:00:00. > :00:00.enEngland's T 20 international. And with three weeks to go before the
:00:00. > :00:07.World Cup in Brazil, England's footballers have arrived in Portugal
:00:08. > :00:16.for their first training camp. That is he a all in 15 minutes.
:00:17. > :00:20.First, the Papers: `` that's all in 15 minutes.
:00:21. > :00:27.Welcome to our look ahead at the papers W me, Lance Price and Mir an
:00:28. > :00:32.dra Green. We will start with the Independent. Its front page shows a
:00:33. > :00:35.man telling off anti`UKIP demonstrators, as party campaigned
:00:36. > :00:41.in Croydon ahead of Thursday's European and local elections.
:00:42. > :00:46.Pensioners could add ?1,700 to their annual income according to the Daily
:00:47. > :00:49.Express, which says ?5.5 million in top`ups goes unclaimed. The
:00:50. > :00:53.Telegraph carries a warning from George Osborne who says UKIP is a
:00:54. > :00:56.threat to the economy. The Guardian highlights fighting in
:00:57. > :01:02.Syria, reporting on rebel attempts to break the stalemate there.
:01:03. > :01:06.While Lloyds Lloyd's crackdown on high risk mortgage lending in London
:01:07. > :01:09.is the Financial Times lead. The Mirror is reporting on an inquest
:01:10. > :01:14.into the death of a 20`year`old job seeker who committed suicide after
:01:15. > :01:19.applying for more than 40 jobs to no avale. And reporting on recent
:01:20. > :01:25.developments in the so`called plebgate affair, the Times reports
:01:26. > :01:30.on claims by the cabinet minister, Mitchell, he alleges an officer at
:01:31. > :01:33.the centre of the affair boasted he could bring down the Government.
:01:34. > :01:39.We'll start with the Independent. Nigel Farage, you cannot escape the
:01:40. > :01:42.guy. He is everywhere, wall`to`wall, on the front of the Independent
:01:43. > :01:47.there. Apparently he didn't turn up to the meeting in Croydon, did he?
:01:48. > :01:51.No, he very wisely stayed away T descended into a farce. The
:01:52. > :01:58.background to this is that clearly, in recent days, the debate about
:01:59. > :02:02.whether UKIP is a racist party, whether Nigel Farage has used racist
:02:03. > :02:09.language about Romanian immigrants or whether the fact that he may have
:02:10. > :02:16.uttered a racist slur doesn't necessarily make him a racist. It
:02:17. > :02:20.has gone in and credible detail and textual definition but in order to
:02:21. > :02:27.try to improve they are an inclusive party, UKIP has decided to hold a
:02:28. > :02:31.street carnival aimed at ethnic minority members of the public in
:02:32. > :02:34.Croydon. What could possibly have gone wrong? In fact I think it could
:02:35. > :02:38.have been worse. All that happened was that the steel band who had been
:02:39. > :02:43.hired to play, refused to when they found out it was a UKIP event. And
:02:44. > :02:46.there were a lot of scuffles between anti`UKIP, aented racist
:02:47. > :02:51.demonstrators and supporters of the party and then the poor chap who is
:02:52. > :02:56.standing for UKIP n Croydon. Who is black. Who is indeed black,
:02:57. > :03:01.dismissed the Croydon area as "a dump." I shouldn't laugh. Full marks
:03:02. > :03:05.for frankly expressing his opinion but I don't think it is the
:03:06. > :03:10.greatest... It is refreshing. That's what the public like about UKIP. It
:03:11. > :03:14.is. So it would seem. So far, at least, if you judge by the polls, it
:03:15. > :03:19.doesn't seem to be doing them much damage. Both Miranda and I have
:03:20. > :03:22.worked in political communications. One of the objectives is to get
:03:23. > :03:25.yourself talked about. And when you are a small party, which UKIP
:03:26. > :03:29.obviously are, this kind of publicity, the volume of publicity
:03:30. > :03:32.is exactly what you want. What they seem to be learning from t and
:03:33. > :03:35.everybody else in the other parties are scratching their heads saying `
:03:36. > :03:40.hang on, this should be terrible publicity, and yet there they are,
:03:41. > :03:43.they seem to be holding on to their poll position, we won't know until
:03:44. > :03:47.the results of the elections over the weekend whether we are right. If
:03:48. > :03:50.after all of this, if they come top or o close second, it will be
:03:51. > :03:54.extraordinary. People will be looking back at this campaign for
:03:55. > :03:58.years to come and trying to analyse it. If we go to the Guardian,
:03:59. > :04:03.picking up on that theme, lance, Labour and Tory ratings suffer as
:04:04. > :04:07.Farage attacks backfire. He really is Teflon Farage, isn't he? Some
:04:08. > :04:12.people in the Tory Party have been saying, yes, he is a racist and they
:04:13. > :04:15.have been going for him full`on. Ed Miliband and most of the Labour
:04:16. > :04:19.Leadership have tried not to do that. They have tried to avoid
:04:20. > :04:22.calling him a racist. They probably make the correct judgment that those
:04:23. > :04:26.people who have decided to vote for UKIP don't really ` either they
:04:27. > :04:29.don't believe t actually, they don't think what Farage is saying amounts
:04:30. > :04:32.to racism and they like a lot of other things that he is saying,
:04:33. > :04:36.otherwise they wouldn't be prepared to vote for him. Labour are trying
:04:37. > :04:41.to avoid that. They are trying to go for the underlying causes of the
:04:42. > :04:46.build`up of UKIP support, a much more subtle campaign. It looks
:04:47. > :04:50.neck`and`neck between Labour and UKIP for first position. OK,
:04:51. > :04:59.Miranda, if you were advising the Liberal Democrats on this, how would
:05:00. > :05:03.you tackle Mr Farage? What would you say, I don't know, to Mr Clegg?
:05:04. > :05:07.Well, I think quite interestingly, two things have emerged ` which is
:05:08. > :05:11.that whereas we have all treated UKIP, up to this set of elections,
:05:12. > :05:18.as a huge problem for the Conservative Party alone and
:05:19. > :05:22.actually the other parties have been slightly gleeful that UKIP seems to
:05:23. > :05:25.be taking so many percentages of traditional Tory voters away from
:05:26. > :05:30.that party ` it's now emerged also as a big party from the Labour Party
:05:31. > :05:33.and traditional blue collar areas where people are worried about
:05:34. > :05:38.employment and worried about they say, the impact of immigration on
:05:39. > :05:41.wages, for example. For the Liberal Democrats it is a totally different
:05:42. > :05:46.problem which is that Nick Clegg decided to take on Farage, up close
:05:47. > :05:50.and personal. So you would have advised him not to do it. No, I
:05:51. > :05:55.think it was a good thing to do. Partly because, actually... It
:05:56. > :06:01.didn't work, though, did it? The point where the Lib Dems are in the
:06:02. > :06:05.polls now, it is a desperate roll of the dice but you are carving out a
:06:06. > :06:09.different identity. It didn't work, though, did it? I don't think it
:06:10. > :06:13.worked what the Labour Party decided to do. It is a really muddled
:06:14. > :06:18.message. So take them on, basically you are saying. Take them on and
:06:19. > :06:22.call them out on unacceptable language an attitudes but also point
:06:23. > :06:28.out that they may have a point in diagnosing some of the problems. The
:06:29. > :06:32.underlying problems But they don't have the solutions. Would that be
:06:33. > :06:37.your advice? You have to recognise they are addressing deeply`felt
:06:38. > :06:41.views from a lot of voters in the UK and any other political party would
:06:42. > :06:46.be mad to deny that. If they accept that, they have to have their own
:06:47. > :06:51.apps to those problems or some ways of addressing them that isn't the
:06:52. > :06:56.very simplistic politics that UKIP represents. I think UKIP will do
:06:57. > :07:01.well. Come a general election in a year's time ` it won't last. The
:07:02. > :07:05.Tories were trying to out`UKIP, UKIP. Some have suggested they move
:07:06. > :07:09.to the right to try to outflank them and that didn't work Ed Miliband was
:07:10. > :07:13.sitting back, hoping that's what the Tories would do. The more the Tories
:07:14. > :07:17.do that, the more they are playing into Labour's hands. It is
:07:18. > :07:20.extraordinary, actually there. Have been some studies which suggest
:07:21. > :07:27.those UKIP supporters won't all fall away when it comes to next year's
:07:28. > :07:29.general election. I'm wond how sanguine whether Labour and the
:07:30. > :07:34.Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives should be that
:07:35. > :07:39.sanguine. A couple of European elections ago, the Greens were doing
:07:40. > :07:43.high and did incredibly W the general election shortly afterwards,
:07:44. > :07:47.no. Were they tapping into these deep, underlying problems, people
:07:48. > :07:53.feel exists? At general election time people decide who they want to
:07:54. > :07:58.govern the country and we know it'll not be UKIP. Well we heard our
:07:59. > :08:01.Political Editor question Nigel Farage and a few people he was
:08:02. > :08:05.talking to in Weymouth earlier in the week. They asked them do they
:08:06. > :08:09.know what their policies were on the economy, employment and a whole host
:08:10. > :08:13.of other things. They had no idea. Those could be the issues that could
:08:14. > :08:18.well decide what happens in the next election. Moving on to the
:08:19. > :08:23.Telegraph, front page, Miranda. Plebgate texts ` talk of toppling
:08:24. > :08:28.the Tories. This is a wonderful story for those of us who take an
:08:29. > :08:31.ongoing interest in this now two`year saga about who said what at
:08:32. > :08:35.the gates of Downing Street when Andrew Mitchell, then a Cabinet
:08:36. > :08:40.minister tried to go through on his bicycle. The police at Downing
:08:41. > :08:44.Street said he could not do that. He admits he swore and shouted at them
:08:45. > :08:51.but denies using the word "pleb" which was taken as such an insult
:08:52. > :08:57.that the entire ` well, police solidarity, let's put it that way,
:08:58. > :09:02.seems to have decide decided so to punish this Cabinet minister so much
:09:03. > :09:06.so that it will damaged his career. He has fought back and this is the
:09:07. > :09:10.latest piece which is to say ` I have been at a secret hearing, a
:09:11. > :09:14.secret investigation being held by the Metropolitan Police which
:09:15. > :09:17.revealed a text in which these police who are at the centre of the
:09:18. > :09:23.issue, vowed to bring down the Government over the issue. This is a
:09:24. > :09:30.really serious accusation, clearly. As Lance and I know, journalists
:09:31. > :09:36.working in Westminster, boast of the time ` I'm going to get a scalp.
:09:37. > :09:40.I'm, supposed Cabinet ministers to ridicule and they are going to go.
:09:41. > :09:44.But for members of the police, as it is alleged to be, to be bringing
:09:45. > :09:47.down a cabinet minister and saying they can bring down the Government,
:09:48. > :09:51.extraordinary. This was on a misconduct hearing being held by the
:09:52. > :09:54.Metropolitan Police into some of the officers allegedly involved in the
:09:55. > :09:57.whole plebgate affair. What Andrew Mitchell wants is all the minutes,
:09:58. > :10:02.all the evidence in these hearings, which are supposed to be secret, to
:10:03. > :10:09.be made public, Lance. That's what he is after. The very fact he is
:10:10. > :10:14.allowed into them and whoever took the decision to let him in, must
:10:15. > :10:19.have known he would make use of whatever he heard. He has done it in
:10:20. > :10:22.this instance by writing a letter to the Commissioner of the Metropolitan
:10:23. > :10:26.Police. He has done it in his own words and it seems there is nothing
:10:27. > :10:29.to stop him doing it. I think for the good of police, if they can't
:10:30. > :10:33.make everything public, they should make as much public as they can.
:10:34. > :10:36.They say there will be a summary, they'll publish some stuff. But
:10:37. > :10:40.Mitchell is obviously worried it'll not be enough. If he is going to all
:10:41. > :10:45.the hearings or as many as they get to, if they leave anything of any
:10:46. > :10:48.significance out, we'll all know of it. One wonders what police lawyers
:10:49. > :10:52.would make of that, though? There could be a problem in the future if
:10:53. > :10:55.he does present all this stuff to be public, when it shouldn't be. The
:10:56. > :10:58.important thing about this one is that the hearing is over. So the
:10:59. > :11:03.publication of the story isn't going to prejudice that hearing, which is
:11:04. > :11:06.an important point. But But previously Andrew Mitchell has in
:11:07. > :11:11.fact taped conversations, hasn't he, on the advice of his wife, we
:11:12. > :11:15.gather, which has then altered the story in his favour. He clearly now
:11:16. > :11:19.is on the look out for any piece of evidence which backs up his case. He
:11:20. > :11:24.is no mug. On to the statement in the Telegraph, the cartoon, the
:11:25. > :11:29.Chelsea Flower Show. I'm not sure what that is. It looks like a bee
:11:30. > :11:33.hive. The comment underneath ` how much and when can I move in? This,
:11:34. > :11:37.of course a reference to house prices. It is difficult to find
:11:38. > :11:40.anywhere to live, let alone a beehive. There is a lot of worry
:11:41. > :11:44.beginning to creep into the Government now. A lot of this
:11:45. > :11:55.emanating from Mr Carney at the Bank of England, Miranda, that, yes, we
:11:56. > :11:58.are getting to a bubble stage. Pig Mark Carney has said that a boom in
:11:59. > :12:03.the housing market, the dangers of the bust to follow it, that is the
:12:04. > :12:08.biggest danger to the economy and the biggest potential hiccup in the
:12:09. > :12:12.growth story. David Cameron has been challenged on this, clearly, as has
:12:13. > :12:15.George Osborne, and the bank has made it clear that they will
:12:16. > :12:20.intervene if they think the housing market is getting out of hand and
:12:21. > :12:24.that there is a danger of a crash. But really the figures are
:12:25. > :12:38.extraordinary. The London area, a 17% rise in house prices in one
:12:39. > :12:41.year. If you take London and the South East out of the equation, it
:12:42. > :12:44.is a very different picture. It is a question of what you would do to
:12:45. > :12:46.calm down London and the South East without damaging growth elsewhere,
:12:47. > :12:49.which is tricky. Help to buy has been helpful, doing what it says on
:12:50. > :12:53.the tin, outside London. If the Government reins it in, then it will
:12:54. > :12:57.cause problems. David Cameron has said that if it is causing problems
:12:58. > :13:01.then he will look at doing something about it. The building societies
:13:02. > :13:04.have also been worried, recognising that people are seriously
:13:05. > :13:07.overstretching themselves in London and the South East, because they
:13:08. > :13:13.have to to afford the prices being asked. There is no doubt that it is
:13:14. > :13:20.causing serious problems across the board. Indeed. Finally we will go to
:13:21. > :13:24.a sports story involving the champions of the Premier League,
:13:25. > :13:31.Manchester City. This is a weird spat. You should declare an
:13:32. > :13:35.interest! I have been supporting this team man and boy for a long
:13:36. > :13:42.time. Even the colour of my tie gives it away! He is the main man at
:13:43. > :13:48.the team, they are the Premier League champions, Yaya Toure, and it
:13:49. > :13:54.is his birthday. Happy birthday. I think we should all say it here. But
:13:55. > :13:57.apparently his agent reckons that the Manchester City board and the
:13:58. > :14:01.owner of the club did not wish him happy birthday so he is angry and
:14:02. > :14:07.saying he will leave the club. It is a great story. I respond to it on a
:14:08. > :14:13.human level because I just love sulking. That is massive sulking.
:14:14. > :14:17.The Telegraph picture editors have found a fantastic picture of him.
:14:18. > :14:20.Actually it feels like he is celebrating, though it is probably
:14:21. > :14:25.just a moment of sulking in an otherwise good day. In our house it
:14:26. > :14:29.is not really forgetting birthdays but it has been known if people go
:14:30. > :14:34.into sulks about the forgotten anniversary, for example,
:14:35. > :14:39.Valentine's Day, then they can last a while. They can go on a little
:14:40. > :14:42.bit. His agent suggesting that another big player at some big
:14:43. > :14:51.Russian team, when it was his birthday, he got a present. And he
:14:52. > :14:57.is upset he did not even get happy birthday, not even a cake. It is a
:14:58. > :15:02.storm in a team cup and he will be with us next season! `` in a teacup.
:15:03. > :15:06.There you go. In the next hour we will look at the other stories in
:15:07. > :15:12.the headlines. At first it is time the Sportsday. `` but first it is
:15:13. > :15:15.time for Sportsday.