:00:34. > :00:37.Morning. Man of the week, Greg Smith, the
:00:37. > :00:40.Goldman Sachs banker who left revealing they talk about clients
:00:40. > :00:46.as muppets - if you make enough money and your're not currently an
:00:46. > :00:49.axe-murderer, he said, you will be promoted. In terms of leaving a job
:00:49. > :00:52.you don't like, it's up there with that airline steward who bawled out
:00:52. > :00:59.an obnoxious passenger over the intercom, grabbed a beer, opened
:00:59. > :01:06.his plane's emergency inflatable chute and slid off to freedom.
:01:06. > :01:09.Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, over to you.
:01:09. > :01:11.Joining me today for our review of the Sunday newspapers - two
:01:11. > :01:14.journalists happy in their jobs, I'm sure. The celebrated CNN
:01:14. > :01:16.foreign correspondent and, as they say over there,-anchor", Christiane
:01:16. > :01:19.Amanpour. And the Guardian's political correspondent Nick Watt,
:01:19. > :01:25.just back from sharing burgers and backchat with Barack 'chuffed to
:01:25. > :01:29.bits' Obama and David Cameron in Washington.
:01:29. > :01:32.But of course, looking ahead, it's Budget week. Who wins, who loses?
:01:32. > :01:35.Most years, the papers work themselves up into a lather of
:01:35. > :01:39.excitement and speculation, and then a week or two later, it's all
:01:39. > :01:41.forgotten. This one, though, seems more interesting than usual, not
:01:42. > :01:47.least because of negotiations inside the coalition which might as
:01:47. > :01:51.well have been carried on via Facebook, they're so public. Will
:01:51. > :01:54.the rich be pleased? Will poorer taxpayers get some relief? We
:01:54. > :01:58.haven't heard from the Chancellor, George Osborne, himself for a while
:01:58. > :02:02.but this morning he's here - not, I fear, to spill the Budget beans,
:02:02. > :02:05.but I hope to give us some of his own thinking.
:02:05. > :02:08.The economic outlook seems just a little brighter, but the pain's not
:02:08. > :02:13.over, and now public sector workers face the possible end of national
:02:13. > :02:16.wages, hitting incomes in poorer parts of the country. I'll be
:02:16. > :02:19.talking, too, to Labour's money man, Ed Balls.
:02:19. > :02:22.And as London prepares for the Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics and
:02:22. > :02:25.the biggest policing challenge for years, we're also talking to former
:02:25. > :02:34.copper and the Lib Dem mayoral candidate in the capital, Briam
:02:34. > :02:37.Paddick. -- Brian Paddick. Finally, a great Margaret Thatcher,
:02:37. > :02:40.on telly just now and wowing them in the West End, the wonderful
:02:40. > :02:44.Lindsay Duncan joins me to talk about Noel Coward, the 1960s and
:02:44. > :02:47.White Heat. All that coming up, but first over to the newsdesk and Naga
:02:47. > :02:49.Munchetty. Good morning.
:02:49. > :02:52.The Premiership footballer Fabrice Muamba is fighting for his life
:02:52. > :02:58.after collapsing during Bolton Wanderers' FA Cup game at Tottenham
:02:58. > :03:01.yesterday. Doctors tried to revive the 23-year-old in front of
:03:01. > :03:11.thousands of fans, before he was taken to hospital, where he's now
:03:11. > :03:11.
:03:11. > :03:15.in intensive care. Fabrice Muamba is still fighting
:03:15. > :03:19.for his life this morning in the heart attack unit of the London
:03:19. > :03:23.chest Hospital. Last night his family and fiancee were also there
:03:23. > :03:27.as doctors fought to save him. His condition is described as stable
:03:27. > :03:32.but critical. The incident that brought him there has shocked the
:03:32. > :03:36.football world. It came minutes before half-time when he collapsed.
:03:36. > :03:43.Paramedics acted swiftly using a different related to revive him.
:03:43. > :03:46.The rest of the match was abandoned. He went down without anybody around
:03:46. > :03:51.him and if players were visibly distressed. The crowd as well were
:03:51. > :03:55.very quick to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.
:03:55. > :04:00.incident brought an outpouring of shock and sympathy. The club's
:04:00. > :04:05.manager, Owen Coyle, says the following 24 hours will be crucial.
:04:06. > :04:14.Our thoughts and prayers... We have been inundated with people wishing
:04:14. > :04:21.him well. We hope he is able to recover. This is very serious, he
:04:21. > :04:24.is critically ill. All people can do now is wait and hope. By
:04:24. > :04:28.Sunday trading laws could be suspended during the London
:04:28. > :04:31.Olympics to help boost the economy. The move, which will apply to
:04:31. > :04:35.England and Wales, is expected to be announced by the Chancellor in
:04:35. > :04:38.his Budget this week. Shops that are currently allowed to open for
:04:38. > :04:44.only six hours will be able to trade all day. But not everyone
:04:44. > :04:48.will welcome the change. Throughout the Olympics this summer,
:04:48. > :04:52.hundreds of thousands of sports fans will be on the move and George
:04:52. > :04:56.Osborne wants them spending money to help boost the economy. To that
:04:56. > :05:00.end he will suspend Sunday trading laws to allow spectators to do a
:05:00. > :05:04.little shopping before and after they have been to the game. Can't
:05:04. > :05:08.the small shops and petrol stations can stay open all day on Sunday.
:05:09. > :05:14.Large shops like supermarkets and garden centres and Palmer's stores
:05:14. > :05:19.in central London and retail parks can trade for only six hours. But
:05:19. > :05:24.for eight Sundays from July 22nd, these shops in England and Wales
:05:24. > :05:27.will be able to trade all day if they want. The change will require
:05:27. > :05:31.emergency legislation and officials say they have to get it through
:05:31. > :05:36.Parliament by Easter. The idea of relaxing Sunday trading laws has in
:05:36. > :05:39.the past prompted strong opposition from trade unions, church leaders
:05:39. > :05:43.and small businesses. They may fear that what has been built a
:05:43. > :05:46.temporary change may become permanent. Some Conservative and
:05:46. > :05:50.Labour MPs have protested that Mr Osborne should have consulted first
:05:50. > :05:53.before announcing the change. This measure will not have an automatic
:05:53. > :05:55.journey through Parliament. The Libyan government has formally
:05:55. > :06:00.requested the handover of Colonel Gaddafi's former intelligence chief,
:06:00. > :06:04.Abdullah al-Senussi. He was arrested in the West African state
:06:04. > :06:09.of Mauritania yesterday. Mr Senussi fled Libya last year. He's wanted
:06:09. > :06:11.by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
:06:11. > :06:14.12 South American countries have issued a statement rejecting
:06:14. > :06:18.Britain's military presence in the Falkland Islands, and calling for a
:06:18. > :06:24.negotiated settlement. Tensions between Argentina and Britain have
:06:24. > :06:29.risen ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War next month.
:06:29. > :06:32.But David Cameron has said the UK will continue to defend the islands.
:06:32. > :06:36.The opening race of the Formula One Grand Prix season has taken place
:06:36. > :06:40.in Australia. You can watch highlights on BBC One at two
:06:40. > :06:45.o'clock this afternoon. So if you don't want to know the result from
:06:45. > :06:48.Melbourne, press mute and look away now.
:06:48. > :06:51.Jenson Button won for McLaren. The reigning world champion Sebastian
:06:51. > :06:55.Vettel came second, with Lewis Hamilton in third place.
:06:55. > :07:01.That's all from me for now. I'll be back just before ten o'clock with
:07:01. > :07:08.the headlines. I wonder how many people actually
:07:08. > :07:11.do look away when that happens! On to the newspapers now. The Sunday
:07:11. > :07:16.to the newspapers now. The Sunday Times has a story about rock stars
:07:16. > :07:19.in billion pounds tax charge. It says people including Bob Geldof
:07:19. > :07:24.and Mick Jagger are among those who have put everything from Highland
:07:24. > :07:31.castles to parking spaces into offshore companies to avoid tax.
:07:31. > :07:35.Scotland on Sunday about people being paid less in poorer areas
:07:36. > :07:42.going down predictably badly in Scotland. The Independent on Sunday
:07:42. > :07:46.has an interesting story, saying that 50 doctors are going to stand
:07:46. > :07:53.against Lib Dem and Conservatives in revenge over the NHS bill. The
:07:53. > :07:57.Sunday Express has fears that state secrets were stolen and says that
:07:57. > :08:05.MI5 is involved after a break-in at Ed Miliband's office at the House
:08:05. > :08:08.of Commons. And the Mail on Sunday, of Commons. And the Mail on Sunday,
:08:08. > :08:11.�100,000 gift... Ed Miliband trying to raise money for the Labour Party.
:08:11. > :08:17.And with me to review the papers are Christiane Amanpour and Nick
:08:17. > :08:22.Watt. We will start with Nick because you were in Washington for
:08:22. > :08:26.this extraordinary love-in. I was. You get the call from Barack Obama
:08:26. > :08:32.and Michel and they ask you to stand in the White House and you
:08:32. > :08:36.think I suppose I had better do that. Someone has to do it! It was
:08:36. > :08:43.a pretty extraordinary event. We can bit a bit -- get a bit carried
:08:43. > :08:48.away. Some people say Roosevelt and Churchill was a big moment, Ewing
:08:48. > :08:52.seen nothing yet. This was a present we thought was re-entering
:08:52. > :08:59.the US away from the transatlantic alliance in the direction of the
:08:59. > :09:06.Pacific and Asia. He he was, the full Washington treatment for David
:09:06. > :09:10.Cameron. What is interesting is why this happened. What's going on? As
:09:10. > :09:15.ever with the special relationship, it is a two-way relationship. It
:09:16. > :09:20.suits Barack Obama to have a Conservative leader in the United
:09:20. > :09:23.States in an election year. I still think the relationship between
:09:23. > :09:28.Great Britain and the United States is solid, it is reaffirmed every
:09:28. > :09:32.time there's a change of leadership. They had to talk about things like
:09:32. > :09:37.Afghanistan. I think there will be an accelerated move to withdraw
:09:37. > :09:42.troops. A lot of serious stuff to talk about behind the photo
:09:42. > :09:46.opportunities. What about the fact that Cameron was so lavish about
:09:46. > :09:50.Obama, didn't even speak to any Republicans, could that come back
:09:50. > :09:56.to haunt him? I was there with Gordon Brown in 2008 in the same
:09:56. > :10:01.stage of the electoral cycle and he mat every candidate. David Cameron
:10:01. > :10:06.did not meet any Republican. It is a much more complicated Republican
:10:06. > :10:10.posters this time. But the language David Cameron was using was pretty
:10:10. > :10:16.much endorsing Barack Obama's approach to the economy and that
:10:16. > :10:20.will be very helpful to Obama. For every US President and UK Prime
:10:20. > :10:24.Minister to get on, there has to be a moment when they click. Clearly
:10:24. > :10:30.what happened here is the click moment came over Libya. Barack
:10:30. > :10:34.Obama looked at David Cameron, the US has only partly evolved, he took
:10:34. > :10:39.the decision and followed it through. He thought David Cameron
:10:39. > :10:44.was very brave. That famous lead from behind, which has haunted the
:10:44. > :10:50.Obama administration. We know it was Britain and France that lead
:10:50. > :10:57.that Libyan resolution and the NATO action. The US did play the role
:10:57. > :11:04.from behind. We will come on to her much bigger problem in a moment.
:11:04. > :11:09.You have a story closer to home. do. It is something that everybody
:11:09. > :11:13.here is waking up and having known what happened yesterday. This sad
:11:13. > :11:18.story of Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed on the pitch yesterday.
:11:18. > :11:21.As a soccer fan, because my fan -- my son is a soccer fan, it is also
:11:21. > :11:30.a really human story and one that will touch everybody. Everybody's
:11:30. > :11:32.prayers are with him. Absolutely. Absolutely heartbreaking. What was
:11:32. > :11:37.interesting was watching the reaction of the other players on
:11:37. > :11:41.the pitch. Fabrice Muamba was clearly adored and respected, is
:11:41. > :11:46.adored and respected in football. You saw that reaction on the ground,
:11:46. > :11:55.but also the reaction on Twitter. A massive Lee loved figure. Yes. Your
:11:55. > :12:00.next story, some domestic politics. You will be talking to George
:12:00. > :12:04.Osborne and Ed Balls. Coalition's tug-of-war about the Budget. It is
:12:04. > :12:10.extraordinary. We pretty much know the outlines of what is in it. The
:12:10. > :12:14.Speaker will be furious. It is not so much speculation, it is facts.
:12:14. > :12:19.It is a tug-of-war between these two sides in the coalition and they
:12:19. > :12:23.do have vastly different visions of how economic policy... Are and they
:12:24. > :12:28.leak. They have to leak because they have to prepare the ground.
:12:28. > :12:31.What we have seen recently is the leading in my paper of the story
:12:31. > :12:37.that George Osborne will scrap the 50p upper rate of tax. Clearly that
:12:37. > :12:40.is a very, very difficult moment for the Lib Dems. If you have spent
:12:40. > :12:44.three general elections in a row campaigning to the left of the
:12:44. > :12:50.Tories and then you are involved in cutting 50p tax, that is difficult
:12:50. > :12:55.for your party. It is interesting watching this in the British press
:12:55. > :12:59.because it is a contain situation. In the US, we've been reporting on
:12:59. > :13:08.this for the last 18 months. There's been a budget wrangle and
:13:08. > :13:12.beyond. It is extraordinary how long that has taken. You are -- you
:13:12. > :13:17.were a friend of Marie Colvin. colleague, I knew her through many
:13:17. > :13:22.years in many different trenches. Every time I see a serious story, I
:13:22. > :13:26.think of her. We remember her and her bravery. This is her paper,
:13:26. > :13:31.Sunday Times. If she was telling the story in the indispensable way
:13:31. > :13:36.she and all of us believe you can't substitute for eyes and ears on the
:13:36. > :13:42.ground. She died trying to tell this savage story. Many of us are
:13:42. > :13:47.truly horrified by this. It reminds me of Sarajevo. I reported that 20
:13:47. > :13:51.years ago. Towns under siege, civilians, children being
:13:51. > :13:55.slaughtered. President Assad is constantly telling the
:13:55. > :13:59.international community it is terrorists. There was a big suicide
:14:00. > :14:02.bomb attack in Damascus yesterday, but I have it on very good
:14:02. > :14:06.authority from American intelligence, they don't believe
:14:06. > :14:09.al-Qaeda is supporting the opponents. They do believe some al-
:14:09. > :14:12.Qaeda is there, they have their own war they are waging against the
:14:12. > :14:18.Assad regime, but not that it has anything to do with the current
:14:18. > :14:24.opponents. Clearly we can hear that your enthusiasm for being out there
:14:24. > :14:30.as a foreign correspondent... There comes a time when you take on other
:14:30. > :14:36.roles. You are with a BEA seat, you are about to go with CNN I have a
:14:36. > :14:43.double deal. Global affairs anchor for ABC where I work inside the US.
:14:43. > :14:53.I am restarting my CNN show, a foreign policy show. I am delighted.
:14:53. > :14:57.
:14:57. > :15:01.A lot of gold braid! A lot of My next story is on the Independent
:15:02. > :15:06.on Sunday, doctors in the house. It is saying a whole load of doctors
:15:06. > :15:11.are thinking of standing at the next general election to challenge
:15:11. > :15:16.the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over the health bill. The
:15:16. > :15:19.government will be worried about this because in 2001, Richard
:15:19. > :15:25.Taylor stood against a Labour candidate and won because he was
:15:25. > :15:31.fighting to keep his local hospital. They will think the NHS, there
:15:31. > :15:36.could be trouble. The difference is Richard Taylor was clearly
:15:36. > :15:40.campaigning on one emotive issue, it is our local hospital. This is
:15:40. > :15:44.clearly an emotive issue but it doesn't have that cut through. The
:15:44. > :15:50.danger it is not that these doctors could win, but they could split the
:15:50. > :15:53.vote. Elsewhere I see there is more talk about Andrew Lansley being
:15:54. > :15:58.moved out of the Cabinet. That's right, the prime minister is
:15:58. > :16:02.thinking about doing a cabinet reshuffle before the Olympics, and
:16:02. > :16:07.that Andrew Lansley will be removed, and talking about a Liberal
:16:07. > :16:14.Democrats replacing him. I think if there is a reshuffle, it will be
:16:14. > :16:19.after the Olympics. The interesting. The Sunday Telegraph, this terrible
:16:19. > :16:25.story about the American who went ape in Afghanistan and started
:16:25. > :16:29.murdering people. Obviously he will be put on trial for this. It is
:16:29. > :16:35.alleged but people have made their judgements about what happened. It
:16:36. > :16:42.reminds me of Vietnam, these people are trying to win the hearts and
:16:42. > :16:52.minds of people, and this is very difficult for Hamid Karzai and the
:16:52. > :16:59.village to get over. It shows the policy is under a huge strain in
:16:59. > :17:05.Afghanistan. Also, walk is unbelievably violent and
:17:05. > :17:10.unpredictable. This man snapped... But this goes beyond snapping, this
:17:10. > :17:16.is 16 people who have been murdered, including children. The trial is
:17:16. > :17:20.going to take place, but it also shows this ten-year war, the
:17:20. > :17:26.longest the Americans have ever fought, with soldiers being
:17:26. > :17:31.deployed over and over again, and in some instances at breaking point.
:17:31. > :17:36.In other stories, the Archbishop of Canterbury retiring, and the
:17:36. > :17:40.runners and riders are already being discussed. Yes, and this
:17:40. > :17:44.story is saying that Rowan Williams is planning to launch an attack on
:17:44. > :17:48.the Big Society, on David Cameron, and it says he has been slightly
:17:48. > :17:51.offended that he would set up meetings with David Cameron and
:17:51. > :17:56.then with a few minutes to go they would say the Prime Minister can't
:17:56. > :18:00.see you. David Cameron will obviously have not a very big role
:18:00. > :18:08.because Gordon Brown has changed it, but a role in choosing a successor.
:18:09. > :18:15.David Cameron has said his role is a bit like the reception to Magic
:18:15. > :18:20.FM in the Chilterns. On and off! is amazing to watch the news
:18:20. > :18:25.happening this week, and we have seen in Syria, in Afghanistan, we
:18:25. > :18:30.have seen tragically even in a country at peace - Switzerland -
:18:30. > :18:36.these children who have been killed in the crash. We must think about
:18:36. > :18:41.that, and I believe that success in these places was possible, and I
:18:41. > :18:48.hope it turns out better than what we are seeing right now. A good
:18:48. > :18:53.review, thank you. Bird song and soft clear light, as
:18:54. > :18:56.I staggered out of bed this morning. We need the rain, but not in the
:18:56. > :19:01.springtime please. The news that springtime please. The news that
:19:01. > :19:08.counts over the next 24 hours, the weather. I suspect the rain that
:19:08. > :19:14.some will see today, even if the showers fall on a Sunday, will be
:19:14. > :19:23.welcome rain across England and Wales. Earlier this morning we had
:19:23. > :19:27.this band of rain, even bringing snow at times, as that drifts south
:19:27. > :19:32.through the day, it will generate heavy and thundery showers as we
:19:33. > :19:36.head into the afternoon. This guy is will be largely clear and sunny
:19:36. > :19:42.for Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England in the afternoon.
:19:42. > :19:47.In the sunshine, it will feel pleasant. Soon after dusk, those
:19:47. > :19:53.showers will fade away. That will bring a chilly night, with
:19:53. > :19:59.widespread frost into the countryside, lowest temperatures
:19:59. > :20:04.down to one degree Celsius. Tomorrow, we will have some fairly
:20:04. > :20:10.heavy and persistent outbreaks of rain affecting off western Scotland,
:20:10. > :20:15.with as much as 40 mm of rain falling here. Elsewhere, dry and
:20:15. > :20:19.bright. For those praying for rain, the rest of the week looks mainly
:20:19. > :20:25.the rest of the week looks mainly dry.
:20:25. > :20:32.We have heard from Boris Johnson, from Ken Livingstone, but another
:20:32. > :20:38.veteran campaigner it is the former senior policeman, Brian Paddick,
:20:38. > :20:42.who also gave evidence in the phone hacking saga recently. Welcome. You
:20:42. > :20:52.are coming into this race at an interesting time, as a former
:20:52. > :20:56.policeman, and we are hearing all sorts of slightly scary sounding
:20:56. > :21:01.stuff about riot control techniques. How do you approach it as a
:21:01. > :21:05.candidate, first of all? The mayor of London is now the Police and
:21:05. > :21:09.Crime Commissioner for London, so the mayor decides the priority for
:21:09. > :21:15.the police, the budget for the police, and holds the police to
:21:15. > :21:19.account. This is an important election. With 30 years of
:21:19. > :21:26.experience myself, I would argue no one is better qualified to hold
:21:26. > :21:30.that position. He went to the Leveson Inquiry, to give evidence,
:21:30. > :21:35.your own phone was tapped. How do you regard the relationship between
:21:35. > :21:40.the Met police and editors, journalists, proprietors, the press
:21:40. > :21:45.establishment? Be evidence we heard, for example a senior officer being
:21:45. > :21:50.told it was payback time for the champagne, quite clearly indicates
:21:50. > :21:54.that at the top of the Met Police it was too close, too cosy between
:21:54. > :22:01.newspaper editors and senior officers. Do you think it was
:22:01. > :22:05.corrupt? Were are told as constables not to accept kebabs
:22:05. > :22:09.from the local Greek restaurant because you never know when you
:22:09. > :22:14.have to breathalyse the individual concerned. Senior officers should
:22:15. > :22:18.realise it could come to pass, and it did, they you could have to take
:22:18. > :22:24.criminal action against the newspaper editors they are wining
:22:24. > :22:28.and dining with. Do you think it is a completely different culture that
:22:28. > :22:34.has to spread across senior police in when it comes to contact with
:22:34. > :22:38.journalism? The difficulty is, whatever happens at the top is the
:22:39. > :22:42.example those at the bottom follow. Therefore it has to be a change of
:22:42. > :22:47.culture at the top of the organisation. The new commission it
:22:47. > :22:51.is sending out the right messages as far as that is concerned. The
:22:51. > :22:55.meetings should be formal meetings, the minutes should be published,
:22:55. > :23:00.and it should be nothing stronger than a cup of tea. Looking ahead to
:23:00. > :23:04.what is coming up in London, we have the Olympics as well as the
:23:04. > :23:09.diamond jubilee - an enormously difficult job for the police in
:23:09. > :23:16.terms of the security threat to an event as big as this. What would be
:23:16. > :23:20.your advice as a politician looking from the outside in? We saw the
:23:20. > :23:25.riots last August, we have increasing crime at the moment, so
:23:25. > :23:30.crime is the number-one issue, let alone with the Olympics coming
:23:30. > :23:35.along and those security issues. Chris Allison is in overall charge,
:23:35. > :23:40.he has been there throughout, he is on tarnished by this other stuff so
:23:40. > :23:45.we could not be in better hands as far as that is concerned, but we
:23:45. > :23:48.have to make sure the police are held to account. Unfortunately the
:23:48. > :23:52.previous two mares have shown they have been terrible of holding the
:23:52. > :23:57.police to account for their performance. You are the Liberal
:23:57. > :24:01.Democrats candidate in this race, so I must ask - stories this
:24:01. > :24:04.morning in the paper saying Liberal Democrats are worried that the 50
:24:05. > :24:12.pence rate of tax will be cut in the Budget. Would you be worried
:24:12. > :24:17.about that? We want tax cuts for low and medium income earners, for
:24:17. > :24:25.ordinary working people. I don't care how we get the tax out of the
:24:25. > :24:28.super rich, a tycoon tax, a mansion tax, or a 50p tax, but we need to
:24:29. > :24:34.make sure there are high earners are paying at least as much tax as
:24:34. > :24:39.ordinary working families. It would be a tragedy if this Budget gave
:24:39. > :24:46.tax cuts to the rich, leaving ordinary people struggling to make
:24:46. > :24:49.ends meet in a worse position. the 50p is no longer sacrosanct, so
:24:49. > :24:55.long as Liberal-Democrats feel that out of the Budget the rich are
:24:55. > :24:59.paying more, not less? The Liberal Democrats are not intellectually
:24:59. > :25:03.wedded to a 50 pence rate of tax, but we do believe that those with
:25:03. > :25:10.the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden. At the moment
:25:10. > :25:16.it is the poor and medium-sized income earners who need the support.
:25:16. > :25:22.People who are having to make decisions between heating and
:25:22. > :25:26.eating. The very interesting, thank you.
:25:26. > :25:31.You can see a full list of the candidates who have declared they
:25:31. > :25:33.want to stand as the mayor on the BBC news website.
:25:33. > :25:37.Lindsay Duncan is one of our most celebrated actresses. A double
:25:37. > :25:45.Olivier winner, she's as at home on stage with the RSC as she is in the
:25:45. > :25:48.Tardis playing the Doctor's assistant. She made a memorable
:25:48. > :25:52.movie star in the latest Ab Fab, and she starred as Margaret
:25:52. > :25:55.Thatcher for the BBC a few years ago. I looked back at it and she
:25:55. > :25:58.was, I thought, just a little more formidable than Meryl Streep.
:25:58. > :26:01.Lindsay Duncan has had great success in the plays of Noel Coward
:26:01. > :26:07.and has just returned to London's West End in a sparkling revival of
:26:07. > :26:14.Hay Fever. Welcome. Noel Coward, 90 years since this first appeared in
:26:14. > :26:18.London, and it still works, doesn't it? It still works, I think all his
:26:18. > :26:26.plays still work. This was an early one, he was a young man when he
:26:26. > :26:30.wrote it, but the wit holds up every time. It is about a name or
:26:30. > :26:39.all-party family inviting their friends... For a perfect family.
:26:39. > :26:45.And you are the sort of chatelaine... Yes, really quite
:26:45. > :26:52.bohemian. It is crazy what is going on, if you think this was written
:26:52. > :26:57.in the 19 20s. The family have all invited a date, and they swap. They
:26:57. > :27:02.torture their guests and behave really badly with the sort of
:27:02. > :27:10.enormous appetite for life which is enviable. I was wondering whether
:27:10. > :27:17.Noel Coward is difficult to play. He famously said to actors to say
:27:17. > :27:21.the lines and not trip over the furniture! He said about hay fever
:27:21. > :27:26.that he thinks it is one of his most difficult plays because
:27:26. > :27:30.nothing happens. There is all sorts of behaviour will stuff and a great
:27:30. > :27:37.deal of performance going on, but there is no narrative so everybody
:27:37. > :27:41.has got to be at the top of their game. Judith, your character, she
:27:41. > :27:46.is monstrous in some ways and very funny but there is real pain
:27:46. > :27:51.underneath it, isn't there? I hope there is something there, otherwise
:27:51. > :27:57.she is just spinning plates. I think you have to believe in the
:27:57. > :28:05.existence of these people. She is so badly behaved, and it is very
:28:05. > :28:09.funny, very delicious. Very naughty. She can't bear boredom for one
:28:09. > :28:18.second, which makes being in the country a little to London for her,
:28:18. > :28:23.so yes, she is, yes. You are in this drama, White heat, which
:28:23. > :28:28.starts in the 60s, and 15 years ago this week Bob Dylan's first album
:28:28. > :28:32.appeared, the Beatles were releasing their early stuff, the
:28:32. > :28:42.Rolling Stones were getting together - do you remember the 60s
:28:42. > :28:51.very well? I do, I was having a great time. I was at school for
:28:51. > :28:55.most of the 60s, so when I it emerged I managed to catch-up a
:28:55. > :29:00.little bit. But the time he didn't realise what an extraordinary
:29:00. > :29:06.period it was, because when you are a young you are discovering the
:29:06. > :29:11.world, saying the music is amazing, the drugs, the alcohol, the sex, it
:29:11. > :29:16.is all amazing but I didn't realise what a formative time it was.
:29:16. > :29:22.funny, in the TV series they have to keep putting up posters to
:29:22. > :29:27.remind younger viewers. That poster is about feminism, it is quite
:29:27. > :29:31.funny. Talking of historical figures, just about, Margaret
:29:31. > :29:36.Thatcher I mentioned at the beginning. You played a very
:29:36. > :29:40.brilliant Margaret Thatcher. It was most on like the Meryl Streep film,
:29:40. > :29:46.but it seems to be made for a British audience who knew about
:29:46. > :29:51.Geoffrey Howe and Michael Heseltine, and knew some more detail. Yes, we
:29:51. > :29:56.didn't go for the impersonation, and obviously that was a conscious
:29:56. > :30:01.choice. Slightly alarming for me as the actress because you are worried
:30:01. > :30:07.people will think it is because you couldn't do it, but it was a
:30:07. > :30:14.conscious choice and an interesting one that we could wipe away -
:30:14. > :30:19.Thatcher is so familiar to everyone here - that we could wipe away the
:30:19. > :30:24.construction and have a look at the woman. What you did there, and the
:30:24. > :30:34.writers did as well, it is give us the aggression and the attack.
:30:34. > :30:38.
:30:38. > :30:47.There is a wonderful clip, where Some chancellors are macro economic.
:30:47. > :30:52.Other Chancellor's office golf. This one is just plain cheap. If
:30:52. > :30:57.this Chancellor can be Chancellor, anyone in the House of Commons can
:30:57. > :31:04.be Chancellor. I don't think you were a very enthusiastic
:31:04. > :31:10.Thatcherite yourself. I was reprimanded by the BBC. For saying
:31:10. > :31:16.how I felt. Did your attitude changed playing her? Politically?
:31:16. > :31:20.Empathising with the character? course I empathised with her. You
:31:20. > :31:26.can't attempt to create anybody without finding some connection. We
:31:26. > :31:33.were trying to unlock whom they were. Politically? Less so. A lot
:31:33. > :31:39.less so. Reviewers said you felt sympathetic to her for the loss of
:31:39. > :31:44.power. Viewers felt sympathetic. That was a devastating loss for her,
:31:44. > :31:52.absolutely devastating, and anybody could understand that. It clearly
:31:52. > :31:56.was her life. She dedicated every cell of her being to it. And also
:31:57. > :32:02.because of the nature of that fall, which was what we examined, and it
:32:02. > :32:09.was quite brutal and it came from inside the party. That was a kind
:32:09. > :32:15.of tragedy. Thank you very much. That was quite a fall. Political
:32:15. > :32:22.life is full of ups and downs and spills which takes me to buy next
:32:22. > :32:25.guest, the Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls. You have been very, very
:32:25. > :32:29.vociferous in your criticism of this government, but it is the case
:32:29. > :32:35.that things are getting a little better in the economy. There were
:32:35. > :32:40.the first faint glimmerings of spring in the economy. I hope so,
:32:40. > :32:45.but it is very early to say that. If you go back to the American trip
:32:45. > :32:52.last week, which David Cameron and George Osborne were on, Mr Cameron
:32:52. > :32:55.was asked time and time again why the American economy had caught up
:32:55. > :32:59.the up but it lost in the financial crisis and was growing strongly
:32:59. > :33:04.with the President talking about stimulus. In Britain we are only
:33:04. > :33:08.talking about austerity. Will we end up with a lost decade like
:33:08. > :33:12.Japan in the 1990s? On that big strategic question, was the plan
:33:12. > :33:17.for jobs and growth? George Osborne said a year ago I will put fuel in
:33:17. > :33:21.the tank of the British economy. 12 months on, we are on the hard
:33:21. > :33:26.shoulder, the economy has not grown. Yet there are some signs that
:33:26. > :33:31.begins at -- things are beginning to turn around. If it was the case
:33:31. > :33:36.that the figures showed that 50p rate really was not bringing in
:33:36. > :33:39.very much money, barely worth collecting, would it be right to
:33:39. > :33:44.ditch it and do something else? George Osborne had the courage of
:33:44. > :33:49.his convictions, he would ask the Independent office of budget
:33:49. > :33:53.responsibility he set up to do that examination and he has not. It is
:33:53. > :33:56.not an independent report we will get on Wednesday. We said the top
:33:56. > :34:01.rate of tax would raise over 1 billion in the first year, 2.5
:34:01. > :34:06.billion in the second. Even if it was half what we were saying, that
:34:06. > :34:13.would compensate for the cuts in tax credits to families on �17,000,
:34:13. > :34:17.which means they will be better off on benefit. For families on middle
:34:17. > :34:21.and low income as, or seeing petrol prices up, fuel bills up, living
:34:21. > :34:25.standards to squeeze, youth unemployment rising, the idea that
:34:26. > :34:31.George Osborne is saying the number one priority is to cut taxes on
:34:31. > :34:38.people earning �150,000, they can't be serious. What planet are they
:34:38. > :34:44.on? It is crazy. It is actually Revenue and Customs who are doing
:34:44. > :34:49.the financial study. Why it is it not from the OBR? George Osborne
:34:49. > :34:53.set up the OBR because he said independents in my fiscal forecasts.
:34:53. > :34:59.This is a fiscal forecast, why didn't he trusted to the OBR? It as
:34:59. > :35:03.a political issue. We have the Chancellor and the coalition from
:35:03. > :35:08.scraps backbenchers. The nation needs a plan for jobs and growth.
:35:08. > :35:11.We haven't had one for the year or two and instead, they are playing
:35:11. > :35:15.politics with the national interest. It is not right and it will be
:35:15. > :35:20.deeply unfair. Low-income families will look at this and say this is
:35:20. > :35:25.out of touch with their lives and what the country needs. Your big
:35:25. > :35:31.fiscal idea before was reversing the VAT rise. And that would cost
:35:31. > :35:34.something like 12 billion. It has been argued there's not enough
:35:34. > :35:39.compensation measures were you to do that. Are you coming slowly off
:35:39. > :35:42.that? You said recently if the coalition isn't going to do that,
:35:42. > :35:49.it should do something else. I said that on your programme three months
:35:49. > :35:55.ago. The answer is no. Right now George Osborne's plan has failed.
:35:55. > :36:03.He is boring �158 billion more, the economy has flat blind. There's no
:36:03. > :36:07.growth in the economy. Unemployment is rising. We need action now. A
:36:07. > :36:10.temporary cut in VAT for year is the best way to get the economy
:36:10. > :36:15.moving. If the coalition says they will do personal allowances instead
:36:15. > :36:18.of the stimulus, it's less good for women, it's less fair, it's better
:36:19. > :36:24.than nothing, but we are in a bizarre position where George
:36:24. > :36:29.Osborne seems to say the way I been sent a visor family on the minimum
:36:29. > :36:36.wage is by cutting their income, taking away their tax credits, but
:36:36. > :36:39.I in centre vies an individual on �150,000 by giving them money.
:36:39. > :36:45.people at the top have clever tax lawyers and it is harder to get
:36:45. > :36:50.that money. If it is just a few hundred millions, it is barely
:36:50. > :36:55.worth doing. 1.3 billion in the first year, while the accountants
:36:55. > :37:00.do their switching around, 2.5 billion in the second gear. On the
:37:00. > :37:06.top rate of tax, no tax rate should be set in stone. I don't want to
:37:06. > :37:10.see taxes higher than they can be. There are priorities. This is about
:37:10. > :37:15.politics, it is about George Osborne playing politics with
:37:15. > :37:20.something that is unfair. It should be about what is good for jobs and
:37:20. > :37:25.the economy. Let's turn to that. When it comes to some of the other
:37:26. > :37:32.proposals on tax, when it comes to things like mansion tax is, tycoon
:37:32. > :37:36.taxes, the notion that everybody, whatever the brilliance of the tax
:37:36. > :37:42.lawyers, should be paying a certain percentage come what may, that must
:37:43. > :37:46.attract you? The tycoon tax is a phrase, not a plan. You would have
:37:46. > :37:52.to looking real detail to see whether or not, legally, you can
:37:52. > :37:57.make this work. It doesn't really work in America. On the mansion tax,
:37:57. > :38:02.ICI's case for mansion tax. I've said to George Osborne I will work
:38:02. > :38:05.with you to solve difficult issues. But should you do a mansion tax or
:38:05. > :38:09.tycoon tax to help families with higher fuel bills by cutting fuel
:38:09. > :38:13.duty or cutting VAT or do you say this is simply about cutting taxes
:38:13. > :38:18.at the top? I don't understand why the Lib Dems have ended up saying
:38:18. > :38:22.they will have a mansion tax to pay for the top rate of tax. This is
:38:22. > :38:25.all a distraction. What George Osborne, Nick Clegg and David
:38:25. > :38:28.Cameron are comfortable with it is a debate about money from here to
:38:28. > :38:34.there because what they are not comfortable about is the Big Issue,
:38:34. > :38:38.what is happening to unemployment, growth. Are we in line for a lost
:38:38. > :38:43.decade? It is not being talked about. Can I ask you about another
:38:43. > :38:46.big issue which has come to the top of the agenda? The notion that
:38:46. > :38:50.regional pay should be broken down, instead of national pay bargaining,
:38:50. > :38:53.if you are living in a part of the country where the cost of living is
:38:53. > :38:56.lower and you are working in the public sector, you should be paid
:38:57. > :39:03.less than public sector workers living in an expensive place like
:39:03. > :39:07.London. Good idea? There's regional variation now. The view I have
:39:07. > :39:12.always taken, and has been taken consensually in Britain for 30
:39:12. > :39:16.years, is the pay review bodies nationally are a better way of
:39:16. > :39:20.delivering flexibility while keeping a lid on costs. I worry
:39:20. > :39:24.George Osborne is going for a free- for-all, hospital against hospital,
:39:24. > :39:28.it would cost more. It also takes us in the opposite direction. We
:39:28. > :39:32.should be saying that we want to spread economic prosperity across
:39:32. > :39:36.the country rather than saying to people, you only get a decent pay
:39:36. > :39:40.as a doctor as a nurse if you come to London. That takes us in the
:39:40. > :39:44.opposite direction. George Osborne is playing politics, appealing to
:39:44. > :39:48.his backbenchers, but it could cost him more and be unfair and take his
:39:48. > :39:52.strategy in the opposite direction from where we should be going.
:39:52. > :39:57.important is it to stop any increase in fuel prices? The
:39:57. > :40:02.coalition has done quite a lot to hold down fuel prices, but it isn't
:40:03. > :40:06.a very, very difficult problem with international oil prices. -- it is.
:40:06. > :40:10.Why don't you ask George Osborne what happened a his fair fuel
:40:10. > :40:15.regulator? He has talked to you on previous programmes. A year gave he
:40:15. > :40:19.said I will have a fair fuel regulator. A year on, petrol prices
:40:19. > :40:24.are higher than a year ago. The oil prices higher. Where is his
:40:24. > :40:30.regulator? He says he can't do anything. The VAT cut would mean a
:40:30. > :40:33.cut in petrol prices. Credit easing, the Regional Growth Fund, fuel
:40:33. > :40:37.regulator, George Osborne talks. Nothing has happened on any of
:40:37. > :40:41.these things. You must be frustrated talking about these
:40:41. > :40:44.things and then looking back at the opinion polls and seeing that the
:40:44. > :40:50.coalition is far more trusted on the economy than you why. Why do
:40:50. > :40:54.you think that is as back a look at those polls and see all politicians
:40:54. > :41:00.have a problem at the moment. of us are trusted to sort out this
:41:00. > :41:04.mess at the moment. We had an election defeat. George Osborne was
:41:04. > :41:10.given the benefit of the doubt. He said he had a plan. On the big
:41:10. > :41:13.judgments, going too far, too fast, action on jobs. The arguments we
:41:13. > :41:18.have made are in line with public opinion. If you get the judgments
:41:18. > :41:28.right, you win through. If you get them wrong, you fail. His judgments
:41:28. > :41:37.
:41:37. > :41:40.are flawed. The public agree with that. Thank you for now. The budget
:41:40. > :41:44.is always a big parliamentary event and the Chancellor always keeps a
:41:44. > :41:48.few surprises. Frantic briefing encounter briefing begins the
:41:48. > :41:53.moment he sits down. This year the detailed negotiations that precede
:41:53. > :41:56.every Budget have been played out more publicly than usual as the Lib
:41:56. > :42:01.Dems and Conservatives flag up there different priorities. George
:42:01. > :42:08.Osborne reveals all this Wednesday. But he is with us now to reveal...
:42:08. > :42:12.We will see! Thank you for joining us. Can I start by asking whether
:42:12. > :42:14.you actually already know what is going to be in your Budget or
:42:14. > :42:18.whether there are still negotiations that have to follow
:42:18. > :42:22.tomorrow when you meet the Lib Dems? I have read a lot of the
:42:22. > :42:26.speculation. You always get speculation about budgets.
:42:26. > :42:34.different level this year. remember whole budget been leaked
:42:34. > :42:37.before they were given. We sent the major measures to the OBR last
:42:37. > :42:43.Monday and the major decisions were taken a week ago. We put the
:42:43. > :42:46.finishing touches to it on Friday. Now the Office for Budget
:42:46. > :42:49.Responsibility, which does the independent audit of the measures
:42:49. > :42:54.and the fiscal forecasts and how much of the thing will cost, they
:42:54. > :42:59.have had everything they need. We will discuss tomorrow how we
:42:59. > :43:04.present the Budget and the language around the Budget speech. Decisions
:43:05. > :43:11.or taken? Decisions or taking a week ago. I have been reading for a
:43:11. > :43:15.week that these decisions have not been taken, but they have. He
:43:15. > :43:19.Britain's AAA rating is very important to you. We have a had two
:43:19. > :43:23.agencies talking about the possibility of a downgrade. Given
:43:23. > :43:28.that this is about credibility of the government's policy, how do you
:43:28. > :43:31.feel about the fact that so much is being argued about in public? One
:43:31. > :43:36.side of the coalition is saying we want this, the other side saying we
:43:36. > :43:42.want that, that can't help. There's always speculation around budgets.
:43:42. > :43:47.All I can say is first of all, this is a coalition Budget. We are a
:43:47. > :43:50.coalition government. We have a proper process. I sit down with the
:43:50. > :43:56.leaders of the Lib Dems in order to make sure they are happy with the
:43:56. > :44:00.Budget we are presenting and that is entirely up -- entirely proper.
:44:00. > :44:04.You have been happy with the way they have been behaving with the
:44:04. > :44:08.media? It is fine for people to argue their corner. You will know
:44:08. > :44:12.the stories because you have studied politics. There have been
:44:12. > :44:17.many stories and the past of prime minister has not been told what is
:44:17. > :44:21.in the Budget until Budget week, Chancellors finishing the Budget at
:44:21. > :44:30.4am on Budget day. This is now a much more orderly process. Orderly
:44:30. > :44:34.Cons mack -- Audsley? Really? People are saying different things.
:44:34. > :44:38.It is perfectly reasonable in a coalition that you get supporters
:44:38. > :44:42.of the two parties stressing the things they want to stress. But at
:44:42. > :44:46.the heart of government, at the top of government, with the Lib Dem
:44:46. > :44:50.leadership, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a Liberal Democrat,
:44:50. > :44:54.he has been party to the internal discussions, what you see is a
:44:54. > :44:59.coalition working to produce a coalition Budget. Because it is a
:44:59. > :45:03.coalition Budget, it will satisfy a broader range of public opinion.
:45:03. > :45:08.You're not worried about public trading? I'm not worried at all.
:45:08. > :45:12.The major measures were decided a week ago. What I think you will see
:45:12. > :45:16.on Wednesday it is a Budget for working people, a Budget that shows
:45:16. > :45:20.Britain can earn its weight in the world, if a Budget that says
:45:20. > :45:24.Britain is not content with being in the second rank of economic
:45:24. > :45:27.power was, we want to be in the front rank and we are prepared to
:45:27. > :45:36.confront our problems to create jobs, growth and prosperity and a
:45:36. > :45:43.brighter future for the next Would it be fair, given the state
:45:43. > :45:53.of the economy, if this object helped higher rate taxpayers more
:45:53. > :45:54.
:45:54. > :45:59.than everybody else? -- this Budget. I am not going to go into details...
:45:59. > :46:05.But the point of principle? priority is to help low and middle
:46:05. > :46:10.earners. We want to see real and substantial progress on lifting low
:46:10. > :46:15.income people out of tax. We have already taken 1 million low income
:46:15. > :46:20.people out of tax, and helping working families, people providing
:46:20. > :46:25.for their families, looking for jobs if they have lost them, those
:46:25. > :46:32.are our priorities in this Budget. That is where the bulk of measures
:46:32. > :46:37.are directed. Gordon Brown and Ed Balls created 50p top rate, has it
:46:37. > :46:47.worked as a tax? We will be getting an assessment in a couple of days'
:46:47. > :46:51.
:46:51. > :46:57.time from the Inland Revenue... Have you seen it? I have... So has
:46:57. > :47:01.it worked? We will see the report in a couple of days. Ed Balls in
:47:01. > :47:07.his interview said why have I asked the Inland Revenue to assess these
:47:07. > :47:11.things. First of all, they are not a bad group of people to ask, but
:47:11. > :47:16.any forecast for the tax is already being levied is something that is
:47:16. > :47:20.now being produced by an independent body. I know that is
:47:20. > :47:24.alien to the Treasury that Ed Balls was in, but we do have an
:47:24. > :47:28.independent referee on the measures we take and the measures already in
:47:28. > :47:36.existence. I come back to my question because you have seen the
:47:36. > :47:43.figures, I am just wondering if you think it has worked as a tax.
:47:43. > :47:48.just don't think I should talk about specific taxes today. It is
:47:48. > :47:53.just a couple of days before the Budget, and to his right that I it
:47:53. > :48:02.unveil what we are doing and not doing on Budget day. A As you know,
:48:02. > :48:12.the opposition are hoping he will cut the 50 pence rate so you -- so
:48:12. > :48:17.they can jump on year and say you are helping the rich. Our priority
:48:17. > :48:25.is to help low and middle earners, we want to make sure this country
:48:25. > :48:30.works its way in the world. Our efforts to reduce the deficit have
:48:30. > :48:34.been vindicated by events on the Continent. Now we have to say
:48:34. > :48:40.Britain has got to earn its weight in the world. We have had high
:48:40. > :48:45.debts, cheap finance, the boom in the city of London, they masked the
:48:45. > :48:50.fact that Britain was becoming less and less competitive. We have got
:48:50. > :48:55.to turn that situation around. The illusion of the cheap money is over
:48:56. > :49:00.and now Britain has to go and graft and create wealth and prosperity in
:49:00. > :49:04.a very competitive world. A bit we had been sitting here only six
:49:04. > :49:09.weeks ago, we would have been talking about the European euro
:49:09. > :49:14.crisis. That seems to have calmed down a little bit, it is early days,
:49:14. > :49:19.but at the moment the worry seems to be international oil prices. Can
:49:19. > :49:24.you do anything for the motorist and the businesses screaming now at
:49:24. > :49:31.the price of diesel? I know the coalition has done quite a bit in
:49:31. > :49:36.the past, is are there any hope for more? I would say two things - the
:49:36. > :49:45.situation in the eurozone is better than it was before Christmas. A
:49:45. > :49:50.Christmas we were almost expecting the banks to fail. Just because
:49:50. > :49:54.there is a lot of money going into the eurozone, it does not mean a
:49:54. > :49:59.lot of fundamental problems have been resolved. That remains the
:50:00. > :50:05.risk, and the impact of that crisis has had a bigger effect on many
:50:05. > :50:10.European economies then we have perhaps hoped. The second thing I
:50:10. > :50:15.would say on oil prices, that is another risk to the economy at the
:50:15. > :50:21.moment. In America, we spent a lot of time talking to the US President
:50:21. > :50:27.and the Treasury Secretary about it. Of course it affects the cost of
:50:27. > :50:37.living. I have taken substantive action to make things easier for
:50:37. > :50:37.
:50:37. > :50:40.people, petrol is six pence cheaper than it would have been, from April
:50:40. > :50:49.it is 10 pence cheaper than it would have been if we had stuck
:50:49. > :50:58.with Ed Balls' plan. The international oil price is going up,
:50:58. > :51:02.partly because of the Iranian situation, but also because many
:51:02. > :51:08.more people around the world have cars. That is why we need to get
:51:08. > :51:12.the renewable energy going so we are not so dependent on oil. A one
:51:12. > :51:16.of the things people will say, endless talk about having more
:51:16. > :51:20.nuclear power stations, but nothing ever happens because of the
:51:20. > :51:24.planning system. That is not just true of the energy policy, because
:51:24. > :51:30.we are a small island with areas of natural beauty and so on, it is
:51:30. > :51:34.just too difficult to get things done in this country. I agreed and
:51:34. > :51:38.it is deeply frustrating that plans have held back economic development.
:51:38. > :51:47.I was talking to a major global company who said it takes a third
:51:47. > :51:51.of the time to build a warehouse in Germany than it does in Britain. I
:51:51. > :51:56.am determined that we shake-up planning rules so that we protect
:51:56. > :52:00.the green belt, protect precious green spaces, but will also allow
:52:00. > :52:06.businesses to expand and people to have decent homes and children to
:52:06. > :52:09.be able to afford a home when they grow up. These are priorities. On
:52:09. > :52:13.Budget week we will be publishing new planning rules which I think
:52:13. > :52:17.will make it a lot easier for things to get built in this country
:52:17. > :52:22.whilst protecting our precious environment. The Sunday Times
:52:22. > :52:26.pointed out this morning how many tycoons and others have been
:52:26. > :52:34.avoiding tax by offshore companies owning properties of different
:52:34. > :52:39.kinds. It was said not so long ago the super rich should be made to
:52:39. > :52:43.pay more. The question of tax loopholes is angering people more
:52:43. > :52:47.than it has ever done. understand that, and all sections
:52:47. > :52:57.of society should be paying their fair share. Whatever your headline
:52:57. > :52:58.
:52:58. > :53:03.rate of tax, the question is how much tax people are paying. There
:53:03. > :53:07.are people who put homes in two companies to avoid stamp duty, that
:53:07. > :53:12.is completely unacceptable. We will come down on that practise like a
:53:12. > :53:17.ton of bricks. We will be extremely aggressive in dealing with it, and
:53:17. > :53:21.people will face a very punitive charge because it is unacceptable
:53:21. > :53:26.when you are buying a home that you are going to live in, it is a very
:53:26. > :53:31.simple test, you're going to live in the home, we will have new
:53:31. > :53:36.measures in the Budget on this. We will deal with this avoidance on
:53:36. > :53:42.stamp duty, and people have had their warning. We will be dealing
:53:42. > :53:48.with it in a very aggressive way. Whether we use the term tycoon tax
:53:48. > :53:51.or not, is there are also a general determination to make sure people
:53:51. > :53:56.who can afford expensive accountants, they have been able to
:53:56. > :54:06.avoid paying tax in all sorts of ways and there should be some sort
:54:06. > :54:12.
:54:12. > :54:20.of ceiling on the amount of tax people pay, or floor rather?
:54:20. > :54:26.wanted to make sure the better people -- the better-off people in
:54:26. > :54:31.our society are paying the tax, whether they are paying the rate.
:54:31. > :54:35.We are going to take measures to make sure the loopholes and some of
:54:35. > :54:40.the reliefs in the system are not exploited. I have been doing that
:54:40. > :54:44.consistently for the last two years. It has not been in the headlines,
:54:44. > :54:48.but we took action against the banks using loopholes. I have
:54:48. > :54:51.always been prepared to do that because it does offend people when
:54:51. > :54:56.they see some parts of society getting away with not paying much
:54:56. > :55:01.tax. We have talked a lot about people at the top, another big
:55:01. > :55:06.worry is the removal of child benefit from people whose incomes
:55:06. > :55:13.are not very large in many cases, who feel you should do something to
:55:13. > :55:19.help them. I understand that people on income to of �45,000 did not
:55:19. > :55:23.feel particularly rich, they feel under pressure. They are in the
:55:23. > :55:28.better off 15% of families and if we were not doing something on
:55:28. > :55:36.child benefit for the people at the top of the income distribution,
:55:36. > :55:41.that section of the public would be doing nothing to contribute to the
:55:41. > :55:46.fiscal situation. Everyone needs to make a contribution. How we
:55:46. > :55:50.implement the policy is something you will discover on Wednesday.
:55:50. > :55:54.Thank you. Now the news headlines. At the Chancellor of the Exchequer
:55:54. > :55:58.has told this programme that the Budget this week will be for
:55:58. > :56:04.working people. George Osborne said his priority was to help those
:56:04. > :56:09.people on low and middle incomes. He promised new measures to clamp
:56:09. > :56:12.down on tax avoidance. The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, accused him
:56:12. > :56:16.of playing politics with the decisions in the Budget saying
:56:16. > :56:19.George Osborne is uncomfortable about talking about growth and
:56:19. > :56:23.unemployment. For Premier League footballer,
:56:23. > :56:28.Fabrice Muamba, remains critically ill in intensive care after
:56:28. > :56:37.collapsing on the pitch yesterday. He fell to the ground with no
:56:37. > :56:42.players around him during the match during -- between Tottenham Hotspur
:56:42. > :56:48.and Bolton Wanderers. The next news is from midday. Now, let's look at
:56:48. > :56:52.what is coming up after this programme. Joining us in Leicester,
:56:52. > :57:02.where we will be asking - has the Church of England reached a
:57:02. > :57:06.
:57:06. > :57:10.crossroads? And, is animal testing ever justified? Also, are many gods
:57:10. > :57:15.better than one? George Osborne and Ed Balls are
:57:15. > :57:19.still with me. The other issue we have not talked about is the story
:57:19. > :57:24.about Sunday trading being extended for a period to get people spending
:57:24. > :57:29.again - a good idea? If I think it is a good idea. We have the whole
:57:29. > :57:33.world coming to London and the rest of the country for the Olympics. It
:57:33. > :57:39.would be a great shame if the country had a closed for business
:57:39. > :57:43.sign on it on Sundays. It is just for the Sundays during the Olympic
:57:43. > :57:48.Games and the Paralympics. Maybe we will learn lessons from it, but it
:57:48. > :57:54.is just for the Olympic Games. it is just for the Olympics, there
:57:54. > :57:57.should be a consultation done properly. George Osborne's people
:57:57. > :58:02.told the papers this is an experimentation for the future.
:58:02. > :58:06.Today, there are mothers at home with their kids because Sunday
:58:06. > :58:10.trading means they will have the day off. We should be careful about
:58:10. > :58:15.breaking it just like that. You are sounding more like social
:58:15. > :58:20.conservative, and you are sounding more like a social liberal. I want
:58:20. > :58:26.people to have the opportunity to visit shops, grow the economy
:58:26. > :58:29.during the Olympics. If it works, you might extend it? At the moment
:58:29. > :58:39.I am proposing we do this for the Olympic Games and the Paralympic
:58:39. > :58:40.
:58:40. > :58:44.Games. He has said it could be extended. Have run out of time, but
:58:44. > :58:50.thank you very much indeed. Next week our guests include David