:00:00. > :00:00.Tonight a Syrian refugee who moved to Britain on trial for sexual
:00:00. > :00:00.assault. Newsnight has followed him and his family for a year and is
:00:00. > :00:14.with them as the verdict comes through. Join me on
:00:15. > :00:18.The First Minister has told BBC Scotland she feels she may
:00:19. > :00:20.have a "duty" to call a second independence referendum.
:00:21. > :00:26.Nicola Sturgeon said the UK that Scots endorsed in 2014 no longer
:00:27. > :00:32.existed because of the vote to leave the European Union.
:00:33. > :00:33.This from our political editor Brian Taylor.
:00:34. > :00:36.Nicola Sturgeon at her party conference in Glasgow,
:00:37. > :00:41.She's got the numbers, as the party's business convenor
:00:42. > :00:44.It's the biggest party political conference in the UK.
:00:45. > :01:05.She's got a trusted new deputy, Angus Robertson MP won outright
:01:06. > :01:09.We are very, very close to independence.
:01:10. > :01:15.Scotland voted to Remain in the EU while the wider UK voted Leave.
:01:16. > :01:17.That might trigger an independence referendum, but does it push
:01:18. > :01:28.She accused right-wing Tories of distorting the Brexit vote.
:01:29. > :01:31.The rampant right-wing of the party is using it as a licence
:01:32. > :01:33.for the xenophobia that has long lain under the surface,
:01:34. > :01:47.She delighted delegates with this strictly limited pledge.
:01:48. > :01:49.I can confirm today that the Independence Referendum
:01:50. > :01:51.Bill will be published for consultation next week.
:01:52. > :02:02.The real substance came when he she promise to produce
:02:03. > :02:05.proposals to maintain Scotland's EU links while within the UK.
:02:06. > :02:07.She challenged the Prime Minister to back that approach.
:02:08. > :02:17.If you think, for one single second, that I am not serious about doing
:02:18. > :02:19.what it takes to protect Scotland's interests,
:02:20. > :02:35.Around the hall there is no shortage of advice.
:02:36. > :02:38.I think in actual fact we are probably over the line
:02:39. > :02:40.in terms of the percentage we need already.
:02:41. > :02:49.It depends on when we are likely to win it.
:02:50. > :02:53.I don't think we're ready for another referendum.
:02:54. > :02:55.It won't be tomorrow, but as soon as possible.
:02:56. > :03:00.For Nicola Sturgeon, there are political,
:03:01. > :03:04.She told me there was more to it than that.
:03:05. > :03:12.To protect the open, progressive, international Scotland that I think
:03:13. > :03:14.most people want us to be, then, at that point,
:03:15. > :03:17.perhaps there is a duty to allow people to make that choice.
:03:18. > :03:20.A sense of duty which may yet prompt a second independence referendum.
:03:21. > :03:27.But Nicola Sturgeon is not there yet.
:03:28. > :03:29.A two-year-old girl has died and her brother and sister have
:03:30. > :03:36.been seriously injured, after being struck as they walked
:03:37. > :03:38.along a pavement after two cars collided on a road.
:03:39. > :03:40.The accident happened this afternoon on the A94
:03:41. > :03:50.It's understood that the little girl died shortly afterwards.
:03:51. > :03:52.Her brother and sister were taken to hospital in Dundee.
:03:53. > :03:55.The A94 remains closed for investigations and police have
:03:56. > :04:09.appealed to anyone who can help their inquiries to contact them.
:04:10. > :04:15.A woman has died after being involved in a collision on the A9 at
:04:16. > :04:17.around 7:20pm this evening. The NSPCC, a leading children's
:04:18. > :04:19.charity, has reported a significant increase in the number of calls it's
:04:20. > :04:22.receiving about neglect or abuse which are serious enough
:04:23. > :04:24.to be referred to police I spoke to Reevel Alderson,
:04:25. > :04:27.our Social Affairs Correspondent, earlier and asked him
:04:28. > :04:30.what's been happening? The NSPCC has a 24-hour helpline
:04:31. > :04:32.for people who have concerns about children being either
:04:33. > :04:42.neglected or abused. Just three are years ago
:04:43. > :04:54.there were just under If we look into these figures,
:04:55. > :05:07.we can see almost 400 referrals about physical abuse,
:05:08. > :05:12.we can see almost 200 concerns about sexual abuse and 800 referrals
:05:13. > :05:14.because people are concerned That's a 61% increase over
:05:15. > :05:18.the past three years. You might think that the charity
:05:19. > :05:21.would be concerned about these Calls to our helpline have increased
:05:22. > :05:28.by 58% from 2012-13. That might sound like
:05:29. > :05:32.the incidents of child abuse What it shows is that members
:05:33. > :05:41.of the public are more aware of the signs of abuse and are less
:05:42. > :05:44.willing to tolerate and know that they can call us to talk
:05:45. > :05:53.about it and to decide what to do. Is that the reason for the increase
:05:54. > :05:56.in calls to the helpline? The earlier figures I gave
:05:57. > :06:00.you were from 2012-2013. That was the time that
:06:01. > :06:03.the revelations came out We had a number of other
:06:04. > :06:13.high-profile cases involving the abuse of children,
:06:14. > :06:15.particularly with celebrities. Now people have the confidence
:06:16. > :06:18.that their calls, if they make them, Before the charity says people
:06:19. > :06:21.might not have phoned because they might have thought,
:06:22. > :06:23."What if I'm wrong?" Now they're thinking,
:06:24. > :06:25."What if I'm right?" Rail chiefs have insisted they're
:06:26. > :06:29.fully committed to the future of rail services north of Inverness,
:06:30. > :06:31.after campaigners voiced concerns that the route
:06:32. > :06:35.could be under threat. But ScotRail argue that they're
:06:36. > :06:39.pouring millions into the far north The train leaves Inverness,
:06:40. > :06:47.passengers going all the way facing That's twice as long
:06:48. > :06:53.as it would take by road. Breakdowns and delays can make
:06:54. > :06:57.the trip even more The journey times on this line
:06:58. > :07:03.are now exactly the same That, clearly, doesn't
:07:04. > :07:08.meet our modern needs. Critics condemn the reliability
:07:09. > :07:10.of the rolling stock. The trains are the most unreliable
:07:11. > :07:13.diesel units in Scotland. When they came in 25 years ago,
:07:14. > :07:15.they were poor trains then. ScotRail takes the criticism
:07:16. > :07:24.on the chin. In the depot, trains
:07:25. > :07:31.are being overhauled and a modern and a modern signalling system is
:07:32. > :07:34.about to revolutionise the service. Speeding up journey
:07:35. > :07:36.times is a key ambition. We are looking to increase the line
:07:37. > :07:41.speeds on level crossings. Those actions are happening now
:07:42. > :07:43.and for the next timetable. We are improving the signalling
:07:44. > :07:50.changing to digital. There is a help point here to allow
:07:51. > :07:58.customers to find out Unfortunately, it's either not
:07:59. > :08:05.working or there is no reply. It's just another example about how
:08:06. > :08:07.shortcomings in the infrastructure are putting
:08:08. > :08:13.potential passengers off. People have been voting
:08:14. > :08:16.with their feet. That is at a time when most
:08:17. > :08:21.rail routes in Scotland What we need in place are relatively
:08:22. > :08:29.small improvements to a number of points on the line,
:08:30. > :08:31.costing a relatively small That would transform the journey
:08:32. > :08:35.times and probably knock anything up to 30 to 40 minutes off the time
:08:36. > :08:41.from Wick to Inverness. This route isn't under any immediate
:08:42. > :08:44.threat and the rail operators are spending millions
:08:45. > :08:45.of pounds on improvements. Campaigners welcome that,
:08:46. > :08:47.but say more investment is vital An investigation says the Royal Navy
:08:48. > :09:01.endangered the lives of the crew of a fishing trawler
:09:02. > :09:05.in the Irish Sea in April last year. A submarine from Faslane snagged
:09:06. > :09:07.the nets of the trawler Along the County Down coast,
:09:08. > :09:18.there are villages where fishing is an important industry,
:09:19. > :09:26.but also a dangerous job. Last year, a trawler was damaged
:09:27. > :09:30.in the Irish Sea in an accident that The lives of all four of the crew
:09:31. > :09:40.on board were put in danger I can remember the jaws
:09:41. > :09:55.being pulled back. -- the scene from Jaws
:09:56. > :09:57.where the boat gets pulled back. It dragged it backwards at speed
:09:58. > :10:01.snagging the nets. There was a violent
:10:02. > :10:03.stop to the boat. I thought it must have
:10:04. > :10:10.been a submarine. From then on it was
:10:11. > :10:12.a white knuckle ride. If the crew hadn't released
:10:13. > :10:15.the fishing net and this metal structure that holds
:10:16. > :10:17.them hadn't have broken, the report concludes it's more
:10:18. > :10:19.than likely the trawler It wasn't until five
:10:20. > :10:23.months after the accident that the Royal Navy accepted
:10:24. > :10:26.that their submarine had been The investigators are very critical
:10:27. > :10:38.of the MoD for not providing them with all the evidence they need
:10:39. > :10:41.to conclude why this If you look at the traffic density
:10:42. > :10:47.of fishing vessels in the area at the time of the accident,
:10:48. > :10:50.there is no reason why the submarine should have been proceeding
:10:51. > :10:52.at the speed and depth she was. In a statement, the Royal Navy
:10:53. > :10:55.apologised for the accident, which involved a submarine
:10:56. > :11:00.based at Faslane. It says its reviewing its safety
:11:01. > :11:02.procedures and the authors of the investigation report say
:11:03. > :11:05.that is important if trust is to be built again with those
:11:06. > :11:16.who fish in the Irish Sea. Now the weather outlook
:11:17. > :11:29.for tonight and tomorrow. We started to see a gradual slide
:11:30. > :11:33.into unsettled weather during the course of this week. But we saw some
:11:34. > :11:41.lovely pictures from our weather watchers. This beautiful sky.
:11:42. > :11:45.Overnight, frequent showers across eastern Scotland become more
:11:46. > :11:50.frequent and turning to long spells of rain, particularly towards the
:11:51. > :11:57.northeast. Drier over western areas and brisk winds. Tomorrow morning
:11:58. > :12:00.will start as a windy and wet for the most part, showers becoming more
:12:01. > :12:04.extensive across the north of the country and is a it will feel cool
:12:05. > :12:10.display the temperature feeling quite cold on those brisk, easterly
:12:11. > :12:19.winds, despite temperatures into double figures. Shetland is going to
:12:20. > :12:27.be dry over the next few days with brighter, sunny spells coming
:12:28. > :12:30.through. We will see gales towards Caithness. Tomorrow, things start to
:12:31. > :12:38.ease down with sunny spells coming through and heavy showers across the
:12:39. > :12:44.likes of Grampian and Angus. Some sunshine for the Western Isles and
:12:45. > :12:50.the southwest corner. For the rest of the UK, the few is for Northern
:12:51. > :12:55.Ireland, one to across the North West. There will be cloud feeding
:12:56. > :12:59.into eastern areas, a sign of more rain to come later in the day,
:13:00. > :13:03.temperatures about 12 to 15 Celsius and still the nagging, easterly
:13:04. > :13:08.wind, particularly for eastern coastal areas. The showers will
:13:09. > :13:15.start to pep up as we head through tomorrow night. Friday night into
:13:16. > :13:21.Saturday, a couple of tight isobars mean we will have a wet and indeed
:13:22. > :13:24.start on Saturday and an early one in four Angus but it improved during
:13:25. > :13:25.start on Saturday and an early one the course of the day.
:13:26. > :13:30.Our next update is during Breakfast at 6:25am tomorrow morning.
:13:31. > :13:33.But, from everyone on the late team here in Glasgow
:13:34. > :13:49.and around the country, goodnight.
:13:50. > :13:53.been chosen, reflecting the vast range and some of the finest