22/09/2016

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:00:00. > :00:07.Rioting on the streets of America after yet another killing

:00:08. > :00:12.of an African-American by a police officer.

:00:13. > :00:15.The State of Emergency in North Carolina may be lifted

:00:16. > :00:17.soon, but the racial divide in America seems as

:00:18. > :00:23.The grievance in their mind is the animus, the anger.

:00:24. > :00:26.They hate white people because the white people are

:00:27. > :00:30.We'll ask if the current violence comes at a uniquely

:00:31. > :00:37.Also tonight - plans for a Garden Bridge in London hit

:00:38. > :00:40.another setback, as the Mayor orders a value for money inquiry.

:00:41. > :00:44.I'm delighted Margaret Hodge is going to take a look at this,

:00:45. > :00:47.because she knows, I think she can smell a dud project

:00:48. > :00:52.I think she's going to find this one is a real dud.

:00:53. > :00:54.We'll ask Margaret Hodge whether her report could spell

:00:55. > :01:00.And - what can papal elections tell us about the dirty world

:01:01. > :01:09.Author Robert Harris pulls back the curtain.

:01:10. > :01:12.Conclaves are short, any divisions are kept

:01:13. > :01:16.behind closed doors, and when the winning

:01:17. > :01:18.candidate emerges, the church unites around him.

:01:19. > :01:34.Secular politics has a lot to learn from conclaves.

:01:35. > :01:39.Three black men have been shot dead by police

:01:40. > :01:44.In the coming hours we will find out whether the scene of the latest,

:01:45. > :01:46.the North Carolina city of Charlotte where Keith Lamont Scott

:01:47. > :01:48.was shot on Tuesday, will face its third

:01:49. > :01:54.With the national guard already in place and Donald Trump apparently

:01:55. > :01:59.appealing for African-American votes because, and I quote,

:02:00. > :02:02."they have nothing to lose", it's clear that racial tensions are once

:02:03. > :02:06.again centre stage in American politics.

:02:07. > :02:11.One of the main demands of the protesters is that the police

:02:12. > :02:13.video of the incident be released, but today

:02:14. > :02:16.the Charlotte Chief of Police told a press conference that they didn't

:02:17. > :02:27.The video does not give me absolute, definitive visual evidence that...

:02:28. > :02:33.That would confirm that a person is pointing a gun.

:02:34. > :02:38.I did not see that in the videos that I've reviewed.

:02:39. > :02:40.What I can tell you, though, is when taken in the totality

:02:41. > :02:44.of all the other evidence, it supports what we've heard

:02:45. > :02:47.in the version of the truth that we gave about the circumstances

:02:48. > :02:50.that happened, that led to the death of Mr Scott.

:02:51. > :02:55.Let's cross over to Charlotte and talk to the BBC's correspondent

:02:56. > :03:09.Are the authorities braced for more violence tonight? They are, and

:03:10. > :03:13.that's why several hundred members of the National Guard have been

:03:14. > :03:18.deployed to the streets of Charlotte. Their primary role is to

:03:19. > :03:22.look after property, to look after buildings, so the police don't have

:03:23. > :03:27.to do that, so the police can go out there and make arrests and do their

:03:28. > :03:32.normal policing duties. That said, there is still a lot of tension in

:03:33. > :03:37.this city. The pressure group that campaigns on behalf of black people

:03:38. > :03:41.says that effectively putting the National Guard on the streets

:03:42. > :03:44.militarise is the situation and couldn't raise tensions rather than

:03:45. > :03:48.throw at them. What we are expecting in the next few minutes at police

:03:49. > :03:55.headquarters is the family may get to see, the Scott family may get to

:03:56. > :04:02.see that controversial police cam video shot on Tuesday was Keith

:04:03. > :04:06.Lamont Scott was being shot by the police. The police are going to see

:04:07. > :04:11.it, and what their verdict is on a video, I think, will be crucial to

:04:12. > :04:17.the atmosphere in this city. Gary O'Donoghue, many thanks indeed. The

:04:18. > :04:22.bigger picture is worth a glance at now.

:04:23. > :04:24.Just days ahead of the first Presidential debate.

:04:25. > :04:26.The political pantechnicon that is Donald Trump's Presidential

:04:27. > :04:28.campaign rumbled into and out of Toledo, Ohio this week

:04:29. > :04:31.as the country reacted to not just the racially charged rioting

:04:32. > :04:33.in Carolina but also, of course, the terrorist attacks

:04:34. > :04:42.Emily Maitlis has been keeping tabs on this most controversial

:04:43. > :04:44.of candidates, and wondering whether a year of remarkable

:04:45. > :04:48.reverses for the political status quo could yet witness an even bigger

:04:49. > :04:55.upset, and she's in Toledo for us tonight.

:04:56. > :05:02.I think that is right. Whether you are talking about rioting on the

:05:03. > :05:06.streets or the shooting dead of black men by police in Carolina, as

:05:07. > :05:11.you have just heard about, or if it is those thwarted terror attacks in

:05:12. > :05:16.New York and New Jersey, Americans right now waking up to a sense of

:05:17. > :05:20.something deeply unsettling in the state of their country. Clearly both

:05:21. > :05:24.candidates are offering very differing political solutions, but

:05:25. > :05:28.when an electorate keeps hearing about a country that is polarised,

:05:29. > :05:30.that is divided, that is unjust and doesn't seem to be getting any

:05:31. > :06:03.better, perhaps it is for them to start looking to

:06:04. > :06:06.that candidate of change, the candidate that talks about fixing

:06:07. > :06:08.things, fixing things we know is a very Donald Trump sort of phrase. We

:06:09. > :06:11.are in Toledo, Ohio, a crucial swing state Trump is going all out to win.

:06:12. > :06:13.He has been here many more times than Hillary Clinton and ahead of

:06:14. > :06:16.that first critical presidential debate, the first time Donald Trump

:06:17. > :06:18.and Hillary Clinton will sit on the same stage together, going

:06:19. > :06:20.head-to-head, we spoke to a Republican strategist called in by

:06:21. > :06:21.team Brexit to give them a little advice ahead of their own televised

:06:22. > :06:22.debates. Have a look. And we will make

:06:23. > :06:24.America great again! Take back control of this country

:06:25. > :06:26.and our democracy... And we will make

:06:27. > :06:28.America great again! If we vote to Leave,

:06:29. > :06:30.we take back control. And yes, we will make

:06:31. > :06:32.America great again! The echo of insurgency both sides

:06:33. > :06:34.of the Atlantic Ocean... And turn the page to a bright

:06:35. > :06:39.and shining future. 2016, it once seemed, would be

:06:40. > :06:44.the year things almost happened - the rising of populist movements

:06:45. > :06:49.around the world, but after the Brexit vote,

:06:50. > :06:54.suddenly we realised that voice didn't just have the power

:06:55. > :06:56.to unsettle but to upend. It was a moment many on this side

:06:57. > :07:00.of the ocean fully woke up to Trump. I certainly think that the Brexit

:07:01. > :07:03.has energised a lot of voters I think for folks who didn't think,

:07:04. > :07:08.who don't think that Donald Trump can win, they now believe that

:07:09. > :07:13.Donald Trump can win. I also think that it has invigorated

:07:14. > :07:17.the hope of folks who think we can't Brett O'Donnell, a Republican

:07:18. > :07:28.strategist who's advised former presidential candidate Mitt Romney,

:07:29. > :07:31.was called in by the Leave EU team to help them

:07:32. > :07:33.prepare for the debates. We were very careful about trying

:07:34. > :07:41.to characterise this is taking back control of your country,

:07:42. > :07:43.as opposed to losing And being hopeful about your

:07:44. > :07:47.country, as opposed It's about using the phrase "Take

:07:48. > :07:58.back control of our NHS", "Take back control of our school

:07:59. > :08:00.system", "Take back control of our trade", "Take back control

:08:01. > :08:03.of our borders", "Take back control The Brexit Trump analogy

:08:04. > :08:06.is far from perfect, but they each speak to a sense

:08:07. > :08:09.of reclaiming, and that, I think, is key -

:08:10. > :08:11.whether it's about your borders, or your former greatness

:08:12. > :08:15.as a country - it appeals to a people who feel that something

:08:16. > :08:18.slipped out of their grasp, And put like that, it no longer

:08:19. > :08:22.sounds like protest Toledo, Ohio is a midwest town

:08:23. > :08:33.with manufacturing in its soul. Glassware and car parts,

:08:34. > :08:36.gasworks and tyres, but it's a town that's slumped, as

:08:37. > :08:40.manufacturing headed east. An economy in decline has brought

:08:41. > :08:44.many here a rally for Trump. I will not tolerate anyone violating

:08:45. > :08:48.Mr Trump's right to speak here today, or your right

:08:49. > :08:50.to assemble and to listen Do not physically

:08:51. > :08:56.engage the protesters. They embrace their new-found

:08:57. > :08:58.identity as "deplorables", after Hillary's comments

:08:59. > :09:00.about racism and xenophobia I think it's disgusting that

:09:01. > :09:09.a presidential nominee could call a large segment of our

:09:10. > :09:10.population deplorables. If she would win, she would be

:09:11. > :09:15.president of everybody. And as we move through the queue,

:09:16. > :09:18.I'm curious to know if the same factors that drove Brexit,

:09:19. > :09:25.are driving Trump. The dilution of the American culture

:09:26. > :09:27.is deteriorating the structure, In Europe, you guys have a big

:09:28. > :09:32.problem, because there's no borders. I think it's sad that these illegal

:09:33. > :09:35.immigrants get all this freedom and we have veterans

:09:36. > :09:40.who are homeless, who can't afford health care, who have to wait

:09:41. > :09:43.months on top of months. They've been waiting

:09:44. > :09:46.since 9 this morning. Donald Trump finally

:09:47. > :09:50.arrives here at 2.30. This is a movement, and we're

:09:51. > :09:55.taking our country back for the people,

:09:56. > :09:59.we're taking it back. "We're taking our country back,

:10:00. > :10:02.we're taking it back". That kind of easy slogan has proved

:10:03. > :10:06.critical to his messaging during this campaign,

:10:07. > :10:09.whether it means jobs, It's about drilling a message home

:10:10. > :10:17.time and time again. He tells his fans, they tell others,

:10:18. > :10:20.a kind of verbal pyramid selling which has proved

:10:21. > :10:24.so utterly effective. In downtown Toledo,

:10:25. > :10:26.I meet Mike and Ed - I don't think that she is saying

:10:27. > :10:31.anything, what she is going What's he going to do to make

:10:32. > :10:39.America great again? But they agree on one thing,

:10:40. > :10:42.that the Democrats lack It has been harder for her to reduce

:10:43. > :10:49.her message to something that connects every day

:10:50. > :10:54.with the marketplace. What I might call

:10:55. > :10:55.kitchen table life. People are sitting around,

:10:56. > :10:57.not thinking about politicians They're thinking, how

:10:58. > :11:01.can I pay my bills? My car needs a muffler,

:11:02. > :11:04.my rent is due. They are not thinking

:11:05. > :11:10.about politicians and what it means. Until politics starts

:11:11. > :11:14.looking like this... The shooting of yet another black

:11:15. > :11:17.man by police has hit a deep nerve in America,

:11:18. > :11:19.and brought protests out The black vote is overwhelmingly

:11:20. > :11:29.Democrat, but the protest may harden parts of the white vote behind

:11:30. > :11:32.Trump, and polarised America may well play

:11:33. > :11:35.into his narrative. An America that's divided,

:11:36. > :11:39.an America that's uneasy, an America that is, he'll them,

:11:40. > :11:41.broken, is an America Let's pick up where Emily

:11:42. > :11:50.left off in her piece - the protests over the shooting dead

:11:51. > :11:53.of a black man by police A little earlier I spoke

:11:54. > :11:58.to North Carolina congressman His district covers

:11:59. > :12:02.the City of Charlotte. I began by asking him

:12:03. > :12:05.about the prospect of a third night Well, my hope is that

:12:06. > :12:11.calm will prevail. Frankly we need the spirit

:12:12. > :12:16.of Martin Luther King, the great statesman who, yes,

:12:17. > :12:19.he went to the streets We need the spirit of

:12:20. > :12:25.the leaders to come out today, from President Obama,

:12:26. > :12:29.from the Attorney General, from pastors, from lay people,

:12:30. > :12:32.to go to the streets, African-American leaders,

:12:33. > :12:35.and ask for calm and ask for discipline in what they want,

:12:36. > :12:38.to share their grievances The chief grievance

:12:39. > :12:43.of the protesters? It began long before two nights ago

:12:44. > :12:52.when there was a shooting. I think that was the effect,

:12:53. > :12:54.the culmination, frankly, 1965, President Johnson,

:12:55. > :13:01.with good intentions, launched the Great Society,

:13:02. > :13:04.and the impact of that has frankly There are African-American people

:13:05. > :13:11.today who are more removed from our economy

:13:12. > :13:14.than any other time. In fact, sadly, as a result

:13:15. > :13:18.of the policies that the president, and I say with good intentions,

:13:19. > :13:20.followed the last eight years, that the demographic group that has

:13:21. > :13:25.been hurt the worse, are the low income, minority people,

:13:26. > :13:32.they have grown zero in our economy. With respect, congressman,

:13:33. > :13:37.I don't think the people on the streets last night

:13:38. > :13:39.and the night before were protesting against Lyndon B Johnson's almost

:13:40. > :13:42.half a century old policies. What is their grievance

:13:43. > :13:47.in their mind? The grievance in their mind

:13:48. > :13:52.is the animus, the anger. They hate white people because white

:13:53. > :13:55.people are successful We have spent trillions

:13:56. > :14:00.of dollars on welfare, but we put people in bondage,

:14:01. > :14:03.so that they can't be all that America is a country of opportunity

:14:04. > :14:08.and freedom and liberty. It didn't become that way

:14:09. > :14:11.because of the great government who provided everything

:14:12. > :14:14.for everyone. No, the destiny of America,

:14:15. > :14:19.the freedom to come to this country, why they're still coming

:14:20. > :14:22.to our shores is because they can take their work ethic

:14:23. > :14:28.and their hard effort, and put a cap on their risk

:14:29. > :14:31.and build out their lives. A black man gets shot

:14:32. > :14:35.by a black police officer and the people protest

:14:36. > :14:37.because they hate white people? Yeah, that's what

:14:38. > :14:38.they're saying on TV. That was the brother

:14:39. > :14:42.of the man who got shot. He said in a very vulgar way,

:14:43. > :14:45.he hated all white people. There's nothing racial

:14:46. > :14:48.about what happened. You look at the educational system,

:14:49. > :15:01.70% of all African-American children This is tragic, and it's

:15:02. > :15:05.a breakdown in our society. The perception that the African

:15:06. > :15:07.Americans expect a different degree of treatment from American police

:15:08. > :15:10.isn't part of this at all? Do you think our African-American

:15:11. > :15:20.chief of police or an African American officer wants to degrade

:15:21. > :15:22.somebody from his own race? I ride shotgun with our police,

:15:23. > :15:29.from 10pm to 6am, I've done These people are valiant,

:15:30. > :15:32.courageous people. There's issues on the streets every

:15:33. > :15:37.night. They are courageous people, our law

:15:38. > :15:42.enforcement, and I value them. People are instigators,

:15:43. > :15:45.who incite these riots. That's why I'm calling

:15:46. > :15:48.for the spirit of Martin Luther King to return, to not allow

:15:49. > :15:52.the agitators to come in and exploit these situations,

:15:53. > :16:00.and that's what they're doing. Doctor King, of course,

:16:01. > :16:03.spoke of the need of love to be I sense from some of your comments

:16:04. > :16:07.you're probably also Is it somehow fighting hate

:16:08. > :16:12.with love to employ some of the rhetoric he employs,

:16:13. > :16:19.with regards to Mexico of the rhetoric he employs,

:16:20. > :16:21.with regards to Mexicans being rapists and murderers,

:16:22. > :16:23.or the birth story? You have come out and in

:16:24. > :16:28.support of Donald Trump. You cite the memory of Dr King,

:16:29. > :16:31.and I can't quite square I missed your last comment,

:16:32. > :16:42.did you say nobody is perfect? But the policies of the last 50

:16:43. > :16:44.years have enslaved these I'm looking ahead

:16:45. > :16:50.to the next five now. I just wonder how you square

:16:51. > :16:52.admiration for Donald Trump, who has cast aspersions

:16:53. > :16:54.upon the very circumstances of an African-American's birth,

:16:55. > :16:58.while also calling for the spirit of Dr King to be brought to bear,

:16:59. > :17:04.upon the current violence. What I'm for is freedom

:17:05. > :17:06.and opportunity and liberty, and that's what our Republican House

:17:07. > :17:12.members stand for. To go to a better way,

:17:13. > :17:15.you'll understand what we're about. We are about our agenda,

:17:16. > :17:17.an agenda for creating greater We want Donald Trump to embrace us,

:17:18. > :17:22.and we believe he will Congressmen Robert Pittenger,

:17:23. > :17:27.thank you very much indeed. Joining me now from New York

:17:28. > :17:42.is The Daily Beast's Let's begin, it's hard to know where

:17:43. > :17:47.to begin... Let's begin with the claim there was no racial element to

:17:48. > :17:50.what is happening in Charlotte at the moment because the chief of

:17:51. > :17:55.police is African-American and the officer who fired the fatal shot is

:17:56. > :17:59.also African-American, BoGo this isn't an issue of race.

:18:00. > :18:01.I think it's a misnomer first of all to believe that an officer of the

:18:02. > :18:06.law who happens to be African-American does not also

:18:07. > :18:10.harbour some level of implicit, if not explicit bias against other

:18:11. > :18:13.Americans, whether or not they are white or not white,

:18:14. > :18:18.African-American, Hispanic or otherwise. So that has been proven

:18:19. > :18:21.to be true in test after test. So for many African Americans,

:18:22. > :18:26.specifically living in Charlotte, this is a racial issue. If you look

:18:27. > :18:32.at Charlotte and its fabric, its economic and racial disparities and

:18:33. > :18:35.disparities among racial intolerance lines it's a very fragile fabric

:18:36. > :18:40.that has existed over these last several decades. If you look at what

:18:41. > :18:44.happened last evening, yes, there was a flash point of an --

:18:45. > :18:49.African-American man who was disabled with the community says was

:18:50. > :18:53.unarmed, the police officers say he was armed, who was shot as he waited

:18:54. > :18:59.for his trial to get off a school bus. That was not necessarily the

:19:00. > :19:03.cause of the uprising. It was simply the flash point. The cause is the

:19:04. > :19:08.decades upon decades of economic and racial inequality in and around

:19:09. > :19:11.Charlotte and in and around other US American cities.

:19:12. > :19:16.It's not simply the case that, as the congressman suggested, they hate

:19:17. > :19:20.all white people? No, not at all. What people hate is

:19:21. > :19:27.the injustice they see reflected in this system. If I'm looking at the

:19:28. > :19:30.cultural ins of the congressman IC uprising in the streets and

:19:31. > :19:33.lawlessness that ought to be checked and a system that is fair to me and

:19:34. > :19:36.people like me. I don't see the system from the other side from

:19:37. > :19:41.black and brown people who happen to live in this country who are apart

:19:42. > :19:45.on the other side of the occasion, who don't carry the same level of

:19:46. > :19:50.privilege of not being able to see all being affected by implicit bias.

:19:51. > :19:53.So I think there are cultural lenses at play here. The congressman sees

:19:54. > :19:57.his version of truth and then the young people on the ground see their

:19:58. > :20:01.day-to-day Myers and their truth and both of them have two square and

:20:02. > :20:05.that is where the divide lies. What do you feel, Goldie Taylor, new

:20:06. > :20:09.here and elected politician like that described African-American

:20:10. > :20:12.people as not liking white people because white people are successful

:20:13. > :20:16.and black people are not? I will put him up against every

:20:17. > :20:21.black doctor and lawyer that I know in this country, company CEO, US

:20:22. > :20:27.congressmen and women. I will put him up against every heart surgeon,

:20:28. > :20:33.every black heart surgeon I know, every schoolteacher, every police

:20:34. > :20:36.officer and then talk about what success means in the

:20:37. > :20:41.African-American community., people with college degrees in the African

:20:42. > :20:46.American community than at any time in history and employment Dummigan

:20:47. > :20:50.employment rates have halved under Obama. Has never been a better time

:20:51. > :20:55.for African-Americans in this country. To say it is perfect be

:20:56. > :20:59.wrong, but to say we are in a time that is as bad as Jim Crow that

:21:00. > :21:07.existed over 50 years ago, to say it is as bad as when the EPM system

:21:08. > :21:11.existed in this country, or as bad as slavery, or the vicious maligning

:21:12. > :21:14.of human rights in this country we are simply not therefore stop this

:21:15. > :21:16.country has made a hell of a lot of progress.

:21:17. > :21:20.You mentioned President Obama and the prospect of President Trump is

:21:21. > :21:24.Hoving interview. Is this not helping him if he is the candidate

:21:25. > :21:28.of change portraying chaos, then seems like the ones we've seen in

:21:29. > :21:30.Charlotte somehow create the idea there is really something that needs

:21:31. > :21:37.to be fixed? That's the fear, if you watch these

:21:38. > :21:41.kinds of uprisings, if you watch the terrorist attacks in New York

:21:42. > :21:45.recently when you had a young man planting pressure cooker bombs

:21:46. > :21:49.around the city, some would say that that would indeed help the Trump

:21:50. > :21:53.candidacy if you live in that kind of fear. But there are others on the

:21:54. > :21:56.other hand who say Trump is not the answer to those kinds of dilemmas,

:21:57. > :22:00.that we need a more comprehensive approach to immigration, a more

:22:01. > :22:03.comprehensive approach to unemployment, a more comprehensive

:22:04. > :22:08.approach to fixing public education. Trump doesn't give policies, he

:22:09. > :22:12.gives, I will fix it and I'm the only one. America is looking for

:22:13. > :22:16.change but I think it's difficult, quite frankly, to articulate a

:22:17. > :22:18.comprehensive policy that we need. Goldie Taylor, thank you for your

:22:19. > :22:23.time tonight. Thank you. The precarious ceasefire

:22:24. > :22:28.in the Syrian civil war finally collapsed overnight as rebel-held

:22:29. > :22:30.areas of the already devastated city of Aleppo came under

:22:31. > :22:32.heavy aerial bombardment. Reports out of the city suggest that

:22:33. > :22:36.incendiary bombs were dropped on the Bustan al-Qasr district,

:22:37. > :22:38.killing at least 13 people, Tonight the Syrian army announced

:22:39. > :22:44.the start of a new military offensive in the city,

:22:45. > :22:46.urging civilians to avoid areas Let's cross to Aleppo now and speak

:22:47. > :22:54.to Ismail Alabdullah. He works for the White Helmets,

:22:55. > :22:57.a group of volunteer rescue workers who try to help victims

:22:58. > :23:08.of the violence. If the picture seems dark, that's

:23:09. > :23:15.because there is currently no electricity in his building tonight.

:23:16. > :23:23.Ismail, can I begin by asking what you have been doing today?

:23:24. > :23:29.Actually, today, we responded to many sites of bombing, lots of

:23:30. > :23:34.people are under the rubble in many neighbourhoods. Last night it was

:23:35. > :23:47.like hell in a Aleppo city and all of the neighbourhoods in Bustan

:23:48. > :23:51.al-Qasr. We worked more than 24 hours to pull bodies from the

:23:52. > :24:00.rubble. Since the ceasefire ended at seven o'clock two days ago many

:24:01. > :24:06.people died almost 30 people on that night in just four hours. All of

:24:07. > :24:14.died. Yesterday there were air strikes. Bombs killed 13 people,

:24:15. > :24:23.like you said. Before the ceasefire ended everything was OK and people

:24:24. > :24:30.were happy, walking on the streets, celebrating Eid and everything has

:24:31. > :24:37.changed. The situation has become heavy bombing. The aid situation

:24:38. > :24:45.remains precarious. Are any supplies reaching the city? Can I ask what

:24:46. > :24:51.you have eaten today? Today I just have eaten some rice

:24:52. > :24:57.from my friend. The other day I was looking for something to eat. I'm

:24:58. > :25:01.not afraid for myself. I'm scared about the people, about the kids,

:25:02. > :25:15.about the many people around Aleppo city. We have not received any aid

:25:16. > :25:19.for two months, medical care, we are suffering from a lack of medical

:25:20. > :25:25.supplies. We don't have enough doctors. Even electricity and the

:25:26. > :25:29.electricity went off since almost three months. We have just

:25:30. > :25:36.generators working for the hospitals. And in a few days we will

:25:37. > :25:42.run out of everything. Even for water, we don't have drinking water.

:25:43. > :25:48.We have just water from the well is that cannot be drinkable. The

:25:49. > :25:56.situation has become worse and worse and worse. I think the line has

:25:57. > :25:59.defeated us, and so indeed has the clock. Ismail alla Abdullah, thank

:26:00. > :26:02.you for your time this evening. Modern politicians seem increasingly

:26:03. > :26:04.obsessed with their legacy but it's fair to say that one of the biggest

:26:05. > :26:08.bequests of Boris Johnson's London mayoralty is looking

:26:09. > :26:09.decidedly troubled. His successor Sadiq Khan today

:26:10. > :26:11.announced a comprehensive review of the so-called Garden Bridge

:26:12. > :26:13.and appointed the former chair of the Commons

:26:14. > :26:15.Public Accounts Committee, In a moment she'll tell us how

:26:16. > :26:19.she plans to establish whether the ?60 million already

:26:20. > :26:27.spent represents value for money for taxpayers

:26:28. > :26:30.and whether transparency standards have been met

:26:31. > :26:32.by the public bodies involved. But first, a report

:26:33. > :26:42.from Newsnight's Hannah Barnes. At a cost of ?185 million

:26:43. > :26:45.and now running a year Garden Bridge has barely been out

:26:46. > :26:55.of the headlines in recent months. The choice of Dame Margaret Hodge

:26:56. > :26:57.lead a review into how the Garden Bridge has

:26:58. > :26:59.been handled so far is an interesting one.

:27:00. > :27:02.As chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee,

:27:03. > :27:05.Hodge was famous for her fearless questioning and not shying away from

:27:06. > :27:08.holding the most powerful and influential players in industry and

:27:09. > :27:11.You're a company that says you do no evil,

:27:12. > :27:20.Dame Margaret will look at whether the

:27:21. > :27:22.Garden Bridge has achieved value for money from the taxpayers'

:27:23. > :27:26.Some say Hodge's appointment is politically

:27:27. > :27:28.motivated, but others, who are critical of

:27:29. > :27:30.the plans, welcoming the London Mayor's decision.

:27:31. > :27:34.I'm delighted Margaret Hodge is going to

:27:35. > :27:36.take a look at this, because she knows, I think

:27:37. > :27:39.she can smell a dud project when she sees one.

:27:40. > :27:43.I think she's going to find this one is a real dud.

:27:44. > :27:48.If this was built entirely with private money, and there was

:27:49. > :27:53.enough private money to ensure it wasn't a liability on the taxpayer

:27:54. > :27:56.in future, I's still think frankly it was a waste.

:27:57. > :27:59.This is just a bad way to think of spending public money

:28:00. > :28:01.and the sooner it's scrapped, the better.

:28:02. > :28:03.Last month Newsnight revealed the funding shortfall for

:28:04. > :28:06.the project was significantly greater than the public had been led

:28:07. > :28:16.On top of the 60 million of public money pledged, the chair of the

:28:17. > :28:19.Garden Bridge Trust, Lord Davies, told us that ?69 million had been

:28:20. > :28:27.Since that appearance by Lord Davies more than a month ago, the Garden

:28:28. > :28:29.Bridge Trust doesn't appear to have raised any new private money.

:28:30. > :28:33.Indeed, just earlier this week, it told the Times newspaper that

:28:34. > :28:39.private fund-raising still stood at ?69 million.

:28:40. > :28:41.So despite the fact that those behind the Garden Bridge

:28:42. > :28:44.have made it very clear that this is now a critical

:28:45. > :28:47.time for the project, the money that they desperately need

:28:48. > :28:49.to make this project happen just isn't materialising.

:28:50. > :28:52.Letters and e-mails released this week under the

:28:53. > :29:00.Freedom of Information Act have shown that the Garden Bridge came

:29:01. > :29:02.perilously close to being pulled earlier this summer.

:29:03. > :29:05.In an e-mail on the 11th of July, a senior civil

:29:06. > :29:08.servant at the Department for Transport explicitly asked the

:29:09. > :29:14.Garden Bridge Trust whether without the government

:29:15. > :29:16.agreeing to extend a guarantee to underwrite the bridge,

:29:17. > :29:28.the trustees would be unable to continue with the project.

:29:29. > :29:31.Bee Emmott, the executive director of the garden

:29:32. > :29:33.Bridge trust replies, yes, trustees need this

:29:34. > :29:37.to demonstrate we are we are growing concern.

:29:38. > :29:39.Without the underwriting they would struggle to demonstrate

:29:40. > :29:43.Another letter has raised concerns for Will Hurst

:29:44. > :29:55.On the 11th of July the trough's German, Mervyn Davies wrote to one

:29:56. > :29:58.of the transport ministers, explaining that there were all sorts

:29:59. > :30:01.of problems with the project, that it might need to be terminated

:30:02. > :30:03.in the next few months and that they had stood

:30:04. > :30:09.Now, on the very same day it turns out the garden bridge trust

:30:10. > :30:12.was telling the Evening Standard, and therefore Londoners, that

:30:13. > :30:15.They also released a statement on their website, this

:30:16. > :30:18.is the garden bridge trust, saying construction has not been

:30:19. > :30:19.halted because construction hasn't yet started.

:30:20. > :30:21.I think the documents disclose something that's really

:30:22. > :30:25.At the same time that the Bridge Trust was writing to the Minister

:30:26. > :30:28.in the Department for Transport to say they've had to put work

:30:29. > :30:30.on hold, they were telling the London Evening Standard that

:30:31. > :30:32.everything was going absolutely swimmingly.

:30:33. > :30:34.Now you know, that's at best misleading, at worst it's

:30:35. > :30:40.A spokesperson for the Garden Bridge Trust said there is no deception,

:30:41. > :30:42.you are comparing a letter to our delivery partner,

:30:43. > :30:44.outlining funding risks where we discussed the worst-case

:30:45. > :30:46.scenarios, with a press statement that clearly talks

:30:47. > :30:49.about the operations work the team is doing to move ahead on all

:30:50. > :30:55.the planning activities required to enable construction to commence.

:30:56. > :30:57.Dame Margaret's review will cost ?25,000 and Sadiq Khan has promised

:30:58. > :31:06.It will then be in his power to decide whether the

:31:07. > :31:16.We did ask to speak to someone from the Garden Bridge Trust

:31:17. > :31:22.No matter, with me now is Dame Margaret Hodge,

:31:23. > :31:26.has been asked by the London Mayor to look into this project.

:31:27. > :31:33.Did Sadiq Khan tell you why he wanted you particular for this job?

:31:34. > :31:38.I think it's my experience over the five years of the last Parliament,

:31:39. > :31:42.when I was responsible for China Public Accounts Committee, and our

:31:43. > :31:46.job was to look at value for money for public expenditure. What I'm

:31:47. > :31:53.looking for in this project is not the project in its totality, it's

:31:54. > :31:57.the Garden Trust. If they raised money privately that is brilliant,

:31:58. > :32:01.I'm looking at the Public expenditure part of it, the ?60

:32:02. > :32:04.million promised, of which ?40 million has been spent, to see

:32:05. > :32:09.whether it is value for money, whether the procurement process was

:32:10. > :32:13.best practice and whether there was proper transparency in the decisions

:32:14. > :32:18.that were taken. Do you still fancy the job having seen that report?

:32:19. > :32:21.There we are, I will get a van load of stuff delivered tomorrow to my

:32:22. > :32:27.house, so I will have really exciting reading over the weekend. I

:32:28. > :32:30.get access to all the papers that City Hall have, so I will stop with

:32:31. > :32:35.that. There have been various reviews. I will go through that. I

:32:36. > :32:38.hope everybody will talk to me, including the Garden Trust and after

:32:39. > :32:42.I've read the papers I will have a clear review of who I have to talk

:32:43. > :32:49.to and what questions that need to ask. And you arrive at this task

:32:50. > :32:53.with your impartiality scrupulous, but you do possess teeth and they

:32:54. > :32:55.are teeth you are not afraid to bear in the chairmanship of that Public

:32:56. > :33:02.Accounts Committee. Have you been entrusted with enough power,

:33:03. > :33:07.conclusions depend on, to end this project before it's begun? I'm not

:33:08. > :33:13.going in to end this project, I am impartial. Is that on the table as a

:33:14. > :33:17.possibility, if your findings... The decision in the end is for others,

:33:18. > :33:22.not me at all. The power lies more with the Department for Transport

:33:23. > :33:27.and the male's office. That your advice could constitute a caution?

:33:28. > :33:32.Let's see. I'm trying to work out what powers you have. I've got the

:33:33. > :33:36.powers to look at everything, all the papers in City Hall. When I was

:33:37. > :33:40.doing the Public Accounts Committee, we had to sometimes fight to get

:33:41. > :33:44.access to papers. This time I'm told everything that goes into City Hall

:33:45. > :33:50.is there. I hope people will come and talk to me about it. Will you

:33:51. > :33:55.encourage them to do so? I want to clarify how as a layman howl nearly

:33:56. > :33:59.?40 million can be spent on a budget before a brick has been delayed or

:34:00. > :34:03.ground has been broken, do we know? That is the question I will have to

:34:04. > :34:06.ask. That is your starting point. Dame Margaret Hodge, thank you.

:34:07. > :34:09.A fictional account of the 72-hour long deliberations of Roman Catholic

:34:10. > :34:14.cardinals charged with electing a new Pope may not offer

:34:15. > :34:17.immediately obvious lessons for the British Labour party.

:34:18. > :34:19.But the bestselling author, and former confidante of Tony Blair,

:34:20. > :34:21.Robert Harris has extrapolated precisely that from his

:34:22. > :34:26.Papal elections are a famously secretive process with their roots

:34:27. > :34:28.in the thirteenth century culminating, of course,

:34:29. > :34:31.with the release of plumes of white smoke so we thought

:34:32. > :34:39.we'd charge Harris - once a reporter on Newsnight

:34:40. > :34:41.of course - with explaining what lessons the papal politicians

:34:42. > :35:01.might have for their secular cousins.

:35:02. > :35:04.I wanted to write a novel about the election of a Pope,

:35:05. > :35:07.not because I'm a Catholic which I'm not, but

:35:08. > :35:09.because I'm a political writer and a conclave is the oldest

:35:10. > :35:11.and most secretive electoral process on Earth.

:35:12. > :35:13.I was allowed to go behind-the-scenes of the Vatican to

:35:14. > :35:19.see the places where a conclave takes place,

:35:20. > :35:22.in the corridors and in the bedrooms of the Cardinals where they gather

:35:23. > :35:25.to discuss the candidates, in the room where the new Pope

:35:26. > :35:28.is dressed and even allowed to follow the walk he takes soon

:35:29. > :35:51.One aim of the novel was to take the reader inside

:35:52. > :36:01.Another was to see whether this 700-year-old ritual, this

:36:02. > :36:03.extraordinary coalition between the sacred and the profane still had

:36:04. > :36:06.lessons to offer modern politics, in particular in this season of

:36:07. > :36:19.It's a fairly reliable rule of recent papal elections that

:36:20. > :36:24.whoever starts as favourite ends up losing,

:36:25. > :36:28.as is often said to be the case in Tory leadership elections.

:36:29. > :36:34.The Cardinals may not know who they want to choose as Pope,

:36:35. > :36:36.but they often know who they don't want and the favourite

:36:37. > :36:50.Unless a popular incumbent is standing again which obviously

:36:51. > :36:56.is never the case with a conclave, elections are very much an

:36:57. > :36:59.opportunity for change and most of the Popes elected over

:37:00. > :37:01.the last 60 years have been, in a way, change

:37:02. > :37:12.There is a warning here for Hillary Clinton above all,

:37:13. > :37:18.because if even the elderly Cardinals

:37:19. > :37:21.of the conclave want to see a change, how much more

:37:22. > :37:25.so do millions of voters in the United States?

:37:26. > :37:29.When the cardinals gather in the Sistine

:37:30. > :37:32.Chapel, the first thing they do is pray that the holy spirit will come

:37:33. > :37:34.among them and guide them to a candidate.

:37:35. > :37:39.And once one of their number begins to attract a lot of

:37:40. > :37:42.votes, inevitably they have the aura of being God's chosen.

:37:43. > :37:43.What in a secular election a psephologist

:37:44. > :37:50.Whether or not you believe that Jeremy Corbyn is the second

:37:51. > :37:54.coming, it was certainly wise of his supporters to colonise that

:37:55. > :37:57.particular word and his opponents have been on the defensive ever

:37:58. > :38:09.Cardinals in a conclave are traditionally supposed to insist

:38:10. > :38:17.that they have no desire to become Pope.

:38:18. > :38:20.Nevertheless, those popes who are most successful, John XXIII,

:38:21. > :38:23.John Paul II and the present Pope seemed to come almost

:38:24. > :38:25.from the start, project an aura of confidence.

:38:26. > :38:28.It's important to appear at ease in the role and it's also

:38:29. > :38:38.Any divisions are kept behind closed doors.

:38:39. > :38:40.And when the winning candidate emerges, the church

:38:41. > :38:52.Secular politics has a lot to learn from conclaves.

:38:53. > :38:58.Conclave, from the Latin conclavis - with a key.

:38:59. > :39:01.Since the 13th century this was how the church had

:39:02. > :39:05.ensured its Cardinals would come to a decision.

:39:06. > :39:07.They would not be released from the chapel except for

:39:08. > :39:10.meals and to sleep until they had chosen a Pope.

:39:11. > :39:21.Finally the cardinal electors were alone.

:39:22. > :39:26.The nation was rocked again today with further news of defections

:39:27. > :39:30.from the Great British Bake Off team, as the show makes its

:39:31. > :39:39.This morning we learned that Mary Berry will not be making

:39:40. > :39:42.leaving Paul Hollywood as the only on-screen talent left.

:39:43. > :39:44.If you're a fan of the show, though, don't worry.

:39:45. > :39:47.We've got hold of a sneak preview of how the new show might look.

:39:48. > :39:53.What we want to do is take it back to basics a little bit.

:39:54. > :39:54.But that doesn't mean that the judging's

:39:55. > :40:01.We've never done anything like this on Bake Off