27/03/2016 The Papers

Hello and welcome to our look at what the morning papers

With me are Martin Bentham, the Home Affairs Editor

for the Evening Standard, and the broadcaster,

Shyama knows us well and has brought her own snacks! Good evening and

thank you for coming in to see us. Let's start with

tomorrow's front pages. The Financial Times writes

that business leaders are warning their investors that

global tax crackdowns The headlines that teachers

are demanding an end to school tests for primary school students saying

the system has an 'exam The Daily Express warns of travel

chaos saying Storm Katie has the potential for a month's worth

of rain to fall on the Bank Holiday The Daily Telegraph headlines

with rifts in the Tory party deepening after accusations

David Cameron is ignoring ministers The Guardian leads with calls

from the Shadow Chancellor to scrap a ?3,000 tax cut for the rich

in which he says shows we're The Mirror covers the death of a

girl who died after being blown away on the bouncy castle. The Daily Mail

covers the same story. The Times carries a warning

from Presidential hopeful Donald Trump that Britain is no

longer safe for Americans to travel The Times, Britain is no longer

safe, Trump warns the presidential contender raises alarm after

Brussels attacks. He's not the only one saying similar things, is he?

Well, I don't one saying similar things, is he?

Well, I don't know. I find all of this very difficult because we are

living in the middle of it and we are just getting on with our own

lives and I don't quite understand why the Americans who're so far over

there, are using us as a pawn in this battle over leadership of the

Republican Party or indeed any other party. To me, this is a bit of a,

you know, it's just old Trump bellowing into the dark again, like

somebody at the other end of the the tunnel and you just get this echo

coming at you and it's just meaningless. I mean really? !

Pakistan is a lot less safe than we are. Libya is a lot less safe than

we are, you know. It's just so ridiculous. Britain is a place and

Europe is a place though that Americans are more likely to travel

to on holiday than in Pakistan say and Libya, aren't they and John

Kerry is saying something similar too? I agree in essence that there

is a risk and we just get on with it and it depends how you define

unsafe. But actually it's not such an outlandish thing for Trump to be

saying because he's echoing what John Kerry said. The US put out a

travel advisory last week saying there was a potential threat across

Europe, to avoid crowded places, which is what Kerry has been saying

here, restaurants could be targeted and all those sorts of things. It

doesn't say that you shouldn't come here and live your lives and

Americans shouldn't come here. They are saying if you do come here,

there is a chance that something bad might happen which is true. Of

course, it's the same as we have to face isn't it. Interesting that none

of the other countries which supply us with still-ones of tourists every

year, Japan, China, are not telling they are people not to travel. I

don't necessarily know that they are. I don't know what other

countries have done. It was the same after 9/11, there was a concern that

people might not want to travel to America because of it and the

message from the States was, this has happened, it's been appalling,

but don't let terrorism stop you travelling. It was a very different

type of attack wasn't it, because it was planes, it was very different,

it was the first time as well and also it broke into the American

infrastructure. These are isolated terrorism incidents we are suffering

at the moment and I sin Searle sigh hope we have no more -- sincerely.

It seems like an overreaction, I think we are being used as a

political tool by Trump and it makes me cross because they are supposed

to be our allies. If they run because one or two allies have

scared them, it worries me that they are our allies. They should still

come here generally and be aware that there is a potential danger at

some points and just get on with it. You mentioned Pakistan, it's on the

front of the Guardian. At least 60 killed after park blast. A lot of

them were children, hundreds injured as well as those who died? Yes, and

this is not the first time this type of thing's happened. Unfortunately

it illustrates a depressing other side or similar side to what's

happened in Brussels, Paris, you know, this intolerance of some

factions of Islamist belief, in this case the Pakistan Taliban have

claimed responsibility who just don't want to tolerate people who

have a different religious view. The Pakistan Taliban also target people

who are getting an education and they shoot bloggers who are 14 years

old. I mean the Pakistan Taliban will basically blow up anyone they

can on any excuse they can. They're intolerant to people who don't have

their view of the world, aren't they? They'll do anything. I think

there's part of... I think there are a lot of people in the UK at the

moment he've sort of got fatigue with all of this really and want to

have a sense of proportion about this. These are - not wanting to be

terrified by these maniacs who are behaving like this - basically

they'll blow up anything and anyone and any excuse and anything that

will make us anxious. I want to feel that I can just go about my business

and if I have the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, I

will manage. Very commendable attitude. That's the Easter Message

actually of peace. Let's think about the peace, you know. The other thing

we should say is, we had the absolute horror of Brussels which

everyone can relate to and see, this number here, at least 60, it's

double more or less and shows the difference. That's the

proportionality debate. Palmyra on the front of the I, the culture

section, what remains of the remains as Isis are driven out of Palmyra

and, two temples have been razed to the ground but apparently there are

still a lot of buildings that apparently are still standing. It's

an important strategic site and a very big significant defeat for the

Islamic state. Ultimately, the sort of things we have seen in Brussels,

Paris and so on, military defeat for them in Iraq and Syria, won't end

that problem immediately or it won't solve it on its own, but clearly I

think while they still control lots of territory in that area, that

threat is going to remain there, causing all the problems it's doing

there and across Europe and so on. So the fact they are being driven

out and back is tremendous news really. Strategecally and

symbolically very important? Really important. I'm very glad Palmyra is

back. I'm sure everyone is, that Palmyra is back. It changes Assad's

bargaining position doesn't it? Yes. Martine, this is like we used to say

in the old days, it will run and run. The FT, interesting story,

Japan's hard up retirees turn to crime for free board and lodging

behind bars. A lot of shoplifting it seems so you can get back into

prison with they'll look after you! It's gone up 70% I think, 70%

occupancy in prisons and the number of people who've offended six times

has risen by 460% in recent times. It's because they are fed and looked

after in prison which is cheaper than looking after themselves. It

reminds me of when I was a reporter at Bow Streets Magistrates Court and

there was a wonderful magistrate Kenneth Barraclough and in those

days if you were a drunk, you were a criminal so they were in all the

time, always at Christmas they would come in, the week before Christmas

and Kenneth Barraclough, he was so wonderful would say, you just want

to go in for Christmas don't you Mr White, OK, seven days, ten days, and

he'd just put them all in and that's effectively what's happening in

Japan. Yes, it's not just about contempt for the law is it, this

story? No, although this is the a mathematical calculation by some

who've suggested they might deliberately be doing it, although

on the serious side, it says here that an awful lot of elderly people

are living alone and the pension rate is poor so actually maybe they

are driven to it. People saying what happens is they leave prison, don't

have money or family and therefore they commit crime because they have

nobody to support them and they are back in again. Maybe it's out of

necessity or they feel driven to it. I don't know why it's funny but it

is. It shouldn't be. Kamikaze pensioners going into Lidles or

whatever they have in Japan. Down the aisle. I wonder if they do? !

The Telegraph says police officers are getting younger. Police want

recruits age 16 for cyber beat. You have to be 18 do you at the moment

to be a police officer and they want the age to be dropped for cell

cuement. They are brilliant in IT and

technology and all the thing about increasing cyber crime. Sexting and

all of that I imagine, in the playground, because they have to

stay at school until they are 18 now anyway so it's confusing. You can go

and do work, become an apprentice. You can also be a voluntary police

cadet can't you. Youth United foundation of which I am a trustee

supports the voluntary police cadet who is do an amazing job of bringing

young disenfranchised youngsters and giving them responsibility and

training them up so this would be a really good thing. I just thought of

that, a great way of using those young people. If you remember, there

was that crime commissioner for Medway, she had the 17-year-old who

got thrown out, Paris Brown or something like that her name was,

thrown out at 17 for having tweeted rude things, but what was very

interesting, she was so representative of 17-year-olds, I

thought that was an inspired move to have a deputy who was 17.

Also there have been some young people who've gone the wrong way

unfortunately and done serious things online, committing scriber

crimes and so on, but again, some of these people are absolutely

brilliantly talented and enlisting their brains in the right direction.

Paying them for their expertise could be a good thing. Yes, police

and intelligence agencies are searching for people who're very

adept in this field. So it's not a daft idea entirely.

You would have to come up with a better uniform I think for

167-year-olds, they are not going to wear the flat jacket thing.

Finally, there's been a revault, we hear, over Easterless chocolate

eggs. How so? What's been happening? A lot of manufacturers or retailers

have been selling eggs without the word Easter apparently and therefore

trying to neutralise, sanitise the whole thing and take any meaning out

of the whole point of Easter. I have to say, I was thinking about this. I

can't remember what it ever did say on an Easter egg. I have one at home

because one of my daughters bought me one but did it say Easter egg. It

depends how long you left the wrapper on it before you started

scoffing it. I'm only thinking of the posh ones, forget about the

little shiny ones, the Cadburys one, you know, but the cellophane, you

know. It's a very good question. Did it say anything? Obviously people

think it would. Did it say smarties egg and there are other available

brands. Maybe it's an old story that's already happened but the

point is the same. Like Christmas cards, people get cross when there

is no mention of Christmas. It's unnecessary isn't it and the whole

point of Easter is that it's Easter for a reason, it's not, if you are

not celebrating it as east, then why bother. Spring. -- Easter. Eating

chocolate is a good enough Weiwei of spending spring. As we have done in

the newsroom. That's it for this hour. Vale that and Martin will be

back at 11. 30. Coming up next, it's Reporters.