19/01/2018 Newsnight


19/01/2018

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 19/01/2018. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Is there something wrong

with the way we prosecute rape?

0:00:070:00:13

For the fourth time in four weeks

the case against a man accused

0:00:130:00:15

of the crime has collapsed.

0:00:150:00:18

I asked the Director of Public

Prosecutions what's going on.

0:00:180:00:22

Some information came to us

very late in the day,

0:00:220:00:26

as in only just before we made

the decision to stop the case.

0:00:260:00:30

What should have happened

is that all should have

0:00:300:00:33

happened much earlier.

0:00:330:00:35

And for that I can only apologise.

0:00:350:00:38

12 months on - President Trump's

administration is just hours away

0:00:380:00:42

from a government shutdown tonight.

0:00:420:00:43

But how should we assess his year

in the White House?

0:00:430:00:46

We'll ask our panel to show

us their score cards.

0:00:460:00:51

And - as Boris Johnson announces his

latest transport vision,

0:00:510:00:54

a humble bridge over

the English Channel,

0:00:540:00:57

we despatched Steve Smith

to discover how his previous

0:00:570:01:00

brainwaves have gone down.

0:01:000:01:02

OK, so what are we doing?

0:01:020:01:04

Select a bicycle.

0:01:040:01:07

Now what?

0:01:070:01:10

OK, good, that was easy.

0:01:100:01:17

Lucky Londoners have had

or almost had a Boris Bike,

0:01:180:01:20

Boris Bridge, Boris Island,

the Boris Bus.

0:01:200:01:22

And now he's planning

a Channel crossing, it seems.

0:01:220:01:30

Good evening.

0:01:350:01:37

"Injustice anywhere",

wrote Martin Luther King,

0:01:370:01:40

"is a threat to justice everywhere".

0:01:400:01:44

Sometimes the cry of injustice

is raised by the accused,

0:01:440:01:47

sometimes by victims.

0:01:470:01:49

But this week, unusually,

we've heard it from both

0:01:490:01:52

sides in rape trials.

0:01:520:01:55

For many, today's government

announcement that it will not

0:01:550:01:58

challenge the parole board's

decision to free the 'black Cab

0:01:580:02:02

rapist' John Worboys,

is inexplicable.

0:02:020:02:05

Lawyers for two of Worboys' victims

have said they instead

0:02:050:02:08

will challenge the decision

to release him.

0:02:080:02:12

And around the same time

that the government

0:02:120:02:14

abandoned its Worboys

challenge, prosecutors in Guildford

0:02:140:02:16

formally dropped their case

against a man accused of rape.

0:02:160:02:22

Oliver Mears became the fourth man

in four weeks to have long-standing

0:02:220:02:28

charges against him dropped shortly

before trial because of the late

0:02:280:02:31

discovery of information

suggesting his innocence.

0:02:310:02:36

We'll hear from the Director

of Public Prosecutions in a moment,

0:02:360:02:39

asking whether her service -

far from defending the interests

0:02:390:02:42

of victims and accused alike -

is actually failing both,

0:02:420:02:44

but first here's Chris Cook.

0:02:440:02:49

Concern about the police and Crown

Prosecution Service 's handling of

0:02:490:02:54

French charges has been mounting on

several fronts lately, a month ago,

0:02:540:02:59

the police said they were reviewing

30 rape trials that were about to

0:02:590:03:03

start, the donor what they have

concluded, but we know this,

0:03:030:03:07

19-year-old Oliver Mears learned the

case against had dropped after new

0:03:070:03:10

evidence, diary, was nervous, and by

now he has all the spent years on

0:03:100:03:16

bail. -- on earth. Earlier this week

another case collapsed after photos

0:03:160:03:24

on a phone undermined the case,

pictures and the found by an expert

0:03:240:03:28

hired by the defence, and in

September a case of sexual activity

0:03:280:03:33

against a child was dropped after a

text showed the alleged victim had

0:03:330:03:38

lied about her age. And here is the

Allen, in his case the police failed

0:03:380:03:44

to disclose text messages which cast

doubt on vague allegations made

0:03:440:03:47

against him. -- rape.

In the last

few years I've worried about this

0:03:470:03:54

and nothing else is has ripped my

personal life.

In 2010-11 there were

0:03:540:04:01

4200 prosecutions for rape and two

and a half thousand led to

0:04:010:04:05

convictions and since then the

number of prosecutions has risen to

0:04:050:04:08

roughly 5200 year which has led to

around 3000 convictions, the share

0:04:080:04:14

prosecutions leading to convictions

has not substantially changed over

0:04:140:04:16

this period even as the volumes have

risen but prosecutions have also not

0:04:160:04:21

kept up with the rising rate in

which the crime is being reported,

0:04:210:04:27

and the police recorded 24,000

complaints of rape in 2015-16, there

0:04:270:04:33

is also the question for the CPS

around the release of John Worboys,

0:04:330:04:36

by the parole board. Today we learn

his knees would not be challenged by

0:04:360:04:42

the government although victims are

bringing a judicial review -- his

0:04:420:04:45

release.

After taking expert legal

advice I decided it would not be

0:04:450:04:51

appropriate for me as the Secretary

of State to proceed with such a

0:04:510:04:54

case, an honourable members will

appreciate I can't expose details of

0:04:540:04:59

the legal advice I have been given,

and I know this will disappoint the

0:04:590:05:03

victims in this case and members of

this House. Given the crimes for

0:05:030:05:07

which he has been convicted, on a

personal level, candidly, I share

0:05:070:05:12

those concerns.

John Worboys was

tried for just a small number of the

0:05:120:05:17

offences for which he was a suspect

and had he been convicted on further

0:05:170:05:21

counts whether as part of the first

trial or since he could have been

0:05:210:05:25

imprisoned for longer and further

evidence could have been deployed

0:05:250:05:27

against him before the parole board

which released him, but the

0:05:270:05:31

challenge for the CPS is whether

they should have tried to mount more

0:05:310:05:34

prosecutions against John Worboys.

All in all a lot of questions to

0:05:340:05:39

answer. STUDIO: Chris Cook, there.

0:05:390:05:48

Alison Saunders is the Director

of Public Prosecutions -

0:05:500:05:52

I spoke to her earlier today

and started by asking her why

0:05:520:05:55

the Oliver Mears case had collapsed.

0:05:550:05:57

It wasn't a disclosure as in late

disclosure of material

0:05:570:05:59

but it was about looking at the case

again, and reviewing it.

0:05:590:06:03

As we have a constant duty

to actually review cases and make

0:06:030:06:06

sure they still satisfy the code

for Crown prosecutors.

0:06:060:06:11

But there was some late material

that came through and when we looked

0:06:110:06:14

at everything again,

decided that it was not sufficient

0:06:140:06:16

evidence to prosecute.

0:06:160:06:17

What should have happened

in that case, of course,

0:06:170:06:19

was that it all should have

happened much earlier.

0:06:190:06:22

And I quite understand and I can

imagine how distressing it must be

0:06:220:06:25

for everybody involved,

all of the parties.

0:06:250:06:27

Two years of waiting.

0:06:270:06:28

Absolutely.

And that shouldn't have happened.

0:06:280:06:35

And that's why we are looking at,

how we make sure that disclosure,

0:06:350:06:38

which hasn't been going right

across the whole system,

0:06:380:06:41

how that really should happen much

earlier in the proceedings.

0:06:410:06:47

In terms of what happened

in the Mears case, when you said

0:06:470:06:51

that information arose at a certain

point later on, was that during that

0:06:510:06:54

two years we're talking

about or was it late

0:06:540:06:56

on in the original investigation?

0:06:560:06:58

Some information came to us

very late in the day,

0:06:580:07:00

as in only just before we made

the decision to stop the case.

0:07:000:07:05

What should have happened

is that all should have

0:07:050:07:07

happened much earlier.

0:07:070:07:09

And for that I can only apologise

to all who were involved in the case

0:07:090:07:13

because we should have made sure

we had done that earlier

0:07:130:07:16

and taken those decisions

earlier to stop the case.

0:07:160:07:18

Is it essentially, in your

view, a resource issue?

0:07:180:07:21

I don't think it's

just a resource issue.

0:07:210:07:26

I think there are real issues

for all of us to think about,

0:07:260:07:29

how do we deal with this new issue.

0:07:290:07:32

We all wonder around with phones

or tablets or some sort of device.

0:07:320:07:35

We live our lives on these things

now and they're often

0:07:350:07:37

as big as computers.

0:07:370:07:45

So, it's about, how do

we possibly look through...

0:07:450:07:47

How do the police look

through all of that?

0:07:470:07:53

How do we find that needle in a sort

of huge data haystack?

0:07:530:07:56

And how do we know

that it's relevant?

0:07:560:07:58

And also, if it's your telephone,

or your tablet, do you want people

0:07:580:08:01

going through your whole life

when actually some of it is not

0:08:010:08:04

relevant and is never

going to be relevant?

0:08:040:08:06

You said resources aren't

the only issue, clearly,

0:08:060:08:08

but are you concerned

that the police don't

0:08:080:08:10

actually have the resources,

to go through phones and social

0:08:100:08:12

media material in the quantities

they would have to to give both

0:08:120:08:15

sides in a case like this

a fair trial?

0:08:150:08:23

I certainly think if it was

a blanket, you have to look

0:08:230:08:26

at all this material,

we wouldn't have the resources

0:08:260:08:28

and cases wouldn't be brought before

the court because it would just

0:08:280:08:31

drown us in material.

0:08:310:08:38

Which is where we have to balance

what we can do with a fair trial.

0:08:380:08:42

Which is why that targeted aspect

to look at what's relevant

0:08:420:08:46

and making sure that when we get

what's relevant we disclose that.

0:08:460:08:54

So the defendant and dean know

what and why, so they can question

0:08:570:09:00

it if we miss something

or if they know

0:09:000:09:02

something that we don't.

0:09:020:09:03

Now, clearly, what you're trying

to do in these cases is look

0:09:030:09:06

at the rights of the accused

but we've also seen in the news

0:09:060:09:09

a very different equation

with the rights of victims.

0:09:090:09:11

In the John Worboys

case, for example.

0:09:110:09:13

Hearing what the Justice

Secretary said today...

0:09:130:09:14

I know you don't run the parole

board, you look at it as an informed

0:09:140:09:18

observer, but do you understand why

they won't give their reasons

0:09:180:09:21

in a case like the Worboys?

0:09:210:09:22

As far as the parole

board is concerned,

0:09:220:09:24

it is outside my authority.

0:09:240:09:28

I don't oversee it, I don't

understand why the decisions are not

0:09:280:09:31

transparent and that's a matter

for the government.

0:09:310:09:34

The Lord Chancellor has said he's

going to look into that.

0:09:340:09:37

One of the things which is hard

for people to understand

0:09:370:09:42

about the Worboys case is why only

such a small proportion

0:09:420:09:45

of the original victims

saw their cases coming into court.

0:09:450:09:47

Do you think more of them should

have been prosecuted?

0:09:470:09:50

More of those cases.

0:09:500:09:53

We've looked back over the decision

and we had somewhere in the region

0:09:530:09:57

of 83 individual complainants

referred to us.

0:09:570:10:00

We prosecuted 14 of those.

0:10:000:10:04

Of those 83 that were originally

referred to us, we couldn't

0:10:040:10:07

prosecute the rest because there

wasn't sufficient evidence.

0:10:070:10:09

It did not satisfy the code

for Crown prosecutors.

0:10:090:10:13

Where we have to have a realistic

prospect of conviction.

0:10:130:10:15

So, we couldn't do that.

0:10:150:10:17

There were three cases

which were referred whilst

0:10:170:10:19

we were in trial which we did not

prosecute for public interest

0:10:190:10:24

grounds because we felt it wasn't

going to add to the sentence and it

0:10:240:10:31

may complicate the case

that was already before

0:10:310:10:33

the court.

0:10:330:10:34

So, I think we made the right

decisions from the evidence

0:10:340:10:36

that we had at that time,

having looked at

0:10:360:10:39

the review decision.

0:10:390:10:40

Is there any way that either those

three or cases that might have

0:10:400:10:43

emerged subsequently,

could still be put

0:10:430:10:45

forward for prosecution?

0:10:450:10:46

I mean, we have certainly said

that we will review any cases

0:10:460:10:49

that the police might

want to refer to us.

0:10:490:10:51

And indeed we are talking

to the police about,

0:10:510:10:53

if there is any action that can be

taken or giving them advice

0:10:530:10:56

if they are asking for it.

0:10:560:10:58

So, if we get anything

new or we look at it again,

0:10:580:11:01

if we are asked to look at it again,

we will look at it in

0:11:010:11:04

accordance with the code.

0:11:040:11:05

But just to be clear,

you're saying that is an ongoing

0:11:050:11:08

conversation with the police

in this case?

0:11:080:11:10

It is an ongoing conversation,

but of course, if we decided

0:11:100:11:12

there wasn't sufficient evidence,

we've got to have evidence

0:11:120:11:14

to take before the courts.

0:11:140:11:16

There will have to be something new.

0:11:160:11:17

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

That

was the Director of Public

0:11:170:11:21

Prosecutions.

0:11:210:11:25

The Trump administration is a year

old, and never a dull moment.

0:11:250:11:28

As if to prove that very point,

on the eve of his anniversary

0:11:280:11:31

tonight his administration looks

to be hours away from a government

0:11:310:11:35

shutdown as it struggles to pass

an emergency budget bill.

0:11:350:11:41

But while the hacks who try to cover

Trump's presidency reel from one

0:11:410:11:45

tweet or leak-inspired moment

to another - sometimes

0:11:450:11:48

several times in a day -

what has he actually achieved?

0:11:480:11:52

And how far has he been able

to satisfy the voters who sent him

0:11:520:11:56

to Washington with the mission

to 'make America great again'?

0:11:560:12:01

The language may be coarser

and the lines between business

0:12:010:12:05

and presidential interests blurred,

but perhaps the most salient feature

0:12:050:12:09

of this first year is the degree

to which his achievements have

0:12:090:12:12

rested on going with the grain

in Washington rather

0:12:120:12:16

than draining its swamp.

0:12:160:12:20

The President of the United States!

0:12:200:12:24

One year on, and wrangling over

budgets has left the federal

0:12:240:12:28

government on the verge

of a close down.

0:12:280:12:31

It's drama, but it's also business

as usual in Washington.

0:12:310:12:33

Presidents Obama and Clinton

faced the same crisis.

0:12:330:12:37

And it's a measure of the power

that holding the purse

0:12:370:12:40

strings gives Congress,

whatever Trump might have said

0:12:400:12:43

on the campaign trail.

0:12:430:12:48

Where better to escape the pressures

of the office than the golf course?

0:12:480:12:52

A lot of pressure,

so, a lot of golfing.

0:12:520:12:58

As for breaking the mould

in presidential communications,

0:12:580:13:05

there's been plenty of that,

too, often via early

0:13:050:13:08

morning tweet storms.

0:13:080:13:09

That hasn't bolstered historically

low approval ratings, of course.

0:13:090:13:11

The most immediate salient thing

to say about Donald Trump's approval

0:13:110:13:16

rating is that it is

historically bad.

0:13:160:13:18

A lot of people get

a honeymoon period.

0:13:180:13:22

The best he had was basically

breaking even to start off with.

0:13:220:13:26

His approval ratings have been more

stable throughout the year

0:13:260:13:31

than is traditionally something that

you'd see because they didn't have

0:13:310:13:34

much further to sink.

0:13:340:13:38

His base does remain solid

even if he hasn't built that wall.

0:13:380:13:42

And the popularity is

partly due to roaring

0:13:420:13:44

economic performance.

0:13:440:13:47

Make America great again,

and that's what it is.

0:13:470:13:50

That's what it is, just make

America great again!

0:13:500:13:52

He will, it's going to be great.

0:13:520:13:54

We will make America great again.

0:13:540:13:58

He's a good businessman and that's

what the country needs.

0:13:580:14:00

To get the thing,

get the country back

0:14:000:14:02

out of debt and get

a lot of people working.

0:14:020:14:05

I think that's what he's doing.

0:14:050:14:13

It's the economy, stupid,

did you ever hear that one?

0:14:130:14:15

It's the economy.

0:14:150:14:16

It is indeed.

0:14:160:14:20

He's doing something

that no one other

0:14:200:14:27

politician has ever done he's

keeping his promises to the people.

0:14:270:14:30

And partly due to delivery

on deregulation and tax cuts.

0:14:300:14:33

The area where, right

from the outset of his

0:14:330:14:38

presidency, it was clear

that the Republican control of

0:14:380:14:40

Congress would help rather

than hinder the president.

0:14:400:14:42

On Russia, for example,

hawkish senators have made

0:14:420:14:44

it impossible for Trump to improve

relations with the Kremlin.

0:14:440:14:52

With sanctions staying

in place and the

0:14:520:14:53

US going further in

arming the Ukrainians

0:14:530:14:55

than Barack Obama did.

0:14:550:14:58

And when it comes to military

or intelligence matters, the spooks

0:14:580:15:01

have also pushed back on the Russia

policy and the Pentagon has largely

0:15:010:15:06

written its own rules for escalating

counterterrorist operations.

0:15:060:15:10

In reality, his policy

is actually not

0:15:100:15:11

particularly radical.

0:15:110:15:12

His policies don't really

reflect the rhetoric

0:15:120:15:14

that you see on his Twitter account.

0:15:140:15:16

In fact we've seen a considerable

amount of continuity from the Obama

0:15:160:15:19

administration.

0:15:190:15:27

So while the President's

people might point to

0:15:270:15:29

wins on the tax code

or deregulation, what is really

0:15:290:15:31

notable is how far things have

strayed the same.

0:15:310:15:33

Despite the

0:15:330:15:35

campaign promises to drain the swamp

all radically change the way power

0:15:350:15:37

is bargained inside the Beltway.

0:15:370:15:45

So how do things look from America -

and what can we expect for the next

0:15:470:15:50

three years of Trump's presidency?

0:15:500:15:53

Joining me from Boston is former

New York Times executive

0:15:530:15:56

editor Jill Abramson.

0:15:560:15:58

In Miami is Matthew Oberly

from the Young Republican

0:15:580:16:00

National Federation.

0:16:000:16:07

And we'll also be speaking

to Wendy Osefo, a political

0:16:070:16:09

commentator who worked

on the Obama Administration's

0:16:090:16:11

antipoverty initiative -

she's in Washington.

0:16:110:16:13

Jill, can I start with you? Do you

see a single redeeming thing about

0:16:130:16:20

the Trump presidency during this

first year?

Very little. The strong

0:16:200:16:28

economy obviously is a big plus, but

I don't really think President Trump

0:16:280:16:33

can take much credit for it. And if

the economy is doing so well, why on

0:16:330:16:41

earth do we need a big tax cut for

the billionaire class? I don't see

0:16:410:16:50

much, and, you know, I really feel

in the past year that as President

0:16:500:16:55

Donald Trump has shown himself

completely unsuitable to the job.

0:16:550:17:01

And I disagree with the idea in your

piece that things haven't changed

0:17:010:17:07

very much. Because he pulled out of

the Paris treaty and the

0:17:070:17:15

environment... It's been a disaster.

He named a new US Supreme Court

0:17:150:17:22

justice, but one who is extremely

right-wing.

That is also an area

0:17:220:17:28

where the congressional Republican

caucus... Congress was keen to work

0:17:280:17:35

with him on, whereas in other areas,

where they don't wish to cooperate

0:17:350:17:39

or can't agree an answer, like

health care, he hasn't achieved

0:17:390:17:42

change.

Thank goodness health care

wasn't repealed. Although through

0:17:420:17:49

other means they have tried to take

away some of the major provisions of

0:17:490:17:55

the Obama health care law. And I

think America's standing in the

0:17:550:18:00

world has been hurt during the past

year.

How would you measure that?

I

0:18:000:18:05

would measure it...

In what index

would you measure that hurts to

0:18:050:18:13

America's standing?

Well I mentioned

a minute ago the Paris Accord,

0:18:130:18:16

pulling out of that. America had

been one of the leaders in the world

0:18:160:18:23

towards reducing green gases. And

now it's not.

OK...

I think that he

0:18:230:18:32

is undependable and people are

scared to death about what's

0:18:320:18:34

happening in North Korea right now.

Matthew, I believe, I do want to ask

0:18:340:18:40

you about North Korea, but before we

go on to that, surely, clearly, you

0:18:400:18:45

like the man, you think is achieving

something. Surely you would concede

0:18:450:18:50

he is a uniquely divisive and

polarising figure.

I would say he is

0:18:500:18:55

a unique figure, I wouldn't call him

a deeply polarising figure. If we

0:18:550:19:00

want to really get down to

measurable results, the president

0:19:000:19:03

has taken, basically warped, the

regulatory burden that stops small

0:19:030:19:09

businesses and entrepreneurs from

succeeding and put money back into

0:19:090:19:13

the middle class, into their

pockets, be it $500, $200 or

0:19:130:19:18

thousands of dollars. Talk about

health care, people who are healthy,

0:19:180:19:23

who might not need health care, are

going to have that penalty put back

0:19:230:19:27

in their pockets. I truly believe

that the American way is to allow

0:19:270:19:32

the people to decide if, you know,

they want to have health care or

0:19:320:19:37

not. I wouldn't call him a

polarising figure. I think a lot of

0:19:370:19:42

where we see the polarisation coming

from is the media. You've got media

0:19:420:19:47

on the left and right. I truly

believe that... I can't, I can't

0:19:470:19:53

agree that he's a polarising...

On

the North Korea point that Jill

0:19:530:20:00

made, we were looking at some CBS

polling before we came on air saying

0:20:000:20:07

59% of Americans disapprove of the

way he's dealing with that issue.

0:20:070:20:11

It's a thing that scares a lot of

people including Republicans, isn't

0:20:110:20:14

it? The land which he has used on

North Korea?

I hate to say it but

0:20:140:20:21

when the leader, dictator of North

Korea, can just lob missiles over a

0:20:210:20:26

sovereign nation such as Japan, I

truly think we need to hammer down

0:20:260:20:31

some tough language and reminds this

guy that that's not allowable on the

0:20:310:20:35

global stage. I think his rhetoric

is strong.

Can you briefly afford to

0:20:350:20:40

do that kind of tough talking with

two nuclear armed states facing off

0:20:400:20:45

against one another where

misconception could lead to

0:20:450:20:50

disaster?

It could lead to

disaster... That is a vague

0:20:500:20:54

statement. We have to remind him,

frankly we have to remind other

0:20:540:21:02

dictators that this behaviour isn't

allowable and we will do what is

0:21:020:21:05

needed to make sure not only America

is safe, but our citizens are safe

0:21:050:21:12

when they go abroad. I think he's

using tough language.

I want to

0:21:120:21:18

bring in Wendy from Washington.

Looking at this from a Democrat

0:21:180:21:25

supporter bases, as you do, how are

you going to win in the midterm is

0:21:250:21:30

coming up this year? Wouldn't you

expect the Democratic party to be

0:21:300:21:34

showing more strongly in the polls?

Given how bad the President's

0:21:340:21:40

approval rating is. What is missing

in their campaign?

The Democratic

0:21:400:21:45

party is showing strongly in the

polls because the president has had

0:21:450:21:48

a dreadful year. He's endorsed a

child molester in Alabama, waged a

0:21:480:21:52

war against a free press. He had

dilapidated his own local party.

0:21:520:21:56

He's given the thumbs up to white to

premises and continues to put a hole

0:21:560:22:02

in our democracy. It's very

difficult to do a good job. It's

0:22:020:22:07

easy to tell something apart. Our

president has chosen the latter.

0:22:070:22:11

That is the issue. When it comes to

midterms the Democrats are going to

0:22:110:22:14

forge ahead. When we look at the

special collections that have

0:22:140:22:17

happened thus far, in Virginia the

Democrats won, in Alabama the

0:22:170:22:22

Democrats won, these are ruby red

states that were not supposed to be

0:22:220:22:25

won at all by the Democrats. If the

special collections are any

0:22:250:22:29

indication of the tidal wave coming

for the Republican Party, the

0:22:290:22:32

midterms are going to be something

in which you will see a big turn.

0:22:320:22:36

There is lots of Republican seats up

for re-election. If they want to

0:22:360:22:42

keep their seats I would suggest

they tell their party president to

0:22:420:22:46

put a button on it and stop with

this and move forward with policy.

0:22:460:22:52

He pointed to one or two areas of

the country where the Democrats are

0:22:520:22:56

showing well, in special

collections. Clearly they were

0:22:560:22:58

pretty hammered back in the last

nationwide election. What is missing

0:22:580:23:05

at national level? Where is the

leadership? There is no one clearly

0:23:050:23:09

embodying the Democratic challenge

to the president at national level.

0:23:090:23:15

We have leadership. What you're

going to C in 2020 is what we saw in

0:23:150:23:23

2016. You will see a wave of

Democrats come up and say they want

0:23:230:23:27

to invigorate the nation by running.

But what's going to happen, and I'm

0:23:270:23:33

going to call this ahead of time, is

anyone who decide they are going to

0:23:330:23:38

lead the Democratic party has to

embody more than just a movement,

0:23:380:23:42

they have to ignite to people, they

have to put that same hokum that

0:23:420:23:46

same feeling of change, similar to

that of Barack Obama. What we have

0:23:460:23:51

seen with Donald Trump is he's been

highly divisive, he's got a lot of

0:23:510:23:57

rhetoric that has a power country,

so whoever wins this election is

0:23:570:24:03

somebody who brings us together and

forges a message of unity and hope.

0:24:030:24:09

That's what we need right now in a

leader.

Matthew, can I ask you, a

0:24:090:24:16

lot of Republicans one speaks to on

imply that if the party takes a

0:24:160:24:21

beating in the midterms it'll be

over in terms of the Trump

0:24:210:24:25

presidency. It'll be hobbled from

that point onwards. How concerned

0:24:250:24:29

are you buy that possibility?

You

want to talk about the government

0:24:290:24:36

shutting down. Americans need nine

Democrats, Americans, not President

0:24:360:24:42

Trump or Paul Ryan, America needs

nine Congressman to keep Democrats,

0:24:420:24:50

to keep the government from shutting

down while the GOP holds a majority

0:24:500:24:54

in Congress. We can't do it without

Democrats. Americans can't do it

0:24:540:25:00

without Democrats, and I think that

is the real important point to make

0:25:000:25:04

right now. We need to prevent this

government shuts down and the

0:25:040:25:08

Republicans can't stop Chuck Schumer

from shutting it down. We need

0:25:080:25:13

Democrats to rise up and work for

Americans. And prevent the

0:25:130:25:20

government from shutting down. In

2018 and we're going to be able, as

0:25:200:25:25

the Republican party, to go forward

and say, you know, the Democrats

0:25:250:25:29

didn't rise up to prevent a

government shutdown, the Democrats

0:25:290:25:32

didn't rise up and enable those able

to protect us to protect us.

Jill

0:25:320:25:39

Abramson let's come back to this

discussion we had with Wendy about

0:25:390:25:44

the leadership. Of course you expect

a front runner to emerge when the

0:25:440:25:48

presidential nomination race gets

underway in earnest. But you can

0:25:480:25:54

send...

After the 2018 elections.

.

Indeed but are you concerned there

0:25:540:26:00

don't seem to be the obvious

national figures and contenders

0:26:000:26:02

pushing their way to the front, that

there isn't that national opposition

0:26:020:26:08

to President Trump right now?

I

think that is a good point. I'm not

0:26:080:26:16

here as a partisan spokesman, so I'm

not going to say it alarms me, but

0:26:160:26:23

Democrats in much of the country,

that have been so shocked and

0:26:230:26:27

disappointed by President Trump,

they're aching for some inspiration.

0:26:270:26:33

They really are. And you're right,

so far there isn't unifying

0:26:330:26:39

Democratic a candidate who has urged

to get people very excited. But

0:26:390:26:44

there is still, you know, quite a

bit of time.

0:26:440:26:51

bit of time.

Thank you all very much

for joining us, Jill Abramson,

0:26:510:26:55

Matthew Oberly and Wendy Osefo.

0:26:550:26:57

Say what you like about

Boris Johnson, he's never been

0:26:570:27:00

at a loss for an idea on how to get

people from A to B.

0:27:000:27:03

Londoners are familiar with 'Boris

bikes', 'Boris island' -

0:27:030:27:06

site of a proposed airport -

and the former Mayor's enthusiasm

0:27:060:27:08

for a 'garden bridge' over

the Thames, since scrapped.

0:27:080:27:16

But it seems the Foreign Secretary

excelled himself during an encounter

0:27:160:27:19

with the French president this week,

raising the prospect of a fixed

0:27:190:27:21

link across the Channel,

a dream which has tantalised

0:27:210:27:24

generations of engineers

and decision-makers.

0:27:240:27:26

Number ten has let it be known that

Theresa May isn't about to cut

0:27:260:27:29

the ribbon on such a scheme anytime

soon - but could a cross-channel

0:27:290:27:32

bridge go the distance?

0:27:320:27:33

It's going to be a stretch,

cautions Stephen Smith.

0:27:330:27:41

The great Victorian engineers built

railways in the cities.

0:27:470:27:52

The foundations of our industry

and infrastructure.

0:27:520:27:54

But not even they got around

to a grand bridge over

0:27:540:27:57

the sea to France.

0:27:570:28:05

But the Foreign Secretary,

at home, at sea or on

0:28:050:28:07

land is apparently thinking big.

0:28:070:28:15

Lucky Londoners have had, or almost

had, a Boris bike, Boris Bridge,

0:28:160:28:19

Boris Island, the Boris bus, and now

he is planning a channel crossing,

0:28:190:28:22

it seems.

0:28:220:28:29

So is he the Telford,

the Kingdom Brunel of our day?

0:28:290:28:31

Or is this a bridge too far?

0:28:310:28:39

The idea of a bridge over

the channel isn't new.

0:28:420:28:44

Here is something from

a 70s drawing board.

0:28:440:28:49

This design from the 80s imagines

a bridge running out into

0:28:490:28:52

the sea as far as a man-made island.

0:28:520:28:54

From there, a corkscrew chamber led

to an underwater tunnel.

0:28:540:28:56

With matching infrastructure

on the French side.

0:28:560:28:58

And this is how the design team

here at Newsnight see

0:28:580:29:01

the Boris bridge.

0:29:010:29:08

In sharp contrast to recent

high-level thinking, this

0:29:080:29:10

has just been thrown together.

0:29:100:29:13

We're an island nation with a proud

history of maritime engineering.

0:29:130:29:15

Is a bridge to France beyond us?

0:29:150:29:21

In principle it is feasible,

because there have

0:29:210:29:23

been similar project

in

0:29:230:29:24

the past.

0:29:240:29:28

I should mention perhaps

the best-known one is probably the

0:29:280:29:31

one in Louisiana

in the United States.

0:29:310:29:32

Which is a bridge with a total

length of about 25 miles.

0:29:320:29:35

So it is really more

or less the size

0:29:350:29:37

we are talking about for

the English Channel.

0:29:370:29:45

Boris Johnson has form

with transport ideas.

0:29:490:29:50

One design critic

gave us his review.

0:29:500:29:55

I think vision is good

and I enjoy follies wherever

0:29:550:29:57

they may be found, but I'm afraid

Boris's record as a practical

0:29:570:30:00

innovator in infrastructure

is not all that great.

0:30:000:30:02

I mean the famous Boris bikes,

I mean they are quite

0:30:020:30:05

good fun, but they have made zero

impact on the amenity and facility

0:30:050:30:10

of Londoners actually

trying to do work.

0:30:100:30:11

They are only used by lost tourists

who don't know where they

0:30:110:30:14

are going.

0:30:140:30:15

And then of course there

is Boris Island the famous airport,

0:30:150:30:18

which again, like the supposed

future Channel bridge, the Boris

0:30:180:30:20

airport could be built.

0:30:200:30:21

There is nothing wrong with that.

0:30:210:30:23

But they were completely

unfunded, the

0:30:230:30:24

questions of infrastructure of roads

and railways necessary to service

0:30:240:30:26

it.

0:30:260:30:34

Downing Street says there are no

specific plans for Mr Johnson's

0:30:370:30:41

Channel link, in other words, its

chances are zip. It is a wistful

0:30:410:30:47

might have been. A Bridge of sighs.

The unabridged Steve Smith.

0:30:470:30:55

That's about all we have time

for tonight, but we leave

0:30:550:30:57

you with the heartwarming tale

of Transport Scotland's fleet

0:30:570:30:59

of salt spraying heroes,

their snow-defeating kings

0:30:590:31:01

of the road, the gritters.

0:31:010:31:02

Thousands were gripped today

by an online map showing the exact

0:31:020:31:05

location of the lorries -

some of which have some

0:31:050:31:07

imaginative names.

0:31:070:31:10

So we say goodnight now

to Gritty Gritty Bang Bang,

0:31:100:31:14

Luke SnowWalker, Mrs McGritter

and of course, Sir Andy Flurry -

0:31:140:31:19

who are out again this evening

keeping the roads safe.

0:31:190:31:21

Goodnight.

0:31:210:31:24

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS