03/12/2015 The Papers

Hello, and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers

With me are Deborah Haynes, defence editor for the Times,

and Torcuil Crichton, political editor at the Daily Record.

The Telegraph says nearly half of all new homes to be built

in England over the next five years may be needed to

The Metro focuses on a Labour MP who received a death threat for

The FT reports on market falls after the latest initiative

The Independent welcomes the government's U-turn on court fees.

The Express says the level of British aid to India is a scandal.

The Times says military officials warned the government

not to suggest that 70,000 Syria rebels were ready to take on IS.

And the Sun has the same story - it says the MoD has disowned what

the paper calls the Prime Minister's "dodgy dossier."

That is a flavour of them. Let's have a look at some in detail. Let's

start with the Independent. Take us to the photograph that is

immediately captivating on the front, with reference to what is now

an FBI investigation. We've got the sort of stark image of the FBI

jacket on one of the investigators, as we've learnt it is now a

counterterrorism investigation, which has been launched into what

happened. It is very sort of depressing to see the headline above

the picture, about the fact that the US investigates its 355th mass

shooting for 2015. It has a little point that it is not a misprint.

Striking point. There are more shootings in the US than days in the

year. Some days they must have known and then some days they might have

two or three. It is absolutely stunning. This one has a twist. It

may have a terrorist link that hasn't been quite established yet.

The reporting of it so far seems to cast the story in that direction.

Moving on in terms of papers, taking us on to the Times, which reiterates

that more strongly in the headline. It names the husband and wife team

who killed 14 and perhaps more in California, said Farouk and caching

Malik, both from Pakistan, he was from the US, she only married him

recently, they have a six-month-old child who will be sent to their

in-laws, the parents earlier that day -- Sayed Malik -- Malik. They

seemed normal but I suppose if they were plotting something like this

you would not tell your neighbours about it. In the Garard they found

pipe bombs, guns, enough ammo to start a small war and they suspect

it might have been an ISIS terror plot or a radicalised individual or

couple on American soil -- garage.. Let's stay with the Times because

the main story is army chiefs want the 70,000 rebels claim -- warn of

the. You had better have the first pop at this one. This story is

about, when David Cameron made his case for expanding airstrikes into

Syria from Iraq last week, it was, he was kind of responding to a

Foreign Affairs Committee report, which questioned whether we should

be doing that, and actually cautioned against it. He used this

figure of 70,000 moderate Syrian rebels who would be ready to take on

IS with the support of British and other Allied air power. That

immediately raised eyebrows and the usual critics came out and were

sceptical about the figure. It kind of became more about the figure than

the substance of what was being discussed, which was, like, you

know, this kind of multifaceted strategy to take on Islamic State.

And I've been told that officials within the MOD were mindful of what

happened back in 2003, when Tony Blair went to parliament to make a

case for the Iraq war. And he used what then became the dodgy dossier

with the 45 minute claim about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass

destruction. People were worried. They were not doubting the figure.

They believe there are 70,000, probably more, rebels out there.

Frankly, they are fighting Assad as opposed to ISIS. They were worried

about is becoming that 45 minute moment. Lots of people doubt that

figure, actually. Lots of MPs in the debate yesterday. When the Prime

Minister introduced the figure last Thursday when he came back to

answer, you could feel the air being sucked out of the place. They might

have said 70000 and, people said, what, where, who cracks Mac I

disagree. -- who? That's different to say that there are 70,000 rebels.

They are disparate groups. They are geographically spread around the

country. That was the other worry, that you could get, from what was

being said, you could have an idea that maybe there is this sort of

70,000 strong army ready to march on Raqqa, when that absolutely is not

the case. So, it was very much a concern. Obviously, those who put

together the document decided the figure, which was apparently

independently sourced from the independent committee, was solid and

should be included. I know they're distancing themselves from that

figure because they don't want to be caught up in the same mire as the 45

minute warning but they are now calling them the bogus Battalion. He

did. It instantly undermines the credibility of the case for war when

he did that -- Bogus Battalion he won the vote. People told him that

would be the case. I don't know why he went ahead and said it anyway.

Yes. I was told it wasn't a question of arguments over this, it was

people voicing concern - is it a good thing to do? Are you making

yourself a hostage to fortune, being so specific about a figure? It is

different in that sense. It wasn't as if they believed the figure to be

false. It was more like the wisdom of making such a big thing about it.

The political judgement of it. Exactly. He misjudged it. Let's stay

with that. The front of the Telegraph. Jeremy Corbyn, "making

MPs terror target" within the party, the Shadow Minister, unnamed. The

focus on war with ISIS and airstrikes on Syria yesterday.

Today, it you know, Westminster's been caught up in Labour's internal

war. And what kind of retribution might come to the 66 Labour MPs who

voted with the Government. Far left groups, like Momentum, they say they

should be deselected. Jeremy Corbyn himself sent out the signal, the

wolfwhistle, I think, when he said there would be, "no hiding place for

MPs who went against the membership and the constituency." That has led

to warning from a shadow Cabinet member here who said it you are not

making us in danger of being deselected but being attacked by

home-grown jihadis. We had a case of the MPR couple of years ago who was

attacked in his surgery -- MPs a couple of years ago. A Labour MP who

voted for the war has been threatened with stabbing and he is

going to put police officers outside his constituency office. There is a

darker side to this internal war. We have, however, this evening, had an

e-mail widely sent from Jeremy Corbyn and to his deputy, saving two

Labour Party members, you've got to behave. The bullying and

intimidation has no part to play. It is too little, too late. Ever since

Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader it seems as though there has been

this, sort of, well, I guess it happens with all parties, but it

does feel a little bit dirty. Politics is a roughhouse. It is a

Ross Houston. No doubt. There is a massive rift in the Labour Party

between the moderates and the Communist if you want to call them

that -- rough house. We have in Syria. We will see it tonight. We

will see it all the way down line until... And the cartoon. Casting

some light relief on a very serious topic. We have a Matt cartoon in the

Telegraph, Labour-Syria split, and we will need a bigger bunch of

mistletoe this year. You can imagine the Labour Party Christmas... We

have had an invite to his Christmas drinks, and I think the message will

be peace and goodwill. But of course. The Financial Times is

talking about David Cameron's aim to get a deal within the EU prior to

that referendum. And it might not be quite as early as we work, perhaps,

thinking. No, Downing Street is signalling, admitting, it won't get

a deal from the other 27 EU members at this December summit, which David

Cameron hoped would bounce them into the promise of reform in December,

in time for our British referendum. He has now been told it is not on.

One of his main planks is having a band of four years on migrants to

the UK claiming benefits. Try that in Bulgaria. Try it with any Eastern

European members, it is not a cell. Angela Merkel has told him he

European members, it is not a cell. Angela Merkel has told him -- it

won't happen. Why should it? The EU has to deal with a massive terrorism

threat and refugee influx. Britain is part of the problem but it is not

the only problem. He will have to wait until February to get the deal

through. According to his own people, the referendum has to be

held here by 2017. Exactly. It is no disaster if it is delayed and you

can understand that there is a lot going on at the moment in the EU.

People's attention will be distracted by... If it is

delayed... The lesson from the Scottish referendum was don't go

along. The SNP came from 30% up to 45% over the two year period. Out of

the starting blocks, the in out campaign... They still lost,

ultimately. There are so many other considerations in referendums. While

they are about one issue, the popularity of the government of the

day at that moment can play a big part. And anything can happen. Take

us to the front of the Guardian, because that paper is reflecting on

the fact that Oscar Pistorius is now guilty of murder, rather than

manslaughter. Absolutely, I mean, their story does continues, doesn't

it? I cannot believe it was only 2- three years ago that this actually

happened, it feels like this long-running drama -- 2-3. We have

the guilty of culpable homicide conviction overturned by the court

of appeal, and now he is found guilty of murdering his girlfriend.

And, you know, could spend up to 15 years in prison. So, I think, you

know, obviously, it is horrendous for the families. But also, very

difficult for him, being in this weird limbo, it kind of reminds me

of what happened in Italy with the Meredith Kercher incident, the back

and forth, when you were expecting, would it be appealed? Although

apparently it is unusual for a Supreme Court appeal to be appealed.

Apparently so. It is a huge drama that has captured the world, it you

know? And the appeal judge, one of the appeal judges, just as Eric

Leach, captures the story in a paragraph, he says, "this is a human

tragedy to experience abortions, a young man who has physical

disabilities, reaches Olympic heights, international celebrity, he

meets a young woman of natural beauty and success, they fall in

love, romance blossoms and then on Valentine's Day he destroys it all

when he takes her life." It is just incredible. It continues. If it were

not realise you could imagine this would be a film script, but sadly it

is real life and the tragedy is in the midst of it. Absolutely. He was

this iconic figure, the poster child of the Olympics. And so, for some of

that sort of iconic status, to fall so low that, it is sad. Thank you

both very much indeed. A reminder, as well, that you can watch all of

the by-election special with Andrew Neil tonight at 12:25am, and I

should say the turnout has come in at 40%, that piece of news has just

reached us in the last couple of minutes. Now on BBC News, it is time

for Sportsday. More problems at Fifa

as two officials are arrested in