0:00:06 > 0:00:09Tonight, a woman so distraught about her experience
0:00:09 > 0:00:11at The President Club ball her mum called in the police.
0:00:11 > 0:00:18We hear the story of Anna, speaking out for the first time
0:00:18 > 0:00:19of the fondling, the massages, the possible prostitution
0:00:19 > 0:00:26and the other jobs.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28A lot of the girls were handed the men's business cards. I know there
0:00:28 > 0:00:32were a lot of nanny jobs are being offered, they were getting work from
0:00:32 > 0:00:37these rich men.To go and be a nanny?To go and nanny as well as
0:00:37 > 0:00:37other things.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Also tonight, Newsnight has details of how Saudi Arabia's
0:00:40 > 0:00:41anti-corruption drive is being conducted and talked
0:00:41 > 0:00:48to the Canada-based businessman at its centre.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53He didn't look comfortable. He was... He was unshaven. He didn't
0:00:53 > 0:00:58look in his best condition.Isner mentor spreading beyond the
0:00:58 > 0:01:05political arena? -- is Momentum. People coming together in
0:01:05 > 0:01:08solidarity, we get ourselves a good deal.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12We talk to Momentum's chairman Jon Lansman,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14successfully elected to Labour's National Executvie Committe,
0:01:14 > 0:01:21what does want Momentum to do now?
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Good evening, she returned from The President Club ball
0:01:24 > 0:01:28extremely upset and confused.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Anna's mum told me today, "not even daring to explain to me
0:01:31 > 0:01:34what she'd witnessed because she'd signed a non disclosure agreement".
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Her mother, distraught, called the police.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38The stories that are emerging about The Presidents Club dinners
0:01:38 > 0:01:41at the Dorchester Hotel are getting harder to hear, not
0:01:41 > 0:01:45easier with time.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Anna herself, one of the 150 women who'd attended the event,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52both last week and in a previous year, told me today of her dawning
0:01:52 > 0:01:55realisation that the women there had been hired to do nothing but
0:01:55 > 0:01:56euphemistically - "have fun".
0:01:56 > 0:02:01She described women giving the male guests massages as they sat and ate,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04she described being fondled by a man who reached for her backside and
0:02:04 > 0:02:06berated her for not being fitter.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09She described the after-party, where a group of women changed
0:02:09 > 0:02:11into the same uniform of sheer white robes,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13women, she understood then, to be prostitutes.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15And she described the men who offered the girls
0:02:15 > 0:02:17who caught their eye nannying jobs for their own children.
0:02:17 > 0:02:24Anna is not her real name.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27We have disguised her and her mum to protect her identity as she said
0:02:28 > 0:02:33When we got into the room we were all...
0:02:33 > 0:02:38We were sitting down and then we got told to sign an NDA
0:02:38 > 0:02:40and hand our phones in, which were just put into plastic bags.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44And then we were given dinner and we got given a glass of wine
0:02:44 > 0:02:47with dinner and then we were taken for a rehearsal, which involved...
0:02:47 > 0:02:52We basically had to stand.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55We had to line up and then stand at the top of the stage.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And we went in twos.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00And we would pose at the top of the stage and then walk.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03As if they said it was a cat walk around the room and then stand
0:03:03 > 0:03:04by your assigned table.
0:03:04 > 0:03:11So you were paraded around the room.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Up until this point, it just feels like a sort of unusual
0:03:14 > 0:03:15modelling assignment.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18You're told what to wear. It was somewhere between that and...
0:03:18 > 0:03:20You know, we thought we would be waitressing.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21It wouldn't be food.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23We were told it wasn't, you know, offering food,
0:03:23 > 0:03:24but it would be drinks.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26You went through the night, you served drinks.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27Yup.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29And then were you talking to the man?
0:03:29 > 0:03:30Or what did you...
0:03:30 > 0:03:33The thing was, there were actually drinks already on the table,
0:03:33 > 0:03:34but there was also a bar.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37A lot of the girls felt awkward, because we didn't know how to...
0:03:37 > 0:03:43Because, you know, the standing up, the sitting down.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Because, you know, we're standing up, their sitting down.
0:03:47 > 0:03:48They're at a dinner.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51We didn't really know what we were supposed to do
0:03:51 > 0:03:53because they already have alcohol on the table from what we saw.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56So we sort of realised, we're not here to serve drinks.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And they come up to us if they so we weren't speaking
0:03:59 > 0:04:02to the man and sort of say, you need to engage in conversation.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03Which just felt so forced.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Because...
0:04:07 > 0:04:10And just a bit strange, because that wasn't what we were told.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12We were all standing up and it was very, you know...
0:04:12 > 0:04:14It's quite claustrophobic and you don't really know
0:04:14 > 0:04:16how to speak to them, while they're eating.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18And did they engage you in conversation, or...?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Yeah, they did.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And the thing was that I realised, is there was just a massive mix
0:04:23 > 0:04:25of people attending the dinner, because some of the men...
0:04:25 > 0:04:27It was quite obvious that they were very
0:04:27 > 0:04:29confused what our role was.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30And also why we were there.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32And they were quite shocked by it and sort of...
0:04:32 > 0:04:39I remember some of them actually having a really nice conversation
0:04:39 > 0:04:47with me and there's the other side of the men, where they're
0:04:48 > 0:04:53quite, just, flirtatious and also grabby.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Like, some of them, you know,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59you'd stand and they would try and hold your hand and speak to you.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Or hold you by the waist. I had one man...
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I was standing there and he grabbed my bum and he said,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06"You don't work out a lot, do you?"
0:05:06 > 0:05:12And that's when, actually, another of the men stood up for me
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and said, "Don't let him speak to you like that".
0:05:15 > 0:05:17There were girls there that had done it, clearly, before,
0:05:17 > 0:05:18and they were very...
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It looked like they were enjoying it.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22There were some girls in the middle of the room,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24on the longer table, it was sort of...
0:05:24 > 0:05:27They were so touchy, massaging the men while they were
0:05:27 > 0:05:28having their dinner.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Some of the girls were sitting on men's lap and the men were sort
0:05:31 > 0:05:35of feeding them their food.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38There were definitely some of the girls who enjoyed the evening.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41A lot of them were handed the men's business cards.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44I know there were lots of nanny jobs being
0:05:44 > 0:05:46offered, so they were getting work from these rich man.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47To go and nanny.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Yeah, to go and nanny as well as other things.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52And then there were, you know, the girls who were
0:05:52 > 0:05:53very young.
0:05:53 > 0:05:54They were 19.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Some of the men on their table didn't want
0:05:56 > 0:05:59them on the table because they said they were too young and they
0:05:59 > 0:06:00wouldn't entertain them properly.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02What's going through your head at this point, then?
0:06:02 > 0:06:08It almost felt like we were escorts.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11That was not our role and we weren't told that would be our role.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13And yes, some tables weren't eating.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16They didn't have enough girls on their table, so they complained
0:06:16 > 0:06:18about not having enough girls.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Tell us what else you saw at the after party.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Things changed, because all us girls were in black.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26You know, black dresses and black belts.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30And then at one point, a song came on and these girls...
0:06:30 > 0:06:38I can't remember exactly how many there were.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43I think about five women came in, in sort of gowns
0:06:43 > 0:06:46that were quite sheer and sequins everywhere.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49And they basically were also paraded into the middle of the room.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52And it seemed... Like they were prostitutes.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55That's what some of the girls who had done it before said.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58And did you see any of the men actually pairing off with the girls?
0:06:58 > 0:06:59Yeah, at the after party.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00Quite a few others did.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03We didn't see them going back to their hotel rooms, but a lot
0:07:03 > 0:07:07of the girls said they were taking them back to their hotel room.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13of the girls said they were taking them back to their hotel rooms.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15You were still up when Anna got home.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16She woke me up.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18And what do you remember of that night?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20She was incredibly upset because she was confused.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21She didn't know how to act.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23She was incredibly concerned that there would be legal
0:07:23 > 0:07:26consequences if she even spoke to her own mother about it.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28And what did you do the next day?
0:07:28 > 0:07:29I called the police.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33I was very angry and I felt that something should be done
0:07:33 > 0:07:36about it, so I called the police and the police came over and then
0:07:36 > 0:07:40I also felt quite protective about my
0:07:40 > 0:07:42daughter, who wasn't keen for this to go any further and...
0:07:42 > 0:07:49The police then came back a little bit later
0:07:49 > 0:07:51and said that, unfortunately, there was nothing they
0:07:51 > 0:07:53could do, because if a bunch of middle aged men
0:07:53 > 0:07:56want to employ women in whatever capacity at a dinner,
0:07:56 > 0:08:01it's not against the law.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It makes me furious.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Anna thought then she'd never go back, but she
0:08:06 > 0:08:10came under pressure to do so and reluctantly returned this year.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11What did you find, this time?
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Was it different?
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Had the atmosphere changed?
0:08:17 > 0:08:20It was different in the fact that, at the after party, there
0:08:20 > 0:08:23weren't these women who came in in white.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26That never happened at the event last week.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27But it was along the same lines.
0:08:27 > 0:08:35And you found it easier, did you?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Yeah, I did find it easier and I was actually able, sort
0:08:38 > 0:08:42of, to look after some of the girls who were quite shocked by what was
0:08:42 > 0:08:42going on.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45What did you think when you saw it had been exposed, it was
0:08:45 > 0:08:47all over the papers and the news?
0:08:47 > 0:08:48I was very happy!
0:08:48 > 0:08:50And kind of amazed, because I didn't think that would
0:08:50 > 0:08:51actually happen.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56But I think it's a great thing it's happened.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59One of the women from The Presidents Club.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And just to add that, the Metropolitan Police have
0:09:03 > 0:09:05confirmed they received a third party allegation of sexual assault
0:09:05 > 0:09:09against a female at an event held at a hotel on Park Lane on 21st
0:09:09 > 0:09:10January 2017.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13They also confirmed she did not want to proceed with the allegation
0:09:13 > 0:09:14and consequently the investigation was discontinued.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Our business editor Helen Thomas is here.
0:09:16 > 0:09:17What else have we learned today?
0:09:17 > 0:09:21This evening, we heard that Lord Mandelson, the Labour peer, was
0:09:21 > 0:09:25asked to step back from the front bench. He attended part of that
0:09:25 > 0:09:32evening. He agreed to do so and it could put pressure on others who
0:09:32 > 0:09:37attended the event. We're getting a fuller picture of exactly who was at
0:09:37 > 0:09:41this dinner. They were not very wealthy and well-known people, like
0:09:41 > 0:09:45the likes of Sir Philip Green, owner of top shop. A broad range of
0:09:45 > 0:09:49people, tables of some younger professionals. Men in finance or
0:09:49 > 0:09:54real estate but not the boss class. Vice Chancellor of Bolton University
0:09:54 > 0:09:58confirmed he was there and he said he didn't witness any of that
0:09:58 > 0:10:01behaviour but said he felt uncomfortable and left early. Senior
0:10:01 > 0:10:07bankers. The old lawyer.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12Another guest we spoke to, another person who left early and didn't see
0:10:12 > 0:10:16anything told us he remember there being a verbal warning, you've got
0:10:16 > 0:10:21some lovely ladies to look after you, they are someone's sisters and
0:10:21 > 0:10:25daughters, so, please respect them. Gosh, so everyone left early apart
0:10:25 > 0:10:29from those who obviously staged for the after party. Where does this go
0:10:29 > 0:10:34next?There have been calls for the police to investigate. Vince Cable
0:10:34 > 0:10:37and Joe Swinson, leader and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats
0:10:37 > 0:10:44wrote to the Metropolitan Police. When we spoke to the mat, they said
0:10:44 > 0:10:46there hadn't been any complaints or reports by many individuals as yet.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49But as part of this we will see a focus on nondisclosure agreements.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54The hostesses were asked to sign 5-page agreements and the Prime
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Minister's office today has said that is something they will take a
0:10:57 > 0:11:00look at, how those are being used. Thanks.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Newsnight has discovered details about how Saudi Arabia's
0:11:02 > 0:11:06anti-corruption drive is being conducted.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08It began last November, with the rounding up and detention
0:11:08 > 0:11:10of dozens of citizens, including members
0:11:10 > 0:11:17of the royal family.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20A Canadian-based businessman who was flown to the Kingdom to help
0:11:20 > 0:11:22the authorities construct a case against the most celebrated
0:11:22 > 0:11:24detainee, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26And now that businessman has been talking to our diplomatic
0:11:26 > 0:11:27editor, Mark Urban.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Viewers should be aware that there is flash
0:11:29 > 0:11:30photography in the film.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Early in November, something happened that many Saudis would have
0:11:36 > 0:11:40thought unimaginable.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43From their homes across the country, dozens of the Kingdom's richest men,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45including members of the Royal family, were swept up
0:11:45 > 0:11:53and detained in the gilded cage of Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58It's been called an anti-corruption drive and those facing interrogation
0:11:58 > 0:12:02include Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, whose estimated $18 billion fortune
0:12:02 > 0:12:09makes him Saudi Arabia's richest businessman.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Waleed bin Talal is important, because he is the richest
0:12:15 > 0:12:17of the detainees, by far.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22So, he is very important in financial terms.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25But he is also important because he is one of the best-known
0:12:25 > 0:12:28princes in the west.
0:12:28 > 0:12:35And he has many Western connections and he has many Western businesses.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Waleed is known for his gold-plated private airliner,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42his friendship with celebrities as well as his business,
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Kingdom Holdings, that has stakes in EuroDisney
0:12:47 > 0:12:52and Western tech companies.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54But his wealth and family connections also made him a rival
0:12:54 > 0:12:57to Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and architect
0:12:57 > 0:13:03of the anti-corruption drive.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05We drive in under police escort, just past midnight.
0:13:05 > 0:13:11No-one enters here, now, without official permission.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13The BBC got a swift look inside the Ritz-Carlton,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17but opposition sources have claimed inmates were being tortured
0:13:17 > 0:13:19and required to sign over their fortunes,
0:13:19 > 0:13:27in order to be released.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29On Monday, the Arab Digest website reported that
0:13:29 > 0:13:35Canadian-based businessman, Alan Bender, seen here to the right
0:13:35 > 0:13:38of Waleed bin Talal, had been flown to the Kingdom as it built
0:13:38 > 0:13:39a case against the Prince.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Mr Bender was taken to a site near the hotel.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Alan Bender had a unique insight into the situation in the Ritz,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51because for the past two and a half months, there's been very little
0:13:51 > 0:13:53information escaping - that the Saudis have controlled
0:13:53 > 0:13:57the inflammation flow.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Newsnight managed to locate Mr Bender in Toronto.
0:13:59 > 0:14:05He was able to confirm his trip to Riyadh in December and he spoke
0:14:05 > 0:14:07via video conference while there with the detained
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Prince Waleed.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15He was brought in the teleconference.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16He was brought in through the teleconference.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19He was sat down.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21We were looking at each other, face-to-face.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22I think he was surprised to see me.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Umm...
0:14:24 > 0:14:27He looked different from what I'm used to seeing him look.
0:14:27 > 0:14:35Did he look as if he was, in some way, being ill treated?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Or was he just shocked to see you?
0:14:37 > 0:14:43How would you describe his appearance?
0:14:43 > 0:14:45I would say he didn't look comfortable.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46He wasn't...
0:14:46 > 0:14:47He was unshaven.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51He didn't look in his best condition at all.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53He looked tired.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55A lot of twitching, while I was reading
0:14:55 > 0:15:03the script out to him.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06The Saudi authorities had prepared a script of allegations
0:15:06 > 0:15:09for Mr Bender to read out to Waleed bin Talal
0:15:09 > 0:15:12via a video conference link.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15In the script, it contained a lot of information related to regarded
0:15:15 > 0:15:18conversations that Prince Al-Waleed had, with or without his knowledge.
0:15:18 > 0:15:24It touches political, financial and moral issues.
0:15:24 > 0:15:32I would say my presence was to be used as, probably,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34evidence of details that they needed to confront him, because I was
0:15:34 > 0:15:39probably the only person who was involved in personal
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and direct negotiations with him, related to a very personal matter
0:15:42 > 0:15:50that was supposed to be kept secret.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Those very personal matters related to Waleed's separation
0:15:53 > 0:15:59from a former long-term partner.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Mr Bender has represented her in settlement negotiations
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and she alleges that the Prince engaged in abusive
0:16:04 > 0:16:11and immoral conduct.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13The Saudi authorities, it seems, want to use these personal pressure
0:16:13 > 0:16:20points to force Waleed to sign over his foreign wealth.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Alan Bender has had a sequence of meetings with Waleed bin
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Talal over the years, face-to-face, very tough
0:16:24 > 0:16:26negotiations, concerning this very acrimonious divorce.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29So, these two know each other very well.
0:16:29 > 0:16:37And the Saudis flew in Alan Bender and other old business adversaries
0:16:37 > 0:16:39of Waleed, to try to put pressure on him,
0:16:39 > 0:16:45to try to crack him and make him do what Mohammed bin Salman wants,
0:16:45 > 0:16:50which is hand over all his foreign assets and make video-taped
0:16:50 > 0:16:52confessions, admitting to all his guilt and
0:16:52 > 0:16:57swearing allegiance.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59The Saudi authorities have announced the Ritz-Carlton will soon revert
0:16:59 > 0:17:04to its normal role as a hotel.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06But there's evidence that some key detainees,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09including Prince Waleed had been transferred to detention
0:17:09 > 0:17:13elsewhere, even in December.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16The room he was in definitely was not a hotel room.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20I would say it looked more like a detention room or something
0:17:20 > 0:17:25related to a jail cell.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Even the sound of the doors, sliding back and forth.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31It didn't look or sound like he was at the Ritz-Carlton.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34You've known him, obviously, for many years, what sort
0:17:34 > 0:17:37of change do you think had come over the man that you saw
0:17:37 > 0:17:38through that video teleconference?
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Dramatic changes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46He looked completely different from the man I saw.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Whether in North America or in Saudi Arabia or in Switzerland,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53he wasn't the same person, at all.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56He looked very sad.
0:17:56 > 0:18:03And very... Stressed.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Alan Bender's account is a singular one and the Saudi authorities
0:18:06 > 0:18:12have not yet responded to our request for comment.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15But it gives a good idea of the lengths the Kingdom's rulers
0:18:15 > 0:18:18are willing to go to humble a prince who was their most
0:18:18 > 0:18:24successful businessman.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Well, Mark Urban joins me now.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32How Clear do you think we are now on what's actually going on in Saudi
0:18:32 > 0:18:38Arabia?One of the things that is so remarkable about Alan Bender's
0:18:38 > 0:18:41account is we go very little from any sort of reliable sources. The
0:18:41 > 0:18:46whole thing has been cloaked in secrecy and mystery. I mean, from
0:18:46 > 0:18:50what we understand, because of the powers the Saudi monarchy can wield,
0:18:50 > 0:18:55some of these detainees have agreed to surrender huge amounts of wealth.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00So everything that's on the Saudi side of the balance sheet, if you
0:19:00 > 0:19:02like, is open to expropriation ordeals. Some Saudi officials have
0:19:02 > 0:19:08been talking about raking in up to $100 billion from this
0:19:08 > 0:19:13anti-corruption drive, so the sums involved are huge. One Prince
0:19:13 > 0:19:16reportedly released after agreeing to pay $1 billion. Then you get to
0:19:16 > 0:19:22the wealth outside the country, like Prince Waleed's big stake in
0:19:22 > 0:19:25EuroDisney, for example, much more complex, much more likely to be
0:19:25 > 0:19:29litigated. It is perhaps for that reason that they're going to be
0:19:29 > 0:19:32bowled like Alan Bender is to find, if you like, dossiers of evidence
0:19:32 > 0:19:38that could be used either to persuade Prince Waleed not to impose
0:19:38 > 0:19:41this in foreign courts ought to be used in foreign courts.And your
0:19:41 > 0:19:46sense of what happens now is?The Saudis say this thing is winding
0:19:46 > 0:19:51down, that there are a few dozen people still in custody, that 90
0:19:51 > 0:19:55have been released, that many deals have been done. They say if you
0:19:55 > 0:20:00agree to pay compensation for your corrupt acts and to be sincere in
0:20:00 > 0:20:04your repentance, you can be released, and indeed it's known that
0:20:04 > 0:20:08that's happened in the case of many families. But the are still dozens
0:20:08 > 0:20:15of people detained. About 60, it's pleased, in highest security prison
0:20:15 > 0:20:20including Prince Waleed outside Riyadh. Their future is unclear.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22The arrival of three Momentum candidates last week
0:20:22 > 0:20:25on Labour's ruling executive, the NEC, was dubbed a Lan-slide.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27A playful take on the name of the charismatic figure
0:20:27 > 0:20:28at its centre, Jon Lansman.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31If Tony Blair's New Labour thought it had shut down the socialist left
0:20:31 > 0:20:33of his party for good, the rise of Momentum,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37which now stands at the party's very core, is a reminder of how
0:20:37 > 0:20:38much can change.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41The group were formed following Jeremy Corbyn's successful
0:20:41 > 0:20:44campaign for the Labour leadership in 2015 and now boasts 150 local
0:20:44 > 0:20:47groups and over 200,000 members and supporters.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50In a moment, I'll be speaking to Jon Lansman,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53but first David Grossman has been to Lancaster to see what Momentum
0:20:53 > 0:20:56look like in action.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Here's a project making a difference.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09Deborah Finn is collecting unwanted food from this warehouse in Preston.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12It's the start of a process that she hopes will not just help
0:21:12 > 0:21:17some people who need some help, but will also change society.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21The question is, is this politics, is it activism, is it charity
0:21:21 > 0:21:23or is it something else?
0:21:23 > 0:21:26It's not party politics, in that sense.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31It is political, because community is political.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34When I started doing this, I kept being told off, that,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36you know, politics has no place in community.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39I was just bewildered by that.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I mean, what is community if it's not full of political decisions?
0:21:42 > 0:21:45And, so, for me, this...
0:21:45 > 0:21:48I only got into this, this whole process,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51in September 2015, guess why?!
0:21:51 > 0:21:56And got involved then with the Labour Party and with Momentum.
0:21:56 > 0:21:57So, why Momentum?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Why not just the Labour Party?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03For me, I don't see a distinction, to be honest.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05So, why have the two memberships?
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Why be a member of Momentum and not just Labour?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I suppose just to signal the strength of belief amongst
0:22:11 > 0:22:13the membership that, actually, we do want a different
0:22:13 > 0:22:16kind of Labour Party.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18That we want one that really does believe in the new politics
0:22:18 > 0:22:26of hope, of solidarity.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29The food from the warehouse is laid out at the friend's
0:22:29 > 0:22:33meeting hall in Lancaster, piles of perfectly good in-date produce.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It's a waste of a system Deborah says needs to change.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37This isn't charity.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38This isn't a food bank.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39No, no, not even remotely.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42This acts like a cooperative.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44This is about people coming together in solidarity.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47When we get together, we get ourselves a good deal.
0:22:47 > 0:22:53At half past six, the Lancaster Community Food Club opens its doors.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55The members pay the club dues, £3 a week.
0:22:55 > 0:23:03They vote on the club rules and they socialise over tea.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06This is not, though, a political meeting.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10There is no mention at all of Jeremy Corbyn or Momentum.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12This is not about getting people to vote for change,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15but being a change.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16Do you talk to them about Momentum?
0:23:16 > 0:23:18No, no, no, no.
0:23:18 > 0:23:19You don't?
0:23:19 > 0:23:21No, no, no.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23There's absolutely no politics in the club.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26But Momentum's part of you and this is why you're doing it.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27Yes.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29It's about my belief as a human being about how
0:23:29 > 0:23:36I think society should be.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39And I think, if we are socialists, we need to live our values.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I think we can't go around speechifying.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I think we have to demonstrate it, that is how we will achieve change,
0:23:44 > 0:23:45by living our values.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49We do need to change society, from the ground up.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Do you think, in a sense, that the problem with
0:23:51 > 0:23:54the Labour Party was that it lost sight of that connection
0:23:54 > 0:23:56with the communities that they were serving?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58It was more, sort of, top-down?
0:23:58 > 0:23:59Yes.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02It was a sense that, "As long as you give people stuff,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04you know, they'll be grateful and they'll vote for us".
0:24:04 > 0:24:05Yeah.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Yes. Undoubtably.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Yes. And it stopped working, didn't it?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12At the end of the evening, the club members take turns
0:24:12 > 0:24:14to collect a share of the food.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Around £35-£40 worth it.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Not surprisingly, there's a waiting list to join.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24How much is it really a model for a new type of politics?
0:24:24 > 0:24:28How much is it simply a reflection of the fact that, as Deborah says,
0:24:28 > 0:24:34people love a good deal.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Jon Lansman, Momentum Chairman, joins me now.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Nice of you do come in. Give us sense. We'd seen some of the
0:24:43 > 0:24:47projects like the food, the sort of community projects going on. How
0:24:47 > 0:24:51much do you think that should be the state's responsibility still and how
0:24:51 > 0:24:55much should it be the work of Momentum and the work of local
0:24:55 > 0:25:03activists now to take on some of the bigger problems, A&E provisions of
0:25:03 > 0:25:07those sort of thing is?I think it should be a state of microbe
0:25:07 > 0:25:10responsible at to do those things that the state has off-loaded. The
0:25:10 > 0:25:18collapse in recent days of trillion has demonstrated the folly of
0:25:18 > 0:25:24privatising public services.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27privatising public services. -- the collapse of Carillion. Private
0:25:27 > 0:25:30sector contractors are at risk. Still having to pick up the bill at
0:25:30 > 0:25:34the end of the day. It would be so much better for us to do it. I also
0:25:34 > 0:25:41think it's important that we do live the values that we preach and the
0:25:41 > 0:25:46work that Deborah's doing up in Lancashire is fantastic.And
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Momentum stays local. It's individual groups and it's a kind of
0:25:51 > 0:25:56centralised campaign.It's both. We got local groups that do things on
0:25:56 > 0:26:01the ground, that work at elections, that, you know, campaign in their
0:26:01 > 0:26:06communities and in their workplaces. And at a national level, you know,
0:26:06 > 0:26:11we try and provide the back-up and support. We developed digital tools.
0:26:11 > 0:26:19We mobilise people to do the things we need.So let's look ahead, then.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Momentum backed councillors could be the dominant voice on Haringey
0:26:22 > 0:26:28Council. Come May, if you have that push behind you, how radical but the
0:26:28 > 0:26:33change be? How much would you like to see? You mentioned the failure of
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Carillion. Would you like to see an end to the public-private
0:26:38 > 0:26:40partnerships under way? The development of the biggest state
0:26:40 > 0:26:48between land lease and the council? I don't accept there's going to be a
0:26:48 > 0:26:55Momentum Council.You've got to have a strong voice.We will, but it will
0:26:55 > 0:27:02be a Labour council. It is now and will remain so. I think that the
0:27:02 > 0:27:07deal, I can understand why councillors in the past but you may
0:27:07 > 0:27:11have to do those deals as perhaps the only option, but I think now we
0:27:11 > 0:27:15could be only months away from a Corbyn government. I think we got a
0:27:15 > 0:27:20much greater opportunity.How strong will you be? If you have this boys,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23will you say, I don't want to see any more public-private by the ships
0:27:23 > 0:27:29on the council? Let's take a Labour run council, Manchester, I don't
0:27:29 > 0:27:32want to see those deals any more? Will you feel able to tell those
0:27:32 > 0:27:39Labour councillors what to do?I think the great thing we've achieved
0:27:39 > 0:27:47as Jeremy 's election as leader, is we can enforce what they believe,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52the state can do good things. The state has been slapped off by
0:27:52 > 0:27:56unfortunately too many politicians across the spectrum over the last 30
0:27:56 > 0:28:01years.You are the radical man. You either chairman of momentum. Let me
0:28:01 > 0:28:07take you back to Haringey Council. Would you like to see public worker
0:28:07 > 0:28:14salaries over £60,000 cut?That isn't a proposal I'm familiar with.
0:28:14 > 0:28:21Am I the radical man? I think I'm the mainstream man. Momentum is the
0:28:21 > 0:28:25new mainstream.Is that something you'd like to see?I think there is
0:28:25 > 0:28:31in many parts of the private sector is far too great gap between the top
0:28:31 > 0:28:35paid and the lowest paid, but that isn't the top priority for me in
0:28:35 > 0:28:41Haringey. I think we need, actually, good managers to be able to take
0:28:41 > 0:28:48public service...Council tax, Chris Williams's idea. A rise in council
0:28:48 > 0:28:54tax for larger houses, cut it for smaller ones. Where is your big idea
0:28:54 > 0:28:58now? This is your moment. You've come of age and you can start
0:28:58 > 0:29:03saying, this is our radical plan. This is what we want to see.We are
0:29:03 > 0:29:06developing radical plans and I think a lot of local authorities are
0:29:06 > 0:29:11thinking of new ways of delivering public services in the public sector
0:29:11 > 0:29:15and that is what I want to see. I don't think that's radical. I think
0:29:15 > 0:29:19it is now mainstream.But no commitment to cut salaries, no
0:29:19 > 0:29:23commitment to raise council tax on big houses, none of the ideas that
0:29:23 > 0:29:27have been floated over the past few months?I want to see us build
0:29:27 > 0:29:31houses. We've hardly build any houses in Britain for generations.
0:29:31 > 0:29:36Everyone wants to see that. What makes...You say that, the Tories
0:29:36 > 0:29:42might say it but they haven't done it. Unfortunately, neither did the
0:29:42 > 0:29:46last Labour government. I want to see it in the next.You've said
0:29:46 > 0:29:48clearly that Momentum will not campaign for the deselection of
0:29:48 > 0:29:53anyone anywhere, I think was your phrase. Do you think there are
0:29:53 > 0:30:00elements pulling you away from a Corbyn victory?I am pleased with
0:30:00 > 0:30:05the new spirit of unity that we saw on the NEC this week, is that I
0:30:05 > 0:30:11think we now see in the PLP, that recognises that Jeremy is here to
0:30:11 > 0:30:16stay. I think we are seeking a transformative government.In a
0:30:16 > 0:30:22spirit of unity, when you have for example a local Momentum group
0:30:22 > 0:30:27continuing to support and campaign for a man who's been suspended for
0:30:27 > 0:30:32the Dubler from the Labour Party for his anti-Semitic views, what role do
0:30:32 > 0:30:35you need to play as chairman of Momentum? Where do you stand on
0:30:35 > 0:30:43that?I have experienced anti-Semitism. My children are only
0:30:43 > 0:30:49half Jewish, they have experienced it.You know what I'm talking about.
0:30:49 > 0:30:56Local Momentum group, Walthamstow supporting David Watson who was
0:30:56 > 0:30:58suspended from the Labour Party Scott and trying to get to the
0:30:58 > 0:31:02bottom of this. Do you tell that local Momentum group to get in line
0:31:02 > 0:31:06because Labour has suspended this man for anti-Semitic remarks?
0:31:06 > 0:31:11Someone who has suspended Seu been suspended hasn't yet been removed.
0:31:11 > 0:31:17There are processes. One of the things I want to see is speeding up
0:31:17 > 0:31:21those processes. However, there should be proper processes. I want
0:31:21 > 0:31:27to see them improved and sped up but we are very clear in Momentum that
0:31:27 > 0:31:30if people are not members of the Labour Party, they cannot be members
0:31:30 > 0:31:36of Momentum. We are a Labour Party organisation.What would your
0:31:36 > 0:31:39message be to Momentum? Don't like someone who's been suspended for
0:31:39 > 0:31:43anti-Semitic remarks, or do what you want?If people have made
0:31:43 > 0:31:46anti-Semitic remarks, we have to deal with that. But we have to do it
0:31:46 > 0:31:51all so through a process because we believe in applying the principles
0:31:51 > 0:31:57of natural justice.State visit is now back on, working visit for
0:31:57 > 0:32:01President dropped. Jeremy Corbyn will be meeting him when he comes, I
0:32:01 > 0:32:06assume?I don't know whether he'll be meeting Trump, but I don't think
0:32:06 > 0:32:09he will welcome the visit and I certainly don't. I think most people
0:32:09 > 0:32:13in Britain won't.Will you be out there protesting it?I think I will
0:32:13 > 0:32:23be protesting Trump's visit. He has shown himself to be a racist, to be
0:32:23 > 0:32:28completely against what most people in Britain believe in. I think his
0:32:28 > 0:32:34politics have no place in British society or in the United States.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Thank you very much.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Now, from events inside Labour to events inside
0:32:38 > 0:32:39the Conservative Party.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42And, who knew, there's a bit of a ruccus tonight on Brexit.
0:32:42 > 0:32:43Nick Watt is here.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48Take us through it.We now have a full-scale row in the Conservative
0:32:48 > 0:32:52Party right up to the senior levels in the Cabinet after a speech by the
0:32:52 > 0:32:59Chancellor, Philip Hammond, to the CBI in Davos. Talking about the
0:32:59 > 0:33:01nature of a future trading agreement between the UK
0:33:01 > 0:33:02nature of a future trading agreement between the UK and the EU he said
0:33:02 > 0:33:10this:
0:33:18 > 0:33:20. The Chancellor did clarify his
0:33:20 > 0:33:22. The Chancellor did clarify his remarks, but it really looked the
0:33:22 > 0:33:25blue touch paper. His clarification was not good enough for Downing
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Street and this evening, Downing Street issued a statement in which
0:33:29 > 0:33:34they said, "The UK is going to be the customs union and the single
0:33:34 > 0:33:39market and these could not be described as very modest changes".
0:33:39 > 0:33:42That is throwing the Chancellor's words back at him. The reason for
0:33:42 > 0:33:47that absolute fury in the Cabinet, I'm hearing from people not 1
0:33:47 > 0:33:51million miles away from Cabinet ministers, things like the
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Chancellor's speech is making a complete mockery of the Prime
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Minister's Florence speech. He is playing a very dangerous game and
0:33:58 > 0:34:05the Chancellor wants to stay in the EU in all but name.Where is the
0:34:05 > 0:34:08strength? What will happen? Interesting speech this evening from
0:34:08 > 0:34:12Jacob Rees Mogg, he is the leader, the Chairman of the Eurosceptic
0:34:12 > 0:34:16European reform group. Talking about that mindset of the Chancellor, he
0:34:16 > 0:34:20said we have to be careful about being timid, about cowering and
0:34:20 > 0:34:25about being terrified of our future. The next step tomorrow is David
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Davis, the Brexit secretary giving a speech, giving more details of the
0:34:28 > 0:34:32incoming patient period or transition period. I'm told this
0:34:32 > 0:34:37speech will be billed as a speech from a principled pragmatists. It's
0:34:37 > 0:34:43about keeping faith with your respect -- Eurosceptics. And this is
0:34:43 > 0:34:48not a speech of a "Weak supplicant". And I think they are quite keen that
0:34:48 > 0:34:52we compare that to the Chancellor's speech.Thank you.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55We might all recoil from the slew of smartphone images
0:34:55 > 0:34:56that saturate the world.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58But the response of one master photographer has been to devote
0:34:58 > 0:35:01years to a single picture at a time.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03Of course, it doesn't hurt that Andreas Gursky's large prints
0:35:03 > 0:35:06of subjects such as tulip fields, and one of Amazon's warehouses,
0:35:06 > 0:35:14have been likened to abstract art.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17As a new exhibition of his images opens at a revamped Hayward Gallery
0:35:17 > 0:35:20in London, the photographer gave a rare interview to Stephen Smith.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24This is a rave in Germany, in Dortmund.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27So, in a way, I'm very close to this kind of music.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29You like this music, don't you?
0:35:29 > 0:35:34I like it very much.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36I've read it's all you listen to, now.
0:35:36 > 0:35:37Is that right?
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Yes. So in a way I'm also...
0:35:39 > 0:35:41I feel like a member.
0:35:41 > 0:35:49You're a raver? I'm a raver, yeah.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Andreas Gursky has brought his outsize, meticulously composed
0:35:51 > 0:35:53pictures to the refurbished Hayward Gallery
0:35:53 > 0:35:58on London's Southbank.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01The pick of four decades of work, some are eerily lonely.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04In others, people teem - human ant hills.
0:36:04 > 0:36:10This is Gursky's view of one of Amazon's despatching centres.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13He's been called a chronicler of late capitalism.
0:36:20 > 0:36:26The remarks are right, because my subject matters come from news
0:36:26 > 0:36:29and this is the themes with which we are concerned,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32but this is only one aspect of my work, so I'm a picture maker
0:36:32 > 0:36:36and my main interest is doing images.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40A striking and uncluttered stretch of the Rhine.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42This image fetched an astonishing £2.7 million
0:36:42 > 0:36:46at auction, seven years ago.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47A then record for a photograph.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51It isn't quite what it seems.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56You've removed factories, or a factory.
0:36:56 > 0:37:03What was your thinking, there?
0:37:03 > 0:37:07It was just a consequent decision to get the perfect image.
0:37:07 > 0:37:15So, the location by itself I know quite well as it's not far
0:37:15 > 0:37:23from my studio and I do there my daily jogging.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28And so the idea came up by jogging and looking on the river and then
0:37:28 > 0:37:31on later on to realise the image, it took me nearly two years.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Back at his studio, manipulation of digital images
0:37:33 > 0:37:39is now an established part of Gursky's practice.
0:37:39 > 0:37:45A bird's-eye view of a race track in Bahrain becomes almost abstract.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Painstaking compositions like this are Gursky's riposte to the Niagara
0:37:51 > 0:37:58of images now flooding the world.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03I think, in a way, my task is to set something against this many,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06many thousands, millions of images, so, I'm producing very big,
0:38:06 > 0:38:14heavy images and that means, yeah, a decision in advance.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18The photographer's high vantage point has been called Godlike.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22Is it benign?
0:38:22 > 0:38:25You're more interested in the mass of people than in an individual.
0:38:25 > 0:38:32Why is that, Andreas?
0:38:32 > 0:38:35In German, or in French, we say "la condition humaine" -
0:38:35 > 0:38:43this is what I'm more interested in.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51That's all from us, but before we go, for some they were eyesores,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53for others they were status symbols, but Sky today announced
0:38:53 > 0:38:57that they will be ditching the dish.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Starting in Europe, but before long in the UK,
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Sky will be switching its TV transmission from satellite
0:39:01 > 0:39:03to broadband, and those once-outlandish, now-familiar
0:39:03 > 0:39:05appendages will start to disappear from the terraces
0:39:05 > 0:39:08and tower-blocks of Britain.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Here's a look back at the exciting moment when Tomorrow's World
0:39:11 > 0:39:13broadcast the first pictures from Sky's Astra satellite.
0:39:13 > 0:39:20Goodnight.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23There are two satellite broadcaster starting up this year, using
0:39:23 > 0:39:26different types of television signal and with satellites in different
0:39:26 > 0:39:35parts of the sky.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51And we've got a dish which is up on the roof, ready to receive the very
0:39:51 > 0:39:55first pictures from Astra.Fingers crossed, we should get those first
0:39:55 > 0:40:00pictures coming in. There we are. Those are pictures of the control