09/07/2014

:00:40. > :00:41.Morning folks. Welcome to the Daily Politics.

:00:42. > :00:43.Elizabeth Butler-Sloss is to lead a wide-ranging inquiry into

:00:44. > :00:45.allegations of historic child abuse among the political establishment.

:00:46. > :00:47.But is the 80-year-old Baroness and former appeal court judge

:00:48. > :00:56.Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman attacks Gordon Brown

:00:57. > :00:58.for failing to make her deputy prime minister.

:00:59. > :01:04.Was Mr Brown sexist or Ms Harman just not up to the job?

:01:05. > :01:12.They are hoping some of the stardust rubs off.

:01:13. > :01:19.Is it time for Prime Ministers stopped sucking up to celebrities?

:01:20. > :01:22.We take a look at why politicians should always

:01:23. > :01:33.Did you set it up like that? That is the kind of thing that you would do!

:01:34. > :01:39.LAUGHTER Did you set it

:01:40. > :01:45.up like that? That is of course, prime Minister's

:01:46. > :01:55.questions at midday. And with us for the duration,

:01:56. > :02:01.two politicians who we couldn't find in embarrassing photos, and

:02:02. > :02:03.believe me we've looked, Education Minister Liz Truss and shadow

:02:04. > :02:05.Attorney General Emily Thornberry. First this morning, her

:02:06. > :02:18.appointment was announced just yesterday but there are already

:02:19. > :02:19.calls as the chair of a wide-ranging

:02:20. > :02:23.inquiry into allegations of child Her brother Michael Havers was

:02:24. > :02:27.Attorney General at the time some of these allegations of child abuse

:02:28. > :02:30.were being made in the early 1980s. The campaigning Labour MP Simon

:02:31. > :02:32.Dancuzk told our correspondent Norman Smith that she was the

:02:33. > :02:37.wrong person to lead the inquiry. -- Simon Danczuk. I think that she

:02:38. > :02:40.could reconsider her position, I find it surprisingly neither she nor

:02:41. > :02:43.the government realise that her relationship with her brother was

:02:44. > :02:47.connected to Geoffrey Dickens and all of this palaver around it. It

:02:48. > :02:53.beggars belief that it had not been considered in the first place. The

:02:54. > :03:00.Home Office stressed that she is a figure of unemployed -- she is a

:03:01. > :03:06.figure of unimpeachable integrity and that overshadows any kind of

:03:07. > :03:10.family affiliation. Yes, but she sits in the House of Lords, some of

:03:11. > :03:12.the people accused of this kind of abuse may sit alongside her and that

:03:13. > :03:24.is not look good to the wider public.

:03:25. > :03:29.Is it right for an independent enquiry into historic sexual abuse

:03:30. > :03:32.at Westminster and other parts of the establishment to be led by an

:03:33. > :03:37.80-year-old stole wort of the establishment? This is a decision

:03:38. > :03:41.which has been made by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, she is a

:03:42. > :03:44.woman of unimpeachable integrity, former High Court judge, she has a

:03:45. > :03:51.lot of experience into looking into these issues. She is also a member

:03:52. > :03:56.of the establishment. Age should not come into it, it is how good you are

:03:57. > :03:58.and how capable you are of getting a job done. She's extremely

:03:59. > :04:02.experienced, she has worked on human trafficking, and it has been judged

:04:03. > :04:07.she will be the best person to do the job. When she sits in the House

:04:08. > :04:10.of Lords she's not sitting beside people who are into human

:04:11. > :04:15.trafficking but she could well be sitting beside people against whom

:04:16. > :04:19.allegations will be made. It is not right to question her integrity as a

:04:20. > :04:23.former High Court judge, she has been chosen by the Home Secretary,

:04:24. > :04:26.someone who is right to do the job. She will be ably assisted by a

:04:27. > :04:31.number of other people on the enquiry, they will have full access

:04:32. > :04:34.to all of the files. Theresa May has made it clear that no stone will be

:04:35. > :04:40.left unturned, such a critical issue, so important to keep our

:04:41. > :04:47.children safe. Questioning the integrity of Baroness Butler Sloss

:04:48. > :04:51.is not a good way to start. What is your position? When people ask for

:04:52. > :04:55.independent enquiries, they often want a judge to lead it, it is

:04:56. > :05:05.judges do come with a feeling of trust from the government. She used

:05:06. > :05:11.to be in the Court of Appeal. She is the chair of a major child abuse

:05:12. > :05:14.enquiry in the past. Yes, but, her brother was Lord favours, Attorney

:05:15. > :05:18.General, and if you remember, in fact, Geoffrey Dickens gave a couple

:05:19. > :05:23.of dossiers, one to the Home Office and the other to the DPP, two

:05:24. > :05:35.copies. The DPP copy has also gone missing! -- Lord have is. -- Lord

:05:36. > :05:38.Havers. I do not question her integrity, but I'm surprised that

:05:39. > :05:42.the Home Office did not look at this because I think they have put her in

:05:43. > :05:46.a very difficult position. I think that she has been chosen by the Home

:05:47. > :05:50.Secretary, Home Secretary will have looked at the various candidates

:05:51. > :05:55.available. As Emily points out, she has a great deal of experience in

:05:56. > :05:58.this area. Somebody who has the long history of working in areas like

:05:59. > :06:04.family law is bound to have known some of the people involved, there

:06:05. > :06:07.is a large establishment. As I say, I think she is absolutely committed

:06:08. > :06:12.to making sure that the enquiry is conducted with integrity. There is a

:06:13. > :06:17.motocross politics and government to once and for all open up areas that

:06:18. > :06:22.previously... Does it worry you that this Lady's brother was Attorney

:06:23. > :06:26.General at the time the allegations were originally made and nothing was

:06:27. > :06:30.done about those allegations. The Home Secretary will have taken that

:06:31. > :06:35.into account when making a decision. Might surprise some people. She will

:06:36. > :06:38.have looked at who was the best person to I know Elizabeth Butler

:06:39. > :06:42.Sloss, I think she's a woman incredible ability and integrity,

:06:43. > :06:47.I'm sure that is why she has been chosen by the Home Secretary. May I

:06:48. > :06:51.say one other thing, it has been said that the Lord try to stop the

:06:52. > :06:56.naming of Peter Heymann in the House of Commons, that is another issue.

:06:57. > :07:02.Peter Heymann turned out to be a notorious paedophile. It was covered

:07:03. > :07:06.up for years and years. Even when his secret flat in Notting Hill was

:07:07. > :07:13.discovered, with apparently horrible things in it, he was only ticked

:07:14. > :07:20.off. Letters, letters from all kinds of people. Exactly. The idea has

:07:21. > :07:23.been floated that it should be made illegal for institutions like

:07:24. > :07:28.schools and hospitals not to report abuse, what do you say? We welcome

:07:29. > :07:31.this, it is something we have been thinking about for a long time on

:07:32. > :07:35.the Labour side, I have had discussions with the NSPCC, I know

:07:36. > :07:40.that they have been against this until recently. I welcome the change

:07:41. > :07:43.of heart. Do you know what, I think there were terrible things that came

:07:44. > :07:47.out of this, one of the things which really got to me was when one young

:07:48. > :07:53.girl, one woman who had been a young girl, was told by a nurse to keep

:07:54. > :07:59.her eyes closed, to keep her eyes closed and pretend that she was

:08:00. > :08:02.asleep so they Jimmy Savile would not prey upon her. And yet that

:08:03. > :08:07.nurse did not report back to the police. There are pros and cons to

:08:08. > :08:13.mandatory reporting, that is something we are considering, we are

:08:14. > :08:17.open to the idea. You have opposed it in the past. We have posted in

:08:18. > :08:21.the past because of the issue of whether we up with over reporting,

:08:22. > :08:25.whether we end up with social services becoming overwhelmed? Do we

:08:26. > :08:29.end up with not actually dealing with the real cases we need to deal

:08:30. > :08:35.with, and do we end up putting children in more danger? One of the

:08:36. > :08:40.countries that has used mandatory reporting, Australia, and the

:08:41. > :08:47.evidence is very next. America, Australia, Canada, Northern Ireland.

:08:48. > :08:51.Nobody questions the desire to hold perpetrators to justice and hold

:08:52. > :09:00.them to account, the question is, how best to do it? We are looking at

:09:01. > :09:05.it, and we think, we think the case is very closely balanced, but we are

:09:06. > :09:08.prepared to speak with experts. What all of these various enquiries are

:09:09. > :09:15.showing is there is a serious issue here, we need to address that and we

:09:16. > :09:18.need to think again. I personally think that if someone is in loco

:09:19. > :09:23.parentis, if somebody has been given the trust of a child, and they see

:09:24. > :09:27.their child being abused, if a child abuse complains about abuse, we

:09:28. > :09:30.should look at whether or not they are morally obliged to a port,

:09:31. > :09:37.whether it should go further than that. -- morally obliged to report.

:09:38. > :09:41.Do you really expect whips to open their black books, all of the

:09:42. > :09:44.secrets that are in there? My understanding is that the

:09:45. > :09:47.Conservative whips along with whips of other parties have agreed to open

:09:48. > :09:54.up their books and that is right. We need to look at this. I presume it

:09:55. > :09:58.will be restricted to just child abuse issues. Presumably, the idea

:09:59. > :10:04.that there is a whip in the 1980s he said, "we know about them

:10:05. > :10:08.interfering with little boys, we hold it against them..." He said it

:10:09. > :10:30.on the record and he said it laughing. That is extraordinary.

:10:31. > :10:32.Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has said she

:10:33. > :10:35.expects Ed Miliband to give her the job of deputy Prime Minister

:10:36. > :10:37.if Labour win an overall majority in next year's general election.

:10:38. > :10:41.In a speech last night she hit out at Gordon Brown for failing to

:10:42. > :10:44.give her the job when she first became deputy leader back in 2007.

:10:45. > :10:46."Imagine my surprise", she said, "when having won a hard-fought

:10:47. > :10:49.election to succeed John Prescott as deputy leader of the Labour Party, I

:10:50. > :10:52.discovered that I was not to succeed him as deputy prime minister."

:10:53. > :10:55."If one of the men had won the deputy leadership would that have

:10:56. > :10:58.But Harman's comments were swiftly rebuffed by Gordon Brown's

:10:59. > :11:02."It's utter bilge from Harriet", he said, "done to make her attack on

:11:03. > :11:05.Dave to look non-partisan." "As every man and woman who ever

:11:06. > :11:08.worked for him could attest, Gordon judged people on only one thing:

:11:09. > :11:11.Later, speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on Newsnight, Ms Harman

:11:12. > :11:14.indicated that she expected Ed Miliband to give her the job:

:11:15. > :11:22.I do expect to be Deputy Prime Minister when, as I hope, we win the

:11:23. > :11:26.election with a majority next year. And if that comes to pass and you do

:11:27. > :11:31.not become the deputy promised, will that make Ed Miliband a sexist? That

:11:32. > :11:34.is too many conjectures, I hope that we will win the election and I hope

:11:35. > :11:37.to be deputy promised but I hope that there will be more women MPs

:11:38. > :11:44.delivering more equality for women out in the country. That is

:11:45. > :11:56.important. I am a -- I am a huge fan of Harriet

:11:57. > :12:00.Harman, everybody knows that, Labour has pushed the agenda in terms of

:12:01. > :12:06.women. We should be judged on our policies. Was Gordon Brown sexist

:12:07. > :12:10.for not the role deputy promised? If I was Gordon Brown, I would have

:12:11. > :12:13.given her the role in a shot, she is an extraordinary woman with a great

:12:14. > :12:17.deal to offer, she is not backward in coming forward! We have a lot of

:12:18. > :12:21.women like that and the Labour Party, almost half the Shadow

:12:22. > :12:25.Cabinet are women who are like that, I put my hands up, I am one of the

:12:26. > :12:32.bolshie women in the Shadow Cabinet. We are not silenced. Despite Gordon

:12:33. > :12:34.Brown, do you think Gordon Brown made a decision based upon sexism,

:12:35. > :12:35.if he had made a decision based upon sexism,

:12:36. > :12:37.if he won the debris do leadership, made a decision based upon sexism,

:12:38. > :12:42.if he won the debris would Alan Johnson have been deputy promised? I

:12:43. > :12:47.was a backbencher at the time, I was not in the inner circle, I just know

:12:48. > :12:50.what I think: Harriet Harman is amazing and I would have made her

:12:51. > :12:53.Deputy Prime Minister. In the end it is up to leaders to decide, and as

:12:54. > :12:58.for the next election, we have got to win that first. If she wins the

:12:59. > :13:05.election it will be up to Ed to decide. You have not said if he was

:13:06. > :13:12.all was not sexist, and if he was sexist, he did not think she was up

:13:13. > :13:17.to the job. I have always been a fan of hers and always supported hers.

:13:18. > :13:20.-- her. In the end, what matters is what we do as a party, particularly

:13:21. > :13:24.when we are in government in racing to women. If Gordon Brown did not

:13:25. > :13:29.think that she was up to the job, was it right to make -- was it right

:13:30. > :13:33.not to make a deputy promised, because that would have been wrong.

:13:34. > :13:37.The most important thing is that women listen to and we policies, you

:13:38. > :13:41.can see when women are not listened to in government, you look at, for

:13:42. > :13:44.example, in my brief, the way in which violence against women and

:13:45. > :13:49.girls has been downgraded until recently in my opinion in terms of

:13:50. > :13:53.prosecutions. Six pimps were prosecuted last year! That sort of

:13:54. > :13:58.thing shows that this is not front and centre, this is not on the

:13:59. > :14:00.table. This is not about Harriet Harman... I take your point... Let's

:14:01. > :14:02.put Harman... I take your point... Let's

:14:03. > :14:06.this in the context of the main political party, and compare us with

:14:07. > :14:10.the Tories. We are light years ahead. Really, one could have

:14:11. > :14:15.listened to the interview and said that she is making gear to Ed

:14:16. > :14:18.Miliband that she should be made deputy promised. Should Ed Miliband

:14:19. > :14:23.promised her the role now, the ticket is, Ed Miliband, Harriet

:14:24. > :14:29.Harman, she will be the deputy prime ministers. Know, the ticket is

:14:30. > :14:35.Labour needs to win should you promise. At will make the decisions,

:14:36. > :14:40.Ed is very much in charge. -- Ed will make the decisions. Half the

:14:41. > :14:43.Shadow Cabinet are women and we have policies which are developed early

:14:44. > :14:47.because we are there. She is the second Labour woman who has come out

:14:48. > :14:52.and said that Gordon Brown was responsible for windowdressing.

:14:53. > :14:56.Caroline Flint. Yes, she was the first one, in the Labour Party there

:14:57. > :15:05.is a culture of putting women in positions and not and being

:15:06. > :15:07.tokenistic. Really, come on! The Secretary of State was sacked

:15:08. > :15:24.because she was too old and replaced by somebody who was older!

:15:25. > :15:29.now? There are three. Is it good enough? No, it is not good enough.

:15:30. > :15:37.We have got more women than ever before. There is a pipeline, women

:15:38. > :15:41.need to get experience at a ministerial level and they need to

:15:42. > :15:46.build up in a meritocratic process by which we can succeed. If you look

:15:47. > :15:51.at Ed Miliband's back office, if you look at who is controlling his

:15:52. > :15:56.operator, it is not women. They are in the Shadow Cabinet, but not in

:15:57. > :16:03.the back room. What about you? Are you expecting a job? I am very much

:16:04. > :16:07.enjoying the job I am doing. I have the responsibility for raising

:16:08. > :16:12.standards in schools, to make sure our children get the best education

:16:13. > :16:17.possible. It is hugely satisfying. If you got offered a Cabinet job,

:16:18. > :16:25.you would not see it as window dressing? It is up to the Prime

:16:26. > :16:33.Minister. In the Conservative Party we have robust debates and if you

:16:34. > :16:38.look at the promotion to the culture secretary, he has been put in that

:16:39. > :16:44.job because he is brilliant. You are not happy with the number of women.

:16:45. > :16:50.We want more women MPs on the Conservative Party site. We want to

:16:51. > :16:58.open up what politics and we want to bring more women through the

:16:59. > :17:06.pipeline. He has his bag carriers who are always his man, David

:17:07. > :17:09.Cameron. With Labour two women in the previous Labour Cabinet Bove

:17:10. > :17:14.said Gordon Brown did windowdressing. If you read Alistair

:17:15. > :17:18.Campbell's diaries, you can see what a masculine Government the Labour

:17:19. > :17:26.Government work. I do not think they had real power, those women. Let's

:17:27. > :17:30.see if in the reshuffle Ed Miliband promises Harriet Harman Deputy Prime

:17:31. > :17:34.Minister. They went from outstanding to be

:17:35. > :17:36.in special measures in just a few years,

:17:37. > :17:39.so did Ofsted get it spectacularly wrong in its verdict on

:17:40. > :17:42.the Birmingham schools at the centre This morning the chief inspector

:17:43. > :17:47.of schools and head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has been

:17:48. > :17:49.grilled by MPs on whether his inspectors failed to spot a creeping

:17:50. > :18:01.Islamification of these schools. Some previously outstanding schools

:18:02. > :18:05.have got into difficult problems within relatively short time scales.

:18:06. > :18:10.Has that made you reassess about the previous attitude towards the

:18:11. > :18:16.inspection of outstanding schools? Yes, we do really inspect

:18:17. > :18:20.outstanding schools where there is a dip in performance and where our

:18:21. > :18:29.risk assessment processes trigger an inspection. I think we need to

:18:30. > :18:35.repeat this. These schools once judged to be outstanding decline

:18:36. > :18:39.rapidly. We inspect schools once in every five years and in the case of

:18:40. > :18:47.academies, once every seven. We are going to change that. There will be

:18:48. > :18:53.more frequent inspections. But even within those shorter inspection

:18:54. > :18:57.schedules, schools can slip. How was it that these schools went from

:18:58. > :19:03.outstanding to being put into special measures in the space of a

:19:04. > :19:08.few years? Parkview in Birmingham went from outstanding to inadequate

:19:09. > :19:14.in two years. First of all, Sir Michael has done a fantastic job of

:19:15. > :19:17.chief inspector of schools. He is overhauling the inspection system

:19:18. > :19:23.and is bringing on training and more high-quality inspectors and is

:19:24. > :19:26.bringing in-house companies that used to run inspections. What he

:19:27. > :19:31.admitted this morning at the select committee was that things that were

:19:32. > :19:35.going on in those schools that should have been noticed by a

:19:36. > :19:40.inspectors were not noticed. Why did they go from outstanding to special

:19:41. > :19:44.measures in such a small space of time? Because the initial inspection

:19:45. > :19:49.that took place did not recognise things that were going on in the

:19:50. > :19:55.school that were problematic. Such as? The overseas visits. They did

:19:56. > :20:01.not know about them? They did, but they did not recognise it was an

:20:02. > :20:07.issue. They did not think taking Muslim kids to medical on school

:20:08. > :20:11.funds was an issue? Correct and that is why Sir Michael has said that was

:20:12. > :20:15.an issue and that is why the inspection has been corrected this

:20:16. > :20:18.time around. He has admitted the inspections were not conducted as

:20:19. > :20:24.they ought to have been earlier on and that is hence the change in the

:20:25. > :20:28.judgement. But we all know there are issues across the board, there are

:20:29. > :20:33.lessons to be learned. What has been going on in these schools is not

:20:34. > :20:38.right. Children have not been taught British values, they have not learnt

:20:39. > :20:44.those shared values. I want to find out why they seem to go wrong so

:20:45. > :20:49.quickly. The man you just praise, Sir Michael Wilshaw, in March this

:20:50. > :20:52.year he was suggesting a light touch inspection of schools that had

:20:53. > :20:59.already been categorised as outstanding. That will not happen

:21:00. > :21:04.now, will it? The policy has changed since these investigations. He was

:21:05. > :21:09.suggesting they change the policy to have only light touch inspection of

:21:10. > :21:12.schools that were outstanding. Given what was made as standing in

:21:13. > :21:19.Birmingham, I am suggesting this will not be taken on board. That is

:21:20. > :21:24.what he is saying. So he was wrong? Yes, and he has changed his view on

:21:25. > :21:29.that issue, just as the view has been changed on no notice

:21:30. > :21:34.inspections. We are introducing no notice inspections to make sure

:21:35. > :21:42.schools doing those wrong things are caught out. He suggested these

:21:43. > :21:45.schools, quote, in a speech to the Association of School and College

:21:46. > :21:49.leaders, that these schools should no longer be subject to full and

:21:50. > :21:53.routine inspections in the way they are now. If we had gone down that

:21:54. > :21:59.road, we would never have found out what was happening because they were

:22:00. > :22:06.outstanding schools. That is right. He was wrong. There are two issues.

:22:07. > :22:09.First of all is the quality of inspectors and inspections. Those

:22:10. > :22:13.inspectors who went in in 2012 should have spotted things they did

:22:14. > :22:19.not spot. That is being addressed through better training. The second

:22:20. > :22:24.is how do we monitor outstanding schools? That is where he is saying

:22:25. > :22:27.there needs to be a change in approach to recognise it is not just

:22:28. > :22:32.about fantastic performance in league tables, but it is also about

:22:33. > :22:36.are those schools teaching British values? We introduced new guidelines

:22:37. > :22:40.this week which Ofsted will be looking at in their inspection

:22:41. > :22:45.framework. We have changed because we recognise there is an issue.

:22:46. > :22:50.Teachers and parents started raising concerns about some of these schools

:22:51. > :22:54.in Birmingham as early as 2002. Your party remained in power for eight

:22:55. > :23:01.years after that. Why did Labour do nothing about it? We want to

:23:02. > :23:06.introduce a local person... I am asking you why did you not do

:23:07. > :23:12.anything about it? It has been accepted there were mistakes made.

:23:13. > :23:17.Why? I do not know, but I know mistakes have been made. What we

:23:18. > :23:23.want to do, and we want the Conservatives to pick it up and do

:23:24. > :23:27.it, not because it is our idea, but to have someone locally whose

:23:28. > :23:33.responsibility it is to take it over. Whether you are a free school

:23:34. > :23:38.or an academy or whatever, you will be answerable. You cannot run all

:23:39. > :23:43.these plethora of new schools and academies like this. That body was

:23:44. > :23:48.meant to be Birmingham City Council. When these issues first

:23:49. > :23:51.arose all of these schools were under Birmingham council control,

:23:52. > :23:58.and many still are, and yet no action was taken. The school in the

:23:59. > :24:03.photograph is an academy and it is answerable to Whitehall. I am not

:24:04. > :24:09.making a party political point. It was a handful of academies that were

:24:10. > :24:11.failing. We did not want all schools to be made independent and

:24:12. > :24:18.answerable to Michael Gove in Whitehall, it does not work. Many of

:24:19. > :24:20.the schools in Birmingham are answerable to Birmingham City

:24:21. > :24:27.Council and it is clear it has questions to answer. Somebody

:24:28. > :24:33.locally responsible for standards up and down the country that we can

:24:34. > :24:39.make sure... That is Birmingham City Council's job. The council should

:24:40. > :24:43.take the responsibility for academies and free schools as well?

:24:44. > :24:48.They should take responsibility for their maintained schools. She is

:24:49. > :24:54.talking about how do you regulate the academies and the free schools?

:24:55. > :25:01.It cannot all be done by Ofsted or Whitehall. She has come up with a

:25:02. > :25:04.proposal. What is your reaction? She is not acknowledging many of these

:25:05. > :25:12.schools are still maintained schools under local authority control. They

:25:13. > :25:18.are answerable to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State has

:25:19. > :25:21.taken action. I thought the Tory party really believed the man and

:25:22. > :25:27.woman in Whitehall does not know best. That used to be your mantra.

:25:28. > :25:33.You are now saying that the man and woman in Whitehall do know best. We

:25:34. > :25:35.are creating regional schools commissioners who will have

:25:36. > :25:42.delegated powers of the Secretary of State. What does that mean? It

:25:43. > :25:52.sounds like your proposal! Let me tell you the difference. That is

:25:53. > :26:01.good news. The commissioners' policy involves recreating local policy

:26:02. > :26:06.bureaucracy at local level. There is not quite a meeting of minds there.

:26:07. > :26:27.Westminster is abuzz with feverish speculation. Who is going up and who

:26:28. > :26:32.is going down? Leave her alone. It is all people are talking about in

:26:33. > :26:40.Westminster's tearooms. But making an educated guess is a mug's game.

:26:41. > :26:46.You can see where this is going. Some might say reshuffles merely

:26:47. > :26:51.replace old mugs with new ones. If you want to clear out your old

:26:52. > :26:53.mugs, you just have to enter guess the year.

:26:54. > :27:02.Let's see if you can remember when this happens. And all over the world

:27:03. > :27:08.countless millions are awaiting to take part in spirit in the last

:27:09. > :27:28.journey of his Majesty King George V. # When the dawn flames in the

:27:29. > :27:58.sky, my love moves. #. # You ain't given no money, you

:27:59. > :28:09.can't buy no clothes to wear... # Keep your feet of my doorstep...

:28:10. > :28:13.To the new sovereign and Queen Elizabeth and the little lady who is

:28:14. > :28:25.heir to the throne, long life and all happiness.

:28:26. > :28:33.To be in with a chance of winning, send your answer to our e-mail

:28:34. > :28:44.address. You can see the full terms and conditions on the website. The

:28:45. > :28:49.clue is the funeral of the King which sparked a constitutional

:28:50. > :28:54.crisis. Don't give it away. It is coming up to midday. Prime

:28:55. > :29:01.Minister's Questions is on its way, the penultimate one until the summer

:29:02. > :29:08.recess. If you would like to comment on proceedings, and please try and

:29:09. > :29:16.be polite, send us an e-mail. Or you can tweet your thought using the

:29:17. > :29:20.hash tag. We may read some out if they are nice and literate and not

:29:21. > :29:24.nasty. Speaking of not nasty, Nick Robinson is here. You did not say

:29:25. > :29:27.not nice! nasty. Speaking of not nasty, Nick

:29:28. > :29:32.Robinson is here. You did What is going to happen? What is the leader

:29:33. > :29:38.of the opposition going to go on today? It would be odd if he did not

:29:39. > :29:43.pick up on the child abuse enquiry, but my instinct is it would be odd

:29:44. > :29:52.if he did not pick up on whether Baroness Butler-Sloss is the right

:29:53. > :29:58.person for the enquiry. If I were Ed Miliband, I would be tempted to push

:29:59. > :30:02.him on that. Last week you were talking about Ed Miliband's claim

:30:03. > :30:06.that David Cameron got his figures on waiting times in the NHS. A bit

:30:07. > :30:11.tempting to quote the House of Commons library who said the Prime

:30:12. > :30:15.Minister produced simplistic data and withdrew it when it was

:30:16. > :30:24.suggested it was a very partial description. But they then reissued

:30:25. > :30:28.it. We all regard what the House of Commons library says as gospel. All

:30:29. > :30:34.they did was change the commentary, they did not change the data. They

:30:35. > :30:38.continued to save the data was not possibly the best data to give you

:30:39. > :30:43.an indication of waiting times. They took away the other explosive,

:30:44. > :30:56.political language. There was criticism of Ed Miliband...

:30:57. > :31:01.I'm sure that the whole house would like to join me in paying tribute to

:31:02. > :31:05.all of those involved in the start of the Tour de France in Britain,

:31:06. > :31:09.this event showcased the best of Yorkshire and the whole that Britain

:31:10. > :31:13.has two offer. I was delighted to see such incredible support

:31:14. > :31:16.throughout the race. This morning I had the meetings with ministerial

:31:17. > :31:19.colleagues and others and I shall have further such meetings later

:31:20. > :31:26.today in addition to my duties in the house. We join with the good

:31:27. > :31:30.news that the parameter has just relayed. Northern Ireland equality

:31:31. > :31:33.commission is threatening legal action against the family-owned

:31:34. > :31:41.bakery, because they would not print a political message on a cake. The

:31:42. > :31:45.requested message was completely against the company 's Christian

:31:46. > :31:48.values, does the Prime Minister agree that so-called equality is now

:31:49. > :31:50.being viewed by many as an oppressive threat to

:31:51. > :31:51.agree that so-called equality is now being viewed by many as an religious

:31:52. > :31:58.freedom and does he further agree that such freedoms should be

:31:59. > :32:01.protected by the introduction of a conscience clause? I'm not aware of

:32:02. > :32:06.the specific case that the honourable gentleman raises, I shall

:32:07. > :32:10.go away and have a look at it, but I do think a commitment to equality in

:32:11. > :32:14.terms of racial equality, terms of equality to those of different

:32:15. > :32:17.sexes, able who have disabilities, or indeed tolerance and equality of

:32:18. > :32:19.people who may have a different sexuality, all of that is a very

:32:20. > :32:34.important part of being British. Mrs Caroline Spelman. CHEERING

:32:35. > :32:39.. Order, I would like the question to be heard, I would like all

:32:40. > :32:42.questions to be heard. With the Prime Minister welcomed the

:32:43. > :32:46.president MP and quiet of the German parliament, who has come to sing a

:32:47. > :32:51.joint concert with our Parliament choir, in Westminster Hall tonight,

:32:52. > :32:59.to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War, and the third

:33:00. > :33:03.Centenary of the monarchy. I would be very happy to welcome this German

:33:04. > :33:06.choir, I suspect after last nights results they will be in rather good

:33:07. > :33:16.voice! LAUGHTER In a serious moment, it is important

:33:17. > :33:19.that we commemorate the key battles and Armistice Day, as we commemorate

:33:20. > :33:27.the key battles and Armistice Day, has become up in Britain we will

:33:28. > :33:31.mark it inappropriate ways. As we come up. -- as we come up. It is

:33:32. > :33:32.important that we learn the lessons of the conflict and we commemorate

:33:33. > :33:44.those that fail. Ed Miliband. I would like to join the Prime

:33:45. > :33:47.Minister in paying tribute to the way that the Tour de France was made

:33:48. > :33:51.such a brilliant success for Britain. I was proud to be watching

:33:52. > :33:54.it on the streets, as I know that he was, I was in Leeds, with hundreds

:33:55. > :33:59.of thousands of people lining the streets. All of us have been

:34:00. > :34:02.horrified by the instances of child abuse that have been uncovered, and

:34:03. > :34:06.the further allegations that have been made, and all of the victims of

:34:07. > :34:11.child abuse are not just owed justice but an apology that it took

:34:12. > :34:15.so long for their cries to be heard. Does the Prime Minister agree that

:34:16. > :34:18.all enquiries, including by the police and by those he has set up,

:34:19. > :34:23.must go wherever the evidence leads them in whatever institution of the

:34:24. > :34:28.country, including our own, to get at what happened? Pro Minister. I

:34:29. > :34:33.absolutely agree with the right honourable gentleman, child abuse is

:34:34. > :34:36.a despicable crime and the victims lived with the horror for the rest

:34:37. > :34:39.of their lives, it is vital that whether it is the two enquiries

:34:40. > :34:43.announced by the Home Secretary or indeed vital police enquiries that

:34:44. > :34:48.are being carried out, that no stone is left unturned. The horror of the

:34:49. > :34:53.Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris cases just show what people were able to

:34:54. > :34:56.get away with. It was almost an occasion that they were committing

:34:57. > :35:00.crimes in plain sight and it took far too long to get to the bottom of

:35:01. > :35:04.what happened and for justice to be done, that is absolutely what this

:35:05. > :35:08.government is looking to achieve. On the issue of 114 missing files from

:35:09. > :35:12.the Home Office, can you clarify when ministers were first informed

:35:13. > :35:16.and what action they took? Do you agree that the review by Peter

:35:17. > :35:19.Wanless cannot simply be into the original review, but it must seek to

:35:20. > :35:23.discover what happened to the files, who knew what, and whether

:35:24. > :35:28.information was covered up, and this review must also have full

:35:29. > :35:33.investigative powers? First of all, Parliamentary question last October

:35:34. > :35:36.that revealed the points about the 2013 enquiry, what I would say: It

:35:37. > :35:40.is absolutely vital that Peter Wanless, who I think is an excellent

:35:41. > :35:43.record in this regard, and will carry out the review in absolutely

:35:44. > :35:47.the right way, that he has all of the powers that he needs. Let's be

:35:48. > :35:53.clear, if he wants more powers, if the enquiry wants to have a greater

:35:54. > :35:56.power and ability, then he can absolutely ask for it. It must go

:35:57. > :36:01.exacting where the evidence leads. We are determined to get to the

:36:02. > :36:04.bottom of what happened. The most important thing in relation to these

:36:05. > :36:08.files, is to clarify what happens to them and why they went missing. I

:36:09. > :36:12.welcome the overarching enquiry, which has been set up by the Home

:36:13. > :36:14.Secretary. Can the prime ministers say more about what the terms of

:36:15. > :36:19.reference about that enquiry will be? Will he consider a very sensible

:36:20. > :36:24.recommendations made today by Peter Wanless, around making the covering

:36:25. > :36:27.up of abuse a criminal offence, and ensuring there is an obligation on

:36:28. > :36:33.institutions to report abuse where it can. Taking the second point

:36:34. > :36:36.first, can we change the law -- should we change the law so that

:36:37. > :36:40.there is a requirement to report and make it a criminal offence not to

:36:41. > :36:44.report? The government is looking at that and both reviews will be able

:36:45. > :36:47.to examine this particular point and advise us accordingly, it may well

:36:48. > :36:52.be time to take that kind of step forward. On the issue of the terms

:36:53. > :36:56.of reference of the wider lessons learned review, we are discussing

:36:57. > :36:59.those at the moment, we are happy to take suggestion from other parties

:37:00. > :37:04.in this house. The main aim as I have said before, you have got a

:37:05. > :37:07.number of enquiries being carried out into specific hospitals

:37:08. > :37:12.including the saddle enquiry, you have the enquiry being taken place

:37:13. > :37:16.inside the BBC, and other enquiries into Welsh children's homes. --

:37:17. > :37:19.including the Jimmy Savile enquiry. What is vital is that government

:37:20. > :37:22.land all of the lessons of the review, and where I think the

:37:23. > :37:25.Elizabeth Butler Sloss review can help is by having a panel of experts

:37:26. > :37:29.who can advise us about all of the things that need to change in these

:37:30. > :37:33.institutions. For instance, the church, the BBC, the NHS, but also,

:37:34. > :37:40.if necessary, in this place and government as well. I welcome what

:37:41. > :37:43.he has said, clearly cultural change is absolutely crucial. Turning to

:37:44. > :37:47.another matter, the health service, last week the Prime Minister said

:37:48. > :37:51.the waiting times in accident and emergency had gone down but within

:37:52. > :37:55.24-hour House of Commons library had called him out. Average waiting

:37:56. > :38:00.times have gone up. Will he now correct the record? What I said last

:38:01. > :38:02.week at prime ministers questions last week is absolutely right and...

:38:03. > :38:10.SHOUTING If he goes on the website of the

:38:11. > :38:13.organisation... If you remember, at the end of prime Minster 's

:38:14. > :38:17.questions there were some points of order, and I said very specifically

:38:18. > :38:21.that the number of people waiting longer than 18, 26 and 52 weeks to

:38:22. > :38:26.begin treatment are lower than they were at any time under the last

:38:27. > :38:29.government. That was directly contradicted by the Shadow Health

:38:30. > :38:32.Secretary, and I want to give the figures to the house now so that

:38:33. > :38:36.people can see that I got my facts right. SHOUTING

:38:37. > :38:48.April, 2010,, 217,000 people waiting over 18 weeks. It is now 186,000,

:38:49. > :38:56.that is Lola! March, 2010, 92,000 people waiting 26 weeks, it is now

:38:57. > :39:03.59,000, Lola. In terms of waiting 52 weeks, 52 weeks for treatment, in

:39:04. > :39:06.April, 2010, 21,000 people waiting that long, now it is 510, that is

:39:07. > :39:25.Lola! -- that is lower. Very clear that he does not want to

:39:26. > :39:28.talk about accident and emergency, where he was called out, let's go to

:39:29. > :39:34.the common-sense definition of what a waiting time is... As always, does

:39:35. > :39:39.not matter how long it takes, the question will be heard. The brain,

:39:40. > :39:42.the yelling, the calculated heckling may as well cease, because we will

:39:43. > :39:46.simply go for as long as is necessary.

:39:47. > :39:51.It is not how long you wait to be assessed, it is the time between

:39:52. > :39:57.arriving at the accident and emergency and leaving! The number of

:39:58. > :40:01.people waiting more than four hours is at its highest level in a decade,

:40:02. > :40:04.why does he not just admit the truth, which everybody in the

:40:05. > :40:09.country knows: People are waiting longer in accident and emergency.

:40:10. > :40:12.The figures I gave last week are correct and published by the health

:40:13. > :40:17.and social care information Centre, the average waiting time, 77

:40:18. > :40:22.minutes, when the Shadow Health Secretary was Health Secretary the

:40:23. > :40:26.average waiting time was now 30 minutes. We can trade statistics

:40:27. > :40:29.across the floor of the house, and I am absolutely clear the health

:40:30. > :40:34.service is getting better, but there is a reason it is getting better, it

:40:35. > :40:38.is because we have taken a couple of big strategic decisions: We said put

:40:39. > :40:43.more money into the NHS, they said that was irresponsible. We said cut

:40:44. > :40:52.the bureaucracy in the NHS, they wanted to keep. -- the average

:40:53. > :40:55.waiting time was 77 minutes when the Shadow Health Secretary was Health

:40:56. > :40:56.Secretary. Now the average waiting time is 30 minutes.

:40:57. > :41:03.CHEERING I would far rather have the Shadow

:41:04. > :41:07.Health Secretary than there are Health Secretary any day of the

:41:08. > :41:11.week! And I will tell you, I will tell you, I will tell you what has

:41:12. > :41:15.happened in the health service, I will tell you what has happened in

:41:16. > :41:19.the health service: Top-down reorganisation that nobody wanted

:41:20. > :41:24.and nobody voted for, and it has diverted billions of pounds away

:41:25. > :41:29.from patient care. The contrast that we see is between the complacent

:41:30. > :41:31.claims of the Prime Minister, and people 's everyday experience.

:41:32. > :41:36.People are spending longer in accident and emergency and hospital

:41:37. > :41:41.accident and emergency is have missed therefore our target for the

:41:42. > :41:46.last 50 weeks in a row. -- accident and emergencys. He pretends things

:41:47. > :41:49.are getting better but patients, NHS staff and the public can see it is

:41:50. > :41:55.getting worse right before their eyes. He still has to defend a man

:41:56. > :41:58.who presided over the mid Staffordshire disgrace, standards of

:41:59. > :42:02.patient care were so bad that patients were drinking out of dirty

:42:03. > :42:08.vases, because of standards in labour's NHS. This is the point: The

:42:09. > :42:12.reason we have been able to cut bureaucracy and the reason we have

:42:13. > :42:17.been able to put more money into the NHS is because we have taken

:42:18. > :42:22.difficult decisions. -- Labour's. Including having a 1% pay cap in the

:42:23. > :42:25.NHS, which Labour said they would support but this week they have

:42:26. > :42:30.decided that they will back strikes instead. Mr Speaker, I have here, I

:42:31. > :42:34.have here the Labour briefing on strikes. SHOUTING

:42:35. > :42:41.It says this, do we support strikes? No. Will we condemn

:42:42. > :42:46.strikes? No. There we have it, that is his leadership summed up in one

:42:47. > :42:51.go, have they got a plan for the NHS? No! Have they got a plan for

:42:52. > :42:55.the economy? No SHOUTING Issey remotely up to the job? No!

:42:56. > :43:10.Is the Prime Minister aware that British airways are to cease the

:43:11. > :43:14.link between Aberdeen and London city, in favour of increased

:43:15. > :43:20.services to already well served outpost of last go, Edinburgh and

:43:21. > :43:23.Dublin? Will he support the campaign to maintain this language is vital

:43:24. > :43:28.for business economy of northern Scotland. I am happy to look into

:43:29. > :43:32.this issue, it is an absolutely vital service, particularly when you

:43:33. > :43:35.consider how strong the economy in north-east Scotland is performing

:43:36. > :43:41.with North Sea oil and gas. I'm happy to look at the issue with him.

:43:42. > :43:46.Jonathan Edwards. Tomorrow I shall be alongside striking teachers,

:43:47. > :43:51.firefighters and nurses, the backbone of local communities. His

:43:52. > :43:57.reported plans to ban public sector workers from joining their neighbour

:43:58. > :44:00.are a silent threat to stop people supporting. I have made it clear

:44:01. > :44:05.that I do not think the strikes are right, I condemn them, it is a pity

:44:06. > :44:09.we do not have so much clarity on the issue from the party opposite or

:44:10. > :44:13.indeed from his party. I would like to give one example, the National

:44:14. > :44:17.union of teachers is proposing a strike based upon a ballot that they

:44:18. > :44:22.had almost two years ago on a very small turnout of their members.

:44:23. > :44:25.Really, is it right to continue with this situation when so many

:44:26. > :44:27.children's education is this situation when so many

:44:28. > :44:35.children's going to be so badly disrupted?

:44:36. > :44:41.Speaking on the opposition backbenchers on December nine, 2002,

:44:42. > :44:47.the prime ministers said "I find the European arrest warrant highly

:44:48. > :44:52.objectionable. " I still think it is highly objectionable. Does the Prime

:44:53. > :44:56.Minister? The point I make, we have made a series of changes to the

:44:57. > :44:59.European arrest warrant, so that you do not have the problem of people

:45:00. > :45:05.being arrested, for instance, for things which are not a crime in this

:45:06. > :45:26.country. Question we have got to ask, we have got to achieve this

:45:27. > :45:31.vast opt out. The head of the civil service says the business case for

:45:32. > :45:35.universal credit has not been signed off. The Department for Work and

:45:36. > :45:42.Pensions says it has. Who is telling the truth? The budget for universal

:45:43. > :45:46.credit has been signed off every year by the Treasury and will

:45:47. > :45:52.continue to do so. The good news is that next year we will have one in

:45:53. > :45:58.eight Jobcentre is rolling out universal credit I thought we had

:45:59. > :46:04.found the party opposite would be in favour of a system that makes work

:46:05. > :46:08.pay, but they have gone back into the whole of being against every

:46:09. > :46:14.single welfare change and everything that is getting this country moving.

:46:15. > :46:23.The safer Internet centre estimates up to 30 websites host UK online

:46:24. > :46:26.pornography images, another form of sexual abuse. Does the Prime

:46:27. > :46:33.Minister agree posting such material has to be recognised for what it is?

:46:34. > :46:37.A criminal, sexual offence against its victims. My honourable friend is

:46:38. > :46:41.absolutely right. This is an appalling offence and a dreadful

:46:42. > :46:47.thing for someone to do and it has criminal intent. I am glad she is

:46:48. > :46:52.championing this caused and looking at the amendment she is suggesting,

:46:53. > :47:03.I hope to take up this cause. We have to make sure we do far more to

:47:04. > :47:09.do deal with porn and Internet porn. If the business case for his

:47:10. > :47:13.universal credit proposals is robust, why is the head of the home

:47:14. > :47:19.civil service saying he has not signed it off? What has happened is

:47:20. > :47:24.universal credit has been signed off in each and every year by the

:47:25. > :47:30.Treasury. I make no apology for the fact we are rolling it out slowly.

:47:31. > :47:34.We have learned the lesson of the last Labour Government, in which he

:47:35. > :47:39.played a prominent part, where tax credits were introduced in one go

:47:40. > :47:45.and was a complete shambles. The Northwest air ambulance has three

:47:46. > :47:50.helicopters and has flown thousands of missions since 1999, one of which

:47:51. > :47:56.saved the life of a friend of mine after a car crash. There are 27 such

:47:57. > :48:01.error services throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. One of them

:48:02. > :48:08.may become a royal air Ambulance Service. Will he paid tribute to

:48:09. > :48:10.those who man the helicopters, saving people throughout the

:48:11. > :48:15.country, and heaped praise on thousands of people who raise funds

:48:16. > :48:21.every week on wet street corners in the United Kingdom to ensure they

:48:22. > :48:26.carry on flying and saving lives? My honourable friend is absolutely

:48:27. > :48:30.right. Our air ambulances provide an invaluable service and we must all

:48:31. > :48:33.pay to read to the men and women who starve them who often have to

:48:34. > :48:39.undertake very difficult landings and take-offs to rescue people and

:48:40. > :48:42.get them to hospital. It is right up and down the country people are

:48:43. > :48:50.giving charitably to fund these vital services. I am sure the Prime

:48:51. > :48:54.Minister will agree that dealing with terrorism and violence and a

:48:55. > :48:57.commitment to a democratic means were fundamental in moving Northern

:48:58. > :49:03.Ireland forward taking us to where we are today. Will the Prime

:49:04. > :49:07.Minister agree that in the Northern Ireland of 2014 Republican threats

:49:08. > :49:13.of violence for political ends must not only be deployed, but that

:49:14. > :49:17.everyone, and governmental bodies in Northern Ireland and the community,

:49:18. > :49:20.must stand up against such threats and commit themselves to fundamental

:49:21. > :49:26.freedoms and supporting democracy and the rule of law? All threats of

:49:27. > :49:30.violence are unacceptable and should be condemned on all sides. What I

:49:31. > :49:35.hope we can achieve in the coming weeks, and it will take compromise

:49:36. > :49:40.and brave decisions on all sides, it is to get the talks process on going

:49:41. > :49:48.again with commitments from his own party, as well as the DLP and Sinn

:49:49. > :49:53.Fein, to discuss these things to make progress. If we do not make

:49:54. > :49:57.progress on this issue, you leave space open for extremists on all

:49:58. > :50:01.sides of the debate to start pushing their ideas, which would be

:50:02. > :50:09.unhelpful for the future of Northern Ireland. The long-term economic plan

:50:10. > :50:18.is working. Unemployment is down a third in the last year and as the

:50:19. > :50:21.summer approaches, I am walking the boundary of my constituency to

:50:22. > :50:29.promote the local area. Can I invite him to join me for part of the walk

:50:30. > :50:35.for a fantastic charity in my constituency? I wish my honourable

:50:36. > :50:40.friend well and he is making an enticing invitation and I am a big

:50:41. > :50:45.fan of what the Peak District has to offer. It is notable in his

:50:46. > :50:49.constituency at the claimant count has fallen by 42% since the election

:50:50. > :50:55.and the youth claimant count has come down by 39% in the last year.

:50:56. > :51:01.We are seeing an economic revival and we need to stick to our plans to

:51:02. > :51:06.get the deficit down, help people with tax cuts, make it easier for

:51:07. > :51:11.firms to employ people and to reform our welfare and immigration systems.

:51:12. > :51:18.That is the plan we will stick to and it is delivering. A 62-year-old

:51:19. > :51:23.man in Eccles, a carer for his wife with Alzheimer's, sought an urgent

:51:24. > :51:28.GP appointment for her. He was told it would be five weeks to see her

:51:29. > :51:33.GP, two weeks to see any GP or he could take to the A If this is

:51:34. > :51:40.the way the NHS tree is the way the NHS trees dementia, does the Prime

:51:41. > :51:47.Minister not agree Labour's plan to give these patients the right to see

:51:48. > :51:52.a GP immediately? There are 1000 more GPs today than there were when

:51:53. > :51:56.I became Prime Minister. We are reintroducing a name to GP for a

:51:57. > :52:00.frail, elderly people, which Labour got rid of. That is one of the

:52:01. > :52:06.reasons, combined with the disastrous GP contract that Labour

:52:07. > :52:10.introduced, there is so much pressure on our accident and

:52:11. > :52:15.emergency system. We must learn from the mistakes Labour made rather than

:52:16. > :52:18.repeat them all over again. Is the Prime Minister aware that 16 to

:52:19. > :52:24.18-year-oldss in Northumberland who may live 15 miles from further

:52:25. > :52:29.education or 20 miles from high school are facing charges up to

:52:30. > :52:33.several thousand pounds in charges to get education because the

:52:34. > :52:36.Labour-controlled council has reversed the support given by the

:52:37. > :52:46.previous Liberal Democrat administration? Will he deployed

:52:47. > :52:58.this decision and see what central Government can do to promote fairer

:52:59. > :53:01.access to education. Responsibility for education and training rests

:53:02. > :53:08.with local authorities and clearly there is local authority have made

:53:09. > :53:11.this decision. We have introduced a ?180 million bursary fund to support

:53:12. > :53:16.the most disadvantaged pupils and that is something his council can

:53:17. > :53:22.make the most of. But this is another example of the fact that

:53:23. > :53:29.labour costs you more. Mr Speaker, it is estimated that each day 179

:53:30. > :53:35.British girls are at risk of being subjected to FGM, joining a total of

:53:36. > :53:41.170,000 in the United Kingdom who have been cut. Next week he hosts a

:53:42. > :53:48.summit on this issue. Does he agree with me that FGM is not cultural, it

:53:49. > :53:51.is criminal? It is not tribal, it is torture. Will he please read the

:53:52. > :53:57.report of the select committee published next Thursday, implement

:53:58. > :54:02.it in full so that we can eradicate this horrendous abuse from our

:54:03. > :54:05.country? Can I commend the honourable gentleman for the work of

:54:06. > :54:09.the Home Affairs Select Committee has done on this issue. This is a

:54:10. > :54:14.brutal, appalling practice which should have no place in the world

:54:15. > :54:18.and certainly no place in Britain and it is appalling that people

:54:19. > :54:23.living in our country are being subjected to this practice. I will

:54:24. > :54:28.study the report closely. The whole aim of the conference is to make

:54:29. > :54:31.sure these two practices of early, enforced marriage and female genital

:54:32. > :54:39.mutilation are wiped out on our planet. Does my right honourable

:54:40. > :54:44.friend accept it would be totally unacceptable to have a statutory

:54:45. > :54:48.limitation on overseas aid without having a similar statutory provision

:54:49. > :54:53.covering defence expenditure to guarantee our NATO commitments? What

:54:54. > :54:57.I would say is we are in the happy position of this country of meeting

:54:58. > :55:02.the 2% spending on defence which NATO members are meant to undertake

:55:03. > :55:06.and when we hold the NATO conference in Wales in September we should be

:55:07. > :55:11.encouraging other countries to do the same and to meet some of the new

:55:12. > :55:15.park that targets for spending on new equipment that can be used in

:55:16. > :55:22.NATO operations. We can also be proud of the fact we are meeting the

:55:23. > :55:27.promise we made our spending 0.7% on overseas aid which is saving lives

:55:28. > :55:30.all over the world. I would not divorce it from our defence spending

:55:31. > :55:37.because the money we spent in places like Somalia, Nigeria or Pakistan is

:55:38. > :55:41.about reducing the pressures of asylum and immigration and

:55:42. > :55:45.terrorism, making our world safer. That is what our defence budget

:55:46. > :55:52.should be about and it is what our aid budget is about as well.

:55:53. > :55:58.Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis mean patients can be out of work for

:55:59. > :56:02.years if they do not get the right treatment and we should look at the

:56:03. > :56:08.wider benefits rather than the initial cost of that treatment. I

:56:09. > :56:15.agree. My understanding is that work is carried out and I will look at

:56:16. > :56:21.the particular condition she raises. Businesses across Lincolnshire

:56:22. > :56:24.report growing conference that confidence in growing order books,

:56:25. > :56:30.highly skilled workers benefiting from the tax cuts this Government

:56:31. > :56:34.has introduced and hard-working apprentices enjoying opportunities

:56:35. > :56:38.they did not have a few years ago. Does the Prime Minister agree the

:56:39. > :56:42.Shadow Chancellor's plans of borrowing yet more money, whilst

:56:43. > :56:51.heaving tax on businesses and making it more expensive for people to hire

:56:52. > :56:56.workers is an economic scam? We have got to stick to the plan and that

:56:57. > :57:00.plan involves training young people and we are on track to hit 2 million

:57:01. > :57:05.apprentices trained under this Government. The worst thing to do

:57:06. > :57:09.would be to start spending and borrowing and taxing more, which are

:57:10. > :57:15.the proposals of the opposition. With the Prime Minister explain why

:57:16. > :57:18.it is the only people who feel there are no problems in the National

:57:19. > :57:26.Health Service are members of the Conservative Party? What I would say

:57:27. > :57:29.is every single health system are right across the developed world is

:57:30. > :57:36.facing huge challenges and pressures. Pressures of an ageing

:57:37. > :57:39.population, new drugs and treatments coming on stream and the pressures

:57:40. > :57:43.of children surviving with conditions that need to be treated

:57:44. > :57:51.throughout their lives. How do we respond? Our response has been to

:57:52. > :57:55.fund the health service and protected from cars and to reform

:57:56. > :58:02.the health service so there are more doctors and more nurses. The figures

:58:03. > :58:07.speak for themselves because you can see more people being treated. 40

:58:08. > :58:12.million more people are getting GP appointments. It is because we have

:58:13. > :58:16.taken the difficult decisions Labour have not taken in Wales and that is

:58:17. > :58:24.why in Wales at UC longer waiting lists and real problems with the

:58:25. > :58:27.NHS. Should taxpayer money be used to gather information on MPs which

:58:28. > :58:36.is then retained by a Chief Whip or shredded? If my honourable friend is

:58:37. > :58:42.referring to the situation that took place in the Welsh assembly which I

:58:43. > :58:45.was reading about overnight, that seems to be a worrying development.

:58:46. > :58:53.If he is referring to something else, he could perhaps write to me

:58:54. > :58:57.and I will get back to him. Would the Prime Minister look into the

:58:58. > :59:02.case of a young mother in my constituency who has a significant

:59:03. > :59:04.spinal injury that has left her unable to walk? Her GB has

:59:05. > :59:07.spinal injury that has left her unable to walk? Her GB referred her

:59:08. > :59:11.for an urgent appointment with a neurosurgeon. Could the Prime

:59:12. > :59:17.Minister explain why urgent on his watch means a four-week wait lying

:59:18. > :59:21.in pain? I will look at the KC raises and I am happy to look at

:59:22. > :59:28.individual cases, but the figures quoted earlier demonstrate when you

:59:29. > :59:34.look at people waiting 18 weeks, 26 weeks or 52 weeks, they are lower

:59:35. > :59:41.now than at any time under the last Labour Government. I am very happy

:59:42. > :59:45.to look at the individual case. Is the Prime Minister aware that since

:59:46. > :59:52.2012 when he made his promise to increase access to innovative

:59:53. > :59:57.radiotherapy for cancer patients, the number has decreased in some

:59:58. > :00:01.hospitals by 70% and state-of-the-art machines are lying

:00:02. > :00:08.idle because NHS England will not allow doctors to use them? Can I ask

:00:09. > :00:15.him to meet with me and other campaigners like Lawrence Dallaglio

:00:16. > :00:18.to discuss this scandal? I read the report that Lawrence Dallaglio was

:00:19. > :00:23.referring to over the weekend and I am happy to meet with her and him to

:00:24. > :00:28.discuss this. We have introduced the Cancer Drugs Fund which is also for

:00:29. > :00:32.innovative treatment. I know there have been changes in the way

:00:33. > :00:36.radiotherapy has been carried out and new technology that is being

:00:37. > :00:43.used, which may be part of the explanation. Jobs growth Wales has

:00:44. > :00:49.been a huge success in tackling youth unemployment outperforming

:00:50. > :00:53.similar schemes across the United Kingdom. Will the Prime Minister

:00:54. > :00:58.join me in congratulating Welsh businesses and enterprises, the

:00:59. > :01:04.Welsh Government and the young people of Wales who have made this a

:01:05. > :01:08.success? In doing so he can end his agenda of attacking Wales at every

:01:09. > :01:13.opportunity and he might even get a welcome in the hillside! I want to

:01:14. > :01:18.do everything I can to support economic recovery in Wales and that

:01:19. > :01:24.is why, for instance, in September when the NATO conference comes to

:01:25. > :01:28.Wales, an initiative launched by me, there will be a very strong welcome

:01:29. > :01:34.in the valleys and this will be the first time that a serving American

:01:35. > :01:39.president has ever been to Wales. We are doing everything we can to help

:01:40. > :01:52.business in Wales employ more people and grow the economy.

:01:53. > :01:58.On Monday I hosted a meeting in Birmingham to mark the agreement of

:01:59. > :02:03.a great deal which will see over ?350 million invested in Birmingham

:02:04. > :02:09.and Solihull. It will help to create 19,000 jobs and generate up to ?110

:02:10. > :02:17.million from local partners and private investment. With employment

:02:18. > :02:23.is just 1.5% and down by over 28,000 across the whole region, does this

:02:24. > :02:29.not demonstrate the model bolstered by those growth funds is working?

:02:30. > :02:35.But how does my right honourable friend plan to build on this success

:02:36. > :02:39.and encourage the most ambitious local enterprise partnerships to

:02:40. > :02:47.promote the local economy still further? As I said at the meeting,

:02:48. > :02:51.the growth deal is a very big step forward for Birmingham and the West

:02:52. > :02:56.Midlands and will result in more jobs and investment. It will see new

:02:57. > :02:59.railway stations and transport links built, but we need to be more

:03:00. > :03:05.ambitious in terms of the money we need to find in central Government

:03:06. > :03:09.to support these schemes. I also hope local councils will look at

:03:10. > :03:13.every piece of unused Brownfield land and we will look at every piece

:03:14. > :03:30.of extra development they put on the table. It is offering this region

:03:31. > :03:40.just ?10 ahead 37 days before the election and it is too late. You can

:03:41. > :03:45.tell the difference between this gentleman and any other issues. He

:03:46. > :03:50.might want to explain why the leader of Birmingham City Council, the

:03:51. > :03:56.Labour leader, said this is good news for Birmingham. A number of

:03:57. > :03:59.major projects will be accelerated. Transport routes will be approved

:04:00. > :04:09.and other money will go into site development. He needs a bit more

:04:10. > :04:13.time with this gentleman. Tomorrow Britain faces damage and disruption

:04:14. > :04:18.from strikes, none backed by a majority of union members. Since the

:04:19. > :04:24.Right Honourable member became leader of the Labour Party he has

:04:25. > :04:33.taken 30 million from them and will not stand up to that union barons.

:04:34. > :04:39.Will he votes to stop this licensed sabotage? My honourable friend makes

:04:40. > :04:44.a very good point and the time has come to look at setting thresholds

:04:45. > :04:49.in strike ballots. I mentioned the NUT strike earlier. I note they are

:04:50. > :04:53.paid for by the unions, but they might want to listen to this because

:04:54. > :05:01.it will disrupt our children's' education. The ballot took place in

:05:02. > :05:05.2012, it is based on a 27% turnout. How can it be right for our

:05:06. > :05:11.children's education to be disrupted by trade unions acting in that way.

:05:12. > :06:06.It is time to legislate and it will be in the Conservative manifesto.

:06:07. > :06:11.One viewer has said that it was good to see proper discourse but soon it

:06:12. > :06:16.descended once again into heckling. One point was picked to try to score

:06:17. > :06:23.points on whereas waiting times have gone down in all other areas. On the

:06:24. > :06:26.first three questions, on a and A, three direct questions from Ed

:06:27. > :06:34.Miliband, waffle and brother from David Cameron, and pantomime time on

:06:35. > :06:38.the Tory backbenches. -- on a and E. Teflon Dave dodges another question,

:06:39. > :06:43.according to one viewer. Stop this statistical nonsense, make it a

:06:44. > :06:47.worthwhile exercise. Another viewer, once again, David Cameron answering

:06:48. > :06:53.a question nobody has asked. Isn't that the point of statistical rows!

:06:54. > :06:56.And not for the first time. Broadly supportive Labour leader, on the

:06:57. > :07:07.enquiries into this historic sex abuse case. Did we learn anything

:07:08. > :07:11.new from one -- from what the Prime Minister told us? The big

:07:12. > :07:15.overarching enquiry, looking at why institutions including the BBC

:07:16. > :07:20.failed to deal with sexual abuse, even when some people were alerted

:07:21. > :07:24.about it, the Prime Minister seems like he does not see it as a way of

:07:25. > :07:28.enquiring into the allegations that there was a conspiracy or a cover up

:07:29. > :07:32.in the establishment, meaning there were paedophiles in high places in

:07:33. > :07:35.politics in both the Commons and the Lords, in the judiciary and

:07:36. > :07:39.elsewhere. Does not sound to me like he thinks it is that sort of

:07:40. > :07:48.enquiry. The reason I focus on that, that is critical to whether Butler

:07:49. > :07:51.Sloss gains that confidence. If she is looking at the legal framework,

:07:52. > :07:55.the culture, she can easily say that the fact that her brother was the

:07:56. > :08:00.Attorney General may not have any relevance. If she is expected to

:08:01. > :08:11.hear from the victims, then it seems to me there are real questions to

:08:12. > :08:17.ask. The MP who has campaigned on this, Simon Danczuk, successor to

:08:18. > :08:28.Cyril Smith in Rochdale, he has questions as well. To times of

:08:29. > :08:32.waiting lists, we will try to untangle them. Waiting lists to get

:08:33. > :08:38.in for an operation, a procedure, some kind of treatment, and there

:08:39. > :08:42.are waiting times, if you go to the accident and emergency. Let's take

:08:43. > :08:48.accident and emergency first, can we accept this trust that there are

:08:49. > :09:01.more people waiting over four hours for a and E treatment than their

:09:02. > :09:14.were before? It has almost trebled since 2009.

:09:15. > :09:22.There are more people going to a and E. Record numbers, as a result of

:09:23. > :09:25.the health service. More people waiting. What we saw at PMQ 's, we

:09:26. > :09:30.had a similar debate at last weeks PMQ 's, is a battle over different

:09:31. > :09:35.types of statistics, by Mr mention the statistic, that times have

:09:36. > :09:49.reduced from 77 minutes down to 30 minutes... -- PMQ s. What I will say

:09:50. > :09:53.is that what people will be looking at is what is going on in the local

:09:54. > :09:58.area, in terms of my local area and the King Lynn hospital, times are

:09:59. > :10:03.going down, people are getting better service and fewer complaints.

:10:04. > :10:07.The proof is in the pudding. Hold on, hold on, these figures are quite

:10:08. > :10:17.clear, these figures are your government figures. On major a and

:10:18. > :10:31.E, it has doubled, there is three types of a and E, on the majors,

:10:32. > :10:34.overall it has trouble. -- trebled. -- A

:10:35. > :10:51.The last figures I have seen, they are better than what we have now.

:10:52. > :10:55.Four weeks ago I went into A I'm trying... You are going to give me

:10:56. > :11:01.an anecdote. It took five and a half hours for me to have an x-ray. That

:11:02. > :11:04.is what people are experiencing. We all have individual anecdote,

:11:05. > :11:09.somebody can come and say something different. The point I'm trying to

:11:10. > :11:19.make... The percentage in the most recent figures for June, at major

:11:20. > :11:24.A centres that waited less than four hours, 95%, the difference has

:11:25. > :11:28.been the increasing number of people going to accident and emergency.

:11:29. > :11:33.When you go in you can get assessed, you get treated, both of those are

:11:34. > :11:36.different times. It is the time going in and how long it takes you

:11:37. > :11:40.to go in and come out the other side. I come from an accident prone

:11:41. > :11:44.family, we are constantly there! LAUGHTER

:11:45. > :11:49.You are the one! You are the one! I knew there was a cause! I was there

:11:50. > :11:54.for five and half hours. People watching this, you can trade

:11:55. > :11:57.numbers, but... That is what Ed Miliband was doing with the Prime

:11:58. > :12:01.Minister. When you try to hold the government to account you trade

:12:02. > :12:05.numbers, it gets lost, people only hear numbers. What they know is what

:12:06. > :12:08.they know. What they know is what they have experienced themselves,

:12:09. > :12:15.people are experiencing longer waits at accident and emergency. I do not

:12:16. > :12:19.think that is true. It is not because more people are falling off

:12:20. > :12:25.their bicycles. Excepting your family. On both of these exchanges,

:12:26. > :12:30.this week and last week, Ed Miliband has failed to score. That is because

:12:31. > :12:33.the Prime Minister makes up statistics as he goes along. I am

:12:34. > :12:38.trying to look at the figures, instead of by Minister D that's

:12:39. > :12:44.macro instead of politicians trading insult to do not know the figures.

:12:45. > :12:46.Can we accept that the figures show that there are more people waiting

:12:47. > :12:52.more than four hours for accident and emergency and there were when

:12:53. > :12:57.the government came to power? -- I'm trying to look at the figures,

:12:58. > :13:02.instead of politicians who do not know the figures arguing and trading

:13:03. > :13:06.insults. I trust the figures, I shall take your word for it. The

:13:07. > :13:13.second kind of waiting time, the wait for an operation. Do you accept

:13:14. > :13:18.that the numbers waiting for operations on the 18, 26 and 52

:13:19. > :13:26.weeks, has come down? Yes, no problem with that. It also depends

:13:27. > :13:33.upon what you look at. 18, 26, 52... The question, what is it they are

:13:34. > :13:38.waiting for? It depends... That is true of any government. Knee

:13:39. > :13:41.operations and hip operations, real-life experiences that people

:13:42. > :13:44.have got to wait longer to have an operation that key is a very painful

:13:45. > :13:49.condition. Will use a prize that when your government left power,

:13:50. > :13:54.21,000 people were waiting more than 52 weeks for an operation? -- were

:13:55. > :13:59.you surprised? And that is now down to 500. I was not aware of that, it

:14:00. > :14:02.would be interesting to know what kind of operations we are talking

:14:03. > :14:07.about. With that suggest the Tories are not making quite as big a mess

:14:08. > :14:11.of the NHS as you have suggested? They are making a mess, they have

:14:12. > :14:14.spent billions of pounds on top reorganisation they did not need.

:14:15. > :14:21.They are failing to keep up with demand. On this other waiting list

:14:22. > :14:26.I've now talking about, although, as the Prime Minister said, only 180

:14:27. > :14:34.6000, 186,000 people had to wait more than 18 weeks, there are now 3

:14:35. > :14:38.million people, in the 18 week category. 3 million people waiting

:14:39. > :14:42.for a procedure. It has doubled in recent years. The NHS is now under a

:14:43. > :14:48.lot of pressure, a lot more than before. What we know is a record

:14:49. > :14:51.number of patients are using the NHS and we are seeing growing figures in

:14:52. > :14:55.accident and emergency and this is the whole point of what we have done

:14:56. > :14:59.in terms of critical commissioning, making more efficient use of

:15:00. > :15:02.services, making sure services are redesigned to fit the modern age,

:15:03. > :15:06.making sure more things can be accessed. It is not more efficient

:15:07. > :15:10.if you have to go to accident and emergency because you cannot get an

:15:11. > :15:16.appointment with your GP, you can say it is more efficient but it is

:15:17. > :15:18.not correct! Can I finish my point? You are talking nonsense. Increased

:15:19. > :15:26.doctors, decreased managers, that is -- increased doctors, decreased

:15:27. > :15:35.managers, that is what we have got. And all of these figures are

:15:36. > :15:54.English, remember. both of them. There was a figure

:15:55. > :16:00.used by David Cameron last week, which he repeated this week, which

:16:01. > :16:04.is a misleading figure. It is not untrue, they can be not very

:16:05. > :16:10.helpful, not the right way to look at things. The phrase they used was

:16:11. > :16:17.simplistic which was taken down. I will agree with her on that. I agree

:16:18. > :16:23.with Liz Truss that despite having that ammunition, Ed Miliband did not

:16:24. > :16:27.score a political point. In the test of the crucible of Prime Minister 's

:16:28. > :16:33.questions, having that ammunition you would expect him to do well and

:16:34. > :16:39.interestingly he did not do it. It is quite striking about the big

:16:40. > :16:43.politics of the NHS, there is a big opportunity for a big opportunity

:16:44. > :16:46.for Labour with it, they founded it in the first place and there are

:16:47. > :16:52.increasing warnings the NHS will run out of money whoever is in power.

:16:53. > :16:57.David Cameron seems to be able to insulated himself in the Commons by

:16:58. > :17:01.pointing at Andy Burnham and saying, you used to run it and it is a

:17:02. > :17:08.mess, and pointing at the Welsh assembly saying it is a mess. Policy

:17:09. > :17:13.is very important. You and I know if you talk to experts, they genuinely

:17:14. > :17:18.believe there is a funding crisis. The taxpayer will have to give more

:17:19. > :17:21.money or we all as consumers of health will have to pay directly

:17:22. > :17:28.through charges, some four of insurance. The King's fund is quite

:17:29. > :17:36.clear there is a major problem coming in 2016. And beyond that.

:17:37. > :17:42.What people forget, the statistic I remember is the era of cuts in the

:17:43. > :17:50.NHS, Margaret Thatcher increased spending on the NHS by more than 3%

:17:51. > :17:55.above inflation. I think that was too little, but under both Tory and

:17:56. > :18:07.Labour plans, it is not going up at all. Spreading your wisdom and

:18:08. > :18:13.diplomacy across the studio. Is that your next job? We have to

:18:14. > :18:18.move on. See you next week for the final one. Of course.

:18:19. > :18:21.Remember the champagne-filled days of cool Britannia where pop stars

:18:22. > :18:23.were invited through the doors of Number Ten?

:18:24. > :18:26.Well, last week our Dave had his own chill out in honour

:18:27. > :18:29.Journalist Tanya Gold thinks that, in her words,

:18:30. > :18:32.a "gruel Britannia" is the last thing our political system needs.

:18:33. > :18:34.In our soapbox this week, which contains flash photography,

:18:35. > :19:00.Politics is show business for ugly people, so the saying goes, but

:19:01. > :19:06.should their worlds ever meet? I think politicians should resist the

:19:07. > :19:09.temptation of courting people who trivialise politics. His main

:19:10. > :19:15.interest was a Champagne supernova in the sky, but Tony Blair thought

:19:16. > :19:21.it significant to court with this. How we do not miss the vapid days of

:19:22. > :19:27.cool Britannia. Oh, it seems we do. Last week a party was thrown to

:19:28. > :19:29.honour the entertainment industry. A gaggle of celebrities gathered to

:19:30. > :19:38.hear the Prime Minister say to them, you make your can be so proud. Why

:19:39. > :19:42.not the fishing industry? Celebrity is trivial and when it touches

:19:43. > :19:49.politics, that seems trivial as well. Of course, the mix of

:19:50. > :19:53.celebrity and politics is not new, but it is surprising politicians

:19:54. > :19:58.have not learned their lesson. Another visitor to Mrs Thatcher was

:19:59. > :20:03.Jimmy Savile and he had many holidays at Chequers during which he

:20:04. > :20:09.used to write, in case of national emergency, phone Jimmy Savile, on

:20:10. > :20:13.every notepad in the house. Sometimes the celebrity becomes

:20:14. > :20:20.genuinely politicised. Russell Brown believes abolishing democracy will

:20:21. > :20:24.make Britain a greater place. His narcissism is nothing strange, but

:20:25. > :20:30.politicians should perhaps do better and recognise it. The death of

:20:31. > :20:35.naivete and fake television niceness is not a terrible thing. Why should

:20:36. > :20:41.we exalt only creatures who speak to children in children's words. Clear

:20:42. > :20:45.them away completely. Tanya Gold is with us now. Is the

:20:46. > :20:56.attraction between politicians and celebrities mutual? Sometimes. For

:20:57. > :21:01.instance in 20 first 2002 at a Labour conference Kevin Spacey

:21:02. > :21:07.appeared. Last week at the Tory party there were Ronnie Corbett,

:21:08. > :21:13.Cilla Black and Bruce Forsyth. I think sometimes it is. Politicians

:21:14. > :21:16.like celebrities because they think the electorate like celebrities and

:21:17. > :21:22.they think it makes them look glamorous. Personally I would rather

:21:23. > :21:29.my politician looked effective. Is narcissism at the centre of it? I

:21:30. > :21:37.think a lot of celebrities have a tendency towards narcissism, you

:21:38. > :21:42.have to think you can headline Glastonbury and solve world

:21:43. > :21:48.problems. Not everybody is a narcissist, but a lot of celebrities

:21:49. > :21:52.are. Do you think if Ed Miliband comes Prime Minister he should spend

:21:53. > :21:56.no time at all with celebrities and a lot more time with fishing

:21:57. > :22:01.representatives are people from the rail industry? I wish the world was

:22:02. > :22:06.like that, I think that is how it should be, but sometimes in order to

:22:07. > :22:22.get a message through, using a celebrity happens. We saw it

:22:23. > :22:30.recently using rape in war. Angelina Jolie. Yes, but I would like to

:22:31. > :22:35.think it would bring as much publicity if it had only been

:22:36. > :22:38.William Hay, that it wouldn't have. Is Angelina Jolie trivial or does

:22:39. > :22:45.she bring something to the cause? I thought she has done a tremendous

:22:46. > :22:50.job and it has made a difference. Firstly, the creative industries are

:22:51. > :22:56.incredibly important to our economy. We had one of the biggest creative

:22:57. > :23:03.sectors than virtually any country in the world. Last week we held a

:23:04. > :23:12.reception for maths teachers. The reality is the press are not as

:23:13. > :23:18.interested in them. Boris Johnson has had time to meet with Will

:23:19. > :23:23.Smith, but he has not been to a food bank? Has he got his priorities

:23:24. > :23:30.wrong? I do not have any knowledge of Boris Johnson's diary, but

:23:31. > :23:33.politicians work with all people across all groups. The point about

:23:34. > :23:39.the creative industries reception is the way it was built up by the press

:23:40. > :23:44.because the press were interested in celebrities. Other things are

:23:45. > :23:46.equally as important, but they do not get attention. Sometimes you

:23:47. > :23:52.need to use celebrities to get attention. Professor Brian Cox is a

:23:53. > :23:57.fantastic physicist and we want more kids to do physics and that is a

:23:58. > :24:01.good way to get that message across to young people. Celebrities can be

:24:02. > :24:06.helpful and they are an inevitability. Should they not touch

:24:07. > :24:11.them with a barge pole? At the same time as William Hague was appearing

:24:12. > :24:17.with Angelina Jolie he was a member of Government decimating support

:24:18. > :24:24.centres for victims of rape in Britain. I thought she was being

:24:25. > :24:27.used. Imagine our delight when an ambitious Tory minister Matt Hancock

:24:28. > :24:34.was snapped this week ringing in front of graffiti calling for his

:24:35. > :24:38.boss to be sacked. And after Ed Miliband's sandwich gaffe, we could

:24:39. > :24:43.not resist trailing through our awkward photos of the political

:24:44. > :24:44.elite. We start with Mike Hancock himself posing for total politics

:24:45. > :26:04.magazine. Fantastic. With us now is a man who

:26:05. > :26:09.has tried to keep politicians out of pictures, former spin doctor Lance

:26:10. > :26:13.Price. We have only got a couple of minutes, but this would never have

:26:14. > :26:17.happened in your day. It happens and all governments and all

:26:18. > :26:26.politicians. You have to keep an eye on them. There are some that you can

:26:27. > :26:28.see which were avoidable. There are others like Nigel Farage with the

:26:29. > :26:35.microphone is the way the camera chose to take the picture. You can

:26:36. > :26:40.do all kinds of things. If you take enough pictures of somebody, you can

:26:41. > :26:47.make them look stupid. It is a bit more difficult with TV pictures.

:26:48. > :26:55.Iain Duncan Smith, when he was Tory leader, they used to cover the fire

:26:56. > :27:02.signs and the exit signs. We used to do that for other people. Would you

:27:03. > :27:08.have put Gordon Brown or Tony Blair on a boat? They look comfortable.

:27:09. > :27:14.You make these things a bit more interesting. You try to make people

:27:15. > :27:20.look more human. I put Tony Blair on a Tube train by himself trying to

:27:21. > :27:23.look like an ordinary member of the public. He was hanging on looking

:27:24. > :27:30.completely stupid and it was a disaster. Did he ask for the

:27:31. > :27:37.refreshment card? We love politicians, but they are not

:27:38. > :27:41.ordinary folk. One of Parliamentary candidate to eat a photograph which

:27:42. > :27:51.he had a photograph taken with four lady councillors and it said by four

:27:52. > :27:56.get one free on the sign behind. If you think of the banana and David

:27:57. > :28:02.Miliband there was he at that point, and I am a big fan of his, but it

:28:03. > :28:05.was a mistake to get himself into, he was putting himself forward as a

:28:06. > :28:10.potential leader of the Labour Party. When he should have been

:28:11. > :28:15.looking prime ministerial he was walking down the street with a

:28:16. > :28:19.banana. That was avoidable. Sometimes politicians do it on

:28:20. > :28:28.purpose. John Prescott was vying with Peter Mandelson when Tony Blair

:28:29. > :28:32.went on holiday over who was at the helm and he got a photo taken with a

:28:33. > :28:45.crab. Guess the year, hit the button. This is the winner. Thank

:28:46. > :28:49.you to all of our guests. The one o'clock News is on BBC One and we

:28:50. > :28:54.will be back here tomorrow at noon with the Daily Politics.

:28:55. > :29:09.The big story is the public sector strikes.

:29:10. > :29:13.Why do we feel the need to continuously upgrade?