Browse content similar to 08/03/2018. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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He was particularly nasty to those
he felt were below him. I witnessed | 0:00:09 | 0:00:12 | |
him sort of explode at people. He
was known for having a dreadful | 0:00:12 | 0:00:17 | |
temper.
So he harasses you, he gets a quiet | 0:00:17 | 0:00:25 | |
word and you have to change jobs?
Yes. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:30 | |
Aggressive, dismissive, rude. And
ultimately bullying. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:39 | |
It ground her down. Basically
reached crisis point and she could | 0:00:39 | 0:00:44 | |
no longer do her job. | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
Harassment, bullying
and intimidation behind the walls | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
of the Palace of Westminster. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:52 | |
Three MPs named in our exclusive
report - Newsnight has testimonies | 0:00:52 | 0:00:54 | |
from the women at the centre. | 0:00:54 | 0:01:02 | |
Good evening. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
Tonight, we take you inside
the House of Commons | 0:01:08 | 0:01:10 | |
in a tale of bullying,
harassment and intimidation. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:12 | |
Newsnight has spoken
to dozens of female workers | 0:01:12 | 0:01:16 | |
within the palace of Westminster,
who are known as the clerks. | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
There is a pattern
to their testimonies. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:24 | |
They told us of aggressive and
threatening behaviour, of the lack | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
of proper redress, of careers
terminated or misdirected. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:30 | |
And then they told us that the very
system put in place to address this | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
kind of bullying, had in itself
failed to deal with it. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
We heard of woman with post
traumatic stress disorder. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:38 | |
She left her job. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
Another quit and left the country. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:41 | |
Even the Speaker of the House
himself, John Bercow, | 0:01:41 | 0:01:44 | |
faces accusations. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:46 | |
The women's stories are unflinching,
and there is some swearing | 0:01:46 | 0:01:48 | |
in this exclusive report
by Chris Cook and Lucinda Day. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:53 | |
Before we get to it,
Chris joins me. | 0:01:53 | 0:02:01 | |
One of the things that is really
struck us as we have spoken to these | 0:02:03 | 0:02:07 | |
dozens of women is the remarkable
sort of unity of the story. Usually | 0:02:07 | 0:02:12 | |
when you do a thing like this, you
will find some people who disagree | 0:02:12 | 0:02:15 | |
and some who agree. We found a
strong consensus there is a serious | 0:02:15 | 0:02:20 | |
problem in the House of Commons. The
culture in part is the reason why | 0:02:20 | 0:02:27 | |
processes don't seem to operate
properly. There is really no | 0:02:27 | 0:02:30 | |
confidence among women who work for
the house of commons that any of the | 0:02:30 | 0:02:35 | |
proposals being discussed at the
moment about reforming the way the | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
house works to protect them, will
really work. What I hope we will | 0:02:38 | 0:02:44 | |
show in our film is the reason why
they don't have any that confidence. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:51 | |
The House of Commons is not just
a seat of political intrigue or | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
tourist destination. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:55 | |
It is also a workplace. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:57 | |
But it is a workplace
with a particular problem with | 0:02:57 | 0:03:00 | |
bullying and with sexual harassment. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:02 | |
We've heard a number
of allegations against MPs. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
And not just backbench MPs
at the bottom of the pile. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:11 | |
These accusations run
all the way to the top. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
To John Bercow, the Speaker
of the House of Commons. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:16 | |
And the people making these
allegations are public | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
servants who have dedicated their
lives to making our parliament work. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:27 | |
This group is always there,
even in the biggest | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
parliamentary moments. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
But you probably never
really look at them. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:40 | |
He was the future once! | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
You might have spotted
some of them, perhaps | 0:03:42 | 0:03:46 | |
the people down here
who until recently routinely | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
wore wigs to sittings. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:51 | |
Nothing is really impossible
if you put your mind to it. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:55 | |
After all, as I once said,
I was the future once! | 0:03:55 | 0:04:03 | |
Now politicians come and go
but this little army of | 0:04:04 | 0:04:06 | |
public servants,
they are always there. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:07 | |
In the chamber... | 0:04:07 | 0:04:09 | |
Forgive me. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:10 | |
Please contribute to this question. | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
This is a big piece of information. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:14 | |
And committees. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:19 | |
These people work for something
known as the House of | 0:04:19 | 0:04:21 | |
Commons service. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:22 | |
And they have a range of job titles. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:25 | |
Clerks, inquiry managers,
committee specialists, but | 0:04:25 | 0:04:33 | |
together, we are going to refer to
them by the term by which they are | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
known to the rest of Westminster. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
The Clerks. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:40 | |
These are the people who run
committee inquiries and to quietly | 0:04:40 | 0:04:42 | |
umpire the business of the House. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:44 | |
Newsnight has heard shocking
testimony that women in these roles | 0:04:44 | 0:04:46 | |
face a particular problem. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
Newsnight has spoken
to dozens of current and | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
former clerks who allege
to us that they face | 0:04:53 | 0:04:56 | |
a real issue with sexual
harassment and bullying by MPs. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:59 | |
Almost all have reasons
to request anonymity. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:03 | |
Usually because they still work
in Westminster or Whitehall. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:08 | |
He sort of manoeuvred me out
into the corridor and, um, put | 0:05:08 | 0:05:14 | |
his arms around me, and um kissed me
on the lips, and I couldn't do | 0:05:14 | 0:05:20 | |
anything about it. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:27 | |
I could not force him off. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:33 | |
My arms were against my chest
and he was holding me so | 0:05:33 | 0:05:39 | |
tightly that I couldn't
push him away. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:45 | |
I made a chocolate cake for one
of my colleagues's birthday | 0:05:45 | 0:05:50 | |
and I was just putting
the finishing touches | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
before without our end
of the day little celebration. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:54 | |
And I was kneeling,
putting the rest of | 0:05:54 | 0:05:56 | |
the icing on the cake,
and the MP in question coming | 0:05:56 | 0:06:01 | |
he came in and laughed and came
and stood right | 0:06:01 | 0:06:05 | |
over me, I remember it being very
overbearingly close, and him saying, | 0:06:05 | 0:06:13 | |
"Right where you belong,
on your knees with a face | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
full of chocolate." | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
The MP exploded on me so
aggressively that my colleague stood | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
between us to physically
shield him from me. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
These cases run from the 1990s
to more recent years. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:30 | |
And in that time the
House has changed its | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
HR policies several times
but there's one we constantly | 0:06:33 | 0:06:36 | |
keep hearing about. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:42 | |
Women do not feel that if they
complain to the House authority | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
and their concerns will
be taken seriously. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:47 | |
In part because the culture
of the House emphasises the | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
idea that clerks need to be tough. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:51 | |
From the day you start working
in the House of Commons, | 0:06:51 | 0:06:56 | |
there can be situations
where you are required to | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
deliver difficult messages. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:06 | |
In those circumstances,
it's seen as very | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
important to be robust,
and if you have pushback | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
from members to be resilient and be
able to hold your | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
ground, to respond appropriately.
And that is entirely appropriate for | 0:07:14 | 0:07:19 | |
staff, the difficulty is one that
extends to one member behaves | 0:07:19 | 0:07:27 | |
inappropriately towards you, you're
still expected to just put up | 0:07:30 | 0:07:32 | |
with that situation. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:33 | |
Clerks talk a lot about resilience
but it doesn't mean | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
in the House of Commons
what it means outside. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:41 | |
It means absorbing behaviour
from members of Parliament | 0:07:41 | 0:07:46 | |
and also senior clerks and not
questioning it or not complaining | 0:07:46 | 0:07:49 | |
about it. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:54 | |
When you say behaviour,
harassment, bullying? | 0:07:54 | 0:07:56 | |
Yeah. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:57 | |
They expect you to suck it up
and not make a fuss? | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
Yeah. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
I think that is deemed
to be a trait of a | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
successful clerk in the House. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:09 | |
It's your ability to absorb
and be resilient, yeah. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:13 | |
We found that women working
for the Commons often feel | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
that they pay the price
of complaining about misconduct. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:22 | |
This former clerk's
manager attempted to | 0:08:22 | 0:08:24 | |
deal with the sexual
harassment by the MP that | 0:08:24 | 0:08:26 | |
she described earlier. | 0:08:26 | 0:08:28 | |
Having spoken to the MP and some
other senior management team | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
members, she didn't tell me who,
that the best course of action would | 0:08:32 | 0:08:36 | |
be to move me from that committee. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:44 | |
So if he harasses you, the solution
is he gets a quiet word and | 0:08:45 | 0:08:48 | |
you have to change jobs.
Yes. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:50 | |
That doesn't seem like a reasonable
response to workplace harassment. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
Not at all. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:53 | |
I didn't want to do. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:54 | |
I enjoyed what I was doing,
I really enjoyed my | 0:08:54 | 0:08:57 | |
team and despite was was going
on I didn't want to move. | 0:08:57 | 0:09:00 | |
That's something
of a theme we found. | 0:09:00 | 0:09:01 | |
Clerks told us that they fear
that if they raise | 0:09:01 | 0:09:04 | |
complaints about MPs it will be them
who is moved not the MP. | 0:09:04 | 0:09:07 | |
They also fear that
complaining just marks | 0:09:07 | 0:09:12 | |
their cards, as weak,
sensitive, or a troublemaker. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:13 | |
One of the women we have heard
from did complain to | 0:09:13 | 0:09:16 | |
her manager about sexual assault
by an MP early in her career in | 0:09:16 | 0:09:19 | |
the 1990s.
Nothing happened. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:20 | |
She was harassed
throughout her time there. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:24 | |
So here is how she filed by the end
of a long career in House. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:32 | |
There was absolutely no
point in me reporting | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
anything because I would have been
made to feel I wasn't resilient or | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
tough enough. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
So one of your friends told us. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
They thought that they had done
a bit better than you in the | 0:09:43 | 0:09:46 | |
House of Commons, even though
they thought you were more talented, | 0:09:46 | 0:09:50 | |
because she had stayed
quiet and you have not. | 0:09:50 | 0:09:54 | |
Do you think that's possible? | 0:09:54 | 0:09:55 | |
I think that's possible. | 0:09:55 | 0:10:03 | |
I think I'm not alone
as a woman in feeling inferior | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
in the workplace. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
And that is something that I have
carried with me for quite a | 0:10:08 | 0:10:11 | |
long time. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:12 | |
People are still fearful
about speaking out because there are | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
recent examples where people end up
getting moved or leaving the House | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
in relation to raising these things. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:19 | |
Management have told us to report
stuff but I think if I raised | 0:10:19 | 0:10:25 | |
something I'd be moved. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:26 | |
In all my time here
I haven't seen one case go | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
against a member. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:30 | |
CHEERING | 0:10:30 | 0:10:31 | |
Lets start naming names. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:32 | |
This is the Tory MP for... | 0:10:32 | 0:10:35 | |
Mark Pritchard. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:36 | |
We have heard time
and again about his | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
reputation among women clerks. | 0:10:39 | 0:10:41 | |
He was particularly
nasty to those he | 0:10:41 | 0:10:43 | |
felt were below him. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:44 | |
I witnessed him explode
to people, he was known for | 0:10:44 | 0:10:49 | |
having a dreadful temper. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:56 | |
The people in the room
who were administering | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
to the needs of the committee
were all female. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:02 | |
And we got called a useless gaggle
of girls or something | 0:11:02 | 0:11:05 | |
along those lines, I wish
I remember the exact phrase. | 0:11:05 | 0:11:10 | |
His attitude was vile,
I remember him once giving a | 0:11:10 | 0:11:17 | |
female clerk a dressing down in
front of everyone, the way he spoke | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
was threatening and aggressive. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:21 | |
I have seen him with my own eyes
screaming at people for | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
nothing, really. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:25 | |
He went mad at me, it got very
personal, he said something | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
like, you stupid young woman,
you haven't got a fucking clue | 0:11:28 | 0:11:30 | |
what you are talking about,
who the fuck do you think you are? | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
I remember being very upset by it. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:39 | |
A number of the outbursts by Mr
Pritchard that we have heard about | 0:11:39 | 0:11:43 | |
seem to follow a pattern. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:44 | |
He has on several
occasions sought to change | 0:11:44 | 0:11:46 | |
arrangements for committee trips. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:47 | |
For example, changing his flights,
or in one case during the trip to | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
Los Angeles, trying
to change his hotel. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
Then the clerks refuse because there
are strict rules about the | 0:11:53 | 0:11:55 | |
stuff and he will fly into a rage. | 0:11:55 | 0:11:57 | |
We have been told that House
managers know about this because he | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
would often take years and Greek
complaints directly to them. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:06 | |
-- angry complaints. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:07 | |
This was seen, we
were told, as a means | 0:12:07 | 0:12:10 | |
of intimidating the clerks
on his committee. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:11 | |
Mr Prichard said we didn't
provide him with enough | 0:12:11 | 0:12:17 | |
detail to respond but said... | 0:12:17 | 0:12:24 | |
The thing is, clerks
tend not to raise | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
formal complaints. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:30 | |
Indeed since 2014, no complaints
have been escalated to | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
the point where even
mediation is required. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:38 | |
Women know what happened
to the last clerk to pursue | 0:12:38 | 0:12:41 | |
a case. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
They have all heard of someone
called Emily Commander. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
She was brilliant, probably the best
line manager I ever had in the House | 0:12:45 | 0:12:48 | |
of Commons. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:49 | |
She was incredibly bright,
had a very deft way at | 0:12:49 | 0:12:53 | |
understanding huge amounts
of information very quickly. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
But she also had the
people skills which I | 0:12:56 | 0:12:59 | |
found quite unusual
in clerks sometimes. | 0:12:59 | 0:13:04 | |
And she was good at managing MPs,
which is not always | 0:13:04 | 0:13:06 | |
easy sometimes. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
She was appointed
as the clerk of the | 0:13:09 | 0:13:11 | |
culture media and sport
committee in 2010. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:16 | |
She was laid clerk on perhaps
the highest profile of a select | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
committee investigation,
the phone hacking inquiry. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
Where Rupert Murdoch
was attacked with a foam pie. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:25 | |
Also on that committee
was Paul Farrelly, the | 0:13:25 | 0:13:33 | |
Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
Mr Farrelly and Ms Commander had
worked together before, she had been | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
a clerk on the science
and technology committee. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:42 | |
They had even been
on a committee visit to Italy | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
in May 2004. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:46 | |
This is what one witness
said happened there. | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
He treated appallingly
in front of everyone. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:49 | |
He wound her up like a screw
and reduced to tears. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
The more he upset her,
the more he enjoyed it, the | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
more he kept turning the screw. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:59 | |
He was very aggressive. It felt like
no one had the ability or the | 0:13:59 | 0:14:05 | |
authority to intervene. Everyone
knew it was wrong. When they were | 0:14:05 | 0:14:09 | |
reunited on the culture media and
sport committee other witnesses told | 0:14:09 | 0:14:14 | |
us Mr Farrelly started again. He
undermined her and pretty much every | 0:14:14 | 0:14:19 | |
given opportunity. We were in a lot
of meetings and in these meetings | 0:14:19 | 0:14:23 | |
pretty much whenever she opened her
mouth, he would undermine her. He | 0:14:23 | 0:14:27 | |
would interject. He would call into
question pretty much every time she | 0:14:27 | 0:14:35 | |
spoke. How would you characterise
his attitude towards her? | 0:14:35 | 0:14:40 | |
Aggressive, dismissive, rude. And
ultimately bullying. And how much of | 0:14:40 | 0:14:47 | |
an effect on her? It ground her
down. It basically reached crisis | 0:14:47 | 0:14:55 | |
point. She could no longer do her
job. He had undermined her and | 0:14:55 | 0:15:01 | |
bullied her so much, so regularly,
so badly, that she was left entirely | 0:15:01 | 0:15:09 | |
exhausted, and incredibly
distressed. And e-mail chain | 0:15:09 | 0:15:15 | |
obtained by Newsnight summarising
the case reveals the testimony of | 0:15:15 | 0:15:18 | |
Miss Commander to her bosses. I have
an anxious about encountering him, I | 0:15:18 | 0:15:24 | |
have repeated nightmares about | 0:15:24 | 0:15:32 | |
have repeated nightmares about going
on committee visits with Mr Farrelly | 0:15:32 | 0:15:34 | |
and been criticised by him for
having neglected tiny details. After | 0:15:34 | 0:15:39 | |
particularly unpleasant meetings I
have felt physically six. In 2012 | 0:15:39 | 0:15:43 | |
formal complaint was raised against
Mr Farrelly, a novelty, the | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
procedure had been introduced just
eight months before. This was the | 0:15:47 | 0:15:52 | |
so-called respect policy. On inquiry
was set up to be run by has official | 0:15:52 | 0:15:56 | |
and it found to other women had
complaints about his previous | 0:15:56 | 0:16:02 | |
behaviour. Both testified. Newsnight
has obtained a summary of one of | 0:16:02 | 0:16:06 | |
those testimonies. I remember on
occasions I noticed my hands shaking | 0:16:06 | 0:16:10 | |
before a meeting of the committee. I
began to sleep badly and lost my | 0:16:10 | 0:16:16 | |
appetite. My husband and friends
wanted me to go to the doctor and be | 0:16:16 | 0:16:20 | |
signed off with stress. The three
testimonies gave the House | 0:16:20 | 0:16:24 | |
authorities a pattern of behaviour
going back eight years. But | 0:16:24 | 0:16:28 | |
Newsnight has learned that the House
had decided that only behaviour that | 0:16:28 | 0:16:34 | |
postdated the adoption of the
Respect policy should fall within | 0:16:34 | 0:16:37 | |
the scope of the investigation. The
Respect policy was only introduced | 0:16:37 | 0:16:43 | |
eight months before. An inquiry that
began in February 2012 was only | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
accepting evidence from June 2011
onwards. The testimony of those to | 0:16:47 | 0:16:52 | |
other women was discarded. The
inquiry ruled that Ms Commander's | 0:16:52 | 0:16:57 | |
complaint in 2012, it could only
reach a decision on a field of | 0:16:57 | 0:17:02 | |
allegations yet overall it upheld
the complaint, concluding that had | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
been an abuse of power and position,
and fair treatment and undermining a | 0:17:05 | 0:17:10 | |
competent work by constant
criticism. The process than called | 0:17:10 | 0:17:16 | |
for that decision to be considered
by the House of Commons commission, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:20 | |
a committee of MPs. Order, order.
The commission was chaired by John | 0:17:20 | 0:17:25 | |
Burkle, then as now the Speaker of
the house. Yet when they first met | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
in November 2012 they couldn't reach
a decision on what to do. Newsnight | 0:17:29 | 0:17:34 | |
has obtained documents logging how a
senior clerk in the house let it be | 0:17:34 | 0:17:38 | |
known into the union in the House
that Ms Commander should go into | 0:17:38 | 0:17:43 | |
mediation with Mr Farrelly. They
should sit down and work it out. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:47 | |
Because if she did not, the hint was
dropped, the commission would vote | 0:17:47 | 0:17:51 | |
to conclude that no bullying had
taken place. So what happened then? | 0:17:51 | 0:17:57 | |
The case was allowed to Peter out
over the next six months. Mr | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
Farrelly wrote an apology in private
and that was it. The case was | 0:18:01 | 0:18:06 | |
closed. So here he is in January at
the hearing about the BBC's gender | 0:18:06 | 0:18:11 | |
pay gap. Still on the culture media
and sport committee. Miss Commander | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
has left the House and emigrated. We
put all of this to the House of | 0:18:15 | 0:18:20 | |
Commons. The Speaker denies that
either he or the commission ever | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
insisted on mediation. They also
point out that when the case of Mr | 0:18:24 | 0:18:29 | |
Farrelly reached the commission in
November 2012 they suspended the | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
respect policy. They came to this
view, they said, because | 0:18:32 | 0:18:37 | |
investigations were undertaken by a
House of Commons official who might | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
be considered to have an interest.
And members had no right of appeal | 0:18:40 | 0:18:44 | |
if a complaint was upheld, while
staff could appeal it if it was | 0:18:44 | 0:18:49 | |
dismissed. In other words, they
suspended the Respect policy in | 0:18:49 | 0:18:54 | |
November 2012 and then reformed and
because they thought the old Respect | 0:18:54 | 0:18:58 | |
policy was too tough on MPs. That is
Mr Farrelly's reading as well, he | 0:18:58 | 0:19:04 | |
told Newsnight the allegations were
not upheld by the commission and the | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
policy under which they were
investigated was considered so | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
unfair that it was immediately
withdrawn and replaced by another | 0:19:11 | 0:19:15 | |
policy. He denies any bullying. The
House also said that the policy as | 0:19:15 | 0:19:20 | |
it existed in 2011 lacked the
required legal underpinning to be | 0:19:20 | 0:19:24 | |
used to sanction MPs. Order. There
are discussions once more about | 0:19:24 | 0:19:30 | |
fixing the houses edge proceedings
but the clerks are not hopeful. Let | 0:19:30 | 0:19:36 | |
me make it clear, there must be zero
tolerance of sexual harassment or | 0:19:36 | 0:19:40 | |
bullying here at Westminster or
elsewhere. Whether that involves | 0:19:40 | 0:19:50 | |
members or their staff or
parliamentary staff, or those | 0:19:50 | 0:19:54 | |
working on, or visiting the estate.
This is the Speaker, late last year, | 0:19:54 | 0:20:00 | |
the same speed get involved in the
inquiry into Paul Farrelly. House of | 0:20:00 | 0:20:05 | |
Commons commission, which I chair,
has a duty to provide a safe to | 0:20:05 | 0:20:10 | |
work. He remains, in effect, the
boss of all the clerks. But based on | 0:20:10 | 0:20:17 | |
our interviews, his reputation on
bullying is not good. For my part as | 0:20:17 | 0:20:24 | |
Speaker, I am happy to do whatever I
can. Others must do likewise. Back | 0:20:24 | 0:20:31 | |
in 2010, a woman | 0:20:31 | 0:20:38 | |
in 2010, a woman called Kate Emms
became John Burkle's private sector | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
to become a major position in the
House. Yet she stood down from that | 0:20:40 | 0:20:45 | |
post after less than a year in early
2011. His colleagues dash her | 0:20:45 | 0:20:51 | |
colleagues have told Newsnight that
Mr Burkle's bullying left her unable | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
to continue in the job. She was sad
and sick. As managers had to find a | 0:20:54 | 0:20:59 | |
new role within the House. Has
authorities were told she had | 0:20:59 | 0:21:04 | |
post-traumatic stress disorder.
Accounts of Kate Emms's experience | 0:21:04 | 0:21:09 | |
are widely known among clerks.
Witnesses have described John Burkle | 0:21:09 | 0:21:14 | |
shouting at her comic undermining
her and other stuff. A subsequent | 0:21:14 | 0:21:18 | |
job was abducted so she would not
have to the Speaker. A spokesperson | 0:21:18 | 0:21:23 | |
said that the speaker completely and
utterly refutes the allegation that | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
he behaved in such a manner, either
eight years ago or at any other | 0:21:26 | 0:21:31 | |
time. Any suggestion to the contrary
is simply not true. This episode | 0:21:31 | 0:21:37 | |
left one strange memento. You see
Kate Emms was the speaker's Private | 0:21:37 | 0:21:42 | |
assistant when he had his official
portraits done. She was supposed to | 0:21:42 | 0:21:47 | |
be in it with him. She posed for the
artist. However this painting wasn't | 0:21:47 | 0:21:51 | |
revealed until six months after she
took her next job, and it was | 0:21:51 | 0:21:58 | |
revealed that her successor had been
painted in, in her place, another | 0:21:58 | 0:22:03 | |
woman clerk moved. Men suffer in the
system as well but women clerks are | 0:22:03 | 0:22:09 | |
particularly vulnerable. Lots to us
that the House does not have its | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
house in order. That is what so many
of them cast the ultimate vote of | 0:22:13 | 0:22:18 | |
no-confidence in their own
management and simply choose to | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
public service. -- simply choose to
leave. | 0:22:21 | 0:22:28 | |
That story from Lucinda
Day and Chris Cook. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
Details of organisations
offering information | 0:22:30 | 0:22:31 | |
and support with bullying,
sexual harassment or abuse, are | 0:22:31 | 0:22:33 | |
available at bbc.co.uk/actionline,
or you can call for free at any time | 0:22:33 | 0:22:36 | |
to hear recorded information
on 0800 077 077. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:44 | |
Joining us now, deputy leader
of the Liberal Democrats, | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
Jo Swinson, who sits
on the cross party working group | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
on an independent complaints
and grievance policy. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
Jo, nice of you to come in. Let me
ask you, did any of those stories | 0:22:52 | 0:22:58 | |
reach you, are those names all cases
familiar? Not those specific cases | 0:22:58 | 0:23:05 | |
although in the working group we
considered evidence from staff but | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
most of it was anonymous because
staff did not feel comfortable, | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
there is still this via issue around
it and we had on our working group | 0:23:13 | 0:23:19 | |
three staff representatives who were
excellent. They collated the stories | 0:23:19 | 0:23:23 | |
and brought them forward. It does
chime in, we obviously started this | 0:23:23 | 0:23:28 | |
process following reports about
sexual harassment at Westminster | 0:23:28 | 0:23:32 | |
which was obviously very serious,
and would have come forward with | 0:23:32 | 0:23:36 | |
proposals on that. What was
interesting from the staff | 0:23:36 | 0:23:40 | |
representatives, while there were
also concerned about but they said | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
in terms of the quantity of general
experiences, the more general | 0:23:42 | 0:23:47 | |
bullying and harassment was a great
issue in terms of how many people it | 0:23:47 | 0:23:51 | |
affected. So what does this story as
Chris has told it to might tell you? | 0:23:51 | 0:23:57 | |
What it raises questions about is
the existing Respect policy which | 0:23:57 | 0:24:02 | |
exists for House stuff. One step
ahead of where we were. Working from | 0:24:02 | 0:24:08 | |
members of parliament, which we were
looking at in our deliberations, | 0:24:08 | 0:24:12 | |
because they had nothing like this.
At least House stuff had the respect | 0:24:12 | 0:24:17 | |
policy. But clearly the
implementation of that, from the | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
testimony in your report, does raise
significant questions. Be blunt, it | 0:24:21 | 0:24:26 | |
hasn't worked. It doesn't work. If
the whole Respect policy has to be | 0:24:26 | 0:24:32 | |
suspended the moment you bring an
allegation and change because it is | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
considered too hard line,
fundamentally that is worse than | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
having nothing, is it not? There is
a fair point about making sure an | 0:24:38 | 0:24:43 | |
appeals process is built-in, that is
fair enough. We concluded on the | 0:24:43 | 0:24:47 | |
working group that it would be
helpful if this new process bringing | 0:24:47 | 0:24:53 | |
in would ultimately help House stuff
because we did not think the Respect | 0:24:53 | 0:24:58 | |
policy was sufficient. Particularly
in terms of sexual harassment where | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
it had not been used at all, which I
don't take to believe that none of | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
it was happening but more that it
was not trusted to bring those | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
complaints forward. So when you look
and hear and what you have seen | 0:25:08 | 0:25:13 | |
tonight, what should happen to those
men named, Pritchard, Farrelly and | 0:25:13 | 0:25:18 | |
Jon Bercow? The obvious thing to say
would be that there should be a | 0:25:18 | 0:25:25 | |
thorough independent investigation.
That is what is supposed to have | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
happened. Can they keep their jobs?
Whispered one side of the story. We | 0:25:27 | 0:25:33 | |
have heard denials. I've heard this
for the first time this evening. But | 0:25:33 | 0:25:37 | |
they do deserve to have a proper
independent process and I think that | 0:25:37 | 0:25:41 | |
is what clearly, in terms of the 20
job process, just going to a | 0:25:41 | 0:25:46 | |
committee of MPs is not sufficient.
This is where independence is so | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
important because you have this
power dynamic in Parliament. So who | 0:25:49 | 0:25:54 | |
does it then? The frustrations of
Jon Bercow in particular, it is that | 0:25:54 | 0:26:00 | |
he is presiding over the system
while being part of the alleged | 0:26:00 | 0:26:03 | |
problem. Where do you go to address
that? Is always an issue in any | 0:26:03 | 0:26:07 | |
organisation where you'll have some
of the other top of the organisation | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
who is where the complaint goes.
This is what we've recommended a | 0:26:11 | 0:26:15 | |
properly independent process with
the investigation will be carried | 0:26:15 | 0:26:17 | |
out in terms of sexual harassment by
Rob Lee trained sexual violence | 0:26:17 | 0:26:22 | |
advocates and in terms of workplace
by, will contract an independent | 0:26:22 | 0:26:26 | |
service to be able to conduct that
investigation thoroughly. But what | 0:26:26 | 0:26:30 | |
does it say when legislators are not
able to look after their own | 0:26:30 | 0:26:38 | |
judicial process! It says Parliament
is an outdated workplace. It doesn't | 0:26:38 | 0:26:43 | |
have modern professional standards.
There a culture of exceptionalism | 0:26:43 | 0:26:47 | |
which has many MPs see themselves
above other members of staff rather | 0:26:47 | 0:26:51 | |
than being in a collegiate
environment where we work with | 0:26:51 | 0:26:54 | |
clerks and other members of staff to
deliver good legislative lawmaking | 0:26:54 | 0:26:58 | |
for the good of democracy. And that
culture, whatever process you put in | 0:26:58 | 0:27:03 | |
place, it is part of what is so
important to change. Because what we | 0:27:03 | 0:27:08 | |
have seen on that video tonight is,
even when you have a process, if | 0:27:08 | 0:27:13 | |
your power relationships are what
they are, the dynamic is that MPs | 0:27:13 | 0:27:16 | |
have all the power, and if your
culture is that it's easier to move | 0:27:16 | 0:27:19 | |
somebody more junior than challenge
someone in power, then nothing will | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
happen. Joe Swinson, you are sitting
on a committee in a position to | 0:27:23 | 0:27:29 | |
help. -- Jo. Do you have any sense
of optimism that you can change | 0:27:29 | 0:27:34 | |
this? I have some but I don't
underestimate the challenges. We | 0:27:34 | 0:27:38 | |
have agreed and we are starting on
the process now of consulting on a | 0:27:38 | 0:27:42 | |
behaviour code for everyone who
works in parliament that we hope | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
will encompass all staff, all
members. And there needs to be | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
proper training. Because the
assumption that just because someone | 0:27:48 | 0:27:53 | |
is elected to parliament that they
understand how to be a good | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
employer, that they understand all
these issues about how to treat | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
others... And not bully others you
would hope they would but having the | 0:27:59 | 0:28:05 | |
training to set the cultural tone is
essential. Jo Swinson, thank you for | 0:28:05 | 0:28:10 | |
coming in. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:12 | |
The police officer who rushed
to the aid of the Russian who spied | 0:28:12 | 0:28:16 | |
for Britain is tonight recovering
in hospital in Wiltshire. | 0:28:16 | 0:28:18 | |
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey
is still in a serious condition | 0:28:18 | 0:28:20 | |
after his own exposure
to the nerve agent. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:22 | |
Police have praised his
courage and dedication. | 0:28:22 | 0:28:24 | |
Last night, after
several days' silence, | 0:28:24 | 0:28:25 | |
Russian domestic news put
the attempted assassination | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
of the former spy on its evening
bulletin, with what sounded | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
like a couched, possibly
satirical threat - | 0:28:30 | 0:28:31 | |
warning anyone who dreamt
of a career as a double agent could | 0:28:31 | 0:28:35 | |
expect their life to be curtailed. | 0:28:35 | 0:28:43 | |
The presenter went on to advise
"traitors or those who simply | 0:28:43 | 0:28:45 | |
hate their country in their free
time" not to choose Britain | 0:28:45 | 0:28:48 | |
as a place to live. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:49 | |
But back to our own broadcast
and our diplomatic editor, | 0:28:49 | 0:28:52 | |
Mark Urban, who's been
leading the way on much of | 0:28:52 | 0:28:54 | |
this investigation,
is with me again tonight. | 0:28:54 | 0:29:02 | |
As the search for the nerve agent
become any clearer? Yes. We now know | 0:29:03 | 0:29:11 | |
more about the nerve agent. They
have got things pretty specific. It | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
has taken them a few days. It is
much more specific now. What I am | 0:29:14 | 0:29:24 | |
hearing is that this has been used
to construct a case that there are | 0:29:24 | 0:29:32 | |
very few labs in the world that
could have produced something. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:36 | |
Esoteric and sophisticated in
chemical terms. You mean this could | 0:29:36 | 0:29:42 | |
not be a criminal lab, it would have
to be something else? Exactly, it | 0:29:42 | 0:29:47 | |
points towards a state institution.
A comparatively small number of | 0:29:47 | 0:29:50 | |
states have real expertise in
chemical warfare. What are the | 0:29:50 | 0:29:55 | |
indications? First and foremost,
first Sergei Skripal and Yulia, the | 0:29:55 | 0:30:01 | |
most precise information they have
about how this agent operates, I it | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
attacks the body, there may still be
some hope of getting them back from | 0:30:04 | 0:30:10 | |
the pretty catastrophic condition
that we understand they were in | 0:30:10 | 0:30:12 | |
after they were poisoned on Sunday.
They remained in critical condition. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:18 | |
We don't know when it will be
possible to bring them back to | 0:30:18 | 0:30:22 | |
health. More broadly, it is going to
form part of a diplomatic offensive, | 0:30:22 | 0:30:27 | |
if you like. I think we can see this
building up. Some fascinating | 0:30:27 | 0:30:31 | |
commons today by US under Secretary
of State to Christian Fraser. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:39 | |
If it was proven there was a link to
the Kremlin, would the United States | 0:30:39 | 0:30:42 | |
do something about that? I think we
would be very supportive of whatever | 0:30:42 | 0:30:47 | |
decision the United Kingdom made.
What I am hearing is, to quote one | 0:30:47 | 0:30:52 | |
person involved in this, a lot of
conversations are now going on | 0:30:52 | 0:30:57 | |
between the UK and its Western
allies. Obviously starting with | 0:30:57 | 0:31:01 | |
America, but obviously European
allies. This suggests to me that | 0:31:01 | 0:31:06 | |
early next week we may see some
diplomatic push and the finger may | 0:31:06 | 0:31:10 | |
be pointed at a particular country.
Mark, thank you. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:14 | |
The role of King Lear is often
called the Everest of acting - | 0:31:14 | 0:31:20 | |
a part that has been described
variously as unplayable, | 0:31:20 | 0:31:23 | |
debilitating and almost intolerable
for the actor involved. | 0:31:23 | 0:31:26 | |
Sir Anthony Sher's portrayal
for the Royal Shakespeare Company | 0:31:26 | 0:31:29 | |
was called both monumental
and unbearably moving - | 0:31:29 | 0:31:33 | |
certainly, he brought a sense
of the frustration of frailty that | 0:31:33 | 0:31:36 | |
comes with old age. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:39 | |
His new book, Year of the Mad King,
charts the time he spent discovering | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
"the smell of mortality". | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
I talked to him earlier
about the role of Lear, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
whether Shakespeare's language
was misogynist, and what should | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
happen to Kevin Spacey now. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:55 | |
I started by asking him how much of
a bearing age as on a production of | 0:31:55 | 0:32:01 | |
King Lear. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:04 | |
Yes, I think that's true. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:05 | |
I think because Shakespeare
charts his old age so | 0:32:05 | 0:32:09 | |
specifically, as you begin
to investigate it, there is | 0:32:09 | 0:32:15 | |
extraordinary resonance with either
older people that you know, or in my | 0:32:15 | 0:32:19 | |
case, my own age. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:27 | |
There are moments of Lear that
are terribly familiar. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:36 | |
And there's a particular point
Lear has these rages | 0:32:36 | 0:32:40 | |
in the early part of the play. | 0:32:40 | 0:32:45 | |
These extraordinary storms of anger
that come out of him. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:52 | |
And in one of the most famous -
his speech, "Reason not the need" - | 0:32:52 | 0:32:56 | |
he loses his way in the middle
of the speech, and has a series of | 0:32:56 | 0:33:03 | |
unfinished sentences.
It's such remarkable writing, that. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:10 | |
The most eloquent
playwright ever makes his | 0:33:10 | 0:33:14 | |
character inarticulate. | 0:33:14 | 0:33:19 | |
And several people have
said that when they see | 0:33:19 | 0:33:24 | |
that, it really makes
them feel quite strange, | 0:33:24 | 0:33:28 | |
because it's their dad up
there on the stage who is trying to | 0:33:28 | 0:33:34 | |
exert his force and
is losing his way. | 0:33:34 | 0:33:39 | |
It's a very remarkable
piece of writing. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:43 | |
There are very funny
moments you describe. | 0:33:43 | 0:33:49 | |
The growing of the beard
for Lear and others, which | 0:33:49 | 0:33:52 | |
creates havoc with your
own personal life. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:57 | |
Well, there is a point
where my beard gets very bushy. | 0:33:57 | 0:34:02 | |
Taxis won't stop for me. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
I hail a black cab, it slows down,
takes a look and then speeds off! | 0:34:06 | 0:34:11 | |
And I think they're making
some sort of visual | 0:34:11 | 0:34:17 | |
assessment, that either I am
a tramp or a terrorist. | 0:34:17 | 0:34:19 | |
Some of the Shakespearean
language really shocked | 0:34:19 | 0:34:23 | |
you this time around.
He's describing female genitalia. | 0:34:23 | 0:34:27 | |
He's cursing a woman's loins.
Yeah. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:30 | |
And you think this
is actually coming | 0:34:30 | 0:34:33 | |
from the playwright himself? | 0:34:33 | 0:34:36 | |
Well, there are times
in Shakespeare where | 0:34:36 | 0:34:42 | |
the writing becomes so visceral
that it starts to feel personal. | 0:34:42 | 0:34:46 | |
I find it so shocking,
it is so graphic, | 0:34:46 | 0:34:54 | |
that I just don't know where
Shakespeare is getting that from. | 0:34:54 | 0:34:57 | |
Do you think it's misogynist? | 0:34:57 | 0:34:59 | |
It's definitely misogynist,
but surprising to find | 0:34:59 | 0:35:03 | |
that in a man, a writer
who is so all embracing. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:11 | |
Do you think Shakespeare was
physically repelled by women? There | 0:35:16 | 0:35:21 | |
is a strong theory that he was gay,
mainly based on the fact that his | 0:35:21 | 0:35:25 | |
most personal writing, the sonnets,
three quarters of them are directed | 0:35:25 | 0:35:32 | |
to a young man. I don't know why
being gay should make him that | 0:35:32 | 0:35:37 | |
frightened of women. I mean, it's so
extreme in that speech, that it's | 0:35:37 | 0:35:45 | |
more than dislike or disgust. It's
like naked terror. | 0:35:45 | 0:35:54 | |
We are at a place
now, it feels as if | 0:35:54 | 0:35:56 | |
the MeToo movement is
rewriting power allocation. | 0:35:56 | 0:35:58 | |
Do you think that's
true in the theatre? | 0:35:58 | 0:36:00 | |
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes, yes. | 0:36:00 | 0:36:02 | |
At the RSC, much more than half
of the production staff up to | 0:36:02 | 0:36:10 | |
the directors are women. | 0:36:10 | 0:36:18 | |
It's very, very evident as a change
in how theatre operates. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:24 | |
And when it is about
sexual abuse or sexual | 0:36:24 | 0:36:28 | |
harassment - obviously
not just about women, | 0:36:28 | 0:36:30 | |
Kevin Spacey was disappeared
from the film he was making, a sense | 0:36:30 | 0:36:34 | |
of sort of being erased -
is that right? | 0:36:34 | 0:36:36 | |
Is that the right approach? | 0:36:36 | 0:36:39 | |
Look, I mean it's -
we are in the kind of shock waves | 0:36:39 | 0:36:45 | |
of the Weinstein scandal,
so everything is very | 0:36:45 | 0:36:49 | |
heightened at the moment. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:54 | |
It's kind of like a big
learning curve that we | 0:36:54 | 0:36:56 | |
have all undergone,
because of the startling revelation. | 0:36:56 | 0:37:02 | |
So I don't know how
things will settle. | 0:37:02 | 0:37:09 | |
Now that we can accept
it as something | 0:37:09 | 0:37:12 | |
that happens and can avoid it
happening, I don't know. | 0:37:12 | 0:37:17 | |
Someone like Spacey,
can he come back | 0:37:17 | 0:37:22 | |
in a couple of years' time? | 0:37:22 | 0:37:24 | |
Do you think you can?
I... | 0:37:24 | 0:37:27 | |
I mean, I hope so,
because he is absolutely | 0:37:27 | 0:37:31 | |
a tremendous actor. | 0:37:31 | 0:37:36 | |
And I guess in the past
we have forgiven people's | 0:37:36 | 0:37:41 | |
personal weaknesses. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
It's a tremendous loss to acting. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:49 | |
There is seems almost
an inconsistency, | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
doesn't there, with the people
that we hold up and hang out, | 0:37:52 | 0:37:59 | |
and the people that we sort
of ignore and move on from? | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
I wonder if it makes any
sense to you, the sort of | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
arbitrariness? | 0:38:04 | 0:38:05 | |
It won't any more be
arbitrary, will it? | 0:38:05 | 0:38:10 | |
I mean, if Polanski
was happening now, with us | 0:38:10 | 0:38:15 | |
so much more aware of this kind
of abuse, we wouldn't be | 0:38:15 | 0:38:20 | |
just letting him carry
on, would we? | 0:38:20 | 0:38:22 | |
We'd...
There would be a different reaction. | 0:38:22 | 0:38:25 | |
I really think the Weinstein thing
is a big change than perhaps we | 0:38:25 | 0:38:28 | |
realise yet. | 0:38:28 | 0:38:36 | |
Sir Anthony Sherman talking to me
this evening. Just before we go, let | 0:38:41 | 0:38:45 | |
me show you the front pages of
tomorrow's papers. The times has | 0:38:45 | 0:38:55 | |
Donald Trump saying American allies
could be spared the tariffs on steel | 0:38:55 | 0:38:59 | |
and aluminium. Traders not safe on
British soil, says Russia. The | 0:38:59 | 0:39:03 | |
broadcaster mocking it. The daily
Telegraph has give blood pressure | 0:39:03 | 0:39:10 | |
drugs to half of the UK. Half of the
adult population could be put on | 0:39:10 | 0:39:15 | |
blood pressure drugs. You can see
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, the | 0:39:15 | 0:39:19 | |
officer now recovering, we believe,
from that nerve agent exposure. The | 0:39:19 | 0:39:27 | |
financial Times has Trump offers
exemptions to -- on steel tariffs to | 0:39:27 | 0:39:32 | |
real friends. And the border point,
Donald Tusk assurers Leo Varadker | 0:39:32 | 0:39:41 | |
that Ireland is top of the Brussels
agenda. The Guardian has NHS staff | 0:39:41 | 0:39:47 | |
getting a 6.5% rise. | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
That's all for this evening. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:50 | |
But before we go, it's
a very modern worry - | 0:39:50 | 0:39:52 | |
machines, AI, robots are taking
over our jobs. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:54 | |
What does it mean to be human any
more if we're out-competed | 0:39:54 | 0:39:57 | |
on every front by computers? | 0:39:57 | 0:39:58 | |
Ed Miliband once claimed to be
able to solve a Rubik's | 0:39:58 | 0:40:01 | |
cube in 90 seconds. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:02 | |
Here at Newsnight we
were pretty impressed. | 0:40:02 | 0:40:04 | |
Until we saw this invention today
by Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo | 0:40:04 | 0:40:07 | |
at the Massachusetts
Institute of technology. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:08 | |
Goodnight. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:10 | |
Starting in three, two, one! | 0:40:10 | 0:40:18 |