File on 4 Folgen

After details of people under witness protection were leaked to a private investigator, Allan Urry asks if police are doing enough to protect witnesses whose lives are at risk.

To the west of Edinburgh, construction of the new £1.5bn Forth road bridge will use steel from Poland, Spain and China. A local steel plant near Motherwell lost out as part of a consortium bidding for the work. It says the contract could have secured hundreds of local jobs. Officials insist that they have to follow EU rules which state that any company across the single market can bid for public contracts. But analysts complain that UK authorities interpret these rules more narrowly than their European counterparts, to the detriment of British firms. French public spending goes outside France at only half the rate that British contracts go abroad. With the economy struggling, the Government has pledged support for British business but accepts that public projects are too often awarded in a way that disadvantages domestic companies. So can it take action to support UK jobs without being accused of protectionism?Reporter: Gerry Northam Producer: Gail Champion.

How strong is the government's commitment to ending schemes set up to minimise tax? A number of schemes have proved popular in the private sector, including Employee Benefit Trusts. These have been used by football clubs for tax planning purposes, but are now in the sights of HMRC as it attempts to recoup what it sees as unpaid tax. But how widespread are these trust schemes and why are they so popular with companies that have large government contracts?As the Treasury reviews tax avoidance by senior government employees, it has emerged that employees in other parts of the public sector are using payment schemes that keep them off the payroll. There is growing concern that paying public servants through personal service companies may be inappropriate.How tax-compliant are the citizens of the United Kingdom? Is there a risk that publicity about the tax-avoidance schemes of the rich, coupled with easier access to information via the internet, could lead to more people trying to cut their contributions? Presenter: Fran Abrams Producer: Ian Muir-Cochrane.