Browse content similar to 16/03/2018. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
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Britain versus Russia. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:03 | |
Who's winning? | 0:00:03 | 0:00:04 | |
Are we even competing? | 0:00:04 | 0:00:05 | |
What game is Putin playing? | 0:00:05 | 0:00:11 | |
A Russian intelligence
chief has accused | 0:00:11 | 0:00:12 | |
Theresa May of "childlike
naivete and incompetence". | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
A diplomatic conflict
that is deadly serious, but | 0:00:15 | 0:00:18 | |
with a dash of playground
name-calling. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:21 | |
This Russia watcher thinks Putin
is getting exactly what he wants. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
We will ask if he's right. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:28 | |
Also tonight, for years we've
welcomed Russians to London, | 0:00:28 | 0:00:31 | |
including friends of Putin. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
What is it that first attracted us
to the oligarch billionaires? | 0:00:33 | 0:00:41 | |
The Romans when British
establishment types can get cosy | 0:00:44 | 0:00:47 | |
with Russian money, and that means
that they could be just 2 degrees of | 0:00:47 | 0:00:55 | |
separation from the master of the
Kremlin himself, Vladimir Putin. | 0:00:55 | 0:01:00 | |
And, if leaders are forged in times
of crisis, how have our leaders | 0:01:00 | 0:01:03 | |
dealt with events this week? | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
Hello, another Russian,
no friend of Putin, another | 0:01:16 | 0:01:18 | |
murder investigation. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:19 | |
It has taken a few
days, but the death | 0:01:19 | 0:01:21 | |
of Nikolae Glushkov,
who was | 0:01:21 | 0:01:23 | |
found on Monday, is now
being investigated as a murder. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:25 | |
Very quickly after
he was found, reports | 0:01:25 | 0:01:27 | |
emerged that he had been strangled
and death by compression to the neck | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
is what the police themselves
are now saying occurred. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:33 | |
It's just something else
to heat up a row that | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
has led to a new chill in relations
between East and West. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:45 | |
Now in relation to
the nerve agent used | 0:01:45 | 0:01:47 | |
in Salisbury the British
have today invited | 0:01:47 | 0:01:49 | |
the Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons, | 0:01:49 | 0:01:51 | |
to come to the UK to take a sample
under article eight | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
of the Chemical Weapons Convention. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
The OPCW have expressed
their willingness | 0:01:57 | 0:01:59 | |
to support the investigation. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:00 | |
I'm with our diplomatic
editor, Mark Urban. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:05 | |
Nikolae Glushkov. We have known for
days that he died. That is the main | 0:02:05 | 0:02:15 | |
point today I think that police are
saying it is now a murder inquiry. | 0:02:15 | 0:02:19 | |
They said they haven't established
any link with the case of the | 0:02:19 | 0:02:28 | |
Skripals, but people will inevitably
now see this as another potential | 0:02:28 | 0:02:32 | |
killing of an opponent in London.
Let's go back to Salisbury. There is | 0:02:32 | 0:02:39 | |
very little else to say at this
point. Back to Salisbury. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:50 | |
point. Back to Salisbury. What do
you think about how this nerve agent | 0:02:50 | 0:02:55 | |
was him to be their? This is
creeping forward incrementally. On | 0:02:55 | 0:02:59 | |
Monday I spoke about one of the
Novichok agents, A234 and the | 0:02:59 | 0:03:07 | |
possibility eight had been released
into a car. Today we heard the | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
Russian ambassador of being quoted
by TASS, saying that this was indeed | 0:03:11 | 0:03:18 | |
the agent ever talking about any
Salisbury context. We also saw today | 0:03:18 | 0:03:24 | |
the car of Mr Skripal being removed
from the tow truck yard where it had | 0:03:24 | 0:03:31 | |
been since it happened and taken
away. It had been in on air pretend | 0:03:31 | 0:03:35 | |
there to try to contain any
contamination. -- and air proof | 0:03:35 | 0:03:41 | |
tent. Police are still saying
officially that they still don't | 0:03:41 | 0:03:46 | |
know it was the car when the poison
was released but there was a | 0:03:46 | 0:03:50 | |
tremendous amount of emphasis on the
car. I don't believe they found | 0:03:50 | 0:03:53 | |
contamination in the home which
would tend to undermine the suitcase | 0:03:53 | 0:03:57 | |
and various other theories. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:03 | |
and various other theories. It has
not been subject to that. And people | 0:04:04 | 0:04:06 | |
are not saying that there is
contamination in the home so that is | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
why it goes back to one o'clock on
that day when they are believed to | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
have got in the car. That was the
real period of danger that the | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
police are looking at. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:23 | |
police are looking at. And they are
looking to try and get the OPCW | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
involved now. That is the
international watchdog, the UN, the | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
monitoring and enforcement council.
And a few things have come out. They | 0:04:31 | 0:04:36 | |
have put out a statement saying that
they are looking into these Novichok | 0:04:36 | 0:04:39 | |
agents. So there are confirmation
that they know these things exist | 0:04:39 | 0:04:44 | |
and that they are modelling up on
them but most stocks were declared | 0:04:44 | 0:04:50 | |
to have been destroyed so that has
to be seen in the context of Russia | 0:04:50 | 0:04:55 | |
when OPCW certified that they had
destroyed all of their chemical | 0:04:55 | 0:05:00 | |
weapons and nobody ever said that
they had Novichok and some Russian | 0:05:00 | 0:05:06 | |
officials have said that was not
included in that early 90s chemical | 0:05:06 | 0:05:10 | |
weapons Convention but the OPCW said
that today this is a real chemical | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
weapons that we consider to be
banned by the terms of this key | 0:05:14 | 0:05:20 | |
treaty. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
Urban, throughout this week Russia
has given the impression of somewhat | 0:05:23 | 0:05:25 | |
enjoying Britain's indignation
as to what has happened. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:27 | |
So what is the game
Russia is playing? | 0:05:27 | 0:05:32 | |
It seems to be more
than just deterring would be | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
double agents. | 0:05:35 | 0:05:36 | |
Some would say he is just goading
us, whilst Theresa May | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
is trying to look not goaded. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:40 | |
So who's winning? | 0:05:40 | 0:05:41 | |
I'm joined by an security
expert and Russia watcher | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
Edward Lucas, and Kori Schake,
former adviser to the US Pentagon | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
and National Security Council. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:48 | |
Both are in no doubt
the Russians are | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
behind the Salisbury attack. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:56 | |
We are talking about what their
objectives would be. You think Putin | 0:05:56 | 0:06:01 | |
is working to some sort of game
plan? What is he trying to achieve? | 0:06:01 | 0:06:10 | |
Why is it that it was at the end of
the election campaign, painting the | 0:06:11 | 0:06:16 | |
outside world out to get Russia, the
West misbehaving. And the idea of | 0:06:16 | 0:06:23 | |
these efficient Russian spy killer
is going round the world bumping | 0:06:23 | 0:06:26 | |
people off. He also likes Britain's
isolation at a time when it has | 0:06:26 | 0:06:36 | |
difficult relations with Europe and
with America and Trump because of | 0:06:36 | 0:06:41 | |
Brexit. But of course what you ought
to be implying as a result of this | 0:06:41 | 0:06:51 | |
is to cut off the City of London,
the property market and financial | 0:06:51 | 0:06:55 | |
system generally to dirty Russian
money and that is something they | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
don't want to do, because... So this
political model that Britain is | 0:06:59 | 0:07:08 | |
following, are they enjoying it by
the sound of it? I think | 0:07:08 | 0:07:18 | |
particularly Boris Johnson as
Foreign Secretary and Gavin | 0:07:18 | 0:07:26 | |
Williamson 's coming out with ease
from a sententious things, of the | 0:07:26 | 0:07:30 | |
worst we can do if we we have had a
chemical weapons attack on our soil | 0:07:30 | 0:07:34 | |
was to push out press releases and
make statements either on our own | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
with our allies... | 0:07:38 | 0:07:44 | |
with our allies... This is kind of
about testing in Britain and those | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
kinds of things. Absolutely, that is
exactly right. What the Russians are | 0:07:49 | 0:07:54 | |
trying to do is use our western free
societies as a means of undercutting | 0:07:54 | 0:08:01 | |
our societies and they have mostly
succeeded. Is this to strengthen his | 0:08:01 | 0:08:08 | |
power domestically? To divide and
rule? I think it is both of those | 0:08:08 | 0:08:16 | |
things. It is to distract domestic
Russian attention from the failures | 0:08:16 | 0:08:25 | |
of the Russian economy and the
failures of domestic governance in | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
Russia and also everywhere that they
can to try and divide Western | 0:08:28 | 0:08:33 | |
allies, to try and undercut the
confidence that we have in our own | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
governance and systems of
government. Is Britain and the West | 0:08:37 | 0:08:44 | |
was Mike response, is it almost
plain to the, are replaying fully to | 0:08:44 | 0:08:53 | |
what Putin is designing? I think
clearly this is kind of a whodunnit, | 0:08:53 | 0:09:05 | |
a Howard Dunnett and a wide on it
and what I begin to do about it? And | 0:09:05 | 0:09:11 | |
I think the government is not really
going to take the sort of steps we | 0:09:11 | 0:09:16 | |
need, and we don't have the lies. If
we weren't really series it would | 0:09:16 | 0:09:19 | |
not just be Britain throwing out 23
Russian intelligence officers. It | 0:09:19 | 0:09:25 | |
would be 30, 40 allies, all of Nato
and the EU collectively throwing out | 0:09:25 | 0:09:32 | |
700 Russian intelligence officers.
That would make an impact, that is | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
what we ought to be doing. I think
that free societies are slow to | 0:09:35 | 0:09:46 | |
mobilise and it requires consensus.
I give the British government, I | 0:09:46 | 0:09:55 | |
think it was careful in how it
described what was happening. It | 0:09:55 | 0:10:01 | |
went to allies and institutions in
the international order, it could | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
not get ahead of itself. It left the
Russians exit ramps if they wanted | 0:10:05 | 0:10:10 | |
it and the fact that they did not
take them, help Stodel. So what was | 0:10:10 | 0:10:17 | |
the exit ramp that the Russians had,
what was the way out? First, it was | 0:10:17 | 0:10:23 | |
not described as an armed attack so
it did not trigger Nato's article | 0:10:23 | 0:10:27 | |
five. It gave time for the Russians
to explain themselves. There were | 0:10:27 | 0:10:33 | |
explanation is that the Russians
could have given. And it left open | 0:10:33 | 0:10:42 | |
the possibility that somehow they
had lost it. President Trump was | 0:10:42 | 0:10:52 | |
quicker signing responsibility to
the Russians than Prime Minister me | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
was. | 0:10:55 | 0:11:00 | |
Maybe they are enjoying keeping is
guessing. But I don't think they | 0:11:08 | 0:11:16 | |
thought, let's try and back off. I
think the Russian reaction may come | 0:11:16 | 0:11:22 | |
at an unexpected time and be of an
unexpected nature as well. There | 0:11:22 | 0:11:29 | |
were | 0:11:29 | 0:11:35 | |
were some name-calling. They were
calling Gavin Williamson a vulgar | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
old harpy. You are talking to
someone who spoke to the leader of | 0:11:37 | 0:11:47 | |
North Korea as rocket man. So it
could be that standards are falling. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
It could be that the Russians are
trying to trivialise this. And that | 0:11:50 | 0:11:55 | |
Western politicians, maybe they need
to understand that Russia as an | 0:11:55 | 0:12:03 | |
adversary because Russia is behaving
like an adverse array. We will leave | 0:12:03 | 0:12:05 | |
it there. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:08 | |
One question that arises out
of Salisbury is whether Britain has | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
been too willing to offer itself up
as a comfortable home | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
the very wealthy Russians,
often close to President Putin. | 0:12:14 | 0:12:16 | |
"Don't ask, don't tell" seems
to have been the policy in regard | 0:12:16 | 0:12:19 | |
to the origins of Russian wealth
coming into London. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:22 | |
And there has been a discernible
reluctance to use that wealth | 0:12:22 | 0:12:24 | |
as a diplomatic weapon. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
It's not just Russians that we have
been nice to, by the way. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:29 | |
Remember the London School
of Economics had taken money | 0:12:29 | 0:12:34 | |
from Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif,
and given him a PhD. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:36 | |
If we are a soft touch,
is it because some parts | 0:12:36 | 0:12:39 | |
of our establishment are too easily
impressed by | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
the riches of foreigners? | 0:12:41 | 0:12:42 | |
John Sweeney now looks at one
example, the social connections | 0:12:42 | 0:12:46 | |
of Russian aluminium magnate Oleg
Deripaska. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:48 | |
And a warning - this report starts
with flashing images. | 0:12:48 | 0:12:50 | |
Every summer, the haves
and the have-yachts converge | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
for very private holidays. | 0:12:56 | 0:13:01 | |
In 2008, Russian oligarch Oleg
Deripaska sailed to Corfu for one. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:04 | |
Lord Mandelson was there. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
So, too, was George Osborne. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:11 | |
It caused a bit of a do. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:13 | |
I didn't break any rules,
but I think I did make a mistake, | 0:13:13 | 0:13:17 | |
and I think in politics it's not
just what you say or what you do, | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
it's how things look,
and I have to be honest, | 0:13:21 | 0:13:23 | |
this didn't look very good. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:25 | |
There were all guests
of financier Nat Rothschild, | 0:13:25 | 0:13:26 | |
who owns this villa on the island. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:30 | |
What happens in Corfu
stays in Corfu. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:32 | |
That's the deal. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:34 | |
But there was a leak. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:38 | |
A newspaper was tipped off that
Lord Mandelson had, allegedly, | 0:13:38 | 0:13:41 | |
been "dripping pure poison
about Gordon Brown | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
in Osborne's ear". | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
Furious at this indiscretion,
Nat Rothschild revealed that Osborne | 0:13:46 | 0:13:50 | |
went aboard Oleg Deripaska's yacht
| 0:13:50 | 0:13:52 | |
with the then Tory
fundraiser, Andrew Feldman. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:57 | |
Rothschild said they were soliciting
a donation, something they denied. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:02 | |
Bun fights like those held
at Nat Rothschild's villa | 0:14:02 | 0:14:06 | |
are moments when British
establishment types can get cosy | 0:14:06 | 0:14:08 | |
with Russian money -
and, whether they know it or not, | 0:14:08 | 0:14:14 | |
that means they could be just two
degrees of separation | 0:14:14 | 0:14:16 | |
from the master of the Kremlin
himself, Vladimir Putin. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:21 | |
Putin demands the loyalty
of Russia's billionaires. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
There are nearly 100 of them. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
Deripaska is near
the top of the list. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
He's one of the most
important links between Putin | 0:14:29 | 0:14:31 | |
and the British establishment. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
Through George Osborne and Tory
fundraiser Andrew Feldman, | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
you could say that Putin was just
three degrees of separation | 0:14:37 | 0:14:41 | |
from David Cameron. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:46 | |
I don't think that there is
necessarily espionage and blackmail. | 0:14:46 | 0:14:48 | |
I think the question of what kind
of friends you have is influenced | 0:14:48 | 0:14:53 | |
by what you need to understand
about the political | 0:14:53 | 0:14:57 | |
situation in Russia -
and, if you understand that | 0:14:57 | 0:15:01 | |
oligarchs in Russia today
are not independent people, | 0:15:01 | 0:15:06 | |
and cannot hold onto their wealth
without maintaining good | 0:15:06 | 0:15:11 | |
relationships with Putin,
then that's something that British | 0:15:11 | 0:15:14 | |
politicians need to understand. | 0:15:14 | 0:15:18 | |
In the case of Oleg Deripaska,
the American authorities have been | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
more wary than the Brits. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:23 | |
The US has denied
Oleg Deripaska a visa. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:28 | |
Mr Deripaska made his
mega-fortune in the 1990s, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
after Russia's aluminium wars,
so-called because some | 0:15:31 | 0:15:35 | |
proprietors were literally
killing off competition. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:39 | |
There is no suggestion that
Mr Deripaska was involved | 0:15:39 | 0:15:41 | |
in violence, but surviving in that
environment was tough. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:46 | |
It was very difficult. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:53 | |
But I believe whatever it is. | 0:15:53 | 0:15:55 | |
I can't say that I'm proud,
but I believe in all that | 0:15:55 | 0:15:58 | |
I did the right thing. | 0:15:58 | 0:16:00 | |
Mr Deripaska told the High Court
in London in 2012 that he'd been | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
forced to pay protection money
to a man with links | 0:16:04 | 0:16:07 | |
to organised crime. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:09 | |
One of Mr Deripaska's new business
associates is former | 0:16:09 | 0:16:13 | |
energy minister Greg -
now Lord - Barker, another | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
David Cameron chum. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
He's the chair of Deripaska's
energy company, En+, | 0:16:19 | 0:16:23 | |
which was recently allowed to list
on the London Stock Exchange. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:29 | |
And this week it was revealed
by the Financial Times that En+ | 0:16:29 | 0:16:32 | |
is one of the clients
of Lord Mandelson's strategic advice | 0:16:32 | 0:16:36 | |
consultancy, Global Counsel. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
Global Counsel says neither
Lord Mandelson nor Mr Deripaska | 0:16:40 | 0:16:42 | |
are involved in this work. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:47 | |
Deripaska is big news
in Russia at the moment. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
Opposition politician Alexei Navalny
recently released this | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
documentary about him. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
It includes footage of Deripaska
on his yacht, entertaining | 0:16:56 | 0:16:58 | |
one of Russia's most
senior government officials. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:04 | |
It was filmed by an escort,
19 years old at the time. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:09 | |
In London, a company run
by the Home Secretary's brother, | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
Roland Rudd, handled the PR
for the recent stock market | 0:17:11 | 0:17:14 | |
flotation of Deripaska business En+. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:19 | |
I mean, I'm not in the PR business,
but I think that, when one | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
is the immediate family of someone
in a top leadership position, | 0:17:22 | 0:17:26 | |
one should be careful
about what foreign professionals, | 0:17:26 | 0:17:32 | |
foreign clients one has. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
Donald Trump's campaign
manager, Paul Manafort, | 0:17:36 | 0:17:37 | |
has worked for Mr Deripaska,
too, something Mr Deripaska | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
is not keen to talk
about without an appointment. | 0:17:41 | 0:17:48 | |
Get lost, please. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:49 | |
Thank you. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
At Tory fundraiser the Black
and White Ball, the British wives | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
of oligarchs bid big money
for experiences, like having dinner | 0:17:56 | 0:18:00 | |
with Gavin Williamson,
the Defence Secretary. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:04 | |
It's clear from our research that
several wealthy oligarchs close | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
to Vladimir Putin have managed
to cultivate members, | 0:18:07 | 0:18:11 | |
whether witting or unwitting,
of the British ruling elite. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:17 | |
Getting involved in the art world,
donating to charity, | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
sponsoring academic prizes,
buying shares in football clubs, | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
these are the ways that Putin's
cronies can become friends | 0:18:24 | 0:18:28 | |
of the posh folk of London. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
But, if the businesses are legal
and the stock exchange | 0:18:31 | 0:18:34 | |
is happy, should we care? | 0:18:34 | 0:18:37 | |
There is a danger here
in smearing all Russians. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:39 | |
Look, there are lots of very gifted
entrepreneurs, artists, | 0:18:39 | 0:18:44 | |
rebels in London today,
and it would be awful | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
to have a total attack
on all Russians in London. | 0:18:47 | 0:18:51 | |
It's wonderful that we have this
expatriate Russian community. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:56 | |
But political parties
should be very careful, | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
and government should be very
careful about who it does business | 0:18:59 | 0:19:01 | |
with and takes money from. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:03 | |
People are saying there's
a problem with Jeremy Corbyn | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
and Seamus Milne's judgment about
Russia. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:08 | |
That's the only problem
of Russian influence | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
in British politics -
true or false? | 0:19:11 | 0:19:13 | |
False. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:15 | |
It's got to be said
that the Conservative Party has been | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
very rash in who it's taken money
from and who it's done business | 0:19:18 | 0:19:24 | |
with, and of course New Labour,
which is currently on the war path | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
against Jeremy Corbyn, has all kinds
of questions to answer. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:34 | |
But Russian money has washed around
the corridors of power in London | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
for perhaps too long. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
The question is, will the nerve
agent poisonings in Salisbury change | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
anything, or will it continue to be
roubles as usual? | 0:19:44 | 0:19:51 | |
John Sweeney. We might pick up one
or two of those themes shortly. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:02 | |
The country hasn't just been talking
about the Russians this week. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:04 | |
We've also been talking
about Jeremy Corbyn. | 0:20:04 | 0:20:06 | |
The conversation has focused inwards
as well as outwards. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
In a way, this isn't surprising. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:10 | |
The Salisbury attack has
been another chance, | 0:20:10 | 0:20:11 | |
on top of the ample opportunities
provided by Brexit, to debate | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
Britain's relationship
to the rest of the world - | 0:20:14 | 0:20:16 | |
not just to Russia itself,
but to Trump, the US | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
and other allies -
and the chance to ask how powerful, | 0:20:19 | 0:20:21 | |
how trustworthy and how grown-up
we are in dealing with these things. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:24 | |
It is easy for the right to benefit
at times of external threat. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
And the polling backs that
up on this occasion. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
If we look at the YouGov polling
on whether Theresa May has responded | 0:20:29 | 0:20:32 | |
well or badly to the poisoning,
most people think she | 0:20:32 | 0:20:36 | |
has handled it well -
two to one in favour, | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
with quite a few don't knows. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:41 | |
Now, the same question
on Jeremy Corbyn's response - | 0:20:41 | 0:20:44 | |
it's two to one the other way. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:47 | |
39% say he has handled it badly
and 18% say he has done well. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:51 | |
But interestingly, a vast number
of "don't knows" in his case. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:59 | |
Let's see if we can dissect
the politics of the week with a | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
panel drawn from the brightest and
best of our nation's commentariat - | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
former editor and Mail On Sunday
commentator Rachel Johnson, | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
bestselling author and Guardian
columnist Owen Jones, | 0:21:08 | 0:21:10 | |
and the Times's Jenni Russell. | 0:21:10 | 0:21:18 | |
Owen, do you think Jeremy Corbyn has
paid a political price this week for | 0:21:19 | 0:21:24 | |
his position? The media framing has
been a disgrace, including your own | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
programme. Yesterday, the background
of your programme, you had Jeremy | 0:21:27 | 0:21:32 | |
Corbyn dressed up against the
Kremlin skyline... No, no. Dressed | 0:21:32 | 0:21:36 | |
up as a Soviet leader. You even
Photoshop is that it look more | 0:21:36 | 0:21:43 | |
Russian. It was real, him in front
of the Kremlin. Provocation, and | 0:21:43 | 0:21:50 | |
people complained to the BBC about
that, and it isn't your graphics | 0:21:50 | 0:21:56 | |
department responsible, it is
whoever signed it. It was a real | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
picture of him. Who was it, which
party over and over again demanded | 0:21:59 | 0:22:08 | |
an amendment to crackdown? Which
party resisted, the Conservatives. | 0:22:08 | 0:22:16 | |
Which politician kibosh and enquiry,
delayed undermined from a year after | 0:22:16 | 0:22:24 | |
year, against the poisoning of
Litvinenko, and in doing so | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
potentially embolden those who used
Theresa May. Which party is awash | 0:22:27 | 0:22:36 | |
with Russian links? The
Conservatives. While the polls | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
2-to-1 in her favour on this and
2-to-1 against him? Has he bungled | 0:22:39 | 0:22:45 | |
it this week? You are saying, look
how good he is on this, and the | 0:22:45 | 0:22:50 | |
country are not buying it. I am
saying he isn't having a good | 0:22:50 | 0:22:53 | |
hearing, and I'm glad there are so
many people who say they don't know. | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
What sort of country do we live in
where the media constantly tries to | 0:22:56 | 0:23:02 | |
portray the Leader of the
Opposition, who was the only one who | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
stood up in solidarity in Parliament
with Russia's democratic opposition, | 0:23:04 | 0:23:14 | |
and being smeared for things? This
is a series point, because it is how | 0:23:14 | 0:23:19 | |
the mediocrity in this country for
the feedback the expulsion of the | 0:23:19 | 0:23:24 | |
diplomats, that's what the Labour
Party did. The argument of the | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
Labour Party is to go further and
clamp down on Russian money, which | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
the Conservatives party, which is
bankrolled by Russian oligarchs. Is | 0:23:30 | 0:23:39 | |
the framing being unfair? I think
Owen made some very good points | 0:23:39 | 0:23:43 | |
about the injustice of the British
media towards Putin for them I last | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
night. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:54 | |
night. I didn't watch your programme
last night, but if you take a | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
photograph taken years ago in a
different context and put it up | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
there... Images matter. And he's
right that many of the issues that | 0:24:00 | 0:24:07 | |
he raises. It is true that the
Conservative Party have not done the | 0:24:07 | 0:24:13 | |
Magnitsky act. But Corbyn had an
opportunity to say exactly anything | 0:24:13 | 0:24:17 | |
that he pleased when he stood up in
the Commons this week, and he | 0:24:17 | 0:24:22 | |
completely blew it. He made it sound
as though he wasn't primarily | 0:24:22 | 0:24:27 | |
interested in defending the British
people, as if he was more interested | 0:24:27 | 0:24:30 | |
in exploring every possible reason
why somebody else might have been | 0:24:30 | 0:24:33 | |
responsible for this attack. The
point is, if you intend to lead the | 0:24:33 | 0:24:38 | |
country, as Jeremy Corbyn does, your
first duty is to make people feel | 0:24:38 | 0:24:42 | |
that you will defend them against
attack, and although he was | 0:24:42 | 0:24:46 | |
perfectly right to lay out some
questions about what we know, Corbyn | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
didn't do it the right way. He
should have come out at the | 0:24:49 | 0:24:52 | |
beginning it made it clear that he
would defend Britain and he would | 0:24:52 | 0:24:55 | |
ask other questions later. | 0:24:55 | 0:25:01 | |
ask other questions later. Rachel,
where are you on these? They have | 0:25:01 | 0:25:04 | |
both made sensible points, but I
thought that Jeremy Corbyn was right | 0:25:04 | 0:25:06 | |
to point out that we needed some
proof before we risked escalating | 0:25:06 | 0:25:11 | |
what could be a very dangerous
international situation, and I think | 0:25:11 | 0:25:16 | |
a lot of the country really agreed
with him on that. We've had eight | 0:25:16 | 0:25:21 | |
years of the war in Syria, we got
1500 civilian casualties in Yemen, | 0:25:21 | 0:25:27 | |
and then we have the death, probable
assassination by a Russian agency of | 0:25:27 | 0:25:32 | |
one British citizen, a Russian spy
swap, and suddenly the entire | 0:25:32 | 0:25:40 | |
international security establishment
decides | 0:25:40 | 0:25:47 | |
decides it's time to really launched
an international diplomatic | 0:25:49 | 0:25:50 | |
offensive against Putin. I
understand the reasons about the | 0:25:50 | 0:25:55 | |
chemical attack on British soil, but
I think we were right to be | 0:25:55 | 0:25:59 | |
cautious. Last word on Corbyn,
because I want to get onto other | 0:25:59 | 0:26:04 | |
things. What will get the Russian
regime where it hurts? Labour has | 0:26:04 | 0:26:10 | |
accepted that either Russia is
directly responsible or criminally | 0:26:10 | 0:26:12 | |
culpable by allowing its weapons to
pull into the arms of the gangsters | 0:26:12 | 0:26:16 | |
and oligarchs who ravaged Russia
ever since the fall of the Soviet | 0:26:16 | 0:26:21 | |
Union and what will help them? Going
after Russian dirty money, and I'd | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
ask, which party would you trust, a
party bankrolled by the City of | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
London, the centre of this
money-laundering, or one which | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
isn't? The Conservatives are Roche
-- are awash with Russian money but | 0:26:31 | 0:26:39 | |
Theresa May has refused an enquiry
into the Litvinenko poisoning I want | 0:26:39 | 0:26:43 | |
to move on to Theresa May because a
lot of people have said she has had | 0:26:43 | 0:26:47 | |
a good week, and the polls seem to
that, head of Labour by three points | 0:26:47 | 0:26:52 | |
in one poll today. Is it game
changing? Is this the new strong | 0:26:52 | 0:26:59 | |
Theresa May? That strength in her
position in the and the Labor Day | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
when the people come and tell her to
go? Best position in the party and | 0:27:02 | 0:27:07 | |
does it do Labor Day. I thought she
performed OK this week. With God, | 0:27:07 | 0:27:14 | |
thank goodness there is a grown-up
in charge. However, the whole reason | 0:27:14 | 0:27:22 | |
this is so threatening, and probably
the reason this happened is that | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
Britain is extraordinarily weak. We
are walking away from our allies in | 0:27:25 | 0:27:30 | |
Europe, wilfully alienating them,
and we can't depend on our allies | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
across the pond, and that is a
situation which Theresa May has made | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
much worse than it need be, and the
backdrop for all of this is that, | 0:27:37 | 0:27:41 | |
when this episode is over, we should
be dwelling on the fact that very | 0:27:41 | 0:27:45 | |
few countries in the world have
chosen to walk away from their | 0:27:45 | 0:27:47 | |
allies into something is called
unthreatening as this world... | 0:27:47 | 0:27:54 | |
Secondly, when you are saying, as
she done well, the context is that | 0:27:54 | 0:27:58 | |
Theresa May is completely confused
about what she wants about Brexit, | 0:27:58 | 0:28:01 | |
so is her party, we are going
nowhere in the negotiations. It | 0:28:01 | 0:28:09 | |
could be testing our isolation. I
may remain, but I have to say, I | 0:28:09 | 0:28:18 | |
think it's a joke to say that this
is a distraction from Brexit. The | 0:28:18 | 0:28:23 | |
Russian Embassy said, the Russian
embassy new... They knew everybody | 0:28:23 | 0:28:30 | |
would start talking about our
security position post-Brexit, and | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
that's why they said a probable
assassination, and MI5 plot to | 0:28:33 | 0:28:40 | |
distract us from Brexit.
ALL TALKING AT ONCE. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:49 | |
The first statement by the quad,
Germany, France, the US and the UK | 0:28:49 | 0:28:53 | |
for decades. There hasn't been any
disintegration of the transatlantic | 0:28:53 | 0:28:55 | |
alliance. | 0:28:55 | 0:29:00 | |
alliance. Again, it's about their
track record. Let's not forget the | 0:29:01 | 0:29:04 | |
Conservatives lobbied to die lewd
sanctions against Russia in the | 0:29:04 | 0:29:08 | |
past, on the basis it would damage
the City, but if you look back to | 0:29:08 | 0:29:15 | |
2003 in Iraq, Libya in 2011,
everybody said, look how strong and | 0:29:15 | 0:29:19 | |
commanded David Cameron and Tony
Blair are, and anybody dissenting | 0:29:19 | 0:29:23 | |
from the government line was
betrayed as traitors, cowards, | 0:29:23 | 0:29:25 | |
stooges of the enemy. 400,000 people
marched. In saying that the media | 0:29:25 | 0:29:32 | |
and the new Labour elite and the
Conservatives did that, especially | 0:29:32 | 0:29:38 | |
with Libya, where only about 40 MPs
voted against. We do have a foreign | 0:29:38 | 0:29:43 | |
policy which is reckless and
endangers the national security of | 0:29:43 | 0:29:48 | |
everybody watching, because of
Theresa May's support for the Saudi | 0:29:48 | 0:29:50 | |
dictatorship or the Turkish regime,
so this idea that, because we are | 0:29:50 | 0:29:56 | |
doing some theatrical standing up in
terms of expelling a few diplomats | 0:29:56 | 0:30:02 | |
instead of taking an Russian dirty
money... You are making this | 0:30:02 | 0:30:05 | |
argument a lot of -- lot better than
the people running the Labour Party. | 0:30:05 | 0:30:13 | |
The Labour Party is making any
argument like this extremely well, | 0:30:13 | 0:30:18 | |
because Corbyn was writing about 19%
before this. There are many reasons | 0:30:18 | 0:30:27 | |
to be very worried about British
foreign policy and about British | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
foreign policy in the past. I was
among many people who marched | 0:30:30 | 0:30:36 | |
against the war in Iraq, but Jeremy
Corbyn is now saying he will | 0:30:36 | 0:30:42 | |
reassess the membership of Nato...
That is Corbyn's policy. He might | 0:30:42 | 0:30:49 | |
not ever want to use a nuclear
deterrent. You can't have somebody | 0:30:49 | 0:30:53 | |
coming in to say per minute recess,
I may not want to use the ultimate | 0:30:53 | 0:30:58 | |
sanction. I want to give Rachel the
last word. When you look at moments | 0:30:58 | 0:31:02 | |
like this, do you think they show
our country at its best or do they | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
show it at its worst? Theresa May
performed well and Prime Minister | 0:31:05 | 0:31:12 | |
really, and I thought she struck the
right note, and I think that, | 0:31:12 | 0:31:17 | |
unlike, there has been terrible
banter from the Defence Secretary. | 0:31:17 | 0:31:23 | |
And the Foreign Secretary! The
Russian embassy's command of the | 0:31:23 | 0:31:30 | |
English language is superior to that
of our Defence Secretary, and in | 0:31:30 | 0:31:33 | |
that sense we are on the back foot.
Thank you, all. | 0:31:33 | 0:31:39 | |
The cable car across the Thames,
which opened in 2012, is facing | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
an uncertain future tonight. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:43 | |
It could be sold off
or scrapped completely, | 0:31:43 | 0:31:45 | |
according to the Evening Standard. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:47 | |
The Emirates Air Line,
the project of former | 0:31:47 | 0:31:49 | |
mayor Boris Johnson,
was the UK's first urban cable car. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:55 | |
It was meant to be a new
form of mass transit. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:58 | |
But it didn't attract the masses. | 0:31:58 | 0:31:59 | |
Having cost £60 million to build,
according to one report, | 0:31:59 | 0:32:02 | |
only four regular commuters
were using it. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:06 | |
Is it farewell to one
of London's least loved modes | 0:32:06 | 0:32:08 | |
of public transport? | 0:32:08 | 0:32:10 | |
We'll miss it, even if
the customers don't. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:12 | |
Goodnight. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:14 | |
# Are you lonesome tonight? | 0:32:14 | 0:32:18 | |
# Do you miss me tonight? | 0:32:18 | 0:32:22 | |
# Are you sorry we drifted apart? | 0:32:22 | 0:32:30 | |
# Does your memory stray
to a brighter sunny day | 0:32:32 | 0:32:40 | |
# When I kissed you
and called you sweetheart? # | 0:32:41 | 0:32:49 |