computer technology mean fewer control rooms are needed and

the closures will save millions of pounds.

Opponents have cited safety worries and fears about a centralisation

process which will see no emergency call centres north of Dundee.

Inspectors have graded the quality of care and education offered at an

Aberdeen private school and nursery at the lowest possible level. But

Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate said they had no

immediate concerns about children's safety or welfare at the Waldorf

school. Earlier this month, the school's owners announced it would

close in the summer due to financial difficulties.

A major wild salmon producer says it's giving up the culling of seals

after facing protests it's giving up the culling of seals

in the North East. The Scottish Wild Salmon Company says it was

confronted at Gardenston harbour this morning by a large group of

activists. It's now more than a month since

police began investigating the mass poisoning of birds of prey in

Ross-shire. Twenty birds have been found dead, including fourteen red

kites. The police investigation is relying heavily on the work of a

team of scientists in Edinburgh. Here's our environment

correspondent, David Miller with this exclusive report.

Scotland's read heights are scavengers. That makes them

especially vulnerable to poisoning. But they have a team of scientists

on their size. These laboratories outside Edinburgh are on the front

line of the battle will stop -- on their side.

They are able to give police vital information about the poisoning of

birds of prey. Dot-mac this was a fine specimen at its prime.

Just three of the species which can end up here include buzzers and red

kite will stop without these analyses, police and

law enforcement -- law enforcement agencies would not know whether the

bird was poisoned or not. The top priority is identifying the

poison used by taking samples from the death heard.

The latest DNA techniques are used to gather further evidence.

We extract DNA from the bird's mouth and stomach. That tells us about its

last meal. If poison was present, that can be useful information to

tell the police. It tells us the method of delivery for the poison

that the bird eight. method of delivery for the poison

birds of prey are reduced to mere evidence in criminal investigations.

birds of prey are reduced to mere to help solve those crimes.

If you're a woman, your vote really matters in the referendum this

September. That's because women make up the majority of the electorate,

and have a history of being less keen than men on independence. So

what's the Yes side doing about it? I've been finding out. So much of

the discussion around this referendum takes place in TV studios

and organised events but that is not where you hear what women in general

are thinking. Here, at the bingo Hall in Paisley, there is a Lord of

doubt about the questions facing Scotland. I do not know enough about

it. Have you made up your mind about how you will vote? I am just not

sure. This is a palling experts who works on the Scottish attitudes

survey. -- polling expert. We found a 7% gap between votes for

independence between men and women. It is a pattern still being

replicated in the latest opinion polls. Across the country the yes

campaign and this group, women for independence, are trying to reach

women voters. It is our job to create the space and have those

conversations so that women can make their own minds up when it comes to

September this year. The opposition parties are sceptical. We have a

notion about what women respond to which I am quite uncomfortable with.

I do not believe you can identify one thing that women will respond

to, like child care, and that will help them make the leap to leave the

United Kingdom. Different matters are issues for young people than for

old people. I do not think it is just to do with being a woman. Our

pitch is not exclusively to women. That would be a silly thing to do

but if we can make independence appealing to women I think we will

have cracked the referendum. That remains a big task. The yes campaign

had the lot of work to do to catch up in the polls. Whichever side wins

the women's vote has a good chance of winning the referendum. And What

Women Want is over on BBC Two Scotland tonight at nine. We know

what Manchester United want and that is a new manager! Here is the sport.

Good evening. Davie Moyes was sacked for feeling in an impossible job,

that is according to another sport to managed Manchester United. Tommy

Docherty's told the BBC no-one could live up to Sir Alex Ferguson's

achievements. But as our senior football reporter Alasdair Lamont

explains, Moyes' departure highlights a dwindling Scots

presence in the English Premier League. It was the worst kept secret

in football. At half past eight this morning David Moyes' departure from

Manchester United was confirmed. Things quickly went wrong for Moyes

who found Sir Alex too tough and act to follow. They have an impossible

task. They will always be faced with good manager, but not as good as

their day. That is the chalice they have to carry at the moment. --

Fergie. He find the legend of Matt Busby overshadowed his reign at Old

Trafford. Just two seasons ago Moyes was one of seven Scots managing

teams in the Premier League. Paul Lambert is the only one remaining.

Is this the end of an ego? I think you will always find around three

Scottish managers in the Premier League, we do produce a board of

managers. I think the heyday is passed. Moyes will surely be keen to

reverse the current trend and prove his managerial pedigree once again.

Neil Lennon's assistant manager Johan Mjallby is leaving Celtic at

the end of the season. He says he wants to move on to other projects.

Lennon says he's very sad to see Mjallby leave. Here's a look at

other news in Scottish sport. Four time world champion John Higgins has

made a first round exit at the Crucible for the second year in a

row. His fellow Scot Alan McManus goes into the second round of the

World Championship after his ten frames to seven victory. It was just

as well I had a pretty big lead to close the match out. I was getting

nervous and twitchy and had chances to put it away and did not manage

it. Thankfully I fell over the line in the end. The Delhi Commonwealth

Games silver medallist Peter Kirkbride was in top form at the

Scotland team trials for Glasgow 2014. He's going for gold and ready

to rouse the crowd at the Clyde Auditorium when the Games begin. It

is good to put on a show and show people it is not just ordering. I

love getting the crowd find me. -- not just boring. The Wimbledon

champion can add Dr Andy Murray to his list of titles. Stirling

University will award a doctorate for outstanding contribution to

tennis. And as well as Graduating tomorrow, Murray has agreed to bare

his soul, live in an interactive webcast. On April 23 I will be

answering questions from young people across the country on

anything, well, almost anything. Well, most things. There are some

definite no go areas! The venue is Wallace High School in Stirling, but

you can watch the whole webcast live at bbc.co.uk/getinspired. Murray

will be serving up some ace answers from two o'clock. Well worth a look.

That is it for tonight. Find you. Let's see what the weather has in

store. It is a mixed bag this week actually. There will be some rain

and cloud at times. Some late evening sunshine through the

Northwest. Elsewhere cloudy with some outbreaks of rain. The cloud

staying with us this evening and overnight although the rain tending

to move away. You can the map overnight. Low cloud and mist

developing in the East. Elsewhere cloudy and not a cold night. To

start tomorrow, a fairly cloudy and at times Marty start. Elsewhere,

lots of cloud around. Some patchy light rain and this will be more

organised into the far south-west. By mid-afternoon we should start to

see some cloudy spells coming through. The

see some cloudy spells coming breaking for Edinburgh and possibly

Glasgow breaking for Edinburgh and possibly

up around the Moray Firth. -- cloudier than today. The East will

be chillier and cloudy. The capital feeling OK but perhaps a few showers

into the afternoon. All eyes on that drain in the South West tomorrow

night. That will bring rain right night. That will bring rain right

across the country overnight. You can see clearly on the pressure

across the country overnight. You chart, there is the weather front

bringing the rain in. It will start wet for many central and eastern

parts of the country on Thursday, drier and bright behind it. Thursday

afternoon will be bright spells and showers and not so warm as today or

tomorrow. That's all for now. The headlines are at eight o'clock and

the late main bulletin just after the Ten O'Clock News. For now, enjoy