05/03/2014 Reporting Scotland

Ukrainians in crime era, as the high-level talks to resume the

crisis continue. Tonight on Reporting Scotland: How

independence may force two of the largest banks to move south. EU

regulations could mean that RBS and Lloyds would have to relocate

offices from Scotland to London. After days of confusion and

recrimination, Aberdeen councillors throw out plans to ban Scottish

ministers from council buildings. How to make a whole city look like a

bunch of numpties. It is really puerile. Aberdeen City Council are

acting like a bunch of two-year-olds.

Also on the programme: Cycling legend Graeme Obree and Uganda's

anti-gay laws - he says the politicians who passed them should

be banned from the Commonwealth Games.

And Scotland are put to the test in Poland and so are the Tartan Army.

And his colleagues may be less than impressed, but tonight this amateur

comedian is attempting to break the world joke-telling record.

If Scotland votes for independence in September's referendum, both The

Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds banking groups may be forced, under

law, to move their registered offices from Edinburgh to London.

It's part of a European Union directive that says banks must have

their head office in the same member state as its registered office. Our

business and economy editor, Douglas Fraser, is here to explain what this

all means for the Yes and No campaigns. Douglas.

Thank you. Edinburgh has headquarters for two banking giants,

but for how long? The BBC's learned Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds

Banking Group are taking advice on a European law, from 19 years ago,

that may require them to have their registered office and head office in

the same state where most of their customers are. If Scotland becomes

independent, that would put them south of the border. Would that make

much difference? Well, Lloyds is technically registered in Edinburgh.

But the corporate power and top jobs are in London. The Royal Bank has

more of a headquarters operation here, but the power is also down

south. Some jobs could move. This could be a blow to the prestige of

Edinburgh's finance sector. But the European law is unclear and

untested. And this could mean an independent Scottish government

carries far less risk if these banks have to bailed out again. No

surprise, then, that this fuels the debate on independence.

The financial services sector in the banking sector are of enormous

significance to Scotland's economy. If there is a Yes vote and you see

these people walking away, that will be bad for the economies and

business and it will be bad for jobs. They cannot argue on one hand

that they cannot be -- that we cannot be independent with a formal

currency union because the size of the banking industry is too big but

at the same time scaremonger that large parts of that industry are

down south and headquartered here. They cannot have it both ways.

This follows last week's statement from Standard Life, also in

Edinburgh, that it's preparing a move out of Scotland, to be nearer

most of its customers, if that's felt necessary. And also continuing

today, the hottest topic of dispute over independence is control of the

pound. While the Chancellor, George Osborne, plus Labour and Lib Dems

say 'no deal' on sharing sterling, the chief of the economic advisers

to the Scottish Government was at Holyrood today, backing up what Alex

Salmond's been saying. We would not want to even talk about a plan B at

this stage of the game, we would say there is lots of options. At this

moment, are strong advice would be, let's go down the path of

recommending to the government that they stick with the monetary union

and we will spend some time on the Fiscal Commission working group over

the next few months trying to help the rest of the Duke understand the

very strong advantage is there are two that and the strong

disadvantages if they decided to go against it. -- the rest of the UK.

And that may be what they're discussing when these economic

advisers meet tomorrow and Friday, where they're at the heart of this

independence debate. Jackie. Thank you very much, Douglas. And

Newsnight Scotland will be debating the economics of the independence

referendum, later - that's from 11pm over on BBC Two.

After three days of confusion, it's emerged that Scottish government

ministers will not now be banned from visiting Aberdeen City Council

buildings. The council leader today rejected the proposal amid bitter

recriminations. Here's how it played out. On Monday, Labour's Finance

Convener said they'd ban the First Minister from council premises -

accusing him of bullying on a previous visit. Yesterday, the

Deputy Leader of the Council said the word ban had been a "slip of the

tongue" - although not everyone agreed. And today, the council's

leader said there would be no blanket ban on visiting ministers.

Steven Duff joins us from council's headquarters. Steven, what happened

today? Monday seems a long way away,

certainly as far as Aberdeen City Council politics are concerned. The

Labour finance convener was then talking about an outright ban on

visiting Scottish government ministers, today his boss, the

leader, said he never used the word ban, he got that was inappropriate

and there would be no blanket ban. They will instead be a review of the

protocol for visiting ministers. Dignity and respect at the start of

a full meeting of Aberdeen City Council, since Monday the local

authority envelope in what some describe as a media squall, others

called a sorry, sordid little affair. On Monday, Labour councillor

Willie Young wanted all Scottish government ministers banned from

council premises. We are proposing this because the relationships with

Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Government have reached a

new low and we are dealing with a bully. Today, his boss had this to

say. I have never used the word ban and that would not be appropriate.

Acrimony between Labour and SNP goes back to last summer's Donside

by-election. What has rankled Labour councillor since is the First

Minister's unannounced visit to a closure threatened primary school

during the campaign. So now ban but a review of protocol form and is --

for visiting ministers. We don't want the office 's prostituted for

political purposes. Whoever it is. We will take that as our standard

going forward. We have got on with the job, delivering public services

and projects for the people of Aberdeen. I would encourage Labour

and Aberdeen City Council to do the same. On the streets of Aberdeen, a

sense of civic pride tarnished. I have got no time for the SNP but

Aberdeen City Council are acting like two-year-olds. Should attend to

what is going on in Aberdeen, never mind all of this infighting between

them all. It is really puerile. I think I would rather live in Ukraine

at the moment! Citizens of Aberdeen can only hope that the relationships

between their City Council and the government do not think any lower.

SNP will, in April, hold their spring conference in Aberdeen at the

council owned exhibition and conference Centre. Councillor Young

said that is fine, in fact he would personally be willing to welcome Mr

Salmond and his team there. And still to come on Reporting

Scotland: Latest figures show the National Museum of Scotland was the

most popular visitor attraction outside London.

In sport, we're in Poland with the Scotland football team ahead of

tonight's international. And he's smiling now, but you'll

find out what upset the national rugby team's captain. That and more

later. One of Scotland's greatest athletes

is calling for Ugandan politicians who backed the country's

controversial anti-gay bill to be banned from attending the Glasgow

Commonwealth Games. Graeme Obree, a former cycling world record holder,

has launched an online petition, called "No Hate at the Games". Laura

Maxwell has more. Last month, the people in -- it got

much tougher in Uganda. Anti-gay sentiment is widespread on the

streets. A new law means life imprisonment now awaits anyone found

guilty of gay sex or same-sex marriage. The President even

received a round of applause as he approved the bill. Make some noise!

For Graeme Obree! As Glasgow prepares to welcome the

Commonwealth, it is an issue which this sportsman feels cannot be

tolerated. I would like the Commonwealth Games to send the

message that we take home a phobia as seriously as racial

dissemination. This would not be allowed if it was South Africa and

apartheid was all happening. There is no way even athletes were banned.

, but games are often referred to as the friendly games and that is

certainly the way the organisers would like them to be portrayed

here. In a statement, they told us, Glasgow 2014 wants to engage with

all individuals regardless of their sexual orientation. But the

statement goes on, the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee is not

responsible for issuing invitations to foreign dignitaries. Neither is

the Scottish Government. But it has described the new Ugandan Lord's as

dismal and Draconian. What we are hearing from the ground in Uganda

through equality organisations in Scotland is that a boycott would

actually be counter-productive. We have to think about what will be in

the best interest of Ugandans who will suffer under this legislation.

Graeme Obree's petition went online two days ago. It has already

attracted hundreds of signatures. It is not yet known which Ugandan

dignitaries will attend the Commonwealth Games.

Apologies for some technical problems involving sound.

A teenager who racially abused an East Stirlingshire player at

Peterhead's Balmoor Stadium has been given a one-year football banning

order. Donnie Fraser, who's 19, admitted targeting 17-year-old

Jordan Tapping on Saturday. The player was so distressed, he had to

be substituted. Fraser was also ordered to pay ?300 in compensation

at Peterhead Sheriff Court. Now, let's take a look at stories

around Scotland this evening. The crisis facing the local

government umbrella body COSLA has intensified after another council

warned it could leave. West Lothian Council is the seventh to say it may

quit. It says the move to give notice is precautionary given the

continuing uncertainty over the organisation.

Orkney's Neolithic village of Skara Brae has joined locations such as

Pompeii and the Statue of Liberty as sites most likely to be affected by

rising sea levels. A report in an environmental journal estimates a

fifth of the 720 world heritage sites would be affected by sea-level

rises caused by melting of the polar ice caps. And have been unveiled for

a Scottish centre of textiles and Selkirk. The idea is to convert this

misused store into a museum and a centre for skills and technology

transfer. Akers believe it could attract ?15 million worth of

investment into the area and help secure the future of the industry in

Scotland. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is

looking to improve the way it deals with wildfires. Last year

firefighters in the Highlands and Islands had to tackle more than 200

outbreaks. Now the organisation says it's introduced measures to ensure

better co-ordination, with improved training so wildfires are tackled

more effectively and safely. The Scottish Parliament is to

install beehives in its grounds. Honey bees are responsible for the

pollination of more than 60% of all of Scotland's crops, fruit and

flowers. It's hoped the new additions will highlight the recent

decline in the honeybee population. Royal Navy divers have been called

to Wick Bay to deal with unexploded ammunition from a World War Two

wreck. The Isleford went down in a storm in 1942 with the loss of all

hands. The Navy team say there is no danger to the public and no need to

explode the shell. Could James Bond be responsible for

a surge of visitors to Glencoe? Well, tourism bosses think the

latest Bond film Skyfall that featured the Highland landscape and

last summer's great weather have boosted numbers at many of the

country's most famous tourist attractions. Catriona Renton has

more. Taking photographs as the moment of the day. Today, we met

visitors from all over the world. we come from Thailand. I have been here

four times now. We come from Germany. We like it. We have been

hit twice. I am anxious to see the castle. I came from Holland. Last

year, Edinburgh Castle had 1.4 million visitors, the most ever in

the castle's history, making it the most popular paid for to arrest

attraction in the UK outside London. It is like a must see attraction.

The Eiffel Tower but, you must come to any burka so if you come to

Scotland. -- you must come to Edinburgh Castle.

The week winner, Glencoe, up by around 42% on the previous year. But

was down to the good weather here was their another effect? It might

be down to the fact that it was the location for the last James Bond

movie, Skyfall. Movie to reason is quite big business for us. Is

equally demonstrated at Glen Fitton as well that the Harry Potter

affect. Edinburgh zoo sort drop in its numbers. In doors, overall,

fewer of us visited museums and galleries but although the numbers

were down, the National Museum for Scotland had over 1,716,000

visitors, making it the top free attraction outside of London. That

Everex! -- that Iran is Doris Rex. If you don't know which way to vote

in September's independence referendum, you can expect a letter

over the next few days urging you to vote no. The Better Together

campaign says it has software telling them exactly who to target

and how. Yesterday, we looked at how the Yes Scotland campaign goes about

its business. Tonight, our referendum correspondent Laura

Bicker's been meeting the people of Better Together. They know who you

are, where you live and you are about to get mail. The Better

Together campaign is all about research and thanks to their

so-called patriot system, borrowed from President Obama's campaign,

they are targeting those who do not know which way to vote. we have

dealt into who the voters -- voters are, what type of work they do, we

have used that information to put into our photo ID system in order to

find exactly where those people are. They are sending out personalised

letters, this system knows -- means they know which household to target.

How are you likely to vote? I will be voting no to independence. This

one is led by a local politician, the differences has been put aside.

Which party are you from? Liberal Democrats. Scottish Labour. But

tonight you are Better Together. That household was strongly against

independence. I congratulated them. More information to track down those

who are undecided. Better Together has been criticised by some for

being very negative, it has even been dubbed Project fear. We are not

negative, I don't know who you are talking to. We need to convince

people. The mad Mac can think brisk, businesslike. we want to cause a

desert if message about staying in the UK. -- cause a positive message.

David's here with tonight's sports news.

Scotland's footballers are in Poland hoping to extend their unbeaten run

to five matches. The teams will meet again later in the year in the Euro

2016 qualifiers but tonight's match is a friendly. Our senior football

reporter Alasdair Lamont is in Poland where it seems the pre-match

mood is one of quiet contemplation. Warsaw, the home of show pan and for

a day to, the Scotland team and its avid followers. These fans have

witnessed their improvement in Scotland over the past year so what

is the key difference between then and now? Going forward with more

freedom to express ourselves, try more forward passes, make the other

team defend, basically. A lot of times, we have thought more about

defence and stopping the other team whereas now, we are going at teams,

we are putting them under pressure. Two nights match took on an even

more interesting dynamic. What will we learn from tonight's encounter?

It is difficult. We will have no big stars in the first 11 because of

injuries. But in my opinion, it is quite good because the other player

had an opportunity to give a chance to this player. We will realise how

really good the Polish team is. Gordon Strachan has been at pains to

express that Matt will have no bearing on future confrontation.

That said, a victory here could only be further cause for positivity over

the qualifying hopes. And there's live coverage of

tonight's match on BBC Radio Scotland 810 medium wave on line and

on digital. Our national rugby team's captain

has been reflecting on head Coach Scott Johnson's decision to drop him

for two Six Nations matches. Kelly Brown is back in the team for the

game against France on Saturday but says he was "upset and very

disappointed" at missing the previous couple of games. Here's our

rugby reporter Phil Goodlad. He is back and sporting a new rugged look

but it has been a bruising period for Kelly Brown. I was naturally

disappointed but there is no point in the sitting there feeling sorry

for myself. I have gone away and worked as hard as I can and I feel

that I have improved certain aspects of my game and I can't wait for the

weekend. He was dropped by the coach after just a plain 55 minutes of the

opening game in Dublin. Were you angry? I was disappointed and upset.

But that is the same as any player would be. Scott was very open and

honest with me. As a player, that is all that you can ask for. Others

aren't so polite about the way Scott and's captain has been treated. I

feel sorry for Kelly Brown and sorry for the Scotland fans who can relate

to him. He is home, unlike many of the players who come from abroad.

The fans like him, she should not be treated like this. After recently

watching from a sofa, Captain Kelly Brown leads once again from the

front this weekend. Come with me, I'll lead you round

what else is happening across Scottish sport.

Rangers are considering a ?1 million loan from businessman George Letham.

It would allow them to cancel a ?1.5 million loan at a higher interest

break from shareholder Laxey partners.

Footballers in a betting shop - surely not. Don't worry, these St

Johnstone players are promoting the Scottish Cup quarterfinals and

they've got the trophy to prove it. Saints play Raith Rovers on

Saturday. We have to go there like we did before. We have to give 100%.

I am sure that we can get a result. Aberdeen fans keen to see their team

do to Inverness in the League cup final what they did to St Johnstone

in the semis have snapped up their allocation of 30,000 tickets. No

wonder the club wants more. Scotland International centre Matt

Scott has signed a new contract with Edinburgh Rugby. The 23-year-old

committing himself to the pro-team till 2016.

The Commonwealth Games may not be on his to-do list but Mo Farah is

coming to Glasgow this summer. He'll take part in the cash-rich Diamond

League meeting at Hampden Park in July.

And there's more on Scotland captain Kelly Brown and loads more sport 24

hours a day on the BBC Sport Scotland website. That if it from

me. It's fair to say the world of the

financial actuary, with its statistics and spreadsheets, isn't a

barrel of laughs. But Donald MacLeod isn't playing to type by mounting a

world record attempt this evening at joke telling. He's done the maths -

he has to hit more than 550 punch lines in an hour to succeed. Julie

Peacock went to meet him. Donald Macleod has to be analytical,

dedicated and serious. But no one can be serious all the time. Guys, I

bought a new racehorse. What is the best way to break up with a tractor?

With the John Deere letter. He is a comedian by night. She hopes to add

record-breaker to his list of achievements. 550 jokes in an hour.

You are not telling me every single one of them is funny. I don't think

any are funny. They are awful jokes but they don't have to be awful,

they just have to be -- they don't have to be good, they just have to

be quick. His long-suffering colleagues have heard it all before.

It is OK, you get used to the jokes after a while. Every dog has his

day. The majority of the jokes are not funny. It is all for a good

cause so I will tolerate them. If all goes well, Donnie will be able

to call himself a record-breaker. Even if he doesn't succeed, he is

still hoping to raise thousands for charity as well as a few laughs. Did

you hear about the magic tractor? it turned into a field. Did you hear

about the scarecrow who won an Oscar? Do you know all of my jokes?

Is the weather going to give us anything to smile about, Gillian?

Things settling down next week but a fair bit of whether first. Tonight

we'll keep heavy rain going across western Scotland, in particular the

South West, some pretty poor conditions tonight and towards

morning the rain becomes lighter and patchy and across the North, skies

will clear and that will allow a few pockets of frost in the central

highlands and Inland Aberdeenshire. South of here, cabbages holding up

at six Celsius. Across the oils, dash across the aisles, frost free.

It with very short lived, the cloud will spelling and so will the rain

and it will turn increasingly persistent and heavy. By 4pm

tomorrow, it is released just Shetlands in the clear with a couple

of showers. Elsewhere, it looks like a wall of water. Heavy, persistent

rain. We have yellow warnings from The Met Office. Perthshire,

Stirlingshire, West Fife, the Glasgow area, west Lothian, Dumfries

and Galloway is and the western borders, dangerous conditions. Some

localised flooding. The winds will be fairly light but as we head into

tomorrow evening, the winds will strengthen, especially the South

West, and we will keep the heavy rain piling in across central and

southern Scotland. In the early hours of Friday, the rain pours away

into the North Sea. Friday it self, clearer conditions but it will be

colder, you can see the weather front that has been bringing all the

rain finally pulls away but this next feature pushes into the

north-west and that will bring some fairly beefy showers into the

north-west on Friday. There will be some sunshine in the mix,

temperatures around seven or eight Celsius. And into Saturday, more wet

and windy weather. The north-west bearing the brunt of it. Improving

through the day, size of high pressure building into next week.

That is it from all of us here. Goodbye.