12/11/2015 Reporting Scotland

Tonight on Reporting Scotland, around 2,000 jobs will be lost at

tax offices across Scotland, after restructuring plans are announced.

The North-West battens down the hatches ahead

George drops in and sets a few hearts a fluttering.

He was just like, you must be called! And I got a the! -- cold.

The nurse who's been battling Ebola returns to Scotland,

And the Rangers chairman Dave King has rounded on the club's critics,

and urged them to move on, for the sake of Scottish football.

Around 2,000 jobs are set to go over the next decade

HM Revenue and Customs has announced the cuts as part of a major UK-wide

The tax authority says modernisation is needed, to create

But the PCS union says the proposals will be devastating for staff,

Here's our Political Correspondent Glenn Campbell.

This big tax office in East Kilbride will be the last to go. Workers are

expected to leave here for the last time in 2025. By then, Cumbernauld

and almost every other HMRC site in Scotland will have closed which

unions fear will make the revenue service worse. How can you pay your

tax if there's an OBE to answer the phone? How can you ask somebody for

advice if there isn't an office in your community? More call centres

and centralised services are not the answer to dealing with tax problems.

HMRC bosses insist new bosses and technology will lead to

improvements. It's about making a series of effective and large

regional centres where we can bring together skills in a new modern

environment and the service will get better. How can fewer people do

better? With the digital tools, with new equipment and skills which we

are already giving to people. This is the current network in Scotland.

Most of these officers will go over the next five years. Two large new

regional centres will open in Glasgow and Edinburgh. And the

specialist unit at the National crime campus will also be retained.

It's part of a UK wide plan to cut 170 officers down to just 13. At

Holyrood, Nicola Sturgeon expressed concern that restructuring could

reduce the workforce of HMRC in Scotland from 8000 to nearer 6000.

Some job losses are expected in Dundee when this office closes. It

is an idiotic decision. By taking away experienced tax professionals

from a place like Dundee, they are absolutely certain the sea and

increase in avoidance and evasion and fraud. While they are promising

to keep redundancies to a minimum, fresh industrial action has not been

ruled out. Scotland gets new tax powers next

spring so what is likely to be the impact of the announcement on that?

The finance secretary John Swinney is obliged to tell us what he

intends to do with the new Scottish rate of income tax, probably when he

announces his draft budget in December. Holyrood is taking charge

of setting a share of your income tax from April next year and those

responsibilities are going to grow over time and that is why the PCS

union has raised concern that the cutbacks could have an impact on the

agency's ability to manage this transition. It will still be

responsible for collecting the tax on the half of the Scottish

Government as part of the wider UK wide system. HMRC insists that the

changes they have announced that should have no impact on the

Scottish rate of income tax. They expect that transition to go

smoothly. Thank you. Winds gusting up to 90 miles

an hour are expected in exposed areas, as storm Abigail

makes its presence felt in the north The Met Office has issued an Amber

Be Prepared warning, and already ferry services to and from the

Western Isles have been cancelled, while schools there, and on

Shetland will be closed tomorrow. Craig Anderson reports from Ullapool

in the North West Highlands. Going nowhere, the Isle of Lewis

ferry tied up all day here, the passenger terminal empty. This will

be the case tomorrow as well. Half of the 25 services have been

disrupted and there are concerns for the Northern Isles ferries and on

routes between Scotland and Ireland. This ferry from sky to the island of

rising was having difficulty docking with schoolkids on board after a

high school closed early. All schools in the Western Isles and

Shetland will be shut tomorrow. This is the cause of the problems. As we

can see, a massive swirl of cloud home in on the North West of

Scotland. Gusts of wind across those areas will reach around 80, maybe 90

mph. That will be strong enough to cause potential power cuts, may be

isolated structural damage as well. The wind and waves have been

building up here all afternoon and the brunt of Abigail is expected to

hit overnight. Police say the combination of high tides and heavy

seas could lead -- leads to overtopping ad causeways and coastal

routes and the Environment Agency says anybody worried about flooding

should consult their website or ring their flood line. To add to the mix,

thunder and lightning could be a possibility as well, as good snow on

higher ground. Power company SSE has been gearing up for a couple of days

and checking customers have what they need to cope and sending crews

of engineers to places they think are most likely to be hit by out it

is. We have over 500 lines men and switches and other staff on the

ground. Are ready to go when the storm hits. There are about 200

others who have support roles either here at base or out and about at the

depots and that is a pretty major operation as you might imagine. It

is difficult to organise 700 people but we have been doing that in the

last couple of days and we are confident we have everything we

need. Abigail is the first time the Met office has named a storm and

with severe gales already being experienced, she is already living

up to her name. He's one of

the world's best known film stars, but today George Clooney swapped

Hollywood's walk of fame for the He'd accepted an invitation to meet

workers at a sandwich shop When he arrived, a large crowd

had gathered outside, and he stopped to talk to some of those

who'd waited hours to see him. Our reporter Lisa Summers was

among them. It reads like the script of a movie.

Hollywood star pops into a downtown Sandwich stop and the crowd goes

wild. Let's call it Gorgeous George. He was in town to lend his support

to a small charity that supports homeless people. I look what they

are doing. The idea that we can all participate in their difficulties is

important. Are you warm? Are you OK? One fan got to star in her own movie

with George Clooney as her leading man. She was not the only one.

Kerstin and her mum were up at 5am to see him. He said, you have been

waiting for a long time, you must be told. I got a selfie! That mother

doesn't get a look in! Although George Clooney likes a coffee, it

was a major coup for this small charity to get the a list start. A

quarter of our work force are people who have struggled with homelessness

so he spent some time with them, sampled the food and even donated

some money to buy some homeless people some lunch. The word is he

didn't try the Sam Wood is but I guess he was a treat for the staff.

-- try the sandwiches. We got a lot of photos with him and I got a nice

cuddle! And outside, Mum was in for a fairy tale ending. Bless you! It

is a bit of mayhem here. She has been waiting since a 7 in the

morning. I'm so excited. She's his biggest fan! And in a flash, it was

overcome with the Hollywood star whisked off to an exclusive lunch.

He still had time to charm the crowd and bought one lucky prizewinner,

are chance to sit beside him. Absolutely amazing. I was hoping he

was this charming and he was everything and more. He answered all

my questions, took time to speak to me and all the questions I had been

saying through the week committee gave me the answers so it was

brilliant. Just like in the movies, of people at their dreams come true

while others had their hearts broken. We shouted out, you're

beautiful, George! It has been a whirlwind of a day with many moments

to savour and the highlight for Mr Clooney has to be appearing on

reporting Scotland! You're watching Reporting Scotland

from the BBC. Still to come

on tonight's programme... The classic Scottish novel finally

makes it to the big screen. In sport,

Rangers say certain players may not have signed but for the EBT tax

scheme, no advantage was gained. And the former Scotland encourages

young rugby players to leave the country for pastures new. Find out

why. The Scottish nurse

Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted Ebola while working

in West Africa, has made a full recovery, a month after developing

complications from the infection. She's now been moved

from a specialist hospital in London, to Glasgow's Queen

Elizabeth University Hospital. Our Health Correspondent Eleanor

Bradford reports. A photograph released by the Royal

Free Hospital in London shortly before Pauline Cafferkey was

discharged yesterday. She is no longer infectious and is completing

discharged yesterday. She is no her hospital treatment here at the

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. In a statement, she

said... It's been a dramatic year for the

nurse from Lanarkshire. Little did she know when she set off for Sierra

Leone that Ebola would almost take her life not once but twice. She

probably got it because she could not find goggles which fitted

properly and was wearing a visor. Doctors thought she had fully

recovered up the virus was still in her nervous system and cost

meningitis, leading to an emergency transfer inside a sealed bed for a

second time. Today, patients at this health centre where she worked

wished her well. Very happy for her. Good luck and the best to her. The

same goes for the ladies. She is a good asset for this place. I'm so

relieved and happy for her family and all her relatives. She was in

the right hospital and I'm pleased for her. Pauline Cafferkey is on the

mend again although, as her case Claire Leigh demonstrated, nobody

knows the long-term effects of the Ebola by Mr -- the lead

demonstrated. A manhunt is underway

for an armed robber who forced a taxi driver to walk into

a bank in Fife and demand money by The attempted robbery,

which took place in Kirkcaldy yesterday afternoon, saw nearby

school pupils and shoppers kept indoors until the suspected bomb was

found to be a hoax. The area around the bank is largely

back to normal but there is still a police presence after what was

ultimately failed armed robbery but nevertheless a terrifying experience

for everyone involved. Particularly the taxi driver. His ordeal began

around lunchtime yesterday when he made a pick-up on an industrial

estate a few miles up the road. A man got into his taxi and produced a

weapon and threatened him, forcing him to drive here to the Bank of

Scotland. He then handed him a holdall and told him to go inside

and hand over a note demanding money. Believing they were being

threatened with explosives, staff handed over a 4 figure sum but that

money did not make it into the hands of the armed robber. He had not

counted on the fact that the taxi driver was able to raise the alarm

on the way in and by the time he came out, the police were waiting

and Accord and had been set up, people nearby had been told to stay

inside -- a cord and had been set up -- cordons. I can't imagine what he

went through. For anybody to experience that. He was in genuine

fear of his life and felt compelled to carry out an act which he would

not have carried out on his own without being compelled to do so.

Now the focus is on the suspect, described as short, around five foot

six, wearing a green baseball cap. The detail that police are focusing

on is the fact that he speaks with AIDS distinctive easing European

accent. -- with a distinctive eastern European accent. Police want

to find out how he left it after what they described as a despicable

crime. A look now, at other stories

from across the country. Exactly six months after a father of

five from Glasgow disappears, a family has made an appeal. Police

Scotland say the search for John Murphy has been one of its biggest

so far, involving 900 hours of police search time. At the press

conference this morning, his sun John said the whole family needed

answers. If he is watching I just want to say, dad, we really want you

home. If you wanted to get away, just come back, we are desperate to

have you back. A trawler inspect it after a crewman died after falling

overboard was found to have 23 deficiencies. A major search was

launched from the man from Ghana, who fell from the boat on the 17th

of August this year. The 47-year-old has never been found. The Aberdeen

-based transport firm First Group said its pre-tax profits have

dropped by a third in the first half of this year. The company lost the

ScotRail franchise earlier this year. It has been predicted that

Scottish house prices will soar by 25% over the next five years.

Figures released by the royal Institute for chartered surveyors in

Scotland suggest that a shortage of supply will drive the increase. A

new report is claiming unpaid carers in Scotland are saving the state

nearly ?11 billion a year. It is estimated more than half a million

people provide unpaid care. Carers UK says some are struggling

financially and need better support. A Moray councillor has apologised

after accidentally voting to delay plans to protect a community from

flooding. Dennis Slater said he felt sick after realising he had pressed

the wrong button. A decision on the flood alleviation scheme will now be

deferred until March. Time now for the all

the latest sport, with David. The Rangers chairman has admitted

certain players may not have signed for the club, if it hadn't used

the controversial EBT tax scheme. Last week, Her Majesty's Revenue

and Customs won a judgment that the club's former parent company's

use of Employee Benefit Trusts But Dave King says the team,

that won four league titles during The rangers chairman, Dave King

hurdlers come out fighting in defence of his club this evening

following calls from quarters that ranges should be stripped of the

titles which were won during the period in which they used EBTs to

remunerate their players. Mr King said in a statement that the club

enjoyed no advantage from any tax savings from the EBT scheme or

benefited on the pitch. He added, this is a misguided attempt which

will ultimately fail to rewrite history and defeat Rangers off the

will ultimately fail to rewrite park when their teams could not do

so on the park at the time. He went on to say that the history of many

other clubs would have to be rewritten if this is logical

argument was to be consistently applied. Mr King has urged his

critics to move on for the sake of Scottish football, saying that this

would be to the benefit of all clubs. The SPFL are yet to comment.

The former Scotland rugby captain Andy Nicol says he would encourage

more players to experience club rugby outwith Scotland.

One of Edinburgh's world cup stars, David Denton, has left the club for

Bath, just as they were preparing for their opening European Challenge

How much of a loss is David Denton to Edinburgh? The coach at least is

trying to look on the bright side. These things happen. I think David

will be missed. He is a valuable player, an outstanding player,

outstanding bloke. But we have got some good loose forwards left

behind. We have got two young Scottish guys coming through in

Jamie and Angus who I think will be big names in the game. And so

another top Scottish rugby player has moved down south. But what does

it mean for the game up here? We have always allowed players playing

out of Scotland. We cannot adopt England's policy. I would encourage

them to do it. I was a better player as a result of going. As long as we

do not lose them all, and I don't think we ever will, but one or two

going the other way to benefit from playing in France, England, Ireland

or Wales, wherever, I think it is good for Scottish rugby. Edinburgh

have decent cover in David Henton's position. Victory over Grenobles

tomorrow would soften the impact of his loss.

Andy Murray will shortly find out who he'll face at the

The Scot's elevation to world number two means he doesn't have to face

the world's best Novak Djokovic until later in the tournament.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle have increased their profit almost ten

It is largely thanks to European qualification, selling Billy McKay

and their successful run to last season's Scottish Cup Final.

The quarter of a million pounds profit compares to

It has taken nearly 20 years to bring to the big screen,

but last night the much-loved Scottish novel Sunset

The cast and crew had their challenges with the weather

and the north-east dialect, but they made it to the red carpet.

Our arts correspondent Pauline McLean reports.

Look at my hands. Read with the scrubbing. You are daft! The place

is fine! This coming-of-age story set in a farming community in the

north-east of Scotland has become something of a classic. Now studied

in schools, it is as much about Scotland as it is its feisty

heroine. Director Terence Davies first encountered Sunset Song on BBC

television in the 1970s, but always wanted to make a big screen version.

It took him nearly 20 years to raise the money. I do revere the book and

you cannot not do it well. To do it badly would have been unforgivable.

People may think I have done it badly, but I did it with my heart. I

wanted to capture its spirit and be true to that. I wish them long and

lovely days, the summer to the winter of their lives. The crew

includes many of Scotland's's best-known actors. Hitting to grips

with the north-east dialect was a challenge for the leading lady,

best-known as a model and with a broad Lancastrian accent. Yes, I

have a lot of Scottish friends and speaking to them, they were like, do

not mess this up! But I really hope, I worked so hard and I put my heart

and soul into it because it is so important to so many people and it

has become so important to me. I just hope I have done it proud. The

other big star of the film is the landscape. Sometimes Aberdeenshire,

with New Zealand and Luxembourg doubling as well. But it was the

real thing last night, at the premiere. Audiences can see the film

for themselves when it opens in cinemas in December.

Now in a moment, we'll have the weather forecast.

But first, here's Andrew Kerr, with details of Scotland 2015.

Electronic communications are not being included in the new bill to

increase transparency around lobbying. Have the lobbyists won?

Also, the new film adaptation of the classic novel Sunset Song. That's

all on Scotland 2015 tonight on BBC Two.

Time now for the forecast, and Gillian, a stormy night for some?

That's right. The first big storm of the season. Here we have a very wet

and windy Inverness. We see the rain hammering down on Edinburgh. And

this one from the Isle of Skye, just capturing Abigail as she made her

entrance this afternoon. Top wind speeds so far, 75mph, witches into

the storm force category. It will be the north-west where we see the

greatest impact of these winds. A lower-level, yellow warning for much

of Scotland, indicating that you should be prepared for some

potentially destructive winds. It is pulling away to be replaced by some

heavy, squally showers overnight with heavy thunder in the next. Some

snow for hills at the highest levels. These numbers indicate the

gusts. For the Western Isles, north-west coast and the Northern

Isles, that is when you could get the gusts of 80-90mph. Very large

waves around the coasts and we could see some overtopping of coastal

defences and causeways. Southern Scotland has the most benign weather

tonight. By morning, the strongest winds transfer to the Northern

Isles. Elsewhere, still blowing a gale, still plenty of showers coming

in. Some of them will be heavy with the risk of hail and thunder. Some

snowy deposits on higher-level roads for a time. Richer wise, well down

on what we have been used to. -- temperature wise. Staying windy into

tomorrow evening. Staying cold and pretty showery. On Saturday a bit of

a change. For most of us the wind will become lighter but we will

start to get some heavy rain from the south-west. Still gales for the

Northern Isles. Otherwise winds easing during the day, and then that

persistent rain moving in from the south-west later on. For Sunday that

spreads to all parts with potentially some localised flooding

but it is turning a bit milder. tonight's main news. Around 2,000

jobs are set to go over the next Scotland. HM Revenue and Customs has

announced the cuts as part of a The President of the

European Council has warned that the migrant crisis could spell

the end of passport free travel We're back with the headlines

at eight, and the late bulletin sky, the rain coming down, we have

got another