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Private Notes
Two years ago Jack McConnell launched Scotland's International Development Policy, promising to "change lives" in one of the world's poorest countries. He pledged £3m a year of taxpayers' money to help the southern African country of Malawi out of poverty. Fiona Walker, for Frontline Scotland, investigates the impact of the first minister's controversial foray into international aid, and finds the money isn't always reaching those in most need.
The magnificent Siberian tiger is on the verge of extinction. Poaching threatens to wipe them out as unscrupulous hunters kill the tigers to make illegal Chinese medicines. Now for the first time Frontline can reveal those medicines are on sale in Scotland. Ross McWilliam and a team of undercover investigators track down the shops and supermarkets which are selling banned products that claim to contain endangered species like the tiger.
Martin Macaskill, the boyfriend of murdered Polish student Angelika Kluk, talks exclusively to Frontline following the conviction of Peter Tobin for her brutal murder. He reveals the truth behind the salacious headlines: the details of his romance with Angelika, his wife's acceptance of their relationship, and how he's coped with the torrent of sordid allegations during the trial. In spite of it all, he says he has no regrets about falling in love with Angelika.
One of Britain's most notorious teenagers, Luke Mitchell, was sentenced to life for the brutal murder of his 14-year-old girlfriend Jodi Jones. He was portrayed as the personification of evil. Now, as he prepares his appeal - and with the suggestion of a new 'suspect' - Frontline's Samantha Poling examines the circumstances under which Luke Mitchell was charged and reveals new information which casts doubt on the safety of his conviction.
Frontline goes undercover to investigate the gangs that infiltrate call centres and steal your bank details - and your money. This kind of bank robbery has netted thieves billions of pounds, according to a UK security expert. In a programme that RHL, the call centre company, tried to stop you seeing, Ross McWilliam reveals the criminal masterminds running this fraud right here in Scotland.
Ayrshire teenager Lisa Norris won people's hearts when it was revealed that she had suffered a massive overdose of radiotherapy during her cancer treatment. Lisa's parents believe that her radiotherapy treatment killed her. Frontline reporter Samantha Poling investigates how often mistakes are made in radiotherapy treatment and reveals concerns with the provision of radiotherapy service across the NHS.
A decade ago the English law courts made a landmark ruling that was to have a huge impact on who should get funding for long-term care from the NHS. A court ruled that if your primary needs were health care then the NHS should pay for everything, whether you were in hospital or not. The guidelines in England were changed, but not in Scotland. Ross McWilliam investigates.
BBC Scotland Investigates. What happens when the police act as judge, jury, and executioner? Mark Daly explores the astonishing story of the investigation into the death of Dunfermline man Drew Forsyth, in which police ignored witnesses, suppressed evidence, and misled prosecuting authorities in order to secure a conviction- a conviction which has since been overturned. Daly tracks down those responsible for one of Scotland's biggest miscarriages of justice in recent years.
With Scottish prisons straining at the seams and some of our prisons well over capacity, BBC Scotland investigates a prison service that some people are saying is in meltdown. The number of prisoners in Scottish prisons last month hit an all time high with over 8,000 people in prison.
BBC Scotland investigates a disturbing rise in the number of assaults on police officers - 13,000 last year alone. Reporter Sam Poling investigates cases where officers have been shot, stabbed, assaulted, beaten up and even run over while on duty - and finds many police officers feel let down by a judicial system which they think fails to fully punish their attackers. The film will for the first time investigate why Scotland is the most dangerous place in the UK to put on a police uniform.
Documentary investigating the sale of chemicals online from Scotland, which have been fuelling the crystal meth craze and devastating communities across America. The couple who ran the trade from Forth Valley tell Ross McWiliam that the family business was legitimate, despite US investigators decalring that 100 illegal drugs labs had all bought vital ingredients from the chemical dealers.
This landmark film shows how the modern history of Scotland is intrinsically linked to the black gold being pumped out of the North Sea. BBC Scotland News business reporter Hayley Millar puts forward the theory that you cannot understand the last 40 years of Scotland's past, its present and its future without understanding oil. And vital to understanding oil is separating the myths from the facts and the truth from the lies that surround possibly the most important natural resource in the world.
Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the NHS, BBC Scotland takes us on a journey through the remarkable,and often forgotten -history of the Scottish health service. Former patient and Prime Minister Gordon Brown joins staff, both past and present with incredible stories to tell and the BBC's Scottish health correspondent, Eleanor Bradford, reminds us why the NHS would be very different without Scotland's input and asks what the next 60 years might hold.
With Scotland's organ donation programme in crisis, BBC Scotland follows one BBC researcher as she becomes Scotland's first altruistic donor, donating one of her kidneys to a complete stranger in a bid to save a life. What she uncovers on her journey is truly shocking - she discovers, and secretly films, people across the UK willing to sell their own organs, and travels to India to look at how the shortage of healthy organs in Europe is having devastating effects in developing countries.
In deeply personal conversations with the terminally ill, doctors and ethical experts, Margo MacDonald struggles to decide if the law should change and meets those desperate to die and those determined to stand in their way.
BBC reporter Elizabeth Quigley, who has lived with the incurable, debilitating disease of multiple sclerosis for eight years, goes on a journey to find out why Scotland has the highest rate of MS in the world, and why so little's been done about it.
Using leaked documents, eye witness accounts and whistleblowers, BBC Scotland Investigates the outbreak of a superbug which claimed the lives of 18 patients at Vale of Leven Hospital. Reporter Samantha Poling also uncovers disturbing evidence which suggests a similar outbreak could happen again, at another Scottish hospital.
BBC Scotland investigates the anti-smoking drug that is dogged by controversy. Smoking is Scotland's biggest preventable killer, and Champix could be the answer. A phenomenally successful anti-smoking drug which is getting people off cigarettes around the world, almost nine million prescriptions have been written globally.
Mark Daly tells the story of what happened when Scotland was attacked by Islamist terrorists in 2007. The film uncovers how and why militants tried to wreak havoc across the UK, from planting two car bombs in London to exploding a third at Glasgow airport, and reveals the inside story of Scotland's terror cell.
Jackie Bird investigates the rising tide of repossessions across Scotland, and finds out how Scottish homeowners could be more vulnerable than those living over the border.
Sally Magnusson investigates whether the Grameen loan and banking system is feasible in the tough schemes and rigid welfare rules of modern-day Scotland.
BBC Scotland Investigates whether more children should be taken away from their families and into care. The documentary uncovers shocking evidence that children left with their families are doing worse than those taken into the system, and social workers report that increasing workloads mean vulnerable children are not being monitored.
Social affairs reporter Fiona Walker lifts the lid on one of society's last taboos: children who sexually abuse. Seven hundred sex offences were committed by teenagers and children under the age of 18 in 2008. In this programme, BBC Scotland discovers that children as young as four are being accused of crimes of indecency. What makes them sexually abuse?
Ten years on from the devolution referendum, BBC Scotland's Political Editor Brian Taylor argues that Scotland's parliament came about to recognise a separate national identity; that Scots felt different to the rest of the country, and wanted that reflected in their politics. But has Holyrood satisfied that need, or is more change needed?
When you find out that close family friends, who you have known and trusted for years, have abused your child, the obvious question is 'Who can you trust?'. BBC Scotland talks to the parents of the children at the centre of the largest ever paedophile ring in Scotland, and looks at the effect such betrayal can have on a family, and how it changes your relationship with your children.
BBC Scotland Investigates reveals the worrying growth in organised crime in the heart of Scotland's suburbia. Reporter Samantha Poling uncovers the explosion in cannabis farming from a small 'hobby' to an industry estimated by the police to be worth more 100 million pounds. This figure is more than ten times the amount produced by the entire Scottish raspberry crop, more than twice that of Scottish egg production, and more than the entire Scottish vegetable crop.
Convicted killer and child rapist Angus Sinclair was sensationally cleared of the rape and murder of two Edinburgh teenagers in 2007. With 'double jeopardy' laws under review, BBC Scotland investigates whether he could ever take the stand again. Mark Daly secures unprecedented access to detectives, witnesses and video interviews with Sinclair, and reveals his criminal career.
In December 2009 the Copenhagen climate summit meets to agree targets for worldwide cuts in carbon emissions. BBC Scotland looks at how changing the way we generate electricity could end up creating huge profits. Scotland is a wet and windy country; its moors, hills and shores have the best potential for generating renewable electricity in the whole of the European Union.
BBC Scotland investigates the world of the professional shoplifter and discovers that, in the midst of a recession, the UK's organised criminal steal-to-order gangs are flourishing.
Kenneth MacDonald investigates whether Buckfast Tonic Wine can really be blamed for crime and antisocial behaviour. He enlists top scientists in the search for evidence about the drink's effects and uncovers new and surprising evidence. He hears allegations of a plot against the drink and looks into the role of a monastic order while trying to crack the Buckfast Code.
The deaths of nineteen men in a tragic whisky bond fire in Glasgow in 1960 represented the worst peacetime loss of life for the fire service. The fire in Cheapside Street was one of a series of disasters in commercial premises in Glasgow which earned the city the nickname 'Tinderbox City'. Yet despite the loss of life and the bravery of those who survived, little was done to ensure such a tragedy could never happen again.
In the early hours of Thursday 15 April 2010, British airspace closed down due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. In this documentary, Sally Magnusson travels to Iceland to uncover the warnings that some feel were ignored about volcanic ash. She investigates the science behind volcanic ash and asks what will happen when Iceland's larger volcano erupts?
David Cameron's Conservative Party were the biggest winners in the General Election. Yet, while England swung to the Tories, Scotland didn't follow. Only one Conservative was elected to Westminster from North of the Border. Why don't the Scots want to vote Tory? Sally Magnusson was on the campaign trail with two Tory hopefuls as she strived to discover why England and Scotland are now more divided than ever when it comes to the Tories.
As one in four women and one in six men will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, reporter Samantha Poling explores how the issue is being tackled in Scotland today. The programme shows the first ever footage of Scotland's only domestic abuse court at work. Samantha meets victims who feel let down by those they turned to for help, while there is also a look at offenders who are having to undergo behavioural therapy to curb their violence towards their partners.
Mark Daly investigates new government plans to end the UK's sicknote culture by getting a million people off benefits and back to work. We reveal how, in Britain's modern welfare state, private companies are paid billions to carry out medical assessments on claimants to determine if they are fit for work, and ask if they are putting profits before welfare. The film hears claims that patients across Scotland with severe mental illness and cancer are being denied benefits and told they must find a job.
With new research showing that the standard of the teacher is the most important factor in a child's school education, more important than class sizes or the curriculum, BBC Scotland Investigates ask why so many bad teachers are being allowed to teach. Talking to parents, head teachers and school watchdogs, reporter Sam Poling reveals the shocking effects that bad teachers are having on our children and asks why more is not being done to rectify it.
On 24 August 1560 the Scottish Parliament brought the Church of Scotland into being. It was a move that changed the nation forever. But with diminishing attendance and problems with recruiting new ministers the church is facing a crisis. Reevel Alderson finds out what the Reformation did for us and whether it would matter if the Kirk disappeared from Scottish life.
An ex-Para, Tony Banks fought in the Falklands conflict and his painful war memories continue to trouble him today. He walked away from that conflict with a war trophy which he has been with him for the last 28 years, a trumpet taken from an Argentinian prisoner of war. Could this simple musical instrument hold the key to putting the trauma of war behind him?
In 1982 the Pope came to Scotland for the first time. Before he arrived there were protests in the streets and with Argentina invading the Falkland Islands, Britain was at war with a Roman Catholic country. It was the visit that very nearly did not happen, but in the midst of this controversy it was hailed as a great success. On the eve of a new papal visit by Benedict XVI, Elizabeth Quigley looks back at the first pope in Scotland and speaks to the people involved whose lives were changed forever.
Samantha Poling investigates how homeopathy has penetrated the heart of the NHS and asks whether prescribing homeopathic preparations for serious conditions could be dangerous for patients.
Exactly two years since the near collapse of Scotland's biggest banks, BBC Scotland Investigates whether it's time to start trusting bankers again. Focusing on Scotland's bailed out institutions, HBoS and RBS, reporter Mark Daly speaks to a series of city bankers - many of them totally unrepentant - and asks the questions everybody wants answered.
Scots look to the state for cradle-to-grave provision. A sense of common purpose and solidarity, sometimes in contrast with England, means the role of the state has become tied up with national identity. With massive spending cuts looming, Douglas Fraser asks what comes next and considers whether Scots will grow business to replace the state and whether voluntary organisation will play a bigger role.
Would it be better if 60,000 children in Scotland had never been born? That is the controversial conclusion of Barbara Harris who believes that Scotland's drug and alcohol addicts should not be allowed to procreate. This programme investigates Barbara's contentious American charity Project Prevention as it attempts to set up in the UK. The charity is devoted to paying every addict who agrees to either long term birth control or sterilisation 200 pounds to stop them having any more children. The social and economic cost of Scotland's current addiction problem runs to a staggering 2.6 billion pounds a year, and Barbara thinks she can solve it at its source. But critics have called her methods unethical, comparing her to Hitler and accusing her of practicing eugenics. With over 3000 addicts already signed up in the US, can Project Prevention help Scotland's serious and long-standing addiction problems, or is this modern day eugenics?
The story of the rise and fall of the former Scottish Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan. Convicted of perjury for lying about a sex scandal, the film interviews Tommy Sheridan just before his conviction, shows the police video tapes of Tommy Sheridan's interrogation and speaks to the people linked to the trial that gripped Scotland.
It's been 50 years since nuclear submarines first came to Scotland. But the Trident fleet is ageing, and the contentious decision to start work on its replacement has been delayed until 2016. Presented by Sally Magnusson and partly filmed on board one of Britain's nuclear bomber submarines, 'Who Needs Trident?' asks whether a Cold War weapon, designed to deter the Soviet Union from attacking Britain and its NATO allies, is still relevant in the 21st century, and whether Britain, and Scotland, gain anything from it being replaced.
As English universities prepare to charge student fees of up to 9000 pounds per year, Kenneth Macdonald examines what it'll mean for the future of Scotland's seats of learning. It's been claimed our universities will be left behind. But is that really true - or does the real crisis lie elsewhere?
In ten years time half of Scotland's population will be over 50. BBC Scotland's Health Correspondent, Eleanor Bradford, investigates how this will alter society and finds that the ageing population is already having an impact. Eleanor takes a look at one Scottish Border community which gives us a glimpse into the future. A lively generation of 70 year olds don't see themselves as old but their children face longer working lives in order to save enough money to have any hope of the comfortable retirement their parents enjoy.
Blind BBC journalist Ian Hamilton has to find a new guide dog. For eight years Ian has relied on his trusted guide dog Moss but now Moss is getting old and has to retire. Born to Lead charts Ian's journey as he tries to find a replacement dog. Along the way Ian asks why so few visually impaired people rely on guide dogs and explores alternative options.
Documentary investigating the deaths of rare protected birds in the Scottish countryside and a possible connection to Scotland's Sporting Estates. Each year, golden eagles and other birds are found killed on the hillsides, with many wildlife campaigners placing the blame on the grouse industry. David Miller gets a rare insight into the privileged world of shooting as he attempts to uncover those responsible for the killings, and to find out why they are breaking the law.
Reporter Reevel Alderson investigates the secterian scar that seems to blight Scottish football and explores the roots of the problem. With contributions from many of the people caught up in this year's sectarian headlines, the programme asks if we will ever be able to solve Scotland's not-so-secret shame.
BBC Scotland investigates concerns about the quality of surgical instruments being used on patients in the UK. Reporter Samantha Poling hears from those working inside the NHS who claim that tools with dangerous defects are being supplied to hospitals.
BBC Scotland marks a century of Britain's unemployment benefit. Love it or loathe it, whether it's an anniversary to celebrate or commiserate, it has changed Scotland forever. Sally McNair looks back at 100 years of hunger marches, means tests, job centres and calls to 'get on your bike' and asks if, after a century, unemployment benefit is about to disappear forever.
On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Jackie Bird investigates the terrorist attack's hidden legacy for Scotland's servicemen; the growing number of amputees returning from Afghanistan. Given exclusive access to 45 Commando Royal Marines over nine months, BBC Scotland follows the moving stories of the military men and women who have to cope after suffering serious and life-changing injuries.
BBC Scotland Investigates allegations of wrongdoing and corruption in the City of Edinburgh Council. With council staff suspended and a police investigation under way, reporter Fiona Walker hears from homeowners who feel they've been ripped off after their housing repair bills have rocketed.
Are bosses in Scotland getting away with murder by paying their staff less than they should? Reporter Reevel Alderson investigates some of the worst paid jobs in the country and reveals how some workers are being paid less than the minimum wage. With worsening unemployment there are some parts of Scotland where forty people chase every job vacancy - so does this leave Scottish workers at the mercy of unscrupulous bosses?
Scots nurse Colin Norris, dubbed the Angel of Death, is serving a minimum of 30 years in prison for the murder of four elderly patients and the attempted murder of a fifth. But new evidence to be revealed by BBC Scotland Investigates casts serious doubt on his convictions, and could pave the way for him to be set free. Reporter Mark Daly revives the style and spirit of the old BBC Rough Justice strand, by critically examining the main components of the case against Norris, and dismantling them one by one.
BBC Scotland investigates the disaster of Edinburgh's Tram project, which has overrun by three years, and more than 400 million pounds. Reporter David Miller hears from those who have worked at the very heart of the project, and finds out what went wrong.
BBC Scotland Investigates, reveals the inside story of the recent takeover of one of Scotland's oldest football institutions. As a potential 50 million-pound tax bill threatens to put the club out of business, this programme investigates the current plight of Rangers FC, and asks what the future might hold under new owner, Craig Whyte.
BBC Scotland Investigates features the first and only English interview with the dying Al-Megrahi who claims the full truth about Lockerbie has never been revealed. The investigation will uncover new evidence that has never been heard before and cast fresh doubts not only on Al-Megrahi's conviction but on whether Libya was involved at all.
Samantha Poling reveals how millions of pounds of public money are being paid out to businessmen and millionaire farmers in an abuse of the farming subsidy system. Investors tell us how they've been paid without having to do any farming at all. We meet the young farmers who have lost out as the big players prosper. And Samantha also sets out to see if she can take advantage of the subsidy system and become rich from the subsidy loophole.
The BBC is granted extraordinary access to the lives of those who work in Edinburgh's City Mortuary, one of the largest and busiest in the country. With more than 2000 suspicious, sudden or unexplained deaths investigated by the Procurator Fiscal in the capital each year, it's the job of the forensic pathologist and the mortuary staff to establish how and why they died. Over several months the BBC filmed inside the mortuary to paint a moving portrait of how we die in 21st Century Scotland.
Should we be looking to politicians to create jobs and get Scotland back to work? BBC Scotland's Business and Economy Editor, Douglas Fraser, has travelled around the country, speaking to some of those who are struggling to find jobs. He's also been meeting some of the companies who could be creating jobs. What kind of people are they looking for? And what kinds of skills do modern workers need?
BBC Scotland Investigates goes behind closed doors to find out what it's really like to be a carer. There are more than half a million people in Scotland looking after relatives with a disability. Reporter Fiona Walker enters the world of carers and spends time with two families who are struggling to carry on caring for a loved one. They describe a role that is virtually unpaid and often undervalued.
BBC Scotland Investigates the story of the police investigation into the death of Suzanne Pilley who was murdered in May 2010 by her lover and work colleague but whose body was never recovered. Lisa Summers finds out how detectives used modern technology to recreate 48 hours in May to catch a killer and Suzanne's father, Rob Pilley, talks for the first time about not knowing where his daughter lies.
On Sunday 20 May 2012 Abdelbaset al-Megrahi died of cancer aged 60. He is the only person to have been convicted for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on 21 December 1988. The attack, which killed 270 people in the plane and on the ground, remains the deadliest terrorist incident ever to have taken place on British soil. But what is the legacy of the Lockerbie bombing and what effect will Megrahi's death now have?
As this proud footballing giant stands on the brink of extinction, BBC Scotland Investigates the inside story of the scandal which brought Rangers FC to its knees. This is a programme based on dozens of secret emails, letters and documents which uncover the truth behind the tax scheme which threatens the club's very existence, and reveals what went on behind the scenes in the run up to Craig Whyte's infamous takeover.
60 years after the Korean War, Jackie Bird investigates why one of the biggest conflicts of the 20th century has slipped from public memory. The war, in which thousands of young Scottish national servicemen fought, caused more British deaths than the Afghan, Iraq and Falklands wars combined. Jackie Bird discovers her own personal connection to the conflict and traces what happened to one of its forgotten victims. She also travels to Korea with some of the surviving Scottish veterans, on an emotional journey to reclaim their past. Although their numbers are dwindling with the passage of time, many of the Korean War veterans still have to come to terms with a war the rest of the country has largely forgotten.
Fiona Walker meets the families who believe their relatives died crying out for help that never came. They share their harrowing stories of the impact suicide can have on those left behind. She examines new evidence about the extent of the problem and those working to save lives explain why gaps in the system mean some cries for help are going unheard.
BBC Scotland investigates the UK's armed private security industry. Reporter Samantha Poling hears how former servicemen are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan while on UK Government contracts paid for by the taxpayer with little public knowledge of their deaths.
Last October, Chris Lindsay, a 34-year-old father of three from Edinburgh, died while on a weekend trip with workmates to Spain. Despite having sustained heavy injuries, the police never investigated whether he had been the victim of an attack. BBC Scotland Investigates follows Chris's father as he travels to Spain on a quest for justice.
School dinners blogger Martha Payne has travelled to Malawi to see how the money she raised for charity is being spent. The nine-year-old became an internet sensation after Argyll and Bute Council banned her from posting photos of her school meals on her blog. The ban was later overturned after a storm of protest.
Fiona Walker uncovers new evidence about what is going wrong in our hospitals. She asks whether we can trust the NHS to do the right thing when mistakes are made.
Whisky is a global success story. Sold in over two hundred countries, the business is worth more than four billion pounds every year. Ten thousand people owe their living to it. Douglas Fraser set out to discover how whisky became so successful: as a part of our culture, as a symbol of our national identity, and as a vital part of our economy. He asks whether Scotland is getting enough back from whisky, and hears how we could cash in more on this amazing business success.
With the NHS facing deep cuts across the board, just how much should we be spending on medicines to treat a few rare diseases? Kenneth Macdonald investigates the drugs industry where lifesaving medicines can cost as much as a quarter-of-a-million pounds per patient, per year. Are the pharmaceutical companies pricing their drugs fairly? And how much longer can the NHS afford to pay these prices?
Will the government's welfare reforms solve the problem of disability unemployment?
Mark Daly investigates the Edinburgh baby ashes scandal.
How caffeinated products are targeted at the young and how caffeine affects the brain.
Fiona Walker investigates online dating and discovers a network of fake dating profiles.
Mark Daly uncovers shocking stories of physical and sexual abuse at Fort Augustus Abbey.
Samantha Poling asks why Scotland has become the second fattest nation in the world.
Meet the powerful - and usually very private - people who own much of our country. Reporter David Miller goes in search of Scotland's landowners and asks whether it's fair that less than one per cent of Scots own over half of all Scotland's private land. As the government considers radical change, he asks whether big landowners really are the problem, and whether communities will end up owning more of the land they live on.
BBC Scotland investigates the multimillion pound world of the dog trade. A third of all dogs bought today are believed to have come from puppy farms. Using secret filming, reporter Sam Poling follows the supply chain, from the small-time illegal sellers to the profit-driven puppy farmers getting rich off this ruthless trade. She exposes Scotland's biggest dog trafficker and uncovers a breeding facility operating on a scale the experts didn't believe existed in the UK - until now.
Scotland has a decision to make: to frack, or not to frack. The controversial technique could be used to release gas and oil from the shale rock which lies beneath central Scotland. Large energy companies are keen to do this, and say it is important for both our economic growth, and energy supply needs. But fracking has a bad reputation. Its opponents believe it is dangerous, with the potential to cause pollution and even earthquakes. The Scottish Government has announced a temporary ban, but for some that is just not enough. David Miller reports from the front line in the war over fracking, where the two sides are locked in a fierce battle for the hearts and minds of the nation. He sets out to find out whether shale gas extraction can be safe, and whether Scots can be convinced to give it the go ahead.
Fiona Walker meets some of the Scots struggling to get by on low pay. The programme investigates who is and who isn't paying the living wage. She hears evidence that many workers will never escape wages that mean they are trapped in working poverty. And the programme has an exclusive insight into research that tries to establish just what we need to have a decent standard of living.
Mark Daly investigates serious allegations of doping in athletics, spanning more than 30 years and involving some of the biggest stars in the sport. Since the explosion of steroid use in the 1970s, through the years when Lance Armstrong used EPO, the problem of sports doping refuses to go away, and drug testing regimes have struggled to catch the cheats. Daly goes on a journey investigating the world of doping, and in order to truly understand the world he's entering, the reporter becomes a doper himself.
They used to say that you weighed their vote rather than counted it, not anymore. Overwhelmingly rejected at the general election, leaderless and facing Holyrood elections next year - what went wrong with Scottish Labour? BBC Scotland Investigates speaks to former leaders, politicians and activists to examine how the party that was born here and helped shape the country came to have only one MP in Scotland.
Former Scotland Rugby International John Beattie investigates the links between the sport and brain injuries. As the Rugby World Cup kicks off he hears worries that the elite game is putting players at risk. He travels to the United States to look at scientific evidence that a rugby career can damage the brain in the long term. And the top doctors in the game explain what the sport is doing to tackle the problem.
BBC Scotland investigates the multi-million pound world of the legal high trade. Reporter Sam Poling tracks the supply chain of Britain's newest designer drugs, from their manufacture overseas to the devastation caused on the streets in the UK. Using secret filming, she exposes how those getting rich from this ruthless trade are evading the law. She meets the vigilantes who are confronting the legal high dealers head on with orders of exile, kneecappings and even killings. And she questions the UK government's ability to deal with the growing problem.
The families of some of the victims of the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy break their silence and tell Jackie Bird about the devastating impact of the crash which killed six people and left more than a dozen injured. The families explain how they feel the investigation into the crash has failed them, and lay damning accusations at those in charge of the Scottish justice system. They also ask how a driver who lied about his past was able to slip unnoticed through multiple layers of bureaucracy allowing him to be in the driving seat of a 26-tonne bin lorry in December 2014.
Following Gordon Aikman's battle with motor neurone disease, charting his fundraising attempts and campaign for better treatment.
David Miller looks at whether the love affair with the car is damaging people's health, and reveals how little is being done to cut emissions on the streets.
Businessman and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter asks how we can guarantee every child a world-class education. He made millions selling trainers, now he visits schools across Scotland to see why poorer children do worse, and what we can do to improve results. He hears from teachers, parents and pupils about what makes a good school. When he has completed his investigation, he presents his findings to the First Minister.
BBC Scotland investigates the ruthless world of the dog trade. Using secret filming, reporter Sam Poling tracks the supply chain of the country's favourite pet, and uncovers some shocking truths about where and how these animals are being bred.
Scotland jails more women than almost anywhere else in northern Europe. It's expensive and it has a shattering impact on the families. One of Britain's top human rights lawyers, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, examines new plans to close down Scotland's women's prison at Cornton Vale and move many of the women from prison into communities across Scotland. She looks at the success of international attempts at prison reform and questions why more funding isn't being given to successful justice projects in the community.
When Storm Gertrude brought down a wall at an Edinburgh primary school, it sparked a crisis that brought disruption to thousands of families. But it also exposed concerns over the safety of the very buildings parents need to trust most. Fiona Walker investigates why the wall collapsed, how many of our new schools are potentially dangerous and what this scandal tells us about how we're building and paying for the schools our children depend on.
They promised a lifetime of holidays without hassle, and the chance to own your own bit of the sun forever. And Britain's sunseekers snapped them up. More than six hundred thousand of us have bought timeshares. It's a hugely successful industry. But an increasing number of owners are getting too old or unwell to use them, and are facing huge problems in getting out of their contracts. BBC Scotland Investigates: The Timeshare Time Bomb looks at the problems - and the pitfalls - they face.
Military charities are big business. Every year millions of pounds are given in donations, but how much actually reaches those who need it? Reporter Sam Poling goes undercover to investigate whether some in the industry are simply cashing in on the public's goodwill. She catches on camera the sales tactics being used by supposed former veterans to line their own pockets and secretly films racist merchandise being sold by one military charity to raise funds. And she challenges the charities' regulatory system which allows all of this to happen.
Documentary examining the historical child sexual abuse scandal engulfing football. Reporter Mark Daly reveals fresh allegations of sex abuse and cover ups in Scottish football's most notorious paedophile scandal, at Celtic Boys' Club. He also hears powerful accounts from former footballers who talk for the first time about the abuse they say they suffered as boys in the sport.
Human trafficking is big business, making billions for organised crime gangs around the world. Investigative journalist Sam Poling goes undercover to expose the ruthless tactics used in the supply chain and discovers shocking links to Scotland. She travels to eastern Europe to track down victims sold to Glasgow gangs for sex and witnesses the grinding poverty which is putting people at the mercy of those cashing in on human misery.
Lisa Summers reveals new evidence about why three children died in Fife in 2014 despite social work involvement. Why did Liam Fee, Madison Horn and Mikaeel Kular die and could more have been done to protect them? Lisa hears from key witnesses who have never spoken before, as well as department insiders. And the programme reveals serious concerns about whether we've been told the whole truth about cases which shocked the nation.
The amazing story of Joy Milne, who discovered she can smell Parkinson's disease. Elizabeth Quigley talks to Joy and meets the scientists who are investigating this groundbreaking ability. She also hears how Joy's family was torn apart by this cruel disease. The hope is that research on Joy will lead to new advances in the treatment and detection of a disease that is second only to Alzheimer's amongst neurodegenerative illnesses.
Ian Hamilton goes on a journey of discovery along some of Scotland's urban and rural rail services to find out if they are on the right track to meet growing customer demand. Along the way he hears from commuters on a range of issues that affect their travel experience on a daily basis, including ease of access, overcrowding and punctuality. He also examines the track record of initiatives such as the opening of the rail link between the Borders and Edinburgh and hears how infrastructure improvements are in the pipeline for parts of the north east network. In Newcastle, he checks on the progress of the manufacture of new rolling stock and catches up with transport minister Humza Yousaf.
Lisa Summers meets parents struggling to cope with children whose behaviour is extremely challenging. As the number of young people diagnosed with autism rockets, more and more families are desperate for help. Children whose autism is often mistaken for bad behaviour speak out about what it is like to be judged, and their parents share heartbreaking stories of how hard it is to get the support they need.
Sam Poling investigates the series of crises to have hit Police Scotland, five years after the creation of the national force. She hears damning testimony from serving officers and discovers evidence of misconduct and the manipulation of crime figures. The programme reveals leaked documents which show corruption at the very heart of the force and a culture of fear within its ranks, documents those at the top tried to suppress. She asks the current chief constable whether, with his own controversial background, he is fit to lead.
Mentally ill patients who hoped to get better in an NHS hospital describe a unit at breaking point. They tell reporter Fiona Walker that they were pinned to the floor in agony and bullied on wards where illegal drugs are rife. The investigation lifts the lid on the troubled Carseview psychiatric care unit in Dundee, which is already under scrutiny for allegations that it has failed suicidal patients.
