17/02/2017 Reporting Scotland

That's all from the BBC News at Six - so it's goodbye from me -

Tonight on Reporting Scotland: The man who was driving the bin

lorry that crashed in Glasgow, killing six people,

admits reckless driving in a separate incident.

We speak to the mother of missing RAF serviceman Corrie Mckeague

It is my son. I will do whatever it takes to get him home.

Also on the programme: Plans to use compulsory purchase

orders to reclaim homes in Glasgow's Govanhill

Nurdles, the tiny pieces of plastic causing big problems

And, from warriors to lions, hopes that Stuart Hogg and other

Glasgow players can be part of the British and Irish Lions team.

The driver of a bin lorry that crashed in Glasgow,

killing six people, in December 2014, has pleaded guilty to culpable

and reckless driving less than a year later.

Our reporter is outside Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Harry Clarke appeared here at Glasgow Sheriff

He pleaded guilty to culpably and recklessly driving his car

near Baillieston in Glasgow on 20th September last year.

Nine months earlier he had lost consciousness while at the wheel of

the bin lorry that crashed in Glasgow City centre.

That was after his licence had been revoked.

The Crown accepted his plea saying that he either knew or ought to have

known he was unfit to drive and that he was at risk

Harry Clarke leaves Glasgow Sheriff Court. Harry Clarke had his licence

revoked after he crashed the bin lorry he was driving on the 22nd of

December 20 14. George Square was full of Christmas showers when he

lost consciousness that the wheel. The lorry veered out of control.

Ticks people were killed, 15 others injured. -- six were killed. During

a fatal accident inquiry it emerged he had fainted while driving a bus

in 2010. It heard he had repeatedly lied about his fitness to dry. Nine

months after the bin lorry crash Harry Clark was seen by a neighbour

at the wheel of his Vauxhall Corsa. Police were called.

Today he admitted culpably and recklessly driving his car even

though he now he had suffered a lot of consciousness while driving on

two occasions and he should have known he was unfit to be behind the

wheel. He will be sentenced at the end of next month and could

potentially be jailed. at the forefront of a campaign

to find her missing son. 23-year old Corrie Mckeague,

an RAF serviceman from Dunfermline, disappeared during a night out

near his base in Bury St Edmunds. CCTV captured him leaving

a nightclub in the town, and he was last seen

going down an alley. His mobile was tracked and matched

the route of a bin lorry, which had picked up rubbish

from the town centre and was heading This weekend it's hoped a search

of that landfill site will begin, but tomorrow night a ?50,000 reward

offered by a local businessman Nicola Urquhart, a serving police

woman in Scotland, has been Knowing the police and about to

start searching the landfill, everybody knows how much we have

wanted that to be searched, there there's a good chance that Corrie

may be there. I do not believe that who put him there will come forward

but of somebody else knows, if they know somebody that is behaving

strangely or they have seen things, we are going to find Corrie if he is

there so come forward and tell us where he might be. Tell us why you

think he is going to be there so that whoever has put him there does

not get away with saying he has fallen in a bin and it is an

accident. Give us some more closure, not just finding Corrie but finding

out how he got there and what happened to him. We have seen you

over the past 21 weeks in front of the media using social media, even

physically searching. How have you found the strength to do that? That

is when I end up not having the strength. It is... It is my son. I

will do whatever it takes to get him home. If somebody is not doing their

job, if I think they could do something a little bit better, if I

can do it myself, I will. If not I will do what it takes to help them

do it properly and that is all I have ever wanted, a basic

investigation, and that has given me the strength to fight for something

to try to get Corrie home. Honestly, social media, coming from somebody

who is a police officer who does not go out there saying to use social

media to families when I am dealing with them, the press and social

media is what has got me through this. People do not understand how

much it means when you are reading nice comments that other people are

thinking about your child and wanting to do things to help. You

and your family have been brutally honest. Corrie was on a night out

and was drunk. He was asked to leave a nightclub. You blame no one. No.

But you think lessons can be learned. Absolutely. Lessons can be

learned when there were three tone pastors standing right at the door.

People who are specifically there to look after...? Yes. Hindsight is

wonderful. I am not criticising them. If you are putting somebody

out of the club because they are drunk perhaps there should be some

kind of legislation for all pubs, all doormen to make sure they have

some sort of after-care. What do you think has happened? I don't know if

I will ever find out. Somebody has done something to him. That we are

sure. I am not going to try to kid by hoping I could connect with

somebody who has done something to my son. If they can do it, listening

to me talking to them and begging them is going to make no difference

to them whatsoever. There are still far more decent people in this world

than awful people. If any of them know something, fallen. Letters now.

Even if you think it is a waste of time, it might not be. You do not

know what is important so please get in touch.

Tony Blair has said the context for the Scottish independence case

is "much more credible" after the Brexit vote.

During a speech the former Prime Minister said the vote

to leave the EU put what he called "the break-up of the UK"

Our political correspondent is at Westminster.

The heart of Tony Blair's speech was a rallying call for those who

support the EU to continue making their case. There was also a warning

about what he believes the dangers of Brexit will be, economic and

political. In the political sense Tony Blair was saying he is still a

unionist who believes Scotland should stay in the UK whatever

happens with Brexit. He has tweeted he thinks the case for remaining in

the UK is stronger than in 2014. He has been looking at the changing

political landscape and says the context of the post Brexit vote

could be good for independence supporters. There is the possibility

of the break-up of the UK. Narrowly avoided by the resultant Scottish

referendum, back on the table, this time with a context much more

credible for the independence case. What has been the reaction from

other parties? You will probably not be surprised to find it depends

where you stand on the independence question. The SNP I give and say

airfares to be another vote the context will be different -- I

believe. The Conservatives say there is no appetite for another

referendum and you do not solve the challenges of Brexit by leaving the

UK. What Brexit has shown is that within the UK Scotland's voices not

listen to and does not appear to count for much. The argument for

taking control of our own future and society and place in the world

becomes ever more strong. The case for Scottish independence was not

credible in 2014 when people rejected it and it is not credible

now. What Tony Blair might not now given that he has been out of front

line politics is that only about a quarter of people in Scotland want a

second referendum. The killer of a Clydebank schoolgirl

has had his sentence reduced John Leathem, who admitted stabbing

Paige Doherty more than 140 times, will now serve a minimum term of 23

years. It was in this shop,

now under new management, that John Leathem ran a

delicatessen and it was here Leathem was jailed at the High Court

in Glasgow for life, with The sentence was

imposed because of the brutality of the killing and also

because he had attempted to dispose At the Appeal Court,

his lawyers argued that he showed genuine remorse and had

never been in trouble before. They also said he had left her body

in a place where it could easily be It was contrasted to

another case in Glasgow. He had also been jailed

for a minimum of 27 years and said that that case was

different from that The judges agreed to reduce his

minimum term to 23 years, but there is no guarantee he will get

out after serving that length of That will be a matter

for the parole board, who will base their decision on how

safe the community will be once John Leathem

is released. Drivers on Scotland's busiest

motorway have been told to expect significant delays,

as a diversion comes into force From 8pm, traffic on the east

and westbound approaches to the Baillieston interchange

on the M8 will be diverted It will allow contractors

to connect a newly-built Heavy congestion is expected

on surrounding roads. Last autumn you may remember we told

you how residents in some parts of North Edinburgh

were being terrorised Despite the focus on the problem,

it appears to be getting worse. Today, local people

met with officials to try to bring the crime spree

to a halt. Wrong side of the road, heading

north. Tearing through the streets of north Edinburgh with a police

helicopter in court suit these teenagers are oblivious to the

danger they are putting themselves in and others and local residents

say the spate of joyriders and motor bike thieves is damaging the area.

The problem of motorbike crime and car crime and vandalism that goes

with it is residents say it comes in waves. They say authorities are not

doing enough to apply the breaks to the culprits. Some of those

residents met with police, Crown Office and city officials today to

place their concerns. Many of the offenders have been caught but

there's a feeling the punishments do not the crime. It seems like our

criminal justice system is a revolving door. Our communities say

you can go up to court and get a slap on the wrist. They come out and

two fingers that the police and the criminal justice system. This local

MSP has contacted the Crown Office over the sentences handed out but

thinks the bigger picture is important. Although a lot of the joy

reading happens here in north Edinburgh, it is an issue for the

whole city because the theft of motorbikes happened in the south of

the city. Some of the bike thefts are happening locally. In September

CCTV footage here revealed a thief making off with his partner's

motorbike. This is my girlfriend's bike. We keep it in the kitchen

because it has been stolen before. The bike is back safe indoors but

the anti-social behaviour outside his house continues. It is every

couple of nights he can hear them and see them coming down especially

during the school holidays and later nights. It has been worse because

the kids have been off. Authorities say the meetings were positive and

have deployed special evidence gathering officers to the area.

You're watching BBC Reporting Scotland.

The man who was driving the bin lorry that crashed in Glasgow,

killing six people in 2014, admits reckless driving

And still to come: Why were these mysterious tunnels

We meet the scientists who are trying to find out.

Glasgow City Council say it will now begin to use compulsory purchase

powers to force rogue landlords out of the Govanhill area of the city.

?34 million will be spent in the next four years

in an attempt to address the issues of overcrowded, badly

When cleaning up the streets in Govanhill persistence and manpower

is key. Sorted out neglected housing stock is more complex. In the last

two years 124 flats have been bought. 60% by private landlords.

And done up for lead by the local housing association. The Scottish

Government and local council have pledged more than ?30 million to

keep the scheme going. ?34 million is a substantial investment. We need

to make sure that all of the powers of the enhanced enforcement area are

used in this area. This is the only enhanced enforcement area in

Scotland which means the council can demand access to private landlords'

property for rigorous inspections and they are about to introduce a

tough for measure. We will continue to target rogue landlords but if we

failed the scheme is not being as successful as we would like it to be

we will use compulsory purchase powers to make sure those

individuals are targeted and removed from the area. 87 flats taken over

by the housing association are currently being refurbished and it

is hoped the nature of the area will start to change when new tenants

move on. People will know who are and hopefully they will be

neighbours for considerably longer than just a few months at a time.

That will give stability to the community. For many people who live

or work here that cannot come quick enough. It is called the slums. In

one house there is about 20 people living in one bedroom flat. It has

downgraded this area. You have not seen any improvement? No. It is

better. You can see more people are living in the properties and there

should be. This pilot scheme has put in place the powers in the process

to tackle some landlords and the City Council is aware there is

plenty of them operating here will stop the challenge is to target the

most persistent and the worst of them throughout this area.

A search of hundreds of beaches around the UK has found

three-quarters of them are littered with nurdles.

They're lentil-sized pellets used as a raw material

to make plastic products - and they can cause significant

damage to wildlife, such as birds and fish which eat them.

Huw Williams reports from Gullane in East Lothian.

For the past five years on beaches from the south of England to

Shetland they have been looking for nurdles, they are not recognisable

chunks of plastic like this and they are not micro beads which cause

problems for fish. They are pellets like this. On this beach in East

Lothian there are literally tens of thousands of them. So what are they?

And how many are out there? They are little plastic pellets, about the

size of a lentil and they are used in plastics manufacturer to make

most of our plastic products. In terms of the numbers we find we know

there are millions of tonnes of these produced and processed each

year in the UK alone and potentially billions of these little pellets are

escaping into the environment every year just from accidental spillage.

And they end up on beaches like this and it's not just conservationists

like you who have noticed and are worried about them. I like to teach

my kids to pick things up, it's part of what we do, incorporate that into

the beach walk and it's tough to pick up thousands of these so we end

up taking some of the bigger items home but then we are left with the

idea that this is, this remains on the beach. So what should be done?

There are simple solutions to stopping this spillage, companies

can sign up to a scheme called operation clean sweep, a voluntary

scheme that allows companies to connect is evil pellet loss and

there are useful guidelines within that scheme. The problem is not many

people have signed up to that and there are no checks in place to make

sure companies who have signed up are doing what they promise. The

beach is looking absolutely stunning tonight. But the next time you're at

the seaside you might want to look a bit more closely at the sand to see

what else is there. The Glasgow Warriors head coach

hopes that several of his players will make a real impact

for the British and Irish Lions Gregor Townsend -

a former Lion himself - hopes they can push for places

in the test teams and not Three more years with the Warriors

for Peter Horne, committing his future to the Glasgow band of

brothers whose top stars are increasingly admired on the

international stage. One in particular has caught the eye is the

best players in Britain and Ireland try to impress the man who will pick

the Lions squad to tour New Zealand. Stuart Hogg scores in the corner!

He's done it again! Stuart Hogg has played right hasn't he? Missed a few

tackles last week so he will probably be looking at improving

some of his defence of stuff but in attack he's been pretty good. This

guy was pretty good as well as a scoring Lions full-back and thinks

his fellow Scots can easily wear his old Jersey. Stuart Hogg has been

playing extremely well, he has been the player of the first two rounds

for many of the four home nations the player of the first two rounds

and if he keeps his form up and keeps playing well then he would

certainly be in with a good chance of starting at 15. Three of his

Glasgow team-mates have also been tipped by Vern Cotter for possible

selection. So is Scotstoun home of the Warriors

the breeding ground for the next Scottish star in the British and I

wish Lions? Well since the head coach here at Glasgow played in the

tour of South Africa years ago only one other Scot, Tom Smith, has

started a Lions Test match. It's tough because you are training and

competing against the best players in Britain and Ireland. But at least

once you are out there you have the opportunity to get that test place.

If you look at the Scotland team you're probably looking at three,

test 23, not just to list but probably three getting in the match

day squad if you're picking the test squad now. Josh Strauss unlikely to

be one of them, like a Greig Laidlaw the forward will miss the rest of

the Six Nations effectively ending the forward will miss the rest of

any hopes he had of impressing the selectors.

New light is being shed on a mysterious network

of tunnels and caves, hand-carved out of rock

Scientists, using radar imaging equipment, have discovered

that the ancient passageways at Gilmerton Cove extend much

More chambers have also been uncovered.

As Fiona Stalker reports, it's hoped the underground site may

OK, some surface noise coming in here I think, it might be a cable or

something. The latest ground penetrating radar equipment, new

technology to unlock ancient secrets. The waves bounce off

cavities or tunnels carved into the secrets. The waves bounce off

rock below. This is where we have been looking at. When we were out

there on the road we were the other side of this wall. And where this

blocked up tunnel leads is just one of the questions unanswered for

hundreds of years. Strange places, very few things inside these which

tell us about the people who used it and what they were doing and why

they built it in the first place. So perhaps the work we are doing, if we

get a bigger picture we are mapping in a more extensive way the

footprint of it, then what we are hoping his battle tell us something

about the use. This is what is referred to in an early guidebook as

the chapel. There are several theories about what these chambers

and tunnels were used for. We have theories of secret religious work

it, a deep cut bowl, we have stories of it being a punchbowl so I secret

drinking den. Local legends that one of the tunnels leads to Craigmillar

Castle a good mile from here and we have stories of May the Queen of

Scots having used this place. This subterranean network card from the

sandstone is now known to be at least double the size originally

thought. That new information will be crucial in piecing the past

together. Whether a secret drinking den, a place of worship or something

more sinister the hope is that this work will finally solve the mystery.

Fascinating. Let's see what we can expect

from the weekend weather. Some lovely blue skies around for

some of us today particularly in the east and north-east but for many

rather grey. But lovely weather watcher pictures, thanks. Cloudy and

breezy tonight and increasingly damp as weather starts to arrive off the

Atlantic, showery outbreaks of rain. The further east in the wet weather

fairly sporadic but all these factors combined, the rain and the

breeze and the cloud mean it will be a mild night with temperatures for

most around 6-9 C. But the breeze will be of note around the west

Coast coming strong from the South West. To start the weekend, Saturday

gets off to a soggy start with wet weather in the West, edging its way

east, fizzling out. From around lunchtime many central southern and

eastern parts will see an improvement, dryer and indeed

brighter. By mid-afternoon generally driver central and southern

Scotland, through Kintyre up towards the Highlands and Islands further

outbreaks of rain, further east into parts of dried, perhaps 13 degrees,

the rain spreading through, Shetland largely drive. If you are hell

walking or climbing in the West it will be wet and windy. Temperatures

falling through the course of the day. Eastern ranges more drive it

still windy. Temperatures holding fast at five or six, they will not

drop as far as they will as the West. Into the night and the wet

weather edging its way south and east getting wet through the central

belt on Saturday night and Sunday. For a Sunday, the second half of the

weekend, not too bad, whether France in the north-west bringing quite

windy from the West. Early Sunshine for central and eastern Scotland but

through the course of the day the sunshine becoming increasingly

confined to Eastern coasts, in the sunshine 13 degrees. Further west

rain come in. Subtropical air coming in, that could well lead to a high

of 15 or 16 degrees, it will not be sunny, it will be cloudy and indeed

windy. That's the forecast. Thanks. Now, a reminder of tonight's main

news: Harry Clarke - the man who was driving the bin

lorry that crashed in Glasgow, killing six people -

admits reckless driving And Tony Blair has said the context

for the Scottish independence case is "much more credible"

after the Brexit vote. He said the vote to leave the EU put

what he called the break up of the UK back on the table.

I'll be back with the headlines at 8pm - and the late bulletin just

Until then, from everyone on the team - right

Secure your place at the 500 Words Final,

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