0:00:05 > 0:00:09Government 2017?
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Another fine mess...
0:00:11 > 0:00:12Or two.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14The Government's coping, or striving to cope,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16with one mishap after another.
0:00:16 > 0:00:23Is it really capable of driving the country into a new Brexit era?
0:00:23 > 0:00:26I think the problem is you've now got five Cabinet ministers,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28the former Defence Secretary, the current Defence Secretary,
0:00:28 > 0:00:29the Foreign Secretary, the Development Secretary
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and the First Secretary, all now mired in serious
0:00:32 > 0:00:39controversies of one form or another.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41We'll be asking if yet another minister could be
0:00:41 > 0:00:42gone by the morning.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Also tonight, Prince Charles lobbied for a change
0:00:44 > 0:00:47in carbon trading rules - without pointing out that the Duchy
0:00:47 > 0:00:51of Cornwall had invested in a company that stood to benefit.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53We'll ask a former Chairman of the Committee of Standards
0:00:53 > 0:00:58in Public Life why he thinks that's a problem.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01We'll have a special report about what the Paradise Papers
0:01:01 > 0:01:03have revealed in Angola.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Oil money, which might have been used to help some of the poorest
0:01:06 > 0:01:08people in the world, has ended up making
0:01:08 > 0:01:17one man super rich.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Although the border is only just there, where those signs are,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22a couple of hundred yards, it's not an easy place
0:01:22 > 0:01:23for journalists to go.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Particularly when the subject of our investigation is the son
0:01:25 > 0:01:28of the President and someone very close to him.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34Hello.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35Accidents happen in government.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37People slip on banana skins.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39There are momentary lapses, or arguments that spill
0:01:39 > 0:01:41into the public domain.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Events can catch Cabinets by surprise.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45That's normal.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47At a rate of one every few months.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48But then there's this Government.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Since the election knocked the confidence out of
0:01:50 > 0:01:53the Prime Minister five months ago, to many it has just lurched from one
0:01:53 > 0:01:56self-inflicted wound to another.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Public arguments over Brexit are half of it,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02the harassment cases have piled on the pressure.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04But the coincidence of extra missteps has given this
0:02:04 > 0:02:10Government a whiff of decay.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13And you're not meant to have that until you've been
0:02:13 > 0:02:15in power for a decade or more.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Two particular things are exercising many MPs right now.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19The Foreign Secretary giving the unhelpful impression that
0:02:19 > 0:02:22a British woman imprisoned in Iran is guilty of crimes there.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And the other is Development Secretary Priti Patel,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27who clearly tried to mislead the public about her
0:02:27 > 0:02:32activities in Israel.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35This is a far more intense speculation this evening.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37An unlucky government, or a careless one.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Nick Watt reports.
0:02:49 > 0:02:55Day by day, piece by piece, the forces holding this Government
0:02:55 > 0:03:00together are fracturing. There is an unmistakable air of weakness and
0:03:00 > 0:03:06fragility, as Theresa May struggles to assert her authority.You've now
0:03:06 > 0:03:10got five Cabinet ministers - the former Defence Secretary, the
0:03:10 > 0:03:12current Defence Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, the development
0:03:12 > 0:03:17secretary, and the first Akrotiri, all now mired in serious
0:03:17 > 0:03:21controversies of one form or another. And in each case, the Prime
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Minister is unable to get a grip of it and unable to provide a sense of
0:03:25 > 0:03:33direction.And today, Downing Street was mopping up after not one but two
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Cabinet ministers gave the Prime Minister grief of a highly sensitive
0:03:38 > 0:03:44security issues.We are going to work flat-out.It took Boris Johnson
0:03:44 > 0:03:48nearly an hour in the Commons chamber to offer an apology for the
0:03:48 > 0:03:51loose language which may have added to the prison sentence in Teheran
0:03:51 > 0:03:58handed down to the British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.I'm
0:03:58 > 0:04:02sorry if any words of mine have been so taken out of context and
0:04:02 > 0:04:09misconstrued as to cause any kind of anxiety for the family of Nazanin
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of course I am. Of course I am.Shortly before the
0:04:13 > 0:04:18Foreign Secretary's appearance, one of Prydie Patel's deputies had to
0:04:18 > 0:04:22explain why she held a series of official meetings in Israel during
0:04:22 > 0:04:26her summer holiday without first notifying the Foreign Office or
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Downing Street.The Secretary of State has been very clear and
0:04:29 > 0:04:33absolutely contrite in her statement yesterday. She recognises that of
0:04:33 > 0:04:37course she sure to have informed the Foreign Office before the visit, but
0:04:37 > 0:04:41she didn't.Downing Street is doing little to disguise its frustration
0:04:41 > 0:04:47with the two wayward Cabinet ministers. In the eyes of many
0:04:47 > 0:04:50ministers, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have both lived down
0:04:50 > 0:04:54expectations. The Foreign Secretary has caused heartache for the family
0:04:54 > 0:04:58of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with his careless language, whilst the
0:04:58 > 0:05:01International Development Secretary has shown that even in the world of
0:05:01 > 0:05:07high diplomacy, she believes she can live by her own rules.The wider
0:05:07 > 0:05:11question is, there is no sense of direction, no sense of grip in any
0:05:11 > 0:05:15of these controversies coming from the Prime Minister, at a time when
0:05:15 > 0:05:19we really need a functioning Cabinet and this affects our reputation
0:05:19 > 0:05:27around the world when we have such important international negotiations
0:05:27 > 0:05:29at stake. This is really damaging for the whole country, not just for
0:05:29 > 0:05:35the Conservative Party.Even loyal MPs believe this has not been the
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Goverment's finest hour.I've got to be honest about it, neither of these
0:05:40 > 0:05:45scenarios are ideal. Prydie Patel, from what I can gather, did inform
0:05:45 > 0:05:49the Foreign Office, albeit whilst she was in Israel on this visit. But
0:05:49 > 0:05:52in relation to the Foreign Secretary Cosme comments, I'm not here to
0:05:52 > 0:05:56defend those comments. I think, you know, it is tricky and difficult to
0:05:56 > 0:06:06do that. What I think we should remember, though, is that the real
0:06:06 > 0:06:08criminals here are the Iranian regime who are holding somebody, you
0:06:08 > 0:06:10know, against all natural justice, for the average over foreign
0:06:10 > 0:06:18countries.-- for the average. Battered by events and headstrong
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Cabinet ministers, Theresa May's Government limps on. For the moment,
0:06:22 > 0:06:28it is intact. But the damage is taking its toll. Nick Watt there.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Accidents don't happen, they are caused, the old phrase goes.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Nick Watt is with me now.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Next, it's been a bad day for Boris Johnson. But a much worse one for
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Priti Patel, we gather, this evening. Quite a lot of speculation
0:06:42 > 0:06:46about her future.That's right. She is still the international developer
0:06:46 > 0:06:50and secretary. She recently arrived in the next few hours to Africa for
0:06:50 > 0:06:54a long planned trip. But some very, very serious questions are being
0:06:54 > 0:06:57asked in the heart of Government about Priti Patel and what actually
0:06:57 > 0:07:01she declared for this trip to Israel. And Priti Patel will be
0:07:01 > 0:07:05very, very lucky if she is still in the gambit micro by the end of this
0:07:05 > 0:07:10week. I think the thinking is -- if she is still in the Cabinet. If new
0:07:10 > 0:07:14details emerged about this visit, perhaps elements of this trip that
0:07:14 > 0:07:17she didn't declare fully to the Prime Minister, I think she will no
0:07:17 > 0:07:22longer be a member of the Cabinet. That information has not yet been
0:07:22 > 0:07:25presented, it is not yet there are, as I understand it, at the highest
0:07:25 > 0:07:29levels of Government. But they are thinking that if there is more
0:07:29 > 0:07:33information that wasn't the Clare... Can use tag a Cabinet minister
0:07:33 > 0:07:38whilst they are overseas on official business, what happens? -- can you
0:07:38 > 0:07:43sag a Cabinet minister.There would be a discussion between said, by
0:07:43 > 0:07:47criminals than the premise that, as I understand it. That information is
0:07:47 > 0:07:52not sitting in Downing Street, and it may not get there, but bit by bit
0:07:52 > 0:07:56more information is coming out. For example, the Prime Minister did not
0:07:56 > 0:08:01know, until our BBC colleague James Landale revealed on the today
0:08:01 > 0:08:04programme this morning, that Priti Patel tried to change Government
0:08:04 > 0:08:08policy on the Golan Heights. She saw the work that the Israeli defence
0:08:08 > 0:08:12forces are doing in helping Syrian refugees who come onto the Golan
0:08:12 > 0:08:17Heights. The UK Government says the IDF is doing very, very serious
0:08:17 > 0:08:24work. But of course, as Alistair Burt, her ministerial colleagues,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27said in the Commons today, the UK can't help the Israeli defence
0:08:27 > 0:08:29forces because the UK has never recognised the Israeli annexation of
0:08:29 > 0:08:32the goal of heights. That sort of thing, there is more information
0:08:32 > 0:08:37that comes out, then it will be very difficult for her -- the annexation
0:08:37 > 0:08:39of the Golan Heights.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41In a few minutes, we'll talk to Labour's Tulip Siddiq.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is her constituent.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49She is currently in jail in Iraq, very important set of questions for
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Boris Johnson -- in Iran.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53But first, the Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi is here.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55He is a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
0:08:55 > 0:09:02Good evening to you. I'm assuming you think it's not possible to
0:09:02 > 0:09:09remain a Secretary of State if you have lied and misled the public on
0:09:09 > 0:09:14this matter was ill and Priti Patel was on a family holiday paid for by
0:09:14 > 0:09:19herself.She met ministers as well as many charities and some very
0:09:19 > 0:09:23interesting start-ups who are, you know, working in Africa, which she
0:09:23 > 0:09:28is passionate about. She is in Africa now.She took a working
0:09:28 > 0:09:31break.She is a workaholic, that is what she is like. The Foreign Office
0:09:31 > 0:09:35knew that whilst the trip was ongoing... The white they found out
0:09:35 > 0:09:43that she would does -- she was visiting... I think are apology, she
0:09:43 > 0:09:46was contrite about not going through the right procedures. Because you
0:09:46 > 0:09:52need to make sure that you do that. I didn't focus on the offence of
0:09:52 > 0:09:55breaking the ministerial code by going to Israel and conducting your
0:09:55 > 0:10:01own foreign policy, I was focusing on the misleading of the public. She
0:10:01 > 0:10:05said, Boris knew about the visit. The point is, the Foreign Office did
0:10:05 > 0:10:09know about this, Boris knew about the trip. In fact, yesterday we were
0:10:09 > 0:10:16told he did become aware of it, but not in advance. Now, wouldn't you
0:10:16 > 0:10:20say that she was misleading the public, or even lying, when she said
0:10:20 > 0:10:25that Boris did know about the trip? Well, that was her interview with
0:10:25 > 0:10:28the Guardian. The Guardian subsequently corrected that
0:10:28 > 0:10:33published every interview that she had.There was another set of
0:10:33 > 0:10:37misleading... She said, the stuff is out there, the stuff that is out
0:10:37 > 0:10:41there is it as far as I'm concerned. She hadn't at that stage mentioned
0:10:41 > 0:10:45that she had met the Israeli Prime Minister on her holiday, you know,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49as one does. Did that slip her mind, or was she trying to mislead when
0:10:49 > 0:10:53she said that the stuff that is out there is it as forestry is concerned
0:10:53 > 0:10:59with the well, I think what we know already is thatshe had those
0:10:59 > 0:11:02meetings, the Foreign Office knew during her trip that those
0:11:02 > 0:11:05meetings...I'm talking about the way that she tried to mislead the
0:11:05 > 0:11:10public. Do you think misleading the public is a sackable offence or not
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Brazil and she apologised to the Prime Minister, and corrected all of
0:11:14 > 0:11:20thatwith a statement. You know, I think those things...Hang on, she
0:11:20 > 0:11:23apologised or corrected herself after it was discovered. She didn't
0:11:23 > 0:11:34correct it and say, by the way, I've accidentally misled you. If
0:11:34 > 0:11:36effectively, she came out when it was all in the public domain.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Doesn't that mean what she was doing was trying to get away with
0:11:39 > 0:11:41minimising her breach of the ministerial code, quite a serious
0:11:41 > 0:11:44one, and then, when she is caught, she says, sorry, I miss spoke. That
0:11:44 > 0:11:47is a sackable offence, isn't it? Beverley Hughes in 2004 went through
0:11:47 > 0:11:51a similar thing. Peter Mandelson in the Hindu decays, you didn't like he
0:11:51 > 0:11:59was is, rated, -- he didn't lie, he was exonerated, but people thought
0:11:59 > 0:12:03that he had lied and he had to resign.You are talking about these
0:12:03 > 0:12:07cases. Israel is one of our closest partners. This is not an enemy state
0:12:07 > 0:12:11that she was somehow having clandestine meetings with. The
0:12:11 > 0:12:17Foreign Office knew during this trip that she was having these visits.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20She has admitted the mistake of not following procedure and apologised
0:12:20 > 0:12:26for it. I somehow feel that some of this stuff is being drummed up
0:12:26 > 0:12:30because both Priti Patel and the Foreign Secretary of big beasts in
0:12:30 > 0:12:34the Brexit campaign and there are remembers if you think, if we can
0:12:34 > 0:12:42take out these people and Israel by -- derail the government...I will
0:12:42 > 0:12:47bring in Tulip Siddiq on this one. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a
0:12:47 > 0:12:52constituent of yours. How damaging the comments that Boris Johnson
0:12:52 > 0:12:56made?Extremely damaging. My constituent has been imprisoned in
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Iran for 18 years now. She's been in solitary confinement, separated from
0:13:01 > 0:13:04her baby daughter and denied access to medical treatment. Boris Johnson,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08in front of the Select Committee, even though I have raised this case
0:13:08 > 0:13:13countless times in the last 18 months, and repeatedly said that my
0:13:13 > 0:13:17constituent was on holiday in Iran, said that she was training
0:13:17 > 0:13:20journalists. I would expect our Foreign Secretary to know that basic
0:13:20 > 0:13:26facts of a very important case.His actual words were, he said, she was
0:13:26 > 0:13:32simply teaching people journalism, as I understand it, at the very
0:13:32 > 0:13:37limit. His defence is, he was saying, at the worst she was
0:13:37 > 0:13:40teaching journalism and even that doesn't justify putting him in jail.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44I wonder if those words at the limit get him off, because he was meaning
0:13:44 > 0:13:48to say something along the lines of, you know, that's not my view, that's
0:13:48 > 0:13:52the view, and is not a dust of a geisha.That is absolutely not a
0:13:52 > 0:13:57good defence in my opinion. --
0:13:58 > 0:14:03his words have been seized upon by the Iranian judiciary system. If you
0:14:03 > 0:14:07look on their website, they have said that this shows clearly that
0:14:07 > 0:14:11this woman was not on holiday in Iran. As a result, she could be
0:14:11 > 0:14:17facing fresh charges against her. We on this side of the world,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20especially the Foreign Secretary, should be getting our constituent
0:14:20 > 0:14:24back here at home in West Hampstead, not increasing the charges against
0:14:24 > 0:14:28her.I'll tell you what I'd like, we've only got another minute, I'd
0:14:28 > 0:14:33like to get a comment from you both on whether this multiple sort of
0:14:33 > 0:14:36issues around harassment, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary,
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Priti Patel, is telling us there is some decay in this Government.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Tulip, is it a bigger vulnerability for this Government?I think it
0:14:45 > 0:14:49shows the Government is weak. The Prime Minister needs to take action
0:14:49 > 0:14:53quickly. But my focus this week is bringing my constituent back home,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57and the Foreign Secretary needs to retract his statement, fly out to
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Iran, meet her, and bring her back to her house, where she belongs.A
0:15:01 > 0:15:05lot of people, even friends of the party, they are saying, we can't
0:15:05 > 0:15:14have five years of this, this just can't go wild.I think the Prime
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Minister has been very thoughtful in her speech to the CBI this week --
0:15:17 > 0:15:20this can't go on. It was well received by the CBI. On Boris, he
0:15:20 > 0:15:26has apologised and called his counterpart and sought reassurances.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30His words weren't in any way affecting Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34I'm glad julep wants to focus on higher, we should put her front and
0:15:34 > 0:15:41centre of this. I'm sad that the front bench on the other side were
0:15:41 > 0:15:45giggling as soon as Emily Thornberry finished her speech. You know,
0:15:45 > 0:15:51making political hay out of this. This will only encourage the IR GC,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56who was a real culprits, remember who the culprits are. They will
0:15:56 > 0:15:59enjoy this.The man is Foreign Secretary of our country. He should
0:15:59 > 0:16:03not be repeating them mendacious comments made by the Iranian
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Revolutionary guard, which is what he was doing in the Select
0:16:06 > 0:16:10Committee. He should know better.We need to leave it there. Thank you so
0:16:10 > 0:16:16much. We could talk a great deal longer about this.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19A former member of the Welsh Government who resigned last week
0:16:19 > 0:16:22in light of allegations made against him has been found dead.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24He is understood to have taken his own life.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Carl Seargent lost his job as Cabinet Secretary for Communities
0:16:26 > 0:16:27and Children last Friday.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29He was suspended from Labour after the First Minister,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Carwyn Jones, learned of a number of alleged incidents
0:16:32 > 0:16:33involving women.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35The death has obviously been a great shock to members
0:16:35 > 0:16:37of the Welsh Assembly, who suspended proceedings
0:16:37 > 0:16:38this afternoon.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43Chris Cook reports.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48There was rare consensus today in Cardiff Bay and throughout Labour.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Sadness at the death of Carl Sargeant who is believed to have
0:16:52 > 0:16:57taken his own life. The former Welsh Cabinet minister left his post last
0:16:57 > 0:17:03week pending an investigation into his conduct.Shocked, horrified and
0:17:03 > 0:17:06deeply sympathetic to his family and the statement they put out was that
0:17:06 > 0:17:11he was the glue that held them altogether and I can only think for
0:17:11 > 0:17:15the moment of the stress and horror they are going through. He was
0:17:15 > 0:17:23somebody who represented our party, worked hard to represent community
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and my deepest sympathies are with them.Carl Sargeant held a range of
0:17:26 > 0:17:31post since being elected in 2003 culminating in a Cabinet post for
0:17:31 > 0:17:35communities and children.He had been a member of the Welsh
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Government for ten years, he served as Chief Whip and then held a
0:17:39 > 0:17:43variety of sensitive political roles and I think it is fair to say that
0:17:43 > 0:17:46half the legislation roughly passed in the last six years would have
0:17:46 > 0:17:52been passed through his hands, some quite ground-breaking stuff around
0:17:52 > 0:17:56domestic violence and future generations.Last week Carl Sargeant
0:17:56 > 0:18:00agreed to stand down from the Welsh Cabinet while Labour investigated
0:18:00 > 0:18:07allegations about his behaviour. Carwyn Jones, the First Minister,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10explained I asked by office to speak to the women involved to provide
0:18:10 > 0:18:14details of those incidents. As a result of the conversations I felt I
0:18:14 > 0:18:18had no choice but to refer the matter to the party.The family
0:18:18 > 0:18:23asked me to speak on their behalf today.They do not want to dwell on
0:18:23 > 0:18:26the allegations that were made against him but clearly those have
0:18:26 > 0:18:31had an impact on his mental state in recent days and all of us who have
0:18:31 > 0:18:36been in contact with him have been worried.Friends, comrades, first of
0:18:36 > 0:18:41all a big thank you...We have heard concerns from high up within Welsh
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Labour about the treatment of Carl Sargeant why the claims were
0:18:44 > 0:18:50investigated. Friends say that this morning he only knew the outline of
0:18:50 > 0:18:54the allegations. Carl Sargeant is survived by a widow and two
0:18:54 > 0:18:58children. Chris Kirk.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Over the last few days, we've had stories about Lewis Hamilton,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Lord Ashcroft and the Queen, all thrown up by the leak
0:19:03 > 0:19:05of the so-called "Paradise Papers" - documents which were obtained
0:19:05 > 0:19:07by the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared
0:19:07 > 0:19:09with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12The reporting has been led in the UK by BBC Panorama
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and The Guardian newspaper.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18There is no doubt as to which of today's Paradise Papers stories
0:19:18 > 0:19:21is getting most of the attention: It is the one about Prince Charles,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23an undisclosed investment in a sustainable forestry company,
0:19:23 > 0:19:28and some active campaigning for its interests.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Now, in contrast to the revelations about the Queen's investments
0:19:30 > 0:19:33in Bermuda, there was here a potential conflict of interest
0:19:33 > 0:19:40in the public work of the Prince, and the private holdings.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42It was February, 2007 that the Duchy of Cornwall bought shares
0:19:42 > 0:19:44in a Bermuda company called Sustainable Forestry Management,
0:19:44 > 0:19:51SFM, for $113,500.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56It sold the shares 16 months later for almost three times the price.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00Nothing wrong with that, it was clearly a lucrative investment.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It was also an unsurprising investment, since the Prince himself
0:20:02 > 0:20:08is said to be actively involved in running the Duchy.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11One of his best friends, the late Hugh Van Cutson
0:20:11 > 0:20:14was on the board of the company and it touched on a subject
0:20:14 > 0:20:16that was obviously dear to his heart, but interestingly,
0:20:16 > 0:20:22it was all kept very hush-hush.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24The board unanimously agreed that the subscription by the Duchy
0:20:24 > 0:20:27of Cornwall can be kept confidential except in respect of any
0:20:27 > 0:20:30disclosure required by law.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Documents say.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35OK, so no one wanted to publicise his involvement.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41There followed a number of public interventions, including this.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43The immediate priority, I believe, is the need to develop
0:20:43 > 0:20:46a new credit market, which will give a true value
0:20:46 > 0:20:48to carbon and the ecosystem services that rainforests provide the rest
0:20:48 > 0:20:54of the world.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Other speeches went further, specifically on an issue that
0:20:56 > 0:21:01mattered to the company, SFM.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It's complex, but it was whether the market in carbon credits
0:21:04 > 0:21:09created under EU rules and the Kyoto Protocol
0:21:09 > 0:21:11should recognise pay-outs for the preservation
0:21:11 > 0:21:13of tropical rainforests.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Not only did this matter to SFM, but the company prepared lobbying
0:21:16 > 0:21:20papers for the Prince.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Who spoke to the European Commission and the European Parliament,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26obviously no MEP listening to him would have been allowed to make such
0:21:26 > 0:21:30a pitch without disclosing the financial interest in it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33No MP here would be either.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Should the Prince be able to?
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Should his investments be kept secret and should
0:21:37 > 0:21:39he be lobbying anyway?
0:21:39 > 0:21:44In response to the story, Clarence House said...
0:21:54 > 0:21:56They added...
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Joining me now from Leeds is the former Chairman of the Committee
0:22:05 > 0:22:10on Standards in Public Life, Sir Alistair Graham.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15Good evening to you. Can you explain the conflict of interest you
0:22:15 > 0:22:20referred to earlier today as regards this case?I believe the conflict is
0:22:20 > 0:22:27that if any public official or in this case a member of the Royal
0:22:27 > 0:22:32Family decides to lobby on an issue, then they should have a duty to
0:22:32 > 0:22:36declare any financial interest they have in the issue that they are
0:22:36 > 0:22:40lobbying about, which did not happen in this case.I think a lot of
0:22:40 > 0:22:43people would say that Prince Charles would very likely have lobbied on an
0:22:43 > 0:22:47issue like that because he takes such an interest in things like
0:22:47 > 0:22:53sustainable forests and it is perfectly logical that he would
0:22:53 > 0:22:56lobby out without having a financial investment.I do not see why a
0:22:56 > 0:23:01member of the Royal Family should be different from any public official
0:23:01 > 0:23:05who signs up to the seven principles of public life, which very clearly
0:23:05 > 0:23:09spell out that if you have got a financial interest, you have to
0:23:09 > 0:23:15declare that. There has to be total transparency about your interests in
0:23:15 > 0:23:18a matter that you are trying to influence public policy, so I don't
0:23:18 > 0:23:23see why a member of the Royal Family should be different to any other
0:23:23 > 0:23:27public official. If they want to seek to change government or
0:23:27 > 0:23:30international policy.Would you like the code to be extended to members
0:23:30 > 0:23:41of the Royal Family or
0:23:45 > 0:23:48would you rather say, we should not need a code for the Royal Family,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51they should just know this kind of thing of what works and what does
0:23:51 > 0:23:53not and they should be automatically above all that anyway?You would
0:23:53 > 0:23:56expect members of the Royal Family to have the highest possible ethical
0:23:56 > 0:23:58standards in these matters and of course normally most members of the
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Royal Family do not get involved in public policy issues, however,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Prince Charles has a history of doing that and I personally have no
0:24:04 > 0:24:10objection in that, but if in fact he wants to continue, then I think he
0:24:10 > 0:24:15does have to meet the standards that are required of every other public
0:24:15 > 0:24:21official and that means I accept that he does not direct what his
0:24:21 > 0:24:25financial investment is, but before he speaks on a policy, he should
0:24:25 > 0:24:30check with his officials with the Duchy of Cornwall about whether they
0:24:30 > 0:24:34have any investments that would put him in an embarrassing conflict
0:24:34 > 0:24:39situation.We do not know whether he knew he had money invested in this
0:24:39 > 0:24:43company but we do know that his friend who was a director had
0:24:43 > 0:24:46written to him with some of this lobbying material that was making
0:24:46 > 0:24:53the case for this change in carbon trading. Even if he did not know he
0:24:53 > 0:24:56had the investment, merely on the grounds that his friend had given
0:24:56 > 0:25:00him some lobbying material without the conflict of interest in itself?
0:25:00 > 0:25:04I think a potentially could be, because you're open to the charge or
0:25:04 > 0:25:12the perception that you are pursuing someone else's argument rather than
0:25:12 > 0:25:17necessarily your own. But I do think the crucial thing in this particular
0:25:17 > 0:25:21instance was not the lobbying documents but the timing of the
0:25:21 > 0:25:26lobbying was shortly after the investment. And therefore, there was
0:25:26 > 0:25:31bound to be, if the information became public, a perception of a
0:25:31 > 0:25:37conflict of interests. And I would have thought Prince Charles being a
0:25:37 > 0:25:40man of highest integrity would have seen that that would be an
0:25:40 > 0:25:45embarrassing situation and he should have checked whether there was any
0:25:45 > 0:25:50investment that produced a potential conflict.Thank you for joining us.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Now, without diminishing any revelations contained
0:25:51 > 0:25:54in the Paradise Papers relating to the Royals, the super rich,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56TV stars or VAT-avoiding racing drivers, it may be
0:25:56 > 0:25:59that we are giving too little attention to another side of this
0:25:59 > 0:26:02world of offshore finance.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04It's one that has massive implications for the citizens
0:26:04 > 0:26:07of countries far poorer than ours, because in this leak of documents
0:26:07 > 0:26:10we can see how it's possible to take revenues or resources that belong
0:26:10 > 0:26:16to poor nations and expropriate them for private use.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Our reporter David Grossman has been one of the international team
0:26:18 > 0:26:20of journalists examining the Paradise Papers,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22and has been looking specifically at the management of Angola's
0:26:22 > 0:26:27sovereign wealth fund.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29It is designed help develop the country and provide a future
0:26:29 > 0:26:33income when the country's oil reserves run out.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35It appears though that the level of management fees charged
0:26:35 > 0:26:38and the choice of investments is making one individual close
0:26:38 > 0:26:43to the Angolan regime a great deal of money.
0:26:43 > 0:26:50MUSIC.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Angola manages a curious double.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Its capital, Luanda, is officially the most expensive
0:26:55 > 0:26:57city in the world to visit.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00But the country is one of the poorest.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02One reason for this is corruption.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Investigating the financial interests of Angola's rulers
0:27:04 > 0:27:11is usually an impossible task.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Although the border's only just over there where those signs are,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16a couple of hundred yards from here, it's not an easy place
0:27:16 > 0:27:18for journalists to go, particularly when the subject
0:27:18 > 0:27:20of our investigation is the son of the President
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and somebody very close to him.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Fortunately, though, we've got a huge pile of leaked data -
0:27:26 > 0:27:28sensitive financial information that throws a window open
0:27:28 > 0:27:34into that closed world.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Although Jose Eduardo dos Santos stood down as President after 38
0:27:36 > 0:27:41years in the summer, it was to his chosen successor.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Many believe the move was more about preserving power,
0:27:43 > 0:27:47not handing it over.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51In Angola, power comes from money, and money comes from oil.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54And while he was in office, President dos Santos ruthlessly
0:27:54 > 0:27:56controlled that well.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00His daughter, Isabel, known as Africa's richest woman,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03with an estimated wealth of $3.5 billion, was,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06at the stroke of her father's pen, made head of the state oil company,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Sonangol.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12His son, Jose Filomeno dos Santos, known as Zenu, was appointed
0:28:12 > 0:28:16to another position - again, by the President.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19$5 billion of oil money was placed in a sovereign wealth fund,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22the Fundo Soberano de Angola, or FSDEA.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24And Zenu was put in charge.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27The process was not transparent according to normal standards
0:28:27 > 0:28:31anywhere in the world.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34But what was transparent for the people of Angola
0:28:34 > 0:28:37was that the only criteria why he was selected, it was because he
0:28:37 > 0:28:39was the son of the President.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44He had no training, no experience, no special qualifications.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49The fund appointed a company called Quantum Global to manage its money.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54It is majority-owned by Jean-Claude Bastos,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57a Swiss-Angolan businessman who is a close friend and at that
0:28:57 > 0:29:00time was a business partner of Zenu.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03We see only one asset management firm in charge of the vast majority
0:29:03 > 0:29:05of the fund's assets.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07That's unusual.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10And it's unusual for a number of reasons.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15And the principal one is that funds want to hedge the risk.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21You want to spread your eggs over a number of baskets.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25In general, the Angolan fund, and I think this is true of a lot
0:29:25 > 0:29:27of the funds that sort of score poorly on transparency
0:29:27 > 0:29:30and accountability indicators, one of the things that they have
0:29:30 > 0:29:34in common is the lack of rules around who the managers are,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37how the managers are chosen, and what assets the fund can invest
0:29:37 > 0:29:40in and what it can't invest in.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43We asked FSDEA how Quantum Global was selected as the main
0:29:43 > 0:29:45investment manager.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47No one wanted to be interviewed for this programme.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52But in a statement, they said...
0:30:01 > 0:30:04Mr Bastos also told us...
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Mr Bastos first applied to manage the money from Jersey.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22But the authorities there thought he was too close to the President's
0:30:22 > 0:30:25son to be independent.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27We've seen the internal report into his application,
0:30:27 > 0:30:28which also noted...
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Mr Bastos turned to another island to manage the fund's investments.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Where it once farmed sugar, Mauritius now farms money.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10It's an offshore tax haven.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14And it's here that Mr Bastos left three of the $5 billion to invest
0:31:14 > 0:31:16in seven funds he created.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Using the services of the law firm Appleby, based in this
0:31:19 > 0:31:21building in Port Louis, Mr Bastos set up Quantum Global
0:31:21 > 0:31:26Investment Management.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Appleby, as you may have seen in the news, suffered a huge data
0:31:29 > 0:31:30leak of highly sensitive information, revealed this week.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35The leak was obtained by the German newspaper
0:31:35 > 0:31:37Suddeutsche Zeitung, who shared it with the
0:31:37 > 0:31:40International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44The BBC has been researching it, along with the Guardian newspaper.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46For the last nine months, we've been putting together
0:31:46 > 0:31:50information from the leak with publicly available sources,
0:31:50 > 0:31:52and talking to insiders.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55As a result, we have managed to piece together much of what's
0:31:55 > 0:31:57going on inside the management of the sovereign
0:31:57 > 0:32:01wealth fund's money.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03The first thing to look at is the management fees
0:32:03 > 0:32:08Quantum Global was paid for managing the seven Mauritius-based funds.
0:32:08 > 0:32:14Between 2% and 2.5% of the $3 billion every year.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19In just 20 months, the company was paid $92 million.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Over this time, most of that money was not invested,
0:32:21 > 0:32:23but sat in bank accounts.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26At the end of 2015, QGIAM had invested just
0:32:26 > 0:32:31$407 million of the $7 billion.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35At the end of 2016, that figure had gone up to $433 million.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37In other words, during 2016, an additional $26 million
0:32:37 > 0:32:41was invested by the seven funds.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46Over this period, Quantum Global was paid around $70 million in fees.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49So, what we see in that case...
0:32:49 > 0:32:51Is that unheard-of?
0:32:51 > 0:32:52No.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55The question I'd be asking is, is the Angolan fund getting
0:32:55 > 0:32:56its value for money?
0:32:56 > 0:32:58If you are making...
0:32:58 > 0:33:01If you're paying those types of management fees,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04you must be getting extraordinary service for that.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07And if I were the Angolan fund managers, I would be asking,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11are we getting an extraordinary service or not?
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Both Mr Bastos and the funds say the management fees are reasonable.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17What happened to them, though, may, in according
0:33:17 > 0:33:23to industry insiders, be an indication that
0:33:23 > 0:33:24they were set too high.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Because of the leak, we can see that $41 million
0:33:27 > 0:33:30of the $92 million of management fees was paid out as dividends.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31In other words, it was profit.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33It went to a company called QG Investments Limited
0:33:33 > 0:33:35in the British Virgin Islands.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38This is owned by White Nite Limited, also in the British Virgin Islands.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Which is owned by Green Trees Incorporated, in the Seychelles.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45And this company is owned by Mr Bastos.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Of the rest, $34 million was paid to another company,
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Quantum Global Alternative Investments.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Part of the Quantum Global Group of which Mr Bastos
0:33:54 > 0:33:56is the majority owner.
0:33:56 > 0:34:02So, the documents that I saw reveal a complex financial structure.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06But they reveal a complex financial structure which doesn't,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10on the face of it, seem illegal, but highly opaque, that allows
0:34:10 > 0:34:13somebody who wants to hide gains that they are making,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17perhaps inappropriately, shall we say, rather than illicitly,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20hide those gains and hide who owns what company and who is
0:34:20 > 0:34:25receiving what payments.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29The videos on Mr Bastos's personal YouTube channel portray
0:34:29 > 0:34:34a dynamic entrepreneur with many financial interests.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38Go out as you are a dreamer and follow your dreams.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Be courageous, and do not give up.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43So, what did Mr Bastos invest the sovereign
0:34:43 > 0:34:44wealth fund's money in?
0:34:44 > 0:34:46During the 20 months covered by the leak,
0:34:46 > 0:34:49we can see evidence that he made six investments in hotels
0:34:49 > 0:34:51and infrastructure.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54But three of the investments were in projects in which Mr Bastos
0:34:54 > 0:34:58has a personal stake.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01For example, there is a $157 million hotel complex
0:35:01 > 0:35:04in Angola's capital, Luanda.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07It is to be built on land owned by Mr Bastos,
0:35:07 > 0:35:11and by a company owned by Mr Bastos.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14We have spoken to an insider with knowledge of the deal,
0:35:14 > 0:35:17who told us that Quantum Global appointed independent analysts
0:35:17 > 0:35:20to go over the deal.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25They concluded it wasn't a good one for the Angolan people's money.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28The projected returns were too low, and the costs too high.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32And yet, the investment was approved.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36So, the difference between private equity and venture capitalism...
0:35:36 > 0:35:39Mr Bastos clearly knows a lot about making money.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42But what's not clear is why a man who was prosecuted in Switzerland,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45a man with a web of complex financial interests,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47was given the opportunity to make what appears,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50from this leak at least, to be so much money
0:35:50 > 0:35:53from the Angolan people's fund?
0:35:53 > 0:35:55This is a balance of cash being carried into bank
0:35:55 > 0:35:56accounts in Switzerland.
0:35:56 > 0:36:02This is fees being charged here, earnings being made there,
0:36:02 > 0:36:06to benefit, it would appear, one particular individual.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Why is he in this favoured position?
0:36:08 > 0:36:13What connections does he have?
0:36:13 > 0:36:19Where does the money go onward from him and from his companies?
0:36:19 > 0:36:21At this stage, certainly from documents I've
0:36:21 > 0:36:22seen, we don't know.
0:36:22 > 0:36:27But there will clearly be some other connection that justifies him
0:36:27 > 0:36:29being in the position that he is in.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Mr Bastos, though, insisted that the hotel
0:36:31 > 0:36:32investment was viable.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35He denied there was any conflict of interest, saying...
0:36:42 > 0:36:44The FSDEA told us...
0:37:00 > 0:37:06Meanwhile, in Luanda, where a man skims a flooded crater
0:37:06 > 0:37:09for the mosquito larvae which causes yellow fever, malaria and Zika,
0:37:09 > 0:37:14it's not hard to see where the money could be spent.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17This hospital in Cazenga is overwhelmed by patients.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Some have had to buy their own drugs and equipment from hawkers outside.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23These are the people the Angolan sovereign wealth fund
0:37:23 > 0:37:27is supposed to be helping.
0:37:27 > 0:37:33David Grossman joins me now.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37David, you've been working a couple of months on that piece from the
0:37:37 > 0:37:42Paradise Papers. But evidence that this isn't the only story of this
0:37:42 > 0:37:47kind. This angle the case.No, indeed. We focused a lot on these
0:37:47 > 0:37:50jurisdictions and the impact on the super-rich, when actually it may be
0:37:50 > 0:37:54that they have more impact on the Super Bowl, particularly in
0:37:54 > 0:37:57developing countries that maybe, like Angola, resource rich but lack
0:37:57 > 0:38:05of expertise and capital to exploit those resources. In many cases, they
0:38:05 > 0:38:08invite in multinationals, and those companies find that multinationals
0:38:08 > 0:38:13are very good at shifting profit out of the company so they do not pay
0:38:13 > 0:38:17tax, and into offshore jurisdictions. I visited Namibia as
0:38:17 > 0:38:21part of an investigation for the BBC World Service assignment programme
0:38:21 > 0:38:25and Radio 4, and I found that even though it has the richest fishing
0:38:25 > 0:38:29waters in that part of the world and on the planet, the Finance Minister
0:38:29 > 0:38:34told me they cannot make enough on taxing fishing to pay for the
0:38:34 > 0:38:38furniture of the fishing industry, the regulation, the patrol boats.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42One of the people that we met told us there is a vast sinkhole down
0:38:42 > 0:38:47which Africa's tax revenues are disappearing, that is the
0:38:47 > 0:38:50jurisdiction of Mauritius.Thank you.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Time now for Viewsnight - where we give original thinkers
0:38:53 > 0:38:55the space to get something off their chest.
0:38:55 > 0:38:56And in the run up to Remembrance Sunday,
0:38:56 > 0:38:57tonight's contributor, Prospect Magazine's
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Stephanie Boland, has this on wearing the poppy.
0:40:49 > 0:40:59Stephanie Boland for Viewsnight. Let's take a quick look with Nick on
0:40:59 > 0:41:03the latest on Priti Patel, what is the latest?The International
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Development Secretary will be having a very awkward phone conversation
0:41:06 > 0:41:10with the Prime Minister in the morning. As I understand it, there
0:41:10 > 0:41:14is a feeling in Whitehall that there was at least one extra meeting that
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Priti Patel did not tell the Prime Minister she had had with Israeli
0:41:18 > 0:41:22officials after she came back from Israel in August. She did not, it is
0:41:22 > 0:41:25alleged, told the Prime Minister about this on Monday when she met
0:41:25 > 0:41:29her. The feeling from number ten is that if more information comes out
0:41:29 > 0:41:33and they will have to take a very, very careful look. A very difficult
0:41:33 > 0:41:39conversation tomorrow morning, I'm told.Clearly a moving story there.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44That is all we have time for tonight. I suspect that we will
0:41:44 > 0:41:48return to that tomorrow. In the meantime, good night.