08/12/2015 Newsnight

Bullying among young Conservative campaigners. Another day, another

damning dossier - with questions for the party chairman Lord Feldman.

So complaints ant mark Clarke would be something that Conservative

Central Office have known about for a very long time.

Also tonight. Donald Trump is calling for a total and complete

shut down of Muslims entering the United States.

We'll examine what it is that people like about him, and what those that

And this. You can watch my full interview with this man, with this

amazing suit, really fancy, tonight on... BBC Newsnight. I think it is

the moment of fashion. Lord Feldman - Andrew Feldman -

is chairman of the Conservative Party. He's a close

confidante of the Prime Minister, and a man substantially responsible

for upholding decent standards And he finds himself now

in the midst of a crisis over the behaviour of

one senior campaigner, Mark Clarke. The crisis arose,

when a young activist killed himself earlier this year, citing

as a cause bullying by Mr Clarke. Questions were raised,

not least by this programme. Had Former party chairman Grant Shapps

accepted blame, But Lord Feldman has defended

his own role, by saying he knew nothing of

the problem until summer this year. The Prime Minister's inner circle

has been described as a shamocracy - David Cameron's propensity to

surround himself with But of all his relationships,

it is his friendship with this man Lord Feldman is not only

the Conservative Party chairman, but he is also David Cameron's

former university tennis partner. It perhaps explains why the party

was comfortable to see Grant Shapps resign over the affair, but

determined to protect Lord Feldman. We will dive into the market and

meet some market traders. But Feldman's career hangs

on how much he knew about disgraced activist Mark Clarke's alleged

bullying, and whether he acted with enough alacrity

when complaints were first made. Mark Clarke denies the allegation.

The student vote is really important. We

Since the death of the young activist Elliott

Johnson in September, there has been a stream of revelations about

Last week, the party effectively acknowledged

its internal investigation had been inadequate when it handed its

But the biggest threat to Lord Feldman's career may come

from a statement his own party made three weeks' ago.

Tonight, a former Conservative activist tells

Newsnight Lord Feldman was made aware of bullying long before 2015.

Patrick Sullivan has known Clark since 2006.

He says he has attempted to stop bullying in the youth wing

of the Conservative Party called Conservative Future.

He claims that he, along with Conservative MP Ben

Howlett, compiled a dossier of complaints about bullying,

which was handed into Feldman five years ago, in 2010.

I have known Ben how let for annum of years he won an election for

Conservative Future chairman, he was subject to bullying during that

campaign and during hiss chair map ship. He has a strong anti-bullying

stance in his campaign, because there had been a culture of bully,

as soon as he is elected, myself, Ben, helped to compile a dossier,

that dossier was given by Ben to Lord Feldman, and another. There

were complaints about Mark Clarke given to Roger Pratt in 2008. So

complaints about Mark Clarke have been something that Conservative

Central Office have known about for a very long time.

It is believed the dossier contained the complaints of a number of young

activists and would have ended up in the building behind me. We have

spoken to a couple of peek who have helped compile the dossier, and they

say that Mark Clarke's name was in it. Patrick Sullivan says that the

response to the dossier was initially very positive. Said Warsi

was very vigilant in regards to bullying and ensured that anybody

with a reputation of bullying was not involved in Conservative future

or given access to young people. That somehow changed later on? That

somehow changed later on, after she left. Sullivan's testimony appears

to support what Ben Howlett told Newsnight three weeks' ago. Lord

Feldman has been well aware of all of this, for a very long period of

time. Howlett has refused to discuss the contents of the dossier with

Newsnight. He says he will pass his information to the inquiry. This is

the latest in a series of revelations that raises questions

about whether the party dealt appropriately, with warnings of

bullying, and Clark. Last week Newsnight reported that a memo had

been handed into CC HQ by a party worker in August. The memo said

Clark wases so thick and dangerous. And warned that if he was not kept

grey the party's youth wing the result could be devastating.

Lord Feldman orders an internal investigation after seeing that

memo, however, Clark wasn't suspended by the party, until after

Elliott Johnson's death a month later. I think it was quite shocking

that Mark Clarke was able to continue with his road trip 2020

while this investigation was in process.

Elliott Johnson's father Ray believes there need to be more

accountability at the top of the Conservative Party. I have no

personal answer against Lord Feldman but I believe any head of an

organisation should take responsibility for what happens in

an organisation, if he has been made wear some years ago he should take

responsibility and go. Lord Feldman continues to stress

that he simply did not know about bullying, or about Mark Clarke.

Tonight we have a statement from Lord Feldman himself saying:

Such behaviour is abhorrent to me, had this been brought to my

attention I would have taken immediate action to investigate as I

have done since I received the complaint in August 2015.

Donald Trump has made a habit of lighting the blue touch paper

He did it again yesterday, and the fireworks duly ignited.

Everybody in the Republican and Democrat political establishment

in America has condemned his newly proclaimed policy of barring

Actually, politicians here too condemned it,

from David Cameron, to Nigel Farage, who called it a step too far.

But if Mr Trump's appeal is based on anti-establishment credentials, it's

not clear whether his supporters will care about the criticism.

But there's no doubt, Trump has been the talk of America today.

The White House has denounced the Trump plan.

It shows the new furore over Donald Trump, showing you raising your hand

We have from Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on

American Islamic Relations saying, "Are we talking internment camps,

are we talking the final solution to the Muslim question?

You're increasingly being compared to Hitler, does that

No, because what I'm doing is no different to what FDR -

FDR's solution for Germans, Italians, Japanese, you know,

We have places in London that are so radicalised, that the police are

Rather than debate the specific merits of the policies

he's proposing, we thought we might look at what people like about him.

I'm joined by the Iraq war veteran Joel Arends from South Dakota,

chairman of Veterans for a Stronger America, which endorsed

And from Washington we're joined by the journalist

Good evening, after noon to your both. Joel, let me start with you,

there has been lots of criticism about what Donald Trump said. Now

has that made any difference to you in your view of what he announced

his policy was on foreign Muslims entering the US? Well, there is

always going to be strong criticism of the kind of policy he has

suggested. Look, it is a workable policy if we are able to restrict

immigration from certain countries of origin. What you are seeing in

America right now is there is an intense determination among many in

the electorate to want to stop radical Islamic terrorism, and in

order to stop that, we are looking at new ideas and so I think what

Donald Trump is doing is voicing a lot of the frustration, but also a

lot of the resolve and determination that Americans have, to want to stop

the terrorism from coming to our shore, we saw it in San Bernadino,

Americans are on edge, Donald Trump is giving voice to those people and

their concern, so when he announces a major policy shift like that, you

will see the kind of criticism, he is not one to shy away from

criticism. That is certainly another... Dick Cheney, he is hardly

Mr Liberal, and everybody in the establishment has criticised him.

Does that in way strengthen your support for Trump or make you

question? Well, I don't think it makes his question his suppose as to

what it says to us as have the current and existing policies been

work something no, they haven't. They haven't stopped terrorism

coming to our shore, what do we do next? We need to look at restricting

or putting a temporary pause on immigration, Rupert Murdoch came out

today and said a temporary pause is a great idea as well. Until question

get a handle on how to best defend the home land, maybe we should make

a temporary pause a part of the dialogue, Donald Trump has certainly

done that, I think there is constitutional issue there's that

will have to be worked through. It is constitution Ali permissible in

America, to stop immigrants from coming from certain countries of

origin, whether or not the religious test would survive a constitutional

challenge is a little uncertain but that is part of his Donald Trump

appeal, he is plain spoken and he is talking to people's concerns. Plain

spoken and constitutional issues deal with them later. Before I move

on, let us talk about this, today Donald Trump said parts of London

are so radicalised the police are afraid for their own lives. I live

in London, for a few year, I can tell you I think that is not true.

Now, does that matter to you, that I, who live in London tell you that

Donald Trump has just made up something, that is, you know,

basically balderdash, nonsense and spouted it as a fact. Does it matter

to you that he does that or not? I think what he is giving rise to, he

is certainly giving a reference to some of the no-go zones that, that

appear throughout Europe. I think, you know, we have seen that in

France, there are certain places, we even see it in America today, where

there are certain towns in America where you have seen... I don't want

to argue about it with you, because we don't have it in London. He said

we have it in London. What I want to know whether it matters to you

whether the truth value of what he says is a of any significance or

whether he is giving voice to the concerns that is the appeal? He is a

bombastic figures she going to say exaggerated things from time to

time, in order to make his point. It is how he is cutting through like a

knife to the rest of the American public, because they understand what

he is say, they understand what he is trying to get through with these

30 second sound bites that most of America can't get past. He is

getting through, he is getting past, they understand it, they understand

that there is no-go zones round Europe, whether or not they are in

London or not is irrelevant to the major policy issue of is it happen

something Thank you. Stay there. I am going to put some of that to my

other guest. What is your theory as to why Donald Trump has been so

unbeatable in this Republican contest this year? I think we are

witnessing the death rattle of white supremacy in America. It is an

ideology of exclusion, there are people who want to conTrickett

America and others who want to stretch America to accommodate

minorities and freedoms. All the studies show that Trump is appealing

to the disaffected white voter. So the surveys show the white voter is

saying this America no longer belongs to me, I can no longer

become a protagonist. America has become a minority country. He has

support. It is not negligible support. This

race plays interfere. What Donald Trump does cynically, he marries

anger with hate, with ignorance and creates a lot of cocktail and

projects strength by lobbying it against a perceived enemy, the

other. In this case banalities, Muslims, women, black men, Mexican

immigrants. He says I will protect you against them. Disagree, this is

the irony, he has given Islamic State a premature early Christmas

gift. Basically they're number recruitment tool is the West is at

war with Islam. President Obama said to not divide along religious or

ethnic lines, because that helps Islamic State. And Dawn Trump says

I'm going to ban Muslims. He gave a nice gift to Isis and I'm sure they

e-mailed him and said thank you for doing our job. There is plain

speaking, this was a phrase used and you have to admit that it is more

interesting to listen to the guy speak than a lot of other guys

speaking. That is part of his appeal. He positioned himself as

saying I'm not these old-timers, not part of the establishment, I am

self-made, I have my own money, I will tell it like it is. I do not

bow down to political correctness and I will rationalise your hate, be

a spokesman for your frustration and say what I have got to say. I do not

care about moderation. Of course that is attractive to a base

according to all the studies that those fields disaffected and sees

the country slipping away. There is anger and frustration but it is

channelled in the most poisonous way which divides Americans along

religious and ethnic lines. That helps our enemies. Joel, that film.

Network, the catchphrase is I am mad as hell and I will not take this any

more. That is what Donald Trump is appealing to. Do you recognise that

in yourself for example, angry white man? Absolutely not, I reject any

such notion. What Donald Trump is speaking to is the hopes and dreams

of Americans in general. Looking at is minority support, he has

phenomenal support with the African American community and Hispanic

community relatively speaking. In the African-American community in

fact he has increased levels of support because they understand that

cheap labour flowing across the borders in the form of illegal

immigration is running African-American communities. We are

going to lose the line. Let me go back to Wajahat Ali. What is

interesting is how hard it has been for opponents to lay a glove on

Donald Trump. What would be your advice because if you argue with

him, if you taken seriously and argue with him you give him

credibility. If you ignore him you're just undignified and the guy

is the centre of the show. When Dick Cheney, the most Muslims consider

the manifestation of the Sith Lord himself, basically says Trump is too

extreme, that is telling. What a lot of the Republicans and many

Americans have to say is OK, this guy is a bustling, a character, then

spoken and fun to watch but he is dividing us and making us less safe.

That is what you say because his rhetoric is poisonous and assist our

enemies both abroad and at home. What type of future do we have for

the rest of America, all Americans regardless of religion, ethnicity

and gender, if I might Donald becomes president and enacted

policies. It would be World War II. Maybe he wants those internment

centres. Hopefully that will not happen. We are living in an era

where these events do seem to happen, what would be the chance

that he gets the Republican nomination and goes on to beat

Hillary Clinton? It is a scary time because he is double down on his

anti-Muslim rhetoric, he sees it working with his base and now he's

the leading candidate for the Republicans. He might be the leading

candidate and I see this as the death rattle of a certain white

supremacy in America. I do not think he will win because we have seen

solidarity even with Republicans and the Conservatives and all along

religious and ethnic lines saying that this is enough, this is toxic

and we reject it. So I remain hopeful and please remain hopeful in

the future of America. When I looked a little earlier this

evening, the weather forecast was for further rainfall across much of

Scotland and northern England during John Sweeney is in Kendal today

in the heart of the Lake District. The town didn't get

a flood protection scheme that was planned, and now

much of it has been flooded. John spent the day with families who

had been washed out of As the floodwaters recede,

what is striking is the grace and courage of the ordinary people

of Cumbria whose living rooms Kendal sits in a bowl of hills

and on Saturday night and Sunday morning it was swamped

by a month's worth of rain. There is a culvert,

an underground river beneath us, that overfilled and then a wall of

water like a mini tsunami battered And the poor people living here had

no idea what was going to hit them. At finishing time I collected

my wife from work We struggled to get home in the car

because they had closed bridges. So we had to go all the way

round the town to get back here. And in the meanwhile I phoned

my son who was at home doing some artwork, totally

oblivious of what was going on. So I rang up and said,

will we get somewhere A foot and a half

of water was flowing down the road. Jude Harrison,

shopkeeper and grandmother. And the thing that upset her

the most? I had kept the letter that my son

had written me, for 16 years. And I have just found it,

it is ruined. Ashley Harrison,

son and tattoo artist. I think after the water had actually

come up through there was kind of a And just that moment of well,

we can't do anything. So we sat down and had a glass

of wine and just had a bit Wendy and Russell Dawson,

they live for their dogs. So unfortunately Newsnight

doesn't have smell-ovision. I cannot tell

the viewer what it smells like. But you live here,

this is your home. As the waters rose outside, what

to do about their trail hounds? All

of a sudden it came through the back It just rose and it was just grab

the dogs and straight upstairs. Seven dogs, me and my wife

and my son in the bedroom. And these are working

dogs that live outside! Andrew Henshaw

and Danny Hawes were told by an elderly neighbour when they

moved in, Sandylands never floods. and I turned round and it was just

coming through the floor. Within about 30 seconds we were

in two inches of water. So we turned the power of

at the fuse box because we don't We went upstairs and we thought,

we can cope with soggy carpet You came down

about 20 minutes later and it was up And then at half past eight we knew

it was too late We just decided to leave because

we didn't know what else to do. These houses were built in 1923

and people said they had never People in the town talked about

global warming, bare hills causing This is where the Lake District

meets The Italian Job. The mini's owners are

in sunny Spain. I have been told there is

a covert which runs across the estate and of course the water could

not get into the River Kent because It's backed up and all

of a sudden it would come over I think that is exactly

what has happened. Cleaning up this stinking mess

would spoil anyone's Christmas. But there is something about

the quiet stoicism of the people of We don't meet enough glamorous

fashionistas on this programme so it's nice to bring you a rising

star of the scene, with even more glittering friends and social media

followers than we have. Frenchman Olivier Rousteing is

creative director of the house of Balmain, now linking up with

a name familiar in the UK, H He's adopted, and has scaled the

commanding heights of French couture despite lacking the traditional

advantages of being white and old - In an exclusive interview, he's

been speaking to Stephen Smith. Olivier Rousteing is young enough

and pretty enough to be a model. In fact, he is creative designer for

one of fashion's leading brands. Now collaborating with

high street chain H It is a big challenge, but it's

an amazing challenge for a designer Because usually you speak to

a niche, to a really small crowd. Because not everyone can afford

the Balmain clothes. So I have to say that it's really

exciting for me to work Because you talk to a really big

crowd, like more global, and all my fans that maybe love the

brand and love the Balmain work but cannot afford the clothes, actually

now can afford the clothes. Rousteing has nearly two million

followers on social media. He is so well-connected,

it's thought he may know who all My generation it is Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram, it is one click. So I have to say that also my way

of working is the same, If you don't like me,

you just un-follow me. So there's something really honest

that we don't have sometimes in fashion, because when you're part

of a magazine, maybe you can be a big advertiser, where on social

media I think it is something really How easy or difficult has it been

for somebody like you to make it I had been adopted

by my white parents. I don't know where I come from,

because I was born in the late '80s, when the mum was giving up

the baby, she could leave without So I think fashion always helped me

to actually define who I am Because not knowing where you come

from, not knowing your parents, Because I think we can't forget that

sometimes fashion is defined So I think I have been lucky, but

at the same time I work so hard. And I almost thank my past because I

think it is my past that makes me There is great debate

about the size, shape, of catwalk models, people say they

are too skinny, they're not real. So I think we're going back to real

bodies, to embrace real femininity And all my catwalk,

all my girls are naturally like They can be mums, they can be young,

it is just depending. But I love just showing reality

on my catwalk. And I think we are

going back to that. You have got

into trouble with a belfie or two. It is when you take photos

of your backside, your ass. Your bosses weren't too keen,

is that right? I think they were not

like the happiest person But when they see my ass,

they were OK! Like, I took a selfie

a long time ago of my body, and actually after I had it changed

to do a cover naked for a magazine. I just want to show myself,

how I am, without a double-breasted jacket and in French we say

"mise a nu", literally being naked. The Paris attacks happened in

your neighbourhood where you live. I was with my assistant and we were

speaking about the next collection. And she asked me,

is it going to take long, the So she texted her boyfriend

and said we are not going to go to the restaurant,

because she should have had dinner, and this dinner was exactly

at the place where they shot. So she felt really lucky, obviously,

because she was with me in the office when we heard

the news on our phone. We locked the office

and we just didn't want to go out. The past few days have seen

considerable success for I don't think we need to respond

by extremist ideas. I think Front National is

like a really bad thing for France. I think people should vote and I

think people should actually not go We can't answer an extreme story

with extreme political ideas. I'm really wondering

about my country because I'm really worried, I think we can't forget

that what is amazing about France is I don't think there's any freedom

in Front National. With all that's happened with Paris,

I want to make sure my next collection is

a reflection of the beautiful So it is going to be a lot

of diversity, it is going to be a beautiful Paris and it is going

to be a homage to my country. And showing that Paris is amazing

and we have to keep it strong and not forget that Paris is

the city of light. It's been a difficult week

for the Stop the War coalition. It failed to Stop the War in that

Commons vote last Wednesday. And today,

the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas stepped down as a patron, troubled

by some statements of the campaign. It's Jeremy Corbyn's connection to

Stop the War that is keeping it Lfie. In belfie. What happened

today? So, Stop the War organisation that has been round since early

2000, to oppose military intervention in places like

Afghanistan and irrang, Caroline Lucas and Jeremy Corbyn being

lifelong supporters of it. Caroline Lucas pulls out. She says that

reports end didn't let Syrians speak at a meeting in November. Stop the

War deny that. That is one of the reasons she is citing and the other

is she is unhappy about comments they made in the aftermath of par

Ritz. One supporter was supposed to have said... She accepts the

comments are been taken down but she says it was the Vice-President. She

didn't feel she could take, keep an eye on what they were up to so she

pulled out. This puts pressure on Jeremy Corbyn, at the weekend on

Friday, he is due to be speaking at one of their big dinner, ?50 a head.

Three course, Turkish meal? A glass of wine and the night will feature

music, comedy and speeches, including one from Jeremy Corbyn. It

is his position, they have reiterated it to me, Stop the War is

a vital democratic campaign, organised the biggest demonstration

in British political history and this quote, called it right, Jeremy

Corbyn is not pulling out, but, I think that Caroline Lucas pulling

out might change it, because she is a fellow traveller of his. It is not

like Tristram Hunt, he is on a different wing of the party, who at

the weekend he said Stop the War was deplorable. This is coming from a

different quarter. Thank you very much.

A lot of race being discussed in the programme today.

I'd like to say it was thematic planning, but it wasn't.

However it was exactly 50 years ago today that the Race Relations Act

The law prohibited discrimination on "grounds of colour, race,

or ethnic or national origins " in public places.

It didn't cover housing, it didn't cover employment.

But it did mark a pretty big legal change.

It was back in days when the phrase "colour bar" didn't

We asked writer Benjamin Zephaniah, who's a little older than the Act,

to look back, and at how far we've come.

There is some bad language in his piece.

And Britain was a very different place.

There were colour bars - landlords would refuse to rent to

Most people are suspicious when they first meet something different.

Immigrants are different. There were pubs with signs,

"no blacks, no Irish, no dogs". Want to keep Britain. Keep it white,

as it should be. The Race Relations Act

of 1965 changed things. It was now illegal to discriminate

in public on the grounds of colour, It was a civil and not

a criminal offence, and it didn't Three years later,

the law was toughened up following Enoch Powell's infamous

rivers of blood speech. In this country, in 15 or 20 years'

time, the black man will have the whip hand over the white man.

Notting Hill is famous for its carnival. Not the notorious race

riots of 1958. This used to be the front line. A danger no go area for

some. But now, it is one of the trendiest most multicultural parts

of London. Time has moved on, and racism has evolved. We don't really

see gangs of racist thugs roaming the streets like they did back in

the day. They now wear suits and ties. Some form political party,

some build websites and some of them are academics. The whites have

become black. A particular sort of violent, distrucktive nihilistic

gangster culture has become the fashion.

Racists have become more sophisticated.

He picked on me, sat next to me on packed train on the way to

Liverpool. He like, he called me all of the names you can think of and

more and started doing monkey sounds and you know, jungle sounds and told

me to get out of his country, his grandfather fought in the war so

dirty Africans like me could get out. Nobody jumped to my rescue. I

said I was on there, on my own for 45 minute, it was only when I I was

was physically assaulted one person, one man finally came to my defence.

It isn't enough for me to make more or less Indian work or work that

refers if you like to my past, what I am interested in, is how it is

that one can be you know, one can rid one's self of that colonial

yolk. Something to do with this both, the expectations of one's self

and the expectation given by a political socio-political context

that says in order to be the cutting-edge on the cutting-edge,

you have to deal with this question of your blackness. Well, actually do

you? In my generation we are using to it. Definitely used to getting

not getting a job because your name is a certain name or having people

harass you because your hair is difference, that is insidious

racism. What happened to me is kind of what we think happens in America,

what we think happened to our parents and our grandparents. I no

longer have to run away from skin head thugs but I still get stopped

by the police. On the whole society is more accepting but we Silva

institutional racism. Company boardrooms are very white, and

ethnic minority communities are still very suspicious of the police.

After the death of Steven Lawrence the report said the Met was

institutionally racist, and that hasn't gone away. Black people are

still disproportionately stopped and searched, and the amount of black

people, like my cousin Mikey Powell that die in custody is very

worrying. It seems to me we live in a society

where we are always being told to fear someone. The other. Those who

are not like us, and the newest targets are migrants, those who

David Cameron refers to as the swarm. We also live in a time of a

new kind of does one call it racism? One does, Islamophobia, you know, it

is as if it has given full measure, you are allowed to you know, look at

those people who wear a hijab or whatever else it is, and say are you

going to bomb me now? You know, how many incidents have there be

recently, and how watchful do we have to be? Very, I say.

This is just one of the many racist rants on public transport that have

recently gone viral. Bitches -- bitches. Isis bitches.

Laws can control people's actions but they can't control people's

thoughts. As racism becoming more subtle we need to keep pressuring

our institutions to change. So yes, society is a lot more tolerant than

it was 50 years ago but there is still work to do.

The struggle continues. We need to stop blaming each other.

You see, I am not the problem, but I bear the brunt of silly playground

taunts an racist stunts. I am not the problem. I am a born academic

but they have me on the run. Now I am branded athletic, I am not the

problem, if you give me a chance I will teach you of Tim buck too. I

can do more than dance, I am not the problem, I greet you with a smile,

you put me in a pigeon hole but I am versatile. Well, these conditions

may affect me, as I get older, and I am positively sure I have no chips

on my shoulders, black is not the problem, mother country, get it

right. And just for the record, some of my best friends are white!

That is just about it for this evening. Before we go I am not sure

whether it is austerity to me the fashion for flamboyant Christmas

light displays seem to have passed its peak. At least that is what I

thought, then this display in Texas came along courtesy of the Johnson

family in San Antonio.