:00:25. > :00:28.A very good afternoon to you. The head of the tax office, Her
:00:28. > :00:33.Majesty's Revenue and Customs, has admitted their service was not good
:00:33. > :00:40.enough last year. It comes after MPs criticise HMRC for not
:00:40. > :00:45.answering calls or replying to letters quickly enough.
:00:45. > :00:49.Dealing the taxman can been aish shoe at the best of times.
:00:49. > :00:53.According to today's report HMRC's service standards make that
:00:53. > :00:57.experience more testing. The Treasury Select Committee said that
:00:57. > :01:02.there were unacceptable difficulties contacting HMRC by
:01:02. > :01:06.phone and endemic delays in responding to written letters and
:01:06. > :01:10.the organisation's staff had little confidence in their own managers.
:01:10. > :01:14.Staff morale in the department is the lowest in Whitehall. That's the
:01:14. > :01:19.official figures - the lowest in Whitehall. If you have an unhappy
:01:19. > :01:22.staff, you have problems. If you have unhappy customers, you should
:01:22. > :01:28.speak to them, pick up problems and take steps to deal with them.
:01:28. > :01:33.That's all we ask. And the people who run HMRC have
:01:33. > :01:38.acknowledged problems. We're not happy with our performance in 2010.
:01:38. > :01:45.What we are doing is getting on with trying to improve it. 2011, on
:01:45. > :01:52.most of the issues they raised, we have improved performance.
:01:52. > :01:58.total tax take was up last year, thanks in part to an aggressive
:01:58. > :02:01.campaign against tax avoiders. In the United States, negotiations on
:02:01. > :02:04.raising borrowing limits are continuing. Leading senators and
:02:04. > :02:10.Congressmen are working through the weekend to try and brobger a deal.
:02:10. > :02:14.If they fail oh to -- broker a deal. If they fail to meet a deadline the
:02:14. > :02:17.largest economy could default on debts or run out of money for
:02:17. > :02:22.things like pension payments. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed
:02:22. > :02:28.they are investigating claims of computer hacking as well as phone
:02:28. > :02:32.hacking. Officers will consider breach of prifsy allegations. Our
:02:32. > :02:36.correspondent -- privacy allegations. Our correspondent is
:02:36. > :02:40.at Scotland Yard for us. This operation has been running for some
:02:40. > :02:46.time. What has happened now is they are beating it up. They are getting
:02:46. > :02:50.a new team of officers to come along and examine allegations that
:02:50. > :02:56.public figures, journalists and so on had their computer files, that
:02:56. > :03:00.is to say files and e-mails hacked, through the use of Trojan e-mails.
:03:00. > :03:06.They say this investigation will include also a look at allegations
:03:06. > :03:10.made by a Panorama programme into an undercover agent, working in
:03:10. > :03:18.Northern Ireland, who infiltrated the IRA. His computer was hacked.
:03:18. > :03:22.That will form a major part of this investigation. Thank you. Crowds
:03:22. > :03:29.hoping to catch a glimpse of the Royal Family have began to gather
:03:29. > :03:33.for Zara Philips's big day in Edinburgh. She will Mary -- marry
:03:33. > :03:38.Mike Tindall this afternoon. Our correspondent is in Edinburgh for
:03:38. > :03:44.us and joins us now. What is the atmosphere like? Are big crowds
:03:44. > :03:49.there already? Good afternoon, Sue. We have a crowd of several hundred
:03:50. > :03:54.here. A stretch of the Royal Mile here is closed off. Heavy security,
:03:54. > :03:59.as you would expect. The flags are out. The first guests are due to
:03:59. > :04:08.arrive in an hour. The ceremony itself takes place at 3pm. It is
:04:08. > :04:14.not a state occasion, but not quite a royal affair. Zara Philips is
:04:14. > :04:18.13th in line to the throne. That helps with the �500,000 cost of
:04:18. > :04:23.security to look after this central area of Edinburgh. We had a glimpse
:04:23. > :04:27.last night of the royals at the wedding party, the pre-wedding