:00:37. > :00:43.Good morning. This is the Daily Politics. It's taken almost a week
:00:44. > :00:47.but those baying for Maria Miller's blood have got what they wanted. The
:00:48. > :00:50.Culture Secretary, who'd been under heavy fire over her expenses,
:00:51. > :00:59.resigned early this morning saying the controversy had become a
:01:00. > :01:04.distraction. I want to remove what has become an unhelpful and very
:01:05. > :01:08.difficult distraction for colleagues but also taking away from being able
:01:09. > :01:12.to talk about the achievements of the Government. The Prime Minister
:01:13. > :01:15.was expected to come under further pressure over her position during
:01:16. > :01:22.Question Time in the Commons. See how he fares at midday. And musician
:01:23. > :01:24.and activist Billy Bragg will be here to explain why he thinks
:01:25. > :01:35.restricting prisoners' access to books and guitars is wrong. We
:01:36. > :01:41.believe that music can help offenders to engage in the process
:01:42. > :01:44.of rehabilitation. Prisons we work with realise the value of creative
:01:45. > :01:48.expression in helping offenders to come to terms with the crimes they
:01:49. > :01:55.have committed. All that and more coming up in the next 90 minutes of
:01:56. > :02:00.television gold. And with us for the duration, two squeaky clean MPs.
:02:01. > :02:02.Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps and Labour's Chuka
:02:03. > :02:12.Umunna.He's the Shadow Business Secretary.
:02:13. > :02:20.Welcome to you both. Now without further ado, let's talk about the
:02:21. > :02:28.resignation of the Culture Secretary, Maria Miller. Her
:02:29. > :02:40.resignation was announced a little after 7:30am after almost a week of
:02:41. > :02:46.criticism surrounding her expenses. She has finally gone in front of the
:02:47. > :02:52.cameras. This is what she said a little earlier. I want to remove
:02:53. > :02:56.what has become an unhelpful and difficult distraction for colleagues
:02:57. > :03:01.but also taking away from being able to talk about the achievements of
:03:02. > :03:10.the Government. In your resignation letter, you mention Leveson. Do you
:03:11. > :03:17.think this is part of the media witchhunt? I take responsibility for
:03:18. > :03:21.the situation. I fully accent the findings in the Parliamentary
:03:22. > :03:27.standards report. This is about that. -- accept. It is important I
:03:28. > :03:32.take away this distraction from the work of the Government and I really
:03:33. > :03:39.do want to reiterate my full support for the Prime Minister. That was
:03:40. > :03:43.Maria Miller speaking this morning. She sounded a bit more contrite than
:03:44. > :03:49.she did in her apology in the House of Commons last week. It lasted only
:03:50. > :03:54.32 seconds and was not seen as adequate by people on both sides of
:03:55. > :03:57.the House. Last night, Maria Miller appeared to be fighting for
:03:58. > :03:59.political survival, issuing a fresh apology to her Basingstoke
:04:00. > :04:05.constituents through her local newspaper. It has been quite a long
:04:06. > :04:13.and protracted saga. Talk us through it. Although it's a story that's
:04:14. > :04:17.reached a crescendo and denouement in less than a week, the saga of
:04:18. > :04:20.Maria Mller's expense claims has been playing out over the last 14
:04:21. > :04:23.months. In December 2012, the Telegraph reported that Mrs Miller
:04:24. > :04:25.had claimed over ?90,000 in parliamentary expenses for the
:04:26. > :04:32.mortgage and running costs of her second home in South London between
:04:33. > :04:35.2005 and 2009. The Telegraph would later allege that Conservative
:04:36. > :04:40.advisors tried to warn them off the story, saying they were looking at
:04:41. > :04:42.Leveson. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
:04:43. > :04:45.investigated and cleared the MP of making false expenses claims but did
:04:46. > :04:53.ask her to repay ?45,000 for over-claiming for mortgage interest
:04:54. > :04:56.payments and council tax. However, the final say over sanctions rested
:04:57. > :05:01.with the Commons Committee for Standards. They asked Mrs Miller to
:05:02. > :05:04.pay back just ?5,800 and apologise for her attitude to the
:05:05. > :05:14.investigation, which she duly did, for a whole 32 seconds.
:05:15. > :05:21.I wish to make a personal statement in relation to today 's report. The
:05:22. > :05:25.report resulted from an allegation made by the member for Bassetlaw.
:05:26. > :05:30.The committee has dismissed his allegation. The committee has
:05:31. > :05:36.recommended that I apologise to the House for my attitude to the
:05:37. > :05:40.commissioner 's inquiries and I, of course, unreservedly apologise. I
:05:41. > :05:46.fully accept the recommendations of the committee and thank them for
:05:47. > :05:50.bringing this matter to an end. Maria Miller and her apology. The
:05:51. > :05:53.brief apology didn't win her any friends in either the press or
:05:54. > :05:56.politics. Tory grandee Lord Tebbitt accused her of behaving arrogantly
:05:57. > :05:59.and called on her to resign, as did former speaker Baroness Boothroyd,
:06:00. > :06:04.who was disappointed and outraged about it. And the Telegraph followed
:06:05. > :06:07.up with a second allegation that Mrs Miller flipped her second home in
:06:08. > :06:12.Wimbledon, designating it as her main residence, avoiding capital
:06:13. > :06:14.gains tax when she sold it. The Prime Minister, however, resolutely
:06:15. > :06:21.stood by her insisting she had done the right thing by apologising.
:06:22. > :06:34.Grassroots Conservatives disagreed. 85% said she should go and, in the
:06:35. > :06:43.end, they got their way. We are joined now by: Shapps and Chuck A.
:06:44. > :06:47.Has Maria Miller gone because she has done something wrong or you
:06:48. > :06:59.could not stand the media and public frenzy for her to go? She was
:07:00. > :07:03.becoming the story. It prevented any other story, including for example,
:07:04. > :07:10.the International monetary fund saying we have the fastest growth of
:07:11. > :07:16.any advanced economy. It was getting in the way. You agree yesterday, the
:07:17. > :07:20.IMF said, fast growth, number six on the news, Maria number two. It was
:07:21. > :07:25.getting in the wake of that she thought that was becoming
:07:26. > :07:32.unsustainable. Did she do anything wrong? That is not for means to say.
:07:33. > :07:36.The committee said she had to pay back ?5,800 and apologise for the
:07:37. > :07:42.way in which the information was provided, through a lawyer, I think.
:07:43. > :07:46.Presumably it was all very legalistic and time-consuming. You
:07:47. > :07:50.are unable to say whether in your view she did anything wrong or not?
:07:51. > :07:56.she did something wrong in terms of public opinion. If you read the
:07:57. > :08:00.report, they come to the conclusion that the rules themselves were also
:08:01. > :08:04.part of the problem, in addition to anything else. That is why there was
:08:05. > :08:08.a discrepancy between the Commissioner and the outcome of that
:08:09. > :08:14.committee. By the way, that was chaired by a Labour MP. They were
:08:15. > :08:19.definitely have said if it was wrong. Having decided to stick by
:08:20. > :08:23.her, as the Prime Minister originally did, why was there no
:08:24. > :08:30.campaign or operation mounted by Downing Street to protect her? I am
:08:31. > :08:33.talking about in the start. No Cabinet ministers would come
:08:34. > :08:39.forward. Tory MPs could not come forward. You decided to stick with
:08:40. > :08:43.her and you left her unprotected. I do not think that is entirely true.
:08:44. > :08:55.When it is the Prime Minister, that is important. I do also think, our
:08:56. > :09:02.press is able to go without fear anywhere they want. If your job was
:09:03. > :09:06.to protect her, that was the original decision taken by your
:09:07. > :09:11.Prime Minister. Why didn't you make sure and insist she made a
:09:12. > :09:19.semi-decent apology? A lot has been made of the length of the apology. I
:09:20. > :09:23.think it is perfectly fair for people to comment upon it. When you
:09:24. > :09:30.listen to the words, she used the phrase, I unreservedly apologise. I
:09:31. > :09:37.thought the words were right. I do not know the ins and outs. You did
:09:38. > :09:40.not know. Downing Street was mounting a protection operation
:09:41. > :09:46.which, in the end, left her unprotected. We should explain,
:09:47. > :09:51.somebody's personal statement to the House of Commons is exactly that. It
:09:52. > :09:56.is a personal statement. The reputation of the Prime Minister is
:09:57. > :10:01.on the line. He is defending her. Wouldn't you really like to see,
:10:02. > :10:05.could you just run past us exactly how you will apologise? When you go
:10:06. > :10:09.to the House of Commons and you speak on a ministerial brief, the
:10:10. > :10:12.Government brief comic you want to be clear it is collective
:10:13. > :10:19.responsibility of the Government. On a personal statement can you would
:10:20. > :10:22.write it down and deliver it. Her political private secretary said it
:10:23. > :10:27.was a witchhunt in the media. Do you agree with that? I think the media
:10:28. > :10:33.should and can go anywhere they want to. I think that is a very good
:10:34. > :10:39.thing. You have no complaints that how the media has handled this in
:10:40. > :10:45.the past ten days? Gnome. We are all subject to a lot of scrutiny. -- no.
:10:46. > :10:48.That makes me proud to be British. We live in a country where people
:10:49. > :10:57.can ask whatever they want and the press can be fearless. I still think
:10:58. > :11:01.it is very good. You say that but her private Parliamentary Secretary
:11:02. > :11:07.said it was a witchhunt. She said that in a text message. Her own
:11:08. > :11:12.special adviser made the link with Leveson, threatening, reminding
:11:13. > :11:15.newspapers that she was the woman in charge of the Leveson process.
:11:16. > :11:20.Whether she was or not was another matter. That was the threat. Do you
:11:21. > :11:25.agree with the behaviour of her special adviser? I have been clear
:11:26. > :11:29.on this. I do not think it is the media coming to get revenge. Was it
:11:30. > :11:33.right, to raise Leveson as an issue with the media that was trying to
:11:34. > :11:37.cover what she was doing with her expenses? When you listen to that
:11:38. > :11:45.conversation, you realise the bit the forwards about the elderly
:11:46. > :11:48.father of Maria Miller, who had just come out of hospital and had a
:11:49. > :11:54.delicate operation. The concern at the time was about press intrusion
:11:55. > :12:00.into a member of the public 's life. That was not meant to be a threat.
:12:01. > :12:05.In regard to doorstep in her elderly father. Her father was quite happy
:12:06. > :12:11.to speak to the press that he joked with them. He had come out of
:12:12. > :12:16.hospital. He joked with them. There was no threat. They said, had they
:12:17. > :12:22.had known all of this, they would not have done that. With this
:12:23. > :12:30.standards committee, made up of MPs, it kind of exonerated or, at least,
:12:31. > :12:35.substantially reduce the criticisms of the were four Labour MPs on this
:12:36. > :12:42.committee. They all eat it that way. -- voted that way. There is the
:12:43. > :12:46.system, this story, Maria Miller, and the way it has been handled by
:12:47. > :12:51.the Prime Minister. The best thing to say is, this is bad for all of
:12:52. > :12:55.us. Clearly she is a Conservative Cabinet minister. From the point of
:12:56. > :13:00.view of your viewers, they put us into the same pot. They are all the
:13:01. > :13:05.same. This is bad for all of us. We need to change the system. What this
:13:06. > :13:09.has highlighted, if you like, going to your point about the committee,
:13:10. > :13:13.there is a perception we are marking our own homework. That is why I
:13:14. > :13:16.think, ultimately, when these things are being determined, the further
:13:17. > :13:24.away we are from making a determination of that being seen to
:13:25. > :13:33.mark our own home work, better. The committee is chaired by a Labour MP.
:13:34. > :13:38.There is a majority of government MPs on it. You all voted the same
:13:39. > :13:41.way. I do not think it is a good thing that there is a perception
:13:42. > :13:46.that there is a gap between where the committee landed and whether
:13:47. > :13:53.Parliamentary standards Commissioner went. In respect of Maria, one thing
:13:54. > :13:57.I was surprised by, you cannot underestimate how toxic the expenses
:13:58. > :14:01.issue is. Never mind retaining her job as Culture Secretary, she will
:14:02. > :14:06.have a real battle on her hands to keep her seat. How on she would have
:14:07. > :14:11.found the time to do that and run her department at the same time, I
:14:12. > :14:16.think from the point of view of A Minister, the problem for him was
:14:17. > :14:20.there was a perception he was acting in a party interest and not a
:14:21. > :14:26.national interest. This has been a complete diversion. Grant is
:14:27. > :14:30.desperate to talk about the IMF. The big economic issue is what he wants
:14:31. > :14:36.to talk about. To some extent it is a legacy issue. It was an alleged
:14:37. > :14:40.infraction that took place before the new regime came in. There have
:14:41. > :14:44.been these complaints about MP should not be marking their own
:14:45. > :14:51.homework. In the new regime that is now place, if a similar fence on
:14:52. > :14:57.expenses to place, what would now be the role of the standards committee
:14:58. > :15:02.of MPs? It would not have a role. That is the key point. People have
:15:03. > :15:12.been saying all week it is wrong that MPs mark their own homework. It
:15:13. > :15:18.is very frustrating over expenses. It is one of those stories that,
:15:19. > :15:22.somehow, has been buried in theirs. Andrew Lansley was on Newsnight last
:15:23. > :15:30.night. Other MPs have been on the programme. Let me clear it. The fact
:15:31. > :15:33.of the matter is, if it is post-2010 when the Independent Parliamentary
:15:34. > :15:38.Standards Authority came in, in future, a case like this would be
:15:39. > :15:43.reported to someone independent of itself. If they want to appeal the
:15:44. > :15:50.outcome, it would be going to a lower tier tribunal. That is the
:15:51. > :15:54.tribunal system useful all sorts of MPs. Another legal process. Until
:15:55. > :16:01.this case came up, I was not aware of all those details and all of
:16:02. > :16:14.things. Granted, I came into Parliament under this different
:16:15. > :16:18.system. It is toxic. This is awful. You decided to defend her and then
:16:19. > :16:25.did not mount an operation to give her any defence. The lack of
:16:26. > :16:30.perceived humility was a problem. I understand that. She is different
:16:31. > :16:38.this morning. She has resigned now. You mentioned her constituency. Well
:16:39. > :16:57.Giles is in Maria Miller's constituency. Not a very right day
:16:58. > :17:01.for her in Basingstoke. Do you think she should have gone, and if she
:17:02. > :17:06.should have gone, should she have gone sooner? I don't think she
:17:07. > :17:10.should have gone, she apologised and the allegations were unfounded. So I
:17:11. > :17:13.don't think she should have gone, we have lost a fantastic secretary of
:17:14. > :17:24.the eight and I think it is a travesty. Who do you blame for it,
:17:25. > :17:28.her, or is it a media witchhunt? Lots of Tory MPs were saying it is
:17:29. > :17:31.toxic for us on the doorstep, she has got to go. I don't think she
:17:32. > :17:37.should have gone, I think the whole thing has been misunderstood. Isn't
:17:38. > :17:42.it the case it is understood by the public that somebody who got tax
:17:43. > :17:49.payers money and did not have to pay back what the enormous sum was, only
:17:50. > :17:53.?5,000. Lots of people have criticised her apology for a seeming
:17:54. > :17:57.lack of contrition, aren't you a bit disappointed she could have stopped
:17:58. > :18:02.this before it got out of hand? No, I think Maria handled this extremely
:18:03. > :18:05.well. There is a lack of understanding about this whole
:18:06. > :18:13.thing. Do you have any understanding? None whatsoever. She
:18:14. > :18:17.was caught out. If she had put her hands about the time and said sorry,
:18:18. > :18:25.I will pay it all back, I made a mistake. Thousands of people signed
:18:26. > :18:30.a petition to get her out and her own MPs did not stand up with her.
:18:31. > :18:36.The committee said she had not done anything wrong she just didn't
:18:37. > :18:45.cooperate fully with the Co-op -- investigation, so what does she put
:18:46. > :18:52.her hands up to? What is the ?5,000? If she had made an apology
:18:53. > :18:57.to those people who saved her ?40,000, I can see why do people
:18:58. > :19:07.turned on her. Will she be in trouble at the next election? Maria
:19:08. > :19:13.is a fantastic dentist UNC MP. -- constituency MP. When people get to
:19:14. > :19:17.the ballot is, they will reflect on council tax being kept low. Why were
:19:18. > :19:24.so many of her colleagues not prepared to put their head over the
:19:25. > :19:28.parapet? People I have been talking to a very supportive. I am talking
:19:29. > :19:32.about the person on the street who have come up to me, asked me
:19:33. > :19:37.questions because they don't understand the thing that has gone
:19:38. > :19:44.on. When it is explained, they understand and she has their
:19:45. > :19:46.support. Somebody mentioned this, Nigel Farage, stood in a
:19:47. > :19:51.constituency and tried to make something of expenses, do you think
:19:52. > :19:57.we will find him here in 2015? We will find him here tonight. Will he
:19:58. > :20:02.stand? No, we have a wonderful candidate, Alan Stone. Everyone
:20:03. > :20:08.loves him and knows him, he will win. That is the word in
:20:09. > :20:20.Basingstoke. There is a feeling she will bubbly resigned, but why didn't
:20:21. > :20:30.she go a little bit sooner? Andrew. Let's move on from Maria Miller in
:20:31. > :20:34.her resignation letter. Letter she said she didn't want her "present
:20:35. > :20:38.situation become a distraction from the vital work this Government is
:20:39. > :20:42.doing". Well, we here at the Daily Politics won't allow it to distract
:20:43. > :20:45.us for the WHOLE programme. So we're going to give Grant a breather and
:20:46. > :20:47.spend the next few minutes talking about something else entirely. The
:20:48. > :20:51.International Monetary Fund says the UK economy will be the
:20:52. > :20:54.fastest-growing in the G7 this year. It says the UK will grow 2.9% in
:20:55. > :21:01.2014, up from a January estimate of 2.4%, and will see growth of 2.5% in
:21:02. > :21:04.2015. Chuka you must be delighted we're seeing such robust growth just
:21:05. > :21:13.a year ahead of the general election?
:21:14. > :21:16.Their chief economist, at the IMF has admitted we underestimated UK
:21:17. > :21:24.growth, we got it wrong and so did you? Let's hope his forecasts are
:21:25. > :21:30.right this time. All economists have this issue. He has admitted he was
:21:31. > :21:36.overcautious, he underestimated UK growth and Labour did exactly the
:21:37. > :21:39.same? We have got to ensure everybody gets to share in the
:21:40. > :21:43.proceeds of that growth. It is a phrase that has been used in the
:21:44. > :21:47.past and we have people who have faced a big fall in their wages
:21:48. > :21:52.since 2010 who now want a pay rise. What is the nature of the new
:21:53. > :21:58.employment created? We have millions of people on zero hours contracts,
:21:59. > :22:02.1.4 million people working part-time and millions of people working on a
:22:03. > :22:05.part-time basis who want to be full-time. But there is a structural
:22:06. > :22:09.issue and that is, we need to change the shape of our labour market,
:22:10. > :22:14.which is to lower wages and low skill. Compared to the other
:22:15. > :22:19.countries, there are only four others who have a higher incidence
:22:20. > :22:25.of low paid, load skill work. That is the challenge we have got. It is
:22:26. > :22:30.all right having GDP growth, but in terms of peoples lives, it will not
:22:31. > :22:35.change much. We will come onto that, let's go on to the narrative of
:22:36. > :22:39.Labour, it was just about growth. You said it was reckless, they are
:22:40. > :22:42.taking the most reckless, political gamble with the economy, for
:22:43. > :22:51.political reasons. It has not paid off, it has been catastrophic. Who
:22:52. > :22:56.said that in January 2013? The argument has always been, not that
:22:57. > :23:06.there would never be growth, but in 2010 we had falling unemployment. So
:23:07. > :23:15.who said that? Have a guess. I have no idea. It was Ed Balls. If you let
:23:16. > :23:22.me finish my sentence. You did not and so my question. I was about two
:23:23. > :23:27.and the point I was going to make is, we never said there would be no
:23:28. > :23:35.growth ever. You said flat-lining and growth would be choked off. You
:23:36. > :23:41.had three years of saying and we will come onto whether it is the
:23:42. > :23:45.right growth and sustainable, but we had three years of Labour saying it
:23:46. > :23:53.was a flat-lining economy and it was choking off any recovery and any
:23:54. > :23:58.recovery would be minimal. 2.9% this year before returning to its
:23:59. > :24:05.long-term trend of 2.5%. Annual rate of growth in Dring, the strongest in
:24:06. > :24:12.three years. Isn't this investment is predicted to be at 7%. Higher
:24:13. > :24:16.than it was before the crash. Where is the catastrophe? Where is the
:24:17. > :24:23.choking off of any recovery? There was three years of witty much no
:24:24. > :24:28.growth. That was the choking off of growth we were referring to. Let's
:24:29. > :24:33.hope the business investment figures pick-up because what we were
:24:34. > :24:38.promised was a business investment led recovery. Figures are unchanged
:24:39. > :24:46.compared to January and the last three months. We have seen trade
:24:47. > :24:53.falling, particularly in goods. The OBR are saying it will make no net
:24:54. > :24:57.country fusion to growth. In terms of business investment, we have not
:24:58. > :25:01.seen the business investment we would have hoped. Danny Alexander
:25:02. > :25:08.has tried to cajole business and it has not happened. We were promised
:25:09. > :25:15.an export on business in the economy and that has not happened. Let's
:25:16. > :25:19.pick up on the type of recovery. You talked about the labour market.
:25:20. > :25:24.Let's look at the wealth divide and the gap in inequality. The IMF warns
:25:25. > :25:27.about that and if it does not close, there are long-term problems for the
:25:28. > :25:34.future. That is what is happening under this government. It is
:25:35. > :25:37.important gap in inequality does close. Something which was missed
:25:38. > :25:43.last year, I only saw the independent report it, but the gap
:25:44. > :25:48.between rich and poor has closed since 1986, I think it was. One of
:25:49. > :25:54.the things that has helped, raising the bar so you don't pay income tax
:25:55. > :25:58.up to the first ?10,000. It will be even higher next year and that has
:25:59. > :26:03.put more money into the pockets of people who are hardest up. We have
:26:04. > :26:07.had a long-term economic plan which has led to this growth, we have held
:26:08. > :26:14.our nerve and created a situation where we had more jobs in this
:26:15. > :26:18.country, 30 million. But the number of part-time jobs and people want
:26:19. > :26:23.more hours? I do accept those things, but there are fewer 0-hour
:26:24. > :26:32.contracts hours now than there were in 2010. No they're not. The ONS
:26:33. > :26:36.statistics work were less than 200,000 in 2010, the most recent
:26:37. > :26:41.statistics is there are over half a million and they will revisit those
:26:42. > :26:50.figures. They are disputed figures anyway. They are not, it is the ONS.
:26:51. > :26:55.0-hours contract is something that needs to be addressed. Let's look at
:26:56. > :27:02.the inequality gap which the IMF said will be there unless it is
:27:03. > :27:07.sorted out. It is important people have jobs. Another charge that has
:27:08. > :27:13.been made is these are all sometime part-time jobs. They are not, the
:27:14. > :27:19.majority are full-time jobs and they are going to people from overseas.
:27:20. > :27:25.They are not. It is an accusation often made and it is untrue. Nine
:27:26. > :27:31.out of ten of these jobs are going to British people. It will soon be
:27:32. > :27:36.PMQs. Those of you who have been through Maria Miller's expenses with
:27:37. > :27:41.a fine tooth comb will note that the former Culture Secretary is partial
:27:42. > :27:44.to a spot of crockery. The good news Maria, is you'll now have more time
:27:45. > :27:48.to watch the Daily Politics and get your hands on one of these beauties.
:27:49. > :27:52.Every cloud has a silver lining. But remember you'll have to be in it to
:27:53. > :27:54.win it. Very naughty. But let's see if you
:27:55. > :28:22.can remember when this happened. # Alone...why must I be alone?
:28:23. > :28:23.Prince Charles made history by being the first royal to go to this
:28:24. > :29:17.school. To be in with a chance, send your
:29:18. > :29:28.answers to our e-mail address: You can see the full terms and
:29:29. > :29:32.conditions on our website. It's coming up to midday here, just
:29:33. > :29:35.take a look at Big Ben. That can mean only one thing... Yes, Prime
:29:36. > :29:37.Minister's Questions is on its way. If you'd like to comment on
:29:38. > :29:55.proceedings, and try and be polite! We will try and read some out
:29:56. > :30:04.later. Nick Robinson is here. How does this play out PMQs? A phrase
:30:05. > :30:09.that the Prime Minister will be reminded of is, let's leave it
:30:10. > :30:16.there. Meaning his reaction to the Maria Miller affair, is it is over,
:30:17. > :30:24.let's leave it. Ed Miliband will say it is a mistake. He realises the
:30:25. > :30:30.political class have still not, " got it" and there are more changes
:30:31. > :30:34.required to do with expenses. I think the Prime Minister will have a
:30:35. > :30:38.bit to say about the detail of why he did defend Maria Miller and some
:30:39. > :30:43.indication of where we might go next in terms of expenses. Let's go
:30:44. > :31:12.straight over to the House of Commons now.
:31:13. > :31:28.Immigration is down by a third and at its lowest level since 1998. We
:31:29. > :31:31.have seen 2.2 million people over two years. That was unacceptable and
:31:32. > :31:39.we are getting the situation under control. Speaking recently with a
:31:40. > :31:42.constituent of mine who has been diagnosed with dementia, she was
:31:43. > :31:47.frightened about what the future might hold for her. It has made
:31:48. > :31:51.great progress and comes to an end this month. Will the primers to give
:31:52. > :31:59.personal assurances is a new dimension framework will be put in
:32:00. > :32:07.place as soon as possible? -- dementia. I can give my honourable
:32:08. > :32:15.friend that Ashour rinse. We will treat it like a disease, like cancer
:32:16. > :32:25.or heart disease. We will make sure local communities are more dementia
:32:26. > :32:38.friendly. We will continue to use our position in the G-7 to push for
:32:39. > :32:42.this issue globally as well. Mr Speaker, the events of the last week
:32:43. > :32:50.have caused deep concern and anger to the public. What lessons does the
:32:51. > :32:56.Prime Minister -- has the Prime Minister learned from his handling
:32:57. > :33:03.of the situation? There is still very deep concern, public concern
:33:04. > :33:07.which is very raw about the expenses scandal which rocked this Parliament
:33:08. > :33:11.and the last parliament. That anger is still very raw and it needs to be
:33:12. > :33:17.acted upon. I hope the one lesson that will not be learned, the right
:33:18. > :33:23.thing to do as soon as someone as to answer allegations, is that they
:33:24. > :33:26.will be allowed to do that. I was asking about his handling of the
:33:27. > :33:31.situation and the lessons he learned and he had no answer. He wrote in
:33:32. > :33:36.his letter to the Culture Secretary today, I think it is important to be
:33:37. > :33:39.clear that the committee on standards clear due of the unfounded
:33:40. > :33:45.allegations made against you. Can he now explain what, in his view, the
:33:46. > :33:49.Culture Secretary did wrong? The Culture Secretary set out the
:33:50. > :33:54.reasons for her resignation in her letter. He makes an important point.
:33:55. > :33:59.The Culture Secretary was accused of a very serious offence, which was by
:34:00. > :34:03.a member of Parliament. She was accused of housing her parents at
:34:04. > :34:07.the public expense. She was cleared of that allegation. I thought it was
:34:08. > :34:13.right. Others can take their own view. I thought it was right. We
:34:14. > :34:17.needed to allow her to make her apology and continue with her job.
:34:18. > :34:22.That is the way I think is the right way to handle it. Others can take
:34:23. > :34:25.their own view. If people cleared themselves of a serious offence, you
:34:26. > :34:32.let them get on with their job and try to do their job. That is the
:34:33. > :34:38.right thing to do. I have to say to him, it is completely unclear why
:34:39. > :34:44.the Culture Secretary is still not in her job because he think she did
:34:45. > :34:51.nothing wrong. Let me explain to him. Order! This session will be
:34:52. > :34:56.conducted in an orderly way, however long it takes. I happen to know
:34:57. > :35:00.there are children here today observing proceedings who would like
:35:01. > :35:05.to think the House would show a good example. Let's see if we can. What
:35:06. > :35:11.she did wrong was refused to cooperate with an inquiry, she broke
:35:12. > :35:17.the code of conduct for MPs and gave a perfunctory and inadequate apology
:35:18. > :35:21.to the House. He said six days ago she had done the right thing and we
:35:22. > :35:26.should leave it at that. Does he now recognise this was a terrible error
:35:27. > :35:31.of judgment? I think it was right to allow her the chance to get on with
:35:32. > :35:35.her job. There is one weakness in the argument of the right honourable
:35:36. > :35:41.gentleman. If he thinks this was the case, why did he not call on her to
:35:42. > :35:48.resign? In my view, he seems to be the first leader of the opposition
:35:49. > :35:50.probably in history, to come to this house and make the first suggestion
:35:51. > :36:01.that someone should resign after they have already resigned. I have
:36:02. > :36:06.heard everything! It is my job to fire members of his own Cabinet.
:36:07. > :36:14.This is about him and the fact he still does not understand what he
:36:15. > :36:18.did wrong. -- she did wrong. If it had happened in any other business,
:36:19. > :36:23.there would be no question about staying in their job. Why was he the
:36:24. > :36:28.last person in the country to realise the position was untenable?
:36:29. > :36:33.She did do something strong and that is why she was asked to apologise
:36:34. > :36:36.and she did. It was not right not to cooperate properly with the
:36:37. > :36:42.committee and she apologised for that. It is rather extraordinary,
:36:43. > :36:49.the right honourable gentleman, in coming here saying she should have
:36:50. > :36:57.resigned. It shows all the signs of someone seeing a political bandwagon
:36:58. > :37:02.and wanting to jump on it. He is jumping on this bandwagon after the
:37:03. > :37:06.whole circus has left town. Where I agree with the right honourable
:37:07. > :37:10.gentleman is that there is still more that needs to be done to deal
:37:11. > :37:15.with the problems of expenses that we suffered in the last Parliament.
:37:16. > :37:19.We have made some big steps forward. I am not sure everyone knows this.
:37:20. > :37:22.Any expense complaint from 2010 onwards is dealt with by an
:37:23. > :37:27.independent body and not dealt with by MPs. That is right. The committee
:37:28. > :37:32.of MPs that does the work on the path cases now has mothers of the
:37:33. > :37:36.public sitting on it. That is right. I accept, let us do more to reassure
:37:37. > :37:41.the public about the scandal of expenses and how we are dealing with
:37:42. > :37:45.it. I am happy to hold meetings with party leaders, authorities of this
:37:46. > :37:50.house, I think it is right we should do everything we can to show that
:37:51. > :37:55.this is a good and honest Parliament with good and hard working people in
:37:56. > :38:06.it. That is the assumption I'd start off and I make no apology for that.
:38:07. > :38:10.The Prime Minister describes it as a bandwagon and a circus. Let me
:38:11. > :38:13.actually... This is about the members of this country absolutely
:38:14. > :38:18.appalled by the conduct of his government over the last week. That
:38:19. > :38:23.is what it is about. It is about members of the public who cannot
:38:24. > :38:27.understand why he did not act. He said in his forward to the
:38:28. > :38:34.Ministerial Code, British people expect high standards of conduct and
:38:35. > :38:37.we must not let them down. Does he not recognise that his failure to
:38:38. > :38:44.recognise what went wrong has undermined trust, not just in his
:38:45. > :38:46.government, but in politics? He came here today determined to play
:38:47. > :38:58.politics in every single way he could. Absolutely clear. Since
:38:59. > :39:03.2010... The Prime Minister 's answer must and will be heard. Members
:39:04. > :39:08.across this house would know, since 2010, since the last Parliament, a
:39:09. > :39:11.lot of changes have been made. Independent members on the
:39:12. > :39:16.Parliamentary committee, publications of meetings, visits and
:39:17. > :39:18.gifts for ministers, publication of special adviser salaries,
:39:19. > :39:24.publication of government spending. Is there more to do? Absolutely. If
:39:25. > :39:28.he is serious about doing it, he will sit down with other party
:39:29. > :39:37.leaders, the authorities of this House, and letters ask what we can
:39:38. > :39:39.do to put beyond doubt this is a good and honest Parliament with
:39:40. > :39:42.hard-working people. If he wants to play politics and he wants a good
:39:43. > :39:47.sound bite on the news, carry on. If you are serious, get serious. I will
:39:48. > :39:53.have meetings with him any time about how we will reform the systems
:39:54. > :40:01.of this House. Of course I will. He just does not get it. That is what
:40:02. > :40:06.he has shown today. He needs to learn profound lessons. The Culture
:40:07. > :40:11.Secretary went, not because of bad conduct, but because of bad press.
:40:12. > :40:14.He promised to be an apostle of better standards and he has been an
:40:15. > :40:24.apologist for unacceptable behaviour. If the right honourable
:40:25. > :40:29.gentleman thinks that you should not give someone a chance to get on with
:40:30. > :40:33.their job, that is not leadership, that is weakness. If that is his
:40:34. > :40:40.recommendation of leadership, I do not think the country will have any
:40:41. > :40:48.of it. With the Prime Minister agree with me, and the people living
:40:49. > :40:54.in... Order! There should not be a collective groan. The honourable
:40:55. > :41:03.gentleman is good-humoured. The House will hear the honourable
:41:04. > :41:07.gentleman. That is much better. Will the Prime Minister agree with me
:41:08. > :41:14.that people living in rural Britain have as much right to decent quality
:41:15. > :41:19.and safe health care as anyone else? Will he helped to intervene directly
:41:20. > :41:23.if he does and help me personally to ensure the Morecambe Bay hospitals
:41:24. > :41:32.trust does not downgrade or sell-off the hospital? Representing a wall or
:41:33. > :41:36.constituency I know how important it is for access to health services. I
:41:37. > :41:41.know how important it is to get Health and Social Care Bill is his
:41:42. > :41:47.to work together. He asked me to look into the specifics and I am
:41:48. > :41:54.happy to do that. In the light of this week 's historic visit by the
:41:55. > :42:01.Irish president to the UK, building a legacy and the historic visit of
:42:02. > :42:07.her Majesty in 2011, would be Prime Minister agree that Anglo - Irish
:42:08. > :42:14.relationships have never been stronger and to build lasting
:42:15. > :42:20.reconciliation across the islands we need backing by his government and
:42:21. > :42:25.the Irish government to ensure the potential prospects are delivered
:42:26. > :42:29.and implemented? First of all, can I strongly agree that it is a landmark
:42:30. > :42:34.visit of the Irish president to this country, coming three years after
:42:35. > :42:38.the extraordinary visit by the Queen to the Republic of Ireland. I would
:42:39. > :42:43.agree that Anglo /Irish relations are at an all-time high. We are
:42:44. > :42:47.absolutely committed to building on that relationship and all the time
:42:48. > :42:51.of thinking of new things that Britain and Ireland can do as good
:42:52. > :42:55.neighbours and good friends. In terms of the talks, I do think it
:42:56. > :42:58.would be good to make progress on that issue. That is something
:42:59. > :43:07.parties in Northern Ireland have started and I would urge them to
:43:08. > :43:18.continue. On the day when Woman's Our has put Rahman at number three
:43:19. > :43:21.on the power list, it is challenging to suggest that women are
:43:22. > :43:30.underrepresented in science and engineering careers. What is his
:43:31. > :43:36.response... ? The honourable gentleman will be heard. The
:43:37. > :43:41.opposition does not regard this as a serious matter. What is his response
:43:42. > :43:48.to the thoughtful report published last week? Can I pay tribute to my
:43:49. > :43:52.right honourable friend the campaigning and working so hard on
:43:53. > :43:57.this issue? It is important for the future of our country, not just for
:43:58. > :44:03.gender equality but the economic future to get women into Stem
:44:04. > :44:06.subjects and engineering. I support the National Centre target of
:44:07. > :44:12.doubling numbers of female engineering graduates by 2013. We're
:44:13. > :44:16.working with employers, professional bodies and academic institutions to
:44:17. > :44:22.implement the Perkins review. One of the most powerful things is role
:44:23. > :44:26.models. Did the Prime Minister or any of his staff ask the right
:44:27. > :44:29.honourable member for Basingstoke to resign her position as Culture
:44:30. > :44:45.Secretary and, if not, should he have? She has set out the reasons
:44:46. > :44:50.for her resignation in a letter she set out today and I think people
:44:51. > :44:53.should accept that. I have even the best answers I could in my attitude
:44:54. > :44:56.and working with colleagues in giving them a chance to get on with
:44:57. > :45:06.their jobs. That is the right approach. Thanks to this government
:45:07. > :45:15.is long-term economic plan... Youth unemployment has been cut by 42% in
:45:16. > :45:18.my constituency. Does the Prime Minister think the opening of a new
:45:19. > :45:25.university technical College and a new, free sixth form College in
:45:26. > :45:31.Salisbury will enhance the ability of young people in South Wilts to
:45:32. > :45:37.compete in the global race? My honourable friend is entirely right
:45:38. > :45:42.in every word. Because what we see is a decline in youth unemployment.
:45:43. > :45:47.The figures in Salisbury and in the south-west are remarkable. The
:45:48. > :45:54.long-term youth claimant count has come down by 37%. What we need to
:45:55. > :45:56.further drive down youth unemployment is make sure training
:45:57. > :46:00.opportunities and education is there and that is why university technical
:46:01. > :46:06.colleges are important. Youth unemployment is still too high, when
:46:07. > :46:11.we strip out those in full-time education it is 8.7%. It is lower
:46:12. > :46:19.than the EU average, but it is still too high. My constituents, Paul
:46:20. > :46:24.Cowdrey is to lose his home at the raising concerns of over charging by
:46:25. > :46:29.solicitor, Michael Sandler. This solicitor found a loophole in which
:46:30. > :46:36.he could sue my complaining for complaining. The authority have
:46:37. > :46:41.described Michael Sandler as morally reprehensible but are powerful to
:46:42. > :46:44.act. Will the Prime Minister look this case and intervene to stop
:46:45. > :46:48.solicitors are running rings around their regulators? I will be happy to
:46:49. > :46:54.look into this. The legal ombudsman, which were improved over
:46:55. > :47:00.previous years are independent of government. It is not possible to
:47:01. > :47:03.intervene directly but I can arrange a meeting between him and the
:47:04. > :47:05.Minister for legal services to discuss what remedies are open to
:47:06. > :47:15.his constituent. I will put that in place. The Prime Minister for
:47:16. > :47:18.Pakistan is due to visit the United Kingdom later this month. Will the
:47:19. > :47:23.Prime Minister discussed with him the reform of blasphemy laws in
:47:24. > :47:27.Pakistan which are used to prosecute and persecute the minority
:47:28. > :47:32.community, including the Christian community. And Will the Prime
:47:33. > :47:36.Minister make sure all of those people who are prosecuted under
:47:37. > :47:41.these laws get justice, including a British national? I will certainly
:47:42. > :47:47.raise that issue with the Prime Minister when he comes to this
:47:48. > :47:53.country. In the run-up to Easter it is worth remembering how many
:47:54. > :47:56.Christians are persecuted around the world. It is an important issue and
:47:57. > :48:02.I am looking over to meeting with the Pakistan leadership. Is the
:48:03. > :48:06.Prime Minister were that for 3 million, low income families, for
:48:07. > :48:11.every ?3 they gain through the higher personal tax allowance, they
:48:12. > :48:14.will lose ?2 straightaway through universal credit. Isn't the Prime
:48:15. > :48:19.Minister giving with one hand but taking away from low-paid Britain
:48:20. > :48:23.with the other? I think the honourable gentleman is profoundly
:48:24. > :48:28.wrong. The point about universal credit is it you will always keep a
:48:29. > :48:33.reasonable share of any extra pound earned. Difference between universal
:48:34. > :48:39.credit and the last system is you off than face people with over 100%
:48:40. > :48:47.marginal tax rates when they were in work. That is what universal credit
:48:48. > :48:50.will change and that is why I thought the party opposite were in
:48:51. > :48:56.favour of universal credit, but if they have changed their mind on
:48:57. > :49:01.that, they should tell us. The number of apprenticeship starts in
:49:02. > :49:06.my constituency is at a record high. I am hoping -- holding another
:49:07. > :49:12.apprenticeship fair in Raleigh Regis. Will the Prime Minister agree
:49:13. > :49:16.that investing in apprenticeship skills is important in the economic
:49:17. > :49:21.plan to give people in the Black Country to give the skills they need
:49:22. > :49:28.to get good quality jobs and secure their future? I join my honourable
:49:29. > :49:36.friend in what he said. We have seen 180,000 apprenticeships start under
:49:37. > :49:38.this government and we are on target the 2 million under this Parliament.
:49:39. > :49:44.I want to make sure we grow apprenticeships and see an increase
:49:45. > :49:50.in the quality of apprenticeships and there is better information for
:49:51. > :49:53.young people in school about deciding the pathway they want to
:49:54. > :49:55.take. Whether they want to take an academic pathway through university
:49:56. > :50:01.or look at apprenticeships. We will be doing more on this front. Despite
:50:02. > :50:06.the progress achieved in Northern Ireland, recent polls find 67% of 16
:50:07. > :50:12.to 24-year-olds think their future lies outside of Northern Ireland and
:50:13. > :50:18.the youth that local politicians could not agree in the future. Does
:50:19. > :50:21.the Prime Minister agree this should be an wake-up call to start showing
:50:22. > :50:27.real leadership to inspire young people and give them hope for a
:50:28. > :50:32.better future in Northern Ireland? Can I pay tribute to the honourable
:50:33. > :50:36.lady for the work she does on this front? Anyone who believes change is
:50:37. > :50:41.not possible or politicians cannot rise to a challenge in Northern
:50:42. > :50:45.Ireland would have been struck, as I was, seeing Martin McGuinness around
:50:46. > :50:51.the table at the banquet with the Queen last night. People have come a
:50:52. > :50:56.huge way and we need to continue with that vital work, including the
:50:57. > :51:01.work to fight racism and sectarianism. We need politicians in
:51:02. > :51:07.Northern Ireland to build a shared future, take down those walls, make
:51:08. > :51:13.sure the economy can grow and opportunities are there for everyone
:51:14. > :51:20.in Northern Ireland. 35,000 runners in last year's The London Marathon
:51:21. > :51:28.raised ?53 million for good causes. I will be running again this
:51:29. > :51:38.Sunday, but I am running for the Forget-me-not children's hospital in
:51:39. > :51:44.Huddersfield. Over the cornflakes this morning I saw and attract a
:51:45. > :51:47.picture of my honourable friend in his shorts and the Shadow Chancellor
:51:48. > :51:53.in a curiouser pair of black leggings. I know a number of
:51:54. > :52:01.colleagues in this House, I have to say I'd bow down to you, 26 miles is
:52:02. > :52:04.a long way to go. I cannot manage it but full of admiration for the money
:52:05. > :52:10.you raise the excellent causes and pay tribute to all members on all
:52:11. > :52:22.sides of the House. My constituents, Sue Martin is suffering from MJ and
:52:23. > :52:27.is waiting for her claim to be processed. She has to borrow from
:52:28. > :52:33.her 84-year-old mother to get by. All delays in these benefits are
:52:34. > :52:35.unacceptable. What we are trying to do with the Personal Independence
:52:36. > :52:45.Payment, is introduced it gradually so we can ensure decision-making is
:52:46. > :52:51.good. Last week, I was privileged to meet a Holocaust survivor. Is the
:52:52. > :52:55.Prime Minister aware of any reported persecution happening today, ethnic
:52:56. > :53:01.cleansing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A gentle religious Islamic
:53:02. > :53:09.tolerant people who educate their sons and their daughters. Would he
:53:10. > :53:15.meet with a member concerned with this to discuss this situation? We
:53:16. > :53:19.should be absolutely clear the Afghanistan we have been supporting
:53:20. > :53:24.and will continue to support must be a multiracial and multiethnic
:53:25. > :53:29.Afghanistan, that includes different nationalities that make up that
:53:30. > :53:33.country. It is vital for its future. I am happy to look at the
:53:34. > :53:42.evidence he has and arrange any appropriate meetings. 2400 jobs have
:53:43. > :53:50.been destroyed in Leicester, Corby and last Friday, 650 in Newport by
:53:51. > :53:55.one, single firm that specialises in cynically buying up firms, degrading
:53:56. > :53:59.the pay and conditions of their staff and then abandoning them to
:54:00. > :54:06.unemployment. What protection is the government planning to give to those
:54:07. > :54:15.blameless people, hard workers, who suffer from the scourge of this new,
:54:16. > :54:19.vulture capitalism? I am happy to look at the individual case he
:54:20. > :54:25.raises. But the situation in terms of jobs in the UK, if you look at
:54:26. > :54:29.last week we have had eight hours and jobs from Birmingham City
:54:30. > :54:33.airport, 12,000 jobs from Asda, over 1000 jobs from Vodafone. What we are
:54:34. > :54:39.seeing is businesses wanting to locate in Britain, take people on in
:54:40. > :54:47.Britain and grow in Britain. If he has an example of bad practice, I am
:54:48. > :54:52.happy to look at it. In 1967, the abortion time limit was set at 28
:54:53. > :54:59.weeks. In 1990 this was reduced to 24 weeks. Given it is now 2014, a
:55:00. > :55:04.quarter of a century onwards, and given recent breakthroughs in
:55:05. > :55:08.antenatal and neonatal care, does the Prime Minister agree it is now
:55:09. > :55:13.time to reduce the abortion term limit to 22 weeks? I have always
:55:14. > :55:19.made my personal views on this clear and there have been opportunities in
:55:20. > :55:23.Parliament to vote. It is always open to members of Parliament to
:55:24. > :55:28.bring forward legislation, amend existing bills and for the House to
:55:29. > :55:34.debate this. It will continue on this side, and as on the other side
:55:35. > :55:39.to be an entirely free vote issue. Did the Prime Minister or any member
:55:40. > :55:46.of his Cabinet Aske at the member for Basingstoke to resign? The
:55:47. > :55:49.member for Basingstoke took her own decision and has communicated that
:55:50. > :56:02.decision in a letter. I think the members opposite should respect that
:56:03. > :56:09.decision. A cloud hangs over the job prospects of 700 mine workers in my
:56:10. > :56:13.constituency. Can the Prime Minister assure the House this government is
:56:14. > :56:19.doing everything it can to ensure the future for that pit and those
:56:20. > :56:26.livelihoods? I can give him that assurance. It is important, despite
:56:27. > :56:31.the difficulties UK coal faces, the government should do everything it
:56:32. > :56:36.can within the rules, to look at help and assistance we can give. I
:56:37. > :56:40.am being kept up-to-date on their sometimes on a daily basis and I can
:56:41. > :56:47.assure him it is getting the government's attention. In the
:56:48. > :56:52.spirit of the positive case for the union, can the Prime Minister give
:56:53. > :56:56.us his view as to which -- which of the fourth Horseman of the
:56:57. > :57:01.apocalypse will descend on an independent Scotland? My view is a
:57:02. > :57:04.positive one about what this United Kingdom has achieved together in the
:57:05. > :57:09.past and what we can achieve in the future. The ones about take a
:57:10. > :57:19.selfish view about the future are sitting on the bench is over there.
:57:20. > :57:24.The Surgeon General of the Armed Forces has raised concerns over the
:57:25. > :57:28.impact of longer, NHS waiting times on soldiers based in Wales. Does the
:57:29. > :57:33.Prime Minister agree NHS outcomes for my constituents, including
:57:34. > :57:37.soldiers, are not good enough and the Welsh government could be
:57:38. > :57:43.undermining the operations of the Armed Forces and are potentially in
:57:44. > :57:48.breach of the military covenant? I think my honourable friend makes an
:57:49. > :57:53.important point. We have seen an 80% cut to the budget in Wales to the
:57:54. > :57:59.NHS. The last time A targets are met was 2000 mine. The last time
:58:00. > :58:04.cancer treatments were met was 2008 and over a third of people miss out
:58:05. > :58:09.to access of diagnostic services within eight weeks. There is a
:58:10. > :58:14.dreadful record when it comes to Labour's NHS in Wales. You see a
:58:15. > :58:18.huge contrast with the NHS in England, properly funded, well-run
:58:19. > :58:26.and meeting key targets and then the shambles that is in Wales. Five
:58:27. > :58:31.years ago in one of the worst seen since the Good Friday agreement, my
:58:32. > :58:38.constituents, Sapper, Patrick as an part and his colleague, Mark Quincey
:58:39. > :58:46.was shot and killed outside their barracks in County Antrim. Their
:58:47. > :58:51.families still await justice. Will the Prime Minister look at this case
:58:52. > :58:55.and also into the use of different trials in Northern Ireland? Can I
:58:56. > :59:01.take this opportunity to express my sympathy to the families of
:59:02. > :59:04.soldiers. It was a despicable terrorist attack and I share the
:59:05. > :59:09.desire the perpetrators are to justice. Just because we are trying
:59:10. > :59:12.to deal with the legacies of the past does not mean crimes that have
:59:13. > :59:17.been committed should not eat properly prosecuted and those
:59:18. > :59:21.responsible can big. I know the Secretary of State for Northern
:59:22. > :59:24.Ireland met the soldiers parents to discuss their concerns. The trial
:59:25. > :59:29.system in Northern Ireland was abolished in 2007 and allowed
:59:30. > :59:36.revisions for non-jury trials only in specific circumstances. Reviews
:59:37. > :59:45.will take place as to whether they can be renewed in 2015. People in
:59:46. > :59:49.Rossendale and Darwin would have been reassured this week to see the
:59:50. > :59:56.IMF upgrades the country's growth forecast. However, would my right
:59:57. > :00:01.honourable friend agreed that there would be more reassurance to know
:00:02. > :00:06.our long-term economic plan is working in East Lancashire by the
:00:07. > :00:12.announcement this week by red rose dry lining they have created 30 new
:00:13. > :00:15.apprenticeships? I think my honourable friend makes an important
:00:16. > :00:22.point. When we look at what has been happening, we can see the AMF saying
:00:23. > :00:29.the UK will grow faster than any G-7 country, jobs at Birmingham, Asda
:00:30. > :00:37.and Vodafone, the trade deficit is falling. Employment is rising,
:00:38. > :00:45.Britain is on its way back. During the committee stayed of the legal
:00:46. > :00:48.aid punishment offenders act, the Prime Minister assured the committee
:00:49. > :00:52.those refused legal aid would still apply under the new exceptional
:00:53. > :00:59.funding scheme. He said it was a vital safeguard. From April to
:01:00. > :01:04.December 20 13, family law applications have been made, eight
:01:05. > :01:10.has been allowed. What kind of safeguard is that? I will cases he
:01:11. > :01:14.raises, but we have to make sure our legal aid system is affordable. When
:01:15. > :01:20.we compared our legal aid system with other common law countries we
:01:21. > :01:26.still spent more than Australia, New Zealand or others. He shakes his
:01:27. > :01:29.head but it is no good for members of all in to vote against every
:01:30. > :01:33.single spending decision but not recognise we have to get our deficit
:01:34. > :01:41.down in order to help the economy recover. Will Prime Minister take a
:01:42. > :01:45.few minutes over the Easter recess to read the winning entry in the
:01:46. > :01:51.Institute of economic affairs competition which was announced last
:01:52. > :01:54.night. If he does, I am sure it will give my right honourable friend some
:01:55. > :02:00.good ideas as to why leaving the European Union should become part of
:02:01. > :02:05.our long-term economic plan. My honourable friend and I agree on
:02:06. > :02:12.many things, but I am afraid this isn't one of them. I will happily
:02:13. > :02:17.look at the pamphlet as a potential piece of holiday reading and see how
:02:18. > :02:25.it competes with other alternatives, perhaps the novel for
:02:26. > :02:34.my honourable friend from Beds. Order.
:02:35. > :02:47.The leader of the on position -- opposition tried to turn it into a
:02:48. > :02:52.matter of judgment. Was he the last person in Britain to believe her
:02:53. > :02:58.position was still tenable? Up with the line the opposition took. The
:02:59. > :03:04.Prime Minister defended his position. -- that was the line. He
:03:05. > :03:08.did not answer any questions from the Labour backbenchers asked what
:03:09. > :03:12.pressure was put on to Mrs Miller yesterday to fall onto her own
:03:13. > :03:19.sword. Let's hear what you heard about all of this. Dozens of e-mails
:03:20. > :03:22.on Maria Miller. The issue at the core of the Parliamentary expenses
:03:23. > :03:27.row is not the rules or the adjudication of the rules. The core
:03:28. > :03:35.issue is the morality of parliamentarians. Debra says,
:03:36. > :03:42.neither leader performed very well. This one saying that MPs should
:03:43. > :03:48.commit expenses for scrutiny by an independent assessor before they are
:03:49. > :03:54.paid. Maria Miller, ?45,000, how many people 's workplace benefits to
:03:55. > :03:57.this involves? Helen Manning says, Ed and Dave arguing that MPs
:03:58. > :04:06.fiddling expenses is ridiculous. They are all at it. I wonder what
:04:07. > :04:10.the children sitting on the benches think! Who did go to see Maria
:04:11. > :04:17.Miller yesterday to advise her to fall on her sword? My answer is she
:04:18. > :04:24.came to the conclusion that it was in the way of everything else. The
:04:25. > :04:28.Prime Minister said it there. It was her decision. Let me say, my
:04:29. > :04:33.understanding is it was entirely her decision. The Prime Minister stood
:04:34. > :04:40.by her on the basic principle that the claim had been made -- the claim
:04:41. > :04:48.that had been made against had been thrown out. She came to the
:04:49. > :04:56.conclusion to resign. Someone went to see her. She may have come to her
:04:57. > :05:00.own decision. There is a fatuous verse about this each time someone
:05:01. > :05:08.resigns. Was she pushed or did she jump? Can these think of a single
:05:09. > :05:13.time when someone has said, actually, I was shocked? They have
:05:14. > :05:17.to come to an agreement, and accommodation. There had to be words
:05:18. > :05:22.written in letters and said in public to make sure the person going
:05:23. > :05:27.is content. What David Cameron gave to Maria Miller, and I think he
:05:28. > :05:31.believes it, he gave her praise in his letter. He said she had been a
:05:32. > :05:38.Good Minister included on the central charge. He wanted to see her
:05:39. > :05:43.back in office. I have no doubt someone did have a conversation and
:05:44. > :05:48.say what the Prime Minister will have to go through tomorrow to
:05:49. > :05:54.defend you. This happened again and again under the left premiership. Do
:05:55. > :05:59.not make the Prime Minister stand up and defend you, which he is willing
:06:00. > :06:04.to do, do not make him do that and then go a few hours later. And you
:06:05. > :06:09.put him in an absolutely impossible position. If you are going to go,
:06:10. > :06:13.go, because then, at least, there is clarity. I do not think they will
:06:14. > :06:24.get the boat off, what she pushed? Is clear somebody had a conversation
:06:25. > :06:29.to say it was pretty bad. -- it is clear. All Prime Ministers find
:06:30. > :06:35.themselves in this position when a minister is attacked. The lines were
:06:36. > :06:38.not clearly cut. The standards committee agreed something different
:06:39. > :06:42.to what the commissioner had claimed against her. They stick with the
:06:43. > :06:46.Prime Minister, with their Cabinet minister. After a while, the
:06:47. > :06:54.pressure from the press or the public or new development... It
:06:55. > :07:05.happened to Mr Blair, Mr Brown and has now happened to Mr Cameron. It
:07:06. > :07:10.is a way of life. Some of the 1922 Committee may have said he employed
:07:11. > :07:24.at that time to he is impacted by the Mitchell affair. Once the error
:07:25. > :07:27.was exacerbated by the perfunctory apology, after that point, it was
:07:28. > :07:31.going to go in the direction it has headed today. The problem for the
:07:32. > :07:34.Prime Minister, I think, if you're watching this programme, this has
:07:35. > :07:40.consumed the Government in many respects for the last six days.
:07:41. > :07:47.Remember with Peter Mandelson. Actually twice. There does come a
:07:48. > :07:52.point where you need to make a decision about these things. Is Mr
:07:53. > :07:58.Miliband becomes Prime Minister, at some stage the same thing will
:07:59. > :08:01.happen to him? It could be anybody. It could be anybody. I'm not going
:08:02. > :08:08.to sit here and claim these decisions are easy. I am not doing
:08:09. > :08:15.that. It is a matter of leadership. It is the perfunctory apology, the
:08:16. > :08:17.accusation of seeking to believe the Parliamentary standards Commissioner
:08:18. > :08:21.and the substance of the allegations. I think, to allow that
:08:22. > :08:26.to consume and dominate your government, goes against your
:08:27. > :08:30.judgment. Someone was leaning on her to go. The only way the Prime
:08:31. > :08:36.Minister could have got out of this... He was asked it in a most
:08:37. > :08:46.loyal way. He was asked if any member of the Cabinet sought to do
:08:47. > :08:56.that? The reason why Nick, myself and Joe are suspicious is that by
:08:57. > :08:59.the time this had reached a crescendo against Maria Miller, the
:09:00. > :09:05.least bad way out of this for the premise was for her to fall on her
:09:06. > :09:08.sword. That is probably the case all the way through. Pressure had
:09:09. > :09:15.increased. It was probably true from day one. He is not that kind of
:09:16. > :09:19.Prime Minister. He leads by saying, I wanted to get on with the job and
:09:20. > :09:22.do it to the best of your abilities. I had been a minister
:09:23. > :09:26.under this Prime Minister for the last four years. He does not try to
:09:27. > :09:29.intervene on the day-to-day approach. That has been a good
:09:30. > :09:33.thing. The good thing about this government is that ministers have
:09:34. > :09:35.been able to get ahead of their briefs, understand them and put them
:09:36. > :09:38.in place. Not like the days of ministers will come in place. Not
:09:39. > :09:43.like the days of ministers were coming for nine months and move on.
:09:44. > :09:47.The whole thing about this, it is a perception issue. It looks
:09:48. > :09:51.absolutely awful. The point of view of the Prime Minister, the
:09:52. > :09:55.perception is going to be that he did not act in the interests of
:09:56. > :10:02.Maria Miller. Someone did see Maria Miller to talk about that perception
:10:03. > :10:12.yesterday afternoon. I was just asking Grant. I do not have the
:10:13. > :10:19.answer to that. Maria has been clear that she came to the decision that
:10:20. > :10:23.was overshadowing... You are the commentators. You will spend no
:10:24. > :10:28.doubt the rest of the day discussing who, when and how. As far as I am
:10:29. > :10:42.aware, she came to the decision on when. -- her own. It is good the
:10:43. > :10:48.system has changed about expenses. It cannot be said enough, the system
:10:49. > :10:51.of MPs judging each other has gone. That was possibly the most
:10:52. > :10:59.interesting thing about Prime Minister's Questions. It was not
:11:00. > :11:03.particularly surprising that Mr Miliband said what he said. Many
:11:04. > :11:09.people would have been saying, you tell, we are very cross. It was not
:11:10. > :11:14.surprising. What was surprising was for the Prime Minister to use that
:11:15. > :11:21.phrase, a good and honest parliament and to use it more than once. It is
:11:22. > :11:26.a bold thing to do. Some MPs hate the fact that one particular case
:11:27. > :11:32.ends up smearing their reputations. I was interested that he was willing
:11:33. > :11:37.to do that. If you put two the public an opinion poll that
:11:38. > :11:49.question, I do not think that would be their opinion. In a government
:11:50. > :12:00.already seriously short of e-mail Cabinet ministers, you have now got
:12:01. > :12:08.one fewer. -- female. That is true. I cannot argue with the fact. Nicky
:12:09. > :12:12.Morgan has been promoted within the Treasury. She is not in the Cabinet
:12:13. > :12:18.that she will go to the Cabinet to represent women. It means you will
:12:19. > :12:23.have a non-Cabinet minister going to the Cabinet to represent women,
:12:24. > :12:29.which, I guess a lot of people will think, we know where your priorities
:12:30. > :12:32.are. It is not as unusual as people think. Most people do not realise
:12:33. > :12:41.the Chief Whip is a member of the Cabinet. The system of people
:12:42. > :12:45.attending cabinet at a very high level... Why has the Prime Minister
:12:46. > :12:52.chosen to put in mail into this position? It is often said, there is
:12:53. > :12:56.a shortage of Tory women. Particularly with the 2010 intake.
:12:57. > :12:57.On both sides of the House it is true. Robert the House it is true.
:12:58. > :13:18.Robert Beam also with Labour. There are a whole list of formidable
:13:19. > :13:23.Tory women but none of them have been considered with the Prime
:13:24. > :13:26.Minister. What is his problem? You are right to point out the female
:13:27. > :13:33.talent within the Conservative Party. There are many at the middle
:13:34. > :13:38.ranks of government as well. If I had been sat here and a woman had
:13:39. > :13:44.been promoted into that job, without a shadow of a doubt, you would be
:13:45. > :13:49.saying, Grant Shapps, why has he promoted women are not the best
:13:50. > :13:56.person available for the job? Had it been any of the ones I had names, I
:13:57. > :14:02.would not have been asking that question? The Prime Minister has the
:14:03. > :14:05.looking around to find out who would be the best person to fill the
:14:06. > :14:10.position. White Venger if the woman had been put into the job, it would
:14:11. > :14:17.only have been because she was a woman and not because she was good
:14:18. > :14:24.enough. -- if a woman. That is not what I am saying at all. Good try.
:14:25. > :14:34.What I am saying is, you look for the best person for the role. Sajid
:14:35. > :14:43.happens to be the person he thinks is most suitable for the job. There
:14:44. > :14:53.is still time to have a cabinet with other talents. The Conservative
:14:54. > :14:57.Party has a lamentable record for this. The people who have perhaps
:14:58. > :15:05.the worst record in the House of Commons oil coalition partners. That
:15:06. > :15:23.adds to the fact there are only a few women in the Cabinet. Anybody
:15:24. > :15:29.who has a Welsh connection will be getting the job that Maria Miller
:15:30. > :15:38.was pencilled in for after the reshuffle. Who has the current
:15:39. > :15:44.connection? We will leave you to go and find out and who made the visit
:15:45. > :15:49.to Maria Miller yesterday. Should prisoners have free access to
:15:50. > :15:54.guitars and books serving time? The government says restrictions on
:15:55. > :16:01.parcels prisoners received helps to keep prisons drug free. It is
:16:02. > :16:05.introduced restrictions on prisoners having steel ring to guitars in
:16:06. > :16:08.their cells. Billy Bragg tells us why he thinks they are a vital part
:16:09. > :16:31.of rehabilitation. Guitars and books are my lifeblood
:16:32. > :16:40.and they have been important to prisoners also. For the past seven
:16:41. > :16:44.years I have been involved in Jail Guitar Doors and they have delivered
:16:45. > :16:50.guitars to prisoners all over the UK. We believe music can help
:16:51. > :16:54.offenders to engage in rehabilitation and the prisoners we
:16:55. > :16:58.work with recognise the value of creative expression in helping
:16:59. > :17:05.offenders come to terms with the crimes they have committed. New
:17:06. > :17:10.rules introduced by Chris Grayling threaten to undermine our work by
:17:11. > :17:14.banning inmates from using steel strung guitars in their cells. If
:17:15. > :17:19.they can only get their hands on a guitar once a week, the chances of
:17:20. > :17:22.making progress are slim. Our initiative relies on other inmates
:17:23. > :17:29.seen a guitar being played on their landing and asking to join the
:17:30. > :17:35.programme as a result. The government has also tightened rules
:17:36. > :17:37.across prisons on parcels offenders can receive, effectively banning
:17:38. > :17:43.them from receiving books from family and friends. Chris Grayling
:17:44. > :17:47.says the public want to see a regime that is more spartan, unless you do
:17:48. > :17:54.the right thing. I believe people should be punished for their crimes,
:17:55. > :17:57.but we ask to -- have to ask ourselves whether we want is a
:17:58. > :18:11.prison that rehabilitates offenders or one that leads them without
:18:12. > :18:16.rehabilitation. # Redemption song.
:18:17. > :18:25.Billy Bragg is with us now. There was a question asked about the
:18:26. > :18:30.banning of steel string guitars and electric guitars in prisons. Have
:18:31. > :18:38.you had an ants? No, apparently there is a 20 day time. There is a
:18:39. > :18:45.whole list. What else is on the list? Lots of things, it seems to be
:18:46. > :18:50.geared to making the prison experience a more Spartan. The
:18:51. > :18:55.problem with that is, in my experience, in the 50 prisons I have
:18:56. > :19:00.been in in the last seven years, each prison is an island in itself.
:19:01. > :19:04.Although they are different categories, they have different
:19:05. > :19:07.regimes. The way that works is it you have to give someone on the
:19:08. > :19:12.ground in the prison the right to decide what can and cannot be done.
:19:13. > :19:15.I believe it should be an issue for the governor of the prison rather
:19:16. > :19:24.than the Minister of Justice to be managing from above. Presumably the
:19:25. > :19:29.main thrust of the reason is safety? Is there a feeling that guitar
:19:30. > :19:35.strings could be used as a dangerous weapon? Of course and there are some
:19:36. > :19:39.prisons to get guitars into. There are unacceptable levels of self harm
:19:40. > :19:47.going on. You want to be careful about what you introduce so we do
:19:48. > :19:52.tend to send keyboards. But every prison we send guitars to make a
:19:53. > :19:56.security assessment. Sometimes I sit down and meet with the security
:19:57. > :19:58.staff to talk about these things. Every prison House to have
:19:59. > :20:03.protocols, but also who will be allowed to use the instruments. But
:20:04. > :20:08.it should be an issue to the governor and not the government?
:20:09. > :20:13.What do you say about back Grant Shapps? Why should it be Chris
:20:14. > :20:21.Grayling's assessment? The problem with books, not so sure about
:20:22. > :20:27.guitars. It has never happened. It has never happened so there is not a
:20:28. > :20:35.case? It has never happened. There are things you can hide in books. We
:20:36. > :20:38.are talking about parcels, but answer the question about guitars
:20:39. > :20:45.and strings, if there has never been an incident reported and presumably
:20:46. > :20:50.Billy Bragg would know, wide ban it? Things have to be brought into
:20:51. > :20:53.prisons and they have to be scammed. Then there is the issue of people
:20:54. > :20:59.having access to things they would be able to do on the outside and the
:21:00. > :21:03.point of risen is to restrict some freedoms. I know Chris Grayling's
:21:04. > :21:08.view, but you should earn these things done automatically have the
:21:09. > :21:13.right to access them. With the books, they are freely available
:21:14. > :21:19.from a library from which you can order virtually any book that you
:21:20. > :21:25.want. It has been a bit misreported. Parcels could contain other things.
:21:26. > :21:30.That is different to musical instruments unless you are stuffing
:21:31. > :21:35.stuff into the guitars. If they are left to borrow books from the
:21:36. > :21:39.library, why is that a big deal? I have fixed in prison in my
:21:40. > :21:44.constituency and one of our problems is we have people bear for a short
:21:45. > :21:49.term. It is like a revolving door and it is hard to rehabilitate in
:21:50. > :21:54.that situation. And so the spin about this book announcement, the
:21:55. > :21:59.more books people are reading in that the more rehab we see
:22:00. > :22:02.happening. The issue is, the announcement Chris may did not talk
:22:03. > :22:11.about smuggling drugs, that came after the event. It came with a view
:22:12. > :22:14.to appearing tough on prisoners. Being tough can be
:22:15. > :22:17.counter-productive because you are trying to rehabilitate people using
:22:18. > :22:24.books? I believe people should do the time if they have done the
:22:25. > :22:27.crime, totally. The punishment is losing your liberty. Once we have
:22:28. > :22:32.people in custody on the state, it costs more to keep a prisoner behind
:22:33. > :22:35.a jail door than it does to privately educate a child. One of
:22:36. > :22:42.the things we should he doing is making it an issue of privation. You
:22:43. > :22:51.can't have probation and less you can read and write. I agree with
:22:52. > :22:57.that, but the issue is not having an access to books, you can take the
:22:58. > :23:04.library book out. If it is not there, you can order it. With
:23:05. > :23:07.guitars there is an opportunity to engage prisoners. You cannot keep
:23:08. > :23:13.beating people with a stick, otherwise we will end up like the
:23:14. > :23:20.USA where we are just warehousing criminality. We should be taking
:23:21. > :23:24.every opportunity to ensure Abbas Khan whatever viewers might feel at
:23:25. > :23:29.home, 75% of people in prison will come out and they may come and live
:23:30. > :23:35.next door to you. Don't you want them to be rehabilitated? I do, I am
:23:36. > :23:37.paying for the service. You are absolutely right about the
:23:38. > :23:42.rehabilitation, it is the way it is done, not allowing goods into
:23:43. > :23:49.prisons which could cause harm. Billy Bragg, thanks very much. Women
:23:50. > :24:01.in the Cabinet, France, 52%, Sweden, 52%, Germany, 37, the USA,
:24:02. > :24:06.36, Rwanda 36, the United Kingdom, 13.6% and Maria Miller has resigned.
:24:07. > :24:08.Was it the length and fashion of her Parliamentary apology that made her
:24:09. > :24:17.more enemies than friends? Apparently there is an art to saying
:24:18. > :24:22.sorry. There is no easy way to say this. We made a pledge, we did not
:24:23. > :24:33.stick to it, and for that I am sorry. I sincerely, sincerely,
:24:34. > :24:38.sincerely apologise. I accept mistakes were made and I should not
:24:39. > :24:47.allow the impression of wrongdoing to arise. I am very sorry for that.
:24:48. > :24:53.I therefore apologise to the House. I have apologised to the police, I
:24:54. > :24:56.have apologised to the police officer involved on the gate Handy
:24:57. > :25:05.has accepted my apology. I hope very much we can draw a line and leave it
:25:06. > :25:12.there. It was a moment of madness for which I have paid a heavy price
:25:13. > :25:15.and I am deeply sorry. I apologise to the House fully and unreservedly
:25:16. > :25:21.which was a breach of the rules which I have at all times, sort to
:25:22. > :25:29.comply with. I have missed is leading you, including my wife and I
:25:30. > :25:36.deeply regret that. It all depends what the meaning is. Do you think a
:25:37. > :25:44.more heartfelt and fulsome apology would have saved Maria Miller? It
:25:45. > :25:49.wasn't a very convincing apology from Maria Miller. The brevity of it
:25:50. > :25:54.did not help. But it was the blandness of the language. She is a
:25:55. > :26:01.churchgoer, apparently if she had reached into the book of Common
:26:02. > :26:05.prayer, and use more interesting language, that would have cut
:26:06. > :26:12.through and made us think she was actually sorry. But she used
:26:13. > :26:21.terribly boring official language and it contributed a large part.
:26:22. > :26:26.What is the art of a good apology? To be unusual helps. But I
:26:27. > :26:34.understand the speaker hast to approve. John Bercow would have had
:26:35. > :26:37.to look at it and say it is fine. He has to look at it make sure there is
:26:38. > :26:42.nothing unparliamentary. But it would not done Parliamentary to use
:26:43. > :26:48.more expressive language. Look at Bill Clinton, he was so plainly
:26:49. > :26:57.hamming it up. What did Benjamin Franklin say about apologies? I have
:26:58. > :27:03.no idea. Never ruin an apology with an excuse. That might be a good
:27:04. > :27:08.point also. 32 seconds, and even shorter one might have been better,
:27:09. > :27:13.but I am truly, humbly contrite. You could go along the Japanese banker
:27:14. > :27:17.line and have somebody entering at the far end of the House, grovelling
:27:18. > :27:20.and bowing on the floor to the speaker. That might be a bit too
:27:21. > :27:25.far. But there was a Scottish cardinal about two years ago who
:27:26. > :27:28.resigned in a memorable way and talked about his own fears and then
:27:29. > :27:33.said he was going to pray and pray for people. That was done more
:27:34. > :27:41.convincingly than Maria Miller. When Henry IV apologise to Pope Gregory
:27:42. > :27:48.the seventh for church state conflicts in 1077, how did he
:27:49. > :27:52.apologise? I dread to think. You need to ask your parents to get
:27:53. > :28:01.their money back from your school fees. He stood barefoot in the snow
:28:02. > :28:09.the three days. Is that a lesson for Maria Miller? Imagine if anyone
:28:10. > :28:21.follows that advice, you will have a good sketch to write. Where does the
:28:22. > :28:31.word apology come from? It is Greek. It means defence. So Latin wasn't
:28:32. > :28:41.your strong point at school. Now time for the cancer to Guess The
:28:42. > :28:47.Year, it was back in 1957 when Quentin was in short trousers. That
:28:48. > :28:55.is because he was a public school. Press the button to see who has one.
:28:56. > :29:00.That is it, thanks to our guests. The one o'clock news is starting on
:29:01. > :29:08.BBC One. I will be back tomorrow as usual. Goodbye.
:29:09. > :29:11.Some businessmen have turned failing companies around.
:29:12. > :29:15.Some have steered massive global firms.