:00:44. > :00:47.Good morning and Happy New Year. Happy? We're supposed to be in
:00:47. > :00:50.penitential mood - detoxing, laying off the booze and pies. You can't
:00:50. > :00:53.open a paper or magazine without some revoltingly fit-looking person
:00:53. > :00:57.smirking back with their diet plan or exercise regime, Which we'll all
:00:57. > :01:04.follow for about a day. We make new year resolutions but for almost all
:01:04. > :01:07.of us the real resolution is to be irresolute, yet again. Joining me
:01:07. > :01:10.today for our review of the Sunday newspapers - the impressionist Rory
:01:10. > :01:13.Bremner, worryingly tiggerish looking and about to try his hand
:01:13. > :01:20.as a quiz show host, plus the Sun columnist Jane Moore and the
:01:20. > :01:23.Guardian's Westminster watcher, Nick Watt. My main guest this
:01:23. > :01:26.morning is the Prime Minister and if he is looking for some cheap
:01:26. > :01:29.popularity, he might start by simply abolishing January, but I
:01:29. > :01:31.don't suppose that's likely. However, that theme of weaning
:01:31. > :01:34.ourselves off over-consumption, getting fit again, even de-toxing,
:01:34. > :01:42.is roughly what the Coalition's theme has been from the start and
:01:42. > :01:46.still is. But is it working? Are we really getting fitter as a country?
:01:46. > :01:48.Or are we still our lardy old selves? 2013 promises little or no
:01:48. > :01:52.economic recovery, high unemployment and political rhetoric,
:01:52. > :01:57.some of it quite nasty, about who's to blame. David Cameron is known as
:01:57. > :02:00.an optimist. He announces today he hopes to stay Prime Minister until
:02:00. > :02:03.2020 and tomorrow he and Nick Clegg will be talking about the second
:02:03. > :02:09.half of the Parliament, With Ukip snapping at his heels and the
:02:09. > :02:12.economists groaning. He gives us an exclusive preview a little later on.
:02:12. > :02:19."Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of
:02:19. > :02:21.imagination." No, not Cameron, of course, but Oscar Wilde. He gets
:02:21. > :02:25.into today's show sideways, because my other guest is Rupert Everett,
:02:25. > :02:32.who's acted in the works of Oscar Wilde and now he plays Wilde, the
:02:32. > :02:37.man. He's proved himself a witty and acerbic writer too: his memoirs
:02:37. > :02:40.are a treat. He's here to talk about that forthcoming West End
:02:40. > :02:43.role, and we've been behind the scenes to see him in rehearsal.
:02:43. > :02:48.to have spent my life holding language up to the light, how can I
:02:48. > :02:52.say to her - I love my children so much, I cannot write. All that
:02:52. > :02:55.coming up after the news with Naga Munchetty. Protesters have attacked
:02:55. > :02:59.police during a third night of trouble in Belfast. Shots were
:03:00. > :03:06.reportedly fired at officers and a 38-year-old man was arrested on
:03:06. > :03:11.suspicion of attempted murder. The violence flared last month after
:03:11. > :03:15.counsellingors decided to put limb it's on when to fly the flag above
:03:15. > :03:20.City Hall. Nationalists want the flag to be removed completely but
:03:20. > :03:25.unionists say it is part of their identity.
:03:25. > :03:29.Cars were set alight and bricks, fireworks and golf balls thrown at
:03:29. > :03:32.police lines. It was the third consecutive night of violence in
:03:32. > :03:38.east Belfast. The trouble started earlier in the day, as loyalists
:03:38. > :03:41.made their way home from a protest at City Hall, which has been taking
:03:41. > :03:45.place every Saturday since councillors voted to limit the
:03:46. > :03:49.number of days on which the Union Flag can be flown above the
:03:49. > :03:55.building. Smoke canisters were thrown at the police and rioters
:03:56. > :04:00.pushed off the road with water cannon. Rioters claim troubled
:04:00. > :04:03.started when they were attacked by nationalists en route. Instead of
:04:03. > :04:09.the police going to the aggressors, they went to the easy route and
:04:09. > :04:13.towards the protesters. Instead of trying to push the republicans back,
:04:13. > :04:23.they went into the unionist community and pushed them up the
:04:23. > :05:00.
:05:01. > :05:05.road, and that's how this whole 2005, up to 1,200 people died
:05:05. > :05:08.needlessly at Stafford Hospital. The victims of neglect or
:05:08. > :05:13.substandard care. Case included patients dying after falling when
:05:13. > :05:19.they were left unattended. Others were denied food and drink. Some
:05:19. > :05:22.were so dehydrated, they drank the water from flower vases. According
:05:22. > :05:25.to the Sunday Telegraph, the results of the public inquiry will
:05:25. > :05:32.deliver a damning verdict on the entire NHS.
:05:32. > :05:37.It says the Chairman, Robert Francis QC will describe a culture
:05:37. > :05:41.of fear in which pressure is piled on staff to put the demands of
:05:41. > :05:46.managers before the needs of patients. The newspaper report
:05:46. > :05:50.claims it'll call for greater regulation of NHS management and a
:05:50. > :05:53.everhaul of training for nurses and health assistants. The public
:05:53. > :06:00.inquiry's report is expected any day. A spokesman for the Department
:06:00. > :06:06.of Health said any comments on its findings were pure speculation.
:06:06. > :06:10.David Cameron has insisted there will be no ue turn on changes toll
:06:10. > :06:15.child benefit payments for higher turners which come into effect
:06:15. > :06:19.tomorrow -- no U-turn on changes to child benefit.
:06:20. > :06:25.Families where one parent earns more than �50,000 have until
:06:25. > :06:32.midnight tonight to opt out of child benefit or face a higher
:06:32. > :06:37.income tax bill. Bushfires on Tasmania have destroyed many homes.
:06:37. > :06:42.Much of Australia is suffering a heatwave with Hobart in Tasmania
:06:42. > :06:45.reaching a record 41. The wildfires are the most destructive to hit the
:06:45. > :06:48.country since the Black Sunday disaster in 2008.
:06:48. > :06:52.The Syrian President, Bashar Al- Assad, is expected to make a speech
:06:53. > :06:56.later this morning, about the uprising against his rule in which
:06:56. > :06:59.around 60,000 people have been killed. Syria's official news
:06:59. > :07:04.agency announced the speech would take place but didn't give any
:07:04. > :07:08.other details. President hasn't made any other public comment since
:07:08. > :07:13.mid-November. That's all from me for now. I will be back with the
:07:13. > :07:17.headlines just before 10.00am. Many thanks. Now to the front pages
:07:17. > :07:21.as usual. Two papers carry basically the same story. The
:07:21. > :07:24.Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Times about that terrible Stafford
:07:24. > :07:31.Hospital scandal. A huge report coming up, and major
:07:31. > :07:34.changes to the NHS. That's the Sunday Telegraph. The Sunday Times
:07:34. > :07:38.says some of the hospitals - hospitals who fail to own up to
:07:39. > :07:45.problems might even be closed. It suggests there is going to be a new
:07:45. > :07:49.duty of candour. That can't catch on more widely.
:07:49. > :07:54.The Observer has a story about benefit curbs.
:07:54. > :08:00.And the Mail on Sunday, a story about the minister incharged of the
:08:00. > :08:04.increases on rail prices spending �80,000 a year on a limo to work.
:08:04. > :08:05.Rory Bremner, Jane Moore and Nick Watt. Thank you for coming. In Nick,
:08:05. > :08:10.Watt. Thank you for coming. In Nick, politics.
:08:10. > :08:18.I thought I'd pick up on that story on Sunday Telegraph. Cameron - I
:08:18. > :08:20.want it lead country until 2020. Report on what he said in a New
:08:20. > :08:26.Year's interview. It is interesting because the general assumption that
:08:26. > :08:27.David Cameron would want to fight David Cameron would want to fight
:08:27. > :08:31.David Cameron would want to fight the next election, win it and go
:08:31. > :08:35.and go around 2018. And in his interview he talks about what he
:08:35. > :08:39.wants to do. He cites schools reforms and Iain Duncan Smith's
:08:39. > :08:43.benefit reforms and you slightly wonder - does this feel like Tony
:08:43. > :08:47.Blair, who of course was not going to do a Margaret Thatcher, who was
:08:47. > :08:52.going to leave after two terms and stayed on and stayed on too long.
:08:52. > :08:57.But what is interesting is, read the small print - are you going to
:08:57. > :09:02.stay on for a full Parliament after 2020? Then he hesitates. Look, I
:09:02. > :09:09.want to fight the next election, win the next election and serve.
:09:09. > :09:19.Not necessarily bad news for platinum-haired blonde tufty in
:09:19. > :09:19.
:09:19. > :09:29.City Hall. If I If I put it this way - if I said Bashar Al-Assad
:09:29. > :09:32.
:09:32. > :09:36.wanted to serve to 2020. You look at the papers, it is Belfast, and
:09:36. > :09:40.Argentine wanted reclaim the Falklands. Have I been asleep for
:09:40. > :09:47.20 years? This is a story in the Sunday Times talking about the
:09:47. > :09:52.relaunch. The better he says the coalition has done, the Morocco the
:09:52. > :09:56.backbenches answer in pant mine form - oh, no, it isn't. The
:09:56. > :10:00.elephant in the room is the economy which they said was the one purpose
:10:00. > :10:05.of the coalition coming together. It is 12th night now and it is
:10:05. > :10:11.beginning to look like a triple dip recession. The IMF said this week -
:10:11. > :10:14.for every cut that Government makes in Government spending, it is not
:10:14. > :10:19.an equiff loss of output much it is three times that. I think they have
:10:19. > :10:23.got figures wrong there. And the idea that this is all working, as
:10:23. > :10:28.Cameron said in his new year's message. And we got a Christmas
:10:28. > :10:31.message from him saying - we are on the right track. That's far from
:10:31. > :10:36.proven. Jane? As ever, the Government obviously is trying to
:10:36. > :10:42.make all of these changes, etc and doing lots of stirring speeches.
:10:42. > :10:46.But some things do remain the same and it's the implementation stupid
:10:46. > :10:51.- as ever. They have a great idea. I'm all for this child benefit cut
:10:51. > :10:57.for the upper echelons of earners. I think it's a good idea. I think
:10:57. > :11:01.we have to start making cults. I'm absolutely fine with it, but the
:11:01. > :11:05.umplmentation, as ever, was appalling. -- implementation. I got
:11:05. > :11:09.a letter. I had to read it three times. Finally understood they were
:11:09. > :11:13.asking me to call this number to opt-out, which I then Zbut given
:11:13. > :11:17.this unique reference number, I ring this number. I took take
:11:17. > :11:22.minutes to get through. It is a busy day. I get through. Then they
:11:22. > :11:25.say - what is your child benefit number? I say - I don't know, it is
:11:26. > :11:30.in this, my office's chaos but I have a unique reference number.
:11:30. > :11:37.That's no good. It is on the letter but no good. I then have to call
:11:37. > :11:41.them back and wait geb. On it goes. Why -- wait again.
:11:41. > :11:46.They must have cross-pollination, saying - we think you must earn
:11:46. > :11:51.more than �60,000, we are opting you out, call this number if you
:11:51. > :11:55.disagree. You know why it is such a mess? The original tension when
:11:55. > :11:59.George Osborne outlined this at the Tory conference in 2010, the
:11:59. > :12:02.original intention was now it would never happen. The idea is by now,
:12:02. > :12:06.the economy would be picking up and he would be able to say - you know
:12:06. > :12:10.I was going to do this terribly awful thing, well we don't need to
:12:10. > :12:13.because the economy is picking up, but it hasn't worked. The toxic
:12:13. > :12:17.politics seem to be this oddity, where you have a family with one
:12:17. > :12:21.person staying at home to look after the person, �50,000, they get
:12:21. > :12:25.hit. If you have two people earning more of, that they don't get hit.
:12:25. > :12:31.It is a great idea, I think, in principle, but they don't do that
:12:31. > :12:34.joined-up thinking, and think all the way down to the bottom. It is
:12:34. > :12:40.horrendously complicated, the benefit thing, beware the march of
:12:40. > :12:43.IDS when you get into the details. A lot of benefits aren't for people
:12:43. > :12:48.who work but in work and helping them.
:12:48. > :12:50.-- who don't work. They are already trying to cut it before it has come,
:12:50. > :12:54.in the Universial Credit. Apparently people who receive
:12:54. > :12:59.Universial Credit, will impact on the tax allowance they have. It is
:13:00. > :13:03.giving with one hand and taking away with another. It is incredibly
:13:03. > :13:08.complicated. It was complicated before they started. Now it is
:13:08. > :13:13.hitting nurse and policemen and public sector workers. It is
:13:13. > :13:16.hitting them harder as anyone else, that 1% cut in real terms. It
:13:16. > :13:20.wasn't anticipated. Ni, you have the sort of programme for the
:13:20. > :13:23.Conservatives -- Nick. You have the programme emerging. Rory was saying
:13:24. > :13:26.the general election is with us. And it is interesting, how do they
:13:26. > :13:30.fight it, as the coalition? Of course not. The Conservatives need
:13:30. > :13:35.to fight it as the Conservatives. The assumption is because the only
:13:35. > :13:38.only Tory voices we hear, other than David Cameron, and George
:13:38. > :13:44.Osborne and George Osborne are the folk on the 1922 Commtitee.
:13:44. > :13:49.Actually there are new centre- ground Tory MPs in the 2020 group
:13:49. > :13:53.who have come up with suggestions. - talking about abolishing
:13:53. > :13:56.retirement age, extending school day and paying higher benefits to
:13:56. > :13:59.people in the north. These are, they would argue, centre-ground
:13:59. > :14:04.issues, the areas where you win the election and what David Cameron
:14:04. > :14:10.would like, is if we talk to these people, we focus on these people,
:14:10. > :14:15.rather than the old guard in the 1922... Your body language is so
:14:15. > :14:19.much like Cameron. You were channelling him. I spend far too
:14:19. > :14:22.much time in his country. And Blair - although he has been doing very
:14:22. > :14:28.well. �16 million they are saying in the papers today. And Peter
:14:28. > :14:32.Mandelson is learning for him middle aeft peace envoy. Have you
:14:32. > :14:39.ever known the middle aeft more peaceful? That's working. -- Middle
:14:39. > :14:43.East. Gay bishops If you wanted to an tag
:14:43. > :14:47.nice both gay people and women, by this latest thing, I think they
:14:47. > :14:50.thought they would make it slightly better and say - OK, we voted
:14:50. > :14:55.against having women bishops but you can have gay men being bishops
:14:55. > :14:59.so long as they remain celibate. That offends both women and gay men.
:14:59. > :15:02.It seems to me - I don't know who it coming up with this stuff. But
:15:02. > :15:05.it is driving people away, as if you needed to drive more people
:15:05. > :15:08.away from the church. They have got themselves into the more
:15:08. > :15:13.extraordinary position. They are saying, they are saying it gay men,
:15:13. > :15:17.you can have your cake but you can't eat it. Although Jeremy Hunt
:15:17. > :15:22.is saying you can't have cake at all, with sugar and stuff. But I
:15:22. > :15:26.think as an exercise in - or a PR in appealing to people and being a
:15:26. > :15:30.broad, open church, the way they have behaved in the last three or
:15:31. > :15:38.four months, no wonder Rowan Williams, he is probably relieved
:15:38. > :15:45.to be going. He said - AS ROWAN WILLIAMS: you have a lot of
:15:45. > :15:53.explaining to do ! IT LOOKS RIDICULOUS ABOUT ABOUT
:15:53. > :15:59.Holding the Anglican community The Independent on Sunday have done
:15:59. > :16:09.an investigation. I did all of my Christmas shopping online, I was
:16:09. > :16:12.
:16:12. > :16:18.not so smug when it failed to turn up... I had a marvellous moment
:16:18. > :16:22.when, you notice it is not when you were out, it is something for you -
:16:23. > :16:27.we have not bother to bring it for you in the first place - went to
:16:27. > :16:32.the Post Office, got back, there was another note through the door
:16:32. > :16:41.from someone trying to deliver a parcel. It says we are shopping
:16:41. > :16:49.more online, and 225,000 parcels per day were failing to reach
:16:49. > :16:54.people. There are piles of Amazon Box is piling up in post offices,
:16:54. > :16:57.and I felt sorry for them because they were buried. There is one
:16:58. > :17:03.company that if you don't pick up the parcel you have to pay a
:17:03. > :17:13.fortune. My partner is Australian and she gets a lot of parcels, and
:17:13. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:25.the bills go up and up. We need some regulation on that. Let's talk
:17:25. > :17:32.
:17:32. > :17:37.about this jargon, implementing Dilnot. Yes, he thinks an elderly
:17:37. > :17:45.person should not have to pay more than �35,000... To stop them
:17:45. > :17:52.selling their houses. Exactly, now George Osborne wants to raise the
:17:53. > :17:56.cap to �75,000. He said he simply can't afford the cap at �35,000.
:17:56. > :18:00.The politics in this is that the coalition will announce it tomorrow
:18:00. > :18:05.when they announced their mid-term revealed as that will show that
:18:05. > :18:09.this is not just about ticking a list of achievements, it is about
:18:09. > :18:14.saying we are rejuvenated, we have got new ideas, we will do tangible
:18:14. > :18:18.things in the second half of this Parliament. We are running out of
:18:18. > :18:24.times so what we need to crack on. There is a comedian story because
:18:24. > :18:28.you are doing a quiz show. starts tomorrow, but it is a
:18:29. > :18:36.daytime thing, like pass-the-parcel with questions. There has been a
:18:36. > :18:41.bandwagon thing going since the Channel 4 big fat quiz. The they're
:18:41. > :18:46.rude jokes about the royal family. Yes, but of course that was going
:18:46. > :18:52.to happen, it was aimed at that sort of audience. The Daily Mail
:18:53. > :18:57.has an article about it, but in the Sunday Telegraph it is addressing
:18:57. > :19:03.this thing about whether there is too much laddish comedy around.
:19:03. > :19:07.There is a picture of Miranda, almost the antithesis. I think
:19:07. > :19:14.there is an argument there are too many panel shows because they are
:19:14. > :19:24.easy to commission. The producer of Blackadder, Spitting Image, as an
:19:24. > :19:28.
:19:28. > :19:35.experiment he put three Women on with Alan Davies on QI. He said it
:19:35. > :19:40.was the rudest show they have ever done. I would not knock comedians.
:19:40. > :19:46.We don't get it because we are not the age group they are aiming out.
:19:46. > :19:52.I have some twentysomethings and they think they are fantastic.
:19:52. > :19:58.for some quick ones. I love the story. I realised I am getting
:19:58. > :20:02.older because my dentist has told me I am no longer allowed to eat
:20:02. > :20:07.toffee, ice circle things in the Radio Times, and I have a yearning
:20:07. > :20:13.to look around my childhood home. I am not alone - Anthony Hopkins has
:20:13. > :20:17.dropped into his old house in Port Talbot, and this young couple
:20:17. > :20:22.living there, he knocked on the door and asked to look around. They
:20:22. > :20:26.had a charming couple of ours with him. It is obviously mid-life
:20:26. > :20:33.crisis behaviour but I think it is lovely and now they are hoping he
:20:33. > :20:37.might buy it. There is a wonderful museum just outside Cardiff cold
:20:37. > :20:47.fire - and they have a row of houses, each one represents a
:20:47. > :21:02.
:21:02. > :21:08.-- called Fagash. This story is about Hillary Clinton, and it looks
:21:08. > :21:12.like she has worked far too hard a Secretary of State so maybe she
:21:12. > :21:17.could come back. Much has been abroad, all round the world in the
:21:17. > :21:25.last four years so Bill Clinton has had the happiest four years of his
:21:25. > :21:30.life. Maybe she has. That was great, thank you. The weather has been a
:21:30. > :21:34.great, but at least the downpour has briefly stopped for the arrival
:21:34. > :21:43.of new year. The only briefly, perhaps. Let's get the weather
:21:43. > :21:48.The rain may have gone on holiday for some people, but things can
:21:48. > :21:53.change. Today we are looking at a lot of cloud around, a mild day and
:21:53. > :21:58.some fog patches as well. Rain working from Northern Ireland into
:21:58. > :22:04.western areas of Scotland this afternoon, and the air will have a
:22:04. > :22:10.lot more moisture in it across southern Wales. For most of England
:22:10. > :22:13.and Wales, extensive cloud around, limited sunny spells to the east of
:22:13. > :22:19.the high ground and you could get some drizzle just about anywhere
:22:20. > :22:25.today. The weather is very mild for the time of year. Overnight tonight,
:22:25. > :22:29.further outbreaks of rain pushing into Scotland from Northern Ireland.
:22:29. > :22:37.For England and Wales, another cloudy night with more drizzle to
:22:37. > :22:42.the self- especially. Exceptionally mild, 8-10 degrees for the low
:22:43. > :22:47.temperature tonight. Foreign England and Wales it is another
:22:47. > :22:53.cloudy day tomorrow, with temperatures on the mild side once
:22:53. > :22:59.again. A mild start to the new working week, but as a band of rain
:22:59. > :23:04.clears the British Isles by Tuesday, we will see a drop in temperature,
:23:04. > :23:11.and this trend may well continue into next weekend, which means for
:23:11. > :23:16.some people of the weather might The very public disgrace of Oscar
:23:16. > :23:19.Wilde was only the beginning of the great writer's private disasters.
:23:19. > :23:22.His health was broken by two miserable years in Reading Gaol, he
:23:22. > :23:25.was to spend the rest of his life in exile, separated from his
:23:25. > :23:29.beloved children. David Hare's play The Judas Kiss focuses on Oscar's
:23:29. > :23:32.downfall and final years. It stars that fine actor Rupert Everett who
:23:32. > :23:35.describes Oscar Wilde as his personal Jesus. I'm going to be
:23:35. > :23:38.talking to Rupert in a moment but first an exclusive look at
:23:38. > :23:42.rehearsals of the play ahead of its West End opening. Here, Oscar is
:23:42. > :23:52.devastated when his wife vetoes any contact with his sons until he cuts
:23:52. > :23:52.
:23:52. > :24:01.all ties with Bosie - the lover who proved so fatal to Wilde. It is all
:24:01. > :24:04.bribery. I sat with them, I played with them in a nursery for years,
:24:04. > :24:11.before the theatre, after the theatre, hurrying home to see my
:24:11. > :24:15.children. Even after I'd left dark streets to smear my mark against
:24:15. > :24:25.meant in the rough dark, every night I came back and told my
:24:25. > :24:27.
:24:27. > :24:34.children stories. Fairies, and monsters, and enchanted lands. The
:24:34. > :24:39.nursery was my home, not my bedroom. Now she uses the children like they
:24:39. > :24:49.are in again, moving pieces forward and back. The animal let it cubs
:24:49. > :24:54.come here, I can't speak. I am going to faint looking at my
:24:54. > :25:03.club, I can hear a phone call from the York there saying I am speaking
:25:03. > :25:08.too fast. Everybody seems to be enthusing about this already, so a
:25:08. > :25:12.second chance for the play really? Firstly it is a really marvellous
:25:13. > :25:19.play, and sometimes they go well and sometimes they don't. It is a
:25:19. > :25:26.great part for me in one sense. I adore Oscar Wilde and I understand
:25:26. > :25:30.the part very well so it suits me very well. It is a great part.
:25:30. > :25:36.critics seem to be very excited about it. You do have a slightly
:25:36. > :25:41.Oscar Wilde... Your nose and parts of the eyes. He was a much heavier
:25:41. > :25:46.man, but there was something about him in you in terms of your
:25:46. > :25:52.features. Funnily enough I think I have changed physically doing this
:25:52. > :25:58.play because when you try to get fat, you get fat. It is a great
:25:58. > :26:05.play and I think Oscar Wilde is an immensely charming, fascinating,
:26:05. > :26:10.funny character. David has written a character like a potboiler, a
:26:10. > :26:14.melodrama, and it is very touching and sad. It feels quite
:26:14. > :26:19.contemporary because it is about celebrity and scandal and being
:26:19. > :26:25.caught in the eye of the storm. The first part of the play is about the
:26:25. > :26:31.great mystery, Oscar Wilde could have got out of London in time to
:26:31. > :26:36.avoid being arrested, but he couldn't be bothered to, almost?
:26:36. > :26:40.is one of the great scenes. No one can quite figure out what happened
:26:40. > :26:46.in the hotel that afternoon when it looked like he had a chance to
:26:46. > :26:51.leave. He was being pulled in two directions, one by his best friend
:26:51. > :27:01.and ex-lover who wanted him to flee England, and on the other side his
:27:01. > :27:01.
:27:01. > :27:06.lover of the Douglas, who wants him to stay and face the music. In the
:27:06. > :27:12.end, David Hare thinks it is because Bosie said if you stay we
:27:12. > :27:17.can meet this evening and have dinner so he said, OK then, I will
:27:17. > :27:22.stake! He doesn't know what to do, so he doesn't move. It is a
:27:22. > :27:31.brilliantly imagined scene. The second act is about why he ever
:27:31. > :27:37.went back to the sporting maniacal boyfriend in the first place. --
:27:37. > :27:43.plotting. You have called him your Personal Jesus. What is it about
:27:43. > :27:47.Oscar Wilde - clearly the wit, but also the self sacrifice? As a gay
:27:47. > :27:56.person, he is in one sense the beginning of the gay movement in
:27:56. > :28:03.public. Before Wilde, a woman would never have spoken about
:28:03. > :28:08.homosexuality. Words to describe it were like path thick, inverted. He
:28:08. > :28:13.gave homosexuality its profile rarely, and from that moment on the
:28:14. > :28:22.gay movement started so I find him a kind of Jesus figure in a way. He
:28:22. > :28:27.fills me with the same compassion that Jesus fools other people with.
:28:27. > :28:33.You have been a strong Catholic at times, we have gone to Lords in the
:28:33. > :28:38.past. I am not a Catholic. You were raised as one. I spent years trying
:28:38. > :28:48.to get away from it, but my father was Catholic so I did take him to
:28:48. > :28:53.
:28:53. > :28:58.Lords, yes. -- Lourdes. Neurone memoirs are full of fine writing,
:28:58. > :29:03.but pretty unflinching about some of your co-stars at times. Madonna
:29:03. > :29:11.was not very flattered. No, but I thought that was a very loving
:29:11. > :29:16.chapter so obviously I was out of sync. It was said by some of the
:29:16. > :29:22.critics the she wishes she would go full-time into writing. Any chance
:29:22. > :29:27.of that, professionally? I really loved were writing has taken my
:29:27. > :29:33.life, and I definitely want to go on doing it. I want to try and
:29:33. > :29:39.write screenplays for myself to be in. There is an Oscar Wilde one in
:29:39. > :29:43.fact, isn't there? I am trying to get my Oscar Wilde one off the
:29:43. > :29:49.ground. I love writing, I love history and reading stories of
:29:49. > :29:53.people who were there at the time from Samuel Pepys on words. From
:29:54. > :29:59.researching Oscar Wilde, the people who write about him, Frank Harris,
:29:59. > :30:04.it is riveting reading people's versions of the time. I would like
:30:04. > :30:09.to write another memoir and a novel hopefully. You live in an
:30:09. > :30:16.extraordinary world, some of the time, of celebrity and stardom. For
:30:16. > :30:21.a while you did. If you had been in a couple of films that had failed,
:30:21. > :30:27.would you have seen it so clearly, do you think? He in my career much
:30:27. > :30:33.more has happened to me through failure than success. Failure it is
:30:33. > :30:37.the manure that one grows out of, in a way. Every time my career has
:30:37. > :30:42.failed I have been forced to do something new and experience
:30:42. > :30:50.something new. I moved to Europe after my career in England failed,
:30:50. > :30:56.You talk about your love of history. One great success was skaf parade
:30:56. > :31:00.skaes a end. I thought it was a great television drama -- Parade's
:31:00. > :31:05.End. He had the most splendid beard.
:31:05. > :31:09.Let's look at you. You treat these south country swines with the
:31:09. > :31:15.contempt they deserve. I thought you would be buried in their muck
:31:15. > :31:19.for so long. Well, our father wanted - his idea was if you were a
:31:19. > :31:26.pimp you were to go to hell on clean money, whatever it took. No
:31:26. > :31:30.good making a will, I was to see to it. I won't be a penny for me. I
:31:31. > :31:40.won't take his money. You usually forgive a fellow who shoots himself.
:31:40. > :31:43.I have been lucky. Tom Stoppard wrote it. It is beautifully-written.
:31:43. > :31:47.About the English not saying so much. It is interesting how much
:31:47. > :31:53.lips are buttoned and zipped. a great story of the build-up of
:31:53. > :31:58.the end of England, really. And 100 years, you know, ago. I hope you
:31:58. > :32:03.get the money for your own film. Hard at the moment with these huge
:32:03. > :32:07.blockbusters, getting all the - hogging the limelight? Small films
:32:07. > :32:11.are the hardest things now really to make. Either very small is good.
:32:11. > :32:15.If you can make a film for �60,000 you are in with a good chance. It
:32:15. > :32:19.is either that or �300 million. There doesn't seem to be an in
:32:19. > :32:24.between. I hope there is an in between for you, Rupert Everett.
:32:24. > :32:28.Thank you for joining us. Back to business, in a big way, in politics
:32:28. > :32:32.this week. The Coalition's midterm review comes out tomorrow, child
:32:32. > :32:36.benefit changes come into force. The Commons' votes on capping
:32:36. > :32:39.benefit increases on Tuesday and in any spare moments the Prime
:32:39. > :32:44.Minister is presumably busy drafting a speech on Europe which
:32:44. > :32:48.is promised latest this month and could redefine our relation with
:32:48. > :32:53.the EU for a generation. David Cameron is with me now. Good
:32:54. > :32:58.morning. Happy new year. And to you. I say "happy", but we are going to
:32:58. > :33:01.have another year probably of little or no growth. Well, it is a
:33:02. > :33:05.tough economic environment we are. In the last growth figures were
:33:05. > :33:09.encouraging. We were growing at 1% in the third quarter of last year.
:33:09. > :33:12.But we have a tough year ahead. I think the good aspect of what is
:33:12. > :33:16.happening is that there are more people in work. We have seen a
:33:16. > :33:21.really good picture on jobs. You know, million new private sector
:33:21. > :33:24.jobs over the last two years. That means actually - even taking into
:33:24. > :33:26.account the decline in public sector employment, which would have
:33:26. > :33:31.happened whoever was in Government because cuts had to be made. There
:33:31. > :33:34.are more people in work, more women in work and unemployment has been
:33:34. > :33:38.falling. Unemployment still stubbornly high and youth
:33:38. > :33:42.unemployment particularly, around 1 million, still worrying? Yes, much
:33:42. > :33:45.too high but recent figures had youth unemployment coming down. The
:33:45. > :33:49.number of young people in work went up over the last year. We've got
:33:49. > :33:51.some serious programmes to address both long-term unemployment and
:33:51. > :33:57.youth unemployment. We need it make sure they are working as well as
:33:57. > :34:00.they possibly can. But what needs to happen, if we stand back andlike
:34:00. > :34:05.at the big picture of the British economy, we need a rebalancing. We
:34:05. > :34:10.need a rebalancing, a bigger, private sector. Growth spread more
:34:10. > :34:13.evenly around the country. Not reliant on finance, but we need
:34:13. > :34:17.manufacturing, export pro,duction, hi-tech industries. And there are
:34:17. > :34:22.good signs that is taking place -- production.
:34:22. > :34:25.Last year more new companies set up than at any time in recent history.
:34:25. > :34:30.With that picture there are good signs but it is hard work and hard
:34:30. > :34:35.going. Look around Europe, you can see we are not alone in faces these
:34:35. > :34:41.challenges. Thinking of the hard work. Top of your list of worries,
:34:41. > :34:44.perhaps losing the AAA status? That would be a big blow to the
:34:44. > :34:48.Coalition. Top of the worries is making sure you have credibility to
:34:48. > :34:52.the deficit reduction programme. We inherited a situation. If you lose
:34:52. > :34:57.the AAA status that suggests you have lost credibility. I think most
:34:57. > :35:01.important is are you able it maintain and pay your debts at a
:35:01. > :35:05.low rate of interest. That's key. Interest rates in Britain are at a
:35:05. > :35:10.key low. Do I hear you suggesting the triple A rating isn't as
:35:10. > :35:13.important as you used to say it was? Ratings you have are hugely
:35:13. > :35:16.important. I wouldn't deny that but the real test is what are the
:35:16. > :35:20.interest rates the rest of the world is demanding in order to own
:35:20. > :35:24.your debt. Our interest rates are extremely low. The lowest they have
:35:24. > :35:26.been really for centuries. The key thing this year is to try to make
:35:26. > :35:30.sure those interest rates are passed on properly to the
:35:30. > :35:33.businesses and to the home-owners. I want to Mick sure you know that
:35:33. > :35:38.young couples who are working are able it get the first flat or house.
:35:38. > :35:41.-- make sure. To get go and we need to build more houses. We are
:35:41. > :35:45.squarely on the side of people who work hard, who want to do the right
:35:45. > :35:52.thing. We want it back aspiration in Britain because that's how we
:35:52. > :35:57.will win in the global race. -- we want to back. We may see inflation
:35:57. > :36:00.going up? We will have to see what happens. Recently it has come down.
:36:00. > :36:05.The rise in inflation post-2010 is one of the things that made the
:36:05. > :36:08.economy more difficult. We are trying to freeze the council tax.
:36:08. > :36:14.You have brought in a new Bank of England governor to get inflation
:36:14. > :36:21.into the economy. First of all, Mervyn King, the existing governor
:36:21. > :36:24.has done a good job.'S great public servant. In Mark Carney we have the
:36:24. > :36:29.world's leading candidate as a Central Bank governor. I'm looking
:36:29. > :36:33.forward to working with him. rock bottom rates can't carry on,
:36:33. > :36:38.can they? It'll depend on the Bank of England. These rates are set
:36:38. > :36:41.independently. But, you know, right now Britain needs low interest
:36:41. > :36:46.rates. We need businesses to get out and invest and people to get on
:36:46. > :36:51.the housing ladder. We want it maintain a situation where low
:36:51. > :36:54.interest rates are possible. -- we want to maintain. You can only keep
:36:54. > :36:58.rates low if you have a credible strategy for getting on top of
:36:58. > :37:03.deficit and debt and this is' what the Government's fiscal policy,
:37:03. > :37:08.where we have taken difficult decisions, that has enabled the key
:37:08. > :37:12.interest rates to continue. Let's come to the removal of child
:37:12. > :37:17.benefit for people over �50,000 a year, which comes in tonight. We
:37:17. > :37:21.heard Jane Moore earlier saying what an incredibly complicated and
:37:21. > :37:26.mind-dazing series of forms people have to go through. But beyond that,
:37:26. > :37:32.a lot of your own supporters, a lot of Conservative MPs, don't really
:37:32. > :37:35.understand the fairness of having two families where you have one
:37:35. > :37:39.couple, a spouse staying at home to look after the children, hold
:37:39. > :37:43.together a traditional family because the other person is getting
:37:43. > :37:47.�50,000. They lose their child benefit. A lot of money for that
:37:47. > :37:51.family. And another family, where they are both working, they may be
:37:51. > :37:55.earning �85,000 together, they don't. That just seems unfair.
:37:55. > :38:00.Let's start with the overall point about fairness. The truth is, you
:38:00. > :38:03.cannot deal with the deficit. with that. I will. But you cannot
:38:03. > :38:07.deal with the deficit by taking more in tax from the richest,
:38:07. > :38:11.although we are. Nor can you deal with the deficit by combating
:38:11. > :38:14.welfare, fraud evasion and excessive welfare at the bottom.
:38:14. > :38:19.You need it make sure everyone is making their contribution. So
:38:19. > :38:23.taking away child benefit -- you need to make sure. Taking away
:38:23. > :38:26.child benefit for those earning over �60,000, only the top 15% of
:38:26. > :38:29.the country. I'm not saying they are rich but it is right they
:38:29. > :38:32.should make a contribution. Traditional families where they are
:38:33. > :38:40.far from rich. I am enot saying they are, but this will raise �2
:38:40. > :38:47.billion. If we don't raise that �2 billion from that group of people,
:38:47. > :38:51.the better-off 215% in the country. We need to find somewhere is.
:38:51. > :38:59.there anything that can be done about that apparent misjudgment.
:38:59. > :39:02.The only way to address that would be to have a means-testing system
:39:02. > :39:06.to means test every family in the country. I don't want to introduce
:39:07. > :39:13.that which is why we opted for the relatively straightforward, if you
:39:13. > :39:16.or your partner earns over �60,000, you shouldn't be getting child
:39:16. > :39:19.benefit. Is anything that can be done? The only way you can do that
:39:19. > :39:29.is by taking away more child benefit from more people. I don't
:39:29. > :39:31.
:39:31. > :39:35.want to do that. Do you accept, if it is justice, it is rough justice.
:39:35. > :39:43.We have addressed the cliff edge. The original proposal is that there
:39:43. > :39:47.is a cut-off point. But there is now a point between �50,000 and
:39:47. > :39:53.�60,000, if you earn between those areas, you go into the self-
:39:53. > :39:57.assessment system and get assessed. 85% of families that get child
:39:57. > :40:01.benefit will receive it in the same way they do now. Fair? It is
:40:01. > :40:04.interesting, you know... A lot of people are still going to look at
:40:04. > :40:08.those two different families, one doing what many Conservatives would
:40:08. > :40:10.regard as the right thing, one member of the family staying at
:40:10. > :40:15.home to look after the children while the other goes out to work,
:40:15. > :40:19.and they are being penalised while another family where they are both
:40:19. > :40:23.going out to work and earning much more money aren't and a will the
:40:23. > :40:29.see that as fund enmentally unfair. I think people see it as fair if
:40:29. > :40:33.there is someone in the household earning �60,000 you don't get child
:40:33. > :40:37.benefit. I suppose the most vivid piece of economic rhetoric from the
:40:37. > :40:42.coalition over the last few months has been the business of somebody
:40:42. > :40:47.going out to work, a striver, looking around and seeing the
:40:47. > :40:50.curtains down, in the next-door house with a skiever. And that is
:40:50. > :40:56.how you have very much sold the welfare benefit cap that the
:40:56. > :40:59.Commons will vote on on truce. -- skiver. I don't accept that. Your
:40:59. > :41:03.Chancellor and most others have talked about it that way. We have
:41:03. > :41:08.made three separate decisions that you canling, if you like. That is
:41:08. > :41:13.people in the -- that you can link. That is people on out of work
:41:13. > :41:17.benefits, there will be a 1% increase. No more for that and for
:41:17. > :41:20.that for tax credits a 1% increase. Those are all right decisions. We
:41:20. > :41:25.need to control public sector pay to keep that under control with a
:41:25. > :41:28.1% cap. We need to limit the growth of welfare payments overall and
:41:28. > :41:31.that must include the welfare system. For those out of work, it
:41:31. > :41:38.is right that their incomes aren't going up faster than people in work.
:41:38. > :41:44.Do you accept that this 1% cap, 60% of the people that it affects are
:41:44. > :41:50.hard-working people who's blinds are up in the morning, whose
:41:50. > :41:53.curtains are open and are going out to do jobs neither you or I would
:41:53. > :41:58.relish. The changes will affect 100% of people on tax credits. I
:41:58. > :42:01.don't like taking money away from anybody but we inherited a massive
:42:01. > :42:04.Budget deficit, one of the biggest in the world. We have to get on top
:42:04. > :42:09.of that in order to maintain the low interest rates our economy
:42:09. > :42:12.needs. We have paid down one- quarter of the deficit in the last
:42:12. > :42:15.two-and-a-half years. We are on the right track, the right road. We
:42:15. > :42:21.have made progress down that road but there is a lot further to go.
:42:21. > :42:26.We need to control welfare spend bug it is true to say that it is
:42:26. > :42:31.also... -- spending but it is true to say. I want it make it clear. In
:42:31. > :42:35.your view, the vast majority of people who will be hit are not
:42:35. > :42:40.scroungers or work shy. People affected by the 1% public sentor
:42:40. > :42:44.pay cap, those are people who work hard, who do vital jobs. But let me
:42:44. > :42:48.put it this way: the Labour Party agree with the 1% increase for
:42:48. > :42:53.public sector pay but they don't agree with the 1% cap on welfare.
:42:53. > :42:56.So they are effectively saying... don't want to get into Labour
:42:56. > :43:00.policies. It is an odd argument, to say people out of work, their
:43:00. > :43:03.incomes, should be going up faster than people in work. We don't think
:43:03. > :43:08.that's right which is why we put in place this 1% cap. Everyone will
:43:08. > :43:12.have to think about how they voted for, that on Tuesday. Let me turn
:43:12. > :43:17.to another big promise this month, your speech on Europe.
:43:17. > :43:22.Would it be such a great disaster for us to leave the EU and simply
:43:22. > :43:25.have a trading relationship with it? Boris Johnson suggested it
:43:25. > :43:30.wouldn't be a terrible thing. don't think it would be right for
:43:30. > :43:33.Britain. My policy and approach is to determine, absolutely and simply
:43:33. > :43:37.by the national interest. -- is determined. What is right for
:43:37. > :43:41.Britain and people in work, British business and the future of our
:43:41. > :43:45.country. If we left the European Union altogether... There are all
:43:45. > :43:50.sorts of regulations and rules that you dislike and we would be free to
:43:50. > :43:53.grow. The key point is that 50% of our trade is with the European
:43:53. > :43:56.Union. At the moment, because we are in this single market and we
:43:56. > :44:01.have a seat at the table of the single market, we help write the
:44:01. > :44:04.rules. If we were outside the EU altogether, we would still be
:44:04. > :44:08.trading with these countries, of course we would, but we would have
:44:08. > :44:12.no say over the rules into the market into which we sell. Trading
:44:12. > :44:16.itself would go on. Of course it would. There is a lot of
:44:16. > :44:20.scaremongering on all sides of this debate. Of course the trading would
:44:20. > :44:24.go on. Norway trades actively with all of the European Union including
:44:24. > :44:29.Britain but Norway has to obey all the rules of the single market and
:44:29. > :44:36.pays a fee for trading into the single market but has in say over
:44:36. > :44:40.the rules. So instead, as what Mr Von Rompey has said, you want it
:44:40. > :44:43.cherry bit. We don't want this bit or that and we want to repatriot
:44:44. > :44:47.certain powers. And the problem you have, you need every other member
:44:47. > :44:51.of the EU to agreement it is not going to happen. It is difficult
:44:51. > :44:53.and it is possible. Two reasons Y. First of all, already in Europe
:44:53. > :44:56.there are some things that different countries are involved in,
:44:56. > :45:00.where others are not. We are not involved in the single currency,
:45:00. > :45:04.the euro. We are not going to join the euro. As long as I'm Prime
:45:04. > :45:08.Minister we'll have the pound not the euro. We are not involved in
:45:08. > :45:11.the shengin no borders agreement. We want to maintain our borders, we
:45:12. > :45:15.think it is good for immigration control. A second, vital point wh,
:45:16. > :45:18.is happening in Europe is massive change being driven by the
:45:18. > :45:22.existence of the euro. The countries of the euro have to
:45:22. > :45:27.change to make their currency work. They need to integrate more and
:45:27. > :45:31.make changes to their systems. of your critics, including Boris
:45:31. > :45:35.Johnson say it is immoral to encourage them to do something
:45:35. > :45:38.which politically is going to be disastrous. I am not encouraging
:45:38. > :45:41.them but they recognised they have to do this. There isn't a single
:45:41. > :45:47.currency in the world that doesn't have bank union and forms of fiscal
:45:47. > :45:52.union. They need to change. What that means is they are changing the
:45:52. > :45:56.nature of the organisation to which we belong. We are perfectly
:45:56. > :46:05.entitled and enabled, because they need changes to ask for changes
:46:05. > :46:09.If you don't get some of the repatriation of powers that you
:46:09. > :46:14.want, you will stop them from changing in the way that they need
:46:14. > :46:20.to change? I think it is a perfectly acceptable argument to
:46:20. > :46:25.say that as you need to make your changes, there are changes Britain
:46:26. > :46:31.would like to make as well, and we would like to be part of the single
:46:31. > :46:36.market... Hang on, people told me it was never possible to make
:46:36. > :46:41.changes in this relationship and I have already managed to get us out
:46:41. > :46:45.of the bail-out power, where we were spending British taxpayers'
:46:45. > :46:49.money bailing out other countries. Let's try to get a sense of what
:46:49. > :46:55.you would like that new relationship to be. They are not
:46:55. > :46:59.going to give a whole speech. They are not going to ask that, but for
:46:59. > :47:05.instance we would be better off out of the working time directive.
:47:05. > :47:09.Already we have limited its impact. Would you like to be outside of it?
:47:09. > :47:13.Been my view it should never have been introduced in the first place
:47:13. > :47:18.because it is affecting things like the way we run hospitals rather
:47:18. > :47:22.than simply about business and trade and the single market. In
:47:22. > :47:31.order to put you off, because I can see we are going to cherry-pick
:47:31. > :47:41.through now... Yes, we are! Let me try to, because you mentioned
:47:41. > :47:41.
:47:41. > :47:46.yourself immigration and shengin, is there any way people inside the
:47:46. > :47:52.EU could be limited? We have a process under way called the
:47:52. > :47:58.balance of competences review, where the public can be involved in
:47:58. > :48:03.this as much as they like, going through areas asking the balance of
:48:03. > :48:08.arguments. What is right at the European level? What is right at
:48:08. > :48:12.the national level? Are you trying to send me to sleep? Be it means
:48:12. > :48:17.that if you want to make an argument that there are things we
:48:17. > :48:23.do better at the national level... I am asking if you think there is
:48:23. > :48:28.any chance of limiting people's movement inside the EU. Clearly one
:48:28. > :48:33.of the key reasons for being a member of the European Union is the
:48:33. > :48:36.movement of services, goods and people. There are restrictions
:48:36. > :48:40.already on the movement of people if you have an emergency for
:48:40. > :48:45.instance. Should we look good arguments about whether it should
:48:45. > :48:51.be harder for people to come to Britain and claim benefits? Yes,
:48:51. > :48:56.frankly, we should. The common fisheries policy, my last one.
:48:56. > :49:01.have got to make a speech, we have this balance of competences review,
:49:01. > :49:05.but all of these areas should be carefully looked at. If you look at
:49:05. > :49:11.the her rear of fish, already massive changes taking place. Let's
:49:11. > :49:16.look at the arguments on either side. This is clearly going to be a
:49:16. > :49:20.complicated negotiation. Once you have got things you want to
:49:20. > :49:26.repatriate, you then go into what will be a very complicated and long
:49:26. > :49:30.negotiation. Is your position that there should be no referendum for
:49:30. > :49:34.the British people until the process is complete? Basically
:49:34. > :49:39.there is going to be a large negotiation in Europe. Their
:49:39. > :49:44.results ready. When I became Prime Minister, people said to me don't
:49:44. > :49:50.worry, you will not have any treaty changes in Europe. I think we have
:49:50. > :49:56.already had three, one of those we have vetoed, and two others, one of
:49:56. > :50:03.which we have accepted. A lot of people want a straight forward been
:50:03. > :50:08.allowed to vote on Europe. If it is going to have to wait for this kind
:50:08. > :50:14.of negotiation on competences, we could be talking about the no vote
:50:14. > :50:18.for five years yet, possibly 10. That will not happen. I will set
:50:18. > :50:21.this out clearly in the middle of January, but people should be in no
:50:22. > :50:28.doubt that the Conservatives will be offering at the next election a
:50:28. > :50:33.real choice and a way of giving consent. There will actually be a
:50:33. > :50:37.referendum option in front of the British people in 2015? I want to
:50:37. > :50:43.leave something for my speech in the middle of January, but it will
:50:43. > :50:47.be clearly set out then. You will be standing shoulder to shoulder
:50:47. > :50:52.with Nick Clegg tomorrow, talking about the second half of this
:50:52. > :50:56.government, and you have a lot of things you will want to talk about
:50:56. > :51:02.them. However, before too long, you will have to be saying don't vote
:51:02. > :51:07.for this man in his party, vote for me because you want a Conservative
:51:07. > :51:12.government returned with a majority, and you have said you still want to
:51:12. > :51:18.be prime minister in 2020 - is that right? I want to win a Conservative
:51:18. > :51:23.majority and that is exactly what I have said. And stay as prime
:51:23. > :51:29.minister in 2020? Up yes, as is also set out in the interview in
:51:30. > :51:34.the Sunday Telegraph. Very interesting proposals from a group
:51:34. > :51:39.of Conservative MPs in the centre of the party, and they include for
:51:39. > :51:44.instance having lower benefits for the North of England, and the
:51:44. > :51:50.Midlands, where the cost of living is lower. Is that the kind of thing
:51:50. > :51:56.you relish? That is not government policy. It is an idea, I am
:51:56. > :51:59.interested in your response. Before we even get the 2015 election, we
:51:59. > :52:03.have the second half of this Parliament and tomorrow you will
:52:03. > :52:09.see a coalition government with a full tank of gas. We have travelled
:52:09. > :52:14.a long way down the road, but there is more to do, and we have a packed
:52:14. > :52:20.agenda which is concerned with how we build roads in Britain, how the
:52:20. > :52:27.economy keeps moving, how we pay for care for the elderly, big
:52:27. > :52:30.things that will equip the country for the next decade. And you will
:52:30. > :52:36.be funding a new scheme for long- term care for the elderly, albeit
:52:36. > :52:40.not at the level some people hope? The point that was made earlier on
:52:40. > :52:45.the sofa by Nick Watt, this is a mass of people with more and more
:52:45. > :52:50.people suffering from dementia were they going to long-term care and
:52:50. > :52:57.they are catastrophic costs that lead them to have to sell their
:52:57. > :53:02.homes to pay for the care. It is right to put the cat on this so
:53:02. > :53:06.people can insure against catastrophic loss. He can confirm
:53:06. > :53:11.that you will be implementing and funding this. We will take action
:53:11. > :53:16.to deal with those costs so there is a packed agenda, and we will
:53:16. > :53:26.continue with getting the deficit down, controlling immigration,
:53:26. > :53:27.
:53:27. > :53:37.reforming welfare. Let me turn to a couple of issues abroad. Argentina,
:53:37. > :53:38.
:53:38. > :53:42.rattling aggressively about the Falklands. Are you clear the
:53:42. > :53:47.Falklands mistake will not be happening again? I get regular
:53:47. > :53:51.reports on this issue because I want to know that our defences are
:53:51. > :53:59.strong, our resolve is strong. would fight to keep this island?
:53:59. > :54:03.For course, and this is keen that we have fast jets stationed there
:54:03. > :54:09.and troops. He even with our problems of a shrunken maybe we
:54:09. > :54:14.have the resources? It gives me the opportunity to make the point that
:54:14. > :54:19.at �35 billion a year, we still have one of the top five defence
:54:19. > :54:25.budget in the world and we are equipping our armed services in an
:54:25. > :54:30.effective way. The no lot of the papers today they are talking about
:54:30. > :54:35.Abu Qatada and our inability to deport him. Will you be finding a
:54:36. > :54:40.way of getting him out, changing the more? The did get Abu Hamza
:54:40. > :54:47.deported to the US, and I am determined Abu Qatada and other
:54:47. > :54:52.cases like that, we will be able to get then deported. There have been
:54:52. > :54:57.a few cases of being able to deport people, and they can carry out
:54:57. > :55:01.their appeal, but afterwards it will happen and we will be looking
:55:01. > :55:05.closely at this to see what more we can do. President Assad will be
:55:05. > :55:10.making a speech later today, it has been suggested by Mike Jackson we
:55:10. > :55:14.could be involved in some military action around the borders in a
:55:14. > :55:19.humanitarian sense in Syria. What is your message to President Bashar
:55:19. > :55:26.al-Assad? He should go. He has a phenomenal amount of blood on his
:55:26. > :55:30.hands. I met some of the victims when I went to the refugee camp on
:55:30. > :55:36.the Jordanian border and the stories they told me were shocking,
:55:36. > :55:46.about how they had been bombed and shot and sometimes even stabbed out
:55:46. > :55:50.of their villages and homes. On the humanitarian side, Britain is the
:55:50. > :55:55.second largest donor in terms of humanitarian help, but we are
:55:55. > :55:58.working to do more to work with the opposition inside and outside Syria
:55:59. > :56:05.to speed up the transition and get rid of this illegitimate regime and
:56:05. > :56:09.give Syria a fresh chance. Thank you. Now the news headlines. The
:56:09. > :56:15.prime minister has defended changes to child benefit. From tomorrow,
:56:15. > :56:19.has told with someone earning more than �50,000 a year will lose some
:56:19. > :56:25.of their benefits and it will be withdrawn altogether from people
:56:25. > :56:29.earning more than �60,000. David Cameron said they were the top 15%
:56:29. > :56:32.of earners and said it was necessary to bring down the deficit.
:56:32. > :56:37.Protesters have attacked police during a third night of trouble in
:56:37. > :56:43.Belfast. Shots were fired at officers and at 38 year-old man was
:56:43. > :56:46.arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The violence flared last
:56:46. > :56:51.month after councillors decided to put limits on when they would fly
:56:51. > :56:56.the Union flag above City Hall. Nationalists want the flag to be
:56:56. > :57:01.removed completely, but unionists say it is part of their identity.
:57:01. > :57:05.Back to Andrew in a moment, but first let's look at what is coming
:57:05. > :57:10.up after the show. In the week the Pope called for a
:57:11. > :57:16.new economic model to counter inequality and selfishness - is he
:57:16. > :57:23.right to condemn capitalism? More virgin births - as geneticists come
:57:23. > :57:31.closer to creating artificial sperm, can children be born without
:57:31. > :57:38.fathers? The Prime Minister is still with me and we are joined by
:57:38. > :57:42.Rupert Everett and Rory Bremner. You are still hated by a lot of
:57:42. > :57:48.Conservatives about gay marriage and so on. I happen to believe it
:57:48. > :57:51.is right. Not just as David Cameron, I believe as a Conservative
:57:51. > :57:55.marriage is a great institution and it should be available for gay
:57:55. > :58:00.people as well. He had said in the past you don't want to see gay
:58:00. > :58:04.people mimicking straight couples. I am not the right person to talk
:58:04. > :58:11.to about this because I am like the Prime Minister, I can't stand
:58:11. > :58:18.marriage. Everything about marriage and loth. It doesn't change what
:58:18. > :58:23.happens in church. This is where we haven't explained it. This is what
:58:23. > :58:29.the state sanctions, as it were. lot of people still think figures
:58:29. > :58:33.will be forced into this. The if you are going to go after gay
:58:33. > :58:37.people, these are two people saying they want to make a lifelong
:58:37. > :58:46.commitment and that is one of the firm long-standing commitments -
:58:46. > :58:50.why go after that? D you regret using fruit cake and closet racists
:58:50. > :58:53.terms for UKIP? In prime minister you have to get used to the fact
:58:53. > :58:59.that in the middle of a parliament you will get people going off in
:58:59. > :59:05.all sorts of directions. They are not fruitcakes, are they? They are
:59:05. > :59:11.some pretty odd people, we won't go into that. If that is all we have