13/06/2012

:00:43. > :00:46.Morning folks. This is the Daily Politics.

:00:46. > :00:49.Today's top story: Tensions in the coalition as the

:00:49. > :00:55.Lib Dems say they won't back Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a

:00:55. > :00:58.Commons vote on his handling of Nick Clegg twists the knife and

:00:58. > :01:04.tells the Leveson Inquiry that he has always kept his distance from

:01:04. > :01:07.Rupert Murdoch and other media barons.

:01:07. > :01:10.George Osborne says Germany should stump up to shore up the eurozone,

:01:10. > :01:15.but suggests it may take a Greek exit from the euro to persuade

:01:15. > :01:19.Angela Merkel. And can new alcohol zones stop

:01:19. > :01:25.alcohol fuelled violence? We'll hear from the community campaigner

:01:25. > :01:30.Helen Newlove whose husband Gary was killed by drunken yobs. I work

:01:30. > :01:34.with ten areas across the country who have access to �1 million

:01:34. > :01:42.funding, bringing communities together to drive down anti-social

:01:42. > :01:45.behaviour through problem drinking. All that to come before 1pm. Of

:01:45. > :01:48.course, Prime Minister's Questions at noon. This will be the first one

:01:48. > :01:51.in three weeks. With us for the duration deputy chairman of the

:01:51. > :02:01.Conservative Party Michael Fallon and Labour's Sadiq Khan, the shadow

:02:01. > :02:05.

:02:05. > :02:07.I can't speak. We're also joined by the Lib Dem MP,

:02:07. > :02:12.Jo Swinson. Who has been doing the rounds of other networks this

:02:12. > :02:15.morning! Welcome to the Daily Politics.

:02:15. > :02:20.Let's kick off with the split inside the coalition over the

:02:20. > :02:23.future of Jeremy Hunt. Yes and his handling of the News Corporation

:02:23. > :02:27.bid for BSkyB. Last night the Liberal Democrats announced they

:02:27. > :02:31.would not vote with the Conservatives to back Mr Hunt.

:02:31. > :02:36.Instead, they will abstain lead to go headlines in the papers this

:02:36. > :02:40.morning about a coalition at war. This morning Jeremy Hunt looked

:02:40. > :02:45.relaxed as he left his home in Central London with his bike. There

:02:45. > :02:49.is the little backpack. The Conservative whips are taking

:02:49. > :02:56.the vote seriously by ordering one MP to cut his honeymoon short and

:02:56. > :03:04.to return to Westminster. You may wonder why given that he a two week

:03:04. > :03:11.recess, that he could have had the holiday earlier. Is this an act of

:03:11. > :03:14.Lib Dem trecherry? This is an op opposition day. It is disappointing

:03:14. > :03:17.the Liberal Democrats aren't going to turn up, but that's a matter for

:03:18. > :03:21.them. They want to make clear they are not involved in this argument

:03:21. > :03:25.about News International or the Leveson Inquiry or whatever and it

:03:25. > :03:29.would have been nice to have had them voting with us, but it is

:03:29. > :03:34.understandable. So you are relaxed? They won't back

:03:34. > :03:38.you down when the chips are down? They have backed on us on getting

:03:38. > :03:41.the deficit down and making this a fairer country. Let's be fair to

:03:41. > :03:44.the Liberal Democrats, on these tough decision, they have stood

:03:44. > :03:48.with us shoulder-to-shoulder. This isn't one of the big tough decision.

:03:48. > :03:51.This is a matter of party politics. Labour have chose tonne put a

:03:51. > :03:54.motion down and it is up to the Liberal Democrats to decide whether

:03:54. > :03:59.to take a party political view or not.

:03:59. > :04:02.Solicitor you will still be -- so you will just be as inclined to

:04:02. > :04:11.vote for Lib Dem plans on Lords reform?

:04:11. > :04:16.Well, these are Government plans for Lords reform.

:04:16. > :04:20.It doesn't diminish your enthusiasm? Lords reform is a

:04:20. > :04:23.tricky Bill. It is a tricky issue, but the Government as a whole is

:04:23. > :04:27.committed to bringing forward proposals.

:04:27. > :04:31.Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem policy, you want an independent investigation

:04:31. > :04:35.into Jeremy Hunt's handling of the BSkyB affair, is that right?

:04:35. > :04:38.think that that that would have been the right thing. The Prime

:04:38. > :04:42.Minister is the person who gets to make that decision. It is his

:04:42. > :04:44.decision alone. It is your policy.

:04:44. > :04:49.We think that should have been the decision.

:04:49. > :04:54.Isn't that what the Labour vote would give you? It wouldn't.

:04:54. > :04:57.but they are calling for that. Is that right, they are calling - well,

:04:57. > :05:01.I ask you, do you want an independent investigation? We do.

:05:01. > :05:05.They put a motion down. They want what your policy is, why don't you

:05:05. > :05:10.vote for it? Well, they know that passing their motion doesn't change

:05:10. > :05:14.the decision that has been made. But why not vote for it? Apart from

:05:14. > :05:20.anything else, it is an opportunistic move by a Labour

:05:20. > :05:24.Party who found this viewpoint. When they were in Government, they

:05:24. > :05:27.didn't abide by this code or these suggestions.

:05:27. > :05:31.Your policy is an independent investigation, Labour is putting a

:05:32. > :05:35.motion down calling for an independent investigation. Explain

:05:35. > :05:39.to our viewers why you wouldn't vote for for something that is your

:05:39. > :05:43.party's policy? It is a party political opposition day motion.

:05:43. > :05:48.Voting for that would not make it happen. We've made our views

:05:48. > :05:50.clear... It would change the principle? We have made our views

:05:50. > :05:53.clear on your programme and elsewhere. We have made it clear

:05:53. > :05:56.that we disagree with that decision that was taken. As a result, we

:05:56. > :06:01.will not be joining the Conservatives in the lobby tonight

:06:01. > :06:05.because that wasn't a decision that was taken as a coalition wide

:06:05. > :06:09.agreement. So why don't you join with Labour

:06:09. > :06:12.who are advocating the policy you told our viewers that you stand

:06:12. > :06:17.for? It doesn't deliver. There maybe more of a chance of

:06:17. > :06:26.delivering if you voted for. If you voted for it and it went through,

:06:26. > :06:31.it would pressure on the Government. The decision has been taken.

:06:31. > :06:38.your principle decision is to sit on your hands? We are taking part

:06:38. > :06:40.in the debate. Don Foster will be setting out the Liberal Democrat

:06:40. > :06:48.position. Sadiq Khan I'm lost. You explain

:06:48. > :06:51.what to do. There are other other devices open to us to persuade the

:06:52. > :06:55.Prime Minister. In the past, when we were in Government, when

:06:55. > :07:00.opposition day debates were won by the opposition, we changeted our

:07:00. > :07:06.policy. A good examples was the Ghurkhas, we lost that vote and the

:07:06. > :07:10.policy changed. And the threat of a vote on BSkyB

:07:10. > :07:18.forced News Corp to withdraw. So try and convince her because I've

:07:18. > :07:22.failed. For Jo to call me opportunistic is a badge of pride!

:07:22. > :07:24.The reality is this Jo, we are not concluding that Jeremy Hunt is

:07:24. > :07:28.guilty. Nor are we.

:07:28. > :07:32.We are saying there is this ministerial quote which was beefed-

:07:32. > :07:35.up by this new generation Prime Minister with a new generation

:07:35. > :07:40.Deputy Prime Minister. This is the new politics. Serious allegations

:07:40. > :07:46.have been made about his special advisers who, because he

:07:46. > :07:49.overstepped the mark, took the decision to resign. The buck

:07:49. > :07:54.shouldn't stop with him. There is an allegation about misleading

:07:55. > :08:00.Parliament which is serious. Jeremy Hunt wasn't exonerate d at the

:08:00. > :08:06.Leveson Inquiry. We are saying, "there is this guy who is paid

:08:06. > :08:13.�20,000 a year, many more of your constituents earn, he is

:08:13. > :08:16.investigating Baroness Warsi, he is he is twiddling his thumbs, why not

:08:16. > :08:20.allow him the opportunity to earn his crust and investigate Jeremy

:08:20. > :08:26.Hunt." That's what should have been decided. There is two issues. When

:08:26. > :08:30.you say that Jeremy Hunt hasn't been exonerated. On how he dealt

:08:30. > :08:34.with the bid, he has given a good account of what he did.

:08:34. > :08:39.It is about the issues to do the Ministerial Code, about the issue

:08:40. > :08:43.about special advisers. If you think he has been exonerated

:08:43. > :08:47.why why do you want an independent investigation? There are two issues.

:08:47. > :08:51.There is the issue about whether he took independent advice and how he

:08:51. > :08:54.dealt with the BSkyB, but there is the issue about who his special

:08:54. > :08:57.adviser was doing and whether that line was overstepped. There are

:08:57. > :09:00.questions that remain. I'm not saying that means that he has

:09:00. > :09:03.broken the Ministerial Code, but an independent investigation would

:09:03. > :09:08.have been a good thing. Questions which will never be answered

:09:08. > :09:11.because you haven't got the guts to vote with him.

:09:11. > :09:17.Jo, by you not supporting the Conservative Party and let's be

:09:17. > :09:22.clear, our motion has been signed by the other opposition parties,

:09:22. > :09:24.but you are not in opposition, you are in Government, because you have

:09:24. > :09:30.not supported the Conservative Party, you are questioning the

:09:30. > :09:35.decision of David Cameron. David Cameron said, "I think he is in the

:09:35. > :09:39.clear." Questioning his judgement. We can disagree.

:09:39. > :09:44.I have done my best and cause trouble, but I have failed! We

:09:44. > :09:47.I don't know if you have completely failed.

:09:47. > :09:49.Nick Clegg is giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry this morning.

:09:49. > :09:53.Here a flavour of what he has been saying.

:09:53. > :10:02.Two occasions only when I think you met with Rupert Murdoch. The first

:10:02. > :10:08.is the 16th December 2009. Yes. That was a dinner, Rebekah Brooks

:10:08. > :10:12.so was it just four of you? No. No. No. There were a large number of

:10:12. > :10:22.people there. As it happened I was at the very end of the table where

:10:22. > :10:24.

:10:24. > :10:27.the children sit so to speak! LAUGHTER

:10:27. > :10:29.And didn't have, I only had very fleeting interaction with Rupert

:10:29. > :10:31.Murdoch before the dinner and as I said goodbye at the end.

:10:31. > :10:33.Thank you. I was an observer as much as

:10:33. > :10:36.anything else. How candid of him. Well, that was

:10:36. > :10:41.Nick Clegg talking about his less than cosy relationship with Rupert

:10:41. > :10:45.Murdoch. Now, I mean, Jo Swinson, let me come to you about that issue.

:10:45. > :10:48.Without wanting to be too rude. I mean he was at the kids end of the

:10:48. > :10:51.table, Nick Clegg. Is the reason for that that the Lib Dems have

:10:51. > :10:56.never been regarded as important enough to be anywhere else and

:10:56. > :11:00.that's why you have never been corrupted? We certainly haven't had

:11:00. > :11:06.the cosy relationship with the Murdochs that I have to say say my

:11:06. > :11:10.two colleagues here, their parties have had as we have seen as has

:11:10. > :11:15.come out in the Leveson Inquiry. We have had a record for years calling

:11:15. > :11:19.for better regulation, the culture media and sport recommendations

:11:19. > :11:21.were ignored by the past Government. I am delighted we have the Leveson

:11:21. > :11:24.Inquiry to look into these issues which are important and need to be

:11:24. > :11:27.addressed. But that wasn't the question I

:11:27. > :11:31.asked. Is the reason that you haven't been corrupted is because

:11:31. > :11:34.no one felt the need to corrupt you? Well, of course, there hasn't

:11:34. > :11:39.been the courting of the Liberal Democrats that the other parties

:11:39. > :11:43.have experienced, but you know, certainly, you know, we are in the

:11:44. > :11:48.coalition Government and since that time have not, even though we have

:11:48. > :11:52.been in a position of significant power have not still succumbed to

:11:52. > :11:55.the courting that others have had. But the important thing is that we

:11:55. > :11:58.get some justice and improved situation, not actually about

:11:58. > :12:01.politicians because this isn't about politicians. This is about

:12:01. > :12:06.the general public and the faith they can have in the media and

:12:06. > :12:09.particularly in how it deals with ordinary members of the public.

:12:09. > :12:14.say it is not about politicians, but there has been no shortage of

:12:14. > :12:18.party leaders and former former Prime Ministers at Leveson Inquiry

:12:18. > :12:24.and Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband took about the culture of briefing

:12:24. > :12:31.or lack at lack of it. Did you authorise your aides to

:12:31. > :12:37.brief against Mr Blair? Do you think they may have done

:12:37. > :12:40.without your knowledge knowledge? If they did so it was without my

:12:40. > :12:47.authorisation. When I was a Cabinet Minister I did

:12:47. > :12:50.raise a concern that I had with Mr Brown. I believe in September 2008

:12:50. > :12:53.about some of Mr McBride's activities.

:12:53. > :12:57.Ed Miliband there. Sadiq Khan, do you believe Gordon Brown when he

:12:57. > :13:00.says, "I did not authorise any briefings against Tony Blair.".

:13:00. > :13:02.heard the evidence of Ed Miliband who spoke from personal experience

:13:02. > :13:07.and I can't contradict what Ed Miliband said.

:13:07. > :13:13.No, do you believe Gordon Brown when he said, he was asked "did you

:13:13. > :13:15.ever authorise any briefings against Gordon Brown?" "no.".

:13:15. > :13:19.have no personal knowledge. I saw the footage of Ed Miliband and

:13:19. > :13:23.Gordon Brown and Michael said, they can't both be right.

:13:23. > :13:28.Who do you believe more? I know it is difficult for you, especially

:13:28. > :13:32.someone, but who do you believe more? Who do you believe? He says I

:13:32. > :13:36.didn't authorise any briefings and he goes on to say, he is asked

:13:36. > :13:43.actually Gordon Brown, "what about, special advisers, using the media

:13:43. > :13:47.and newspapers to get Tony Blair to step down." "I would hope not.".

:13:47. > :13:50.Miliband gave an example and he gave a date. Let viewers conclude

:13:50. > :13:55.what they want to conclude. What do you think? Ed Miliband gave

:13:55. > :13:58.an example in his personal experience he witnessed it. So it

:13:58. > :14:01.it speaks for itself. Do you believe that John Watson

:14:02. > :14:08.went to see Gordon Brown and never talked about it? Come on, Andrew.

:14:08. > :14:13.How many questions on this. You have heard both... We have got a

:14:13. > :14:17.lot more, haven't we? Keep them coming! You might answer one?

:14:17. > :14:27.Watson, Ed Miliband, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown give evidence to the

:14:27. > :14:27.

:14:27. > :14:32.Leveson Inquiry... Do you believe him? That Tom Watson can visit him

:14:32. > :14:36.in the middle of organising a coup and they don't talk about it? Do

:14:36. > :14:39.you believe that pigs are flying over this studio? I can't see any.

:14:39. > :14:43.You are under oath. Ed Miliband talked about media

:14:43. > :14:48.ownership in the evidence. Is this now Labour policy, no company

:14:48. > :14:53.should have more than 20 or 30% of the newspaper market share? When he

:14:53. > :14:56.floated the idea about the concentration of ownership which

:14:56. > :15:01.leads to concentration of power and whether that's healthy in a

:15:01. > :15:05.democracy. You have a situation where there is a concentration of

:15:05. > :15:10.power in those who own newspapers and there was an attempt for News

:15:10. > :15:14.Corp to own BSkyB which can lead to some of the challenges we have seen.

:15:14. > :15:18.But that's what Ed Miliband would like to see a cap at 30% and that

:15:18. > :15:23.would mean the Murdoch empire selling one newspaper? He didn't

:15:23. > :15:29.give a specific figure. He did say not more than 30%?

:15:29. > :15:34.know that News Corp own 37%. I think it is 34%. I am not going

:15:34. > :15:36.to quibble. It is 34, but they own 37%. When

:15:36. > :15:41.there is too much concentration of power.

:15:41. > :15:45.I take the point. I am trying to work out how it would work. I think

:15:45. > :15:49.it means selling off a newspaper? It means legislation and we have

:15:49. > :15:54.had rumours about the Murdochs wanting to sell their media

:15:54. > :16:04.interests here and they may decide seeing, the way the wind is going,

:16:04. > :16:07.

:16:07. > :16:11.Do you regret that this Leveson Inquiry was set-up? No, it was

:16:11. > :16:16.needed to clear the air. Both the two parties got too close to all

:16:16. > :16:20.these media empires. We did when we were trying to get into government

:16:20. > :16:26.and they did when they were in government. The public needs to be

:16:26. > :16:30.reassured that that cannot happen again. Our constituents have better

:16:30. > :16:35.redress for themselves when they are targeted by the press. Clearly,

:16:35. > :16:40.the regulatory system is not working. It is painful for

:16:40. > :16:43.everybody involved and embarrassing. Embarrassing to hear that Gordon

:16:43. > :16:48.Brown seems to be in denial about what was happening when he was

:16:48. > :16:53.Prime Minister. But Labour were not in power any more and it is more

:16:53. > :16:58.embarrassing for the government that is. David Cameron will be

:16:58. > :17:05.giving evidence. He is being dragged kicking and screaming. We

:17:05. > :17:09.demanded a public inquiry, you said no. You had 13 years to have an

:17:09. > :17:13.inquiry into this stuff but you did not. We will learn the lessons from

:17:13. > :17:18.it. We will see if we can come up with a better regulatory system for

:17:18. > :17:23.our politicians and constituents. Say you're going to take the

:17:23. > :17:28.warnings from the previous prime ministers? We are going to see what

:17:28. > :17:32.Leveson reports. We will see when it comes out in the autumn.

:17:32. > :17:37.Greece is going back to the polls on Sunday after the last set of

:17:37. > :17:41.elections failed to produce a conclusive result. Last night, the

:17:41. > :17:47.Chancellor George Osborne talk about the prospect of the exit from

:17:47. > :17:52.the Greek Euros. He said so far the response to the crisis had been

:17:52. > :18:01.depressing. Spain's borrowing costs have risen despite the bail-out of

:18:01. > :18:06.its bank this weekend. Jo are you depressed? Not exactly optimistic.

:18:06. > :18:12.Five days on from the Spanish bail out and the eurozone crisis is

:18:12. > :18:15.rumbling on. On Saturday, the eurozone countries handed Spain's

:18:15. > :18:19.banks 100 billion euros to stabilise the economy. But it has

:18:19. > :18:22.not convinced the markets and there are signs the contagion could

:18:22. > :18:28.spread to Italy where the cost to the government of borrowing for ten

:18:28. > :18:32.years peaked at 6%. Last night, the Chancellor George Osborne said the

:18:32. > :18:35.bail out seemed to be too little, too late. He suggested that the

:18:35. > :18:40.eurozone should press on with deeper integration in order to

:18:40. > :18:45.shore itself up. Yesterday, the European Commission President Jose

:18:45. > :18:49.Manuel Baroso proposed a banking union across the euro. It looks

:18:49. > :18:52.like the German Bundesbank will block that plan but George Osborne

:18:52. > :18:56.said Germany should agree to stand behind the entire eurozone that it

:18:56. > :19:01.might take Greece leaving the road to persuade Angela Merkel to stump

:19:01. > :19:07.up more German cash. Thank you, that did sign a -- sound

:19:07. > :19:13.quite depressing. Jo Swinson has gone, she will be at PMQs and we'll

:19:13. > :19:18.be live there at 12 o'clock. Michael Fallon, just clarify, is it

:19:18. > :19:22.British government policy that the eurozone has to be retained intact

:19:22. > :19:29.in its current membership? policy is that the eurozone has got

:19:29. > :19:35.to sort itself out. We cannot go on like this. I understand that.

:19:35. > :19:40.have got to sort themselves out. But does that sort itself out with

:19:40. > :19:47.all the members or with a reduced membership? With all the members,

:19:47. > :19:51.clearly. What cannot go one that is grees 1/2 in, half out, this

:19:51. > :19:56.uncertainty which is damaging our economy going month after month,

:19:56. > :20:00.summit after summit. But when you opposed Britain's membership of the

:20:00. > :20:03.eurozone and you did not oppose the idea of the eurozone covering the

:20:03. > :20:07.countries that it did, you said this is not an optimal currency

:20:08. > :20:12.area, it cannot work with all these different countries in it, they do

:20:12. > :20:16.not have the same economies. If you thought that them, why is your

:20:16. > :20:19.policy to keep us together now? They have got to put in place the

:20:19. > :20:22.things they did not do at the time. If they want to go on with the

:20:22. > :20:26.single currency across the zone then they have to put in place the

:20:26. > :20:29.stuff they did not writing at the beginning to allow sufficient

:20:29. > :20:33.fiscal transfers between the wealthier ones and the poorer ones,

:20:33. > :20:37.to improve the governance of the sector and look after the deposits

:20:38. > :20:43.in the bank. Say you want a federal Europe for the eurozone, that is

:20:43. > :20:46.your policy? They must decide. We are saying it will not work, you

:20:46. > :20:51.cannot have a zone like this working unless you have some kind

:20:51. > :20:54.of fiscal transfers. You will end up with bail-out of the bail-out.

:20:54. > :20:58.understand that but it is Conservative-led government policy

:20:58. > :21:03.to urge the creation of a federal eurozone, a federal government

:21:03. > :21:07.eurozone. It they have a semi federal eurozone at the moment.

:21:07. > :21:11.They have a single currency. What they have not bottom-placed is a

:21:11. > :21:13.fiscal element that can underpin that. If they want to go on with a

:21:13. > :21:16.single currency it is obvious they have to put in place some

:21:16. > :21:20.arrangements to transfer money from the wealthier countries to the

:21:20. > :21:27.poorer countries. Be your government is saying there should

:21:27. > :21:36.be a banking union and they should be the debt mutualisation said that

:21:36. > :21:41.there are eurozone bombs, that is your government's policy -- bonds.

:21:41. > :21:48.What we cannot have is the continuing uncertain seas and a

:21:48. > :21:50.constant call for the propping up of weaker countries. We are out of

:21:50. > :21:56.the bail out mechanism. Had we stayed in the mechanism we would

:21:56. > :22:01.have had to come up with �10 billion sterling, we have saved

:22:01. > :22:05.that from being out of the bail out mechanism. What that does not solve

:22:05. > :22:10.is the continuing crisis. They have to put in place arrangements to do

:22:10. > :22:13.that. In effect, Labour's policies are no different from the

:22:13. > :22:18.government's. You think there should be greater integration in

:22:18. > :22:22.the USM but we will not be part of it? That is a summary I agree with.

:22:22. > :22:28.What we are frustrated by is for eurozone have fallen into the trap

:22:28. > :22:31.of being obsessed with just austerity and no plans for growth.

:22:31. > :22:34.Michael is right that it is a eurozone problem and it is

:22:34. > :22:39.incumbent on the bigger countries in the eurozone, Germany in

:22:39. > :22:45.particular, to do more. The ECB should be the Bank of last-resort

:22:45. > :22:49.rather than going to the IMF or elsewhere. But if you get a German-

:22:49. > :22:54.dominated federal Europe, that inevitably, of which we will not be

:22:55. > :22:59.part, that inevitably changes our relationship with Europe. We will

:22:59. > :23:04.forever be on the periphery, do you accept that? We will have to wait

:23:04. > :23:09.and see. What we cannot have is our closest trading partner going from

:23:09. > :23:14.disaster to disaster. We trade the most with them. Even last year, we

:23:14. > :23:18.exported huge amounts to the racing countries. If the Spain comes that

:23:18. > :23:23.or the contagion spreads, it is catastrophic for the eurozone

:23:23. > :23:27.countries but it is disaster for the UK as well. To accept that this

:23:27. > :23:32.policy you are both urging results, because I've seen live review thing

:23:32. > :23:37.for the foreseeable future we will ever be part of this, that Europe

:23:37. > :23:43.will develop with its own currency, a banking union, with eurobonds

:23:43. > :23:46.being issued, with the fiscal union, it in effect becomes closer to a

:23:46. > :23:50.federal system than ever before and we are not part of it, you are

:23:50. > :23:55.happy with that? In the short term we need to ensure the eurozone

:23:55. > :23:59.countries do whatever they can to bring about stability. In the

:23:59. > :24:05.medium to longer term we want to trade with them and continued to

:24:05. > :24:10.trade if not the same, but more. Let's be clear, we cannot stop them.

:24:10. > :24:14.You what urging them. We cannot stop them anyway. It is not for us

:24:14. > :24:18.to decide whether they have a more federal state. We are saying if

:24:18. > :24:21.they want to go ahead with the zone, all the countries have to sort out

:24:21. > :24:25.how they will transfer funds from the stronger ones to the weaker

:24:25. > :24:30.ones. If they want to give up their currency and give up control of

:24:30. > :24:34.their banks, we are saying what they have got to do is recognise

:24:34. > :24:39.reality. You cannot have a system that does not complete. You have

:24:39. > :24:43.got to be able transfer money from the strong ones to the week. I get

:24:43. > :24:48.that. When Downing Street says when it comes to a referendum on Europe,

:24:48. > :24:52.quote, that is not something the British people want, where is the

:24:52. > :24:55.evidence for Downing Street saying that? What they want is for it to

:24:55. > :25:00.be sorted out. But where is the evidence for Downing Street telling

:25:00. > :25:04.us the British people do not want a referendum? Their priorities are to

:25:04. > :25:08.get growth going in this country. But what is the evidence that the

:25:08. > :25:12.British people do not want a referendum? When Downing Street

:25:12. > :25:22.issued that there was a poll in the Times St 80 % what a referendum.

:25:22. > :25:23.

:25:23. > :25:28.What is the evidence for Downing Street St we do not? The issue is

:25:28. > :25:34.what is the evidence for Downing Street telling us we do not want a

:25:34. > :25:39.referendum? What they want at the moment is for the government to

:25:39. > :25:44.focus on getting growth and making sure the his own sorts out its

:25:44. > :25:47.problems. There is no evidence that the British public do not want a

:25:47. > :25:52.referendum is the answer to your question. I think what Michael was

:25:52. > :25:56.trying to say, forgive me, is the policy for us should be to do all

:25:56. > :26:01.we can to stimulate jobs and growth in the country, rather than being

:26:01. > :26:05.distracted by a campaign for a referendum. Thank you.

:26:05. > :26:10.As some of you may know, the European football championships are

:26:11. > :26:17.underweight in Poland and the Ukraine. England, I am told, drew

:26:17. > :26:22.1-1 against France on Monday night. I am told it is good. Not good

:26:22. > :26:27.enough. We want more. What could fire up the team to put a bit of

:26:27. > :26:32.fire in their belly? A bit of an incentive to win the next game

:26:32. > :26:37.against Sweden on Friday. They will be lucky. What better than the

:26:37. > :26:41.prospect of owning a Daily Politics mug? Yes, boys, if you win on

:26:41. > :26:45.Friday we will reward you with one of these. For the rest of you, you

:26:45. > :26:55.have to Guess The Year. I hope we will send one if they do win.

:26:55. > :27:32.

:27:32. > :27:40.will. Let's see if you can remember If I can find collaboration with

:27:40. > :27:50.any other parties in the House then I am willing to do that. This is

:27:50. > :28:19.

:28:19. > :28:22.claimed to be the world's first And to be in with a chance of

:28:23. > :28:27.winning a Daily Politics mug send your answer to our special e-mail

:28:27. > :28:32.address, dpquiz@bbc.co.uk. You can see the full terms and conditions

:28:32. > :28:36.for Guess The Year on our website, bbc.co.uk/dailypolitics.

:28:36. > :28:40.Coming up to midday, Prime Minister's Questions starts in a

:28:40. > :28:45.few minutes. We are joined by the BBC's political editor Nick

:28:46. > :28:50.Robinson. The first PMQs for three weeks. There has been some

:28:50. > :28:56.developments from Nick Clegg at the Leveson Inquiry. I'm just told that

:28:56. > :29:00.he said Jeremy Hunt gave a good account of how he handled the BSkyB

:29:00. > :29:05.bid. It highlights what may be puzzling to people about the Lib

:29:05. > :29:07.Dem's position. They will not back Jeremy Hunt today, they will not

:29:07. > :29:11.back the Prime Minister's judgment but they are not criticising the

:29:12. > :29:17.way he handled the BSkyB bid. They are simply saying there should be

:29:17. > :29:23.an investigation. I am lost! think Nick Clegg has always wanted

:29:23. > :29:26.to keep his party together and where there are votes which there

:29:26. > :29:30.will be split and there are Lib Dem backbenchers who wanted to vote

:29:30. > :29:33.against Jeremy Hunt, he would rather they will vote together and

:29:33. > :29:37.abstained, rather than some vote against a government minister,

:29:37. > :29:42.others abstained, others vote in favour. It is a matter of high

:29:42. > :29:46.principle then? An element of party management. An element that he

:29:46. > :29:52.genuinely feels passionately. When people say all politicians crept to

:29:52. > :29:58.the Murdochs, he wants to say, we did not. We all know why that was.

:29:58. > :30:06.No one was interested. No one thinks they matter. I did not say

:30:06. > :30:10.that. On the other hand, they can say they have fought against that

:30:10. > :30:15.media bias and they have done it for decades and they want to gain

:30:15. > :30:19.some credit for saying we are here despite that. A few Ed Miliband, do

:30:19. > :30:26.you go on this Leveson media village stuff. We will find out

:30:26. > :30:34.I am sure the whole House will wish to pay tribute to the fallen

:30:34. > :30:39.servicemen since the House met. Captain Stephen Healey and Michael

:30:39. > :30:45.Thacker and Gregg Stone. These were talented, dedicated soldiers who

:30:45. > :30:48.made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of our nation. Our deepest

:30:48. > :30:51.condolences are with their family, friends and colleagues. We will

:30:51. > :30:55.always remember them. This morning, I had meetings with

:30:55. > :30:59.ministerial colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in

:30:59. > :31:03.this House, I shall have further such meetings today.

:31:03. > :31:06.I am sure all members will wish to associate themselves with the Prime

:31:06. > :31:11.Minister's tribute. Can the Prime Minister reassure my constituents

:31:11. > :31:17.that there will be no policy shift at all in relation to the third

:31:17. > :31:21.runway at at Heathrow and this Government will focus on improving

:31:21. > :31:26.Heathrow's hub status and displacing some of the short haul

:31:26. > :31:30.and less valuable slots elsewhere. First of all, I know this is not

:31:30. > :31:34.just a constituency campaign for my honourable friend. It is something

:31:34. > :31:38.he feels very powerfully about. The coalition position has not changed.

:31:38. > :31:46.Clearly, we must not be blind to two important considerations. One

:31:46. > :31:50.is how we expand airport capacity, but how do we make sure that

:31:50. > :31:54.Heathrow operates better and we make sure we welcome people better

:31:54. > :31:58.to our country better than at the moment. A lot of progress has been

:31:58. > :32:07.made and I congratulate the Home Secretary for the extra resources

:32:07. > :32:14.and the people put into doing that important job.

:32:14. > :32:18.Can I join the Prime Minister in paying private to Captain Stephen

:32:18. > :32:24.Healey and Private Gregg Stone. They served our country with

:32:24. > :32:28.dignity and bravery and the co dough lances of the -- condolences

:32:28. > :32:32.of the House go to their family and their friends.

:32:32. > :32:36.Account Prime Minister tell us why he referred Baroness Warsi, but not

:32:36. > :32:43.the Culture Secretary? There. is a difference between the two

:32:43. > :32:47.cases. In the case of Baroness Warsi, there has not been a judge-

:32:47. > :32:52.led inquiry with witnesses taking evidence under oath to get to all

:32:52. > :32:56.of the factual information behind her case and that is why I have

:32:56. > :32:59.asked Sir Alex Allen to look at that case, but I have to say I am

:32:59. > :33:02.happy with the explanation I have been given by Baroness Warsi. She

:33:02. > :33:06.admits to breaking the Ministerial Code. She apologised for breaking

:33:06. > :33:10.the Ministerial Code and that's an important point.

:33:10. > :33:14.The Prime Minister refers to the Leveson Inquiry, but account Prime

:33:14. > :33:17.Minister confirm that in his appearance at the Leveson Inquiry,

:33:17. > :33:20.the Culture Secretary was quite properly because it is not the

:33:20. > :33:25.remit of the Leveson Inquiry asked a single question about whether he

:33:25. > :33:30.misled this House and thereby broke the Ministerial Code.

:33:30. > :33:34.The point I would make to the honourable gentleman he asks

:33:34. > :33:40.specifically about why I have not referred the case to Sir Alex Allen

:33:40. > :33:44.and that's the case. I haven't done that, but I have Sir Alex Allen for

:33:44. > :33:49.his advice on the future guidance on judicial decision making which

:33:49. > :33:54.is something that he was discussing at the Leveson Inquiry and I will

:33:54. > :33:57.be discussing tomorrow as well. And Sir Alex Allen replied to my letter

:33:58. > :34:02.and I will put a copy of both letters in the library of the House,

:34:02. > :34:07.but the House might want to know what Sir Alex Allen said in reply

:34:07. > :34:13.to my letter. He said this "I note your decision in relation to Jeremy

:34:13. > :34:19.Hunt adherance to the Ministerial Code which is, of course, a matter

:34:19. > :34:24.for you. The fact that there is an ongoing judicial inquiry probing

:34:24. > :34:30.and taking evidence under oath means that I do not believe I could

:34:30. > :34:35.usefully add to the facts in this case." He goes on to say, he goes

:34:35. > :34:40.on to say that he remains available if circumstances should change, but

:34:40. > :34:44.those are the views of Sir Alex Allen.

:34:44. > :34:51.Mr Speaker, the key issue is who makes the judgement on whether

:34:51. > :34:54.there has been a breach of the Ministerial Code? This is what Lord

:34:54. > :35:00.Leveson said, "I will not be make ago judgement on whether there has

:35:00. > :35:09.been a breach of it. That is simply not my job." That is the job of Sir

:35:09. > :35:15.Alex Allen. Now let's take one of the issues that was - Mr Speaker, I

:35:15. > :35:20.know they have been well whipped. I can see they have been well well

:35:20. > :35:24.whip today! They have -- whipped today! They have got the memo from

:35:24. > :35:30.the Prime Minister... They have got the memo from the Prime Minister's

:35:30. > :35:35.aide because he is sending memos around. The last one began,

:35:35. > :35:42."comrades." I like the sound of that, Mr

:35:42. > :35:48.Speaker. We need a protective wall of sound! Last week we rather dried

:35:48. > :35:56.up. Please show sufficient stamina for the full half-hour.

:35:56. > :36:01.Now, now, now, Mr Speaker. Let's take one of the issues that was not

:36:01. > :36:07.raised at the Leveson Inquiry. The Culture Secretary told this House

:36:07. > :36:09.on 25th April and I quote, "I made -- there is no point in the part-

:36:09. > :36:16.time chancellor trying to give him the answer before I asked the

:36:16. > :36:19.question! I made absolutely no intervention in a quay zi judicial

:36:20. > :36:24.process that was at the time was the responsibility of the Business

:36:24. > :36:30.Secretary. Yet now we know he wrote a memo to the Prime Minister that

:36:30. > :36:33.said, "If we block it, our media sector will suffer for years."

:36:33. > :36:37.Account Prime Minister confirm in that answer on 25th April, the

:36:37. > :36:41.Culture Secretary was not straight with this House of Commons?

:36:41. > :36:51.Well, first of all, let me explain on hour side of the House, comrades

:36:51. > :36:52.

:36:52. > :36:54.is a term of endearment! It is not an official title!

:36:54. > :36:58.LAUGHTER If I can explain it in that way.

:36:58. > :37:01.The point is, all comrades, of course. Look, the point about the

:37:01. > :37:04.Ministerial Code is it is the job of the Prime Minister to make the

:37:04. > :37:10.judgement about the Ministerial Code and I have made that judgement.

:37:10. > :37:15.I have quoted to him, I quoted to him what Sir Alex Allen says and

:37:15. > :37:21.Sir Alex Allen is very clear that he couldn't usefully add to the

:37:21. > :37:24.facts in this case. Now I'm sorry, I'm sorry that the whole political

:37:24. > :37:32.strategy behind his opposition motion has collapsed, but

:37:32. > :37:36.nonetheless that is the fact of the case. Now, he asks very

:37:36. > :37:41.specifically about the note that the Culture Secretary sent to me on

:37:41. > :37:47.19th November and I would refer to him in that note he specifically

:37:47. > :37:49.says it would be completely wrong to go against the proper regulatory

:37:49. > :37:53.procedures and that's what the truth of what has happened in

:37:53. > :37:57.recent days is that the Culture Secretary gave a very full account

:37:57. > :38:02.of his actions to the Leveson Inquiry and he demonstrated that

:38:02. > :38:07.when it came to the BSkyB bid he took independent advice at every

:38:07. > :38:12.part of the process. He followed independent advice at every point

:38:12. > :38:15.of the process which is a contrast to how the last Government behaved.

:38:15. > :38:20.Mr Speaker, let's be clear about what the Prime Minister is claiming.

:38:20. > :38:25.He is claiming when the Culture Secretary told this House I made no

:38:25. > :38:29.interventions seeking to influence a judicial decision that a memo to

:38:29. > :38:32.the Prime Minister is insignificant document in relation to a decision

:38:32. > :38:36.the Government has to make. The first time in political history

:38:36. > :38:40.that's the case. If the case is so strong of the Prime Minister, why

:38:40. > :38:45.is his deputy not supporting him? Well, first of all, let me read

:38:45. > :38:48.what this note said on 19th November. It said this. This is

:38:48. > :38:52.from the Culture Secretary and I quote "it would be totally wrong

:38:52. > :38:57.for the Government to get involved in a competition issue which has to

:38:57. > :39:03.be decided at arm's length." That's what he said. When he got

:39:03. > :39:09.responsibility, when he got responsibility for this dossier, he

:39:09. > :39:13.behaved in exactly that way. Let me make one point. By the the way the

:39:13. > :39:17.whole reason we are discussing this take-over is because the last

:39:17. > :39:23.Government changed the law to allow a foreign company to own a British

:39:23. > :39:28.broadcasting licence. This is a point, this is a point that they

:39:28. > :39:32.conveniently forget. Now, he asked me very specifically about the

:39:32. > :39:36.Deputy Prime Minister. Let me be absolutely frank. What What we are

:39:36. > :39:41.talking about here is the relationships that Conservative

:39:41. > :39:44.politicians and frankly Labour politicians have had over the last

:39:44. > :39:48.20 years with with News Corporation, News International and all the rest

:39:48. > :39:53.of it. To be fair to the Liberal Democrats, they didn't have that

:39:53. > :40:02.relationship and their abstention tonight is to make that point and I

:40:02. > :40:11.understand that it is politics. THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. Order.

:40:11. > :40:16.The House House must calm down. Order. Mr Ed Miliband.

:40:16. > :40:22.I have to say he has reached a new state of delusion I mean really and

:40:22. > :40:31.truly! You know, Mr Speaker, he just wants to talk about the past!

:40:31. > :40:38.He was - he just wants to talk about the past, Mr Speaker. He was

:40:38. > :40:43.the future once! Now, isn't the truth and isn't the

:40:43. > :40:48.truth, and isn't the truth the Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy

:40:48. > :40:52.Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister says the bid, says the

:40:52. > :40:56.decision should go to the independent adviser. The

:40:56. > :40:59.Conservative Chair of the Committee of standards in public life, the

:40:59. > :41:01.Conservative chair of the Public Administration Committee says it

:41:01. > :41:06.should be referred. The former Chair of the Committee on standards

:41:06. > :41:10.in public life says it should be referred. Isn't the truth, the

:41:10. > :41:14.reason he won't refer him to the independent adviser is because he

:41:14. > :41:20.is scared the Culture Secretary won't be cleared?

:41:21. > :41:24.Well, imitation is the sincerist form of flattery. Well, the clear,

:41:24. > :41:28.he says we're talking about the past. There are elements of this.

:41:28. > :41:32.This whole Leveson Inquiry, the whole problem of the relationship

:41:32. > :41:41.between politicians and the press some of it is about the past and we

:41:41. > :41:46.had a little insight into that when the former Prime Minister gave

:41:46. > :41:50.evidence and he said this. He said, "The one thing I can say definitely,

:41:50. > :42:00.the one thing I can say definitely is no one in my position would have

:42:00. > :42:11.

:42:11. > :42:12.instructed briefing against a senior minister."

:42:12. > :42:15.LAUGHTER I can tell you - perhaps, perhaps,

:42:15. > :42:19.perhaps the victims can put their hand up. Any takers? I don't need

:42:19. > :42:23.Sir Alex Allen to adjudicate on that one!

:42:23. > :42:27.Everyone knows it was the Prime Minister who decided to appoint the

:42:27. > :42:31.Culture Secretary to oversee the bid and it is the Prime Minister

:42:31. > :42:34.who is clinging on to him now in the face of all the evidence.

:42:34. > :42:39.Doesn't he realise it is no longer about the Culture Secretary's

:42:39. > :42:43.judgement, it is about the Prime Minister's judgement which is so

:42:43. > :42:47.badly flawed even his deputy won't support him.

:42:47. > :42:53.Well, I do hope the England football team are better at putting

:42:53. > :42:58.the ball in the back of the net. Look, the point is, it is for the

:42:58. > :43:01.adviserer on ministerial standards to discover the facts. My judgement

:43:01. > :43:04.is we should let the Culture Secretary get on with organising

:43:04. > :43:08.the most important important event which is the Olympics. When we come

:43:08. > :43:12.on to the Olympics, let us consider this - if there was an Olympic

:43:12. > :43:22.medal for double standards and hypocrisy, the Labour Party would

:43:22. > :43:25.be well in the running. I'm really very worried about the

:43:25. > :43:35.conduct of the Education Secretary. In the average classroom he would

:43:35. > :43:35.

:43:35. > :43:40.have been excluded by now. He must As we remember those who fell 30

:43:40. > :43:44.years ago during the Falklands war, Argentina continues to dispute

:43:44. > :43:48.British sovereignty over those islands. Yet Argentina also

:43:48. > :43:53.continues to receive loans worth billions of pounds from the World

:43:53. > :43:57.Bank of which British taxpayers are a major shareholder. Will the Prime

:43:57. > :44:01.Minister join President Obama in instructing his officials to vote

:44:01. > :44:05.against anymore such loans to Argentina?

:44:05. > :44:12.I think my honourable friend makes an important point. No British

:44:12. > :44:22.taxpayers money is is spent on world banks loans to Argentina. A

:44:22. > :44:23.

:44:23. > :44:26.an important point is what happened yesterday which is the Falkland

:44:26. > :44:34.islanders decided to hold a referendum. Argentina is trying to

:44:34. > :44:36.hide this argument and pretend the views of the of the Falkland

:44:36. > :44:39.islanders don't matter, they do matter.

:44:39. > :44:43.The Prime Minister said he believes the Leveson Inquiry dealt with the

:44:43. > :44:48.relevant issues regarding the Secretary of State for culture,

:44:48. > :44:52.media and sport, but it did not deal with section 11 A of the

:44:52. > :44:55.financial services and markets Act which deals with market abuse and

:44:55. > :45:00.the passing of information to one party in a market situation which

:45:00. > :45:04.is not available to others. Given the hundreds of texts, e-mails and

:45:04. > :45:07.memos in this situation, will he ask the Financial Services

:45:08. > :45:17.Authority to examine the evidence, see whether there has been a breach

:45:18. > :45:19.

:45:19. > :45:23.of section 11 A or any other part Clearly there are very strict rules

:45:23. > :45:27.governing all of these areas. The point I would mate to him is there

:45:27. > :45:31.is no doubt the special adviser behave wrongly and that is why he

:45:31. > :45:34.offered his resignation and white was accepted.

:45:34. > :45:39.Mr Speaker, I am sure all members will congratulate the volunteers

:45:39. > :45:43.who raised �6.5 million to recognise the contribution and

:45:43. > :45:47.sacrifice in the Second World War by Bomber Command personnel. For

:45:47. > :45:52.the memorial to be opened by Her Majesty the Queen on June the 28th.

:45:52. > :45:56.But the costs of security on the day have risen sharply and despite

:45:56. > :45:57.necessary constraints on all government expenditure, would my

:45:58. > :46:01.right honourable friend consider financial support from the

:46:01. > :46:04.government to make sure veterans and their relations are properly

:46:04. > :46:09.looked after? I think my honourable friend is

:46:09. > :46:12.right to raise this issue. Bomber Command, many people served in

:46:12. > :46:17.Bomber Command in the Second World War, many people lost their lives

:46:17. > :46:22.and it is right there will be this this -- splendid memorial unveiled

:46:22. > :46:26.by Her Majesty the Queen. These memorials tend to be paid for by

:46:26. > :46:28.public subscriptions. I will look carefully at what he says. The

:46:28. > :46:35.Department for Culture, Media and Sport does have an ability to

:46:35. > :46:39.intervene when monuments are done on a national basis. I'm sure the

:46:39. > :46:47.Culture Secretary would have been listening carefully.

:46:47. > :46:52.Due to top-down government health cuts, South Tees hospitals have had

:46:52. > :46:55.reduced services leaving both hospitals uncertain of their future.

:46:55. > :46:59.Would the Prime Minister support his Foreign Secretary who said to a

:46:59. > :47:03.crowd of 4,000 people, that the government NHS cuts are

:47:03. > :47:08.unacceptable? First of all, I would point out

:47:08. > :47:13.that the increases in health spending for his Primary Care Trust

:47:13. > :47:17.is at 2.9 % increase and an �8.2 million increase for the current

:47:17. > :47:20.year. That is what is happening. The only reason more money is going

:47:20. > :47:24.into the health service in his constituency is because this

:47:24. > :47:28.coalition government decided to invest in our NHS, against the

:47:28. > :47:33.advice that we receive from the party opposite who think increases

:47:33. > :47:38.in health spending are irresponsible.

:47:38. > :47:41.Question number six, closed question, Mr Philip Hollobone.

:47:41. > :47:47.As my honourable friend nose, cabinet meetings are occasionally

:47:47. > :47:51.held outside London, not least so we can get different ministers to

:47:51. > :47:57.meet with different organisations. The Cabinet has met in Bradford,

:47:58. > :48:02.Ipswich, Derby, Cardiff and the Olympic Park. Locations for future

:48:02. > :48:06.meetings will be announced in due course. Were the Cabinet to come to

:48:06. > :48:10.Kettering, it would be able to congratulate Kettering Borough

:48:10. > :48:17.Council on its pledge to freeze council tax for the next five years

:48:17. > :48:26.and to celebrate the Department for Transport's funding for the wedding

:48:26. > :48:30.-- widening of the Kettering bypass. Will be right honourable friend

:48:30. > :48:34.agreed to invest in the Midland Mainline which would make a big

:48:34. > :48:38.difference to the Kettering economy? I joined my it honourable

:48:38. > :48:42.friend it in congratulating his Borough Council and it shows what a

:48:42. > :48:47.valuable -- the value for money Conservative councils can provide.

:48:47. > :48:51.We are committed to a lecture find 300 miles of railway routes. That

:48:52. > :48:56.compares with just nine miles which were at a lecture fired under 13

:48:56. > :49:01.years of the last Labour government. There is a large amount of support

:49:01. > :49:04.for the Midland Mainline a lecture vocation. A decision will be made

:49:04. > :49:11.and I will listen very carefully to what he says.

:49:11. > :49:14.Given that the purpose of the Leveson Inquiry is to get out the

:49:14. > :49:18.unvarnished truth about the unhealthy relationship between some

:49:18. > :49:25.politicians and the media, why do government ministers, including

:49:25. > :49:31.himself, need to be briefed by lawyers and coached by lawyers

:49:31. > :49:35.before attending to give evidence? What ministers I'm sure I doing is

:49:35. > :49:39.you have to be familiarise yourself with a huge amount of evidence

:49:39. > :49:44.going back over seven years. I have provided to the Leveson Inquiry,

:49:44. > :49:49.for instance, all the evidence I can find with meetings of press

:49:49. > :49:52.proprietors and the press going back to 2005. There is a huge

:49:52. > :49:56.amount of information preparation and I think that is entirely

:49:56. > :50:00.appropriate. My constituency has a height

:50:00. > :50:04.recycling rate, the best in the north-west. Does the Prime Minister

:50:04. > :50:08.believe it is right for a huge waste burning incinerated to be

:50:08. > :50:12.built there, an incinerator rejected by the local planning

:50:12. > :50:15.board, overwhelmingly opposed by my constituents and which would

:50:15. > :50:19.involve transporting lorryloads of waste hundreds of miles across the

:50:19. > :50:25.country? Will he do what he can to stop an inappropriate development

:50:25. > :50:28.which surely cannot be called environmentally sustainable?

:50:28. > :50:31.completely understand the honourable lady's concern and she

:50:31. > :50:36.is right to raise this issue. I understand her disappointment that

:50:36. > :50:45.this has been appealed against the local planning board's decision.

:50:45. > :50:50.But as she knows, peels like this can be made -- appeals. She can

:50:50. > :50:53.make her views clear. There is a need to take into account the size

:50:53. > :50:57.and scale of any proposed development and also to look at the

:50:57. > :51:01.potential effect of any local communities and I'm sure she will

:51:01. > :51:06.want to make those points. The Prime Minister will be aware of

:51:06. > :51:09.the latest British Social attitudes survey showing a record fall in

:51:09. > :51:14.public satisfaction with the NHS. My question is this, I would

:51:14. > :51:17.appreciate an answer, because the Health Secretary would not give one

:51:17. > :51:21.yesterday. Will the Prime Minister intervene to stop the scandal of

:51:21. > :51:29.the NHS having to rely on charitable donations having to fund

:51:29. > :51:33.the purchase of the latest radiotherapy equipment? What I have

:51:33. > :51:36.to say it is this government is putting record sums into the health

:51:37. > :51:41.service, we are increasing the money into the health service but

:51:41. > :51:45.if he wants me to stand here and criticise the volunteers and the

:51:45. > :51:49.charities and the big society that provides so many scanners and great

:51:49. > :51:57.Sheen's for our health service, I will not do that. I think it adds

:51:57. > :52:00.to our health service. There is a 2011 survey of people who used the

:52:00. > :52:05.health service, rather than asking people about their perceptions, and

:52:05. > :52:09.that found 92 % of in-patients rated their overall experience as

:52:09. > :52:15.good, very good or excellent. That is what is happening in our health

:52:15. > :52:18.service and we should be proud of Can I ask the Prime Minister, will

:52:18. > :52:23.the Government go ahead with high speed to, a project which is

:52:23. > :52:27.extremely important to the economy and jobs in the north. If the

:52:27. > :52:32.answer is yes, can I suggest we start laying the track in West

:52:32. > :52:42.Yorkshire first? I am grateful for that enthusiastic endorsement. I

:52:42. > :52:42.

:52:42. > :52:46.believe we should go ahead with eight just too. -- H S two. In

:52:46. > :52:51.links to the question asked by his neighbour about Heathrow, there are

:52:51. > :52:54.many flights which could be avoided if we had a network of high-speed

:52:55. > :52:58.rail in our country and I'm keen that we press ahead with it.

:52:58. > :53:03.Before the last general election, the Prime Minister made an

:53:03. > :53:07.important speech condemning crony capitalism with money buying power,

:53:07. > :53:16.power fishing for money and a cosy club at the top making decisions at

:53:16. > :53:20.their own interest. Is this not a pitch perfect description of the

:53:20. > :53:24.undignified courting of News Corporation by the Culture

:53:24. > :53:29.Secretary? When will the Prime Minister shows some judgment of

:53:29. > :53:39.this? If they are looking for volunteers for the Olympic team for

:53:39. > :53:43.hypocrisy, it could be the decathlete there. We had 13 years

:53:43. > :53:51.of pyjama parties, christenings, changing the law, sucking up to the

:53:51. > :53:58.Murdochs, honestly, what a load of brass neck!

:53:58. > :54:03.Thank you, Mr Speaker. In 44 days' time, the Olympics and Paralympics

:54:03. > :54:07.come to London. Millions of people will be coming to London to enjoy

:54:07. > :54:11.the games. Most of those individuals will be totally

:54:11. > :54:16.dependent on public transport to reach the venues. Will my right

:54:16. > :54:20.honourable friend condemn the Unite union for calling bus strikes and

:54:20. > :54:24.doesn't the silence from the party opposite on this subject speak

:54:25. > :54:29.volumes for that attitude to London? I think my honourable

:54:29. > :54:34.friend was entirely right. If you want an example of crony politics,

:54:34. > :54:37.frankly it is the fact that the party opposite get �5 million from

:54:37. > :54:42.the Unite union and when it comes to this strike that could disrupt

:54:42. > :54:47.the Olympics, absolute silence. Not a word of condemnation. It is not

:54:47. > :54:55.surprising because Unite union did not only give them the money, they

:54:55. > :54:59.pick their leader as well. The patient satisfaction survey

:54:59. > :55:03.results have shown the greatest reduction in patients' satisfaction

:55:03. > :55:07.in the history of the National Health Service. What will the Prime

:55:07. > :55:11.Minister do turnaround perceptions about the failure of the NHS and

:55:11. > :55:17.his government? Are if you look at the King's Fund who carried out

:55:18. > :55:21.this survey, they say this. There is no evidence of a real decline in

:55:22. > :55:25.service quality of performance. That is what the King's Fund say

:55:25. > :55:31.about their own survey. I would put more weight on a survey of people

:55:31. > :55:36.who have been using the NHS and the users of the NHS, 92 % of in-

:55:36. > :55:41.patients, 95 % of outpatients, rated their overall experience as

:55:41. > :55:47.good, very good or excellent. Since the election, there are 4,000 more

:55:47. > :55:50.doctors, mixed-sex accommodation is down 94 %, hospital infections are

:55:50. > :55:55.at their lowest levels since surveillance began and the number

:55:56. > :56:00.of people waiting 18 weeks is also at the lowest level since records

:56:00. > :56:03.began. Average waiting times are down as well. The health service is

:56:03. > :56:08.performing extremely well and we should praise all those who have

:56:08. > :56:12.delivered that performance. The Prime Minister will be aware

:56:13. > :56:17.that there is a current shortage of primary school places across our

:56:17. > :56:21.country. Is particularly acute in Winchester where there are

:56:21. > :56:24.temporary classrooms to accommodate pupils for this September. What is

:56:24. > :56:28.the government doing to help councils in this Goldie and whether

:56:28. > :56:35.he is confident enough is being done to prevent a repeat of this

:56:35. > :56:39.performance when these pupils reach secondary school? -- This Old Year.

:56:39. > :56:46.This is becoming an issue. What the Department for Education has done

:56:46. > :56:50.is put aside �1.4 billion of schools' capital and a further �1.4

:56:50. > :56:53.billion for the subsequent year. There is also the opportunity

:56:53. > :56:57.through free schools to have excellent new schools established

:56:58. > :57:02.in constituencies so we not only get new capacity but it -- we get

:57:02. > :57:08.the competition and choice which I believe will drive up standards.

:57:09. > :57:14.The use of food banks in Plymouth has gone up from 792 nearly 4,000

:57:14. > :57:18.in a year. Is the Prime Minister proud of the fact that changes to

:57:18. > :57:22.his benefit arrangements have caused this to happen? There is no

:57:22. > :57:27.doubt about that. Is he therefore going to stand up and say, that is

:57:27. > :57:35.fine, food banks are lovely. Yes, they are lovely and the people of

:57:36. > :57:42.Plymouth are magnificent but will he... Will he passed the buck on

:57:42. > :57:45.this and go for the gold medal in passing the buck as he has...

:57:46. > :57:50.Prime Minister. First of all that may join her in praising the people

:57:50. > :57:54.of Plymouth who do you huge amount for their neighbours and members of

:57:54. > :57:57.their community. That is all for the good. Yes, we have had to make

:57:57. > :58:00.difficult decisions but we have protected tax credits for the least

:58:00. > :58:05.well-off, we have protected benefits for the least well-off.

:58:05. > :58:07.The biggest welfare reform that we have made is to put a cap on

:58:07. > :58:11.welfare where we have said, you should not be able to get on

:58:11. > :58:19.welfare more than the average family gets in work, and when we

:58:19. > :58:21.put that forward, �26,500 a year, the party opposite voted against it.

:58:21. > :58:25.Kamal right honourable friend tell the House how much it would cost

:58:25. > :58:29.the country to take part in the bail-out of Spain's banks this week

:58:29. > :58:32.he had not stood up for Britain and got us out of the previous

:58:32. > :58:36.government's commitment? honourable friend makes an

:58:36. > :58:39.important point. Before this government came to power, bail-outs

:58:39. > :58:46.were carried out with Britain playing a full part in those bail

:58:46. > :58:51.out, often as much as 14 % of the total. 100 billion euros bail-out

:58:51. > :58:55.of Spain, Britain could have been paying as much as 14 billion euros,

:58:55. > :59:02.�10 billion. That money has been saved because this government,

:59:02. > :59:08.unlike the last one, stands up for Britain in Europe.

:59:08. > :59:14.Prime Minister, and on the shambles of a budget you claimed you had

:59:14. > :59:18.read, a double-dip recession you made in Downing Street, and a Tory

:59:18. > :59:23.lead committee reporting that the coalition lacks strategic direction,

:59:23. > :59:27.evidence if it was ever needed that men can multi-tasking, obviously

:59:27. > :59:33.just that some are not very good at it. Prime Minister, have you now

:59:33. > :59:37.run out of steam or is the job just too big for you? Prime Minister.

:59:37. > :59:40.I'm pleased my honourable friend the education secretary is

:59:40. > :59:46.introducing compulsory poetry reading lessons in class and

:59:46. > :59:56.perhaps we could start with the honourable gentleman.

:59:56. > :59:59.Order. Order. What is route is for people to continue shouting when

:59:59. > :00:03.they have been asked not to do so. I know the Honourable Member for

:00:03. > :00:10.Cohen valid is exceptionally well- behaved and he will sit in his

:00:10. > :00:14.usual quiet, respectful fashion. Mr David Burrows. Thank you. The Prime

:00:14. > :00:21.Minister has called for compassion for my constituent, Garry MacKinnon,

:00:21. > :00:25.who doctors report will take his life if he is extradited. Can the

:00:25. > :00:30.government be true to its word and stop the extradition and finally,

:00:30. > :00:34.after ten years, give Garry MacKinnon his life back? I know my

:00:34. > :00:37.honourable friend has campaigned long and hard over this issue. The

:00:37. > :00:42.Home Secretary is carefully considering a wide range of

:00:42. > :00:46.material before making her decision. She has instructed two independent

:00:46. > :00:51.medical experts to review the report that have been submitted in

:00:51. > :00:55.this case. This is not an easy case, as he knows. There are a number of

:00:55. > :01:01.difficult issues before she makes an announcement.

:01:01. > :01:05.The popular NHS walk-in centre in my constituency has recently closed.

:01:05. > :01:08.These NHS walk-in centres are closing all over the country, why?

:01:08. > :01:12.It is certainly not because the money in the NHS is being cut

:01:12. > :01:16.because it is not being cut. The money in the NHS is being increased.

:01:17. > :01:21.If we had followed her advice, the money would be going down. What

:01:21. > :01:28.matters is the money in the NHS is spent to deliver better health

:01:28. > :01:33.outcomes. That is a decision which needs to be taken locally. Giving

:01:33. > :01:36.the fascinating evidence that was presented by his predecessor to the

:01:36. > :01:40.Leveson Inquiry, with the Prime Minister agree with me that it

:01:40. > :01:43.would be overwhelmingly in the public interest, to publish the

:01:44. > :01:47.Downing Street phone records so we can finally establish what

:01:47. > :01:51.conversations happened between his predecessor and Rupert Murdoch?

:01:51. > :01:54.my honourable friend nose, governments cannot release

:01:54. > :01:58.information provided by previous governments but I'm sure this is an

:01:58. > :02:03.issue that the previous Prime Minister will want to consider,

:02:03. > :02:07.given the clear statement that he made.

:02:07. > :02:12.The Prime Minister will probably not be aware that a firm in my

:02:12. > :02:20.constituency produces cream liqueurs and other alcohol products.

:02:20. > :02:28.I do not know if he ever relaxes with his. I have recently beat

:02:28. > :02:34.planning a �10 million investment - - recently been planning. However,

:02:34. > :02:39.they are now worried that HMRC are reinterpreting how they treat these

:02:39. > :02:42.products for duty, under pressure from the European Commission with

:02:42. > :02:48.their erroneous interpretation of the European Court of Justice. Will

:02:48. > :02:53.he ensure that a competent Treasury Minister makes myself and other MPs

:02:53. > :03:00.to ensure that common sense and consistency prevails.

:03:00. > :03:02.I have not tried one of these delicious sounding their fridges.

:03:02. > :03:08.If it is all right with the honourable gentleman I will wait

:03:08. > :03:13.until after tomorrow before trying. -- beverages. I do understand there

:03:13. > :03:19.is an issue with HMRC and I'm happy to arrange a meeting so they can

:03:19. > :03:24.look closely at this issue. Unprecedented levels of flooding

:03:24. > :03:29.hit the North Caribbean communities at the weekend causing untold

:03:29. > :03:36.damage to business has -- Ceredigion. I think the Prime

:03:36. > :03:39.Minister for his words of support and I know the council, emergency

:03:39. > :03:46.services and many in the local community rallied to ensure no loss

:03:46. > :03:50.of life. Can I urge the Prime Minister to urge all insurance

:03:50. > :03:56.companies to act now with renewed speed on this so we can get the

:03:56. > :03:58.communities back on their feet as quickly as possible? I certainly

:03:58. > :04:04.joined my honourable friend in praising the emergency services who

:04:04. > :04:07.did a superb job at the weekend. I spoke to the Welsh Secretary and

:04:07. > :04:11.also the Welsh First Minister to pass on what my best wishes for the

:04:11. > :04:15.work they have done. In all the situations, there is clearly the

:04:15. > :04:18.rescue and emergency part of it. Then there is the recovery phase. I

:04:18. > :04:23.think in many ways the most difficult phase to get right is

:04:23. > :04:26.when people are going back into soaked homes with peeled plaster

:04:26. > :04:29.and all the other problems that come about and making sure they get

:04:29. > :04:32.swift action from the district council and above all from the

:04:32. > :04:42.insurance companies. I will certainly worked with him to make

:04:42. > :04:43.

:04:43. > :04:47.There is civil war in Syria. The economy is in recession. The

:04:47. > :04:51.Chancellor is blaming that recession on the eurozone crisis.

:04:51. > :04:56.The eurozone crisis gets worse by the day. There were riots in Poland

:04:56. > :05:00.last night and major demonstrations in Moscow. But the exchange at PMQs

:05:00. > :05:03.was dominated by the future of the Culture Secretary, Mr Hunt. We will

:05:03. > :05:08.talk about that in a minute. First, we hear what you thought.

:05:08. > :05:12.Well, you have just stolen my thunder because that's that's

:05:12. > :05:19.exactly what a lot of the viewers said. They did wonder why it was

:05:19. > :05:25.that most of PMQs was devoted to Jeremy Hunt. So we had this from

:05:25. > :05:31.Kevin from London. "is the euro about to collapse? Is there civil

:05:31. > :05:36.war in Syria? What are they on about?" We had this from a Jeremy

:05:36. > :05:42.Hunt "does the Westminster Village think the rest of the world really

:05:42. > :05:45.cares about this?" We will never if it was from the Jeremy Hunt.

:05:45. > :05:54.Jacqueline in Bristol says, "Ed Miliband quoting David Cameron

:05:54. > :06:01.about being the future once. The delivery was so poor he could get a

:06:01. > :06:05.raspberry for it." Surely sooner or later Jeremy Hunt's conduct will

:06:05. > :06:08.have to be properly investigated. Well, they went with Jeremy Hunt so

:06:08. > :06:12.we better talk about it. We have had this letter, the Prime Minister

:06:12. > :06:16.has unveiled this letter from the man that is supposed to look after

:06:16. > :06:19.the Ministerial Code just explain to our viewers, Nick, what happened.

:06:19. > :06:23.If David Cameron had written the letter himself, he wouldn't have

:06:23. > :06:26.written it differently. The independent adviser on ministerial

:06:26. > :06:31.interests, the person the Labour Party have been saying must look

:06:31. > :06:36.into this case has written to him and I'm going to para phrase. He

:06:36. > :06:40.said the facts came out in the Leveson Inquiry. There is no value

:06:40. > :06:46.in me looking for more facts. He says, "I remain open to looking

:06:46. > :06:50.after it if if things change." David Cameron said "it was my job

:06:50. > :06:56.to decide whether the code was broken. My job therefore, to decide

:06:56. > :07:00.whether Hunt should stay or go. The role of the adviser was to

:07:00. > :07:05.establish the facts." I have gone back to look at this great thing,

:07:05. > :07:08.the Ministerial Code. Right. Let's read what it says. "if

:07:08. > :07:12.there is an allegation about a breach of the code and the Prime

:07:12. > :07:19.Minister having consulted the Cabinet Secretary feels that it

:07:19. > :07:23.warrants further investigation, he will refer the matter to the

:07:23. > :07:28.independent adviser." It is up to the Prime Minister. So people who

:07:28. > :07:34.think that Hunt should have gone, they are saying, "You should have

:07:34. > :07:39.got rid of him." Would Ed Miliband, if he is Prime Minister, say, "Your

:07:39. > :07:44.job in the Cabinet, he hands over to someone else to decide whether

:07:44. > :07:48.you stay or go." My guess, he wouldn't.

:07:48. > :07:50.The Prime Minister is the gatekeeper. One of the things we

:07:50. > :07:54.have been discussing in Parliament and outside of Parliament over the

:07:54. > :07:58.last two weeks because we have been on recess is the issue is whether

:07:58. > :08:01.the Prime Minister should be the gatekeeper bearing in mind the self

:08:01. > :08:05.interest the Prime Minister clearly has. The issue of who is a minister

:08:05. > :08:07.should be the job for the Prime Minister. The issue of who resolves

:08:07. > :08:12.whether there has been a breach of ministerial codes bearing in mind

:08:12. > :08:16.you have an independent ministerial adviser, should be the independent

:08:16. > :08:19.ministerial adviser. If there is evidence of a breach, you refer it

:08:19. > :08:23.to the independent adviser and that's what should have happened in

:08:23. > :08:25.this case. That opens the possibility and it

:08:25. > :08:28.would be interesting if this was the case that the Prime Minister

:08:28. > :08:32.gets a report, an independent report report saying someone has

:08:32. > :08:36.breached the Ministerial Code, but says, "I choose to keep them."

:08:36. > :08:41.sanction should be the job for the Prime Minister. He decides whether

:08:41. > :08:46.a minister is appointed or stays. You need assistance sometimes for

:08:46. > :08:51.somebody to look at the evidence and decide whether somebody...

:08:51. > :08:56.David Cameron is basically saying and I think he regrets the way this

:08:56. > :09:01.Ministerial Code was written. He says, "It is up to me who is in my

:09:01. > :09:05.Cabinet and if you don't like it, vote for another party." It was

:09:05. > :09:09.updated by David Cameron when he came Prime Minister in 2010.

:09:09. > :09:13.Because he wanted to have a new style of of politics, he updated

:09:13. > :09:19.and change it had. He says, "We, the foreies, must be

:09:19. > :09:23.different." His letter to Alex Allen was sent today and he

:09:23. > :09:26.received a reply today. Who remains in the Government has

:09:26. > :09:28.to be a matter for the Prime Minister. In the end, it has to be

:09:28. > :09:33.for the Prime Minister. He has taken that decision. He has the

:09:33. > :09:37.option of seeking advice, but the facts of the case have been

:09:37. > :09:42.exhaustively examined on television, under oath by a judicial inquiry

:09:42. > :09:45.and really, I I nothing new has emerged over the last two months to

:09:45. > :09:48.show that there has been a serious breach.

:09:48. > :09:51.What hasn't been examined and that's the substance of the Labour

:09:51. > :09:56.motion today, and what the Liberal Democrats are going to abstain on

:09:56. > :09:59.is the suggestion that he breached the Ministerial Code A, by

:09:59. > :10:04.misleading Parliament, Leveson didn't discuss that, and by failing

:10:04. > :10:08.to control his special adviser. Clearly, the facts on the special

:10:08. > :10:11.adviser was was looked into at Leveson, but there was never - did

:10:11. > :10:14.you fail to control your special adviser.

:10:14. > :10:19.We have had one debate and he is going to explain the answers he

:10:19. > :10:23.gave which were superseded by the evidence he laid in front of

:10:23. > :10:30.Leveson, a huge amount of text and e-mails and he will tear clear that

:10:30. > :10:33.up -- he will clear that up. They will have to look at the role of a

:10:33. > :10:37.special adviser. There were two other things that

:10:37. > :10:42.came out that are transport issues that I'm interested in. PMQs kicked

:10:42. > :10:47.off with a question from Zac Goldsmith, a great environmentalist

:10:47. > :10:51.whose constituency is on the Heathrow flightpath. He told the

:10:51. > :10:56.Prime Minister, "You are going to stick, aren't you to your Tory

:10:56. > :11:01.commitment to not build a third runway?" The Prime Minister did not

:11:01. > :11:06.say yes at all. When he came to HS 2 and the high-speed railway, the

:11:06. > :11:10.Prime Minister said, "I am in favour of this." But I am told the

:11:10. > :11:15.project is being kicked into the long grass and that HS 2 is not

:11:15. > :11:20.going to happen in the foreseeable future. It is interesting there

:11:21. > :11:26.maybe a U-turn in the making over the runway and HS 2 being kicked

:11:26. > :11:29.into the long grass. There maybe a U-turn on the runway, but not until

:11:29. > :11:32.the next manifesto. I don't think David Cameron thinks he could get

:11:32. > :11:36.away with either in coalition with the Liberal Democrats or with some

:11:36. > :11:40.of his own supportsers like Zac Goldsmith or with the people in

:11:40. > :11:44.West London who voted a particular way because of the Tory manifesto.

:11:44. > :11:46.He couldn't get away with a U-turn until he put it to the country

:11:46. > :11:52.again. There is pressure from business on the Conservative Party

:11:52. > :11:56.to come up with a solution to this aviation crisis. A, on high-speed 2,

:11:56. > :12:00.the anxiety I'm told is about money. The Treasury was always relaxed

:12:00. > :12:04.about high-speed 2 because it was so many years away it didn't have

:12:04. > :12:07.anything to do with the period at which our deficit was being cut.

:12:07. > :12:12.The problem is that the Chancellor told us, it will take more years

:12:12. > :12:17.than originally planned to cut the deficit and therefore, you get a

:12:17. > :12:21.cross over the moment the Treasury is trying to cut spending, it comes

:12:21. > :12:24.at the same time as this massive investment to pay for high-speed 2.

:12:24. > :12:27.If you speak to businesses inside this country and outside this

:12:27. > :12:31.country, one of the biggest criticisms is lack of transport

:12:31. > :12:34.infrastructure to get to this country and to get freight around

:12:34. > :12:41.and other things around as well. If Nick is right, another example of

:12:41. > :12:45.the needs of our country being acraifiesed for the -- sacrificed

:12:46. > :12:50.for the greater good of the two political parties in charge at the

:12:50. > :12:55.moment. There are different issues, the

:12:55. > :13:00.airport capacity issue is a major issue. Heathrow is full. We are

:13:00. > :13:05.going to get a consultation document calling for evidence as to

:13:05. > :13:13.how we use our airports we are and where people think the next runway

:13:13. > :13:20.should be built across the South East or elsewhere. How long will

:13:20. > :13:24.that take? How long is a longer project.

:13:24. > :13:30.Even longer now. So these are different projects.

:13:30. > :13:33.Labour fought the last election in favour of a third runway at

:13:33. > :13:38.Heathrow and the other two parties were against it. After you lost,

:13:38. > :13:42.you changed your policy to be against a third runway.

:13:42. > :13:45.I heard your transport spokeswoman tell me that you were against it.

:13:45. > :13:50.You are reviewing the policy? are reviewing our transport policy

:13:50. > :13:55.which includes aviation, but we are in favour of high-speed two.

:13:55. > :13:59.You would like to see that go ahead? High tweed two? Yes -- high-

:13:59. > :14:05.speed two? Yes. The issue is we are told by this

:14:05. > :14:09.this chancellor he will bring forward projects and he needs to do

:14:09. > :14:12.so and the good thing about high- speed two, you have a number of

:14:12. > :14:16.different revenue streams to help fund it, but you have got a

:14:16. > :14:22.situation where Crossrail will be finishing shortly and it will be

:14:22. > :14:29.easy to transfer the skills from Crossrail to high-speed two.

:14:29. > :14:33.It will be finished by 2015. High-speed two is a a longer term

:14:33. > :14:37.project and it requires legislation to go before Parliament. It wasn't

:14:37. > :14:41.on the Queen's Speech, was it? Delay. Delay. Delay.

:14:41. > :14:45.You didn't do anything for 13 years about high-speed railways. We are

:14:45. > :14:51.getting on with it, but it is a long-term project.

:14:51. > :14:58.Crossrail was announced in 1986, it is now 2012! Things happen quickly

:14:58. > :15:02.Five years ago, Gary Newlove was murdered by three youths outside

:15:02. > :15:05.his home in Warrington. He had gone outside to speak to a gang of

:15:05. > :15:07.youths who he believed had been vandalising his wife Helen's car.

:15:07. > :15:13.Since then Helen, now Baroness Newlove, has been determined to

:15:13. > :15:16.make sure her husband's death is not just another statistic. For

:15:16. > :15:19.this week's soapbox, we joined her on an estate in Havering, East

:15:19. > :15:21.London, one of the neighbourhoods across England and Wales where she

:15:21. > :15:31.has been trying to tackle anti- social behaviour through community

:15:31. > :15:31.

:15:31. > :15:38.The police have named the man who died after confronting a gang of

:15:38. > :15:42.youths outside his home. He was Garry Newlove. Detectives described

:15:42. > :15:46.his murder as sickening. On the 10th August 2007, my family

:15:46. > :15:51.life ended as I knew T my husband, Garry Newlove, was attacked by a

:15:51. > :15:56.gang of youths. He was kicked in the head 14 times and suffered 40

:15:56. > :16:04.internal injuries. My neighbourhood suffered from under-age and binge-

:16:04. > :16:08.drinking. I attended my local meetings, spoke

:16:08. > :16:18.to my local agencies who classed anti-social behaviour as low level

:16:18. > :16:20.

:16:20. > :16:24.crime. So no action was done. Everybody has a right to live

:16:24. > :16:28.safely and happily in their communities. Under-age and binge-

:16:28. > :16:31.drinking drags communities down. That is why I was pleased to be

:16:31. > :16:33.made a Baroness In the House of Lords, giving me a national

:16:33. > :16:38.platform to champion the voices of communities who suffer such

:16:39. > :16:42.problems. We have to stop under-age and

:16:42. > :16:48.binge-drinking. Stop shops from selling alcohol to under-age

:16:48. > :16:54.drinkers. If need be, close them down if they persist. Stop street

:16:54. > :16:57.drinking. Make drinking more sociable and not anti-social and

:16:57. > :17:01.working the trade. Working together helps everybody.

:17:01. > :17:05.Hello, Syd. How are you? It is lovely to see you.

:17:05. > :17:08.There is a hidden team of people who work tirelessly without seeking

:17:08. > :17:14.reward or recognise recognition to make life better for everyone. We

:17:14. > :17:19.are in Havering where the spirit flourishes. The generations have

:17:19. > :17:26.reached an understanding of mutual tolerance. People work with the

:17:26. > :17:31.authorities for the good of the community.

:17:31. > :17:36.I am working with ten areas across the country over the next few years

:17:36. > :17:43.who have access to to �1 million funding, bringing communities

:17:43. > :17:47.together to drive down social be behaviour. I do this passionately

:17:48. > :17:53.because I do not want another family to suffer the highest price

:17:53. > :17:56.my family paid. Helen Newlove is with us now. It is

:17:56. > :18:00.very tough for you in the way you lost your husband, but you picked

:18:00. > :18:02.yourself up and you are working hard to help communities battle

:18:02. > :18:07.against binge-drinking and other social problems. What keeps you

:18:07. > :18:11.going? I think listening to people's problems in communities

:18:11. > :18:14.and I was a community activist where I lived. I had terrible

:18:14. > :18:20.problems. My neighbours suffered terrible problems with the cars,

:18:20. > :18:23.alcohol was thrown in our gardens. People were urinenating up the

:18:23. > :18:26.fences and there is only so much you can take. We attended community

:18:26. > :18:31.meetings where we had the police and the councillors and everybody

:18:31. > :18:34.else and it was walking away from one of the meetings that I said

:18:34. > :18:37.until somebody is murdered they will not do anything. Little did I

:18:37. > :18:41.know it would be Gary. For me, listening to going through the

:18:41. > :18:44.trial and and listening to people today, who are suffering the same

:18:44. > :18:48.problems, if gives me the passion to do something because it should

:18:48. > :18:51.never ever happen. You should feel safe where you live.

:18:51. > :18:55.You have explained about the social problems. Do you think those sh use

:18:55. > :18:58.that you have mentioned -- issues that you mentioned which some of

:18:58. > :19:01.the agencies deal with and say it is a low lying anti-social

:19:01. > :19:07.behaviour and crime, do you think those are the problems that can

:19:07. > :19:13.lead to what happened to your husband? I get infuriated when they

:19:13. > :19:17.say "low level crime." When they don't live there, it is infuriating.

:19:17. > :19:21.My mailbag is full of people who shut their curtains, frightened to

:19:21. > :19:29.go out, they cross the road, that is not low level crime. To me, it

:19:29. > :19:33.is a silent killer and we need to nip it in the bud fast.

:19:33. > :19:36.Do you think binge-drinking is the whole issue? Do you think that's

:19:36. > :19:39.the biggest driver of the crimes and social problems that you are

:19:39. > :19:46.talking about? It is one of the drivers. Alcohol-related crime is

:19:46. > :19:53.horrendous because it is a come buston of things. You become anti-

:19:53. > :19:57.social to people and you get violent. Gary suffered 14 kicks to

:19:57. > :20:00.the head. 15 people were around him. This was on a summer's evening and

:20:00. > :20:05.he was in shorts and he asked one single question. You have to look

:20:05. > :20:13.at the indicators, but in rural areas, people are having their

:20:13. > :20:17.tractors pinched and people laugh when I say, "We have got Tractor

:20:17. > :20:20.Watch." They can't employee workers. These are real problems and we

:20:20. > :20:24.should not dismiss them as low level crimes and I will never give

:20:24. > :20:27.it a low level crime because Gary started off as anti-social

:20:27. > :20:35.behaviour and he lost his life and I had to turn his life support

:20:35. > :20:40.machine off. How do you class that How do you get communities

:20:40. > :20:48.involved? Are they not frightened to some extent to do what you were

:20:48. > :20:55.doing? The model used was in Havering, east London. How to get

:20:55. > :21:00.people to patrol the streets and Aaron way or patrol the neighbours?

:21:00. > :21:03.Everybody said to me, we need to know what the ingredients are. If I

:21:03. > :21:08.knew the ingredients I would have a top saleswoman plaque on my

:21:08. > :21:12.shoulder. You cannot say but these people are very passionate. They

:21:12. > :21:17.are sick of living in these blighted areas. At the end of the

:21:17. > :21:22.day, if you want to do something, you do not get anything done by

:21:22. > :21:25.sitting and complaining. If you want to make a change, try and

:21:25. > :21:30.connect. There are frightened people out there and not everybody

:21:30. > :21:34.can do it. It is to help them feel safer so them when they feel they

:21:34. > :21:40.can do it they can go out. Because it is blighted or we label them

:21:40. > :21:45.deprived areas, affluent areas, who labels them? We are all the same in

:21:45. > :21:51.life and we need to be able to live in a safer, happier place. Why was

:21:51. > :21:56.Havering a good place to go? I love Havering. I am a people person.

:21:56. > :22:01.When I went to Havering I first met them in a hall. It was very unique

:22:01. > :22:05.because we had the older generation this side, the younger generation

:22:05. > :22:09.this side and I was a referee in the middle. There were six

:22:09. > :22:14.youngsters who had made a DVD and they showed it and they were asking

:22:14. > :22:20.about the area. One of the things the young lad said was he thought

:22:20. > :22:24.the old people should be in by 8 o'clock. Then the older people said,

:22:24. > :22:29.why should I be in by 8 o'clock, I have lived here for 40 odd years.

:22:29. > :22:34.They are saying you should not be in bed, we are worried because we

:22:34. > :22:38.do not feel safe. I am connecting them now. They have done a rap

:22:38. > :22:44.Opera together, opened photograph clubs and we have a 92-year-old

:22:44. > :22:49.woman who is in charge of the community centre. What sort of help

:22:49. > :22:52.can the government give to tackle these problems? I think we are

:22:52. > :22:55.seeing their help. We have the Localism Bill and local people have

:22:55. > :23:00.a voice but they go one about the Big Society, the Prime Minister

:23:00. > :23:05.does, he did not say it to give everybody a manual. Everybody mucks

:23:05. > :23:09.it. When I speak to communities, they want recognition. They say, we

:23:09. > :23:14.are doing it, we have a great British background and we will

:23:14. > :23:17.carry on doing it. Michael Fallon, there is a big issue with binge

:23:17. > :23:22.drinking and we have talked about minimum pricing but will that be

:23:22. > :23:26.enough to stop the images of our town centres being filled with

:23:26. > :23:31.drunken yobs who take up all the time of the health services, the

:23:31. > :23:36.emergency services and the police, it cost a fortune? We are looking

:23:36. > :23:40.at the unit pricing of alcohol but we are doing other things as well.

:23:40. > :23:45.We have doubled the penalty for shops selling to under-age children.

:23:45. > :23:50.There are too many and dredge drinkers. We are giving communities

:23:50. > :23:55.assay over licences -- too many under-aged drinkers. We are making

:23:55. > :23:58.it tougher for places to get licences. We are making them

:23:58. > :24:02.contribute to the cost of clearing this stuff up. The government has

:24:02. > :24:07.got to do a lot of these little things to create a better climate.

:24:07. > :24:12.But in the end, it is for communities. I salute what Helen is

:24:12. > :24:17.doing. We have to start by changing little things. Changing the culture

:24:17. > :24:21.is what many people say, governments manage to change the

:24:21. > :24:28.culture in relation to smoking, the tide was turned. Why not be as

:24:28. > :24:36.radical? Banning, just for example, to be more radical not just change

:24:36. > :24:41.bits of the law, and it will not change the culture and be more

:24:41. > :24:47.dramatic about it? Unit pricing may do that, multi- buying may stop

:24:47. > :24:56.people buying great trunks together. What about banning drinking on the

:24:56. > :25:01.street? Boris Johnson bandit on the Tube. You can get an alcohol

:25:01. > :25:04.banning order in areas. We have tried it in Kent. There are some

:25:04. > :25:08.experiments. We have to look at different ways of getting the

:25:08. > :25:13.culture to change. It took a long time with smoking but we are

:25:13. > :25:18.working at it with drinking as well. Thank you, Helen.

:25:18. > :25:22.Remind me of giving Michael Fallon the history of American prohibition

:25:22. > :25:25.for Christmas. The Falkland Islands will hold a

:25:25. > :25:32.referendum next year on their future sovereignty. Yes, a

:25:32. > :25:36.referendum, fancy that?! They hope there will be a firm message to

:25:36. > :25:41.Argentina that the islanders will remain British. Comes on the 30th

:25:41. > :25:45.anniversary of the end of the Argentine occupation of the islands.

:25:45. > :25:49.David Lidington has just been updating Parliament on the plans.

:25:49. > :25:52.For our part, the British government will continue to offer

:25:52. > :25:56.unequivocal support to the islanders, by maintaining a

:25:56. > :26:01.defensive posture on the islands, by supporting the growing economy

:26:01. > :26:05.and by protecting their rights and their wishes today, just as we did

:26:05. > :26:10.30 years ago. The forthcoming referendum will provide I believe,

:26:10. > :26:15.further evidence that the islanders alone will decide their future and

:26:15. > :26:20.will offer a simple but powerful expression of democracy.

:26:20. > :26:25.So, how about that? A Tory lead government finally gives the

:26:25. > :26:28.British a referendum on sovereignty. Are you proud? Absolutely. This is

:26:28. > :26:34.the week we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the liberation of

:26:34. > :26:39.the Falklands. It is a clear-cut issue, do you want to stay British?

:26:39. > :26:44.It was done in Gibraltar a few years ago. I think it will send a

:26:44. > :26:47.strong message. If it is good enough for the Falklands, what

:26:47. > :26:52.about the rest? Where is the evidence that the people of the

:26:52. > :26:58.Falkland Islands want a referendum? I think you have seen plenty of

:26:58. > :27:06.evidence. We know what the outcome is, don't we? Do we? How do we

:27:06. > :27:10.know? It will be a minimum of 95 % in favour of the current status.

:27:10. > :27:14.hope so. Argentina has been reasserting its claim. It is very

:27:14. > :27:19.important that Argentina gets the wishes of loud and clear that we

:27:19. > :27:23.will respect the issues -- wishes of the islanders. What about a

:27:23. > :27:28.referendum on House of Lords reform? You can have referendums on

:27:28. > :27:32.lots of things. So specifically, House of Lords reform. There is

:27:32. > :27:38.evidence that people wanted. The plants are very controversial, as

:27:38. > :27:46.you know. Changing our constitution forever, let's have a referendum,

:27:46. > :27:51.trust the people, Michael. referendum was proposed. Will we do

:27:51. > :27:56.it? Be brave, Michael, you are the deputy chairman of the Conservative

:27:56. > :28:01.Party. Don't let Clegg bully you. Could we give the Falkland as a

:28:01. > :28:06.referendum on the House of Lords? And Europe! Enough.

:28:06. > :28:10.Too much teasing going on here. We have just got time to pick the

:28:10. > :28:16.winner of the get the year competition. The correct answer was

:28:16. > :28:26.1977, the year of the Silver Jubilee year and the Labour act --

:28:26. > :28:26.

:28:26. > :28:32.Lib-Lab pact. And there we go. Alan Atkinson from Kent is the winner.

:28:32. > :28:37.That is it for today. We thank both Michael Fallon and Sadiq Khan for

:28:37. > :28:42.being our guests, for being good sports as well. You have to be a

:28:42. > :28:46.good sport to be on this programme, Newsnight it is not. The One