Browse content similar to 15/03/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome to Tuesday in parliament, our look at the best | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
of the day in the Commons and the Lords. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
On this programme, President Putin announces a withdrawal of Russian | 0:00:20 | 0:00:24 | |
forces from Syria. | 0:00:24 | 0:00:26 | |
The news gets a cautious welcome from MPs. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:29 | |
It needs to be carried through, in particular, | 0:00:29 | 0:00:36 | |
if it is going to support the ceasefire and de-escalate | 0:00:36 | 0:00:38 | |
tensions. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:39 | |
This is not a recipe for enhancing stability and predictability | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
on the international scene. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:43 | |
Infringement of liberty? | 0:00:43 | 0:00:44 | |
Or sensible surveillance? | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
MPs debate the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:48 | |
An internet connection record is a record of what internet | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
services a device or a person has connected to, not every web page | 0:00:51 | 0:00:54 | |
they have visited. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:59 | |
MPs hear powerful evidence about how meningitis can strike a child. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:06 | |
From my son showing his first symptom of being sick at 6.30am | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
on the morning, this was 4.30pm on the teatime he lost | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
consciousness that quick. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:21 | |
But first, the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, has said Russia | 0:01:21 | 0:01:23 | |
should be judged by actions not words in the wake of the surprise | 0:01:23 | 0:01:27 | |
announcement by President Putin of a withdraw of Russian | 0:01:27 | 0:01:29 | |
forces from Syria. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:30 | |
Russian military pictures showed a group of Russian fighter aircraft | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
taking off from an air base in Syria and apparently returning home. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
The Russian military campaign in Syria had begun back in September | 0:01:35 | 0:01:40 | |
and was aimed at bolstering the position of the Syrian | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
President, Bashar al-Assad. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:45 | |
Following President Putin's announcement on Monday evening, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:50 | |
Russia's Defence Ministry said some air strikes will continue | 0:01:50 | 0:01:52 | |
in the country. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
In the Commons, the Foreign Secretary said President Putin's | 0:01:55 | 0:01:57 | |
motives were unknowable. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:01 | |
We do not yet have any independent evidence to verify Russia's claims | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
that military withdrawals have already begun. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
We are monitoring developments closely. | 0:02:06 | 0:02:11 | |
It will be important to judge Russia by its actions. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:17 | |
It is worth remembering that Russia announced withdrawal of forces | 0:02:17 | 0:02:20 | |
in Ukraine which later turned out merely to be routine | 0:02:20 | 0:02:22 | |
rotation of forces. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:25 | |
Now is the time for all parties to focus on political negotiations | 0:02:25 | 0:02:31 | |
which resumed yesterday in Geneva. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:35 | |
Because only a political transition away from Assad's rule, | 0:02:35 | 0:02:40 | |
to a Government representative of all Syrians, will deliver | 0:02:40 | 0:02:44 | |
the peace Syrians so desperately need and so ardently desire. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:48 | |
Yesterday's announcement of the withdrawal of Russian forces | 0:02:48 | 0:02:52 | |
will be cautiously welcomed by all of us but I agree | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
with the Foreign Secretary that it needs to be carried through, | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
in particular, if it is going to support the ceasefire | 0:02:58 | 0:03:01 | |
and de-escalate tensions. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
Does he agree that a full withdrawal would improve the confidence | 0:03:03 | 0:03:06 | |
of opposition forces in the ceasefire and help to ensure | 0:03:06 | 0:03:08 | |
their full participation in the peace process? | 0:03:08 | 0:03:13 | |
The intervention by Russia in Syria was a surprise to the West and this | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
withdrawal, if it's genuine, is also a surprise. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:23 | |
Russia's interventions have been unhelpful, but influential. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:27 | |
Can my right honourable friend advise me what steps we can | 0:03:27 | 0:03:31 | |
and we are taking with our allies to stop Russia setting | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
the agenda in Syria? | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
Unfortunately, Russia is a state in which all power is concentrated | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
in the hands of one man. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:40 | |
There is not even a politbureau anymore. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
A single man. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
Decisions are made, apparently, arbitrarily, without any advance | 0:03:46 | 0:03:51 | |
signalling and as we are now seeing can be unmade just as quickly. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:56 | |
This is not a recipe for enhancing stability and predictability | 0:03:56 | 0:03:58 | |
on the international scene. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:02 | |
It makes the world a more dangerous place, not a less dangerous place. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:06 | |
In seeking further clarity on this deeply cynical announcement, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:15 | |
can he, or his US allies, clarify if the Russian Government | 0:04:15 | 0:04:19 | |
have set out any conditions linked to their withdrawal | 0:04:19 | 0:04:23 | |
that would negatively impact on the political negotiations? | 0:04:23 | 0:04:25 | |
And given the tens of thousands of incredibly vulnerable Syrians | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
we know exist up and down the country is it not time to look | 0:04:28 | 0:04:31 | |
again at a NATO-backed no bombing zone particularly along the border | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
with Turkey to protect civilians? | 0:04:34 | 0:04:35 | |
The actual threat to the peace process comes from across the border | 0:04:35 | 0:04:39 | |
in Turkey which is no longer led by a constructive and rationale | 0:04:39 | 0:04:44 | |
partner in the process and the actions of President Erdogan | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
should be giving all of us the gravest concern as he presides | 0:04:48 | 0:04:55 | |
over a disintegrating democracy and a war on part of his own people. | 0:04:55 | 0:05:00 | |
It is almost five years to the day since the uprising against Assad. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
There have been hundreds of thousands of people killed, | 0:05:03 | 0:05:05 | |
11 million displaced, 80% of Syria's children have been | 0:05:05 | 0:05:09 | |
damaged by the civil conflict. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:13 | |
The House debated these issues two weeks ago, | 0:05:13 | 0:05:15 | |
there was a huge amount of scepticism across the chamber | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
about the ceasefire. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
The ceasefire, although there have been significant breaches, | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
has resulted in a huge diminution of violence. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:25 | |
It is the only ceasefire we have got. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
Following on from the question from the chairman of | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
the Select Committee, is it not the most credible | 0:05:31 | 0:05:38 | |
explanation for the Russian announcement, is it's | 0:05:38 | 0:05:39 | |
going to pressurise the Assad regime into taking a more flexible attitude | 0:05:39 | 0:05:42 | |
in the peace talks? | 0:05:42 | 0:05:44 | |
Given Russia's past history over the last 30 years of changing horses | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
at the last moment in order to seek a different outcome would he now be | 0:05:47 | 0:05:50 | |
advising President Assad to double his bodyguard? | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
Well, the relationship between President Assad | 0:05:52 | 0:05:55 | |
and President Putin is a subject of great speculation among | 0:05:55 | 0:06:05 | |
colleagues on the ISSG circuit I can tell my honourable friend but I am | 0:06:11 | 0:06:14 | |
clear that the situation is the same as it has always been and I have | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
said it in this House before. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:19 | |
President Putin could have ended all this years ago by a single phone | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
call to President Assad offering him some fraternal advice | 0:06:22 | 0:06:24 | |
about his future health and well-being. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:28 | |
Philip Hammond. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
The Russian President's announcement of a military withdrawal was also | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
looked at in the House of Lords. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:43 | |
My Lords, isn't it necessary to retain a sense of realism | 0:06:43 | 0:06:53 | |
about these matters, not least because Mr Putin has | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
achieved all of his strategic objectives? | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
He managed to buttress the Assad regime, at least for the moment, | 0:06:58 | 0:07:00 | |
as has already been pointed out, he has retained the military base | 0:07:00 | 0:07:03 | |
at Latakia and the Port of Tasis and there can be no settlement | 0:07:03 | 0:07:06 | |
of the Syrian question without the endorsement of Russia. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
It may not be game set and match to Mr Putin, | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
but it's most certainly game and set. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:16 | |
My Lords, I can only agree with a great deal of what the noble | 0:07:16 | 0:07:20 | |
Lord has said. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:26 | |
But one cannot at the same time help observing that Russia's stated aims | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
and its actions in Syria have been at odds with one another and it | 0:07:29 | 0:07:39 | |
in a stronger position or a weaker position. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
The main opposition parties have refused to give their backing | 0:07:45 | 0:07:47 | |
to new surveillance powers for the security services, | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
unless the Government makes some substantial changes. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:56 | |
Labour said the investigatory powers bill had significant weaknesses, | 0:07:56 | 0:08:04 | |
while the SNP condemned one measure as fantastically intrusive. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:08 | |
But the Home Secretary, Theresa May, called the Bill world leading | 0:08:08 | 0:08:10 | |
legislation, which, for the first time, ensured that judges approved | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
interception warrants signed by ministers. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
And Mrs May said that thanks to the numerous reports | 0:08:17 | 0:08:19 | |
and inquiries, the original Bill had been much improved. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:23 | |
Today terrorists and criminals are operating online with a reach | 0:08:23 | 0:08:26 | |
and scale that never existed before. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
They're exploiting the technological benefits of the modern age | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
for their own twisted ends and they will continue to do | 0:08:31 | 0:08:34 | |
so as long as it gives them a perceived advantage. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:37 | |
We must ensure that those charged with keeping us safe are able | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
to keep pace. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:47 | |
She may have seen a letter in today's Guardian from a large | 0:08:47 | 0:08:49 | |
number of lawyers which suggested that this legislation was intended | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
to give generalised access to electronic communications content. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:56 | |
Does she agree with me that that is the very thing which this | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
bill does not actually do at all? | 0:08:59 | 0:09:04 | |
And that the double lock mechanism is there as an assurance | 0:09:04 | 0:09:06 | |
that it doesn't happen? | 0:09:06 | 0:09:07 | |
My right honourable friend is absolutely right. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
The point about this bill is that it will only be possible to access, | 0:09:09 | 0:09:16 | |
to intercept communications under this dual authority, | 0:09:16 | 0:09:21 | |
this double lock put into place and it is not the case | 0:09:21 | 0:09:24 | |
that the authorities are looking for a generalised access | 0:09:24 | 0:09:26 | |
to the contents of communications. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:27 | |
Theresa May turned to one of the more controversial measures. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:31 | |
The only new power in the bill is the ability to require | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
communication service providers to retain internet connection | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
records, when served with a notice issued by the Secretary of State | 0:09:37 | 0:09:40 | |
and after consultation with the provider in question. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:44 | |
And I want to be quite clear and reiterate what I said earlier, | 0:09:44 | 0:09:48 | |
that internet connection records do not provide access to a person's | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
full web browsing history. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:53 | |
An internet connection record is a record of what internet | 0:09:53 | 0:09:59 | |
services a device or a person has connected to, not every web page | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
they have visited. | 0:10:02 | 0:10:03 | |
The time has come for this House to lay politics aside and find that | 0:10:03 | 0:10:08 | |
point of balance between privacy and security in the digital age that | 0:10:08 | 0:10:14 | |
can command broad public support. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
We on these benches have worked hard to uncover the truth about some | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
of the dark chapters in our country's past, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:23 | |
precisely so that we can learn from them and make this country | 0:10:23 | 0:10:26 | |
fairer for those coming after us. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:28 | |
The Scottish National Party cannot give this bill our full support. | 0:10:28 | 0:10:30 | |
We intend to join forces with others in this House to have this bill | 0:10:30 | 0:10:36 | |
as extensively amended as possible. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
Today we shall be abstaining but if the bill is not amended | 0:10:38 | 0:10:41 | |
to our satisfaction, we reserve the right to vote | 0:10:41 | 0:10:44 | |
against it at a later stage. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
The service providers will be required to keep records of every | 0:10:47 | 0:10:54 | |
communication that takes place on their networks and potentially | 0:10:54 | 0:10:56 | |
every click and swipe where there is an exchange of data | 0:10:56 | 0:11:01 | |
between your device and a remote server. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:05 | |
It's the equivalent of in the days of steaming open letters of someone | 0:11:05 | 0:11:09 | |
somewhere keeping every front cover of every envelope across the whole | 0:11:09 | 0:11:19 | |
country in some warehouse somewhere stored for a 12 full months. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
It didn't happen then and it shouldn't happen now. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
The implication of this, Mr Speaker, is very big indeed. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
It is that the Government believes as a matter of principle that every | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
innocent act of communication online must leave a trace for future | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
possible interrogation by the state. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
This bill or something like it is absolutely necessary. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:40 | |
It replaces 66-plus other pieces of statutory mechanism so we have | 0:11:40 | 0:11:44 | |
got to have in the interests of transparency something to put | 0:11:44 | 0:11:48 | |
in its place. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:57 | |
But it grants sweeping powers, in my view, so far, insufficient | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
safeguards, and not enough consideration for privacy. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:01 | |
There is a fundamental challenge at the heart of this legislation | 0:12:01 | 0:12:04 | |
between the idea that it is possible to separate out somebody's contact | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
online from their content. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:08 | |
It's a definition that many of the internet companies have | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
raised and said there is a concern with and it's a definition that | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
as yet this legislation has not grappled with. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:18 | |
Let's have no illusions, this is retaining information | 0:12:18 | 0:12:25 | |
for that period of time of those, the overwhelming majority needless | 0:12:25 | 0:12:27 | |
to say, who are in no way under suspicion of any criminal | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
activity at all. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
Is that desirable? | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
Does anyone really believe that will help the fight against terrorism? | 0:12:34 | 0:12:39 | |
The debate on the Investigatory Powers Bill. | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
and the Lords. | 0:12:44 | 0:12:44 | |
Still to come: | 0:12:44 | 0:12:46 | |
Why do so many people get sent to jail in the United Kingdom? | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
The parents of children affected by meningitis B have told MPs | 0:12:55 | 0:13:00 | |
a vaccine for the disease should be extended to all UK children up | 0:13:00 | 0:13:03 | |
to the age of 11. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
Babies born after July 2015 are routinely given the vaccine. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:11 | |
The Government's Advisory Committee says offering it to more children | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
would not be cost-effective for the NHS. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:19 | |
More than 823,000 people have signed a petition calling | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
for the immunisation programme to be widened. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
It was set up by a father after one of his daughters was refused | 0:13:25 | 0:13:29 | |
the vaccine on the grounds of age. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
What price do you put on a child's life, at the end of the day? | 0:13:32 | 0:13:36 | |
You know, these are children's lives that we're talking about. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
We are a modern country, not a Third World country. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:41 | |
We have got a vaccine out there. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
We should be using it. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:45 | |
I don't see how you can afford not to vaccinate people. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:49 | |
And survivors, you know, have life-changing disabilities | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
that, if you are caring for those children over the course | 0:13:52 | 0:13:57 | |
of a lifetime, the amputations, brain damage... | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
The cost to the Government and to the taxpayer runs | 0:14:00 | 0:14:03 | |
into millions of pounds for those children. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:09 | |
They average around 3 million in a lifetime for each child. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:13 | |
And, I think, a lot of times, they weigh it up against the deaths | 0:14:13 | 0:14:19 | |
of meningitis and they say it is such a small number, | 0:14:19 | 0:14:24 | |
but that is survivors. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:25 | |
Can I just ask how this is monitored? | 0:14:25 | 0:14:27 | |
There is only 30 deaths, they are tragic, but there | 0:14:27 | 0:14:30 | |
is 470 survivors. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:31 | |
That is worse because their lives are completely changed and, | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
as a society, we have to support them for the rest of their life. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:39 | |
That has got to be worse, whereas, if you spend ?75, | 0:14:39 | 0:14:41 | |
all that anguish, the heartache, that is all gone, and the Government | 0:14:41 | 0:14:48 | |
will also save millions at the end of the day. | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
And he stressed the need for faster diagnosis. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
If you can get on it quickly then the child gets less damage, | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
because that is really what it comes down to. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
If it is not going to kill instantly, it is going to maim. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:04 | |
It is going to damage. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:05 | |
You never walk away with nothing. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
You're never going to walk away with a scar left by it, | 0:15:07 | 0:15:10 | |
so you could be talking fingers, toes, and if it is left for a long | 0:15:10 | 0:15:15 | |
time, legs, arms... | 0:15:15 | 0:15:17 | |
It is literally time, is what you are losing. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:21 | |
It really equates to what you lose in your life later on, | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
if you keep your life. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:25 | |
So it really is... | 0:15:25 | 0:15:26 | |
Speed is everything. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:28 | |
Mr Burdett also criticised what he said was a "rotating door" | 0:15:28 | 0:15:30 | |
mentality in the NHS which had seen their daughter, | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
Faye, sent home. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
A general antibiotic, it would have slowed it. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:38 | |
It would have given her a chance. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
But she did not even give her anything. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:42 | |
That is where it falls apart. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:46 | |
Like you say, even if we had gone back at 1am, and she would have | 0:15:46 | 0:15:49 | |
already had a dose of antibiotics, it would have given her another | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
small chance, but it was missed. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
That opportunity was missed. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
And, I mean, for us, and certainly for me, | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
you can never forget that. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
Cos them seven hours, we basically sat with her | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
while she was getting worse. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
And, as far as we were concerned, three doctors had looked | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
at her and we'd been sent home. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:10 | |
A former rugby star was among the witnesses - Matt | 0:16:10 | 0:16:12 | |
Dawson's son survived. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
Sammy went to Chelsea and Westminster and, | 0:16:15 | 0:16:19 | |
because he had a strain of W135, which is a very | 0:16:19 | 0:16:25 | |
rare strain, indeed... | 0:16:25 | 0:16:30 | |
But it was obvious it was meningitis, but they couldn't | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
diagnose it as meningitis, but they dealt with it | 0:16:33 | 0:16:36 | |
there and then as if it was, so, I mean, along those lines, | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
and it could well have been the difference. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:46 | |
We were so lucky with Mason. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:48 | |
I mean, obviously, he lost his life, but from the second we walked | 0:16:48 | 0:16:51 | |
through the GP's door, she was brilliant. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:53 | |
"I recognise it as meningitis." | 0:16:53 | 0:16:54 | |
She gave him the antibiotics, but, sadly, from showing his first | 0:16:54 | 0:16:57 | |
symptom of being sick at 6:30am, this was 4:30pm at tea-time, | 0:16:57 | 0:17:02 | |
he lost consciousness. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:03 | |
That was how quick... | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
And I just wanted to highlight the fact that, yeah, | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
the rash is very important, and obviously promote that, but, | 0:17:09 | 0:17:13 | |
my son, from the second became ill until he passed away, | 0:17:13 | 0:17:15 | |
he never had one spot. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:19 | |
Greater awareness of the disease, the witnesses agreed, was crucial. | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
From a parent's perspective, very much, I will put my hand up | 0:17:22 | 0:17:27 | |
as ignorant, I remember holding Sammy's hand | 0:17:27 | 0:17:32 | |
when he was going through all the things that have been discussed | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
already, and it being freezing cold. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:38 | |
Really, really cold, and yet, I'm seeing him sweat. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:45 | |
I just remember it, thinking, "That's really odd." | 0:17:45 | 0:17:47 | |
Whereas, everywhere I read, now, there are the symptoms, | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
because now I am reading it, there are the symptoms | 0:17:50 | 0:17:52 | |
and that is one of them. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:54 | |
You know, that would have been four hours' difference, possibly. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:58 | |
We diagnosed the symptoms to every health professional | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
without realising what we were diagnosing. | 0:18:01 | 0:18:05 | |
You, as parents, were not aware what to look out for? | 0:18:05 | 0:18:07 | |
No. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
No. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:10 | |
We were told that it was meningitis, but she has had a vaccination | 0:18:10 | 0:18:17 | |
but she had had a vaccination for that. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:19 | |
They said, no, we think it is B. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:21 | |
We did not know there was a B. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:23 | |
The debate over meningitis. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:24 | |
The Government has been told by peers it can't tackle | 0:18:24 | 0:18:26 | |
re-offending by prisoners while jails remain overcrowded. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:28 | |
Figures released last week show that the UK has the largest prison | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
population in the European Union. | 0:18:31 | 0:18:34 | |
Asking a question in the Lords about prison reform, | 0:18:34 | 0:18:37 | |
the Lib Dem Lord Beith, former chair of the Commons Justice Committee, | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
said three recent reports had shown how difficult | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
it was for rehabilitation targets to be reached in the light of cuts | 0:18:43 | 0:18:50 | |
in numbers of prison staff. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:56 | |
And isn't it time that ministers began to look, alongside | 0:18:56 | 0:18:58 | |
the rehabilitation policy, at why we imprison a larger | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
proportion of our population than any other western European | 0:19:00 | 0:19:02 | |
country, thus committing huge amounts of taxpayers' money | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
to a system which does not reduce reoffending enough? | 0:19:05 | 0:19:11 | |
The Government is, of course, always anxious to find out why | 0:19:11 | 0:19:13 | |
we are imprisoning so many people. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:17 | |
The imprisoning, of course, done by judges, not by Government. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
However, we believe that the way to reduce the prison population | 0:19:19 | 0:19:23 | |
is to tackle the question of reoffending. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:28 | |
Is it not true that there are simply insufficient staff in our prisons | 0:19:28 | 0:19:33 | |
to escort prisoners, for example, to needed mental health | 0:19:33 | 0:19:37 | |
appointments, or for the classes to which they are supposed to be | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
booked, or, indeed, to the exercise and other facilities that | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
would enable them to go along the way to rehabilitation? | 0:19:44 | 0:19:50 | |
How will that rehabilitation take place? | 0:19:50 | 0:19:52 | |
In the last year, we have recruited 2,250 new prison officers, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:57 | |
a net increase of 440. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:00 | |
We are continuing to recruit at that rate. | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
Is it not right that the reason that sentences are longer | 0:20:03 | 0:20:10 | |
than they have ever been, the inflation, is caused by action | 0:20:10 | 0:20:13 | |
taken by Government and not by judges to impose fixed sentences, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:22 | |
which form rocks on which the rest of sentencing has to accommodate, | 0:20:22 | 0:20:27 | |
and, if that was not the case, sentences would be shorter, | 0:20:27 | 0:20:31 | |
because judges are prevented from imposing the sentences | 0:20:31 | 0:20:36 | |
they otherwise would, by the fixed sentencing | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
policies of the Government at a particular time? | 0:20:39 | 0:20:45 | |
In the eight criminal justice acts which were passed | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
by the Labour Government, there was an extraordinary | 0:20:47 | 0:20:49 | |
inflexibility given to judges, in terms of passing sentences. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:56 | |
That is one of the results of the prison population. | 0:20:56 | 0:20:58 | |
We are endeavouring to give as many resources as we can to the parole | 0:20:58 | 0:21:02 | |
board to make sure when it is safe to release those prisoners | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
they will be released. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:06 | |
Lord Faulks. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:07 | |
"Transparency is the best disinfectant". | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
It's a phrase that's been in common parlance around Westminster | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
in the light of the various scandals over the integrity of MPs and peers, | 0:21:11 | 0:21:17 | |
the most notable one being the expenses scandal of 2009. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:22 | |
The arguments continue over how much transparency there is and how much | 0:21:22 | 0:21:26 | |
there should be on such matters as MPs' second jobs, | 0:21:26 | 0:21:30 | |
and MPs' financial interests. | 0:21:30 | 0:21:33 | |
The Commons Committee on Standards, has been looking into the topic | 0:21:33 | 0:21:36 | |
with the help of three close Westminster watchers. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:42 | |
The latest session focused on the new Code of Conduct for MPs. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:45 | |
In its widest sense, do you think it has really | 0:21:45 | 0:21:47 | |
had any impact? | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
Has it gone any way to solving the problems | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
for which it was intended to address? | 0:21:52 | 0:21:56 | |
I think the code has had a really important impact in terms | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
of the reputation of the UK, both internationally and... | 0:21:59 | 0:22:06 | |
The sort of standard-setting role internationally. | 0:22:06 | 0:22:10 | |
Many parliaments in Europe have adopted codes recently and they look | 0:22:10 | 0:22:13 | |
to the UK as an example. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:15 | |
The public are very clear that there should be a code | 0:22:15 | 0:22:18 | |
of conduct, but they also don't really see it as something | 0:22:18 | 0:22:20 | |
that is there for them to engage with. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
I think there are more... | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
I think there are issues around the code of conduct | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
and what is in it, but I think there are also more profound issues | 0:22:27 | 0:22:31 | |
in our public trust about, for example, public understanding | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
of what Parliament is and what MPs do. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:35 | |
I think there are bigger issues around the public not understanding | 0:22:35 | 0:22:37 | |
the job of an MP and how... | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
And, particularly, the fact that, obviously, different MPs choose | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
to do that job in very different ways. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
Coming back to something that's cropped up time and time again, | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
and that is MPs and second jobs. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:53 | |
There are good arguments on both sides but it seems to revolve around | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
the financial aspects of it. | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
Could I put it to you that we should be thinking broader than that? | 0:22:59 | 0:23:03 | |
It's not the money they're earning, it is what the interest is. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:07 | |
There are various issues where, if you belong | 0:23:07 | 0:23:10 | |
to the Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds, | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
and there is a big issue on a planning application, | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
do you not think we should be looking beyond second jobs, | 0:23:16 | 0:23:23 | |
but maybe into second interests? | 0:23:23 | 0:23:24 | |
I think often the focus is on money, partly because that is quite | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
salacious, but also because, if you are looking at how we address | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
the issue of second jobs, the money is the easiest | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
one to address. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:33 | |
You can either do time, you can do types of job, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
or you can do money, and money is the simplest one | 0:23:36 | 0:23:39 | |
to regulate, so I think often the focus is on the money | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
for those reasons. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:43 | |
I fully accept that it's about much more than just an amount of money | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
that an MP is able to earn. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:48 | |
It's about how much time their constituents feel | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
that their MP is spending on their main job of being an MP, | 0:23:50 | 0:23:53 | |
and any additional work that they're doing. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:57 | |
My perspective is from the House of Lords where, in a sense, | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
we all have second jobs, or most people do, and in the last | 0:24:00 | 0:24:03 | |
five years, particularly, the House has become more and more | 0:24:03 | 0:24:10 | |
sensitive about registering in speeches with the registry | 0:24:10 | 0:24:15 | |
of interest. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:16 | |
All these interests. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:17 | |
Just looking at the current register and declarations of interest, | 0:24:17 | 0:24:22 | |
are there specific changes arising out of what you have just said that | 0:24:22 | 0:24:28 | |
you would like to see? | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
Unlock Democracy, together with Spinwatch, has have been trying | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
to put together a website to bring together all the different | 0:24:36 | 0:24:40 | |
transparency data that the Government already publishes - | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
it is all in the public domain - and publish it in one place. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
We have been finding it a technological nightmare because, | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
while all the information is there, it is all in different formats. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:52 | |
It is all updated at different times. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:54 | |
Often, it is in the digital equivalent of the cupboard | 0:24:54 | 0:24:56 | |
under the stairs. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:57 | |
And it doesn't, in any way, relate to anything else. | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
I think a lot of it is around the usability. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
If I wanted to go and search for a particular company and see | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
which MPs have registered an interest relating to this | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
company, I couldn't do that at the moment. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:12 | |
Or, similarly, if I wanted to search a particular MP's interests over | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
time or, you know, to get usable data, against which you could | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
cross-reference with other things, perhaps with voting records, | 0:25:17 | 0:25:25 | |
that's not possible to do, or at least not without downloading | 0:25:25 | 0:25:29 | |
and collating all of the data yourself. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:33 | |
The latest session of the Standards Committee. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:35 | |
And that's it for this programme. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:36 | |
Do join me for our next daily round-up. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:38 | |
Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye. | 0:25:38 | 0:25:42 |