0:00:16 > 0:00:19Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be
0:00:19 > 0:00:21bringing us tomorrow.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24With me are the former Pensions Minister Baroness Ros Altmann,
0:00:24 > 0:00:27and Laura Hughes, political correspondent of
0:00:27 > 0:00:33the Financial Times.
0:00:33 > 0:00:39Many of tomorrow's front pages are already in. The Metro pictures the
0:00:39 > 0:00:44beast, the wintry weather bringing subzero temperatures to the UK.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47The Mirror has the same shot reminding us that four people have
0:00:47 > 0:00:53died due to the extreme conditions. And the Express says it's about to
0:00:53 > 0:00:59get worse with the onset of counter storm Emma.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Storm clouds over Downing Street, the paper coming Tory rebels are
0:01:03 > 0:01:06threatening a showdown with Theresa May over the customs union.
0:01:06 > 0:01:13The financial time -- the Financial Times feature the ongoing battle at
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Sky. The Telegraph leads on a leaked
0:01:15 > 0:01:20letter written by Boris Johnson in which it is claimed there could be a
0:01:20 > 0:01:25hard Irish border following Brexit. It also features news that the BBC's
0:01:25 > 0:01:30media action charity has sacked six people for sexual misconduct.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34The Times Luksa Northern Ireland, saying the Prime Minister is to one
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Brussels not to use Brexit to break up the UK over the customs union
0:01:38 > 0:01:43rules. So, the bitter winter weather
0:01:43 > 0:01:46proving irresistible for many editors, fighting Brexit for space
0:01:46 > 0:01:54on the front pages. So, let's start here with the story on the front
0:01:54 > 0:01:58page of the Telegraph, which we've been mentioning here on BBC News a
0:01:58 > 0:02:04little bit earlier in the evening. Extraordinary, Boris raises the
0:02:04 > 0:02:13prospect of hard border in Ireland. This is absolutely incredible. Even
0:02:13 > 0:02:16in November, Boris was saying that the hard border in Ireland is
0:02:16 > 0:02:22unthinkable and it would be economic and political madness. And here we
0:02:22 > 0:02:26are, he is perhaps figured out that you can't make the border with
0:02:26 > 0:02:31Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement work with coming out of
0:02:31 > 0:02:35the customs union single markets, so instead of saying that red line will
0:02:35 > 0:02:39be to keep the UK together, he says, no, the red line is we got to come
0:02:39 > 0:02:44out of the customs union and single market. I think the priorities are
0:02:44 > 0:02:48all wrong. We have an international agreement, the Good Friday
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Agreement, that we signed up to in good faith, it's been accepted in
0:02:52 > 0:02:56good faith. In December, we promised there would be regulated realignment
0:02:56 > 0:03:00if nothing else could work for the border. And here we are a few weeks
0:03:00 > 0:03:04later, suddenly saying, well, we didn't really mean it.And Laura,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08this has come out as part of a leaked letter?Yes, which was
0:03:08 > 0:03:13submitted ahead of this big crunch meeting at Chequers. It is
0:03:13 > 0:03:17extraordinary given the government's position, which they have reaffirmed
0:03:17 > 0:03:21tonight, is that there will not be a return to a hard border. The Prime
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Minister has been very clear on that for that we've talked about with the
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Good Friday Agreement, but also the DUP would not countenance it, and
0:03:30 > 0:03:33they provide the Prime Minister with her majority in Parliament. So
0:03:33 > 0:03:37that's not going to happen. Boris Johnson suggesting that trade would
0:03:37 > 0:03:46not be affected by a hard border if there was one. That word if that he
0:03:46 > 0:03:48uses is what the Telegraph have clearly grabbed onto. It's him
0:03:48 > 0:03:51saying that it might actually happen, and his words are quite
0:03:51 > 0:03:56interesting. So, what will happen, who knows, but it's not good timing.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Tomorrow the EU will put out their draft recommendation for the
0:04:00 > 0:04:04withdrawal next stage and what is good to happen with Ireland. From
0:04:04 > 0:04:08the stories coming tonight, it looks as though they are playing a tough
0:04:08 > 0:04:13game too. They are not going to go with a Prime Minister's preferred
0:04:13 > 0:04:16options and they are saying the Northern Ireland needs to stay in
0:04:16 > 0:04:24some sort of customs agreement. It's a mess.And as we've already seen,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29opposition MPs suggesting this calls into question Boris Johnson's
0:04:29 > 0:04:34position.Well, I just don't quite see where he's coming from on this.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40Is it a game of bluff? We've got to talk tough and we got to be tough
0:04:40 > 0:04:44with the EU and ultimately we'll see how far we can push them. I don't
0:04:44 > 0:04:50know. All I can think is that either he doesn't understand how the border
0:04:50 > 0:04:55really works and how the Good Friday Agreement has been operating so that
0:04:55 > 0:05:01you have this frictionless, seamless interaction between North and South,
0:05:01 > 0:05:05or there is something else that he might have in his mind but nobody
0:05:05 > 0:05:11else has quite figured it out. There is no technological solution, and
0:05:11 > 0:05:15certainly...That's what the Brexiteers say, you can have a
0:05:15 > 0:05:20electronic methods of making sure that goods are entitled to go
0:05:20 > 0:05:25across, we have trusted trade status.Even if you could have
0:05:25 > 0:05:28something like that, and there is nothing like it anywhere in the
0:05:28 > 0:05:31world that would work across that whole long border, it would take a
0:05:31 > 0:05:36long time to set anything like that up. And you still may be regulatory
0:05:36 > 0:05:41alignment to know that whatever is shipped has come in in the right way
0:05:41 > 0:05:47and can then pass on safely.We have lots of Brexit stories, as ever.
0:05:47 > 0:05:55This issue of whether or not Britain could stay in the customs union also
0:05:55 > 0:06:09featuring on this story on the front page of of the i.This has been
0:06:09 > 0:06:12supported by a number of Labour MPs. The Labour Party shifted the
0:06:12 > 0:06:16position, finally everyone was writing it was going to happen and
0:06:16 > 0:06:21did. They are saying that they never officially support a customs union
0:06:21 > 0:06:26after Brexit. There are a number of Tory who feel very strongly and I've
0:06:26 > 0:06:28spoken to a number of them this week to save the country comes first,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32it's not about working with Labour, they are doing their own thing.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37There has been talk of, will the issue turn into a no-confidence
0:06:37 > 0:06:40vote? And the rebels in the Tory side are clear, it's up to the
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Government whether or not they want to make it an issue of no
0:06:43 > 0:06:47confidence. We have the big speech from the Prime Minister on Friday,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51she will probably fudge it somehow with the wedding, there will be some
0:06:51 > 0:06:54kind of customs arrangement, or maybe not even the word customs, as
0:06:54 > 0:06:58it seems to be so controversial. She will have to find some language that
0:06:58 > 0:07:01both appeases the rebels, who ultimately look like they would
0:07:01 > 0:07:07defeat the Government, but also appeasing the Brexiteers.At all is
0:07:07 > 0:07:10that like it is important to bear in mind that also having a customs
0:07:10 > 0:07:16union isn't enough to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland.You also
0:07:16 > 0:07:23need at least some elements of the single market, if not the E a tub of
0:07:23 > 0:07:27arrangements. So this only gets you a certain way. And Labour's position
0:07:27 > 0:07:31has shifted but not to the place where it needs to be if we are going
0:07:31 > 0:07:35to honour the Good Friday Agreement. So there race still further to go.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40There is a huge chasm between the real world and the world that the
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Brexiteers and those who are looking at how on Earth we can manage this
0:07:45 > 0:07:50process are living in.And if we look at the Times, which is picking
0:07:50 > 0:07:58up on this similar theme, again, looking at that document due to come
0:07:58 > 0:08:05out from the EU side tomorrow, don't break up Britain. Battles with her
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Cabinet, her backbenchers, and it looks like she is going to have to
0:08:08 > 0:08:13have a battle with the EU too.And across the EU is on the side of
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Ireland, which they made in December. The DUP on this Irish
0:08:18 > 0:08:24border issue, it's stalled talks, it was a crazy 24 hours for political
0:08:24 > 0:08:28journalists. I think on the Boris point, perhaps no one really seems
0:08:28 > 0:08:32to have a solution on this question. If there isn't a solution, maybe
0:08:32 > 0:08:37this idea of having a hard border that is being put at there by the
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Foreign Secretary, if this is not going to work, that man's -- the
0:08:40 > 0:08:45demands the EU will make tomorrow, the Prime Minister will say no. If
0:08:45 > 0:08:49she's going to say no, it's not good to happen, the EU are not going to
0:08:49 > 0:08:53be happy. -- it's not going to happen. Theresa May is a Unionist,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58there is no way in which she will see Northern Ireland leaving the EU
0:08:58 > 0:09:03on different terms as the rest of the UK.Which is why I feel it's
0:09:03 > 0:09:07hypocritical for her to talk about the EU breaking up the UK. It is our
0:09:07 > 0:09:13so-called red lines that are imposing the requirement for this
0:09:13 > 0:09:19hard border. If we didn't rule out staying in the single market customs
0:09:19 > 0:09:22union or EEA, we wouldn't even need to be talking about breaking up the
0:09:22 > 0:09:26UK. I know a lot of my colleagues on the Tory benches will be very angry
0:09:26 > 0:09:33with me, but I don't sign up to this idea that somehow it's fine if you
0:09:33 > 0:09:37leave our major free trading partners and our closest neighbours,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42but actually, I have to say what I think and I think a lot of the Tory
0:09:42 > 0:09:45rebels have just genuinely been saying what they believe is
0:09:45 > 0:09:49essential for the interests of this country. We are a United Kingdom and
0:09:49 > 0:09:53Northern Ireland is an essential part of the United Kingdom. We
0:09:53 > 0:09:57should not be jeopardising it.Let's just take a quick look at the
0:09:57 > 0:10:08Financial Times. Narrated by Michel Barnier. -- berated. What do you
0:10:08 > 0:10:16make of this?Yes, I mean, it's a really big point, David Davies is
0:10:16 > 0:10:19the head of the UK negotiating team and the head of the EU negotiating
0:10:19 > 0:10:25team has not seen him in a really crucial time. He is busy touring the
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Nordic countries. He would argue he is going out and reaching out to
0:10:28 > 0:10:35leaders in Europe.Which he is. Which he is, I'm sure that would be
0:10:35 > 0:10:38his response. Also in the story are some comments this mine from Martin
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Donnelly, who used to work as the permanent secretary in Liam Fox's
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Department, which livened up the debate. It brought it back to less
0:10:48 > 0:10:51complicated language. He said going into Brexit was like giving up a
0:10:51 > 0:10:57three course meal for a packet of crisps.It's a wonderful quote, very
0:10:57 > 0:11:02strong line.It sums it up.Lots of other stories to get through. Back
0:11:02 > 0:11:10on the Telegraph, the story here about GPs paid to cut hospital
0:11:10 > 0:11:15referrals.I think a lot of people are quite worried that if GPs are
0:11:15 > 0:11:17incentivised not to send you to hospital and even if you might
0:11:17 > 0:11:23actually need to go, they might decide not to send you. I suspect
0:11:23 > 0:11:27that actually, GPs are a lot more ethical if they genuinely believe
0:11:27 > 0:11:32than you do need to put a hospital, they will send you there. But there
0:11:32 > 0:11:36is a social attitudes survey allied to this story which suggests that
0:11:36 > 0:11:41confidence and satisfaction with doctors is at a pretty much all time
0:11:41 > 0:11:47low, the lowest in 35 years. So something is happening and people
0:11:47 > 0:11:53are less and less satisfied with the Health Service. And we need to be
0:11:53 > 0:11:58concerned, I think, but overall, we see too many negative headlines, and
0:11:58 > 0:12:02you don't want that because actually, the NHS is a wonderful
0:12:02 > 0:12:07service.Although very briefly, it is obviously a sign of how much, how
0:12:07 > 0:12:11great the pressures are on the NHS. Again which is not good news for
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Theresa May because this is a massive issue that the public are
0:12:15 > 0:12:19concerned about and again, this story as to this public perception
0:12:19 > 0:12:23that the NHS is in crisis and it can't cope with demand. I think you
0:12:23 > 0:12:27are right to say that GPs probably would send you to hospital if it was
0:12:27 > 0:12:30that serious. There is an issue about people going to the doctor
0:12:30 > 0:12:37when maybe they don't need to, going to the NHS when they don't need to.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40So there is a balance to be struck there.We should move on, because of
0:12:40 > 0:12:46course, many of the papers, including the Metro, have got
0:12:46 > 0:12:54photographs of the weather. The beast! It has been known as the
0:12:54 > 0:12:59beast from the east. An extraordinary photo. Just brilliant.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03I think one of the police helicopters has captured this storm
0:13:03 > 0:13:08sweeping in and dumping snow all over London. Basically it's all over
0:13:08 > 0:13:14the country and I think there is more to come. This is most unusual,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19it's almost March and we got this major cold snap, it's perishing the
0:13:19 > 0:13:22cold, not the normal kind of temperatures that you would expect.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28And some saying that, some say us Brits are we talking about the
0:13:28 > 0:13:33weather but this has caused a huge amount of disruption and some people
0:13:33 > 0:13:37have lost their lives.And road accidents, that's inevitable I
0:13:37 > 0:13:40suppose, and there are statistics on elderly people who have
0:13:40 > 0:13:44unfortunately passed away because of the call, it will again bring up the
0:13:44 > 0:13:47issue to the Prime Minister of homelessness, that might come up
0:13:47 > 0:13:51again in PMQs by Jeremy Corbyn if he was covered because the two things
0:13:51 > 0:13:54do link of course, the rise in homelessness and this weather,
0:13:54 > 0:14:00pretty bad news for them. Whenever this happens, we all go, why aren't
0:14:00 > 0:14:04we prepared? In other countries they have is whether all the time, but in
0:14:04 > 0:14:09England and London, we go, we can't go to work today!We've completely
0:14:09 > 0:14:13run out of time, lots more coming up on the weather, but that's it
0:14:13 > 0:14:13tonight.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Don't forget, you can see the front pages of the papers online
0:14:16 > 0:14:17on the BBC News website.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20It's all there for you, seven days a week at bbc.co.uk/papers,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and if you missed the programme any evening, you can watch it
0:14:23 > 0:14:29later on BBC iPlayer.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Well, I thank you to Baroness Ros Altmann and Laura Hughes. For now,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38the by. -- goodbye.