0:00:02 > 0:00:07That is all the sport for now and next on BBC News, it is back to Ben
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Brown with the papers.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Hello and welcome to our review of the Sunday papers.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27With me are Katy Balls, Political Correspondent
0:00:27 > 0:00:30at The Spectator and Ben Chu, Economics Editor at The Independent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Welcome to you both. Thank you so much for coming in.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36There's a good mix of stories, from the extreme weather
0:00:36 > 0:00:41to a look ahead to the Oscars.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44The Observer takes stock of the financial cost the wintry
0:00:44 > 0:00:47weather has taken on the country - suggesting it's cost us £1 billion
0:00:47 > 0:00:48per day.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50The Sunday Times leads on an investigation into how
0:00:50 > 0:00:52internet giants may be implicated in the trafficking
0:00:52 > 0:00:55of vulnerable women.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57The paper also looks ahead to tomorrow night's Oscars -
0:00:57 > 0:01:01with a picture of Gary Oldman - who has the Best Actor nod
0:01:01 > 0:01:03for playing the part of Winston Churchill.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06The actor also takes centre stage on the front of The Telegraph -
0:01:06 > 0:01:09alongside the paper's top story which looks at the way BBC
0:01:09 > 0:01:11presenters' salaries are taxed.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13The top story for the Mail is the latest gossip
0:01:13 > 0:01:19from within Theresa May's cabinet.
0:01:19 > 0:01:20This time involving the Foreign Secretary.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22This time involving the Foreign Secretary.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25So plenty to be looking at this morning.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Let's kick off with the weather. It has been an atrocious week of
0:01:29 > 0:01:33weather, of course. I was reporting it from the north-east of England,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38pretty chilly, I must say. We have talked a lot about the travel
0:01:38 > 0:01:42implications for people but also the economic implications, Katie, the
0:01:42 > 0:01:46big freeze according to the Observer costing us £1 billion a day. I am
0:01:46 > 0:01:52not sure exactly how they worked that out.Yes, the beast from the
0:01:52 > 0:01:56east appears to be subsiding but the aftermath will not be pretty and it
0:01:56 > 0:02:01is thought it has cost us so much money in terms of lost productivity
0:02:01 > 0:02:05that it could affect our growth for the first quarter of the year and we
0:02:05 > 0:02:09could see a drop of .2%. That is obviously not a good thing but it's
0:02:09 > 0:02:12also hard to know how that could actually be avoided, because it
0:02:12 > 0:02:16comes back to the debate about should we spend lots of money in
0:02:16 > 0:02:19case there was bad weather or is it where enough that we just need to
0:02:19 > 0:02:23deal with it as we have now.I suppose with the best will in the
0:02:23 > 0:02:29world however much you grip the road and whatever preparations you take,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33in a country like this, you will always have so much disruption when
0:02:33 > 0:02:38you have that much snow and ice.It is the old debate about should we
0:02:38 > 0:02:42invest in snowploughs and things like Canada and Switzerland have,
0:02:42 > 0:02:50but the problem is that this does not happen often enough for that
0:02:50 > 0:02:55investment.Which is why it is news, really.Yes, this would be nothing
0:02:55 > 0:02:59in Montreal. It is interesting how they have worked out this £1 billion
0:02:59 > 0:03:04figure. People have been spending less in the shops, but they have
0:03:04 > 0:03:09also been drawing more heat and energy, so it does go the other way.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14We have had a precedent for this. It was in the final quarter of 2010,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18very, very bad weather and the growth rate collapsed. In fact, the
0:03:18 > 0:03:25first estimate was that it fell by .5%. It went from .6% 2.1%. So we
0:03:25 > 0:03:29have seen very cold weather having a very significant impact on growth
0:03:29 > 0:03:37rates.Katy, inside the Observer some pictures and the headline that,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Britain's tale of empty shops, really referring their to our
0:03:40 > 0:03:45economic story, but also reunited communities and people pulling
0:03:45 > 0:03:49together to help each other. I must say, I did see that in
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Northumberland. Really going out and pulling people out of snowdrift and
0:03:53 > 0:03:59so on if they had to.Yes, and I think that is the positive story it.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04The Observer looks at an area near Glasgow and we have stories of the
0:04:04 > 0:04:07blizzards and all the problems it caused, but at the end here it says
0:04:07 > 0:04:14one local resident says that it took twice as long to get all these
0:04:14 > 0:04:17objects from the snow, because they were chatting to each other so much
0:04:17 > 0:04:22and stopping to catch up and gossip, so in a way it reminded him of how
0:04:22 > 0:04:26it used to be when everyone stopped at the shops and spoke to each
0:04:26 > 0:04:30other. That was a nice way of bringing the communities together.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35And one of the most dramatic things, Ben, was all these drivers stuck for
0:04:35 > 0:04:40hours and hours on motorways and roads, with jackknifed lorries and
0:04:40 > 0:04:43then everyone else stuck there, really, for the whole night. But the
0:04:43 > 0:04:48good old British spirit often coming through and people not daunted too
0:04:48 > 0:04:53much. Just having cups of tea in their cars and so on.Yes,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57heartening. One place you did not see that kind of spirit was in
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Ireland where some thieves had a snow looting episode where they
0:05:01 > 0:05:05destroyed a small store and looted all the alcohol and expensive food.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09But you will always get these different stories and it is
0:05:09 > 0:05:13encouraging as Katy says that there were places where people came
0:05:13 > 0:05:17together to fight adversity as well, as you to DC in this kind of
0:05:17 > 0:05:23scenario.And we have got is no baby as well, I believe, with a baby born
0:05:23 > 0:05:28off the motorway as they can get to the hospital. So mother positive
0:05:28 > 0:05:33story to tell in years to come.Has it been a positive story for Theresa
0:05:33 > 0:05:36May and Brexit? Her big speech possibly slightly overshadowed on
0:05:36 > 0:05:42Friday by the weather. If you look across the newspaper front pages
0:05:42 > 0:05:48today, what is good from her point of view perhaps is that there is in
0:05:48 > 0:05:52the big backlash from either faction to be speech that she made.Exactly
0:05:52 > 0:06:01and the Observer has this headline. If you told Theresa May this time
0:06:01 > 0:06:07last week that the only person the journalists would have to dig out to
0:06:07 > 0:06:11be critical of the speech would be Michael Heseltine, a man who has
0:06:11 > 0:06:14said he would prefer a Corbyn government to Brexit, I think she
0:06:14 > 0:06:17would have been pretty happy and hoping that would be the scenario.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21He had obviously found problems with the speech but I think he is such an
0:06:21 > 0:06:26extreme. We know he really opposes Brexit, no matter what kind Brexit.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30He wants to lead a rebellion in the Lords on it. I don't think she could
0:06:30 > 0:06:36have said anything other than we will stay the EU or have a second
0:06:36 > 0:06:39referendum to make him happy, but like you say, in general the people
0:06:39 > 0:06:45in her own party seem to be fairly happy. Perhaps by disappointing
0:06:45 > 0:06:51everyone a little bit.Let's not go too far. Michael Heseltine saying
0:06:51 > 0:06:54that the Brexiteers are holding a knife to Theresa May's throat, which
0:06:54 > 0:06:59is quite a vivid description?Yes, but I think it's quite accurate. The
0:06:59 > 0:07:05way we are talking about it speaks of the UK domestic debate, because
0:07:05 > 0:07:09of course what really matters about how the speech is perceived as how
0:07:09 > 0:07:17the EU see it. Do they think what she outlined admitted to a cherry
0:07:17 > 0:07:21picking approach, which they have said they will not have, or do they
0:07:21 > 0:07:24think it was constructive? That is the key thing. We are talking about
0:07:24 > 0:07:29whether Jacob Rees Mogg liked it, Michael Heseltine, which are very
0:07:29 > 0:07:33relevant questions because we all know Theresa May's position is very
0:07:33 > 0:07:37fragile. That she could be brought down by her own party if they think
0:07:37 > 0:07:41she is not handling Brexit right. So it's understandable, but actually
0:07:41 > 0:07:45the bigger issue is how the Europeans about that? That
0:07:45 > 0:07:50determines whether we will get any serious results in time.Katie, the
0:07:50 > 0:07:55mail on Sunday continuing on the Brexit theme. Boris in new dirty
0:07:55 > 0:08:05tricks row with Number ten. This is the PM's fixer supposedly leaking a
0:08:05 > 0:08:13memo.As Ben pointed out, this goes back to the domestic view of Brexit.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17The idea of dynamics within the Conservative Party and how it
0:08:17 > 0:08:21affects Theresa May's position. A memo was leaked to Sky News this
0:08:21 > 0:08:25week which had a line in it where the Foreign Secretary seemed to
0:08:25 > 0:08:29concede that there could be a hard Irish border. They feel like this
0:08:29 > 0:08:34was unfair because it was one line from a very long letter with lots of
0:08:34 > 0:08:38different options, and the suggestion was that it was leaked by
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Number ten to put Boris Johnson in his place. It's quite funny, because
0:08:43 > 0:08:47obviously a key ally of Boris Johnson told the mail on Sunday
0:08:47 > 0:08:51this, but if you get off the front page Boris Johnson's spokesmen says
0:08:51 > 0:08:57it is a load of baloney, not true and they are not accusing Number ten
0:08:57 > 0:09:03of anything.That speech by Number ten, I guess it was a reality check
0:09:03 > 0:09:06in some ways in that you were saying we will not get everything we want
0:09:06 > 0:09:10in the negotiations. It may be obvious, but she spelt it out.Yes,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and actually if we look at the European reaction, Michel Barnier
0:09:14 > 0:09:19said that. He welcomed the sense of realism in the speech. And I think,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23yes, one should recognise that she was saying, we will not have all the
0:09:23 > 0:09:27benefits of being in the EU when we are out of the EU. It sounds
0:09:27 > 0:09:31obvious, but for her to say that, because her line-up until now is
0:09:31 > 0:09:35that she wants all the benefits of being in the and her ministers have
0:09:35 > 0:09:40been saying that. It is blatantly an unrealistic expectation, said she
0:09:40 > 0:09:44has dialled it down. But as I say, whether they still think what she is
0:09:44 > 0:09:50asking for, this basket approach where we are in think in regulation
0:09:50 > 0:09:53and diverging other areas, depending on what suits the UK, whether they
0:09:53 > 0:09:58look at that and think no, no chance, is the key question.Let's
0:09:58 > 0:10:03move away from Brexit. The Sunday Times lead on Internet giants
0:10:03 > 0:10:08profiting from pop-up brothels.Yes, this is Number ten considering new
0:10:08 > 0:10:12laws on sex trafficking and it is being directed at Internet giants.
0:10:12 > 0:10:20This idea that because on places like Facebook you can see these
0:10:20 > 0:10:24adverts, brothels advertised, should the host sites be culpable for that?
0:10:24 > 0:10:28It has been a big debate and in America right now they are trying to
0:10:28 > 0:10:31pass legislation which will mean that is the case. It is something
0:10:31 > 0:10:34which of course all Internet companies massively resist because
0:10:34 > 0:10:38they can't keep track of everything, but I think the question is as well,
0:10:38 > 0:10:43most of these adverts are not saying, there is a pop-up brothel.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48They are a bit more subtle than that. You can probably still work it
0:10:48 > 0:10:50out, but how much responsibility and how far are these Internet giants
0:10:50 > 0:10:56are opposed to dig really to find that out? I think most people would
0:10:56 > 0:11:03agree they shouldn't have something saying brothel.Also in The Sunday
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Times, the MP gender pay gap. We have heard a lot about the gender
0:11:06 > 0:11:10pay gap in other industries, Ben, including BBC presenters, of course.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16But this is MPs, they are saying, and men being paid more than women.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19It's important to recognise that MPs do not get paid differently
0:11:19 > 0:11:23depending on whether they are men or women. They both get the same amount
0:11:23 > 0:11:27per year. But what The Sunday Times research is looking at is what they
0:11:27 > 0:11:32earn outside. So once you factor in the back that men and women in
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Parliament, MPs, and different amounts in that outside jobs, you
0:11:34 > 0:11:42get this gender pay gap. So you're the buckled Tory MP, male Tory MP,
0:11:42 > 0:11:48gets about £100,000 including their MP salary, whereas female MP
0:11:48 > 0:11:54salaries get about 90 6000. There is the gender pay gap. The gap between
0:11:54 > 0:12:02Labour MPs is lower, 79,004 men, 78,000 for women. A lot of people
0:12:02 > 0:12:07would be saying that MPs shouldn't be doing any other work they should
0:12:07 > 0:12:14just get their basic salary for doing their MP work.I think this is
0:12:14 > 0:12:18a fair point and this is may be looking at that male MPs are more
0:12:18 > 0:12:25able balance family commitments. We were speaking about this before and
0:12:25 > 0:12:29saying that George Osborne had about six jobs whilst he was an MP. I
0:12:29 > 0:12:36would have completely skewed everything. I think he was financial
0:12:36 > 0:12:40adviser, briefly the editor of the standard, or he planned to edit the
0:12:40 > 0:12:46standard whilst being an MP, obviously be speech circuit which
0:12:46 > 0:12:50can be very lucrative.The Sunday Telegraph, let's go on to that. They
0:12:50 > 0:12:56are talking about Britain being told to brace for a spring crime spree,
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Ben, and knife crime which has been so dominant in the last few years
0:13:01 > 0:13:04seems to be increasing. I am not sure how you predict there is going
0:13:04 > 0:13:09to be a surge in that?The logic appears to be that as the weather
0:13:09 > 0:13:13gets warmer naturally, you get more crimes because people are out in the
0:13:13 > 0:13:17streets more. That is essentially the basis of the story. They say the
0:13:17 > 0:13:20number of young people who have been killed by knife crime this year has
0:13:20 > 0:13:25been about double what it was at the same time last year. So if it
0:13:25 > 0:13:29continues to extrapolate trends in the way it has is the weather gets
0:13:29 > 0:13:32warmer, you will get more crime. It is highlighting the fact that that
0:13:32 > 0:13:37does seem to be this surge in knife crime, violent crime, from a pretty
0:13:37 > 0:13:42low base, it must be said and it is localised to certain areas. There
0:13:42 > 0:13:45was not a nationwide crime wave going on but they do seem to be
0:13:45 > 0:13:49pockets of this and really this is drawing attention to that trend.And
0:13:49 > 0:13:54how do you reduce knife crime?It is very difficult, isn't it? We know
0:13:54 > 0:14:00that Sadiq Khan is very worried about this because we had four
0:14:00 > 0:14:04stabbings in one night recently and his plan is to significantly
0:14:04 > 0:14:08increase stop and search. It is seen as quite controversial because of
0:14:08 > 0:14:10how it affects communities, but I think the judgment is now coming
0:14:10 > 0:14:16from the police that it does need to be done if they are going to tackle
0:14:16 > 0:14:20this, because they think it is very effective. And therefore you will
0:14:20 > 0:14:23see more things like body cameras so you can attest to the fact this is
0:14:23 > 0:14:28not being done in a manner which could be accused of being racist or
0:14:28 > 0:14:33other intentions.OK, it is the Oscars, of course. Very exciting.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Gary Oldman, the great British hope. His pictures are plastered over a
0:14:37 > 0:14:44lot of the front pages. Are you an Oscar fan?A Gary Oldman fan? I
0:14:44 > 0:14:49can't say I have ever stayed up to watch it but what I find astonishing
0:14:49 > 0:14:56is that he is a huge favourite to win an Oscar, which is about 95%
0:14:56 > 0:15:00chance implied that he is going to win it. Obviously the odds are
0:15:00 > 0:15:04begged the way the betting is going, but that seems to me. An
0:15:04 > 0:15:08extraordinary set of odds to be giving on something like that
0:15:08 > 0:15:12because we do not know how the votes are tallied up. I think it is
0:15:12 > 0:15:16interesting from that perspective alone.I suppose in some years there
0:15:16 > 0:15:20is more competition among the male leads and maybe this year he is the
0:15:20 > 0:15:25dominant one. Whereas in the best actress category, there is more
0:15:25 > 0:15:29competition.Yes, I think there is more room for surprise. I think if
0:15:29 > 0:15:44you back a pound on Gary Oldman, you get a 4p return. I have seen a film
0:15:44 > 0:15:51I thought was very good.Very good or amazing?Very good. I rarely go
0:15:51 > 0:15:57to the cinema but I went to the cinema for that and it was good.Did
0:15:57 > 0:16:02you believe the story quite up because people talk about Churchill
0:16:02 > 0:16:10and the prostatic sand whatnot.I would say it was up from the Crown,
0:16:10 > 0:16:16that is my level of expertise.I saw shape of the water, which everybody
0:16:16 > 0:16:22gets very excited about, but I just couldn't get into it. Then, have you
0:16:22 > 0:16:28had any movie favourites you would be voting for?I saw Dunkirk, which
0:16:28 > 0:16:33I thought was excellent, but some of the critics saying it was not a
0:16:33 > 0:16:37documentary, why wasn't this in it, why wasn't that in it, but I think
0:16:37 > 0:16:41that is misinterpreting what it was about.I think it is good to see
0:16:41 > 0:16:52that British talent, be it acting, technical talent, is still there at
0:16:52 > 0:16:57the Oscars.Definitely, and I think that makes it more fun to watch.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02Like the World Cup, we are reaching for the British.Yes, and hopefully
0:17:02 > 0:17:13Gary Oldman will deliver. All we will be gutted.Now, this is about
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Easter trees. If this replicating the idea of
0:17:15 > 0:17:22Christmas trees?When I heard about this story, I thought it sounded
0:17:22 > 0:17:28awful, like going to get a Christmas tree again but four is Detry. Then I
0:17:28 > 0:17:32realise it is something we do at home, get a branch and hang some
0:17:32 > 0:17:36decorations on it. It's a nice little ornament on the table.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Essentially what the story is is trying to push this as a concept,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44because they have got a quote from John Lewis and they are talking
0:17:44 > 0:17:47about Liddell and algae, so they are trying to get people to get into
0:17:47 > 0:17:56this.There is always the commercial aspect in these areas.I think we
0:17:56 > 0:18:02are getting more into arts and crafts as a nation, but it is
0:18:02 > 0:18:05becoming more commercial now and you can buy baubles with chicks inside
0:18:05 > 0:18:10them and whatnot but I think you could do it more cheaply at home.It
0:18:10 > 0:18:14is interesting, because the seasonal trappings have just been out for
0:18:14 > 0:18:18ever but a lot of the Christmas traditions only go back to Victorian
0:18:18 > 0:18:24times. So you can invent them.Yes, Charles Dickens invented it, didn't
0:18:24 > 0:18:29he? With the Christmas trees, plum pudding and Turkey. We have to
0:18:29 > 0:18:32understand that a lot of our traditions are invented and
0:18:32 > 0:18:37commercial companies do play a role in shaping the way we see things.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Maybe we will be the generation that invented Easter trees. Anyway, thank
0:18:41 > 0:18:48you very much, both of you. I hope to see you again very soon. But Katy
0:18:48 > 0:18:53and then, thank you very much indeed. Don't forget, you can see
0:18:53 > 0:18:59the front pages of the papers on our website seven days a week. And if
0:18:59 > 0:19:02you happen to miss the programme any evening in the week, you can was
0:19:02 > 0:19:08watch it later on BBC iD there. Our thanks again to Katy and then, but
0:19:08 > 0:19:10for now, goodbye from us.