14/09/2011 BBC News at Ten


14/09/2011

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Tonight at ten: Another surge in unemployment adds

:00:02.:00:06.

to the pressure on the coalition. It's the biggest rise in two years

:00:06.:00:15.

and takes the jobless total to more than 2.5 million. I have been

:00:15.:00:19.

looking for a job for a year and-a- half and I have applied to about

:00:19.:00:23.

100 shops and nobody has had the decency to it replied.

:00:23.:00:25.

questions about the Government's economic strategyas Labour says

:00:26.:00:31.

it's time to change. He's just like all the others, for him

:00:31.:00:37.

unemployment is a price worth paying. The truth is, Mr Speaker,

:00:37.:00:41.

it was the last government that robbed young people of their future

:00:41.:00:44.

by piling up the debt. And all this as the unions announce

:00:44.:00:47.

a day of industrial action over pension reform. We'll be asking how

:00:47.:00:50.

likely it is that ministers will change tack. Also tonight:

:00:50.:00:53.

Dire warnings as European leaders try to save Greece from defaulting

:00:53.:00:58.

on its debts. One of the men who claimed he was

:00:58.:01:01.

held at a travellers' site in Bedfordshire tells us about his

:01:01.:01:10.

experience. It is not your life, it is not your life at all, it is

:01:10.:01:14.

almost like you are incarcerated. In Pakistan, a warning that this

:01:14.:01:16.

year's floods are even worse than last year's.

:01:16.:01:19.

And a 300th birthday gift to St Paul's Cathedral - we report on a

:01:19.:01:29.
:01:29.:01:32.

And on sport, tonight's Champions League matches and it looks like

:01:32.:01:42.
:01:42.:01:52.

The Good evening. The coalition's economic strategy

:01:52.:01:55.

has been tested by another surge in unemployment and the prospect of

:01:55.:02:01.

extensive industrial action later this year. The number of jobless is

:02:01.:02:04.

now more than 2.5 million. Ministers said it was disappointing

:02:04.:02:08.

news. They were also disappointed with the unions' plans for a

:02:08.:02:11.

national day of action on November 30th over reform of public sector

:02:11.:02:18.

pensions. More on that in a moment, but first Hugh Pym reports on the

:02:18.:02:28.
:02:28.:02:28.

For the Chancellor and Number 11 Downing Street, another economic

:02:28.:02:33.

problem has arrived at his front door. And 80,000 increase in the

:02:33.:02:38.

number out of work, the biggest rise since the recession in 2009.

:02:38.:02:42.

Young people are bearing a heavy burden. Unemployment among 16 to 24

:02:42.:02:46.

year-olds has jumped again. These youngsters in Bristol told us of

:02:46.:02:51.

their struggle to find jobs. I have applied -- applied to about 100

:02:51.:02:56.

shops and nobody has replied. has been hard to find one. Every

:02:56.:03:00.

weekend going out and getting turned away and applying for jobs

:03:00.:03:03.

that are available and not getting them. Female unemployment is now

:03:04.:03:07.

the highest in 20 years. This training centre in Nottingham helps

:03:07.:03:13.

women in their search for work. Cheryl was a retail executive but

:03:13.:03:17.

was made redundant and so far she hasn't found anything. At first as

:03:17.:03:22.

a manager, I was looking for a manager position. But now, just

:03:22.:03:26.

because I don't want to be on benefits, I am willing to do a

:03:26.:03:32.

cleaning job or work in a bar or waitress. I am that determined.

:03:32.:03:36.

UK workforce story until now has been public sector job cuts with

:03:36.:03:39.

private sector job creation more than compensated for that, leaving

:03:39.:03:43.

total employment increasing and ministers have been quick to point

:03:43.:03:48.

that out. The latest figures over a three-month period paint a

:03:48.:03:51.

three-month period paint a different picture. Between April

:03:51.:03:54.

and June private-sector employment rose by 41,000, but that was

:03:54.:03:57.

rose by 41,000, but that was outweighed by a plunge of 111,000

:03:57.:04:01.

in the public sector total over the same period. The last six months,

:04:01.:04:07.

the job market has stalled. Six months ago, we saw the financial

:04:07.:04:11.

services sector hiring like nobody's business. Over the summer,

:04:11.:04:15.

there has been this dramatic downturn. The latest jobless

:04:15.:04:18.

figures provoked some furious exchanges across the floor of the

:04:18.:04:24.

House of Commons. For every two jobs being cut from the public

:04:24.:04:29.

sector, less than one group is being created in the private sector.

:04:29.:04:34.

Isn't that the clearest sign yet that his policy just isn't working?

:04:34.:04:37.

This government is reducing the welfare bill and his reforming

:04:37.:04:40.

public sector pensions. If we weren't taking those steps, you

:04:40.:04:44.

would have to make deeper cuts in terms of the rest of the public

:04:44.:04:47.

sector, he would be having even more unemployment in the public

:04:47.:04:51.

sector. Unemployment in Scotland has fallen, the First Minister said

:04:51.:04:54.

this was partly down to a higher spending on big projects like

:04:54.:04:59.

motorways. Jobs going up in Scotland and down and the rest of

:04:59.:05:03.

the UK, we have more capital investment. Trying to spread

:05:03.:05:08.

economic security and confidence as opposed insecurity. That is the

:05:08.:05:14.

Plan B George Osborne should take. But nowhere in the UK are there any

:05:14.:05:18.

signs of a rapid improvement. Indeed, some experts say

:05:18.:05:23.

unemployment could yet reach two point 75 million.

:05:23.:05:26.

As we've heard, millions of public sector workers from as many as 20

:05:26.:05:29.

unions are to be balloted on a national day of industrial action

:05:29.:05:33.

on changes to their pensions. The action is set to take place on

:05:33.:05:35.

November 30th, the day after the Chancellor unveils his autumn

:05:35.:05:38.

statement on the economy. Civil servants, fire-fighters and some

:05:38.:05:40.

teachers could be among those taking part. Our industry

:05:40.:05:49.

correspondent Jon Moylan has the Individually, they are some of the

:05:49.:05:53.

most powerful unions in Britain, but now they are united in a

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dispute that could bring more than 2 million workers out on strike.

:05:59.:06:03.

I'd give formal notice to 9,000 employers that we are now balloting

:06:04.:06:09.

for industrial action. G M B is proud to support not just this

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conference, but then moved straight away to industrial action ballots.

:06:13.:06:17.

We are giving notice of our intention to ballot for industrial

:06:17.:06:23.

action. This will be the biggest trade union mobilisation for a

:06:23.:06:29.

generation. It means that on 30th November, council workers could

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down tools, bins may not be collected, schools could close and

:06:33.:06:38.

essential services could be hit. This level of co-ordination among

:06:38.:06:41.

some main trade unions is relatively rare and it does

:06:41.:06:44.

underline the strength of feeling there is over this pension issue.

:06:44.:06:49.

The row is over plans to cut the cost of public sector pensions by

:06:49.:06:54.

�2.8 billion a year. Unions claim it will mean employees will pay

:06:54.:06:59.

more in contributions and work considerably longer. Only to end up

:06:59.:07:05.

with a smaller payout in the end. It is a toxic combination that Lisa

:07:05.:07:10.

says she can't afford. A teacher, she took part in a strike in June

:07:10.:07:14.

and she says she is prepared to walk out again. People don't go on

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strike just because they feel that it, this is a huge difference to

:07:18.:07:24.

our family. �200 worse off a month. For the government, it is another

:07:24.:07:28.

major headache and it led the Chancellor to criticise union

:07:28.:07:32.

leaders. I think the union bosses are behaving in a deeply

:07:32.:07:35.

irresponsible way. Deeply irresponsible because talks are

:07:35.:07:39.

still going on, deeply irresponsible because at a time

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when the whole world, including Britain, faces a real economic

:07:43.:07:46.

challenge, this will only damage jobs and prosperity for the whole

:07:47.:07:51.

country. The strikes that are coming will be on a different scale

:07:52.:07:54.

to the accents in the summer and it could lead to the public facing

:07:54.:08:01.

some of the most widespread disruption the UK has seen in years.

:08:01.:08:03.

During the day, Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, added his

:08:03.:08:07.

voice to the debate on the economy and called for a new approach by

:08:07.:08:09.

the Chancellor. Our political editor Nick Robinson is in

:08:09.:08:16.

Edinburgh tonight. After today's events, how do you

:08:16.:08:19.

gauge the pressure on the Chancellor for some kind of change

:08:19.:08:26.

of tack? The pressure is huge, but there is pressure he expected from

:08:26.:08:29.

Labour and the nationalists and the trade unions for a change of course.

:08:29.:08:33.

They were always ready in Westminster for that. What they are

:08:33.:08:40.

now facing his pressure that is a very nasty surprise indeed. A much

:08:40.:08:44.

chiller economic wind coming across to the UK. In addition to that,

:08:45.:08:48.

worse employment figures than they expected and the expectation of

:08:48.:08:54.

much lower growth, too. That is the real problem, that is why the First

:08:54.:08:57.

Minister in Scotland has said our a unemployment figures in Scotland

:08:57.:09:02.

are better than in the rest of the UK so why not follow our example,

:09:02.:09:06.

speed up capital spending on projects like roads, try to

:09:06.:09:10.

reassure public servants so they have the confidence to spend money,

:09:10.:09:15.

to which the answer from London is clear. We will do no Plan B that

:09:15.:09:19.

involves spending extra money because that would be, they argue,

:09:19.:09:25.

a plan for bankruptcy. But now the government faces not just a deficit

:09:25.:09:30.

problem, but potentially a gross crisis. That means for all the

:09:30.:09:34.

robust talk in public, behind the scenes in private, a desperate

:09:34.:09:38.

search is going on to find ways to stimulate the economy in a way that

:09:38.:09:44.

won't split the markets. Thank you. The debt crisis is the biggest

:09:45.:09:47.

challenge facing Europe in a generation according to the

:09:47.:09:51.

President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. He

:09:51.:09:54.

told the European Parliament that the problem could be addressed only

:09:54.:09:58.

by the EU becoming more integrated. The leaders of Germany, France and

:09:58.:10:01.

Greece have held talks this evening to discuss ways of helping Greece

:10:01.:10:06.

to honour its debt repayments. Our Europe editor Gavin Hewitt has the

:10:06.:10:16.

President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel set out today to calm

:10:16.:10:20.

markets spooked by fears that Greece might default. They held a

:10:20.:10:26.

25 minute conference call with the Greek leader George Papandreou. We

:10:26.:10:29.

understand that the Greek prime minister said his country was

:10:29.:10:33.

determined to meet its obligations and so qualify for fresh funding.

:10:33.:10:37.

For their part, the leaders of French-owned -- France and Germany

:10:37.:10:41.

said they were convinced Greece belonged in the eurozone but it had

:10:41.:10:46.

to stick to its spending targets. But he is the problem. Every day,

:10:46.:10:51.

Greek workers are protesting, resisting cuts and savings, even

:10:52.:10:56.

tax collectors were on strike this week. So the doubts will remain

:10:56.:11:00.

whether the Greek government can deliver on its promises. So at the

:11:00.:11:03.

European Parliament today there were a stark warnings that Europe

:11:03.:11:09.

could be destroyed by the eurozone crisis. The mood was gloomy. One

:11:09.:11:12.

minister said the European Union would not survive a break-up of the

:11:12.:11:17.

eurozone. We are confronted with the most serious challenge of a

:11:17.:11:21.

generation. It is a fight for what Europe represents in the world.

:11:21.:11:27.

This is a fight for European integration itself. President

:11:27.:11:31.

Carrasso said the answer to the great crisis was more integration.

:11:31.:11:36.

Meanwhile, international pressure is mounting. The US Treasury

:11:36.:11:40.

Secretary weighed in, saying Europe needed to do more. They are

:11:40.:11:44.

absolutely committed and they have the financial capacity and the

:11:45.:11:48.

economic capacity to do what it takes to hold this thing together.

:11:48.:11:52.

They recognise they will have today -- do more, they recognise they

:11:52.:11:56.

have been behind the curve, they recognise it will take more force

:11:56.:12:00.

behind their commitments. If there was a do fault, who holds great

:12:00.:12:05.

public debt? Immediate losses would public debt? Immediate losses would

:12:05.:12:07.

hit Greek banks holding 49 billion euros of group debt. Germany's

:12:07.:12:13.

banks hold 10 billion euros. France is next with an exposure of 9

:12:13.:12:17.

billion. The risk to British banks billion. The risk to British banks

:12:17.:12:21.

is much smaller at 2.2 billion euros. Greece today was given a

:12:21.:12:25.

chance to prove itself, but one of Chancellor Merkel's chart --

:12:25.:12:31.

closest allies insisted a default was still possible. What we have to

:12:31.:12:36.

do is try to avoid it, we have to try to avoid it at least, and when

:12:36.:12:41.

and if it comes it has to be done in a controlled manner. So Europe's

:12:41.:12:44.

two most powerful leaders assured Greece it was still an integral

:12:44.:12:49.

part of the eurozone, but it now has to deliver austerity cuts and

:12:49.:12:55.

reforms. With me now is the BBC's economics

:12:55.:13:01.

editor Stephanie Flanders. Is there any sign at all of some emerging

:13:01.:13:05.

solution to this crisis? In the last few weeks, we have felt we are

:13:05.:13:09.

moving closer to a crunch point in the crisis forced up whether it

:13:09.:13:13.

ever feels like solution is much less clear. On the back of this

:13:13.:13:18.

statement from the Greek government today, the markets in the US rose,

:13:18.:13:21.

they took some cheer from it, even though it did didn't say anything

:13:21.:13:26.

we hadn't heard before. That is because people are thinking the

:13:26.:13:30.

politicians since the urgency and they are focusing on some of the

:13:30.:13:34.

short-term issues which they can resolve even if these long term

:13:34.:13:38.

questions like what it really will look like in the future, whether it

:13:38.:13:43.

has collected debt, or whether it has a more co-ordinated policy,

:13:43.:13:47.

those policies can't be resolved. The more pressing issues are will

:13:47.:13:51.

Greeks default. There is a sense the politicians won't let this

:13:51.:13:55.

happen. And will those holes in the bank balance sheets which have been

:13:55.:13:58.

there over the last three years, and the Americans have been

:13:58.:14:02.

concerned about, will they be field's there is a sense the

:14:02.:14:06.

politicians will do what it takes to fix the short-term problems even

:14:06.:14:10.

if the long-term problems are hanging over the eurozone. Whether

:14:10.:14:12.

investors are right to have that confidence I think as far from

:14:12.:14:22.
:14:22.:14:24.

Two men who claimed they were in effect kept as slaves on a

:14:24.:14:27.

travellers' site in Bedfordshire have been describing their ordeal.

:14:27.:14:31.

The men had spent months at the green acres side but escaped before

:14:31.:14:35.

police raided it at the weekend. They alleged others had been

:14:35.:14:42.

trapped there for years. Alongside the hustle and bustle of

:14:42.:14:45.

tourists and shoppers, people living rough on the streets can

:14:45.:14:48.

often be invisible. According to one man who says he became a

:14:48.:14:53.

virtual slave at the Bedfordshire a travellers' site, here it was all

:14:53.:14:57.

too easy for an alcoholic like him to be picked up. He says he is

:14:57.:15:01.

still too frightened to be identified. If someone offers you

:15:01.:15:05.

�50 a day and as much booze as you want to drink, just for a bit of

:15:05.:15:10.

work, that is happy days. I mean, that is why it is so easy for them

:15:10.:15:14.

to grab you and put you in the van. Once you are in there, they have

:15:14.:15:20.

caught you. That was 2008, before the current investigation. He

:15:20.:15:23.

claims once at the green acres site there was no money, his head was

:15:23.:15:28.

shaved, there was little food and he lived crammed into a horsebox.

:15:28.:15:32.

As I was on the bottom bunk, I usually got kicked in the face to

:15:32.:15:37.

wake up. You get up about 3 o'clock, hustled to get in the van, everyone

:15:37.:15:42.

gets in the van, and we drove for I would say an hour and a half, an

:15:42.:15:45.

hour and 45 minutes, to the site where we were working at. What was

:15:46.:15:51.

the work like? Hard. It was all block paving. Breaking up driveways.

:15:51.:15:55.

He eventually managed to escape and went straight to the police. But he

:15:56.:16:00.

says he was there for eight months. I think people stayed because of

:16:00.:16:04.

fear. Because you saw what was going on right in front of your

:16:04.:16:08.

eyes. You saw that if someone tried to leave, you are going to get

:16:08.:16:14.

beaten up. The police put him on a train back to his brother. He was

:16:14.:16:19.

shocked by what he saw. He had physically been beaten, clearly,

:16:19.:16:26.

numerous times. I mean, his bones and his ribs were all visible, from

:16:26.:16:32.

where he had not eaten properly, hadn't had a diet. His teeth were

:16:32.:16:38.

black, because he has had no nutrition. These are the shirts we

:16:38.:16:43.

were kept in -- the sheds. It is a deeply shocking story that Adam

:16:43.:16:49.

knows only too well. In 2004, he says he, too, was held at green

:16:49.:16:53.

acres. He was promised good pay and instead he found squalor, in what

:16:53.:16:57.

he views now as slavery. I got moved out of the caravan, into a

:16:57.:17:04.

shed, that was sometimes... Sometimes locked, sometimes not,

:17:04.:17:09.

overnight. It was ritually, you were released for work in the

:17:09.:17:14.

morning -- literally. It is not your life at all. It is like you

:17:14.:17:19.

are incarcerated. Both men have since turned their lives around,

:17:19.:17:25.

but say they are still haunted by their experiences at the side.

:17:25.:17:34.

Coming up. Ryan Giggs, wow! We have the main action from the Champions

:17:34.:17:44.

League with both Manchester teams Just over a year after Pakistan's

:17:44.:17:48.

devastating floods which affected a quarter of the population, the

:17:48.:17:51.

authorities in Sindh province are warning that floods this year are

:17:51.:17:55.

even worse. The southern region has been hit by the heaviest monsoon

:17:55.:18:00.

rains in a century. More than 5 million people have already been

:18:00.:18:07.

affected in Sindh. A full 20 ft below these waters

:18:07.:18:13.

were shops and homes. But villages as far as the eye can see, and

:18:13.:18:17.

across southern Pakistan, have totally disappeared. The

:18:17.:18:21.

authorities even at this province say these floods are even worse

:18:21.:18:27.

than last year's massive disaster. We find this family stranded on a

:18:27.:18:34.

bit of high ground. Their homes, gone, most of their livestock,

:18:34.:18:40.

drowned, but they did manage to save a couple of chickens.

:18:40.:18:44.

TRANSLATION: Everyone was in the village, but suddenly the rains

:18:44.:18:48.

came. They all fled during the night and left us. They have now

:18:48.:18:53.

been saved by the army. It says it has rescued 13,000 people buy a

:18:53.:18:58.

boat so far, but fears others are still cut off. The catastrophe is

:18:58.:19:04.

huge, because of last year's flood, we were coping with that. Within

:19:04.:19:08.

the year, we were coping with that kind of damage, and the next floods,

:19:08.:19:17.

they took us. The damage is twofold. In scenes so reminiscent of last

:19:17.:19:21.

year, once people are rested, they are brought to camps like this, but

:19:21.:19:25.

how they are treated then, after having lost their belongings, their

:19:25.:19:29.

homes and in some cases, members of their family, very much depends on

:19:29.:19:33.

luck. At this camp, they have run out of tents and many people are

:19:33.:19:39.

having to sleep in the open, and more rain is still coming. This is

:19:39.:19:44.

where the family ended up, sheltering anywhere they can, and

:19:44.:19:51.

fearing for what the future holds. The former Conservative peer, Lord

:19:51.:19:55.

Hanningfield, has been arrested by detectives investigating expenses

:19:55.:20:00.

claims, when he was leader of Essex County Council. Lord Hanningfield

:20:00.:20:04.

was released from prison just a few days ago after serving a term for

:20:04.:20:08.

fraudulent expense claims at the House of Lords.

:20:08.:20:12.

A Libyan man who claims that British intelligence officers

:20:12.:20:16.

helped send him home to be tortured by Gaddafi's regime, says he wants

:20:16.:20:20.

to give evidence in to the inquiry into Britain's role of the alleged

:20:20.:20:27.

mistreatment of terror suspects. A former member of an Islamist

:20:27.:20:30.

opposition group alleges he was a bit to a secret rendition back in

:20:31.:20:34.

2004. He has been speaking to Andrew Hardie in Tripoli.

:20:34.:20:40.

He spent six years here, in one of Colonel Gaddafi's notorious prisons.

:20:40.:20:43.

An Islamist leader, who says Britain betrayed him, and helped to

:20:43.:20:53.

send him home to be tortured. Today, it still frail, he says he was

:20:53.:20:57.

never a terraced, but while training in Afghanistan to

:20:57.:21:05.

overthrow the Libyan regime, he met some interesting people. I know

:21:05.:21:12.

Osama Bin Laden, I met him the last one -- met him many times. The last

:21:12.:21:19.

one was before 9/11. I discussed with him, that if you want to do

:21:19.:21:23.

something to a European country or American country and that it is not

:21:23.:21:29.

approved. Now, CIA documents discovered here in Tripoli appear

:21:29.:21:39.
:21:39.:21:42.

to show how British intelligence helped arrange for Sami al-Saadi to

:21:42.:21:47.

be spirited back to Libya. When I arrived at the aircraft door, they

:21:47.:21:52.

handcuffed me and my life -- my wife. He said he was tortured for

:21:52.:21:56.

information about Al-Qaeda, information the rest -- the West

:21:56.:22:06.
:22:06.:22:07.

was keen to hear. A British team came to see me. Did you tell them

:22:07.:22:10.

you were being tortured question were it couldn't, because I would

:22:10.:22:16.

be tortured again. I can't say what I want. Britain's Foreign Office

:22:16.:22:19.

says it can't comment on intelligence matters, but it takes

:22:19.:22:25.

such claims very seriously, and an inquiry has been set up. The murky

:22:25.:22:30.

relationship that developed between Colonel Gaddafi in Britain -- and

:22:30.:22:33.

Britain seems unlikely to slip quietly into the history books.

:22:33.:22:39.

Sami al- Saadi Says he plans to take legal action and give evidence

:22:39.:22:47.

in person at the legal inquiry. I feel injustice.

:22:47.:22:54.

And no forgiveness? Maybe later, when we see what they will do.

:22:54.:22:58.

Today, Colonel Gaddafi's jails are empty. The truth about what

:22:58.:23:08.
:23:08.:23:11.

happened here and why is starting Both Manchester clubs have been

:23:11.:23:15.

playing in the group stage of the Champions League tonight.

:23:15.:23:18.

Manchester City marked their return to the competition after a long

:23:18.:23:22.

absence with a draw against Napoli. Manchester United were held 1-1 at

:23:22.:23:26.

Benfica. For Manchester City, there are

:23:26.:23:31.

untold riches have at last bought them entry to an exclusive club, it

:23:31.:23:36.

had been 43 years since they had dined at European football's top

:23:36.:23:40.

table. Their opponents, Napoli, had been outplayed in the first half.

:23:40.:23:48.

In the second, they broke at full tilt. Kolarov, who had his own

:23:48.:23:52.

break in the first half, levelled. The Napoli wall was perhaps one

:23:52.:23:57.

short of a brick. Manchester United, by most accounts, have much the

:23:57.:24:03.

easier group. But they appeared toothless early on to Benfica. The

:24:03.:24:11.

delightful goal was deserved. But the Premier League look youth --

:24:11.:24:18.

perennially youthful Ryan Giggs scored, aged 38. Anders Linda Guard

:24:18.:24:22.

proved just as important, helping his team preserve the draw. A

:24:22.:24:27.

measured start for the Manchester teams, but it is eight months until

:24:27.:24:35.

To mark its 300th anniversary, St Paul's Cathedral has installed an

:24:35.:24:38.

optical installation, which transforms the view of Sir

:24:38.:24:44.

Christopher Wren's Geometric Staircase. The inspiration --

:24:44.:24:51.

installation called Perspectives is designed by a John Pawson as part

:24:51.:24:56.

of the London Design Festival. The dome of St Paul's Cathedral, a

:24:56.:24:59.

site recognise the world over. It is the crowning glory of Sir

:24:59.:25:04.

Christopher Wren's architectural masterpiece. The grandeur of the

:25:04.:25:14.
:25:14.:25:19.

For centuries, artists have been commissioned to produce works for

:25:19.:25:25.

the cathedral. In 1983, Henry Moore made his mother and child sculpture

:25:25.:25:31.

specifically for this I'll location. Recently, St Paul's has started to

:25:31.:25:35.

commission contemporary artists and designers. Antony Gormley installed

:25:35.:25:38.

this piece last year. And here is their latest commission. In the

:25:39.:25:43.

middle of this stainless-steel top is this massive crystal loans,

:25:43.:25:48.

which when you look into it, reflects back Sir Christopher

:25:48.:25:52.

Wren's wonderful Geometric Staircase. The visual effect is

:25:52.:25:56.

heightened by mirror placed in the ceiling. This is a modest,

:25:56.:26:00.

thoughtful work. It is not saying, look at me, it is saying, just look

:26:00.:26:10.

at the space. For me, everything I do as a practical function. This

:26:10.:26:16.

seemed to be oh way of looking at the helix. The way this they're

:26:16.:26:24.

just spirals up. I never tire of it, it is so magical, this stairway.

:26:24.:26:28.

Paul's has been bitten by the contemporary art bug. But why? To

:26:28.:26:33.

appear trendy? To attract more visitors? I don't want a church

:26:33.:26:38.

that is in aspic. We believe in creativity, we believe in

:26:38.:26:41.

conversation with artists. But when we look at the art that comes into

:26:41.:26:46.

the cathedral, we are looking for resonance more than relevance.

:26:46.:26:50.

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