24/01/2017 Reporting Scotland

The Supreme Court says Holyrood can't have

a say on the beginning of the Brexit process -

Nicola Sturgeon says that raises fundamental issues

We'll be looking at whether that means a second independence

Also on the programme: A target is set for half of Scotland's

energy needs to be met by renewables by 2030.

The unexpected Commonwealth Games legacy - a drop in the number

of children taking part in physical activity.

And we meet the woman who's joined the ranks of Captain Scott

and Shackleton with a major award for polar exploration.

The First Minister says fundamental issues about Scotland's future have

been raised by the Supreme Court's ruling that Holyrood doesn't need

The court found that MPs should have a say

on triggering Article 50 - but ministers weren't legally

compelled to seek approval from the devolved administrations.

In a moment, we'll ask whether this ruling takes us closer to a second

But first, let's go to Westminster where our correspondent

Nick Eardley has been following the day's events.

This was a landmark case. It went to the heart of the

relationship between different parts of the UK. What the UK Government

can do, what they need the backing of the Parliament behind me to do

and what legal while Scotland plays within that. Tonight, that is all a

bit clearer. Time to find out who has the power

to fire the starting gun on Brexit. This morning, all eyes were on the

Supreme Court as it delivered a landmark ruling on the legal basis

for triggering article 50. By a majority of 8-3, the Supreme Court

rules that the government cannot trigger Article 50 without an act of

Parliament authorising it to do so. On the devolution issues, the court

unanimously rules that UK ministers are not legally compelled to consult

the devolved legislatures before triggering article 50. This case was

never about whether Brexit happens, but how. Now that the judges have

delivered their verdict, this returns to the political realm. The

Prime Minister set out last week a path towards the hardest of hard

Brexits. I don't believe a majority for that in the House of Commons

exists, or majority for that across for that in the House of Commons

the country. So this is an opportunity for the House of Commons

to assert itself and to have a say not just on the narrow question, but

on the broader terms of negotiation as well. The Scottish parliament

will still vote on article 50. Political pressure still matters.

But legally, it will be in Westminster that ministers have to

win. The government had been preparing the legislation in the

expectation that it would lose at the Supreme Court. That was

announced within hours of the judgment. We will within days

introduce legislation to give the government legal power to trigger

article 50 and begin the formal process of withdrawal. But other

parties won't make that simple. The SNP wants unanimous agreement from

devolved governments. Without that, it will vote against article 50.

Scotland's Labour MP says he is prepared to vote against the

government too, but the Labour leader said his party will...

Support article 50 being triggered. We have made that clear. That is the

result of the referendum, and we have respect that. It doesn't mean

we abdicate the field. It means we hold the government to account on

the issues of trade, rights and issues of the long term direction in

which this country wants to go. His support means the Commons will

almost certainly back starting the process, but with the Lib Dems

likely to vote against too, that could mean just one of Scotland's

MPs backs triggering article 50. Whatever the legalities, we want to

work with the Scottish Government because I believe the people of

Scotland want the two governments to work together and get on with

ensuring that we can negotiate with the 27 other countries for the best

possible deal for leaving the EU. The UK Government now hopes it can

get approval to start the process, and quickly. The legal questions of

Article 50 are over. It is back to politics.

And that politics continues this week. It is expected on Thursday

that the government will publish the legislation it hopes will allow it

to trigger Article 50. It then hopes it can get that through the House of

Commons within a fortnight. But as we have heard, there will be

amendments. He SNP alone say they could table up to 50. Labour and the

SNP agree that the UK Government needs to provide more detail. And

whatever happens in the building behind me, the tensions between the

Scottish Government and the UK Government over Brexit show no signs

of abating. We are still at the start of the process of finding out

what the ramifications of the Brexit about our, and what the future

holds. The First Minister has repeatedly

warned that a second independence Andrew Black has been

trying to find out. Just before the last Holyrood

election, Nicola Sturgeon revealed what it might take to call a second

independence referendum. I don't know, perhaps if the Tories wanted

to drag us out of the European Union against our will, for example. And

after most of Scotland voted to stay in the EU, the First Minister said

this. I think an independence referendum is now highly likely. Ms

Sturgeon then said that staying in the single market would remove the

short-term prospect of Indy ref two. I have said that if we can find a

way of protecting Scotland's economic interests and protecting

our democratic interests within the UK, I am up for trying to do that.

And taking independence of the table? In terms of the timescale for

Brexit, that is what I have been clear about. When the PM ruled it

out, the FM hit back. Does it make a second independence referendum all

but inevitable? I think that is very likely. So why like it and not

definitely? The SNP never wanted a referendum under these circumstances

because of Scotland becomes independent in Europe, the rest of

the UK is outside Europe. You have got a single market, the hard

boundary between England and Scotland, which we would not have

had last time. So they wanted a referendum with both countries being

inside the EU. That is why they are hesitant, and the polls are showing

support for dependents where it was in 2014. -- support for

support for dependents where it was independence. So what about today? I

have made it clear that that option is still very much on the table and

with every day that passes, it is becoming clearer that Scotland's

voice is not able to be heard within becoming clearer that Scotland's

the UK on this question. Nicola Sturgeon says she will never give up

on independence in the long term. The question of when we might get

another referendum remains unanswered.

Our political editor Brian Taylor is at Holyrood for us this evening.

Why doesn't Nicola Sturgeon call indyref two now?

Because she fears she might lose, as I have said a number of times.

Nicola Sturgeon doesn't want to hold a referendum, she wants to win one,

and these are not particularly propitious circumstances, nor the

time of her choosing. So if you were to hold a referendum, and I think

she will, they have to prepare the ground beforehand. She wants to do

several things. Firstly, she is genuinely seeking in discussions

with the UK Government to get concessions towards Scotland's

interests as she sees them. Secondly, she wants to prolong those

discussions to enable the grand to be laid. Thirdly, if there is to be

a referendum, she wants to be able to say to the British people, or the

Scottish people, I did everything in my power to try and strike a deal

within the ambit of the UK and it proved impossible. In other words,

she wants to set the grounding for that referendum if and when it

occurs. How long can she hold off? Is there a time limit? There is not

a strict time limit. Again, this is not the time she would have chosen

had things been other than they are, but as a popular beat combo reminded

us, you can't always get what you want. I think she will try and

follow a timetable if there is to be a referendum that parallels Brexit

to some extent. She will want the nature of Brexit to be beginning to

emerge from those discussions, the shape of Brexit to be beginning to

emerge from the Stygian gloom. She will then be ready to contrast that

and counterbalance that with offer of independence. At that point, if

there is to be a referendum, it points to 2018. A number of MPs on

the SNP 's side have said that they think Autumn 2018 is likely because

by then, you get the beginnings of the picture of what Brexit will look

like, but it is not too late, perhaps, for an alternative offer to

be put to the Scottish people whereby perhaps they can stay within

the European Union. If you ask me, do today's events bring a referendum

closer? The answer is yes. Now, how to keep Scotland's lights

on as our energy demands increase. Today the Scottish Government

published its vision for the transition away from oil

and gas dependency towards an emphasis on renewable sources,

and its most ambitious target yet. But a return to coal

could be on the cards. Our environment correspondent

Keven Keane reports. of an era as Scotland's last

coal-fired power station was finally shut down. That's it, done and

dusted. But now this and other locations could be reborn from the

ashes as ministers propose repowering some infrastructure.

Montana is due for demolition, but is the location which is of value,

right in the middle of a power line network. If carbon capture can be

revived, ministers are not ruling out burning coal again. When it

comes to carbon capture and storage, we make are lit in Scotland, but we

have enough resource with the technology we have today to meet our

carbon emissions within this timescale. Many of today's

announcements were in last week's Kaymer plan, but a new target was

set, creating half of our energy needs from renewables by the end of

the decade. It is ambitious and it will be challenging, but the

modelling we have done suggests that we are in the right ballpark between

44% and 50%. With the initiatives we put in our climate change plan, we

believe we can achieve that. The target is a tough one, not least

because of a drive to rely more on electricity for our heating and to

power our cars, so the demand is expected to rise. And there is still

no intention to extend the lives of our nuclear power stations at

Torness Hunterston, which some think is a mistake. It is not a strategy.

This could have been written on the back of a beer mat. It is not going

to tackle the issue of where our industry in Scotland gets its energy

from. It is not going to tackle how we keep the lights on and the

Scottish Government admit we have a problem with how we produce

electricity. It is not going to with fuel poverty. In the 1970s, this was

the future, and would change our lives. Ministers are to explore

replacing the natural gas in our pipes with hydrogen, but that's a

long way into the future. An Aberdeenshire restaurant manager

who killed a chef in a row over a takeaway order has been jailed

for 32 months. Hidayet Ozden repeatedly

punched Shahzad Shah at the Mirchi Indian takeaway

in Mintlaw in April last year. Ozden was charged with murder, but

later admitted culpable homicide. Detectives are investigating

an armed robbery in Two G4S staff were threatened

by three armed men at around 10pm last night as they made a delivery

to RBS on Sauchiehall Street. The thieves, who were wearing

balaclavas, escaped in a white car Remember the Glasgow

Commonwealth Games? A festival of sport

which it was hoped would entertain and leave a legacy inspiring

a generation of Scots to become more Recent figures show a 4% drop

in the physical activity of children since the event in 2014,

and MSPs want to know why. As Glasgow shone in 2014, organisers

promise to not just a two-week sporting party, but a lasting

legacy. That included a commitment to getting kids more active. But

recent figures have shown a decline. Today MSPs wanted answers. In

2014-2015, it has gone down for boys 2.5%, girls 5.5% and all children

3.9%. If that evidence of a system that is working? We never said it

was finished. We are building a system. It doesn't happen overnight.

The bottom line is, we have put 12 years of investment into schools and

that has shown progress. The Commonwealth Games was a fantastic

event. It had a real economic impact. But did it have a sporting

legacy? That is what we want to get to the bottom of. Today's session

certainly questions that. Sportscotland insists that activity

levels fluctuate and they went on to say:

in the East End of Glasgow, evidence of increased participation. Scottish

rugby have been working with schools to bring competition. They say that

is the key. Going back to your younger days, if you were getting a

game, you would be interested. And if you are interested in the game,

you will turn up for training. If there is no game, you don't do

anything. There was always going to be a focus on physical activity,

especially amongst kids, following Glasgow 2014. Now, with figures

showing a decline and despite positive examples like this one, the

message from government to those running sport appears to be, up your

game. The public transport watchdog,

Transport Focus, says there's been a big fall in customer satisfaction

with train services in Scotland although levels remain higher

than the UK as a whole. The comments come as ScotRail

continues to face pressure over late More than 1,300 passengers

were interviewed towards the end of last year as part

of a UK-wide survey. 90% of people who attended Accident

Emergency departments this week were seen within four hours,

according to the latest That is a slight improvement

on the first week of 2017, but still below the Government's

target to see, then admit, transfer or discharge 95%

of patients within four hours. You're watching BBC

Reporting Scotland. The Supreme Court says Holyrood can

have no say on the beginning Nicola Sturgeon says that

raises fundamental issues Engineers building the new

Queensferry Crossing say there are no guarantees the bridge

will open in May, but that A team of Scottish scientists has

discovered a way to diagnose The technique could help millions

of patients annually and save vast amounts of money

to health services globally. Morag Kinniburgh report contains

pictures of a cataract operation. Lindsey Scott was born with

cataracts. She lost the sight in one eye, her other Catterick is being

monitored. When I read I have to move my house. It's difficult a lot

of the time. I'm limited what I see in the distance. I can't see what

number of bus is coming. Small-print has to be magnified for me.

Day-to-day life is generally quite difficult. Cataracts is the main

cause of blindness around the world. The cloudiness can be removed by

surgery after the cataract appears. That beam goes back through here

through our newly invented... Now Scottish scientists can tell if

someone is likely to develop a cataract before it appears. This

method, we can look at the spectrum of the light that comes back and

pick it up even before you can see it visibly, which is the way in

which present cataracts are diagnosed. The team identified

molecules in the eye which occurred during the formation of cataracts.

Early detection and detailed monitoring allow for better medical

intervention. It's difficult for the surgeons to know precisely when a

patient needs the surgery. If we can help what we would put the patients

into certain groups which allows the surgeons to operate on the patients

when they need the surgery, it will greatly reduce the number of

procedures required. This progress could have a significant impact on

the treatment of cataract patients globally. One in six hospital

appointments are for sight problems. We have an ageing population so

sight problems will be problem and the rocketing rates of diabetes

which can make people more prone to cataracts on one or both eyes. We

welcome this news. This is not a cure for cataracts yet, but they

believe it's a significant step forward, helping to save sight and

reduce healthcare costs. Engineers building the new

Queensferry Crossing say there are no guarantees the bridge

will open in May, but that It had been due to start

carrying traffic last month, but bad weather delayed construction

and while the structure is almost complete, those leading

the project are stressing there is still lots

of work to be done. Our reporter, Steven Godden,

is at the bridge for us tonight. Piece by piece the bridge behind me

has taken shape. To untrained eye it might appear as if it's almost

there. Yesterday, we saw the second might appear as if it's almost

last section of deck lifted up and slotted into place which means there

is now a gap of just a few meters left to be filled. Today, as we were

given an update from engineers on the project, they were keen to

stress there is still a lot of work to be done. That getting that work

done, in time for traffic to be on the bridge by the end of May, will,

to some degree, depend on the weather. Just one more heave from

the giant blue crane to join Edinburgh and Fife via the Queen's

Ferry Crossing. For engineers it's an achievement to be savioured on

the move. Once the deck section is complete they need to ut with aer

proof and lay 100,000 square meters of road surface on top of that, 10

pairs of these giant cables still need to be fixed in place. The

longest measuring 450 meters. The biggest challenge remains the

unpredictable Scottish weather. The reason plans to open the bridge last

month had to be delayed. We become more susceptible to rain and low

temperatures for the waterproofing and road surfacing. There are

challenges with the weather. We are ready for them. The recent closure

of its nearest neighbour brought fresh attention on the measures

designed to guard against the elements and a revised opening date

in May. Building this bridge has been a challenge since day one. It

will continue to be a challenge. I can't guarantee that it will be

finished by the end of May. I can guarantee that there will be no

effort left unspent in order to get this bridge finished at the earliest

opportunity. Today is a good illustration of the challenges.

Where I'm standing on the shore it's fairly calm. On the exposed sections

of the bridge, on the tower, too windy to do any work. At the weekend

the problem was fog. As the engineers will tell you, getting the

work down will depend on their skill, hard work and depend on them

having a little bit of luck. Thank you very much.

The running of the Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland will be taken

over by oil firm EnQuest after BP agreed a deal to sell

BP has also announced it's selling a 25% in the Magnus oil platform,

the UK's most northerly oil field, to EnQuest.

It's expected around 340 BP staff across both facilities will transfer

to EnQuest before the end of the year.

A scientist from the Cairngorms has joined the ranks of Captain Scott

and Ernest Shackleton and has received the prestigious

Myrtle Simpson is getting the medal from the Queen for outstanding

achievement and service in the field of polar research.

It's also something of a family tradition, Myrtle's husband received

When you have your anorak hood over your face, you really could have

been completely alone. From the highlands to the high Arctic,

85-year-old Myrtle Simpson flicks through the pages of an

extraordinary life as a polar explorer. She became the first ever

female to ski across Greenland in 1960, only one other group had made

it before her. An expedition to the North Pole five years later was the

biggest test to her team. We were lying in the tent and we heard this

enormous crack noise. We knew that the ice was breaking under us. So

you don't city there thinking - heavens, we are going to die. You

leap to your feet. Throw everything into your sleeping bag and rush out

of the tent, taking the tent down with you and move. The might of the

northern ocean under the ice is just incredible. You are aware of this...

There is something else sharing this world with you. You weren't always

going to get on top of it. Myrtle's husband, Hugh was awarded the polar

medal. The Simpson's are the only second married couple toll receive

the accolade, who she dedicated to her children who she included on

trips to Greenland. I thought it was safe to take them, we knew the

hazards. We knew where the bears where. Am you have to do your

homework. Most remote communities loved to see a family arriving.

Myrtle who is a legend in Scottish skiing and mountaineering circles

hopes her achievements will inspire others who are drawn to the world's

wild places. You don't have to be a great explorer, as I hope I show, if

you want a bit of an adventure, it's just there. It's just waiting. The

pensioner does have one hurdle to clear - her visit to Buckingham

Palace to collect her medal may clash with her competing in a ski

race she says she won't miss. Sir David Attenborough,

met Inti the Armadillo He posed with the hard-shelled

creature to recreate a famous The veteran broadcaster

is in the capital to collect a donation for the charity Fauna

and Flora International, which works to conserve

wildlife around the world. Lovely wee thing. Now the weather

from Judith. Thank you very much. We did see sunshine today, sunshine in

Leith sent in by our weather watcher. It will be dry tonight,

drizzle to the higher ground of southern Scotland and the southern

Highlands. Elsewhere holding on to dry conditions. Breezy with strong

winds to the West Coast, gale force over the western isles lows of seven

or eight Celsius. We will draw our air in from the Atlantic.

South-westerly wind bringing more cloud. As we head through the day

the winds will shift to the south. Winds touching gale force over the

Western Isles. We should see sunshine by the afternoon towards

Ayrshire and Galloway. Inland it will stay breezy. The northern Isles

will see brighter sunny spells. Cloudier skies generally in the

east. Something brighter for East Lothian and the eastern borders.

Those temperatures maintaining mild conditions here as well. Into the

evening. We see the rain moving to the north and dry with actually

clearing skies across southern Scotland. If you look at the

pressure chart, we can see why. We start to see the wind backing into

the south-east during the course of Wednesday night into Thursday. It

will draw colder air from the near continent. They had a cold winter so

far. Thursday a different day, colder, windy as well. That biting

wind taking the edge off things. Across the north, good sunny spells

and generally a brighter day with the wind mixing things up. Milder

towards the north-west. That's your forecast. Some sunshine, at last

perhaps! Thank you very much Judith. forecast. Some sunshine, at last

That's Reporting Scotland. I'll be back with the headlines

at 8.00pm and the late bulletin just Until then, from everyone

on the team - right