:00:27. > :00:32.Hello and welcome to The View. One story dominates tonight, the
:00:32. > :00:38.killing of David Black, the first prison officer to be murdered here
:00:38. > :00:41.since 1993. The father of two was ambushed by gunmen, as he drove
:00:41. > :00:46.along the M1 near Lurgan this morning. His murder has been widely
:00:46. > :00:48.condemned. Joining me to give her reaction, Secretary of State,
:00:48. > :00:52.Theresa Villiers. I will be discussing the wider impact of the
:00:52. > :00:56.murder with the Director-General of the Prison Service, and we hear
:00:56. > :01:06.from Gregory Campbell of the DUP, Sinn Fein's Raymond McCartney and
:01:06. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :01:11.from the Sunday Times security Secretary of state Theresa Villiers
:01:11. > :01:16.told fellow MPs yesterday that the intent and capability of dissident
:01:16. > :01:21.republicans remain significant. As is their potential to career lethal
:01:21. > :01:25.attacks. The Secretary of State is with me now in the studio. Those
:01:25. > :01:30.turned out to be prophetic words indeed, didn't they, Secretary of
:01:30. > :01:35.State? Sadly, I am afraid they did. It is a very sad day for Northern
:01:35. > :01:40.Ireland, particularly for David Black's family. What can you say
:01:40. > :01:43.tonight about who was responsible for today's murder? Well, it is an
:01:43. > :01:47.early stage of the police investigation. They have made it
:01:47. > :01:52.clear that this attack has the hallmarks of dissident republican
:01:52. > :01:56.terrorists. But they have not, so far, been more specific than that.
:01:56. > :01:59.I am sure that their inquiry is going to be meticulous. I am sure
:01:59. > :02:09.they are determined to find the perpetrators and bring them to
:02:09. > :02:12.
:02:12. > :02:17.The finger of suspicion appears to be pointing towards dissidents in
:02:17. > :02:21.the Lurgan area. We can't be sure, but it appears to be a terrorist
:02:21. > :02:26.attack and it is disgraceful. I welcome the universal condemnation
:02:26. > :02:32.that has been expressed today. was clearly carried out by people
:02:32. > :02:36.who knew exactly what they were doing. It was well planned and well
:02:36. > :02:43.executed from their point of view. They pulled up alongside Mr Black's
:02:43. > :02:47.car and shot him dead. Sadly, as I said yesterday, these people do
:02:47. > :02:52.have the capability and they certainly have lethal intent. But
:02:52. > :02:56.they will not succeed in mistake -- destabilising the peace process.
:02:56. > :03:01.People are committed to democracy and consent as the way to determine
:03:01. > :03:07.Northern Ireland's future. You will understand, Secretary of State,
:03:07. > :03:12.that there will be people watching tonight to will be very concerned
:03:12. > :03:16.for their safety, what is your message to them? I completely
:03:16. > :03:22.understand their concerns. It is a disgrace that these terrorist
:03:22. > :03:29.groups continue to target police officers and prison officers. I
:03:29. > :03:34.know that the police will be doing as much as they can to protect them.
:03:34. > :03:37.We have heard about safety concerns that officers have been raising for
:03:37. > :03:45.perhaps the past 10 years have perhaps not been taken seriously
:03:45. > :03:50.enough. Have not those fears been cruelly realise today? Today was a
:03:50. > :03:55.terrible tragedy. It is vital that it is its -- investigated by the
:03:55. > :04:02.police. I am sure that any lessons at the to be learnt will also be
:04:02. > :04:05.carefully looked at. Can you say if it is true that in recent days, a
:04:05. > :04:10.number of prison officers were informed by the authorities that
:04:10. > :04:15.they would not be allowed to retain their personal protection weapons.
:04:15. > :04:20.I have heard about this, that this has happened. I'm not aware whether
:04:20. > :04:25.it did or not. Personal protection weapons in general are a matter for
:04:25. > :04:31.the police service and the Prison Service to determine. The Justice
:04:31. > :04:38.Minister, David Ford, was asked about it earlier. He said it was a
:04:38. > :04:43.matter for the NIO. Are you saying it is not? My understanding is that
:04:43. > :04:51.it is dealt with by police. There is an appeal system where the NIO
:04:51. > :04:54.is involved. But at this stage, we did know all the facts. We will be
:04:54. > :04:59.very anxious to work with the police and Justice Minister to
:04:59. > :05:07.learn if any lessons can be learned. If there is a review under way, if
:05:07. > :05:11.there is a possibility that police officers' may be -- purser
:05:11. > :05:15.protection weapons and may be removed, but that not be revisited
:05:15. > :05:20.in the light of today? As I understand it, these matters are
:05:20. > :05:25.dealt with by the police. I am sure that they will be anxious to learn
:05:25. > :05:30.any lessons that need to be learnt from what happened today. The
:05:30. > :05:35.Northern Ireland Office are happy to work with them. The Prime
:05:35. > :05:38.Minister David Cameron House condemned these attacks and says it
:05:38. > :05:43.will not bounce people back into the violence of the attack -- the
:05:43. > :05:47.violence of the past. Had he spoken to David Cameron? I spoke to his
:05:47. > :05:51.chief of staff this morning to brief him. The Prime Minister is
:05:51. > :05:55.adamant that these terrorists will not be allowed to succeed. We will
:05:55. > :05:59.continue to bear down on them to prevent this kind of atrocities
:05:59. > :06:03.occurring. We will work with all the community in Northern Ireland
:06:03. > :06:08.in their effort to support the peace process and reject the
:06:08. > :06:17.violence that these terrorists represent. We believe that there
:06:17. > :06:22.for now. Thank you. -- we will leave it there.
:06:22. > :06:26.It was a completely senseless attack. It demonstrates the
:06:26. > :06:34.recklessness, the ruthlessness and the sheer deliciousness of those
:06:34. > :06:42.who still oppose peace -- the sheer dangerousness. They are addicted to
:06:42. > :06:46.taking us back to the dark days of the past. Police, anything, however
:06:46. > :06:52.inconsequential it appears, if you have any information, do not
:06:52. > :06:57.hesitate. We cannot allow these people to succeed. And we won't.
:06:57. > :07:05.But we rely very heavily on the public and communities to do the
:07:05. > :07:09.right thing. That was Matt Baggott talking to reporters this afternoon.
:07:09. > :07:15.Joining me from Dublin is the Sunday Times security correspondent.
:07:15. > :07:23.Good evening. Thank you for joining us. What you make of today's murder
:07:23. > :07:31.on the M1. It didn't surprise me. The faction that is widely believed
:07:31. > :07:41.to have carried out this act had come together over the past few
:07:41. > :07:41.
:07:41. > :07:46.months, made up of the Real IRA and Republican Action Against drugs and
:07:46. > :07:52.some people described loosely as Independent Republicans. These
:07:52. > :08:00.people had given an impetus towards terrorism in the past year, sharing
:08:00. > :08:05.bomb-making expertise, and also in terms of mounting and sustaining
:08:05. > :08:10.this campaign. It appears that the secret service had been monitoring
:08:10. > :08:16.these groups closely and in fairness to them, have -- they have
:08:16. > :08:24.ported a number of attacks. But these groups have a significant
:08:24. > :08:30.ambition and I think today's murder, or for as it was, was going to
:08:30. > :08:34.happen. They have a very intent on taking life and killing someone who
:08:34. > :08:40.they regard as a member of the British establishment. So what you
:08:40. > :08:48.are saying is that there was an inevitability about today's attack?
:08:48. > :08:56.The security services on both sides of the border regard and analyse
:08:56. > :09:05.the threat posed by these groups. This particular group has expertise
:09:05. > :09:13.and intent. And it also has the people. They are no fools. Some of
:09:13. > :09:15.these people are recent departures from what would be described as the
:09:15. > :09:23.mainstream republican movement. They are very much against Sinn
:09:23. > :09:26.Fein. More than everything, it is important to understand that these
:09:26. > :09:31.groups do not believe they will cause the collapse of the peace
:09:31. > :09:36.process. They see themselves as almost a sub culture within society
:09:36. > :09:42.in Northern Ireland and in the Republic. What they are trying to
:09:42. > :09:47.do is sustain a new type of IRA organisation which will remain in
:09:47. > :09:53.existence. It is not so much about collapsing Staudt -- Stormont, they
:09:54. > :09:58.know that is never going to happen. Instead, they see themselves as
:09:58. > :10:05.inheriting a tradition. When you get that sort of extremist view,
:10:05. > :10:09.this absolute belief in their own capabilities, their own right to
:10:09. > :10:13.engage in these actions, it is a dangerous and potent problem to
:10:13. > :10:19.counteract. So I think it is important that people understand
:10:19. > :10:29.that. Thank you very much indeed. The Sunday Times security
:10:29. > :10:30.
:10:30. > :10:37.correspondent. Joining me now from London,.
:10:37. > :10:46.Gregory Campbell, what you make of today's murder. First of all, my
:10:46. > :10:52.condolences go out to do the Black family. In the wider context, I
:10:52. > :10:59.think these people need to understand that whatever they do
:10:59. > :11:04.will lead to failure on their part because remember, in a few dayss --
:11:04. > :11:10.in a few days' time, the anniversary of the Enniskillen bomb,
:11:10. > :11:14.which didn't work. More recently, people of the disposition of those
:11:14. > :11:19.who carried out this atrocity carried out the Omagh bomb. That
:11:19. > :11:23.didn't work either. So how many coffins must go down the road
:11:23. > :11:32.before these people realise that none of their activities is going
:11:32. > :11:37.to achieve Jass -- to achieve anything. But the tragedy for
:11:37. > :11:44.everyone involved is that the catalogue of atrocities that you
:11:44. > :11:50.have just recited has not worked, and yet these individuals remain
:11:50. > :11:54.committed to their violent ways? Yes, that is the tragedy. The wider
:11:54. > :12:03.community which stand back and have to witness the awful impact and see
:12:03. > :12:09.the few rules on television, they do have a role to play. The Chief
:12:09. > :12:14.Constable put it well. Somebody, somewhere knows something. Whatever
:12:14. > :12:18.small piece of information it may be, about a car parks, or whether
:12:18. > :12:24.travelling on the motorway, or movement so would not have
:12:24. > :12:28.recognised a few weeks ago but thought a bit odd, somebody
:12:29. > :12:32.shadowing Mr Black or whatever, but somebody has a few scraps of
:12:32. > :12:40.information which could result in people appearing before the court.
:12:40. > :12:50.We need the perpetrators in jail. Mr McCartney, how worried are you
:12:50. > :12:52.
:12:52. > :12:56.I would like to offer my condolences to the family and
:12:56. > :13:01.welcome the leadership shown today. We have to send a clear message,
:13:01. > :13:06.that the only purpose served today was to plunge her family into grief.
:13:06. > :13:09.I think that in the past, we have seen isolated incidents like this,
:13:09. > :13:15.and they do leave behind them devastation and grief. But what we
:13:15. > :13:18.have to do, in terms of political life, in terms of those charged
:13:18. > :13:23.with leading society, is to ensure that all of the processes we are
:13:23. > :13:27.involved in are seen to be successful. To what extent do you
:13:27. > :13:32.think that then -- the continuing process at Mike Berry prison has
:13:32. > :13:36.made officers even more vulnerable to such an attack. -- at Maghaberry
:13:36. > :13:39.prison. It is up to those who carried out the attack this morning
:13:39. > :13:43.to provide a rationale and justification, which I believe
:13:43. > :13:47.there is none. I think it is noticeable that today no one has
:13:47. > :13:51.come forward. I am not going to draw comparisons, but what I am
:13:51. > :13:54.saying very clearly is that whatever the issues are in
:13:54. > :13:59.Maghaberry, they can be resolved, and they should not be resolved by
:13:59. > :14:05.what we have seen today on the motorway. Do you think security of
:14:05. > :14:08.prison officers needs to be reviewed? I do. I had some
:14:08. > :14:12.communication last week and also to Dave. Last week's information was
:14:12. > :14:17.that some other people in the wider justice sector were also receiving
:14:17. > :14:22.threats. My information is that some prison officers were taken
:14:22. > :14:27.aside some months ago and offered some form of protection against
:14:27. > :14:30.possible attacks, and that has not been forthcoming. So I think all of
:14:30. > :14:33.those things, and I will be in touch with the Justice Minister
:14:33. > :14:38.tomorrow about those issues, all of those things have to be reviewed
:14:38. > :14:42.not in weeks, months, but in the course of the next day or two. Over
:14:42. > :14:45.the weekend, the families of prison officers need the assurance that
:14:46. > :14:50.everything possible is being done to protect them as they go about a
:14:50. > :14:56.very dangerous job. But a very worthwhile job, and I'm sure Mr
:14:56. > :14:59.Black's family would echo that. you concerned that fears raised for
:14:59. > :15:04.the safety of prison officers in the recent past, and perhaps as
:15:04. > :15:09.long ago as 10 years ago, have not been taken sufficiently seriously
:15:09. > :15:13.by the powers that be? Well, I don't know, is the answer to
:15:13. > :15:17.questions raised years ago. But I know that of much more recent
:15:17. > :15:21.vintage, years -- weeks and months, there are concerns that issues that
:15:21. > :15:25.were flagged up have not been acted upon. We need to get answers to
:15:25. > :15:30.that. More important than the answers, we need to ensure they are
:15:30. > :15:34.acted upon now. No one can say whether the provision of additional
:15:34. > :15:37.measures or personal protection weapons would have hoped Mr Black,
:15:38. > :15:43.but they might of the next target that is going to be out there. --
:15:44. > :15:47.would have helped Mr Black. Whatever measures need to be put in
:15:48. > :15:52.place, they need to be acted on immediately. Do you agree? You are
:15:52. > :15:56.vice chair of the justice committee at Stormont, your party's spokesman
:15:56. > :15:59.on justice. Do you think the issue for security of prison officers -
:15:59. > :16:04.there is a security drive to get new prison officers at the moment -
:16:04. > :16:09.does that need to be reassessed, re-evaluated by the authorities?
:16:09. > :16:13.course. After today's shooting, people will be raising legitimate
:16:13. > :16:17.concerns. I think the minister when he addressed this this morning, and
:16:17. > :16:22.I know the Director-General had rested, this will be something
:16:22. > :16:25.under constant review. -- addressed it. But we have to ensure that
:16:25. > :16:30.whatever around the safety, we have to ensure that people are free to
:16:30. > :16:38.work, do not fear going to work. We have to ensure that whatever the
:16:38. > :16:41.wider... The wider issues around this issue do not deflect us from
:16:41. > :16:46.doing our job, to ensure that people can go around their daily
:16:46. > :16:49.lives free from attack. One final question. The individuals
:16:49. > :16:54.responsible do not have a political mandate. You have tried to persuade
:16:54. > :16:58.them away from violence in the past. They are clearly not live up --
:16:58. > :17:03.listening, as Gregory Campbell has said. What are you going to do, in
:17:03. > :17:07.Sinn Fein, to get them to stop their murderous ways? We have to
:17:07. > :17:12.ensure that our voice remains consistent and strong. In an
:17:12. > :17:15.increasing way, many of these groups find themselves isolated.
:17:16. > :17:20.Tonight, we have seen off on another programme many of them
:17:20. > :17:24.being sucked into the criminal underworld. There's a strong
:17:24. > :17:29.message coming from nationalist communities that they do not want
:17:29. > :17:32.them to act on their behalf. People have decided who they see as the
:17:32. > :17:36.leaders of republicanism and nationalism, and they find
:17:36. > :17:40.themselves isolated. That is not to say they are not dangerous and
:17:40. > :17:44.potent, but they are small and they have very minimal support within
:17:44. > :17:51.the community. Thank you both for joining us, Gregory Campbell and
:17:51. > :17:54.Raymond Rock Carte -- Raymond McCartney. The Director-General of
:17:54. > :17:57.the Prison Service of Northern Ireland, Sue McAllister, visited
:17:57. > :18:02.the Black family is evening and joins me in the studio. Good
:18:02. > :18:07.evening. Good evening. Thank you for joining us. You were with the
:18:07. > :18:12.family tonight. That must have been a very difficult visit. This is a
:18:12. > :18:18.very sad day for the Prison Service and a particularly sad day for
:18:18. > :18:22.David Black's family. I spent time this afternoon with his wife and
:18:22. > :18:28.his children, and his mum and dad, his sister and his extended family.
:18:28. > :18:33.They are all absolutely shattered by what has happened. So, yes, it
:18:33. > :18:38.is a very sad time. We are offering them our support, through the
:18:38. > :18:42.coming days and weeks. This is a very difficult time for the whole
:18:42. > :18:47.service, but today he is about the Black family and their grief and
:18:47. > :18:51.how we can best support them. -- today is all about the family.
:18:51. > :18:56.have you heard about the kind of man that David Black was? David
:18:56. > :19:01.Black had been a prison officer for nearly 30 years. This was his job.
:19:01. > :19:06.He loved his job. He was a family man, committed to his family. He
:19:06. > :19:13.lived near by, his parents lived nearby. His sister lived in the
:19:13. > :19:17.same town. He loved his church. He loved being part of his community.
:19:17. > :19:22.What I also learned when I walked around Maghaberry this afternoon
:19:23. > :19:29.was that his colleagues are devastated by what has happened.
:19:29. > :19:33.The staff in the prison are in a state of shock. They are very, very
:19:33. > :19:37.sad at what has happened. Indeed, many prisoners were very sad at
:19:37. > :19:42.what has happened. David Black was clearly held in enormous respect by
:19:42. > :19:47.his colleagues, and by everybody with whom he came into contact
:19:47. > :19:51.during his time as a prison officer. You have only been in post for a
:19:51. > :19:56.short time. You took over as Director-General at the start of
:19:56. > :20:01.July. How concerned are you at the issues which have been raised in
:20:01. > :20:07.recent weeks, but particularly today, about prison officers
:20:08. > :20:13.security? The security of my colleagues is an issue for me, and
:20:13. > :20:18.has been since I took up post. Clearly, the events of today will
:20:18. > :20:23.raise concerns among prison staff and their families about their
:20:23. > :20:28.personal security. And I will work with my colleagues and with
:20:28. > :20:34.colleagues in the police service to make sure that the measures we have
:20:34. > :20:38.in place to protect our staff are proportion at an appropriate.
:20:38. > :20:42.you know, can you shed any light on this issue which is being discussed
:20:42. > :20:46.today, as to whether or not some prison officers have been informed
:20:46. > :20:53.recently that personal protection weapons, which they have been
:20:53. > :20:56.issued with, were going to be removed? I have checked, and to my
:20:56. > :21:01.knowledge no prison officer has been told that his or her personal
:21:01. > :21:05.protection weapon is to be withdrawn. And you would want to be
:21:05. > :21:12.sure, would you, that no such move took place without very careful
:21:12. > :21:15.consideration, given what happened today? Absolutely. Have you spoken
:21:15. > :21:19.to the Secretary of State, the Justice Minister, the Chief
:21:19. > :21:23.Constable about that today? about that specific issue. That
:21:23. > :21:26.issue was raised with me after I had spoken to the Justice Minister
:21:26. > :21:30.and the Chief Constable earlier today. But I will certainly be
:21:30. > :21:36.making sure that any prison officer who wishes to have a personal
:21:36. > :21:41.protection weapon is able to apply to the police service for, as per
:21:41. > :21:45.our procedures. 41 dissident republicans are continuing with
:21:45. > :21:49.their dirty protest in Maghaberry. How much more difficult does this
:21:49. > :21:54.murder make finding a resolution to that dispute, do you think? That
:21:54. > :21:58.remains to be seen. We are not clear yet what the connection is,
:21:58. > :22:04.or indeed if there is any connection between the protest at
:22:04. > :22:08.Maghaberry and the tragic events of this morning. Clearly, the police
:22:08. > :22:13.investigation will identify any possible connections. However, the
:22:13. > :22:19.dirty protest, as you call it, at Maghaberry, is an operational
:22:19. > :22:22.matter, in terms of how we manage it within the prison. And we will
:22:22. > :22:26.continue to manage it properly and appropriately. You are in the
:22:26. > :22:30.middle of a recruitment drive for new prison staff. You want to
:22:30. > :22:36.change the culture of Northern Ireland prisons. How much of a
:22:36. > :22:39.setback is today's murder to those plans? Again, we need to speak to
:22:39. > :22:46.our new colleagues, our new recruits, and reassure them that we
:22:46. > :22:53.have measures in place to make sure that they feel safe. I have made
:22:53. > :22:56.sure that, today, senior prison staff have spent time with the new
:22:56. > :23:01.recruits at the college and those we arrived at Maghaberry this week,
:23:01. > :23:06.to reassure them that we are supportive of them, that we
:23:06. > :23:10.understand their concerns, that we are sensitive to their concerns,
:23:10. > :23:13.that nothing has changed in terms of our commitment to changing the
:23:13. > :23:18.Prison Service, to making sure we have a more representative group of
:23:18. > :23:20.staff and supporting our new colleagues. You have said you are
:23:20. > :23:25.disappointed more Catholics have not applied to join the Prison
:23:25. > :23:29.Service. This is likely to be a major disincentive today, isn't it?
:23:29. > :23:33.We need to make sure we continue to promote the Prison Service as a
:23:33. > :23:38.career for all sections of our communities, including the sections
:23:38. > :23:42.that are currently under- represented. Thank you for coming
:23:42. > :23:46.in to join us on the programme tonight. Sue McAllister, Director-
:23:46. > :23:53.General of the Prison Service of Northern Ireland. Joining me,
:23:53. > :23:57.Sheila Davidson and Paul McFadden. Let me suggest to you, first of all,
:23:57. > :24:00.that many people have felt, when they heard this morning's news, as
:24:00. > :24:06.if they had been plunged back to the worst days of the Troubles. Was
:24:06. > :24:13.that how you felt? It certainly was a reminder of the worst days of our
:24:13. > :24:16.past. And I also think that the way people have reacted is an
:24:16. > :24:21.indication of how we have perhaps taken the police -- the peace
:24:21. > :24:25.process for granted, and taken piece for granted. I think peace in
:24:25. > :24:30.our society is something we have to work hard at. I think today's
:24:30. > :24:35.murder was appalling. I was not surprised. I hate to say it, but I
:24:35. > :24:38.was not surprised, given what has been happening at Maghaberry prison.
:24:38. > :24:42.But I think as a community we face a stark choice as to whether we go
:24:43. > :24:46.back to what used to happen in the past, or go forward. It represents
:24:46. > :24:52.a challenge to our politicians to show that politics works here.
:24:52. > :24:56.Sheila, how did you feel when you heard the news? Gutted, like
:24:56. > :25:04.everybody. I spent eight years on the police authority a long time
:25:04. > :25:08.ago. And to think... You forget about it. You move on, and to be
:25:08. > :25:12.plunged back into it is just shocking. And I think that is what
:25:12. > :25:16.we should all live with and remember, that it is shocking. The
:25:16. > :25:20.phrase that came to mind tonight, just thinking about it, back to
:25:20. > :25:26.another phrase not so long ago - unjustified and unjustifiable. That
:25:27. > :25:30.is what this is. We have heard a lot of political condemnation. We
:25:30. > :25:35.heard from the Secretary of State, leading political figures and the
:25:35. > :25:40.director general of the Prison Service. What let out to you? What
:25:40. > :25:44.was particularly significant? most interesting thing, first of
:25:44. > :25:47.all, was the disclosure by the Director-General of the Prison
:25:47. > :25:52.Service that perhaps prison officers had not had personal
:25:52. > :25:58.protection weapons withdrawn. But that will reassure many people, if
:25:58. > :26:03.that proves to be the case. But of all of which -- all of the stuff I
:26:03. > :26:10.have heard today, I was impressed by the show of unity by the first
:26:10. > :26:14.and Deputy First Minister has today. We saw galvanising and unification
:26:14. > :26:18.when another constable was killed. I would like to see that other than
:26:18. > :26:21.at times of tragedy. I would like politicians setting a better
:26:21. > :26:25.example to a community. We should finish by looking at the wider
:26:25. > :26:30.political landscape. Sheila, I know that both of you have been looking
:26:30. > :26:39.at what has been happening in the United States. Lots of politics.
:26:39. > :26:42.Politics also somewhat put on the back-burner by hurricane, cyclone,
:26:42. > :26:47.Superstorm Sandy, whatever we want to call it. The whole political
:26:47. > :26:52.process was almost put on ice. kind of was and it wasn't. At the
:26:52. > :26:56.end of the day, the election and the politics, one of the things I
:26:56. > :27:02.found most interesting, was that President Obama used the entire
:27:02. > :27:07.event. He articulated sympathy with a young mother who had no nappies,
:27:07. > :27:11.no formula for her child. He was actually starting to get to exactly
:27:11. > :27:14.the kind of policies that he has been trying to promote for the last
:27:14. > :27:17.four years and has not done terribly effectively. And yet he
:27:17. > :27:22.has been handed an opportunity to actually be able to demonstrate
:27:23. > :27:26.that, but in very difficult circumstances. Sheila picked out
:27:26. > :27:36.her tweet of the week from Governor Christie from New Jersey, which was
:27:36. > :27:40.
:27:40. > :27:47.Because actually, there is a Republican who gave fulsome support
:27:47. > :27:50.to a Democrat incumbent. Looking at the last few days, they could
:27:50. > :27:54.almost have wrecked President Obama's presidential bid for a
:27:54. > :27:56.second term. In fact, he may, as a result of the way he handled this
:27:56. > :28:01.and the acknowledgement from Governor Christie, he may have
:28:01. > :28:05.snatched victory from the jaws of possible defeat. Do you have a
:28:06. > :28:11.sense of how it might go on Tuesday? I have relatives in
:28:11. > :28:16.America and a lot of them are very republican, in the sense of the Met
:28:17. > :28:26.Ronnie part. But actually, I think there is a real grounds will back