12/04/2014

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:00:07. > :00:10.People who avoid paying tax by hiding money oversees could face

:00:11. > :00:16.jail under plans being considered by the Government.

:00:17. > :00:18.The Chancellor sets out plans to clamp down on tax evasion by British

:00:19. > :00:22.residents who hide their money overseas.

:00:23. > :00:25.Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond prepares to address the

:00:26. > :00:31.SNP's spring conference - their last before the referendum on

:00:32. > :00:33.independence. And the nine-month-old baby charged

:00:34. > :00:35.with attempted murder in Pakistan finally has his case thrown out by a

:00:36. > :01:01.court. Good afternoon. The Chancellor has

:01:02. > :01:04.set out plans to clamp down on tax evaders who hide money abroad.

:01:05. > :01:08.Current rules require proof there was intent to evade tax, in order to

:01:09. > :01:11.prosecute. But proposed changes would require only proof that the

:01:12. > :01:19.money was taxable and hadn't been declared. Our Correspondent, Joe

:01:20. > :01:23.Lynam, reports. Ordinary people haven't been able to

:01:24. > :01:26.avoid the coalition's spending cuts and VAT rises in order to get the

:01:27. > :01:31.deficit down but some very wealthy people have been able to hide their

:01:32. > :01:35.money away in offshore tax havens. Now the government wants it to the

:01:36. > :01:39.law in favour of the taxman and against secretive millionaires.

:01:40. > :01:47.Currently it is the case that if people have money held offshore and

:01:48. > :01:49.aren't declaring it, it's necessary for eight seek to prove they

:01:50. > :01:51.intended to cheat the taxpayer. What we're proposing is that a new strict

:01:52. > :01:55.liability offence, if you have a substantial amount of money offshore

:01:56. > :02:01.and you are glaring taxable income on that to the UK authorities, then

:02:02. > :02:06.that is a criminal offence. By making this type of tax evasion a

:02:07. > :02:10.Cromwell rather than civil matter, offenders could end up in jail

:02:11. > :02:14.rather than just with a fine. The government has made a big play about

:02:15. > :02:19.pursuing aggressive tax avoidance and tax evasion at an international

:02:20. > :02:24.level. It was the mainstay of last's G8 summit. It is doing so

:02:25. > :02:28.because on its own and cannot pursue these wealthy and mobile

:02:29. > :02:32.individuals. But will they get the money in from these clamp-downs as

:02:33. > :02:37.much as they hope they will? The revenue will be a key impact, to

:02:38. > :02:41.having a fewer example cases to justify to the Minister that they

:02:42. > :02:45.are taking it seriously but I don't anticipate queues of people outside

:02:46. > :02:49.the Old Bailey waiting to be tried. Labour said that as a time when

:02:50. > :02:52.families are facing a cost of living crisis, the failure to raise

:02:53. > :02:56.expected money from tax clamp-downs simply wasn't good enough. George

:02:57. > :03:00.Osborne was in Washington this week sharing his thoughts on global

:03:01. > :03:03.leaders on dealing with tax. That doubtless told them that his plans

:03:04. > :03:08.for a law change you want perfect big corporations, only wealthy

:03:09. > :03:10.individuals. Independence negotiations between

:03:11. > :03:13.Scotland and the rest of the UK could start within days of a Yes

:03:14. > :03:17.vote in the referendum, Scotland's First Minister will tell his party

:03:18. > :03:20.today. Our Scotland Correspondent James

:03:21. > :03:31.Cook is at the SNP conference in Aberdeen. How big moment this? In a

:03:32. > :03:35.word, very big in deed. Because this is the last time that Alex Salmond

:03:36. > :03:40.will address the party faithful before the boat that they have

:03:41. > :03:47.fought so long and so hard to achieve takes place on September 18.

:03:48. > :03:50.He has two things to do, he has two five up, get them energised the last

:03:51. > :03:53.stages of this campaign ahead although they don't need at firing

:03:54. > :03:59.up, they have waited a long time for this and they are in fine form, the

:04:00. > :04:04.SNP supporters. Secondly, he will be trying to reach out to reach out to

:04:05. > :04:07.supporters who don't normally support the SNP and say that a vote

:04:08. > :04:12.for independence doesn't mean voting for the SNP. He expects to say that

:04:13. > :04:17.this referendum is not about this party, this Minister or the wider

:04:18. > :04:22.campaign, it's about putting Scotland's future in Scotland's

:04:23. > :04:25.hands. That is the essential message, that decisions about

:04:26. > :04:29.Scotland should be taken here, and with that in mind, he will talk

:04:30. > :04:33.about what will happen after a yes vote, which would be that he would

:04:34. > :04:38.form a cross-party coalition, he hopes, if negotiators negotiate,

:04:39. > :04:44.beginning within days Scotland's independence. But a very big if, the

:04:45. > :04:47.voters have to vote yes first. ? A Pakistani court has dismissed a case

:04:48. > :04:50.against a nine month old baby who had appeared in court last week for

:04:51. > :04:53.attempted murder. Musa Khan was today again brought

:04:54. > :04:59.before a judge in Lahore, from where our World Affairs correspondent,

:05:00. > :05:04.Mike Wooldridge now reports. If he looks a little bewildered as

:05:05. > :05:09.he waits in a lawyer's office to make his second appearance in court,

:05:10. > :05:13.Musa Khan is after all here for attempted murder. But after a week

:05:14. > :05:17.on bail. That is what an affray between protesters and police in his

:05:18. > :05:24.Lahore neighbourhood in January led to. But the minimum age of criminal

:05:25. > :05:29.copyright in Pakistan is seven and he is just nine months. Last time he

:05:30. > :05:33.cried when police tried to take his fingerprints. Today he seemed

:05:34. > :05:38.calmer. Under an intense media spotlight, the case against Musa was

:05:39. > :05:42.dealt with swiftly inside the court room after the police about no

:05:43. > :05:45.interest in investigating or arresting him. The judge ordered

:05:46. > :05:50.action to be taken against the officer who had handled the case

:05:51. > :05:58.initially. Afterwards, Musa appeared to feel the need for a celebratory

:05:59. > :06:04.drink. His grandfather, meanwhile, accused the police of pressure

:06:05. > :06:09.rising and threatening him. The extraordinary affair is now over,

:06:10. > :06:13.but it has left many questions about how he ended up in court and was

:06:14. > :06:17.then put on bail at all. His lawyers are saying that if a popular can be

:06:18. > :06:22.implicated in a case like this, then what does that say for other people

:06:23. > :06:29.was Mike -- a toddler. So Musa was on his way, adult members of the

:06:30. > :06:33.family continue to face charges over the confrontation with police. It's

:06:34. > :06:36.not the first time flaws in Pakistan's judicial system have been

:06:37. > :06:42.highlighted. Perhaps never before though by a babe in arms.

:06:43. > :06:44.In other news today, a man has appeared in court, charged with

:06:45. > :06:48.attempting to murder three women with a hammer as they slept at a

:06:49. > :06:53.hotel in central London. 32-year-old Philip Spence is also accused of

:06:54. > :06:56.aggravated burglary. The women were attacked in their room at the

:06:57. > :07:02.Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch last Sunday morning. Mr Spence was

:07:03. > :07:04.remanded in custody until Thursday. The Attorney General, Dominic

:07:05. > :07:07.Grieve, is to discuss recent not guilty verdicts in high profile

:07:08. > :07:12.cases with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders. A

:07:13. > :07:14.number of Conservative MPs criticised the decision to bring

:07:15. > :07:17.charges against the former Deputy Speaker of the Commons, Nigel Evans,

:07:18. > :07:23.who was cleared of sexual assault and rape.

:07:24. > :07:30.In Ukraine, officials say armed men have taken over a police station in

:07:31. > :07:33.Sloviansk near the Russian border. Police said the gang fired shots and

:07:34. > :07:44.used stun grenades to take over the building. And in the eastern city of

:07:45. > :07:49.Donetsk, hundreds of pro-Russian protesters are said to be marching

:07:50. > :07:51.towards a police station. Football - and FA Cup holders Wigan

:07:52. > :07:54.Athletic take on Arsenal this afternoon in the first of this

:07:55. > :07:57.weekend's semi-finals. Wigan's chairman Dave Whelan says it's a

:07:58. > :08:01.match his players can go out and enjoy, as the pressure's on Arsenal

:08:02. > :08:05.to win. And at the Masters golf in Augusta -

:08:06. > :08:07.America's Bubba Watson leads the way going into the third round.

:08:08. > :08:14.Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy only just made the cut - after what he called

:08:15. > :08:17.a frustrating second round. Large crowds have turned out to see

:08:18. > :08:22.the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they continue their tour of New

:08:23. > :08:25.Zealand. The royal couple visited a town with which they share their

:08:26. > :08:28.name and officially opened the national cycling centre. Our royal

:08:29. > :08:35.correspondent Nicholas Witchell was with them:

:08:36. > :08:44.almost the entire town had turned out to see them. According to local

:08:45. > :08:50.police, 15,000 people out of a total population of 18,000 were there. The

:08:51. > :08:54.name of the town? Cambridge. This couple have become powerful

:08:55. > :08:58.ambassadors for royalty. During formal moments, paying tribute to

:08:59. > :09:03.New Zealand's boarded, and in the dozens of informal encounters, each

:09:04. > :09:06.one important to the people involved. Taken together they create

:09:07. > :09:12.an impression of a couple who are likeable and approachable. Earlier,

:09:13. > :09:18.Catherine had gone without William to a children's Hospice. Are you

:09:19. > :09:24.having a Tea Party? Can I join you? Is that OK? She is noticeably more

:09:25. > :09:34.at ease now, handling meetings like these with confidence. Hello,

:09:35. > :09:36.everybody. Finally, to New Zealand's new high-performance

:09:37. > :09:42.velodrome which it hopes will yield future Olympic champions. Formally

:09:43. > :09:46.opened by William and Catherine. As the day's events, carefully

:09:47. > :09:54.choreographed and timetables. It's very nearly 2:30pm and that's it,

:09:55. > :09:59.official engagements are over for the day, duties of another kind are

:10:00. > :10:02.calling. George is remaining in government house in Wellington, his

:10:03. > :10:05.mum and dad are returning their every afternoon to be with him.

:10:06. > :10:15.Before they left the velodrome, the inevitable if Oakamoor gift.

:10:16. > :10:21.That's it for now. Plenty more throughout the afternoon on the BBC

:10:22. > :10:24.News Channel. Our next bulletin will be a delay later than usual time of

:10:25. > :10:26.6:40pm this evening.