:00:34. > :00:40.Good morning. Welcome and congratulations. You are the cream
:00:41. > :00:44.of the cream, the very elite of our audience - not only have you coped
:00:45. > :00:47.with the clock going forward, you have found us here on BBC Two safely
:00:48. > :00:53.away from little cars going round and round in circles on BBC One.
:00:54. > :01:00.Well done, we'll do our best to make it worth your while.
:01:01. > :01:02.And we've got a great pair of newspaper reviewers today, the
:01:03. > :01:06.comedian and impressionist Rory Bremner, who's now taken to the West
:01:07. > :01:10.End stage as an actor as well - and one of the key background figures in
:01:11. > :01:13.the Liberal Democrats for many years, Ollie Grender, now Baroness
:01:14. > :01:16.Grender. Frantic shuttle diplomacy this
:01:17. > :01:21.weekend over Ukraine, and reports of Russian troops massing on the
:01:22. > :01:26.border. The truth is, we don't have much of a military response these
:01:27. > :01:29.days. A stream of senior defence figures, from the Pentagon and
:01:30. > :01:32.Whitehall, has criticised the low level of British military spending.
:01:33. > :01:35.And again this morning, one of Britain's top generals tells the
:01:36. > :01:39.Sunday Times, UK forces can't do the job. I'll be talking to the Defence
:01:40. > :01:42.Secretary, Philip Hammond, who was himself in Washington last week to
:01:43. > :01:48.discuss the threat that Russia poses to Europe.
:01:49. > :01:50.In addition to being Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander is Ed
:01:51. > :01:56.Miliband's election strategist,whose job it is to coordinate a Labour
:01:57. > :02:02.triumph next year. Judging by the polls, way to go. What's next from
:02:03. > :02:07.Labour? There's a suggestion this morning that the party will axe
:02:08. > :02:12.student fees. Could that be true? Yesterday, Ed Miliband made a lot of
:02:13. > :02:16.his promise to freeze energy prices. It's become the Labour policy and
:02:17. > :02:19.has infuriated the Big Six energy suppliers. But are they coming
:02:20. > :02:23.around? The head of one of the biggest, SSE will be here later.
:02:24. > :02:27.Local television stations are opening up across the UK. London's
:02:28. > :02:31.one, London Live, is the brainchild of the Russian-born media tycoon
:02:32. > :02:34.Evgeny Lebedev. With the London Evening Standard and the
:02:35. > :02:39.Independent, he's building up quite a position in the capital. He joins
:02:40. > :02:42.me to talk about that and what's going on in Russia.
:02:43. > :02:49.And here's a coincidence, we've got some Russian-infused music. Sophie
:02:50. > :02:54.Ellis-Bextor, a dance-floor queen rebooted, now full of eastern
:02:55. > :03:00.promise. All that and more coming up soon.
:03:01. > :03:04.First the news with Sally Nugent. Good morning. A warship towing a
:03:05. > :03:07.black-box detector is preparing to join the search for the missing
:03:08. > :03:10.Malaysian airliner, off the western coast of Australia. The plane,
:03:11. > :03:15.carrying 239 people, vanished more than three weeks ago. Relatives of
:03:16. > :03:19.the Chinese passengers on board have arrived in Kuala Lumpur, to press
:03:20. > :03:25.for answers. From there, our correspondent Lucy Williamson has
:03:26. > :03:30.this report. Four days, search teams have spotted
:03:31. > :03:36.objects floating in the search zone. Now the focus is on the ships set to
:03:37. > :03:40.retrieve them. Without finding whatever it is shifting in the ocean
:03:41. > :03:45.currents, no one can say for sure if it is from the Malaysia Airlines
:03:46. > :03:49.plane. And in the air, sorting the relevant from the rubbish is not
:03:50. > :03:55.easy. We have recovered a couple of objects. There are some orange
:03:56. > :04:03.banners. There are some other object that on closer examination were
:04:04. > :04:08.fishing rope, that sort of thing. On first glance it looked interesting
:04:09. > :04:13.but when examined closer, they turned out to be rubbish from
:04:14. > :04:17.fishing vessels. While the wait for a breakthrough continues,
:04:18. > :04:22.Malaysia's Transport Minister paid a visit to the families of ten Chinese
:04:23. > :04:25.passengers waiting for news in Kuala Lumpur. A softer image of the
:04:26. > :04:30.Malaysian government designed to disprove accusations that its
:04:31. > :04:35.handling of the crisis is unreliable and un-transparent. More families of
:04:36. > :04:39.those on board the missing flight arrived today from China, come to
:04:40. > :04:45.find out why the search is taking so long and who to blame. They were
:04:46. > :04:47.quickly whisked away from journalists by Malaysian authorities
:04:48. > :04:50.but after more than three weeks of waiting, they are not here to stay
:04:51. > :04:54.silent. The US Secretary of State, John
:04:55. > :04:57.Kerry, will meet the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Paris
:04:58. > :05:01.today to try to agree ways to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. The
:05:02. > :05:04.decision came after President Vladimir Putin spoke to President
:05:05. > :05:08.Barack Obama by phone late on Friday. Mr Obama has called on
:05:09. > :05:12.Russia to pull its troops back from Ukraine's border. Mr Lavrov told
:05:13. > :05:22.Russian TV on Saturday that Moscow had no intention of sending troops
:05:23. > :05:25.into the country. A Conservative MP has resigned as a
:05:26. > :05:29.ministerial aide because of allegations about his private life
:05:30. > :05:31.published in the Sunday Mirror. Mark Menzies was parliamentary private
:05:32. > :05:35.secretary to the International Development Minister Alan Duncan.
:05:36. > :05:40.The paper has spoken to a man who says he was paid by Mr Menzies for
:05:41. > :05:43.sex, but the MP says a number of the claims are not true.
:05:44. > :05:46.Tele-marketing companies that plague members of the public with unwanted
:05:47. > :05:50.calls could face bigger fines under new Government plans. The Ministry
:05:51. > :05:53.of Justice wants to make penalties easier to impose. Currently firms
:05:54. > :05:56.can only be punished if "substantial damage" is caused to householders.
:05:57. > :06:00.But some consumer groups say the changes don't go far enough.
:06:01. > :06:03.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released a new official family
:06:04. > :06:13.photograph, to coincide with Mother's Day. Prince George is
:06:14. > :06:19.pictured in a blue jumper with his name on it in the informal shots
:06:20. > :06:22.taken at Kensington Palace by photographer Jason Bell. The
:06:23. > :06:25.family's pet cocker spaniel, Lupo is also included. William and Kate have
:06:26. > :06:28.chosen to release the image ahead of their forthcoming tour to New
:06:29. > :06:32.Zealand and Australia. That's all from me, for now. I'll be
:06:33. > :06:40.back with the headlines just before ten o'clock. Back to you, Andrew.
:06:41. > :06:45.Thank you Sally. Both the Sun and the Mirror have
:06:46. > :06:49.almost identical front pages. He is not a top Tory, he is a
:06:50. > :06:54.parliamentary bag carrier. The Sunday Mirror has the same story and
:06:55. > :06:59.it quotes the rent boy, he has many drugs. That picture that you heard
:07:00. > :07:05.about there on the front of the Mail on Sunday. Both the Independent on
:07:06. > :07:08.Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph have Climate Change Act stories. This one
:07:09. > :07:13.is about the disappearance of forests and the great climate change
:07:14. > :07:18.guru James Lovelock suggested we will have to live tightly packed
:07:19. > :07:22.together in cities if humanity is to survive. The Sunday Telegraph has
:07:23. > :07:26.Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, talking
:07:27. > :07:31.about our lifestyle being to blame for climate change catastrophe.
:07:32. > :07:37.Finally, the Observer has a story about Alistair Carmichael saying we
:07:38. > :07:43.are in danger of losing the Scottish independence poll, that is the
:07:44. > :07:52.Better Together campaign. As promised, Rory Bremner and Ollie
:07:53. > :08:02.Grender, Baroness Grender are here. You are grander since the baroness
:08:03. > :08:11.it! Rory, you have chosen the front of the Sunday Telegraph. Yellow
:08:12. > :08:18.grass -- my analysis got as far as page one. Rowan Williams, is now
:08:19. > :08:28.chairman of Christian aid. It is the eve of the panel on climate change
:08:29. > :08:32.reporting. He was talking about the storms we saw over the winter as a
:08:33. > :08:36.portent of things to come. He is highlighting that unless we take
:08:37. > :08:39.serious action now, this will get worse and worse. And also that time
:08:40. > :08:47.is running out. This is the first we have seen of it but overseas, they
:08:48. > :08:52.have seen this. By this you mean the very wet winter? Yes, he says we are
:08:53. > :08:55.seeing the predictions that uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels
:08:56. > :08:58.will lead to the warming of the Earth and he says this is coming
:08:59. > :09:02.true. What is interesting is the space they are the giving this in
:09:03. > :09:07.the Telegraph which is traditionally very sceptical about climate
:09:08. > :09:13.change. They are the most sceptical. They have given it a good
:09:14. > :09:17.deal of space. I think the focus will be on climate change and he is
:09:18. > :09:21.banging the drum and saying we must wake up and take responsibility. The
:09:22. > :09:28.other thing which links into the Lib Dems thing, a weather-related story,
:09:29. > :09:32.Willie Rennie, who I do not think will be familiar to all of your
:09:33. > :09:36.viewers, he is the Lib Dem leader in Scotland, he has been calling for
:09:37. > :09:40.the Sunshine strategy in the referendum debate, meaning that the
:09:41. > :09:46.no campaign, according to the front page of the Observer, it has serious
:09:47. > :09:51.jitters. It is a difficult message to push, let's keep things as they
:09:52. > :09:58.are. He is calling for a Sunshine strategy which Scottish readers will
:09:59. > :10:03.know it will last for about six days. As Billy Connelly said, we
:10:04. > :10:09.have two seasons, winter and June! But they are getting jitters in the
:10:10. > :10:12.no campaign. And back onto the Climate Change Act issue, I think
:10:13. > :10:17.what is fascinating about this is there is now so much
:10:18. > :10:22.incontrovertible science. I think what is slightly peculiar is that
:10:23. > :10:25.the Telegraph tend to go for the nonscientist to bump up the story
:10:26. > :10:30.that there is so much compelling science which tells us that this is
:10:31. > :10:35.the case and we need to change this. And you have found another Scottish
:10:36. > :10:38.story? This is a kind of contrast to the dispute that is going on at the
:10:39. > :10:46.moment about the pound, which is actually, in Rosyth, 6.2 billion
:10:47. > :10:50.will be spent and continue to be spent, regardless of the vote. When
:10:51. > :10:53.Alex Salmond talks about, and it is always an odd picture to me, the
:10:54. > :10:57.picture of Alex Salmond being bullied in some way, is this not
:10:58. > :11:03.bullying, is it the opposite of bullying? This is that an
:11:04. > :11:09.independent Scotland would build warships for the rest of the UK
:11:10. > :11:15.after independence? Absolutely. Is this David Cameron's Black Sea
:11:16. > :11:26.fleet, the Crimean thing, Britain will do exercises in the Solway
:11:27. > :11:30.Firth to claim Scotland. I think his is an extremely difficult story.
:11:31. > :11:34.Yes, the Sunshine strategy is a good thing, it is showing the positives,
:11:35. > :11:40.that is why at the conference Willie Rennie was talking about in Britain,
:11:41. > :11:44.in Europe and in work. Talking about jobs and the benefit of the UK
:11:45. > :11:50.economy. Rory, take us to another story. As you mentioned, I am doing
:11:51. > :11:55.a play, I'm doing a Noel Coward play in the West End. There is a lovely
:11:56. > :11:58.line in Blyth spirit where he says, anything interesting in the Times
:11:59. > :12:02.and his wife says, don't be silly. But there is something interesting
:12:03. > :12:09.in the Times and that is about tuition fees. It is estimated that
:12:10. > :12:15.45% of tuition fees are still underpaid. If it gets as high as 48%
:12:16. > :12:19.it is costing more to administer it than they are getting in fees.
:12:20. > :12:25.Labour have picked up on this. The new strategy as they are talking
:12:26. > :12:33.about cutting tuition fees by 3000 or even ?5,000, bringing it right
:12:34. > :12:36.down. There are other ideas. Paul Kirby is talking about some of the
:12:37. > :12:41.lower ranked universities being stripped of their right to charge
:12:42. > :12:44.you should fees if excessive number of students fail to complete their
:12:45. > :12:51.courses. I think this is good for Labour to pick up on. And very
:12:52. > :12:54.difficult for your great leader? Ironically coming from a party which
:12:55. > :12:58.lamented the brown review in the first place which said there should
:12:59. > :13:02.be unlimited caps, and if it is the cut I have seen in the Sunday Times,
:13:03. > :13:06.this will impact on the wealthiest students but it will not help the
:13:07. > :13:11.poorest students. The significance of what has happened recently is
:13:12. > :13:14.students from a much poorer background in much larger numbers
:13:15. > :13:20.are coming in, as a result of not having to pay so much for the Jewish
:13:21. > :13:24.and fees as they currently stand. I will talk to Douglas Alexander about
:13:25. > :13:29.all of this. In Scotland they do not charge them. Lots of gay marriage in
:13:30. > :13:35.the paper. There are lots of photographs all over the place. What
:13:36. > :13:42.are great proud moment for us as a nation. So fantastic. Ten years ago,
:13:43. > :13:46.if we had been sitting here and predicting, would a conservative led
:13:47. > :13:49.coalition, with the Liberal Democrats who we believe have been
:13:50. > :13:53.instrumental in this, of course, be passing something like this gay
:13:54. > :13:57.marriage? It would be extraordinary. We would think it was preposterous
:13:58. > :14:03.but here we are. There are some beautiful pictures. And what a sad
:14:04. > :14:10.contrast to this, which feels like we are going back to the 80s, of
:14:11. > :14:14.somebody who most of us did admittedly have to Google. I do not
:14:15. > :14:20.know that says something about our level of knowledge. It feels like an
:14:21. > :14:24.old story. Gay marriage is about today but it feels like that story
:14:25. > :14:30.is an old-fashioned sex scandal from ten years ago. I think what we
:14:31. > :14:35.cannot miss out referencing is the weather this weekend is absolutely
:14:36. > :14:38.glorious, in spite of the UKIP councillor's prediction that the
:14:39. > :14:45.flooding was as a result of gay marriage. That is a very good point.
:14:46. > :14:48.And the other big picture. You cannot move for these pictures.
:14:49. > :14:53.Every other pillar of the establishment, if you like, or part
:14:54. > :14:57.of the scenery in Britain, whether it is the banks which are
:14:58. > :15:04.discredited literally, pulse dishes held in low esteem than ever, the
:15:05. > :15:09.church has problem with women bishops, and yet the Royals seem to
:15:10. > :15:14.be on a roll. That has carried on since the Jubilee a couple of years
:15:15. > :15:20.ago. Their PR is great. They have now got the dog vote. We have got a
:15:21. > :15:24.cocker spaniel ourselves. Lynton Crosby talks about the dog whistle
:15:25. > :15:31.strategy, I think as a strategy for winning over... And I love in the
:15:32. > :15:40.window, this gives the idea that they are actually living in one room
:15:41. > :15:47.to save on the bedroom tax! George has got his own brand at Asda,
:15:48. > :15:52.that's his little entrepreneur. He is in a 1-room flat with a dog.
:15:53. > :16:03.Right, pretty much an open goal for you there, Ollie Grender. Andrew
:16:04. > :16:07.Walmsley doesn't disappoint when he talks of the Labour Party. He
:16:08. > :16:11.spreads the divisions between the Labour Party and those of us who
:16:12. > :16:14.study at from a distance are always amazed by how intricate the
:16:15. > :16:18.different groupings are. There are so many different groupings who are
:16:19. > :16:25.Blairites, it sometimes gets very confusing. Andrew has helped us here
:16:26. > :16:34.by dividing it up into 35% as being majoritarian. My favourite is Ed
:16:35. > :16:39.versus Eder. The 35% people are those who think Labour can win with
:16:40. > :16:43.35% of the vote, except that, enjoy the position and those who say we
:16:44. > :16:47.must go further and reach deep into Middle England. Yes, and then your
:16:48. > :16:54.interviewee coming up, Douglas Ickes and, comes up some people are to
:16:55. > :17:01.ensure that he's bowled in terms of the manifesto -- Douglas Alexander.
:17:02. > :17:07.Is it possible... We will ask him. We happen to have in the studio.
:17:08. > :17:13.Now, you have chosen ADHD, story and the Observer. Whenever I read a
:17:14. > :17:16.story where they say it's not a real disease because it gets my hackles
:17:17. > :17:23.up because I have a relative with this. I have been diagnosed myself
:17:24. > :17:27.with it over the years. It affects one in 20 schoolchildren, half a
:17:28. > :17:32.million schoolchildren. Half a million families and possibly more
:17:33. > :17:36.than that. Do you think you had at school? Yes, looking back at school
:17:37. > :17:39.reports. The hyperactivity, inattentiveness, impulsiveness, all
:17:40. > :17:43.of those things, I recognise that in myself. Half a million
:17:44. > :17:47.schoolchildren in this country, and under estimate, I think, are
:17:48. > :17:53.struggling with this. I think it's the real thing. People talk about it
:17:54. > :18:03.being on the spectrum with autism and dyslexia. In a few weeks time,
:18:04. > :18:07.Bruce Perry, a child trauma doctor in Huston set may be a jumble of
:18:08. > :18:13.different conditions. They say it can be handled with drugs and
:18:14. > :18:16.medication is proved to be quite effective in the treatment ADHD,
:18:17. > :18:22.like depression, as it relates to chemicals in the brain.
:18:23. > :18:26.Neurotransmitters and dopamine. Children who have ADHD aren't
:18:27. > :18:31.producing that effectively said there was a role for medication. The
:18:32. > :18:36.fact that they say it's not a real disease, I think it's more
:18:37. > :18:41.complicated than that. Bruce Perry's point if they can teach
:18:42. > :18:45.adults as well and coach them through helping children. It affects
:18:46. > :18:49.so many children. I would like to do a documentary about in future. I
:18:50. > :18:55.think it's hard not to do the papers and pick up on some of the flight MH
:18:56. > :18:59.370 and there's no news, so it's incredibly tough, and we can see
:19:00. > :19:04.that on the broadcast as well, but this endless search just off Western
:19:05. > :19:10.Australia, trying to look for large pieces of wreckage for the Matthew
:19:11. > :19:12.Parris has an interesting piece yesterday on the Times. He studied
:19:13. > :19:18.the most hostile place on the planet. Much, much wild and
:19:19. > :19:21.dangerous than every other C. We think of it as a duck pond, and why
:19:22. > :19:27.can't they find something and actually, his piece yesterday was so
:19:28. > :19:33.relevant and these poor relatives, it's now turned into almost a
:19:34. > :19:37.mystery but everybody is watching but there are still 239 people who
:19:38. > :19:41.died on it and we have 45 relatives of passengers who will be flying to
:19:42. > :19:48.Kuala Lumpur today to find out more. I'm not going to let you do the
:19:49. > :19:51.Tasmanian whiskey story and I have drank it and is not quite as good as
:19:52. > :20:05.they say. I'm going to ask you about your play. It is Relative Values. It
:20:06. > :20:12.is with Patricia Hodge and Caroline Quentin. It is doing somebody else's
:20:13. > :20:16.lines but they are Noel Coward's lines and it's a dream cast and
:20:17. > :20:22.director. It had underperformed Gemma Fulford we are obsessed with
:20:23. > :20:26.people watching Downton Abbey, it's always been talked about here and
:20:27. > :20:30.America and is set in an aristocratic house, and it's all
:20:31. > :20:37.about class. Is this your future, do you think? One thing at a time. It's
:20:38. > :20:40.different. It's a privilege to do a play in the West End for the West
:20:41. > :20:43.End Fulford the bit something I never thought I'd do,
:20:44. > :20:47.once-in-a-lifetime thing. We will be at the Harold Pinter Theatre for the
:20:48. > :20:52.next two months. Ollie Grender mentioned the weather. It has been
:20:53. > :20:56.beautiful. Well, just in case you've woken up and realised that you've
:20:57. > :20:58.lost an hour out of your Sunday morning. Yes, British Summer Time
:20:59. > :21:02.has begun. It was appropriately sunny and warm here in London
:21:03. > :21:04.yesterday. Let's see what today will be like across the UK. Over to John
:21:05. > :21:13.Hammond. Mixed fortunes up and down the UK.
:21:14. > :21:16.Most of us will enjoy scenes like this if you're stepping out with a
:21:17. > :21:21.walk with mother. Some warm sunshine, but a lot of cloud across
:21:22. > :21:25.northern and western areas. Thick fog across north-east England. That
:21:26. > :21:29.will lift and many of us can look forward to some fine weather. The
:21:30. > :21:34.odd shower those two Cornel and Pembrokeshire particular in Northern
:21:35. > :21:37.Ireland. And it stays gloomy. Just as it did yesterday across
:21:38. > :21:40.north-eastern coast of England. And the more central and eastern parts
:21:41. > :21:46.of Scotland, that's driving but temperatures, so bright and warm
:21:47. > :21:51.further west. It will chair up in Northern Ireland. And it will warm
:21:52. > :21:55.up across England and Wales. All way up to northern England, possible low
:21:56. > :22:00.20s. It will brighten up across Wales, too. Further east, hazy
:22:01. > :22:06.sunshine and temperatures will peak north of London, I think. Maybe 21
:22:07. > :22:12.degrees, nice day. Further ahead, more rain around can hit and miss.
:22:13. > :22:15.Warm weather across southern areas. Further north, particular across
:22:16. > :22:19.north-eastern parts, a lot of cloud coming in. A fairly chilly prospect,
:22:20. > :22:23.I'm afraid but the most of us, fine day to come.
:22:24. > :22:27.Many thanks. The major energy companies are really in the
:22:28. > :22:30.spotlight. Denounced by politicians for allegedly ripping off their
:22:31. > :22:33.customers, lectured on their moral responsibilities by the Archbishop
:22:34. > :22:36.of Canterbury, and now the subject of a huge competition inquiry. But
:22:37. > :22:41.now the second biggest supplier, SSE, is bringing in a price freeze
:22:42. > :22:47.until 2016. I'm joined by SSE's chief executive, Alistair
:22:48. > :22:52.Phillips-Davies. Good morning. Thanks for coming in. This price
:22:53. > :22:55.freeze comes just ahead of the review into the position of the big
:22:56. > :23:00.six, some people will say at a cynical move to try to head off the
:23:01. > :23:04.review. Absolutely not. We had no idea when they were going to come
:23:05. > :23:10.out and say this. They've only said at the moment they will consult the
:23:11. > :23:13.price freeze. It was a result of us consulting customers, listening to
:23:14. > :23:17.what they wanted, it was clear to us the biggest agenda for customers
:23:18. > :23:21.following surveys we have done and the BBC have done if the cost of
:23:22. > :23:25.living increases over the next couple of years, so we have worked
:23:26. > :23:29.very hard to bring a price freeze in. This comes after all the
:23:30. > :23:33.companies had been talking about the terrible nature of the Labour
:23:34. > :23:36.Party's proposals to freeze prices. And suggestions from Centrica in
:23:37. > :23:41.particular that the end of investment, that's not true. No, I
:23:42. > :23:47.don't think it is due for the end of investment. In terms of what we said
:23:48. > :23:51.to politicians, we have all got the same objective, to keep bills down.
:23:52. > :23:56.That's very important to all of us. We have invested ?7.5 billion over
:23:57. > :24:00.the last five years and will invest 1.6 billion over the next year. So
:24:01. > :24:04.Ed Miliband says is possible to have a price freeze and keep the lights
:24:05. > :24:09.on. He is right? On the price freeze, the issue with what it came
:24:10. > :24:14.out with last September clearly was resonant with the public. We have
:24:15. > :24:16.seen a change since then, David Cameron has rolled his sleeves up,
:24:17. > :24:20.government changed policy in terms of dealing with some of green levies
:24:21. > :24:25.that we called for to be taken of the bills, and we dropped bills and
:24:26. > :24:29.?50 last week and on the back of the changes to the legislation, on
:24:30. > :24:33.carbon in the budget, the things we have done, we have been able to put
:24:34. > :24:40.a price freeze in place. Youth throws that a reasonably high level
:24:41. > :24:44.in 2016. What happens then? Do they go shooting up again? Absolutely
:24:45. > :24:48.not. We have written to the political parties asking them to
:24:49. > :24:50.work with us to see if we can bring prices down, particularly when you
:24:51. > :24:53.look at levies on the bills for the Wii just don't think it's fair
:24:54. > :24:58.everybody pays the same amount for the people in fuel poverty, people
:24:59. > :25:02.in hardship shouldn't pay the same amount as people who are not in
:25:03. > :25:06.hardship. For us, it's all about working together to reduce those
:25:07. > :25:12.levies and keep prices down. So we are well up for a debate on that.
:25:13. > :25:17.You are one of the Big Six. Is there pressure on the others to do the
:25:18. > :25:20.same? It's a competitive market out there. We all do different things.
:25:21. > :25:24.There's something we felt very strongly about, so we will see how
:25:25. > :25:28.everybody else response but in addition to the Big Six, there are
:25:29. > :25:32.15 smaller companies getting bigger and that's very healthy for
:25:33. > :25:37.competition. You have this huge competition enquiry. How worried are
:25:38. > :25:41.you that your company can be broken up as a result? I don't agree have
:25:42. > :25:46.any great concerns about the enquiry. The key thing for us is to
:25:47. > :25:49.acting consumers interests? We will look at how to keep bills down going
:25:50. > :25:55.forward, keep the investment flowing. As long as those things are
:25:56. > :25:59.there, we welcome the enquiry. It has been a Labour success getting
:26:00. > :26:03.you to this position, hasn't it? What I think is, when Ed Miliband
:26:04. > :26:07.came up with a statement, it resonated with the public. What we
:26:08. > :26:10.have been able to do, listening to him, is delivering something similar
:26:11. > :26:16.but we have delivered it now, in our own way, and in a way which is
:26:17. > :26:20.sustainable. We have seen costs come down in terms of what the government
:26:21. > :26:23.is done, and that has allowed us to do it. Since I have got you here,
:26:24. > :26:28.can I ask you about alternative sources of energy? There's huge
:26:29. > :26:32.quantities of coal and leave the North Sea, more than there was gas
:26:33. > :26:38.and oil, and that is the future. Does that recognise with you? New
:26:39. > :26:43.technologies are very important. We were in Peterhead a few weeks ago,
:26:44. > :26:46.and announced a big programme there. Certainly, if they're going to burn
:26:47. > :26:50.coal going forward, we will have to have technology to make sure we
:26:51. > :26:54.decarbonise some of those technologies, so I will be
:26:55. > :26:58.interested see how that goes. Offshore wind? You were sceptical
:26:59. > :27:04.about that. We have two big projects we have built, we have got a big
:27:05. > :27:10.project at great gathered. Because they are big and expensive projects,
:27:11. > :27:17.we lead a focus on one. We focused on one in Scotland. We will leave
:27:18. > :27:22.the other three for our partners to develop. Thank you very much for
:27:23. > :27:25.coming in this morning. Now then, Labour's popularity among voters
:27:26. > :27:32.appears to have taken a dip according to some recent polls. So
:27:33. > :27:35.here's the question. Is this because of a post-Budget Tory bounce or
:27:36. > :27:38.because people simply aren't hearing Ed Miliband's message? Or don't like
:27:39. > :27:41.it. Douglas Alexander, Labour's election coordinator, is the man
:27:42. > :27:45.whose mission it is to ensure that Labour gets the vote out and gets
:27:46. > :27:47.back in to Downing Street at next year's general election. Welcome.
:27:48. > :27:50.Before we turn to the polls, what about this business of getting rid
:27:51. > :27:56.of student fees? We are close to the levels where it's no worth
:27:57. > :28:00.collecting. This seems to be another Conservative Lib Dem policy that's
:28:01. > :28:04.not working. The rate of default emerged this week and is very high.
:28:05. > :28:07.Ed Miliband has gone on the record in the past saying this is a policy
:28:08. > :28:11.we are looking at, I suspect it's a policy we will address in our
:28:12. > :28:15.manifesto, and I hope we can offer a better solution to the students of
:28:16. > :28:19.this country and to the finances of this country than that we have seen
:28:20. > :28:23.from the Conservatives. As the rate of default goes up towards 48%, its
:28:24. > :28:27.possible Labour will get the did this fee? We are dealing with this
:28:28. > :28:31.as part of a policy process and I expect it's an issue we will address
:28:32. > :28:34.in the manifesto. It's very clear, even on the government market was
:28:35. > :28:39.own evidence, it's not a policy that's working. Nobody wants to talk
:28:40. > :28:43.about the polls, they never mean anything, nobody looks of the more
:28:44. > :28:46.reason, but they are pretty die at the moment and a lot of people in
:28:47. > :28:50.the party getting worried. What do you need to do differently from what
:28:51. > :28:54.you've been doing in the past? We have got two different ones as
:28:55. > :28:58.Monica one suggests we have a 7-point lead, so frankly, they will
:28:59. > :29:02.move around but in terms of the last couple of weeks, some of the
:29:03. > :29:08.headlines of changed, but they haven't change of economic and the
:29:09. > :29:10.politics. One doesn't address the fundamental truth of the economy
:29:11. > :29:15.that millions of people watching this programme are facing a cost of
:29:16. > :29:18.living crisis and in terms of politics, we have always known this
:29:19. > :29:23.is going to be a tough contest and a tight election but I certainly would
:29:24. > :29:30.not call this a bad government that deserves to lose but election Labour
:29:31. > :29:33.Coman. We watched Ed Miliband spate the Welsh Labour Party conference
:29:34. > :29:40.yesterday. Yet the economists say the crisis is ending and average
:29:41. > :29:43.wages are rising, and by the time of the next election, the cost of
:29:44. > :29:47.living is not going to the number one issue. Cost of living is not
:29:48. > :29:50.running out of steam. The Conservative government is running
:29:51. > :29:54.out of time. At the time of the election, for the first time in
:29:55. > :29:57.decades, we will have a government which has delivered lower living
:29:58. > :30:01.standards, for millions of British families, ?1600 worse off at the end
:30:02. > :30:04.of the Parliament than at the beginning of the Parliament, which
:30:05. > :30:07.is why it's critical we continue to set out our thinking as we did on
:30:08. > :30:12.energy prices. Remember where we were in September. We had energy
:30:13. > :30:15.bosses, like the one you just had, saying price freezes were impossible
:30:16. > :30:19.and the Conservatives saying it was ridiculous. This week we have seen
:30:20. > :30:23.one of the Big Six confirming there was going to be a price freeze which
:30:24. > :30:27.you just heard about and we also heard from Ofgem saying actually,
:30:28. > :30:30.the resetting of the energy market is necessary. That would not have
:30:31. > :30:37.happened but for the leadership Ed Miliband and the Labour Party are
:30:38. > :30:42.shown. So why are things not better? The polls remain pretty dire
:30:43. > :30:47.for you. You have had this long recession, what you regard as a
:30:48. > :30:52.ridiculous government stuffed with old Etonians and people are still
:30:53. > :30:58.level pegging, in fact, you only just back at the level you took in
:30:59. > :31:04.2010. We took a bad beating in 2010. Let's look at what has happened in
:31:05. > :31:08.terms of votes. We have won more council seats across the country.
:31:09. > :31:12.And we can look ahead to the next year. We have the Conservatives in a
:31:13. > :31:15.death struggle with UKIP on the right of politics with the Liberal
:31:16. > :31:23.Democrats wandering around trying to find their base. There is a genuine
:31:24. > :31:25.opportunity in the next year with Labour with a credible manifesto to
:31:26. > :31:28.dominate politics, not just potentially be the largest party
:31:29. > :31:33.that I believe to secure the Labour majority which can transform the
:31:34. > :31:40.country. So you are content? I am not content, I am ambitious. I want
:31:41. > :31:43.to change things for people suffering the cost of living prices.
:31:44. > :31:47.We are in politics to change lives. When you look at what is happening
:31:48. > :31:52.in terms of youth unemployment, poverty across the country, the
:31:53. > :31:57.country needs a Labour government. But there are no new messages coming
:31:58. > :32:05.from Labour? We have had clear policies in relation to the energy
:32:06. > :32:08.crisis and banking. We will have our growth commission. We will set out
:32:09. > :32:12.our thinking at the time of the conference which I believe addresses
:32:13. > :32:19.the needs of the country and we can offer that with confidence and no
:32:20. > :32:24.complacency. We read a lot of arguments between those radicals and
:32:25. > :32:28.less radical, where are you? I do not think it is a great headline
:32:29. > :32:32.saying the Labour team are united in working for a victory so I think we
:32:33. > :32:36.can dismiss some of the headlines. It is a totally false choice to be
:32:37. > :32:41.credible or radical. If you are not credible, then people will not trust
:32:42. > :32:45.you. If you are not radical, people say you all the same. That is why I
:32:46. > :32:50.say we will offer credible and radical policies. That is what we
:32:51. > :32:55.have done on energy prices. You have brought in a barn's great election
:32:56. > :33:00.winning Guru and Ireland are being told he will change things on the
:33:01. > :33:08.ground -- you have brought in Barack Obama's election Guru. And now you
:33:09. > :33:11.have fired him. He is still working for the party. He will be involved
:33:12. > :33:17.in the general election campaign. The work he has started will be
:33:18. > :33:22.taken forward. We have 100 organisers. We did not have 100
:33:23. > :33:27.organisers in 1997 when we won our historic victory. We are up against
:33:28. > :33:33.the party which has halved its membership since David Cameron
:33:34. > :33:37.became leader, average age 69 and rising. The Conservative Party are
:33:38. > :33:41.party in retreat. Labour is advancing in the critical margin
:33:42. > :33:44.seats where we will see the outcome in the general election. Let me ask
:33:45. > :33:48.you about a choice coming much earlier than that which is the
:33:49. > :33:56.Scottish referendum campaign. Your Liberal Democrats colleague Mr
:33:57. > :33:59.Carmichael has said that he is worried that the Better Together or
:34:00. > :34:07.no campaign are losing the argument. It seems a bit like Vietnam's
:34:08. > :34:11.politics. The no campaign are bombing from huge height and down in
:34:12. > :34:15.the jungle the SNP are fighting a gorilla campaign and they are
:34:16. > :34:19.winning. I was on the streets of Paisley yesterday and our messages
:34:20. > :34:23.break clear. We can, as Scots, have the best of both worlds. More
:34:24. > :34:27.decisions in Scotland and at the same time having the strength and
:34:28. > :34:31.stability of the United Kingdom behind us. I think that will be a
:34:32. > :34:38.winning message in September. You are not worried that the SNP are
:34:39. > :34:43.doing better than they were. The reality is, the SNP have given up
:34:44. > :34:48.trying to reduce evidence, they are simply appealing to a motion. I
:34:49. > :34:52.think the right way for the Better Together campaign to win is not just
:34:53. > :34:56.to offer evidence but to offer an ocean. I passionately believe in
:34:57. > :35:00.Scotland's possibilities for the future. I passionately believe we
:35:01. > :35:05.would be stronger together and weaker apart. You also Shadow
:35:06. > :35:08.Foreign Secretary so let's jump a long way to Ukraine. Are you worried
:35:09. > :35:21.about the amassing of troops on the border and you think we see a big
:35:22. > :35:23.escalation in the problem? Yes, I am worried about that. I think this is
:35:24. > :35:27.the biggest security challenge we have faced in many years. We have
:35:28. > :35:32.taken a bipartisan approach on this. We are working with other members of
:35:33. > :35:37.the European Union, with our friends and allies in the United States, to
:35:38. > :35:41.alter the risk of of judgement that Putin takes. We have to stop him
:35:42. > :35:45.moving into Ukraine. He has to realise there will be consequences
:35:46. > :35:50.if we see that regrettable action. Does that mean some sabre rattling
:35:51. > :35:56.is needed at this point? No, I think there needs to be deft and frankly
:35:57. > :36:00.difficult diplomacy in the weeks ahead to make sure there is an
:36:01. > :36:04.alteration of course by the Russians. Douglas Alexander, thank
:36:05. > :36:08.you for joining us this morning. Evgeny Lebedev is a Russian who's
:36:09. > :36:11.part of a revolution. A TV revolution. When the government
:36:12. > :36:14.announced the creation of "ultra-local" television stations
:36:15. > :36:17.across the UK, one of the biggest names to get a new licence as a
:36:18. > :36:21.broadcaster was Mr Lebedev. The owner of the London Evening Standard
:36:22. > :36:24.and the Independent newspaper, now a British citizen, he has used his
:36:25. > :36:33.financial and cultural clout to establish London Live. Welcome. And
:36:34. > :36:40.London Live opens tomorrow? Yes, 630 PM on channel eight on the free
:36:41. > :36:48.view. What can we expect? I love London. I have been here since the
:36:49. > :36:52.age of eight. I own a pub and also the only London newspaper, the
:36:53. > :36:58.London Evening Standard. So now I thought London does not have its own
:36:59. > :37:01.TV channel, that is wrong, so that is why this came about. London is a
:37:02. > :37:07.great city which has so much to offer in terms of culture, art,
:37:08. > :37:14.theatre, sport and music so that we'll all be brought to London
:37:15. > :37:19.tomorrow. ITV offers a London news channel. This is purely a London
:37:20. > :37:23.channel. Even though it will be the same quality as all the national
:37:24. > :37:28.channels, I have been watching a lot of pilots and it looks very exciting
:37:29. > :37:32.and interesting, but what is different is it provides all the
:37:33. > :37:35.great thing about London culturally, politically as well as
:37:36. > :37:41.business, through this channel which goes live tomorrow. For example,
:37:42. > :37:49.Digital theatre is going to be presenting live Theatre on London
:37:50. > :37:56.Live. The first play, Love song at Hammersmith Lyric will be broadcast.
:37:57. > :38:01.Will you have a close grip on the editorial issues, who will be next
:38:02. > :38:05.mayor, that kind of thing? As in the newspapers, the same thing will be
:38:06. > :38:09.on television. They will have their own editors. It has to be in line
:38:10. > :38:16.with OFCOM rules like the BBC and other channels. I think what is also
:38:17. > :38:21.important to point out is that Londoners have so much that they see
:38:22. > :38:25.on a daily basis and that is not always represented because the other
:38:26. > :38:28.channels have to represent nationwide television. You have the
:38:29. > :38:37.London Evening Standard, not just the Independent but also the "i"
:38:38. > :38:43.which circulates more cheaply. Some people will say you have too much
:38:44. > :38:49.power. Jelena what I am trying to do is create a service for London. This
:38:50. > :38:54.stage in -- this station was awarded to me by the British government. I'm
:38:55. > :39:01.trying to create something which will give Londoners not only jobs
:39:02. > :39:05.but also this channel succeeds, a platform to create more talent. You
:39:06. > :39:10.asked me earlier about the BBC and ITV, we are trying to create a
:39:11. > :39:13.channel which is completely different from all the others. I
:39:14. > :39:17.like taking well-known names and celebrities and putting them on the
:39:18. > :39:25.channel. We have tried to create a launch pad for new talent. We have
:39:26. > :39:30.taken people who are on YouTube and given them a platform on London
:39:31. > :39:37.Live. We mentioned the Independent. I have read it is up for sale at the
:39:38. > :39:40.moment. Is it really up for sale? I am not actively trying to sell it.
:39:41. > :39:44.If somebody comes about and offers the right price, it could be for
:39:45. > :39:50.sale but that could be said about any newspaper. What I will say,
:39:51. > :39:54.going back to the Independent and London Live, we as a company have
:39:55. > :39:58.been known for innovation. We have taken the Evening Standard which was
:39:59. > :40:04.about to shut down if it was not to be sold. It was losing circulation
:40:05. > :40:10.very much. We have taken it free and now we have gone from 700,000 to
:40:11. > :40:15.900,000 copies and from losing 30 million, it is now making a profit.
:40:16. > :40:24.And the same with the "i". It was launched when people said newspapers
:40:25. > :40:29.are dying. Together with the Independent, it sells over three and
:40:30. > :40:32.60,000 copies and it is also will be losing ?5 million compared to 20
:40:33. > :40:38.million which it was losing a year ago. So that is better. You also own
:40:39. > :40:41.a lot of property in the Crimea. Are you worried about your holdings
:40:42. > :40:47.there and what you think of what is going on back? Yes, I still own
:40:48. > :40:53.property in the Crimea, hopefully. I am very concerned. What I will say
:40:54. > :40:58.it is a very comes located subject that a lot of the time is
:40:59. > :41:04.misunderstood in the West. Crimea, what people do not realise, has been
:41:05. > :41:08.for many centuries part of Russia, and only recently part of Ukraine.
:41:09. > :41:12.And although I would say the referendum may not have been held
:41:13. > :41:15.under the right circumstances, I think the actual outcome of the vote
:41:16. > :41:19.would have been the same. One thing I would say is yesterday we have
:41:20. > :41:24.seen that Russia has reached out to the west and I think now it is time
:41:25. > :41:27.to stop Cold War rhetoric on both sides and start talking. The Cold
:41:28. > :41:33.War is over, let's not start another one. In the middle of the Cold War
:41:34. > :41:36.rhetoric, do you think there is a bit of a shiver going through the
:41:37. > :41:41.oligarchs in London and what will happen to them and their positions?
:41:42. > :41:46.To be very honest, I do not speak to many oligarchs in London. But I
:41:47. > :41:53.think if sanctions were to go any further, I think the city of London
:41:54. > :41:56.and London's economy would have been affected, but I think now there is
:41:57. > :42:02.not going to be any further incursions into any land and not in
:42:03. > :42:07.Crimea and definitely not any further. I think it is now time to
:42:08. > :42:10.talk. Thank you for joining us. Last week a committee of MPs
:42:11. > :42:13.expressed concerns about Britain's military capability after years of
:42:14. > :42:16.cuts. Recently, Robert Gates, the former US Defence Secretary
:42:17. > :42:20.suggested that the UK was incapable of acting as a full military partner
:42:21. > :42:25.to America. The chorus of concern is almost deafening. Is there any sign
:42:26. > :42:32.at all that the government's listening? The Defence Secretary,
:42:33. > :42:35.Philip Hammond joins me now. Are you listening to all these generals,
:42:36. > :42:40.people who think you have cut too far, you are down to the bone and
:42:41. > :42:45.really damaging our standing abroad? Of course I am listening.
:42:46. > :42:49.Much of what I am hearing is nonsense. We still have the fourth
:42:50. > :42:54.largest defence budget in the world. I was in the Pentagon this week
:42:55. > :42:59.past. I heard my US counterpart talk about Britain as a credible, capable
:43:00. > :43:05.and reliable ally and that is what we intend to remain. Of course we
:43:06. > :43:09.have had to make savings and take tough decisions. But we are working
:43:10. > :43:13.with the military chiefs to make sure we prioritise our very large
:43:14. > :43:17.defence budget, invest it in the areas which will matter in the
:43:18. > :43:21.future and I recognise that sometimes that has meant that we
:43:22. > :43:25.have had to take decisions which have upset people, about legacy
:43:26. > :43:30.capabilities. But we are looking to the future and not the past. So when
:43:31. > :43:34.the general said this morning that the Royal Navy is no longer in a
:43:35. > :43:40.position when it is taking part in regular naval exercise as it used
:43:41. > :43:44.to, is he wrong? We do take part in naval exercises but we also busy
:43:45. > :43:49.interrupting large drug shipments and the Navy has had incredible
:43:50. > :43:54.successes, counterpart was the work off the Horn of Africa, reassurance
:43:55. > :43:58.in the Gulf where we have a significant presence. We have a
:43:59. > :44:04.vessel on the way to the southern Indian Ocean at the moment to help
:44:05. > :44:10.with the Malaysia Airlines search. We said two warships to the
:44:11. > :44:15.Philippines to help in the disaster relief there after the hurricane.
:44:16. > :44:20.The Royal Navy is busy around the world and of course we would like to
:44:21. > :44:23.have more assets, but we are very effective at using the assets we
:44:24. > :44:27.have got to deliver the effect we need to do. Are you concerned about
:44:28. > :44:33.the Russian forces on the edge of the Ukraine at the moment? Of
:44:34. > :44:37.course, everybody is concerned. We are concerned there might be further
:44:38. > :44:41.incursion in the territory of a sovereign nation. But whether there
:44:42. > :44:44.is or there is not, we all ought to be concerned about the use of this
:44:45. > :44:54.very crude and blunt instrument to try and influence other and their
:44:55. > :44:58.behaviour. So when a former Defence Staff says we should keep forces in
:44:59. > :45:03.Germany and go into larger scale exercises, in Germany, is that
:45:04. > :45:08.something you can get satisfaction on? One of the things you're looking
:45:09. > :45:11.at is a greater participation in exercises in the Baltic states,
:45:12. > :45:16.Eastern European, NATO member countries, as a way of reassuring
:45:17. > :45:22.them about our commitment to the Article five of the Washington
:45:23. > :45:28.Treaty, the mutual guarantee of the collective national... I don't agree
:45:29. > :45:32.with that. The decisions we made about bringing our forces out of
:45:33. > :45:37.Germany are in order to ensure maximum effectiveness. By keeping
:45:38. > :45:41.all our armoured capability together on the Salisbury plain, so would
:45:42. > :45:45.contain together and work together, we will maximise the effectiveness
:45:46. > :45:49.of it. It's those kind of decisions about how we maximise the
:45:50. > :45:54.effectiveness of our forces that are necessary if we're going to remain
:45:55. > :45:57.first-rate miniature power. When there is a lot of worry about what's
:45:58. > :46:01.going to happen next in Eastern Europe and on the Russian border,
:46:02. > :46:07.what extra help can we give the NATO partners? We have already announced
:46:08. > :46:12.we will provide Typhoon aircraft, based possibly in Estonia, to
:46:13. > :46:17.support the Polish led Baltic air policing mission, during the summer.
:46:18. > :46:26.We are looking at opportunities to increase participation in planned
:46:27. > :46:29.NATO exercises as another way of reassuring our NATO allies. Nobody
:46:30. > :46:32.should be in any doubt of our resolve to live up to our
:46:33. > :46:39.commitments under the NATO treaty. Do we have the commitment to live up
:46:40. > :46:43.to the resolve? That was the question Mr Gates was suggesting.
:46:44. > :46:49.The answer is yes, we are a credible ally for that one of only two large
:46:50. > :46:54.NATO allies that spends over 2% of our GDP on defence. And we have the
:46:55. > :47:00.fourth largest defence budget in the world. The USA is made clear in its
:47:01. > :47:03.own defence review that it will rely on allies and partners more in the
:47:04. > :47:07.future than it has done in the past and Britain is the most obvious and
:47:08. > :47:13.most credible ally for the United States. I have to ask you this. It's
:47:14. > :47:17.been suggested that a Cabinet minister spoke to the Guardian
:47:18. > :47:21.newspaper and implied that Britain and an independent Scotland could
:47:22. > :47:25.share the pound. There could be a trade-off involving trident. A lot
:47:26. > :47:32.of people are suggesting a few. I have been in Washington this last
:47:33. > :47:43.week. Let me be very clear. When the euro was union without a fiscal
:47:44. > :47:50.political union will not work. We were proven to be right. And we are
:47:51. > :47:53.not about to repeat the mistake with Scotland in the unlikely event the
:47:54. > :47:56.Scottish people vote for independence. The reasons we
:47:57. > :48:01.couldn't have a currency union between the rest of the UK in
:48:02. > :48:04.Scotland are not political. It's not because they would be bad blood.
:48:05. > :48:10.It's because there are sound economic reasons why a currency
:48:11. > :48:16.union without deep fiscal and political union doesn't work. These
:48:17. > :48:28.are two closely integrated economies. Would it be common sense
:48:29. > :48:32.to accept that? You can't do it. If you have different fiscal holidays,
:48:33. > :48:38.different political policies generally, your economies will
:48:39. > :48:44.diverged. The monetary needs of one economy will be different to the
:48:45. > :48:47.other. And we saw that in Europe during the Euro crisis of what
:48:48. > :48:52.would've been the right monetary stance for Germany was the wrong
:48:53. > :48:57.monetary stance for or Italy. If the Scots are prepared to accept that
:48:58. > :49:02.and have that, that's their problem, surely, not London's
:49:03. > :49:06.problem. We have made it clear we do not believe a monetary union could
:49:07. > :49:09.work between two independent nations with separate fiscal and political
:49:10. > :49:15.systems. The Chancellor and the chief secretary, across the
:49:16. > :49:20.coalition have made clear that we could not do that. What about this
:49:21. > :49:25.colleague, whoever he or she could be covered you know who they are?
:49:26. > :49:30.No, I don't. It's someone close to central government. According to the
:49:31. > :49:35.government, some of you would expect to play a major role in negotiations
:49:36. > :49:39.post-referendum. That's why they were talking about you because
:49:40. > :49:43.defence is a huge issue. At the further thoughts about the future
:49:44. > :49:48.trident? If there's a Yes Vote, if the end of trident, it? No, I've
:49:49. > :49:56.answered this question on many occasions. The Trident base is
:49:57. > :50:03.hugely important to Britain's defence and we provide defence for
:50:04. > :50:08.whole of the UK. I firmly believe Scotland is safer as part of the UK.
:50:09. > :50:11.If the Scottish people were to vote for independence, there would be a
:50:12. > :50:16.protracted negotiation about many issues. And the future of the base
:50:17. > :50:21.at Faslane would be one of those issues. What I'm saying about
:50:22. > :50:25.currency union if that is not just another item that could be
:50:26. > :50:29.negotiated because there are clear economic reasons why it would not
:50:30. > :50:34.work. That's why we have set out clearly that that is not part of the
:50:35. > :50:38.negotiations for the bid could not be part of the negotiations.
:50:39. > :50:45.Afghanistan. At the moment, there's elections happening in Helmand
:50:46. > :50:49.province and the Taliban are either shooting or hanging people who try
:50:50. > :50:55.to vote. That is not the Afghanistan anybody thought we would be handing
:50:56. > :50:58.over. No one has ever suggested Afghanistan has transformed into a
:50:59. > :51:04.totally peaceful and functioning democracy, but it's a lot better
:51:05. > :51:08.than it was when we went in there. We are conducting these elections
:51:09. > :51:12.but, clearly, there is insurgent activity in parts of the country and
:51:13. > :51:18.the government is not able to control what happens in every area.
:51:19. > :51:19.the government is not able to It's not a perfect situation.
:51:20. > :51:19.the government is not able to control what happens in every area.
:51:20. > :51:19.the government is not able to It's not a perfect situation. The
:51:20. > :51:24.key question is whether we can deliver our principal objectives,
:51:25. > :51:29.ensuring that Al-Qaeda and its associates cannot re-establish
:51:30. > :51:35.themselves in Afghanistan and use Afghanistan as a base from which to
:51:36. > :51:38.strike. An extremist antifemale, theocratic state in Afghanistan
:51:39. > :51:42.which kept Al-Qaeda ad would be enough for us? No, we have
:51:43. > :51:46.established in Afghanistan the conditions which have allowed a
:51:47. > :51:54.democracy, not a perfect one, to take hold, a presidential election
:51:55. > :51:56.going on right now which has been aggressively fought between
:51:57. > :52:00.candidates with clearly differentiated policy positions. And
:52:01. > :52:05.voting will take place across the country. I'm not going to say to you
:52:06. > :52:08.in every single location it will happen in the way we would like to
:52:09. > :52:13.happen. The situation there is a lot better than it was before we went
:52:14. > :52:15.into that country. There's been a lot in today's papers about the
:52:16. > :52:20.aftermath of gay marriage at the weekend. Looking at the happy
:52:21. > :52:23.photographs and so on, do you think this is a good thing for a
:52:24. > :52:30.Conservative government have done? We have made that decision,
:52:31. > :52:33.Parliament made a decision... I'm wondering whether you changed your
:52:34. > :52:37.mind on this? I was never against the principle. My concern was about
:52:38. > :52:42.the pace, but it's history, we have done it and like all my colleagues
:52:43. > :52:45.across government, I have been involved in making sure the
:52:46. > :52:49.introduction of same-sex marriage is smooth and effective, it's now in
:52:50. > :52:52.place. The people who have been opposed to this, people with
:52:53. > :52:56.concerns about it, we'll get used to it, they will move on, and there are
:52:57. > :53:01.many other battles to fight in the future. Where you shocked by the
:53:02. > :53:04.front page of the Mirror and the sun this morning, one of your
:53:05. > :53:09.colleagues, not a top Tory, but a colleague, who has had to resign
:53:10. > :53:12.over rent by allegations? This is a personal matter for the individual
:53:13. > :53:16.concerned. I haven't actually read the front page this morning of the
:53:17. > :53:20.mirror, but it's always very sad when people are involved in personal
:53:21. > :53:24.issues that impact on their careers. That's a matter for the person
:53:25. > :53:28.concerned. Philip Hammond, thank you very much indeed for joining us. Now
:53:29. > :53:34.over to Sally for the news headlines. Good morning. The US
:53:35. > :53:37.Secretary of State, John Kerry, will meet the Russian Foreign Minister
:53:38. > :53:41.Sergei Lavrov in Paris today to try to agree ways to resolve the crisis
:53:42. > :53:44.in Ukraine. The decision came after President Vladimir Putin spoke to
:53:45. > :53:47.President Barack Obama by phone late on Friday. Mr Obama has called on
:53:48. > :53:50.Russia to pull its troops back from Ukraine's border. Mr Lavrov told
:53:51. > :53:54.Russian TV on Saturday that Moscow had no intention of sending troops
:53:55. > :53:57.into the country. A warship towing a black-box detector is preparing to
:53:58. > :54:00.join the search for the missing Malaysian airliner, off the western
:54:01. > :54:03.coast of Australia. Relatives of Chinese passengers from the plane
:54:04. > :54:06.have flown to Kuala Lumpur to seek answers from the Malaysian
:54:07. > :54:18.authorities. The plane carrying 239 people went missing more than three
:54:19. > :54:21.weeks ago. That's all from me. Back to Andrew in just a moment but first
:54:22. > :54:28.a look at what's coming up immediately after this programme.
:54:29. > :54:31.Join us on BBC Two, live from Glasgow when, as a review of the
:54:32. > :54:34.voting system is announced, we debate whether Britain was democracy
:54:35. > :54:40.is working and then promiscuity and the morning after pill, and lastly,
:54:41. > :54:49.the end Times, are they imminent? See you at 10am on BBC Two. Thank
:54:50. > :54:52.you, Sally. Philip Hammond are still here. These talks going on between
:54:53. > :54:57.the Americans and Sergei Lavrov, is this a big breakthrough? Is this
:54:58. > :55:00.when the crisis started to recede? I hope so because we have to find a
:55:01. > :55:05.deeper magic solution to the crisis over the Crimea while continuing to
:55:06. > :55:11.make very clear to the Russians that if they were to go any further into
:55:12. > :55:15.the Ukraine, there would be a raft of new measures against them would
:55:16. > :55:19.have heard the Russian economy. These talks are vital but in the USA
:55:20. > :55:22.and Russia but equally vital we see talks between Russia and the
:55:23. > :55:25.Ukraine, that's the basis on which we can see a lowering of the
:55:26. > :55:30.temperature and a de-escalation of what remained so very serious on
:55:31. > :55:32.eastern Ukrainian border. For how long do you think we will be worried
:55:33. > :55:41.about Russian energy security policies? When will we have our own
:55:42. > :55:45.independence as an SSE man? We are investing a lot in this country. We
:55:46. > :55:49.have gas from Norway and other places, as well, tax incentives
:55:50. > :55:52.coming into the North Sea. I would like to see more North Sea
:55:53. > :55:56.investment coming to. Maybe in ten years' time, we won't be thinking
:55:57. > :56:02.the Russians could turn out the lights? Reducing our collective
:56:03. > :56:04.independence on Russian energy is critically important. That's an
:56:05. > :56:09.important issue, independent of what happened over the last few weeks.
:56:10. > :56:16.The development is going on now give us good cause to expect that we will
:56:17. > :56:19.become more independent. If the Russians want Ukraine to stay out of
:56:20. > :56:24.NATO, is that a reasonable request given the historic links? It must be
:56:25. > :56:28.for the Ukrainian people to determine their future. Including
:56:29. > :56:32.where they stand on international organisations but, we need
:56:33. > :56:36.discussions between the Ukrainians and the Russians. Thank you very
:56:37. > :56:42.much all of you. I'm afraid that's all we've got time for this morning.
:56:43. > :56:47.We will be back next Sunday at 9am on BBC One. We will talk about
:56:48. > :56:51.welfare and that man in charge, Iain Duncan Smith joined this next
:56:52. > :56:52.Sunday. Until then, we leave you with Sophie Ellis-Bextor. This is 13
:56:53. > :57:02.Little Dolls. Good morning. # Darkness ain't a sin.
:57:03. > :57:05.# It's the visions in your head. # Leave it on the windowsill.
:57:06. > :57:12.# It's for them now instead. # Do you think they know your heart?
:57:13. > :57:17.# It wouldn't be a big surprise. # Because the pendulum will swing.
:57:18. > :57:20.# Whenever night arrives. # 13 go a-wandering from grandma's
:57:21. > :57:25.hands to mine. # And I'll never be alone.
:57:26. > :57:32.# I'm cursed and I am blessed. # It's all and it is less.
:57:33. > :57:37.# You would not believe the tales they tell.
:57:38. > :57:41.# The good, the bad, the hurts like hell.
:57:42. > :57:45.# Burden those who live the shaded path.
:57:46. > :57:50.# They won't betray their wooden mask.
:57:51. > :57:53.# Find them, hide them, keep them safe.
:57:54. > :57:57.# Those one three little dolls. # One for each mood of the day.
:57:58. > :57:59.# Those one three little dolls. # Cross your heart and dare to
:58:00. > :58:03.sleep. # Leave them out to play.
:58:04. > :58:05.# One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12, 13
:58:06. > :58:15.little dolls. # See I was told a tale.
:58:16. > :58:19.# Of witches in a box. # Lift the lid and spirits rise.
:58:20. > :58:22.# And I see them now, of course. # Now they're here beside the bed.
:58:23. > :58:34.# I feel 620 eyes. # Because for every twist and turn.
:58:35. > :58:37.# You would not believe the tales they tell.
:58:38. > :58:39.# The good, the bad, the hurts like hell.
:58:40. > :58:50.# Not apparent to the naked eye. # But with the third, it all takes
:58:51. > :58:54.flight. # One, two, three, four, five, six,
:58:55. > :58:57.seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12, 13 little dolls.
:58:58. > :58:59.# One, three, five, seven, nine, 11, 13, 13.
:59:00. > :59:02.# One, three, five, seven, nine, 11, 13, 13.
:59:03. > :59:04.# One, three, five, seven, nine, 11, 13, 13.
:59:05. > :59:07.# One, three, five, seven, nine, 11, 13, 13.
:59:08. > :59:16.# One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12, 13
:59:17. > :59:19.little dolls #. # One for each mood of the day.
:59:20. > :59:22.# Those 13 little dolls.