:00:12. > :00:17.It's been yet another bad week for David Cameron's Government, rows
:00:17. > :00:23.over extradition and Lords reform, coming after all that budget fall-
:00:23. > :00:29.out, is fact following fiction? you, you're a BEEPing omnishambles,
:00:29. > :00:35.you're like that coffee machine, from bean to cup, you BEEP up.
:00:35. > :00:39.opposition stealing the line from a TV comedy, is David Cameron really
:00:39. > :00:43.presiding over omnishambles. The latest outbreak of ill feeling in
:00:43. > :00:45.the cabinet is from the European Court of Human Rights, we have some
:00:45. > :00:51.fresh revelations. Inside the cabinet they have been
:00:51. > :00:54.rowing and banging the table over whether to demand reform over the
:00:54. > :00:57.court's powers, it is Keneth Clarke versus Michael Gove. Two
:00:57. > :01:00.Conservatives who disagree on what is wrong with the coalition are
:01:00. > :01:03.here. Given the catalogue of human rights
:01:03. > :01:07.abuses in Bahrain, should Sunday's Grand Prix be stopped, should
:01:07. > :01:17.Britain take a tougher line. We will hear from the Bahraini
:01:17. > :01:20.
:01:20. > :01:26.Good evenings, every Government goes through the mid-term blues, a
:01:26. > :01:30.few years in, unpopular decisions taken, and if they get it right, a
:01:31. > :01:35.cople of more years, and then the wisdom is revealed and they are re-
:01:35. > :01:41.elected. Sometimes it goes from bad to worse, in the view of David
:01:42. > :01:49.Miliband it is going that way, he called it an "omnishambles",
:01:49. > :01:54.something that owes itself to television comedy. The answer
:01:54. > :01:59.Allegra Stratton will be finding out, the answer contains some very
:01:59. > :02:01.strong language. This was in this building that
:02:01. > :02:08.David Cameron invited people to join the Government of Britain.
:02:08. > :02:13.is an invitation to the whole of Britain, we will give you the power,
:02:13. > :02:17.be your own boss, sack your own MP. Nearly two years into power, the
:02:17. > :02:23.prospect of people faking him up on that invite, if it was -- taking
:02:23. > :02:28.him up on that invite, if it was ever credible, now looks a little
:02:28. > :02:31.less. One of the things I take around with me today is the
:02:31. > :02:35.Conservative manifesto, which indicates what they are delivering
:02:35. > :02:40.and how much was in the manifesto. That is a notebook? It is the
:02:40. > :02:43.manifesto from 2010. Conservative chairman's humour
:02:43. > :02:47.reflects the mood inside Downing Street and the difficulties of
:02:47. > :02:50.making coalition work. Conservative Party have some very
:02:50. > :02:52.clear principles, the majority of the agreement, the coalition
:02:52. > :02:57.agreement, and what we are delivering in Government, is part
:02:57. > :03:01.of those principles, but then there are other principles, Lib Dem
:03:01. > :03:04.principles, which do butt up against that. And yes, out of that
:03:04. > :03:10.sometimes comes an incoherence. What is worrying for the Government
:03:10. > :03:15.is the shifting sands of public opinion, those people who the
:03:15. > :03:22.Tories they could once ask to join the Government, are settling. In
:03:22. > :03:26.the first time in the history of a poll from YouGov, and any polling
:03:26. > :03:29.kl 2007, Labour is ahead on points. For people inside Number Ten, life
:03:29. > :03:34.is tense. That's great, that's fucking great,
:03:34. > :03:39.that is another fucking thing right there, not only do you have a bent
:03:39. > :03:43.fucking husband, and a daughter who gets taken to school in a sedan
:03:43. > :03:49.chair, you are also fucking mental. You are a fucking omnishambles, you
:03:49. > :03:55.are like that coffee finance, from bean to cup, you fuck up. So there
:03:55. > :04:01.you have it, the word "omnishambles" first used in its
:04:01. > :04:05.full glory. Since that programme, politicians of all stripes have
:04:06. > :04:11.used it to describe things going their way as they might not like.
:04:11. > :04:16.This week it was used by the leader of the opposition, David Miliband,
:04:16. > :04:20.in the House of Commons. -- Ed Miliband. We are all pleased to
:04:20. > :04:25.hear the Prime Minister's view, four weeks on from the budget, even
:04:25. > :04:29.people from Downing Street, are calling it an omnishambles budget.
:04:29. > :04:33.This week the events didn't let up, the dance with Abu Qatada might
:04:33. > :04:39.once have been containable, but ministers fear the sight of Qatada
:04:39. > :04:47.released could be a vivid image of impotence.
:04:47. > :04:51.Coming in a week where attempts were suggested to change the
:04:51. > :04:53.European Court of Human Rights, and rejected, it is thought that could
:04:54. > :04:58.be lethal. Keneth Clarke gave a presentation on the reforms he was
:04:58. > :05:01.going to get to the European Court, which, in the eye of some cabinet
:05:01. > :05:06.ministers, tying their hands in the Abu Qatada case. Keneth Clarke said
:05:06. > :05:10.the reforms were not going to be as radical as the Tories said they
:05:10. > :05:13.would get. To the surprise of some, it was he had case secretary,
:05:13. > :05:18.Michael Gove who said that was not -- Education Secretary, Michael
:05:18. > :05:28.Gove who said that was not good enough, and Iain Duncan Smith and
:05:28. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:39.others thumped support in this matter for the education secretary.
:05:40. > :05:44.It was party night on Wednesday, a Cameroon leaving do, for the man
:05:44. > :05:49.who dreamt up The Big Idea society, Steve Hilton has temporarily left
:05:49. > :05:56.the Government, many think he has left a hole, even his enemies. His
:05:56. > :05:59.departure marks the end of the first part of the coalition
:05:59. > :06:03.Government, now there is a phase where everything has to be agreed,
:06:03. > :06:07.with fraught negotiations. With no second programme of Government on
:06:07. > :06:11.the horizon, the Government has created a vacuum. Looking to find
:06:11. > :06:17.mid-term blues for the 1997 Government is pretty useless, they
:06:17. > :06:20.basically govern in benign times. Looking at the 1979 Government is
:06:20. > :06:24.more interesting, they only get their poll lead back in the time of
:06:24. > :06:29.the Falklands War. Some of Cameron's allies point to this
:06:29. > :06:32.period suggesting the best is yet to come. Things may be bumpy, David
:06:32. > :06:35.Cameron's aides admit, ruefully, but soon the Prime Minister will
:06:36. > :06:41.point out few people are argue beg their core policy, definite
:06:41. > :06:45.reduction, and that, they think, is the key to the 20 15 election.
:06:45. > :06:50.Today backbenchers are newly upset about money going from the UK to
:06:50. > :06:58.the IMF. Few are sure whether they are dealing with mid-term blues, or
:06:58. > :07:03.a longer term darker Hugh. My guest suggests that the Government is
:07:03. > :07:08.fundamentally on track, and many of the problems are stirred up by the
:07:08. > :07:14.website, Conservative Home, and calling it narrow faction. The
:07:14. > :07:18.website's editor is with us. Do you accept that omni shambles is real,
:07:18. > :07:23.and many problems are down to a basic lack of confidence?
:07:23. > :07:27.really, I think the reporting of this crisis, called, has been
:07:27. > :07:35.hysterical. It is very interesting, if you analyse where the criticisms
:07:35. > :07:38.are coming from. It is not being created by the opposition, it is
:07:38. > :07:46.coming from the Conservative Party right, and within that, it is from
:07:46. > :07:49.a very small number of very deliberately offensive voices, that
:07:49. > :07:53.are attacking the Prime Minister personally, and accusing Cameron of
:07:53. > :07:57.some kind of betrayal. Did you mean him? What I argued in my piece in
:07:57. > :08:02.the Telegraph, was that Conservative Home gave a lot of
:08:02. > :08:07.credibility to this proposition. I think the half-a-dozen or so voices
:08:07. > :08:14.on the Tory right really, they don't represent the mainstream
:08:14. > :08:17.Conservative view, but they are given weight by Conservative Home,
:08:17. > :08:21.which presents itself as the voice of the mainstream Conservative
:08:21. > :08:25.Party, but is actually, under Tim Montgomerie, a brilliant man,
:08:25. > :08:31.actually, really influential, but he actual low is a small right-wing
:08:31. > :08:35.faction. Tim? I think we are returning the compliments here, I
:08:35. > :08:39.think Peter is a brilliant columnist, but in terms of personal
:08:39. > :08:42.attacks, Peter, it wasn't so long ago when you wrote in your
:08:42. > :08:47.Telegraph column that until now it was easy to argue that Mr Cameron
:08:47. > :08:51.was properly grounded with a decent set of values, but unfortunately it
:08:51. > :08:54.is impossible to make that assertion any longer. I have never
:08:54. > :08:57.made an take on David Cameron as strong as that. I think the
:08:57. > :09:01.Government is facing serious difficulties, I think it is very
:09:01. > :09:05.important for a website like our's, I love the Conservative Party, I
:09:05. > :09:09.want it to succeed, to voice the concerns, not just of a few people
:09:09. > :09:12.in Westminster. What we exist to do, and we have a panel of nine-and-a-
:09:12. > :09:16.half Conservative members across the country that we regularly poll.
:09:16. > :09:21.I put a lot of time into talking to Conservative MPs and others. There
:09:21. > :09:25.is huge concern out there, it is not a crisis, it is fixable, but
:09:25. > :09:32.there is a lot of concern. Peter said it is magnified by people like,
:09:32. > :09:38.talking about a handful of these voices, serial attenders of think-
:09:38. > :09:45.tank breakfasts, spectacular immaturity, waging a campaign
:09:45. > :09:50.against Baroness Warsi, and you are stirring it up, it is
:09:50. > :09:55.unrepresentative of the Conservative Party? We are far from
:09:55. > :09:59.unprep presentive, I spoke to two - - unrepresentative, I spoke to two
:09:59. > :10:03.people this week, who said half of the people are worried about
:10:03. > :10:11.problems in David Cameron's leadership, and some are as worried
:10:11. > :10:14.as in the John Major years. You mentioned the polls, UKIP taking
:10:14. > :10:18.chunks out of the right flank. I think it is sortable, I think the
:10:18. > :10:22.Government is doing many good things. It would be wrong to be
:10:23. > :10:25.complacent at this time. Isn't it refreshing to hear some of
:10:25. > :10:29.this, instead of the discipline of the Conservative Party falling in
:10:29. > :10:32.line, it is a party that seems to be confident enough to have a row
:10:32. > :10:35.with itself? I think there is a lot in that, I think that it is one of
:10:36. > :10:42.the reasons why Labour, new Labour, couldn't produce something which
:10:42. > :10:48.Tim has done. Because they were so on message that it wouldn't produce
:10:48. > :10:51.the eclectic voices. You joint by he represents a meaningful strand
:10:51. > :10:55.do you? If you lock at my readers, broadly Conservative, they are
:10:55. > :11:01.people who read the newspapers over breakfast, they get on the commuter
:11:01. > :11:05.train. They are civic-minded people. Lord Oakeshott, the great
:11:05. > :11:09.Conservative fill loss fear of the last century, saying Conservatism
:11:09. > :11:16.is about enjoyment, civic engagment and living life to the full. My
:11:16. > :11:23.criticism of Tim is I think his website is very representative of a
:11:23. > :11:28.small, very small group of very keen political obsessives. For them,
:11:28. > :11:31.every political development which Allegra Stratton's brilliant
:11:31. > :11:36.comment earlier portrayed, is a matter of intense importance. Now,
:11:36. > :11:40.for the average Telegrapher, who is the mainstream Conservative voter,
:11:40. > :11:44.he's thinking about his job, his family, the opera he's going to,
:11:44. > :11:49.where he will spend the evening. There is a small group of
:11:49. > :11:59.hysterical young men, very few women, who get terribly obsessed by
:11:59. > :11:59.
:11:59. > :12:03.the latest political. Let me hear from the his kal young --
:12:03. > :12:07.hysterical young man's leader? column written tomorrow by Peter
:12:07. > :12:11.saying the wheels fell off the car ran have a of the coalition this
:12:11. > :12:19.week. I'm not -- caravan of the coalition this week. I'm not sure
:12:19. > :12:24.who is the most heir ter kal. Only -- hysterical. Only 10-15% of cuts
:12:24. > :12:28.necessary have so far been made, we need a coalition focused on
:12:28. > :12:32.economic competitiveness, and then we can sort these problems out.
:12:32. > :12:37.There is one other difference between you two, you would Mike
:12:37. > :12:41.David Cameron to be more ideolgical, and you -- would like David Cameron
:12:41. > :12:45.to be more ideolgical, and you would like him to appeal more to
:12:45. > :12:51.everyone. If you go back to the Labour Party in the 1980s, there
:12:51. > :12:55.was the Campaign Group, they were very dogmatic, they were aridly
:12:55. > :13:01.doctrineated, and Neil Kinnock had this wonderful phrase, I remember
:13:01. > :13:09.in the mid-1980s, when he said politics is too important to mess
:13:09. > :13:13.around with people's lives. I think this very, in a way, a politically
:13:13. > :13:17.obsessive approach. Not good enough on this line. David Cameron is some
:13:17. > :13:24.kind of right-wing story, who is as pure as the driven snow. Can I come
:13:24. > :13:28.back on this. Let him come in on that? What we need to do as part of
:13:28. > :13:31.the Conservative Party is walk and chew gum at the same time, it is
:13:32. > :13:36.perfectly OK to be euro-sceptic, tough approach to immigration and
:13:36. > :13:40.crime, the things that perhaps Peter would characterise as right-
:13:40. > :13:43.wing, on the website we have also advanced much more involvement of
:13:43. > :13:48.northern candidates in the party, when there was room for tax cuts
:13:48. > :13:52.they should be focused on the low paid. We have taken something that
:13:52. > :13:55.Peter criticised, we have been critical of the hyperactivity of
:13:55. > :14:00.the coalition, unsettling the National Health Service, it is the
:14:00. > :14:03.wrong time to reform the National Health Service. I think a blue
:14:03. > :14:08.collar Conservatism, not a right- wing Conservatism, is the future of
:14:08. > :14:13.the party, I think Peter was a little bit unfair about how he
:14:13. > :14:17.characterised our position. Let's bring in Zoe Williams, do you think
:14:17. > :14:23.Labour is missing a trick in not having a Labour Home? I have a lot
:14:23. > :14:27.of sympathy with both of your positions, with the proviso that I
:14:27. > :14:31.think you are all wrong! Neither can summon the quintessential Tory,
:14:31. > :14:34.all you are doing is summon the Tory you want to summon. Neither of
:14:34. > :14:38.you say you can speak for Conservatism, I wouldn't say. Now,
:14:38. > :14:41.there is, you were talking about building a narrative, and how that
:14:41. > :14:46.is telling a story, I agree with that, there is a fictionalisation,
:14:46. > :14:50.when you build a narrative, there is also, it abides by a narrative
:14:50. > :14:54.verity, there is a purpose to attacking the party, there is a
:14:54. > :14:59.purpose to Conservative Home, it is a corrective to a party that's in
:14:59. > :15:08.power. There would be no purpose to it for Labour. He used the word
:15:08. > :15:14."magnifies" the problem, that could be detable stablising it?
:15:14. > :15:18.destablising it? The power in the press was suppressing it. Now, that
:15:19. > :15:24.is no longer the case because of the internet, you can't put the
:15:24. > :15:27.genie back in the box and say the press can suppress division, if the
:15:27. > :15:32.press suppresses them, somebody like a website will air them. You
:15:32. > :15:39.can't say this is hysterical young men who is briefing the young men.
:15:39. > :15:42.Lord Ashley is oneing the show. -- Lord Ashcroft is running the
:15:42. > :15:46.show. He supports the website generously, but he doesn't
:15:46. > :15:51.interfere. You can't say on the one hand it is hysterical young men,
:15:51. > :15:55.and then on the other say it is the old men locked out in the cold.
:15:55. > :15:59.You made a reference to the health bill, you seem to think it was a
:15:59. > :16:03.serious misjudgment for Conservative Home to attack it?
:16:03. > :16:07.is very effective in attack on the health bill, it was the timing
:16:07. > :16:13.which was so strange. It was pretty well on the third reading stage.
:16:13. > :16:18.And suddenly, Conservative Home had a fit of nerves or a fit of
:16:18. > :16:24.hysteria, perhaps, and demanded it should be dropped. It was
:16:24. > :16:31.catastrophic if it was dropped stage. There was three cabinet
:16:31. > :16:36.ministers on that. It was a good story. It was sourced in three
:16:36. > :16:40.cabinet ministers. Let me get to this, the idea has got about that
:16:40. > :16:44.Conservative Hope, particularly among BBC pro-- Conservative Home,
:16:44. > :16:47.particularly among BBC producers, and that sort of person, that
:16:47. > :16:52.Conservative Home represents the mainstream of the Conservative
:16:52. > :16:55.Party. It represents a very, very, and I was just wanting, just to
:16:55. > :17:01.produce a corrective, so that we understand that Conservative Home,
:17:01. > :17:04.for all its merits, very, very interesting analysis and so forth,
:17:04. > :17:09.represents a small group of quite intelligent, and completely
:17:09. > :17:13.obsessed right-wingers. To be fair, I mean there is a point
:17:13. > :17:18.here, you can't on the one hand say that Cameron isn't demonstrating
:17:18. > :17:22.leadership, and he's being a front man and a sales person, and on the
:17:22. > :17:26.other hand amplify the divisions in his party, it does weaken him, and
:17:26. > :17:29.this stuff is self-fulfiling, if you attack the guy for being weak,
:17:29. > :17:35.he will become weaker. The trouble with the idea of
:17:35. > :17:40.keeping politics out of sport, is sport is so important to so many
:17:40. > :17:45.people around the world, it can provide a platform for disconand
:17:45. > :17:55.protest. The Bahrain Grand Prix has been scheduled for Sunday, and
:17:55. > :18:00.
:18:00. > :18:04.there have been renewed calls for it to be called off. The glamour,
:18:04. > :18:11.the speed, the daredevilry of Formula One, brought to a country,
:18:11. > :18:19.seething with anger. On the track, tyres span today.
:18:19. > :18:24.Off it t they went up in smoke. Last year's Bahrain Grand Prix was
:18:24. > :18:29.cancelled, after the kingdom's police battled pro-democracy
:18:29. > :18:34.protestors at the start of the Arab Spring. Today, the Crown Prince,
:18:34. > :18:38.owner of the rights to the events, insisted this year's would go ahead
:18:38. > :18:43.on Sunday. Cancelling the race empowers extremists. For those of
:18:43. > :18:47.us trying to navigate a way out of this political problem, having the
:18:47. > :18:53.race allows us to build bridges across communities, get people
:18:53. > :18:56.working together. It allows us to celebrate our nation. Bahrain's
:18:56. > :19:00.western-orientated rulers are highly image conscious, the Grand
:19:00. > :19:04.Prix was intended to show a country returning to normal, ironically, it
:19:04. > :19:10.has ended up reminding the world about the unrest. Today, tens of
:19:10. > :19:15.thousands blocked a major highway, to demand that the race be stopped.
:19:15. > :19:18.This sport, especially Formula One, is the ruling elite sport, it is
:19:18. > :19:24.the Crown Prince's sport, it is the son of the king's sport. You know
:19:24. > :19:26.you are in a country that does not have institutions, does not have
:19:26. > :19:31.systems. The ruling family are everywhere, they are the rulers,
:19:31. > :19:34.the economy, the politics, everything. What was our demand, is
:19:34. > :19:38.for Formula One not to help the ruling elite to come out of
:19:38. > :19:42.isolation. They have committed a lot of crimes and they should be
:19:42. > :19:46.politically punished for those crimes. They should not be helped.
:19:46. > :19:51.Now Formula One is coming, it is not a good message for the people
:19:51. > :19:54.in Bahrain, or the people who lost their loved ones. According to
:19:54. > :19:58.Amnesty International, there have been at least 60 protest-related
:19:58. > :20:02.deaths, since the uprising began in February last year. At least five
:20:02. > :20:05.people have died from torture in cuss towedy. At least 500 civilians
:20:05. > :20:09.have been convicted in military courts.
:20:09. > :20:14.Now, 11 members of the security forces are known to be facing
:20:14. > :20:20.charges for human rights violations. But as far as is known, none of
:20:20. > :20:23.them hold senior positions. Theless, the appointment of an
:20:23. > :20:28.Independent Commission of Inquiry, which reported last November,
:20:28. > :20:32.proves, the authorities say, that they want reform. If we hold
:20:32. > :20:36.internal investigations with external investigators, and we say
:20:36. > :20:40.that we are not perfect, then I hardly think we are trying to gloss
:20:40. > :20:45.over real issues that exist in our country. And Bernie Ecclestone,
:20:45. > :20:51.Prince of Formula One, thinks there is no problem with freedom of
:20:52. > :20:56.expression in Bahrain. I don't want to be rude at all, but I think
:20:56. > :21:00.sometimes it is a little bit silly putting the race on, it has given
:21:00. > :21:02.the protesters an incredible platform to talk tou. They say they
:21:02. > :21:07.talk about democracy, which is freedom of speech, they say, they
:21:07. > :21:13.have had all the freedom in the world to talk to you guys.
:21:13. > :21:20.In the impoverished villages outside Bahrain's capital, the
:21:20. > :21:28.country's largely Shia Muslim population, resentful of the elite
:21:28. > :21:33.says freedom is a long way off. Amnesty International say they the
:21:33. > :21:37.ruling powers haven't committed themselves to human rights. Bahrain
:21:37. > :21:41.is not Syria, and there is a process of reform under way, and
:21:41. > :21:47.that Government backs and wants to promote the reform. Behind that
:21:47. > :21:53.aspiration, is there a desire to maintain good relations with a
:21:53. > :21:59.stragically placed king, in which the United States and UK have had
:21:59. > :22:02.strong military links. Half a million of UK licenses were revoked
:22:02. > :22:08.last February when the uprising began for equipment that could be
:22:08. > :22:12.used against protestors, since then a further �1.5 million have been
:22:12. > :22:16.licensed, including items that can be used in dealing with civilian
:22:16. > :22:21.unrest. Such as body armour, weapons sights, small arms
:22:21. > :22:24.ammunition, rifles and silencers. The Commander-in-Chief of the
:22:24. > :22:28.Bahraini army recently told a local newspaper that Britain had been one
:22:28. > :22:32.of several countries trying to put pressure on Bahrain by curbing arms
:22:32. > :22:37.sales. But he said he personally phoned a senior person in the
:22:37. > :22:43.British army and threatened to cancel military co-operation in
:22:43. > :22:48.Bahrain, unless the curb on arms exports was lifted. According to
:22:48. > :22:53.him, he boasted the policy had been changed within a month. I don't
:22:53. > :22:57.know if the time frame is right, but it seems that pressure had some
:22:58. > :23:02.impact. The British Government would deny any such pressure, as
:23:02. > :23:07.for the authorities, they have been firm in dispersing protests, this
:23:07. > :23:11.man was hit in the face with a teargas cannister. Any activists
:23:11. > :23:16.detained in the last three or four days, to clear the way for Formula
:23:16. > :23:20.One, many of those activists were tortured, some were kids. Now only
:23:20. > :23:24.I have just come from the house of somebody, 14 years old boy, who has
:23:24. > :23:30.bleeding in the brain, because of the torture he had by the security
:23:30. > :23:32.institution, and he's in a critical condition.
:23:32. > :23:36.Opposition leaders say they won't try to stop the race, but
:23:36. > :23:41.demonstrations will continue. Not surprising, perhaps, then, that
:23:41. > :23:50.there is increasing nervousness on the part of some teams and sponsors.
:23:50. > :23:59.Earlier I spoke to representative for Bahrain's information affairs
:23:59. > :24:03.authority, and the son of -- the son of a jailed dissident. Bahraini
:24:03. > :24:09.forces have killed 60 people, and tortured five to death in the last
:24:09. > :24:13.year, why should you be allowed to stage the Grand Prix? I take issue
:24:13. > :24:19.with the figure of 60, the independent report listed 35, five
:24:19. > :24:22.were members of the security forces. Amnesty International's report says
:24:22. > :24:26.otherwise, we won't quibble about the figures, you have killed a
:24:26. > :24:31.number of protestors and tortured five to death, why should the world
:24:31. > :24:35.let you pretend everything is normal in Bahrain? The Government
:24:35. > :24:38.abhors torture of any kind, it stands against human rights
:24:39. > :24:42.violations, that is why it has commissioned the Independent
:24:42. > :24:48.Commission of Inquiry, which made its findings very public in a
:24:48. > :24:53.public ceremony. It was accepted by His Majesty the king, it is
:24:53. > :24:57.available on-line in Arabic and English, many say it is damaging
:24:57. > :25:00.for the Government. The Government has acknowledged its mistakes and
:25:00. > :25:04.taken responsibility for the wrongs and has been fast in implementing
:25:04. > :25:08.measures and the report's recommendations. You are not a
:25:08. > :25:13.normal country, you use shotguns against protestor, political
:25:13. > :25:18.opposition is banned? No, actually, the largest opposition party, just
:25:18. > :25:24.resigned 18 seats in parliament. It had 17 seats in the last
:25:24. > :25:26.parliamentary session. I mean, one must not forget that we are a new
:25:26. > :25:31.transitioning democracy. Our parliament is on its third session.
:25:31. > :25:34.You say you are in transition, should we wait until the transition
:25:34. > :25:38.is more peaceful before allowing the Formula One Grand Prix to give
:25:38. > :25:47.you this great political boost? have made great leaps over the past
:25:47. > :25:51.ten years. We have had the national charter, the bicameral parliament,
:25:51. > :25:55.and constitutional reforms are coming as a result of the dialogue
:25:55. > :26:05.in June, that have gone through the lower house. Have they made great
:26:05. > :26:11.leaps? Let me just mention that the Bahraini regime has not killed only
:26:11. > :26:18.65, they killed more than 80, and they arrested doctors and nurses
:26:18. > :26:24.and they destroyed more than 35 mosques, and Bahrain is now under
:26:24. > :26:28.occupation since 17th of March 2011, and they are still oxfied. At the
:26:28. > :26:38.moment now...He Made the point that they have admit add lot of mistakes,
:26:38. > :26:41.
:26:41. > :26:45.and allowed to open themselves up to scrutiny. This Grand Prix will
:26:45. > :26:51.turn the spotlight on the issues you are talking about? At this time
:26:51. > :26:56.more than 20 villages by the police forces. Right now, you mean? Right
:26:57. > :27:03.now, at the moment. I mean every day they attack their people. I
:27:03. > :27:12.want to mention as well, that teargas made in the UK, and I want
:27:12. > :27:17.to mention that, I mean, unfortunately, the UK Government
:27:17. > :27:21.supports Bahrain by ...Making teargas and other things. Let me
:27:21. > :27:27.put that now, the attacks on villages are still going on, they
:27:27. > :27:30.are going on now, he says? Again, I mean there were a few allegations
:27:30. > :27:35.there on the past comments that I don't necessarily agree with and
:27:35. > :27:39.believe to be true. Such as Bahrain being under occupation or invasion.
:27:39. > :27:42.Now the right approach -- the right to protest is guaranteed to the
:27:42. > :27:48.citizens, this right has been exercise, non-stop, since the
:27:48. > :27:53.events of last year. But you are shooting them? Come on, that is
:27:53. > :27:57.really unfair to say. We have had very large protests, you know, some
:27:57. > :28:03.numbing in the tens of thousands, gathering every week without
:28:03. > :28:06.disruption, or without interference by the police. There is a line
:28:07. > :28:10.between peaceful protest and legitimate expression of opinion,
:28:10. > :28:15.and violent assaults against policemen. The point is, you want
:28:15. > :28:21.the overthrow of the Bahrain Government? Is it wrong for people
:28:21. > :28:26.to demand to elect their Government. It is wrong to attack and shoot
:28:27. > :28:32.police officers? No, we didn't attack anybody. We don't have any
:28:32. > :28:40.arms. Since 14th of February, we have moved peacefully, as the BBC
:28:40. > :28:45.will say, and CNN, and amnesty international mentioned that the
:28:45. > :28:53.protestors were peacefully moving, and the Government, as Bassiouni
:28:53. > :28:57.said in his report, they tortured the youths in prison, and they
:28:57. > :29:01.killed them. Would you accept that the Formula One, grand pro-, which
:29:01. > :29:05.you want cancelled? Yes. Wouldn't you accept it has done the world of
:29:05. > :29:08.good for the opposition, because everybody is looking at Bahrain
:29:08. > :29:18.because it is going on, it is a good thing? Everybody knows what
:29:18. > :29:18.
:29:18. > :29:23.happened in Bahrain, that is why they should stop, what the police
:29:23. > :29:26.force is doing, they attack every village. Are you saying that is not
:29:26. > :29:34.true, that while the Formula One preparations are going on, your
:29:34. > :29:37.forces are not attacking any villages? Won coming to protest, it
:29:37. > :29:41.is important to say that -- when coming to protest, it is important
:29:41. > :29:45.to saying, there are protests happening before Formula One, and
:29:45. > :29:50.will continue during. I have to say that many people, especially in the
:29:50. > :29:53.opposition, have expressed strong support for the Formula One, they
:29:53. > :29:59.have acknowledged its use to the economy and will not act as a
:29:59. > :30:05.weapon against it. Only a small minority offer a risk. Kirsty is
:30:05. > :30:11.standing by with the review show. Two of our finest actresses, Glenn
:30:11. > :30:19.Close and Janet McTeer, go head-to- head in Nobbs, and Anjelica Houston
:30:19. > :30:22.and others bring magic to Smash, my guests are here, join me in a