0:00:03 > 0:00:07Well, we have a firm date, but right now do we have deadlock,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10especially over the question of the Irish border?
0:00:10 > 0:00:12We speak to the former Taoiseach and an architect
0:00:12 > 0:00:15of the Good Friday Agreement.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20If you put a physical border back across the island of Ireland,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23you're certainly giving a huge incentive to those
0:00:23 > 0:00:25that want to cause mischief.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Tonight, after Boris' big mistake, what is life like in prison
0:00:28 > 0:00:31for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe?
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Her husband speaks to another woman who was
0:00:33 > 0:00:38incarcerated in Evin Prison.
0:00:38 > 0:00:45I was arrested twice. And both times, I was put in solitary
0:00:45 > 0:00:47confinement in Evin Prison.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Letters to a female Labour MP which may spell even more trouble
0:00:49 > 0:00:52for fellow MP Kelvin Hopkins, already suspended from the party
0:00:52 > 0:00:53for sexual harassment claims.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55And, to discuss another torrid week for the government,
0:00:55 > 0:01:05I'm joined by our political panel.
0:01:07 > 0:01:13Good evening.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19Today we passed the halfway point in Brexit negotiations.In 504 days and
0:01:19 > 0:01:2128 minutes, we will exit the EU.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24There has been a definite ramping up of the tension in the Brexit
0:01:24 > 0:01:27negotiations and the stakes when it comes to Ireland's future.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Yes, the EU is demanding that the UK spell out what it will pay Brussels
0:01:30 > 0:01:34when it leaves in 2019 in two weeks or face more delay in talks
0:01:34 > 0:01:36on future trade ties, but it is the EU's insistance
0:01:36 > 0:01:39on an "all island approach" for Ireland where there appears
0:01:39 > 0:01:40to be most friction tonight.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42And that friction also extends to relations between the Government
0:01:42 > 0:01:43and their partners, the DUP.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46So is this an intractable problem that could scupper
0:01:46 > 0:01:47the whole negotiations?
0:01:47 > 0:01:55Here's Chris Cook.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The hardest question in the Brexit talks is about Northern Ireland.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Money remains a major sticking point in the negotiations, but we know how
0:02:03 > 0:02:10we can fix that. There is no simple way out of the Irish question. Let
0:02:10 > 0:02:14us say Britain is no longer in a customs union with the European
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Union. That will let us strike trade deals with third countries who have
0:02:18 > 0:02:22no similar deal with the EU. But the EU needs to be able to stop goods
0:02:22 > 0:02:27from that third country flowing into Northern Ireland and then into the
0:02:27 > 0:02:31EU via the Republic. Further, what if we decide to divert from EU
0:02:31 > 0:02:36rules, so goods in our markets no longer meet all EU standards?
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Ireland need to be able to check stuff and may be turned back before
0:02:40 > 0:02:47it gets into the market. So they need a border. Now, everyone says
0:02:47 > 0:02:51they want to avoid that. A hard border would be a major economic
0:02:51 > 0:02:56burden, especially for farmers, and could undermine the peace process.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01The EU appears to be shifting position. In September, they said
0:03:01 > 0:03:05the onus to propose solutions which overcome the challenges created on
0:03:05 > 0:03:12the island of Ireland remains on the United Kingdom. A solution was up to
0:03:12 > 0:03:16us. There has been talk of answers involving Customs technology and
0:03:16 > 0:03:21clever application of EU rules. We want to be smart border that no one
0:03:21 > 0:03:25would notice. But a leaked document from the European Commission has
0:03:25 > 0:03:30shown a changing tack, saying it is essential for the UK to commit to
0:03:30 > 0:03:33ensuring no emergence of regulatory divergence from those rules of the
0:03:33 > 0:03:38internal market and the customs union in Northern Ireland. That is
0:03:38 > 0:03:41significant, a radical idea that has been pressed by Dublin is now
0:03:41 > 0:03:48seemingly the preferred plan of Brussels. This would be a big deal.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Northern Ireland would in effect be treated as part of the EU customs
0:03:52 > 0:03:56union and single market to eliminate the idea for a hard border, but that
0:03:56 > 0:03:59would require four in effect customs arrangements of goods travelling
0:03:59 > 0:04:03between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, something the UK says is
0:04:03 > 0:04:09unacceptable.We respect the European Union desire to protect the
0:04:09 > 0:04:13legal order of the single market and the customs union, but that cannot
0:04:13 > 0:04:17come at a cost of the constitutional and economic integrity of the United
0:04:17 > 0:04:22Kingdom.So could a British government reliant on DUP virtually
0:04:22 > 0:04:26separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK? If not, it needs to
0:04:26 > 0:04:30find a plausible plan to make that border as soft as possible. Dublin
0:04:30 > 0:04:37has a veto on taking talks forward, and on any final trade deal.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40A short time ago, I spoke to the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42He was one of the architects of the Good Friday agreement
0:04:42 > 0:04:46along with Tony Blair and served as the head of the Irish Government
0:04:46 > 0:04:48for over a decade.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52I began by asking him whether he thought a hard border
0:04:52 > 0:04:54between the Republic of Ireland and the North was now inevitable.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Well, I think the issue is fairly clear that it's impossible
0:04:58 > 0:05:01to have an invisible border, or a border that is controlled
0:05:01 > 0:05:05by technology, if you are not in the single market.
0:05:05 > 0:05:13The argument today is that the EU have come to the conclusion,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17after 12 months of looking at this, that they believe that to stay
0:05:17 > 0:05:23in the single market, and to stay in the customs union
0:05:23 > 0:05:26is the only way you can avoid totally a border.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Of course, the difficulty for that is that the British government
0:05:29 > 0:05:31don't agree with that and the DUP don't agree with that.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33The Irish government do.
0:05:33 > 0:05:39It is a difficult position and I'm afraid nobody has worked out how
0:05:39 > 0:05:45you can get the circle to work and cover everybody's point of view.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48But do you think the government in Dublin is foursquare behind
0:05:48 > 0:05:49the other European countries' position on this?
0:05:49 > 0:05:55Yes, there is no doubt about that.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57I think throughout the negotiations right throughout this year,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00the EU position is one position and the Irish government
0:06:00 > 0:06:02are locked into that.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Are you telling me that the Republic of Ireland would vote with other EU
0:06:05 > 0:06:13countries for a deal that included a hard border,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17and all the implications of that?
0:06:17 > 0:06:20No, I think it's just not feasible for the Republic of Ireland to agree
0:06:20 > 0:06:30to the reinstallation of a hard border after 20 years.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36The ramifications of it from trade and business, from agriculture,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40from all of our other sectors of industry big and small,
0:06:40 > 0:06:48are bad enough, but the difficulties for the ongoing peace process,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51we have enough problems with that, but for the Irish government
0:06:51 > 0:06:53to agree to putting back a border is not something that
0:06:53 > 0:06:55is likely to happen.
0:06:55 > 0:07:04So in your view, then, the only way to work this
0:07:04 > 0:07:07is to have an internal border in the UK to take in
0:07:07 > 0:07:08ports and airports?
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Well, you know, the one great thing about Europe is,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13it has always been good at finding solutions to complex issues.
0:07:13 > 0:07:14Sometimes people say they fudge these issues,
0:07:14 > 0:07:20but I think that's unfair.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22I think over the last 40 years, many difficult situations,
0:07:22 > 0:07:28they have found ways of formulating solutions.
0:07:28 > 0:07:34And this issue of the Irish border has been well and truly discussed.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37You of all people, then, might know what might
0:07:37 > 0:07:39happen on a hard border, you know, a former
0:07:39 > 0:07:44Taoiseach and architect of the Good Friday Agreement.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47What would be the impact on peace, a hard-won peace
0:07:47 > 0:07:52in Ireland with a hard border?
0:07:52 > 0:08:02I think it would be a huge setback for us.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06The idea of putting customs checks up and security checks,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10I don't think we will ever go back to the watchtowers or the huge
0:08:10 > 0:08:12security presence, I don't think anyone is suggesting that
0:08:12 > 0:08:13and I don't think that will happen.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17But the idea of having anything, at the moment, I can leave my house
0:08:17 > 0:08:19in Dublin and be in Belfast in an hour, 40 minutes.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24You don't see a security person anywhere.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26And you have traffic duty now and again, but there are no
0:08:26 > 0:08:27difficulties or problems.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32To go back into putting the physical border back in place in any way,
0:08:32 > 0:08:39it will undermine, I think, so much of what our successive
0:08:39 > 0:08:48governments have done from Tony Blair and my time.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Of course, the people who have been drinking
0:08:50 > 0:08:52the champagne will be dissidents, because they will see
0:08:52 > 0:08:55this as great for them, it will give them a target again,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57and it just would be so disastrous.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59The amount of effort that has been put in by so many
0:08:59 > 0:09:02people to avoid that, and to consider going back
0:09:02 > 0:09:03to that is unbelievable.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05I don't think anyone wants to do it.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08You are saying that might lead inevitably to a return to violence?
0:09:08 > 0:09:12I don't think so.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15I think 98 or 99% of people on the island of Ireland
0:09:15 > 0:09:21on all sides do not want to go back to violence, but I have to say,
0:09:21 > 0:09:30if you wanted to try and find a way of giving those who want to do it,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and there is the 1%, that 1% can be very dangerous,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36we see it all over the world, you don't need many people to cause
0:09:36 > 0:09:38mayhem and destruction and devastation, so you certainly,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41if you put a physical border back across the island of Ireland,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43you're certainly giving the huge incentives to those
0:09:43 > 0:09:45who want to cause mischief.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Is there a scenario here that is more likely to lead
0:09:48 > 0:09:55to the reunification of Ireland?
0:09:55 > 0:09:59I think that issue is now more on the agenda than it was before.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02As a result of Brexit?
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Yes, from the result of Brexit.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08And there are more people debating it in college debates now.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I know, I've been asked to several of them.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13People are actively looking at what shape would it be,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17how would it happen?
0:10:17 > 0:10:21My own view is that there will be a time to discuss that.
0:10:21 > 0:10:27It's not now, because we still have the institutions not up and running.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31We still have too much of an unsettled climate
0:10:31 > 0:10:38to be having votes on it, but I think inevitably
0:10:38 > 0:10:41in the Good Friday Agreement, a border poll is part of the clauses
0:10:41 > 0:10:48in it, and I think Brexit brings it closer.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Closer but not too close, in my view.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54In a way, the Republic of Ireland should understand the majority
0:10:54 > 0:10:57decision in the UK to take back what they see as
0:10:57 > 0:10:58sovereignty from the EU.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59Do you respect that decision?
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Of course we respect that decision.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03You are entitled, or the UK were entitled to have the vote,
0:11:03 > 0:11:08and they have made that decision.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13But I think the UK have to understand that by making that
0:11:13 > 0:11:16decision, they have made a hell of a mess for us, and they have
0:11:16 > 0:11:20an obligation and responsibility to help us find a solution,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and so far on the border issue, they haven't done that.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Bertie Ahern, thank you for joining us tonight.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26The MP Kelvin Hopkins,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30who was suspended from the Labour Party
0:11:30 > 0:11:32over claims of sexual harassment, tonight faces
0:11:32 > 0:11:34further allegations, this time from the Labour MP
0:11:34 > 0:11:35Kerry McCarthy.
0:11:35 > 0:11:41She says she is speaking out to support Ava Etemadzadeh,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43who asserted that Hopkins sent her an inappropriate text
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and rubbed his crotch against her, accusations that he denies.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Kerry McCarthy, who says Hopkins began paying her unwanted attention
0:11:48 > 0:11:51in 1994, and continued to do so less than two years ago,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53has produced a cache of letters and cards from him.
0:11:53 > 0:12:00Chris Cook is here.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05What is this all about?One of the things Kerry McCarthy has said this
0:12:05 > 0:12:13evening is that the problems with Kelvin Hopkins, as she relates them,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17were not very tangible. "If I told anyone, it would just be gossip
0:12:17 > 0:12:20instead of a complaint"
0:12:20 > 0:12:22anyone, it would just be gossip instead of a complaint". But it is
0:12:22 > 0:12:25inappropriate, the way he has behaved. She has come up with stuff
0:12:25 > 0:12:29that she feels is germane to the investigation into the conduct of Mr
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Hopkins, now an independent MP since Labour suspended him. We have one of
0:12:33 > 0:12:38the letters here. Here is a quote from it. He sent her a note while
0:12:38 > 0:12:41she was a sitting MP. "I Dreamt about you the following night, a
0:12:41 > 0:12:49night dream -- nice dream. You remain a very attractive woman". Mr
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Hopkins himself has said that if Ms McCarthy had raised a complaint with
0:12:53 > 0:12:58the Labour Party in the normal and fairway, he would of course
0:12:58 > 0:13:01cooperate with any investigation. But he appealed on behalf of himself
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and other individuals and their families that these matters should
0:13:04 > 0:13:10be dealt with by proper due process and not what he describes as an
0:13:10 > 0:13:13unfair trial by media.Chris, thanks.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Boris Johnson has been in the headlines and the heat
0:13:15 > 0:13:18for his dreadful gaffe about the British Iranian prisoner
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22opining that she was training journalists in Iran
0:13:22 > 0:13:24rather than on holiday visiting her parents.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28His words, no matter his retraction, may result in an increase
0:13:28 > 0:13:29in her five-year sentence in Evin Prison.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33But what about Nazanin herself in all this?
0:13:33 > 0:13:36How do we know what she is going through just now?
0:13:36 > 0:13:39John Sweeney has been talking to other women who have been
0:13:39 > 0:13:45imprisoned by the Iranian regime.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51I last saw Nazanin when she travelled in March 2016. This man's
0:13:51 > 0:13:57wife is incarcerated inside one of the worst prisons on earth.Nice to
0:13:57 > 0:14:02meet you.This woman knows what it's like, because she has spent time
0:14:02 > 0:14:13there, twice. What was it like?It was not easy to go there when you
0:14:13 > 0:14:17had not done anything wrong. I was put in solitary confinement for a
0:14:17 > 0:14:25few weeks. I was arrested twice. Both of the times, I spent the whole
0:14:25 > 0:14:30time in solitary confinement.Was the hardest thing about being in
0:14:30 > 0:14:36solitary confinement?The most difficult thing is, you are left
0:14:36 > 0:14:45alone there for days and for some prisoners for months, by yourself.
0:14:45 > 0:14:52The most striking thing is how to spend the time.Richard Ratcliffe's
0:14:52 > 0:14:56wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, was visiting her mum and dad in Iran
0:14:56 > 0:14:59with their little girl, Gabriella, when they were seized by
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Revolutionary guards last year. She is serving five years for allegedly
0:15:03 > 0:15:11trying to topple the regime. Then the clown Prince of British politics
0:15:11 > 0:15:16put his foot in it.If we look at what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was
0:15:16 > 0:15:20doing, it was just, she was simply teaching people journalism, as I
0:15:20 > 0:15:25understand it.The regime has leapt on Boris' mistake as proof of
0:15:25 > 0:15:33Nazanin's guilt.TRANSLATION: Boris Johnson's unplanned admission that
0:15:33 > 0:15:39some Iranian journalists were taught by Nazanin was a gaffe that the UK
0:15:39 > 0:15:45Government could and cover-up.Boris may be in trouble, but what is life
0:15:45 > 0:15:47like for Nazanin inside Evin Prison? She has undergone solitary
0:15:47 > 0:15:51confinement. It is usually made worse by extreme sensory
0:15:51 > 0:16:01deprivation, known in Iran as white torture.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06You put inside a cell so you are given two blankets.This woman knows
0:16:06 > 0:16:14what it is like only too well.There is a light here up to the roof which
0:16:14 > 0:16:21is a very bright light. It is on for 24 hours. So you have to get used to
0:16:21 > 0:16:30sleep under a very, very bright light. And you have to remain silent
0:16:30 > 0:16:36all the time.What was the longest time you spent inside the cell
0:16:36 > 0:16:42without talking to a human being? Ten days. I remember when my
0:16:42 > 0:16:47interrogator called me, he told me that it's been quite a long time
0:16:47 > 0:16:51that you have not been interrogated, isn't it? And I said, yes. He said
0:16:51 > 0:16:58that's why I'm now calling you because he said I know that your
0:16:58 > 0:17:03concentration is not good. You would need someone to talk, and he was
0:17:03 > 0:17:15right.Another Evin white torture veteran is a journalist. His memoir
0:17:15 > 0:17:23inspired John Stewart's film Ros Water.I'm not sure what they want
0:17:23 > 0:17:27for Nazanin's release but I'm sure they want something in return. The
0:17:27 > 0:17:33worst kind of psychological torture for Nazanin is being away from her
0:17:33 > 0:17:39daughter, who's in the same city as her, but she cannot see her. Just to
0:17:39 > 0:17:44imagine for a mother not to be able to see her young daughter, that must
0:17:44 > 0:17:51be intolerable.Labour cannot cry shame too loud. Jeremy Corbyn took
0:17:51 > 0:18:01£20,000 from Iran press TV, appearing on the channel. But
0:18:01 > 0:18:07incredibly, after more than a year in the job, Britain's Foreign
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Secretary has yet to meet Richard Ratcliffe. Why hasn't he met you?
0:18:11 > 0:18:16It's a good question. I think the Foreign Office is always trying to
0:18:16 > 0:18:20downplay Nazanin's case. They have said behind closed doors keeping
0:18:20 > 0:18:24quiet is the best thing and we have always had tension where I have said
0:18:24 > 0:18:28listen, I think putting it out in the media, this is an injustice, the
0:18:28 > 0:18:33clearly this is stated to a wider audience, the more that will win
0:18:33 > 0:18:46out.Boris Johnson can do well to remember that
0:18:51 > 0:18:54politics is not just about who's in, who's out, who will climb the greasy
0:18:54 > 0:18:56pole. It is also about ordinary people who may find themselves in a
0:18:56 > 0:18:59dark place, and if you use the wrong words, then their lives may be
0:18:59 > 0:19:00crushed. Boris Johnson's poor choice of words
0:19:00 > 0:19:04is one problem this week.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07I am joined now by Tom Newton Dunn, the political editor at the Sun,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Polly Mackenzie, Nick Clegg's former advisor and Stephen Bush,
0:19:10 > 0:19:11the New Statemans's special correspondent.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Good evening to you all. First of all, let's begin with Bertie Ahern
0:19:15 > 0:19:21and the words of warning tonight on a hard border, and that idea that
0:19:21 > 0:19:27there is 1% who could make this very difficult. Is it your hunch that
0:19:27 > 0:19:31like Bertie Ahern, something will give in the next month on Ireland?
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Think this is the worst crisis which could hit the Brexit talks. This is
0:19:35 > 0:19:42between a rock and a hard place now. There is no way the British
0:19:42 > 0:19:51government could succeed two state system and no reason that Lee over a
0:19:51 > 0:19:56car can go back. Leo Varadkar is under his own political threat from
0:19:56 > 0:20:02Sinn Fein. New Irish elections could come round the corner any minute and
0:20:02 > 0:20:06he will lose seats to Sinn Fein who will beat him up unless he goes
0:20:06 > 0:20:12hard.If he goes hard and the EU decides to push for this hard border
0:20:12 > 0:20:16which she doesn't want, we end up with their hard border in Northern
0:20:16 > 0:20:22Ireland. Will this ever happen?The problem is the policy aims can only
0:20:22 > 0:20:27be achieved with a hard border. If you leave the customs union, you
0:20:27 > 0:20:30have to have a border check. The fact that at some point there will
0:20:30 > 0:20:37be an election means it is never in the override car's interest to turn
0:20:37 > 0:20:41around to the government and go... You could have predicted in a way
0:20:41 > 0:20:48that this would happen because it was never going to fly?People did
0:20:48 > 0:20:52predict. And ever since the referendum people have been
0:20:52 > 0:20:58explaining it is not possible without putting a hard border in the
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Irish Sea or between Northern Ireland and Ireland and that is
0:21:01 > 0:21:06politically unstable. Theresa May is reliant on the DUP for her majority
0:21:06 > 0:21:11and they have a fixed position.At the beginning there was no sense
0:21:11 > 0:21:16when Theresa May called an election there was no sense that she would
0:21:16 > 0:21:21end up in thrall to the DUP?It is not just about the DUP. There is a
0:21:21 > 0:21:27strong majority of about 50 or 60 Tory MPs who could not allow a two
0:21:27 > 0:21:35state system, it is not about the DUP. It is unconscionable for a
0:21:35 > 0:21:38British Prime Minister to halve the Northern Ireland under control...
0:21:38 > 0:21:44But they come up with wacky ideas suggesting that block chain will fix
0:21:44 > 0:21:49the problem.Ultimately, the success of peace in Northern Ireland was
0:21:49 > 0:21:53about parking the issue and allowing people in Northern Ireland to have
0:21:53 > 0:21:56an identity and they could be as British as they liked or as Irish as
0:21:56 > 0:22:01they liked. The second we voted to leave, that was torn apart forever.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05And then we have as Polly said, these essentially science-fiction
0:22:05 > 0:22:12solutions have been coming out.We have obviously had another issue
0:22:12 > 0:22:16tonight with allegations about Kelvin Hopkins, is there a sense now
0:22:16 > 0:22:20at Westminster, and particularly for the younger generation, that they
0:22:20 > 0:22:24are per to speak out and have courage and are getting courage from
0:22:24 > 0:22:28other people?Yes, I think particularly there is a sense among
0:22:28 > 0:22:34the younger generation. People feel that now was the moment that things
0:22:34 > 0:22:37might actually be changing. We are seeing how things are changing in
0:22:37 > 0:22:42Hollywood, and this is the moment when the opportunity to change the
0:22:42 > 0:22:46structures and Westminster can be seized.There is a particular
0:22:46 > 0:22:50problem for Theresa May because we are awaiting the investigation into
0:22:50 > 0:22:55Damian Green which brings us onto her hold over Cabinet if indeed she
0:22:55 > 0:22:59does have a hold over Cabinet?No, she doesn't and this week has proved
0:22:59 > 0:23:05that beyond doubt. It is easy for political hacks like us to draw
0:23:05 > 0:23:08grand sweeping conclusions and linking themes like the poor run of
0:23:08 > 0:23:14luck Theresa May is having. But there is quite simply a catastrophic
0:23:14 > 0:23:19collapse of authority. If you have a Prime Minister that no one scared
0:23:19 > 0:23:23off, nobody gives two stuffs, you will do your anything, you will be
0:23:23 > 0:23:28freelance on your policy on Israel, you will not read your brief before
0:23:28 > 0:23:32you go in front of the select committee like Boris Johnson and the
0:23:32 > 0:23:38real question is how many tank mines are left unexploded?But it shows a
0:23:38 > 0:23:41disregard for the electorate as that is it another form of the
0:23:41 > 0:23:46Westminster arrogance not to read your brief and not to care enough?I
0:23:46 > 0:23:49think it is extraordinary. While there were criticisms that the bar
0:23:49 > 0:23:53was set too low and people were resigning over sexual harassment
0:23:53 > 0:23:58which was just a hand on a knee, but now it has shot up. And predict
0:23:58 > 0:24:05Hell, day after revelations have got worse and worse, only days later
0:24:05 > 0:24:13that she do the honourable thing and resign -- and Priti Patel.At the
0:24:13 > 0:24:16moment she cannot afford in the middle of Brexit to start moving
0:24:16 > 0:24:20many chess pieces around?I think she has more power than she thinks.
0:24:20 > 0:24:28The one thing she has got going for her is the fear of Corbyn in the
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Conservative Party. There may be more accusations of sleaze out
0:24:32 > 0:24:39there.And she knows her new Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson may know
0:24:39 > 0:24:46more from becoming from Chief Whip. There is just a nightmare for her.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50She has been captured by her own timidity in a way.What has happened
0:24:50 > 0:24:56in the last week or two is the balance has thrown from timidity to
0:24:56 > 0:25:01they have nothing to lose.Let's turn to Boris. Endless stories about
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Boris' demise have gone on for so long, but there was a complete
0:25:05 > 0:25:12disregard this week, it was not just a slip, not even bothering to read
0:25:12 > 0:25:15the brief. Would Theresa May like to get rid of Boris if she could, or
0:25:15 > 0:25:20actually, is there a funny way that she can contain him more inside than
0:25:20 > 0:25:26out?He's better inside the tent still. Although he is annoying in
0:25:26 > 0:25:36his brief, he can't start saying I think Universal Credit is bad...
0:25:36 > 0:25:39There is Cabinet responsibility sort of. Fun sort of is better than
0:25:39 > 0:25:44nothing at all. He does not have much of a following so he could not
0:25:44 > 0:25:48upset the apple cart but he is someone who would start saying
0:25:48 > 0:25:52things that new statements readers would agree with -- New Statesman
0:25:52 > 0:25:59readers would agree with. How is he regarded by the party now?
0:25:59 > 0:26:06I think a lot of the shine has come off the figure of fun, someone who
0:26:06 > 0:26:13would be the witty standard-bearer for conservatism. A lot of people
0:26:13 > 0:26:17have now shifted to Jacob Rees-Mogg is that have I got News for you
0:26:17 > 0:26:24friendly Tory.The times splash is about a Canadian who was inside Evin
0:26:24 > 0:26:31prison as well and she and her child were both hooded. The more you hear
0:26:31 > 0:26:36about this the more you realise how dangerous Boris pottery words were?
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Yes and no. I don't think this will get Boris. I will put my hat on the
0:26:41 > 0:26:46table and be prepared to eat it when it is made of marzipan at a later
0:26:46 > 0:26:50stage. Boris screwed up but it is still the Iranians who are hooding
0:26:50 > 0:26:52three rolled children when they go and meet their mother who is also
0:26:52 > 0:27:04hooded. As time has elapsed people are using Boris's idiocy for their
0:27:04 > 0:27:10own disgrace the lens.Is he safe?I think he is safe. You cannot have a
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Foreign Secretary whose idiocy makes it easier for the Iranians or any
0:27:14 > 0:27:18other nation to endanger British citizens. It is surely in the job
0:27:18 > 0:27:23description not to do that.In the New Year do think Theresa May will
0:27:23 > 0:27:30still be in position, Polly?It all depends on the Budget.Stephen?Yes,
0:27:30 > 0:27:35I think she will.Budget and then she has got to move onto trade
0:27:35 > 0:27:40talks. Then she has to do with a reshuffle. If you does it all by
0:27:40 > 0:27:46January the 10th, she will live on. Thank you.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Time now for Viewsnight - when we give original thinkers
0:27:48 > 0:27:51the space to challenge and push the boundaries of orthodox thinking.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52Tonight, Stanford Professor Niall Ferguson ,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54with his take on who should get to decide what we can read
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Niall Ferguson.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Just before we go, this has been equal pay day.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06But we've a long way to go, so by rights for many women,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08this should be the last day they work this year.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11But lest we forget, here's a reminder of where we've come from.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13MUSIC: Just A Girl by No Doubt.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21# Take this pink ribbon off my eyes.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25# I'm exposed and it's no big surprise.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30# Don't you think I know exactly where I stand...
0:30:30 > 0:30:32How far are you prepared to go?
0:30:32 > 0:30:35As far as it takes.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38# Cos I'm just a girl, little ol' me...
0:30:38 > 0:30:41A few years ago, it was a joke.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42People laughed at us.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44They don't laugh at us any more.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47# Oh, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite
0:30:47 > 0:30:53# So don't let me have any rights...
0:30:53 > 0:30:55It is International Women's Day today,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58and you've sent a male to interview me
0:30:58 > 0:30:59and a male cameraman.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Where are your women cameramen at the BBC?