21/03/2017 Reporting Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has accused the Prime Minister of acting

as a "road block", preventing Scotland from having a real choice

But the First Minister's critics said she would use

anything as "an excuse" to promote independence.

The exchanges came during the first day of debate, over a demand

for Theresa May to concede a second referendum on Scotland's future.

This from our political editor, Brian Taylor.

It is about time, timing, complex, political interplay.

Theresa May is about to signal the start Britain's

She doesn't want to contemplate a Scottish referendum

But that strikes Nicola Sturgeon as unfair.

She says Scotland should be given a choice

before or just as Britain leaves the European Union

between autumn 2018 and spring the year after.

Nicola Sturgeon said it weighed heavily

upon her to call a referendum, which many didn't relish.

But she blamed the Prime Minister for

refusing to compromise on continuing Scottish links with the EU.

It will simply not be acceptable for the UK

Government to stand as a roadblock to the democratically expressed will

For the UK Government to stand in the wake of

Scotland even having a choice, would be,

in my view, wrong, unfair and

But union supporters harked back to the

Edinburgh Agreement, which paved the way for the independence

They said the SNP had broken its pledge to respect the

Most people in Scotland are sick to death

Most people in Scotland don't want another

referendum any time soon, three years after the last one and most

people in Scotland see the common-sense

Which is a second independence referendum shouldn't even be

contemplated until Brexit is resolved.

Labour's leader said she hated Tory rule, but...

They want to replace Tory austerity with

Because the truth of the matter is, separation

would mean ?15 billion worth of cuts.

Willie Rennie said those against the referendum had faced a

torrent of abuse from Independence supporters.

A second referendum would only make that worse.

It is nice to be given such a warm welcome.

Ironic groans greeted Patrick Harvie.

Critics said the Greens have ruled out a referendum unless there was

public demand, but Mr Harvey brushed that aside.

It is, Presiding Officer, absurd to suggest we should

not respond to and react to the situation and the fundamentally

changed circumstances we find ourselves in.

Outside Parliament, the attendant media, observing,

There is sound, there is light and tomorrow, there is a

vote on whether Holyrood demands another independence referendum.

Meanwhile, it's understood MPs have delayed a final decision

on whether to debate the issue of a future Scottish

An E-petition calling for a ban in Westminster

on the matter has attracted more than 200,000 signatures.

The commons Petitions Committee failed to make a formal decision.

The expectation is that a debate will go ahead,

but linked to a counter petition in favour of a second

Voters in Scotland have demanded answers to key questions on Scottish

During a live BBC debate earlier tonight they raised concern

about issues including future of EU nationals living in the UK.

Our reporter Andrew Black was watching.

Debating before twilight audios... Won at the Prime Minister due to

officially begin the process of leaving the EU next week, voters say

there are many unanswered questions. What impact for Brexit have on EU

nationals working in the UK? Should Theresa May be allowed to deliver

Scottish referendum because Brexit? On that, the Prime Minister says now

is not the time to authorise the legally binding referendum because

Brexit talks, so when the Scottish Government go-ahead one anyway. Were

one of action which is to take the will of the people of Scotland is

democratically exercised through this and... We have eight days to go

and none the wiser of the content of the Brexit letter that is going to

drag Scotland out of the EU against our wishes. Won the Conservatives

have said no to another referendum before April 2019, but could they

strike a deal to hold it in the in between? The principle of the thing

is the same as it was in 2012, and that it would be unfair to ask the

people of Scotland whether they want to be in an independent state remain

in the United Kingdom while at the UK relationship to the rest of the

European Union is unclear. Won the comments provoked a strong response.

I'm getting sick of hearing Scotland voted to stay in. As she said that.

62% said it. The vote was not a Scottish vote, it was United Kingdom

votes. Brexit is a sham. It was sold on a lie. Sold a total lie. On the

whole thing is the whole point is it is part of the Tory power grab for

agriculture and fisheries in Scotland. You can shake your head

all you want, there is a reason. There was concern about the future

of EU in the UK. My husband is French and has lived a full 27 years

and we have been married for eight years. I am British, and if Theresa

May does not accept that EU residents are here, he would have to

go. I am Bulgarian and there's been lots of negative and distressing

things coming out. I teach at the University there is a lot of

international students and there is real distress and worry. We have

been called bargaining chips, citizens of nowhere... Won on that,

the two sides agreed respect their rights was vital, but with a

Hollywood vote tomorrow expected to back Scottish calls for the legal

powers to hold another referendum, there is plenty of division head.

Scotland's First Minister has paid tribute to Martin McGuinness,

the former deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, who died today.

Nicola Sturgeon says without his "hard and brave work"

to bridge the divide, peace would not have been achieved.

Ms Sturgeon got to know Mr McGuinness through their work

She said he was optimistic about the future but also

understood the "fragility" of the peace process.

Martin McGuinness' death has brought intense reflection both on his role

as former IRA commander and as one of the architects of

Tonight, while he received praise from a former Scottish MP who served

at the Northern Ireland Office, the family of a soldier murdered

by the IRA said they hoped Martin McGuinness would be

remembered as a terrorist and not a statesman.

This man was killed by the IRA in March 1971.

He'd only been in the province a few weeks.

It was a honey trap, along with two other Scottish soldiers,

teenagers John and Joseph McCague, her was lured to a remote spot and

It was a pivotal moment and shattered their families.

His cousin David was just three

No one has been convicted of the murders and an inquest returned

But David said the scar on his family has never healed.

He is convinced that as an IRA commander at the time, Martin

McGuinness must have known who was responsible.

Martin McGuinness played a part in the republican

If anything happened on the streets, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness

Today, some of those who worked with Martin McGuinness

during the peace process say he played

a crucial role in forging the

There was a good Martin McGuinness and a bad

He fought the bad fighter but then went on to fight

Because of that, we have the situation in Northern

There is a peace process there and he is a big feature of that.

46 years on, still campaigning for a public inquiry into the deaths of

the soldiers, David says he remains convinced that Martin McGuinness

People will look on him as a statesman, other people will look

Moves are under way to extradite a retired priest from Canada

to Scotland in connection with child abuse claims.

The Crown Office has been granted a petition warrant for the arrest

of Father Robert MacKenzie, who lives in Saskatchewan.

Fort Augustus Abbey School before moving to Canada in 1988.

Papers are now being prepared in the Crown Office to submit

an extradition request to the Canadian authorities.

A plumber is to face trial accused of causing a gas explosion in 2013

which saw the owners of this home buried in the rubble.

Craig Hall is alleged to have failed to properly install a boiler

at Robin and Marion Cunningham's house in Callander.

Rugby and Scotland's third most-capped player is to bring

an end to his 17-year career at the end of the season.

Sean Lamont - seen here scoring against Italy -

The 36-year-old also helped Glasgow Warriors to their first ever

Well, it started out with snow for many of us this morning.

Let's go to Christopher now for the weather

It is cold and frosty tonight. Icy patches, too. Largely dry central

parts of the country, but you can see we have this trough in the North

producing wintry showers. And also, this low pressure bringing snow

across the Pennines. That could edge into the southern parts of Scotland

tomorrow morning. At 8am, you can see it is fairly cloudy in southern

parts, patchy rain, perhaps lead and snow even to lower levels. It is a

fine run of Scotland tomorrow morning. At 8am, you can see it is

fairly cloudy in southern parts, patchy rain, perhaps lead and snow

even to lower levels. It is a fine run thing. Generally, the central

Lowlands get a dry and cold start. Sunshine in Argyll and Western

Aberdeenshire and in toward the far North. Still a fewer showers in

Orkney and Shetland. With the north-east breeze, quite chilly.

Through the day, cloudy in the south, wet weather tending to fade

away. South of the border, the low-pressure means cloudy and down

day of the good parts of the North of England and Wales and insert East

Anglia and the south-east. Hampshire and daughters, showers and bright

spells. 9-10 C. We will have 6-7 C and even with sunshine in the

north-east breeze it will feel cold. Showers fading away as we head

through to this time tomorrow night. That signals a change as we head to

Thursday. Largely dry, fine and bright. Winds much lighter.

Temperatures 9-10 C. Showers for Shetland. High-pressure stretching

up to us here in Scotland. That will be with us through the weekend and

it will be largely fine, dry, bright and sunny, mild by day and chilly by

night. That is over now. Our next update is during Breakfast

at 6.25am tomorrow morning. But, from everyone on the late

team here in Glasgow