04/08/2017 Newsnight

COMMENTATOR: He's a one-man world superpower, victory for Mo Farah!

STUDIO: A victory lap tonight for Mo,

but what of the sport As athletics fights

to clean up its act, how confident is the head

of the world anti-doping agency At the moment, without doubt,

the toughest thing that I've ever Also tonight - is Kenya facing

another bloody election? We, as supporters,

will have to fight And this British man died

battling IS alongside His mother joins us to share her

thoughts on his legacy. There were familiar scenes

at London's Olympic Stadium tonight as Sir Mo Farah won another

10,000 metre gold in It's been just five years

since Farah made his name as London, world athletics and British

brilliance combined to create an Olympic Games that ranked among

the most successful in history But since then athletics has been

mired in doping scandals which has seen the Russian team excluded

from international competitions and Mo Farah has never failed a drugs

test. But his coach Alberto Salazar

remains the subject of an investigation by US anti

doping chiefs - though of course Some in the sport are critical of

the speed at which the investigation that could clear them

has been conducted. And what will become of the sport

once Mo and its other big names like Usain Bolt depart

after these games? COMMENTATOR: The women's 1500 metres

gets underway. The London Olympics in 2012 was a triumph in semi-ways

by doping is casting an ever darker shadow over it -- so many wastrels

of this race has been dubbed the dirtiest traceable time, the winner

was previously banned for two years from 2004 on two 2006, she has been

stripped of the gold medal and has been serving a ban and the silver

medallist has also been found guilty of irregularities in her biological

passport. The fifth placed runner was later banned for meldonium use

but had her suspension overturned. In seventh place, an athlete banned

for biological passport abnormalities and in ninth place an

athlete who will be banned for two years for the attended use of a

prohibited substance or method. The Mail on Sunday calculated that of

650 athletes, at track and field finals at London 2012, 87 have had

doping violations. It has increased now to 88, a further 188 have doping

associations, either their coach or agent or doctor is associated or

they have missed or failed a test. The World Championships that started

today was supposed to draw a line under the saga, medals are being

rewarded and Russia is still not here because of its doping

violations. The Russian athletes who are here compete as independents. We

can use some Russian close with the Russian flag colours, they are

strict rules, so we can use any kind of science on your body and in your

hair, with a Russian flag, something even close to this will stop so how

confident should we be? It is possible to have a sport where the

vast majority of people you are watching our clean and I think that

is the case, it is harder for an athlete to cheat and you have got to

take the federations usually, to ban a whole country in Russia is a

serious step to take. People will be looking at the 2017 World

Championships in London with scepticism which is what athletics

deserves given its track record, and there will be dozens of convicted

dopers taking part in the championships, that's a matter of

public record, people who have taken drugs and come back from bands.

Public trust matters. All the athletes you watch running for Great

Britain have been subsidised by the National Lottery which has changed

the face of athletics. If the public lose faith in athletics, it will be

harder to justify lottery spending, and they have got to win medals, as

well, and that will get harder without the likes of Mo Farah and

Jessica Ennis-Hill and Rutherford not jumping. Athletics will face a

challenge as Usain Bolt believes the sport, a paragon of clean living.

The fastest 30 times in that event have been run entirely by dopers

apart from The Times clock by Usain Bolt. The person who has

single-handedly carried the sport, almost, he has transcended the

sport, a global superstar but he won't be there after this year. That

will be a very big void to fill. The passing of a great may show up the

depth of the problems in track and field. Chris Cook, reporting.

Sir Craig Reedie is a few months into his second term

as President of WADA, the world anti-doping agency,

and as such the man ultimately responsible for cleaning

Earlier this evening I button-holed him outside his hotel

Luckily, we also managed to borrow a couple of chairs

I began by asking him how tarnished athletics is now compare to his

career as a badminton player. Athletics certainly suffered

from the revelations in 2015, when the biggest country

in the world was clearly involved in cheating, and secondly

when the International Federation I think they are making progress

and I encourage them to do that, and we work closely with them

as they do that. We have one of our finest athletes,

Mo Farah, running in London under His coach, Alberto

Salazar, won't be here. There are reports, as you know,

of suppression of investigations. So it isn't just the Russians that

leave a slightly sour taste. Well, you can remember

after the Rio games, the discord and trouble caused

by an organisation called the Fancy Bears, who reacted

to what they saw as treatment They were, who immediately of course

found people who had therapeutic use exemptions who happened to come

from Western medal-winning countries Personally, I'm disappointed

in that it has taken too long This has been going on for

about three years now. I think the United States

Anti-Doping Agency would be well served if they reached a decision

sooner rather than later. Can the people lining up

on the starting line at these games be more confident

than they were in Rio, more confident than they were in London,

the clean athletes, can they be confident that they're not lining up

against doped athletes? Athletics here have pre-games tested

any number of athletes. There have been something

like 5,000 different urine There will be another 600

done in competition. So athletes know that,

and it would be foolish for any In addition, they will keep samples

from London for a period So if you're so smart that

you don't get caught now, the chances are that you will be

caught at some date in the future. So I assure you that

everything is being done, That said, I can't sit here and be

complacent in any way. This is an argument that has to go

on on a day-to-day basis. And it would also help if we had

a bit more money to do it. For me, as a fan of athletics,

it's the dope users who pass the tests that are the problem,

not the ones who fail the tests, because the technology

and the effort, the laboratories we read about, the supplements,

the mysterious substances crossing borders in Jiffy bags,

the effort that is put into not failing the dope tests

is where the attention surely needs People need to understand

that this is an ongoing and changing situation,

every minute of every day. We have our own investigations

department and our own But to run both of these,

you need to have large And how you collect that information

is time-consuming and expensive, and when you analyse it,

you act properly on it. When I say act properly,

we are a sports organisation. Sometimes it would help if we had

law enforcement more But I refuse to sit here and say

either that we have no problem, or even worse, from my point

of view, "I'm sorry, I'm so depressed that I'm

not prepared to carry It's like that Greek fella pushing

the rock up the hill and when he got to the top,

it started rolling back down again. It is without doubt the toughest

thing I have tried to do in sport. Success looks like a much,

much reduced number of athletes being caught cheating

by testing positive. We have to be smart

in our own research, in our own understanding,

that we test for the correct substance in the correct athlete

in the correct event, I have a sense that the police,

as in many areas of life, many areas of wrongdoing,

the police, which is you, are playing catch up

with the criminal. Well, I would like to think

we are closer to them than you might think,

James. David Walsh is chief sports writer

for the Sunday Times and was responsible for exposing

doping by the cyclist He has also written

extensively about athletics It is unfortunate that we have to

discuss Mo Farah's swansong in the context of the continuing

investigation, how much does this pollute his legacy potentially? It

doesn't enhance his legacy, that he has worked with Alberto Salazar, a

coach who has a lot of questions to answer at the very least. Both

adamant there has been no wrongdoing. Yes, years, but the

United States anti-doping agency are still investigating Alberto Salazar

and we have testimony from any athletes who worked with him who

were unhappy about his methods. That isn't to say that Mo Farah dopes but

it would be much better for his credibility if he had no connection

with Alberto Salazar. You heard Craig Reedie being interviewed, he

talks a good game, do you think that Wada is fit for purpose? It might be

if it had sufficient funding. Craig Reedie is in his second term and I

have a sense of a man who is only now getting a grip on the problem

that exists. He has had a very unimpressive first term. When this

Russian controversy broke, his initial reaction was to hope that it

would pass without becoming a major controversy. Of course it was going

to become a major controversy because we had outstanding

whistle-blowers in Russia. Stepanov told us what was going on in Russia,

and for the athletes who were competing... Who are competing in

this World Championship in London now, it is significant that there

are not many Russians here, the Russian team is not there, and that

is to athletics credit that they have basically kicked out Russia for

the Rio games and they are still out. Chris Cook's film earlier, that

was astonishing, to see the women's race in which almost everyone was

found to have been in some sort of contravention of the rules. Are you

confident that webby happening in London in the next few days? --

won't be happening. Yes, I am. The IAAF was corrupt at that time and

the people were aiding and abetting doping and some of them were

profiting from doping so we have the most appalling situation. Many

British people will have great memories of London 2012 but much of

what we watched was fraudulent and the legacy has been besmirched by

that. I don't think the IAAF is corrupt today in the way it was then

and I think there have been great improvements and the fact they have

voted to sanction Russia in the way they have. That is to their credit.

Will there be any dopers involved in these games? Of course. I don't

think you can watch any major event in athletics and in some other

sports and not have some dopers but there will be less. One thing we

should all remember, the greatest controversy we have seen in terms of

doping was enacted at the Winter Olympics where the Russian state

conspired to cheat their way to gold medals, what they did was substitute

you're in because that was the only where they could beat the tests for

the not many countries could do that because that involve huge planning

and the involvement of the state police and the former KGB. Many of

those agents were involved, and that isn't going to happen in many other

places, but the reason Russia did that is because the anti-doping

tests do work anti-circumvention MP had to actually substitute -- they

actually had to substitute. They could be far more effective than

they are and the doping problem would be either would say

significantly less if we put enough money into it. Very briefly, with

big stars heading off into the sunset like Hussein Barr, is the

sport heading into the doldrums? -- Usain Bolt. Athletics is losing its

audience, no doubt, and losing Mo Farah and especially Usain Bolt

won't help, but sport survives. Golf is used to worry about what would

happen when Tiger Woods went into decline, that happened, and golf is

still there. Athletics will live long after Mo Farah and Usain Bolt.

Thanks for joining us. The incumbent, President Uhuru

Kenyatta is up against his old rival Raila Odinga, who's trying

for what will be his fourth - and, at 72, possibly his last -

attempt to become president. The polls suggest it's close,

and given Kenya's recent history, how the election is run,

who wins and how the loser takes it, will decide whether the country

descends into violence as it did a decade ago, or becomes a champion

of African democracy. Tensions are running high -

not helped by the brutal abduction, torture and murder this week

of the man in charge This from the BBC's

Africa Correspondent It's not just politicians who bring

rallies to the slums of Nairobi. If anyone gets upset

about the election result, the violence will break out here,

and so they're urging Rachel is a feminist

and an activist in Mathare, one of the biggest

slums in the capital. The march is straddling two wards

with different politics. If Kenyans are told

the election was free and fair, Even in the slums, as much

as they are using words to criminalise us, telling us it's

a hotspot, if they know the election is free

and fair, they cannot disturb. Rallies have been romping

across the country for weeks. This is opposition orange,

and green, and blue and white. The National Super Alliance,

they're called, Nasa, five opposition parties

on one ticket. Raila Odinga is their

presidential candidate, Since then, the Odingas have

always been in opposition. It's his fourth attempt to get

the top job, and at 72, probably his last, and that makes

the stakes even higher. "the driver is drunk

and the conductor is a thief". Drivers and conductors

aside, their alliance Uhuru Kenyatta, son

of Kenya's first president. The big political dynasties

live on more than 50 The success of this

whole ballot depends The Independent Electoral

and Boundaries Commission, or IEBC, In a country where vote-rigging has

been suspected in the past and is expected in the future,

their computerised voting system is the key to free

and fair elections. If it works, fixing the result

will be an awful lot harder The public demonstration went well,

but if the computer system fails, And given what has

happened in the past week, Chris Msando was the acting head

of IT at the Electoral Commission, "The system's safe with me",

he said, but then he disappeared. This time last week,

he left the IEBC building and went He was meeting a 21-year-old

graduate student known as Carol. What happened over the next few

hours is a lot less certain. His Land Rover was seen

driving across Nairobi. At one point, four people

may have been inside, Elsewhere, he was on the phone

looking agitated. First, his car was recovered

on one side of town. Then on the other side of the city,

two bodies were discovered. Both he and the young

graduate, Carol Ngumbu, People jumped to their own

conclusions, and it's put A senior Kenyan lawyer wants

a commission of inquiry for this and other cases

of what he calls Apart from being a chilling effect

on the general populace and even other employees of the electoral

body, it again just highlights how we have, for too long,

left extrajudicial killings Corruption is a huge

part of the problem. This footage was filmed

by citizen journalists. It's common, and just

the tip of the iceberg. The police officer stops,

opens the door and grabs something. John-Allan Namu is an investigative

journalist for Africa Corruption is endemic

in this country. It's taken over very many parts

of government operations. A third of our resources

are believed to be lost It's driven by a lot

of private-sector impunity, Nothing ever gets resolved.

No one ever goes to jail. Ten years ago, terrible

post-election ethnic violence killed more than 1,200 people amid claims

that it was rigged, International Criminal Court charges

against the deputy president and President Kenyatta collapsed

when witnesses died mysteriously. At the last election,

the computer system failed. Rachel's friends in Mathare

are worried it will happen again. We are a bit scared,

especially as women. The way things are going,

we are all scared. He's saying the main

issue we have is She's saying it will be peaceful

as long as it is a free, But if it isn't free,

fair and credible... This is obviously a group

of opposition supporters. We want to live in a peaceful

community, but if it happens by mistake, the Jubilee

government rigs elections, we, he's saying we as Nasa supporters

will have to fight If he loses, but it's a fair

election, what happens then? But if it is 50-50,

we will not agree on that. So if it's really close, there's

more chance of being violence? This is one of the most important

elections in Africa, in one What's significant now

is not who wins, but how In the three years since the birth

of the so-called Islamic State it is believed up to 850 men,

women, boys and girls have left Britain to make what for most of us

would be the unimaginable journey Many are since believed to have been

killed or now find themselves trapped in Raqqa as coalition troops

close in to liberate it. Remarkably, some of those

confronting Isis across the Syrian battlefields

are themselves from Britain. Over the years, dozens have left

these shores as civilians Most join regiments

from the Kurdish YPG army. One young man, Ryan Lock,

was praised this week as a hero by a coroner who heard details

of his death. He shot himself to avoid

capture after being injured in a gunfight last December -

the third Briton Others who have fought have been

arrested on their return to Britain. I'm joined now by Vasilika

Scurfield, the mother of Eric Scurfield, who was killed

in 2015 as he fought with the YPG. I am so sorry for your loss. Why did

Eric, or cost, as the family knew him, why was he so keen to get

involved in a war that in many ways have nothing to do with him? He felt

that since most of the people fighting in Syria for Isis, many of

them were British soldiers or most were from other countries, he felt

that it was his duty to redress that balance. And he felt that Isis was a

threat that if not stopped, would spread. What if Isis had not been

stopped by the Kurds? They might have gone on to Jordan, the Greek

islands, Albania. They were unstoppable at the time and he felt

he had to step up. And I think he was doing his National Service in

the Greek army that he formed -- at the time he formed this ambition.

Actually, he was in the Royal Marines here in the UK. Part of the

reason why he went was disappointment when he was told by

his CEOs that there was no chance of him going into recognise the 10,000

-- rescue the 10,000 Yazidi people in the mountains. He was disgusted.

And of course, the government at the time was keen to offer support to

precisely the sort of militias that he ended up fighting with. They lost

a Parliamentary vote, which makes it all the more remarkable that the

status of fighters like your son is, well, how would you describe it? It

is a sort of legal limbo. It is worse than that. They are often

criminalised when they come back. So these are guys fighting with

coalition forces. They are getting our support from coalition forces.

They are getting treated, if they are lucky enough, in special forces

field hospitals, for example. So they are working closely with

coalition forces and they are being treated as terrorists when they come

back. I understand that we have to question them to check which side

they are fighting for and make sure they have not committed a crime. But

after that, you find some of them are let go and some of them are

criminalised and put on bail, where they have to present themselves

three times a week for six months at a time. Their families are treated

disrespectfully. I know there is a sort of covert network of families,

but you have to be careful City reasons. The first is the Islamic

State's vigilance on computer networks being unknowable. Secondly,

you have to shield your family members' activities from the British

government? It is more about privacy. For a lot of parents, it is

a shock, but it is those things as well. They are soft targets for any

maniac who might want to go after them. And they are at risk from

being treated disrespectfully by the British government. I have no

complaints about the way I was treated, and I don't see why other

parents should not benefit from the same treatment. What would you like

the government to do formally? I think they should be stopped at the

airport when they come in. When they establish from their phones and the

evidence that they were fighting from the YPG, they should as a

minimum just be let go. They don't have a policy across the UK to say

everybody will be treated the same way. Half of them coming and are not

bothered, and half of them are criminalised. It seems to be a lucky

dip. How many British people do you think are out there? It would be a

complete guess. We are told there are up to 200 foreign volunteers

from all countries, 12 Greeks, some Chinese, people from all over

Europe, the USA, Canada, maybe up to 50 Brits? And at least one of them

is a woman. Did you try to stop him going? Of course I did. The whole of

the might of the British military tried to stop him going, but there

was no way we could. He was determined to go. It may be that

every answer is different to this question, but what do they have in

common, do you think, the men and woman that have gone out there?

Courage. And the strength of their convictions. Many thanks.

I should say that we asked the Home Office whether all Britons

who go to fight against Isis were at risk of prosecution.

In a statement they said anyone who returns from the conflict

in Syria or Iraq should expect to be reviewed by the police and that

charges would be considered on a case by case basis.

Before we go, if you're about to head off abroad and fancy

some inspiration for your holiday snaps, why not head

to the University of Greenwich for an exhibition of some

to the Travel Photographer of the Year Awards?

If you can't make it, here's a taste.

# Ever since I put your picture in a frame #.