David Maddox: FMQs - Independence defiance

In the face of certain defeat tonight over an independence referendum Alex Salmond made it clear that this is one policy that his party will not be shelved despite the parliamentary arithmatic.
Under attack from Labour leader Iain Gray, Mr Salmond took great pleasure in reminding his opponent that "consistency on the referendum is not Labour's strongest suit."
After all it was Labour less than a year ago, he pointed out, who backed a referendum under the ill-fated Wendy Alexander leadership. And he quoted Mr Gray's own appearance on Newsnight Scotland in May last year when he said Labour would support a referendum "whenever it comes."
But Mr Gray's response may be the historical footnote to the SNP's great missed opportunity.
"It was the First Minister who said 'no!'," he said before underlining the fact that the offer has now well and truly been withdrawn.
Which leaves the question of whether in retrospect the SNP really did miss an opportunity by not going for a referendum when Labour's support was there and Labour was so weak the SNP would have been in a great position to win. Maybe this will in time go down in history as the Nats great missed opportunity.
Both Tory leader Annabel Goldie and Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott asked about the appalling case of the death of the Dundee toddler Brandon Muir, which provoked a strong defence of social workers from the First Minister and an admission that nobody is really sure how many children are in similar circumstances to the little child.
Read more on all these exchanges in the Scotsman tomorrow.