16/05/2013 This Week

shot in space goes viral, This Week goes into political orbit.

mission control, Prime Minister David Cameron is trying to avoid

being hit by a destructive european asteroid. Commentator and star gazer

Toby Young studies the galaxy. a week of solar eruptions, the stars

are aligning for David Cameron, who has positioned himself as the only

mainstream party leader bold enough to give the public and in out EU

referendum. A black hole in the universe absorbs all of the light

and stars around it, but are there signs that the whole in Britain's

economy is getting smaller? Adam Boulton is spinning the planets.

least this week the governor of the Bank of England cracked a smile.

?NEWLINE And one of the world's brightest stars, Angelina Jolie,

announces she's had a double mastectomy. Will this empower women

right across the universe? Shooting star, model and business women Katie

Price explores our deep space. everybody could be as honest as

Angelina Jolie, this world would be a much better place.

Commencing countdown, engines on. Get ready for a Big Bang.

Evenin' all. Welcome to This Week, a sacred retreat for disgraced

hypocrites, to where those who have sinned are cruelly banished to seek

spiritual renewal, prayer, and penance. Oh, and free wine. Mustn't

ever forget the free wine. Because let's face it, with MPs starting to

get pre-election nerves, Westminster has been on one almighty euro-bender

this week, with sozzled Tories, some with vulnerable majorities,

staggering around the Palace of Westminster drunk and disorderly on

a heady cocktail of Euro-sceptic home brew and draft parliamentary

amendments. Call-me-Dave claimed to be "profoundly chillaxed" at the

prospect of half his backbenchers throwing up all over his Queen's

Speech. But he said so from the safety of the USA, where he

increasingly looked like an African leader who'd gone overseas, only to

find the natives back home in open rebellion and threatening to topple

the regime, with even copious quantities of red meat, in the shape

of a draft referendum bill, failing out his support. But back home there

was nothing but treachery afoot, with Nadine Dorries, only just back

in the Tory embrace, yet already openly considering an electoral

proposal from that nice Mr Farage. Yes, Love on the Right. Truly,

Nadly, Deeply! Speaking of shotgun weddings, where the bride and groom

look distinctly uncomfortable, I'm joined on the sofa tonight by two

guilty looking individuals, who really shouldn't be out this late.

Think of them as the Vicky Pryce and Chris Huhne of late night political

chat, without the electronic tags. I speak, of course, of

#tesstubeblairbabe Tessa Jowell, and #sadmanonatrain Michael "Choo Choo"

Portillo. Your moment of the week? It is about trains. What a surprise!

It was decided today that the business case has not been made for

high-speed to. My reflection on this is that will be no railway line or

motorway in history would ever have been justified by the tools we have

to analyse the economic and fits, and yet we know the world would not

exist in the way that it does without the roads and well pleased

that we have. It is interesting that all other developed and developing

economies are heading towards high-speed, from China the response,

Italy, Germany. So it is a thumbs up for high-speed two from you? Yes.

moment of the week came today when it was announced that David Beckham

was retiring from football. Aged 38. Absolutely. It is my moment of the

week for two reasons. First of all, Saturday is the anniversary of the

arrival of the Olympic flame in Cornwall a year ago. And really

magnificent start to the Olympics, as it went 8000 miles around the

country. David Beckham brought it act of this country from Olympia.

And today it was also announced, the final letting of the final venue in

the Olympic Park. The broadcast centre. So now every venue has an

assured long-term future. So the legacy of the park is assured, and

that is a pretty great achievement for everybody who was involved. The

macro didn't David Beckham sent you flowers? He did. When I became a

dame. I am not sure he told Harsh. They were from her, too, and the

children. I was very touched. Now, whilst Call-me-Dave sailed

around the US this week, there've been choppy waters back home.

Cabinet colleagues Michael Gove and Phil Hammond followed our Choo

Choo's lead, and said they'd jump the EU ship if a vote were held

today. Over 100 of his MPs threw the Queen's Speech overboard, because it

lacked any mention of a referendum. And backbench pressure has forced

the PM to publish a draft referendum bill, to try and bail the government

out. So has the Cameron battleship been torpedoed by Europe? We asked

our own little sailor, Toby Young, about Conservative divisions over

Europe and icebergs ahead for the Prime Minister. Few newspapers can

resist a Tory splits headline, but don't believe what you read. The

Cameron battleship may have strayed off course over the past week. He

should have published his referendum bill on the same day as the Queen's

Speech, but he is the only mainstream party leader offering an

in-out referendum on the EU and he is now backing legislation to prove

he means business. Yesterday's vote was not rebellion. It was about the

Tory crew expressing regret that plans for the U referendum were not

in the Queens speech. That was not a criticism of their captain's

leadership. The MPs who voted for it know that his hands are tied his lip

Dem ship mates. They were expressing their frustration about the chains

of coalition politics, particularly left tenant Nick Clegg, who will not

countenance an EU referendum, even though it was in his leading

manifesto. One of the benefits of the referendum bill is that it will

force Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband to declare which side of the deck they

are standing on, instead of cowering in their bunks like Lily livered

landlubbers. The only danger to Cameron is that Miller band might

stop dithering, take the plunge and actually commit to a referendum, but

I do not think he needs to worry. Ed Miliband is not about to break the

habit of a lifetime. Despite retired shipmates like Nigel Lawson and Mr

Portillo trying to stick their oars in and rock the Prime Minister's

boat, he has set his course, his crew know where they are going and

at last they are all pulling in the same direction. The public now know

that there is only one party leader who can deliver the in out

referendum that 82% of them won. And that is captain Cameron.

Toby Young joining us from the embankment. Welcome back to the

programme. Who would have thought it, Toby, we are all so stupid. We

did not realise what a brilliant week the Prime Minister had. He has

not had a brilliant week. It would have been much more sensible to

publish the referendum bill on the same day as the Queens speech. That

might have seen off any potential rebellion. But as things have fallen

out, she is the only mainstream party leader offering an in-out

referendum in the next Parliament. There are two main arguments in

favour of this position. The first is that anyone who is in any doubt

about Cameron's commitment to hold an EU referendum in the next

Parliament, those doubts will have been allayed now. He may bring a few

Conservative refugees who were flirting with UKIP act of the fold.

Secondly, it puts the other party leaders on the back foot. Ed

Miliband is in a ethical position, supposedly siding with the little

guy against the business. But on the EU referendum, he is siding with big

business against the 82% of the public who want a referendum.

be the only one promising a referendum of the three big

parties, but also the only Prime Minister ever to have 100

backbenchers voting against the Queens speech. Did you realise how

hunky-dory it was for Mr Cameron? David Cameron decided in January, a

new decision, that he would announce an in-out referendum, and I am not

sure he had thought through the consequences, for instance people

expressing their view as to how they would vote in that referendum. I

have a feeling that Euro-sceptics should not want this referendum. My

reason for saying that is that without a referendum I think there

is no chance of written being taken further into Europe, into the euro,

the eurozone and political integration. -- written being taken

further in. If there is a referendum and the vote is to stay in, I think

that will be the green light for political leaders in decades to come

to take us into the eurozone. There is quite a good chance that the vote

would be to stay in because the British people are fundamentally

conservative. If they were offered the chance to leave the European

Union, there is a chance they would not, because the status quo is to be

in the European Union. So actually, I think no political leader would

dare to take us into the euro without a referendum on that

subject. If there has been a referendum on staying in Europe, I

think elliptical leaders in future would be emboldened to say that the

British people have settled their fate, had their say and we will go

on into political integration. If Euro-sceptics understood their

interests, they would probably not want a referendum. That is why some

Euro-sceptics are wary of any EU referendum in this Parliament,

because they think it will take some years to persuade the public of the

rightness of their position, even though the polls say that more

people are in favour of out than in at present. They are nervous about

big this must mounting a convincing economic doom and for staying in.

But I think in 2017, if Cameron is re-elected, I think we will vote to

get out. Is there a danger that Labour is on the wrong end of topic

opinion? I am a bit unused by the polling evidence, which is highly

variable. -- a bit bemused. Perhaps I spend more time knocking on

people's doors and troubling them than the three of you do. We would

get arrested! I cannot remember the last time that anybody on the

doorstep, when I was soliciting their support, said to me, I will

support you if you vote for an in-out referendum. This is the

argument that Europe is not high up the agenda. The exactly. Also, the

issue has become an iconic receptacle for all the things, and

there are very many, that people are worried about at the moment. That

does not mean I do not believe that Europe needs reform, but I think the

case for reform is best achieved by being a full party member. You do

not agree with your former colleague, Keith Vaz, that David

Cameron cannot fight the next election without an EU pledge.

not. The pressure is great because of the surge from UKIP, but there is

a great risk for any political leader to confuse long-term

strategic judgement for short term political advantage. That is what

you want, you want Labour not to promise a referendum. Absolutely,

because the opinion polls say 82% of the public want an in-out

referendum. If it is a clear choice between David Cameron and Ed

Miliband, one of whom is offering a referendum and one of whom is not,

that would be a reason to vote for David Cameron. I am not 100%

confident that Ed Miliband will not finally capitulate and commit to an

EU referendum. But at least it will look as though he is following David

Cameron's June. -- David Cameron's position. You said you want to leave

the EU must remark but no, I said I would vote to get out if there were

a referendum. You do not want to be in the EU but you do not want a

referendum to facilitate it. I've tried to explain this, and I will do

it again. Slowly.The eurozone is the core, where the action is,

that's what's integrating and we are not in, and thank goodness. For as

long as there's not a referendum, no political leader would dare take us

into the eurozone, so I don't want to leave the euro. But, if there

were a referendum, because I think the consequence of a yes vote, of an

in-vote would be that Britain then would be sucked into the

centralising European process, then I think the only sensible thing to

do would be to vote out. You are showing an ability to look very far

in the distance and predict the future? And also a long way in the

past because everything that's happened in the past with the

exception of the euro has been that the British political establishment

eventually has shown coward else and that is given way and has fallen in

with the European project. The one instance of this not happening was

Gordon Brown's resistance going into the euro which luckily... Against Mr

Blair's view? Yes, which luckily has established us in the position which

no leader dare go into the euro without a referendum. I'm not so

confident as you that in the absence of a referendum we wouldn't be

forced to make various concessions to the architects of the European

project over the next five years or so. We have been forced to integrate

to a far greater extent than we ever consented to. What makes you think

that process would stop unless there was a yes vote - that seems to me

awfully naive. Do you think David Cameron, if he wins the next

election, huge if, can he bring back many powers that matter? I'm not

convinced there could be any meaningful negotiation. If he didn't

do that, how would you vote? As a Euro-sceptic and I'm pleased he's

pitched his tent on that ground because I don't think he can extract

any meaningful concessions... would you vote? No.So you are both

opt same side? I would like a referendum, but Michael's position

is different. I happen to think Ed Miliband would be mad to go for a

referendum. Do you think he'll stick to his guns all the way through to

the next election, Ed Ed Miliband? think he'll push very hard the case

for reform. I think he'll push David Cameron very hard on precisely the

nature of the renegotiation he wants on which the Prime Minister's so far

been extremely vague. If you get that, we'll have a bindery choice in

the election. Before we leave this, one more thing - when Harold Wilson

depewed Tim Callaghan to go and re renegotiate in advance of the

referendum, Jim Callaghan I think came back after about six months and

said he'd rather go to a National Executive meeting of the Labour

Party than go back to the Council of Ministers.

Hard work. Doesn't get worse than that, does it. Thank you very much.

Now we have limited ambitions here on This Week, beyond the impossible

dream of hearing Tessa tell us what she really thinks about Ed Miliband

for once in her life. But there is one anticipated booking and we can

all die happy. After years of begging letters from Michael, the

woman that puts the "oo" in choo choo, Katie Price is here to talk

about female empowerment. If you can sense Michael's quiff getting off of

a quiver, make your thoughts known on the Twitter, Fleecebook and good

old interweb. It wasn't all about Europe this week. Dave went on his

trip to America to talk to Mr Obama about a US trade deal with, oh, yes,

Europe, sorry. All the journalists wanted to ask questions about, oh,

yes, that would be Europe too. So we turned to Sky News and there were a

few stories beside that, this was What would the Prime Minister in

America and the Tories obsessing about Europe, the business of wealth

has been about elsewhere this week. Even if David Cameron's special

relationship with Barack Obama did not extend to understanding the

President's favourite game. We have to confess that David still does not

understand basketball, I still do not understand cricket. The rules of

Tory Euro-Scepticism is complicated more so than basketball. The Prime

Minister promises a referendum which you want so you downmine his Queen's

Speech and he comes back with the idea of a referendum in the next

Parliament which you can't force to do it. Confused? Obama wasn't it. He

went straight for the hoop. probably want to see if you can fix

what's broken in a very important reslaiption before you break it off

-- relationship. Controlling the gawp from thousands of miles away is

difficult -- game. Nick Clegg was called on from the substitutes bench

from PMQs, only to find himself blocked by his own right-wingers.

the front-page is a man opposing as one Nick Clegg who says "it's time

for a real referendum on Europe, an in-out referendum, not a referendum

on a treaty change". Was that man an impostor or a hypocrite? !

LAUGHTER Mr Speaker, that man who I believe

to be me was stating something then which my party's restated ever

since, was that we should have a referendum on Europe when the rules

change. Nick Clegg says the Lib Demes will

back a euro referendum. But when he says, not the Conservatives.

Meanwhile, the Euro-sceptics were playing a game of their own, happily

passing the ball around, between themselves. Some want a new team.

Drop the Liberal Democrats, sign up UKIP.

Many of us think it's important that the right unites and it's almost a

first step to a reproachment between the Conservative Party and UKIP.

The political establishment has essentially closed ranks over the

last 30 years and denied the electorate a choice. We now have a

golden opportunity to right this With his opponents fighting

themselves, Ed Miliband effectively had the week off. Labour would much

rather talk about a referendum which is definitely going to happen on

Scotland. An old lion roared... Oh. In the last few years, I've had time

on my hands, time to reflect, courtesy of the British people, and

I want to put the positive principled forward-looking case for

a strong Scottish Parliament inside a strong United Kingdom.

Labour might have expected to be doing better, but following their

disappointing local elections, two opinion polls this week had the

party below 35%. The threshold at which Ed Miliband

believes he'd be guaranteed victory The Lib Demes had their

embarrassments too. As Chris Huhne, the former Cabinet Minister, and his

very much ex-wife, Vicky Price, got out of the sin bin.

It has been a humbling and sobering experience. I would like to thank

all of those who 've written to me, the hundreds of letters that I've

had, and all my family and friends who 've stood by me.

While Labour were arguing over whether they had an economic policy,

there were at last some signs of good news. At least the governor of

the Bank of England broke the habit of a lifetime and smiled, but

perhaps that's just because he was leaving. Pf

Today's projections are for growth to be a little stronger and

inflation a little weaker than we expected three months ago. That's

the first time I've been able to say that since before the financial

crisis. In the end, the Clinton campaign

probably had it right - the economy stupid is likely to decide the next

general election. But the Conservatives might ponder the words

of that other great American, Michael Jordan "talent wins games,

but team work and intelligence wins Championships".

Thanks to the London Lions basketball team for playing with

Adam's balls, sorry, playing ball with Adam. What should we talk

about? Erm, Europe, let's talk about Europe. We have not done that for

ages! Miranda's with us. Good to see you. Is Mr Clegg - we have heard

Tessa be quite clear she doesn't think Labour should promise a

referendum and she doesn't think Mr Miliband will promise a referendum -

how will Mr Clegg go? I agree with Tessa very strongly that it would be

good if some people stayed sober during the euro drunkenness that you

referred to in your introduction. I think it behoves the Lib Demes and

the Labour Party to stick up for the large proportion of the population

who don't think this is the most important issue to be spending all

our time discussing. So you think Mr Clegg should take a leaf out of...

Hold that thought, Tessa. Carry on? But I do think that some sort of

referendum on Europe is becoming more and more inevitable. I thought

it was very interesting at PMQs yesterday when Nick Clegg did seem

to indicate that he also thought that at some time in the not too

distant future the country would get an EU referendum, whether before or

after. But are they going to get that with Mr Clegg leaning against

the door of the referendum, or is he trying to stop it opening, on the

other side, Mr David Cameron? Tory backbenchers have terror of

UKIP. So at the moment, he's trying to remind his coalition partners I

think that they should stay on track. It's very difficult to do

because the poor Prime Minister, it's not really a very good

situation is it, if we all feel sorry for the Prime Minister who's

supposed to be in charge. He's been throwing letted meat off the back of

the sledge to the wolves and it's not worked. They want more. So why

doesn't Mr Clegg take the position Tessa says Mr Miliband will take?

the moment he's said no. I think that is the responsible thing to do

at the moment. It wasn't quite what he said at Prime Minister's Question

Time? Because I think he was starting to acknowledge that it

would be difficult to go into the next general election without

everybody basically saying that there will be some sort of EU

referendum. I'm not sure there will be the same promise. You think

that's really suggest because what you actually put to the people, what

the question is, hugely, as the Sarahable polling that Tessa talked

about, it matters what you are putting to the people and how you

phrasivity. Absolutely.All three manifestos will have something in

there. Tessa says it won't?I think there will be something in there. I

think there will be something strong in the Lib Dem manifesto. It's easy

for the Lib Demes or the Labour Party to say that in the event of a

substantial treaty change that affects the brush people, there 'll

be another referendum. That 's the law? Exactly. That's established.

They could change it but they are in the proposing it, Labour? It's the

law but doesn't prevent people mentioning it in the manifesto

saying they have addressed the issue. People will remember they've

been promised this in three manifestos before and didn't get it.

It remains in the hands of the Government of the day to determine

whether the change is substantial or not. The risk is that the scope for

renegotiation is skipped over and all the focus is on an in-out

referendum. I just don't believe that that's where people are. I'm

absolutely sure you can get a polling result that makes it look as

if it is, but in practice, I don't believe that is the case. You never

know unless you have a referendum? ! Whether you or I believe is neither

here nor there? It needs to be put to the test? I don't want to suggest

that the doors I knock on become representative of a national

position, but I think if you look across the range of polls that are

being conducted on this and the different scenarios, you do, you are

absolutely right, it's very clear that the nature of the question, the

circumstances in which the question is being put change the outcome.

Where the focus should be is on jobs, on growth. The benefits that

we derive economically from our membership of the European Union

maximise. That's enough Europe, Ed! We'll move on to the economy.

Hurray. The outgoing governor of the Bank of England was for the first

time in a long time, by his standards, relatively optimistic.

No-one's talking about a boom, noun's even talking about robust

growth, but the people are now talking about a sense that a modest

amount of growth is returning to the economy. Do you agree? Yes. There

has been an accumulation of evidence over the last couple of months that

things are looking better. Although it is not going to be robust growth,

even modest growth would again to make a difference quite quickly.

When I was in the Treasury, I was struck by the dynamic effect of

recovery. The speed with which government revenues go up when

businesses are making more money, when more people are in work and pay

is going up, and on the other hand public spending comes down because

fewer people are unemployed, it transforms public finances very

fast. Even before this growth has started, and for the past few years

you can hardly say economic policy has been a growing success,

Labour's poll lead is not huge and you get the feeling it is quite

soft. What happens if growth returns? Well, if growth returns,

that will be, if growth returns. But the question is what is happening in

the economy. That is not the question I asked. The question is,

what happens to Labour, not far ahead without any growth, so what

happens if there is growth? This bunching in the polls is partly

because of the UKIP effect. There are certainly people who vote Lib

Dem, who vote Labour. I am going to answer your question, but I am

trying to set out the context that it is none of the above. People are

turning their back on the mainstream parties. Even on labour, when things

are bad. If things get better, what will they do then? If things get

better, I think there is always a risk that incumbency is more

attractive than the risk of change. I think we absolutely... So it is a

danger for Labour? There is no danger for the country if growth

returns and no danger if people find it easier to get into work and

businesses to thrive. The danger for the Lib Dems is that even if the

economy does come almost right, the Lib Dems are not going to get credit

for it. That is an enormous danger, because there is no gratitude in

politics. Even if it works out for the best, the most that the Lib Dems

can do is hope that some proportion of the electorate will give them

credit for being a part of it. But that is very difficult. I don't

agree there is no gratitude. If the coalition had made a decent fist of

arguing why we had been put through five years of austerity, why the

parties in the coalition were the only ones who would do what was

necessary, take it seriously, why Labour was an irrelevant set of

escapists, unwilling to confront reality, that would be a strong

case. We had proof this week that Michael Howard was right, prison

works, because Chris Hewden said he has been humbled. Who would ever

have thought that? He is in a glorious tradition of politicians.

Do you believe he was humble? imagine it is a pretty appalling

experience to be brought so low. I have not had the pleasure to speak

to him since his release so I cannot tell you first hand. Will you let us

know when you do? I will do. Now, in the immortal words of Paula

White, Stoke Radio superstar and possible future This Week host,

"It's a P-A-R-T-Y because I said sooooooooo". And just like Paula,

we're not drunk. We've had a couple of drinks, but we're not drunk.

Nanny Jowell's made sure of that But clearly Paula's a girl after our own

heart, unlike the Yentob killjoys who pulled the tired and emotional

presenter off air. Shame on you, Yentobs. So we thought we'd show our

support for Paula, burn our boxers, and put female empowerment in this

world's most beautiful women, movie star Angelina Jolie, that she has

undergone a double mastectomy, has been widely praised around the

world. So, will her honesty helped to empower women to take further

control of their lives and bodies in a way that the words of politicians

often fail to achieve? I think she is a very brave lady not only to

carry on with her work so well during such treatment but also to

write about it now and talk about it. This week, the Archbishop of

Canterbury's daughter spoke openly about her ongoing battle with

depression, a subject that has always been surrounded by stigma and

innuendo. The turning point for me was when I started to think of it as

an illness, rather than me. And that's when I began to be able to

have the space in my head to workout coping. So, do highly personal

statements help empower and give the full strength to stand tall, just

like the 1920s, when women achieved the right to vote and to control the

height of their hemlines? Or are we fooling ourselves that a woman's

image is no longer considered her most important attribute?

We are joined by Katie Price. Welcome to the programme. I am glad

you have got me up. It is very late. You had to do your duty by

public service broadcasting. We are right in thinking that Angelina

Jolie has done something extraordinary. Absolutely. I was

shocked when I read it. What I like is that she went away, had it done

and has publicly spoken about it. I hope people will be inspired to go

and get checked. Ferman B. Is it all so right, the fact that she is such

a beautiful actress, that it added to the poignancy? Personally, I

don't think just the cause she is beautiful. As an outsider, you think

she has the looks, the husband, the kids, she does a lot for charity and

is intelligent. It goes to show it can happen to anybody. Personal

confessions can have an impact. Absolutely. Myself, being in the

public eye, I had postnatal depression. Having a disabled child,

it is good when you are in a situation when you can speak out.

People get inspired and can hopefully act on it. People have

taken notice of this in a way they would never have done, had it not

been for this global name, almost a brand. Definitely. Lots of people

say, I have had cosmetic surgery and everything, but if I was in the same

situation I would not hesitate. She has a family and she is thinking of

them and her future. I think it is fantastic and I would do the same

thing. Does something like this empower and embolden women in the

world? I agree with Katie. I think what she has done is dignified and

very brave and very inspirational. I read her New York Times piece, where

she set out what had happened to her. I was very impressed by the

lack of drama, the very measured way in which she described what had

happened to her. The organisations that have a huge amount of expertise

in this would say that that, of itself, is not enough to reduce the

avoidable deaths from breast cancer. This gene, it is actually very

rare, about one in 20 of the 50,000 women who get breast cancer every

year. And so it does not mean that just because you have not got the

faulty gene, you should not do all the other things. I understand that,

but sticking with Angelina Jolie and the impact, I thought it was also

interesting, Michael, the manner in which she chose to do it, dignified

article in the New York Times, not the most sensational newspaper,

rather than a TV interview. I think the whole thing has been

magnificently done. Either way, if you look at the timetable of her

engagements over the last few months, she has had to go through

various stages of surgery, and in between those stages she has been

out there again at world summits, at the G8 summit, as we have seen, with

William Hague. I wonder if I can raise a different issue. What has

happened is that there is a gene which predicts in her case and 87%

chance of getting breast cancer or a variant cancer. This is going to be

more and more part of our lives. We will find more genetic victors and

people will be presented with difficult choices. In her case, she

had an 87% chance, so in a way the choice was simplified. It will be

truculent people are offered 40%, 35% chances, very tricky, but that

is the world we are moving into. is interesting, politicians talking

about this and public help setting out what you should do, but to

capture the public imagination often takes a major celebrity talking

about it. I agree. Politicians speak out, but if you are in the public

eye can be as powerful as a politician. That is what I think,

personally. Angelina Jolie has done it in such a dignified way. Jade

Goody filmed her whole steps. Everybody does it differently. You

have to admire both of them for making awareness of it. People

should treat their body like a car. It needs an MOT. You should get

checked and never think it will never happen to you because it can

happen to anyone. There is another issue, which is tackling taboos.

That was a big element of her statement. Exactly. If you have had

your breasts removed, are you somehow less of a woman, less

attractive? I think the sensitivity with which this was managed was

communicating about that at every level, including that Brad Pitt had

been there when she had the surgery and was involved and so forth. And

then every newspaper on its front page had a picture of her looking

gorgeous. The other thing I would like to say is, because this week is

something called dying matters week, which began with a lecture in memory

of Philip Gould, who was a Labour party strategist, very loved by the

Labour Party. He had also documented the last stages of his life, rather

like Jade Goody. The lecture on Monday night, with the organisations

that are working to help people have better deaths by being able to do

all the things before they die, and say the things they want to say, it

is tackling those taboos. Maybe we would not be having this measles

outbreak if Mr Blair had been more explicit at the height of the MMR

scandal. We would not be having this needle -- measles epidemic had a

rogue doctor not secured substantial support from parts of our media, and

if parents, in face of the evidence... You cannot turn Tony

Blair into the villain of the measles epidemic. I am just saying

if it is so good for Angelina Jolie, which we are agreed, to make a

public statement, it was an opportunity for a politician to do

the same and they did not do it. difference is that Angelina Jolie is

an adult, and this was revelation conducted with full consent. The

measles epidemic is not analogous. That was a rogue doctor. We like to

tease her about Mr Blair. We like a domestic.

That's your lot for tonight, folks. But not for us, because it's

Thursday Night Fever night at Annabel's. And after Diane Abbott's

claim that we're suffering from a crisis of masculinity, Michael's

taken it personally. So, ladies on the dance floor, get ready to part

like the red sea, because Tony Portillo really means business. But

we leave you tonight with footage to make the heart of every UKIP member