18/06/2014 Newsnight


18/06/2014

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The Government of Iraq has now formally asked the United States for

:00:00.:00:11.

military help to resist the Islamist rebels who plunged the country into

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Civil War. As ISIS tries to capture bits of the all-important oil

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industry, what would it mean for the world economy if they succeed? Here

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in Baghdad the fighting in the oil refinery is causing a lot of people

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to wonder whether Iraq is heading for break-up and there be a war

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between Sunnis and Shias. After Ed Miliband finds himself in another

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fine mess, Peter Mandelson explains where his unique appeal to voters

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lies. This is the most stupid he assignment, I have done warzones

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easier than this. I did this as a special favour. Well, you get the

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idea. And we're in Uruguay to see how Luis Suarez is going to beat

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England tomorrow. The Iraqi Civil War is now so

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intense and the position of the Iraqi Government so powerless that

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it has frantically sought American military intervention. No judgment

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on that yet from the White House, though the fact that Iraq's main oil

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refinery has been the scene of serious fighting, and the scale of

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an insurgency out of all proportion to the number of insurgent, both

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point up the gravity of the crisis. First up we join the BBC's world

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affairs correspondent in Baghdad. What is the mood in the capital

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there? Well there is an awful lot of anxiety Jeremy both here and wider.

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I went down to the holy city of Kerbal today and an awful lot of

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anxiety there. People talking about the possibility of open Civil War,

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and the danger from the entire region, not just Iraq. People are

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very worried indeed. It doesn't look now nearly so much as though Baghdad

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might fall. There were Government ministers here last week who thought

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it would. That doesn't seem to be on the cards so much now. This is a big

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Shi'ite city and you know there is only 15,000 of these ISIS

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characters. I just don't think they are up for capturing an entire city

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or perhaps even entering it. It is still very, very worrying. The

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biggest worry of all is this possibility that Iraq might split up

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into its constituent parts. How seriously is that worry taken? Very

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seriously because you know if the division comes, then what does Iran

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do? Well it would be terribly tempted to swallow up, I suspect,

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the Shi'ite rump of Iraq. The Kurds would go their own way, they have

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been pretty much any way. But what happens to the Sunnis? That's a

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small relatively small sliver of land alongside the Syrian border, is

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it big enough? Is it possible it could exist on its own? Nobody

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knows. It is really, really very disturbing. John, thank you very

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much indeed. Well our diplomatic editor has spent the day looking at

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how big the ISIS insurgency really is, and how equipped the Iraqi

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Government have to deal with it? After the shock of the Sunni

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onslaught, Iraq is fragmenting. Kurdish troops fighting today near

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Kirkuk have also taken their chance to carve out a bigger territory for

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themselves. But in Baghdad, the Prime Minister insists that lost

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ground can be recovered. TRANSLATION: We will teach them

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lessons and deal them blows and we will deal with those who think that

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they can defeat the political process and the national unity and

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defeat Iraq. The Iraqi army still has several outposts in the north.

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With fighting continuing in Tal Afr, and where there is a key oil

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refinery, and Samarra, key shrines are there. Although there are the

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outskirts of Bakuba, there has been no significant advance in recent

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days. While the situation has stablised and Iraqi forces are being

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massed to counter-attack, what are the chances of them regaining

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ground? I would counsel Prime Minister Al-Maliki, although he

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wouldn't accept it, to replace the military commanders he has put in

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charge of the Iraqi forces with more competent leadership. When the

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United States were there we worked with the Iraqi Government to put in

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place competent military leaders, regardless of their sect or

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ethnicity. But since the end of 2011 when US forces were withdrawn from

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Iraq, Prime Minister Al-Maliki has packed the Armed Forces with

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political cronies. In effect he has created a force that is very loyal

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to him and won't launch a coup, but can't fight effectively as well. If

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the Iraqi army is going to be used to regain control of the Sunni

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Triangle it is going to have to be much more competent and willing to

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fight than it is right now. But if the army's generals are a losing

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bunch, its ranks are now being swelled with thousands of

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enthusiastic volunteers. Most of them are Shia, and the presence of

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an Iranian general, the Revolutionary Guard's chief covert

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operator has convinced many Iraqi Sunnis that the plan is to form a

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Shia army. I think he comes to Iraq to ensure that those who are

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supporting Iran, or those who have been working with Iran will stay in

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line and will not deviate. He wants to ensure that the influence of Iran

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will be maintained and strengthened. I think that was his main aim of

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coming. The chances of ISIS storming Baghdad are remote, instead the

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security forces are bracing themselves for an increase in truck

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bombs, launched from nearby Sunni towns. If that sounds like a return

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to the bad old days of a few years back, so does the idea of American

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air strikes. One Iraqi minister called for them today, but there is

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little enthusiasm for the idea among the US military. Every time you

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conduct military action there are political implications. It would be,

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I think, a grave mistake to launch air strikes now before the political

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situation on the ground has been clarified. The Government of Nouri

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Al-Maliki has been part and parcel of the problem in Iraq, with its

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highly-authoritarian and sectarian nature, if we were to support

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Al-Maliki now with air strikes we would simply be taking his side in

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this political struggle within Iraq. But while Baghdad tries to find its

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response, the enemy has a vote too. ISIS paraded its captured army kit

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today in Baji, the first order of priority for groups like this could

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be snuffing out the remaining army posts, and today they have attacked

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beleaguered troops at the nearby refinery, which produces 40% of

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Iraq's petrol and now looks set to fall. What effect could all this

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potential disruption have on oil supplies and there by affects upon

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the world economy, with us is our economics correspondent. What are

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the markets making of all of this, they are the first indication? So

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far the market reaction to these terrible pictures to Iraq has been

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relatively calm. The price of oil is now above $114 a barrel, that is the

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highest since last September, but not the sort of big move we have

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often seen in turmoil in the Middle East. It is not like the $120 during

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the Arab Spring. There is a couple of reasons for that, firstly the

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vast majority of Iraqi oil production is in the south and the

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east of the country and hasn't been impacted. Secondly, Saudi Arabia at

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the moment has a lot of spare capacity. If Iraqi production is

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disrupted they can bring that on stream. The bigger worry about the

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long-term picture. How worried should we be about that? The initial

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reaction in the last few days has been calm. What people in the oil

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industry are starting to fret about is the long-term picture. At the

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moment Iraq produces about 3. 5 million barrels of oil a day. That

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is about 4% of total world supply. But over the next 20 years that 3. 5

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million barrels a day is expected by international observers to rise to

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8. 5 million barrels a day. That is a huge driver of future oil supply.

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Five million barrels a day. That is roughly the amount of oil that the

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UK, Germany and Holland use every day. That is a big gap to fill up if

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Iraq is not capable of bringing it on stream. If it doesn't come on

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stream, and people are doubting it with the talk of Civil War and the

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split, there is a huge problem for the world economy, and big gap in

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supply and prices rise. But most importantly there is a terrible

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problem for Iraq, because increasing oil supply, trebling it over the

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next 20 years the key to really boosting their GDP and increasing

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prosperity in that country. So people are getting very, very

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concerned at the moment. Thank you. In Washington the Iraqi ambassador

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to the United States is on the line and here in the studio we have the

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Kurdistan regional Government's high representative to the UK. Ambassador

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may I start with you please, is your Government capable of defeating

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these rebels without outside military assistance? We are some

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what confident that the work we will do will have a significant impact,

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however we also know that we need immediate support to accelerate that

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process and provide us with areas of capability, such as air supremacy,

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which we currently don't have, so we need that support now. So you can't

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cope? Alone it will take more blood, it will be vicious, it will be

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dirty. What we are saying is that we need the support of the United

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States and other countries, because of the urgency of the ground and the

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type of enemy we are facing. How is it, talking about this enemy, that

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such an apparently smaller force should have been able to take so

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much of your country? There is a lot of reflection now going on within

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the military infrastructure, we have changed some of the high commands,

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maybe more will follow. But what we are saying is that is an issue for

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us to discuss with our partners as to how we can beef up and relook at

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our military capabilities. But the threat is an immediate threat now.

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So your military was inept, that is the problem is it? The military was

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developed, it is a new military, the military has been working with the

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United States. We had the US forces there until 2011, the military had

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no air force, and no infantry, the intelligence gathering was still

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fragile. These are all capabilities which we are trying to develop in a

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new state. That is with the viciousness of the situation, the

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spillover from Syria, these are all factors that have adversely impacted

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us. So your military was incapable. What help do you want from Iran? We

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are asking for help from the United States. Would you like help from

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Iran? There are bigger regional issues to discuss. But what we are

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saying is the strategic framework agreement we have is with the United

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States. The United States is our key partner of choice in developing our

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military in with other areas of co-operation, this is what our focus

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is on. Of course Iran is operating already within Iraq isn't it? In

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what sense? The all quad Al-Qud Brigade? I'm not aware of that. We

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will come back to you in a moment or two, but would you like military

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assistance from Britain as well? What do you mean from Britain as

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well. Would you like air support from Britain? No, no. Certainly not.

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The key capability we are asking for is for the United States to stand by

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us as our strategic framework agreement, talking about the

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integrity of Iraq. Now we have a serious situation, it is not a

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puritily only Iraqi domestic situation, it is a regional threat.

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That is the urgency and the depth of that challenge is. We will come back

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to you in a moment or two, I hope. Can you tell us where the Government

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of Kurdistan stands on all of this? Well, from our perspective, this is

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a crisis on three fronts. It is a humanitarian crisis. We have tens of

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thousands of refugees who have fled to Kurdistan from Mosul. It is a

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security crisis, as ambassador has said. It is a crisis that affects

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not only Iraq, all of Iraq, is in mortal danger. It affects the

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region, it affects the gulf and even further afield. And it is a

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political crisis too in Iraq. We have seen many pictures of your

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fighters engaging the ISIS forces, for whom are they fighting? The

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Peshmurgeres' primarily role is to protect the Kurdish people and the

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region. We have gone to the areas outside the Kurdistan region which

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are part of Kurdistan to protect the people there and key strategic

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infrastructure as well. Does that mean they are fighting to support

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the Government of Iraq, the central Government? Kurdistan is part of

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Iraq, according to the constitution, the Peshmurgeres are part of the

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Iraqi defence forces, we are defending the people of Iraq. By

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means of the central Government? How do you mean, by means of the central

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Government? These forces owe their loyalty to the Government of

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Kurdistan, which is part of the constitutional arrangement in Iraq,

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do they there by owe their loyalty to the Government of Iraq Nouri

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Al-Maliki, I would say the current Government would find it hard to

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find loyalty. We have not been shy pointing out repeatedly over the

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past few years that the Government in Baghdad has been sectarian, has

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been devisive and marginalising the Sunni Arab community and has tried

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to keep the Kurdish community and the Kurdish leadership out of

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decision making. We have been very frank about that and called for a

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change of Government. Your country is quite close to breaking up isn't

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it ambassador? The country is at a critical test, it needs its partners

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and its international countries who are involved in its development

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after 2003. It has been fragile in the politics, now we need to really

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look at that. But we also know that the wealth of Iraq is, can help in

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the development, but the politics needs to be looked at and the threat

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is immediate. One further point, you and President Assad have a common

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enemy in ISIS, are you now allied therefore effectively with President

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Assad? We are facing an immediate threat in our own country. We are

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dealing with that ourselves. The situation in Syria has never helped

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us. We hope that the situation is addressed regionally, the players

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who are involved in the fight against terrorism have to work

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closely together. To that extent I think we are dealing with a

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situation in Iraq ourselves. Thank you both very much indeed. Time for

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what is the point of Ed Miliband chapter 5, it is not as if he's in

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power and having to take unpopular decision. It is not as if he has

:17:17.:17:20.

committed the country to unpopular wars. It is not as if there is the

:17:21.:17:25.

faintest breath of scandal about him, and yet a year out from the

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next general election polls show he has the appeal oa flatulent dog in a

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lift. And Labour voters are unlikely to want to vote for him. We get the

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baron Peter Mandelson of Foy's opinion next. First we have this

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report. This must be a head-scratching

:17:51.:17:54.

moment for Ed Miliband. It is not as if he hasn't produced radical

:17:55.:17:58.

policies, big thoughts, brave ideas, he has had no contentious foreign

:17:59.:18:03.

policy, no bloody wars, his entire focus has been on those squeezed by

:18:04.:18:08.

recession, and yet his personal poll ratings continue to plum new depths,

:18:09.:18:20.

with less than a year to go. The party of today feels very different

:18:21.:18:24.

to that coined in the mid-1990s as new Labour. The party whose

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transformation began a decade earlier when Peter Mandelson was

:18:29.:18:32.

working for Neil Kinnock. For too long the Labour Party has viewed

:18:33.:18:36.

television as our persecutor, I want to use television as our tool and

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servant. We shall be presenting ourselves and putting across our

:18:42.:18:44.

policies and making sure that our spokesmen get the coverage that they

:18:45.:18:48.

can communicate directly with the people. As a sign of their

:18:49.:18:53.

rebranding, the Labour Party adopted the red rose, Neil Kinnock was a

:18:54.:18:58.

keen gardener, Peter Mandelson, legend has it, insisted on the long

:18:59.:19:03.

stem. It was a sign that old style socialism was passed, the red flag

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as both symbol and song relegated to the backend of conference. In other

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words, this is where the soapbox would end, and the courtship would

:19:11.:19:16.

begin. Our party, new Labour, our mission new Britain, new Labour, new

:19:17.:19:22.

Britain. LINEBREAK APPLAUSE Peter Mandelson, ongside Blair,

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Brown and cap women took Labour and the failed state and took it into

:19:28.:19:31.

Labour the new brand. Out went the state, in went the party friends

:19:32.:19:35.

with business and celebses, the party that could crucially befriend

:19:36.:19:44.

the upper-classes and seize the centre ground of politics. But the

:19:45.:19:47.

messenger was not universally popular. Peter Mandelson would at

:19:48.:19:54.

times go by the nom de guerre Bobby, he was often toxic within his own

:19:55.:19:58.

party. He gained a reputation has one of new Labour's most ruthless

:19:59.:20:02.

operators, media savvy, but not always friendly. There were those

:20:03.:20:07.

within the party and outside it who would cheer his downfall when it

:20:08.:20:11.

came. He resigned from Government, not once but twice. It was the

:20:12.:20:17.

Mandelson-Campbell spin that gave Labour its shiny new coat as well as

:20:18.:20:22.

its cloak of darkness. The way in which Alastair has conducted his

:20:23.:20:25.

operations when he was in Downing Street, when he bullied and lied his

:20:26.:20:34.

way across our political life, consistently, did more to lower the

:20:35.:20:37.

tone of our political life, our public life, than anything else. And

:20:38.:20:47.

it is perhaps that legacy that has confounded Ed Miliband. A leader

:20:48.:20:51.

that at times doesn't seem to know whether he's coming or going, who

:20:52.:20:55.

poses with a paper one day and apologises next. Tomorrow Team

:20:56.:21:02.

Miliband will announce major policy reforms, among them the end of

:21:03.:21:05.

jobseeker's allowance with the aim of getting those with little

:21:06.:21:09.

training or education into work. The man at the centre may yet struggle.

:21:10.:21:13.

Those around him know the journey from new Labour to what he calls a

:21:14.:21:16.

one-nation Labour Government, they still have a long way to go. With us

:21:17.:21:23.

now is baron Mandelson, the political Prince of Darkness who

:21:24.:21:26.

helped create new Labour and whose career has encompassed spells around

:21:27.:21:30.

the cabinet table in several departments, including business and

:21:31.:21:34.

Northern Ireland. Do you think Ed Miliband is the best leader your

:21:35.:21:39.

party could have? In my view he is the leader we have and therefore the

:21:40.:21:42.

leader I support and somebody who I believe is capable of leading the

:21:43.:21:46.

party to victory. The best possible leader? Let me, if you don't mind,

:21:47.:21:52.

just step out of the way you framed this. We have a year to go between

:21:53.:21:57.

now and the election. In the coming days and weeks and months, the

:21:58.:22:01.

Labour Party will be bringing forward a whole series of quite

:22:02.:22:07.

forward-looking policies. Having policies, though, without those

:22:08.:22:11.

being drawn together into a convincing and vivid narrative. A

:22:12.:22:14.

story about yourself, who you are, what you stand for, what you are

:22:15.:22:18.

going to do for people in the country is not enough. You have

:22:19.:22:23.

really got to put all this, draw it all together, connect the policies,

:22:24.:22:28.

link them back to the leader and give people a real sense of where

:22:29.:22:32.

you are going and what you are going to do. Let me put it the other way,

:22:33.:22:36.

why is he so much worse a leader than Tony Blair? He's a different

:22:37.:22:43.

leader, Jeremy. I mean Tony Blair was consciously moving the Labour

:22:44.:22:49.

Party to the centre ground, away from ideology, away from the

:22:50.:22:55.

either/or of British politics. The either you are sort of for the poor

:22:56.:22:59.

or you are for the rich, or either for the person who works on the

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factory shop floor, or you are for the executive floor and the

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boardroom. You are either for Britain or for Europe. What Tony

:23:07.:23:13.

Blair did was to replace either/or with "and". He produced a different

:23:14.:23:17.

form of consensual politics that appealed right across the spectrum

:23:18.:23:21.

of the centre ground, leading it from the left, but consciously

:23:22.:23:26.

making that appeal across the centre ground. Ed Miliband is choosing a

:23:27.:23:31.

different course. It isn't working? What people around him would say is

:23:32.:23:36.

that what needs to do, or what he is doing for the Labour Party and the

:23:37.:23:40.

left is what Mrs Thatcher did for the right in the 1970s and 80s. If

:23:41.:23:46.

that is the case why do 43% of Labour voters according to the

:23:47.:23:49.

latest poll want to see a change of leader? Bring these people on and

:23:50.:23:54.

ask them, Jeremy. I haven't been asked by any opinion pollster. You

:23:55.:24:00.

are a man who knows what is going on in politics? What I know that is

:24:01.:24:06.

going on is Ed is trying to approach politics in a rather different way

:24:07.:24:10.

from the way which Tony Blair and new Labour approached it. Do you

:24:11.:24:13.

think it is working? It may work, it may well be successful. I would say

:24:14.:24:19.

to you that electoral arithmetic is probably on his side. Do you think

:24:20.:24:24.

that it would be more effective were he seen to be more probusiness? I

:24:25.:24:31.

think that he has confused the party's message to business. What he

:24:32.:24:43.

needs to do is embrace the model of a market-based economy where we are

:24:44.:24:46.

supporting business success, but where we also want to see a socially

:24:47.:24:52.

inclusive society with principles and social justice, where we are

:24:53.:24:55.

creating opportunities for people and leaning against inequalities in

:24:56.:24:59.

society in everything we do. How has he muddled the message? Let me make

:25:00.:25:04.

the point. He places a great deal of emphasis on the last of those

:25:05.:25:07.

positions, the social justice, the fairness, the leaning against

:25:08.:25:11.

inequality. I think that's absolutely right for a Labour leader

:25:12.:25:16.

to do so. But he also has to balance that with an explanation of how we

:25:17.:25:19.

are going to bring about economic growth, how we are going to create

:25:20.:25:23.

jobs and how we are going to create conditions in Britain for business

:25:24.:25:27.

to grow and thrive. Which he hasn't done yet? Which he has a year to do.

:25:28.:25:32.

Which he hasn't done yet? He has a year to do. When you look at the way

:25:33.:25:35.

people in this country regard politics and there is a profound

:25:36.:25:40.

disenchantment, I'm sure you would agree, a profound disenchantment

:25:41.:25:45.

with politics and politician, do you accept any of the brain for that?

:25:46.:25:48.

Well I think the condition of politics in Britain today is much

:25:49.:25:54.

weaker than it was 25 years ago. I think politicians are trusted less.

:25:55.:25:59.

Before you? Politicians are trusted less, that's true. People vote less,

:26:00.:26:05.

they support the mainstream parties less than they did 25 years ago, and

:26:06.:26:11.

institutions of central and local Government are not held in such high

:26:12.:26:15.

esteem. But the reason for that, I would say, is to do with the

:26:16.:26:20.

profound impact of economic and social changes on our country. And

:26:21.:26:23.

you don't accept any responsibility for that? I'm not quite sure what

:26:24.:26:27.

charge you are levelling at me. The charge is you got to work on the way

:26:28.:26:31.

that politics happened in this country, you put an emphasis upon

:26:32.:26:36.

spin, you put an emphasis on presentation, you buckled down a

:26:37.:26:41.

really tight control on how the party is operated and the

:26:42.:26:45.

consequence of that is people are disenchanted because the stock

:26:46.:26:49.

response has become "you can't trust politicians". I'm not going to

:26:50.:26:55.

apologise to you and anyone else for making the Labour Party more

:26:56.:26:57.

presentable and putting it in a better light. But I never made the

:26:58.:27:01.

mistake of confusing good communications and good policies. To

:27:02.:27:05.

me you can only have good communications flowing from good

:27:06.:27:08.

policies. You have to have a very real sense of what you stand for and

:27:09.:27:11.

what you are going to do for the country. And no number of photo

:27:12.:27:19.

opportunities, or sound bites, however effective and attractive

:27:20.:27:22.

will substitute for that sense of mission that a political party has

:27:23.:27:27.

got to convey to the public. But the appeal of someone like Nigel Farage

:27:28.:27:31.

is that he's not part of a mainstream party, isn't it? I think

:27:32.:27:39.

it is. Because you have a Government which isn't popular and a position

:27:40.:27:44.

which is not strong enough. For the reasons that I have expressed for

:27:45.:27:47.

which I believe the opposition has a year to put right. So Ian though

:27:48.:27:53.

many of the people who voted for UKIP the other week, polls

:27:54.:27:59.

subsequently say they neither like or agree with UKIP, and nonetheless

:28:00.:28:03.

voted for Nigel Farage in order to send a message to the main parties.

:28:04.:28:06.

It is one they have to receive and respond to. How much do you think

:28:07.:28:11.

that the public opposition to politics, politicians, the political

:28:12.:28:15.

process, is to do with the fact that your friends in Government took us

:28:16.:28:25.

into that war in Iraq? I think Iraq does haunt British politics. It is

:28:26.:28:30.

not yet behind us, and I know that many people in the country believe

:28:31.:28:35.

that when the invasion and occupation of Iraq took place, some

:28:36.:28:41.

how the gates of hell were raised to release all that civil strive and

:28:42.:28:45.

all that carnage. I know that there are people who believe that we are

:28:46.:28:51.

sewing at what we reaped. I don't happen to believe it is as simple as

:28:52.:28:55.

that. As a Labour member of parliament, who followed his

:28:56.:28:59.

Government's lead at the time and voted for it, I'm not now going to

:29:00.:29:04.

join Tony Blair's chorus of critics. So you still think it was the right

:29:05.:29:10.

decision? I think that on reflection you could judge that it was a

:29:11.:29:13.

mistake. But this is the crucial point I would make to you, if it was

:29:14.:29:20.

a mistake it was a mistake honestly made. I do not believe, I do not

:29:21.:29:24.

believe that either Tony Blair or the Government as a whole, as some

:29:25.:29:28.

people claim, took the country to war on a lie. I think that's

:29:29.:29:34.

unacceptable and I don't think it is true. Tony Blair was saying even

:29:35.:29:38.

this week that it was still the right thing to do. Do you think he

:29:39.:29:44.

has gone a bit nuts? No I don't think he has gone a bit nuts. I

:29:45.:29:48.

think he's fully entitled to defend his position. I also happen to think

:29:49.:29:52.

he's right to say that where as 25 years ago, when you started on this

:29:53.:29:59.

programme, we had the sort of relative certainties of the Cold War

:30:00.:30:05.

to deal with, we now have the terrible uncertainties of Jihadism,

:30:06.:30:10.

of radical Islam, he is right to point up the dangers of that, and

:30:11.:30:15.

he's right to galvanise and mobilise people to take the action, to adopt

:30:16.:30:19.

the policies to deal with it. Peter Mandelson thank you very much. Now,

:30:20.:30:24.

time for the periodic delight of an interview with the Mayor of London,

:30:25.:30:28.

Boris Johnson. These occasions have a habit of veering from the

:30:29.:30:32.

pedestrian to the extraterrestrial. This time we thought we would jump

:30:33.:30:36.

in part way through on a bicycle, the I a parent pretext was a

:30:37.:30:41.

discussion about cycling in London. Some idiot, I foremeet if it was me

:30:42.:30:46.

or a producer decided to do it on a tandem. Due to cuts the BBC has

:30:47.:30:51.

downsized its fleet, and the only one we could get hold of was

:30:52.:30:56.

manufactured some time before the dinosaurs were wiped out. Jeremy. I

:30:57.:31:03.

have got this wonderful vehicle. Have you ever ridden one of these?

:31:04.:31:07.

No I haven't. Not since I was a child. I think the chances of

:31:08.:31:12.

staying upright are slim? Not since I was a child. That is fantastic.

:31:13.:31:17.

Look at that. I know you want to go on the front, let's have a practice

:31:18.:31:23.

round here first? We better do this. Are we sured for this insured for

:31:24.:31:30.

this? I wouldn't have thought so. I thought with the safer cycling

:31:31.:31:33.

initiative we wouldn't have to think about that? Stand still, I don't

:31:34.:31:41.

want to knock it over. Crikey Moses. I don't know what that is, the

:31:42.:31:45.

camera. I have just kicked that. Ready, steady go. Christ, this is a

:31:46.:31:51.

nightmare! Are you sure about this old man. You are steering. I am

:31:52.:31:56.

steering. I hope. Watch out, watch out. Is your sadd all right, you see

:31:57.:32:03.

that twists. I see, yeah, yeah. Is that meant to twist. Maybe you have

:32:04.:32:09.

a sideways bottom Boris. Have you got any brakes Boris? No hardly,

:32:10.:32:14.

brilliant, keep going. It is your leadership Boris. I feel it is going

:32:15.:32:21.

well, oops! This is the most stupid assignment, I have done warzones

:32:22.:32:26.

that are easier than this! I did this as a special favour to you

:32:27.:32:30.

because I care about you so much Jeremy, you are a landmark of our

:32:31.:32:36.

culture and I wanted to show you how delightful it is to cycle in London.

:32:37.:32:41.

It is not delightful to cycle in London, it is a bloody nightmare?

:32:42.:32:45.

This is I must say the most difficult machine I have tried to

:32:46.:32:48.

cycle on. Newsnight pro-Kurd this. This is like being the back half of

:32:49.:32:54.

a pantomime horse? It is. Crikey. Well done, you are doing good. This

:32:55.:32:59.

is death. Don't give up now! Good afternoon. People screaming "there's

:33:00.:33:06.

Boris" does it happen a lot? A lot. Normally they shout "you Tory

:33:07.:33:13.

tosser"! Watch out, there is a Banksy. It is a real Banksy!

:33:14.:33:21.

Preserved culture. Jesus Christ there's the police. I'll do the

:33:22.:33:25.

talking, I'll do the talking, all right. You leave it to me. I have

:33:26.:33:37.

been here before! Good afternoon! Good afternoon. OK. I looked at the

:33:38.:33:47.

figures earlier, there is nearly 5,000 people killed on, or injured

:33:48.:33:51.

on bicycles sorry, every year? The total number of serious injuries was

:33:52.:34:00.

457 last year. And the number of those killed was exactly the same,

:34:01.:34:04.

even though cycling continues to rise. Good afternoon. Where are you

:34:05.:34:10.

on helmets Boris? # Rain drops keep falling on my head

:34:11.:34:19.

# Dee-dee-de-de. Where are you on helmets? I'm pro. Didn't you hear

:34:20.:34:24.

the neurosurgeon say the other day? I'm not a mandatory helmet user, I

:34:25.:34:29.

don't believe they should be compulsory, but I wear one, I

:34:30.:34:34.

generally wear one. We are getting off here. Full marks. Well done.

:34:35.:34:40.

Smash it up a bit more, come on. Thanks, sorry. It is a horrible

:34:41.:34:45.

bike, isn't it? It is a real bastard isn't it! Boris I would like to ask

:34:46.:34:51.

you why the Barclays bike scheme has been such a failure? What do you

:34:52.:34:57.

mean. It is such a howling success. Why are they giving up sponsoring

:34:58.:35:03.

it? Just so we get some clarity on that, it is the most successful bike

:35:04.:35:08.

hire scheme in the world. The bikes are rubbish and the company

:35:09.:35:14.

sponsoring it are giving it up? The bikes are beautiful. They are

:35:15.:35:18.

lumbering, uncomfortable? Compared to that thing it is the Rolls-Royce.

:35:19.:35:24.

Compared to a 1901 tandem they are. Isn't the real problem here is they

:35:25.:35:31.

are known not as Barclays banks, but Boris bikes, which is a misnomer,

:35:32.:35:36.

because it wasn't your idea? In fact it was the bicycle was invented, or

:35:37.:35:43.

I think the metal... We don't want the history of bloody bicycles?

:35:44.:35:51.

Dennis Johnson! Was he an, ancestor of yours? I claim without much

:35:52.:36:07.

authenticate proof. The hard is Shard is there, what do you make of

:36:08.:36:12.

it? It looks like a cocktail stick with a pickled onion. It is

:36:13.:36:18.

foreign-owned? I think actually you will find it is... It is a monument

:36:19.:36:23.

of vainity? It is filling up and monument to confidence in the London

:36:24.:36:27.

economy. How many Londoners are living in that building? In that

:36:28.:36:31.

building so far not a lot. But I can tell you that in London as a whole,

:36:32.:36:39.

by volume sales to foreigners, including the Irish, by the way and

:36:40.:36:43.

all other EU nationals are only running at 6%. The issue for London

:36:44.:36:50.

now is how do we make sure that this sense of, that we don't encourage or

:36:51.:36:56.

have any more of this sense of he is strangement between London and the

:36:57.:36:59.

rest of the UK, because people feel that London is incredibly

:37:00.:37:03.

successful. It is a separate country isn't? It isn't, it is absolutely

:37:04.:37:09.

integral to the whole of the economy of the UK. To give you one example,

:37:10.:37:14.

tourism which generates about ?19 billion for the UK economy, 63% of

:37:15.:37:20.

all tourists to Britain come to London first. What I'm trying to get

:37:21.:37:24.

over to you is what is good for London is good for the whole of the

:37:25.:37:28.

UK economy. Do you want to cycle back to City Hall? This is Jeremy's

:37:29.:37:33.

valedictory programme. I want to say on behalf of Jeremy's many, many

:37:34.:37:37.

admirers that there will be a lot of people who are very sad to see him

:37:38.:37:41.

go. He has kept the nation entertained, if not always awake!

:37:42.:37:50.

For many, many years, and has been an adornment to broadcasting. That

:37:51.:37:54.

is quite enough from you Boris, come on. Bloody hell Boris this is a

:37:55.:38:02.

nightmare. Watch out team, watch out. OK, I'm following you, with gut

:38:03.:38:07.

and determination Jeremy, here we go. We're on the wrong side of the

:38:08.:38:13.

road. No, it is a one way street. I have Mr Paxman on the back I have to

:38:14.:38:18.

take exceptional care. I'm carrying the last remaining one-nation

:38:19.:38:23.

Conservative in the BBC. It is a precious cargo. You have to watch

:38:24.:38:29.

out for aggressive drivers. Ease off a bit, that is good, well done.

:38:30.:38:34.

Don't take your hand over Boris, don't wave, don't do anything silly.

:38:35.:38:38.

That's good, we need the money shot, we will crash into this bolard! I

:38:39.:38:46.

think it was your idea. Right turn here Jeremy, right turn. OK. Good

:38:47.:38:55.

evening, hello. Good evening. Here we go! Well done. Well that was

:38:56.:39:04.

Boris Johnson. Now Michael Howard, did you? No Jeremy I didn't, but

:39:05.:39:10.

feel free to ask another 11 times. No that is fine, thank you very

:39:11.:39:15.

much. Moving on he can land expects, the country's footballers must live

:39:16.:39:20.

their World Cup match against Uruguay tomorrow or return early

:39:21.:39:25.

from Brazil. Easier said than done, the country has a population,

:39:26.:39:29.

although only a bit bigger than Greater Manchester, yet it has won

:39:30.:39:33.

the World Cup twice, once more than England have managed. Their squad

:39:34.:39:37.

includes Luis Suarez, the Liverpool striker was Player of the Year in

:39:38.:39:42.

the Premier League although he has also a less glittering reputation

:39:43.:39:51.

for biting lumps out of opponents. This piece contains some flash

:39:52.:40:10.

photographyer It is not quite World Cup fever,

:40:11.:40:17.

World Cup bit of a high temperature more like. It is not that the people

:40:18.:40:23.

are indifferent, far from it. But like English fans they have seen

:40:24.:40:27.

their team lose the opening match of the tournament. Tomorrow is do or

:40:28.:40:33.

die. A lot rests on Liverpool's Luis Suarez. Gifted but controversial. He

:40:34.:40:41.

seems to embody the national football philosophy, "guts,

:40:42.:40:47.

ferocity, fighting spirit". Newsnight dropped in on a typical

:40:48.:40:50.

office to gauge the mood. This ad for a finance company revels

:40:51.:41:07.

in Suarez's bad boy image. His hypercompetitiveness, even his habit

:41:08.:41:15.

of diving. Some people are on the pitch, they think it's finito! The

:41:16.:41:25.

signature Uruguayan combo of guile and grit has served the country

:41:26.:41:28.

well. The team won the first-ever World Cup on home soil back in 1930,

:41:29.:41:35.

beating Argentina. The old centinary stadium has seen better days. You

:41:36.:41:47.

see the replica of the jewels JulesRemet. The man who tends the

:41:48.:41:55.

honours here, he shares a name with the England skipper. 15-times the

:41:56.:42:01.

American cup, two Olympic Games, two World Cups, I can't explain. It is a

:42:02.:42:10.

miracle. Football is just your life. We asked a young sports analyst to

:42:11.:42:13.

account for this success in a country of just over three million

:42:14.:42:18.

people. It is like a religion we have, it is a feeling we have since

:42:19.:42:24.

the very, very little kids. We are born with football. I mean the first

:42:25.:42:31.

gift you got when you are a boy is a ball. Yes, these are the deceptively

:42:32.:42:39.

charmings to the who -- tots who grow up to put their opponents on

:42:40.:42:44.

the back foot. At four or five they are encouraged to play for fun, at

:42:45.:42:49.

least at first. This football nursery produced a certain Suarez L,

:42:50.:42:53.

and this is the man who discovered him. What was it about him that made

:42:54.:43:00.

him special? TRANSLATION: He was fast, very fast, he scored a lot of

:43:01.:43:03.

goals and would dribble past everyone and then score. How did you

:43:04.:43:12.

help Suarez develop? I taught him how to dribble and pass the ball to

:43:13.:43:15.

his team-mates. Players have to learn to pass to each other. In the

:43:16.:43:19.

beginning he was a bit too individual, but as he went through

:43:20.:43:25.

the system he grew as a player. You weren't responsible for teaching him

:43:26.:43:29.

the biting as well were you? No, no, no. The training ground of Uruguay's

:43:30.:43:38.

top club, where Suarez came as a teenager, it is spartan by the

:43:39.:43:42.

standards that players or Chelsea at Manchester City are used to. But for

:43:43.:43:46.

a time it was home for the rookie. How often have you heard it said of

:43:47.:43:51.

some future superstar of the game that he lived, ate and slept

:43:52.:43:54.

football. That was pretty much literally the case for the young

:43:55.:44:01.

Luis Suarez, here in his digs at the club, he could tuck up and dream of

:44:02.:44:07.

international star dem beneath his team's own coverlet. As well as

:44:08.:44:12.

Suarez's huge talent, there were discipline issues. It is claimed he

:44:13.:44:17.

once head butted a referee. TRANSLATION: It is not really like

:44:18.:44:22.

that, he burst out from between two or three players and collided with

:44:23.:44:25.

the referee head on. While you could say he was a bit wound up about the

:44:26.:44:28.

way the match was going, the actual collision was just an accident. At

:44:29.:44:34.

all events Suarez was given a red card. Perhaps only in Uruguay could

:44:35.:44:39.

a youthful ban like that be linked to a gunman attempting a hit on

:44:40.:44:46.

investigative journalist, there is no suggestion that Luis Suarez

:44:47.:44:54.

himself was involved in any crime. TRANSLATION: This incident resulted

:44:55.:44:58.

in the referee making a formal complaint with his union and the

:44:59.:45:02.

Uraguayan Football Association. Because of this the President of

:45:03.:45:06.

Uruguayan youth football tried to cover up Suarez's behaviour. 11 days

:45:07.:45:11.

after this complaint I was shot on my doorstep, this whole episode was

:45:12.:45:16.

orchestrated by the President of Uraguayan youth football who wanted

:45:17.:45:19.

to protect Suarez at that time. The hit man that was contracted was made

:45:20.:45:25.

to kill me. But he was remorseful at the last moment. When he pointed his

:45:26.:45:30.

gun at my head he changed his mind and shot me in the leg. The gunman

:45:31.:45:35.

was convicted and sent to prison over the failed hit, as was the

:45:36.:45:44.

soccer official who paid for it. To quote Bill Shankley's old addage, in

:45:45.:45:50.

Uruguay football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important

:45:51.:45:58.

than that. What of the measuring -- mercurial Suarez himself, I tracked

:45:59.:46:06.

him down as a guest in a celebration for the Queen's birthday. There is a

:46:07.:46:10.

great expectation, and I think if the game can be played well, a clean

:46:11.:46:14.

game, and exciting with lots of goals I think whatever the result we

:46:15.:46:17.

will be able to live with it. And you want England to win? I want

:46:18.:46:21.

England to win. You are allowed to say that? I don't know if I I am,

:46:22.:46:27.

but I want England to win. Soon the talking will stop about who is the

:46:28.:46:34.

best team on paper or cardboard. And once glittering careers may enter a

:46:35.:46:37.

new phase. That's it, in the tradition of

:46:38.:46:41.

deranged news anchors I ought to ask you all to go to your windows throw

:46:42.:46:45.

them up and scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any

:46:46.:46:51.

more", this is England so I will say thank you for watching Newsnight, I

:46:52.:46:55.

hope you continue to enjoy it, good night and goodbye.

:46:56.:47:01.

# I'd like to build # The world a home

:47:02.:47:05.

# And furnish it with love # Grow apple trees

:47:06.:47:09.

# And money bees # And snow white

:47:10.:47:13.

# Turtle doves # I'd like to teach the world to

:47:14.:47:17.

sing # In perfect harmony

:47:18.:47:23.

# I'd like to hold it in my arms # And keep it company

:47:24.:47:30.

# I'd like to see the world for once # All standing hand in hand

:47:31.:47:37.

# And hear them echo through the hills

:47:38.:47:38.

# For peace throughout the Tomorrow's weather more of the same,

:47:39.:47:51.

I don't know why they make such a fuss about it.

:47:52.:47:56.

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