28/04/2014 Reporting Scotland

Tonight, on Reporting Scotland: Our future in Europe. The First Minister

heads to Belgium to outline why he believes an independent Scotland

would be welcome in the European Union. Alex Salmond's also been

criticised after expressing his admiration for aspects of Vladimir

Putin's Russian presidency. Also on the programme, an emotional

plea. She took the job ad twice for whatever reason. -- took the dog out

twice. She never returned. A fresh appeal to help solve the killing of

a Glasgow mother murdered in a local park while walking her dog.

How some people with chronic pain are waiting nearly two years to see

a specialist on the NHS. What does this little girl's shoot

have to do with the Commonwealth Games? Join me later to find out.

And Kris Commons says retiring from international football was key to

winning the Player of the Year award.

Good evening. The First Minister says an independent Scotland would

be an enthusiastic member of the European Union, and that we have

suffered by not being directly represented in Brussels. Mr Salmond

was giving a speech in Belgium this lunch time. But his efforts on the

international political stage have been criticised after it emerged in

a magazine article that he admires the Russian President, Vladimir

Putin. He expressed qualified admiration. Glenn Campbell reports

from Bruges. The city of Bruges has been

synonymous with a British brand of Euroscepticism ever since Margaret

Thatcher came here in 1988 and spoke against ever closer union. We have

not successfully roll back the frontiers of the state in Britain

only to see them reimposed at the European level. Today it was a much

more Euro friendly politician who arrived. Alex Salmond's objective to

stake a claim in an independent Scotland's membership of the EU if

there is a Yes vote in September. The Scottish Government thinks it

could negotiate full membership of the EU within 18 months of a Yes

vote. If for Scotland leaves the UK. But critics say there could be

obstacles along the way. European countries have been very clear. If

we leave the United Kingdom we also leave the European Union and that

would be a real risk for Scottish jobs and businesses. The European

Union is our biggest market. While Mr Salmond is here in Bruges

presenting himself as a Scottish prime minister in waiting, his

political opponents have questioned his capacity to handle sensitive

international matters after the First Minister was quoted praising

certain aspects of Russia's President, Vladimir Putin. In an

interview for GQ magazine, the First Minister said...

People throughout Scotland and the UK will be horrified by these

comments. To pay tribute, even as Russia was an accident by force the

Crimea, to pay tribute to the restoration of pride in Russia is a

gross error of judgement in international relations. What I

pointed out was that I disapproved of a range of Russian polity --

policies including the human rights agenda. Alex Salmond will hope that

his Bruges lecture is not overshadowed by the magazine

interview and that those who see him speak are convinced of his case that

an independent Scotland should be welcomed by the EU.

The daughter of a woman murdered in a Glasgow park in December makes a

heartfelt plea on tonight's Crimewatch programme. It is the

first time Jean Campbell's family has spoken publicly about their

loss. Police believe someone in the local community knows who murdered

her. Around 10:30pm on Friday the 13th of

December, Jean Campbell was seen on CCTV working her dog, Kai, to

Cranhill Park. The next morning she was found dead there. In a

Crimewatch appeal tonight, her daughter talks movingly about her

mother. My dad always walked the dog. Later on that night, she took

the dog out twice. For whatever reason. In the second time, she

never made it home. Jean's what it was found by Lianne's. The next

morning. He went to look for her when he came home from his night

shift. The family is devastated. Tonight Crimewatch will forecast a

reconstruction of Jean's last known movements and police are sure

someone in the local community knows he killed her. One of the most

alarming things about this case is that Mrs Campbell died so close to

her own home. She came from the flats just beside the park and the

next morning her body was found in the park just beyond these gates.

This is the second time this murder has featured on the programme. The

badly beaten body of 53 -year-old... 80 police officers have been working

on this case and an appeal has been targeted through Glasgow's social

media users and hundreds of DNA samples have been taken from local

people. The day before she died, Jean Campbell was just another wife,

mother and grandmother out doing her shopping. The next night she met a

violent death. Jean's family hope that tonight's appeal will lead

detectives to who murdered her, and why. Somebody does know something.

Somebody knows who is responsible. Do not keep somebody else's secret.

At the end of the day, you don't want somebody else's family going

through this. Some people in chronic pain are

waiting nearly two years to see a specialist, according to a damning

report into NHS care. Around 800,000 people in Scotland suffer from

chronic pain, but despite decades of official reports, the latest NHS

investigation says services are still patchy and under-staffed.

Eleanor Bradford reports. These are some of the children I

have seen and visited. Professor Tim Eden has spent his life treating

children with cancer but has always suffered with a bad back. When he

went to a pain clinic in Scotland he was pleased with the results but

shocked to see how few staff it had. They took me seriously, tried to

find out what my problem was. However, they were very limited in

terms of the number of staff, the services, the resources. They are

clearly limited and you inevitably have to wait some time to get an

appointment. Someone has chronic pain if their pain does not go away

after 12 weeks, but a report by a health care watchdog found they face

long waits. In the Borders, patients waited up to 104 weeks, two years,

to see their pain psychologist. On average, people wait 26 weeks just

to see a pain therapist, despite the fact this can cut the chance of

long-term problems. There have been reports and recommendations on pain

care stretching back 20 years. Dorothy Grace Elder tried to make a

difference when she was an MSP in the early days of devolution but she

told me that of interest from health boards was the problem. We have

never prioritised chronic pain. We can deal with something more

headline grabbing and sexy. That has been going on for years. A new

specialist centre for the most severely affected pain patients is

about to be set up in Scotland. The kind of service cancer doctors like

Professor Eden take for granted. But much can still be done to nip

problems in the bud so that fewer people need specialist help at all.

You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC. Still to come on

tonight's programme: Warnings that rising costs could see a return of

paupers' funerals. In sport, Kris Commons says retiring

from the international game has been key to his success for Celtic.

And the sport where pounds mean prizes. But the younger brother in

the Franchitti driving dynasty fears he's missing out.

Prosecutors seized ?8 million from criminals in Scotland last year,

under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The assets taken, which included houses

as well as cash, are then used for community projects. Reevel Alderson

reports. This man was jailed for heroin

dealing and last month ordered to pay more than ?200,000 under

proceeds of crime legislation. This woman was fined thousands of pounds

for employing illegal immigrants. Last September she was ordered to

pay more than ?700,000. Prosecutors have also seized criminals' property

including this luxury house owned by a drug dealer. What a cute as say it

is a valuable tool in their fight against crime. -- prosecutors say.

It allows us to target criminals and tidy the revenue streams they have

from their businesses. That puts them out of business and destroys

their lifestyles. They have also targeted new crimes. In the first

confiscation in an animal cruelty case, a person in Stirlingshire who

kept dogs in squalid conditions will have to pay thousands of pounds. The

powers we have allowed our investigators to compel people to

interview, to produce documents, to basically explain why there can be a

financial black hole in their finances. Their lifestyle is costing

more than they have on paper. And where does the money go? To sports

facilities to enable young people in deprived areas to make lifestyle

choices beyond crime. Funeral costs in some parts of

Scotland have almost quadrupled in the last five years. And it's

claimed there have been significant increases in the charges imposed by

local authorities for burials and cremations. The Church of Scotland

is warning that the spiralling costs could lead to more paupers'

funerals. Suzanne Allan reports. The passing of a loved one is a hard

time in anyone's life. As well as the emotional upset, there are

practical considerations, too. This minister takes at least one funeral

week. He is worried about spiralling costs. The charges of Fat to high

and if they go up further -- if they put the charges up far too high

families will not be able to afford a funeral and the local authority

will have to pay. The average cost in Scotland is now ?680. But some

areas like here in South Lanarkshire have tripled. In 2009, the cost was

?665. Now, in 2013 slash 14, the price is ?1800. At this funeral

director's for the first time they have seen families not able to pay

for funerals. Dai at the moment we find the defaulting is becoming

more. As a small funeral director we are feeling the brunt of it. South

Lanarkshire Council say they are investing nearly ?2 million in

cemeteries over the next few years. The report on funeral costs will go

before the Church of Scotland's General Assembly next month.

The newly appointed head of the teachers' union the SS TA has left,

just weeks after she took up the job. Sheila Mechan took up the post

of general secretary earlier this month. BBC Scotland understands

there have been some disagreements over the future direction of the

union. The union described the decision as regrettable.

A look at other stories from the across the country: Police have

confirmed another two red kites have been found dead in Easter Ross,

bringing the total number of raptors to have died around the Black Isle

since March to 22. Tests have shown that many of the

birds were poisoned. The reward for information leading to a conviction

now stands at more than ?27,000. Three youths are assisting police

with their enquiries after a fire at a derelict daycare centre in

Aberdeen yesterday. The blaze in the Mastrick area of the city took

nearly four hours to bring under control. Residents were advised to

stay indoors as fire fighters tackled the outbreak.

Prices of houses in Shetland have more than doubled in the past ten

years. According to a Bank of Scotland report, it's topped the

UK's house price rise percentages for the past decade, mainly down to

employment prospects. The average house there costs just over

?150,000. Work has begun to rebuild a

250-year-old house which stood on the original site of the Royal

Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. Botanic Cottage, which was located in Leith

Walk, has been dismantled stone by stone and is now being put back

together in Inverleith. It is coming to where it actually belongs. The

fact it is going to be used for lecture theatres, for children to

learn, for people to come and find out more about the work of the

Botanic is just great. The boy band One Direction will open

Radio 1's Big Weekend next month. They'll join the likes of Coldplay

and Katy Perry for the music festival on Glasgow Green. It's part

of the BBC's contribution to the Commonwealth Games.

Scotland's only polar bears look set to be getting a mate. The Highland

Wildlife Park at Kincraig say a female bear has been recommended to

them to join the park's two male polar bears, Walker and Arktos.

Here's Rhona now, with the sport. Good evening.

Kris Commons says his decision to retire from international football

was key to him winning the Player of the Year award. The Celtic forward

believes that's why he's in the form of his life. He was one of the big

winners as players and managers honoured their own. Our senior

football reporter Alasdair Lamont reports.

Kris Commons has been the number one player in Scotland this year

according to his peers. And here is why. And it's Kris Commons! Despite

his form, do not expect to see this site again. His absence from the

international scene is why he thinks things are going so well. There is

nothing better for me after playing football than spending time with my

family. I think I played my best football for Celtic because of the

little mini break that you get throughout the season. I think I

would rather play an extra four or five years at the top level of club

football than rather try to balance them both. The same cannot be said

of the Young player of the year. Andrew Robinson one -- won the Young

player of the year. As good as that goal might have been, this strike

against Aberdeen for Celtic got plaudits.

One of Scotland's leading drivers says he is being priced out of the

Le Mans 24 hour challenge. Marino Franchitti recently won a major

title in the US, but the younger brother of Indycar legend Dario says

there's a lack of multi-million pound backers and that is stopping

his chances of further success. Phil Goodlad's been to meet him.

If it has an engine and can go fast, then Marino Franchitti is

interested. Just like older brother Dario, it is four wheels that is his

forte. He won a prestigious 12 hour race in Florida last month. To win

the second most important sports car race in the world after Le Mans is a

dream come true. I never thought it would be possible. It is the closes

finish in that race's history. Next he wants a crack at the big one, the

Le Mans race. But he may not get its chance. The market is very strange.

There are drivers coming from single seaters with big budgets and playing

-- painful seeds in bigger cars and they are making it difficult for

other cars and dad for other drivers. -- they are paying for

seats in bigger cars. It is time to hang out with Dario who is to

recovering from the crash which ended his career. He is getting

better every day. We were out on the pushbikes, riding around some locks

yesterday. The ankle is healing, the head is getting better. Swapping the

pushbikes for something faster is Marino's next challenge.

Now, a look at the top stories in Scotland's international rugby,

hockey and cricket. The new head coach of the Scotland

cricket team has been named. The 47-year-old New Zealand test

cricketer Grant Bradburn will lead them in their 2015 World Cup

campaign. The experience of two seasoned

15-a-side players has been added to the Scotland Sevens Squad. Nick de

Luca and Richie Vernon have been named in the squad for the Glasgow

IRB World series at the weekend. Scotland's hockey men have lost all

matches in their Four Nations international in Glasgow. With nine

weeks until the Commonwealth Games, they believe funding is vital in

future big events. The guys have had to organise time off work, some have

mortgages. In the future, we need to look at getting secure funding

because there is a -- without going into it in part-time basis.

And there are more sports stories plus all the latest news, 24 hours a

day on BBC Sport Scotland's website. That's it.

An area of land in Rutherglen, left derelict for 50 years, is being

transformed into a woodland park, as part of the Commonwealth Games

regeneration project. Al Commonwealth Games reporter has

been for a look. The River Clyde cuts its way through an area of land

disused for more than 50 years. It is directly opposite the Athletes

Village built for the Commonwealth Games. The games has been a catalyst

for a ?5 million project to turn this land into a natural woodland

park. Thousands of trees are being planted. Natural wildlife is being

encouraged back into the park and a boardwalk and pedestrian bridge will

link it to the Athletes Village. It will look fantastic. In the centre

of the East End of Glasgow, we stand here and it doesn't feel like you

are in the city at all. This area has a rich history. 200 years ago,

it's supplied -- it housed the main treatment works for Glasgow. It then

became a dumping ground for the slum clearances. Now it has been turned

into a huge woodland park for the local community. In the 1960s and

1970s, when tenements were pulled down, many ended up here. It is the

focus of an arts project. I may be climbed the tenements building

delivering the mail. It is part of the heritage of glass go that could

easily have disappeared and I think we are looking at the artefacts and

we can see that we can celebrate that past. But also enjoy what the

future will bring to the park. There is still much work to be done but

the plan is to create a little bit of countryside in the middle of the

city. Now how is the weather shaping up?

A record-breaking day across Scotland. The highest amateurs of

the year in Aviemore. Shetland, certainly the west side of

Shetland, a bit lower. By the end of the week, those temperatures will

fall quite noticeably. Cloudy conditions in the South. Some sea

fog down to the south-west. Tomorrow morning we see that missed and low

cloud burning off doing the course of the day. Cloudy conditions

tomorrow across northern Scotland but some brightness in the morning.

There will be some sunshine for the South. Come the afternoon, a bit

more cloud then we have seen of late. So a little rainfall Shetland.

We can seize and brightness eventually tomorrow. -- a little

rain fall Shetland. A fine day for Aberdeenshire tomorrow. A not lower

than today. South of the mountains, dry, sunny and warm temperatures as

well. Through the rest of the afternoon, it stays dry and sunny

through central and southern parts. Cloud increasing in the north. A

brisk north-easterly wind. Mr and low cloud becoming extensive again.

-- missed and low cloud. On Wednesday, the low cloud. That

increases across Wednesday and Thursday. It will bring rain.

Wednesday styles of dry but rain in the North will extend southwards. It

becomes colder in the north by the end of the day.

Now, a reminder of tonight's main news.

The First Minister says an independent Scotland would be an

enthusiastic member of the European Union - compared to what he called

rising Europhobia at Westminster. A teacher has died after being

repeatedly stabbed at a school in Leeds.

Pupils who witnessed the attack raised the alarm and a 15-year-old

boy was detained by other teachers. He has now been arrested. Anne

McGuire was 61 and taught Spanish and religious education at Corpus

Christi Catholic College, a state secondary school.

And that's Reporting Scotland. I will be back with the summary at 8pm

and the Ten O'Clock News. Goodbye.