:00:15. > :00:18.Welcome to Thursday's Reporting Scotland. Tonight. Battered by 80
:00:18. > :00:21.mile an hour gales. The worst storms in a decade bring Scotland
:00:21. > :00:28.to a standstill. Roads and bridges are closed, schools are shut and
:00:28. > :00:36.property is damaged across the country.
:00:36. > :00:40.And the rail network's disrupted too. We have had a jam police,
:00:40. > :00:43.garden sheds, all sorts of things on the rails at today.
:00:43. > :00:46.This was the scene on the country's busiest motorway tonight as drivers
:00:46. > :00:48.braved the worsening conditions. And this was the scene in Edinburgh
:00:48. > :00:52.as the Hibs team tried to do the same.
:00:52. > :00:55.We'll be live in the east and the west of the country with updates,
:00:55. > :00:57.and Christopher will be here with a full forecast for tonight and
:00:57. > :01:00.tomorrow. Also this evening.
:01:00. > :01:06.The hospital car park free-for-all. As patients struggle to make
:01:06. > :01:10.appointments, a call to let health boards bring back parking charges.
:01:10. > :01:18.And Rangers winger Aluko is banned after a panel rules this was a dive.
:01:18. > :01:22.Ally McCoist, though, is absolutely furious.
:01:22. > :01:24.Good evening. Much of Scotland has been battered by storm-force winds
:01:24. > :01:27.for most of the day, causing disruption to schools and travel.
:01:27. > :01:32.Hundreds of schools have been closed and many businesses allowed
:01:32. > :01:35.their staff to go home early. Police advised motorists not to
:01:35. > :01:39.drive while the storm was at its height. And thousands of homes have
:01:39. > :01:42.been left without electricity. Tonight there are reports of a
:01:42. > :01:48.train with 64 passengers on board stranded on the West Highland Line
:01:48. > :01:55.just south of Crianlarich. We have two reports. The first is from
:01:55. > :01:59.Steven Godden on how the storm first hit landfall in the west.
:01:59. > :02:05.It was given at the bigger build up and when the storm arrived, it did
:02:05. > :02:13.not disappoint. In Helensburgh, they felt the full force of the
:02:13. > :02:23.wind. It is quite frightening. I was at work in De Barton and there
:02:23. > :02:29.was Debbie hitting the window. -- Dumbarton. It is quite frightening.
:02:29. > :02:39.Be this is the reason at the Met Office issued the red warning.
:02:39. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:52.Winds whipping up the 90 plied with 90 mph wind. I at least we had time
:02:52. > :02:57.to get things organised. I start at nine in the morning. But I am used
:02:57. > :03:06.to that. The closures meant no pupils were on board the school bus
:03:07. > :03:11.and -- or blown over in Ayrshire. By lunchtime, motorists across
:03:11. > :03:15.central Scotland had been warned not to travel. Those who did it
:03:15. > :03:22.went out into worsening conditions. Today has been a very challenging
:03:22. > :03:28.day. We have had disruption on the network. We have seen entries
:03:28. > :03:33.coming down onto the roads and the M42 network. We have seen a land
:03:33. > :03:43.slips and vehicles it being blown over. 68,000 homes have lost power
:03:43. > :03:47.at some point. Argyll and the West Highlands are particularly affected.
:03:47. > :03:51.The Scottish government's resilience group has met to assess
:03:51. > :04:00.damage and disruption. This is all right the third time in 10 years
:04:00. > :04:06.that we have seen went of this magnitude. -- wind. There has been
:04:06. > :04:12.widespread disruption, particularly on the transport network. But
:04:12. > :04:20.Scotland is coping well and will continue to do what needs to be
:04:20. > :04:30.done. On the pavements, the threat of flying masonry made for nervous
:04:30. > :04:35.
:04:35. > :04:38.passengers. This wind turbine spiting flames.
:04:38. > :04:41.The worst of the storm has been tracking its way east and north
:04:41. > :04:44.during the day. Most schools and businesses closed early but so far
:04:44. > :04:49.there has been little significant damage. Our reporter in Edinburgh
:04:49. > :04:54.Lisa Summers has been watching its impact.
:04:54. > :04:58.So far in the East, it has been a tale of damage, disruption and near
:04:58. > :05:06.misses. This house that bore the brunt of of voluntary. Fortunately,
:05:07. > :05:14.no one was home. The strong winds began at this morning. As the force
:05:14. > :05:21.of the storm blew in, the coast took a battering. Before the road
:05:21. > :05:25.bridge had to close. That led to chaos elsewhere. Traffic was at a
:05:25. > :05:34.standstill for miles outside Edinburgh. Trains were delayed or
:05:34. > :05:44.cancelled. I am from Aberdeen, I want to go home. The train was
:05:44. > :05:51.terrible, but we were able to get a taxi. Extra engineers were brought
:05:51. > :05:55.in to clear rubbish. We have had drug believes, garden sheds, all
:05:55. > :06:05.sorts of things on the rail today. We had been working quickly to get
:06:05. > :06:09.things removed. Many businesses set their employees home early.
:06:09. > :06:15.manager came round and said that if we were local, could we stay but if
:06:15. > :06:21.we had a journey, we could leave up. In Aberdeen, cars were damaged when
:06:21. > :06:28.this it Wall fell. I felt of the rumbling and the bang as the
:06:28. > :06:32.building collapsed. Nothing could be done to save these decorations
:06:32. > :06:42.in the Union Street. The worst of the weather was predicted to sweep
:06:42. > :06:44.
:06:44. > :06:54.across in early afternoon. As we were driving, two of the panels of
:06:54. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:12.dispense flew Over the Road to -- off this fence blew off. It just
:07:12. > :07:18.missed a girl. Tonight, the carnival is closed. Is it all over
:07:18. > :07:21.our is the worst yet to come. So, what's the situation tonight.
:07:21. > :07:25.Andrew Anderson is at the Forth Road Bridge which has been closed
:07:25. > :07:30.to traffic for much of the day. And Catriona Renton is on Buchanan
:07:30. > :07:34.Street in Glasgow. First to Andrew. What's the latest there?
:07:34. > :07:44.Things are on the move here on the 4th at Woodbridge. It has opened
:07:44. > :07:47.
:07:47. > :07:57.again. -- on the Forth Road Bridge. It was closed at this morning after
:07:57. > :08:01.gusts of wind reached 80 mph. Thousands of commuters have spent
:08:01. > :08:06.the last few hours wondering how they were going to get almost all
:08:06. > :08:09.this is a great relief for them. It was not the only bridge that were
:08:09. > :08:17.closed. Most of the bridges in Scotland have been closed it today.
:08:17. > :08:21.The Tay Bridge as well. They were expecting the worst to be at its
:08:21. > :08:31.worst between the three and 6 o'clock. But it feels are just as
:08:31. > :08:32.
:08:32. > :08:37.bad at the moment. And we have got sleet coming in as well just now.
:08:37. > :08:46.Bury bad weather predicted for the North of Scotland are tomorrow,
:08:46. > :08:50.blizzards. We are in the city centre. 16
:08:50. > :08:58.shopping days until Christmas. This is late night shopping and you
:08:58. > :09:02.would expected to be very busy, but very few shoppers had been brave
:09:02. > :09:11.enough to come out tonight. Many employers have set their staff home
:09:11. > :09:17.during the day. The main road over there has been closed because of
:09:18. > :09:27.the roof of a huge cinema complex is unsafe according to police. They
:09:28. > :09:30.
:09:30. > :09:34.have close to the road -- they have closed the road. Most councils are
:09:34. > :09:42.hoping to have their schools open tomorrow. We would do our best to
:09:42. > :09:47.keep you up-to-date on that. Contact your local authority as
:09:47. > :09:57.well. Trains, planes and buses are all hoping to be back to normal as
:09:57. > :09:59.
:10:00. > :10:02.well. Thanks to a drookit Andrew Anderson
:10:03. > :10:05.at the Forth Road Bridge and Catriona Renton in Glasgow.
:10:05. > :10:08.And of course we'll have a full extended weather forecast at the
:10:08. > :10:10.end of the programme. You're watching Reporting Scotland
:10:11. > :10:13.from the BBC. Still to come on the programme.
:10:14. > :10:15.A warning over the cost of meeting climate change targets. A report
:10:15. > :10:19.says the bill could reach �11 billion.
:10:19. > :10:22.In sport. The row over whether a Rangers player dived or didn't
:10:22. > :10:24.continues as an angry Ally McCoist enters the debate. And can
:10:24. > :10:29.Scotland's pro-rugby treams continue their charge in the
:10:29. > :10:32.Heineken European cup? We'll take a look ahead. All that to come.
:10:32. > :10:35.Robert Black, the serial child killer, has been given a life
:10:35. > :10:38.sentence for the murder of 9-year- old Jennifer Cardy in Northern
:10:38. > :10:41.Ireland 30 years ago. Black, who is already in prison for the murder of
:10:41. > :10:48.three other girls in the 1980s, will serve at least 25 years.
:10:48. > :10:53.Aileen Clarke reports. Jennifer Cardy was nine years old
:10:53. > :10:59.and cycling to our friend's house in County Antrim when a paedophile
:11:00. > :11:07.Robert Black abducted, assaulted and murdered her. 30 years later,
:11:07. > :11:11.Robert Black was to date sentenced to a minimum of 25 years. We think
:11:11. > :11:21.that just as has been done and we do not think that Robert Black will
:11:21. > :11:24.
:11:24. > :11:34.ever be out of jail again to a sort we girls again. -- to attack.
:11:34. > :11:49.
:11:49. > :11:54.I can remember exactly how I felt, exactly how everybody else in the
:11:54. > :12:00.family reacted. In a 1994, Robert Black was sentenced to prison for
:12:00. > :12:10.the murder of three schoolgirls. 11-year-old Susan Maxwell, five-
:12:10. > :12:15.
:12:15. > :12:22.year-old Caroline Hogg and a 10- year-old Sarah Harper. Jennifer
:12:22. > :12:32.Cardy's family have been sustained by their faith. If he were to
:12:32. > :12:37.appeal to me for forgiveness, I would meet him face to face. But we
:12:37. > :12:42.have never had it that cancerous a bitterness that takes away
:12:42. > :12:50.everything from you. Robert Black will now have to reach 89 years old
:12:50. > :12:53.before he will be considered for release.
:12:53. > :12:55.A 25-year-old man has appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court charged with
:12:55. > :12:58.the murder of James Simpson. The 76-year-old was killed last week
:12:58. > :13:01.during the theft of his Landrover Discovery from outside his house in
:13:01. > :13:03.Ashgill near Larkhall. Christopher Grenfell made no plea or
:13:03. > :13:06.declaration and was remanded in custody. A 32-year-old man also
:13:06. > :13:16.arrested in connection Mr Simpson's death has been released pending
:13:16. > :13:16.
:13:16. > :13:21.A pupil has been taken to hospital after falling down a lift shaft at
:13:21. > :13:25.his school in Edinburgh. The Fire Service was killed two -- called to
:13:25. > :13:29.Liberton High School this morning. It is understood the Gulf felt
:13:29. > :13:32.around five metres. She was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for
:13:32. > :13:36.treatment. It could cost as much as �11
:13:36. > :13:40.billion to meet Scotland's Climate Change targets, according to a
:13:40. > :13:48.report. The scale of the challenge will grow as pressure on the public
:13:48. > :13:51.finances increases. Tackling climate change is a global
:13:51. > :13:55.priority, but governments around the world are under pressure to
:13:55. > :13:59.explain how they will foot the bill in an age of austerity. The
:13:59. > :14:04.Scottish government is no exception. Today's report has added to the
:14:04. > :14:09.pressure by warning it will cost up to �11 billion for Scotland to meet
:14:09. > :14:15.its target of cutting carbon emissions by 42% before the end of
:14:15. > :14:19.the decade. Can the price be justified? That is a decision for
:14:19. > :14:23.the government and for the politicians within Scotland.
:14:23. > :14:27.Affordability is about setting priorities, so if it is a priority
:14:27. > :14:33.for the government and parliament, it is affordable, but it is a
:14:33. > :14:38.political decision. Global leaders of struggling to with continuing
:14:38. > :14:44.financial turmoil. Tough-talking at the United Nations climate change
:14:44. > :14:50.conference. Among the delegates, Scotland's climate change Minister.
:14:50. > :14:54.We have committed �680 million, but the main source of finance for
:14:54. > :14:58.dealing with climate change in Scotland will come from industry.
:14:58. > :15:02.This is a good report, but it is alarming, because of the cost,
:15:02. > :15:05.which could impact on at a great many Scottish firms and make them
:15:05. > :15:09.uncompetitive. Environment of campaigners said the report fails
:15:09. > :15:13.to highlight the social and economic benefits tackling climate
:15:13. > :15:18.change could bring it. Among them, investment in public transport,
:15:18. > :15:25.better insulated homes and the creation of jobs in the renewable
:15:25. > :15:29.energy industry. Then, the environmental benefits of doing
:15:29. > :15:35.what we can to limit the extreme weather conditions which scientists
:15:35. > :15:45.tell us will be more commonplace as a result of climate change. As we
:15:45. > :15:49.
:15:49. > :15:51.have been reminded today, severe The Libyan government has told the
:15:52. > :15:55.foreign office it will allow police from Scotland to travel to the
:15:55. > :15:59.country as part of their continuing investigation into the 1988
:15:59. > :16:02.Lockerbie bombing. The Transitional National Government had already
:16:02. > :16:05.made it clear it would co-operate with the Dumfries and Galloway
:16:05. > :16:10.force. Scottish ministers have been urged
:16:10. > :16:14.to consider new laws to soften the impact of planned changes to the UK
:16:14. > :16:18.benefit system. Holyrood's health committee said the Bill could mean
:16:18. > :16:22.cuts in payments to the most vulnerable people. It also warned
:16:22. > :16:25.they might not be enough time to bring forward separate Scottish
:16:25. > :16:30.legislation. The Edinburgh exploration company
:16:30. > :16:34.Cairn Energy has announced it will distribute more than �2.2 billion
:16:34. > :16:37.to its shareholders. The payout follows the sale of a controlling
:16:37. > :16:44.stake in the company's Indian subsidiary to the metals company
:16:44. > :16:48.Vedanta. There is a court to allow hospitals
:16:48. > :16:52.the power to re introduce car- parking charges for staff and
:16:52. > :16:56.patients to help manage traffic better. The situation at Aberdeen
:16:56. > :17:02.has been described as critical, with some outpatients having to
:17:02. > :17:06.risk parking fines to get to appointments.
:17:06. > :17:10.You want to be there as quickly as you can, and it is so difficult to
:17:10. > :17:15.try and find spaces. Kate Dean dropped her son at A&E with a hand
:17:15. > :17:20.injury. Half-an-hour later, she eventually got to be with her son.
:17:20. > :17:23.I started to think that there would be people not in that position,
:17:23. > :17:26.people for whom this could be the last few minutes of somebody's life,
:17:26. > :17:35.and that is what worries me, they are looking for a parking space
:17:35. > :17:40.when they should be with their loved ones. Alice Urquhart has
:17:40. > :17:45.lymphoma, her husband drove her to her first appointment. It was
:17:45. > :17:49.horrific. She had an appointment with a cancer specialist, and we
:17:49. > :17:54.went up half-an-hour early, knowing the parking difficulties. We went
:17:54. > :17:57.round and round both car parks, with no avail. You are scared you
:17:57. > :18:02.will miss your appointment for a cancer treatment, and you cannot do
:18:02. > :18:08.that. Unions say staff are angry, claiming existing problems have
:18:08. > :18:12.become your worst since charges were removed. -- problems have
:18:12. > :18:18.become worse. NHS Grampian have described this as a free fall. It
:18:18. > :18:25.is proposing permits from next April, but it will cost. When we
:18:25. > :18:29.had charges, there was revenue coming to the organisation. We were
:18:29. > :18:33.told it all of our limited funding on patient care rather than car
:18:33. > :18:40.parking. That income stream ended when the government abolished
:18:40. > :18:43.parking charges. A Labour MP once the blanket policy lifted, allowing
:18:43. > :18:48.it hospital to decide whether to charge an. The Scottish government
:18:48. > :18:56.says abolishing the charges did not end a duty of NHS boards to manage
:18:56. > :19:02.parking and balance the needs of patients, visitors and staff.
:19:02. > :19:07.They dive? That is the question. I will not answer it! The Rangers
:19:07. > :19:13.manager Ally McCoist a shocked and angry because the SFA's panel has
:19:13. > :19:18.banned Sone Aluko for two games. Rangers contested the finding that
:19:18. > :19:25.he conned a referee into awarding a penalty at the weekend. The panel
:19:25. > :19:29.thought that he did it. Sone Aluko, Ally McCoist and Andrew
:19:29. > :19:33.Dixon sneaked in the side entrance at Hampden Park in fast cars for
:19:33. > :19:37.the hearing. The case was top of the agenda at the National Stadium,
:19:37. > :19:41.but there was to be no early Christmas present. This was the
:19:41. > :19:47.moment that has caused much debate since the weekend. Sone Aluko goes
:19:47. > :19:54.down in the box against Dunfermline, and the referee gives a penalty.
:19:54. > :19:59.But the SFA's officer, on viewing the incident, called it a dive, or
:19:59. > :20:05.an act of simulation, by the Rangers player. But the panel
:20:05. > :20:08.decided he had dived, and the ban sanctioned by the SFA should stand.
:20:08. > :20:14.The Rangers manager Ally McCoist was so angered by the decision, he
:20:14. > :20:24.even criticised Jim McCluskey, who chaired the hearing. He told the
:20:24. > :20:39.
:20:39. > :20:43.He also criticised the consistency of disciplinary decisions, pointing
:20:43. > :20:49.to the incident earlier in the season when Debbie O'Connor was
:20:49. > :20:51.cleared of diving to win a penalty against St Johnstone. Sone Aluko's
:20:51. > :20:55.band begins immediately, he will miss the games with Hibernian and
:20:55. > :21:00.Inverness. Hearts players have enlisted the
:21:00. > :21:04.help of the eight unions over their failure to be paid. The players
:21:04. > :21:08.have given it -- been given no indication when they will be paid.
:21:08. > :21:13.One player who asked was told it could not be guaranteed before
:21:13. > :21:17.Christmas. The union wants the Scottish FA and Premier League to
:21:17. > :21:20.get involved. Rory Lamont is being thrown in at
:21:20. > :21:26.the deep end at the start of his second stint with Glasgow. His
:21:26. > :21:30.first game will be in the Heineken Cup match against Montpellier.
:21:30. > :21:33.Glasgow and Edinburgh could take a step nearer qualifying for the
:21:33. > :21:38.knockout stage of the competition if they win their matches this
:21:38. > :21:43.weekend. This is not Edinburgh's version of
:21:43. > :21:47.the hacker, whatever they are doing, it is working. They are unbeaten at
:21:47. > :21:55.the top of their European Cup group. Tomorrow, they play their closest
:21:55. > :22:00.rivals, Cardiff, in Wales. Welsh rugby is on a huge birds, very
:22:00. > :22:06.positive, there is a good feel factor -- age huge birds. You
:22:06. > :22:11.cannot let that over renewed. Far as, it will be critical that we can
:22:11. > :22:15.get involved in the physical battle and get an edge on them. Class: Not
:22:15. > :22:19.sitting quite as prettily as Edinburgh, with one win -- Glasgow
:22:20. > :22:24.are not sitting quite as prettily. They are at home to Montpellier.
:22:24. > :22:29.They are looking for this man to power his way through the French
:22:29. > :22:36.defence, Rory Lamont is back after four years away. He is straight
:22:36. > :22:41.back into the team. A lot of pressure to perform. I have only
:22:41. > :22:47.played two games since the end of last season, so I will be feeling
:22:47. > :22:51.pressure. They would have taken a seven-match winning streak into the
:22:51. > :22:57.game if Newport Gwent Dragons had not scored this last-gasp penalty
:22:57. > :23:02.to draw on Sunday. Glasgow or still hurting, but a win against the
:23:02. > :23:06.French will ease their pain. Paul Lawrie has made a fine start
:23:06. > :23:12.to the Dubai World Golf Championship. He is second after
:23:12. > :23:22.his opening round, 65. He trails Peter Hanson, who equalled the
:23:22. > :23:24.
:23:24. > :23:27.The Scottish domination of British tennis continues. Andy Murray's
:23:27. > :23:34.mother is the captain of the Federation Cup team, the women's
:23:34. > :23:38.team. She tweeted to say she is thrilled, thrilled, thrilled at
:23:38. > :23:48.getting the job. She will take charge for the first time in
:23:48. > :23:48.
:23:48. > :23:56.Back to the storm-force winds that have been battering Scotland all
:23:56. > :24:03.day. What is the latest? There is a lot of continuing disruption across
:24:03. > :24:06.the country. If you look at the problems in turn, first,
:24:06. > :24:11.electricity, 50,000 homes are still without power in areas including
:24:11. > :24:15.the Western Isles, Albarn and Fort William. There are power cuts in
:24:15. > :24:20.the central belt of the south of the country as well, but the
:24:20. > :24:26.situation there is not as severe. 18,000 customers have had their
:24:26. > :24:30.power restored. Public transport. ScotRail has an emergency timetable
:24:30. > :24:37.in operation tonight, as have the main bus companies in Glasgow and
:24:37. > :24:47.Edinburgh. For the latest information, didn't
:24:47. > :24:50.
:24:50. > :24:54.go to the website. -- you can go to We have seen some very strong wind
:24:54. > :25:01.through the central part of the country today and elsewhere. In the
:25:01. > :25:05.populated areas, 91 miles per hour. We continue to have the red warning
:25:05. > :25:08.in force for the next couple of hours from the Met Office for
:25:09. > :25:13.storm-force winds through the central belt. Across the country,
:25:13. > :25:18.the amber warning for 70 miles an hour wins. But we have the red
:25:19. > :25:22.warning for the central belt. Into the evening and overnight, the low
:25:22. > :25:27.pressure that has brought a high wind starts to pull away towards
:25:27. > :25:32.the north-east of the country, but the stink in its tail will be
:25:32. > :25:36.storm-force winds transferring to the north-east, and the rain will
:25:36. > :25:39.turn to snow over the Highlands and Grampian region. We will see some
:25:39. > :25:44.blizzard conditions for North Aberdeen should, right down to
:25:44. > :25:50.lower levels, treacherous conditions on the road. We have
:25:50. > :26:00.another ample warning, combined for the storm force wind and the snow.
:26:00. > :26:04.-- another amber warning. Blizzard conditions in the reds. -- on the
:26:04. > :26:11.roads. An ice risk for the northern half of Scotland. Across the south-
:26:11. > :26:18.west, this will feature. Sleet and snow. There will be a risk here as
:26:18. > :26:22.well. Further inland, south and east, dry and clear, and cold. On
:26:22. > :26:28.Friday, the low pressure continues to move away to board Scandinavia,
:26:28. > :26:33.but we open the floodgates to the very cold northerly wind. A very
:26:33. > :26:38.cold day for Friday. Across Orkney and Shetland, have the showers, and
:26:38. > :26:45.gale-force wind across the North- East. Elsewhere, the wind is much
:26:45. > :26:55.lighter, compared with today. One or two smellers -- snow showers.
:26:55. > :26:56.
:26:56. > :27:03.Further south, dry, bright, say, but cold. -- sunny, but cold. A
:27:03. > :27:08.widespread hard frost. More heavy snow showers. As we go into
:27:08. > :27:12.Saturday daytime, we have some snow showers clearing away. Some
:27:12. > :27:16.uncertainty for the South, but it will be an improving story. The
:27:16. > :27:21.temperatures are starting to creep up. The focus is the storm-force
:27:21. > :27:31.wind in the north and north-east. We finish with images and sounds
:27:31. > :27:36.
:27:36. > :27:46.from today as the wind swept across This is the reason the Met Office
:27:46. > :27:48.
:27:48. > :27:58.issued the red warning, 90 miles It has been a long time since I
:27:58. > :28:08.have seen it so bad. We are getting reports of some structural damage
:28:08. > :28:11.