08/12/2013

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:35. > :00:40.What was it that made Nelson Mandela is so irresistible? There is an

:00:41. > :00:44.interesting account by his biographer, John Carlin, in the

:00:45. > :00:50.Sunday Times. Three things, he says. First, integrity, what you saw was

:00:51. > :00:53.what you got. Second, huge personal generosity, treating everybody with

:00:54. > :01:00.respect, everybody alike. And then charisma. Few of us have that, but

:01:01. > :01:04.integrity, generosity and respect is not a bad start. He says his

:01:05. > :01:09.speciality was simply killing apartheid with kindness. Days on,

:01:10. > :01:12.there is a lot more to say about the legacy of Nelson Mandela and the

:01:13. > :01:17.papers are already asking what is ahead for South Africa. Sir Trevor

:01:18. > :01:20.McDonald will help review today's papers, along with Gillian Tett,

:01:21. > :01:24.assistant editor of The Financial Times.

:01:25. > :01:28.We are going to start a lot closer to home. It has been a wild and

:01:29. > :01:33.freezing few days, with many people worried about fuel bills. How would

:01:34. > :01:37.you feel, how would you cope, if the power went off? Independent reports

:01:38. > :01:41.say that as a country we are close to the edge and could face blackouts

:01:42. > :01:45.next winter. To talk about keeping the lights on and the cost to

:01:46. > :01:52.families of doing so, I am joined by the boss of one of the big six

:01:53. > :01:57.energy companies, Vincent de Rivaz of EDF. The Chancellor has given the

:01:58. > :02:02.Autumn Statement and new information has come out about the scale of the

:02:03. > :02:10.cuts to come. Does Danny Alexander also want to see the shrink of the

:02:11. > :02:13.state to its 1943 size? Today is the official day of mourning in South

:02:14. > :02:17.Africa for the man once regarded as a terrorist in this country, who has

:02:18. > :02:26.now become a kind of global secular saint. But what is his legacy? Neil

:02:27. > :02:28.Kinnock was a stalwart of the anti-apartheid campaign and new

:02:29. > :02:32.Nelson Mandela. He will be talking about that and reflecting on British

:02:33. > :02:37.politics. Many musicians were prominent in the campaign for Nelson

:02:38. > :02:40.Mandela's release from prison, including Sting, who played a 70th

:02:41. > :02:50.birthday concert for him at Wembley. His latest album, the last

:02:51. > :02:51.ship is all about the decline of shipbuilding and what it meant for

:02:52. > :03:01.communities in the north-east. Listen to that accident. He's going

:03:02. > :03:03.to be telling us about that and performing a song from the album. A

:03:04. > :03:13.busy show. -- accident. MPs are set to receive an 11% pay

:03:14. > :03:16.rise when a Parliamentary watchdog publishes its final recommendations

:03:17. > :03:22.on salaries next week. The increase is due to come into effect after the

:03:23. > :03:26.2015 general election and will take MP page ?274,000 a year. David

:03:27. > :03:30.Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have all criticised the planned

:03:31. > :03:36.rise, but will not be able to prevent it.

:03:37. > :03:39.For once, they are all saying the same thing. David Cameron, Nick

:03:40. > :03:45.Clegg and Ed Miliband all believe that this pay rise is too much.

:03:46. > :03:48.Nevertheless, MPs look set to get a double-digit increase when the

:03:49. > :03:50.Independent Parliamentary standards authority publishes its final

:03:51. > :03:59.recommendations on salaries later this week. Currently, an MP owns a

:04:00. > :04:06.basic salary of ?66,396. The suggestion is that goes up to

:04:07. > :04:10.?74,000, an increase of 11%, after the next election. However, they

:04:11. > :04:13.also recommend an increase in contributions that MPs make to their

:04:14. > :04:18.pensions and cuts in allowances for meals, taxes and other expenses.

:04:19. > :04:22.From 2015, MP wages would go up in line with average earnings. The

:04:23. > :04:26.Independent Parliamentary standards authority was established in the

:04:27. > :04:29.wake of the MP expenses scandal in 2009. It does not need the agreement

:04:30. > :04:36.of Parliament to bring in these changes. Although the party leaders

:04:37. > :04:42.disapprove, some MPs say the one-off boost is necessary because backbench

:04:43. > :04:46.MP pay have fallen behind. Nonetheless, at a time when the

:04:47. > :04:49.government is preaching austerity, most can see that such an increase

:04:50. > :04:55.is unlikely to prove popular with taxpayers.

:04:56. > :05:00.Airline passengers have been warned there could be further disruption

:05:01. > :05:03.today due to a technical fault at the National Air Traffic Service

:05:04. > :05:06.yesterday. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled and NATS said

:05:07. > :05:12.there might be a knock-on effect for services. Airports across the UK say

:05:13. > :05:16.they are hoping to return to normal operations after the telephone

:05:17. > :05:20.glitch. In the last few years, and

:05:21. > :05:24.passengers have seen a major disruptions, whether it be the

:05:25. > :05:29.terror threats in 2006, striking British Airways staff in 2009 and,

:05:30. > :05:33.of course, the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano that closed entire

:05:34. > :05:36.European airspace. In that time, passengers have also acquired far

:05:37. > :05:40.more rights than ever before thanks to new EU rules. In general, the

:05:41. > :05:44.airline which you are booked to fly is fully responsible for you until

:05:45. > :05:47.you reach your final destination. The responsibility starts when you

:05:48. > :05:52.check in and compensation is triggered once your flight is

:05:53. > :05:55.delayed by more than two hours or cancelled. Crucially, the airline

:05:56. > :05:59.must pay for meals and overnight accommodation even if they are not

:06:00. > :06:03.to blame for the problem. That was the case this weekend. A technical

:06:04. > :06:07.mishap at the National air traffic managers in Swanwick caused

:06:08. > :06:11.yesterday's delays, not the airlines. But it is highly unusual

:06:12. > :06:17.for carriers to sue air-traffic controllers to recoup costs

:06:18. > :06:19.incurred. Although there is far more protection for disrupted passengers,

:06:20. > :06:24.it will not compensate for the mental anguish and lost time that is

:06:25. > :06:27.now part of air travel. People in South Africa are taking

:06:28. > :06:32.part in a day of prayer and reflection for late president Nelson

:06:33. > :06:37.Mandela. President Jacob Zuma will attend a church in Johannesburg with

:06:38. > :06:40.other multi-faith service planned throughout the day. A national

:06:41. > :06:44.memorial will be held on Tuesday ahead of a state funeral on Sunday

:06:45. > :06:48.the 15th of December. South Africans have been holding vigils since Mr

:06:49. > :06:53.Mandela died on Thursday at the age of 95.

:06:54. > :06:55.That is all from me. I will be back with the headlines just before ten

:06:56. > :07:00.o'clock. In a moment we will have the review

:07:01. > :07:04.of the papers. First, world leaders will soon be arriving in South

:07:05. > :07:08.Africa for the memorial events for Nelson Mandela, culminating in his

:07:09. > :07:17.funeral in seven days time. I joined from Soweto by James Robbins. You

:07:18. > :07:24.are standing outside a church, why? Here in the centre of Soweto, just

:07:25. > :07:27.one of hundreds of thousands of churches, places of worship, where

:07:28. > :07:33.South Africans are gathering on this national day of prayer and

:07:34. > :07:40.reflection. This is an extraordinary church, at the heart of the

:07:41. > :07:45.anti-apartheid struggle. People came here to seek refuge inside the

:07:46. > :07:48.church, where, notoriously, on one occasion, the South African security

:07:49. > :07:52.forces stormed inside and fired live rounds. The church was always a

:07:53. > :07:56.central to the anti-apartheid struggle. It is a highly appropriate

:07:57. > :08:03.base for a mass that is going on behind me to be held. You would hear

:08:04. > :08:08.the sentiments, the praise being sung, you will hear from across

:08:09. > :08:13.South Africa as many scattered communities come together to pay

:08:14. > :08:20.tribute. There will be waves of pride and sadness. What about the

:08:21. > :08:24.future? The ANC is not the party that Mandela foundered when he left

:08:25. > :08:29.prison. And Jacob Zuma, the current president, is no Mandela either?

:08:30. > :08:33.That is absolutely right in the view of many South Africans, I think.

:08:34. > :08:35.There is a disaffection within and outside the ANC. There are

:08:36. > :08:40.criticisms that it has abandoned Nelson Mandela's integrity and much

:08:41. > :08:46.of the party has descended into cronyism and even corruption. These

:08:47. > :08:49.are claims strenuously denied by President Zuma and those close to

:08:50. > :08:53.him. But it is clear that the ANC will not be able to live for ever on

:08:54. > :08:57.the legacy and example of Nelson Mandela. I think politics after this

:08:58. > :09:04.week, after this extraordinary week that we are beginning to see unfold,

:09:05. > :09:11.will be quite different. The front pages of the papers, lots

:09:12. > :09:16.of Mandela. There is a picture of Mandela when he first came to London

:09:17. > :09:19.in 1962 in The Observer. Their main story is about Blairites taking over

:09:20. > :09:24.the running of Labour's election campaign. It is presented as a

:09:25. > :09:28.sinister takeover by men dressed as the Spanish Inquisition. Alistair

:09:29. > :09:36.Campbell, all of that lot are back, they say. The Sunday Times, the main

:09:37. > :09:40.story, as you heard on the news, the 11% pay rise for MPs. Dammed if they

:09:41. > :09:45.do, dammed if they don't. It says Nigella Lawson has won in the court

:09:46. > :09:48.of public opinion. Good for Nigella, but that is the most fickle

:09:49. > :09:52.and dangerous court in the land, I would suggest. The Independent on

:09:53. > :09:59.Sunday has a picture of 11 is on the front page. The Mail on Sunday has a

:10:00. > :10:05.picture that, for once, will please David Cameron. Send them back home

:10:06. > :10:13.says the leading UKIP supporter, former Conservative. That is the

:10:14. > :10:21.kind of anti-UKIP story that he needs. The Sunday Express, they have

:10:22. > :10:30.sold their front page to Chanel number five. Your interview with

:10:31. > :10:36.Nelson Mandela was the first when he came out of prison? It was. To me,

:10:37. > :10:40.it remains an extraordinary moment. I could not believe that somebody

:10:41. > :10:47.who had spent and contribute long time away, could come out so

:10:48. > :10:52.absolutely focused on what he needed to do to move his country forward.

:10:53. > :10:56.With such a conspicuous lack of bitterness. You kept trying to get

:10:57. > :11:00.him to talk about the horrible time he had in prison and he would not do

:11:01. > :11:06.it? He refused. It must have been awful for you, I said. I was looking

:11:07. > :11:10.for a headline. Mandela tells McDonald, I was beaten every day.

:11:11. > :11:17.Not a word of it. All in the past, he said. I must concentrate on the

:11:18. > :11:20.future and my country's future. I failed. I also failed to get him to

:11:21. > :11:23.acknowledge there were any fundamental problems in coming to a

:11:24. > :11:28.political accommodation with the national party. We tend to forget

:11:29. > :11:31.that he was a very, very shrewd politician. He knew exactly what he

:11:32. > :11:37.wanted to say at any particular time. He didn't give too much away.

:11:38. > :11:41.He didn't give his hand away. He was very self disciplined. He had

:11:42. > :11:45.studied his opponents very closely. He spent a lot of time on Robben

:11:46. > :11:49.Island reading about their history and so on. He knew exactly how to

:11:50. > :11:55.approach them. He knew what he wanted and how to get it. The papers

:11:56. > :11:58.this morning are absolutely full of Mandela commentary. But I would pick

:11:59. > :12:03.up this particular piece from the Observer. A contrast, on the one

:12:04. > :12:09.side we have a wonderful piece by Desmond Tutu, echoing many of the

:12:10. > :12:14.points about the extraordinary skill with which Mandela not only captured

:12:15. > :12:17.or mastered political theatre, but also shows such incredible

:12:18. > :12:20.forgiveness, understanding and empathy. But that is the older

:12:21. > :12:24.generation. The other piece that is very important is on the other side

:12:25. > :12:29.of the page by a young South African columnist. He has pointed out that,

:12:30. > :12:32.notwithstanding Nelson Mandela's strawberry achievements, for the

:12:33. > :12:36.younger generation he is increasingly starting to fade off

:12:37. > :12:41.the radar screen. -- extraordinary achievements. The unspoken truth in

:12:42. > :12:46.South Africa is that he has been politically irrelevant since 1999.

:12:47. > :12:52.The problems remain very tragic, very big. Unfortunately, although

:12:53. > :12:57.you might think that has been a Hollywood ending for Mandela, he has

:12:58. > :13:02.not fixed the entire country, in spite of his achievements. The

:13:03. > :13:07.Observer has taken on this point about the post-Mandela world. I'm

:13:08. > :13:11.surprised so many people do this. I suppose it is obvious to do it at

:13:12. > :13:15.the death of Mandela. But the post Mandela world started a long, long

:13:16. > :13:19.time ago. He was determined to spend only a few years in the presidency.

:13:20. > :13:26.After that, there was Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, that world, what he

:13:27. > :13:30.symbolised, has gone. The Observer has this wonderful memory of the

:13:31. > :13:38.moment in 1995, when the Rugby World Cup, which at Africa incidentally

:13:39. > :13:44.one, a nice Hollywood ending, a wonderful thing of putting on the

:13:45. > :13:50.T-shirt. The shirt of the supremacist, white South Africa? He

:13:51. > :13:55.was great at making these grand gestures. Not grand speeches, but

:13:56. > :13:59.very important, symbolic... He was very good at shirts. I loved the

:14:00. > :14:05.story when he went to Buckingham Palace, he said, to the rest of the

:14:06. > :14:14.ANC leadership, they said, white tie, tails. All of these former

:14:15. > :14:19.guerillas turned up like that. And he turned up in his traditional

:14:20. > :14:23.dress, laughing at them. If you want a cause for optimism in this cynical

:14:24. > :14:27.age, another piece from Andrew Lansley, again, in the Observer,

:14:28. > :14:31.this points out, notwithstanding that you had so much political

:14:32. > :14:35.theatre and strategy, at the end of the day you had a man that managed

:14:36. > :14:41.to put a sense of good back into politics. It's so easy to be very

:14:42. > :14:44.cynical about the political process. Sometimes, good can come out of

:14:45. > :14:50.politics and he showed that. Let's turn to Trevor. You are talking

:14:51. > :14:54.about other issues. We're talking about good in life, also what goes

:14:55. > :14:58.wrong this morning. Travel glitches. We saw on the news that all of these

:14:59. > :15:04.people have been struggling in airports. A computer glitch, it

:15:05. > :15:07.says? I find it quite extraordinary. Here we are, in this modern

:15:08. > :15:12.technological world, and we are led to believe that all of these will be

:15:13. > :15:16.taken care of. All we have to do is get our iPhone working properly, our

:15:17. > :15:21.apps, and in fact these things provide a great deal of trouble. One

:15:22. > :15:25.glitch in the system and people are stranded, hundreds of holiday-makers

:15:26. > :15:29.stranded for hours and hours. What is interesting about that, we have

:15:30. > :15:33.had the same problem with the NHS, with computers. Iain Duncan Smith's

:15:34. > :15:38.department has had problems in the same area. Across the Atlantic,

:15:39. > :15:42.Barack Obama's health-care plan, the plank of his second term of his

:15:43. > :15:50.presidency, it all goes wrong because people get onto the system.

:15:51. > :15:52.This is in America, this is not Rwanda. One of the most

:15:53. > :15:58.technologically advanced countries in the world. A key political plank

:15:59. > :16:01.of his goes awry. The more sophisticated the technology, the

:16:02. > :16:09.more vulnerable we are, rather than the freer we are?

:16:10. > :16:18.Turning to the British economy. For those rich foreigners who can

:16:19. > :16:22.get through the travel chaos, this is on property prices in the

:16:23. > :16:28.capital. The figures are extraordinary, a 10% increase in

:16:29. > :16:35.prices over the last year. $1.5 million average houses are

:16:36. > :16:39.two-bedroom apartments, in London. This is not just about London but

:16:40. > :16:46.the British economy. The question is, can you celebrate a boom still

:16:47. > :16:51.built on property price increases and a growing disparity between rich

:16:52. > :17:01.and poor? Is that sustainable? And debt, ?2 trillion of domestic debt.

:17:02. > :17:08.The Chancellor unveiled some better than expected figures for growth

:17:09. > :17:13.but, it is this just a sugar high, will it last?

:17:14. > :17:22.And teaching? A great story about a headteacher

:17:23. > :17:26.who advertised for an assistant. He got all these replies which were

:17:27. > :17:39.illiterate. One person said, I like to see students "bossom." I think he

:17:40. > :17:44.meant blossom. He listed as his experience, and person listed as his

:17:45. > :17:51.experience, flying a single engined plane.

:17:52. > :17:54.In many respects, teachers do a superb job, but there are some

:17:55. > :17:59.fundamental problems in the system, this is what this piece tells us.

:18:00. > :18:04.Qualifications aren't everything, you do need the charisma.

:18:05. > :18:10.But not the experience of flying a light aircraft.

:18:11. > :18:15.My next one is different, Alzheimers. My mother died from

:18:16. > :18:20.Alzheimers basically, it is an issue of personal interest. David Cameron

:18:21. > :18:31.has said he wants Britain to lead the fight in the global fight

:18:32. > :18:35.against dementia. Barack Obama announced $100 million towards a

:18:36. > :18:41.brain research Centre. There needs to be more co-ordinated global

:18:42. > :18:48.action. The spend on Cancer Research UK is much higher. A little plug for

:18:49. > :18:52.the fact David Cameron has picked up an important cause.

:18:53. > :18:59.The other thing I wanted to talk about, Nigella Lawson winning in the

:19:00. > :19:05.court of public opinion. I would imagine many women would

:19:06. > :19:09.have cheered this. Not only is this a story which is powerful and

:19:10. > :19:14.emotional, it is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a woman

:19:15. > :19:19.like her who gets entranced by a rich man and thinks her problems are

:19:20. > :19:23.solved. A warning to young children, young women across Britain who

:19:24. > :19:30.looked at a pretty woman and think, I will be swept away and rescued. A

:19:31. > :19:34.tragic story. She has come through looking dignified, fighting back.

:19:35. > :19:41.We have been talking about image and clothing. She looked like an

:19:42. > :19:47.extraordinary renaissance princess. She did so in a dignified way

:19:48. > :19:52.without hurling insults. I suspect after all this happened, she will

:19:53. > :19:58.come back even stronger than before.

:19:59. > :20:06.One final thought on Mandela. The story in the Observer newspaper,

:20:07. > :20:12.about the business of the post-Mandela world and the symbol he

:20:13. > :20:20.was. I also remember, one thing is he was absolutely realistic about

:20:21. > :20:24.the way things should work. On that first day I met him, at the end of

:20:25. > :20:30.the interview, they wanted him to come out and make a big speech about

:20:31. > :20:38.freedom, equality, justice for all. He looked at the crowd and said, go

:20:39. > :20:43.back to school. An intimation of political mortality do like I have

:20:44. > :20:49.never heard. Standing with ANC stalwart Majak Daw. He said, we are

:20:50. > :20:56.not going to be here very long, the future belongs to you -- ANC

:20:57. > :21:05.stalwarts. Now to the weather. And it's a bit

:21:06. > :21:09.calmer after the storm, and milder too. Let's get more detail from Stav

:21:10. > :21:16.Danaos in the weather studio. It is looking much calmer generally

:21:17. > :21:22.because of high pressure which will continue to dominate. But the

:21:23. > :21:27.southern half will do well. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, windy

:21:28. > :21:32.and increasingly wet. The rain will pile up as we head through the

:21:33. > :21:41.afternoon. A very wet 24 hours, strong, gale force winds. Drier

:21:42. > :21:45.interludes across eastern Scotland. Temperatures up to 13 Celsius.

:21:46. > :21:51.Outbreaks of rain in the North of England and North Wales. Away from

:21:52. > :22:01.here, a dry picture. Heading into next week, staying on the mild side.

:22:02. > :22:07.One or two showers. This is the picture for Monday, a chilly start

:22:08. > :22:14.in the south. Central and eastern England will be fine and dry. Breezy

:22:15. > :22:19.across the north and west. The rain will gradually ease away. The

:22:20. > :22:21.temperatures up to 12 Celsius. Staying that way through the week.

:22:22. > :22:29.Turning a little colder midweek. During Nelson Mandela's

:22:30. > :22:32.imprisonment, South Africa became a hugely divisive issue here. The

:22:33. > :22:35.sporting and cultural boycotts were hotly debated, as was the question

:22:36. > :22:39.of economic sanctions. Neil Kinnock was leader of the Labour Party, as

:22:40. > :22:42.the momentum and pressure for change from within and outside South Africa

:22:43. > :22:45.grew. He met Nelson Mandela on several occasions after he was

:22:46. > :22:52.released from prison, and he joins me now. Good morning. Hello. The

:22:53. > :22:59.first time you met him was in Sweden. Yes, the social Democratic

:23:00. > :23:04.Prime Minister of Sweden, a good friend of mine. Sweden had provided

:23:05. > :23:09.support for the ANC and South Africans generally in exile as well

:23:10. > :23:16.as in the country, in a way no other country had. Nelson's choice was to

:23:17. > :23:21.go there first. A huge privilege for myself and my wife to go and meet

:23:22. > :23:27.him. What was extraordinary about it was, we were in the foreign ministry

:23:28. > :23:33.in Stockholm, we went to the head of the queue ahead of the Cabinet will

:23:34. > :23:39.stop we were with the TV lights. Mandela walked through the door,

:23:40. > :23:44.walked straight up to us and said, you are Neil Kinnock, you are clever

:23:45. > :23:50.skin. I said, how did you know? He said, I have been looking at your

:23:51. > :23:53.photographs. He had on the wall in his prison cell, photographs of all

:23:54. > :23:58.the people who had spoken in Trafalgar Square and demonstrated.

:23:59. > :24:05.He knew all their faces. How important was the British

:24:06. > :24:12.anti-apartheid movement? He called London the second world headquarters

:24:13. > :24:19.of the anti-apartheid movement. From the late 1950s, through the 1960s,

:24:20. > :24:25.there was a very strong anti-apartheid movement here. And,

:24:26. > :24:29.of course, South Africans in exile, black and white, played a

:24:30. > :24:37.substantial part in that. You and Margaret Thatcher memorably clashed

:24:38. > :24:44.on this. In a sense, she called him a terrorist, and he was involved in

:24:45. > :24:51.a paramilitary wing. They resorted to violence, as it turned out, quite

:24:52. > :24:55.mild violence, in utter desperation. Especially in the wake

:24:56. > :25:03.of the Sharpeville Massacre. When it became apparent that the Afrikaner

:25:04. > :25:10.domination of South Africa, the party regime, would only respond to

:25:11. > :25:14.violence, because violence was its main tool. It was a reluctant

:25:15. > :25:18.decision, but it was a firm decision. They did what they could

:25:19. > :25:26.to disrupt the state, and to draw attention globally to the massive,

:25:27. > :25:31.deep injustice of apartheid. It was for that offence that he and the

:25:32. > :25:38.rest of his comrades were sentenced to life imprisonment in the trials

:25:39. > :25:43.in 1964. In this country, the argument was over sanctions. Would

:25:44. > :25:47.it work? A huge debate about the sanctions, even when we were in a

:25:48. > :25:54.Labour government. And the great change the Harold Wilson comment

:25:55. > :25:59.made in 1974 was to end the agreement with South Africa by which

:26:00. > :26:04.we had docking facilities and rearming facilities for our fleet.

:26:05. > :26:10.Hugely controversial. Even the Wilson government did not make any

:26:11. > :26:15.substantial steps in the direction of the investment and material

:26:16. > :26:21.sanctions, which were the essence of the sanctions campaign. It was US

:26:22. > :26:26.Congress, a Republican dominated Congress, which passed their

:26:27. > :26:30.sanctions against South Africa legislation and made a huge

:26:31. > :26:35.difference, when they cut the investment into South Africa.

:26:36. > :26:39.Looking ahead, we say there is no Hollywood ending. If you were in

:26:40. > :26:45.South Africa as a citizen, I suspect you would not be a member of the ANC

:26:46. > :26:53.which has problems of corruption and disillusionment. I might be part of

:26:54. > :26:58.the reform wing of the ANC and -- which is flourishing happily. Every

:26:59. > :27:02.party needs its renovation and refreshment. Even in a party with

:27:03. > :27:08.the extraordinary discipline of the ANC, it is clear that there needs to

:27:09. > :27:15.be substantial change in its system of appointments, operation at local

:27:16. > :27:20.and national level. People in the ANC arguing that are showing huge

:27:21. > :27:24.integrity and courage. I suspect that Nelson Mandela's arguments will

:27:25. > :27:30.be substantially in their director and, he was acutely aware of the

:27:31. > :27:37.transitory nature of achievement and the need to keep building. He made

:27:38. > :27:42.that plane. Real politics goes on. Are you an optimist about South

:27:43. > :27:47.Africa? I am, partly because of the huge resource of its people that

:27:48. > :27:51.they have shown even in the most dreadful circumstances. Their

:27:52. > :27:57.ability to be innovative and forward looking. Secondly, the gigantic

:27:58. > :28:03.natural resources. If more fairly shared, it could fuel a real

:28:04. > :28:33.development of South Africa so it is one of the rich countries. Most of

:28:34. > :28:38.the press are lined up fame against him. He had 300 Tory MPs, if you

:28:39. > :28:44.look at the recordings, screaming their heads off against him. It is

:28:45. > :28:49.the truth, as they well know, which is why they organised it, that

:28:50. > :28:54.barracking on a sustained basis is hugely distracting. All he wanted to

:28:55. > :29:01.do, and he was right, is get through the truths, that we are faced by a

:29:02. > :29:05.cost of living crisis, and a government out of touch with those

:29:06. > :29:11.realities and not responding. Secondly, every single one of the

:29:12. > :29:17.objectives that George observed -- George Osborne set in 2010, he has

:29:18. > :29:26.utterly failed. Balance of payments deficits... It is vital we take the

:29:27. > :29:31.opportunity of interviews like yours to get across those truths again.

:29:32. > :29:39.Nevertheless, there is no money looking ahead. The huge debt hangs

:29:40. > :29:43.over the next government. Individual personal debt is massive in this

:29:44. > :29:48.country. What happens when there is no money left? We can use the same

:29:49. > :29:53.attitude as evident in the last genuine austerity government. Since

:29:54. > :30:01.George Osborne wants to take us back to 1948. And that is austerity that

:30:02. > :30:07.has two characteristics. It is fair at every possible level, and the

:30:08. > :30:12.broadest backs there are the heaviest burden. They are doing the

:30:13. > :30:16.opposite now. Secondly, austerity is used as the basis for renewal and

:30:17. > :30:20.prosperity, instead of being used as an excuse to cut the state back to

:30:21. > :30:29.levels where it becomes rudimentary. That must mean income tax rises,

:30:30. > :30:34.which will leave the current Labour Party open to the same tax

:30:35. > :30:38.bombshell? It depends who is required to pay the additional tax.

:30:39. > :30:44.What we have is a country in which the top rate of tax on people on

:30:45. > :30:49.over ?150,000 per year has been cut from a 50% rate, down to a 45% rate.

:30:50. > :30:55.I'm not saying they should pay for everything. You think it should go

:30:56. > :30:58.up? Banker bonus taxation should be restored to the rational system that

:30:59. > :31:05.we had and we should have a copy rate of 50%. That is clearly the

:31:06. > :31:09.Labour Party's unerring policy. When we say we are going to balance the

:31:10. > :31:15.economy, balance the books, let's do it in a rational way which includes

:31:16. > :31:19.the sustaining and development of the civilised parts and the

:31:20. > :31:24.essential, efficient parts of life, including education, including

:31:25. > :31:31.research and development, and not destroy, in a bid to apply an

:31:32. > :31:34.ideology, an ideology of reducing the state, our country to a very

:31:35. > :31:41.long period of extremely low growth. Higher taxes for the very rich? Oh,

:31:42. > :31:44.yes. Rarely has energy policy been so

:31:45. > :31:48.high on the political agenda. And yet power for homes and businesses

:31:49. > :31:51.is one of our most basic needs. Accommodation of rising bills, the

:31:52. > :31:55.pressure to go green and warnings about possible shortages next winter

:31:56. > :31:59.has suddenly ignited. For the past few weeks, energy has been the hot

:32:00. > :32:03.topic at Westminster. Energy companies have not had a good press

:32:04. > :32:06.recently, criticised for making excess profits on the backs of their

:32:07. > :32:12.customers. Most of the bosses have frankly run for cover. Not, I'm glad

:32:13. > :32:18.to say, Vincent de Rivaz of EDF, one of the big six, who joins me now.

:32:19. > :32:22.The Chancellor was telling us that ?50 is given to come off every

:32:23. > :32:32.energy bill. That's not true, your customers are not going to get ?50

:32:33. > :32:37.off? It is not good enough for the energy companies to say nothing can

:32:38. > :32:41.be done. That is why we were the first to take action. I was

:32:42. > :32:50.confident that we would be able to build on the costs. That is why we

:32:51. > :32:56.have limited the rise in our bills in anticipation of what happened

:32:57. > :33:00.when the government decided to find solutions. You made the cut ahead of

:33:01. > :33:05.time, as it were, rather than afterwards? Typically, your

:33:06. > :33:09.customers on fixed terms contracts will not see ?50 coming off the

:33:10. > :33:16.bill? There are a lot of customers on fixed term contracts. It is a

:33:17. > :33:23.good deal. By the way, we have gained 600,000 customers. We needed

:33:24. > :33:29.it away together, politicians and industry, to address the real issue

:33:30. > :33:34.of rising bills. It is a real issue, they are hurting and I think action

:33:35. > :33:38.can be taken. On the short-term, action can be taken. I think more

:33:39. > :33:43.can be done. Have you been asked to freeze prices until 2015? No, we

:33:44. > :33:49.have not been asked to freeze prices. What I think is very

:33:50. > :33:57.important is that we have to work together to build on the costs. On

:33:58. > :34:00.the short-term, we have this short-term issue. At the same time,

:34:01. > :34:05.we need to think about the long-term. We need to invest in this

:34:06. > :34:11.country. I want to come onto that, very much. To keep the lights on.

:34:12. > :34:17.Long-term and short-term, the challenge is the same. How to do

:34:18. > :34:22.that in an affordable way. How to do that in such a way that we do not

:34:23. > :34:31.abandon the vulnerable, that we do not drop our objectives. At the same

:34:32. > :34:35.time, we keep the lights on. I want to talk about that in a minute.

:34:36. > :34:38.Before I do, what about the idea of a price freeze, the Labour idea of

:34:39. > :34:45.freezing prices for 18 months? Would that work? The politicians are right

:34:46. > :34:48.to ask questions and challenge us. There are many ways to address the

:34:49. > :34:53.question. I think the best way, frankly, is to join forces to take

:34:54. > :34:57.down the cost. What we have proposed, we are the first to take

:34:58. > :35:04.action, and we need to do more, I think. There are more opportunities

:35:05. > :35:07.to get down the costs in future. And has been said if you brought in a

:35:08. > :35:12.price freeze the energy companies would simply raise the prices before

:35:13. > :35:17.the freeze and then the minute it finished raise the prices again. Is

:35:18. > :35:21.that fair? I think we should not behave like that. We have a

:35:22. > :35:25.responsibility, we should be a force for good and part of the solution.

:35:26. > :35:30.In the short term, we have to take action. On the long-term, we are

:35:31. > :35:34.also taking action. Through the meaning of the deal that we have had

:35:35. > :35:41.with the government recently, we have massive investments that will

:35:42. > :35:44.be made in the UK to build new nuclear plants. Because of the

:35:45. > :35:51.carbon agreements with the EU and so on, all coal power stations have to

:35:52. > :35:56.be decommissioned by 2020. That is 40% of our total capacity, thus the

:35:57. > :36:00.fact that a lot of nuclear power stations are closing. Is it possible

:36:01. > :36:04.to keep the system running, given the level of closures? Yes, if the

:36:05. > :36:11.investments are made. You know, we are discussing a lot about all of

:36:12. > :36:19.these matters. I believe that the government is taking action to

:36:20. > :36:23.reform, which is working. Where is the evidence? The deal that we have

:36:24. > :36:30.got with the Government to invest ?16 billion in the UK economy,

:36:31. > :36:38.creating jobs and opportunities. This is the third power station at

:36:39. > :36:42.Hinkley point? This deal would not happen if the Government had not

:36:43. > :36:46.taken action to reform the market, to attract investors, to create the

:36:47. > :36:51.confidence that investors need to have an long-term, at the same time,

:36:52. > :36:53.at a fair price for customers. Customers will not pay a penny in

:36:54. > :36:59.the next decade whilst we are building these new nuclear power

:37:00. > :37:04.plants. Is this actually going to happen? It has not been signed off

:37:05. > :37:09.yet? I am very confident. Of course we have some hurdles to overcome.

:37:10. > :37:13.Causing the finance of the project as a whole, getting the clearance of

:37:14. > :37:22.Brussels. But we have the foundation of it. I have to say, I know for a

:37:23. > :37:28.fact that they were very tough negotiations. They took a long time

:37:29. > :37:35.and the Government fought very hard on taxpayers' behalf. Ultimately, I

:37:36. > :37:40.think we have a fair deal. But it is a very, very expensive deal for the

:37:41. > :37:42.taxpayer. I think the government has guaranteed the price from this power

:37:43. > :37:47.station at double the current level of power for 35 years, which is why

:37:48. > :37:54.the EU and many others are looking at this deal. They are not looking

:37:55. > :38:02.at cancelling the deal. I just mean they are unsure about it. They are

:38:03. > :38:06.going to investigate, as they should do. It is totally expected, it is

:38:07. > :38:11.OK, and we respect the decisions. But the customers, we stand on the

:38:12. > :38:16.side of the customers. They will not pay 1p in the next decade whilst we

:38:17. > :38:23.will be building these plants. Then they will pay a lot afterwards? They

:38:24. > :38:28.will pay a price, which is a fair price, which will attract investor

:38:29. > :38:35.confidence but will be fair for the customers. It will be cheaper than

:38:36. > :38:40.other sources. It will be a price that is not dependent on the fossil

:38:41. > :38:45.fuel imported. With the volatility around it. I think it is a fair

:38:46. > :38:49.deal. If it was not, it would not be a durable deal. I was looking for a

:38:50. > :38:53.neutral source of information, because everybody is a partisan

:38:54. > :38:58.player of one kind or another. The rural society of engineering did a

:38:59. > :39:01.report on energy security and they thought it was a serious danger, if

:39:02. > :39:06.a feud things went wrong, of the lights going out next winter. Were

:39:07. > :39:12.they right about that? I think we will have the lights on this winter.

:39:13. > :39:17.There is a margin which we use. Very small? But we have enough for the

:39:18. > :39:22.winter. What about next winter? For the next years, what we need to do

:39:23. > :39:29.is make these investments that are required and make them in a way that

:39:30. > :39:34.is affordable for the customers. What does that mean in terms of the

:39:35. > :39:41.kind of generation? More nuclear? There will be more nuclear and I am

:39:42. > :39:46.sure there will be others. We need to get the right energy mix and at

:39:47. > :39:50.the same time we need to keep our homes more energy efficient. That is

:39:51. > :39:54.our common challenge. It is a challenge that we will overcome if

:39:55. > :39:59.we are working together, joining forces. I am not ready to enter into

:40:00. > :40:10.any political row. I am not ready for that. Oh, dear. No, it does not

:40:11. > :40:13.help the customers. What does help the customers is to examine the cost

:40:14. > :40:19.to see if there is a better way forward is, and I think there is. We

:40:20. > :40:24.have proven recently, the Government has taken action, it is a first

:40:25. > :40:27.step. More nuclear power stations with different companies, different

:40:28. > :40:31.deals around the country for the future, you think? It attracts

:40:32. > :40:41.investors. You have mentioned the Chinese. It is a very good and

:40:42. > :40:45.positive signal. The British Prime Minister was in China last week. The

:40:46. > :40:49.French Prime Minister was in China, at the same time, more less. That

:40:50. > :40:53.means there are political links between our three countries. We have

:40:54. > :40:56.known these countries for 30 years, have been building and operating in

:40:57. > :41:01.China with them. They will be our partners. Market reform is working,

:41:02. > :41:03.it is attracting investors and I partners. Market reform is working,

:41:04. > :41:06.think it will help to keep the lights on in a way that is

:41:07. > :41:11.affordable for the customers because we all need to stand together. Our

:41:12. > :41:18.15,000 employees are a force for good. Thank you for joining us. From

:41:19. > :41:24.the boss of EDF to a man well known for his environmental activism, as

:41:25. > :41:30.well as for his music. In 1988, Sting open the Nelson Mandela 70th

:41:31. > :41:34.birthday concert with his hit, Set Them Free. It was a moment of

:41:35. > :41:42.powerful symbolism in the push to free Mandela and set South Africa on

:41:43. > :41:48.the road to democracy. His new album, The Last Ship, is almost like

:41:49. > :41:59.a novel in folk song about the ship building roots of Sting's Northern

:42:00. > :42:03.roots. # It all fades to black, and yet I

:42:04. > :42:06.am back # The town is a strange, magnetic

:42:07. > :42:14.pull # Like a homing signal in your skull

:42:15. > :42:20.# In the hemisphere will, wondering how the hell you got here

:42:21. > :42:23.# It's like an underground river, a stream

:42:24. > :42:27.# That haunts your head and once your dreams

:42:28. > :42:30.# And used of those dreams in a canvas sack

:42:31. > :42:33.# And there's nothing around here but the wild world

:42:34. > :42:37.# And yet, and yet, you are back... #

:42:38. > :42:45.We haven't had a Geordie accent like that from you for a while? I only

:42:46. > :42:53.get the accent when I'm angry, my kids always know. This is the first

:42:54. > :43:00.new album you have produced for a long time? I went back to where I

:43:01. > :43:06.come from, to my Tyneside roots. I come from Wallsend, a big shipyard

:43:07. > :43:13.town. I started to write songs about the community I was brought up in. I

:43:14. > :43:17.was speaking in somebody else's voice, telling their stories, rather

:43:18. > :43:21.than mine, it relieved me of that paralysis that was worrying me. It

:43:22. > :43:29.is going to be a Hollywood Opera? A musical? A musical. I think you're

:43:30. > :43:35.going to launch this in Chicago. Why? Why South Shields? The life of

:43:36. > :43:43.the thing began in Newcastle. We workshop date with local actors and

:43:44. > :43:47.local musicians in the Live Theatre on Tyneside. We invited lots of

:43:48. > :43:51.ex-shipyard workers to give their blessing. They gave us their

:43:52. > :43:55.blessing. I think there is a universal message that people in any

:43:56. > :43:59.post-industrial city will understand, what it is like to lose

:44:00. > :44:03.something that gave you a sense of yourself. It was also quite horrific

:44:04. > :44:08.for those doing it at the time. It was a very hard life? An

:44:09. > :44:11.extraordinarily hard life. In my town, it was probably the worst

:44:12. > :44:16.working conditions in Western Europe. Asbestos, red lead, welding

:44:17. > :44:21.fumes. At the same time, there was an immense pride in what these men

:44:22. > :44:25.and women built. The biggest ships in the world, ever constructed, were

:44:26. > :44:32.built at the end of my street. I wanted to honour that, both sides of

:44:33. > :44:35.the equation. You give something to your critics, you live this

:44:36. > :44:46.glittering, golden life in the States, are you sentimental about

:44:47. > :44:49.the North? I'm essentially annex I of my community, I spent a lot of

:44:50. > :44:58.energy trying to escape that life. And yet I think it gives me an in

:44:59. > :45:01.into the prescribing it. It's a word rich album, I call it like a little

:45:02. > :45:06.novel. When you came back to writing, you went from that rather

:45:07. > :45:12.underrated and underappreciated genre, English folk, because we have

:45:13. > :45:18.Irish and Scottish folk, English folk, a huge tradition in the

:45:19. > :45:22.north-east? Yes, Northumbrian folk music, but it also has a lot of

:45:23. > :45:28.immigration from Scotland and Ireland. Newcastle has a very rich

:45:29. > :45:35.folk tradition. I needed to address that in the music. I mentioned the

:45:36. > :45:41.1988 Mandela concert, you nearly didn't make it? I have no memory of

:45:42. > :45:45.it. I read that the guy that set it apart to go to your hotel to tell

:45:46. > :45:50.you about it and get you to pull out of a European gig and get there?

:45:51. > :45:54.That does not sound like me at all. OK, no memory, but it was a great

:45:55. > :46:01.moment, it did happen, it is on tape. We are going to hear The Last

:46:02. > :46:05.Ship, the opening song of the album, at the end of the show. Tell us a

:46:06. > :46:11.bit about whose voice you are singing in. It is a priest singing,

:46:12. > :46:18.a local priest. Fantastic. Thank you for joining us. You can see When The

:46:19. > :46:22.Last Ship Sails, Sting's musical tribute to his shipbuilding heritage

:46:23. > :46:31.on ABC one in two weeks time. Now back to the domestic issue of

:46:32. > :46:35.the moment, the economy. The government is cautiously celebrating

:46:36. > :46:38.the return of growth. But the struggle to balance the books goes

:46:39. > :46:41.on. In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced more cuts in

:46:42. > :46:44.departmental spending, to pay for promises of free school meals, and a

:46:45. > :46:49.tax break for married couples. Has he done enough? Do the sums add up?

:46:50. > :46:51.I'm joined by the Lib Dems' man at the Treasury, the Chief Secretary

:46:52. > :47:00.Danny Alexander. Welcome back. Free school meals, a

:47:01. > :47:06.core offer from the Lib Dems, funded until 2015, what happens

:47:07. > :47:10.afterwards? There is a total amount of spending, but because we haven't

:47:11. > :47:15.allocated departmental spending totals after then, it sits within

:47:16. > :47:20.the overall amount of money set aside. It is funded within that

:47:21. > :47:25.overall total. It is a permanent commitment made by this government

:47:26. > :47:30.to ensure every child in the first three years of school has a female.

:47:31. > :47:35.Because it helps their parents with financial pressures. Nonetheless, it

:47:36. > :47:41.is not funded in the sense you will have to make cuts elsewhere to carry

:47:42. > :47:45.on paying for it. There will need to be further measures to balance the

:47:46. > :47:49.books as we get towards the target of dealing with the structural

:47:50. > :47:55.deficit. That will include funding a range of things. None of those have

:47:56. > :48:01.spending totals set out for them at the moment. It is a commitment made

:48:02. > :48:06.throughout that period. As a Liberal Democrat, I would like to see some

:48:07. > :48:12.of those decisions made by raising taxes on the wealthiest in this

:48:13. > :48:18.country. You agree with Neil Kinnock about the 50p tax rate? No, I do not

:48:19. > :48:25.agree we should go back to a 50p rate. We would like to see a mansion

:48:26. > :48:29.tax. That wouldn't raise much. ?2 billion a year, a useful

:48:30. > :48:34.contribution. And other measures on the wealthy as well. The further

:48:35. > :48:39.steps we take as a country don't have to be met through further

:48:40. > :48:44.spending reductions. George Osborne wants it to come from spending

:48:45. > :48:49.reductions. Then the cuts will be huge. You can't take money on

:48:50. > :48:54.pensions, the NHS or schools, it doesn't leave many targets. Local

:48:55. > :49:00.authority budgets would have to be massacred. I took the decision in

:49:01. > :49:05.this Autumn Statement to protect local authority budgets, we didn't

:49:06. > :49:09.reduce them by 1% as central government. We have given them more

:49:10. > :49:15.money, particularly for council houses. We need to see more social

:49:16. > :49:20.house-building going on. How do you make those cuts? You would have two

:49:21. > :49:26.make very deep and substantial new cuts to achieve that balanced

:49:27. > :49:30.budget. There has to be further savings, you are right. The decision

:49:31. > :49:34.in this Autumn Statement is we're not going to use the benefits of

:49:35. > :49:39.growth in terms of lower deficits, our debt is falling more quickly

:49:40. > :49:43.than previously forecasted, to spend that money, because we need to

:49:44. > :49:47.balance the books. I would ask the wealthy to pay more in taxation,

:49:48. > :49:52.making central government more efficient. There are things

:49:53. > :49:58.happening at the moment we might want to reverse. The Lib Dems do not

:49:59. > :50:07.support a tax breaks for married couples, so there are some things as

:50:08. > :50:11.a party... You are distancing yourself from the Conservatives. I

:50:12. > :50:16.would say there are big differences between our parties. We want a

:50:17. > :50:21.strong economy and a fair society. You need the Lib Dems to keep the

:50:22. > :50:27.country in the centre ground to have both. Labour couldn't develop a

:50:28. > :50:29.stronger economy. But I don't think the Conservatives by themselves

:50:30. > :50:36.could be trusted to deliver fairness. When it comes to the rich,

:50:37. > :50:40.beyond the match in tax, what else would you do? We had a set of

:50:41. > :50:51.proposals at our conference this autumn, including a mansion tax,

:50:52. > :50:55.capital gains tax. There is a lot in the Autumn Statement on tax

:50:56. > :51:00.avoidance and there is more we could do particularly for large

:51:01. > :51:05.corporations. There would have to be further spending restraint as well.

:51:06. > :51:11.In a future coalition, would you rigourously oppose deeper welfare

:51:12. > :51:19.cuts particularly on household budgets? There does, there will have

:51:20. > :51:24.to be further welfare reform which is why I am a strong supporter of

:51:25. > :51:30.the universal credit. Doesn't that spell trouble? There have been if

:51:31. > :51:35.you difficulties over the last few months. Now we have a realistic plan

:51:36. > :51:38.for what is the largest reform of our welfare system that we have seen

:51:39. > :51:45.since the system was created in this country. It should be taken at a

:51:46. > :51:51.realistic pace. Removing housing benefit from young people? As a

:51:52. > :51:56.party we have not supported that. It is not part of our proposals in the

:51:57. > :52:01.next election. What I do strongly support is what we, as a coalition,

:52:02. > :52:05.have announced. A cap on overall welfare spending so governments have

:52:06. > :52:13.to be accountable when costs on welfare arise. The consequence

:52:14. > :52:18.being, departmental budgets get squeezed. I have been asking

:52:19. > :52:28.politicians but nobody seems worried. Personal household debt. ?2

:52:29. > :52:32.trillion, a huge overhang of debt on the economy. Of course I am

:52:33. > :52:40.concerned about that. It appears people are spending more than they

:52:41. > :52:46.have got. Households are spending by borrowing. You are right to raise

:52:47. > :52:51.that. Household debt is lower than it was as a share of the economy

:52:52. > :52:57.before the crisis. It is one reason why we have been firm we need to

:52:58. > :53:01.stick to our plan. The only way to sustainably increase people 's

:53:02. > :53:07.living standards is to have a recovery on firm foundations. In the

:53:08. > :53:14.meantime, we can cut income tax, a big commitment by Lib Dems to a

:53:15. > :53:19.?10,000 tax-free allowance, so people can be better off. We are

:53:20. > :53:24.tightening our belts but MPs are getting an 11% increase. Do you

:53:25. > :53:29.support that? Most people will find it incompatible, at a time of pay

:53:30. > :53:35.restraint in the public sector, squeeze on public spending, that

:53:36. > :53:39.this should be recommended. It would be wholly inappropriate for MPs to

:53:40. > :53:46.get such a large pay rise when every other public sector worker sees

:53:47. > :53:51.their pay capped at 1%. I have said in the past, personally, I would not

:53:52. > :53:57.accept it. Can you do anything as a government? We have made a strong

:53:58. > :54:02.recommendation making the point I have made that it would not be

:54:03. > :54:08.appropriate at a time of wider public service pay restraint. Can

:54:09. > :54:14.you vote to stop it? It is an independent body precisely because

:54:15. > :54:20.MPs did not want MPs Roche people did not want MPs controlling their

:54:21. > :54:25.salaries. There is no power in legislation. The recommendations

:54:26. > :54:33.have not been made yet. My point would be, even at this late stage,

:54:34. > :54:37.it should recognise the wider climate of the economy and people's

:54:38. > :54:39.living standards. Now over to Sally, for the news

:54:40. > :54:52.headlines. MPs are set to receive an 11% pay

:54:53. > :54:54.rise, when a parliamentary watchdog publishes its final recommendations

:54:55. > :54:58.on salaries this week. The increase is due to come into effect after the

:54:59. > :55:01.2015 general election, and will take MPs pay to ?74,000. David Cameron,

:55:02. > :55:04.Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg all criticised the planned rise, but

:55:05. > :55:07.won't be able to prevent it because the Independent Parliamentary

:55:08. > :55:08.Standards Authority does not need the agreement of Parliament to bring

:55:09. > :55:17.in the changes. Airline passengers have been warned

:55:18. > :55:20.there could be further disruption today, due to a technical fault at

:55:21. > :55:23.the National Air Traffic Service yesterday. Hundreds of flights were

:55:24. > :55:27.delayed or cancelled, and NATS said there might be a knock-on effect for

:55:28. > :55:30.services. But airports across the UK say they are hoping to return to

:55:31. > :55:37.normal operations after the telephone glitch.

:55:38. > :55:42.Hat's all from me for now. The next news on BBC One is at 1pm. Back to

:55:43. > :55:43.you, Andrew. We've been talking a lot this morning about Nelson

:55:44. > :55:46.Mandela. If you used to watch Breakfast With

:55:47. > :55:50.Frost which, for many years, occupied this slot on Sunday

:55:51. > :55:53.mornings. You may remember that Sir David Frost, who died only a few

:55:54. > :55:57.months ago, interviewed him on several occasions. And there was one

:55:58. > :55:59.visit to the studio which produced a particularly enduring image, as

:56:00. > :56:00.President Mandela joined in with a performance by Ladysmith Black

:56:01. > :56:18.Mambazo. # Long walk to freedom, together to

:56:19. > :56:30.freedom. A great moment.

:56:31. > :56:33.That's nearly all we have time for this morning. Thanks to all my

:56:34. > :56:37.guests. Next week, I have to be away, but Jeremy Vine will be here,

:56:38. > :56:39.with guests including the Hobbit actor Martin Freeman. And the

:56:40. > :56:43.fantastic jazz musician, Jamie Cullum. So, do join Jeremy for that.

:56:44. > :56:46.For now, we leave you with a lovely piece of English folk. Sting's

:56:47. > :56:51.lament for Tyneside past, The Last Ship.

:56:52. > :56:56.# It's all there in the gospels, the Magdalene girl

:56:57. > :57:00.# Comes to pay her respects, but her mind is awhirl

:57:01. > :57:04.# When she finds the tomb empty, the stone had been rolled

:57:05. > :57:07.# Not a sign of a corpse in the dark and the cold

:57:08. > :57:10.# When she reaches the door, sees an unholy sight

:57:11. > :57:13.# There's this solitary figure in a halo of light

:57:14. > :57:18.# He just carries on floating past Calvary Hill

:57:19. > :57:26.# In an almighty hurry, aye but she might catch him still.

:57:27. > :57:33.# Tell me where are ye going lord, and why in such haste?

:57:34. > :57:37.# Now, don't hinder me woman I've no time to waste!

:57:38. > :57:40.# For they're launching a boat on the morrow at noon

:57:41. > :57:43.# And I have to be there before daybreak

:57:44. > :57:46.# Oh, I cannae be missing, the lads'll expect me

:57:47. > :57:49.# Why else would the good Lord himself resurrect me?

:57:50. > :57:51.# For nothing'll stop me, I have to prevail

:57:52. > :57:55.# Through the teeth of this tempest in the mouth of a gale

:57:56. > :58:00.# May the angels protect me if all else should fail

:58:01. > :58:04.# When the last ship sails # Oh, the roar of the chains and the

:58:05. > :58:09.cracking of timbers # The noise at the end of the world

:58:10. > :58:13.in your ears # As a mountain of steel makes its

:58:14. > :58:18.way to the sea # And the last ship sails

:58:19. > :58:22.# And whatever you'd promised, whatever you've done

:58:23. > :58:28.# And whatever the station in life you've become

:58:29. > :58:32.# In the name of the father in the name of the son

:58:33. > :58:36.# And no matter the weave of the life that you've spun

:58:37. > :58:43.# On the Earth or in Heaven or under the Sun

:58:44. > :58:47.# When the last ship sails. # Oh, the roar of the chains and the

:58:48. > :58:51.cracking of timbers # The noise at the end of the world

:58:52. > :58:57.in your ears # As a mountain of steel makes its

:58:58. > :59:04.way to the sea # And the last ship sails. #