:00:40. > :00:42.I know people are often suspicious of the Westminster elite, lumping
:00:43. > :00:46.journalists and politicians together. Really they are opposite
:00:47. > :00:49.and hostile tribes, and ought to be. If you doubt this, just take a look
:00:50. > :00:52.at the treatment of Maria Miller, the Minister in charge of press
:00:53. > :00:57.regulations - caught out over her expenses yet defended by David
:00:58. > :01:04.Cameron. The press are determined to tear her down. It's already long
:01:05. > :01:09.drawn out, bloody and bitter. And it isn't over yet. Here to mull over
:01:10. > :01:12.much weightier matters in today's papers are Isobel Hardman, Assistant
:01:13. > :01:17.Editor of The Spectator, and The Guardian columnist, Polly Toynbee.
:01:18. > :01:20.Now, each week we try to illuminate the big political issues, but I'm
:01:21. > :01:24.aware these aren't always what's getting people angry. This morning,
:01:25. > :01:29.however, we're tackling two subjects which really wind people up. First,
:01:30. > :01:32.welfare. For many Conservatives, unless we cut our huge welfare
:01:33. > :01:38.bills, this country will remain a bloated state, unable to prosper.
:01:39. > :01:42.While some on the receiving end - the poor and disabled - say what's
:01:43. > :01:46.being done is simply cruel. Iain Duncan Smith, the Welfare Secretary,
:01:47. > :01:49.sees his task as a moral crusade, but the effect of what he's doing
:01:50. > :01:54.has been attacked by some charities and religious leaders as profoundly
:01:55. > :02:00.immoral. The second issue getting many people
:02:01. > :02:04.fired up is the Scottish referendum. We spoke to SNP leader Alex Salmond
:02:05. > :02:07.recently - today. We talk to Alistair Darling, spearheading the
:02:08. > :02:10."anti-independence" campaign. They've been faltering. Time for a
:02:11. > :02:13.change of tack? We're also looking ahead to a
:02:14. > :02:16.historic visit this week. I'll be speaking to the Irish Prime
:02:17. > :02:19.Minister, Enda Kenny, ahead of the first ever state visit to Britain by
:02:20. > :02:22.an Irish President. Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness going to
:02:23. > :02:27.Buckingham Palace? British royalty marking the Easter uprising? All
:02:28. > :02:31.will be revealed! And a great lady of the theatre in a
:02:32. > :02:37.genuinely great new play wowing London. We'll be talking to Sinead
:02:38. > :02:40.Cusack about a gripping family drama set among California's Republican
:02:41. > :02:45.elite. As ever, first to the news desk and
:02:46. > :02:49.Steph McGovern. Good morning. The Australian team
:02:50. > :02:52.leading the search for the missing Malaysian plane says that pulses
:02:53. > :02:56.detected by a Chinese ship in the southern Indian Ocean are an
:02:57. > :02:59."important and encouraging lead". But the head of the search team also
:03:00. > :03:03.said the discovery should be treated with caution until it can be
:03:04. > :03:10.verified. With the latest, here's our world affairs correspondent,
:03:11. > :03:12.Phil Mercer. This be the breakthrough this painstaking
:03:13. > :03:18.investigation has waited so long for? A Chinese patrol ship says it
:03:19. > :03:22.has twice found an acoustic signal during its search for Flight MH370.
:03:23. > :03:27.The frequency of the pulse is the same as those emitted by black box
:03:28. > :03:32.data recorders. But there's no evidence so far that it is linked to
:03:33. > :03:36.the missing plane. Chinese officials have stressed the signal had not yet
:03:37. > :03:40.been identified. Australia, which is co-ordinating the search in the
:03:41. > :03:43.Indian Ocean, remains cautious. While we certainly are throwing
:03:44. > :03:50.everything we have at it, and while the best brains and the best
:03:51. > :03:55.technology in the world will be deployed, we need to be very careful
:03:56. > :03:59.about coming to hard and fast conclusions too soon In a further
:04:00. > :04:04.twist an Australian naval vessel, the Ocean Shield, has heard an
:04:05. > :04:07.unidentified acoustic signal in another part of the Indian Ocean.
:04:08. > :04:12.Again there's no evidence at this stage to link it to the jet that van
:04:13. > :04:15.Irshad month ago. Multinational recovery mission is racing against
:04:16. > :04:20.the clock to find the flight recorders, as their batteries could
:04:21. > :04:25.run out within days. The hunt for clues is intensifying off Western
:04:26. > :04:29.Australia. A dozen planes and 13 ships are scouring an enormous
:04:30. > :04:34.Schett of desolate ocean far larger than the size of England. Their task
:04:35. > :04:40.is to some of what could be the greatest mystery in aviation
:04:41. > :04:42.history. The Culture Secretary, Maria Miller,
:04:43. > :04:46.is under renewed pressure this morning, as the row escalates over
:04:47. > :04:49.her expenses claims. She apologised to MPs earlier this week after
:04:50. > :04:53.overclaiming payments for her mortgage. Now the watchdog in charge
:04:54. > :04:56.of parliamentary expenses has suggested MPs should no longer have
:04:57. > :05:00.the power to police their own affairs.
:05:01. > :05:04.Votes are being counted in Afghanistan after its historic
:05:05. > :05:08.presidential election yesterday. It's the first democratic transfer
:05:09. > :05:11.of power in the country. Despite threats of violence from the
:05:12. > :05:16.Taliban, it's thought six out of ten people cast their vote, with huge
:05:17. > :05:19.queues outside polling stations. Thousands of NATO and American
:05:20. > :05:22.troops were deployed for security. Partial results are expected later
:05:23. > :05:26.today, with the final announcement due next month.
:05:27. > :05:29.Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, will
:05:30. > :05:33.attend a state banquet with the Queen for the first time. The event
:05:34. > :05:37.is being held at Windsor Castle later this week. Mr McGuinness, who
:05:38. > :05:40.was a senior member of the IRA, is accompanying the Irish President,
:05:41. > :05:45.Michael Higgins, on a four-day visit to the UK.
:05:46. > :05:49.BBC One's talent show, The Voice, came to its climax last night. The
:05:50. > :05:57.winner was announced at the end of the live final. It's Jermain!
:05:58. > :06:00.The Londoner, whose mentor was Will-i-am, has now signed a major
:06:01. > :06:04.record deal. That's all from me, for now. I'll be
:06:05. > :06:10.back with the headlines just before ten o'clock. Back to you, Andrew.
:06:11. > :06:15.Thank you Steph. Now to the papers. Andrew Marr's first rule of how to
:06:16. > :06:20.decode the newspapers, if you see inverted commas on a front page be
:06:21. > :06:25.very careful of the a case in point, the Sunday Express. Missing plane
:06:26. > :06:29.found. Not really, not yet anyway. The Mail on Sunday is one of the
:06:30. > :06:37.many papers gunning for Maria Miller. Sack her. 80% of
:06:38. > :06:42.Conservative supporters want... The Observer, an interesting story about
:06:43. > :06:44.Michael Gove's fight to save the reputation of his free school
:06:45. > :06:47.programme. The Independent on Sunday, an
:06:48. > :06:52.interesting story on supermarkets wasting food.
:06:53. > :06:55.And the Sunday times, MPs can't be trusted on expenses. That's the
:06:56. > :07:01.Commons watchdog himself saying that, and as we have been saying
:07:02. > :07:05.might happen for a long time, the Scotland vote, yes to independence
:07:06. > :07:10.is now neck and neck with staying in the union. That's getting very
:07:11. > :07:14.close. We'll talk about that later. The Sunday Telegraph and Minister,
:07:15. > :07:20.an unnamed Cabinet Minister, Miller must go. To talk about all of that,
:07:21. > :07:25.Christina and Polly welcome. You are going to start with the Sunday
:07:26. > :07:30.Telegraph version of Minister must go. It is interesting that the Tory
:07:31. > :07:34.press who are gunning for her. They are after her. There is I think a
:07:35. > :07:40.subtext here. It is not just the rudeness of her so-called apology,
:07:41. > :07:44.32 seconds. Very grudging, that was an outrage really. But there's
:07:45. > :07:49.something else going on here. It is partly about Leveson, that her
:07:50. > :07:53.people may or may not have at some point threatened they would use the
:07:54. > :07:58.Leveson process to get her own back on the press. Underneath all of this
:07:59. > :08:01.is the murder in the right-wing press fighting against the Leveson
:08:02. > :08:07.process, which has run into the sand. Quite a crude threat when we
:08:08. > :08:12.heard about it. Is bell, at the centre of the right-wing press, The
:08:13. > :08:21.Spectator and so forth. Is that a fair assessment from Polly? It is
:08:22. > :08:29.probably why the MPs shouldn't be allow allowed - ensure is connected
:08:30. > :08:33.to talks MP had with the press. It is just as worrying. Do you think
:08:34. > :08:38.anything is going to happen now? This is the stage where Ministers
:08:39. > :08:43.circle the wagons to protect her. Cameron say she is going to stay,
:08:44. > :08:47.the press go on about it for a few days and lose interest? ? If the
:08:48. > :08:51.Prime Minister wants to hold on to a Minister, she will be very damaged,
:08:52. > :08:57.won't be given anything important to do. But if the Prime Minister wants
:08:58. > :09:00.to protect someone, he, and the press will push off. They like to
:09:01. > :09:04.think they can knock somebody off their perch, but in the end the
:09:05. > :09:09.Prime Minister's word is what runs. Cameron is quite a stubborn chap.
:09:10. > :09:14.The more the press call for Miller to go, the more likely he is to keep
:09:15. > :09:21.her. He doesn't like the idea of newspapers pullying. He is quite
:09:22. > :09:25.stubborn about this? He is, 80% of Conservative supporters want him to
:09:26. > :09:28.axe MP. He should worry what voters think about this impression of the
:09:29. > :09:32.expenses scandal coming to the surface again. It is not just about
:09:33. > :09:37.her. It's about the credibility of all politics, across all of the
:09:38. > :09:41.political parties. A sense of real disgust about the expenses, which is
:09:42. > :09:45.welling up again. Sure, and if the plane is discovered tomorrow all of
:09:46. > :09:50.this vanishes from the front pages for days. But all we've heard it's
:09:51. > :09:54.is a pipping of two really. It doesn't seem to be much. What you
:09:55. > :09:59.can say? Day after day this mystery is some offed and then not some
:10:00. > :10:05.offed, a clue found here and there. I can't remember a major news story
:10:06. > :10:09.going on for so long with so little new news. Page five of the Sunday
:10:10. > :10:13.Express does have a deadline for searchers finding this black box.
:10:14. > :10:19.They say 24 hours to confirm plaque box location. We may get an actual
:10:20. > :10:25.development at some point but it may not be the one you are looking for.
:10:26. > :10:30.Why do they say hope, you feel sorry for the families The next story,
:10:31. > :10:37.Polly. A column from the Sunday telegraph. Yes, Iain Duncan Smith,
:10:38. > :10:41.who will be talking to shortly. The one-year anniversary of the bedroom
:10:42. > :10:45.tax. Of all of his benefit changes, it's the one that have struck the
:10:46. > :10:50.hearts of the public and people have turned against it. These benefit
:10:51. > :10:55.changes may popular but not the bedroom tax. He is hitting back with
:10:56. > :11:05.an article of his own. Virtually an article of his known the Sun. There
:11:06. > :11:10.is an interview with him in the Sun on Sunday. The under occupancy or
:11:11. > 0:04:15bedroom tax doesn't poll well with the public. If you talk to Ministers
0:04:16 > 0:04:15privately, they always try to distance themselves from the policy.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15A few of them have said to me it was Lord Freud's idea, normally the sign
0:04:16 > 0:04:15you've lost the act. Two third of those affected by the bedroom tax
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are disabled, some seriously. The arrears building up, rent arrears, a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15lot of people are expected to lose their homes and a lot of them are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15very needy people. It is interesting that Iain Duncan Smith, unlike many
0:04:16 > 0:04:15other Conservatives, still has the absolute support of the Conservative
0:04:16 > 0:04:15press. He has. He is contrasted with MP as somebody who -- contrasted
0:04:16 > 0:04:15with MP, who The technicalities, so
0:04:16 > 0:04:15monstrously... Thank you for that Polly. I will remember that when I'm
0:04:16 > 0:04:15talking about it. You've picking up on Michael Gove, and free schools.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15The Observer's front page. A big story about a leaked document.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Inside Michael Gove's own department, his own Ministers very
0:04:16 > 0:04:15worried about free schools being so off the leash that a lot of them
0:04:16 > 0:04:15have no experience, no managerial experience. Four of them failing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15badly. One has already been closed down. A lot of them haven't had an
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Ofsted inspection. It does seem that those that are in big groups work
0:04:16 > 0:04:15better. This very the experience, the administrative schools. But
0:04:16 > 0:04:15these one-offs, really free, free schools are all over the place. It
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is quite risky. But again, by and large the Conservative press likes
0:04:16 > 0:04:15radical Conservative Ministers and have supported Gove and it has
0:04:16 > 0:04:15supported Iain Duncan Smith. Your next story. This is the front page
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of the Independent on Sunday, a report from the House of Lords which
0:04:16 > 0:04:15clams the morally repugnant failure of Britain to deal with food waste.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15We are throwing out a third of food in this country. A strange tension
0:04:16 > 0:04:15between country which wastes food and a rising number of food banks.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15And obesity. This is much more complex than not being able to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15access food, but they are eating too much of the wrong food as well. It
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is not as simple to say that a third of the food waste should be handed
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to people who haven't got enough to eat? The peers should say that buy
0:04:16 > 0:04:15one get one free deals should be scrapped. That's unfair on those who
0:04:16 > 0:04:15really are trying to scrape together money to buy food for their family.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15They are not always cheaper. Polly, we've talked about Scotland. This is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15really interesting. A Sunday Times front page "Yes" vote now neck and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15neck, only six points away. The SNP side of the argument is coming up
0:04:16 > 0:04:15fast. We've still got quite a long way to go until the September
0:04:16 > 0:04:15referendum. And this is because don't knows are breaking two to one
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in favour of voting for independence rather than stay in the union?
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Absolutely. I think also that probably one element, if Labour slip
0:04:16 > 0:04:15as bit in the polls down south, I think it makes it more likely that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the SNP makes some headway, because the idea of another Conservative
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Government in which Scotland feels it has no part, no interest
0:04:16 > 0:04:15whatever, probably helps the "yes" vote. We'll be talking to Alistair
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Darling later. David Davis in the Mail on Sunday. Talking about
0:04:16 > 0:04:15referendums. He has come out as saying quitting the EU would be good
0:04:16 > 0:04:15for Britain. It is something you would say if you have your eyes on
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the Tory leadership at some point. But there are some jitters on this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15referendum in the Conservative Party. Some would like David Cameron
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to appoint an official negotiator who can spend their time talking to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15EU leaders and making the case for reforming, just like a Prime
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Minister does not have time to, because he is the Prime Minister.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Every contender for the Tory party leadership has had to say, if there
0:04:16 > 0:04:15was a vote tomorrow, I would go out now. I think if you are going to be
0:04:16 > 0:04:15a credible leader you have two come out because that is the way it is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15going. After the Nigel Farage and it played debate, what is the backwash
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in the papers? Nick Clegg clearly lost that debate, according to the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15papers? There has been some briefing about Nick Clegg's position after
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the European elections. They will always be the subplot to the great
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Tory UKIP battles. Nick Clegg has not got the heft to carry this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15argument so Nigel Farage was always going to do better as the outsider.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15This does not tell us what will happen if there is a referendum.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Nick Clegg was talking about economics and the importance of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15staying in and Nigel Farage was talking about being part #
0:04:16 > 0:04:15impossibility of Parliamentary democracy in the EU. I think he did
0:04:16 > 0:04:15himself some good for standing up for the one principle he has left.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Not sure he will thank you for that. There is a piece of good news at the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15moment, which is the vote in Afghanistan in the sense people are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15defying the Taliban, turning out to vote? A lot of the papers have
0:04:16 > 0:04:15lovely pictures of queues of women in burka 's waiting hours to cast
0:04:16 > 0:04:15their vote. It should put the people here who don't vote to shame. In
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Afghanistan, you could be blown up when you go to vote, and people in
0:04:16 > 0:04:15this country say they cannot be bothered. Was that long war worth
0:04:16 > 0:04:15it? This is the acid test. The Taliban in Helmand said if you vote
0:04:16 > 0:04:15we will hand you or we will shoot you, but people still turned out to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15vote. This is a picture in the Sunday Telegraph of the Olympic
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Park. Someone doing acrobatics on the sculpture, which I think is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15beautiful. Lots of people think it is ugly and he has been pleading
0:04:16 > 0:04:15with people to learn to love it recently. Any final stories? It
0:04:16 > 0:04:15would not be Sunday if we did not have several stories about the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15insane house price rises. The desperation of people who cannot get
0:04:16 > 0:04:15onto the ladder. In the Observer, people renting, who will rent for
0:04:16 > 0:04:15ever. Insecure, how to move their families every few months because
0:04:16 > 0:04:15you don't get very long. It is a geographical divide isn't it? The
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Tories used to put house-buying on all of their election posters, but
0:04:16 > 0:04:15now a lot of people don't want new homes in those areas. Thank you both
0:04:16 > 0:04:15very much. Now to the weather. Dreadful weather in parts of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15North last week. Polluted down south, are we act is seeing some
0:04:16 > 0:04:15spring weather? I can deliver most things
0:04:16 > 0:04:15eventually, and there will be some dry weather in a second. But there
0:04:16 > 0:04:15will be rain at times thanks to this low-pressure throwing these weather
0:04:16 > 0:04:15funds eastwards across the British Isles. It is windy across the South
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Western quarter, around 35 miles an hour gusts in some locations. Breezy
0:04:16 > 0:04:15inland as well. Ahead of this weather front it will still push the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15temperatures into the teens. Brighter skies getting into Northern
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Ireland and maybe Scotland, northern England and Wales to finish off
0:04:16 > 0:04:15today. As the weather front tumbles further south, we keep the rain
0:04:16 > 0:04:15coming in the south. A cooler night in prospect. As mild as it was last
0:04:16 > 0:04:15night across the South. Watch out for Monday, across a good part of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15England and Wales because it will be quite wet. For the North West of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Scotland, Northern Ireland, showers here. The rain eventually clears
0:04:16 > 0:04:15away but it will take awhile. The rest of the week, certainly for
0:04:16 > 0:04:15England and Wales, drier weather, Sony spells. Scotland and Northern
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Ireland will have a weather front around in the middle of the week.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Just under six months to go till the referendum on independence for
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Scotland and although the polls still put the unionists in the lead,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the nationalist Yes campaign seems to be gaining ground. Despite big
0:04:16 > 0:04:15unionist interventions on the currency, Europe and business. The
0:04:16 > 0:04:15nationalists seem to be waging the more successful and positive
0:04:16 > 0:04:15campaign street-by-street and town-by-town - and the polls are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15closing. The former Labour Chancellor, Alistair Darling, is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15running the Better Together campaign. Good morning.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15As the Sunday Times, firmed this morning, you are losing this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15argument? No, the polls don't show that. If you take today's which has
0:04:16 > 0:04:15always been an outlier in Scottish polls, if you look at the change
0:04:16 > 0:04:15from this month to last month, it has not changed. Slightly contrary
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to what you are saying, every single pole conduct did this year and last
0:04:16 > 0:04:15year as well, shows us with a consistent lead. If you look at the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15polls since the beginning of this year, some of them show the lead
0:04:16 > 0:04:15increasing, some show a slight move towards the Nationalists. But you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15need to get this into. The majority of people in Scotland are against
0:04:16 > 0:04:15independence. I think we will win this as long as we get across our
0:04:16 > 0:04:15arguments about the benefits of the UK. And we make our arguments
0:04:16 > 0:04:15strongly, we will win. But we need to get these polls in perspective.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15This one today is an outlier and it is not changed since the last one.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Professor John Curtis in Glasgow are saying things are narrowing, the yes
0:04:16 > 0:04:15campaign is gaining ground and they feel they -- you are losing the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15argument, are they wrong as well? Professor John Curtis is a respected
0:04:16 > 0:04:15pollster. Some polls have shown some tightening. There is six months to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15go, they will automatically move around. I wish we got the same
0:04:16 > 0:04:15attention in the polls when our lead increased. Opinion polls are an
0:04:16 > 0:04:15approximate died. There are the usual caveats and buckets of salt
0:04:16 > 0:04:15should be poured on these things. I think we will win this argument are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15provided we continue to get our arguments across. There is a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15powerful case for staying part of the UK in terms of jobs, in terms of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15opportunities and in terms of us in Scotland as a country to in roof the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15standard of living and we have strong bonds of culture, a shared
0:04:16 > 0:04:15history of 300 years. It is a powerful case for staying in the UK
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and we will continue to make it. The negativity you referred to is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15largely coming from the Nationalists, who in the last week
0:04:16 > 0:04:15alone, when anyone speaks out against them, we had a businessman
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in the week who said he thought staying in the UK would be better
0:04:16 > 0:04:15for his business to stay in the UK, the behaviour towards him was
0:04:16 > 0:04:15disgraceful. We are the ones who are being positive about the case for
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the United Kingdom. Nationalists are consistently negative and will do
0:04:16 > 0:04:15anything to shout down anyone who speaks out against them. What you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are really doing again is warning the Scots they cannot have this,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15cannot have that, the dangers of independence rather than making a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15positive and enthusiastic case for staying British, a case for
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Britishness, if you like. Do you think there needs to be a change of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15tone? I made it clear from the start, we will make a very strong,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15positive case of the sort I have just been outlining as to why it is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in Scotland's best interests to be part of something digger. The best
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of both worlds where we have a strong, devolved Scottish parliament
0:04:16 > 0:04:15with powers over things like education but it is in the interests
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of us all, Scottish firms and businesses in particular to have no
0:04:16 > 0:04:15regulatory difficulties, no currency difficulties. If we look at the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15people who have been most vociferous in the last couple of months about
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the disadvantages of break-up of separation, it has not been our
0:04:16 > 0:04:15campaign, it has been Scottish as Mrs, people like standard life, who
0:04:16 > 0:04:15point out in 90% of their customers happen to live in the rest of the UK
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and they are worried about the consequences of putting a barrier
0:04:16 > 0:04:15between them and their customers. We will make the positive case. Nothing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15would please the Nationalists more if I said, we will not ask any more
0:04:16 > 0:04:15hard questions. When we ask questions about membership of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15European Union and they claim to have a legal opinion. It did not
0:04:16 > 0:04:15exist and what they were saying is not true. In relation to the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15currency, even their own people are saying what they want, and to quote,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15" nonsense on stilts" . We are talking about the future of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15United Kingdom as well as Scotland, so I will continue to be positive
0:04:16 > 0:04:15cos I believe passionately about it. I will not be put off by asking
0:04:16 > 0:04:15questions which make the Nationalists uncomfortable, which is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15why they don't want me to ask these questions. When are we going to hear
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in detail from Labour about devolution if the voter goes no? You
0:04:16 > 0:04:15did a couple of weeks ago. The Labour Party published a couple of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15proposals. The Liberals have done it earlier this year and the Tories
0:04:16 > 0:04:15will publish something in May. Right from the time the Scottish
0:04:16 > 0:04:15parliament was established in 1999, the settlement has moved on and next
0:04:16 > 0:04:15year, sorry, 2016, the Scottish parliament will be obliged to set an
0:04:16 > 0:04:15income tax rate so it has the power to spend money, but also it is the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15responsibility of raising money. Other parties are saying there are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15other things you can do, in our case involving more in relation to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15housing benefit. It makes sense to link housing benefit with housing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15policy, which is already devolved. Equally, the work programme and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15other measures. That process will go on, but it then if it's Scotland to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15have that strong, powerful Scottish parliament but it also benefits us
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to be part of the UK. It is a positive case and it needs to be
0:04:16 > 0:04:15made again and again. The majority of people in Scotland are not
0:04:16 > 0:04:15persuaded by the nationalist argument. They see the advantage of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15being part of something bigger. There was an interesting change made
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to the number two finance bill last week which allowed for a variation
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in tax rates in Scotland, and has been interpreted as a major move by
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the government to allow more variation on tax by the Scottish
0:04:16 > 0:04:15parliament in the future. Is that the kind of thing you are expect
0:04:16 > 0:04:15thing and can you explain it to us? There has been over interpretation
0:04:16 > 0:04:15on what is a minor matter. The Scottish Parliament has had the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15power to vary the income tax rates that were set up. It has never been
0:04:16 > 0:04:15used. Only once did a political party campaign on increasing tax and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15it lost Radley. The proposals I was referring to, which is the biggest,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15single change to devolution, that is coming through. The changes in the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Finance Bill you are talking about are more technical than that. People
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in Scotland want to see a powerful Scottish parliament and that is what
0:04:16 > 0:04:15they get. We also have the advantages of being part of the UK,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15something bigger as well as things we have not talked about, the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15non-economic arguments, the shared identity and history. And the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15opportunity to do something better for people in Scotland as well as
0:04:16 > 0:04:15people in the UK. Can I turn to a final matter, which has been a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15divisive issue in Scotland. There has been a lot of tempers raised and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15things said by people to each other. The SNP are talking in private
0:04:16 > 0:04:15according to Scotland on Sunday, about a post independence agreement
0:04:16 > 0:04:15on devolution. Do you think it will be possible for tempers to settle
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and Scotland to bind itself back together again, what ever the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15results at the referendum? I certainly hope so. Nothing is more
0:04:16 > 0:04:15likely to turn people off than the sight of politicians squabbling with
0:04:16 > 0:04:15each other. That is what distressed me about what was happening last
0:04:16 > 0:04:15week in Scotland when members of the public were being monsters. That has
0:04:16 > 0:04:15got to stop. The eyes of the world are on Scotland for the next six
0:04:16 > 0:04:15months. Whether you talk about further devolution, sadly when we
0:04:16 > 0:04:15set up the Scottish Parliament with constitutional convention and in
0:04:16 > 0:04:15relation to the proposals to tax, the one party he would not cooperate
0:04:16 > 0:04:15was the Nationalists. First of all we have to decide whether or not we
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are staying part of the UK. I believe we will win that argument.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15After that there will be further discussions on it will be for the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15good of Scotland if people worked together rather than indulging in
0:04:16 > 0:04:15name-calling, shouting and personal abuse. That has no part in a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15civilised society. I hope things will calm down so the entire country
0:04:16 > 0:04:15will benefit from that. I have never heard you quite so fired up, thanks
0:04:16 > 0:04:15for joining us. Sinead Cusack is one of the busiest actors around right
0:04:16 > 0:04:15now. Her new film, an adaptation of John Banville's novel "The Sea", is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15just out. And she's been on our TV screens recently in the cracking
0:04:16 > 0:04:15World War One drama "37 Days" as the Prime Minister's famously feisty
0:04:16 > 0:04:15wife, Margot Asquith. In a new play, Cusack plays a hard-as-nails
0:04:16 > 0:04:15California Republican, whose family is turned upside down when a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15troubled daughter reveals she's written a blistering memoir. I'll be
0:04:16 > 0:04:15speaking to Sinead Cusack in a moment, but first a clip from "Other
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Desert Cities" at The Old Vic. How could I ever be in your presence, if
0:04:16 > 0:04:15you betray the trust of the family you would still be my daughter, but
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the meaning of it would change. You would lose us. So you understand.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Why is it that children are allowed a sort of endless series of free
0:04:16 > 0:04:15passes in this life? You all want to stay children forever, doing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15whatever mischief you can think of. All you enentitled children of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15me generation. Sinead, this is a wonderful play. I've always wondered
0:04:16 > 0:04:15what doctors and actors really want in a theatre. For the first time
0:04:16 > 0:04:15yesterday when I saw it it is that extraordinary silence when you get
0:04:16 > 0:04:15hundreds and hundreds of people completely silent, holding their
0:04:16 > 0:04:15breath waiting for the next word, the next sentence. That's what you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15got for large periods of time in this play. It is astonishing,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Cathedral-like silence when required. And up uprush hourious
0:04:16 > 0:04:15laughter also when required. -- up roarious. What has been pulled off
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in this play, to be able to repel, to amuse and to move all in this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15space of a couple of hours. It is an extraordinary achievement as a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15writer. It is a beautifully crafted play. And we should explain, it is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15set among the California Republican elite. You are a friend of Nancy
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Reagan and your husband was an ambassador of Ronnie Reagan's and it
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is about what happens inside their family. But this is not your
0:04:16 > 0:04:15customary territory. This is about as far from my political stance as
0:04:16 > 0:04:15can be imagined. So when I read the play first, the character of Polly,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15woman I play, I was repelled and moved in equal measure. I thought,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15can I bear to play this woman? But monsters are interesting. When you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15discover that beneath the veneer, the carefully crafted forensically
0:04:16 > 0:04:15maintained veneer, this is a woman who is motivated by very often love,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and a steely determination to get her way. She's a toughy but she
0:04:16 > 0:04:15can't be completely monstrous, because she's got so many of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15best lines in the play. Can you have a villain who keeps making you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15laugh? The answer the probably not. Do you think you can? You play
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Richard III, the part I've always wanted to play. Richard III makes
0:04:16 > 0:04:15you laugh, but the monstrosity of the man is clear. With Polly, she
0:04:16 > 0:04:15has adopt adopted. She passes. She uses the word "pass". She's a screw.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15She comes from probably -- she's a Jew. She comes from probably Latvia
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and has moved up the scale. She is pass passing as a very particular
0:04:16 > 0:04:15sort of woman. And Kevin Spacey, who did play Richard III at the Old Vic
0:04:16 > 0:04:15brought this over. There seems to be a thing in America for great family
0:04:16 > 0:04:15dramas with enormous range. Something in Britain we don't seem
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to manage so much. I don't know why. This has political resonance and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15deep tragic resonance as well. I think Shakespeare managed that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15didn't he, Andrew? A while back. Yes, the family dynamic which
0:04:16 > 0:04:15informs this play massively is something, you are right, it tends
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to be a rarity in English modern play writing. People who know the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Old Vic will be surprised, as it has been reorganised and remodelled.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15This is in the round. That's a different way of acting, because you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15must never know quite where to stand or look. It was so daunting when we
0:04:16 > 0:04:15stood on the stage for the first time. You are so expose ?. There is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15nowhere to hide. You can't turn your back on the audience at any point,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15because they are on every side of you. But the wonderful thing that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15happens is the audience comes into you. You don't have to shout, you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15don't have to massively project. They come into the story. For this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15particular story, which is about a family imploding, about a family
0:04:16 > 0:04:15dynamic, the way they come into that and are a part of that is very
0:04:16 > 0:04:15exciting. Can we ask about your other greater female character
0:04:16 > 0:04:15recently, Margaret Asquith, in 37 Days. 37 Days? I want to know about
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the Sarajevo assassination. Should I be worried? I don't see why. You
0:04:16 > 0:04:15see, now I am worried. I can read you like a book. Well, I do hope I'm
0:04:16 > 0:04:15not so transparent to foreign diplomats. . So? What is the Foreign
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Office plotting? Plotting? We all know you sit on a mountain of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15secrets. Nobody's plotting anything, Margot, but you have my assurance,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15if this country has anything to worry about, will you be the first
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to be told. When I came out after the interval
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to see the second half of Other Desert Cities, people said to me,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15isn't it wonderful to have a proper grown-up new play? This is an
0:04:16 > 0:04:15extraordinary piece of work, because it was so old-fashioned, in a good
0:04:16 > 0:04:15way. I was hugely impressed that it had been written in such a way, and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15that we were able to produce it in such a way. It was, to sit round
0:04:16 > 0:04:15that table, the first day read-through, and hear stuff that I
0:04:16 > 0:04:15had never known about. The miscalculations, misjudgments,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15mistakes to led up to a huge cataclysmic war. And Margaret
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Asquith, I think she deserves a play all by herself. She's one of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15great political figures of British political life. I was entranced by
0:04:16 > 0:04:15her. A great woman. She was, a very feisty human being. Maybe you can
0:04:16 > 0:04:15fit her in before Richard III. Thank you Andrew.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15It may seem strange, but almost a century since the fight for Irish
0:04:16 > 0:04:15independence, there has never been a state visit to this country by the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15President of Ireland. Tomorrow, all that changes. There will be lots of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15pomp, but many serious issues for the two countries to talk about as
0:04:16 > 0:04:15well. The Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, spoke to me earlier. How
0:04:16 > 0:04:15crucial is the symbolism of this visit, I asked. I think it means an
0:04:16 > 0:04:15enormous amount to the people of Ireland but also to the people of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Britain. Symbolically it is of enormous importance. Practically it
0:04:16 > 0:04:15brings the relationship between the two countries and the two peoples to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15an unprecedented level. This was unthinkable 20 years ago. Taoiseach,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15another significant anniversary coming up is the centenary of the
0:04:16 > 0:04:151916 Easter Rising, when rebels rose up against the Crown for Irish
0:04:16 > 0:04:15independence. Are you really expecting the Queen or another
0:04:16 > 0:04:15senior member of the Royal Family to attend the commemorations in 2016 in
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Dublin of the Easter rising? It should be possible for members of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the Royal Family to visit Dublin during these centenary commemoration
0:04:16 > 0:04:15ceremonies in 2016. It would be another event in the continuing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15closeness and closer relationships between both our countries. During
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the state visit, the Queen's going to be hosting a big formal banquet
0:04:16 > 0:04:15for the Irish President. Are you encouraging her to invite Martin
0:04:16 > 0:04:15McGuinness, a former IRA leader, to attend that banquet? Well, Martin
0:04:16 > 0:04:15McGuinness as Deputy First Minister in the Assembly in Northern Ireland
0:04:16 > 0:04:15has been very forthright and pragmatic in what he's been doing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15here. I don't see why he shouldn't attend, of course. This is all part
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of the building of relationships between the two countries and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15peoples on both sides of the divide. We've got to move on and not be
0:04:16 > 0:04:15blocked in the past. When the Queen spoke in Dublin Castle, symbolic
0:04:16 > 0:04:15head of the British empiper in this country for several hundred years.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15She said if you look at history there are some things you might do
0:04:16 > 0:04:15differently and some thing you might not do at all. Her contribution
0:04:16 > 0:04:15closed a circle of history. Critics of your government say you haven't
0:04:16 > 0:04:15focused enough on the political crisis in Northern Ireland, and by
0:04:16 > 0:04:15dropping the ball, in a sense, is you have allowed an atmosphere of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15greater extreme nymph the province to develop. I disagree with that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15completely. There are more meetings being held between Ministers and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15officials and various agencies on either side of the border than ever
0:04:16 > 0:04:15before. We've contributed constructively to Northern Ireland,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in terms of infrastructure, education, health, cross-border
0:04:16 > 0:04:15activities. These are at an all-time high and he want it to con. Bill
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Clinton put pit simply. He said look, the parties in Northern
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Ireland have a democratic responsibility to finish the job. We
0:04:16 > 0:04:15cannot finish it for them but we don't want a situation where there
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is a blockage connected only to the past. Britain's trade links with
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Ireland are bigger than with Brazil, India and China combined, so there
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is a lot of attention being paid to the robustness of the Irish economy
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and particularly the banking system. How secure do you think the Irish
0:04:16 > 0:04:15banking system really is at the moment? Well, Ireland got into a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15catastrophic economic situation. Britain was the first country to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15offer assistance in terms of financial loans. We were the first
0:04:16 > 0:04:15country to exit the bail-out programme last December. We're back
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in the bond markets. Interesting rates down from 15% to just less
0:04:16 > 0:04:15than 3 and ten-year money last week. We've recovered in that sense. Yes
0:04:16 > 0:04:15public debt is too high. Yes private debt is too high. But we had a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15primary surplus in last year's Budget. We are happy that our banks
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are sufficiently well capitalised to deal with any elements of those
0:04:16 > 0:04:15stress tests. You are sometimes tipped, Taoiseach, as a possible
0:04:16 > 0:04:15future leader of the European Union, Ireland having been a poster boy for
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the recovery. I wonder what you make of David Cameron's attempts to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU at the moment. Quite
0:04:16 > 0:04:15difficult for him. I wonder, have you talked to him about that? Well,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15yes, I've spoken to Prime Minister Cameron on many occasions about.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15This I agree that the European Union is stronger with Britain in it. I
0:04:16 > 0:04:15agree with David Cameron about the extent of the digital capacity. We
0:04:16 > 0:04:15have to deal with the energy system. We have to limb late further red
0:04:16 > 0:04:15tape. We have to get the transatlantic trade talks in
0:04:16 > 0:04:15operation. This means millions of jobs on either side of the age
0:04:16 > 0:04:15business and trade links are of such importance. Europe would be very
0:04:16 > 0:04:15much weaker without a strong Britain in there. We do hope that the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15potential of the 500 million market is eminently understood by British
0:04:16 > 0:04:15business. It is something that we would consider would be very much in
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Britain's interest, but that's a matter obviously for the British
0:04:16 > 0:04:15people. Taoiseach, many thanks for talking to us Thank you Andrew, and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15bless you. Along with cutting the deficit,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15reforming welfare is the coalition's other huge project - and it's very
0:04:16 > 0:04:15much a personal mission for the welfare secretary Iain Duncan Smith.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15A raft of benefit changes came into force a year ago, and he says
0:04:16 > 0:04:15they're already making big savings for the Government. But at what cost
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to the unemployed, the poor and the disabled? Mr Duncan Smith is with me
0:04:16 > 0:04:15now. Good morning. Moshing Andrew. Can I -- Morning Andrew. Can I ask
0:04:16 > 0:04:15about ESA? Why but ignore your main adviser before rolling it out to 1.
0:04:16 > 0:04:155 million people? Professor Harrington I'm talking about. The
0:04:16 > 0:04:15personal independence plan is being rolled out in stages. We haven't
0:04:16 > 0:04:15rolled it out in a big bang. That's deliberate. Professor Harrington did
0:04:16 > 0:04:15three ruse of the ESA. And said that you did roll it out. No, we haven't
0:04:16 > 0:04:15fully rolled it out. We've cabinet it in check. We are making
0:04:16 > 0:04:15adjustments to it now. We know as the bigger volumes go through we can
0:04:16 > 0:04:15see where the issues are and are adjusting those, so that when we
0:04:16 > 0:04:15roll it out it will be perfect. This is a complicated area with a thick
0:04:16 > 0:04:15eof acronyms, difficult to understand. Under the old regime, if
0:04:16 > 0:04:15you could walk for 50 metres but no further you got the top rate of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15disability living allowance. You've changed that to make it just 20
0:04:16 > 0:04:15metres, cutting out a lot of people from that rate. Why did you do that?
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Again, this is more complex than. This we said it is better to have
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the measurement go in two stages. You ask people, can they make it
0:04:16 > 0:04:15over that ground. 20 metres isn't far enough to get to your car. If it
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is clear they can't do so but without concern, without difficulty,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15they will get the full award. The point is to get a measure that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15allows us to see first of all can they get to that 20? Can they get to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15that 50. It is better for them in the long run, because it allows us
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to focus on people with serious difficulty at the shorter distances,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15ones that will be most seriously affected. They won't have to prove a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15lower than distance, so it will be better for them. It does allow
0:04:16 > 0:04:15flexibility with those doing the checks to ensure that those people
0:04:16 > 0:04:15making it over 20 metres, is that process fair and reasonable or do
0:04:16 > 0:04:15they really struggle struggle. How many are in favour of what you are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15going to do? Seven is the answer of 1,100. On almost every change you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15make in this area, very few people at first support it. We have kept
0:04:16 > 0:04:15disability allowance going up with inflation and we spend more on
0:04:16 > 0:04:15disability benefits and sickness benefits, than any other country,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15double more than Germany. In this change you have made it harder for a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15lot of people who find it hard to walk very far. We wanted get it so
0:04:16 > 0:04:15it is more accurate. Under the last disability living allowance system,
0:04:16 > 0:04:1570% of people who went and made a claim, got awards for life. We are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15making regular checks, face-to-face so if people think during the course
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of that you things have deteriorated, when they face that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15person the following year, it will be raised. Had they gone on the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15previous system it would have been years before they had a chance to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15alter the situation. But taking it from 50 metres to 20 metres is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15tougher, nonetheless? If they fail on that, they will get the full
0:04:16 > 0:04:15award. We spend more money on disability payments than almost any
0:04:16 > 0:04:15other country in Europe. I am proud of that, but my point is, tax who
0:04:16 > 0:04:15want to protect the most disabled, they also need to know that money
0:04:16 > 0:04:15goes to those who need it the most. If I can teeter 15 metres to the end
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of the road to get to my car, I would have gotten this benefit
0:04:16 > 0:04:15before. Now I don't get it. 20 metres, for a lot of people, is not
0:04:16 > 0:04:15enough to get to their cars. It is how easy it is for you to make that
0:04:16 > 0:04:15process. Because it will be a face-to-face assessment, it allows
0:04:16 > 0:04:15those advisers regularly to review your capability. It has been miscast
0:04:16 > 0:04:15as a simplistic measure, it is more complex. Giving greater scope to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15measure that a properly so we can take into consideration that level
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of disability. Do you know how many people have lost their benefit
0:04:16 > 0:04:15because of the change? I am not aware if they have lost it. It is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15tens of thousands. Do you know how many people have gone on to get a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15better award because of it? It is not about losing. It is about
0:04:16 > 0:04:15getting a better award. Personal Independence Payment will be much
0:04:16 > 0:04:15better than disability living allowance that for people with
0:04:16 > 0:04:15mental health conditions. They will do better, will get better awards
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and therefore we will ring them properly into the support. The
0:04:16 > 0:04:15company that was brought in to assess people in this ATOS has asked
0:04:16 > 0:04:15you to buy them out, they have walked away? It is not true. I had
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to bring in Professor Harrison to bring three reviews. We had to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15improve a poorly performing programme. We became concerned about
0:04:16 > 0:04:15the performance of ATOS against that. But the contract, had we
0:04:16 > 0:04:15broken that would have cost millions. Last year I was able to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15demonstrate they have not performed against set criteria so we started
0:04:16 > 0:04:15immediate investigations looking into that. Now we have asked them to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15go. They will pay us reparations for failure for failing to achieve what
0:04:16 > 0:04:15they were meant to so the tax payer will not be out of pocket. We said
0:04:16 > 0:04:15it was time to go, not the other way around. When will we hear what other
0:04:16 > 0:04:15company is going to take over? We have been working very hard to make
0:04:16 > 0:04:15that happen and nothing untoward should happen in the meantime. We
0:04:16 > 0:04:15will compete for other contracts and we will improve it. It was a badly
0:04:16 > 0:04:15set contract in the first instance. You don't know who is going to take
0:04:16 > 0:04:15over? We have literally just gone to ATOS and broken the agreement. What
0:04:16 > 0:04:15about all of those people waiting to be assessed and not getting
0:04:16 > 0:04:15benefits. A lot of people in this situation are having to use food
0:04:16 > 0:04:15banks and are suffering because of the failure of this system to assess
0:04:16 > 0:04:15them. People who have applied, we are speeding up that assessment.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Late in the day, perhaps? No, we have been doing this all along. We
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are trying to get people assessed. The last government started this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15process, we are continuing it. We are looking at those whose
0:04:16 > 0:04:15conditions have improved and going back to work. They are seeking work
0:04:16 > 0:04:15now. But taxpayers will want to know one thing, the money they pay goes
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to those who need that support. And for those who can do other things,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15they want to see them move back into the world of work. For many disabled
0:04:16 > 0:04:15people, they do want to achieve work. We have started disability
0:04:16 > 0:04:15confidence, rolling out all over the UK, connect ding disabled people
0:04:16 > 0:04:15with his Mrs. People on PIP don't lose that only go back to work. A
0:04:16 > 0:04:15fifth are being paid for why people who are sick and disabled. It
0:04:16 > 0:04:15beggars belief this can be done without causing pain and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15difficulty? It is not easy or simple to do this, but the systems we had
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in place were not working. Disability living allowance, 70% of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15those who got awards got a lifetime awards. Nobody saw them. Under the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15incapacity benefit scheme, a million people sat on that for ten years and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15not one person was seen by anybody, whether they got better or worse. We
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are reforming and changing this because it is not right to leave
0:04:16 > 0:04:15people languishing with no one checking their condition. It is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15better to have regular reviews. If your condition gets worse, you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15should get more support. If your condition gets better, it is much
0:04:16 > 0:04:15better where you can move into a position to get work and get
0:04:16 > 0:04:15supported. Can I turn to the bedroom tax. If people can move out of one
0:04:16 > 0:04:15kind of accommodation and into another, but there is no perfect
0:04:16 > 0:04:15market and people find it difficult to move to a smaller accommodation
0:04:16 > 0:04:15perhaps? What we are seeing is people in real difficulty, facing
0:04:16 > 0:04:15homelessness and using food banks because of this tax. Can you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15understand why it is so disliked? It is not a tax! What has happened is,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15we have subsidise people to live and stay in accommodation which they
0:04:16 > 0:04:15don't fully occupied. Many taxpayers who pay that had to make choices on
0:04:16 > 0:04:15low and marginal incomes to live in houses they afford. It is right to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15ask people in social housing to make the same sacrifice. The last
0:04:16 > 0:04:15government introduced the same changed to tenants living in the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15living on benefits. They are not allowed to have spare rooms. We have
0:04:16 > 0:04:15one lot of housing benefit talent is being treated one way and another
0:04:16 > 0:04:15lot been treated another. What was the principle behind this? Saving
0:04:16 > 0:04:15?450 million a year on this by doing what? Asking people who want to stay
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in those homes to pay more, cover the overall cost. We believe there
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is also 300,000 people who have a living in overcrowded accommodation
0:04:16 > 0:04:15who need to get into decent houses. They are blocked because people who
0:04:16 > 0:04:15live in houses they don't occupy are not moving. And if you want to stay
0:04:16 > 0:04:15in this house, it is an encouragement to go to work. It is a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15balanced policy for the taxpayers. Even though the Liberal Democrat
0:04:16 > 0:04:15colleagues are distancing themselves? They are not. Tim
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Farron? The day in the Lords, the Liberal Democrat spokesman got up
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and said it was a load of nonsense and voted for it. We would do this
0:04:16 > 0:04:15even if we did not have two save the money. In a finite level of
0:04:16 > 0:04:15resources you need to make the most of them. Can we briefly change the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15subject? I am going to say the words, Maria Miller. There are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15hundreds of thousands of houses all over the country where people are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15swapping houses. 80% of Conservative supporters want Maria Miller to go,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15are you going to tell them all to get knotted? No, this is complex,
0:04:16 > 0:04:15she worked for me before she went to Cabinet. I think she has done a very
0:04:16 > 0:04:15good job in difficult set of circumstances especially with the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Leveson Inquiry anti-gay marriage to. There are a lot of conservatives
0:04:16 > 0:04:15who were not in support of it, so feel bitter about it. She is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15receiving some of that as part of this process. I have known her to be
0:04:16 > 0:04:15a reasonable and honest person. Is she doing the government any good by
0:04:16 > 0:04:15staying in office? It is a matter the Prime Minister has to take
0:04:16 > 0:04:15consideration of. I am supportive of Maria, because if we not careful we
0:04:16 > 0:04:15end up in a witchhunt. She should rethink perhaps, her position? No, I
0:04:16 > 0:04:15don't think so. The Parliamentary standards Commissioner has said it
0:04:16 > 0:04:15is time for ministers to stop marking their own homework and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15expenses issue to be given to an independent body? There are
0:04:16 > 0:04:15independent individuals on the committee, but they did not even try
0:04:16 > 0:04:15to amend it. I am happy for that to be debated. I am amongst the number
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of those who feel this goes on and on, eating away at the credibility
0:04:16 > 0:04:15of Parliament. Whatever it takes to restore credibility. He may have a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15point? I am happy for independent people to look at this, as soon as
0:04:16 > 0:04:15we get rid of this the better. Thank you for joining us, now over to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Stephanie for the headlines. The Australian team leading the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15search for the missing Malaysian plane says that pulses detected by a
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Chinese ship in the southern Indian Ocean are an "important and
0:04:16 > 0:04:15encouraging lead". However, the head of the search team also said the
0:04:16 > 0:04:15discovery should be treated with caution until it can be verified.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15The British ship, HMS Echo, which has special detection equipment, is
0:04:16 > 0:04:15now racing to the location. The flight recorder's batteries could
0:04:16 > 0:04:15run out in a matter of days. The Work and Pensions Secretary has
0:04:16 > 0:04:15given his support to Maria Miller who is under continuing pressure
0:04:16 > 0:04:15over her expenses. Iain Duncan Smith said she was a victim of media
0:04:16 > 0:04:15antipathy. She apologised to MPs this week after over claiming
0:04:16 > 0:04:15payments for her mortgage. Now the watchdog has suggested MPs should no
0:04:16 > 0:04:15longer have the power to police their own affairs.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15That's all from me. The next news is on BBC One is at 1:00pm. Back to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Andrew in a moment but first, a look at what's coming up immediately
0:04:16 > 0:04:15after this programme. Join us live from Bristol attempt at a.m.. We
0:04:16 > 0:04:15look at Britain's role in Afghanistan. And the Cinderella law
0:04:16 > 0:04:15and parenting. Science, should we have more faith in it?
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Iain Duncan Smith is with me join right Polly Toynbee. What did you
0:04:16 > 0:04:15make of that? It seems to me you are covering up to some extent, people
0:04:16 > 0:04:15who are really suffering. If you think on your work programme, twice
0:04:16 > 0:04:15as many people have unsanctioned and thrown up and fits than found a job.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15600,000 people are losing disability live with -- living allowance. I
0:04:16 > 0:04:15think the work programme is now, for the first time ever working with
0:04:16 > 0:04:15people who were once on sickness benefits. Nobody worked with them at
0:04:16 > 0:04:15all. There were over a million not look that for over ten years. These
0:04:16 > 0:04:15regular reviews will then a fit them. We have not introduced this to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15hurt or harm disabled people. But you have, only 5% have found work on
0:04:16 > 0:04:15this programme. With respect, nobody found them work before. Yes they
0:04:16 > 0:04:15did, the RNIB did. People on sickness benefits were written off
0:04:16 > 0:04:15before. It takes a long time and it is a slow process. Many more have
0:04:16 > 0:04:15been thrown off when fits. We are out of time, sadly.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15Next weekend at this time, BBC One is devoted to the London Marathon.
0:04:16 > 0:04:15The following weekend is Easter Sunday. But I do hope you're able to
0:04:16 > 0:04:15join us three weeks from now at the usual time of 9:00am here on BBC
0:04:16 > 0:04:16One. For now, a very good morning!