:00:27. > :00:31.On The View tonight, a double first. It's the first time on the
:00:31. > :00:38.programme for the First Minister, Peter Robinson. Is all well around
:00:38. > :00:43.the executive table? Sinn Fein take a position, knowing we will act
:00:43. > :00:48.responsibly. Will today's adoption ruling mean gay couples can now be
:00:48. > :00:50.considered as adoptive parents. wanted to form a family. Sadly the
:00:50. > :00:56.Northern Ireland Assembly don't seem to think it is a right we
:00:56. > :01:06.should be able to have. With their thoughts on all of that, two new
:01:06. > :01:08.
:01:08. > :01:12.recruits to our commentary team who will talk NEETs, plebs and culture.
:01:12. > :01:17.No fewer than four local ministers met Treasury officials in London
:01:17. > :01:20.this afternoon to give a final push to their plan to cut corporation
:01:20. > :01:24.tax here. The First Minister, Peter Robinson, led the delegation. In
:01:24. > :01:29.just a moment we will hear his thoughts on how the executive's
:01:29. > :01:39.case was received. If talking could do it, corporation tax would have
:01:39. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:50.If the Government is serious about helping us to re-balance the
:01:50. > :01:55.economy in Northern Ireland, this has to be regarded as an issue of
:01:55. > :02:00.great importance. It would be a game-changer. It would be an
:02:00. > :02:05.elevating element if we had the power to set a lower level of
:02:05. > :02:08.corporation tax. While some progress has been made in practise
:02:08. > :02:12.and the implementation timetable, I remain concerned about the cost.
:02:12. > :02:22.would like to see it happen. We don't yet know whether it's going
:02:22. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:33.Well, when the First Minister came into The View studio a short time
:02:33. > :02:38.ago, I asked him first for his thoughts on how today's discussions
:02:38. > :02:41.had gone. We got down to three issues where there was not overall
:02:41. > :02:46.agreement and the Prime Minister will have to make a choice between
:02:46. > :02:49.the position we were advocating and the position the Treasury was
:02:50. > :02:54.advocating. What are the issues which need to be resolved? There
:02:54. > :03:00.are issues which relate to mechanisms for adjusting it in
:03:00. > :03:05.future years. There are issues relating to secondary impact.
:03:05. > :03:09.Issues that would be whether income tax, VAT, national insurance
:03:09. > :03:14.contributions, should be taken into account. That could be quite a lot
:03:14. > :03:20.of money, literally up to �100 million, over a period of time. You
:03:20. > :03:23.know, there are a number of things which need to be resolved in
:03:23. > :03:29.relation to profit-shifting, where we have a view, the Treasury has a
:03:29. > :03:32.view, needless to say our view would make it better for Northern
:03:32. > :03:37.Ireland. How close are you concerned to the figures? There
:03:37. > :03:41.have been all kinds of wild estimates as to what the cost might
:03:42. > :03:46.be to Northern Ireland plc. Raising to �700 million a year - what is
:03:47. > :03:51.your bottom line on that, in simple terms? Obviously it would be unwise
:03:51. > :03:56.to say what my bottom line was, in terms of where we would be trying
:03:56. > :04:06.to encourage the Prime Minister to go. What I can say is, it depends
:04:06. > :04:09.on the mechanism you use. You might start on Treasury figures, in the
:04:09. > :04:14.�300 million-�400 million mark. If they use the mechanism the Treasury
:04:14. > :04:18.wants to use it could go up to �700 million within the next ten to 15
:04:18. > :04:21.years. The Secretary of State, in her first television interview,
:04:21. > :04:28.sitting in that seat, said she would be a persuader for this
:04:28. > :04:32.development. Is that how she played it today? I think her and her
:04:32. > :04:34.predecessor have been supportive. They have been speaking to the
:04:34. > :04:41.business community in Northern Ireland. They know how much it
:04:41. > :04:46.needs. They can see the impact that we are undergoing the recession. I
:04:46. > :04:50.went to the meeting today, through the Belfast Telegraph, on the table,
:04:50. > :04:55.to give them a sense of the difficulties, where it was
:04:55. > :04:58.indicating the very sectors that were down by a considerable
:04:58. > :05:03.percentage. If it was right when the Prime Minister came to Northern
:05:03. > :05:07.Ireland when we had a lower level of unemployment, it must be more
:05:07. > :05:11.right that we have the issue address, that we have our economy
:05:11. > :05:14.rebalanced. If you had to call it one way or another, do you think
:05:14. > :05:18.this will happen or not? I'm not going to call it. We've done our
:05:18. > :05:24.work. It is now with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister
:05:24. > :05:29.indicated very stoutly during the election campaign that he was
:05:30. > :05:33.balancing the economy. He's had his ministers expand a considerable
:05:33. > :05:36.amount of time and energy. Officials have been working on it
:05:36. > :05:41.for years. I hope that is the road they will take. There were four
:05:41. > :05:44.ministers representing the Executive, three from the DUP, one
:05:44. > :05:50.from Sinn Fein, the Deputy First Minister. Were you all singing off
:05:50. > :05:54.the same song sheet today? Completely. We have at all of those
:05:54. > :05:57.meetings. We recognise it is advantage taigous. It has to be
:05:57. > :06:00.done in the context of something which is affordable. All of us were
:06:00. > :06:04.arguing the same case during the course of today. It is interesting
:06:04. > :06:07.to hear you say that. It seems there are other areas of policy
:06:07. > :06:13.where you are not necessarily singing off the same song sheet.
:06:13. > :06:18.You have been notably, may I suggest, outspoken about your Sinn
:06:18. > :06:22.Fein partners recently. How difficult are relations on the
:06:22. > :06:27.wider political landscape between you and Martin McGuinness? We're
:06:27. > :06:34.both very politically mature. We know how to deal with these issues.
:06:34. > :06:39.We come from very different political ideologies. I had to
:06:39. > :06:44.manage them when Sinn Fein, in my view outrageously, came to the
:06:44. > :06:49.Assembly to get one of my ministers sacked. I had to deal with Sinn
:06:49. > :06:53.Fein, having allowed the Welfare Reform Bill to go from the
:06:53. > :06:57.executive into the Assembly and then decided they were going to
:06:57. > :07:03.oppose it in the Assembly. I have to manage those issues. I don't
:07:03. > :07:11.think it was unreasonable I should comment. You said in a speech to
:07:11. > :07:16.DUP members that the fear often paralyses reform. I had mentioned
:07:17. > :07:22.welfare reform in those reforms. I recognise that all of us in the
:07:22. > :07:26.political spear have to look around us in terms of where everybody else
:07:26. > :07:31.is placing themselves. You can get to the stage where you are caught
:07:31. > :07:35.in the head lights if you are increasingly looking over your
:07:35. > :07:45.shoulder and afraid to act because of the position somebody else might
:07:45. > :07:45.
:07:45. > :07:53.adopt. Is -- are they WAGing -- wagging the dog? It would be easy
:07:53. > :07:57.for my party to say we don't like welfare reform. We're opting out.
:07:57. > :08:00.We're going to vote against it - people would not blame us. That is
:08:00. > :08:04.not the responsible thing to do because it would have a damaging
:08:04. > :08:08.impact. Sinn Fein take a position, knowing we will act responsibly,
:08:08. > :08:12.therefore they can act irresponsibly on the issue. There
:08:12. > :08:16.is you in acting that you would find it easier to deal directly
:08:16. > :08:21.with Sinn Fein on these issues - Sinn Fein, the republican party,
:08:21. > :08:28.and the SDLP is sticking a stick in the spoke of the wheel, if you
:08:28. > :08:32.like? Well, the immyation there is that the SDLPf they were the larger
:08:32. > :08:35.party would be behaving in that way. They wouldn't. They would know that
:08:35. > :08:39.if the position they adopted because they are a small party,
:08:39. > :08:43.that it would be totally irresponsible. It would have ended
:08:43. > :08:47.up with us costing �200 million. It would have meant that jobs could
:08:47. > :08:51.have been lost. We would have had people who are looking for money
:08:51. > :08:56.from the social fund who would not be able to get it. That would have
:08:56. > :09:01.been irresponsible thaifplt would not do that if they were the -- if
:09:01. > :09:04.they would not do that if they were the larger party. Both in the
:09:04. > :09:08.attempt to have Nelson dismissed and the fact they did not stand
:09:08. > :09:13.with us to do the responsible thing and allow the Bill to go into
:09:13. > :09:16.committee. What was it all about? We are agreed on what changes are
:09:16. > :09:20.needed to the bill. Our argument is you have a better chance of getting
:09:20. > :09:24.it working the Government and getting it in committee. Have you
:09:24. > :09:27.told Martin McGuinness that? told him at the Executive and
:09:27. > :09:30.elsewhere. Time will prove whether I am right or whether they were
:09:30. > :09:34.right. That will be judged on the basis of whether we can get the
:09:34. > :09:38.changes by working the Government. You have to work alongside Martin
:09:38. > :09:44.McGuinness TDUP has to work alongside Sinn Fein. When you talk
:09:44. > :09:48.to him, do you look at him as an ally or an enemy? When we are
:09:48. > :09:52.bringing forward policy, obviously we have to put forward our
:09:52. > :09:56.positions and see what common ground there is. And you know, I
:09:56. > :09:59.don't believe that if you set the Conservative and Labour party down
:10:00. > :10:03.and say you have to work together - I don't believe they would have
:10:03. > :10:08.done as well as we have. What do you make of the arrival of the
:10:08. > :10:11.Marie Stopes clinic today and the attendant furore which has come
:10:11. > :10:14.with it? I don't see the need for the clinic. They are not offering
:10:14. > :10:18.something which is not available from our services within the NHS.
:10:18. > :10:21.Do you accept that the clinic has the right to be here? If it
:10:21. > :10:25.operates within the law they have the right to open? They have the
:10:25. > :10:29.legal right to be here, providing they do work and operate within the
:10:29. > :10:33.law. I think we have seen one of the failings is there is not really
:10:33. > :10:37.a process for properly monitoring that. That is something we have to
:10:37. > :10:40.look at. The Attorney General has offered to the Justice Committee to
:10:40. > :10:44.assist in any investigation it might wish to commence into the
:10:44. > :10:47.arrival of the clinic. Did that surprise you? Did you know about
:10:47. > :10:52.that in advance? I didn't know about it in advance. John has
:10:52. > :10:56.indicated he would not do it on an official capacity. We cannot
:10:56. > :11:00.curtail people who are doing something outside their official
:11:00. > :11:05.duties. He would, the letter he wrote to the chee today was on his
:11:05. > :11:12.headed note paper. The letter he wroteed on his headed note paper
:11:12. > :11:16.said it would not be on an official capacity. So long as there is no
:11:16. > :11:21.conflict that would not be a problem. If there is a conflict
:11:21. > :11:25.then there would be a problem. interesting thing is that in that
:11:25. > :11:30.letter he invited the committee to commence an investigation. Yes. I
:11:30. > :11:34.suppose any of us are entitled to argue. Is that a personal view, or
:11:34. > :11:37.is that his view as Attorney- General? It may not be different to
:11:37. > :11:41.the extent that the Attorney- General in Northern Ireland is not
:11:41. > :11:44.a member of the Government. It is not someone who is controlled by
:11:44. > :11:49.the Government. The Attorney- General is an independent
:11:49. > :11:56.individual, who has stat Tory responsibilities. He is the primary
:11:56. > :12:00.law officer in Northern Ireland? His role is to give us advice as an
:12:00. > :12:05.Executive. He has an important role. I suspect, he like the rest of us,
:12:05. > :12:09.would look back and say, look there is a gap here, we have a clinic who,
:12:09. > :12:12.under present circumstances would not be monitored and should be.
:12:12. > :12:15.I cannot let you go without asking you about your political future.
:12:15. > :12:20.You have indicated you will not stand for Westminster again.
:12:20. > :12:27.There's going to be another Assembly election in 2015 or 2016,
:12:27. > :12:34.dependant on what is decided. You are 63 now. Do you intend to lead
:12:35. > :12:44.the DUP into that next election? That is my intention. You would be
:12:45. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :12:56.66, 67 for a five-year term. Still to come: the knifes are out
:12:56. > :13:02.at Westminster as MPs debate the price of razor blades. There's more
:13:02. > :13:07.important things than that. It's a trivial matter really.
:13:07. > :13:12.It has come to be known as the gay adoption ban, but in fact the ban
:13:12. > :13:16.on couples adopting children here also applies to heterosexual
:13:16. > :13:18.couples that aren't married, an exclusion exclisive to Northern
:13:18. > :13:22.Ireland. The Human Rights Commission launched a legal
:13:22. > :13:26.challenge to overturn the ban and this morning a judge ruled in its
:13:26. > :13:32.favour. Good evening to you, thank you for
:13:32. > :13:38.joining us tonight. Can I ask you first of all, how confident were
:13:38. > :13:41.you that you would win this case? Well, we are very glad we won the
:13:41. > :13:46.case of course, but we were quietly confident going into the courtroom
:13:46. > :13:49.this morning. We had strong arguments based on the best
:13:49. > :13:54.interests of the child. 2,500 children in Northern Ireland in
:13:54. > :14:00.care, many of whom cannot get adoption because there's too tiny a
:14:00. > :14:06.pool of adoptive parents. That is a compelling case and it was
:14:06. > :14:10.bolstered by strong arguments of non-discrimination, that had been
:14:10. > :14:15.looked at by the House of Lords, the Supreme Court as it then was,
:14:15. > :14:21.back in 2008. It made strong arguments, which we reflected into
:14:21. > :14:24.the court in Belfast, so we were confident. It is Serge a very
:14:24. > :14:29.complicated and controversial issue. Chris Page has been examining
:14:29. > :14:32.what's at stake. -- it is certainly a very
:14:32. > :14:35.complicated and controversial issue. One of the most serious and
:14:35. > :14:39.sensitive decisions anyone will ever take, whether to adopt a child.
:14:39. > :14:45.The adoption laws here are different to the rest of the UK in
:14:45. > :14:49.that the legislation says you can only adopt as a couple if you are
:14:50. > :14:54.married. John O'Doherty is director of the Rainbow Project, which works
:14:54. > :14:58.on behalf of the gay community. He wanted to adopt a child with his
:14:58. > :15:05.partner, but couldn't because of the legal situation. I wanted to
:15:05. > :15:09.create a safe home, a long-lasting home for a child. I wanted to form
:15:09. > :15:14.a family and a lifetime bond that would always be there. You don't
:15:14. > :15:17.necessarily get that with foster caring. We wanted to form a family
:15:17. > :15:22.and sadly the Northern Ireland Assembly don't seem to feel that's
:15:22. > :15:26.a right we should be able to have. If his relationship with his
:15:26. > :15:30.partner wasn't legally recognised either of them could apply to adopt
:15:30. > :15:35.as individuals, regardless of their sexuality, but people in civil
:15:35. > :15:38.partnerships can't adopt at all. This expert on family law says it
:15:38. > :15:48.is one of the major differences between civil partnerships and
:15:48. > :15:53.marriages. To most people the Civil Partnership Act will give sim sex
:15:53. > :15:59.couples the same rights as married couples, pensions and property, but
:15:59. > :16:02.under this partnership, the adoption laws. That's one of the
:16:02. > :16:05.issues which led the Human Rights Commission to challenge the law in
:16:05. > :16:12.the High Court and today Mr Justice Treacy ruled in the commission's
:16:12. > :16:16.favour. He said same sex couples in a civil partnership suffer unjust
:16:16. > :16:20.final discrimination when compared to individual members of an
:16:20. > :16:24.opposite sex couple, who can apply to adopt. The present law has been
:16:24. > :16:29.in place since 1987. This have been some unsuccessful plans to change
:16:29. > :16:33.it in recent years. In 2006 under direct rule the Department of
:16:33. > :16:37.Health completed a review of adoption legislation. It found that
:16:37. > :16:42.the law was outdated and made a number of recommendations,
:16:42. > :16:46.including that same sex and unmarried couples should be able to
:16:46. > :16:51.adopt. But it was clear there would be strong opposition to that. 2010
:16:51. > :16:55.proposals were put out to consultation, 95% of the responses
:16:56. > :16:59.were opposed to extending adoption to gay and unmarried couples. In
:16:59. > :17:04.2010 the executive agreed new legislation, which did not include
:17:04. > :17:09.opening up adoption to gay couples. But the Bill never made it to the
:17:09. > :17:12.floor of the Assembly. The Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has two
:17:12. > :17:19.adopted children. He wants the law to be reformed but believes there
:17:19. > :17:23.are more pressing issues than the debate around same sex couples.
:17:23. > :17:29.and large the vast amount of queries about adoption isn't about
:17:29. > :17:33.being able to adopt for same sex couples or heterosexual or married
:17:33. > :17:36.couples, but it is about getting the children placed as soon as
:17:36. > :17:41.possible. It is about ensuring that those children get the best start
:17:41. > :17:45.in life that's reasonably possible and not about who the adoptive
:17:45. > :17:49.parents are. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots, says she not convinced
:17:49. > :17:53.that today's judgment is in the best interests of some of the most
:17:53. > :17:57.vulnerable children. He is urgently appealing the ruling, with, he says,
:17:57. > :18:04.a heavy heart, because he fears it may delay further any plans for new
:18:05. > :18:08.adoption legislation. He says that is overdue already. What for you
:18:08. > :18:12.are some of the main findings of today's judgment? There are a
:18:12. > :18:15.number of very important findings here today. The first is that it is
:18:16. > :18:21.in the best interests of children to open up this pool of potential
:18:21. > :18:24.adoptive parents. Secondly, and just as important, the judge
:18:24. > :18:29.reaffirms what we passionately believe that nobody has a right to
:18:29. > :18:33.adopt. A child has a right to have the best possible opportunity and
:18:33. > :18:36.chance for the future. It always has to be built around the child
:18:36. > :18:40.That context the judge found that the discriminatory practises in
:18:40. > :18:43.Northern Ireland were in violation of the European Convention on Human
:18:43. > :18:47.Rights and they would have to change. He said why is it that
:18:47. > :18:52.every married couple, every married couple, is potentially considered
:18:52. > :18:55.suitable for adoption and not a single unmarried couple can ever be
:18:55. > :19:02.so considered? He said that was irrational and illogical. Had this
:19:02. > :19:05.is a very important finding. Those are very strong words, very clear
:19:05. > :19:08.the judgment from Mr Justice Treacy today, but obviously it's a
:19:08. > :19:12.complicated issue as far as legislation is concerned. We know
:19:12. > :19:18.that the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, is planning an urgent appeal
:19:18. > :19:23.of today's judgment. Where does that leave the legislative process?
:19:23. > :19:27.Well, it is a very early indication of an appeal. We were taken aback
:19:27. > :19:30.today. Normally we would have respected a little more time and
:19:30. > :19:35.reflection before any such announcement. The Minister is
:19:35. > :19:38.perfectly entitled to appeal, but the case isn't over yet, as the
:19:38. > :19:43.judge has to indicate what remedies he is going to order. So we have an
:19:43. > :19:48.announcement of an appeal before we know what the judge will be
:19:48. > :19:52.ordering, and it's a complex case. The judgment require as lot of
:19:52. > :19:57.reflection. I hope Mr Poots will consider this business of an appeal,
:19:57. > :20:02.so that we don't block access for adoption for all of these kids in
:20:02. > :20:06.care. Does that mean that the new legislation on abortion, which is
:20:06. > :20:09.in embryonic form at the moment, on adoption, does that mean white have
:20:10. > :20:12.to take onboard today's ruling, that legislators would have to
:20:12. > :20:16.elect to that effect? The difficulty is that we know, or we
:20:16. > :20:20.think, that a majority of people at Stormont wouldn't necessarily agree
:20:20. > :20:23.with today's judgment. Today's finding is on the basis that the
:20:23. > :20:26.rules in Northern Ireland are inconsistent with the international
:20:26. > :20:31.human rights obligations of the United Kingdom. And that they have
:20:31. > :20:34.to comply. So yes, the requirements to comply with human rights law is
:20:34. > :20:38.as valid in Belfast as it is in London. We'll work with the
:20:38. > :20:42.Assembly and the executive to try to make sure this is kept at the
:20:42. > :20:46.forefront of everybody's intention, just as we do on all the other
:20:46. > :20:56.bills. But it's a clear conflict isn't it between the views,
:20:56. > :20:57.
:20:57. > :21:04.potentialry, -- potentially of legislators and the politicians?
:21:04. > :21:09.don't know, I'm optimistic we'll be able to assist, support and help
:21:09. > :21:14.the legislature. Can I ask you finally for your views on the
:21:14. > :21:17.ongoing debate, which has been re- opened, with the opening of the
:21:17. > :21:22.Marie Stopes clinic Belfast? What's your organisation's position on
:21:22. > :21:26.that debate? We only will ever take a position, act on a matter, where
:21:26. > :21:30.we see an issue of a violation of the United Kingdom's international
:21:30. > :21:35.human rights obligations. Right now in the Marie Stopes case we see no
:21:35. > :21:39.issue of that kind, and we are not involved. We don't have a position.
:21:39. > :21:43.So you haven't engaged in that debate and don't have a position on
:21:43. > :21:49.that debate? That's correct. Thank you.
:21:49. > :21:56.We hear a lot about rising food and fuel prices, but another spiralling
:21:56. > :22:00.cost is exercising some of our politician. In fact it is annoying
:22:00. > :22:07.three MPs so much that they've raised an early day motion on the
:22:07. > :22:12.matter. It is the cost of razor blades.
:22:12. > :22:17.I make them last four months. I don't probably look as clean-shaven
:22:17. > :22:21.as I should do. They are pretty dear considering how ubiquitous
:22:21. > :22:28.they are. Everyone needs them. you do feel whenever you have to
:22:28. > :22:33.hand over the money? I rarely do, as you can tell. They are boosting
:22:33. > :22:38.the price too. I don't think that from the factories they are coming
:22:38. > :22:43.at the same price. It is just too much. A couple of days now without
:22:43. > :22:47.shaving. Plus I shave the head as well, so the blades don't last too
:22:47. > :22:52.long. Do you think this is the sort of thing that MPs should be raising
:22:52. > :22:57.in the House of Commons? Not really. There are more important things
:22:57. > :23:01.than that to raise. I think it's a trivial matter really. It is
:23:01. > :23:11.ridiculous. If I was in the market there during the week just to see
:23:11. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:16.what price they were, the ones that I want. I couldn't believe it.
:23:16. > :23:23.profefrs are taking a well earned rest for the next couple of weeks,
:23:23. > :23:29.but joining our team of regulators are PR Sheila Davidson and former
:23:29. > :23:35.journalist turned commentator Paul McFadden. Welcome to The View. Paul,
:23:35. > :23:40.fist of all, we heard from Peter Robinson. Did anything he had to
:23:40. > :23:46.say catch your attention? A number of things. I enjoyed his poker face
:23:46. > :23:50.when he refused to reveal his bottom line on the Corporation tax.
:23:50. > :23:54.You asked him about his determination to continue leading
:23:54. > :23:59.the DUP. He didn't quibble with this, that he would be 6 or 67
:23:59. > :24:03.years of age at the next election, which thoughts he is 63 now and he
:24:03. > :24:07.expects this executive to go the whole way. Maybe that's one thing
:24:07. > :24:10.to look out for. In terms of his spat with Sinn Fein, the kind of
:24:10. > :24:15.language we heard being used by the First Minister was not the kind of
:24:15. > :24:19.language we expect to hear from partners, good partners in any
:24:19. > :24:26.healthy form of government, but that is where we are at. I just
:24:26. > :24:30.wonder was it something to do with the fact he was speaking in west
:24:30. > :24:36.Tyrone and in an adjacent constituency to Mid Ulster, where
:24:36. > :24:39.we'll have a by-election in the not too distant future. Maybe he is
:24:39. > :24:46.thinking along those lines rather than flagging up a serious spat
:24:46. > :24:51.with Sinn Fein. I will say this briefly, in terms of Sinn Fein
:24:51. > :24:56.being panicked by the SDLP, I think that would have surprised the SDLP,
:24:56. > :25:01.it what have surprised Sinn Fein and white have astonished Alex
:25:01. > :25:08.Attwood. Sheel larks what about the First Minister's comments on
:25:08. > :25:11.Corporation tax. Do you think it is going to happen? As a betting woman
:25:11. > :25:14.I think it is absolutely going to happen. David Cameron has already
:25:14. > :25:18.indicated privately to business people in Northern Ireland that we
:25:18. > :25:23.can expect a good announcement at some point in the future. Somebody
:25:23. > :25:27.said today that that is possibly the case and I think the First
:25:27. > :25:32.Minister and the rest of the team know that this is going to happen.
:25:32. > :25:36.They are no negotiations on the amount of money, but the biggest
:25:36. > :25:40.debate is this whole Scottish aspect. If Scotland were to go the
:25:40. > :25:44.same route as we are asking for, it would cost them �2 billion a year,
:25:44. > :25:49.so they are never going to want to get the kind of deal on Corporation
:25:49. > :25:54.tax that we need. I think that's why it is going to go ahead here.
:25:54. > :25:59.OK. Paul, let's talk about your moment of the week, what leapt out
:26:00. > :26:03.for you? It was the announcement and it ties in with what Sheila was
:26:03. > :26:06.talking about, the latest unemployment figures. You mentioned
:26:06. > :26:08.Mr Cameron's recognition of the need to rebalance the economy. Our
:26:08. > :26:13.unemployment figures yesterday showed that the number of people
:26:13. > :26:17.out of work here is going up. In the UK elsewhere it is going down.
:26:17. > :26:21.The Government I think needs to try something different to try and
:26:21. > :26:25.address that disparity. Corporation tax might give Mr Cameron the
:26:26. > :26:30.excuse to try something different here, but the fact that we've got
:26:30. > :26:34.one in five of our 18 to 24-year- olds out of work, it is appalling.
:26:34. > :26:37.It's a big challenge to our politicians. Sheila, that ties in
:26:37. > :26:42.with your moment of the week. Absolutely. It is not something
:26:42. > :26:46.that everybody is going to know about, but they should. We had four
:26:46. > :26:52.young people from Northern Ireland go to the House of Lords yesterday
:26:52. > :26:55.and spoke to MPs and peers. They were articulating in the most
:26:55. > :26:59.emotional and wonderful way the young people at the margins of our
:26:59. > :27:05.society here what could be done did help them and to help them develop
:27:05. > :27:09.and get jobs. That's reality of the figures. That's the human story of
:27:09. > :27:13.it. Do you think politician heard something in that they hadn't heard
:27:13. > :27:19.before? I think they did. Our young people need to understand they can
:27:19. > :27:26.engage with politicians and they can tell their stories. The
:27:26. > :27:34.politicians don't always hear it and they welcome it. The tweet the
:27:34. > :27:39.week. David Cameroon. It is not a typo. I'm going to call a
:27:39. > :27:49.referendum among Tory MPs as to whether Andrew Mitchell is going to
:27:49. > :27:50.
:27:50. > :27:54.stay or go. I'm going to call it a "plebiscite". This guy a is a
:27:54. > :28:04.Teflon toff. That's a parody Twitter account, not the real one.
:28:04. > :28:15.
:28:15. > :28:20.Shael larks your tweet. I hesitate, That's the real Eamonn Mallie, not
:28:20. > :28:26.the parody. It is very funny. Paul? Next week, it is the launch of the
:28:26. > :28:31.programme for UK city of culture 2013 and Derry, it is something
:28:31. > :28:35.that has had its problems recently but it is of huge importance to the
:28:35. > :28:40.north-west, to Derry and the whole of the north. We saw the
:28:40. > :28:49.celebrations when it was announced. There's a lot of work to be done.
:28:50. > :28:54.But it's getting there. Sheila? Mine is the Include Youth More Than
:28:54. > :28:59.A Job. It is about young people and business getting engaged. That's
:28:59. > :29:04.going to be a very important debate. Enjoy that. We'll see you again