:00:00. > :00:11.A deadly battle in the Ukrainian City between Government forces and
:00:12. > :00:21.pro-Russian militants leaves at least seven people reported dead. As
:00:22. > :00:25.the tensions reignite, we're in Donetsk in the north. There is
:00:26. > :00:29.violence on the streets today in the Ukraine, every time it happens this
:00:30. > :00:34.region moves one step closer to full-blown Civil War. In Red Square
:00:35. > :00:39.President Putin commemorates VE Day with massive show of force and then
:00:40. > :00:46.heads to Crimea. What we have seen today was an extraordinary display
:00:47. > :00:49.of what some call Putinism, a heady mixture of nationalism, military
:00:50. > :01:02.might and nostalgia for Russia's past. And this. Except of course it
:01:03. > :01:07.is not. A proposed deal with the Internet service providers could
:01:08. > :01:13.mean the penalty for internet piracy is a gently telling off. A rap star
:01:14. > :01:20.is not impressed. Happy birthday Alan Bennett, 80 today, any regrets?
:01:21. > :01:26.I'm very ill-read, it is hard to believe but it is true. One of the
:01:27. > :01:37.advantages of being 80 is I now know I can't do anything about this.
:01:38. > :01:42.Good evening, in a crisis characterised by shies and faints by
:01:43. > :01:49.the Russian leader, President Putin's appearance at a parade today
:01:50. > :01:53.as part of Russia's victory today in World War II was straight forwardly
:01:54. > :01:58.triumphant. He praised the people of Crimea showing loyalty to an
:01:59. > :02:06.historical truth in choosing to be part of Russia. The US State
:02:07. > :02:11.Department called his day as unnecessary and provocative.
:02:12. > :02:17.First in the Ukrainian port city, a two-hour battle between the
:02:18. > :02:20.Ukrainian army and pro-Russian supporters left seven dead.
:02:21. > :02:23.Ukrainian army and pro-Russian tensions couldn't be higher, with
:02:24. > :02:33.less than 24 hours to go until people in parts of Ukraine vote on
:02:34. > :02:37.whether or not to join Russia. I have been speaking a short while ago
:02:38. > :02:41.to somebody inside the city, they tell me the atmosphere is very, very
:02:42. > :02:46.tense tonight. Men roaming the streets, some of them drunk from
:02:47. > :02:51.this Victory Day celebration, but crucially angry over the killings
:02:52. > :02:55.that took place today. The most conservative estimate is seven
:02:56. > :03:00.people dead, we think that figure almost certainly will be higher. Now
:03:01. > :03:05.every time this happens this part of Ukraine inches a little bit closer
:03:06. > :03:08.to full-blown Civil War. The divisions in Ukraine deepen and
:03:09. > :03:12.become more bitter. In western capitals we hear people talking
:03:13. > :03:16.about the need to deescalate the situation. But the truth is it is
:03:17. > :03:19.getting harder and harder to control the militias that are operating
:03:20. > :03:22.here. I spent the day trying to piece
:03:23. > :03:27.together what took place in the City, and also meeting a militia
:03:28. > :03:30.trying to hold this country together. I should warn you some of
:03:31. > :03:38.the images in this report are disturbing.
:03:39. > :03:48.Today Ukrainian soldiers opened fire, apparently on unarmed
:03:49. > :03:53.civilians. Kiev had been hoping to avoid scenes like these, with what
:03:54. > :03:58.has, until now, been a relatively cautious security operation in the
:03:59. > :04:06.east. But not all the pro-Russian protesters were unarmed. Here on the
:04:07. > :04:13.right of the screen a man in black is clearly seen firing a pistol
:04:14. > :04:23.towards a Ukrainian soldier. Moments later another shot rings out and man
:04:24. > :04:27.falls to the ground. Today Kiev's soft low-softly approach appeared to
:04:28. > :04:32.harden. The Government says it sent in the troops to confront around 60
:04:33. > :04:37.pro-Russian gunmen who had taken over the police headquarters in the
:04:38. > :04:41.centre of the city. The building has changed hands several times in
:04:42. > :04:47.recent days after an intense gun GATT bathle this afternoon, both the
:04:48. > :04:51.seperatist and the army apparently abandoned the place, leaving it to
:04:52. > :05:03.the flames. These flames could now easily spread through this volatile
:05:04. > :05:07.region. 06 miles away we met some pro-Russian fighters setting off for
:05:08. > :05:12.the town. All local volunteers, financed and armed by
:05:13. > :05:19.patriotic-minded Ukrainians opposed to the break-up of their country. In
:05:20. > :05:24.normal life sur gay is a priest. Now he -- Sergei is a priest, now he has
:05:25. > :05:33.taken up a Kalashnikov and he's prepared to use it. We have to deal
:05:34. > :05:38.with the Russian invasion. It is Russian Special Forces. They take
:05:39. > :05:53.command. Russian Special Forces have to be taken away. By any means
:05:54. > :05:58.necessary? Yes. "Glory to Ukraine" they cry as they get ready to take
:05:59. > :06:02.the fight to the seperatists. The situation in this region is drawing
:06:03. > :06:07.in people, these pro-Government, pro-Kiev, but the danger is it will
:06:08. > :06:13.also be drawing in people from the other side as this escalates. They
:06:14. > :06:16.squeeze as many as they can into their only minivan. We are ready to
:06:17. > :06:20.shoot our way through any checkpoints they say. If they do
:06:21. > :06:26.make it there they will become yet another combustible element in what
:06:27. > :06:31.is already a highly volatile mix. The turbulent happenings in Ukraine
:06:32. > :06:38.are followed nowhere more closely than in Moscow, where today ahead of
:06:39. > :06:43.the visit to Crimea, President Putin parade the military might of the
:06:44. > :06:51.country on VE Day. We were there. It is day for the remembrance of
:06:52. > :06:55.past sacrifice. It is one when Russians s of all opinions revel in
:06:56. > :06:59.the feeling that this is a country to be reckoned with. For us,
:07:00. > :07:04.watching with them, today's parade and fly-past in Moscow were also a
:07:05. > :07:08.timely reminder of President Putin's popularity. Do you think President
:07:09. > :07:20.Putin has made the country stronger? Yes I think so. I think he's the
:07:21. > :07:25.best President from the new history of Russia. Russians are deeply proud
:07:26. > :07:29.of their victory and their Armed Forces. And President Putin's
:07:30. > :07:34.personal ratings have never been higher. But in the wake of his
:07:35. > :07:43.actions on Ukraine many of Russia's neighbours are now fearful. In Red
:07:44. > :07:46.Square veterans, weighed down with medals and memories looked on at
:07:47. > :07:51.those who have inherited their legacy. The Armed Forces that took
:07:52. > :07:54.Crimea are now standing ready in a policy spelt out by their leaders to
:07:55. > :08:09.protect Russians in neighbouring states. Countries with large Russian
:08:10. > :08:13.populations can only survive if they take the needs of those people into
:08:14. > :08:18.account and their interests, including their cultural identity
:08:19. > :08:21.and things like that language. Provided that they keep good
:08:22. > :08:25.relations with the Russian federation. It doesn't mean they
:08:26. > :08:30.have to join the Russian federation. But it means that they should never
:08:31. > :08:35.think of opposing the Russian federation. For the President, who
:08:36. > :08:40.headed straight from the parade to Crimea, there is no apparent
:08:41. > :08:45.contradiction between the war time fight against Nazis, today's moves
:08:46. > :08:51.against fascists, as he always them in Ukraine, and the championing of
:08:52. > :08:57.Russian fights based on language or fate. Ultra nationalists have booked
:08:58. > :09:00.Putin enthusiastically, and say if the Baltic or other former Soviet
:09:01. > :09:07.Republics now worry, that is a bonus. It is very good that they are
:09:08. > :09:16.worried, because we are worried about millions of noncitizens,
:09:17. > :09:21.Russians who speak Russians, they are non--citizens, they have no --
:09:22. > :09:27.noncitizens, they have no passports, they have no power, rights in the
:09:28. > :09:32.Baltic Republics. Firstly the resultic Republics should take --
:09:33. > :09:37.Baltic Republics should make decisions, that Russians in Baltic
:09:38. > :09:43.Republics are citizens, then they will not worry about anything. The
:09:44. > :09:49.power of economic achievements bears witness to the failure of the Soviet
:09:50. > :09:56.model. No amount of workers could save it from bankruptcy and
:09:57. > :10:02.break-up. I met a rising figure in the beleaguered opposition to get
:10:03. > :10:06.his take on the role in Putin's new ideology of symbols, like the St
:10:07. > :10:12.George ribbon, which is everywhere now. I respect this symbol, because
:10:13. > :10:15.for me it is a symbol of the great victory. But I see that for many
:10:16. > :10:20.for me it is a symbol of the great people in Russia, in Kiev, in Baltic
:10:21. > :10:23.countries, it is a symbol of aggressive Russia. Will he succeed
:10:24. > :10:27.in creating what you might call a new Russian nationalism, or will
:10:28. > :10:33.people be resistant. Right now he's very popular in the polls? Putin is
:10:34. > :10:39.not about empire, he is just about money. He's just about oligarchs,
:10:40. > :10:44.he's just about his friends who are oligarchs, and actually you know
:10:45. > :10:53.Putin really wants to rule like Stalin. But actually he wants to
:10:54. > :10:58.live like Abramovic. And you cannot have both things at the same time.
:10:59. > :11:04.Down in Crimea, President Putin launched himself into more displays
:11:05. > :11:10.of might. At sea and in the air. Much of the world may regard
:11:11. > :11:13.Russia's annexation as illegal, so Russian officials have faced
:11:14. > :11:17.sanctions as a result. But the President's message to Crimeans is
:11:18. > :11:22.that together they would weather it. TRANSLATION: There is a lot of work
:11:23. > :11:26.in front of us, but me and you will overcome all difficulty, because we
:11:27. > :11:35.are together, and that means we have become even more powerful. Happy
:11:36. > :11:41.Victory Day. But some go too far in this heady atmosphere of nationalism
:11:42. > :11:45.and post-Soviet nostalgia, perhaps that is to be expected. We saw many
:11:46. > :11:50.images of Stalin today, and that hints of passions and models of
:11:51. > :11:54.leadership that could cause President Putin serious problems,
:11:55. > :12:02.choking his relationship with the west and its sources of capital. The
:12:03. > :12:11.crisis with the west could either lead to Russia f it is smart,
:12:12. > :12:15.getting to a high orbit economically or if Russia succumbs to its very
:12:16. > :12:21.well known problems and flaws, it could lead to breakdown and possibly
:12:22. > :12:28.a break-up of Russia. So the stakes can hardly be higher than they are
:12:29. > :12:32.today. The President's actions in Ukraine have already produced
:12:33. > :12:36.economic consequences, and if the Victory Day party isn't to be
:12:37. > :12:44.followed by a national hangover that could last years, Mr Putin will need
:12:45. > :12:50.every ounce of his political skill. We're joined live now from Moscow.
:12:51. > :12:54.The EU are threatening more sanctions and that will happen on
:12:55. > :13:00.Monday. Will this affect Putin's next move? These EU sanctions are
:13:01. > :13:05.one of the constraints that now operate in Mr Putin's mind. Along
:13:06. > :13:09.with US economic sanctions and Russian public opinion, when you're
:13:10. > :13:15.here it becomes very clear that many, many Russians would be deeply
:13:16. > :13:23.reluctant to see Russian troops invade Ukraine, not Crimea, eastern
:13:24. > :13:27.Ukraine, and fight. This, if you like, lines up all the key
:13:28. > :13:30.constituencies on the point of Russian troops, that is why we
:13:31. > :13:36.haven't seen the full scale invasion as some people would call it to
:13:37. > :13:41.date. But, the US and EU, because they can see that's the way
:13:42. > :13:45.President Putin is thinking, are now talking about introducing more
:13:46. > :13:51.stringent sanctions. Particularly the US, what they call sectoral
:13:52. > :13:56.sanctions, targeted at the banking or oil sectors, for example. They
:13:57. > :13:59.are talking about doing that in the coming days, even without a Russian
:14:00. > :14:04.invasion. Now how far that will, if you like,
:14:05. > :14:09.do what the Americans want and if the EU does something similar, how
:14:10. > :14:15.far it will do what they want, in encouraging President Putin to make
:14:16. > :14:19.greater efforts to de-escalate the situation, we don't know. One thing
:14:20. > :14:24.I think is clear, that key constituency, Russian public
:14:25. > :14:31.opinion, could change as we see more of these tragic events on the
:14:32. > :14:37.ground. Odessa, and Mariople, if they carry on day in, day out in the
:14:38. > :14:41.coming weeks, Russian opinion will change over whether what they call
:14:42. > :14:45.peacekeeping troops should go into eastern and southern Ukraine. You
:14:46. > :14:48.never know, by that point, EU and US opinion about whether Russia should
:14:49. > :14:57.be stopped from doing that might change too.
:14:58. > :15:02.A British team arrived in Lagos today to join the American and
:15:03. > :15:05.Nigerian search for the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram as Amnesty
:15:06. > :15:10.International leased a report claiming that Nigerian security
:15:11. > :15:15.forces had at least four hours advance warning on the raid on the
:15:16. > :15:21.state-run school and failed to act. Amnesty's Africa director said it
:15:22. > :15:26.amounted to a gross deriliction of Nigeria's duty to protect civilians.
:15:27. > :15:31.My guest is here. What are some of the more devastating details
:15:32. > :15:35.appearing from the testimonies? Our research is talking to many people
:15:36. > :15:41.in northern Nigeria and have heard from many and from official sources
:15:42. > :15:47.and two senior military men that they did have four hours notice and
:15:48. > :15:51.nothing happened. There were military nearby, within 100kms, who
:15:52. > :15:56.could have been mobilised and they weren't. So these girls, in the
:15:57. > :16:01.school, were left defenceless. You heard also in your testimonies that
:16:02. > :16:06.the Nigerian forces were terrified of Boko Haram? Yes and they didn't
:16:07. > :16:11.feel able to confront them. There were small numbers actually in
:16:12. > :16:15.Chibok, and the majority of soldiers were elsewhere. They could have been
:16:16. > :16:21.mobilised. But the thing here too is we were reporting at the end of last
:16:22. > :16:26.year about 50 schools being burnt down, 70 teachers being slaughtered,
:16:27. > :16:31.and children being murdered. The Nigerian authorities have had so
:16:32. > :16:34.long to have time where they could have been providing protection to
:16:35. > :16:39.those girls in that school and other schools in the region. Sky News are
:16:40. > :16:43.reporting, a single report on Sky News tonight that devices used by
:16:44. > :16:53.the American and British forces are hearing that there a the hearing of
:16:54. > :16:56.some girls, and some technology is allowing them to hear into the
:16:57. > :17:02.forest, there is hope they are alive and within the border? We must
:17:03. > :17:07.absolutely hope for that. Amnesty produced a report earlier that 2,000
:17:08. > :17:11.people have been killed in the last year in Nigeria. It strikes me that
:17:12. > :17:14.you weren't able, organisations like you were not able to cut through
:17:15. > :17:19.with that information, it has taken the kidnap of these girls to
:17:20. > :17:30.galvanise both public opinion and international opinion, why was
:17:31. > :17:33.Amnesty not cutting through? We have been reporting about this all
:17:34. > :17:39.through the year and pushing through. I think it is the way the
:17:40. > :17:43.parents fought and we are proud of our solidarity with that. If it took
:17:44. > :17:48.foreign boots to get the girls back would you support that? Amnesty
:17:49. > :17:52.doesn't make those judgments, but we are glad to see that type of
:17:53. > :17:56.technology at the disposal of the Nigerian Government.
:17:57. > :18:00.If you were one of the legions of fans of the US theories Game of
:18:01. > :18:04.Thrones, it must be tempting to break copyright law and download the
:18:05. > :18:07.latest episode on American TV to keep ahead. I'm not suggesting you
:18:08. > :18:11.should. There was once talk of cutting off the Internet if you
:18:12. > :18:14.behaved that way, now not so much. A draft agreement between the content
:18:15. > :18:20.providers and internet companies seen by the BBC suggests a new soft
:18:21. > :18:26.low-softly approach. No more will they try to scare the living day
:18:27. > :18:32.lights out of music and film fans. Instead a series of polite letters
:18:33. > :18:34.to inform and educate, if you ignore the letters?
:18:35. > :18:39.The Government has rather struggled to deal with digital piracy,
:18:40. > :18:43.legislation exists in the form of the digital economy act of 2010,
:18:44. > :18:50.that would allow the cutting off or strangling of an infringers internet
:18:51. > :18:54.connection. However legal and technical difficulties means the
:18:55. > :19:01.policy remains fuzzy and unused. One of the big problems was the way it
:19:02. > :19:06.was introduced in the wash-up period of the Labour Government and it was
:19:07. > :19:09.forced through. Internet providers and the entertainment industry have
:19:10. > :19:15.got together to hammer out an approach about copyright infringers
:19:16. > :19:19.and who manages the system. We have got hold of a paper that points it a
:19:20. > :19:23.less severe approach. It says if your internet providers sees you are
:19:24. > :19:26.downloading illegally, they will send you a letter that what you are
:19:27. > :19:31.doing is wrong and pointing you to places where you can buy content
:19:32. > :19:35.legally. If you ignore that you get another letter, ignore that and you
:19:36. > :19:39.get a another letter. After that there is one final sanction, another
:19:40. > :19:46.letter. People are going to be collecting information about alleged
:19:47. > :19:49.criminal or civil offences. Storing that information for some time. We
:19:50. > :19:54.really need to know more about that. It is a pretty extraordinary thing
:19:55. > :19:56.for somebody to be doing, whether or not they are going to use that in
:19:57. > :20:12.court proceedings in the future? Previously the entertainment
:20:13. > :20:16.industry has tried to frighten us into paying for content. Backed up
:20:17. > :20:25.in the United States at least with a few huge fines. One student told to
:20:26. > :20:29.pay ?675,000 for downloading Munich. Has this proved counter-productive.
:20:30. > :20:35.I have always worried if going after music fans is really a good idea.
:20:36. > :20:39.This is an issue of consumer education, they say the point of the
:20:40. > :20:45.letters is to inform people about what is happening. I think a better
:20:46. > :20:50.way to do it is for the major record labels to declare that they are
:20:51. > :20:53.going to pay artists 50% of digital royalties on albums that have
:20:54. > :20:57.recouped, and recruit artists to come forward and say I will be
:20:58. > :21:02.making music, you like my music, would you support me. I think that
:21:03. > :21:05.would be a much better way to educate consumers rather than
:21:06. > :21:14.sending them these pathetic little letters.
:21:15. > :21:17.Rather than taking every download to civil court, the people who make the
:21:18. > :21:20.music and movies are trying to make the content available easily and
:21:21. > :21:29.cheaply on legal sites like Netflix the content available easily and
:21:30. > :21:33.and Innant Video, many are prepared to cough up a few pounds for
:21:34. > :21:37.reliable and legal content. There is every reason to use the commercial
:21:38. > :21:40.services, which are just hugely by-election hugely more convenient,
:21:41. > :21:44.and of course that's what's happening. People are not choosing
:21:45. > :21:52.the free but dreadful service, they are going for the slightly quite low
:21:53. > :21:56.cost, but really easy to use ones. Meanwhile the entertainment industry
:21:57. > :22:02.continues to go after the illegal file sharing sites, trying to starve
:22:03. > :22:05.them of advertising revenue. One attack is to say who are the players
:22:06. > :22:09.involved in this, the people selling the advertising and the credit card
:22:10. > :22:15.companies processing the payments. Those people, are they players, can
:22:16. > :22:19.we squeeze them in some way. The lesson of recent years seems to be
:22:20. > :22:23.that the law moves far too slowly to deal with piracy. The only thing
:22:24. > :22:32.that may have a hope of keeping pace with technology is, technology! I'm
:22:33. > :22:34.joined by the musician guest and a technology writer.
:22:35. > :22:38.First of all you have a new album coming out before the end of the
:22:39. > :22:42.year, how do you feel about the fact that people will listen to it for
:22:43. > :22:46.free? I feel like, you know when people download music for free, you
:22:47. > :22:51.put your heart into it and making music, I share everything I'm going
:22:52. > :22:59.in, and to put all that effort is art for me, for people to download
:23:00. > :23:04.it for free I don't agree with that. They are getting a better? A third
:23:05. > :23:11.and a second letter. I was going to say that doesn't change anything, I
:23:12. > :23:16.think a letter stopping piracy isn't going to work. Would you like to see
:23:17. > :23:21.people punished in some way or fined a reasonable amount of money? I say
:23:22. > :23:25.a lot of people are not aware it is illegal, some of the younger
:23:26. > :23:33.generations coming up, there is so many options on the Internet. There
:23:34. > :23:39.is a way where there is a next step, maybe, but the letters are not going
:23:40. > :23:42.to work. It is obvious there is not going to be a big stick, will that
:23:43. > :23:45.kill new music? No, I don't think so, artists are in a really
:23:46. > :23:54.difficult position. On the one hand they don't want to punish fans, they
:23:55. > :23:59.want to publish the people who le but not their fans. There is no way
:24:00. > :24:05.people will not the flood of pyrecy. I can't see it killing new music as
:24:06. > :24:09.there is a lot of money around in the music industry. Record labels
:24:10. > :24:17.need to look at other ways of making money. Have you ever downloaded
:24:18. > :24:24.illegally? No, I'm atypical in that regard. It may not kill new music
:24:25. > :24:33.but what if it were you starting out now? It will kill music, a lot of
:24:34. > :24:38.people say do we do shows and tours only people like Madonna and
:24:39. > :24:42.Coldplay can do that and they don't need to make money there. You need
:24:43. > :24:54.to make money to carry on doing music. The thing is to sell. You had
:24:55. > :24:58.Billy Brag and radiohead had that thing of asking people to pay what
:24:59. > :25:03.they thought? Personally I wouldn't. What will happen then? People get
:25:04. > :25:06.bored when gay men start banging on about mad done national cirriculum I
:25:07. > :25:10.will. Years ago she did something smart, at the end of her record
:25:11. > :25:14.contract. Hang on a minute, she was a massive star before she did that?
:25:15. > :25:17.Of course that. She wasn't a young person starting out? You have to
:25:18. > :25:24.understand that the same technology that is causing problems for piracy
:25:25. > :25:28.is also enabling new artists to go up on-line. So many new artists who
:25:29. > :25:32.sell millions were discovered on the Internet. There is a lot more
:25:33. > :25:37.grassroots artists propelled to stardom by fans on technological
:25:38. > :25:42.platforms than before. The power of record label A is in decline. I
:25:43. > :25:47.kind of agree with people saying it needs to evolve, I don't believe,
:25:48. > :25:53.that doesn't no sense it is devaluing it if you are making music
:25:54. > :25:58.where you guy fans. I should be clear I'm a content creator, I
:25:59. > :26:02.write, my bread and butter is writing and I consider it to be art
:26:03. > :26:07.and what I create. You have to admit at some point there is no stemming
:26:08. > :26:11.the tide. What is a way that we can actually manoeuvre the change into
:26:12. > :26:15.for example subscription models, Apple for example said they wouldn't
:26:16. > :26:20.have any struck with streaming content, until about two years ago
:26:21. > :26:24.with Steve Jobs, or today they have bought a content streaming company?
:26:25. > :26:30.Steve Jobs didn't want anything to do with streaming he wanted a file
:26:31. > :26:33.on a computer. He believed a direct relationship to having a file and
:26:34. > :26:36.paying money. I have so much sympathy, I like that model for all
:26:37. > :26:41.sorts of different content. But the reality is you are not going to stop
:26:42. > :26:45.it happening, it is polite to say that and I know why you say that,
:26:46. > :26:50.that people don't know they are doing wrong. They do, and they do it
:26:51. > :26:52.any way. The majority of people, the younger generation might not think
:26:53. > :26:55.they are doing anything wrong. It is a habit they get into it and their
:26:56. > :26:59.friends. Is there an a habit they get into it and their
:27:00. > :27:03.people necessarily don't want to own your content but want access to it.
:27:04. > :27:09.More people access and fewer people own it? I guess the Internet helps
:27:10. > :27:15.because when you have up and coming artists you help people hear your
:27:16. > :27:18.music. But as in what the art is, I believe it is devaluing more and
:27:19. > :27:22.more where people are saying have it for free and it is not how it should
:27:23. > :27:27.be. It is counterintuitive and painful for those of us who create
:27:28. > :27:35.content, but it seems to be inexable.
:27:36. > :27:39.Alan Bennett 80 years old today in the midst of his best years. Some of
:27:40. > :27:45.his best hits happened on the other side of 50, not least The History
:27:46. > :27:49.Boys, he turned down a Knighthood and winses at the term "national
:27:50. > :27:55.treasure sure". He famously said you don't put your life into books you
:27:56. > :28:01.find it there. Here he is talking to his friend in an exclusive extract
:28:02. > :28:07.in a forth coming interview. I'm very ill read, I don't know if that
:28:08. > :28:13.sounds modest but it is true. I like American literature more than I do
:28:14. > :28:19.contemporary English literature. I don't feel any of the people writing
:28:20. > :28:28.in England can tell me very much. That may be unfair. Writing seems to
:28:29. > :28:35.me spoils you for reading. If I'm trying to write something I will
:28:36. > :28:39.tend to read only you know superficial stuff. I don't read
:28:40. > :28:50.anything which would make me think I can't do as well at this. Which I'm
:28:51. > :29:02.very much prey to. And then they said, take your clothes off now. And
:29:03. > :29:13.I didn't. I didn't. And I wanted him so much. They came back poems, the
:29:14. > :29:17.first talking head I wrote was about a woman who was dying. And then I
:29:18. > :29:22.wrote the next six quite quickly, then there was a gap and then I
:29:23. > :29:26.wrote another six and people say, people write to me and say would you
:29:27. > :29:32.like to come and talk to us, perhaps you could write a talkinghead, as if
:29:33. > :29:40.I could just run it off and there was nothing I would like more. But
:29:41. > :29:47.you know they came from I suppose deep down it is not there any more.
:29:48. > :29:51.You have written about how there was a definite change in the way you
:29:52. > :29:54.wrote when you were diagnosed with cancer, when you thought you were
:29:55. > :30:03.going to die. You said it acted like a laxative on you? I put a spur on.
:30:04. > :30:09.I think -- a spurt on, it happened when I was diagnosed in 1997, it was
:30:10. > :30:15.you know, they didn't, they said I had a 50-50 chance of surviving, the
:30:16. > :30:28.truth was I actually had a one in five chance. So I was very, very
:30:29. > :30:31.lucky. Anybodywas I actually had a one in five chance. So I was very,
:30:32. > :30:34.very lucky. Anybody would think by the time we got to the History Boys
:30:35. > :30:42.in 2004 the shadow was receding. I think some of that was renewed life
:30:43. > :30:47.and vigour, which is not a word I normally associate with myself, fed
:30:48. > :30:54.into The History Boys probably. One of the defining features of your
:30:55. > :30:58.work is that you invite empathy for people who if the kind of audience
:30:59. > :31:02.that comes to the theatre would encounter in real life they would
:31:03. > :31:09.run a mile from? And I would run a mile as well. Is writing in some way
:31:10. > :31:16.a means of encountering stuff that you would not encounter or you would
:31:17. > :31:22.avoid encountering in life? It is also a way of doing things that
:31:23. > :31:30.people wouldn't expect you to do either in writing or in life. I mean
:31:31. > :31:34.I think of things to say or to do and I think all the people won't
:31:35. > :31:38.want to hear that from me and then I think why not. Particularly as I
:31:39. > :31:47.have got older, that's much more the case. The wonderful Alan Bennett at
:31:48. > :31:51.80. You can see the full interview at 9.00 on BBC Four.
:31:52. > :31:55.Before we go, a quick plug, this August Newsnight will be heading to
:31:56. > :32:00.the Edinburgh Festival for a special programme exploring what Scottish
:32:01. > :32:05.independence would mean for the cultural future of the UK. And Scots
:32:06. > :32:14.near the referendum ballot box, the comedian Rory Brenner among others
:32:15. > :32:18.has called for levity. We have had a talent contest, Newsnight Referendum
:32:19. > :32:21.Review, part of the show in Edinburgh. Here is how you get
:32:22. > :32:25.involved. Newsnight is on the hunt for great
:32:26. > :32:28.performances that address the issue of Scottish independence and the
:32:29. > :32:34.future of the kingdom, anything knows as long as it is entertaining
:32:35. > :32:39.and thought provoking, stand-up, sketches, mini-musicals, songs,
:32:40. > :32:43.poetry or dance, if you are getting inspiration from the yes-no debate
:32:44. > :32:48.we want to hear from you. The acts will perform live before a judging
:32:49. > :32:53.panel and studio audience at the Newsnight Edinburgh Fringe Special
:32:54. > :32:58.on Tuesday the 21st August. Only one will be declared winner of the
:32:59. > :33:06.Newsnight Review, upload a 60 second sample of your material at the BBC
:33:07. > :33:08.website. The deadline is Sunday 26th July, don't wait until the closing
:33:09. > :33:12.date. Get to it. Tomorrow's front pages,
:33:13. > :33:31.just the Telegraph and Mail. That is almost it for this week
:33:32. > :33:40.which marks the passing of a broadcast legend from his regular
:33:41. > :33:45.BBC spot. Alan Hansen will have his last Match of the Day. We will look
:33:46. > :33:52.at the subtle way he dealt with Jimmy Hill. All I'm saying is if he
:33:53. > :34:03.had allowed McManemen his way in the end he would have opened up the way
:34:04. > :34:05.for Fowler. Jimmy be quiet will you. Also he could