Browse content similar to 06/11/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome
to the Daily Politics. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:40 | |
The Prime Minister calls
for a "new culture of respect" ahead | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
of a meeting with other party
leaders to discuss the Westminster | 0:00:43 | 0:00:45 | |
sexual misconduct scandal. | 0:00:45 | 0:00:48 | |
But are the party leaders getting
to grips with the problem? | 0:00:48 | 0:00:53 | |
Lord Ashcroft, former
Conservative Party Deputy | 0:00:53 | 0:00:56 | |
chairman and party donor,
faces fresh questions about his tax | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
affairs following a huge leak
of financial documents, | 0:00:59 | 0:01:03 | |
known as the Paradise Papers. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
We'll be discussing the Government's
industrial strategy | 0:01:06 | 0:01:10 | |
and the progress of Brexit talks
with the Director General of the | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
business lobbying group, the CBI. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
And should we give money
to people street beggars? | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
One activist tells us it's time
to rethink our attitudes to those | 0:01:18 | 0:01:21 | |
who find themselves homeless
on the streets. | 0:01:21 | 0:01:29 | |
All that in the next hour. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:32 | |
And with us for the whole programme
today is the Conservative MP, | 0:01:32 | 0:01:35 | |
Alex Burghart, and the
Labour MP, Liz Kendall. | 0:01:35 | 0:01:39 | |
Now, despite being on opposite sides
of the aisle, Alex and Liz have one | 0:01:39 | 0:01:44 | |
crucial thing in common. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:47 | |
They've both gone up against
Jeremy Corbyn in an election. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:49 | |
As you probably know, in 2015,
Liz was one of the unsuccessful | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
candidates in the Labour leadership
election which was of course | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
won by Jeremy Corbyn. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:57 | |
But what you probably didn't know
was that, earlier that year, | 0:01:57 | 0:02:00 | |
Alex was the Conservative candidate
in Islington North up against... | 0:02:00 | 0:02:03 | |
Yes, Jeremy Corbyn! | 0:02:03 | 0:02:06 | |
We're glad to say Alex had more
success as the candidate | 0:02:06 | 0:02:10 | |
in Brentwood and Ongar in June,
which is why he can join us today. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
Welcome to you both! | 0:02:14 | 0:02:15 | |
Labour has renewed calls
for a public inquiry into tax | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
avoidance after a massive leak
of secret documents detailing | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
the financial affairs
of the global super rich. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:24 | |
The leak, dubbed the Paradise
Papers, contains 13.4 million | 0:02:24 | 0:02:29 | |
documents, mostly from one leading
firm in offshore finance. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:35 | |
In UK political circles,
fresh questions have been raised | 0:02:35 | 0:02:37 | |
about the tax affairs of the former
Conservative donor Lord Ashcroft. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:43 | |
The papers suggest he may have
ignored rules around how his | 0:02:43 | 0:02:45 | |
offshore investments were managed. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:48 | |
Other papers suggest
he retained his non-dom status | 0:02:48 | 0:02:50 | |
while in the House of Lords,
despite reports he had become | 0:02:50 | 0:02:54 | |
a permanent tax resident in the UK. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:59 | |
Well, the BBC's Panorama programme
which is reporting on the leak tried | 0:02:59 | 0:03:02 | |
to interview Lord Ashcroft
at the recent Conservative | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
Party Conference. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:08 | |
Lord Ashcroft, hi,
I'm Richard Bilton, | 0:03:08 | 0:03:09 | |
I work for Panorama. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
Sir, could I grab
a quick word with you? | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
I have been trying to send you these
letters, but you wouldn't take them. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:17 | |
Sir, could I just have
a quick word with you? | 0:03:17 | 0:03:19 | |
Did you have tens of millions
in an off-shore trust that | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
you secretly control, sir? | 0:03:22 | 0:03:23 | |
Did that mean you could avoid
millions in tax through that trust? | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
Lord Ashcroft, would
you just talk to me? | 0:03:26 | 0:03:28 | |
It would be great to hear your view. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:29 | |
It was the Punta Gorda
Trust, Lord Ashcroft. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
Sir, the Punta Gorda Trust... | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
Dear, dear, dear. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:34 | |
"Dear, dear", is that your response? | 0:03:34 | 0:03:35 | |
It was the Punta Gorda Trust. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:37 | |
Sir, where we are going? | 0:03:37 | 0:03:38 | |
This is amazing. | 0:03:38 | 0:03:39 | |
We have been walking now more
about two minutes, why don't | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
you just give me your views? | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
We could have been sponsored, we
have done about a mile-and-a-half. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:48 | |
Sir, why don't you just
tell me your view, it would be | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
really nice to get your view. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:52 | |
Sir... | 0:03:52 | 0:03:53 | |
No, sir, just give me your view,
did you sir secretly a control | 0:03:53 | 0:04:03 | |
-- a trust in which you had tens
of millions and therefore | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
avoiding tax, sir? | 0:04:06 | 0:04:07 | |
Did you do that? | 0:04:07 | 0:04:08 | |
Did you do that, sir? | 0:04:08 | 0:04:10 | |
It would be great to know. | 0:04:10 | 0:04:11 | |
Where are we going? | 0:04:11 | 0:04:12 | |
This is brilliant. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:13 | |
I don't know where
we're going to end up. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
Dear, dear, dear. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:16 | |
I'm not going to follow
you in there, sir. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:22 | |
Michael Ashcroft struggling to find
the exit. We did a full tour of the | 0:04:22 | 0:04:26 | |
floor. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:28 | |
Well, we put a call
in to Conservative Central Office | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
this morning to ask if they wanted
to respond to the leaks | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
about Lord Ashcroft,
but we have received no response. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
And his spokesman says he has not
done anything illegal. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:40 | |
Should he face an investigation by
HMRC in light of the leaked | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
documents? I understand that HMOs
see have asked to see all the | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
Paradise papers to see if there has
been any wrongdoing. -- the HMRC. I | 0:04:48 | 0:04:54 | |
do not want to speculate on
individual cases. The Government | 0:04:54 | 0:05:00 | |
takes tax evasion very seriously.
You said tax evasion. That is | 0:05:00 | 0:05:04 | |
illegal. And aggressive. What you as
that? We have brought in an extra | 0:05:04 | 0:05:14 | |
£160 billion by clamping down on all
of this sort of thing. We have one | 0:05:14 | 0:05:19 | |
of the narrowest tax gaps anywhere
in the world that has happened under | 0:05:19 | 0:05:24 | |
a Conservative government over the
past seven years because we want to | 0:05:24 | 0:05:27 | |
get more money to put into public
services. The leaked papers Lord | 0:05:27 | 0:05:34 | |
Ashcroft ignored rules around the
management of his offshore | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
investments for the it is not
illegal to have offshore investments | 0:05:37 | 0:05:41 | |
but if the rules around them are
ignored and tax is not paid that is | 0:05:41 | 0:05:45 | |
rightfully owed? Should he be
questioned? The HMRC has asked for | 0:05:45 | 0:05:53 | |
all the papers. It is not illegal to
use offshore tax havens. What is | 0:05:53 | 0:06:02 | |
Labour calling for? There should be
a public register of who owns what | 0:06:02 | 0:06:07 | |
in all of our overseas territories
and secondly we need much tougher | 0:06:07 | 0:06:14 | |
regulation and enforcement. I would
like to see all of the advisers, the | 0:06:14 | 0:06:19 | |
lawyers, the accountants, held
responsible and accountable should | 0:06:19 | 0:06:23 | |
any of the schemes they have
proposed turn out to be illegal. We | 0:06:23 | 0:06:27 | |
also need to do more to reach
international agreement. We have | 0:06:27 | 0:06:31 | |
been here before and we need to see
the action happening now. Would you | 0:06:31 | 0:06:36 | |
like to stop investors like the
Duchy of Lancaster putting money | 0:06:36 | 0:06:40 | |
into non-UK fans? The issue here is
that the Queen has been badly | 0:06:40 | 0:06:48 | |
advised of what strikes me as the
real issue is they thought it would | 0:06:48 | 0:06:52 | |
be access to ball. There are
megabucks in tax havens. Some of it | 0:06:52 | 0:06:57 | |
is evasion, some of it is avoidance,
and some of it is money-laundering. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:03 | |
Do you want those investments to
stop? I want to see a full public | 0:07:03 | 0:07:11 | |
disclosure of who owns those trusts,
those companies, and any other | 0:07:11 | 0:07:18 | |
corporate identity. I want to see
much tougher regulation and | 0:07:18 | 0:07:21 | |
enforcement. That is what we do know
straightaway and we need to see | 0:07:21 | 0:07:26 | |
action. Aye after the Panama papers,
George Osborne said a blacklist of | 0:07:26 | 0:07:32 | |
tax havens should be created. --
After the Panama papers. What else | 0:07:32 | 0:07:39 | |
has the Government done to crackdown
on aggressive tax avoidance? We have | 0:07:39 | 0:07:48 | |
spearheaded work with 100 other
nations. There is much greater | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
transparency than there has ever
been before. We have to be extreme | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
heat careful that we don't
necessarily drive investment out of | 0:07:55 | 0:08:02 | |
this country. John McDonnell, the
Shadow Chancellor, spoke at the | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
weekend about Labour run Preston
Council as a model for keeping | 0:08:05 | 0:08:09 | |
wealth in the city. Reports show
they have nearly £12 million | 0:08:09 | 0:08:14 | |
invested overseas. Is there anything
wrong with that? My concern is about | 0:08:14 | 0:08:20 | |
people not just evading tax but also
avoiding it. If you believe in a | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
fairer society, people have to pay
their fair share of tax? How do you | 0:08:25 | 0:08:31 | |
legislate for that? I would argue
that wealth inequalities are a | 0:08:31 | 0:08:36 | |
serious problem for our economy and
society. Tax havens are | 0:08:36 | 0:08:43 | |
turbo-charging deep inequalities. I
still do not have from you where you | 0:08:43 | 0:08:47 | |
would draw the line on that. The
previous Conservative government did | 0:08:47 | 0:08:52 | |
talk about aggressive tax avoidance
full stop unless you make it | 0:08:52 | 0:08:55 | |
illegal, the line would be blurred.
Why are people putting money into | 0:08:55 | 0:09:01 | |
these countries? They want to
maximise their profits. It is to | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
minimise their payment of tax. If
you believe in paying your fair | 0:09:05 | 0:09:11 | |
share of tax, putting it into your
school and public services, the | 0:09:11 | 0:09:15 | |
infrastructure helping the economy
create these services in the first | 0:09:15 | 0:09:22 | |
place... I don't know about that
example was that is the first I have | 0:09:22 | 0:09:26 | |
heard about it today. I believe that
Britain is at the heart of the tax | 0:09:26 | 0:09:31 | |
haven problem. Unless we take
action... The Conservatives have | 0:09:31 | 0:09:36 | |
been in government for seven years
we are still talking about this | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
subject. We have taken another £160
billion in tax otherwise we would | 0:09:39 | 0:09:46 | |
not have taken. We have ploughed
more money into HMRC. This is it | 0:09:46 | 0:09:52 | |
good news story insofar as we have
been making improvements since 2010 | 0:09:52 | 0:09:56 | |
and are committed to making further
improvements. You have not make good | 0:09:56 | 0:10:01 | |
on the pledge by David Cameron. We
have substantially improved on | 0:10:01 | 0:10:07 | |
things as they were in 2010. Cameron
committed in 2010, 2013, 2014. We | 0:10:07 | 0:10:17 | |
have said that the onus of
companies, the beneficiaries of | 0:10:17 | 0:10:23 | |
those companies have to be
identified rather than hiding the | 0:10:23 | 0:10:27 | |
hind shell companies. There are lots
of things we are doing. -- hiding | 0:10:27 | 0:10:32 | |
behind shell companies. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:36 | |
Theresa May has called
for a "new culture of respect" ahead | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
of a meeting with other party
leaders to discuss the Westminster | 0:10:39 | 0:10:41 | |
sexual misconduct scandal. | 0:10:41 | 0:10:42 | |
Fresh allegations have been made
to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire | 0:10:42 | 0:10:45 | |
programme this morning
about a former Conservative Party | 0:10:45 | 0:10:47 | |
activist claiming her allegations
of rape were ignored | 0:10:47 | 0:10:48 | |
by the Parliamentary authorities. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:49 | |
The woman claims she was raped
by someone working for a Tory MP, | 0:10:49 | 0:10:53 | |
she said went to the police
and while the case awaited trial | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
she spoke to Commons
officials about how she felt | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
the "heavy-drinking and sex-driven"
culture within Westminster | 0:10:58 | 0:11:01 | |
had contributed to it. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:10 | |
The woman said she was led
to believe the complaint would be | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
passed onto the then
Chief Whip Gavin Williamson | 0:11:13 | 0:11:14 | |
and the leader of the
Commons Andrea Leadsom. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:17 | |
Both Mr Williamson and Mrs Leadsom
insist they weren't told | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
about the rape claims
but Andrea Leadsom admits | 0:11:19 | 0:11:22 | |
she was told about concerns over
the culture at Westminster. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:27 | |
Elsewhere several Conservative
and Labour MPs are being | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
investigated over claims of sexual
misconduct, and all the party | 0:11:30 | 0:11:36 | |
leaders in Westminster will be
meeting later this afternoon | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
to discuss setting up an independent
grievance procedure for Parliament. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:48 | |
Also today the Cabinet inquiry
into First Secretary Damian Green's | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
behaviour will hear
from ex-Metropolitan | 0:11:50 | 0:11:51 | |
Police Assistant Commissioner | 0:11:51 | 0:11:52 | |
Bob Quick about allegations that
pornography was found | 0:11:52 | 0:11:55 | |
on his computer by police
following an investigation | 0:11:55 | 0:11:59 | |
into Home Office leaks in 2008. | 0:11:59 | 0:12:03 | |
For more on that, we're
joined by our Home Affairs | 0:12:03 | 0:12:05 | |
Correspondent, Danny Shaw. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
Can you bring us up to speed on what
is going on? Bob quick is preparing | 0:12:09 | 0:12:15 | |
to give evidence to the inquiry into
the conduct of Damian Green. My | 0:12:15 | 0:12:21 | |
understanding is that some other
officers who were involved in that | 0:12:21 | 0:12:25 | |
very controversial leaks enquiry
into Gazza then eight, 2009, are | 0:12:25 | 0:12:29 | |
also considering whether they will
give evidence to the inquiry as | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
well. It is looking at several
issues relating to Damian Green. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:39 | |
This is absolutely crucial. Here's
the Deputy Prime Minister. Bob | 0:12:39 | 0:12:46 | |
Quick, the man who oversaw the
investigation is a former police | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
officer of extremely great repute
and high integrity who tackled some | 0:12:50 | 0:13:00 | |
of the thorniest issues at the time.
He is well respected by many | 0:13:00 | 0:13:05 | |
colleagues and certainly statements
that he makes about this clearly | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
have to be taken seriously. Damian
Green has denied the allegation that | 0:13:08 | 0:13:13 | |
he has also accused Bob Quick
political smears. Has there been a | 0:13:13 | 0:13:20 | |
direct response to that? Bob Quick
says he 100% stands behind the | 0:13:20 | 0:13:26 | |
account he gave and bears Damian
Green no malice at all. The leaks | 0:13:26 | 0:13:33 | |
enquiry is an uncomfortable time for
Scotland to guard and Bob Quick in | 0:13:33 | 0:13:40 | |
particular. -- Scotland Yard. Bob
Quick lost his job after a very | 0:13:40 | 0:13:46 | |
high-profile blunder when he was
photographed carrying sensitive | 0:13:46 | 0:13:51 | |
documents into Downing Street. It is
a difficult time for him. If | 0:13:51 | 0:13:56 | |
anything he feels anger towards
other colleagues in Scotland Yard | 0:13:56 | 0:14:00 | |
than anything more than he does
towards Damian Green. The concern | 0:14:00 | 0:14:04 | |
here is the use of a Parliamentary
computer allegedly to look at | 0:14:04 | 0:14:09 | |
pornography. That is what we are
looking about. There is no | 0:14:09 | 0:14:13 | |
suggestion that any of the material
is illegal but it is the use of a | 0:14:13 | 0:14:18 | |
work computer essentially to look at
pornography. The question of whether | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
the allegations were referred to the
Parliamentary authorities is | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
something that Bob Quick is
concerned about. There are concerns | 0:14:24 | 0:14:31 | |
this could have a serious impact on
Damian Green's. It could have. You | 0:14:31 | 0:14:36 | |
would think they would be records,
an infantry of what was found on the | 0:14:36 | 0:14:44 | |
computers, notes in police officers
notebook is about what they | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
discovered what action they took, a
policy log detailing what they took | 0:14:46 | 0:14:51 | |
in response to the various alleged
fines. Also it is said that a | 0:14:51 | 0:14:56 | |
computer expert was called in to
look at the material. If that is the | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
case, it should be documented. It is
not about one person's word against | 0:15:00 | 0:15:05 | |
another. There should be Independent
verification to prove or disprove | 0:15:05 | 0:15:10 | |
the allegations. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:18 | |
Shut the first secretary state,
Damian Green, step down while this | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
is going on? I don't want to get
into the particular case, but what I | 0:15:21 | 0:15:25 | |
will say is that Damien has strongly
denied | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
will say is that Damien has strongly
denied all of the allegations. The | 0:15:28 | 0:15:35 | |
investigation is going on and at the
end of it, we will have an answer. I | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
don't believe there is suggestion
that Damien has broken the law. I'm | 0:15:38 | 0:15:43 | |
not convinced that he should stand
whilst the inquiry goes on, but I | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
think we need answers quickly. It is
a matter of consistency, Michael | 0:15:47 | 0:15:52 | |
Fallon resign as Defence Secretary
and in the light of allegations made | 0:15:52 | 0:15:59 | |
against him your colleagues feel
that Damian Green should also, to be | 0:15:59 | 0:16:05 | |
consistent, step down from his
influential position while the | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
claims are investigated? Michael
took a personal decision to resign | 0:16:08 | 0:16:12 | |
and it's for Damien to make the
decision as to whether he is going | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
to step aside whilst the inquiry is
going on. He doesn't think he has | 0:16:15 | 0:16:19 | |
done anything wrong. He denies there
has been any wrongdoing. I don't | 0:16:19 | 0:16:24 | |
believe there is an accusation that
he has broken the law and so I | 0:16:24 | 0:16:27 | |
understand he will carry on. So you
are happy for him to stay on? | 0:16:27 | 0:16:30 | |
Personally. The woman interviewed by
the BBC today, explained how she | 0:16:30 | 0:16:36 | |
felt the heavy drinking and
sex-driven culture within | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
Westminster had can'ted to her
alleged attack. I mean she also said | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
that women in the bars were being
plied with drink and became so drunk | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
that they could barely stand up. Is
that a characterisation of | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
Westminster that you recognise? I
don't spend a lot of time in the | 0:16:51 | 0:16:55 | |
bars to be honest. But you talk to
people, is that going on? I do. In | 0:16:55 | 0:17:00 | |
the way that she describes? I think
the real issue is about power and | 0:17:00 | 0:17:07 | |
the power and influence over your
career that people are worried | 0:17:07 | 0:17:11 | |
about. That's one of the main
reasons, people don't come forward | 0:17:11 | 0:17:15 | |
and report because they're worried
the person that they're going to | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
report to, might work with the
person they are accusing, might be a | 0:17:17 | 0:17:21 | |
friend of theirs, or just as
importantly, a political ally. So, | 0:17:21 | 0:17:25 | |
they fear they won't be believed. No
action will be taken or that their | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
future will be damaged as a result.
I have no doubt, you know, drinking | 0:17:29 | 0:17:33 | |
doesn't make any of this stuff any
better, but the real issue here, I | 0:17:33 | 0:17:37 | |
think, is about power and whilst I
hope Westminster does take action | 0:17:37 | 0:17:42 | |
and the party lead, are meeting
today, all of the individual | 0:17:42 | 0:17:46 | |
political parties have to sort their
own processes out too. Let's hear | 0:17:46 | 0:17:50 | |
what the Prime Minister had to say. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:58 | |
Here is Theresa May. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:01 | |
Of course people can be friends
with their colleagues and | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
consensual relationships
can develop at work. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:05 | |
This isn't about prying
into private lives. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:07 | |
What we are talking
about is the use and abuse | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
of power. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:12 | |
We must stand up for all the victims
of abuse, harassment or | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
discrimination, wherever
it has occurred. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
Now is the time to act decisively
without fear or favour to | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
guarantee a safe and respectful
working environment for everyone in | 0:18:20 | 0:18:22 | |
the future. | 0:18:22 | 0:18:30 | |
You have just become an MP. Are you
shocked by what has been emerging | 0:18:30 | 0:18:36 | |
and unfolding in the past few weeks?
I am actually. This is a pretty grim | 0:18:36 | 0:18:41 | |
time to be working in Westminster.
It's not, the stories that are | 0:18:41 | 0:18:46 | |
coming forward certainly don't
represent the world that I have | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
worked in so far and many years ago
I was a researcher in Parliament, I | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
never saw anything going on like
this, but obviously, there are | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
people who have, you know, had
seriously awful experiences and | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
those experiences need to be looked
into. What I would say to anyone | 0:19:00 | 0:19:04 | |
listening is that the vast majority
of experiences that people have in | 0:19:04 | 0:19:09 | |
the House of Commons are positive.
That there are lots of researchers | 0:19:09 | 0:19:13 | |
who really enjoy and benefit from
working there. Most MPs, I believe, | 0:19:13 | 0:19:19 | |
are decent upstanding people who
want to improve their country. I do | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
hope that that will be remembered
and I also, but I also believe that | 0:19:22 | 0:19:28 | |
this, that our Parliament will be a
better place once all the | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
allegations have been worked
through. It is not just what happens | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
in Parliament. It is about what
happens at all levels of our | 0:19:34 | 0:19:39 | |
politics, at local councils and I
think it is really important that | 0:19:39 | 0:19:43 | |
every single political party sets up
their own independent third party | 0:19:43 | 0:19:48 | |
system to make the initial
complaint, that there is mandatory | 0:19:48 | 0:19:53 | |
training of staff, of elected
representatives, and that there are | 0:19:53 | 0:19:59 | |
independent experts who actually
advice the parties about their | 0:19:59 | 0:20:01 | |
processes and that the cases that
they are looking at. Dawn Butler, | 0:20:01 | 0:20:06 | |
who is in the Shadow Cabinet, women
and Equalities Minister said that | 0:20:06 | 0:20:12 | |
these robust policies were now in
place, but didn't actually say what | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
they were. Has an independent third
party been set-up to investigate | 0:20:16 | 0:20:22 | |
claims going forward in the Labour
Party? No. . Why not? The parties | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
are looking to appoint an
independent specialist organisation | 0:20:26 | 0:20:28 | |
that will be able to give people
advice and support. If they make a | 0:20:28 | 0:20:33 | |
complaint and that will do some
training of the staff involved with | 0:20:33 | 0:20:37 | |
dealing with those processes. I
think it is really important that | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
people are actually allowed it make
their initial complaint to that body | 0:20:40 | 0:20:44 | |
and that the training, the mandatory
safeguarding training needs to | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
spread wider. So I think we have
made a big step forward, but there | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
is more that we need to do. Right,
we are talking about codes of | 0:20:52 | 0:20:56 | |
conduct, codes of conduct are for
the parties themselves individually | 0:20:56 | 0:21:01 | |
and so far they have not shown
themselves being able to cope with | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
the complaints or pass them on to
the relevant authorities. How did | 0:21:05 | 0:21:09 | |
you feel about Jeremy Corbyn once he
had been told about the reprimand | 0:21:09 | 0:21:14 | |
against Kelvin Hopkins, the Labour
MP, months later appointing him to | 0:21:14 | 0:21:18 | |
the Shadow Cabinet. Was that right?
Well, I don't know what Jeremy was | 0:21:18 | 0:21:22 | |
told or not told. He made it clear,
Jeremy Corbyn himself said he did | 0:21:22 | 0:21:28 | |
know. The Labour Party said both
sides admitted they were happy with | 0:21:28 | 0:21:33 | |
the outcome. It is strange to think
if somebody admitted to any form of | 0:21:33 | 0:21:38 | |
sexual harassment or abuse should
have been promoted. We need to have | 0:21:38 | 0:21:42 | |
action, actions must have
consequences whether that is | 0:21:42 | 0:21:47 | |
suspending the whip, expulsion from
the party. I think that's something | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
that I would like to see more
information about because I think if | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
you have admitted to it, I don't
know whether Kelvin did or what | 0:21:53 | 0:21:57 | |
happened, but promotion should not
follow. | 0:21:57 | 0:21:59 | |
Right, well on that basis of what
action can actually be taken because | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
it is one thing to set-up or improve
codes of conduct or to have an | 0:22:02 | 0:22:09 | |
independent body where people can go
and complain, but Michael Fallon, | 0:22:09 | 0:22:14 | |
admitted his behaviour may have
fallen short. He talked about the | 0:22:14 | 0:22:18 | |
standards of 15, ten to 15 years ago
and he has resigned, but he remains | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
an MP. He still has his job. Why is
it OK to still be an MP Alex, with | 0:22:21 | 0:22:29 | |
all the responsibilities that that
entails, but not Defence Secretary? | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
It's a good question, Jo. I think,
we are still at the start of a | 0:22:32 | 0:22:37 | |
process of looking through all of
these issues. I think the next | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
hurdle for that is five o'clock this
afternoon when the Prime Minister is | 0:22:41 | 0:22:45 | |
convening a meeting of all party
leaders to talk about collectively | 0:22:45 | 0:22:49 | |
what we can do as a political
culture to improve things. So this | 0:22:49 | 0:22:55 | |
is all part of an on going dialogue.
You see how it is not illogical | 0:22:55 | 0:23:00 | |
train of events if you can still
keep your job as an MP, but not as a | 0:23:00 | 0:23:04 | |
minister? Well, you know, obviously
your responsibility as an MP and | 0:23:04 | 0:23:11 | |
minister is different. I would say
it was a question for Michael | 0:23:11 | 0:23:16 | |
Fallon's constituents if they wanted
him to carry on. Also it was not | 0:23:16 | 0:23:21 | |
acceptable 15 years ago. The fact is
we are speaking up about it. You can | 0:23:21 | 0:23:29 | |
suspend an MP and Labour have taken
the action, but unless there is a | 0:23:29 | 0:23:34 | |
criminal prosecution, you can't get
rid of them as an MP, is that right? | 0:23:34 | 0:23:38 | |
There isn't a legal way. Even if
they are expelled from the party | 0:23:38 | 0:23:42 | |
they would remain as an MP. We look
at this in the Commons. I think | 0:23:42 | 0:23:47 | |
investigations have to happen. We
can't have trial by media. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:50 | |
Unfortunately, many people feel
that's the only way that they are | 0:23:50 | 0:23:52 | |
get going to action, but you should
be suspended while an investigation | 0:23:52 | 0:23:57 | |
happens and then there have to be a
range of sanctions but there is | 0:23:57 | 0:24:01 | |
nothing to make people stand down as
an MP even if the whip is removed. | 0:24:01 | 0:24:05 | |
Should there be? How would you
explain to constituents when they | 0:24:05 | 0:24:09 | |
say we have got this person, we
found him to have fallen well below | 0:24:09 | 0:24:13 | |
the standards that we would... The
only way to change that if | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
Parliament decided that that could
happen. I don't think is available. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:20 | |
What do you think in the light of
allegation that have been brought | 0:24:20 | 0:24:23 | |
forward? Well, there is a range of
seriousness here and certainly if | 0:24:23 | 0:24:29 | |
something goes down a criminal route
and you know, in any examples of I | 0:24:29 | 0:24:34 | |
mean, we haven't had some of the
cases that we've heard about rape | 0:24:34 | 0:24:37 | |
have not been by MP allegations,
have not been about MPs, but people | 0:24:37 | 0:24:41 | |
who work in the party or have worked
for them. But I think that the | 0:24:41 | 0:24:45 | |
parties have to set out quite
clearly what the actions and | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
sanctions will be and that is one of
the things I hoch will be discussed | 0:24:49 | 0:24:53 | |
today, let me come back to the
point. It can't just be about | 0:24:53 | 0:24:57 | |
Westminster putting in place a
proper process. Individual parties | 0:24:57 | 0:25:01 | |
must do that too because it's not
unfortunately just something that | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
happens in Parliament. It's
everywhere. The Conservative Party's | 0:25:04 | 0:25:09 | |
new code of conduct covers politics
at all levels and covers from the | 0:25:09 | 0:25:13 | |
most grass-roots... But it doesn't
deal with why people don't report | 0:25:13 | 0:25:17 | |
because they are worried about the
internal political bias. It is by | 0:25:17 | 0:25:23 | |
the refreshing actions that we hope
more people will feel empowered to | 0:25:23 | 0:25:28 | |
come forward in the future. Andrew
McDonald, head of IPSA, has said | 0:25:28 | 0:25:36 | |
that all staff working for members
of Parliament should be centrally | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
employed. Do you think that would
work? Do you think it would take | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
away the onus on MPs to employ their
own staff? These are all things we | 0:25:42 | 0:25:47 | |
can look into. At the moment
obviously, the researchers who work | 0:25:47 | 0:25:52 | |
for me are employed by me as I'm
sure Liz's are. Would it be better | 0:25:52 | 0:25:57 | |
if they were centrally employed? I
don't think it would deal with the | 0:25:57 | 0:26:01 | |
problem, Jo. Is it going to deal
with the fundamental problem and I | 0:26:01 | 0:26:05 | |
am not sure it would. I agree with. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:16 | |
Now, Parliament goes on a brief
holiday this week with the house | 0:26:17 | 0:26:22 | |
rising from Tuesday until Monday,
so that means no PMQs this week. | 0:26:22 | 0:26:25 | |
But the wheels of Westminster
keep on rolling. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:27 | |
Let's take a look at the week ahead. | 0:26:27 | 0:26:29 | |
On Tuesday, Commissioner
of the Metropolitan Police | 0:26:29 | 0:26:31 | |
Cressida Dick will face
the Home Affairs Select Committee | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
for the first time
since taking the role. | 0:26:33 | 0:26:35 | |
She'll be quizzed on the future
of policing just a few days | 0:26:35 | 0:26:38 | |
after criticising funding cuts. | 0:26:38 | 0:26:39 | |
On Wednesday, the new Defence
Secretary Gavin Williamson will meet | 0:26:39 | 0:26:41 | |
with his NATO counterparts
in his first such engagement since | 0:26:41 | 0:26:44 | |
replacing Michael Fallon last week. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:48 | |
Afghanistan and Russia are likely
to be on the agenda. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:50 | |
On Thursday, the sixth
round of Brexit negotiations | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
begin in Brussels. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:53 | |
Brexit Secretary David Davis
is expected to head out on Friday, | 0:26:53 | 0:26:58 | |
hoping to break the deadlock over
the Brexit divorce bill. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:04 | |
Thursday will also see a brief
revival of Big Ben's bells, | 0:27:04 | 0:27:07 | |
albeit for just four days,
in preparation Remembrance | 0:27:07 | 0:27:10 | |
commemorations this week. | 0:27:10 | 0:27:18 | |
We're joined now by
the Deputy Political Editor | 0:27:18 | 0:27:20 | |
of the Sunday Times Caroline Wheeler
and the Political Editor | 0:27:20 | 0:27:22 | |
for the New Statesman George Eaton
to discuss the weeks top stories. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
Caroline Wheeler, first of all, what
do you make of the latest allegation | 0:27:25 | 0:27:29 | |
that has been made on the BBC
against a politician, a Tory | 0:27:29 | 0:27:35 | |
politician, how much more pressure
now is Theresa May in terms of | 0:27:35 | 0:27:39 | |
getting a grip of this scandal? I
think it's one of those scandals | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
that it's very difficult to get a
grip of because I think what we have | 0:27:42 | 0:27:46 | |
seen so far is a number of
allegations being made whether | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
substantiated or not, but in the
background I'm aware of a number of | 0:27:49 | 0:27:54 | |
journalists and MPs even as well as
those outside the Westminster bubble | 0:27:54 | 0:27:58 | |
with stories to tell, who are
weighing up whether or not they are | 0:27:58 | 0:28:02 | |
going to break their cover and break
their silence and come forward and | 0:28:02 | 0:28:04 | |
talk about what they feel has been
going on, that's been inappropriate | 0:28:04 | 0:28:08 | |
within Parliament. So, it is very
difficult for any of the party | 0:28:08 | 0:28:11 | |
leaders to keep a grip on this.
They're saying some really warm | 0:28:11 | 0:28:14 | |
words about how they want to
transform the system so that it is | 0:28:14 | 0:28:18 | |
easier for people to come forward,
but it is very difficult when you | 0:28:18 | 0:28:21 | |
know, we don't know how widespread
all of this has been. There are 650 | 0:28:21 | 0:28:26 | |
members of Parliament and who knows
how many of them have skeletons in | 0:28:26 | 0:28:30 | |
their closet. There has been enough
leadership from the Prime Minister | 0:28:30 | 0:28:35 | |
on this, George Eaton. Is did a case
it's impossible to know the scale if | 0:28:35 | 0:28:40 | |
more people break cover and decide
to come forward with allegations | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
against politicians, what more can
be done to deal with it? It has been | 0:28:44 | 0:28:49 | |
difficult for Theresa May. I don't
think it helps this that her | 0:28:49 | 0:28:55 | |
government is in a fragile position
and it is dependant on the DUP. | 0:28:55 | 0:29:00 | |
Theresa May's allies would say she
acted decisively in term of Michael | 0:29:00 | 0:29:06 | |
Fallon, but there are Tory MPs who
don't think it is appropriate that | 0:29:06 | 0:29:12 | |
Stephen Crabb has the whip. He has
been accused and had admitted to | 0:29:12 | 0:29:18 | |
sectioning young girls and you have
seen some Tory MPs lose the whip, | 0:29:18 | 0:29:24 | |
but I don't think Theresa May has
given enough clarity on how she | 0:29:24 | 0:29:28 | |
thinks the problem can be resolved
and I mean the Prime Minister was | 0:29:28 | 0:29:33 | |
absent yesterday, it was Amber Rudd
who was doing the rounds and saying | 0:29:33 | 0:29:36 | |
it maybe right for MPs not just to
lose their ministerial position, but | 0:29:36 | 0:29:41 | |
to leave Parliament. I think Theresa
May would have been wiser to deliver | 0:29:41 | 0:29:44 | |
that message. As it goes on and the
investigations are carried out, | 0:29:44 | 0:29:49 | |
Caroline Wheeler, we have been
discussing if people are found to | 0:29:49 | 0:29:51 | |
have behaved in a way that's not
acceptable under the new more | 0:29:51 | 0:29:55 | |
robust, we hear, codes of conduct
that the parties are looking at, | 0:29:55 | 0:30:00 | |
then you know what happens to the
politicians because they may well be | 0:30:00 | 0:30:06 | |
suspended from their ministerial
posts and lose the whip, but they | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
will still be MPs, won't they? | 0:30:09 | 0:30:18 | |
What we are being told as there is a
complaints procedure in terms of the | 0:30:18 | 0:30:22 | |
Conservative Party. MBAs or anyone
who feels someone has behaved | 0:30:22 | 0:30:28 | |
inappropriately can e-mail in. We
don't know who can deal with the | 0:30:28 | 0:30:32 | |
complaints. We understand there is
an Independent person but we do not | 0:30:32 | 0:30:36 | |
know who that is and where it goes
from there. It is difficult in terms | 0:30:36 | 0:30:41 | |
of working out what will happen
there will be people within the | 0:30:41 | 0:30:46 | |
Conservative Party associations and
the constituencies scratching their | 0:30:46 | 0:30:49 | |
heads and thinking, is this the type
of person I want to be representing | 0:30:49 | 0:30:53 | |
me in Parliament? Let's talk about
the other issue and that is Brexit. | 0:30:53 | 0:31:03 | |
Talking about the procedure
committee. Charles Walker, head of | 0:31:03 | 0:31:08 | |
the Commons procedure committee
believes the oversight of the EU | 0:31:08 | 0:31:11 | |
withdrawal bill is not enough. What
is he suggesting? Element he is | 0:31:11 | 0:31:16 | |
suggesting a separate committee be
set up simply because of the volume | 0:31:16 | 0:31:22 | |
of amendments. -- He is suggesting.
This is the biggest task any | 0:31:22 | 0:31:29 | |
government has faced since 1945. Not
surprising that the House of Commons | 0:31:29 | 0:31:34 | |
and House of Lords are not capable
of giving it the scrutiny giving how | 0:31:34 | 0:31:39 | |
transformative the impact of Brexit
could be for our political system | 0:31:39 | 0:31:44 | |
and the UK economy. Mark Carney, the
governor of the Bank England, said | 0:31:44 | 0:31:50 | |
the uncertainty was having an
adverse impact on business | 0:31:50 | 0:31:54 | |
investment. No doubt he will be
labelled as an enemy of Brexit by | 0:31:54 | 0:32:01 | |
those who want to see Brexit happen.
What is the general feeling about | 0:32:01 | 0:32:06 | |
the role of Mark Carney in this? It
depends who you ask. It is the same | 0:32:06 | 0:32:13 | |
with all the Brexit stories. We
still have people who voted remains, | 0:32:13 | 0:32:18 | |
campaigning to remain saying things
they feel pertain to the cause. | 0:32:18 | 0:32:21 | |
There are those on the side of
Wexford who seek Mark Carney as the | 0:32:21 | 0:32:28 | |
bogeyman. -- Brexit. When you think
about the negotiations at the end of | 0:32:28 | 0:32:34 | |
the week there is a growing sense of
frustration we're not getting on | 0:32:34 | 0:32:36 | |
with it. You can see some of that
reaction from the European side. The | 0:32:36 | 0:32:42 | |
idea that we'll have talks about
talks and there will not be any | 0:32:42 | 0:32:46 | |
substantive progress until the end
of year is getting people's backs | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
up. At the same time we are seeing a
strong message that business needs | 0:32:48 | 0:32:53 | |
to know what transition will look
like by the first quarter of next | 0:32:53 | 0:32:57 | |
year, otherwise confidence in the
economy and in their ability to make | 0:32:57 | 0:33:03 | |
future decisions is very much
compromised. Let's talk about the | 0:33:03 | 0:33:09 | |
procedure committee and all of the
laws that have to be looked over in | 0:33:09 | 0:33:13 | |
the EU withdrawal bill. Do you agree
with your colleague that there needs | 0:33:13 | 0:33:17 | |
to be a new committee to filter
through all the substance? We have | 0:33:17 | 0:33:24 | |
spoken about this before. I think we
have to approach this with a very | 0:33:24 | 0:33:28 | |
broad mind about how Parliament uses
its time. In a speech if you weeks | 0:33:28 | 0:33:36 | |
ago I said I would be in favour of
Parliament tearing up its timetable, | 0:33:36 | 0:33:40 | |
sitting on Fridays and looking at
the lengths of recess. This is the | 0:33:40 | 0:33:46 | |
most important part of legislation
we will have to deal with in this | 0:33:46 | 0:33:50 | |
Parliament and it is only right that
the House of Commons and the House | 0:33:50 | 0:33:54 | |
of Lords gets a proper opportunity
to scrutinise it. There is not a lot | 0:33:54 | 0:33:59 | |
of other legislation going through
at the moment for that we can create | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
time for Parliament to do it and we
can do it properly. You think that | 0:34:02 | 0:34:10 | |
Parliament is being bypassed? We
have an assembled list of amendments | 0:34:10 | 0:34:15 | |
at the moment. 300 and something guy
coming up to 400 amendments. We will | 0:34:15 | 0:34:25 | |
see, as the process begins after
recess, how many people start to | 0:34:25 | 0:34:28 | |
support each other's amendments.
Which you signed up to? I am still | 0:34:28 | 0:34:33 | |
going through the Bill and have not
signed against any of them. Is there | 0:34:33 | 0:34:40 | |
enough time to look through all of
the legislation or is it as claimed | 0:34:40 | 0:34:45 | |
by the Government important that the
Government gets on with the Brexit | 0:34:45 | 0:34:49 | |
bill and the EU withdrawal bill so
that something is on the statute | 0:34:49 | 0:34:54 | |
books so anything not covered by the
laws we currently have because | 0:34:54 | 0:34:59 | |
Parliament is delaying the process.
Nobody is questioning the need to | 0:34:59 | 0:35:05 | |
get the EU legislation into our own
legislation. This issue of statutory | 0:35:05 | 0:35:10 | |
instruments and which ones are
important and which ones are not, | 0:35:10 | 0:35:13 | |
should we just leave it up to the
Government to determine which ones | 0:35:13 | 0:35:17 | |
are done in committee or which are
decided upon in the House? Dominic | 0:35:17 | 0:35:24 | |
Grieve and others have tabled
amendments to set that out and I | 0:35:24 | 0:35:27 | |
agree with it. I personally think
the most important amendment on be | 0:35:27 | 0:35:33 | |
withdrawal bill is to guarantee that
Parliament gets a say on the final | 0:35:33 | 0:35:39 | |
deal in enough time. When would be
enough time? David Davis has said it | 0:35:39 | 0:35:46 | |
could all be done at the last
moment. It has to happen before it | 0:35:46 | 0:35:53 | |
goes to European Parliament. We are
seeing a number of checks and | 0:35:53 | 0:35:57 | |
balances being discussed. I think it
is absolutely right we get to go | 0:35:57 | 0:36:01 | |
through the legislation with a tooth
comb, making sure that Parliament is | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
happy with it. Should Parliament
have a meaningful say six months | 0:36:05 | 0:36:12 | |
before the European Parliament? The
Prime Minister has said that | 0:36:12 | 0:36:16 | |
Parliament will have a meaningful
say. It is yet another infusion. | 0:36:16 | 0:36:22 | |
Simon I think we can rest assured
that we will. -- I think we can rest | 0:36:22 | 0:36:32 | |
assured. Whenever if Parliament vote
down the deal, what happens then? I | 0:36:32 | 0:36:41 | |
want to see it in legislation, the
final, meaningful vote. That means | 0:36:41 | 0:36:46 | |
would be able to vote down the deal.
Would you say you have to go back to | 0:36:46 | 0:36:52 | |
Brussels and renegotiate or do we
just fallout of the EU at that | 0:36:52 | 0:36:57 | |
point? By having legislation where
Parliament will have the final say, | 0:36:57 | 0:37:03 | |
the Government will deal much more
effectively with MPs to stop them | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
getting a bad deal in the first
place. No one wants this going | 0:37:06 | 0:37:10 | |
backwards and forwards. By having a
power for Parliament, it will ensure | 0:37:10 | 0:37:17 | |
that government works across the
House and get agreement. Simon and | 0:37:17 | 0:37:21 | |
there is a real danger that if
Parliament votes down the final | 0:37:21 | 0:37:25 | |
deal, the Prime Minister will
suddenly be able to go back and | 0:37:25 | 0:37:28 | |
start the whole process again. --
There is a real deal. Be you will | 0:37:28 | 0:37:34 | |
not play ball in that way. They will
be given more time to do that. There | 0:37:34 | 0:37:41 | |
is a danger that MPs create the
danger for constituents. There is a | 0:37:41 | 0:37:49 | |
reset button on this but there is
not. I think there is a safety | 0:37:49 | 0:37:55 | |
mechanism that the Government should
deal more effectively with MPs to | 0:37:55 | 0:38:01 | |
deal cross -- get cross-party
support for a deal. We are seeing a | 0:38:01 | 0:38:05 | |
lot of that work going on. We will
find out in a couple of weeks. | 0:38:05 | 0:38:11 | |
There's just time before we go
to find out the answer to our quiz. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:14 | |
The question was about
Donald Trump's visit to Japan. | 0:38:14 | 0:38:17 | |
What did he do that has sparked
outrage on Twitter? | 0:38:17 | 0:38:19 | |
Was it a) Overfeed the fish | 0:38:19 | 0:38:21 | |
b) Pick some flowers | 0:38:21 | 0:38:22 | |
c) Refuse to eat the sushi | 0:38:22 | 0:38:26 | |
or d) Tweet through
a press conference? | 0:38:26 | 0:38:29 | |
At the end of the show, Alex and
lives will give us the correct | 0:38:29 | 0:38:33 | |
answer. -- lives. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:39 | |
Now, homelessness in the UK
is a problem every party has pledged | 0:38:39 | 0:38:41 | |
to tackle:whether it be with more
houses or more money. | 0:38:41 | 0:38:44 | |
But what's the right thing for each
of us to do when we walk past | 0:38:44 | 0:38:47 | |
someone begging in the street? | 0:38:47 | 0:38:49 | |
Should we buy them some
food and a hot drink - | 0:38:49 | 0:38:51 | |
or should we give them the money
directly regardless of how | 0:38:51 | 0:38:54 | |
we think they'll spend it? | 0:38:54 | 0:38:55 | |
The journalist Matt
Broomfield thinks so. | 0:38:55 | 0:38:57 | |
Here's his soapbox. | 0:38:57 | 0:39:07 | |
We're often told we shouldn't give
cash to the homeless but I think we | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
should give them money,
directly and unconditionally. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:17 | |
Don't just buy them
a sandwich, they're not four. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:21 | |
They have the right to spend
their money, as they choose. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:26 | |
Don't try to second-guess
if they're really homeless. | 0:39:26 | 0:39:29 | |
If they're desperate enough
to beg, they need it. | 0:39:29 | 0:39:35 | |
Many street beggars
are addicts but addiction | 0:39:35 | 0:39:37 | |
can only be tackled by raising
people out of poverty. | 0:39:37 | 0:39:42 | |
Cutting off people's only
source of income is not | 0:39:42 | 0:39:44 | |
going to starve them into
seeking help from authorities they | 0:39:44 | 0:39:47 | |
know will not or cannot help them. | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
When the Government says street
beggars are refusing long-term help, | 0:39:49 | 0:39:52 | |
what they mean is that help
on offer is not adequate. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
What homeless people need
is free, state-provided | 0:39:55 | 0:39:59 | |
housing and fully-funded
psychological care. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:01 | |
What they get is austerity
measures, driving them | 0:40:01 | 0:40:03 | |
onto the street. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:09 | |
Thanks to a poor state
response, charitable giving | 0:40:09 | 0:40:11 | |
and hostels remain life-savers
to many thousands of people. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:15 | |
But big homelessness
charities already | 0:40:15 | 0:40:17 | |
receive millions from government
and private donors every year | 0:40:17 | 0:40:20 | |
while those deemed impossible
to help die outside. | 0:40:20 | 0:40:24 | |
Many structural barriers
separate long-term rough | 0:40:24 | 0:40:26 | |
sleepers from hostel beds. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:32 | |
Many of the foreign nationals making
up half of London's sleeping | 0:40:32 | 0:40:37 | |
population cannot claim benefits
to access the charity-run hostel | 0:40:37 | 0:40:39 | |
network at all. | 0:40:39 | 0:40:43 | |
In fact some major homelessness
charities actively shop | 0:40:43 | 0:40:45 | |
foreign rough sleepers
to the Home Office to be deported. | 0:40:45 | 0:40:48 | |
It is the same
government-funded charities | 0:40:48 | 0:40:52 | |
which pushed the narratives that
"kindness kills" as they tout for | 0:40:52 | 0:40:55 | |
your donations. | 0:40:55 | 0:40:56 | |
Do not believe them. | 0:40:56 | 0:40:57 | |
Apathy and austerity kills. | 0:40:57 | 0:41:00 | |
Your kindness saves lives. | 0:41:00 | 0:41:03 | |
And Matt Broomfield joins us now. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:05 | |
Also here is the chief
executive of the homelessness | 0:41:05 | 0:41:08 | |
charity Thames Reach,
Jeremy Swain. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:15 | |
Welcome to both of you. Can I start
with you, jammy, why shouldn't | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
people give cash directly and
unconditionally to homeless people? | 0:41:19 | 0:41:25 | |
-- Jeromy. We have workers on the
street every day going out and | 0:41:25 | 0:41:29 | |
begging on the street, sleeping
rough. People on the street have | 0:41:29 | 0:41:35 | |
normally gone onto the street to get
money from the public. For my staff, | 0:41:35 | 0:41:42 | |
working on the street, it is not
something which is the theoretical | 0:41:42 | 0:41:46 | |
issue, we are losing people dying on
the street. Our job is to transform | 0:41:46 | 0:41:52 | |
lives and get those people off the
streets and get them into treatment. | 0:41:52 | 0:41:58 | |
Often they are into treatment. We
need to change things. 50 of our | 0:41:58 | 0:42:03 | |
colleagues are former homeless
people. They can tell you that we | 0:42:03 | 0:42:08 | |
need change. When Matt said in the
piece that even if somebody's going | 0:42:08 | 0:42:11 | |
to use the money for an overdose,
still give it to them. This is just | 0:42:11 | 0:42:17 | |
appalling and offensive. New office
he want to come back. You quoted | 0:42:17 | 0:42:23 | |
approvingly someone says, if your
money funds the final drugs kit, | 0:42:23 | 0:42:28 | |
accept the person would rather be
dead. Sun this is a quote from | 0:42:28 | 0:42:35 | |
another former rough sleeper,
another former addict. -- This is a | 0:42:35 | 0:42:39 | |
quote. This is as a way of opening
up the conversation more broadly. | 0:42:39 | 0:42:46 | |
When you say people are coming onto
the street to bake it is a fact to | 0:42:46 | 0:42:49 | |
get money and it is about rough
sleeping doubling, quadrupling in | 0:42:49 | 0:42:58 | |
some cities. If anything they are
given less cash. This is keyed into | 0:42:58 | 0:43:07 | |
rising poverty, austerity cuts and a
lack of adequate housing. This is | 0:43:07 | 0:43:11 | |
what we should be tackling. However
much work you do, you will never be | 0:43:11 | 0:43:17 | |
able to combat, if that is the case,
the situation that Matt is | 0:43:17 | 0:43:21 | |
describing. If someone wants to give
money, should we make our moral | 0:43:21 | 0:43:26 | |
judgment? You certainly do. By
giving people money on the street | 0:43:26 | 0:43:29 | |
they can die. There was a young
woman living in a hostel who came | 0:43:29 | 0:43:33 | |
onto the street to bake one night
from people coming out of the clubs | 0:43:33 | 0:43:37 | |
in Southampton thought she came back
to our hostel, had a bath and a | 0:43:37 | 0:43:43 | |
seizure and is dead. Matt is not
someone who has to attend funerals | 0:43:43 | 0:43:47 | |
and talk to families about why their
daughter, son or mother died. There | 0:43:47 | 0:43:53 | |
are serious issues about poverty on
the street. We have high numbers of | 0:43:53 | 0:43:57 | |
rough sleepers. We have 1300 people
off the street and we need public to | 0:43:57 | 0:44:02 | |
work with us. Giving money at the
right place might actually be the | 0:44:02 | 0:44:07 | |
way of doing it. In the sense that
the person who gave the money for | 0:44:07 | 0:44:11 | |
the heroine very sad because Turk to
lose her life, you could equally say | 0:44:11 | 0:44:14 | |
because the people who die of
exposure, people who did not get | 0:44:14 | 0:44:20 | |
money costs them their lives in the
same sense. When I was last talking | 0:44:20 | 0:44:26 | |
about this issue, it was two years
ago when the police had the freedom | 0:44:26 | 0:44:32 | |
of information request to get the
number, the percentage of people | 0:44:32 | 0:44:36 | |
begging on the street who were
housed and it was 20%. Only one in | 0:44:36 | 0:44:40 | |
five is literally homeless. We have
people coming onto the streets to | 0:44:40 | 0:44:43 | |
bed. Our job is to move people off
the streets and into treatment. This | 0:44:43 | 0:44:50 | |
can be done. It is about people
living long and fulfilling lives. I | 0:44:50 | 0:44:55 | |
do not think the way to help is to
create a hostile environment on the | 0:44:55 | 0:45:00 | |
street. There is no way I can even
survive. There are many reasons why | 0:45:00 | 0:45:06 | |
people leave the shelter. Come out
with us until one o'clock in the | 0:45:06 | 0:45:11 | |
morning. We will help people into
hostels. In some hostels, in a safe | 0:45:11 | 0:45:16 | |
and controlled way, you can use will
stop I have spoken to many people | 0:45:16 | 0:45:22 | |
who are out of the hostel system.
Not one is saying it is because they | 0:45:22 | 0:45:27 | |
have so much money on the streets.
They give a number of reasons. Most | 0:45:27 | 0:45:32 | |
say there is not enough money for
hostels as a first response. Maybe | 0:45:32 | 0:45:37 | |
difficulties with caseworkers or
people are now. There are many | 0:45:37 | 0:45:41 | |
reasons why people leave hostels. No
one says they have deliberately left | 0:45:41 | 0:45:44 | |
the hostel and gone on to the
street. If there are enough money | 0:45:44 | 0:45:48 | |
being given to be the act as a
magnet for people to stay on the | 0:45:48 | 0:45:51 | |
street for that reason? | 0:45:51 | 0:45:55 | |
We are on the street every night of
the year talking to people. You have | 0:45:55 | 0:46:00 | |
come out to do an article. That's
fine. We are the ones picking up the | 0:46:00 | 0:46:04 | |
pieces when you have moved on to
another piece. The money you can get | 0:46:04 | 0:46:07 | |
on the street, in two hours you can
raise £50, but let's remember... And | 0:46:07 | 0:46:12 | |
they can get a hot meal and drink
with that money. You don't need to | 0:46:12 | 0:46:17 | |
book into accommodation because it
is free on the point of access. In | 0:46:17 | 0:46:22 | |
our service across London, Thames
Reach has food and there is 30 soup | 0:46:22 | 0:46:27 | |
runs giving out food at the top of
the Strand in Central London. Food | 0:46:27 | 0:46:31 | |
is not the issue. Changing people's
lives and giving them accident | 0:46:31 | 0:46:35 | |
accommodation and helping them solve
their addiction problem is what it | 0:46:35 | 0:46:39 | |
is about. The money that's given,
some of it, to people who are | 0:46:39 | 0:46:44 | |
begging or people who are homeless
on the street would be better if | 0:46:44 | 0:46:49 | |
people were encouraged to give that
to charities? There are groups I | 0:46:49 | 0:46:52 | |
support with the charities the point
where I decided I felt I would no | 0:46:52 | 0:46:56 | |
longer want to support the big
charities such as Thames Reach when | 0:46:56 | 0:47:00 | |
I reared about their involvement in
providing a database of location of | 0:47:00 | 0:47:05 | |
foreign national rough sleepers...
This is factually incorrect. We have | 0:47:05 | 0:47:08 | |
never away an individual's details
to the Home Office where they could | 0:47:08 | 0:47:11 | |
be picked up and tan off the street.
You have a database of locations. | 0:47:11 | 0:47:20 | |
Data protection would prevent us
doing that. I was out two weeks ago, | 0:47:20 | 0:47:24 | |
there were four people sleeving
rough in the reception area of a | 0:47:24 | 0:47:27 | |
police station and we were delighted
to help those people get off the | 0:47:27 | 0:47:30 | |
street. Have you given money to
people begging on the street? I have | 0:47:30 | 0:47:36 | |
done both, given money individually
and to charities. The two things we | 0:47:36 | 0:47:39 | |
need to do, one is we need to make
sure local councils are building | 0:47:39 | 0:47:44 | |
more council houses, affordable
housing, that's the big thing and | 0:47:44 | 0:47:47 | |
secondly, now, I am much more
focussed on giving to charities | 0:47:47 | 0:47:51 | |
because it is, you have got to fix
all these different pieces together, | 0:47:51 | 0:47:54 | |
what you want is a roof over their
head, something warm to eat, but | 0:47:54 | 0:47:58 | |
deal with their addiction, and get
them skills and training and | 0:47:58 | 0:48:02 | |
charities can bring that together.
Right. Building more homes as we | 0:48:02 | 0:48:07 | |
have seen over successive years and
with successive governments takes | 0:48:07 | 0:48:09 | |
time. In the meantime should people
stop giving money to people who are | 0:48:09 | 0:48:14 | |
homeless on the streets? I would
strongly encourage people to give | 0:48:14 | 0:48:19 | |
their money to homeless charities
and if you see someone on your | 0:48:19 | 0:48:23 | |
street who you feel is in need of
help, give them advice, give them a | 0:48:23 | 0:48:27 | |
cup of tea and something to eat, but
I would recommend that people direct | 0:48:27 | 0:48:31 | |
their money to homeless charities
who understand this problem better | 0:48:31 | 0:48:33 | |
than we do and the Government has
recently brought in the homeless | 0:48:33 | 0:48:38 | |
reduction Act which is a good first
stepment we are looking at housing | 0:48:38 | 0:48:41 | |
first model which is being
successful in other parts of the | 0:48:41 | 0:48:44 | |
world where you get people into
accommodation and get them the | 0:48:44 | 0:48:47 | |
services they are required to solve
their mental health problems. What | 0:48:47 | 0:48:49 | |
do you say to Matt who says it is
austerity that put a lot of these | 0:48:49 | 0:48:53 | |
people on the street in the first
place? What you have seen in London | 0:48:53 | 0:48:58 | |
is that you have seen yes, I know
that rough sleeping has increased, | 0:48:58 | 0:49:02 | |
but a lot of the numbers of the
increase have gone people coming and | 0:49:02 | 0:49:06 | |
working from abroad rather than
people who have been forced on the | 0:49:06 | 0:49:08 | |
streets here. Is it as a result of
austerity? That's far... We have | 0:49:08 | 0:49:13 | |
seen people lose. Let him answer.
Those their homes. This is a time of | 0:49:13 | 0:49:20 | |
record employment, you have more
people than ever in the workplace. | 0:49:20 | 0:49:24 | |
Rent has gone sky high. Landlords
kicking people out because... We are | 0:49:24 | 0:49:27 | |
going to have to leave it there,
thank you for coming in today. | 0:49:27 | 0:49:34 | |
We have had the party conferences
and the trade union congress. | 0:49:34 | 0:49:37 | |
This week it's the turn of Britain's
bosses to have their knees up | 0:49:37 | 0:49:39 | |
at the venue formerly
known as The Dome, | 0:49:39 | 0:49:41 | |
where they are meeting
for the CBI annual conference. | 0:49:41 | 0:49:44 | |
This morning has been
all about politics | 0:49:44 | 0:49:45 | |
with an appearance by Jeremy Corbyn
and the Prime Minister bigging up | 0:49:45 | 0:49:48 | |
the role of state in the economy. | 0:49:48 | 0:49:54 | |
A strategic state has a major
influence on the economy. | 0:49:54 | 0:49:56 | |
In exerting that
influence, governments | 0:49:56 | 0:49:57 | |
must inevitably make choices. | 0:49:57 | 0:50:01 | |
And in a democracy, be held
to account for them. | 0:50:01 | 0:50:05 | |
The choice which this government
makes is to deploy this | 0:50:05 | 0:50:09 | |
influence in a thought through way,
taking decisions for the long term. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:12 | |
Because while the power and
potential of the market is immense, | 0:50:12 | 0:50:15 | |
I also strongly believe in the good
that government can do. | 0:50:15 | 0:50:20 | |
Carolyn Fairbairn is
the Director General of the CBI. | 0:50:21 | 0:50:25 | |
She joins us now from the CBI
conference in Greenwich. | 0:50:25 | 0:50:30 | |
Welcome to the Daily Politics. We
have just heard Theresa May there, | 0:50:30 | 0:50:34 | |
the Prime Minister, talking about
the Government, state intervention | 0:50:34 | 0:50:39 | |
and strategic intervention of
industry and Jeremy Corbyn wants to | 0:50:39 | 0:50:41 | |
nationalise a few of your members.
Do you believe that Thatcherism is | 0:50:41 | 0:50:46 | |
truly dead? Well, I think what we
have seen is a lot of common themes | 0:50:46 | 0:50:51 | |
around the value of markets and the
value of business. That came through | 0:50:51 | 0:50:55 | |
from Jeremy Corbyn's speech as well,
but a role for the state which I | 0:50:55 | 0:50:58 | |
think is well accepted and has to be
right. But the importance of markets | 0:50:58 | 0:51:02 | |
to be able to work, what we are also
hearing, I think, is commitment on | 0:51:02 | 0:51:10 | |
boths both sides. And that's a good
combination, good government and | 0:51:10 | 0:51:14 | |
responsible business. Both party
leaders are talking about state | 0:51:14 | 0:51:20 | |
intervention and for the
Conservatives you could argue we | 0:51:20 | 0:51:22 | |
haven't heard as much about state
intervention as we have under | 0:51:22 | 0:51:26 | |
Theresa May and presumably that's
because they feel the public is | 0:51:26 | 0:51:30 | |
blaming big business, many of them
your members, because the market has | 0:51:30 | 0:51:32 | |
failed them? Well, I think that
there are questions around the role | 0:51:32 | 0:51:39 | |
of business and how it works, but I
think that the massive contribution | 0:51:39 | 0:51:43 | |
that businesses can make,
particularly now, around our | 0:51:43 | 0:51:47 | |
productivity challenge, the
investment that we need to raise | 0:51:47 | 0:51:48 | |
living standards, I think is coming
through really strongly politically | 0:51:48 | 0:51:52 | |
now and I think we have got the
biggest conference here... Sorry. | 0:51:52 | 0:51:58 | |
What way do you think it is coming
through strongly? We have heard | 0:51:58 | 0:52:01 | |
Theresa May talk about the
importance of capitalism and the | 0:52:01 | 0:52:04 | |
free-market economy, but we are
seeing and hearing policies on state | 0:52:04 | 0:52:09 | |
intervention on housing, on energy
which the Labour Party had first | 0:52:09 | 0:52:12 | |
suggested, your banking members had
to be bailed out by the tax payer. | 0:52:12 | 0:52:17 | |
So what way is there evidence that
the free-market economy has worked? | 0:52:17 | 0:52:21 | |
Well, I think in terms of living
standards that have risen and the | 0:52:21 | 0:52:27 | |
contribution that companies and
markets have made over many years, I | 0:52:27 | 0:52:29 | |
think it was where the Prime
Minister opened her speech today. | 0:52:29 | 0:52:33 | |
There is, of course, an important
role for the state and I think that | 0:52:33 | 0:52:38 | |
the points made by both Prime
Minister and Jeremy Corbyn about | 0:52:38 | 0:52:41 | |
housing very, very welcome. Social
issue, but a very important business | 0:52:41 | 0:52:45 | |
issue as well in terms of people
being able to get to their places of | 0:52:45 | 0:52:48 | |
work. So I think it is this marriage
of state and business that is going | 0:52:48 | 0:52:53 | |
to work best and it is about a
partnership. So, I think we are | 0:52:53 | 0:52:57 | |
hearing the right kinds of messages
and also around Brexit where the | 0:52:57 | 0:53:00 | |
voice of I think the economy is
coming through much more strongly | 0:53:00 | 0:53:04 | |
from both leaders. So why are living
standards delining? Wages aren't | 0:53:04 | 0:53:10 | |
keeping up with inflation. If you
say it has been a something ses, why | 0:53:10 | 0:53:13 | |
are we in that state and
productivity levels are very low? We | 0:53:13 | 0:53:18 | |
have a huge challenge around
productivity. I think if you look | 0:53:18 | 0:53:20 | |
over the course of the last 30
years, you know, we have seen the | 0:53:20 | 0:53:23 | |
benefits that markets have brought
to society and to people's lives. We | 0:53:23 | 0:53:28 | |
have got a massive productivity
problem and that is where business | 0:53:28 | 0:53:31 | |
comes in because it will be through
the kinds of investments that we | 0:53:31 | 0:53:35 | |
need, the new products that are
developed, the new jobs that are | 0:53:35 | 0:53:37 | |
created, there is a big theme here
around technology that I think | 0:53:37 | 0:53:43 | |
living standards will be
kick-started again and again, I go | 0:53:43 | 0:53:45 | |
back to the themes of industrial
strategy that we're hearing | 0:53:45 | 0:53:49 | |
repeated, but I think the message
from businesses are around pace, we | 0:53:49 | 0:53:52 | |
need to see the actions coming in
very soon. Right, well, let's talk | 0:53:52 | 0:53:57 | |
about Brexit because there have been
threats that businesses, your | 0:53:57 | 0:54:00 | |
members are going to stop investing,
they're going to have to start | 0:54:00 | 0:54:03 | |
firing people. Do you stand by those
sorts of comments? Is that what's | 0:54:03 | 0:54:07 | |
going to happen if, in your words,
there isn't more certainty on | 0:54:07 | 0:54:12 | |
Brexit? Well, we are in a place
where firms are having to look at | 0:54:12 | 0:54:16 | |
their plans in case there is no
deal. And we're heading into the | 0:54:16 | 0:54:20 | |
period where that is happening now.
So our latest survey suggests that | 0:54:20 | 0:54:26 | |
about 10% of firms have already made
that move and 20% by the end of the | 0:54:26 | 0:54:30 | |
year and a further 25% by next
March. These are just rational | 0:54:30 | 0:54:35 | |
responses that firms are taking to
how they organise themselves. The | 0:54:35 | 0:54:38 | |
good news though is that it can be
prevented if a transition | 0:54:38 | 0:54:41 | |
arrangement is put in place by the
end of the year, a status quo | 0:54:41 | 0:54:45 | |
transition, what firms tell us,
large firms, three-quarters of them | 0:54:45 | 0:54:48 | |
will pause the plans. So it is a
really, are really key few weeks | 0:54:48 | 0:54:53 | |
leading up to the December
negotiations. But what sort of | 0:54:53 | 0:54:56 | |
proposals are looking for? The
Government is in the middle of a | 0:54:56 | 0:54:59 | |
negotiation and the Government will
say it cannot reveal or give away | 0:54:59 | 0:55:04 | |
it's negotiating hand in the way you
seem to be calling for. What | 0:55:04 | 0:55:09 | |
precisely would give this certainty
that you say business needs? | 0:55:09 | 0:55:12 | |
I think, at moment from the
Government's side, I think we are | 0:55:12 | 0:55:16 | |
seeing this increasingly is unity
around the Florence speech which was | 0:55:16 | 0:55:20 | |
I think very, our members and firms,
thought it was a good step forward. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:24 | |
We need the unity around that which
I think we are seeing increasingly | 0:55:24 | 0:55:30 | |
and was reaffirmed this morning.
There is a consensus from Labour and | 0:55:30 | 0:55:33 | |
the positions are consistent and
that's a strong position to be | 0:55:33 | 0:55:36 | |
taking into the European Union and
there is a lot of conversation, we | 0:55:36 | 0:55:38 | |
are doing a lot of work with
European businesses to put the case | 0:55:38 | 0:55:41 | |
on the other side, why this is in
the mutual interest of all firms. | 0:55:41 | 0:55:46 | |
That's what we are wanting to see,
unity and clarity and urgency going | 0:55:46 | 0:55:51 | |
into December. This is regarding
membership of the single market? For | 0:55:51 | 0:55:59 | |
the transition period. For the
transition period. There is then a | 0:55:59 | 0:56:03 | |
massive question about the shape of
the final deal and that's what is | 0:56:03 | 0:56:06 | |
going to be next in line. So, again
the Florence speech gave some | 0:56:06 | 0:56:13 | |
indication that the importance of
keeping a close economic | 0:56:13 | 0:56:17 | |
relationship, barrier-free trade, as
frictionless as possible. These are | 0:56:17 | 0:56:20 | |
going to come back on to the agenda
in the New Year as the new deal gets | 0:56:20 | 0:56:24 | |
sorted out and that's going to be
the thing, if we can get transition | 0:56:24 | 0:56:27 | |
agreed in the New Year, we need to
quickly move on to that because | 0:56:27 | 0:56:30 | |
that's the next level of certainty
business wants to see. Thank you | 0:56:30 | 0:56:34 | |
very much for joining us today. | 0:56:34 | 0:56:38 | |
There's just time before we go
to find out the answer to our quiz. | 0:56:38 | 0:56:42 | |
The question was about
Donald Trump's visit to Japan. | 0:56:42 | 0:56:44 | |
What did he do that has
sparked outrage on Twitter? | 0:56:44 | 0:56:47 | |
Was it a) Overfeed the fish? | 0:56:47 | 0:56:48 | |
b) Pick some flowers? | 0:56:48 | 0:56:52 | |
c) Refuse to eat the sushi? | 0:56:52 | 0:56:53 | |
or d) Tweet through
a press conference? | 0:56:53 | 0:56:58 | |
He is alleged to overfed the fish.
He did, but so did the Japanese | 0:56:58 | 0:57:03 | |
Prime Minister. We don't know how
many fish were in the pond! I | 0:57:03 | 0:57:09 | |
understand in the palace, it is
teeming with these coy carp. | 0:57:09 | 0:57:17 | |
I'm impressed by your level of
interest in this. This is the | 0:57:17 | 0:57:23 | |
picture that got Twitter buzzing.
There is Donald Trump seen to be | 0:57:23 | 0:57:26 | |
emptying and dumping the food in one
go, but it is not as clear as the | 0:57:26 | 0:57:30 | |
photograph implies because as Liz
suggested the president is standing | 0:57:30 | 0:57:35 | |
next to Japan's Prime Minister and
which each of them starts throwing | 0:57:35 | 0:57:40 | |
the food in, with moderation, with
the spoon. Oh, it's the Prime | 0:57:40 | 0:57:45 | |
Minister who dumps husband food
first! He is laughing and so does | 0:57:45 | 0:57:48 | |
Donald Trump!
So, what do we think? Unfair | 0:57:48 | 0:57:51 | |
coverage for Donald Trump? I think
so. Look, he was following the lead | 0:57:51 | 0:57:55 | |
of his host and I think if you were
to see the grateful fish at the | 0:57:55 | 0:58:00 | |
bottom of the pond they would have
been eating it up! Are you from the | 0:58:00 | 0:58:05 | |
Fishing Times newspaper or
something? I follow Buzz feed | 0:58:05 | 0:58:11 | |
because they reveal truth of these
stories. | 0:58:11 | 0:58:17 | |
Since it is a year since President
Trump came president, how will you | 0:58:17 | 0:58:22 | |
be celebrating? The year is a far
less safe and society and culture is | 0:58:22 | 0:58:30 | |
less. I think the best is to come.
The best is to come from Trump. | 0:58:30 | 0:58:36 | |
President Trump. That's diplomatic
of you. | 0:58:36 | 0:58:42 | |
That's all for today. | 0:58:42 | 0:58:43 | |
Thanks to our guests. | 0:58:43 | 0:58:44 | |
The One O'Clock News is starting
over on BBC One now. | 0:58:44 | 0:58:46 | |
I'll be here at noon
tomorrow with all the big | 0:58:46 | 0:58:49 | |
political stories of the day. | 0:58:49 | 0:58:50 | |
There is then a short recess, but I
will be back the following Monday. | 0:58:50 | 0:58:53 | |
From all of us here, good afternoon.
Bye-bye. | 0:58:53 | 0:58:58 | |
# The world was on fire | 0:59:02 | 0:59:04 |