23/12/2016 The Papers

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

With me are political commentator James Millar and author

James has red glitter in his pockets, but has not added it to his

beard, sadly, despite promises. Tomorrow's front pages: The headline

in the i newspaper is ISIS killer It adds that Europe's open-border

policy has been blamed for allowing the suspect to flee more than 1,000

miles across three countries. The Telegraph also

leads on that story. It says counter-terrorism experts

are warning that Europe's open borders are putting

security at risk. The Guardian's headline

is The End of the Manhunt. It says the Moroccan authorities had

warned Germany about the wanted man The Times has a picture of the body

of Anis Amri under a blanket It also carries the story

of a banking terrorist blacklist which is apparently so useless it

includes a three-year-old member The Daily Mail has some advice

for anyone who is feeling unwell over the festive season -

postpone Christmas. The paper says health chiefs

prescribe self-isolation to keep And the Daily Mirror says

chocolate Santas could kill. It reports the Co-op has withdrawn

them from its shelves, after button batteries

were found inside. We will begin with how the Guardian

is looking at story of Anis Amri, the man wanted in connection with

the Berlin Christmas market attack. End of the man-hunt, it says. The

suspect was killed in a gun battle in Milan. Questions asked how he

could flee across Europe, he managed to get into France and Italy

travelling by trains, and railway tickets have been found. It has

become wearily familiar image, this foil blanket covering the body of a

young jihadist who has committed some appalling atrocity in Europe,

we have seen it in France, Germany, Belgium, and now this particular

individual has come to the end of his run in Italy. Obviously

questions are being asked about how he got 3000 miles from Germany to

Milan. But at the same time, bigger question is perhaps for German

security forces, who had the suspect under surveillance for six months

and let him slip through the net, repeatedly, it seems. And here, the

Guardian saying Morocco had also warned Germany and about this

Tunisian. For my money the Guardian's coverage is the best of

the bunch, because it has the vital detail that Morocco had warned

Germany about this fellow. He was jailed in Italy for a while, and

found his way to Germany. It is sort of a litany of failure, not least

because the Germans picked up the wrong guy on Monday. Although it has

to be said the Italians are fairly proud of themselves, and obviously

with good reason, having caught the fellow. And he shot one of the

policemen, and the Italian minister has said that Italians will be able

to have a happy holiday and all Italian should be proud of him, fair

enough. On the Daily Express, EU's borders, Nigel Farage saying the

passport free zone helps terrorists launch attacks. There is the option

of closing borders. Yes, but I think you have to envisage a pretty major

emergency to roll back your's progress in creating an environment

of open borders, after an attack carried out by one man driving a

truck, awful as it was. And I think this is a big challenge, isn't it,

for politicians across Europe, is to retain a sense of proportionality

about these kinds of incidents. It is very interesting to see how

Germans have handled this. Angela Merkel took 12 hours before she came

out and made a statement after this attack took place, and she has been

very measured in her response, obviously walking a tightrope in

Germany at the moment, trying to make sure that this whirling in

support for far right parties doesn't go any further. But

obviously our very own Nigel Farage is going to be very keen to try to

capitalise on an incident like this, and a paper like the Daily Express,

which generally we can rely on to propagate inaccurate and damaging

stereotypes about migrants and refugees, is obvious the all too

happy to help them. The question is, of course, what is he trying to

achieve? He has achieved it, we have left the EU. And anyway, you have to

show your passport when you come into the country. He says there is a

risk to public safety from the Schengen zone, we are not in the

Schengen zone. The contrast with Angela Merkel, a proper politician,

in power, and she has said everything will be done to look into

where the Germans went wrong in this case, and the Nigel Farage is

shooting his mouth off to all intents and purposes, I suspect.

There will be people who agree with him, on mainland Europe, within the

EU, there will be concerns. But again, it is that sort of simplistic

response, it is a problem with open borders. You are never going to be

able to stop every single plot, ever. 100% security just doesn't

exist, and it is a sad reality but if the debate is always framed as a

binary between perfect security, because we are living in a kind of

fortress, and being prone to these attacks, we are not going to get

very far. It is worth pointing out that this fellow was not one of the

immigrants who came into Germany in the big wave in the last 12 months.

He has been kicking around Europe for five years. The Daily Mail,

postpone Christmas is the advice. Do the NHS a favour and don't turn up

to the A if you are feeling crook. That is always the advice if you

have a vomiting bug, don't go to hospital, because even if you feel

like it you are going to spread it. Health chiefs giving drastic advice,

which is if you are ill, stay in bed. But it is a great Christmas

story, because people are getting the scribbles, people are getting

tired as we get caught doormat near the end of the Christmas run, and

the number of people will look at that on Christmas Eve and think I am

feeling well, what do I do about it? And that is something the Daily Mail

specialises in doing. It is a pretty depressing prospect to be told that

your prescription is self isolation over the Christmas period, but it is

the story that we keep returning to again and again. It is the funding

of the NHS. And we will in 2017, no doubt. Some people will want to

postpone Christmas, I suspect. May be not because they are unwell,

indefinitely for some. An investigation into the chequered

database of 2 million high risk individuals, but some of them can't

possibly be as high risk as their inclusion would suggest. Talking

about headlines, this is a headline with the word banks and honest. That

is supposed to catch your attention on the subject is a three-year-old

Royal and the top historian on the blacklist, which given most people

are not three-year-old Royal is or top historians, might put them off

the story. There is a database of 2 million high risk individuals

including criminals and senior politicians, 49 of the world's 50

biggest banks use to carry out compliance checks. I imagine some of

these people might be having a quiet word with them, saying to take them

off it. But they might not know they are on it, and we are living in that

age of surveillance and... We saw a few months ago the government

passing the investigative Arik Powers act, which basically means

they can keep a record of all of our internet use -- investigatory. We

don't need to be told we are in a fairly Draconian state of affairs.

The Daily Mirror is where we go next. Chocolate Santas could kill.

They have been recalled. According to the Daily Mirror, because some of

them may contain this lithium battery. And James gave a gruesome

description of the effect such a battery can have on a young child's

oesophagus. I don't Exley want you to repeat it, it was disturbing. in

September, an organisation of surgeons put out... They have fairly

gruesome examples of kids who had swallowed these batteries. They can

burn you, surely. They showed what it does to a piece of ham, strangely

enough, and just burned straight through. Just by putting it on the

ham? Something to do with the liquids and batteries. It is a

really good news story. The content is horrible, but it has Christmas,

and there is a slight mystery to it, it is if you did want to hurt

children, this would be a very effective way of doing it. You just

wonder if some nasty person out there has done this. How did they

get inside? And they have done a bit of public service by putting it on

the front page. That Santa Claus already looked a little bit

sinister, when juxtaposed with the lithium battery... Maybe I am just

paranoid. I think you might be, too much time spent as a correspondent.

Let's find something a little more cheerful, shall be, to finish on.

Miranda's mother and Bake Off. She seems to have said on a chat show

that she wouldn't mind presenting it with her mum when it moves to

Channel 4. Given that Bake Off is going to be one of, if not the, big

TV show on Christmas Day, why not happen on the front page? It will

get people. Miranda Hart is a national treasure and so is Bake

Off, so it would seem a good fit. I don't know anything about her mum,

presumably she can bake a bit. Apparently Miranda and her mum Diana

were on a charity version of Goggle Box, and they were very funny

together. So that is where this idea has come from. Not that she needs to

be a fantastic cook, necessarily. You are both much deeper into the

weeds of this story than I am at this point, but I do think that it

will be and uplifting in the 2016, which has not in the most enjoyable

year on many fronts. Maybe Bake Off is the opiate for the masses we need

at this point. Isn't the BBC great? There is more to life than Reuters

and the Financial Times. We will finish on something else which I

haven't seen. Here is a festive surprise for you, and I don't mean a

scantily clad Ellie Goulding. Forget the scantily clad singer. A last

gasp raid on High Street. Manic Manday, as husbands and dad 's flood

the high streets. They are likely to spend 1 billion quid. James and his

partner earlier this year published a book about gender stereotyping.

James, what do you think of this as a story? I don't think I can find

the words. It is just rubbish, isn't it? It is just stupid stereotyping.

I mean, it is the worst of toxic masculinity, is right there. But

there is an element of truth in it. Let's face it, I did my Christmas

shopping on Christmas Eve last year. Why? Lack of organisation. Did

Christmas come as a surprise to you? It wasn't because of the contents of

your pants, or was it? I am not sure that is a topic for discussion. It

is nothing to do with that. You generally speaking and organised

sort of person? This year I have done a better job, I have to say. If

any of my family are watching... Of course they are, they are all

watching. You are all sorted, then, are you, James? Absolutely, I did

Christmas shopping, I do all the cooking, just because I do, not

because I am a man. Frantic fellers will blitz shops. I will just park

myself on the high street and do a little straw poll. It is early to

dismiss this story out of hand, but if they do, it is not because of the

contents of their trousers, it is because society has trained them to

think that shopping is for women, and therefore Christmas is for

women. We are victims, at the end of the day! I would so like to carry

on. Let's take this outside, shall be?

James, Matthew, condiments of the season to you both. We will see you

in 317. I am back on 29 December. Coming up next, it is Newsday.