THEY should have been treated to the latest twists and turns in the Glasgow East by-election and the return of Aborigine remains from an Edinburgh museum.
Viewers tuning in to BBC Scotland's early-evening TV news were, instead, informed about wildlife in Clapham and the Tate Gallery.
Reporting Scotland, the BBC's news programme north of the Border, was forced off the air and replaced with the regio
nal news from London. BBC Radio Scotland went off-air completely.
A fire scare at Pacific Quay, BBC Scotland's new £190 million headquarters on the banks of the River Clyde, meant the building had to be evacuated and staff were forced to wait outside until firefighters carried out a full search and declared it was a false alarm.
It meant they were unable to "opt out" of the English TV broadcast.
Viewers were kept in the dark about the black-out until more than 20 minutes into the bulletin, when an announcement apologised that Reporting Scotland had been delayed because of "technical difficulties".
However, there was only time for a brief report on the Glasgow East by-election and a weather report, before the presenter, Jackie Bird, had to bid viewers farewell.
She offered another apology, adding that the problems had been "outwith our control".
A spokeswoman for BBC Scotland said: "The safety of our staff is obviously paramount, and everyone had to remain outside until the fire brigade were satisfied everything was OK with the building. There is a back-up plan for Reporting Scotland going off air, and that was what was implemented. These things do happen occasionally, although it's the first time Reporting Scotland has been affected."
Within weeks of staff moving into Pacific Quay, reports began to emerge of TV and radio programmes being dogged by technical problems.
Union leaders claimed the complex was beset by "chronic" issues and that staff were suffering stress as a result of having to "spin plates" to keep broadcasts on air.
The problems with last night's Reporting Scotland came in the wake of weekend claims by Labour that BBC Scotland's political coverage north of the Border was biased in favour of the SNP.
The BBC is also facing a growing clamour to opt out of the Six o'Clock News and instead produce its own so-called "Scottish Six" bulletin.
Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has led demands for broadcasting issues to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament, claiming that only 3 per cent of network budgets were spent on Scottish programming.
Last month, a major report by the BBC Trust accused the corporation's political coverage of being biased towards London.
The full article contains 444 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
