08/05/2014

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:00:00. > :00:00.the World Cup qualifying campaign, when they took on Ukraine.

:00:00. > :00:12.That is in 15 minutes, after the papers.

:00:13. > :00:17.Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing

:00:18. > :00:20.us tomorrow. With me are Paul Johnson, deputy editor of The

:00:21. > :00:28.Guardian, and media commentator Tim Collins. Good to have you both here.

:00:29. > :00:32.They have relived a few personal insults, so they are nice and limb.

:00:33. > :00:35.Tomorrow's front pages: . The Express leads with a report by

:00:36. > :00:39.MPs that condemns proposals to allow the taxman to take money out of

:00:40. > :00:40.people's bank accounts without their permission.

:00:41. > :00:43.That's also the lead in the Telegraph, which says the Treasury

:00:44. > :00:46.plans, which would mean no court order is needed to take money from

:00:47. > :00:48.accounts, is "very concerning", given the history of mistakes by HM

:00:49. > :00:51.Revenue and Customs. And the Mail adds that money could

:00:52. > :01:03.be taken from joint bank accounts even if one partner owes nothing.

:01:04. > :01:05.The FT goes with Barclays' announcement to cut 7,000 jobs in

:01:06. > :01:09.their investment banking division, sounding a retreat from a part of

:01:10. > :01:12.the business that was once at the heart of its operations.

:01:13. > :01:15.The Mirror has a story from a family who found their grandmother dead in

:01:16. > :01:17.an NHS hospital before staff realised.

:01:18. > :01:19.The Metro claims that tenants are facing the worst eviction rate in a

:01:20. > :01:22.decade, with nearly 50,000 possession claims lodged by

:01:23. > :01:24.landlords in the first three months of this year.

:01:25. > :01:27.The Guardian leads with a highly critical report by MPs that calls

:01:28. > :01:34.for reform of oversight of the UKs intelligence agencies.

:01:35. > :01:37.And the Scotsman's picture story is that armoured cars are ready to

:01:38. > :01:41.protect Nigel Farage when he makes are returned as it's northern

:01:42. > :01:47.border. `` a return visit. So let's begin

:01:48. > :01:51.with this taxman story that seems to have affected a few of the papers.

:01:52. > :01:56.The Daily Express says, taxman raid on our bank accounts, plans to let

:01:57. > :02:00.the taxman take cash out of our accounts without permission have

:02:01. > :02:05.been condemned by MPs. How can they do this, because normally a court

:02:06. > :02:07.order is necessary? This is a terrific story. It turns out that

:02:08. > :02:11.this proposal, whereby the unseen hand could dip into your account and

:02:12. > :02:15.retrieve whatever has been calculated as missing by the HMRC,

:02:16. > :02:20.was in the small print of the Budget. But like many parts of the

:02:21. > :02:24.Budget, it was not noticed at the time. So it has taken the select

:02:25. > :02:29.committee and its Tory chairman to bring this to public attention. HMRC

:02:30. > :02:35.said there are certain safeguards here. You have got to have been

:02:36. > :02:42.contacted four times and you have to owe more than ?1000. But many people

:02:43. > :02:46.are saying this is outrageous and that lots of things will not work

:02:47. > :02:50.here. The Daily Mail has picked up on this line about going into joint

:02:51. > :02:54.accounts. If the husband owed the money, the money would be retrieved

:02:55. > :02:58.for a joint account. Surely any people who do pay their taxes should

:02:59. > :03:02.be grateful that HMRC are going to do this and claw`back some money

:03:03. > :03:10.that people refuse to hand over? I don't think many taxpayers will be

:03:11. > :03:18.grateful about this. People under part is of many different colours

:03:19. > :03:21.have made terrific mistakes with IT processes. The HMRC lost a disk with

:03:22. > :03:26.child benefit details. They have repeatedly been found to get

:03:27. > :03:29.calculations wrong for millions of people in terms of tax credits. This

:03:30. > :03:35.story gets worse the more you look into it. Paul was right. The Daily

:03:36. > :03:38.Express says they could go into your bank accounts. The Daily Mail says

:03:39. > :03:44.they could go into joint account even if one partner does not owe any

:03:45. > :03:47.tax at all. So much for the idea of separate taxation. And they could

:03:48. > :03:51.even go into your ISAs. So even those things that you sort were

:03:52. > :03:56.preserved for your children and grandchildren for many years to come

:03:57. > :04:00.could be raided by the taxman, without any notice or any court

:04:01. > :04:05.order. You have both mentioned the Daily Mail. Let's show the

:04:06. > :04:11.headline. Wife could lose cash if husband is in arrears. That article

:04:12. > :04:13.makes the point that many couples are independent about their

:04:14. > :04:17.finances, maybe even secretive. It will come as a shock to see that

:04:18. > :04:21.money might have been taken when you did not even know your partner was

:04:22. > :04:26.in arrears. That is right. There could be lots of disputes behind

:04:27. > :04:31.curtains there. We know that many people on PAYE are on the wrong tax

:04:32. > :04:34.code. So it is right that people should pay the right amount, but it

:04:35. > :04:40.is also right that they should be asked for the right amount, so there

:04:41. > :04:44.will be inherent problems with this. They are saying this will only

:04:45. > :04:47.happen if the taxman has tried to contact you four times, but you can

:04:48. > :04:51.easily see how someone could just press a button to send out letters

:04:52. > :04:54.on four excessive days and they just do not reach you and before you know

:04:55. > :04:59.it, you look at your bank account and see that your direct Brits are

:05:00. > :05:03.bouncing and you are falling into arrears on your mortgage. It is an

:05:04. > :05:07.absolute horror story. I am a former Tory MP myself and I think this

:05:08. > :05:12.shows that George Osborne had a tin ear on this. We have a deficit, but

:05:13. > :05:14.you should be thinking about how ordinary taxpayers could face

:05:15. > :05:19.serious financial difficulties as a result of incompetence if the HMRC

:05:20. > :05:24.are given this power. But he is also being told to clamp down on tax

:05:25. > :05:30.avoidance, particularly from those who earn a lot and do not pay much

:05:31. > :05:37.tax. Even so, small amounts do add up. They say it is about 17,000

:05:38. > :05:41.people. It could be where money is disjointed. They are talking about

:05:42. > :05:44.elderly and vulnerable people where post has not necessarily got through

:05:45. > :05:48.or contacts have not been made. There is always the course to the

:05:49. > :05:53.courts. You realise you have just agreed with each other? Don't

:05:54. > :05:59.worry, it will not last. This next story will divide you. The Telegraph

:06:00. > :06:04.says Michael Gove says Ofsted should inspect private schools to make sure

:06:05. > :06:08.that fee`paying education is held to the highest standards. Why not, Tim?

:06:09. > :06:13.Well, again, sorry to say this because I am a conservative, but I

:06:14. > :06:17.have to disagree again with a Conservative Cabinet minister. The

:06:18. > :06:20.key to the meaning of independent schools is the first word,

:06:21. > :06:24.Independent. They are not supposed to be inspected by the state. They

:06:25. > :06:28.are supposed to be outside the national curriculum if they so

:06:29. > :06:32.choose. They are supposed to be able to set their children different

:06:33. > :06:35.exams. And to put them under Ofsted runs the risk of turning them into

:06:36. > :06:46.state schools with fees, the worst of both worlds. I suspect that

:06:47. > :06:51.Michael Gove is trying to do some political positioning and say, we

:06:52. > :06:56.are not the Tory toffs. I went to a state school. I don't think

:06:57. > :07:00.independent schools should begin from special privileges. But the

:07:01. > :07:04.danger is that we are taking some of the best schools not just in the

:07:05. > :07:06.country, but in the world that attract people into this country

:07:07. > :07:10.from all over the world because of their tremendous strengths and their

:07:11. > :07:15.independence and the fact that they have been around for centuries doing

:07:16. > :07:19.things very well, and we will try and turn them into bog`standard

:07:20. > :07:28.bumper hence it is. If Michael Gove gives that power to Ofsted, it will

:07:29. > :07:34.take both worked at independent schools. It is a dangerous thing for

:07:35. > :07:38.an Education Secretary to do and an astonishing thing for a conservative

:07:39. > :07:42.Education Secretary to do. I wonder if the story is all that it seems.

:07:43. > :07:49.Many independent schools in this country and members of the

:07:50. > :07:55.Independent schools Council, which are inspected by the independent

:07:56. > :08:00.schools inspectorate. That body is monitored by, you guessed it,

:08:01. > :08:06.Ofsted. It is all very circular. It is an arm's length position for many

:08:07. > :08:12.schools anyway. So I do not take the view that Tim takes about this, but

:08:13. > :08:14.I am sure the thing about political positioning may be true. Staying

:08:15. > :08:25.with the Telegraph, traffic lights to stay red longer. Why? It appears

:08:26. > :08:31.that they have calibrated the pace at which you cross the road in the

:08:32. > :08:35.1950s, and it is four feet a second. But since then, we have not

:08:36. > :08:40.calibrated the speed at which the over 65s cross the road, and men

:08:41. > :08:46.over 65 cross the road on average at three feet a second, women at two a

:08:47. > :08:51.second. So you either have to hurry up or take your chance. The green

:08:52. > :08:56.flashing man is one symbol, of course. Other symbols are the cat

:08:57. > :09:00.down. At if you are pedestrian, you are thinking, I could give that

:09:01. > :09:05.another few seconds and nip across. If you are in a car, you are

:09:06. > :09:09.thinking, this is taking ages. But it appears we have not accounted for

:09:10. > :09:13.a growing elderly population which is taking a bit longer to cross the

:09:14. > :09:18.road. It depends on your perspective as a pedestrian or a driver. I love

:09:19. > :09:21.that because it is the Telegraph, all the speeds are in feet and

:09:22. > :09:26.inches. I suspect that with other papers, it would be metres and

:09:27. > :09:29.centimetres. But the point is that we are all living longer and there

:09:30. > :09:35.are many older people around now that were in the 1950s. It clearly

:09:36. > :09:38.makes sense to look at this. The AA have a sensible point, which is to

:09:39. > :09:43.say that where you can, or you could do it by adjusting Caps dance and

:09:44. > :09:48.having more of the countdowns so that people know how long they have

:09:49. > :09:59.got `` the countdowns. A huge amount of work for somebody.

:10:00. > :10:05.The Guardian, Number Ten woos Ulster MPs in case of a hung parliament.

:10:06. > :10:13.The paper is saying David Cameron is not afraid of playing the Orange

:10:14. > :10:17.card. I do think this is a slightly overtakes it `` overstated story.

:10:18. > :10:21.All that has happened as the Prime Minister has hosted a reception at

:10:22. > :10:28.Downing Street for Democratic Unionist members of Parliament. It

:10:29. > :10:33.was a lavish reception. Any Tory is a top Tory so if you want to make a

:10:34. > :10:37.point, any reception at Downing Street is lavish. I suspect there

:10:38. > :10:45.were a couple of sausages on sticks and not a lot more. I have been to

:10:46. > :10:47.some, not that particular one. The Prime Minister will hold receptions

:10:48. > :10:53.in Downing Street very regularly. But the DUP are going to be useful,

:10:54. > :11:02.aren't they? What it points to is as the polls have closed, people are

:11:03. > :11:07.thinking about what the permutations might be in a hung parliament. For

:11:08. > :11:10.the Conservative Party to only need the support of the Democratic

:11:11. > :11:15.Unionists, they would have to be so very close to having an overall

:11:16. > :11:18.majority because there are only eight DUP MPs. They are the biggest

:11:19. > :11:25.party in Northern Ireland but they do not have many to start with. He

:11:26. > :11:28.would probably want to have that in his pocket. My suspicion is that if

:11:29. > :11:32.David Cameron does not have an overall majority, his preference

:11:33. > :11:35.would be to continue the current coalition. Whether the Liberal

:11:36. > :11:40.Democrats or his current backbenchers would let him do that,

:11:41. > :11:44.is another matter. One lavish party with sausages on sticks does not

:11:45. > :11:48.seem like high rise to pay. This reminds you that the DUP are the

:11:49. > :11:52.fourth biggest party in Parliament with eight seats. It does describe a

:11:53. > :11:58.jolly event. The children were outside running around. It was a

:11:59. > :12:01.nice sunny evening and it was the evening that Gerry Adams was

:12:02. > :12:08.arrested so they were probably in a jolly mood. I suspect that was a

:12:09. > :12:12.coincidence. I suspect that there will be a much bigger story if it

:12:13. > :12:17.was felt that Downing Street had known in advance that Gerry Adams

:12:18. > :12:21.would be arrested. I suspect that was a genuine coincidence. The DUP

:12:22. > :12:26.is unjust and party. It is broadly on the centre`right. It is

:12:27. > :12:29.Eurosceptic. It is quite right`wing populist. One issue that the

:12:30. > :12:33.Conservative government or David Cameron in particular will would

:12:34. > :12:39.have is they are quite strongly homophobic and they have gone on

:12:40. > :12:42.record with strong attacks on gays and David Cameron is the man who

:12:43. > :12:48.made gay marriage legal. It would not this early in the NEC marriage.

:12:49. > :12:55.If we stay to the end of this review, what would be appealing

:12:56. > :12:59.about the DUP? Supposedly the demands they would make in a

:13:00. > :13:04.coalition would be local? They would be local. It would be money, it

:13:05. > :13:10.would be benefits in kind, infrastructure spending and so on.

:13:11. > :13:19.As Tim says, they are not on the liberal side. I do not think they

:13:20. > :13:24.would be a coalition. You would not have the DUP joining the government,

:13:25. > :13:28.they would not be joining the coalition. It is simply that if they

:13:29. > :13:32.did not have a majority they would allow it to get its own measures

:13:33. > :13:39.through with a few rides, just as the Labour government did in the

:13:40. > :13:45.1970s. That is all we have time for. But my guests will be back at

:13:46. > :13:49.11:30pm. Stay with us here on BBC News. At 11 o'clock, the latest on

:13:50. > :13:53.the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria and some of those who escaped tell

:13:54. > :14:04.their story. Now it is time for Sportsday.

:14:05. > :14:12.Hello and welcome to Sportsday, I'm Karthi Gnanasegaram. The headlines

:14:13. > :14:16.this evening. Pushing for promotion to the Premier League ` it's

:14:17. > :14:17.Championship play off time and Derby have the early advantage against