:00:38. > :00:43.The Government continues its push for the UK to join air-strikes
:00:44. > :00:49.Is it winning the argument and does it have the votes in Parliament
:00:50. > :00:54.We'll hear from former Tory defence secretary Liam Fox, and Respect
:00:55. > :01:00.Jeremy Corbyn is struggling to get his way over Syria, as he tries to
:01:01. > :01:03.persuade his Shadow Cabinet to back his opposition to bombing.
:01:04. > :01:07.We'll hear from Shadow Justice Secretary, Charlie Falconer.
:01:08. > :01:09.And the former Conservative chairman Grant Shapps resigns
:01:10. > :01:14.from the Government over allegations he failed to act on bullying claims
:01:15. > :01:23.inside the Tory Party, but is that really the end of the story?
:01:24. > :01:31.In London, the Chancellor spared the Metropolitan Police but his spending
:01:32. > :01:40.decisions will have consequences for transport, housing and councils
:01:41. > :01:41.So, yesterday, former Conservative Party chairman
:01:42. > :01:45.Grant Shapps resigned from the Government over allegations he
:01:46. > :01:49.failed to act on claims of bullying in the youth wing of the party.
:01:50. > :01:52.It's a complicated story, as Giles Dilnot explains.
:01:53. > :01:58.Grant Shapps, former co-chair of the Conservative Party
:01:59. > :02:04.and now a former minister, must wish as his senior aide Paul Abbot
:02:05. > :02:23.Clarke once tipped for the top by Tatler magazine unsuccessfully
:02:24. > :02:27.As a result of his behaviour during that campaign,
:02:28. > :02:30.about which complaints were made, he was taken off the candidates list.
:02:31. > :02:37.A girlfriend at the time declaring he was "unfit to be an MP".
:02:38. > :02:39.In early 2014, Mr Clarke approached
:02:40. > :02:41.the Conservatives and Grant Shapps in particular with an idea.
:02:42. > :02:48.It was simple, bus loads of young Tory activists to marginal seats
:02:49. > :02:51.during the 2015 general election campaign to doorstep constituents.
:02:52. > :02:57.In the face of of unshifting polls, the idea appealed to Conservative
:02:58. > :03:01.Central Headquarters but they wanted to have some control over it.
:03:02. > :03:04.Grant Shapps decided not only to back the idea, but help pay for it,
:03:05. > :03:09.and put Clarke in charge of the operation.
:03:10. > :03:19.never met are you going to be a part of this? -- are you going to be
:03:20. > :03:21.Roadtrip 2015, as the plan was called, had another
:03:22. > :03:24.motive for Clarke, to see him back on the Conservative candidate list
:03:25. > :03:27.and perhaps he would have and this story ended if not for the apparent
:03:28. > :03:29.suicide in mid-September of a young activist called Elliot
:03:30. > :03:32.Johnson, who left a note, naming Mark Clarke as someone who'd been
:03:33. > :03:35.bullying him and a secret recording of Clarke challenging him in a pub.
:03:36. > :03:38.In the wake of Elliot Johnson's death, lurid allegations emerged
:03:39. > :03:39.about Clarke, alleging sexual misconduct, drugs, intimidation
:03:40. > :03:51.blackmail and bullying connected to Roadtrip, all denied by Mark Clarke.
:03:52. > :03:53.But August e-mail exchanges between Mr Clarke and Mr Shapps
:03:54. > :03:55.aide Paul Abbot show Mr Abbott was aware of complaints
:03:56. > :04:03.Nothing was done and since Mr Shapps gave Clarke an official Party role
:04:04. > :04:05.he has now resigned saying "the buck stops with me".
:04:06. > :04:10.The Prime Minister says a full internal investigation is under way.
:04:11. > :04:15.Elliot Johnson's father wants an independent external investigation.
:04:16. > :04:18.The most serious allegations about Clarke were made after
:04:19. > :04:23.Grant Shapps had been moved to a junior ministerial position
:04:24. > :04:26.and Lord Feldman, David Cameron s chief fundraiser and close friend,
:04:27. > :04:32.He says the party cannot find nor was aware of any written
:04:33. > :04:38.If, by falling on his sword, Mr Shapps hoped to stop
:04:39. > :04:41.the scandal spreading, he may actually only have become
:04:42. > :05:00.The Sunday Politics panel is here. Nick, here is the case for Shapps.
:05:01. > :05:07.He has been made a scapegoat. This is not the end of the story. I think
:05:08. > :05:11.it is not the end of the story. Grant Shapps did sign up Mark Clark
:05:12. > :05:20.to do this. I think it is getting awfully close to the door of Andrew
:05:21. > :05:24.Feldman. They went -- he went to college with the Prime Minister and
:05:25. > :05:29.organised some balls. They go back a long way. The road trip was run out
:05:30. > :05:32.of Conservative campaign headquarters in the run-up to the
:05:33. > :05:36.general election. Most significantly for Andrew Feldman, he signed the
:05:37. > :05:42.checks to allow the road trip to take place. We're not talking small
:05:43. > :05:45.cheques, we are talking many hundreds of thousands of pounds
:05:46. > :05:58.Grant Shapps was in charge of it on a day-to-day basis but Andrew
:05:59. > :06:02.Feldman and his sister helped the running of the road trip. What it
:06:03. > :06:07.does is put the attention onto some of the attention onto summary the
:06:08. > :06:13.attention would be, what did Andrew Feldman do? What did he know and
:06:14. > :06:17.when and what did he do? What we have to remember is Baroness Warsi,
:06:18. > :06:24.who was co-chairman, kicked this guy out of the party. Feldman was
:06:25. > :06:28.Chairman Ben and Shapps brought him back. Feldman was co-chairman and
:06:29. > :06:33.Feldman is still the chairman now. In terms of the party, what some
:06:34. > :06:40.people were saying to me yesterday, actually, it cannot be seen that
:06:41. > :06:46.Cameron is protecting Lord Fellman -- Feldman because he is his friend.
:06:47. > :06:51.He has got questions to answer. I also think that if people who are in
:06:52. > :06:56.the party feel these questions are not being answered, and it is not an
:06:57. > :07:02.open process, loads more leaks will come out and it will get messier and
:07:03. > :07:09.messier and messier. It is a rum do, what was going on inside the Tory
:07:10. > :07:13.Party in its youth wing. Multiple allegations of bullying and sexual
:07:14. > :07:17.harassment. Culminating in this young man taking his life on a
:07:18. > :07:22.railway line. It is an appalling thing. There is a history of unusual
:07:23. > :07:27.behaviour amongst Conservative students going back to the 1980s
:07:28. > :07:32.when Norman Tebbit closed down the Confederation of Conservative
:07:33. > :07:39.students. It is the most extreme incident I have ever encountered.
:07:40. > :07:45.This is about personal behaviour. The parents of Elliott Johnson
:07:46. > :07:49.raised an important question of chronology. Grant Shapps stop being
:07:50. > :07:57.co-chairman in May. Some of the allegations against Mark Clark, some
:07:58. > :08:03.of the complaints surfaced as recently as August. There is a
:08:04. > :08:06.deeper structural problem, which is the Conservative Party does not have
:08:07. > :08:12.activists. They have to find them where they can get them. Or, when
:08:13. > :08:16.summary has a reputation as bad as Mark Clark, they end up going along
:08:17. > :08:19.with them because options are so limited. It will not be the end of
:08:20. > :08:21.the story. David Cameron is expected to ask MPs
:08:22. > :08:24.to approve UK air strikes The Government thinks it now has
:08:25. > :08:28.enough support to risk a vote in the Commons, even though
:08:29. > :08:31.the Labour Party is still unclear. And the PM will almost certainly
:08:32. > :08:34.need Labour votes to get his way. Mr Corbyn is still trying to rally
:08:35. > :08:37.his Shadow Cabinet and Labour MPs He told Andrew Marr they should
:08:38. > :08:40.recognise his direct mandate And so what I've done is what I said
:08:41. > :08:44.I would always do, I would try to democratise
:08:45. > :08:47.the way the party does things. Yes, I have sent an e-mail to party
:08:48. > :08:50.members, and actually, 70,000 have already
:08:51. > :08:53.replied with their views. I don't know what all the views are,
:08:54. > :08:56.obviously, I haven't read them all, Surely we must recognise that
:08:57. > :09:04.in a democracy, the Labour Party has a very large membership, nearly
:09:05. > :09:07.400,000 members, they have a right to express their point of view and
:09:08. > :09:11.MPs have to listen to it and have to try and understand what's going
:09:12. > :09:13.on in the minds I've been joined by
:09:14. > :09:33.Charlie Falconer, Jeremy Corbyn s Are you minded to support government
:09:34. > :09:38.on the subject of Syrian air strikes? I am. Then need to be
:09:39. > :09:42.assurances, given to the House of Commons but I am minded to support
:09:43. > :09:48.air strikes. The reason I am, I think Isil poses a threat to the
:09:49. > :09:53.region and also Europe, including the United Kingdom. I believe air
:09:54. > :09:58.strikes over Iraq and Syria are having an effect on reducing that
:09:59. > :10:02.risk. I think it is wrong that we are participating in Syria when what
:10:03. > :10:06.is going on is we are trying to defend the United Kingdom. I believe
:10:07. > :10:12.the only long-term solution is there needs to be a solution to the Syrian
:10:13. > :10:23.civil war and the bombing of cracker will not significantly contribute to
:10:24. > :10:26.that. -- Raqqa. I believe we do not have a choice. The likelihood is
:10:27. > :10:32.that the Shadow Cabinet will agree a collective position in this matter.
:10:33. > :10:37.There are honourably held collective views. The Shadow Cabinet on
:10:38. > :10:44.Thursday, they were appropriately discussing. Everybody was conscious
:10:45. > :10:47.of the fact we have to reach a conclusion in national interests.
:10:48. > :10:50.With an issue like this where there is agreement on the factual
:10:51. > :11:00.material, international law, the final judgment, there is such a
:11:01. > :11:04.difficult decision to be made, it is not surprising that our
:11:05. > :11:08.disagreements in the Shadow Cabinet. It is unlikely that tomorrow you
:11:09. > :11:16.will be able to agree a collective line. I think that is right. It is
:11:17. > :11:21.unlikely we'll be able to agree a yes or no answer to the question the
:11:22. > :11:27.Government is about to post. If it does not and there is a free vote
:11:28. > :11:35.for this among Labour MPs, it does make it certain that Mr Cameron will
:11:36. > :11:42.win by a convincing majority. I do not know the position. I think
:11:43. > :11:45.everyone is weighing up the merits of the argument. The right thing to
:11:46. > :11:48.do is for mothers of the Parliamentary Labour Party members
:11:49. > :11:52.of the Shadow Cabinet to consider all the arguments and reach a
:11:53. > :11:57.conclusion as to what they think is in the national interest. It is
:11:58. > :12:01.clear that enough Labour MPs will abstain or side with the Government
:12:02. > :12:07.to give Mr Cameron a majority, even if that are some Tory defectors If
:12:08. > :12:11.the position where it was whipped against by the Labour Party, that
:12:12. > :12:15.with very significantly reduce the chances if it were a free vote. I do
:12:16. > :12:21.not know what the final figures would be. Your figures sound right.
:12:22. > :12:26.Should there be a free vote? What is the alternative given the position
:12:27. > :12:31.you are into a free vote? My own view is I do not think this very
:12:32. > :12:35.important issue should be allowed to be a situation that forces
:12:36. > :12:39.resignations on people. I think the right course is, if the Shadow
:12:40. > :12:44.Cabinet cannot come to a collective view, and I accept that maybe
:12:45. > :12:50.unlikely, probably the best course is a free vote. That is ultimately
:12:51. > :12:53.for the leadership to decide. For an opposition which aspires to
:12:54. > :12:57.government when you're not a debating society. You are the
:12:58. > :13:01.opposition, the alternative government. What would voters think
:13:02. > :13:14.if you cannot agree a collective position on something as important
:13:15. > :13:16.as war? What the Government be seeing is a legitimate debate. The
:13:17. > :13:18.public is like the Parliamentary Labour Party and like the saddo
:13:19. > :13:23.Cabinet, of different views. You need to come to a collective view.
:13:24. > :13:30.We need to know your view on this. The differences with this is I do
:13:31. > :13:33.not think it will be possible. I do not think that is surprising. That
:13:34. > :13:38.reflects the debate that is going on in the country. The debate going on
:13:39. > :13:44.in the country is going on within the Labour Party. If Mr Corbyn was
:13:45. > :13:48.to attempt, and he said this morning it is his decision to whip or not.
:13:49. > :13:52.If there were a decision to whip Labour members to vote against
:13:53. > :13:59.bombing, would that be a resignation matter for you? I do not want to
:14:00. > :14:03.comment on that. I very much hope any sort of resignations will be
:14:04. > :14:06.avoided. I think the position will be we will have a further discussion
:14:07. > :14:12.on Monday and a collective you will be reached as to how we go forward
:14:13. > :14:16.in relation to the progress. One Labour MP told us that Mr Corbyn's
:14:17. > :14:22.and of this vote seems to him like a deliberate search for a fight and he
:14:23. > :14:26.is very disappointed. I do not agree. The key thing about what is
:14:27. > :14:31.happening now is not who sent a letter when. The key thing which the
:14:32. > :14:35.public want us to debate is the question itself. Should we support
:14:36. > :14:40.air strikes or not? I think the important thing about this week will
:14:41. > :14:46.not be who said what to whom but will be where you stood on the
:14:47. > :14:50.issue. It is one of those issues where the judgment about what was
:14:51. > :14:56.right and what was wrong will not come on the basis of the politics of
:14:57. > :15:02.these few days. It will come on what happens going forward. What was the
:15:03. > :15:07.right decision? Let me ask you this. We do not have much time. Because
:15:08. > :15:12.you are a lawyer and an expert on the Labour Party, if Labour MPs
:15:13. > :15:17.sought to unseat Mr Corbyn, and there is some wild talk around on
:15:18. > :15:22.that, witty automatically be on the ballot paper of a new leadership
:15:23. > :15:27.election? I have not addressed that. It is not a moment to talk about any
:15:28. > :15:32.sort of leadership challenge. Jeremy Corbyn is leader. He was elected two
:15:33. > :15:36.months ago with a huge mandate. That is the position within the Labour
:15:37. > :15:40.Party and that is where we have to address it. It can hardly be a
:15:41. > :15:45.stable position to have a Labour leader, in such a key issue has
:15:46. > :15:49.bombing in Syria, at odds with a huge chunk of his Shadow Cabinet
:15:50. > :15:56.rest room at that position is unsustainable over the period. It
:15:57. > :15:58.was absolutely clear when Jeremy was elected, there were significant
:15:59. > :16:02.disagreements between Jeremy and others on policy. What is happening
:16:03. > :16:10.is the Labour Party is holding together. So far.
:16:11. > :16:14.So, once again a British government is gearing up extend military action
:16:15. > :16:19.It's a well-trod road and the outcome has not always been
:16:20. > :16:22.predictable, or pleasant, which is why so many are hesitant.
:16:23. > :16:24.Ellie Price has been looking at the Prime Minister's case
:16:25. > :16:26.for action, and what role the UK military might play.
:16:27. > :16:33.That bomb in Paris, that could have been London.
:16:34. > :16:35.If they had their way, it would be London.
:16:36. > :16:37.I can't stand here and say we're safe
:16:38. > :16:41.I can't stand here either and say we will remove the threat
:16:42. > :16:45.from the action we take, but do I stand here with advice behind me
:16:46. > :16:47.that taking action will degrade and reduce that threat over time?
:16:48. > :16:49.Absolutely, and I've examined my conscience
:16:50. > :16:56.David Cameron says he no longer wants to outsource this sort
:16:57. > :17:01.Britain is currently involved in air strikes against so-called Islamic
:17:02. > :17:06.State, but only in Iraq, shown here in the bottom half of this shot
:17:07. > :17:11.The border, for British forces at least, is crucial.
:17:12. > :17:16.IS, Isis, Daesh - whatever you want to call it - control or is free to
:17:17. > :17:21.operate in swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
:17:22. > :17:24.Its so-called caliphate stretches from Aleppo in Syria to
:17:25. > :17:30.The lines on the map are relatively fluid, it recently lost control
:17:31. > :17:37.That was down to Kurdish forces with the help of US-led air strikes.
:17:38. > :17:40.Currently Australia, Canada and France are also flying
:17:41. > :17:45.bombing missions over both countries, targeting IS.
:17:46. > :17:49.According to the latest figures released on Friday,
:17:50. > :17:51.the US and its allies operating under the banner of Operation
:17:52. > :17:56.Inherent Resolve have conducted more than 8,500 air strikes against
:17:57. > :18:01.Islamic State targets since the start of the campaign last year
:18:02. > :18:07.That's 5,580 air strikes in Iraq and 2,925 in Syria.
:18:08. > :18:10.More than 16,000 targets have been damaged or destroyed,
:18:11. > :18:16.including more than 4,500 buildings, nearly 5,000 fighting positions and
:18:17. > :18:24.The vast majority have come from US aircraft, but the RAF has run 3 6
:18:25. > :18:30.They've been launched from this base in Cyprus, where
:18:31. > :18:36.The base has also been used to carry out refuelling and
:18:37. > :18:42.The perception out there is the question as to whether or not
:18:43. > :18:45.the UK should be involved in the campaign in Syria or not
:18:46. > :18:49.The reality is we are involved in that campaign but in an inconsistent
:18:50. > :19:04.Other countries, our allies, the Americans and French
:19:05. > :19:07.in particular, just don't quite understand where we are up to.
:19:08. > :19:09.The PM insists the RAF can provide specific skills
:19:10. > :19:12.that coalition partners are keen to make the most of.
:19:13. > :19:13.The ability to launch highly accurate Brimstone missiles.
:19:14. > :19:16.We are very good at not killing people collaterally,
:19:17. > :19:19.the UK, so in that sense I think us moving into Syria is good.
:19:20. > :19:23.The sad thing is that no matter how good you are, there will be innocent
:19:24. > :19:28.people killed but they are dying anyway because of Isil, and it's
:19:29. > :19:31.coming to the stage where you have to move forward and do things, even
:19:32. > :19:34.though that sort of thing happens, that cannot be
:19:35. > :19:38.Of course Russia is also involved in air strikes in Syria,
:19:39. > :19:41.but its support of President Assad's regime puts it at odds with
:19:42. > :19:48.The scale of these tensions demonstrated when Turkey,
:19:49. > :19:54.which vehemently opposes Assad, shot down a Russian plane last week.
:19:55. > :19:57.Most experts agree that air strikes alone will not destroy the common
:19:58. > :20:02.enemy of IS, that ground forces will be needed, but agreeing on exactly
:20:03. > :20:07.who those forces would be, could prove the biggest obstacle to peace.
:20:08. > :20:30.We are joined now by George Galloway. What should be done to
:20:31. > :20:35.thwart Islamic State, if not British bombing, what should be done to hit
:20:36. > :20:38.it in its heartland? Most of these terrorist attacks were carried out
:20:39. > :20:46.by people living in the countries in which they operated, Tunisia,
:20:47. > :20:50.France, Belgium and so on so you will not physically stop people
:20:51. > :20:58.bombing Raqqa turning up on the streets of Paris. But the planning
:20:59. > :21:05.involved Islamic State. There's not much logistics involved in taking
:21:06. > :21:09.arms into a nightclub and killing innocent people. There are many
:21:10. > :21:14.weapons in Europe, nobody is suggesting these weapons came from
:21:15. > :21:18.Syria. I don't want to dodge your question, I must strongly in favour
:21:19. > :21:24.of destroying Isis and Al-Qaeda as anybody else, more than the David
:21:25. > :21:27.Cameron government or they wouldn't be tolerating a situation where
:21:28. > :21:34.Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been supporting these people for years
:21:35. > :21:40.and until now are supporting them. We are steeped in blog so far but it
:21:41. > :21:47.is bloodier to go on, I promise you. What would you do? I would support
:21:48. > :22:02.the people fighting Isis and Al-Qaeda on the ground. The wide PG
:22:03. > :22:09.militia -- YPG militia. Give them weapons, every kind of support we
:22:10. > :22:17.can. It is a far better way than us joining in. Do you support Russian
:22:18. > :22:25.attacks on the anti-Assad forces in Syria? Yes, if they are coordinated
:22:26. > :22:32.with the Syrian government's army. So do you support British attacks on
:22:33. > :22:37.Islamic State forces in Iraq at their request of the Iraq
:22:38. > :22:41.government? I do, and if they were coordinated with the Government that
:22:42. > :22:47.make sense militarily, and if we coordinated our involvement with
:22:48. > :22:51.Russia and the Syrian government in Syria, I would support that too but
:22:52. > :22:55.it's because I'm pretty sure the British government's real game is
:22:56. > :23:00.regime change and because we have seen regime change before in Iraq
:23:01. > :23:08.and Libya and they ended so disastrously, I am against it. It's
:23:09. > :23:13.not because I'm a pacifist. There was a time when David Cameron's
:23:14. > :23:18.priority was to get rid of a sad's regime but isn't it clear that David
:23:19. > :23:22.Cameron has realised that defeating Islamic State is more important to
:23:23. > :23:27.Britain's national interest than getting rid of Mr Assad? If it were
:23:28. > :23:32.you probably wouldn't have me on because I would be supporting it,
:23:33. > :23:38.but I don't believe that. I pray his utterly farcical claim in the House
:23:39. > :23:45.this week that there were 70,00 moderate rebels armed and ready to
:23:46. > :23:49.take over the land liberated by our bombardment. You say that is
:23:50. > :23:55.fantasy? If there were 700 I would be surprised. We will bomb territory
:23:56. > :24:01.which will then be taken by other so-called moderate fanatics, the
:24:02. > :24:08.ones as I said to you before that only cut off half your head. Should
:24:09. > :24:16.we regard the Russians and the Assad regime as our allies in the fight
:24:17. > :24:23.against Islamic State? We had that chance and that was incinerated by
:24:24. > :24:27.our ally on his attack on the Russian air force bombing these
:24:28. > :24:32.people, shot out of the sky provoking a crisis between east and
:24:33. > :24:35.west, between Nato and Russia, which was completely unnecessary and
:24:36. > :24:42.completely contrary to any legitimate war aims. Could it not
:24:43. > :24:50.still be put together? I wish it would, I suspect it won't. If we had
:24:51. > :24:53.time to discuss it I would operate this point. Turkey is the source of
:24:54. > :24:59.this problem, the Turkish border has been open to these people. They have
:25:00. > :25:09.been selling billions of dollars worth of oil. A lot of it is being
:25:10. > :25:13.stolen by Isil and sold in Turkey, I believe to relatives of President
:25:14. > :25:16.Erdogan, which is then sold onwards to neighbouring countries. You
:25:17. > :25:24.cannot be serious about fighting Isil while you're Nato ally is
:25:25. > :25:28.openly collaborating with them. You follow closely what is going on in
:25:29. > :25:33.the Labour Party at the moment, does Jeremy Corbyn have an alternative to
:25:34. > :25:41.a free vote when this comes up for a vote in the Commons? If I were him,
:25:42. > :25:54.I would whip the vote because his enemies in the ... Because our
:25:55. > :26:00.record on intervention is so bad, because the likelihood of it not
:26:01. > :26:07.going well is so high, I would dare these rebels to facilitate David
:26:08. > :26:14.Cameron's court. Is that the intention? It looks to me as if it
:26:15. > :26:18.is ripping itself apart. This is Ramsay MacDonald in reverse, the
:26:19. > :26:23.leader remaining loyal to the party and the MPs joining effectively and
:26:24. > :26:27.national government in terms of War and peace at least so if I were
:26:28. > :26:32.Jeremy Corbyn, I would whip this vote and let the Labour members pass
:26:33. > :26:35.verdict on those that troop into the lobby with Liam Fox and David
:26:36. > :26:42.Cameron because I am pretty sure this is not going to end well. Even
:26:43. > :26:46.at the expense of ripping apart the Shadow Cabinet too? You would be
:26:47. > :26:52.whipping the Shadow Cabinet where there seems to be a majority against
:26:53. > :26:56.Jeremy Corbyn's position. Some of them might surprise you with their
:26:57. > :27:02.fidelity to the party in those circumstances, others might go. They
:27:03. > :27:08.are supporting the elected leader in the way the rope supports a hanging
:27:09. > :27:13.man. What are the chances of Jeremy Corbyn following your advice?
:27:14. > :27:17.Probably not, I would think listening to John McDonald and Ken
:27:18. > :27:22.Livingstone they will go for a free vote, that will merely postponed...
:27:23. > :27:40.And give David Cameron his big majority. Yes. It seems to me time
:27:41. > :27:42.to face that up. Thank you very much. At this point we say goodbye
:27:43. > :27:45.to viewers in Scotland. Party divisions on the issue
:27:46. > :27:47.of air strikes Here's the Conservative MP
:27:48. > :27:51.and chairman of the Defence Select Committee, Julian Lewis, speaking
:27:52. > :27:54.in the Commons debate on Thursday. Air strikes alone will not be
:27:55. > :27:55.effective, they've got to be in coordination
:27:56. > :27:58.with credible ground forces. Now, the suggestion there are 7 ,000
:27:59. > :28:00.non-Islamist, moderate, credible ground forces, I have to say,
:28:01. > :28:03.is a revelation to me and I suspect I've been joined
:28:04. > :28:17.by former Conservative Defence Two years ago you want to Britain to
:28:18. > :28:25.bomb the forces of President Assad, who is fighting Islamic State, now
:28:26. > :28:27.you want us to bomb Islamic State, which is fighting President Assad.
:28:28. > :28:34.Doesn't map flip-flop undermine your credibility? The original vote was
:28:35. > :28:38.very different, it was because Assad had used chemical weapons in breach
:28:39. > :28:42.of international law against his civilian population and the question
:28:43. > :28:45.then was worthy international community going to uphold that
:28:46. > :28:50.international law by making a punitive strike to teach the Assad
:28:51. > :28:54.regime and the rebels, who it was suspected might also have chemical
:28:55. > :29:00.weapons, that it would not be acceptable to use them. But it would
:29:01. > :29:06.have created more chaos in Syria and allowed Islamic State to benefit, to
:29:07. > :29:12.exploit that, as it had done previously. I'm not sure I'd buy
:29:13. > :29:16.that because if you have made a relatively small number of punitive
:29:17. > :29:19.strikes from some of the command and control of the regime to send a
:29:20. > :29:28.signal not to use chemical weapons again, that would have upheld the
:29:29. > :29:32.international community's position. Do you accept that extending British
:29:33. > :29:39.bombing into Syria now against Islamic State this time is not a
:29:40. > :29:44.military game changer, that it is -- its military impact will be marginal
:29:45. > :29:49.at most? I think its military impact may be moderate at best, I accept
:29:50. > :29:54.that, however within that we have a number of weapons systems that can
:29:55. > :29:58.diminish the chance of civilian casualties, and I think that's
:29:59. > :30:01.important because it denies a propaganda weapon. Obviously
:30:02. > :30:06.anything that reduces civilian casualties is vital, but it won t
:30:07. > :30:12.change things very much on the ground militarily.
:30:13. > :30:20.The fact we have not been there has been an encouragement for other
:30:21. > :30:25.countries. For example, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, in recent
:30:26. > :30:30.months they have stopped contributing to the air campaigns.
:30:31. > :30:37.It makes it more difficult for us to persuade them to take part if we are
:30:38. > :30:43.not taking part. We have a militarily absurd policy of bombing
:30:44. > :30:48.in Iraq but not in Syria. After we have joined America, France,
:30:49. > :30:56.Bahrain, Syria, Russia, Australia, and recently Saudi Arabia and the
:30:57. > :31:02.UAE in bombing IS in Syria, what then? The question is, our ability
:31:03. > :31:06.to degrade military capability. One of the problems with sorties in Iraq
:31:07. > :31:13.is command and control is coming from Syria. That is where they are
:31:14. > :31:18.drawing strength from. The US has launched 2703 strikes in Syria alone
:31:19. > :31:24.and others have carried out 154 Why is that not doing the degrading You
:31:25. > :31:30.have to carry out the number of attacks to provide that degradation.
:31:31. > :31:35.We need to continue that. The question you are alluding to is the
:31:36. > :31:39.right question. Even if you have degraded the ices capabilities,
:31:40. > :31:45.which is what we want, what is the next step? How do you hold any
:31:46. > :31:50.territory you may take from them? Part of the reply from the Prime
:31:51. > :31:54.Minister is there are 70,000 moderate opposition fighters ready
:31:55. > :31:58.to become the ground force against Islamic State. Who is the leader and
:31:59. > :32:06.what do they want? You have a disparate grouping. Not 70,000
:32:07. > :32:09.acting together. What the Prime Minister was saying from the joint
:32:10. > :32:14.intelligence committee, what they are saying was, there is a potential
:32:15. > :32:20.force of that size. The longer we wait to do great ices, the smaller
:32:21. > :32:29.that force is likely to be and the less its capabilities are likely to
:32:30. > :32:33.be. -- Isis. It is a fantasy to say there are 70,000 ground troops ready
:32:34. > :32:39.to come in and help on the ground if we extend the bombing to Syria.
:32:40. > :32:44.Let's assume the numbers are correct. To further questions we
:32:45. > :32:50.have to ask. Are they willing to operate together as a single force?
:32:51. > :32:54.The second is, do they have the capability to do so? Over the next
:32:55. > :32:59.few days, part of the debate will be around that. It will be around the
:33:00. > :33:04.fact you may have to supply some of those forces with mentoring and
:33:05. > :33:09.training to enable them to be able to be an effective force against
:33:10. > :33:17.Isis, which they have not necessarily been able to up until
:33:18. > :33:23.now. The wacky experience on that was disastrous. I would say, look at
:33:24. > :33:35.the other side. -- the wacky experience. Look at our ability to
:33:36. > :33:38.mental the Afghan army. Isn't it inevitable that everyone to make
:33:39. > :33:42.progress against Islamic State, in some way, President Assad and the
:33:43. > :33:49.Russians will have to become our allies? This is a very difficult
:33:50. > :33:55.pill to swallow for many people who think the regime is particularly
:33:56. > :33:58.unpleasant. I would love to see a different regime in place that was
:33:59. > :34:03.not killing its civilian population and gay people in Syria chance to
:34:04. > :34:07.discover their own future. But, as we have done in previous military
:34:08. > :34:12.situations, sometimes we have to recognise these challenges have to
:34:13. > :34:15.be dealt with in series, not in parallel. That is what is very
:34:16. > :34:23.important about the statement by the Prime Minister. It is not an ices
:34:24. > :34:35.only strategy but Aaron -- Raqqa only strategy but and Raqqa first
:34:36. > :34:43.strategy. You are saying you are getting support of factions. The
:34:44. > :34:48.important thing is we bring together all those who want to deal with IS
:34:49. > :34:54.first. They are the threat to national. We need to grasp the size
:34:55. > :34:59.of that threat to national to. They hate us, Andrew. Not because of what
:35:00. > :35:07.we do because of who we are. They will never stop that. Why would we
:35:08. > :35:13.get help from non-IS forces on the ground if we are also seem to be on
:35:14. > :35:19.the side of the Russians? They are also a threat to those people inside
:35:20. > :35:24.Syria. It is in the interests of all parties concerned to deal with what
:35:25. > :35:31.is a highly ideological, dangerous, fascistic threat. They endanger
:35:32. > :35:34.regional security. We must not allow them to export it.
:35:35. > :35:36.It's just gone 11:30am, you're watching the Sunday Politics.
:35:37. > :35:46.We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland, who leave us now
:35:47. > :35:50.Remember those cuts to the Fire Service last year.
:35:51. > :35:52.Well, the latest figures show that response times
:35:53. > :35:58.Sadiq Khan, Labour's mayoral hopeful,
:35:59. > :36:02.So is Mark Field, Conservative MP for the Cities
:36:03. > :36:09.Forgive me, Mark, you will have to hang on for a moment while I fire
:36:10. > :36:13.These Labour leadership difficulties, how much an impact
:36:14. > :36:17.are they having now and are they going to have on your chances?
:36:18. > :36:20.Well, as far as the mayoral elections next May,
:36:21. > :36:23.it should be to decide who is the best candidate to lead our City
:36:24. > :36:26.We have big challenges in London, the housing crisis is getting worse
:36:27. > :36:30.Government policies are making it more difficult for Londoners to
:36:31. > :36:37.Before we get on to policy, you need to be heard, don't you
:36:38. > :36:39.What impact are the difficulties that your leader is having?
:36:40. > :36:48.If you look at all mayoral elections since 000,
:36:49. > :36:50.candidates who win mayoral elections are candidates who can set
:36:51. > :36:54.What makes them the best candidate to lead the City?
:36:55. > :36:57.I want to be London's champion, London's fighter to the Government.
:36:58. > :37:00.Sometimes it might be to my own party as well.
:37:01. > :37:02.What do you think of this letter that was sent,
:37:03. > :37:10.What about the timing of that, given a decision hadn't been made,
:37:11. > :37:12.hasn't been made, collectively, on air strikes?
:37:13. > :37:16.I am not part of the Shadow Cabinet so I am not privy to
:37:17. > :37:18.the discussions that took place in the Shadow Cabinet.
:37:19. > :37:20.There is a Shadow Cabinet meeting on Monday.
:37:21. > :37:24.Look, the decision to go to war military intervention, is the most
:37:25. > :37:27.difficult decision members of Parliament can take because people
:37:28. > :37:31.will die. Whether you get it right or wrong, people will die. I am
:37:32. > :37:35.waiting to see what further comments David Cameron and Philip Hammond
:37:36. > :37:42.I would be surprised if colleagues who have not yet seen the motion
:37:43. > :37:55.There are strong arguments for and against.
:37:56. > :37:57.Are you saying you haven't formed a view yet?
:37:58. > :37:59.I am waiting to see what the motion is.
:38:00. > :38:03.We all want to make sure these terrorists are taken out.
:38:04. > :38:06.It is really important to understand things have moved with the United
:38:07. > :38:11.We can all see the progress that appears to have been made after
:38:12. > :38:19.What would be the involvement of regional parliaments?
:38:20. > :38:22.To be fair to David Cameron, it really is important that I say that.
:38:23. > :38:24.He's spent three hours in Parliament this week,
:38:25. > :38:30.Which way do you think you will vote?
:38:31. > :38:35.I want to make up my view after I have heard all the debates up
:38:36. > :38:39.At the moment, I have not made up my own mind.
:38:40. > :38:42.Can I ask you about what the impact is of the splits,
:38:43. > :38:45.the splits in the Shadow Cabinet, and what people are proceeding
:38:46. > :38:49.For the last 20 years, you don't have to start with the
:38:50. > :38:52.Whenever it comes to decisions of war and military action,
:38:53. > :38:55.the Labour Party always is a party with lots of opinions.
:38:56. > :38:57.The Labour Party feels instinctively uncomfortable with military action,
:38:58. > :39:00.especially when there are lessons we have not learned yet in relation
:39:01. > :39:03.The reality is, the question that David Cameron
:39:04. > :39:06.answered again and again in his own way was, does it make
:39:07. > :39:12.His answer to the Commons was, yes, it does.
:39:13. > :39:14.That motivates me in being Mayor of London.
:39:15. > :39:17.The key thing for me, as someone who will be in charge of London's
:39:18. > :39:22.Do you think it will make London safer or will it make London more
:39:23. > :39:29.I want to wait and see and speak to other experts.
:39:30. > :39:34.What we know from the military strikes in Iraq is there have been
:39:35. > :39:41.The difference between Iraq and Syria is
:39:42. > :39:45.The Iraqi government's there with significant troops.
:39:46. > :39:50.The question that needs answering is how many troops are in Syria
:39:51. > :39:53.A figure of 70,000 is used by David Cameron in relation to the
:39:54. > :39:58.There are questions that even the chair of the Defence Select
:39:59. > :40:02.You know that Ken Livingstone has suggested that Tony Blair was
:40:03. > :40:04.responsible for what happened here in 2005?
:40:05. > :40:06.I completely disagree with Ken Livingstone.
:40:07. > :40:11.The responsibility for the atrocities in London on
:40:12. > :40:14.the 7th of July, when 52 Londoners, of all ethnicities and all faiths
:40:15. > :40:18.and all backgrounds, died, the responsibility's with those four
:40:19. > :40:20.killers who follow an evil ideology and those
:40:21. > :40:27.But he saw the intelligence, as he said this week,
:40:28. > :40:29.and he had been told, or Tony Blair, he says, was warned,
:40:30. > :40:32.that this is just the kind of consequence that would happen from
:40:33. > :40:39.That is for Ken Livingstone to explain what Ken Livingstone said.
:40:40. > :40:42.I'm quite clear in my mind, the responsibility for the attacks
:40:43. > :40:46.in London lie solely with the four killers and not anybody else.
:40:47. > :40:48.I think it is very fair what Sadiq is saying.
:40:49. > :40:51.What is a game changer and a difference to the Iraq
:40:52. > :40:55.situation 12 years ago, is the fact that there was a UN resolution,
:40:56. > :40:58.not quite a resolution to go to war but nonetheless a Security Council
:40:59. > :41:01.resolution which, obviously, by its nature, has been approved
:41:02. > :41:06.There is a sense it is part of an international operation.
:41:07. > :41:12.Personally I will vote in favour of bombing Syria.
:41:13. > :41:16.I have been uneasy about what happened two years ago, partly
:41:17. > :41:19.because I think this is really an issue for executive authority.
:41:20. > :41:22.I am not very comfortable with the idea of Parliament having a say at
:41:23. > :41:25.every opportunity, not least because we are all going to be under
:41:26. > :41:28.pressure from constituents, and those are loud voices, the silent
:41:29. > :41:35.majority perhaps, who are more easy on this issue. Very quickly.
:41:36. > :41:39.Just to say to Sadiq on this, it is a pretty fair analysis he has
:41:40. > :41:42.given and I think it is an important point.
:41:43. > :41:46.We need to have a sense of what role we will be playing in the future.
:41:47. > :41:53.We need to have a sense of what role we will be playing in the future.
:41:54. > :42:00.We need to hear a little bit more of this from the Government.
:42:01. > :42:02.Inevitably we're going to be just one player.
:42:03. > :42:05.The US, France, Russia, they are all going to be there too.
:42:06. > :42:08.We know what happened with the police in terms of the
:42:09. > :42:11.Let's look at more in that Spending Review.
:42:12. > :42:14.London's transport budget, and the capital's boroughs,
:42:15. > :42:16.the Chancellor announced a major funding shake-up for them, with
:42:17. > :42:19.critics arguing they have not, for the first time, been hit hardest.
:42:20. > :42:21.We will abolish the uniform business rate.
:42:22. > :42:24.By the end of the parliament, local government will keep all of
:42:25. > :42:29.Because of the amount we raise in business rates is, in total,
:42:30. > :42:32.much greater than the amount we give to local councils
:42:33. > :42:34.through the local government grant, we will phase that grant out
:42:35. > :42:41.By the end of this Parliament, local authorities' biggest funding
:42:42. > :42:44.stream from the Government will all but dry up.
:42:45. > :42:47.Instead they will get some extra powers to increase council tax to
:42:48. > :42:51.pay for social care and also to keep all their business rates.
:42:52. > :42:53.Some parts of London generate exceptionally high business rates.
:42:54. > :42:59.The total pot for England is about ?26 billion, of which London
:43:00. > :43:04.Certain bits of London get huge amounts.
:43:05. > :43:08.For example, Westminster gets ? .8 billion, almost twice that
:43:09. > :43:13.So, does that mean that certain parts
:43:14. > :43:17.Because council tax and business rates, particularly
:43:18. > :43:20.in London, add up to more than local government spends, there will
:43:21. > :43:24.be a question of what is handed over to London government, to fund out
:43:25. > :43:30.That is going to be a complex negotiation.
:43:31. > :43:32.I suspect the Government may want, for example, to off load funding
:43:33. > :43:36.of TfL or the police on to London government as part of this reform.
:43:37. > :43:42.And so, with all of that to come, it is very hard to say as yet what
:43:43. > :43:45.the Spending Review means for sure when it comes to local government
:43:46. > :43:52.funding, and potentially that of the police, public transport, and more.
:43:53. > :43:56.Mark Field, what did you feel about the fact that Transport for London
:43:57. > :44:03.All the operating grant is going in two and a half years' time.
:44:04. > :44:07.That is a loss of about ?3 billion over the next four years.
:44:08. > :44:11.There is an argument we have had a pretty good deal in London with
:44:12. > :44:13.Crossrail, with a lot of the infrastructure, including transport
:44:14. > :44:19.I sort of accept, to a certain extent,
:44:20. > :44:22.that other parts of the country will be making a strong case to say they
:44:23. > :44:27.I am a very big supporter, as I am sure Sadiq is, for Crossrail 2.
:44:28. > :44:36.It has had a bit of money going into it.
:44:37. > :44:39.The reality is it will probably have to wash its own face.
:44:40. > :44:42.It will probably need a lot of private money, which will come.
:44:43. > :44:45.You are looking to the future, a project that is in dreamland
:44:46. > :44:50.I thought the argument was, the London population is going up.
:44:51. > :44:52.The argument was we had to prepare infrastructure.
:44:53. > :44:56.A lot of that infrastructure would have taken place,
:44:57. > :44:59.not just in the last five, six years since the Conservatives
:45:00. > :45:04.I think Londoners have had a pretty good deal.
:45:05. > :45:08.That is not to say I do not want London to continue to get a good
:45:09. > :45:28.deal but we have had some tremendous investment in our infrastructure.
:45:29. > :45:30.There is an issue, not just within the Northern Powerhouse
:45:31. > :45:33.but other transport projects beyond the capital, that also have received
:45:34. > :45:36.Is there a possibility they have done you,
:45:37. > :45:39.On finances, you have made a pledge you would
:45:40. > :45:43.If you did that, you would definitely not get investment.
:45:44. > :45:46.You must rethink that, because of what the Government has done
:45:47. > :45:48.Firstly, London has been hammered by the Autumn Statement this week.
:45:49. > :45:53.Stick on transport for the time being.
:45:54. > :45:59.Let's argue about what you can do with this settlement.
:46:00. > :46:02.The revenue budgets will go from ?800 million to nil within
:46:03. > :46:07.What TfL needs to do is do the things that are I have pledged to
:46:08. > :46:11.This is to freeze, in real terms, the fares on the tubes,
:46:12. > :46:15.We are going to cut bus fares and start a hopper fare
:46:16. > :46:18.which means you can change buses and just pay the one fare.
:46:19. > :46:28.What TfL needs to do is make sure it uses the assets it has much better.
:46:29. > :46:30.Currently, TfL owns property that is more than
:46:31. > :46:36.How we use our revenue streams is very important.
:46:37. > :46:40.Frankly speaking, TfL is not as efficient as it could be.
:46:41. > :46:43.In the course of the last five years, local authorities in London
:46:44. > :46:49.Transport for London has done well, hasn't it?
:46:50. > :46:51.Where I agree with you, you are absolutely right.
:46:52. > :47:00.There is a huge land bank in TfL's hands.
:47:01. > :47:02.A significant amount of that needs to be utilised
:47:03. > :47:07.The big difference me, as a mayor, makes, by being full-time,
:47:08. > :47:10.is I would be committed to making sure we get the best out of TfL
:47:11. > :47:14.What did you feel when you saw the settlement, the impact on you
:47:15. > :47:27.That councils will have to pay up to 2%, or allowed to put 2%
:47:28. > :47:30.on their bills for council tax to pay for social care.
:47:31. > :47:36.The chair of the LGA, a Conservative by the way, has said this will cause
:47:37. > :47:40.There is a ?4.1 billion black hole in local authority budgets
:47:41. > :47:43.The leader of Haringey has said even if she was to raise to the
:47:44. > :47:46.precept to the maximum 2%, she'll raise, roughly speaking, ?1.7
:47:47. > :47:53.A massive, massive concern for older Londoners.
:47:54. > :47:55.There's a direct consequence of the Autumn Statement made
:47:56. > :47:57.by the Chancellor, welcomed by the Conservative
:47:58. > :48:08.Places so much Russia on council tax, but when you've got a really
:48:09. > :48:13.tricky policy, a big elderly population, he passes that onto
:48:14. > :48:19.local councils, that's awful, isn't it? They need the money and that's
:48:20. > :48:22.one of the reasons why I think the Government are saying listen, we
:48:23. > :48:26.have got to devolve some tax-raising power as well. I don't dispute that
:48:27. > :48:31.a lot of the heavy lifting in relation to getting the deficit
:48:32. > :48:37.down, making the cuts has already happened as far as Whitehall is
:48:38. > :48:42.concerned. It is also clear that in the longer term, a lot more of this
:48:43. > :48:47.will have to be met by local authorities and by businesses.
:48:48. > :48:52.Businesses are having to have an apprenticeship levy, they will be
:48:53. > :48:56.subsidising wages to make sure we have a living wage in place but I
:48:57. > :48:59.accept local authorities will have to be a bit more canny about the way
:49:00. > :49:04.in which they operate. You have got to give them responsibility. The
:49:05. > :49:07.police may be happy, not so rosy for London's Ambulance Service which was
:49:08. > :49:14.placed in special measures this week, and London's Fire Service said
:49:15. > :49:29.it planned to sell off more engines, this is Fire Service coverage has
:49:30. > :49:38.weakened. Clerkenwell fire station is closed.
:49:39. > :49:42.This is how it looked this week now we have the data showing the impact
:49:43. > :49:47.of the closure. Between the last full year of operation and the first
:49:48. > :49:51.full year without them, average response times have increased by 13
:49:52. > :49:56.seconds for the first fire engine getting to an incident, the second
:49:57. > :50:01.has been a 35 second increase making a new average of six minutes 54
:50:02. > :50:05.Those figures are still below the London wide target of six minutes
:50:06. > :50:09.for the first response and eight minutes for the second, but when you
:50:10. > :50:16.dig down to a local level, analysis by the Labour Party suggests that in
:50:17. > :50:21.34% of the 650 odd local wards, first responses are coming in at
:50:22. > :50:27.over six minutes, and in 42% of wards, second responses are coming
:50:28. > :50:31.in at over eight. Every second counts in a fire and you've got a
:50:32. > :50:35.situation where in a very few minutes the fire can quadruple.
:50:36. > :50:42.Although ten seconds might not sound like a huge amount, if you are
:50:43. > :50:46.person stuck a building with a fire, every single second counts. More
:50:47. > :50:50.possible reductions to the service were confirmed this week, a plan to
:50:51. > :50:55.potentially off-load another 13 fire engines in order to find savings of
:50:56. > :51:01.some ?30 million. The Fire Brigade union are critical of the plans We
:51:02. > :51:06.are now discussing a second round of cuts. I think Londoners will be
:51:07. > :51:11.shocked. The evidence shows that moment" fire stations, response
:51:12. > :51:14.times have increased, we believe that is already having an impact on
:51:15. > :51:20.public safety and getting rid of further fire engines would be a
:51:21. > :51:25.disgrace. City Hall point out the response times are still within
:51:26. > :51:32.their London wide target. We are proving by our responses that we are
:51:33. > :51:35.staying within the times we are recommending, and fire deaths are
:51:36. > :51:40.down. In a large part that reduction is down to better fire safety. We
:51:41. > :51:44.asked for a demonstration from professionals in the fireproofing
:51:45. > :51:52.business around London. When exposed to a flame, a normal set of curtains
:51:53. > :51:55.goes up very quickly. But when fireproofing is applied, an
:51:56. > :52:01.identical set is able to cope with exposure to extreme heat. It is the
:52:02. > :52:06.spread of fire that is the dangerous part. If a child was to light a
:52:07. > :52:11.curtain in his bedroom, it would spread rapidly, if it is treated it
:52:12. > :52:17.would be just that location and it would be scorched, minimum damage.
:52:18. > :52:21.But even with fewer fires happening, the speed with which the Fire
:52:22. > :52:27.Brigade is able to respond is a matter of life and death.
:52:28. > :52:33.Watching that with us is the London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson. Across
:52:34. > :52:37.London the figures are still within the target, but surely would accept
:52:38. > :52:43.if you can and you will get there faster. Targets don't save lives. We
:52:44. > :52:47.are keen to get to every incident within London as fast as they
:52:48. > :52:57.possibly can. The figures on screen, we knew they were going to
:52:58. > :53:02.go up in some places, unfortunately the date skew the figures slightly
:53:03. > :53:07.because we are not measured at board level. Our targets are London wide
:53:08. > :53:11.and we have performed very well So when you look at the award details
:53:12. > :53:18.you accept there is a problem there you haven't addressed? The targets
:53:19. > :53:24.were set on the 20th of March 2 08 and they were set as target at or a
:53:25. > :53:30.level and London wide because all members accepted at the time the
:53:31. > :53:34.levels were too low. We could have board level target and it would mean
:53:35. > :53:41.we would need an extra 103 fire engines. Would you accept that in a
:53:42. > :53:50.third of those electoral wards, they are not getting a safe fire response
:53:51. > :53:56.for that first fire engine? They are getting a safe response. The targets
:53:57. > :54:03.themselves are at Boro level and across London. But how safe can they
:54:04. > :54:07.be? In the last five or ten years, fire deaths and the number of fires
:54:08. > :54:11.we attend have reduced significantly so all of the other work we are
:54:12. > :54:15.doing, particularly in comparison with the rest of the country, the
:54:16. > :54:21.rest of the work we are doing is reducing fires. If that is the case,
:54:22. > :54:27.and the figures show that, but why get rid of these 13 further fire
:54:28. > :54:35.engines? It's important to remember they have been out of service for
:54:36. > :54:39.two years. Was this always your plan? No, we discussed it with the
:54:40. > :54:45.Fire Brigades Union at the time and I gave them an offer which, if they
:54:46. > :54:50.had accepted it, could have gone back into service. But they have
:54:51. > :54:54.been out of service for two years. The number of fires have continued
:54:55. > :55:01.to go down and we are still within our targets, borough and London
:55:02. > :55:05.wide. Mark Field, you have lost two fire stations, and some of the wards
:55:06. > :55:11.and told the figures have gone up in your area. I am happy to listen to
:55:12. > :55:16.what the commissioner has safe, he is the expert in this field more
:55:17. > :55:20.than a politician who has a range of other political interests that he
:55:21. > :55:24.pursues in Parliament, and I think one of the issues here, it's
:55:25. > :55:30.fundamental that there has been a 50% reduction over the last ten
:55:31. > :55:35.years in the number fires. I accept we have closed ten stations, taken
:55:36. > :55:40.14 engines out of operation, but it is still seem to be safe. There is a
:55:41. > :55:46.big gap in the budget which needs to be dealt with. I will bring you in
:55:47. > :55:54.in a minute, but first the rest of the week's news in 60 seconds
:55:55. > :55:58.beginning with this report. London Ambulance Service has been
:55:59. > :56:01.put into special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality
:56:02. > :56:08.Commission. Overall the service has been rated as inadequate and that
:56:09. > :56:10.improvements were needed on safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and
:56:11. > :56:15.leadership. A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to
:56:16. > :56:19.death in north London. Over a dozen teenagers have been fatally stabbed
:56:20. > :56:24.in the capital this year. His murder was raised at Prime Minister's
:56:25. > :56:28.Questions. Every life lost is of course a tragedy and many of these
:56:29. > :56:33.lives have been lost because of drugs, gangs and knife crime.
:56:34. > :56:37.Overall, knife crime has come down over the last few years. The Sun
:56:38. > :56:41.claimed that one in five British Muslims have some sympathy with
:56:42. > :56:46.people travelling abroad to fight on the side of jihadis in Syria.
:56:47. > :56:50.Critics claim the methodology of the poll was flawed and the question it
:56:51. > :57:01.was based on does not even mention jihadis.
:57:02. > :57:05.Ron Dobson has stayed with us. One of the findings of this ambulance
:57:06. > :57:11.report, they haven't had training on how to respond to major incidents
:57:12. > :57:16.since 2012. It surprises me because my staff have taken part in training
:57:17. > :57:20.with the Ambulance Service this year. We work closely with the
:57:21. > :57:26.Ambulance Service, I know they have problems and have been working hard
:57:27. > :57:32.to improve them. I am really reassured by the response of fear in
:57:33. > :57:39.terms welcoming the report to get better. Via cuts, this problem with
:57:40. > :57:43.the Ambulance Service, at least the police have had their money saved.
:57:44. > :57:51.Do you have concerns about London's resilience? Can I pay tribute to
:57:52. > :57:56.them for the work they do but year after year we have faced cuts. The
:57:57. > :58:03.London Ambulance Service has had huge cuts over the last few years.
:58:04. > :58:09.The Chancellor has recently cut the bursary for nurses to train in the
:58:10. > :58:18.Autumn Statement. That trumps you, they saved them. I welcome and not
:58:19. > :58:22.having the big cuts George Osborne was promising. We are waiting to see
:58:23. > :58:28.if more uniformed officers will be lost. Over the last five years we
:58:29. > :58:32.have lost more than 5000 uniformed officers. The key question is, can
:58:33. > :58:37.we be sure no further uniformed officers will be lost?
:58:38. > :58:45.We are going to let that question hang now. Thank you. Andrew.
:58:46. > :58:51.Sadly that is it for today because we have just been told we have been
:58:52. > :58:56.truncated to make way for live coverage of the Davis Cup tennis
:58:57. > :59:00.final here on BBC One. There is always next week!
:59:01. > :00:05.Remember - if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.
:00:06. > :00:28.The Davis Cup, the ultimate prize in men's team tennis. To win it, they
:00:29. > :00:31.must display unity, team spirit No individual can win it alone but