:00:07. > :00:11.Tonight, and independents warning from one of Scotland's biggest
:00:12. > :00:14.financial companies. Standard Life says it might move some of its
:00:15. > :00:19.operations out of the country in the event of a yes vote.
:00:20. > :00:24.We will have analysis from our business and political editor. Also
:00:25. > :00:29.in the programme, the controversial scrapping of cooperation in criminal
:00:30. > :00:34.trials moves a step closer after MS please reject the bid to keep it.
:00:35. > :00:39.After months of rain and flooding it is official, it has been the wettest
:00:40. > :00:44.winter on record stop we hear from the woman who nearly died after
:00:45. > :00:51.being gored by a stag. I am very lucky I can talk the talk,
:00:52. > :00:56.walk at all. A fan's revolution at Rangers. They
:00:57. > :01:01.want to take control of the board and put Dave: -- Dave King at the
:01:02. > :01:15.helm. Good evening. One of Scotland's
:01:16. > :01:18.biggest finance companies have said it could leave the country if there
:01:19. > :01:22.is a yes vote in the independence referendum. Standard Life is making
:01:23. > :01:25.contingency arrangements to move south of the border because of the
:01:26. > :01:28.uncertainty surrounding the decision. The Scottish cup and says
:01:29. > :01:33.there will be no need for businesses to relocate. Two-day's statement
:01:34. > :01:43.sparked heated exchanges at the Holyrood parliament.
:01:44. > :01:48.Standard Life has corporate cloud, it has become the standard bearer
:01:49. > :01:54.for footage finance. It employs 5000 Scots and manages 244 billion
:01:55. > :01:58.pounds. While neutral on the vote this man want to day he may move
:01:59. > :02:04.staff out of Scotland if there is a yes vote.
:02:05. > :02:10.The concerns here start with the currency Scotland would use,
:02:11. > :02:18.financial regulation, the taxation system. Concern also for pensions
:02:19. > :02:21.for high earners and clear access into European markets. With these
:02:22. > :02:32.uncertainty the company is taking precautions. The statement said...
:02:33. > :02:38.Standard Life doing what they have always been clear they will always
:02:39. > :02:42.do, putting their customers first and the interest of their customers
:02:43. > :02:45.first. They are being realistic about the impact of some of the
:02:46. > :02:49.uncertainties that come from the referendum process.
:02:50. > :02:52.Royal Bank of Scotland is also looking at the risks it could face
:02:53. > :02:55.from changing currency and radiation as well as credit ratings, saying
:02:56. > :03:00.there could be prolonged uncertainty.
:03:01. > :03:02.The ratings agency said the challenges facing an independent
:03:03. > :03:11.Scotland would be significant but not on Sevastopol -- unsurpassable
:03:12. > :03:15.we may have to put contingency plans in place to make sure they can
:03:16. > :03:18.continue as normal, whatever the outcome.
:03:19. > :03:24.Standard Life have made a bold decision. Other companies are having
:03:25. > :03:29.the same conversations. How does this affect the debate on
:03:30. > :03:35.Scotland's future? Jobs are hard to get anyway. If all
:03:36. > :03:39.the jobs are going to go down south, you might not have your job to go
:03:40. > :03:42.to. It is quite crushing to the
:03:43. > :03:48.estimate, the companies will only do what is best for them, and what is
:03:49. > :03:52.best for Scotland. It will make people think about it,
:03:53. > :03:57.if that is one company, and more thinking the same way.
:03:58. > :04:06.Businesses don't have votes but lots of workers vote for them.
:04:07. > :04:14.Douglas is with us now as is our political editor. How has this gone
:04:15. > :04:17.down politically? There was a huge argument at
:04:18. > :04:20.Holyrood, there were answers in place, shared currency, shared
:04:21. > :04:27.regulation. If Scotland leads the UK, jobs leave Scotland. She ditched
:04:28. > :04:34.her argument by rewriting a proclaimers song.
:04:35. > :04:37.If there is a yes vote, isn't it the case we will need to rewrite the
:04:38. > :04:47.song, Standard Life, no more, RBS, no more, shipbuilding, no more. The
:04:48. > :04:58.Scotland we love and fight for, no more. And all for Alex Salmond, a
:04:59. > :05:00.price worth paying. We have seen through the scaremongering. If we
:05:01. > :05:09.hadn't seen through it we would have this Parliament. Scotland will go on
:05:10. > :05:13.to prosperity and more equality through an independent Scotland. It
:05:14. > :05:19.will not be the business, no more, it will be Labour, no more.
:05:20. > :05:29.Is there any way this can be resolved first remark -- resolved?
:05:30. > :05:32.For now it is stalemate, it is a war of attrition. Alex Salmond is
:05:33. > :05:36.stressing in his fiscal commission their answers such as a currency
:05:37. > :05:43.unit that will offer the assurances that Standard Life are seeking.
:05:44. > :05:47.There is the quandary he faces, for those to be implemented, it requires
:05:48. > :05:51.the intervention of the other party, the UK government, and it is not in
:05:52. > :05:56.their interest, it is in their interest to turn down his request
:05:57. > :06:00.for now, at least up until that referendum. Why? They want to
:06:01. > :06:10.increase out, the prospect of there being a no vote in the referendum .
:06:11. > :06:15.Why have Standard Life played this card so publicly, and can we expect
:06:16. > :06:20.more announcements? It is not because companies like
:06:21. > :06:24.this one in Edinburgh want to get involved in the political maelstrom
:06:25. > :06:30.of the debate about Scotland's future, they have a responsibility
:06:31. > :06:34.to set out the risks they face, and to reassure shareholders as well as
:06:35. > :06:39.customers about any concerns they have got. These companies have a
:06:40. > :06:45.long list of risks, and those associated with Scottish in the
:06:46. > :06:48.release of them. For the yes campaign is good news, if the polls
:06:49. > :06:52.are narrowing business will engage more about the possibilities of
:06:53. > :06:55.independence so they will be taken more seriously, but it is not so
:06:56. > :06:58.good Standard Life is a big player in Edinburgh, it is rooted in
:06:59. > :07:03.Scottish economy, its advice is widely respected, and it has
:07:04. > :07:10.concerns which will be heard throughout the financial sector and
:07:11. > :07:13.beyond. The abolition of a long-standing
:07:14. > :07:18.principle of corroboration in Scots law has come a step closer despite
:07:19. > :07:21.an attempt to block the controversial proposal, the Scottish
:07:22. > :07:25.government has narrowly won a vote to press ahead with reform.
:07:26. > :07:28.Abolishing corroboration will and the requirement for evidence to come
:07:29. > :07:33.from at least two sources incremental cases for top ash max
:07:34. > :07:37.and requirement. Please gathered evidence from more
:07:38. > :07:43.than one source, because only with his corroboration will any case gets
:07:44. > :07:46.to court. The government says it is a barrier to justice in many cases
:07:47. > :07:51.of sexual crime and domestic violence. Victims groups, the peace
:07:52. > :07:56.and prosecutors agree, the wider legal establishment does not. They
:07:57. > :08:00.want to keep corroboration as a safeguard against wrongful
:08:01. > :08:05.conviction. The government has appointed former judge Lord upon me
:08:06. > :08:09.to see what alternative safeguards might be needed. Opposition MSPs so
:08:10. > :08:14.they shouldn't be asked to vote on corroboration before he has
:08:15. > :08:19.reported. The Cabinet Secretary is asking us if they should put his
:08:20. > :08:23.plans out to tender now, ask members to write a blank cheque, with a
:08:24. > :08:29.promise they will receive the goods sometime in the future. The justice
:08:30. > :08:33.secretary says they will be able to consider and act on the report
:08:34. > :08:40.before corroboration goes. And he urged MSPs to back reform. We cannot
:08:41. > :08:44.have those who suffer from rape or sexual offences, those who suffered
:08:45. > :08:49.domestic abuse behind closed doors, those who are young, vulnerable,
:08:50. > :08:53.elderly, preyed upon, picked up on, and be routinely denied access to
:08:54. > :08:57.justice. He once passionate support. Do what
:08:58. > :09:02.is morally right to ensure justice and this is morally right.
:09:03. > :09:07.Critics say removing corroboration could make matters worse. More
:09:08. > :09:11.prosecutions are not the same as more convictions, and there is
:09:12. > :09:16.nothing just inputting victims through the ordeal of gruelling
:09:17. > :09:22.interrogation, by the defence. It was a close vote. Yes, 61, no,
:09:23. > :09:27.64. In the end the justice secretary has
:09:28. > :09:33.managed to keep the abolition of corroboration in the bill at this
:09:34. > :09:37.stage. There is a further fight to come when the legislation goes back
:09:38. > :09:42.to Hollywood's Justice committee where there may well be an attempt
:09:43. > :09:46.to remove it. The Royal Bank of Scotland has
:09:47. > :09:51.announced pre-tax losses of ?8.2 billion for last year. Despite the
:09:52. > :09:56.fall, the bank which is 80% owned by the taxpayer has revealed it has set
:09:57. > :10:02.aside ?576 million for staff bonuses.
:10:03. > :10:06.It is a big loss, will this mean branch closures?
:10:07. > :10:09.It seems like they will be continuing down the line, moving
:10:10. > :10:17.from the idea of bigger and better as a bank, to the new motto which
:10:18. > :10:23.are smaller and simpler. People are doing banking on their phones, it
:10:24. > :10:26.will see more closures. The good news is the daily business of the
:10:27. > :10:31.bank was still profitable, the day-to-day high-street banking, it
:10:32. > :10:35.was big fines, big debt write-offs the bank had to do so the debt was
:10:36. > :10:40.so huge and the losses so huge at the end of the day for stop what
:10:41. > :10:47.about staff? Huge implications, 11 South and --
:10:48. > :10:50.11,000 staff employed in Scotland. They have been worried about rumours
:10:51. > :10:55.of staff losses. Today we had confirmation of that.
:10:56. > :10:59.It is very clear that business costs are far too high. We are still
:11:00. > :11:10.looking as though we are an organisation that is a global unit
:11:11. > :11:14.and we have disparate aspirations. They haven't said where the job cuts
:11:15. > :11:20.are going to take place, they have given some assurance to staff saying
:11:21. > :11:24.they will be consulted first. You watching Reporting Scotland,
:11:25. > :11:31.still to come, the woman who was gored by a charging stand says she
:11:32. > :11:34.is lucky to be alive for top Rangers supporters groups one former
:11:35. > :11:40.director Dave King to lead a fan -based takeover.
:11:41. > :11:48.Scotland's Welch and the inbox gets up close to the man who once his
:11:49. > :11:51.title. -- world champion boxer. This may not come as much of a
:11:52. > :11:56.surprise, but Scotland, along with the rest of the UK, has had its
:11:57. > :12:03.wettest winter on record. Figures from last December show an average
:12:04. > :12:06.rainfall across Scotland of just under 70 centimetres. That is the
:12:07. > :12:10.most since records began in 1910, and nearly five centimetres more
:12:11. > :12:15.than the last wettest winter in 1995 when nearly 55 centimetres was
:12:16. > :12:19.recorded. There has been a wide variation across the country, in the
:12:20. > :12:24.far north and on the Moray coast, it has been much drier than average. In
:12:25. > :12:28.places like Angus, Aberdeenshire and Borders, there has been more than
:12:29. > :12:34.twice much rain than usual. That has also been the case for Dumfries and
:12:35. > :12:42.Galloway. A dramatic end to 2013 for this
:12:43. > :12:49.family. Airlifted to safety when floodwaters surrounded and entered
:12:50. > :12:52.their farmhouse. It was the area's worst day of rainfall this winter,
:12:53. > :12:57.out of many. That WH bought the river to its
:12:58. > :13:02.highest ever recorded level, and washed away this 30 metre length of
:13:03. > :13:06.the levy of flood barrier. It allowed the water to gush down the
:13:07. > :13:13.valley towards the farm, cutting it off completely. With Sam and his
:13:14. > :13:20.foretold an inside. -- for children. Months and the effect is being felt.
:13:21. > :13:25.He lost three of his 50 sheep in the flood water, a further 21 have died
:13:26. > :13:31.since. Cause unknown, but some kind of contamination suspected for stop
:13:32. > :13:41.carpets and furniture need replaced. Erosion which caused this needs to
:13:42. > :13:49.be fixed. A constant reminder it could easily happen again.
:13:50. > :13:55.Terrifying to know how quickly something that this can happen. It
:13:56. > :13:59.is a learning curve for pretty much everybody now. And may happen more
:14:00. > :14:39.often? It could very well happen more often. A this family just once
:14:40. > :14:42.the sun to shine. A 62-year-old oil worker has died after falling into
:14:43. > :14:45.the water from a North Sea platform. He fell during overnight maintenance
:14:46. > :14:48.work from Taqa's Harding platform, about 200 miles north east of
:14:49. > :14:51.Aberdeen. The casualty was airlifted to hospital in Shetland but couldn't
:14:52. > :14:55.be saved. The company says it's trying to establish the cause of the
:14:56. > :15:03.incident, and police have flown out. A look at some other stories. A
:15:04. > :15:08.petition with 3500 signatures has been handed to MPs calling for
:15:09. > :15:26.improvements to offshore helicopter skiing today -- helicopter safety.
:15:27. > :15:43.The way that South Ayrshire Council is run has been heavily criticised.
:15:44. > :15:49.If not addressed, issues would jeopardise public confidence. A
:15:50. > :15:56.horse has been removed from a house on the Isle of Lewis. The owner
:15:57. > :16:03.insisted that the horse was perfectly happy but authorities
:16:04. > :16:14.insisted they had removed the pony on grounds of animal welfare. I said
:16:15. > :16:19.where is my pony? My first reaction, apart from a sigh and a
:16:20. > :16:33.gut feeling was could they not have knocked on my door first and said
:16:34. > :16:37.they were going to take the pony? A woman gored by a charging stag while
:16:38. > :16:41.on holiday in the Highlands says she is lucky to be alive. Dr Kate Stone
:16:42. > :16:44.was hit by the animal last December while out with friends. The stag's
:16:45. > :16:48.antlers damaged her vocal cords and fractured her neck, before hitting
:16:49. > :16:50.her spine. Two months later she is still recovering, as Craig Anderson
:16:51. > :16:53.reports. Convalescing at her sister's home, Kate Stone is still
:16:54. > :17:00.being fed through a nasogastric tube. It was here in Lochailort that
:17:01. > :17:11.a stag trapped in a garden rushed through a gate to escape. I just
:17:12. > :17:16.felt a massive thud, and then a second thud and then I was on the
:17:17. > :17:20.ground. I knew I had been hit by an animal and I knew that my neck was
:17:21. > :17:25.in a very bad way. It was quite scary. She was flown to hospital in
:17:26. > :17:32.Glasgow and kept in an induced coma. The scientists runs a printing firm
:17:33. > :17:39.in Cambridge she was kept in a coma. The antler has gone through my
:17:40. > :17:42.trachea, my oesophagus, damaged my vocal cords, fractured my neck and
:17:43. > :17:46.went into my spine. I'm told it stopped just a few millimetres
:17:47. > :17:51.before my spinal-cord. That is why I am very lucky that I can talk at
:17:52. > :17:59.all, walk at all. You're lucky to be alive? I am totally lucky to be
:18:00. > :18:03.alive. If the Anglo Sikh punctured her neck slightly to the
:18:04. > :18:06.left-to-right, she would have bled to death. But she remains
:18:07. > :18:10.philosophical. Life is short and that at any moment something can
:18:11. > :18:14.happen to us. Something I have felt for quite a while. I always thought
:18:15. > :18:17.it would be a car accident, a stag accident is much more my style.
:18:18. > :18:35.Craig Anderson reporting on Dr Kate Stone. Now let's find out what's
:18:36. > :18:38.happening at the sports desk. Rangers supporters groups say they
:18:39. > :18:42.want to take control of the board, and put former director Dave King at
:18:43. > :18:45.the helm. Fans groups have unified to back King after he called for
:18:46. > :18:48.them to withhold season ticket money, unless the current board
:18:49. > :18:54.meets a series of demands. Jonathan Sutherland reports. Rangers fan
:18:55. > :19:00.groups have united behind the former director Dave King and the message
:19:01. > :19:05.is clear that the fans have run out of patience. They do not want to
:19:06. > :19:14.have dialogue and know we're talking about money and they must listen to
:19:15. > :19:22.us now. War has broken out for the control of Rangers. Fans groups have
:19:23. > :19:30.joined forces and stand against the current board. They would prefer
:19:31. > :19:47.current director Dave King to be running the show here at Ibrox. They
:19:48. > :19:52.have backed Dave King's plan. Essentially, the fans want to regain
:19:53. > :19:59.control of the club with Dave King leading the way. We have to consider
:20:00. > :20:06.why we should continue to hand money to a board which seems to waste any
:20:07. > :20:13.revenue that we generate. Once again the wranglings at Rangers refused to
:20:14. > :20:16.go away. Ricky Burns' team is rubbishing claims their man's a
:20:17. > :20:24.third rate boxer- calling the man who wants to take his world title
:20:25. > :20:26.from him a "typical brash American." Burns and Terence Crawford came
:20:27. > :20:35.face-to-face today ahead of their fight this weekend. Our reporter
:20:36. > :20:52.Phil Goodlad was there. Temp two -- Ricky Burns does not seem phased but
:20:53. > :21:01.his trainer does. The open their mouths and let the tummy rumble. I
:21:02. > :21:08.confident you will be the champion? Yes. It does feel as a Scottish
:21:09. > :21:15.boxing has been here before. In 1980, a confident young American
:21:16. > :21:27.arrives in Glasgow saying he will beat the reigning Scottish
:21:28. > :21:43.champion. Jim Watt had other ideas. I was really pumped up and Ricky
:21:44. > :21:48.Burns will have to be the same. Ricky Burns admits it will not be
:21:49. > :21:54.easy. I would say this will be the most difficult fight of my career
:21:55. > :21:57.but I cannot wait to get in there. Now, a look at what else is
:21:58. > :22:00.happening across Scottish sport. St Mirren manager Danny Lennon has
:22:01. > :22:04.apologised to his opposite number at Ross County Derek Adams - for his
:22:05. > :22:07.part in their touchline spat at the weekend. Both men face an SFA
:22:08. > :22:16.disciplinary hearing after being sent to the stand. Inverness-based
:22:17. > :22:19.Orion Engineering won't be renewing its shirt sponsorship of Inverness
:22:20. > :22:22.Caledonian Thistle when the current deal finishes at the end of the
:22:23. > :22:26.season. After beating Porto's Yaow So-sa in straight sets Andy Murray
:22:27. > :22:29.will play Gilles Simon of France in the quarter finals of the Mexico
:22:30. > :22:36.Open. They're on court early tomorrow morning. This is England's
:22:37. > :22:43.Simon Dyson, he leads the Shwane open golf in Souh Africa. Jack
:22:44. > :22:46.Docherty and Peter Whiteford are the leading Scots on three-under-par,
:22:47. > :22:48.four shots behind Dyson of England. Scotland's record points scorer
:22:49. > :22:50.Chris Patterson's taking part in a Scottish Rugby Union survey into
:22:51. > :22:53.concussion. Other ex-internationals are being encouraged to help uncover
:22:54. > :22:58.potential links with psychological and physical problems. Not the
:22:59. > :23:01.greatest dancer - especially in slow motion - but he's the fastest rugby
:23:02. > :23:14.player on the planet. Glasgow Warriors have signed him. The USA's
:23:15. > :23:18.Carlin Isles runs the 100 metres in 10.13 seconds. And you can take as
:23:19. > :23:22.much time as you like to read about Carlton and all the latest sports
:23:23. > :23:33.stories whenever you like on the BBC Sport Scotland website.
:23:34. > :23:36.Now, running a farm's a tough enough job, but how do you manage when
:23:37. > :23:39.you're also a best-selling crime writer? That's the challenge facing
:23:40. > :23:48.Fife farmer James Oswald whose third "Inspector McLean" novel is
:23:49. > :23:57.published today. Andrew Anderson has been to meet him. For James Oswald,
:23:58. > :24:09.running his own farm and writing his novels go together. 50 shades of
:24:10. > :24:17.hay. Last year, Penguin released his first two Inspector McLean novels.
:24:18. > :24:20.It has been a roller-coaster ride. This is the third book coming out
:24:21. > :24:27.and it is not quite a year since the first one came out. I have done
:24:28. > :24:32.publishing deals with Penguin and it is relentless but it is brilliant.
:24:33. > :24:41.When he is not taping at the computer, James Oswald is looking
:24:42. > :24:46.after his cattle and sheep. I get a lot less sleep than I had before but
:24:47. > :24:51.we are touring down the farming a bit and I can afford to employ
:24:52. > :24:58.people to help out at busy times so we manage that I like being busy and
:24:59. > :25:06.I would rather be busy than not. At a Dundee book shop, James is signing
:25:07. > :25:12.copies of his latest book. Another three will be out by the end of the
:25:13. > :25:17.year. It is a double life for this farmer and crime writer but it is
:25:18. > :25:23.harvesting rich rewards. No further weather.
:25:24. > :25:30.The weather will be unsettled over the next few days but nothing on the
:25:31. > :25:37.scale of what has resulted in Scotland seeing its wettest winter
:25:38. > :25:41.on record. Tonight we will see deals show is confined to western coastal
:25:42. > :25:45.areas. Elsewhere it will be dry and there will be up across the Rhine
:25:46. > :25:50.for western and eastern areas. There will be a case perhaps in the West
:25:51. > :25:55.where we have seen some showers today. It will be a fairly cold
:25:56. > :26:10.night to come with temperatures around one degree or two Celsius.
:26:11. > :26:17.When this will be light. -- winds will be light. Tomorrow we will
:26:18. > :26:23.return to what we have seen of the last few days, a mixture of sunshine
:26:24. > :26:29.and showers. Tomorrow afternoon, we will see heavy showers across the
:26:30. > :26:35.Northern Isles and brisk winds. Similar situations will develop
:26:36. > :26:40.across the North West. Perhaps some showers will move on towards Central
:26:41. > :26:43.Scotland tomorrow afternoon and the best of the dry and bright weather
:26:44. > :26:49.with sunshine will be an eastern areas with highs of around nine
:26:50. > :27:01.Celsius. The wind will generally be light. As we move into Friday
:27:02. > :27:08.evening it will be dry with the threat of a widespread frost. On
:27:09. > :27:13.Saturday, when it is daylight we expect it to stay dry and fairly
:27:14. > :27:16.settled but we're looking at this weather front which is set to move
:27:17. > :27:21.on to our shores later. On Saturday there will be a lot of dry and
:27:22. > :27:23.bright weather with some showers moving into the south and west with
:27:24. > :27:32.rain later. Now, a reminder of tonight's main
:27:33. > :27:35.news. There have been heated exchanges in Holyrood after Standard
:27:36. > :27:38.Life said it could leave the country if there's a yes vote in the
:27:39. > :27:41.independence referendum. The Scottish Government says there will
:27:42. > :27:46.be no need for businesses to relocate. And that's Reporting
:27:47. > :27:49.Scotland. I'll be back with the headlines at 8pm and the late
:27:50. > :27:50.bulletin just after the ten o'clock