To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. First Minister John Swinney says he does not have confidence the UK is safe from potential Russian threats. The SNP leader said the UK government, which is in charge of Britain's defences, did not have a sufficient presence in vulnerable areas off Scotland's coast. He said he was very worried by security fears highlighted this week by the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, who named Russia as aggressor number one. Speaking to BBC Scotland News ahead of the SNP's annual conference, Swinney also denied that independence would weaken Scotland's security.

Scotland is on course to miss legally-binding targets to cut child poverty by a wide margin, according to a report from a leading social reform charity. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said one in five children was in poverty and radical change was needed to put the Scottish government's pledges back on track. It urged ministers to craft a much bolder and properly-funded plan to reduce poverty by rewiring local government, public services and the tax system. The Scottish government said it had made great strides, with its policies keeping 100,000 children out of poverty this year, but accepted there was more to do. In 2017, MSPs passed a law requiring ministers to hit four targets, external, including pushing the share of children in relative poverty below 10% by 2030.

There is a realistic chance that one of the UK's largest oil refineries can be converted into a hub for green chemicals, sustainable fuels and plastics, Scotland's first minister says. Grangemouth oil refinery, which is being shut down by its UK and Chinese owners PetroIneos this year with the loss of 400 jobs, could become a world leader in low carbon chemicals and green fuels, John Swinney told media on Wednesday. The refinery's closure, after 100 years of production, is expected to hit up to 2,000 jobs in the east of Scotland. Trade union leaders and policymakers see Grangemouth as a casestudy in ensuring the transition from oil and gas is fair and just. Swinney said workers and local businesses faced "enormous difficulties".