15/12/2015 Scotland 2015

They're certainly weightless, but are astronauts pointless

Tim Peake emerged from the Soyuz space capsule this evening to start

An historic moment for Britain but, with such advanced technology,

what exactly is the point of sending astronauts into space these days?

And I talk to the low-key hi-tech boss of one of Scotland's most

He's the first publicly funded Brit in space whose blast off and safe

arrival has been followed by millions across the country.

Tim Peake will spend half a year aboard the International Space

Station conducting various experiments.

To secure this, the UK has given tens of millions of pounds

to the European Space Agency and the space station programme.

So what's the justification for spending such vast sums?

On the human British astronaut Tim Peake blasted into space? It was

some. What would you do when you were in space? I would discover a

different things on the planet. Do you want to be an astronaut? No, but

I would like to be a scientist. As Major Tim Peake settled into his

flight, he is already being hailed as a cosmic usual for youngsters.

That is what excites codes. -- children. We saw that this morning.

To see a launch with a British person on board is wonderful. His

family travelled to Kazakhstan for the launch. I am very happy. It has

been a long journey to get to this point. We are excited to get to this

stage of the game. It is great. The family managed a chat with dad as he

got ready to go. Not lying after, he was heading for the Soyuz rocket,

bound for the International Space Station. A fellow astronaut, not

long back from that I S S herself was explaining the details to the

children. We want to figure out what happens to the human body, but when

scientists are able to observe the process all the way down to the

single cell, they have an insight into how the body works and that has

consequences in terms of diagnosis, therapies. Watching the launch in

London, the first Briton in space also strongly backed these missions.

It puts Britain back on that map. Britain is part of an international

space collaboration. We can enjoy being part about over again. Earlier

this evening, the hatch of the rocket finally opened in Major Tim

Peake entered the space station which would be his laboratory for

the next six months. That first sunrise was absolutely spectacular.

As his mum said, quite a spectacular first day at the office.

With me now are Dr Malcolm Macdonald from the Advanced Space Concepts

Laboratory at Strathclyde University.

And Dave Woods, author of How Apollo Flew to the Moon.

Good evening. Do you agree with Helen Sharman that this is really

important for Britain to be in this space collaboration? It has the

potential to be imported. If it is part of a long-term strategy, it

could be. But what we have seen so far is a sequence of one of events.

Whether there is the political will to see that the blue is something we

all had to wait and see. Obviously, great excitement about it all today.

Do missions like today 's still hold excitement for you? I think her

children they will. You can see the television how they have been

infused. Hundreds of people have been in space, but it is still a

strange realm, it is of human exploration into our new

environment. And that is basic to the human condition, to take people

out there, to note that that can happen, whether it is heading out of

article, heading across the world. We are exploring that in the sense

of getting to know what it is like to live in that realm. The asteroid

is nature 's way of seeing, how is that space programme coming along?

We will be hit one day. Events in Russia in 2012 show that the at

risk. Is that good enough risk for being involved in something like

this? I think it is an interesting argument. I think you could probably

deflect an incoming asteroid. But you need to be there because you can

do what you need to do the, a better return on the science. But there's

something I fully accept. If we get some extra benefits, then great. But

I do not think that is how we will deflect the incoming asteroid,

assuming we see it coming. Let's talk about the finances of all of

this. I do not want to detract from the magic of today, but the UK

Government has spent ?65 million to secure Tim Peake 's flight to the

space station. Is there a business case to be made for spending that?

If you look back to the American Apollo programme, at its peak in

1964, but was consuming for percent of the American budget, an enormous

amount of cash. At the time, there was the same argument of what

benefit is there? Defence of elite of projects that are happening at

the same time, the Americans made a massive investment in computer

technology, in things that they did not know at the time would become

beneficial. I believe it is true to say that while they were developing

the computers that are put into spacecraft, Nasa were buying up half

the world 's outputs of chips. The protesting them to destruction and

forcing manufacturers to up their game. - the way of them. It is an

imponderable. Something to put into value terms. It wasn't that long ago

that there was a tribute about India and whether it ought to be spending

millions and millions of pounds on our space programme when it could be

spending the money combating poverty. Either similar arguments

you? We get lots of benefits from the space programme. The guy

omission will have all sorts of spin offs. But could that money be spent

perhaps on a bit more, is dead of sending an astronaut? It depends

what you are tried to get in return. If you are trying to justify it on

here reviewed science, it would be difficult to get agreement to say

that was the best way to spend 90 million euros. But if you are

looking for outreach, if you spent that same amount of money creating

TV programmes and engaging with children and providing material to

support teachers in the classroom, that would have great benefits.

Getting children excited about space. India got a lot of stick for

what happened, but the use that space sector to educate and to run

schools in remote regions where there are massive poverty problems

and yet they can provide high-quality education because of

their investment in space. Do you think we get enough back in

practical terms from something like this? Is it about flag-waving? I

think science will be a big part of this mission. Seeing our union flag

on someone 's shoulder is a nice part of it. But the signs should not

be the only justification for humans doing this. -- science. There is an

important benefit. An enchantment inputs and to people about taking

off, taking as outward, not looking inward. It is the measure of an

advanced civilisation that we are supposed to be the fifth or sixth

richest country in the world, hopefully we are better than just

people who look inward. I would like to say we are more outward. Do you

think, there are a lot of jobs dependent on the space sector, could

this have at knock on benefit in the UK? We have our rapidly growing

space sector in Scotland. We are growing it with small spacecraft, we

are doing it differently. It will have a knock-on effect. There are no

jobs in Scotland for schoolchildren to stay and work in Scotland if we

can get them in is used. There we must leave it. Thank you.

In its first month of business, it brought in just ?46.

Fast forward 14 years and travel booking website Skyscanner has been

valued internationally at a billion dollars.

With new offices springing up across the globe,

its headquarters are not in Silicon Valley, but Edinburgh.

Earlier today, I went there to speak to Skyscanner's Chief Executive

How did Skyscanner start? We were looking to get around Europe. There

are lots of budget airlines are emerging. And we could not find a

single place to show us who flies where. We built a tool for ourselves

and then decided to make an Internet business from that. Clearly, it is

not difficult to make money from it now, but was difficult concept at

the beginning to design something like that and make it into a

successful business? We built the tool without knowing there was a

business. We built it because we were convinced it would be useful

for a lot of people. I think our first month of revenue was ?46. And

that was about a year after we started. Going into it for the money

other revenue was not the original goal. And it still is. It is to

solve travel problems and provide customers with suppliers. I'd be

made revenue to allow us to grow from there. How did you started to

grow the business after such an inauspicious start? People really

like using the service. Right at the beginning, what we did was we split

to salaries three ways. It is quite an old-fashioned way to start a

business. But it worked for us and we could all work on it in the

evenings. So as they built-up revenues, all three became

full-time, made our first hire and gradually recruited as the finances

supported. And why Edinburgh? Well, I moved to Edinburgh for family

reasons and I was the first one to start hiring. And that was down in

least. And we had a small service office of Bernard Street and we

established as an Edinburgh company. Has it has been hard attracting the

right sort of people when you are not in Silicon Valley? More and

more, we are. We have a world top 15 computer science Department in

Edinburgh University. And every year, there are graduates, local

graduates and foreign students, that are choosing to base themselves in

Edinburgh. Shall I show you around the office? Yes, I would like that,

let's have a look. Tell me about the setup. How'd you like to work things

here? Everything is open plan. Largely speaking, we work in squads

of to eight people and a range of skills necessary to get things done.

Is there a reason for keeping a small? You do not have to build as

many processes is the number of people that you're working with our

directly accessible to yourself. You have got the other range of

expertise that you need to do the majority of your day job. It also

gives a sense of ownership over what you are building. And it means that

the role of management is one that is more about setting the context,

course correction. It doesn't mean a detailed recipe that needs to be

written up that is then parcel of other people. And do you find you

get more out of people working that way? Yes, I think virtually everyone

gets a greater sense of fulfilment and commitment and enjoyment when

they have control over what the detailed choices, and the big

choices, that they make about their working day and it is a concern for

quality and what we all want, which is pride and fulfilment out of

something we spent quite a bit of time doing during the week. And you

seem quite approachable as CEO. Is that important to you? It is. I

started off as a software engineer, so I have had to learn quite a bit

myself. And I guess, you know, the best way to learn is to be open,

whether it is criticism, constructive criticism, and I need

to hear it. So I suppose I do not know any other way! And it is a bit

of a flat structure that you have here. Yes, you want the maximum

number of people doing something useful. I am almost an overhead, so

the more we can reduce that, the better. So you do not think the

hierarchy is very important? No, I think modern organisations are

becoming semi-autonomous in terms of groups of people having ownership

with different things. And alignments, that is really

important. But autonomy is becoming ever more imbued in teams throughout

the company. What about Scotland as a place to be entrepreneurial? How

have you found that over the years? I would say that we have had a

really high level of positive support and feelings towards our

growth. From a tiny start-up to know nine offices around the world. I

have been very grateful for the reception that we have had, being

based in Edinburgh. And really encouraged to see other people doing

their own thing in Internet economies. I have seen it as a very

positive experience. And when you look at what the Scottish government

can do, we have a budget coming tomorrow, do you think there is more

help the Scottish government could give to fledgling companies who

might want to grow like yours? I think the number one thing is

creating an environment that is encouraging of entrepreneurial

spirit. But I think also focusing on the education system. We have got

some great and Peter science and other department universities in

Scotland and everything that can be done to make those and keep those

world-class is going to have really strong benefits in future years to

the start-up ecosystem, which will be generating all the taxes. The

successful ones. And what is next for Skyscanner? For us, we are

really just at the start of our journey. In some ways, we have been

putting down the basic building blocks but the potential to be an

assistant trusted on your smartphone for when you move around the globe,

anywhere outside your day-to-day normal patterns of movement, and to

provide information and solve questions, and which products do

need? Which travel products? That is going to take off from time to take

off sometimes easily solved. And we'll Edinburgh always be home? You

have offices all over the world. I do not like the eight spoke type

model. I would like quite a devolved structure to our company. But

Edinburgh is now, and will be, the... One of the main spokes, and

indeed are headquarters. That was Gareth Williams speaking

to me earlier today. Here now to chew over some

of the day s other news with me are Anna Burnside from

the Daily Record and political Welcome to you both. Let's kick off

with that rally in Holyrood. Holyrood! Holyrood earlier today. A

Labour MP was suspended from the chamber after refusing orders to sit

down. Mr Kelly, get to your point of order

please. If you would let me make my point of order, I will get on with

it. I wanted to know what it is. If you keep interrupting me, I

cannot... Mr Kelly, please sit down. Sit down. I am not going to sit

down. I will not sit down. I want to make a point of order. Esther Kelly,

please sit down. I wanted to make a point of order and I was not allowed

because you kept interrupting me. Mr Kelly, resume your seat. I am not

going to. Sits down, I am speaking. Can you please is caught Mr Kelly

from the chamber? -- escort. I now suspend until Mr Kelly leads

the chamber. What do you make of the way the

Presiding Officer handle that? I think she handled it well. I think

this is the kind of tiresome behaviour that puts people off

politics and makes it an attractive and gives people who are not anoraks

like as the impression that they just want to stand up and he the of

their own voices and make big fuss. It is a pretty unedifying spectacle

and I think she handled it well. What about James Kelly? Do you think

he was making a fair point or do you think this is all choreographed? I

am going to sit on the fence to a degree! I think there was no default

on both sides. Perhaps a bit of an overreaction from the Presiding

Officer, although I think are really on the bill was absolutely silent.

And James Kelly perhaps over egging it as well. I think there was a

degree of theatre. -- I think her ruling on the sound was -- the bill

was signed. There is a problem between SNP and Labour about who

represents the working-class voice of Scotland. Do you think that was

what it was about, positioning themselves as champion of the

unions? The First Minister was at Downing Street yesterday and has

been majoring on opposition to the trade union Bill, so I think there

was a bit of that. Whether or not what happen this afternoon was

planned I am not sure. It could have been added of opportunistic

grandstanding, rather than preplanned? Perhaps. Last week, we

saw Nicola Sturgeon and Jeremy Corbin sharing a platform on this

very issue at a rally. It does not seem like that cooperation has

lasted very long. No! As David said, this is a flash point issue in which

the SNP are very keen to keep this impression that they are the true

left part of Scotland and leave Labour in the dust. Labour are

scrabbling for any kind of purchase, anything to pull some of that back.

Of course, we have seen politicians break the rules over the years in

houses of parliament, do you think it is usually with publicity in

mind? Yes. The one that springs to mind, Conley a cynic, is Alex

Salmond during the budget in 1988. Sure, he was making a serious point

opposition to the poll tax at that point, but he also knew that by

doing something like that he would get media attention. And not just in

Scotland but across the UK. And it worked! After that moment, Alex

Salmond was perhaps not a Hasselt name but certainly a lot better

non-than he had been until that point. OK, vomiting on, a trial in

Scotland was adjourned after a keeper is accusing witness refused

to give evidence without her still face on. Do you think there is an

argument for a fill these field being banned in some public places?

I am a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a witness wearing something

so all enveloping in a court situation. -- her little face veil

on. I would not want to disrupt anybody's practices but I feel that

the witness in a court case, it is important to see their face and body

language. I just do not see... That is how our court system works and I

do not see how you do that when you can only see somebody's eyes. It is

very difficult. I am not sure what the answer is but I feel a bit

uncomfortable about the idea of someone standing in court as a

witness saw fully covered. Of course, we pride ourselves on

freedom of expression in this country. Why do you think the veil

provokes such strong reactions? It is a very good question. I guess

because for a large section of the population it seems very foreign, it

seems something unfamiliar. In this case, like Anne, it is difficult to

know what do you make of it. I was struck by the president of the

Supreme Court, who made quite an open-minded, progress of speech,

where he was saying that we must in mind how the court experience can be

for someone, and judges have to respect cultural differences with

witnesses. And I think that is probably pretty close to the mark.

Although there are probably a lot of people who might not like to show

their face in court if they were able not to.

But there is a different thing between the very sensitive cases

where you give evidence using a video link and where you are the

kind of witness that the jury need and want to see and be able to

literally see the colour of your eyes and get a feeling for you and

how you present yourself, and what you're talking about. OK, well, late

in the mood slightly. Tonight, Rangers can show you their version

of The Night Before Christmas Now, The Latest Travel News.

Away To The Window Eyes Like A Flash. For Open The Windows And

Throughout The Flash. The Men On The Price Of The New Falling Snow Gave

The Lustre Of Mid Data Objects Below. Then What Should Appear? A

Miniature Sleigh And Eight Tiny Reindeer.

Has That Put You In The Christmas mood? No. I thought I had planned

the depths being at a pantomime with David Hasselhoff and the cranky is

this evening but no. We also managed to track down Alex

Salmond singing for a fundraising CDs.

# Oh, Rhostryfan three... # Ira member on that CD came out.

I remember when that came out. It was not just that track, it was lots

of SNP politicians singing Christmas songs. I think we should applaud the

spirit of that kind of thing. I am sure we could show you more

embarrassing moments but we would have to leave it there for tonight.

I'm back at the same time tomorrow night,