0:00:01 > 0:00:05Tonight, the biggest test of public opinion since the general election.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08The first chance to hear how voters across Britain are reacting to the
0:00:08 > 0:00:12double-dip recession, the polls closed half an hour ago. In London,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Boris or Ken, the result could influence party politics for years.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20If Boris remains mayor, it could give the Tories a boost on the
0:00:20 > 0:00:24tough night. But the two-term mayor could come to test a Prime Minister
0:00:24 > 0:00:27who hasn't yet won one majority. We will be reporting from elections
0:00:27 > 0:00:33around the country, and assessing the impact on the three main
0:00:33 > 0:00:36parties. Plus, how the operators of Heathrow
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Airport undermined a minister on how long the queues had been at
0:00:40 > 0:00:42immigration. If you are travelling this bank holiday, good luck, we
0:00:42 > 0:00:47will hear from the Immigration Minister.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49The last days of Osama Bin Laden, new documents showed how he planned
0:00:49 > 0:00:53to relaunch Al-Qaeda, and murder President Obama.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57And Putin's palace, as he prepares to take over the presidency again.
0:00:57 > 0:01:07Newsnight investigates whether he plans to live like the new Tsar of
0:01:07 > 0:01:07
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Russia? Good evening, one foreign reporter,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13likened today's elections the length and breath of Britain, to
0:01:13 > 0:01:17talent show with really boring contestants. That, however, is not
0:01:17 > 0:01:21how the results will be seen in party headquarters, for the
0:01:21 > 0:01:25governing parties, how will voters react to big national issues, the
0:01:25 > 0:01:27continuing recession, the aftermath of the budget. For Labour, how
0:01:27 > 0:01:31credible does Ed Miliband looks a leader, as a possible Prime
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Minister. And for the smaller parties, will voter disaffection
0:01:35 > 0:01:39mean they might pull off some big surprises. Our political editor is
0:01:39 > 0:01:42here. What's at stake tonight? tomorrow night we will know whether
0:01:42 > 0:01:45these mid-term blues that the Government has certainly been
0:01:45 > 0:01:49suffering are actually long-term blues, but it is not just for the
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Government, it is also that we will have a better sense whether the
0:01:53 > 0:01:57leader of the opposition cuts it across the country, south as well
0:01:57 > 0:02:00as north. With these in 2012, basically half way through a
0:02:00 > 0:02:07parliamentary term, they are always going to be up for the opposition.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10To a certain extent we are playing a game of numbers, this 350 versus
0:02:10 > 0:02:14750 gain that is Labour must make. It is difficult to ascertain what
0:02:14 > 0:02:18they will get. The numbers will help us evaluate the bad run the
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Government has had since the budget, has it stuck and crystalised in
0:02:22 > 0:02:27people's mind that these people are not particularly competent in
0:02:27 > 0:02:32running the country. Also in the turns will with see the Liberal
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Democrats really suffering still, and in the south, does the Labour
0:02:36 > 0:02:40leader look like somebody people would endorse. In London there is a
0:02:40 > 0:02:44big race for mayors going on. Around the country we have found
0:02:44 > 0:02:48results about referendas for mayors, similar to what we have had in
0:02:48 > 0:02:51London. If there is bad turn out on that, and people are not interested,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54that is a bad audit on a key radical piece of this Government's
0:02:54 > 0:02:58policy, that it will be difficult for them to style them he was
0:02:58 > 0:03:08selves out of. In London we have a big race of personalities of two
0:03:08 > 0:03:12people known by their first names. Good strategists think London's
0:03:12 > 0:03:16voting preferences are like a doughnut, at least that was it last
0:03:16 > 0:03:19election, will it work this time round. The school of political
0:03:19 > 0:03:25bakery thinks this, London is a Labour city, if only those people
0:03:25 > 0:03:30in its middle vote, so think Boris Johnson's strategists, but they
0:03:30 > 0:03:33squinted and saw a doughy ring out in the suburbs where Conservatives
0:03:33 > 0:03:37hid and lived. Last year they were lured out and voted Conservative,
0:03:37 > 0:03:43four years on Ken Livingstone wants a piece of them. Today with the
0:03:43 > 0:03:48polls shut, and nothing left to do but harry voters, Newsnight thought,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53let them eat dough NUTs. It is in the outer metropolitan zone. I was
0:03:53 > 0:03:57aware that Ken cared last time, was really aware, and I have seen what
0:03:57 > 0:04:01has happened in London whilst Boris has been in power. You live in
0:04:01 > 0:04:06central London, which means you are the space inside the doughnut.
0:04:06 > 0:04:13About about do you live? Balham. How have you gone, is it the colour
0:04:13 > 0:04:18of your jacket? No. It is the colour of his jumper. Boris?
0:04:18 > 0:04:21come? I just like him, I think he's personable, I really don't like Ken.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Political bakery not the most sustaining of political strategies,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30then, we headed into the suburbs, nonetheless, to find out how much
0:04:30 > 0:04:35success Livingstone has been having. London Bridge, the site of the
0:04:35 > 0:04:37great doughnut givaway, brings people in from places like Bexley,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42Livingstone targeted these voters with an immediate popular pledge,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46he would cut their train fares by as much as �1,000 over four years.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53I think I'm going to go with Labour. Not because I believe Ken
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Livingstone should come back in, but just because I believe Labour
0:04:56 > 0:05:00will do well for us. It is all Conservative round here, mainly.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04What makes you vote Labour? always have, and I like Livingstone,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08I like what he started in the beginning, with the bus passes et
0:05:08 > 0:05:12cetera. Did you vote Labour at the last election? Yes. Where are these
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Tory voters round here, this is supposed to be heavy Tory area?
0:05:16 > 0:05:21They are hiding, they saw you coming and they hid. I think it
0:05:21 > 0:05:25will stay Conservative. Will you help Boris Johnson keep it
0:05:25 > 0:05:31Conservative? Probably, yes. Bexley Ken Livingstone seemed to
0:05:31 > 0:05:34have made some inroads, what did the academics think? Last time
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Boris Johnson did well, particularly in outer East London,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41this time Ken Livingstone and Labour targeted that area. But, of
0:05:41 > 0:05:46course, Boris is still pretty powerful out there, both candidates
0:05:46 > 0:05:51were trying to target it this time. Now we will see tomorrow whether
0:05:51 > 0:05:56this means that Ken has managed to redowse the Tory lead out there, or
0:05:56 > 0:05:59whether it has allowed a bit more Boris voting in central and Inner
0:05:59 > 0:06:03London. It was because of how well Boris Johnson did in outer London
0:06:03 > 0:06:08last time, that Labour really hit it this time. If Ken wins, it is
0:06:08 > 0:06:12because they put effort into places like this, Bexley Heath, but his
0:06:12 > 0:06:17colleagues have a sober appraisal of the process, they think if Boris
0:06:17 > 0:06:22wins is it is because Boris is Boris, but if Ken wins it is
0:06:22 > 0:06:26because he has been buoyed along by Labour in the polls in recent
0:06:26 > 0:06:29months. The candidate to be London mayor was the day before the
0:06:29 > 0:06:32candidate to be Labour leader, that is not way to run a party.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36On whether Ken Livingstone should have been Labour's man, there is a
0:06:36 > 0:06:41weight of opinion. He may well have turned out to be the wrong
0:06:41 > 0:06:47candidate. He brought with him an enormous amount of experience to
0:06:47 > 0:06:50this election, but also an enormous amount of baggage, it is the
0:06:50 > 0:06:53baggage maybe more than the experience that has been judged by
0:06:53 > 0:06:58the voters. Birmingham could be one of the big stories of the night, it
0:06:58 > 0:07:02is where Labour launched their campaign, there is also derby,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Newcastle, Plymouth, and Southampton. And can they hold on
0:07:04 > 0:07:09to Glasgow? The Government has been beefing up the amount Labour can
0:07:09 > 0:07:15expect to win. They said it should be over 700 seats, Labour say it is
0:07:15 > 0:07:19more likely to be around 300. The trouble for Downing Street is
0:07:19 > 0:07:23that while a little sugar in moderation is a good pick-me-up,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26too much and there is a crushing low. Just as Boris Johnson will
0:07:26 > 0:07:30reset the political narrative, it could be used against David Cameron
0:07:30 > 0:07:36in months and years to come. Boris Johnson would have been elected as
0:07:36 > 0:07:39a saloon-bar Conservative, a true- blue, low-tax, anti-Europe
0:07:39 > 0:07:42politician. David Cameron's critics want him more like Boris Johnson,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45not less. The London candidates are poor
0:07:45 > 0:07:48indicators of their political party's actual standing with the
0:07:48 > 0:07:51public. Ken Livingstone is now less popular than his party, Boris
0:07:51 > 0:07:56Johnson is more. The national political scene, any way, has
0:07:56 > 0:08:00already got significant dates in next week's diary, appearances at
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Leveson by Cameron's former adviser, Andy Coulson. The Tory Party expect
0:08:04 > 0:08:07a sugar high from any Johnson victory, but they see plenty of
0:08:07 > 0:08:10lows too. Tessa Jowell ran Ken Livingstone's
0:08:10 > 0:08:13campaign, Michael Fallon is Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and Ed Davey is Energy Secretary and here for the Liberal Democrats
0:08:16 > 0:08:21tonight. What is your sense about Ken Livingstone, has he lost?
0:08:21 > 0:08:29wait until tomorrow. There is not a single ballot paper yet been
0:08:29 > 0:08:33counted. I have been out, obviously today, and for the last weeks and
0:08:33 > 0:08:38months. The film is absolutely right, that we have had a strategy
0:08:38 > 0:08:44which has focused on two things, first of all outer London Boroughs,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48but also mobilising the Labour vote in those areas that -- where the
0:08:48 > 0:08:51turnout is traditionally very low. Was the film right that it was the
0:08:51 > 0:08:56wrong candidate? You have a Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, who said
0:08:56 > 0:09:01this is a new generation of Labour, and you go to candidate which seems
0:09:01 > 0:09:04to be a turn-off for many people who would otherwise vote Labour?
0:09:04 > 0:09:09The Labour Party chose Ken Livingstone. But they are not I
0:09:09 > 0:09:14infallible, they could have made a mistake? Any of us could be
0:09:14 > 0:09:17mistakes for our party. But you go out, round London, with Ken
0:09:17 > 0:09:22Livingstone, what were people talking about on the streets and
0:09:22 > 0:09:26doorsteps, they were talking about his fares' pledge. What Ken
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Livingstone did, with all his experience of being a big city
0:09:30 > 0:09:34mayor, completely different from Boris Johnson, was to develop four
0:09:34 > 0:09:37pledges to deal with the terrible pressure on the cost of living that
0:09:37 > 0:09:41people are facing right across London.
0:09:41 > 0:09:48If he polls way behind the party in London, then you have made a huge
0:09:48 > 0:09:52mistake, haven't you, because London should be a target you could
0:09:52 > 0:09:58pick? You should be able to win in London and be confident? There are
0:09:58 > 0:10:04two elections in London, one is the mayoral, and Boris Johnson has, by
0:10:04 > 0:10:13the latest poll, a small poll lead, how does he have that? Indeed.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Because he establishs himself as an independent, not a story. Ken
0:10:16 > 0:10:21Livingstone is the Labour Party candidate, standing on Labour
0:10:21 > 0:10:24platform. But a mayoral contest will always be different. For
0:10:24 > 0:10:28instance, the Greater London Assembly also being elected today.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Are you fairly confident that Boris Johnson will win? I think it is a
0:10:31 > 0:10:35very close election and it was very close last time. It is a very
0:10:35 > 0:10:37important test. If Labour hadn't won this tomorrow night, then I
0:10:37 > 0:10:40think it will be because they didn't have candidate they could be
0:10:41 > 0:10:46proud of, as we are proud of, having Boris as our candidate. It
0:10:46 > 0:10:51will be because, like in Bradford, they still haven't present add
0:10:51 > 0:10:55credible alternative to an economic policy -- a credible altern --
0:10:55 > 0:11:02presented a credible alternative to an economic policy and credible
0:11:02 > 0:11:08response to the worst financial situation of any European country.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13Boris Johnson is a if he Numan, Stephen Dorrell saying in your own
0:11:13 > 0:11:16party that you are run by two posh boys that don't know the price of
0:11:16 > 0:11:22milk. Boris Johnson fits the posh boy picture, yet he seems to
0:11:22 > 0:11:28connect with people better than David Cameron? He's an attractive
0:11:28 > 0:11:33personality, and he's an attractive personality, he's coming across as
0:11:33 > 0:11:36the more attractive one. What does that do to attract working-class
0:11:36 > 0:11:38voters? There is a difference between this election and the way
0:11:38 > 0:11:42the Government stands at the moment. This is Boris's general election,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46he is campaigning on his record of four years of getting crime down
0:11:46 > 0:11:51and improving the transport system, for the Government as a whole, of
0:11:51 > 0:11:55course, it is a mid-term position. We have only been in two years, we
0:11:55 > 0:11:58are still taking some very tough decisions. He is campaigning on a
0:11:58 > 0:12:02good four-year record. He would make a good Prime Minister and
0:12:02 > 0:12:06leader of your party? He's mayor at the moment. I hope he will be re-
0:12:06 > 0:12:10elected mayor tomorrow for the next four years. And be able to preside
0:12:10 > 0:12:15over the Olympics and showcase our city in this very important year.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19One step at a time. A leader in waiting? It is far too early to
0:12:19 > 0:12:22start speculate beg who the next leader of the Tory Party --
0:12:22 > 0:12:26speculating about who the next leader of the Tory Party will be.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Let's get him re-elected on the basis of his record. I don't know
0:12:28 > 0:12:32what to say about the Liberal Democrats in this election, there
0:12:32 > 0:12:35are those that think this is the future of your party, that Brian
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Paddick is absolutely nowhere? Brian has been a fantastic
0:12:38 > 0:12:42candidate. He's the only candidate that has a really positive platform.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45He has shown he's fighting crime in London for over 30 years, and
0:12:45 > 0:12:50that's why he wanted today put himself at the head of the London
0:12:50 > 0:12:55police force in terms of the met commissioner. So he's dragged back
0:12:55 > 0:13:00by the party, by the fact it is so terribly unpopular? Let's be clear,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03fight last time has been replicated a bit this time. You have two very
0:13:03 > 0:13:06big characters, Liberal Democrats wouldn't deny. That Ken and Boris,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10known by their first names, as was said earlier, it was always
0:13:10 > 0:13:15difficult, as was last time, for Brian to come through. It is a
0:13:15 > 0:13:19widely held view by independent commentators, that in the mayoral
0:13:19 > 0:13:23debates, Brian won those debates. He has enthused those people.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27will be lucky to come third? think he will do well. I'm not
0:13:27 > 0:13:30suggesting he will win. But he has fought a very positive campaign.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34What is interesting, if you look at the campaigns of Ken and Boris,
0:13:34 > 0:13:40they have been very negative, they have been attacking each other,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44really quite unsavoury campaigns. One of them will win? One of them
0:13:44 > 0:13:47may well, I won't be excited about it. When people look at what Brian
0:13:47 > 0:13:53Paddick is saying, they say at least someone is addressing the
0:13:53 > 0:13:56problems of Londoners. London may be one of the most obvious prizes
0:13:56 > 0:14:01of the night, but across the country there is the possibility of
0:14:01 > 0:14:03a series of political shifts, and in ten cities there have been
0:14:03 > 0:14:09referendums about whether or not to have a mayor.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14We will our guests in a moment. First to Birmingham. How are things
0:14:14 > 0:14:18looking in the West Midlands? looks like a long night of it here.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21A third of the 120 seats on the council here have been contested.
0:14:21 > 0:14:28But Labour are pretty confident that it is not going to take them
0:14:28 > 0:14:31that long to collect the extra four seats they need for an overall
0:14:31 > 0:14:35majority for the first time in eight years. When I tell you that a
0:14:35 > 0:14:40swing from the Conservatives to Labour of.5% or less would be
0:14:40 > 0:14:46sufficient in the -- 2.5% or less would be sufficient in the marginal
0:14:46 > 0:14:51Tory wards, you can see why Labour is so confident. This city has been
0:14:51 > 0:14:56run for the last eight years by a Conservative- Liberal Democrat
0:14:56 > 0:15:00coalition, Ed Miliband would love the message from Birmingham tonight
0:15:00 > 0:15:06to be that the political tide is turning against Tory-Lib Dem
0:15:06 > 0:15:11coalitions everywhere. There is a great deal to play for here, Ed
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Miliband launched his campaign here a few days ago, I wouldn't bet on
0:15:14 > 0:15:20the possibility of him being back soon.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Now over to Wales. There is one clear question here in
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Wales tonight, that is this, just how well are Labour going to do?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33They think the answer is a very clear, very well indeed. They have
0:15:33 > 0:15:37asked the electorate in Wales to send the vicious UK coalition, as
0:15:37 > 0:15:41they put it, a message. That is precisely what they think voters in
0:15:41 > 0:15:47Wales have done today. A very different story from four years ago.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51They had a devastating night in 2008, the electorate as it was put
0:15:51 > 0:15:55back then, had given Labour a "belting", all other parties gained
0:15:55 > 0:15:59ground. But tonight then, on a decent night, Labour will get most
0:15:59 > 0:16:03of that ground back. On a good they will get it all back, then they
0:16:03 > 0:16:07will keep pushing. They want to take Wrexham from the Liberal
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Democrats. They want to take Swansea from the Liberal Democrats.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16On a great night for Labour in Wales, they will ge get what they
0:16:16 > 0:16:19really, really want, -- get what they really, really want, that is
0:16:19 > 0:16:24to control Cardiff council, and again take that from the Liberal
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Democrats. If that happens, then Wales will deliver Ed Miliband and
0:16:28 > 0:16:35Labour a genuinely good-news story. They will deliver the Liberal
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Democrats a genuine headache. Off to Liverpool now to hear the
0:16:40 > 0:16:44latest. Yes, here the ballot boxes are being counted. When Liverpool
0:16:44 > 0:16:48decides who its first directly elected mayor will be, that will
0:16:48 > 0:16:52become the first such post in the North West of England. No directly
0:16:52 > 0:16:56elected mayors yet, but there will be two, because Salford is counting
0:16:56 > 0:17:00as well. I should tell you that speculation is the Labour council
0:17:00 > 0:17:05leader is going to be swapping his plaque on his door tomorrow,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08because he's the front runner to become the city mayor. I have been
0:17:08 > 0:17:13speaking to one Labour senior source this evening, who said it is
0:17:13 > 0:17:16going very well for them. They think Joe Anderson might win on the
0:17:16 > 0:17:20first ballot. There is 12 candidates standing, but it may not
0:17:20 > 0:17:26go to a second ballot. Elsewhere in the region, the question is how
0:17:26 > 0:17:30badly will the coalition parties do. They certainly didn't do too badly
0:17:30 > 0:17:36last year. What about the Liberal Democrats, they suffered a meltdown
0:17:36 > 0:17:42last year, this time is there a recovery, or are they in something
0:17:42 > 0:17:46of a political death spiral. Thank you very much. More now from
0:17:46 > 0:17:50the political panel, Michael Fallon, Ed Davey and Tessa Jowell. I was
0:17:50 > 0:17:53thinking listening to that, where in the great history of Lib Dem
0:17:53 > 0:17:58mid-term triumphs are we going to see tonight? We have been waiting
0:17:58 > 0:18:02for a mid-term blues for 90 years. It is 90 years since we have been
0:18:02 > 0:18:06able to say, I do actually think on the doorsteps, when we have been
0:18:06 > 0:18:09out there, things are a lot better than last year. I think they will
0:18:09 > 0:18:13be even better next year. I think people are beginning to listen to
0:18:13 > 0:18:16us, as Nick Clegg said a few days ago, in a way that they weren't
0:18:16 > 0:18:19listening last year, that is clear. What has happened between last year
0:18:19 > 0:18:24and this year, people have been seeing on the television the real
0:18:24 > 0:18:29problems in economies across Europe, in Greece, in Spain, in Portugal,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32in Ireland, where there have been massive expenditure cuts. Public
0:18:32 > 0:18:36service workers have taken 6% cuts in Ireland. There rb riots on the
0:18:36 > 0:18:41streets. I think people, therefore, are beginning to understand we had
0:18:41 > 0:18:46to take tough decisions and clear up the mess we interited, they have
0:18:46 > 0:18:51-- inher rites, and they have begun to listen to that message. People
0:18:51 > 0:18:54are saying you are the ones with the burning exits, you can't stay
0:18:54 > 0:18:59in the coalition because you will be more unpopular and you can't go
0:18:59 > 0:19:02out any of the windows? I'm hearing people say that Liberal Democrats
0:19:02 > 0:19:06areic maing a big difference. They are beginning to hear that we have
0:19:06 > 0:19:08made sure that people on lower pay and middle incomes are getting tax
0:19:08 > 0:19:13cuts. They know that wouldn't happen if Liberal Democrats weren't
0:19:13 > 0:19:22in the coalition. Are you looking to 700 seat to pick
0:19:22 > 0:19:27up? It is far too early to predict in that way. We obviously hope to
0:19:27 > 0:19:30make progress. We had a very bad election defeat two years ago.
0:19:31 > 0:19:40There are obvious parts of the country like at the south of
0:19:40 > 0:19:47England where we hope to make progress from our position. In 20
0:19:47 > 0:19:5110 both. So communities are represented by Labour councils, as
0:19:51 > 0:19:53an antedote to this Government that has all the prong priorities, but
0:19:53 > 0:19:57also building towards the next general election. If you are going
0:19:57 > 0:20:01to be cautious and modest about what Labour might do, I wonder if
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Michael Fallon is tempted. A good result for them would be 800 seats?
0:20:06 > 0:20:11That is not our estimate, the London School of Economics, Tony
0:20:11 > 0:20:16Travis, he says Labour ought to be getting about 800 seats and 40% of
0:20:16 > 0:20:20the votes, he said a good result for Labour would be 900 seats. The
0:20:20 > 0:20:23good comparison is four years ago. These were seats we won when Gordon
0:20:23 > 0:20:29Brown was at the height of his unpopularity. We're defending a
0:20:29 > 0:20:33very high base. So if they can't get 900 seats, then really they are
0:20:33 > 0:20:37not there. I Can I say, there is a game going
0:20:37 > 0:20:42on here, which the Conservatives have been doing all day, which is
0:20:42 > 0:20:47ramping up the number of seats. are not ramping down? You wouldn't
0:20:47 > 0:20:53do that? We are absolutely not. We are giving a commentry on our
0:20:53 > 0:21:00experience of work in particular areas of the country. Glasgow,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04London, and the Brad for West -- Bradford West election, if you
0:21:04 > 0:21:08can't start winning these things, Ed Miliband will not be Prime
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Minister. We have a mayoral contest in London, a contest between two
0:21:12 > 0:21:17big personalities, Boris Johnson, who makes Londoners laugh, and Ken
0:21:17 > 0:21:20Livingstone, who will cut their fares and introduce an EMA, it is a
0:21:20 > 0:21:25big choice. But there is also the Greater London Authority. That is
0:21:25 > 0:21:30the other big contest in London. That is the Labour-Tory fight.
0:21:30 > 0:21:37as we discussed earlier, they may do better there, Labour, than in
0:21:37 > 0:21:40the mayoral elections? It is a reasonable test, Bradford, London?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43It is a terrible month for the Conservative Party, what kind of
0:21:43 > 0:21:47relaunch will you have to have? have to look at the results and
0:21:47 > 0:21:51learn from the results. Obviously the last month has not been good.
0:21:51 > 0:21:57We have been taking some very tough decisions, but Ed Davey he referred
0:21:57 > 0:22:00to them. You have also been accused of shambles and incompetence, and
0:22:00 > 0:22:05the posh boys thing, you will have to be more competent? We wholly
0:22:05 > 0:22:07accept, that we can always improve the way we communicate our message
0:22:07 > 0:22:12and focus people on the really big achievements of this Government.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17Parliament has just ended. We have put the first-ever cap on welfare
0:22:17 > 0:22:22spending, we have put the first ever controls on immigration. We
0:22:23 > 0:22:26have reformed education and taken people out of tax. These are the
0:22:26 > 0:22:31real things. What about the people in the party that you talk to, what
0:22:31 > 0:22:34do they want you to do differently? They want us to explain our
0:22:34 > 0:22:42achievements, they want us to explain how we are actually
0:22:42 > 0:22:50tackling the appalling deficit we hin inherited. How we are re--
0:22:50 > 0:23:00inherited, how we are reforming the economy and other important issues.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02
0:23:02 > 0:23:06We will have more on this, Question -- Vote 2012 starts tonight on BBC
0:23:06 > 0:23:10One. Now, if you are flying through
0:23:10 > 0:23:15Heathrow Airport this bank holiday weekend, or any British airport any
0:23:15 > 0:23:22time soon, you will be aware of the row about queues at Heathrow. Today
0:23:22 > 0:23:26the airport operator, BAA, produced figures that appeared to undermine
0:23:26 > 0:23:29the Immigration Minister's queues, saying they were 90 minutes.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Officials are expected to go on strike next week in a dispute over
0:23:32 > 0:23:36pensions. We will hear from a minister in a minute. First we have
0:23:36 > 0:23:41some of the details. What are these targets that the passengers
0:23:41 > 0:23:44arriving in Britain are supposed to expect? It is pretty low tech stuff,
0:23:44 > 0:23:49the person that joins the back of the queue is different a card, and
0:23:49 > 0:23:52they clock how long it takes for them to get to the top of the queue
0:23:52 > 0:23:56and get processed. The targets, there is no sanctions for this, if
0:23:56 > 0:24:00they miss the targets it is a rap on the knuckles. The Government
0:24:00 > 0:24:03hopes it achieve that those arriving from the EEA, the European
0:24:03 > 0:24:09Union and other rich countries, they will be processed within 25
0:24:09 > 0:24:12minutes, those from the non-EEA, the rest of the world, European
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Economic Area, 45 minutes. The Immigration Minister Damian Green
0:24:15 > 0:24:19was called to the House of Commons, because there was a shrew of
0:24:19 > 0:24:24protests about the length of queues at Heathrow Airport. He said that
0:24:24 > 0:24:31the target for EEA was indeed being metaphor about 24 minutes, but that
0:24:31 > 0:24:35he did it, he conceded that it was about 90 minutes for non-EEA people.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38The BAA were conducting their own survey, this is the airport
0:24:38 > 0:24:44managers, on the very day the minister was speaking. They said
0:24:44 > 0:24:50the fact it is up to an hour-and-a- half, for some people arriving into
0:24:50 > 0:24:55Terminal 5. 21 out of 23 days were missed targets. 23 days for April
0:24:55 > 0:24:59missing targets. BAA saying that is a conservative estimate. They said
0:25:00 > 0:25:05the queues were so long during some of the terminals, that the EEA
0:25:05 > 0:25:10people and the non-EEA people were amongling together and they
0:25:10 > 0:25:13couldn't standby the statistics. They say they will throw people at
0:25:13 > 0:25:18the problem, there will be people from the back office and they will
0:25:18 > 0:25:23be flying columns going from terminal to terminal dealing with
0:25:23 > 0:25:28the problems. There is 480 staff extra for the Olympic. There is an
0:25:28 > 0:25:36IF crash today, so no processing visa, and a strike by border staff
0:25:36 > 0:25:39next Thursday in the long-running dispute over pensions Earlier I
0:25:39 > 0:25:42spoke to the Immigration Minister, Damian Green.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47This is pretty embarrassing, while you were telling parliament and the
0:25:47 > 0:25:51people of this country that the longest queue was 90 minutes, the
0:25:51 > 0:25:55BAA figures suggest it was three hours? Border Force figures
0:25:55 > 0:26:02measured it at 90 minutes, BAA do their measurements at different
0:26:03 > 0:26:07times. They make it three hours. Either way it is too long. I am
0:26:07 > 0:26:11clear. You accept the figures. They measure more frequently than the
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Border Force? I don't dispute the figures, but on BAA or Border Force,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19the figure is too long. That is why we have taken decisive action this
0:26:19 > 0:26:23week to stop this kind of thing. April was a bad month at Heathrow,
0:26:23 > 0:26:28nobody would deny that, I certainly wouldn't. What we have done from
0:26:28 > 0:26:32the beginning of May is a series of measures, we have introduced 80
0:26:32 > 0:26:36People's Palace available at peak times. We have a central control
0:26:36 > 0:26:40room so we can know immediately which terminal may be building up
0:26:40 > 0:26:43problems. We have mobile teams of people who can be deployed to
0:26:43 > 0:26:47different terminals as problems emerge. From the beginning of next
0:26:47 > 0:26:51month we have a completely new rostering system that will allow us
0:26:51 > 0:26:54to be more flexible. It is aimed at getting the right number of people
0:26:54 > 0:26:58in the right terminal at the right time. On Monday you said some
0:26:58 > 0:27:02people were exaggerating all of this, they weren't exaggerating
0:27:02 > 0:27:05this, it is absolutely terrible, as would you accept. There is a degree
0:27:05 > 0:27:11of complacency about this? I said on Monday it wasn't acceptable. I
0:27:11 > 0:27:17said the queues were too long. There have been some stories proved
0:27:17 > 0:27:21to be not true, but at no stage would anyone deny that queues,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25whether an hour-and-a-half or three hours are too long. We don't want
0:27:25 > 0:27:30that happening at Heathrow. other figure BAA came up with, at
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Terminal 5 they missed their target for non-EU nationals by 23 out of
0:27:32 > 0:27:3930 days in April, that is particularly embarrassing, coming
0:27:39 > 0:27:44up to the Olympics, isn't it? as I say, was bad at Heathrow. That
0:27:44 > 0:27:49is why we have gripped it and taken decisive action. Now a few days
0:27:49 > 0:27:53into May we have a few people available, more controls and so on.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56You mentioned the Olympics, on top of what we have done now, for the
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Olympics we do have many hundreds of volunteers who we have trained
0:28:00 > 0:28:04up, who will be able to work at the border, because we are aware that
0:28:04 > 0:28:09Olympic period, the eyes of the world will be on Britain, and we
0:28:09 > 0:28:13want to give people as good a welcome as possible. We are already,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17for instance, taking the finger prints, the biometrics of thousands
0:28:17 > 0:28:21of the actual competitors and officials who will be coming here.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25They can have their path smoothed through the border. We are working
0:28:25 > 0:28:29very hard to make sure that the Olympics isn't in any way
0:28:29 > 0:28:33overshadowed by this. Would you accept this is not an unskilled job,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37we demand, as a nation, we demand proper border security, we demand
0:28:37 > 0:28:42skilled people, and training up volunteers may help speed the
0:28:42 > 0:28:46queues, but will it continue to make us as safe as people think we
0:28:46 > 0:28:49should be? Yes, that is why we have been doing it for months. For
0:28:49 > 0:28:52months we have had plan to train people up, so they can, they have
0:28:52 > 0:28:56the appropriate level of training for the jobs we will be asking them
0:28:56 > 0:29:00to do at the border. As you say, and one of the things that
0:29:00 > 0:29:04occasionally gets forgotten in this debate, the first priority has to
0:29:04 > 0:29:08be border security, we have to make sure everyone coming through our
0:29:08 > 0:29:12border has a legitimate right to be here and isn't seeking to cause us
0:29:12 > 0:29:16harm. That is the first priority. Along with that we need to meet our
0:29:16 > 0:29:21service standards, and make people's experience of the airport
0:29:21 > 0:29:24as smooth as possible. Given how bad it was in April, which you have
0:29:24 > 0:29:28now conceded, couldn't it be even worse if we are faced with a strike,
0:29:28 > 0:29:33do you think the figures for May will be as terrible as for April?
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Would profoundly hope not. In the first few days it isn't, precisely
0:29:36 > 0:29:40because of the measuress we have taken from the start of May. It is
0:29:40 > 0:29:48not a question of now conceding April is bad, I knew April is bad,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51we have seen the figures. You can't guarantee it will be any better in
0:29:51 > 0:29:56May? We have contingency plans ready for the strike, if it happens,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59if a lot of people do go out on strike, I hope they don't. It is an
0:29:59 > 0:30:02unnecessary strike, they shouldn't go on strike, they should keep
0:30:02 > 0:30:06talking. A lot of unions have reached an agreement on pensions,
0:30:06 > 0:30:12its a completely unnecessary strike, if it does happen to any large
0:30:12 > 0:30:17degree we have people trained up to make sure that the borders work
0:30:17 > 0:30:20effectively. Do we deduce from everything you have said, that was
0:30:20 > 0:30:24an apology for the chaos in April? Of course I regret people have to
0:30:24 > 0:30:30wait too long. All sensible people would, what people are saying what
0:30:30 > 0:30:34have you done about it, what we have done is put more people in at
0:30:34 > 0:30:39peak times, peak times, a new central control room and rosering
0:30:39 > 0:30:43system. We have taken -- rostering system, whenever taken swift and
0:30:43 > 0:30:47immediate action. In the days before his death a year
0:30:47 > 0:30:50ago, Osama Bin Laden was obsessing over how to rebrand and relaunch
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Al-Qaeda. That and his hopes of killing President Obama were among
0:30:53 > 0:30:56the revelations of some of the documents found at Osama Bin
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Laden's heightout in Pakistan, during the raid which killed him.
0:30:59 > 0:31:09It was released today by the American authorities.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12
0:31:13 > 0:31:17Our diplomatic editor has been taking a look. Early in 2010, Bin
0:31:17 > 0:31:22Laden was facing up to crisis in his global strategy. The ailation
0:31:22 > 0:31:26of most of the nation from the mujahadin...In His own words, too
0:31:26 > 0:31:32many fighters waging holy war in their own way, killing too many
0:31:32 > 0:31:36civilians. Bomb attacks near mosques in Afghanistan and Pakistan
0:31:36 > 0:31:40had? "extreme negative impact on the partisans of the Jihad".
0:31:40 > 0:31:44aim of his struggle? "direct attrition against the American
0:31:44 > 0:31:49enemy, until it is broken and too weak to interfere in the matters of
0:31:49 > 0:31:57the Islamic world". He urged the killing of General Petraeus. "the
0:31:57 > 0:32:01man of the hour. Or President Obama? Ggs the head of the
0:32:01 > 0:32:04infidelity". The killing of President Obama would put Joe Biden
0:32:04 > 0:32:10in charge, and man that Bin Laden said was totally unprepared for the
0:32:10 > 0:32:17post, leading the US into a crisis. The Arab Spring revived the Al-
0:32:17 > 0:32:27Qaeda chief who wrote shortly before his death. "these events are
0:32:27 > 0:32:32the most important for centuries. The The more moderate
0:32:33 > 0:32:39interpretation of Islam he believed was.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44Younger more radical voices would do this, stirred up with cadres
0:32:44 > 0:32:49from Al-Qaeda returning to their home countries.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52If galvanised by big ideas, Bin Laden was also preoccupied with
0:32:52 > 0:32:56tactics, media activity is said to be a main piece of the war. He
0:32:56 > 0:33:00argued that they must mobilise all the resource that is have
0:33:00 > 0:33:05expressive abilities in speech, poetry, visual or audio. On
0:33:05 > 0:33:09security precautions he said cowerers should always meet under
0:33:09 > 0:33:13cover, where satellites or drones couldn't see them. And that the
0:33:14 > 0:33:18American technology and its modern systems can't arrest a man if he
0:33:18 > 0:33:21does not commit skaur error. Osama Bin Laden insisted that suicide
0:33:21 > 0:33:26bombers should not be sent alone because of the psychological
0:33:26 > 0:33:29factors affecting a person in such cases, necessitate the presence of
0:33:29 > 0:33:32a companion to support and bolster him.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Fascinating stuff, I thought reading through the documents as
0:33:35 > 0:33:40you formed any opinion as to how isolated he was in this compound,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44and how hands on, in charge as a leader of this organisation?
0:33:44 > 0:33:51paradox is both of those things are true. Very hands on, taking a
0:33:51 > 0:33:58detailed interest in the minute usingia of communiques, the
0:33:58 > 0:34:01language used for people giving instructions to people in Yemen and
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Somalia, about tactics, not targeting civilians, the procedures
0:34:05 > 0:34:09for electing leaders. We used to be told by counter terrorism people
0:34:09 > 0:34:13that it was not a sort of organisation with a membership list.
0:34:13 > 0:34:20There was one seesed from 2002. So quite a formal organisation where
0:34:20 > 0:34:23he tried to insist on standards, but because of what the west might
0:34:23 > 0:34:27all operation security, his desire to preserve himself, he couldn't
0:34:27 > 0:34:30communicate in a timely, regular and detailed fashion, that caused a
0:34:31 > 0:34:34breach, if you like, of many of the more wayward individuals and what
0:34:34 > 0:34:37he wanted them to do. We haven't time to go through the strange
0:34:37 > 0:34:42stuff, pick out something that particularly caught your eye?
0:34:42 > 0:34:45is a tale in here that really indicates what a remarkable and
0:34:45 > 0:34:50strange historical phenomenon Al- Qaeda was. And the organisation and
0:34:50 > 0:35:00running it was. How difficult it was. There is a man mentioned in
0:35:00 > 0:35:02
0:35:02 > 0:35:07there, Abu Talhar, Bin Laden heard he was going to do a martyr dom
0:35:07 > 0:35:11event, and Bin Laden said if he hasn't done it already, can he do a
0:35:11 > 0:35:17manual about some things because he's good at that. What an
0:35:17 > 0:35:22extraordinary thing. I have traced this person, he was a Moroccan-born
0:35:22 > 0:35:28terrorist, and he did die in an attack on Bagram Air Base around
0:35:28 > 0:35:35the time Bin Laden wrote that, he never got the message to write the
0:35:35 > 0:35:40manual. It is dae sign foult for a structure for the future? That is -
0:35:41 > 0:35:46- it is a design foult for a structure for the future.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50Vladimir Putin's grip on power reminds some of the authoritarian
0:35:50 > 0:35:56Tsars, there is there is comment that he has built a Tsar-like
0:35:56 > 0:36:01palace. A mysterious complex has risen up on the black sea. A former
0:36:01 > 0:36:09member of Vladimir Putin's inner circle these he can prove it was
0:36:09 > 0:36:14built with public money for the private use of the leader.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19A palace, fit for a Tsar. Lavishly constructed by Italian
0:36:19 > 0:36:23architects, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Its gates crowned by an imperial eagle.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31This newly built mansion on Russia's Black Sea Riviera, has all
0:36:31 > 0:36:35the facilities the country's ruler might require, including a landing
0:36:35 > 0:36:43pad with space for three helicopters. But officially, it
0:36:43 > 0:36:46belongs to an obscure private company. But who is it for? Efforts
0:36:46 > 0:36:50by campaigners to breakthrough security and penetrate the palace
0:36:50 > 0:36:55ground have only deepened the mystery that has been tantalising
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Russians. Was it built as a personal retreat for their modern-
0:37:00 > 0:37:03day Tsar, Vladimir Putin, about to start a third term as President. Is
0:37:03 > 0:37:12it yet another example of the corruption many believe is now
0:37:12 > 0:37:16engulfing the country. This is a man who should know. The
0:37:16 > 0:37:20first insider from Putin's own business circle to blow the whistle
0:37:20 > 0:37:26on how he says the Russian leader has benefited personally from his
0:37:27 > 0:37:32position. The Kremlin's denied his allegations. But for several years,
0:37:32 > 0:37:37the man, who now works in the Estonian capital, Tallin, was one
0:37:37 > 0:37:42of those responsible for building palace, until he pulled out in
0:37:42 > 0:37:48disgust, he says, and fled abroad for his own safety. TRANSLATION:
0:37:48 > 0:37:52hadn't worked 15-hours a day for ten years to build a par lays. That
0:37:52 > 0:37:57didn't interest me -- palace, that didn't interest me, I tried to do
0:37:57 > 0:38:00something good for Russia. These are the records of payments,
0:38:00 > 0:38:05overseen by Kolesnikov to an overseas company belonging to
0:38:05 > 0:38:11friends of Putin, that financed the palace. He alleges much of the
0:38:11 > 0:38:15money was diverted from charitable donations. The story begins, he
0:38:15 > 0:38:20says, with Roman Abramovich, now owner of Chelsea Football Club, he
0:38:20 > 0:38:25was one of several tycoons who gave millions of dollars to upgrade
0:38:25 > 0:38:30Russian hospitals. Kolesnikov imported the equipment, also
0:38:30 > 0:38:34involved were two personal friends of Vladimir Putin's, Nikolai
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Shamalov and Dmitri Gorelov. He says they got the equipment at a
0:38:39 > 0:38:42discount, and unknown to the donors, transferred some of the savings
0:38:42 > 0:38:46into offshore companies. At the suggestion of Vladimir Putin
0:38:46 > 0:38:50himself. Much of it was invested on Putin's
0:38:50 > 0:38:57instructions in needy Russian industries. But not all. The
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Kremlin had a pet project of its own.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04TRANSLATION: At the beginning of 2005, they said there was a nice
0:39:04 > 0:39:09piece of land on the Black Sea, where a small house to be built for
0:39:09 > 0:39:13relaxation. But the original scheme, and this is clear in our contract
0:39:13 > 0:39:20with the Department of Presidential affairs, was for just $14 million,
0:39:20 > 0:39:25a small house with a swimming pool, nothing more. But today that little
0:39:25 > 0:39:32retreat, that his company helped finance, covers a whole
0:39:32 > 0:39:37mountainside. An environmental activist, seen here, wanted to
0:39:37 > 0:39:41discover who destroyed protected forest to build huge a huge complex.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46Originally it was thought to be owned by a company owned by Putin's
0:39:46 > 0:39:50friends. The activists, assumed to be workmen, got right up to the
0:39:50 > 0:39:54palace, before being spotted by private security. Then they were
0:39:54 > 0:40:00approached by other guards, with badges more usually seen around the
0:40:00 > 0:40:05Kremlin. TRANSLATION: There were employees of the federal guard
0:40:05 > 0:40:08service, whose job it is to protect the high state official, they were
0:40:08 > 0:40:15even in uniform. They showed us their official IDs, there was no
0:40:15 > 0:40:22sign it was a private house. whose palace is it really?
0:40:22 > 0:40:28Newsnight set off to investigate. Through a snowy landscape, that
0:40:28 > 0:40:35became steadily more impassable. Unlike Putin, we didn't have the
0:40:35 > 0:40:39advantage of a helicopter. The palace, we think, is a further
0:40:39 > 0:40:4230kms down this road, but the snow is getting too deep for us to
0:40:42 > 0:40:48continue. We thought we would be stopped by the secret police, but
0:40:48 > 0:40:52in the end, we have simply been stopped by the Russian winter. This
0:40:52 > 0:40:57man saw the palace many times as it was being built. He says it was his
0:40:57 > 0:41:01job to discuss with Kremlin officials how best to implement
0:41:01 > 0:41:11Putin's wishes. But he and his partner, Putin's friend, Shamalov,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14were beginning to fall out. TRANSLATION: At the end of 200 came
0:41:15 > 0:41:19the financial crisis. Many of our investment projects needed extra
0:41:19 > 0:41:22money. When I asked Putin he promised to provide it. But he
0:41:22 > 0:41:25didn't. Then Shamalov told me the decision was to stop our other
0:41:25 > 0:41:33projects and put all the money into the palace.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38By the end of 2009, Kolesnikov had left Russia.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42He sent ant open letter to the President, accusing Putin, then
0:41:42 > 0:41:47Prime Minister, of corruption. The Kremlin said it had nothing to do
0:41:47 > 0:41:50with the palace. But a journalist on one of Russia's few opposition
0:41:50 > 0:41:54paper, obtained documents to back up Kolesnikov's story. The
0:41:54 > 0:41:57agreement to build the palace on state-owned land. It was very
0:41:57 > 0:42:02important for us to find the documents to prove the land was
0:42:02 > 0:42:06sold to the company, which belonged to Putin's friends. The department
0:42:06 > 0:42:09for presidential affairs, the man there denied about knowing about
0:42:10 > 0:42:14the store, and that he never signed any documents. And here is the
0:42:14 > 0:42:18document with his signature. This showed us that he lied.
0:42:18 > 0:42:27That still doesn't prove the palace was meant for Putin himself. But
0:42:27 > 0:42:34there is circumstantial evidence. TRANSLATION: It's also the building
0:42:34 > 0:42:39of a road direct to the palace, a gas supply, the Government spend
0:42:39 > 0:42:42tens of million of dollars on these. If this was just for Putin's friend
0:42:42 > 0:42:47Shamalov, why would the federal guard service commission and
0:42:47 > 0:42:50monitor the building of the palace. Where would Shamalov need three
0:42:50 > 0:42:54helipads, a private person doesn't need these, but for a President,
0:42:54 > 0:42:58they are essential. The implication is clear, an elaborate scheme,
0:42:58 > 0:43:03planned over many years to give Putin a private palace on public
0:43:03 > 0:43:07money. Without his name appearing on a single document.
0:43:07 > 0:43:12Kolesnikov's claims can't all be proved. There is no clear evidence
0:43:12 > 0:43:15that charity funds were diverted, as for his former partners, Putin's
0:43:15 > 0:43:22friends, Shamalov and Gorelov, their companies say they are not
0:43:22 > 0:43:25available for comment. Meanwhile, the environmental
0:43:25 > 0:43:29campaigners tried, without success, to stroll along the palace beach
0:43:29 > 0:43:35last summer, by then the owners were another private company, less
0:43:35 > 0:43:39closely connected with Putin. But was that just a smoke screen.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42TRANSLATION: I think it is so that this property can't later be
0:43:42 > 0:43:48returned to the Government. Because clearly the man that this place
0:43:48 > 0:43:52really belongs to, feels he may lose power. And then by law this
0:43:52 > 0:43:58residence will go to the next President, if it still belongs to
0:43:58 > 0:44:01the Kremlin. If it is private it can't be touched. Outside the
0:44:01 > 0:44:08activists' house, we saw secret police lurking, they know his
0:44:08 > 0:44:11campaign to protect the environment is becoming increasingly political.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15We have been watching him since he protested against the alleged
0:44:15 > 0:44:18corruption of both local and national leaders, at the holiday
0:44:19 > 0:44:22home of the regional governor on the Black Sea coast. The governor
0:44:22 > 0:44:27is believed by some to have helped Putin choose the site for his
0:44:27 > 0:44:32palace. When Newsnight met him, he denied the Kremlin chief had any
0:44:32 > 0:44:37private rest home at all. Thars I know the President and Prime
0:44:37 > 0:44:43Minister have official residences in Sochi, they were built in
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Stalin's time, they received guests there and spent their summer
0:44:45 > 0:44:50holidays, even then they were working. They are Government
0:44:50 > 0:44:55residences, and they have nothing else, as far as I know.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59Vladimir Putin will soon return to his special office in the Kremlin,
0:44:59 > 0:45:03he's being re-elected with an overwhelming majority. He will be
0:45:03 > 0:45:09governing what the campaigning group, Transparency International,
0:45:09 > 0:45:16says is by far one of the world's most corrupt leading states.
0:45:16 > 0:45:24Levelled with nigh yearia, 38 places below India. -- Nigeria, and
0:45:24 > 0:45:3438 places below India. Now a look at the front papers.
0:45:34 > 0:45:34
0:45:34 > 0:46:52Apology for the loss of subtitles for 78 seconds