24/05/2016

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:00:00. > :00:00.The former Justice Secretary comes under fire after casting doubt

:00:00. > :00:26.on the safety of the Lockerbie bomber's conviction.

:00:27. > :00:33.Kenny MacAskill is accused of double standards for questioning evidence

:00:34. > :00:38.used against the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.

:00:39. > :00:41.Why has Scotland had a "spectacular" year in attracting

:00:42. > :00:51.And we hear how towns can use their heritage

:00:52. > :01:01.For seven years as Justice Secretary,

:01:02. > :01:03.Kenny MacAskill maintained the Scottish Government's position -

:01:04. > :01:05.that it did not doubt the safety of the Lockerbie

:01:06. > :01:10.But on this programme last night, he cast doubt on the evidence

:01:11. > :01:14.of the main witness in the trial of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

:01:15. > :01:16.And Mr MacAskill said there was every reason to believe

:01:17. > :01:20.Megrahi's conviction might have been overturned on Appeal.

:01:21. > :01:23.That's led campaigners who've long maintained Megrahi's innocence

:01:24. > :01:28.to accuse Mr MacAskill of trying to have it both ways.

:01:29. > :01:31.In a moment, we'll hear from one of those campaigners -

:01:32. > :01:38.but first, a reminder of what Mr MacAskill said last night.

:01:39. > :01:44.actually worth use the prisoner transfer application and I did so

:01:45. > :01:50.because I listened to evidence not simply from victims who were opposed

:01:51. > :01:55.to a transfer but to the Attorney General of the United States because

:01:56. > :01:58.it became quite clear when this had been established, the United Kingdom

:01:59. > :02:02.Government, despite the fact they wouldn't confirm that to me, had

:02:03. > :02:05.given assurances to the United States, the United Nations and to

:02:06. > :02:09.Libya as well as to the relatives that he would serve his sentence in

:02:10. > :02:13.here. I refused the personal transfer agreement but he met the

:02:14. > :02:18.criteria for compassionate release and on that basis I authorised his

:02:19. > :02:23.release. We got nothing out of this. Lockerbie got grief and hardship,

:02:24. > :02:25.the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, Libya,

:02:26. > :02:30.were all involved in brokering because this was a tragedy that

:02:31. > :02:34.befell Lockerbie but Scotland was used as a patsy, especially by the

:02:35. > :02:37.United Kingdom Government. I was a lawyer for 20 years, I've never

:02:38. > :02:43.heard of a witness in Scotland getting more then minuscule

:02:44. > :02:48.expenses. The witness was given millions of pounds. That wasn't

:02:49. > :02:52.known. One of the main witnesses. The main witness. That must cast a

:02:53. > :02:56.doubt about his evidence. I think that it has been an gone. I do

:02:57. > :03:00.know... He was pretty significant. The clothes in the bomb suitcase

:03:01. > :03:05.that linked Megrahi to the bombing, you're not convinced that he did buy

:03:06. > :03:10.that now? The identification wasn't correct, surely that alone would've

:03:11. > :03:14.meant his appeal would've been? I think there is reason to believe the

:03:15. > :03:16.appeal might've been held as what they call unsafe. To Kenny MacAskill

:03:17. > :03:19.speaking to me last night. Listening to that was the author

:03:20. > :03:22.James Robertson, who's a member of the campaign group

:03:23. > :03:30.Justice for Megrahi. Good evening to you. You heard Kenny

:03:31. > :03:35.MacAskill cast doubt on the evidence of the main witness in Megrahi's

:03:36. > :03:38.trial, saying there was every reason his conviction might have been

:03:39. > :03:43.overturned on appeal. Are you surprised to hear him saying that,

:03:44. > :03:48.saying it now? I'm very surprised, actually what he is saying is not

:03:49. > :03:51.just what our campaign group said but what lots of people have been

:03:52. > :03:55.saying for years and years, the evidence on which Megrahi was

:03:56. > :04:00.convicted was unsafe. As he pointed out in the interview last night, Mr

:04:01. > :04:04.McCaskill is now saying the opposite of what he said for seven years when

:04:05. > :04:07.he was cab unit Secretary for Justice, which was the conviction

:04:08. > :04:12.was safe. He specifically says in his book that Megrahi did not buy

:04:13. > :04:16.the clothes. Without that identification of Megrahi as the

:04:17. > :04:21.person who bought the clothes in that shop in Malta, it is impossible

:04:22. > :04:25.to believe that he would be found guilty. He makes a claim in the book

:04:26. > :04:28.to say there were other reasons to think he was involved. That is very

:04:29. > :04:32.strange coming from somebody who said he was a lawyer for 20 years

:04:33. > :04:36.and he was also in charge of our justice system for seven years. That

:04:37. > :04:41.is one of the fundamental principles of justice, that you don't find

:04:42. > :04:44.somebody guilty unless they are found guilty in a court of law

:04:45. > :04:49.beyond all reasonable doubt and Mr McCaskill has said in his book and

:04:50. > :04:54.last night in and in interviews left right and centre, he doubts the

:04:55. > :04:59.safety of the conviction. If you accept, and you do except there are

:05:00. > :05:02.questions about the witness's evidence about the identification,

:05:03. > :05:07.it seems Mr McCaskill does as well, do you think that calls into serious

:05:08. > :05:13.doubt the original conviction? It certainly does. The witness

:05:14. > :05:18.identification of Megrahi was crucial him of the trial judges

:05:19. > :05:23.acknowledged that without that it would've been very hard to have been

:05:24. > :05:29.used the other circumstantial to convict Megrahi on. In fact, the

:05:30. > :05:34.whole Malta connection that the bomb was actually loaded in Malta, which

:05:35. > :05:38.Kenny MacAskill maintains is what happens, becomes very shaky without

:05:39. > :05:43.that identification of Megrahi as the buyer of close. But in his book,

:05:44. > :05:46.Mr MacAskill undermines the campsites to judgment because not

:05:47. > :05:52.only does he say that Mr Megrahi didn't buy the close, which the

:05:53. > :05:55.court city to but he said the coaccused got the bomb on the plane

:05:56. > :05:58.and the judges quite clearly said there in their summing up that there

:05:59. > :06:01.is no evidence that he was even at the airport on the morning that the

:06:02. > :06:08.bomb was supposedly loaded on the plane in both Malta. You might be

:06:09. > :06:11.surprised using all this now seeing as he prepared to take a different

:06:12. > :06:16.position in office, but isn't it helpful to your case standing up to

:06:17. > :06:19.say this, perhaps he feels freer to say it now? It's helpful to our case

:06:20. > :06:24.if somebody who is cabinet justice, who was cabinet secretary for

:06:25. > :06:26.Justice, saying what we said for years and years, but there is a

:06:27. > :06:31.certain amount of double standards here. As I said, while in office, he

:06:32. > :06:35.maintained completely the opposite. I don't think he can have it both

:06:36. > :06:39.ways. Either he has changed his mind since he left office or actually he

:06:40. > :06:42.believed what he is now saying all along, in which case he wasn't being

:06:43. > :06:45.very strict with the people of Scotland all the years that he was

:06:46. > :06:50.in charge of our justice system. I think that leads onto the wider

:06:51. > :06:57.question, what other principles of justice was Mr MacAskill seeking to

:06:58. > :07:01.uphold? He made clear in the interview ended his book, coming out

:07:02. > :07:06.tomorrow, that he thought Scotland was used as a patsy by the UK

:07:07. > :07:09.Government and all of this. So is it helpful that he is highlighting the

:07:10. > :07:16.broader geopolitical situation, do you think? None of that is new

:07:17. > :07:17.really, we all knew there were all kinds of international and

:07:18. > :07:24.diplomatic ramifications going on, we knew that the US in UK

:07:25. > :07:27.governments had their own interests in reestablishing relationships with

:07:28. > :07:30.Libya and so on. So I don't think anything he is saying there is

:07:31. > :07:36.particularly new or particularly interesting, but what it does do I

:07:37. > :07:42.think I sort of hammering home this idea that Scotland was a patsy to

:07:43. > :07:44.the UK and US, he is diverting attention away from the one thing

:07:45. > :07:48.that needs to happen which is that we in Scotland need to get to grips

:07:49. > :07:53.with this massive failing that the Lockerbie investigation represents

:07:54. > :07:55.in our own justice system. He consistently says, we cannot do

:07:56. > :07:59.anything about that, we cannot have an inquiry because we need to be

:08:00. > :08:02.able to call people in from other parts of the world, but that's not

:08:03. > :08:08.true. The one thing you can say about the Scottish legal system is

:08:09. > :08:11.that it is Scotland's and we have the ability to make sure that if it

:08:12. > :08:16.is going wrong, we investigate that and put it right. But he is

:08:17. > :08:19.defending the Scottish justice system quite passionately.

:08:20. > :08:21.He says the police prosecutors, Scottish courts, all acted

:08:22. > :08:26.honorably. Is that not how you see a? I think

:08:27. > :08:29.that remains to be tested. There are so many things that are wrong with

:08:30. > :08:35.the investigation and trial that I think there is severe doubt to that

:08:36. > :08:41.is the case, Justice for Megrahi has submitted a series of allegations to

:08:42. > :08:45.the police some three years ago suggesting that there could've been

:08:46. > :08:49.elements of criminality in aspects of both the investigation and trial.

:08:50. > :08:54.Some of the things that Mr MacAskill says in his book directly relates to

:08:55. > :08:59.those very allegations we made three years ago. It seems to be that he

:09:00. > :09:01.you can't again, he can't on the one hand say that everything was

:09:02. > :09:07.perfectly functioning and at the same time say that in fact the

:09:08. > :09:11.conviction was unsafe. So that police Scotland investigation into

:09:12. > :09:13.those allegations that the group made is still ongoing. Do you think

:09:14. > :09:19.there is anything that Mr MacAskill is said so far that should form part

:09:20. > :09:21.of the police inquiry? Hill I think there is plenty in the book that is

:09:22. > :09:27.directly relevant to those allegations and in fact we have

:09:28. > :09:30.today reported the contents of the book to police Scotland, saying that

:09:31. > :09:33.we think it is very important that that forms part of their

:09:34. > :09:37.investigations as they come to conclude this operation.

:09:38. > :09:41.We certainly think that if there are Mr MacAskill, as he says in his

:09:42. > :09:44.book, has information and evidence that hasn't been in a court before,

:09:45. > :09:48.he should be taking up to the police as a witness. It he doesn't do that,

:09:49. > :09:52.we think the police should investigate him as a witness. In his

:09:53. > :09:55.book, he puts forward his own theory as to what he thinks actually

:09:56. > :10:01.happen. What do you think of the evidence that he puts forward their?

:10:02. > :10:05.It's an interesting book because, as he said, as a lawyer of 20 years

:10:06. > :10:08.standing, a trained lawyer and someone who was cabinet secretary

:10:09. > :10:12.for justice, he doesn't supply a huge amount of back-up information

:10:13. > :10:17.in terms of references and footnotes to the way he described what

:10:18. > :10:21.happened. So I would question some of what he is saying there.

:10:22. > :10:24.Nevertheless, there are certain bits of information in there that I think

:10:25. > :10:27.the police certainly need to investigate to find out whether the

:10:28. > :10:29.information that Mr MacAskill says he has actually stands up. OK, thank

:10:30. > :10:31.you very much. It's been a record-breaking year

:10:32. > :10:35.for inward investment in Scotland. A survey by professional services

:10:36. > :10:38.firm EY found 119 foreign direct investment projects

:10:39. > :10:43.were secured in 2015. The growth rate here was more

:10:44. > :10:57.than double the increase The survey found 51% increase in

:10:58. > :11:03.investment for 20 15th in the year before, compared with 20% for the UK

:11:04. > :11:08.as a whole. In fact, Scotland surpassed South East England to come

:11:09. > :11:12.second only behind Greater London. The survey found that the greatest

:11:13. > :11:16.source of foreign investment was software projects. Next, with a

:11:17. > :11:21.sixfold increase, came business services. And in this city rankings,

:11:22. > :11:27.Edinburgh landed the third spot behind and Manchester. The US

:11:28. > :11:32.continues to be Scotland's main investor. Interestingly, neither

:11:33. > :11:35.China nor India ranks as top ten investors in Scotland, despite both

:11:36. > :11:40.those countries being a big source of investment for the UK as a whole.

:11:41. > :11:43.Is this increase in investment because the uncertainty of the

:11:44. > :11:45.independence referendum is behind us and would continue to deliver

:11:46. > :11:47.economic growth for Scotland? Well, to answer those questions,

:11:48. > :11:49.earlier this evening I was joined by Mark Harvey,

:11:50. > :12:02.Senior Partner at EY. Investment here is more than doubled

:12:03. > :12:06.the UK as a whole last year. By contrast with the relentlessly

:12:07. > :12:12.gloomy news we been getting about jobs, about growth, in Scotland,

:12:13. > :12:15.isn't it? I think it is fantastic news for Scotland, 190 projects have

:12:16. > :12:19.come here in the past 12 months. The majority of those are from new

:12:20. > :12:24.investors coming into Scotland which I think bodes well for the future.

:12:25. > :12:28.Over 5000 new jobs. I think what it demonstrates is that Scotland, as an

:12:29. > :12:32.economy and a location, is punching above its weight. It's a location

:12:33. > :12:35.where global businesses want to come and invest. I think we hear what the

:12:36. > :12:38.conversation about the Northern powerhouse. I think we've got a

:12:39. > :12:42.Scottish powerhouse in terms of being able to attract great

:12:43. > :12:45.companies to come and invest in Scotland. What you put this

:12:46. > :12:50.record-breaking investment in two and what sort of money are we

:12:51. > :12:53.talking about? Quite significant sums. Organisations who have come to

:12:54. > :12:56.Scotland, we fasten the question, what actually makes a difference?

:12:57. > :13:00.There are two clear reasons that they always cite.

:13:01. > :13:02.One is infrastructure and in particular transport, and I think we

:13:03. > :13:06.are doing better in that regard. You can always do better, but I

:13:07. > :13:08.think we are doing well, our airports and road and rail

:13:09. > :13:09.infrastructure is getting better, and I think the other factor that

:13:10. > :13:24.they often cite is the quality of people that they

:13:25. > :13:27.can recruit here. The quality of people coming out of

:13:28. > :13:29.universities, and indeed the way that universities collaborate with

:13:30. > :13:32.companies where they come to work in Scotland, they see that as a

:13:33. > :13:33.positive aspect of coming to work in Scotland.

:13:34. > :13:37.If you look at Amber University, they are producing lots of good

:13:38. > :13:40.graduates in this area. We see lots of software projects coming to

:13:41. > :13:44.Edinburgh. I think we have got a cluster forming in Scotland around

:13:45. > :13:48.software, we've got some unicorns that we know about with the likes of

:13:49. > :13:52.sky 's banner, and now we've got inward investors, large global

:13:53. > :13:55.software companies also wanted to come to Scotland to invest alongside

:13:56. > :13:58.our indigenous businesses and to use the high-quality people that we've

:13:59. > :14:10.got coming out of the universities here in Scotland. There was cannot

:14:11. > :14:13.-- there was claim and counterclaim about investment during the

:14:14. > :14:21.referendum. As that had an impact on companies? Scotland has been the

:14:22. > :14:31.number one or number two performing region outside of London. The

:14:32. > :14:38.question around the perception of Scotland is really important. If we

:14:39. > :14:43.look back 12 months, we as investors what was important to them and asked

:14:44. > :14:49.them to compare it to the rest of the UK. 6% of people said Scotland

:14:50. > :14:55.was their preferred location. We put that down the things like the Ryder

:14:56. > :15:00.Cup, the Commonwealth Games and the referendum and Scotland was front

:15:01. > :15:06.and centre of minds on the global stage. But sentiment has dropped

:15:07. > :15:10.back so only 4% on the global stage. If there is a message going for it

:15:11. > :15:15.is that Scotland needs to maintain its brand on the global stage. What

:15:16. > :15:21.countries should Scotland be targeting? India and China do not

:15:22. > :15:28.rank in the top ten of countries investing in Scotland. The US has

:15:29. > :15:32.always been the major country where investment has originated from and

:15:33. > :15:36.we should never forget that and continue to invest there. Scotland

:15:37. > :15:40.punches the rest of the UK in terms of attracting investment from the

:15:41. > :15:46.US. When you get countries investing in the rest of the UK and Europe,

:15:47. > :15:50.are perhaps not investing as much in Scotland, India and China are in the

:15:51. > :15:55.top five for the UK but are not in the top ten for Scotland. That is an

:15:56. > :15:58.area where we should focus on building relationships, build trust

:15:59. > :16:04.so that organisations and companies want to invest in Scotland. Greater

:16:05. > :16:08.London still attracted more than four times the number of companies

:16:09. > :16:14.in the whole of Scotland. Is there anything that can be done about that

:16:15. > :16:18.pull towards London? The statistics this year are a landmark in terms of

:16:19. > :16:23.the devolution agenda across the whole of the UK and the performance

:16:24. > :16:28.of the regions. Of all of the growth and foreign direct investment in the

:16:29. > :16:34.UK, the vast majority has come in regions outside London and that is

:16:35. > :16:38.the first in a number of steps. That is why it is important that Scotland

:16:39. > :16:42.is number one region because, as investment comes outside of London,

:16:43. > :16:45.for us to be an attractive location is important.

:16:46. > :16:48.Now - Scotland's largest town, Paisley, is vying to be

:16:49. > :16:51.Back in the 19th century, it was the epicentre

:16:52. > :16:53.of the textile industry and political radicalism.

:16:54. > :16:55.After years of post-industrial decline, it's been on a mission

:16:56. > :17:02.to revitalise its biggest asset - its heritage architecture.

:17:03. > :17:06.Today Historic Environment Scotland - the new public body designed

:17:07. > :17:10.to make us all care more about Scotland's history -

:17:11. > :17:12.launched its national strategy there.

:17:13. > :17:15.So what lessons might Paisley have for the rest of us?

:17:16. > :17:32.In the heart of the Scottish Highlands begins the road to sky and

:17:33. > :17:37.the other islands of the Hebrides. The bluest of skies, the greenest of

:17:38. > :17:41.forests. Towering mountains and splendid isolation. The charms of

:17:42. > :17:46.the Scottish landscape are well known. But what if you are living in

:17:47. > :17:50.a town like Paisley. Once an industrial powerhouse, but in recent

:17:51. > :17:56.years, fallen on hard times. It is also known for its architecture.

:17:57. > :18:00.Today, the new body looking after injured buildings in Scotland

:18:01. > :18:03.decided to take out its three-year plan at Paisley Abbey. It says

:18:04. > :18:10.Heritage can help drive economic prosperity. The heritage sector is

:18:11. > :18:14.worth ?2.3 billion to the economy. Scottish heritage is for absolutely

:18:15. > :18:18.everybody and we want more Scots to get involved in their heritage,

:18:19. > :18:29.whether that be at a local level or at a national level. It is a product

:18:30. > :18:38.of Clark and company. In the worst... Clerks of Paisley produced

:18:39. > :18:43.materials for high fashion Gardening -- garments. The industry changed.

:18:44. > :18:47.The Clarks factory is long gone. Many of the mills that made Paisley

:18:48. > :18:51.and international name have been converted. But it can has not had

:18:52. > :18:58.its troubles to seek in recent years. It has had a reputation for

:18:59. > :19:03.deprivation and violence. Tell me about the reputation Paisley had and

:19:04. > :19:07.where are you now? Is he didn't have a good reputation but it is changing

:19:08. > :19:11.for the better. What we are doing now is celebrating the assets that

:19:12. > :19:16.Paisley has and it has fantastic assets. It has heritage, it has the

:19:17. > :19:22.highest concentration of listed buildings outside Edinburgh. An easy

:19:23. > :19:26.example is right behind us. 18 months ago that was an empty

:19:27. > :19:31.building, now there are 12 flats, a new restaurant going in the bottom.

:19:32. > :19:36.It must be difficult for councils who have hard choices to make to put

:19:37. > :19:42.money into heritage products. This is about investing in growth.

:19:43. > :19:46.Councils have become used to the idea of having strict financial

:19:47. > :19:53.circumstances. What we have is use the limited resources we have two

:19:54. > :19:57.generate income. They are still serving cappuccinos here at 9pm. The

:19:58. > :20:01.owner of this business says that was unheard of in Paisley. Business is

:20:02. > :20:07.good. The fourth adventure has just opened. A lot of people are coming

:20:08. > :20:11.in and bringing attention to Paisley. We have Paisley Abbey, the

:20:12. > :20:17.Paisley Museum is looking to do a move down the high street. We are

:20:18. > :20:21.valuing these assets. People are starting to look at that and talk

:20:22. > :20:25.about that and talk about good things about Paisley. Paisley had a

:20:26. > :20:31.bad reputation, especially the town centre, now there is such an era of

:20:32. > :20:35.positivity. We are seeing new bars and restaurants. The university has

:20:36. > :20:39.been a massive thing. It has really grown. It is bringing a lot of

:20:40. > :20:46.international students which gives it a university field. The three

:20:47. > :20:50.year strategy is not just about injured buildings. Maps,

:20:51. > :20:53.photographs, sculpture are all included. Historic environment

:20:54. > :20:57.Scotland wants is to get involved from enjoying your local park to

:20:58. > :20:59.voluntary and community groups. Heritage is all around us. While

:21:00. > :21:04.others follow his example? Joining me to discuss some

:21:05. > :21:06.of the main stories of today are journalists Lynsey Bews

:21:07. > :21:16.and Dominic Hinde... Let's start with our top story,

:21:17. > :21:24.Lockerbie. A story that never goes away. What do you make of the

:21:25. > :21:28.fittest intervention? It has caused a stir and it has brought Lockerbie,

:21:29. > :21:34.the story that never goes away, right back into the headlines again.

:21:35. > :21:38.He that of confusing contradictions in this book. It seems I am yet to

:21:39. > :21:42.read it but from what has been there are so far, he seems to be

:21:43. > :21:46.contradicting what he previously said about the McGrady conviction

:21:47. > :21:51.and contradicting some of what was said by the Scottish Government

:21:52. > :21:55.about this transfer agreement. Having had a sneak preview of the

:21:56. > :21:59.book, he is questioning some of the evidence about the main witness and

:22:00. > :22:08.still saying the conviction stands in some way. Is it fair he is

:22:09. > :22:13.accused of double standards here? The weirdest thing about this book

:22:14. > :22:23.is that he doesn't offer any better alternatives. He has written a book

:22:24. > :22:26.to save the... What he has not done is present and the evidence to the

:22:27. > :22:32.contrary. We know the conviction might be unsafe that is not the

:22:33. > :22:37.issue here. He has chosen to say this without really justifying his

:22:38. > :22:44.decision. I wonder if some of the revelations are surprising. He was

:22:45. > :22:49.talking about when they were trying to make the Scottish Government the

:22:50. > :22:52.involved in the prisoner transfer agreement the Scottish Government

:22:53. > :22:56.took the view they would try to extract concessions from the UK

:22:57. > :23:03.Government on their rifles and slopping out. It sounded a little

:23:04. > :23:07.bit groggy. It does contradict what Alex Salmond previously told us. He

:23:08. > :23:12.seemed to suggest that the Scottish Government had no involvement in any

:23:13. > :23:17.of those grubby dealings as you put them. No one is coming out of this

:23:18. > :23:22.looking particularly good. Certainly not the UK Government, not the US

:23:23. > :23:28.government, but not the Scottish Government either from some of the

:23:29. > :23:33.things I have read. Kenny MacAskill would say, actually, this would go

:23:34. > :23:38.ahead anyway, so we thought we would get these concessions, but it does

:23:39. > :23:42.sound a little curious. Is it brave attempt to stand up and say this is

:23:43. > :23:46.actually the sort of pressure we were under at the time? The other

:23:47. > :23:52.governments were not being honest about this. It is understandable

:23:53. > :23:56.they were under pressure. The fact it ended up as a Scottish case was

:23:57. > :24:01.bound to an accident of geography and the fact the plane came down

:24:02. > :24:04.over Lockerbie and not 50 miles further south. The problem is that

:24:05. > :24:10.you have a government which doesn't have many hours trying to negotiate

:24:11. > :24:16.and it is offered a bargaining piece and they tried to make the best of

:24:17. > :24:19.it. I think it was a difficult situation. There is no reason for

:24:20. > :24:27.him to sit this now. It seems odd timing. Let's move on to fracking.

:24:28. > :24:31.Campaigners are considering a legal challenge after approval was granted

:24:32. > :24:34.by councillors in North Yorkshire yesterday. It might give hope to

:24:35. > :24:44.some of those who support the industry in Scotland. Did you think

:24:45. > :24:48.he is right to be optimistic? I am not so sure he is ready to be

:24:49. > :24:51.optimistic. I think the moratorium will be in place for a good while

:24:52. > :24:55.longer before the Scottish Government makes a decision on

:24:56. > :25:00.whether it will press ahead with fracking in Scotland. I think the

:25:01. > :25:05.move from the energy minister into a different breed, Nicola Sturgeon

:25:06. > :25:09.previously said she is sceptical about fracking. It is Nicola

:25:10. > :25:15.Sturgeon who will call the shots on this one. Let's not forget that when

:25:16. > :25:20.the Tories might beat the opposition now, and in power in Westminster,

:25:21. > :25:24.you have then got later, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens saying they

:25:25. > :25:29.are against it. Is the mood music that this will be a permanent ban?

:25:30. > :25:34.It does provoke quite a lot of passion in people? We might be

:25:35. > :25:39.looking at a permanent moratorium in the sense that the SNP will not lift

:25:40. > :25:43.the moratorium because it is politically unpalatable for many of

:25:44. > :25:47.their new members for whom fracking is an emotive issue. On the other

:25:48. > :25:52.hand, they will keep the door open in that five or six years, if they

:25:53. > :25:59.win another term and the argument dies down then perhaps then they

:26:00. > :26:03.will go for it. Moving on, there were testy exchanges during Mark

:26:04. > :26:08.Carney's evidence to the Treasury Select Committee. Quizzed by the

:26:09. > :26:11.food leave campaigner Jacob Rees-Mogg on whether there was undue

:26:12. > :26:13.influence from the Treasury the governor of the Bank of England

:26:14. > :26:24.insisted there had not. Those of the judgments of the nine

:26:25. > :26:27.independent members of the monetary policy committee. The political area

:26:28. > :26:36.where you would not come into general election, give a G. This is

:26:37. > :26:41.not a general election. This is still a popular vote across the

:26:42. > :26:46.country. As the Prime Minister has said, it is more important than the

:26:47. > :26:51.general election. We have a responsibility to discharge our

:26:52. > :26:56.remit and we have a broader responsibility to the British

:26:57. > :26:58.people. Eight other similarities to the conversations that were going on

:26:59. > :27:04.here during the independence referendum. That is right and I

:27:05. > :27:08.wonder why Mark Carney was losing patience there with that of

:27:09. > :27:12.vice-chairman. He is making the point that it is right for the Bank

:27:13. > :27:17.of England to give excuse than this one. It is not a political view, it

:27:18. > :27:21.is economic analysis and it would be wrong -- strange if the bank of

:27:22. > :27:25.England had nothing to say about the economic impact of the UK leaving

:27:26. > :27:29.the EU. It is not a general election, it is a referendum on a

:27:30. > :27:36.single issue. We expect to hear from the back of England on this. Does

:27:37. > :27:43.that make a difference? I think it does to an extent. When it is such a

:27:44. > :27:46.big decision there is a responsibility for academics and

:27:47. > :27:49.other public figures who have informed views to contribute and

:27:50. > :27:54.compiled with recent opinions. It contributes to a good debate. There

:27:55. > :27:58.we will have to leave it. Thank you for coming in this evening.

:27:59. > :28:01.Andrew will be here with you tomorrow night, usual time.

:28:02. > :28:04.Until then,we leave you with actor Burt Kwouk who died today aged 85,

:28:05. > :28:06.and one of his best known characters, Inspector Clouseau's

:28:07. > :28:07.manservant Cato in the Pink Panther films.

:28:08. > :28:49.One moment please. For you. I really congratulate you. It was very good.

:28:50. > :28:56.Your flight is undone. And so, my friend, are you.

:28:57. > :29:05.People were afraid of her political convictions -

:29:06. > :29:10.Dear Mama, last night we had nearly four inches of rain.

:29:11. > :29:14.People can be seen going about fetching bread and other things

:29:15. > :29:17.on floating sofas or wooden bedsteads.

:29:18. > :29:19.From global trends to political tension,

:29:20. > :29:22.This Week's World takes one prominent issue each week

:29:23. > :29:26.and examines in-depth the effect on ordinary lives

:29:27. > :29:34.to really understand the issue and potential solutions.

:29:35. > :29:37.The biggest and bloodiest naval battle...