the public glasgow gauging the public reaction to the death of former first minister alex salmond. as tributes poured in, the king said his devotion to scotland was owed to his decades of pubuc was owed to his decades of public service . public service. >> ireland's health bill faces backlash as thousands take to the streets to protest what they say is a crackdown on free choice. >> what authority did those in government and the public legislation branch in the department of health? what authority did they have to even put this through? this bill is in line with the likes of the brexit and the likes of the good friday agreement . friday agreement. >> it's been called a cosmic moment of the century. look out for comet a3 in your skies tonight. it hasn't been visible for 80,000 years. >> do you see the value of separate beds for couples? this morning we've been asking whether sleeping solo is the secret to relationship harmony. >> hello. good morning. we're starting the day on a chilly

note across the uk. we will see plenty of sunshine during the day itself before rain arrives in the west later. i'll have all the details later on. >> it'sjust the details later on. >> it's just gone. 9:00 i'm stephen dixon, i'm ellie costello, and this is breakfast on . on. gb news. sorry. sleeping on your own. if you're married. i know we've had a couple of people get in touch saying , people get in touch saying, look, it's necessary because my husband is such a bad snorer. and under those circumstances, i get it . but for most people, get it. but for most people, it's one of the nice things waking up with someone, isn't it? i think steve, on that note, says on separate beds he suffers from 24 hour tinnitus. >> finds it very difficult to get to sleep. i toss and turn for the first two hours or so. that's why i've suggested single bedsin that's why i've suggested single beds in the same room so my partner can get a good night's sleep . it would help me relax sleep. it would help me relax knowing that i'm not disturbing her. it doesn't mean i love her

any less. >> yeah, well, it's a fair point. >> very selfless of you, steve. >> very selfless of you, steve. >> on pets, pet names, which has been. oh , elaine says we had been. oh, elaine says we had a pet chicken who we called betty, and we used to say a bit of better butter betty as she followed us around . followed us around. >> very good. dawn says. we had a lovely cat named betsy when i got her. unfortunately, it turned out that betsy was a man, a male. yes. >> oh, lovely. ken had two. they've got two rescue jack russells , riff raff, and a 21 russells, riff raff, and a 21 year old african grey parrot. buddy who often says god save the king, which i think is very nice. it's incredible when people have parrots . and we used people have parrots. and we used to have a lady in the village had a parrot, and the stuff that used to come out with you could i mean, it was some of it was quite rude. oh, dear. but then it also did like mobile phone fings it also did like mobile phone rings and all sorts of stuff. it was. and it's so realistic. >> well , was. and it's so realistic. >> well, buddy, this is the african grey parrot reportedly

has picked up god save the king from the coronation. yeah, it smells quite nice, isn't it? we had a viewing earlier. a lady had a viewing earlier. a lady had a viewing earlier. a lady had a dog named lilibet after the late queen, which i thought was quite nice. did you? yeah, especially if it was a corgi. >> oh , i don't know if it was. >> oh, i don't know if it was. >> oh, i don't know if it was. >> let us know if it was. but that's a great name. >> michelle says my daughter's got two kittens called tea and toast. >> oh, that's nice . yeah. and >> oh, that's nice. yeah. and sam says, my french bulldog is called fussy frank. and there's a sausage dog up the road called grumpy gary. >> oh, gary with two r's and all. >> yeah. very good. there you go. >> right. let's crack on with the main news this morning, because politicians and a lot of pubuc because politicians and a lot of public figures paying tribute to the former first minister of scotland, alex salmond, who died yesterday at the age of 69. >> well, sir keir starmer described him as a monumental figure in scottish politics, whilst king charles expressed sadness over his sudden passing. >> well, he died of a suspected heart attack as he was giving a speech in north macedonia yesterday morning. >> well, alex salmond was the

first minister of scotland between two thousand and seven and 2014 and was known for almost pushing scottish independence over the line a decade ago. >> let's head to glasgow and our scotland reporter, tony maguire. how has this news been received? tony? >> good morning . yes, well i'm >> good morning. yes, well i'm in here in glasgow this morning and you know, i was hoping to certainly bring you some of the conversations that i've been having with many of the public here. but, you know, we all have our shy days, so we'll forgive them this one. but certainly, you know, it struck people very differently. and i think this attitude that we're hearing of the difference of opinions and how essentially divisive a figure he was, but largely obviously, people were very surprised, shocked and indeed saddened by yesterday's news. and i spoke to one sanitation worker this morning who said that, you know, he was he was a real character and he nearly got his independence, though independence wasn't good enough.

sorry that nearly isn't good enough. but he did hope, of course, that those sexual assault allegations, which alex salmond dealt with between 2018 and 2020, didn't tarnish his character going forward. somebody else said that it was a sad day for scotland and then a third said that they didn't want to speak ill of the dead. but perhaps he ruined their country and, you know that attitude that we've seen over the last kind of few years of him being quite a divisive figure, not least with his beloved snp, because, you know, after he finally failed to get independence in 2014, of course, he had a couple of years down in westminster as an mp again for gordon and buchan. however , he failed to get however, he failed to get re—elected and indeed took his own show that alex salmond show overin own show that alex salmond show over in russia today, where he was heavily critical. and then just a few years after that, we

saw him, of course, start the alba party and it was there he wanted to offer scotland, seeing the appetite for independence across the country, he wanted an alternative to the snp so that evenin alternative to the snp so that even in collaboration with the snp, there was a possibility of a different pro—independence majority up here in scotland. but needless to say, as you said, the tributes have been pounng said, the tributes have been pouring in, not least from nicola sturgeon, his old mentee, who had said that he was my mentor. and for more than a decade we formed one of the most successful partnerships in uk politics with king charles also saying his devotion to scotland drove his decades of public service and in fact even boris johnson had something to say. he had said that alex salmond was one of the greatest political disruptors of the age, and the father of modern scottish nationalism. so you do get a sense of, irrespective of

whether people believed in the same political beliefs as him, they respected that for , you they respected that for, you know, 51 years ago he joined the snp with a singular goal to make scotland independent. he failed that, of course, ten years ago, but in that last ten years he didn't just put down tools, he very much started up alba and sought to do that all over again, to take that independence movement forward and quite uncertain. obviously at this point, obviously, all the thoughts and well wishes are with his family, but some people will be asking in the back of her head what becomes of alba now and what becomes of the pro—independence movement here in scotland? >> that's a big question. tony maguire there for us in glasgow. thank you very much indeed . thank you very much indeed. let's speak now to former msp for south scotland region, michelle ballantyne, who joins us now. good to see you this morning, michelle. and we're just hearing there from tony maguire in glasgow about those tributes coming in from across

the political spectrum. and like him or loathe him, he was a hugely significant character in scottish politics, wasn't he? >> oh, i mean, he was massive. i mean, he he was the one that really transformed the fortunes of the snp and took them from really being a divided and different positions on on independence and devolution. and he was able to cross that boundary of those different beliefs within nationalism, pull it together and do what nobody else has done. and that was to win a majority in holyrood and allow him to follow his own ideology of independence and bnng ideology of independence and bring a referendum about and we haven't seen that again since. he resigned after failing to get independence over the line, not even sturgeon, who some people hail as 1526 00:08:48,096