29/08/2014 Reporting Scotland

The First Minister says independence will save some families almost

But David Cameron says the Scottish Government doesn't need

Jim Murphy suspends his soapbox tour against Scottish independence,

Rangers warn the club's future is uncertain if

A week after this man was stabbed to death in Edinburgh, his mother calls

And Team Scotland celebrate their Commonwealth Games medal haul,

but one medal winner has a more important appointment in the pool.

I'm Ross Murdoch. Tune in tonight to see who wins the battle between me

and Brian. The gold medallist goes

head-to-head with his The First Minister Alex Salmond

has claimed that independence will save some families almost ?5,000

pounds in childcare costs. Speaking in Edinburgh this morning,

he said only a Yes vote would ensure But Prime Minister David Cameron

says childcare is already devolved to Scotland

and that changes could be made now. This report from our political

correspondent Lucy Adams We've had the hard sell, now it's

the soft sell. It's not the children, but the adults coming to

soft play centres like this one that the yes campaign still has to

persuade. Polls suggest women are more likely to vote No than men, and

today, the Yes campaign is announcing new updated figures which

they say would mean the parents of one-year-olds saving up to ?5,000 on

childcare costs, and those with two, three and four-year-olds saving

?2000. Their pledge is that by the end of the first parliament, all

three and four-year-olds, and half of two-year-olds, will get almost

double the current levels of childcare. But how would they pay

for this? In order to fund a revolution in

childcare and nursery education and provision, which we see as central

to the future of Scotland, we must control the other side of the

balance sheet. We have the benefit from the parents, the mums and dads

who get back into the workforce, start paying taxes, and we have to

get hold of these taxes so we can fund this policy for the future of

Scotland. But members of the Better Together

campaign have described it as a con, because childcare is already

devolved to Holyrood. They say it is an argument about investment in

childcare, not independence. As part of the United Kingdom, you

will also get the tax relief on childcare that the Treasury for the

whole of the United Kingdom is introducing next year, and that

could be worth up to ?2000 per child for hard-working Scottish

taxpayers. For some parents, childcare is an

important issue. I have two young children, and at

the moment I am not working, because I can't afford the childcare to get

back into work. Having more hours would make a massive difference to

me and help me get back to work. But some want to stay home with

their children. I quite like spending this time

watching them grow before they move on to school. I have got a little

boy who has just started primary one, and I have had all that time

with him. Both campaigns now need to reach

everyone they can, young and old. There is less than three weeks

before the vote, so there is No time for play.

The Labour MP Jim Murphy says he's suspending his Better Together tour

of Scotland, because of what he described as "coordinated

Eggs were thrown at him yesterday as he spoke to a crowd in Kirkcaldy.

Tonight, Yes Scotland said it condemned all forms of abusive,

Here's our Home Affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson.

Old-fashioned campaigning on the stump. But Jim Murphy's message

isn't universally welcomed. I will not be silenced! But after this, he

has taken the decision to come off the road for three days.

The former Scottish Secretary was intending to take the Better

Together messaged to 100 towns across the country, and at first his

soapbox campaign and opposition to it was relatively low-key. But

Better Together has been gathering what it says is evidence that this

19th-century campaigning style is being thwarted by 21st-century

technology. I have been out and about across

Scotland, and the first meetings were great. They were passionate

people on both sides, but in the past ten days or so, the Yes

Scotland campaign has organised mobs to turn up at every meeting that I

am taking part in to try to silence undecided voters and to try and

intimidate me. The Yes campaign says robust debate

is to be welcomed, but it's condemned what it calls

inappropriate behaviour which has targeted figures on both sides of

the argument. If there is any evidence that people

had been acting inappropriately, action will be taken, and we would

expect the same from those on the No campaign site as well. But that's

not misrepresent what is happening across the country, which is a

lively, constructive and mature debate, and that is the way we want

to keep it. Police Scotland say they are

investigating yesterday's egg attack on Jim Murphy.

A man has been convicted of behaving in a threatening or

abusive manner towards the First Minister Alex Salmond.

26-year-old Christopher Stevenson from Glasgow wrote on Twitter

"I think I might assassinate Alex Salmond" while watching

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that he was reported to police

by an American tourist who had seen the post online.

When questioned by police, Stevenson claimed it had been a joke.

Sentence has been deferred for a year for good behaviour.

Rangers have warned that the future of the club is uncertain if a new

The club says it wants to raise ?4 million from existing investors,

but if it can't, it won't be able to pay its creditors.

Our business correspondent David Henderson is here now.

David, how serious is the situation for Rangers?

Well, what you see on the pitch suggests Rangers are in good shape.

They've signed new players - Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller.

They're near the top of the Scottish Championship.

But off the pitch, it's a different story.

Rangers owners are having to work hard to rebuild the club.

And that's a real struggle, in part because there's been

The number's down by about 17,000 on last year.

And that leaves a big hole in the club's finances.

So today, they've said they want to raise ?4 million from shareholders -

from people who already have a stake in the club.

They need much of this for working capital, in other words, to meet

the running costs, to pay the wages, to keep the lights on at Ibrox.

They're confident they can do that, but the warning today is that

if they don't get this money, the company won't be able to pay

its debts and its future will be in doubt.

Right now, they are spending more money than they are actually earning

in terms of ticket sales. Season ticket sales are down on the prior

year, which has made the situation worse. This is just paying the day

today at going is at the club, and now they have indicated, if they

don't raise this money, they will need to raise emergency funding,

otherwise, the viability of the company is under question if they

can't get funds from somewhere to pay the day-to-day expenses.

So if Rangers can raise this ?4 million, are their problems solved?

No, because the money won't last for long.

It should tide the club over until its Annual General Meeting,

which must take place in the next few months.

But Rangers bosses say they also need to raise much more to keep them

going until the end of this financial year,

and then another ?20-30 million over the next three years.

So the club could face a long haul to get back to financial health.

And what the current owners will now be desperate to avoid is the sort

of cash flow crisis which can force a company out

of business, or which wrenches the club out of their control.

David Henderson, thank you very much.

You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC.

Still to come on tonight's programme:

He won Commonwealth gold - now Ross Murdoch has another big

moment in the pool as he meets his biggest fan.

And in sport, don't panic, says Celtic's chief executive. He defends

the club's signing policy and its manager. And No more drama, No more

pain, as Andy Murray wins through to the last 32 of the U.S. Open.

The mother of a man murdered in an Edinburgh street has begged

members of the local community to help catch her son's killers.

Lynn Morrison's son Robbie was stabbed last Friday in

Detectives say they're convinced local people know what happened to

the 31-year-old and have set up a confidential phone line to encourage

Police on the streets of Wester Hailes to reassure locals following

Robbie Morrison's violent death, but also to encourage them to open up.

One week on, and there are still gaps in the investigation. Who

attacked the 31-year-old and why? Questions for detectives and his

mother Lynne. I just beg anyone to come forward if

they have any information. I really need to put my son 's arrest. -- to

put my son to rest. I am pleading with anyone who knows something to

come forward. There must be mothers here who have children that know how

I feel. Robbie Morrison lived a few miles

away, but last Friday afternoon, he had come here to Wester Hailes when

he was seriously assaulted in this street. After being stabbed and

beaten by two men, he managed to struggle 300 yards along a nearby

path, where he collapsed. Father to a three-year-old, who died

in hospital days later. Detectives say one of the men they are looking

for was riding a mountain bike, but they need more information.

We've had a good response from some areas, but we know there is a whole

lot more people out there that know exactly what has happened here, and

that is the point of today, to engage with them, to point out we

need them to come forward so we can act on their information.

Confidential tax and phone lines have been set up as police search

for crucial details that for now, they believe are concealed within

this community. A date has been set for a hearing

in which the Crown will apply A look at other stories from

across the country now. A man has been taken to hospital

after his car crashed into a house The accident happened

around 8 o'clock this morning. The man was taken to

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary suffering The car also hit power lines

on the roadside. A crash between

an Edinburgh tram and a bus caused major disruption in the city centre

during this morning's rush hour. No one was injured

in the collision close to Haymarket It took recovery teams more than two

hours to separate them Around 40 firefighters have been

tackling a blaze The fire broke out in Rosemount

Place shortly before two o'clock. It's affected a dry cleaners,

flats and neighbouring shops. People working and living there were

evacuated from buildings nearby. Council and housing association

tenants will now be able to get more information about how well

their landlord is performing. The Scottish Housing Regulator is

putting more information online, including data on the quality

of the housing stock An application for a new bookmakers

in Orkney has been turned down for a second time, because of concerns

over fixed odds gaming machines. A previous decision to turn

down the application is currently Edinburgh Airport is increasing

its charges for drivers who take more than five minutes to drop off

passengers at the terminal building. The ?1 charge will increase to ?2

for stays of between five and ten minutes, and rise to ?7 for stays

of between 20 minutes and an hour. Thousands of people searching

for their past are homing in on Glasgow over the next couple

of days for one of the country's is giving amateurs

the chance to find out how to trace If an time now.

We have just had a 100th episode, so that was really the launch pad which

allow beginners to get enthusiastic about understanding of family

history, and seeing the stories that can come from understanding your

ancestors. Members of Team Scotland are

in Edinburgh tonight for a celebration of their achievements

at the Commonwealth Games. Our Games reporter Lisa Summers is

at the City Chambers for us tonight. It's hard to believe it is nearly a

month since the Commonwealth Games ended. Today is a chance for those

athletes who hail from Edinburgh to get a chance to meet some of the

fans and also for the city to say thank you for their successes and

efforts during the games. Joining me RA couple of gold medallist. We have

Euan Burton, judo gold-medal list, and Josh Taylor, who won a gold

medal in boxing. It has been almost a month. Has it been for you? It was

kind of back to earth with a bump for me. The Monday after the closing

ceremony, I was still in Glasgow doing some stuff with the BBC, and

then on the Tuesday, I was back to work and did a 13 hour shift. So it

is pretty much back to work for me and back to trying to prepare the

next generation of athletes coming through for judo Scotland to make

sure that they can replicate our success at the Commonwealth Games

and go even better at World Championships and Olympics in the

future. One of the sports we clearly remember, because we did so well in

judo. Have you already seen that filtering through our Grassroots?

Now you have officially retired, you are really working with the elite

athletes, but is it starting to come through at grassroots level? I think

so. More and more people are interested in the sport. We want to

see judo being one of those kind of core sports in Scotland that people

think of as a Scottish sport. People think of boxing that way. It is

really a Scottish sport. Everybody wants their kids to learn how to

cycle and to swim, but we think the judo has a lot to offer people, not

just in performance, but all the way through the pathway, and we would

love to see in the future that it was one of those Scottish sports

that is really thought about in a higher regard in the future for

Scotland. Jos, for you, you have had a few weeks off, but pretty much

back to training now? You had to training now? You at least at the

new Audi Olympics two Yes, back to Sheffield for training next week. I

am going to feel the pace there. I will hopefully be able to focus on

Rio in two years. Have you had a real chance to sit down and let it

all sink in? It all seems to disappear like a puff of smoke.

Definitely. The last couple of weeks I have still been on cloud nine and

invited to different football games and guests here and there, and it

still does not feel real. But last week was the first chance I had to

sort of sit down and let it all sink in. It was brilliant. All the best

with the training for the Olympics, and thank you for talking to us

today. You can see behind me, quite a lot of the other athletes are

enjoying meeting the fans, getting selfie is taken and that sort of

thing, and in a few moments, they will head into a reception at the

city Chambers, and they will be attending the junk Edinburgh sports

awards, where we might see some of the new generation of sports stars.

Celtic's chief executive says the club won't panic

following their failure to qualify for the Champions league.

Peter Lawwell's standing by the manager Ronny Deila, saying

He's also been defending the club's transfer policy - but

admits there have been more failures than success in recent times.

He was speaking to our senior football reporter Alasdair Lamont.

Today's Europa League draw lacked the star quality of its Champions

League equivalent. Celtic want this to be a new chapter, but still, the

memory of what might have been wants the club. Fan discontent pointed to

a lack of spending on the team will stop not so, says the man copping

the flak. Everything that comes in in terms of

ticket sales, merchandise, player sales, is reinvested in transfers,

player wages, and running the club. Would you accent that in the last

year or so, that policy has been more miss than hit in terms of the

guys you have brought in and their impact on the squad?

Recently, it is a valid point. Have we replaced what is left,

particularly in the striker department with as good quality? I

think that would be a question. That is not, again, down to the lack of

intent to do that, or the lack of money available to do that. It was

just judgement calls at the time. One factor shaping Celtic's policy

is the lack of domestic competition in the absence of Rangers. That has

meant less TV money and No league sponsor. In this third year, we have

suffered more than any other club, no question.

I think that has been forgotten. Expectations remain the same. So I

think the third year is more difficult than the first year. We

need competition in Scotland, no matter where it comes from. We need

meaningful games. In the meantime, Ronny Deila has the

chief executive's backing as Celtic tries to get back on track.

Andy Murray's through to last 32 of the US Open.

He beat the German Matthias Bachinger

There were no signs of the severe cramp that affected Murray

in his first round match either, much to the 2012 champion's relief.

Kheredine Idessane reports from New York.

For the home crowd, caught 17 is the place to be. They are here to see CC

Belisol the 15-year-old American who has become the youngest woman to win

a match here since Anacona Gomez back in 1996. Of course, ten years

ago, Scotland had its very own teen sensation who stormed through to win

the US open juniors. I wonder what happened to him?

Yes, and Olympic Cauldron Apple, two grand slams and exactly one decade

later, Andy Murray was once again looking to make a big impression on

the US open, and he did not disappoint, going through his full

repertoire of tricks against the German qualifier, who played well,

but just could not live with the superiority of the Scot. A straight

sets win, a big improvement on his first-round victory.

Physically, I felt fine tonight. I was in a lot better condition, so

that helped. It was very windy tonight as well. I recovered well. I

woke up on Tuesday and Wednesday feeling fine, and practised well.

, Russia's Andrii Kuzmenko on Saturday. Here's a top-level player,

and he is a great player, and he dealt with it is not going to be

easy for me. Still, I think I will have some chances. The question is

whether I will use them or not. It is just nice to have no issues in

the match this evening, and get a good night's sleep tonight, get

ready for the next round. Now, a look at what else is

happening across Scottish sport. A round of seven under par at the

Italian open keeps Stephen Gallagher in with a slim chance of an

automatic Ryder Cup slot. He needs to finish in the top two to make the

European team. He is eight behind the leader.

Calum MacLeod has agreed a new five-year deal with Celtic. The

21-year-old has broken into the team this season.

I'm delighted to be part of such a big club like Celtic, and I'm just

really looking forward to keeping going, trying to play games and do

well for the club. Danny Lennon, who led Saint Mirren

two League Cup success in 2013, says he would fancy becoming manager of

Ross County. Dermot dealt with former Ross County Assistant Niall

Cooper is also interested in the vacancy.

Scotland's Kim Little has been named the most valuable player in the

women's National soccer league. She scored 16 goals in 23 matches.

There is more on all today's stories on the BBC sport website. It is

available seven days a It started with a letter from

a five-year-old boy to his swimming hero, the 200-metre Commonwealth

Gold medallist Ross Murdoch. But it took a Twitter appeal

from Ross to find out how to contact Today Brian Fitzpatrick met up with

Ross Murdoch at a pool in Stirling and even got

the chance to swim with him. Finally, the big moment has arrived.

Five-year-old Brian meets his hero, Ross. Time for a look at that

letter. Is this me? Do hold it as well. So that is me? And is this

you? And a hold of the gold-medal. I put out the appeal, and in under 24

hours, we had managed to track down his folks, so it was a bit mental,

but I'm glad we managed to find Brian. Then it was down to business.

And it is into the pool. When we came here on Wednesday to help Ross

try to find Brian, we did not think we would be doing this today.

And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. The race.

What did it feel like to beat the Commonwealth gold medallist? Doing

your favourite stroke? My favourite stroke was the breaststroke. Oh,

breaststroke is your favourite. Were you doing the front roll there? And

you won't? Yes. How does that feel? Good. He likes to use backward

swordfish, but he pulled out a sneaky front crawl at the last

minute, and got his hand on the wall first! And all this from that letter

from Brian. Ross' biggest fan. We didn't have a

clue. We thought he was doodling on the

floor. He asked his mum for help with spelling and she gave in it.

The next thing we know, he asked for a stamp, which was a bit awkward,

because it was on a bank slip some important information on. We scanned

it and post it, and we are delighted, because we still have the

original. He is a great little kid, one of the

best I have seen at age five. I taught swimming by over three years,

and it took me a long time to get kids aged five to do what he has

done today. Will you be a Commonwealth champion?

A day to remember, and Brian is definitely one to watch in the

future as well. He is really good! Well done, Brian.

Let's get all the weekend weather now, from Christopher.

Hello. Certainly some rain around today, a lot in places, but a slow

improvement this evening. The rain tends to fizzle and fade away, wind

easing down as well. Across the north-west, some wet weather

overnight, and still fairly cloudy even if you don't have the rain, so

certainly not a cold night, temperatures in towns and cities in

double digits. To the weekend, and low pressure still implementing

conditions, pulling away towards the north-east, introducing a westerly

flow of air, and bringing in a number of showers through the

morning. Then, it tends to improve. We will hold onto those showers

across the North West, and may be down towards Kintyre. Most of

central and southern Scotland is dry, fairly cloudy, but that will

thin we will see some bright and even sunny spells coming through. By

mid-afternoon across central and southern parts, dry, one or two

light showers, temperatures up to 18 degrees. Further north, in towards

the Highlands and Islands, Marie, Northern Aberdeenshire and the

Northern Isles, showers fairly frequent, loudly, and the odd bright

glimpse at times. If you are hillwalking or climbing tomorrow, a

number of heavy showers around. Further south, drier weather and

brighter skies, wind veering west to leave the further south you come. A

similar story across the eastern ranges. The best of any brighter

weather to the south-east. Temperatures there at Munro levels

or the summits. Good visibility in the inshore waters. Around the Firth

of Forth on Firth of Tay, a force for to force five Breeze, good

season good visibility. Into the afternoon and overnight, showers

continued to fizzle and fade a way. On Sunday, it gets up to a dry and

bright start, some sunshine around, and holding onto those conditions in

the east. In the West, clouding over, with wet weather arriving

through the day. If we look at the pressure chart, we can see that is

connected to this area of high pressure towards Iceland, but it is

moving away and taking that weather front with it as we head towards

next week, a lambing this area of high pressure to build. At times,

after what has been a rather autumnal August, September getting

off to a more summary start. Dry, settled in the sunshine, and 20

degrees or more. Now,

a reminder of tonight's main news. The UK's terror threat level has

been raised from 'substantial' to 'severe' in response to

the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. The Prime Minister promised new

legislation to make it easier to take passports away

from people who travel abroad to The First Minister Alex Salmond has

claimed that independence will save I'll be back with the headlines

at 8 and the late bulletin just Until then, from everyone on

the team, have a very good evening.