06/01/2017 Reporting Scotland

the First Minister says she'll put a second independence

A manager at a plant hire firm is jailed for two years

after a cherrypicker collapsed, killing one worker and

GP leaders' call for more funding for patients in deprived areas.

Mo Farah is in Edinburgh as he prepares for his first cross

country event of the year, and this time he's running as a Sir.

It's an honour to be recognised by everyone and my country and to be

It's an honour to be recognised by called sir. It's pretty amazing.

Desperately seeking a new best friend.

Scotland's last remaining elephant is on her own

Nicola Sturgeon says she would put on hold plans for a second

independence referendum if the UK government pursues

The First Minister wants Scotland to remain in the European

single market and if that happens she's made clear

she would not call for another vote on Scotland leaving the UK,

while Brexit negotiations are underway.

The Conservatives are urging her to rule out another

Here's our political correspondent, Glenn Campbell.

Within hours of the EU referendum result, Nicola Sturgeon said it was

highly likely that Brexit would trigger another independence

referendum. I am pleased today to publish Scotland's place in Europe.

Six months on, she proposed a compromise, to accept that leave

means leave, if Scotland, either on its own, or with the UK as a whole,

European single market, in a Norway European single market, in a Norway

- style arrangement. On radio Scotland this morning, the First

Minister confirmed that accepting her single market proposal would put

independence on hold. If we can find a way of protecting Scotland's

economic interests, protecting our democratic interests within the UK,

I am up for that. Taking independence of the table? In terms

of the timescale of Brexit, that is what I have been clear about. Am I

going to stop believing in or arguing for independence, no, but we

are talking in a context and timescale of Brexit. I am putting

this forward in good faith, deliberately saying I will put my

preferred option to one side and asking people if we can look at a

consensus and compromise option. So Nicola Sturgeon will not push

consensus and compromise option. So another vote on Scottish

independence within the next couple of years if Scotland or the wider UK

is able to stay inside the European single market. That is what she

means by soft Brexit. The snag is that that kind of arrangement does

not seem very likely at the moment. Unlikely, because the UK Government

wants to curb the freedom of EU citizens to live and work here. And

that is not compatible with keeping full access to the single market.

Separately, the Chancellor has appeared to rule out a special

arrangements just for Scotland. Officially, Theresa May as said she

will seriously consider Nicola Sturgeon's suggestions, even though

some of them may prove impractical. At Holyrood, the Scottish

Conservatives called on the SNP to drop all talk of independence.

Nicola Sturgeon has spent the last six months trying everything to make

Brexit a reason to increase support for independence, and she has

failed. Today was her giving herself an escape route. She should not be

just taking an independence referendum of the table for the

short-term, but altogether, so we can get on with growing business in

Scotland. In the 2014 vote on independence, the No side won by 55%

to 45%, and opinion polls suggest not much has changed.

And Glenn joins us now from Holyrood.

Glenn, it's just six months since the UK as a whole voted for Brexit,

So, is an independence referendum more, or less, likely tonight?

Well, that depends on how the UK Government response to Nicola

Sturgeon's Brexit proposals, and they have yet to formally respond.

If Theresa May decides she wants to pursue what Nicola Sturgeon regards

as a soft Brexit, keeping Scotland or the wider UK within the European

single market, then clearly Nicola Sturgeon is saying that an

independence referendum in the next couple of years is far less likely,

that she would be prepared to take that off the table. But the idea

that the UK Government will accept in full what Nicola Sturgeon is

suggesting does seem unlikely, and that is perhaps why Nicola Sturgeon

has taken to social media to endorse the view that right now the notion

of another referendum on independence seems, to her, more

likely than a soft Brexit. We are in the countdown now to the formal

start of the two-year Brexit negotiation. Theresa May has said

she wants to trigger the process by the end of March, although that

timetable could become more comp are catered if the UK Supreme Court

decides that Parliament must have its say before the Government is

allowed to push the button and start the Brexit talks.

A manager at a plant hire firm has been jailed for two years,

after a cherry-picker collapsed in the centre of Glasgow,

killing one worker and seriously injuring another.

Donald Craig, of Craig Services, was convicted of breaching

health and safety rules following the incident,

Gary Curry was working on this cherrypicking at an office block in

Glasgow city centre when the incident happened. The equipment was

defective, the arm buckled and the 39-year-old fell 92 feet to his

death. A colleague at the time survived but suffered a serious head

injury. A trial heard that cherrypicking was involved in an

incident a year earlier but hadn't been properly repaired. Following

the trial, 57-year-old Donald Craig, a manager at the plant hire firm,

got the maximum sentence, two years in jail for breaching health and

safety laws, and the firm itself, Craig services, based in Hamilton,

was fined ?61,000. Another company was fined ?30,000 for failing to

carry out a proper examination of the equipment. Meanwhile, health and

safety bosses say that Gary Curry's death was entirely preventable. At

the time of the accident the equipment had a catalogue of

defects, some of which were safety critical. This demonstrated that the

company involved did not have proper arrangements in place for the

maintenance of this equipment. Prosecutors said the case was an

important reminder for employers. They need to take their

responsibilities seriously. This is part of making Scotland a safe place

for people to be at work, and to allow them to go home at the end of

a shift. Employers need to take that seriously. There will be no letup.

a shift. Employers need to take that The Crown Office says it will

continue to prosecute employers who put profit before safety.

Changes to how Scotland's schools are run are about to be considered

Its consultation on proposals for the governance of

It wants to give headteachers more powers but some critics fear

that would undermine the role of councils.

Our education correspondent Jamie McIvor joins us now.

Jamie, what might this mean for pupils, parents and teachers?

We have seen big changes in recent years to the curriculum and

qualifications but now the debate is about how schools are run.

Basically, state funded schools in Scotland are run by councils, except

in special cases. That is different to the system south of the border,

where you might say the school system was more diverse. Many

schools there are under council control and there is also talk of

new grammar schools. Radical options like that are not on the table here

but fairly significant changes to governance could be ahead. The

Scottish Government is looking at how to devolve more power down to

headteachers, how to empower parents. We don't know how they will

do this but the government argues that devolving more practical power

could help schools to do what is best locally to raise attainment,

and it also believes more parent involvement is likely to help bring

that about. The government also wants to create new regional

education boards to work across council areas, to help share good

practice. What points have been made in response to the consultation? The

largest teachers union certainly does not oppose the idea of

headteachers getting more practical powers but would be concerned about

simply landing them with bureaucratic, administrative

responsibilities, or giving them the power to fire headteachers. A

centre-right think tank has made a substantial contribution and wants

to give schools as much power as possible, but on the other hand

councils are very concerned. Some councils worry they will be squeezed

out between the business of devolving power to schools and

creating new regional boards. Nobody knows what the government is

intending on doing but we will find out later in the year.

A team of private investigators paid for using donations

from the public, have joined the police hunt for missing Scottish

The 23-year-old RAF gunner disappeared from Bury St Edmunds,

in England, after a night out in September.

BBC Look East reporter Kevin Burch has the story.

This case has generated an unprecedented level of public

support. It is why an online appeal to pay for these private

investigators quickly raised over ?50,000. But it is also now why

there is a mass of information on social media. On Facebook, postings

from over 100,000 people, and potential clues. For the family,

managing that is impossible. Trying to sleep at night and thinking,

somebody told me that, and three weeks ago I saw this post, and

somebody else... I am so scared I am missing something, that I have not

given information to the police. Now the specialists are on board,

vitally with key analytical skills, taking that data and crunching it

into a simple format which could give the police pointers. As much as

I would like to sit and say, you are give the police pointers. As much as

doing a fantastic job and leave them to it, I can't, because I am his

mum. I know there are things I can do that are helping. Bringing this

company in, because of the help of everybody else, will make a

difference to the police. They can add resources, essentially. There

are finite resources in the police to do things. So long as the private

investigator is doing something that is, entry to the police strategy and

there is communication between them, they will be welcome. Nicola Adams

it's she has been stunned by the constant flow of messages on social

media, and she is always touched by the overwhelming kindness of

strangers. I read all of the comments and at 4am when I can't

sleep, reading them and seeing that other people care, that really does

help. So far, not 1p of the money raised has been spent. Analysing the

data, she says, will be the first step. She expects daily briefings to

help monitor the progress of the experts.

Nicola Sturgeon says she could put plans for a second

independence referendum on hold if the UK Government

Hibs and Dundee United prepare the ground for tonight's crucial

Doctors' leaders are urging the Scottish Government

to target funding towards tackling health inequalities.

The Royal College of General Practitioners says

there should be a "sharper focus" on identifying at-risk communities

and supporting GPs who work in the most deprived parts

Here's our health correspondent, Lisa Summers.

In our poorest communities, life expectancy is lower, and on average,

people become ill younger. Help inequalities are stark, which is why

the Royal College of GPs once funding targeted at those working in

areas of deprivation. The practices funding targeted at those working in

with most need not getting the funding targeted at those working in

resources they need, which means that patients are having to be seen

more often. Rather than getting a longer which they need, they are

getting less time, and that seems wrong. Figures showed GPs in the

most deprived areas only receive an extra ?3 per patient to those in the

most well-off parts of the country. They need greater support and

funding is a crucial part of that support. The Greens want to see

addressed. There is not enough of a differential. Tractors is in less

affluent parts of towns and cities are not receiving a great deal more

funding, in some cases less, than those practices in affluent parts.

In Scotland there is a huge inequality in life expectancy and we

can start addressing if we look at GP funding. For most of us, our

first contact with the health services through a GP. Some experts

argue that more investment is vital to keep the NHS on track. It is not

just resources, it is about restoring the balance in the health

service between general and specialist services. At the moment,

it is unbalanced after a decade of referential investment in specialist

services. The ship is in danger of capsizing because there is too much

resource on one side. The government says it is taking steps to tackle

health inequalities, funding deprived areas to support GPs and

patients, but setting up GP hubs like this, where people should be

able to access a range of health and social services in one-stop. It is

part of a ?500 million investment social services in one-stop. It is

that they have announced for primary care. The proportion of funding in

primary care is rising to 11% of the health budget. That approach, where

we have a range of measures and professionals who can develop and

address these underlying problems is the most likely way to see progress.

In the changing landscape of the NHS, the government wants more of us

to access health services in the community. The call from doctors is

for equal funding, no matter what your postcode.

The father of the woman who was the victim of a deliberate

house fire that killed her boyfriend, says she's

24-year-old Rebecca Williams remains in a serious condition

after being injured in the fire that killed 23-year-old

Police are treating the incident in Milngavie, north of Glasgow,

Rebecca's father Phillip Williams thanked well-wishers

for their support on social media, but says there's been no change

Police say they are still trying to trace people seen in the area

The UK's most successful Olympic athlete, Mo Farah,

is in Edinburgh, where he's taking part in tomorrow's cross country

It's his first race since being knighted.

And for Sir Mo, it's a traditional start to the year.

Athletics' night of the was in all Ewood Park today. The regalia

readied for his arrival. When he adorned his garb it read simply

mode, so which is it to be? -- Holyrood Park. Mo. It is an honour

to be recognised by everybody in my country and to be called Sir, it is

amazing. I never thought ever I'd be called that, but at the same time I

just want to do what I do and continue doing well for my country.

Mo it shall be. Despite the reappearance of last year's winner,

guarantees, Mo Farah wants to add another title on grounds he knows

well. I've competed in Edinburgh since I

was a kid. Last year I was second. Hopefully this year I will do one

better. I enjoy the conditions. Cross country is completely

different to Rio. Hopefully it won't be as wet and muddy. Gareth said he

wished it was raining. I prefer when it is nice and dry. But it is going

to be an exciting race tomorrow. Organisers are just putting final

touches to their preparations for tomorrow smack event. There will be

around 10,000 people here watching. around 10,000 people here watching.

-- for tomorrow's event. Conditions underfoot are likely to be more damp

tomorrow. The fact that a world-class event -- the fact that

there are some very famous runners here shows it is a world-class

event. Laura Muir will be the captain of the women's team. She's

fresh from her 5000 metre run just a few days ago.

A look at other stories in brief now from across the country.

A climber's died after falling from a mountain near Ben Nevis.

Police say he was descending from the summit of Aonach Beag

- one of Scotland's highest mountains -

with a companion when he fell late yesterday afternoon.

It's the latest in a series of incidents in the hills this year.

Police searching for a Dutch tourist who'd been missing for more

than a week have found the body of a man in woods near the village

54 year old Cornelius Van Der Wetering, was last seen in the area

Jamie Oliver is to close his Italian restaurant in Aberdeen,

It's one of 6 outlets to shut across the UK.

Tough market conditions and post-Brexit uncertainty

CCTV footage has been released of a man police would like to help

them with their inquiries into an attack on a young woman

They have asked him or anyone who recognises him to contact them.

Plans are taking shape for a floating wind farm off

Work is expected to get underway this summer

if the Scottish Government grants planning permission.

The developer has signed a deal with the Global Energy Group

to build the two turbines and floating platform

Players from the 12 teams in the top division are now enjoying

But for players in the second tier, there's no such rest.

The two leading promotion contenders, two of the country's

best known clubs, meet tonight in Edinburgh, from where

The championship's biggest crowd of the season will watch the division's

two biggest clubs go toe to toe here tonight. It is Hibernian against

Dundee United. They are separated by one point at the top of the league

table. Only one team, the winners of the championship, are guaranteed

promotion to the premiership next season. That means tonight's match

could be vitally important. This is Hibs' third season in this, despite

could be vitally important. This is winning the Scottish cup last season

and not getting promotion was a big blow to them. They are budgeting

this season and they really need to go over the line.

If they cannot get up now, when are they going to get up? It is only

because they won back in the cup they were able to track Neil Lennon,

get record season-ticket sales. Next year that will drop a lot and the

club is in danger of sinking to the bottom section of Scottish football.

I remember speaking to you in your Celtic days. You said championship

qualification was the most stressful time. How does that race in your

stress test? It is up there. There is a huge expectations. But you take

the expectation and the pressure on in the job. You try to enjoy it and

get the best out of your players. Dundee United went down last season.

There's the Dundee derby, games against Saint Johnstone, they can

ill afford to be stuck in this league for another year. There is a

lot riding on this game. Do you feel pressure from fans to

get straight back up to the premiership? There is always

pressure. Pressure from different factions. The fans want it, we want

it, the club wants it. We will try and give it everything we can. I

don't feel the pressure, I just understand this club and we are

trying to get them up. Neither club can deliver a knockout blow to each

other this evening, but they might just put down a marker for the rest

of the season. It is a new year, but the same story

for tennis. Sir Andy Murray has lined up another meeting with Novak

Djokovic. He is at the Qatar open in Doha where he has just beaten Tomas

Berdych. It means the new world number one faces Novak Djokovic in

tomorrow's final with the Australian Open ten days away.

Scotland's only elephant is looking for a friend.

Mondula, known as Mondy, has been on her own at

Blair Drummond Safari Park in Stirlingshire since the park's

But, it is no easy task to find another African elephant ready

Mondula has been at her -- has been on her own at Blair Drummond since

March. Extra effort has been put in by her keepers to make sure she has

kept interested and amused. Everything is focused on keeping her

busy and active and content and happy, really. We have quite a lot

of heavy logs, we fill a bucket with them, then we put in small feed like

peanuts, monkey nuts, different types of pellets, or small cut up

vegetables. Then she has to throw out the logs to get to the food.

Elephants are social beasts and Mondula used to have two companions

here. But with now both dead she's on her own for the first time in 20

years. Staff are keen to find another female African elephant to

move in with her. It is girls only in the giraffes enclosure. The park

has a breeding programme for Rhinos. This is three-month-old Bonnie.

Provision for their elephant programme is with retirement rather

than motherhood in mind. Experts say animals like Mondula could not fend

for themselves in the wild, so be homing another elephant at Blair

Drummond is maybe worth a go. Compatibility will allow these

animals to get along together and enjoy each other. But it's very hard

to predict. African elephants are very friendly with their daughters

and their sisters, but they are not that nice to their non-friends. They

are good at telling you is and isn't a friend. It will be interesting to

see. -- who is. Here we go, Mondula. The character of a new friend is

going to be absolutely key. Mondula likes to be the boss. If a new

elephant is moving here, there might have to be a lengthy period of

introduction before Mondula and her new friend will be able to settle

down into being fully fledged housemates.

And now it's time for the weather with Christopher.

It was fairly cloudy and wet for many. Blue skies on offer, though.

That sums up the weekends's weather. That sums up the weekends's weather.

-- the weekend's weather. A big game in championship tonight. Largely dry

tonight, fairly cloudy, temperatures around 9 degrees with a light

westerly breeze. After the rain today, actually a legacy of low

cloud, mist and Mark, especially over hills and central, southern

Scotland. Further north, clear periods over the Grampians.

Temperatures here not far from freezing in sheltered glens, but

generally around for degrees. Fairly murky for southern

generally around for degrees. Fairly parts. Most of the sunshine is

likely across the North East. By mid-afternoon, central and southern

Scotland largely dry, fairly cloudy, mid-afternoon, central and southern

mist and murkiness around. There could be the odd spot of light rain.

Ten bridges around seven to nine Celsius. Best of the sunshine in the

north-east. The coolest part of the country will be at 5 degrees.

north-east. The coolest part of the Further north west, thicker cloud

and the spot of light rain. For those taking part in the great

Scottish run in the capital and the cross-country, well, not so bad for

the runners. Mo Farah could be happy with that forecast. If you are

taking part in hill walking and climbing, pretty cloudy skies and

the West, the odd spot of rain across the Isle of Skye. The

Galloway hills and border hills, fairly extensive fog. If you walk

through you could be rewarded with some sunshine at some time but it is

a close run thing. Further north with more chance of breaks in the

cloud. Still largely dry and cloudy Saturday evening. Some mist and

murkiness on offer for the Northwest again. On Sunday, still fairly

cloudy, reasonably dry for most. Across the Highlands and Islands

outbreaks of rain. Similar to Argyll. Perhaps the spot in towards

the central belt. The best of brightness towards the east. Low

pressure takes place on Monday, so things will turn wet, windy and

cold. Any showers could well be wintry. That is your forecast for

now. I'll be back with the late

bulletin at 10.30pm. Panorama investigates

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