$1 ' wtwr m itan ireland. the winds picking up to 80mph in gusts. rain in northern ireland and scotland. in the east of england and wales, dry, warmer and less windy. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the organisation behind the oscars votes overwhelmingly to expel disgraced hollywood producer harvey weinstein. the board said it wanted to send a message that there was no place in the industry for "sexually predatory behaviour". motorists who cause death by speeding, street racing or while on a mobile phone are among those who may be handed life sentences under government proposals. austrians head to the polls for a snap general election — the 31—year—old conservative party leader sebastian kurz is tipped to become europe's youngest leader and form an alliance with the far—right. a0 people have died and hundreds are still missing following six days

of wildfires in california. it's the most lethal outbreak in the state's history with more than 100,000 people have been displaced and whole neighbourhoods reduced to ash. those are the headlines. now on bbc news it is time for inside out. this week the accountants who disappeared, leaving thousands of lorry drivers owing money to the taxman. and what it's like living with motoneuron disease. hello. this week we're in the historic city of lincoln. coming up in the programme: the lorry drivers left in thousands of pounds of debt after their accountants disappeared with their money.

i think accountants hadn't forward anything on. it was to the tune of £11,500. also, three years in the life of a man with motoneuron disease. later, two women, one british and one italian, ponder their future as we prepare to leave europe. over the past few years inside out has shown you some shocking tales of zero hours factory workers and poorly paid parcel delivery drivers, but now it seems it's lorry drivers right across the country that have been left owing thousands of pounds in tax after the lincoln—based accountants they used disappeared with their money. lucy hester reports. i walked into the office expecting to get some driving jobs and then i walked out of the office as a director of a company with no problems at all. thousands of drivers like ian get work through driving agencies and they're encouraged to operate as a limited company.

companies with no assets, with just one employee and their boardroom, whatever cab they happen to be sitting in at the time. 0urjust—in—time economy needs a flexible workforce, and agency contractors fill a gap. the arrangement suits the agencies very well, but what about the drivers? anyone thinking about setting up a limited company needs someone to do their accounts. the agencies for drivers we spoke to all advised their clients to use the same lincoln—based firm, think accounting. the lady at the recruitment agency said probably 75% of her drivers

were registered with this think accountant. when i was having a little chat with the young kid behind the counter, ijust made a comment about, a bit of tongue in cheek, was he on commission for introducing me to this particular think accountant. and with a bit of a laugh, he told me he got 100 quid for it. paul signed up for a discount vat scheme, which think accounting looked afterfor him. perfectly legitimate, authorised by hmrc. a bit of extra money basically for being vat registered. so let me try to get my head round how this works. for example, if this is your weekly wage, let's say £100, you are allowed to charge 20% vat on that, aren't you? yeah. so effectively your £100 becomes £120, doesn't it? that's correct, yeah. and then what happens? than half of that goes to the taxman and i keep the other half. so your wage is now £110? £110 and roughly £10 to the taxman. but then think accounting took quite a hefty bite for themselves?

exactly. think accounting had been keeping hold of paul's portion of vat. when he asked for this, they sent him a bill for extra accounting services. they were charging me things like credit control service, 750 quid. that all totals £700 odd and i never saw a penny of it. do you think you were naive orfoolish to hand over your that all totals £7,000 odd and i never saw a penny of it. do you think you were naive orfoolish to hand over your business affairs to a company like think accounting? no, i don't have any skills in accounting, i know how to drive a lorry. we've talked to accountants around the country who've inherited clients from think accounting. they tell similar stories. when it comes to the flat rate vat which think accounting, stole, and i say that explicitly, they stole it from the drivers, i took them to court on ten occasions.

0n nine occasions they actually paid the same thing. the tenth one they got a county court judgement but never ended up paying it. worse was to come. demands from hmrc for unpaid tax. my national insurance, my corporation tax, my vat, think accountants had not passed on anything to the relevant parties to the tune of £11,500. think accounting had been given drivers a small weekly wage, plus expenses and dividends, so that they didn't have to pay tax, but hmrc saw this as a tax dodge. i felt embarrassed. i kind of brushed it under the carpet, i didn't want to tell my wife or my family. i was expecting bailiffs to knock at the front door. i was basically, you know, having panic attacks. i went to the doctor and got tablets in the end. i thought prison.

i honestly thought prison. the drivers couldn't get their missing tax from think accounting, they'd stopped trading. 0wner lee wilson had handed over to a new company, new wave accounting, same address, with director simon williams cook. neither of them were accountants. it was an utter scam and hmrc should have put a stop to it straightaway but what they're doing is prosecuting the people who can't defend themselves, the poor, innocent victims and they are making them pay the fine for the perpetrators, which, to me, stinks. hmrc tell us they have an excellent record in supporting those in genuine difficulty and they urge anyone who can't pay their tax debt to talk to them and they'll do all they can to help. in november, 2015, new wave accounting changed their name again to igloo accounting. igloo abruptly shut down and clients were directed to another accountant.

that accountant informed the police, who passed the investigation onto hmrc. hmrc say it's important that people thinking of using an agent to deal with their tax affairs understand what the agent is proposing to do on their behalf, particularly with less usual arrangements, such as a service company. we've contacted some of the agencies involved. they say they no longer recommend accountancy companies and they encourage drivers to be paye, not self employed. paul paid his tax bill but is going to a tribunal to try to claim it back. ian, after two years of tax demands, got a surprise a few weeks ago. hmrc have cancelled his debt. other drivers, ron included, are still being chased for the money and they are frustrated.

we want to challenge lee wilson, the director of think accounts, and basically ask him for an explanation. a lot of people would like to talk to lee wilson and simon williams cook, but they seem to have disappeared. this is lucy hester calling from the bbc‘s inside out programme. we need to ask him... we've tried family members, business links and i even rang simon's old mobile number, but the man who answers says he's not simon. he's just put the phone down on me. that's the second time he's done that inside a week. so, no directors, but i'm following the money. millions of pounds went through think accounting's hands and these are just some of the bank statements to prove it. we aren't allowed to look inside these files but since we started this investigation a forensically liquidator has been appointed. they can look and they should be

able to trace what think accounting did with the drivers‘ money. early this year, matthew taylor produced a major report on how we work. later this week, he'll discuss this with the select committee. we've told him about the drivers‘ experiences. one of the things we argued in our report is to move towards a system where we pay the same kind of tax on labour. if we did that then these kinds of problems, these kinds of ways of circumventing the system, wouldn't make sense any more. what do you think of think accounting now? lower than a snake's belly. fraudulent, conmen,100%. and if you've got a story you'd like to tell us about, you can contact us on facebook or twitter. coming up on the programme:

what does the future hold for these two women after brexit? ian pratt has motoneuron disease and three years ago he invited us to follow his fight against the illness. health correspondent jamie coulson has been filming with him ever since. he's recorded his battle to live as normal a life as possible with his wife and young daughter and raise awareness about this deadly disease. it's 2014. at home, ian pratt is enjoying his birthday, but since 2012 birthdays have felt different. that's when he was diagnosed with motoneuron disease. i was a young father, i had a beautiful daughter, a lovely wife and i'm thinking, i want to see her grow up and do all these things. i was just heartbroken. then there was the confirmation that i had this wicked disease. ian, an australian who'd settled in yorkshire,

had always been active and healthy. we started filming with him in the autumn of 2014. he wanted to go public about his illness and its effects on the people closest to him. two years after diagnosis, ian's had to give up his job as an accountant. he finds it harder to walk, but his home has been adapted to help him move around. his illness is a mental as well as physical challenge. to be fair, i probably don't really think about what's coming. i think about, what are we doing today and how do we cope with getting through today? i don't tend to think about how the disease will affect me in two years‘ time or 12 months, because i think it's too destructive to do that to my mind as well because it‘s hard enough to be positive, it‘s hard enough to stay positive every single day and to ensure everything you‘ve got. i think if i sat down and thought about what was coming,

then you would just want to end. what have you been doing? that looks wonderful! what did you do the day? ian and his wife katherine have something else to keep them busy. their daughter, georgiana. you‘re right, love? just being as normal as i can with her. we go for walks. she rides a bike and i ride my mobility scooter or wheelchair. katherine is combining work, being a mum and coping with ian‘s illness. i don't think about what's going to happen in the future. i know what's going to happen, but i don't want to think about it because i have georgiana who needs to be looked after. i can't be crying in the corner all the time. if i think about it that's what i would be, a bucket in the corner, crying. have you ever really thought much further down the line, when ian might not be here and thought about what that would be?

it would be a whole different world. it‘s time for a hospital visit. ian‘s seeing his consultant. he‘s started wearing a face mask at night to help him sleep. it‘s been working pretty much in the main. i have it on most days and try to average at least five hours or so. ok, so do you feel any better for it? i do. ifeel like i have more energy. ian‘s noticed his symptoms are getting gradually worse. how do you feel otherwise, in terms of any change? i don‘t notice the daily change, but i notice at the end of the week that i haven‘t been able to do something or if something different has happened. it's a disease where cells within the nervous system, called the motor neurons, get injured and die. they are the cells by which our brain controls our muscles and therefore all our movements. ian has already had to face the fact

that many muscles in his body have now been affected. i think it's been particularly difficult and distressing for ian because of his young daughter, who is the apple of his eye, and he wants to be around to see her growing up. since his diagnosis, ian‘s helped to run an annual swim at the isle of wight, which has raised thousands of pounds for motoneuron research. it‘s a big night in barnsley, the pride of barnsley awards. ian‘s been nominated for triumph over adversity. ian pratt! ian has won. it is time to get his award. please, go and have a look for yourself. i just want to dedicate this to my wife catherine and my beautiful daughters. thank you.

for ian, life‘s an emotional rollercoaster, and christmas feels more special than ever. georgiana is the virgin mary in her school‘s nativity play. i‘m very proud. it was fabulous. it‘s amazing to see. it‘s one of the things, when i was diagnosed, that i didn‘t think i‘d get to see, so it‘s very special. ian‘s mum is over from australia. it‘s a chance to catch up on news about family and friends. when ian was born, we travelled backwards and forwards. we had cattle around the place. kids used to come and help us do whatever they had to do. yeah, he was a good boy. i‘m really, really proud of him throughout he‘s done and what he‘s doing. and he‘ll keep that going as long as he possibly can. doctors try to control ian‘s

symptoms, but there‘s no cure. he is back at the hospital for tests. right, i‘m going to put the mask over your nose and mouth, and ask you to breathe steadily. i‘ll hold it in place for you, all right? so when you‘re ready... he‘s having a test to check out how his lungs are working. blow it out for me, all the way. keep it coming, keep it coming, keep it coming, keep it coming, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! there you are. fantastic. ian‘s lungs are working at 34% of their full capacity, only a slight drop from last time. hello. hey. next he‘s going out to be weighed. catherine lifts him across the room. it‘s good news — he has put on weight. 58.5! 0h! yes! it is encouraging to know that my breathing hasn‘t gone down significantly.

so i‘m roughly at the same place. my weight‘s come up, which is good. it‘s reasonably good news. we're still on a mission, the weight needs to come up a bit more, but it is actually quite nice that his breathing is still stable. good morning, ian! a year has gone past. it is early morning and ian is about to start his day. he needs two carers to help him get up. can you feel about, ian? pulling? i've known ian for about a year. when we first started here, he was upstairs. he was able to come to a sitting position and physically walk to the bathroom. so he's deteriorated a lot in the last 12 months.

by now, five years have passed since his diagnosis. ian has done well. if you look at the average life expectancy from the first symptom, it's somewhere between two and three or four years, probably. and ian has exceeded that timescale already. whatever the future holds for a ian and his family, he is still fighting. it‘s been a challenging five years. i think we will make the best of what we have got. because lots of people don‘t get the opportunity with motor neuron disease. more than 30,000 eu nationals work at our universities. some came under the erasmus scheme, which allows students to study abroad. and many of them stayed, and made lives here. tonight, we follow two women — one an italian, living in sheffield,

and the other an english woman, living in belgium — and ask what brexit might mean for theirfuture. architect cristina cerulli came to england in 1994 from italy and settled in sheffield. alison abrahams left sheffield for italy 14 years later, and has settled in belgium. both have made major decisions about their lives because of brexit. i wish the eu had a repatriation programme for people who have been caught by surprise by brexit. i came back to brussels the morning of the vote, and my colleagues were hugging me, you know, and people were so emotional. suddenly, everything i knew turned upside down. it felt a little bit destabilising. it‘s 13 years since cristina first began teaching architecture

at the university of sheffield. this evening, she is celebrating with her final year students for what might be the last time. yes, i am seriously considering relocating following brexit. i am exploring lots of options. tonight, ccristina has daughters with her — mina and ella. both were born in yorkshire, but are fluent in italian. i got an emailfrom the italian consulate this morning with the results of a survey i took part in. they said all italian academics working in uk university and 82% say there were planning to leave. already 30% of eu academic staff at uk university have left already. alison abra hams works as amnesty international‘s european media manager in brussels. working here in the european union, i think people — french

people or others, germans, for example — the european project is something more than an economic agreement, you know? it is an ideal. for people, this dream is being shattered. in sheffield, cristina and her husband, mark, run their own architectural practice. alison‘s father has come to take their photograph for his own brexit—related project. this project‘s called remain/leave. it is about couples, one of whom is a european citizen, and the other is a british citizen, and, as we are aware, now, those couples are potentially in a difficult situation. next month, jeremy will stage an exhibition of the portraits, together with audio recordings of interviews he conducted with the couples. i came here as an erasmus student. i thought it was amazing and i never wanted to back to florence. i always felt that great britain was much more progressive

than italy was, at the time. and now, i definitely don‘t think that is the case, any more. i completely fell out of love with great britain. cristina and alison were both part of the erasmus programme, where students were allowed to study abroad for a year of their degree. 2017 marks the 30th anniversity of the eu—funded project, but there are fears about its post—brexit future. it is worrying that in the survey that in the survey that the british council commissioned with ipsos mori that are 30% fewer young people in france, germany, and italy, saying they want it on to the uk to study. in reality, nothing has changed. but the negotiations are clearly creating that uncertainty of people. and people want that uncertainty to end as soon as possible, so that we know what is happening. what do we want? this morning, alison‘s co—ordinating international press coverage of a demonstration outside the eu commission hq against

turkey‘s detention of ten human rights activists. it should be pretty big. i am hoping that we will see this on a few channels later, including the bbc, so let‘s see. but alison initially feared for her post—brexit career. why would you employ a british person, when we‘re just about to leave, and who knows how long we will have the right to work here? so following the leave vote, alison applied for belgian citizenship. after several anxious months waiting, she finally heard. i really didn‘t know whether or not i‘d get it. and i got that letter, i said to them "i‘m a belgian? does this mean i‘m a belgian?" and they said "yes, of course you are, madam, vous etes belge!" and they went "felicitations!" like "congratulations!" and i was so excited. i never i‘d request for nationality. it never occured to me. i was born in sheffield and raised in the uk but now my parents always joke that they have a belgian daughter.

it feels totally surreal that that has happened. it‘s the first anniversary of the brexit vote and 400 miles away, in sheffield, cristina and mark are working on a temporary commission with an artist, and they have made a big life decision. together, as a family, we decided to actually leave sheffield and go to florence. so we are going too seriously explore the feasibility of it. so it will be a little like going back to where i started, but for mark and the girls, it will be completely new, because they have just visited, but never lived there. after a hectic week at work, alison is on her way back to yorkshire on eurostar. i‘m going back to sheffield to see my family. it‘s my mum‘s birthday, this weekend, so i‘m going to join the party. alison‘s dad, jeremy, is still working on his exhibition, which features cristina‘s portrait, and opens next month. the two families meet up, while alison‘s in sheffield.

hi, i‘m cristina. nice to meet you. my experience of being in italy was everything was so chaotic to me. over the summer, christina has taken a newjob at sheffield hallam university. and after a family holiday in italy, there has been a reality check, and their planned move is on hold. we took an emotional decision to leave the country and cut our ties. we put it off for... at least for a year, and we will keep looking into how we can be doing it, but we are also conscious of not wanting to give up everything else we‘ve sort of built up here for something that will be much worse. for alison and cristina, erasmus was a life—changing experience, but it remains far from clear how easy will be for the post brexit generation of students to follow in their footsteps. hello. the met office have just

upgraded the warnings. we now have an amberwind warning. upgraded the warnings. we now have an amber wind warning. that is for tomorrow. it‘s the northern ireland with the ghosts of 80 miles an hour we re with the ghosts of 80 miles an hour were more likely between three o‘clock in the afternoon and ten o‘clock in the afternoon and ten o‘clock in the evening. it‘s all due to hurricane 0phelia. this was to the east of the azores are short while ago. it‘s a category two. what we are seeing at the moment is warm

air pushing our way ahead of that band of cloud. that is spoiling things though across northern ireland and scotland where there will be rain and drizzle. patchy rain and drizzle sinking southwards, perhaps reaching cumbria later this afternoon. some breaks to the east of the heels and the high temperatures will be in the east, south east. 0vernight the rain will get heavier across northern ireland and scotland. it gets a boost as the winds pick up. away from northern scotland, many of us will see temperatures of 13 or 14 degrees overnight. this is where we are expecting 0phelia to be on monday. no longer a hurricane, but it will

be close to parts of northern ireland and winds will cost throughout the morning through the south—west into the irish sea. some rain here and rain for scotland as well. as you head further north and east, the winds will not be as strong and in the south—east we have the last of the warm air. the wind will cause problems on monday and into tuesday. keep up—to—date on bbc local radio will stop all the warnings have just been updated online. the windy weather moves into scotla nd online. the windy weather moves into scotland on monday night into tuesday morning and there will be gusts of up to 70 miles an hour. this is bbc news.

the headlines at 11am: the 0scar‘s board votes to expel disgraced holywood mogul harvey weinstein, as more women come forward with allegations of sexual assault. 0ne film critic reveals how he crossed the producer. he came for me and shook me at a reception and said you can‘t publish that. you‘re never coming to the baftas again, you will never work in this town again. i was in venice, it wasn‘t his town! drivers who cause death in the most serious cases of dangerous and careless driving could now face life sentences. the irish met office holds an emergency meeting as category three hurricane 0phelia approaches the british isles. austrians head to the polls for a snap general election —