:00:34. > :00:46.The grimmest news overnight for all of us, north and south of the
:00:47. > :00:51.border, a British hostage, David Haines, has been executed. The news
:00:52. > :00:54.sends a shudder even through the extraordinary referendum campaign in
:00:55. > :00:57.Scotland from where we bring you the programme. The most important moment
:00:58. > :01:02.in British politics since the Second World War. All we know is that the
:01:03. > :01:08.referendum is very, very close and on the edge, on the cusp.
:01:09. > :01:11.Remarkably, it is heading to a dead heat. Whatever happens, the
:01:12. > :01:18.300-year-old union is going to change dramatically. Separation, we
:01:19. > :01:21.are told, or a new federal arrangement, perhaps. Who really
:01:22. > :01:26.knows and who can we trust? This morning I am joined by the Scottish
:01:27. > :01:30.First Minister and leader of the independent campaign, Alex Salmond,
:01:31. > :01:35.and his opponent, Alistair Darling, leader of Better Together. Who
:01:36. > :01:39.should go first, we decided the only fair way was a toss of a coin. In a
:01:40. > :01:46.city alive with debate and fizzing with argument, the newspaper review
:01:47. > :01:51.features Edinburgh locals, Alex Massie, and on the independent site,
:01:52. > :01:55.the bestselling crime writer Val MacDiarmid. It's not just political
:01:56. > :02:02.godfathers. Al Pacino joins us from Hollywood to talk about his latest
:02:03. > :02:10.prospect, a gory tale of loss, Oscar world's Salome. And we rounded off
:02:11. > :02:14.with traditional music from the New Generation -- Oscar Wilde. First,
:02:15. > :02:16.over to London for the news. Good morning.
:02:17. > :02:19.The Prime Minister has condemned the murder of the British aid worker,
:02:20. > :02:23.A video of Mr Haines, which apparently shows him
:02:24. > :02:26.being beheaded, was released online by Islamic State militants.
:02:27. > :02:28.David Cameron has vowed to do everything possible to hunt
:02:29. > :02:33.The video also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage.
:02:34. > :02:45.Less than 24 hours ago, it was revealed that the family of David
:02:46. > :02:49.Haines had appealed to his captors to make contact with them. Their
:02:50. > :02:55.response was a video said to show his murder. Prime Minister, what are
:02:56. > :02:59.your thoughts about the hostage? Late last night the Prime Minister
:03:00. > :03:02.return to Downing Street saying the killing was despicable and
:03:03. > :03:05.appalling. In statements posted on Twitter, David Cameron said the
:03:06. > :03:09.murder of David Haines was an act of pure evil, adding that he would do
:03:10. > :03:15.everything in his power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face
:03:16. > :03:19.justice, however long it takes. David Haynes had spent years coming
:03:20. > :03:23.to the aid of war-torn countries -- David Haines. In 2003 he was filmed
:03:24. > :03:27.in Croatia helping people to return to homes they had abandoned. There
:03:28. > :03:32.are many people who do want to return and they don't know how and
:03:33. > :03:35.who to turn to. In doing this, the office normally goes across to
:03:36. > :03:40.Belgrade and actually meets the people so they can gain trust from
:03:41. > :03:44.us. Colleagues say he was passionate about his work, but last year, when
:03:45. > :03:49.the relief operation in northern Syria, he was kidnapped. He had been
:03:50. > :03:52.in the country but just a few days. The 44-year-old, who had two
:03:53. > :03:56.children, grew up in Scotland and was educated at Perth Academy.
:03:57. > :04:01.Paying tribute, his family said he was most alive and enthusiastic in
:04:02. > :04:05.his humanitarian roles. The video footage also includes a threat to
:04:06. > :04:08.kill a second British person who has been captured. The question now is
:04:09. > :04:13.how the government responds when the emergency committee meets later.
:04:14. > :04:14.The death of David Haines has prompted
:04:15. > :04:17.the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to say that more needs to be
:04:18. > :04:22.He announced that Australia is to send 600 troops and fighter jets to
:04:23. > :04:24.the United Arab Emirates to assist the international coalition
:04:25. > :04:30.It follows a formal request from the United States.
:04:31. > :04:33.The two sides in the Scottish independence debate are targeting
:04:34. > :04:36.people who have still not made up their mind about how they will vote
:04:37. > :04:40.A number of new opinion polls have been published -
:04:41. > :04:44.but they suggest that the contest is still too close to call.
:04:45. > :04:46.In Ukraine, there's been further heavy fighting
:04:47. > :04:51.That's despite the ceasefire agreed a week ago between the government
:04:52. > :04:55.Ukrainian soldiers say they've repelled an attack
:04:56. > :05:00.by rebels who control much of the rest of the city.
:05:01. > :05:02.Hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped by floodwaters
:05:03. > :05:08.Military specialists blew up three dykes in order to save cities from
:05:09. > :05:14.the raging floodwaters that have already killed hundreds of people.
:05:15. > :05:16.Officials say more than 2 million people have been affected
:05:17. > :05:23.I'll be back with the headlines just before ten o'clock.
:05:24. > :05:39.Now to the papers, and with me to review the papers are Val McDermid
:05:40. > :05:55.Donald Dewar looking a little forlorn there. On the Sunday Post, a
:05:56. > :06:04.very union orientated cover with both flags. The Sunday Times has
:06:05. > :06:08.Scotland's future on a knife edge. All the papers agree it is now too
:06:09. > :06:12.close to call and we will talk about it in a minute. Or editorialising
:06:13. > :06:19.FrontPage on the skunk -- Sunday. Scottish soldiers lost their lives
:06:20. > :06:24.trying to preserve the United Kingdom. What will the family say
:06:25. > :06:29.now, well, it no longer matters. We were talking about the ghastly
:06:30. > :06:41.beheading story. Jihad each of their heads Scottish suspect -- jihad each
:06:42. > :06:48.-- Jihadi john. So to the newspapers. Val, your first story,
:06:49. > :06:53.we have to talk about the hostage crisis, that ghastly story. It's a
:06:54. > :06:56.terrible story and it's hard to know what to say except to express deep
:06:57. > :07:02.sadness and disgust at what is going on here. It is a terrible, terrible
:07:03. > :07:05.thing, particularly when it is aid workers who are being treated in
:07:06. > :07:10.this way. People who have gone there with the sole intention of trying to
:07:11. > :07:16.ameliorate what is a terrible state. Alex, this is clearly a good man.
:07:17. > :07:20.Yes, clearly, murdered by appalling people, people who do for once merit
:07:21. > :07:26.the description the scum of humanity. They are like the Croatian
:07:27. > :07:31.regime in the Second World War whose attitude was: -- kill a third,
:07:32. > :07:35.convert a third of Orthodox Serbs and Jews, and we are seeing a
:07:36. > :07:40.reversion to that kind of barbarism in the Middle East and it poses an
:07:41. > :07:45.extraordinary challenge for policymakers. The papers don't pick
:07:46. > :07:50.up on the policy applications. A bit too early for the papers to comment
:07:51. > :07:53.on that. It is a difficult thing to have a strategy in this situation
:07:54. > :07:57.because it seems everything we have done in the past has pushed the
:07:58. > :08:01.dominoes over quicker and there might be an argument for saying it's
:08:02. > :08:05.the time to step away. The question of paying or not paying as the other
:08:06. > :08:10.one. The French pay for hostages and we don't. Anyway, moving on to the
:08:11. > :08:17.other stories, and the Scottish story, which rightly dominates
:08:18. > :08:22.everything. Val, you have the front of the Sunday Herald. Most of the
:08:23. > :08:26.London papers are very pro-union, so it's interesting to see a
:08:27. > :08:30.pro-independence FrontPage. A remarkable wrap around in the Sunday
:08:31. > :08:35.Herald which is essentially the many faces of Scotland. It is a reminder
:08:36. > :08:43.to us that this is not a monochrome nation any more, that Scotland has
:08:44. > :08:50.become a multicultural place. A place of welcome. It's amazing to
:08:51. > :08:55.sit here and look at the faces, because I could study this all
:08:56. > :08:58.morning. Alex, you have chosen the Sunday Times, which has done a big
:08:59. > :09:04.job on this, including interviewing both of my two guests today. Have we
:09:05. > :09:08.learnt anything new? I'm not sure at this late stage after nearly three
:09:09. > :09:11.years of official campaigning and 30 or 40 years of constitutional
:09:12. > :09:17.thought that there is really the opportunity to learn more that is
:09:18. > :09:23.dramatically new. But Jason alibis, the editor of the Scottish Sunday
:09:24. > :09:29.Times has done a nice job here. He suggests towards the end of his
:09:30. > :09:32.piece activities a no vote then Alex Salmond might step down and make way
:09:33. > :09:39.for his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, which might be news to both of them.
:09:40. > :09:45.But it concludes, quite correctly, that even a no vote will lead to the
:09:46. > :09:48.devolution of greater powers and powers of the sort that the Scottish
:09:49. > :09:55.National party could have scarcely greened up 20 years ago. Now, Val,
:09:56. > :09:59.-- scarcely dream of 20 years ago. Now, Val, who are the crucial
:10:00. > :10:04.campaigners? It depends on who you read and look at. We have papers
:10:05. > :10:07.here saying that traditional Labour heartlands hold the key to the fate
:10:08. > :10:14.of the union. Migrant groups hold the key in the boat. But I actually
:10:15. > :10:17.think this might be a crucial group here. Groundskeeper Willie from The
:10:18. > :10:30.Simpsons has declared himself as a yes. They always hold the key. They
:10:31. > :10:36.always have. There are whole bunch of keys out there it seems. Alex,
:10:37. > :10:41.your neck story. So many -- your next story. There are so many
:10:42. > :10:45.different groups claiming that they are the key one, but Scotland on
:10:46. > :10:49.Sunday has a nice story that revisits a pair of twins,
:10:50. > :10:53.17-year-old boys, who were the first babies born after the 1997
:10:54. > :10:57.devolution referendum that established the Scottish Parliament.
:10:58. > :11:04.The paper had them on the front page back then and it has gone back to
:11:05. > :11:08.them and interviewed them. The paper did refer to them as the yes yes
:11:09. > :11:13.twins in 1997, they are both going to vote no this time. I much enjoyed
:11:14. > :11:18.on the streets of Edinburgh watching bemused, non-English speaking
:11:19. > :11:24.tourists being grabbed by yes and no campaigners and given badges. I have
:11:25. > :11:29.never seen Edinburgh like this. Absolutely extraordinary. Everywhere
:11:30. > :11:32.people are talking, shops, pubs, the streets, everywhere there is an
:11:33. > :11:35.incredible conversation going on. It's not just in Edinburgh, it's
:11:36. > :11:38.throughout Scotland, where ever I have been in the last few weeks it's
:11:39. > :11:43.been the same thing. When I've not been in Scotland, it's whether it's
:11:44. > :11:49.-- it is the first question people ask. Cab drivers or German
:11:50. > :11:51.journalist, people want to know. All these different faces and
:11:52. > :11:57.experiences. What is your personal perspective? It took me a long time
:11:58. > :12:00.to make a decision because it seemed that wherever you ask, you got a
:12:01. > :12:04.different answer and there was no clear path to the future. In the end
:12:05. > :12:07.I looked at the past for the answer and I looked at what the Scottish
:12:08. > :12:09.Parliament has done since we have had a Scottish parliament and it
:12:10. > :12:15.seemed to be, broadly speaking, that the things they had done, free
:12:16. > :12:19.prescriptions, free tertiary education, national health service,
:12:20. > :12:22.they all seem to be in tune with my own broad instincts of social
:12:23. > :12:28.democracy, so that was the basis where I came to the yes vote. A lot
:12:29. > :12:36.of them put by -- put through by English votes by a Welshman. An
:12:37. > :12:40.interesting story in the Sunday Herald, and it is a musician who is
:12:41. > :12:44.talking about the analogy, if you like, between the break-up of her
:12:45. > :12:49.marriage and the break-up of the United Kingdom. She acknowledges the
:12:50. > :12:52.imperfect nurse of the analogy but talks about the way you learn new
:12:53. > :12:56.ways of doing things on the adjustments that need to be made.
:12:57. > :13:00.It's an interesting example of how people 's personal experience has
:13:01. > :13:06.fed into their attitudes. And then strategies the healing, whatever
:13:07. > :13:10.happens. Whatever happens, things are not going to be the same in
:13:11. > :13:13.Scotland. The level of engagement with politics is remarkable. I've
:13:14. > :13:18.never seen anything like it in my lifetime. I think Scotland must have
:13:19. > :13:21.the best politically educated population anywhere in the world at
:13:22. > :13:27.the moment, at any rate. You will move onto another story about
:13:28. > :13:33.jihadists. Another huge story. Two stories here. There are a group of
:13:34. > :13:36.prominent British Muslims writing to the Observer newspaper asking the
:13:37. > :13:41.Prime Minister and the rest of the political and media classes,
:13:42. > :13:45.presumably, to cease calling them Islamic State, they are saying there
:13:46. > :13:48.is nothing Islamic about their actions and ideology, which is an
:13:49. > :13:51.important distinction to make, but I'm not quite sure what we could
:13:52. > :13:57.call them except by what they call themselves. And in the Sunday Times
:13:58. > :13:59.you have the former commissioner of special operations at the
:14:00. > :14:08.Metropolitan Police suggesting that whether we like it or not, any
:14:09. > :14:19.returning jihadists from Syria or Iraq should be rewarded to recant
:14:20. > :14:26.and win the propaganda war. You picked up one non-Scottish story. In
:14:27. > :14:32.the Sunday Telegraph, Peter O Bourne has a piece on the first of a series
:14:33. > :14:35.of pieces about modern slavery. This is a subject that the government has
:14:36. > :14:39.made some headway with and could still do more. It could set an
:14:40. > :14:44.example for other countries around the world and it is the sort of grim
:14:45. > :14:49.downside of globalisation, in some ways. Something that maybe doesn't
:14:50. > :14:53.receive as much attention as it should, and this is another scourge
:14:54. > :14:59.that needs to be eliminated. We cannot finish an Edinburgh-based
:15:00. > :15:03.paper review without mentioning the rival -- Ryder Cup. Slightly golf
:15:04. > :15:08.close this morning, if I might say. Have you picked a golfing story?
:15:09. > :15:11.Yes, at the time of the Ryder Cup it's important to notice that the
:15:12. > :15:15.Royal and ancient at St Andrews is having the crucial vote on whether
:15:16. > :15:19.they should let women in. We are about to enter the 19th century and
:15:20. > :15:23.St Andrews by letting women be part of the golf world. That is a very
:15:24. > :15:24.good thing. Thank you for being part of the paper review. Now I will
:15:25. > :15:39.speak to Gordon Parreira in London. Gordon, I gather there will be a
:15:40. > :15:43.meeting in an hour or so in Downing Street?
:15:44. > :15:48.Yes, the emergency committee Cobra being chaired by the Prime Minister,
:15:49. > :15:53.also with the foreign secretaries and intelligence officials looking
:15:54. > :15:57.at a response this terrible killing. We have already heard from the Prime
:15:58. > :16:01.Minister describing it as an act of pure evil and saying everything will
:16:02. > :16:07.be done to bring those behind the murder to justice. We have had a lot
:16:08. > :16:13.of confusion about the British government's attitude to joining the
:16:14. > :16:18.Americans in bombing ISIS, do you think this will be the moment we get
:16:19. > :16:22.some clarity after this ghastly crime? I certainly think this
:16:23. > :16:26.changes the intensity around but question, of trying to work out
:16:27. > :16:32.whether Britain will be involved in direct military action. It is arming
:16:33. > :16:36.the Kurds who are taking on Islamic State, but whether it gets involved
:16:37. > :16:40.in direct air strikes in Iraq, and of course America is even
:16:41. > :16:44.considering air strikes in Syria, I think that has been an issue where
:16:45. > :16:49.the Government has still been looking at it. Whether as an instant
:16:50. > :16:54.reaction to this video they are likely to change their position, I'm
:16:55. > :16:58.not sure about that. It may be that they will want to continue to
:16:59. > :17:03.consider that over the coming days, but we will have to wait and see
:17:04. > :17:06.what comes out of this meeting, as all of the senior officials get
:17:07. > :17:12.together to decide what their response will be to this video. A
:17:13. > :17:17.lot of people's thoughts will be with the second hostage and the
:17:18. > :17:25.family of the second named British hostage, any news about that? No, is
:17:26. > :17:31.this second hostage at the end of this video, in the same way David
:17:32. > :17:38.Haines was seen at the end of the video of Steven Sotloff. It is
:17:39. > :17:42.terrible for his family but also for the Government as a whole in how to
:17:43. > :17:47.respond to this. Britain says it does not pay ransom to these groups
:17:48. > :17:57.for hostages, that has been a long-standing policy, the view is
:17:58. > :18:00.that it would be potentially funding those groups. But without the
:18:01. > :18:06.possibility of making concessions in any way, which is against British
:18:07. > :18:12.policy, there are very few good options. Rescue attempts were locked
:18:13. > :18:18.out, the US special forces went in in July but they came out
:18:19. > :18:22.empty-handed. I think one of the challenges for the Government and
:18:23. > :18:26.for Cobra when it meets will be really the lack of good options when
:18:27. > :18:32.it comes to dealing with this terrible situation. There are not
:18:33. > :18:35.always good answers for good questions. Thank you. Now to the
:18:36. > :18:40.weather. When I arrived in Edinburgh
:18:41. > :18:43.yesterday, it was bathed in warm, golden sunshine - the Athens
:18:44. > :18:46.of the north in more ways than one. What's in store for the rest of the
:18:47. > :18:49.weekend, here and around the UK? Over to Matt Taylor
:18:50. > :18:59.in the weather studio. Not much sunshine for you there
:19:00. > :19:04.today, you can see how extensive the cloud is but we have some breaks
:19:05. > :19:09.around the Moray Firth. There will be some good cloud breaks in the
:19:10. > :19:16.south-east, but here we will see some heavy showers through the day.
:19:17. > :19:22.That will be the story for much of the UK, another dry day. Whilst
:19:23. > :19:31.temperatures will be a little down on yesterday, still warm datacom.
:19:32. > :19:35.Later in the night, eastern Scotland and north-east England is where it
:19:36. > :19:40.will become more damp with extensive hill fog to take us into Monday
:19:41. > :19:46.morning. Not a desperately chilly start to Monday but a cloudy one by
:19:47. > :19:51.and large. Some heavy bursts of rain in north-east England, particularly
:19:52. > :20:00.on the Pennines. Elsewhere one or two showers possible, but mostly
:20:01. > :20:04.will stick with the dry story. Temperatures will climb as we go
:20:05. > :20:07.into Tuesday and Wednesday. A bit more cloud further north, and in
:20:08. > :20:16.Scotland some further rain at times. So, to the first of our big
:20:17. > :20:19.political beasts this morning - Scotland's First Minister, leader of
:20:20. > :20:30.the independence campaign I must ask you first about your
:20:31. > :20:34.reflections on this ghastly news of David Haines. It is an unspeakable
:20:35. > :20:39.act of barbarism. Our condolences go to the members of his family, who
:20:40. > :20:44.have borne this with such fortitude in recent months. Some of the family
:20:45. > :20:52.are of course in Scotland. That's correct, and David himself spent
:20:53. > :20:59.many years in Scotland. There will be a meeting to look at our specific
:21:00. > :21:06.response, the Scottish Government's equivalent of Cobra. For example the
:21:07. > :21:10.privacy of his family in the coming days is one of our concerns, and a
:21:11. > :21:27.wider responsibility to the community of Scotland. --
:21:28. > :21:38.communities. So there are community relations to be thought about.
:21:39. > :21:50.That's right. The Jewish communities were not responsible in the Syrian
:21:51. > :21:55.attacks... What about the other controversial issue of paying for
:21:56. > :21:59.hostages, the British government does not, do you support that? We
:22:00. > :22:06.have given total support of the Foreign Office and their efforts to
:22:07. > :22:10.secure his release. We will also give support to any other hostages
:22:11. > :22:18.who may be concerned. You cannot have a situation where you about
:22:19. > :22:25.terrorism. It would be, I think, useful if a strategy and policy were
:22:26. > :22:31.developed because there has been... I am talking about generalities. The
:22:32. > :22:36.better system for negotiation? No, in terms of the overall attitude to
:22:37. > :22:40.Iraq. The President of the United States has said he will develop a
:22:41. > :22:45.strategy, I think that is required. We don't know what the British
:22:46. > :22:50.government's attitude to bombing will be, what would your view be? I
:22:51. > :22:55.think there is an urgent requirement to get back under collective action
:22:56. > :22:59.from the United States. There is no reason to believe that China or
:23:00. > :23:04.Russia will see the state interest as being anything other than dealing
:23:05. > :23:09.with this extremism. There is a real opportunity for effective,
:23:10. > :23:14.international, legal action but it must come in that fashion and I
:23:15. > :23:18.would urge that to be an urgent consideration to be a collective
:23:19. > :23:22.response to what is a threat to humanity. Let's go to the politics
:23:23. > :23:30.of Scotland now. It seems to be going down to the wire, a whisper of
:23:31. > :23:36.a difference between the parties according to the opinion polls. If
:23:37. > :23:43.you win by 0.01%, or ten votes, is that it - Scotland is independent,
:23:44. > :23:52.no going back? Harold Wilson famously said there is -- that one
:23:53. > :23:58.vote is enough in a referendum. One of the great assets of our campaign
:23:59. > :24:03.is that we don't regard any section of Scottish society beyond our
:24:04. > :24:08.reach. We tend to take the attitude that there is not so much as a no
:24:09. > :24:17.vote in Scotland, only deferred yesterday. I ask you again, a yes
:24:18. > :24:21.vote is a yes vote and that is that? The Edinburgh agreement says
:24:22. > :24:26.we will have the referendum, it will be decided by a simple majority,
:24:27. > :24:29.both sides will accept the results and then crucially the Government
:24:30. > :24:34.will act in the best interests of the people of Scotland and the rest
:24:35. > :24:40.of the UK, having accepted that democratic verdict. So if it is a no
:24:41. > :24:45.vote by a whisker, is that it? Do you come back with another
:24:46. > :24:49.referendum in a few years? You have talked about it being for a
:24:50. > :24:55.generation, is that still your view? Yes, it is. There was a
:24:56. > :25:00.referendum in 1979 and the next one was 1997, that is what I mean by
:25:01. > :25:05.political generation. In my opinion, this is a once in a generation
:25:06. > :25:14.opportunity. You are talking about a 20 year gap, so can you pledge Alex
:25:15. > :25:17.Salmond will not bring back another referendum if you don't win this
:25:18. > :25:22.one? That is my view. This is perhaps even a once-in-a-lifetime
:25:23. > :25:26.opportunity for Scotland. If you win, presumably you have a malt, a
:25:27. > :25:32.round of golf, and then what happens? I will go to the Ryder Cup
:25:33. > :25:37.the following week, I'm not sure about the malts. Firstly it will be
:25:38. > :25:40.a day of celebration that Scotland will have achieved something
:25:41. > :25:43.astonishing, but there was a lot of business to do. The first urgent
:25:44. > :25:47.business is to bring Scotland together because after Friday there
:25:48. > :25:54.will cease to be a yes and no campaign, there will be a Team
:25:55. > :26:00.Scotland, and in that team I want as many voices as possible, people with
:26:01. > :26:10.something to contribute. Are you talking about Gordon Brown, people
:26:11. > :26:15.like him who have had an adverse -- vociferous voice in the debate? Yes,
:26:16. > :26:21.and Alistair Carmichael has said clearly following a yes vote he will
:26:22. > :26:30.resign and join team Scotland, and I welcome that. You will bring
:26:31. > :26:35.together a team. Do you know roughly speaking how big the team is and who
:26:36. > :26:41.is in it, and they then negotiate the terms? Yes, and there are three
:26:42. > :26:46.aspects. We need to have a variety of fields, some extraordinary people
:26:47. > :26:52.with great things to contribute. Nobody has said no, incidentally.
:26:53. > :26:58.Secondly, there is the community of Scotland, the third sector, the SCT,
:26:59. > :27:02.the small business organisations, the voluntary sector. They have a
:27:03. > :27:06.particular detail over a range of things that have been negotiated
:27:07. > :27:10.which is very important. Thirdly, the spectrum of politics to bring
:27:11. > :27:16.the country together. You will expect from me on Friday, under the
:27:17. > :27:22.circumstances of a yes vote, you will get from me on Friday a strong
:27:23. > :27:27.and early indication about how Team Scotland brings the country
:27:28. > :27:30.together. In terms of negotiation the most important thing is
:27:31. > :27:35.presumably still the currency. As you have your argument with George
:27:36. > :27:41.Osborne over the terms of keeping the pound, there will be a period of
:27:42. > :27:46.indecision. Indecision can be very damaging for the Scottish economy if
:27:47. > :27:51.this goes on and on. We should have early decisions. Scotland will have
:27:52. > :27:57.the referendum next Thursday, but for 18 months the Bank of England
:27:58. > :28:02.remains in control and the Government of the Bank of England
:28:03. > :28:07.have been clearer about this, that he is responsible for financial
:28:08. > :28:11.stability over that period. Clearly it is in everyone's interests to
:28:12. > :28:16.have the earliest possible decisions on this matter and that is what we
:28:17. > :28:20.will do. Once the smoke of the referendum has cleared the field, on
:28:21. > :28:24.Friday everybody has an interest in following the terms of the Edinburgh
:28:25. > :28:28.agreement and sitting down, and in its own words and the words of that
:28:29. > :28:34.agreement, acting in the best interests of Scotland and the rest
:28:35. > :28:38.of the UK. We will have a different attitude in terms of how we will
:28:39. > :28:43.bring this together. Under your plan, Scotland will still be under
:28:44. > :28:49.the thumb of the Bank of England, based in London, full of English
:28:50. > :28:54.bankers, under the thumb of the Conservative government. Founded by
:28:55. > :29:00.a Scot. Mervyn King pointed out in front of the Commons committee, the
:29:01. > :29:05.last Governor of the Bank of England, the Bank of England was
:29:06. > :29:10.founded by a Scot but it is the bank for England, Wales, Scotland and
:29:11. > :29:17.Northern Ireland. Under our plan it would be a shared central bank. Do
:29:18. > :29:21.you accept their fiscal rules? The Bank of England doesn't set fiscal
:29:22. > :29:27.rules. There will be a sustainability agreement. An
:29:28. > :29:31.agreement between the Government in terms of borrowing levels and debt
:29:32. > :29:39.levels, we set that out in our proposals. It is responsible for
:29:40. > :29:43.monetary policy. The Bank of England operate as an independent central
:29:44. > :29:51.bank and it would be shared under our proposals. I expect, very soon
:29:52. > :29:54.after next Friday when the referendum incentive to provide
:29:55. > :30:00.obstacles in the path of Scotland will be dissipated, then we will
:30:01. > :30:06.agreement is for a common currency. Mr druggie has said, and I want to
:30:07. > :30:10.return to the European subject, that for Scotland to share the pound
:30:11. > :30:17.without a fiscal contract would be against the rules of the European
:30:18. > :30:23.Union. Is he right about that? It would require a Financial Conduct
:30:24. > :30:30.Authority. These are the rules. We did share some about this but in
:30:31. > :30:36.today's papers, I was interested in an article from an economist who
:30:37. > :30:40.makes two important points, one that the success of small European
:30:41. > :30:44.nations and in the land of Adam Smith nobody should doubt
:30:45. > :30:48.Scotland's economic competence, and also that in this particular
:30:49. > :30:58.situation is shared currency is a very When it comes to Europe, do you
:30:59. > :31:04.have the idea that Scotland is already a member postindependence?
:31:05. > :31:07.Negotiations can be completed in 18 months. Do you start from the
:31:08. > :31:13.outside coming in? No, we are inside. So you don't have to apply
:31:14. > :31:16.for membership? We are inside and we have do negotiate a position that
:31:17. > :31:22.requires the agreement of other European countries. Why am I
:31:23. > :31:26.confident about 18 months? It is a short timescale though. Professor
:31:27. > :31:30.James Crawford, who was paid by the UK Government to distinguish
:31:31. > :31:35.international law, when he was asked about this, he said he thought it
:31:36. > :31:39.was a realistic timescale. You think all the details of the separation
:31:40. > :31:46.can be accomplished in 18 months, military, financial, economic
:31:47. > :31:49.question -- economic? The Speaker of the House of Commons spotted things
:31:50. > :31:54.being called separation in the documents, so let's call it
:31:55. > :31:57.independence. I could quote legal opinion until the end of the
:31:58. > :32:06.programme and expert opinion, but can I answer this in four figures,
:32:07. > :32:13.which is one, 20, 25, and 60. One is the population in the EU,. 20 is the
:32:14. > :32:17.share of the fish stocks. 25 is the renewable energy. And 60% is the oil
:32:18. > :32:20.reserves of the whole of the European Union in Scottish waters. I
:32:21. > :32:26.don't think anybody in the rest of Europe is wanting to exclude
:32:27. > :32:31.renewable rich, oil-rich Scotland. I think that is a ridiculous premise.
:32:32. > :32:34.Have you spoken to the Spanish, French, Italians, the Belgians, all
:32:35. > :32:38.of whom have expressed worries in the part -- passed about separatist
:32:39. > :32:42.groups? The answer is yes to all of groups? The answer is yes to all of
:32:43. > :32:48.the point. That's very interesting. Can we move onto big issue, you
:32:49. > :32:51.mentioned the NHS again and again in the last couple of weeks. Isn't it
:32:52. > :32:57.true that the biggest threat to the NHS in Scotland or England is the
:32:58. > :33:01.new trade investment plan between the EU and American 's which would
:33:02. > :33:03.allow American companies to come in and sue the Scottish Government if
:33:04. > :33:09.you did not allow the privatisation of the NHS in Scotland bastion of
:33:10. > :33:15.that is a very substantial issue -- in Scotland. That is a very
:33:16. > :33:20.substantial issue, and one of the UK minister said on the BBC yesterday
:33:21. > :33:24.the this might be an argument for independence. If the NHS remains in
:33:25. > :33:29.the trade agreement, as long as the state does not have a private sector
:33:30. > :33:33.of any substance, they will be able to detect a public health service.
:33:34. > :33:37.The danger to the NHS in Scotland coming from the agreement was if
:33:38. > :33:44.there is privatisation in the UK as a state, then the argument would be
:33:45. > :33:46.correct. A Scottish NHS could be under attack, but that is a
:33:47. > :33:52.substantial reason for being independent. The EU, which you want
:33:53. > :33:55.to join, is determined to get the pack. How will you go into the EU
:33:56. > :34:02.and get them to exclude the health service? Can I try again? The
:34:03. > :34:04.position is, if you take the view you don't want a substantial private
:34:05. > :34:08.sector in the health service, you can do that under the terms of the
:34:09. > :34:10.agreement. It is where you have opened up the health service, and if
:34:11. > :34:17.it is opened up in England, that's another reason why if we stay in the
:34:18. > :34:21.UK, that opens up the National Health Service in Scotland to
:34:22. > :34:25.potential privatisation. In today's newspaper is one of the most
:34:26. > :34:28.interesting declaration is from Harry Burns, recently retired Chief
:34:29. > :34:32.Medical Officer of Scotland who writes eloquently not just on this
:34:33. > :34:34.issue, but the general issue of how the National Health Service would be
:34:35. > :34:40.better if it took more authority and control. One more thing before we
:34:41. > :34:46.run out of time. We've made it clear yourself that you support the Queen
:34:47. > :34:51.as head of state. Does that mean that Hanoverian succession will
:34:52. > :34:54.carry on in an independent Scotland? Why should an independent Scotland
:34:55. > :34:59.not be able to choose her own head of state? Just a bit of history. I
:35:00. > :35:02.pointed out in my answer that Scotland and England had had the
:35:03. > :35:09.same moniker almost 100 years and were independent countries. -- the
:35:10. > :35:11.same moniker for. A lot of your supporters are Republicans though. I
:35:12. > :35:17.am sure there are Republicans in England as well, but the balance of
:35:18. > :35:20.Scottish opinion is that we want Her Majesty the Queen to be the Queen of
:35:21. > :35:23.Scotland and her successors. Can you be clear that there would not be a
:35:24. > :35:30.referendum on the Scottish monarchy after the Scottish vote? The poll
:35:31. > :35:33.that showed the most consternation, the one you asked the Chancellor
:35:34. > :35:37.about and he got overwrought about, that also asked the question about
:35:38. > :35:42.the monarchy and showed a very, very substantial majority wanted people
:35:43. > :35:47.to see Her Majesty as the Queen of Scots. And there would be Charles
:35:48. > :35:56.the third and so forth? She would be proud to serve. He is greatly
:35:57. > :35:59.respected and loved in Scotland, and he reciprocates that with his love
:36:00. > :36:05.and respect for Scotland. And that is a pledge from you? I am First
:36:06. > :36:08.Minister of Scotland and that is my judgement. We want to see Her
:36:09. > :36:11.Majesty the Queen as the Queen of Scots, and I think that is a
:36:12. > :36:14.fantastic title and prospect. Alex Salmond, thank you for joining us.
:36:15. > :36:16.Al Pacino is one of cinema's most iconic actors.
:36:17. > :36:18.Having made his name in The Godfather films and
:36:19. > :36:21.in Scarface, he's no stranger to playing imperious psychopaths.
:36:22. > :36:24.Now, as King Herod, in Oscar Wilde's Salome, he has filmed the role that
:36:25. > :36:30.He's also made a documentary about his obsession with Wilde's play.
:36:31. > :36:32.When he joined me from Hollywood, Al Pacino told me
:36:33. > :36:36.about the huge impact on him when he saw Salome for the first time,
:36:37. > :36:52.As it was going on, I thought I was hearing stuff in this play that is
:36:53. > :36:56.mesmerising. It is riveting, and I am sort of falling in love with this
:36:57. > :37:02.writer and what he has to say and what he is doing. I kept thinking
:37:03. > :37:08.about his words, and I thought they were inspired. I know it has been
:37:09. > :37:15.accused, the language, of being flawed and a bit over the top. But I
:37:16. > :37:22.didn't feel that. It's highly poetic can charge. You perform it in a very
:37:23. > :37:27.specific way -- highly poetic and charged. It's the opposite of a
:37:28. > :37:35.naturalistic performance. Sala May, come. Meet the little fruit. --
:37:36. > :37:41.Salome. I love to see in a fruit the mark of the little teeth. I am not
:37:42. > :37:47.hungry. You see how you have brought up this daughter of yours. My
:37:48. > :37:51.daughter and I come of a royal race. My father was a camel driver and a
:37:52. > :37:55.robber. I look down at my programme and wondered who had written it.
:37:56. > :38:00.Believe it or not, I thought it was someone who was among us now. And
:38:01. > :38:04.then I realised it was Oscar Wilde because I felt, while watching the
:38:05. > :38:09.play, that I really wanted to meet this writer and talk to him because
:38:10. > :38:15.he felt, to me, like a profit. Even Oscar Wilde could not have dreamt
:38:16. > :38:19.the strange echoes you have got now, with the Middle East, religious
:38:20. > :38:24.extremism, bad, tyrannical rulers, beheadings. It feels unpleasantly
:38:25. > :38:30.contemporary, if I can put it that way. Yes, as most things that are
:38:31. > :38:34.classic do. You can come back to them. They are written hundreds of
:38:35. > :38:40.years ago, even thousands, and you are still able to relate. And that
:38:41. > :38:49.is why they are still around. My connection started there. I knew I
:38:50. > :38:52.wanted to play the role. Please tell me the thing that you desire, I
:38:53. > :39:04.would give all that you ask, I would give to you. Save for one thing. I
:39:05. > :39:09.would give you all that is mine. Save one life. Can I scroll back to
:39:10. > :39:14.some of the great early role she played and asked, with the Godfather
:39:15. > :39:18.films in particular, -- you play. Were you aware when you are making
:39:19. > :39:22.them how great they would be? They are so much loved and revered. Did
:39:23. > :39:30.it feel like that when you are making them. I never wanted this for
:39:31. > :39:37.you. Well, when you are in the mix of a film, and I was quite young
:39:38. > :39:42.when I did it was at first not really wanted in the picture, except
:39:43. > :39:45.for Francis, who me. I've always said when a director really want
:39:46. > :39:52.cheaper something, you better just try and listen to that and go with
:39:53. > :39:57.it, because that is part of directing and casting. He stuck with
:39:58. > :40:04.me. My father made him an offer he could not refuse. At the time,
:40:05. > :40:08.studios didn't know who I was, so they did not know why he wanted me.
:40:09. > :40:16.Or Marlon Brando, for that matter, but he stuck with his vision. There
:40:17. > :40:20.are so many great films after that, but Scarface in particular, Tony
:40:21. > :40:24.Montana, a great film again, but it brings a new level of violence to
:40:25. > :40:27.the cinema. You have small kid yourself now, are you in anyway
:40:28. > :40:32.queasy, in retrospect, about the level of violence the film
:40:33. > :40:38.portrayed? I think there is an energy in that movie that goes past
:40:39. > :40:45.the violent acts, and Brian De Palma saw this movie as operatic and over
:40:46. > :40:52.the top to deal with social concern at the time, of the period, which
:40:53. > :41:03.was this new period in the 80s of avarice and greed. The people who go
:41:04. > :41:07.to the movies, since then, and at the time, they have taken to it.
:41:08. > :41:11.There are so many other great films we could talk about, but we're
:41:12. > :41:13.running out of time. A great privilege and pleasure for having
:41:14. > :41:17.you on the show. Baquba joining us. Oh, thank you. -- thank you for
:41:18. > :41:20.joining us. And Al Pacino's film of Salome,
:41:21. > :41:22.plus his documentary about Oscar Wilde and the play,
:41:23. > :41:25.will be screened in a double bill There'll also be a question
:41:26. > :41:29.and answer session with Al Pacino which will be broadcast live to
:41:30. > :41:32.cinemas across the UK. Well,
:41:33. > :41:34.we heard earlier from Alex Salmond. Now the case against independence,
:41:35. > :41:44.from the leader of the Better Not that long ago you were 20 points
:41:45. > :41:50.ahead. What has gone wrong? I said a year ago, as you did as well, I
:41:51. > :41:53.think, that the race would narrow as we got to the wire. It's not
:41:54. > :41:58.surprising, is the biggest single decision we would ever take. If we
:41:59. > :42:01.vote to leave the UK on Thursday, there is no going back. It's not
:42:02. > :42:05.like an election where you can change mind if things don't work
:42:06. > :42:08.out. If things go wrong this time, we've already voted and there is no
:42:09. > :42:16.way back, which is why, in the next five days, we will be targeting the
:42:17. > :42:20.500,000 voters who still have to make their minds up, because the
:42:21. > :42:24.decision is that critical. We heard from George Osborne last week, and
:42:25. > :42:27.then from Gordon Brown, that there would be radical plans for extra
:42:28. > :42:30.devolution and new fiscal and monetary powers and job creation
:42:31. > :42:36.powers of the Scottish Parliament. When will we see that? Will we see
:42:37. > :42:40.it before the vote? What is clear that if we say no to the risks of
:42:41. > :42:48.independence and stay in the UK, you will get a stronger Scottish
:42:49. > :42:54.Parliament and the as new tax powers and they can do that. And it is
:42:55. > :43:01.quite a clear choice. We can have faster, safer, better reform so we
:43:02. > :43:06.can strengthen the health service, safeguard jobs, but you don't have
:43:07. > :43:08.the risk that comes with independence to jobs, with the
:43:09. > :43:14.funding of pensions, the health service. Mr Osborne suggested the
:43:15. > :43:17.parties had done a deal and we would see the details. Is there a deal
:43:18. > :43:23.done? Will we see details before the vote? What has been agreed is the
:43:24. > :43:27.timetable that will bring together the proposals made by the
:43:28. > :43:31.non-nationalist parties, and we will start the process on Friday if we
:43:32. > :43:34.are staying in the UK. The majority of people in Scotland actually want
:43:35. > :43:37.to see that we can have the best of both worlds, with a strong Scottish
:43:38. > :43:43.parliament, so we can safeguard the funding of the health service, for
:43:44. > :43:47.example. But at the same time, we get the jobs that come from as being
:43:48. > :43:51.part of the UK. There are about a million jobs in Scotland which
:43:52. > :43:54.depend on being part of the UK. You have certainty about the money being
:43:55. > :43:58.used, and the funding of the health service and pensions. It sounds to
:43:59. > :44:03.me that there isn't a deal at the moment. The agreement was made
:44:04. > :44:07.earlier this week. The Labour Party had a different view on the future
:44:08. > :44:11.tax raising powers and the fiscal autonomy compared to the
:44:12. > :44:16.Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Are those details sorted? There are
:44:17. > :44:20.differences, but what happened before 1997, when the Labour
:44:21. > :44:23.government legislated to set up the Scottish parliament and two or three
:44:24. > :44:28.years ago with the latest reforms coming through in relation to
:44:29. > :44:31.borrowing, stamp duty and so on, the parties came together. The only
:44:32. > :44:34.party absent from the discussions were the Nationalists, who never
:44:35. > :44:38.wanted anything to do with it. Some people say, listening to this, it's
:44:39. > :44:40.like what you accused the Nationalists are doing, cross your
:44:41. > :44:45.fingers and hope there will be a deal. There will be, because the
:44:46. > :44:49.differences between the parties are very small. What does concern me is
:44:50. > :44:52.that five days before most of us go to the polling station, we still
:44:53. > :45:00.don't know answers to basic questions. In the last week... There
:45:01. > :45:02.is absolute clarity as far as strengthening the Scottish
:45:03. > :45:06.Parliament and the certainty that can bring as changes locked in, but
:45:07. > :45:10.we still don't know how we can ensure that we don't lose jobs with
:45:11. > :45:13.firms saying they would take their HQ from Scotland. That would be a
:45:14. > :45:17.disaster. We still don't know how you will replace the additional
:45:18. > :45:19.funding we get for the National Health Service. We don't know who
:45:20. > :45:25.will pay pensions. And you are asking Alex Salmond about currency,
:45:26. > :45:31.and he seemed to be doing a rather premature victory lap before most of
:45:32. > :45:34.us have voted. But he was asserting that, lo and behold, on Friday
:45:35. > :45:50.morning everybody else is wrong and we will all fall into line. if there
:45:51. > :45:55.is a yes vote, it is essential to make a deal quickly. The real
:45:56. > :45:59.problem is that it is not in the interest of Scotland to have a
:46:00. > :46:04.currency union because it means that actually your economic policy would
:46:05. > :46:09.be decided in London, and for the rest of the UK they would have to
:46:10. > :46:13.underwrite our banking system without being able to regulate it.
:46:14. > :46:17.To suggest that everybody else is wrong, and don't worry on Friday
:46:18. > :46:25.morning it will all be different, let alone in Europe when you have 28
:46:26. > :46:30.other member states... What concerns me is that someone who lives in
:46:31. > :46:33.Scotland, I don't want to see my country subjected to years of
:46:34. > :46:38.uncertainty with all the risks. We saw a bit of that last week. I don't
:46:39. > :46:42.want to see that in the future when you don't need to have it because we
:46:43. > :46:46.can have the change we want within the framework of the UK,
:46:47. > :46:50.safeguarding our pensions and health service. This is what the yes
:46:51. > :46:55.campaign calls scaremongering, what we haven't had over the past year or
:46:56. > :47:01.so is a passionate defence of Britain, what people have fought
:47:02. > :47:10.for, the achievements of Britain. I don't accept that. We helped build
:47:11. > :47:15.the UK, it wasn't imposed upon us, Scotland had far more influence over
:47:16. > :47:20.the rest of the UK than anyone could possibly imagine. It is a huge thing
:47:21. > :47:26.that we have achieved. What we have achieved together in peace time,
:47:27. > :47:30.wartime, the welfare state, the NHS, there are massive things to be proud
:47:31. > :47:35.of. In this referendum of course we look forward and the world moves on,
:47:36. > :47:43.but I believe most people in Scotland want to see a stronger
:47:44. > :47:49.Scottish Parliament. But you cannot tell us what its powers would be?
:47:50. > :47:51.The difference between the non-nationalist parties are so small
:47:52. > :47:56.that I don't think there is any doubt that we will not only have the
:47:57. > :48:03.power to raise taxes but if we want to spend more money on the NHS, they
:48:04. > :48:08.can do that. What you avoid though are the risks that will undoubtedly
:48:09. > :48:12.come from this uncertainty, these unanswered questions. It is
:48:13. > :48:16.remarkable, five days before we go to the polls, we simply don't know
:48:17. > :48:22.the answer to four -- five fundamental questions on jobs,
:48:23. > :48:28.currency, prices, we just don't know. If you lose this vote, 2015
:48:29. > :48:33.might be the last time ever that a Labour government can be elected in
:48:34. > :48:40.London. There have been moves to delay that election until after the
:48:41. > :48:45.negotiations have been completed. What is your view on that? There are
:48:46. > :48:49.a lot of people watching this programme who don't live in Scotland
:48:50. > :48:53.who would like to get rid of the present government, so the general
:48:54. > :48:58.election will go ahead next May. We are jumping the gun here, rather
:48:59. > :49:02.like Alex Salmond was in his interview earlier on. People in
:49:03. > :49:08.Scotland have yet to cast their votes. I think we will win on
:49:09. > :49:13.Thursday. Why? Because the momentum seems to be on the other side at the
:49:14. > :49:19.moment. You can take the polls with a pinch of salt, and now they
:49:20. > :49:23.suggest it may be swinging back, but I think this will go to the wire,
:49:24. > :49:28.but I think we will win because Scotland will not be bullied into
:49:29. > :49:34.accepting something it doesn't want. When you talk about Alex and
:49:35. > :49:39.talking, it is almost a contest between us and the rest of the UK.
:49:40. > :49:47.If you win this time around by 10,000 votes or 1%, this will come
:49:48. > :49:52.back. Scotland is on a process that started in 1979 and will move on to
:49:53. > :49:59.full independence, sooner or later, surely? I don't accept that. While
:50:00. > :50:03.nationalism ebbs and flows, the majority of Scottish people are
:50:04. > :50:07.fiercely proud of their country and what it can achieve. It suits us to
:50:08. > :50:13.work with our next-door neighbours rather than to turn them into
:50:14. > :50:18.competitors. I don't accept that. The 1.I do agree with Alex Salmond
:50:19. > :50:21.is that on Thursday we have got to decide this for a generation. I
:50:22. > :50:27.don't think anybody wants to go through another 2.5 year referendum.
:50:28. > :50:35.79 was a referendum, no parliament at all, 97 parliament with tax
:50:36. > :50:41.varying powers I should say, since then the parliament has achieved
:50:42. > :50:44.more powers, and it seems to be a process. But there is a world of
:50:45. > :50:50.difference between a Scottish parliament within the UK in which we
:50:51. > :50:55.are all equal partners and making a complete break, where you turn the
:50:56. > :51:02.rest of the UK into people living in foreign countries. There is a world
:51:03. > :51:08.of difference between the two. If we did that, the differences that would
:51:09. > :51:14.develop would be the same as between France and Germany and I don't think
:51:15. > :51:19.anybody wants that. We can be proud of what we do in the future and we
:51:20. > :51:24.can do that best by remaining as part of the UK with our friends,
:51:25. > :51:28.relations and next-door neighbours. It has been a lively campaign, but
:51:29. > :51:34.writing in the Sunday Times you said it has also been a slightly menacing
:51:35. > :51:39.campaign. Have you felt menaced? Yes, I have been involved in
:51:40. > :51:47.campaigning for about 35 years and I have never seen anything like this
:51:48. > :52:00.before. Normally people can stand on street stalls and people can talk to
:52:01. > :52:06.each other. I have often been shouted at for simply just being
:52:07. > :52:12.there. I chose to take part in this campaign but I think the majority of
:52:13. > :52:15.people, the quiet majority, are not prepared to be bullied into
:52:16. > :52:20.accepting there is only one side here. Both of us should be entitled
:52:21. > :52:26.to set out our views with passion and vigour, but... There are over
:52:27. > :52:31.excitable people on both sides of the argument. Are you saying this is
:52:32. > :52:36.coming from the yes campaign? There have been incidents on both sides
:52:37. > :52:40.but I have been very clear, anybody who steps over the line has to be
:52:41. > :52:45.dealt with immediately because in the last five days of this campaign,
:52:46. > :52:49.Scotland deserves... Are you saying the other lot don't? Things have
:52:50. > :52:54.been said on the Internet, things have been happening on the street
:52:55. > :52:58.and so on and we don't want that. What I would like to do in the next
:52:59. > :53:02.five days is concentrate increasingly on the choice we now
:53:03. > :53:08.have. We have the opportunity to have a strong Scottish parliament
:53:09. > :53:11.and look after our health service. You can make Scotland stronger by
:53:12. > :53:16.walking out with all of the risks and the damage that will be done,
:53:17. > :53:22.and not just for my generation but the one that comes after. I must ask
:53:23. > :53:25.you about the overnight news of David Haines and your reaction to
:53:26. > :53:30.that. It is terrible, he was simply trying to help people in dreadful
:53:31. > :53:35.conditions and it is simply inexcusable. It is a barbaric act. I
:53:36. > :53:38.think it will strengthen the resolve of the international community but
:53:39. > :53:47.today our thoughts must be with David Haines' family. Alistair
:53:48. > :53:51.Darling, thank you. We will hear from you and Alex Salmond at the end
:53:52. > :53:54.of the programme but now the news headlines.
:53:55. > :53:59.The Prime Minister has condemned the murder of the British aid worker
:54:00. > :54:05.David Haines as an act of pure evil. A video which apparently shows
:54:06. > :54:09.him being beheaded was released online by Islamic militants. David
:54:10. > :54:13.Cameron has vowed to do everything possible to hunt down his killers.
:54:14. > :54:19.The video also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage.
:54:20. > :54:23.A number of new opinion polls suggest the Scottish referendum
:54:24. > :54:27.contest is still too close to call. Alex Salmond told this programme
:54:28. > :54:30.that he is already assembling a team of specialist negotiators to begin
:54:31. > :54:56.work immediately on a separation agreement with the rest of the UK in
:54:57. > :54:58.the event of a yes vote. Alistair Darling insisted that
:54:59. > :55:00.Scotland could achieve greater devolution within the UK and that
:55:01. > :55:03.independence would lead to years of uncertainty and risk. That is all
:55:04. > :55:06.from me for now. Back to Andrew in a moment but first let's look at what
:55:07. > :55:08.is coming up after this programme. We will have the latest reaction to
:55:09. > :55:11.the beheading of a British aid worker. After the Oscar Pistorius
:55:12. > :55:14.case, is it time to televised trials here? Are overweight people
:55:15. > :55:21.discriminated against? Join us at ten.
:55:22. > :55:27.You may have watched the television debate but that is the only time you
:55:28. > :55:31.will have seen these two together during the campaign, but now they
:55:32. > :55:37.are alongside each other in the studio. You may have served -- just
:55:38. > :55:42.heard what Alistair Darling said about the menacing side of the
:55:43. > :55:45.campaign. Have you seen or heard anything you have flinched at? There
:55:46. > :55:52.have been incidents involving myself, and prosecutions. There are
:55:53. > :55:59.idiots on both sides, a microcosm, a tiny percentage. The majority of
:56:00. > :56:04.people have been engaging in the most invigorating, enjoyable
:56:05. > :56:12.debate. I have seen nothing like this in recent generations. This is
:56:13. > :56:30.a wonderful, enjoyable experience. At least Scotland must have the most
:56:31. > :56:34.educated? It has energised people, you cannot go anywhere without
:56:35. > :56:40.talking about it. Everyone in every part of Scotland, at home, outside,
:56:41. > :56:43.it has been energising. You have had the occasional passage of arms
:56:44. > :56:48.between you, how do you regard each other now?
:56:49. > :56:56.First rate politician and welcome to be a member of Team Scotland on
:56:57. > :57:00.Friday. Teamwork doesn't always sits naturally with you, but of course we
:57:01. > :57:13.always have high regard for each other. We will always get on, I'm
:57:14. > :57:19.sure. That is nearly all the -- we have time for this morning.
:57:20. > :57:23.Next Sunday, it'll all be over - or just beginning - and we'll be
:57:24. > :57:26.digesting the outcome of the referendum, whatever it is, with
:57:27. > :57:28.the Labour leader Ed Miliband at his party conference in Birmingham.
:57:29. > :57:33.But just before we go, Faish Ross is a youth arts organisation
:57:34. > :57:35.which encourages young people to get involved in traditional
:57:36. > :57:39.Fresh from its annual Ceilidh Trail, we're joined by Chris, Ossian, Ross,
:57:40. > :57:42.Annie and Megan to play us out with their version of the Birkin Tree.
:57:43. > :57:50.# O lass, gin ye wud think it right tae gang wi' me this very night
:57:51. > :57:53.# An' cuddle tae the mornin' light by a' th' lave unseen-o?
:57:54. > :57:56.# An' ye will be my dearie, my ain my dearest dearie.
:57:57. > :58:22.# An ye will be my dearie, gin ye meet me at e'en-o.
:58:23. > :58:26.# O he's gane tae yon birken tree in hopes his ane true love tae see
:58:27. > :58:29.# When fa' come trippin' o'er the lee, but just his bonnie Jean-o
:58:30. > :58:32.# An' she's clinkit doon beside him, beside him, beside him
:58:33. > :58:34.# She's clinkit doon beside him, amangst the grass sae green-o
:58:35. > :58:37.# I'm overjoyed wi' rapture noo, quo' he an' preed his cherry mou
:58:38. > :58:41.# An' Jeannie n'er had cause to rue that night all on the green-o
:58:42. > :58:44.# For she has got her Johnny, her ane, her dearest Johnny
:58:45. > :58:57.# For she has got her Johnny, an' Johnny's got his Jean-o. #