Scotland's Gender Divide Over Independence

How Yes Vote Would Change Scotland

Updated: 4:05am UK, Wednesday 29 January 2014

By Niall Paterson, Sky News Correspondent

Anyone who tells you they know with certainty what will happen in the advent of a 'Yes' vote is at best being disingenuous, at worst lying through their teeth.

Plenty of questions simply cannot be answered until the voters decide to make Scotland an independent nation.

Of course, a degree of informed speculation is taking place across the UK - so with the above in mind, here's what Scotland might gain or lose after the referendum on Thursday, September 18:

:: SCOTLAND GAINS: A NATIONAL ANTHEM

Officially, Scotland doesn't have one. Then again, neither does England. God Save The Queen is the British anthem, although it was long ago purloined by those south of Gretna Green, and sung with lusty glee at Twickenham and Wembley. Flower Of Scotland, by beardy Scottish folk heroes The Corries, was adopted by the Scottish rugby team back when they won things and is a strong contender, although references to sending the English home again might be considered a bit thirteenth century. A new anthem might well be commissioned, but having watched Eurovision over the past few years, few would bet on it being any good.

:: SCOTLAND LOSES: THE BBC

Nope, this isn't just a chance for me to lay into Auntie. Again. Obviously the BBC would retain a presence north of the border and Eastenders isn't going anywhere (unfortunately) but Alex Salmond has proposed a Scottish Broadcasting Service, a joint venture with the Beeb. It would initially be set up using BBC Scotland's facilities and staff, although one wonders what they would think of that. The SNP says it would have an annual budget of £345m, which would mean doubling the amount spend on public service broadcasting in Scotland. River City (Google it, Englanders) will continue ... to annoy me.

:: SCOTLAND GAINS: A PASSPORT AND BORDERS

Well, there will certainly be a Scottish passport after a 'Yes' vote, and borders seem increasingly likely. Theresa May has said there would need to be improved checks as the SNP intends to pursue a more liberal immigration policy. Any government would be able to do that, in fact, so some form of control would appear a necessity. Goodbye to the "Welcome to England" sign, hello annoying spot checks and cavity searches.

:: SCOTLAND LOSES: MEMBERSHIP OF THE EU

For now at least. No one really expects an independent Scotland wouldn't ultimately gain EU membership, but it might be a rather time-consuming process given the other member states would have to agree - and there are a few with their own issues around self-determination (see Spain and Catalonia) that might wish to make it rather difficult.

:: SCOTLAND GAINS: ITS OWN ARMED FORCES

As with the BBC, Alex Salmond seems intent on a bit of a land grab (don't worry, people of Durham, not literally), and there has been the suggestion that forces based in Scotland could switch allegiances. Defence secretary Philip Hammond says that is "laughable". In any event, the plan is to have a Scottish Defence Force, with a standing army of as many as 12,500 troops, close working relations with Scandinavian countries and between 20 and 25 ships. No word yet on whether any of those will be called Dignity.

:: SCOTLAND LOSES: TRIDENT

A biggie, this. Growing up not terribly far from the nuclear submarine base at Faslane, I was blissfully unaware of the Russian warheads targeting the UK's deterrent. And, whether true or not, the view lingers that it whilst it makes strategic sense to put the subs as far away from Westminster as possible, it's rather unfair, particularly given a strong historic opposition in Scotland to nuclear weapons. The problem is the SNP have only latterly recognised that Nato membership is important to Scotland's international standing - and it is, of course, a nuclear alliance.

:: SCOTLAND (POSSIBLY) GAINS: NORTH SEA OIL

Bit tricky, this one. At stake, there's as much as 24 billion barrels of oil and gas worth £1.5 trillion waiting to be extracted - and HM Treasury's coffers aren't exactly overflowing at the moment. Geographically, Scotland could claim up to 90% of this and one could argue the UK's position on the Falklands strengthens the SNP case. But the Government in Westminster could also argue it should be recompensed for decades of infrastructure investment. Frankly, I don't know. Sorry. Told you this was going to be difficult.

:: SCOTLAND (POSSIBLY) LOSES: THE POUND

Undoubtedly there will be a currency used in Scotland called the pound. The question is, whether or not it continues to be backed by the Bank of England. It would essentially mean a currency union between an independent Scotland and the remainder of the UK - and whilst the First Minister thinks it's an absolutely smashing idea, funnily enough that's not a view shared by, for example, the Chancellor nor the Governor of the Bank of England. True, a separate currency would make trading between the nations that bit more difficult, and that's got to be a factor when the recovery is so fragile. But the Governor, Mark Carney, is fond of pointing to the Eurozone crisis. One thing's certain - those funny-coloured banknotes so loved by London taxi drivers aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Which is a good thing. No trip to London is complete without a wizened driver turning up his nose at your purple twenty quid note.

So, in short, we don't really know. And we will only get to know in the passage of time after a 'Yes' majority in the referendum.

Some will vote with their heart, some with their head.

Some won't vote at all - and with so many unanswerables, who can blame them?

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Girl, 7, Shot In Head Dies In Hospital

Body Of Man Found After Girl Shot 'In Head'

Updated: 12:57pm UK, Friday 12 September 2014

A seven-year-old is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after apparently being shot in the head by her father, who then turned the gun on himself.

The body of a man - believed to be the girl's father - has been found in a car close to the scene of the shooting at an address in Spring Hill, in Northiam, near Rye, East Sussex.

Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious.

The girl has been taken to King's College Hospital where police say she is fighting for her life.

Chief Superintendent Neil Honnor said: "We are treating this as a tragic domestic incident and do not believe that anyone else is involved.

"At this stage we are not in a position to confirm the relationships of all those involved but we can say that the girl and the man knew each other. The man does not live at the address.

"We are treating this as an isolated incident and there is no evidence that any other members of the public are at risk."

Mr Honnor said that "we probably need to prepare ourselves for bad news" in relation to the young girl's condition.

He told BBC Radio Sussex: "She's still alive, but gravely, gravely ill and our hopes are with her but in many ways we probably need to prepare ourselves for bad news."

An earlier statement from the Sussex force said there was "no suggestion that the public are in danger" and that they were not looking for anyone else.

Armed officers were sent to the scene after the shooting, with scores of police cars surrounding an area cordoned off to the public.

Villager Anthony Burr, 37, lives near the scene of the shooting.

"I was in the living room and heard the sound of a firearm," he told Sky News.

"The sound of police sirens followed some minutes later."

He said a neighbour had told him the girl had been shot in the head.

"Obviously there was panic across Northiam, we all went into lockdown, shut doors, got the children in," he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting Operation Stem, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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Radio Station Donates To Hoax Victim's Family

The Australian radio company behind a hoax phone call to the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was giving birth has donated £289,000 to the family of a nurse who killed herself after taking the call.

Southern Cross Austereo offered the money after an inquest  on Friday ruled Jacintha Saldanha committed suicide after presenters posed as members of the royal family.

Ms Saldanha's body was found hanging in nursing accommodation three days after staff at London's King Edward VII Hospital were tricked into revealing details of the Duchess of Cambridge's stay in 2012.

The mother of two, 46, was the first nurse to answer the on-air call by Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian, who pretended to be the Queen and Prince Philip.

Jacintha Saldanha killed herself after the call in 2012

During the inquest Ms Greig broke down in tears as she apologised to the nurse's family for her part in the hoax.

"I really just wanted to say I am truly sorry," she sobbed. "I've wanted to say that for so long. This tragedy will always stay with me and serve as a constant reminder.

"To the second nurse involved, I am so deeply sorry for what you have had to endure. I pray you have found the strength to live on as best you can.

"I was always concerned about the wellbeing of both nurses and I wish I'd tried harder to stop that prank from being aired."

A statement released by Southern Cross Austereo said: "We do not assume, of course, that this donation or any amount of money could relieve the feelings of loss felt by Ms Saldanha's family, but it is our hope that it may help them in the future.

"The production of radio programmes, like television programmes, is a collaborative process. Radio announcers are an important part of the process, but they are not the final decision makers.

Ms Saldanha took the call at the King Edward VII Hospital in London

"There is no fair or reasonable basis on which blame can be apportioned to any individual, including the presenters of the programme.

"Southern Cross Austereo has always accepted full responsibility for the making of the call and its broadcast."

The two-day inquest at the High Court heard that Ms Saldanha held herself responsible for the mistake, despite the private hospital's management supporting her and the other nurse as victims of a cruel joke.

Westminster coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said there was evidence the hoax had been "pressing on the mind" of the nurse before she killed herself, along with her difficult relationship with a junior colleague who had made a complaint of bullying and harassment against her, which had recently been dismissed.

Ms Wilcox did not criticise the DJs or the radio station but, addressing four calls made to the hospital by production staff to gain Mrs Saldanha's consent before the recording aired, added: "If she did take these calls I find it inconceivable she would have consented, as a participant in the call, to its broadcast."

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Boris Johnson Selected As Candidate For MP

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has been selected to represent the Conservatives at the next election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

He won outright in the first ballot of the local Conservative association, where three other candidates also ran to represent the seat.

Speaking on the steps of the building where the meeting was held, Mr Johnson addressed the media.

He said: "Uxbridge and South Ruislip Conservative Association have done me the honour of picking me to fight the election and in 236 days, as their candidate, that is what I'm going to do.

"I'm obviously thrilled. It will be a tough fight and a long fight. I've no doubt whatever that we are going to be able to return David Cameron and the Conservatives with an absolute majority in 2015.

"That's what I'm going to be working for. Not just here in Uxbridge but in the rest of London as well."

Asked by Sky's Chief Political Correspondent Jon Craig if he intended to use it as a step towards running for prime minister, he said: "No, this is the first stage in a campaign to retain the seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip for the Conservatives which is what I propose to do.

Dozens of members of the media were awaiting the result in Uxbridge

"And to get across the message about what the Conservatives have achieved, not just in London but across the country as whole in turning the economy round as we have in the last few years and urging people not to throw it away by allowing Ed Miliband and the Labour Party to get in."

Asked whether he intended to do the job of Mayor of London and MP at the same time, he said: "It's been done before and I see no reason why it cannot be done again.

"I would also point out that it's possible to be both an MP and have a very big job such as foreign secretary or prime minister."

He said it was too early to say whether he would be moving to Uxbridge or south Ruislip, but he said, as Mayor of London, he was familiar with the area.

"What I've got to do is have a lot of talks with people here in Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Get to know people and get to know the association - obviously I know it quite well already because I've spent six years representing the area.

"There's a lot of digging in to be done."

Before the ballot, Mr Johnson and his three rivals made a behind-closed doors pitch to members of the association in a school hall.

Sadiq Khan said Mr Johnson will be 'a lame duck mayor'

Mr Johnson previously served as an MP for Henley for seven years before quitting Westminster to take up the City Hall reins in 2008.

He will defend a majority of 11,216 in the constituency in northwest London which was previously held by former deputy chief whip Sir John Randall, who is stepping down.

Shadow minister for London Sadiq Khan said: "The fact that Boris Johnson is so openly campaigning to replace David Cameron shows just how weak the Prime Minister has become.

"Rather than tackling the rising cost of living the Tories are turning in on themselves, jockeying for position in a future leadership contest.

"When Boris Johnson should be fixing London's desperate housing crisis, he will instead be spending the next two years campaigning to be an MP and Tory leader.

"He will be a lame duck mayor who has put his personal ambitions above the needs of the hard-working Londoners he was elected to serve until 2016."

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Motorway Gridlocked By Dogs' Home Donors

Well-wishers have been warned to stay away from the sister site of the Manchester Dogs' Home after people trying to donate to the charity caused gridlock on the M6.

Staff at the Cheshire Dogs' Home are asking people who wish to provide gifts to instead visit the centre next weekend.

"At the moment the response has been so great Cheshire Dogs Home is gridlocked, so till further notice please be patient and stay away from our Cheshire home," a charity spokesman said.

More than £1.2m had already been pledged to the charity online in less than 48 hours after 50 dogs were killed as the Manchester site was burnt down in a suspected arson attack.

A firefighter with a dog rescued from the blaze. Pic: Manchester Fire

On its Twitter account, Manchester & Cheshire Dogs' Home added: "We've gridlocked the M6 & Warrington, can donations now be done next w/end, police concerned with H&S (health and safety) wow, we've stopped the M6.

"Sandbach Services southbound will take donations to ease the M6 traffic, pls use if possible."

The charity also thanked those who have already made a donation.

Detectives are still working to determine the full facts behind the blaze, but a 15-year-old boy who was arrested on suspicion of arson has now been released on bail.

Lisa Graham from the charity said the local community has always supported the centre.

More than 50 dogs were killed in the fire at Manchester Dogs' Home

"We saw that community out in droves. We saw them coming out with things you wouldn't even expect," she said.

"To think that for the length of time we've served this community and the many generations we've been serving this community and that one of them would come and do this to us is sickening.

"We had staff here last night that were coming out of the kennels in tears with dogs they knew. There were dogs in there that they cared for that they lost."

Manchester & Cheshire Dogs Home opened in 1893 and has given a home to more than one million dogs.

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Legacy Of Stephen's Dream Has Inspired Others

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Correspondent

Young architect Joseph Conteh knows good things can come from tragedy.

He is among 10 fully qualified architects who may not have been able to pursue the profession had it not been for the help of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

As undergraduate students, they received bursaries which enabled them to continue their studies.

"During my second year of undergraduate studies, I had some financial difficulties and I had to take a year out to raise some funds," Mr Conteh, 37, explains.

Joseph Conteh was one of the first recipents of the charitable trust

"I would not have been able to continue my final year studies, just to know financially I had some support, that meant I could focus.

"I did one of my best projects that year, which was presented to the head of the school."

Mr Conteh is one of more than 100 student architects helped by the trust, which was founded in 1998 by Stephen Lawrence's mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

Baroness Lawrence (centre) founded the trust sixteen years ago

As she marks the day that Stephen would have had his 40th birthday, she says helping other young people from minority backgrounds into architecture - a profession Stephen one day dreamed of entering - has helped her cope with the loss of her son.

"I've had to take solace in the fact that a lot of the [students] who have graduated represented Stephen in some way, they have managed to fulfill their dreams," said Baroness Lawrence.

"I'm really pleased that I have been a part of it. I've been a part of helping them to fulfil their goals in life."

Baroness Lawrence said she was driven to start the trust as a way of helping more minority students gain access to architecture because of the lack of diversity in the profession and its professional body, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in 1993

"Until Stephen's name became so prominent, I don't think anybody would ever know who [the RIBA] are," said Baroness Lawrence.

"They themselves wouldn't start looking at themselves and say how can we open up and include a lot more people of colour."

Figures from the Architects Registration Board show that 9.5% of those joining the register in the last year were from a minority group.

One renowned black architect, David Adjaye, who designed the Stephen Lawrence Centre, where the trust is based in southeast London, says the legacy of Stephen's dream has inspired other architects.

The Stephen Lawrence Centre, designed by David Adjaye

"It touched me that Stephen, a young boy who had not been traditionally seen as the type of person who would want to get into that, was really interested in that," said Mr Adjaye.

"This young boy wanted to be an architect, how great, that could have been me, that was me, that was a lot of my friends I know."

:: On Tuesday, September 16, Mr Adjaye, OBE, will give the annual Stephen Lawrence Memorial Lecture at the Royal Institute of British Architects.

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Teen Held After 15-Year-Old Killed In Car Crash

A teenage driver has been arrested after a 15-year-old boy died in a car crash in Bradford.

The boy was a passenger in a red Volkswagen Golf GTI that collided with a wall and telegraph pole in the city on Friday morning.

He was taken to hospital after the accident but later died of his injuries, according to West Yorkshire police.

Another 15-year-old boy who was involved in the crash was seriously hurt but his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The driver of the vehicle was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is currently in custody.

Police have made an appeal for the occupants of a purple or maroon Peugeot, who were likely to have seen the Golf shortly before it crashed, to contact them.

Pc Andrew McManus, of the Major Collision Inquiry Team, said: "A young boy has tragically lost his life as a result of this collision."

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Scotland: 'No' Camp Eight Points Clear In Poll

A new opinion poll has given the "No" campaign in the Scottish referendum campaign an eight point lead, after a leading bank warned a "Yes" vote could be a mistake akin to those that sparked the Great Depression.

The telephone poll, which was commissioned by the Better Together campaign and carried out by Survation, has the "No" vote on 54% and the "Yes" camp on 46% when undecided voters are factored out.

As the campaign enters its final weekend, Deutsche Bank has claimed that the economic arguments against independence are "overwhelming".

Chief economist David Folkerts-Landau said a Yes vote could be a "mistake as large as Winston Churchill's decision in 1925 to return the pound to the Gold Standard or the failure of the Federal Reserve to provide sufficient liquidity to the US banking system, which we now know brought on the Great Depression in the US".

Coverage starts at 9pm

Mr Folkerts-Landau said he found it "incomprehensible" that Scots were even contemplating withdrawal from the UK.

Scotland's SNP Government accused him of failing to take into account the country's "strong fiscal position", and two senior bankers also hit out at the claim, calling it "preposterous" and "disingenuous".

Ian Blackford, who used to run Deutsche Bank's operations in Scotland and the Netherlands, and Edward McDowell, a former risk manager for Lloyds Banking Group, played down the warnings.

At least 2.6 million leaflets will be delivered to households in 48 hours with less than a week to go until polling day.

Alex Salmond's cause will be backed by 35,000 volunteers this weekend

An estimated 10,000 people attended a rally by the Orange Order in support of the Union in Edinburgh on Saturday.

The Yes side has planned to have more than 35,000 volunteers on the streets of Scotland over the weekend, manning 473 registered street stalls.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown is trying to persuade the public to vote No in the country's east.

Meanwhile, three more retailers have said customers would be hit by higher prices under independence.

An estimated 10,000 people attended a rally by the Orange Order

Marks and Spencer, B&Q and Timpson made the claim in a joint letter published in the Daily Record.

Asda and John Lewis made similar assertions this week, but Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the Yes campaign's "momentum is still growing and will soon become unstoppable, as people reject the Downing Street-orchestrated campaign to talk Scotland down".

Many of Britain's newspapers reported on comments by a former SNP deputy leader which appeared to threaten recriminations against businesses that backed a No vote.

A sign of support for the Union during the Orange Order march

Jim Sillars said there would be "a day of reckoning with BP and the banks" if Scotland votes Yes, adding that BP would "need to learn the meaning of nationalisation".

In a fiery interview with Sky News, Mr Sillars said he was simply using "robust" language to draw attention to the "orchestrated fear campaign coming from Downing Street".

First Minister Alex Salmond praised Mr Sillars's dedication to the campaign but said rather than a "day of reckoning", a Yes vote would be followed by a "day of celebration".

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Nottingham University Blaze 'Destroyed' Lab

Around 60 firefighters battled to bring a major blaze at Nottingham University under control but the £20m facility was "completely destroyed".

The "significant incident" began at approximately 8.30pm on Friday at the GlaxoSmithKline building on the Jubilee Campus.

Witnesses said they have heard loud explosions from the building, which was under construction and unoccupied.

No one was injured and no other buildings were affected as fire crews fought to gain control of the fire while it tore through the timber-framed building, sending burning debris into the sky above.

University registrar Paul Greatrix said the fire was a "set-back" but vowed "we will recover, we will rebuild and hopefully in short order we'll be on track".

Smoke was seen billowing from the university campus. Pic: Sam Bradley

The carbon-neutral building, which was due to be opened early next year, would have had enough laboratory space for more than 100 researchers.

Earlier, in a statement, Mr Greatrix said: "Thankfully, there have been no casualties as this is a building that was still under construction."

Nottingham Fire and Rescue group manager Joanne Wooler-Ward said: "No other buildings have been affected, fortunately no people were involved in this fire and we've had 12 crews here, that's over 60 firefighters.

The building is under construction and is unoccupied. Pic: Sarah Armes

"Credit to those firefighters who pulled out all the stops to prevent this fire spreading.

"When we arrived, the fire was a significant size - it could be seen from quite a distance - and there was a smoke plume spreading towards the campus area so we sent out a message for people to keep doors and windows closed.

"The firefighters have worked hard to contain that fire and stop it from spreading to any other buildings."

Dr Greatrix added: "(Saturday) we are due to welcome prospective students and their families to Nottingham for our Open Day and we would like to stress that this is still going ahead as planned."

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Man Charged With New Forest Mother's Murder

A man has been charged with the murder of a mother-of-five who was attacked as she tended her horses in the New Forest.

Justin Robertson, of no fixed address, is accused of killing 47-year-old Pennie Davis on Tuesday September 2.

Robertson, 36, will remain in custody and appear before Southampton Magistrates' Court on Monday.

A Hampshire police spokesman said Mrs Davis's family had been informed.

More follows...

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