05/06/2014 The Papers

With us a and broadcaster, and Andrew Harrison, columnist with

Esquire magazine. The FT leads with the news that the European Central

Bank has cut the deposit interest rate to below zero in an

unprecedented move to encourage lending. The Telegraph has more on

President Obama stepping into the debate over Scotland's future, while

a photo of a D Day veteran on a Normandy beach dominates the front

page. The same image is The Metro's front page with the simple message,

"thank you". The Guardian has an interview with Jean`Claude Juncker,

the front runner to become the European Commission President, in

which he says he will not beg Britain for the job. An image of a

D`Day veteran dominates The Mail's front page saying the former

servicemen were making a trip back to the beaches of death and

deliverance. Arrested For Having A Fat Kid is the Sun's headline which

claims that the parents of an 11`year`old boy were questioned by

police after their son weighed in at 15 stone The Mirror says police are

examining clothing found near where Madeleine McCann vanished in

Portugal in 2007, for traces of the 3`year`old's DNA. While the

Independent has analysis on the European Central Bank's decision to

lower interest rates in an attempt to get the banks lending. Let's

begin with the Times, which is saying that there is a new battle

are coming down in parachutes, the course,

same as they used to 70 years ago. I was reading as well that in this

particular village there were 300 parachutists who came into this one

village. What an extraordinary sight that must have been. It was the

first village to be liberated in the war, and one of the parachutists was

an 89`year`old. How amazing for him to come back! On his suit it said

tandem student. He was attached to someone else. This image, I think

this wins the battle of the pictures, because it is such an

incredible image. The fields of northern France, the sky, the

colours are beautiful. It also is one British soldier alone, and it

has that poignant resonance with the beginning of the war. I think it is

gorgeous. Potentially award`winning. It is beautiful and very moving. We

will come back to the story, but we will deal with the new battle for

Europe. This is Jean`Claude Juncker saying that he won't beg Britain to

become the new boss of the EU. He doesn't seem to be making the right

comments if he is trying to butter rock Europe, he sounds intolerable.

Perhaps he doesn't get the fact that the recent elections, people across

Europe and the countries that voted have voted to say, please reform

Europe. Here we have someone who sounds like a grumpy old

thinks there is a campaign against him being mounted by the British

media. He is also rambling at his own allies in the party, he doesn't

seem to recognise it is not just Eurosceptics but also pro` Europeans

who want to see reform. There want to see a more responsive European

community. He has quoted here, if they had not capable of making

proposals, I will to the Parliamentary Caucus is. It is

impenetrable bureaucratic language, and it seems to be quite

aggressive. He says that number of the 28 leaders would vote to him.

Maybe they didn't want to vote for him, and instead he marches

through... To be speaking like this, he must feel that the

Then I really rather hope that isn't, because he works for us, not

the other way around. He is saying, you better be ready for a lot more

dirt, well, I'm sorry, if you have a lot more dirt they don't do the job.

It is journalists' jobs to find out what people have been up to. It is

want his neighbours being harassed, does he?

to feel sorry for him, he's making it easy. He is badly in need of a

media training course. There was a BBC reporter who was

chasing him around Parliament, the reporter was

Britain? And he was snapping at him. Go and hide

because that looks terrible, and it looked terrible. And people have

long memories, too. The Daily Mail, special D`Day anniversary edition,

back to the beaches of death and deliverance. The man featured here

is Gordon Smith, who is 90 years old, a former Royal engineer, and

understandably feeling very moved on the speech today. Always a

bittersweet place of these meant to be. They have seen a lot of death,

these poor men. He would have been 19 or 20 when he went, it is

shocking. Our 18, 19, 20 `year`olds would be horrified that they might

be sent into battle, because we haven't had a war for 60 or 70

years. It is rare that a partisan paper like this has what is

effectively a consensus on the front page. We can all agree with this,

recognise the debt we owe to people like these guys. I think it is a

particularly well put together pages well. The weather has done the

photographers an enormous favour, because it looks like a piece of

history. And the break of the weather enabled it to go ahead when

it did. One of my colleagues is fronting the commemorations for us,

and he commented several times today on how many young people are now

really interested in these commemorations. They learn about it

at school, get taken to battlefields, a lot of schools have

already met some of the soldiers that go back. There is a lasting

fascination my nieces and nephews are fascinated with from history,

but also because their dads, people like me and my brothers, we grew up

with war comics and we talked about it with them. It is handed down, and

it is something that all generations can recognise. The reason we are

having Jean`Claude Juncker and people squabbling over what Europe

will look like, is because of all these people who went and fought for

Europe. I wonder what they think of it, if they take an interest in

modern European politics. They would probably hate it, and I wouldn't

blame them. Every so to look back on, 100 years since the outbreak of

the First World War, a lot of that centred later in France. There is a

lot for us to mull over. There are the world wars, and the EU, they are

not separate. How will Europe organise itself and maintain the

peace? I think there is poignancy in the fact that we are seeing the new

battle for Europe, within the EU it is not really a battle but a

squabble between political leaders. This is the real thing. We will go

back to Jean`Claude Juncker, Quetta can't get enough of him, can we? It

is important who effectively runs Europe. `` because we can't get

enough of him. The Guardian, Cameron led opposition, angry broadside. It

is not just David Cameron he is cross with, it doesn't seem to be

pleased with anyone. I don't think he has done an interview with the

Guardian, but he was making these remarks in the interview at the G7

and it was reported by somebody to the Guardian, and I think he would

not have said these things to the Guardian. I sincerely hope. Or, he

needs even more media training. He is a gift to journalists. He is

grumpy, he lashes out verbally at journalists. It is very interesting

that the European Guardian, and the eurosceptic Times, essentially have

the same story. The message is, we don't like the way you are behaving,

you are too high`handed, or we will vote against you. He does seem to

have the patronage of Angela Merkel, and she is someone who carries a

great deal of weight. They must have twisted around, because she seemed a

bit lukewarm for a while, but now she says she does support him. He

may have the patronage now, but I don't know if he will have much

longer if he continues toIs it an opportunity for people who wouldn't

have had a chance before to swoop in and out our `` mount a charm

offensive? Angela Merkel is too well known in Europe. The last guy,

Robbie Pompey, whatever his name was, he kept a very low profile. It

is a low`profile, and they think that Christine Lagarde and some of

the other names who have been mentioned are two high`profile, and

will bring their own corpse. His profile has risen for all the wrong

reasons. One of the key problems is that we don't know who it is who is

running our affairs. Would it be such a bad thing to be able to put a

face, to have a technocrat, perhaps, but at least have the idea of who

they were. Put into a media training course first, because he is the

architect of his downfall. Are you available to help in? I would be no

use, because my mind is made up. The Daily Telegraph, Obama encourages

Scotland not to leave the extraordinary union. He says it has

worked pretty well having Scotland part of the UK. A lot of people

seizing on the use of the word United. I don't think this is Obama

waiting in at all, I think it is an anodyne thing to say. We all like

strong, united things. I'm sure that Obama barely understands Scotland's

relationship with the UK anyway. What he really said was that there

is a referendum coming up, and it is up to the folks of Scotland, which

he did say. Any carried on and said another paragraph about them being

great partners, and he would like them to stay united. I'm

paraphrasing. He didn't say very much, and I don't think... He could

have said less. He could send an awful lot more. Both sides, yes and

no, neither of them have seized upon this as a massive declaration of

intent. I think he was very phlegmatic about it. I think he just

reacted the way you would expect him to react. Alex Salmond picked up on

it and said, yes we can. That is double`edged, because the optimism

of the Obama years failed to do that, I don't know that Alex Salmond

should be drinking a deep draft of that . A very shallow draught, I

think. Show us the front page. This is the one with all the flags. And

89`year`old veteran who took part in the Normandy landings. Those are

thousands and thousands of thank you messages from families in Britain,

which were planted on the beach by the Royal British Legion. Another

beautiful picture. There was another 19`year`old who went off up a hill

to take a very important point overlooking the beach, and he is

using words like, there were skirmishes along the way. I think

these guys were such understated heroes. They were 19 years old, and

so sensible. A radical plan for teenage voting

will see compulsory signups in schools and colleges. Is this the

way to go? Compulsory signups? It is not compulsory voting, it is

compulsory registration. Right. It is a different thing. Personally,

I'm quite persuaded by the idea of compulsory voting for everybody. To

be fined if you don't vote? I think that we have a duty to participate

in a democracy. We have terrible problems with participation at the

moment. But if we have a duty to, don't we also have a right not to

vote? If that is what democracy is? The British are a nation of

individualists. We should probably rebel against saying thou shalt

vote. In Scotland, Alex Salmond has 16 `year`olds. And Labour have come

out saying they would like National 16 `year`olds. Most will probably

vote Labour. That is all we have time for. It is too short, as I

always say. Lovely to have you here, thank you very much for

joining us. Stay with us here on BBC News. Coming up next, it's time for

Sportsday. Welcome to Sportsday. I'm Nick Marshall`McCormack. Alex

Oxlade`Chamberlain says his fingers are crossed he'll recover in time

for England's World Cup opener. Fresh faces for a new England.

Alistair Cook heaps praise on three uncapped players vying for the

chance to play Sri Lanka. And