12/05/2014 The Papers

organisers. And the rest of the day's sports news, including a host

of managers on the move, in 15 minutes after the papers.

Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing

us tomorrow. With me are the barrister Sophia Cannon and Torcuil

Crichton, Westminster editor at The Daily Record. Tomorrow's front pages

look like this. The Telegraph says senior figures in the health service

are claiming thousands in expense claims for fine dining, taxi fares

and hotels. And there's an image taken from the video released by

militants of the kidnapped girls in Nigeria. The Express says a brisk

20`minute stroll a few times a week is all that's needed to tackle high

blood pressure. And it covers the comments of Richard Madeley and Judy

Finnigan, who say they've agreed to an assisted death pact if one of

them falls seriously ill. The Metro covers the story of a blogger who

found the police on his doorstep after he mocked UKIP on Twitter. The

Guardian says the Conservative Party has recorded its first poll lead in

two years as Labour's support apparently drains away. And it also

carries an image of those missing girls in Nigeria. The Mail says the

NHS is pushing for mothers who are having a second child to give birth

at home. And Rolf Harris is pictured outside court at his trial. We start

with the Guardian. Nigerian roubles parade liberated girls in propaganda

video. `` roubles. Some measure of solace for the families of some of

these girls, because at least they can see that they may be alive?

Indeed. We don't know when this was taken. I know some of the players

were showing the pixelated version of the video and do not show their

faces because of that. But this shows the Battle of social media

being played out here with a terrorist backdrop. 28 days of

terror for these girls is juxtaposed against the criticism of the

Nigerian government. The first criticism of the Nigerian government

was that they had not bought Vista media attention, not that they had

not located the girls. # bring back our girls has helped galvanise

global opinion on this. And now, of course, the dilemma for the Nigerian

authorities is, should they listen Boko Haram, who are saying they

would be willing to release some of these girls in exchange for their

and prisoners? Well, these images, chilling as they are, are far more

powerful than any social media campaign. It is playing to your

deepest emotions with these girls being held hostage in the Bush by

armed men who see their lives as valuable. These were the lucky

girls, the girls in schools who were getting an education in Nigeria. And

because of religion or because of the school they went to, they were

snatched away a month ago and this is our first sight of them. Chilling

is the only word you can use to describe it, and a chilling message

as well from the leader of Boko Haram, who is using them as a

bargaining tool. He says, you talking about these girls, we will

never release them until you release our brothers who are being held by

the Nigerian government. So the game has moved on. They have become

bargaining chips now. And there is gender`based violence in this part

of northern Nigeria. Women have been pawns in the war going on there for

a good number of years. Torcuil, the Guardian. Tories on top as Labour

poll rating sinks to a four year low. What is going on? It is a bad

day to be Ed Miliband, because for the first time in two years, ICM for

the Guardian has the Conservatives ahead and Labour down to 31 points.

And UKIP are picking up four points. This is not the only poll that has

Labour behind today. There was an Ashcroft poll, and Lord Ashcroft is

a Tory supporter who finances his own bowling. He had the Tories two

points ahead. There is a Sun poll tonight which we have not seen, but

I think it has Labour one point ahead. They are scrabbling in the

low 30s. It does not look as if either dead or Dave `` aid or Dave

are cutting through with the numbers they need. The big western, of

course, is, if the Tories can squeeze UKIP, they will get a

majority. But Labour needs to squeeze the Lib Dems, and it is not

happening. In which case, are we looking at a hung parliament again?

I hope not. The most disturbing thing we have had with coalition

politics is seeing Nick and Dave in that garden, professing love for

each other and knowing that we were going to be here for a fixed hung

parliament. Look at the economy. It is doing well, according to a lot of

people. Clive, the Labour Party has to look at itself and say, did we

get the wrong brother here? Should it have been the battle of Dave and

Dave? But how can the personality that is Ed Miliband lose this? The

bad news for Ed Miliband is deep in the polling. It shows that yes, on

leadership qualities, he is not cutting through. But staggeringly,

for the Guardian poll, George Osborne, author of the omnishambles

budget a few years ago, now has positive or better economic ratings.

So on the economy, the Tories are coming through. Their message is

that they repaired the economy, versus Ed's ideas. He has had more

ideas today on the NHS. He promised energy price freezes, rent freezes.

He says he is winning the battle of ideas. Is that enough? Ideas are all

very well, but if you can look at the bottom line, which is inflation

going down and interest rates staying low, the property market

doing well, the Conservatives would point that as for them. The problem

Labour has got at the moment is that they are looking at resentment

politics. They are hoping that we will find something to hate.

Everybody's house prices are rising, especially in the south. The

issue is, do we want to go back to how it used to be, or can we trust

the Tories? I don't think people trust David Cameron either. OK, he

might have fixed the economy, but will he look after my interests for

the next five years? That is the question Labour will be asking. Do

you feel better off? Is he looking out for you? That is why they are

painting the Tories as the party of the rich, the party who look after

the elite, as opposed to Labour, who look after the NHS. Talking of the

NHS, the Daily Telegraph has the scandal of NHS chief Hamas delete ``

NHS chiefs' expenses. They were supposed to be the Chiefs in charge

of winging down waste and shortages in the NHS. The highest individual

bill was for Tom Kelsey, the national director for patients and

information, who spent ?46,000 during the year, including more than

?21,000 on hotels. This is when we have got people scrapping in the

streets for cancer drugs. Lots of juicy details in this story. They

will outrage people. A taxi fare from London to Preston, ?500. I

think this is an inside job. We have got many facts here which are

particularised so that we can get these receipts. For example, ?260

journeys between London and Leeds on trains. But as the standard fare if

you jump on a train that day. But these are NHS officials, not agents

of shield. They don't have to jump on the next train to get somewhere.

Surely they can plan and budget ahead. But an amazing amount of

money is being spent. At the new NHS chief says there will be a ban on

first`class trains. And he has taken a ?20,000 voluntary pay cut. His

mantra to his staff ` think like a patient and act like a taxpayer.

That sounds fair enough. It is not a mantra they use when claiming

expenses in Westminster. Indeed. Let's go to the metro, Torcuil.

Officers ask a blogger to remove a UKIP jibe. This is the funny story

of a Green Party activist supporter, who was tweeting away to

130 followers on Saturday, blogging about UKIP misses. He examined ten

UKIP policies and raised questions about them. A UKIP councillor

complained to the police. On Saturday night, knock on the door.

The police came and said... That is bizarre. They did not say to take

them down, they just asked if he had put them up. He said yes. They have

been retweeted since, and his followers have gone up to 1400. So

he is now a Twitter sensation, which is probably worse news for UKIP than

if they had not complained at all. It was not illegal, but the police

had to follow up the complaint? They have to follow up a crime. But it

wasn't a crime, he didn't do anything? Again, we are not sure

election rules have been broken but things have to be investigated. If

they don't, that's the worst thing, if it's seen that certain parties

can pick up the phone and then someone knocks on the door... The

small end of a big wedge would have started with cash for peerages,

remember ?1 million being spent on a police investigation to see whether

Tony Blair had been selling peerages. It's parties and

politicians using the police as a proxy to attack their opponents.

Police can caught between a rock and a hard place, dismissing it as a

nuisance complaint and they get hung, they go and knock on

somebody's door. What is the election law that may have been

contravened then? Is it clear what that is? I'm not sure. Didn't say

he'd broken any law. They may as well just turn up and say hello.

Broadcasters do certain things at certain times, but this is the

equalisation of broadcasting that people can say what they wantny now

in their own format and in this forum and it's the police now who're

having to police and they don't know the law and neither do we. It's a

tricky one, definitely. Thank you both, see you in an hours' time.

Many thanks. Stay with us here on BBC News, because at the top of the

hours ago we'll have much more on that new video showing some of the

hundreds of schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria.

Coming up, it's time for Sportsday.