Miss Scotland Paula Murphy called on the nation to...

Miss Scotland Paula Murphy called on the nation to back her decision not to boycott the Miss World contest. Paula, 24, who worked as a doctor at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital before winning the Miss Scotland title, said while she was "sickened and appalled" by the death sentence she would not join the boycott. She said she saw the high-profile contest as the ideal stage to protest at the host country's poor record on human rights. And she said she was pleased the Miss World pageant was being used to publicise the plight of Amina Lawal. Paula said: "I believe I will support Amina a lot better if I can actually go to Nigeria. I feel if it wasn't for the fact Miss World was being held in Nigeria then the chances are we may not even have heard about this woman and what is happening to her. I don't know what I personally could do for Amina if I boycotted the competition and stayed in Scotland."