15/03/2018 This Week


15/03/2018

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LineFromTo

This Week was born with a silver

spoon in its mouth.

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spoon in its mouth. We trained

alongside the snowflake Yentobs at

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the BBC. We ran our own independent

television programme out of a broom

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cupboard in Westminster. We liked

the way it was. But this week, has

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everything changed?

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everything changed? There is a

distinct chill in the air, so are we

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heading for a new Cold War?

The

British government wants you to

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think you are not safe from Vladimir

Putin. This is straight out of a

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Cold War play, but it is all hot

air.

And is the economy safe under

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spreadsheet Phil?

Spreadsheet Phil

says he feels like Tigger, and at

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least his non-statement had some

good jokes.

These are topsy-turvy

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times, but are we seeing a fightback

from those who find themselves on

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the wrong side of history?

America

has a President on the wrong side of

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history. We've got to fight back.

There's only one way to fix it.

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Endure tonight's edition of this

week.

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Evenin' all.

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Welcome to This Week,

the week in which McMafia went

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from expensive BBC Drama to scary

lead on BBC News.

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The British Government,

its major allies and pretty much

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all chemical weapons experts

are in little doubt that the use

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of the deadly nerve gas Novichok

in the attempt to assassinate

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a former Russian spy now living

in Salisbury clearly puts

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President Putin's Russia

in the frame.

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The Maybot managed two statements

in the Commons this week saying

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as much, without malfunction.

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She even managed a fist

bump with an onlooker

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when she visited Salisbury today.

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That new people-friendly software

seems to be bedding in nicely.

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But Dear Jezza was widely

criticised, not least

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by his own side, for being less

than convinced about Kremlin

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culpability and for seeming more

angry about rich Russian emigres

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making donations to the Tory party

than a foreign power sanctioning

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murder on British soil.

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But that's unfair.

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I can see where Jezza's coming from.

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After all, in almost every major

foreign policy issue for the past 40

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years you've unfailingly taken

the anti-Western line.

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You've rarely said anything hostile

about the Soviet Union

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or the Russian Federation

which succeeded it.

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You even went on a motorbike holiday

to one of its colonies.

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With Diane Abbott.

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That's sacrifice for you.

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You've never mustered your Stop

the War mates outside

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the Russian Embassy

to embarrass those within.

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You've toiled under the studio

lights of Russia Today,

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even when only three conspiracy nut

jobs and your cat were watching.

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You've even hired a chief spin

doctor who's opined that

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old Uncle Joe Stalin wasn't such

a bad chap and the Soviet Union

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not such a bad place.

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And yet still these damned Ruskies

give all their ill-gotten gains

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to the bloody Tories!

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I mean, I can see why he's miffed.

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I'll bet you would be too.

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Speaking of those who never

get their just desserts,

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I'm joined on the sofa tonight

by two lost causes who've never done

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anything to deserve any payback

whatsoever and to whom no sentient

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Russian oligarch would dream

of donating a single kopeck.

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I speak of course of Michael

#choochoo Portillo and Lisa

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#northernsoul Nandy.

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Welcome to you both. Your moment of

the week.

It came this morning, or

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at the end of yesterday, when the

United States, Britain, France and

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Germany issued a joint statement

condemning the Russian action. The

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reason it was the moment of the week

was that I fear that Putin had

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succeeded in splitting Nato apart.

At the beginning of the week, Donald

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Trump could not find words to

condemn Russia. There was an

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irresponsible statement from a

French diplomat yesterday talking

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about fantasy politics being

practised in Britain. I thought,

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this is what Putin wanted, to show

the West split asunder, and he has

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succeeded. Luckily, at the last

moment both France and the United

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States have recognised the danger

inherent in that. If we do not stand

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united we are in great difficulty

and he will have won an enormous

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victory, Putin, so thank goodness

even the Trump White House and the

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Macron presidency have rowed in

behind and there was a strong

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statement, backed up by the

Secretary-General of Nato. This is a

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moment where one says a disaster has

been averted.

Lisa.

This is why we

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shouldn't just sit and gossip about

what we had 30 in the Green room,

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because I was going to say the same

thing. We had these moments of

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hydrometer or week in the House of

Commons with a big clash over the

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spring statement, free school meals.

But this is the moment where it felt

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like we stopped talking about who

was responsible for the attack on

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British soil and started thinking

seriously about how we would deal

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with Russian aggression collectively

rather than as individual nations

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which is not productive. It was a

good thing for the country.

Two

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similar moments, with a different

nuance.

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Britain's major allies,

from Canada to Germany

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and including Mr Trump's America,

rallied behind the country

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today, less than 24 hours

after the Prime Minister unveiled

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a range of retaliatory

measures against Russia,

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in response to the attempted murder

of a former Russian spy

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in the genteel cathedral

city of Salisbury.

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The British government believes

that the deadly nerve gas used

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was Russian and that it was deployed

on British soil by the Russian

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state or its surrogates.

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Nato in general and America

in particular agree.

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Washington today announced fresh

sanctions against major Kremlin

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figures in response to hostile

and illegal Russian

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activity in the US.

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Britain is braced for a Russian

response to its sanctions

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by the weekend and I'm told tonight

that the UK has further measures

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to announce when that happens.

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Even the Leader of the Opposition

says the evidence now points

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to Russian complicity.

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But, of course, the Putin

government denies it.

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Here's former Kremlin

adviser Alexander Nekrassov

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with his Take of the Week.

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There's a chill in

the air in Britain.

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Theresa May, the ice queen, has sent

a message to President Putin.

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"Take back half of your diplomats

and get ready for your oligarchs

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"in London to get frisked.

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"And no Prince William or Boris

Johnson going to your World Cup".

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But jokes aside, the situation

is serious, with three people,

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including the ex-Russian spy

Sergei Skripal, in a critical

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condition after a suspected chemical

attacks in Salisbury.

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The British government thinks

Russia is behind it.

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Moscow is denying it,

but London isn't buying it.

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Let's make one thing clear.

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Mr Skripal ended up in the UK

in a spy swap nearly ten years ago,

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and security services never go

after spooks who've been exchanged.

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It's naive to assume that only

Russia has access to the nerve

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agent dubbed Novichok,

which had first been produced

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in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

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It is very probable that most

laboratories, like Porton Down,

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have possession of it.

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Rogue agents and terrorists

could have got their hands

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on the nerve agents,

not forgetting groups

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and individuals that

have an interest in framing Russia,

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like Isis or some oligarchs

living in London.

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Theresa May has allowed herself

to be dragged into the media's

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anti-Russian frenzy,

so she had no choice but to act.

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And she sent an ultimatum to Moscow.

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"Explain yourself,

or your diplomats get it".

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Moscow ignored the ultimatum and 23

Russian diplomats were told

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to leave, and no British officials

are going to the World Cup.

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Make no mistake, the incident

in Salisbury is a grave one.

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But Russian gas will continue

to heat British homes and BP

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will continue to make

billions in Russia.

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While politicians

argue, life goes on.

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I know it's Machiavellian,

but that's how it is.

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And Alexander is with us now.

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Welcome to the programme. Michael,

how sure are you that Russia is

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behind the Salisbury attack?

I am

behind what the Prime Minister said,

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it is either that Russia has

attacked us, or it has lost control

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of this agent. And the Russians were

invited to give an explanation. Can

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I say broadly I think this week has

made me so thankful that I live in a

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Liberal democracy with an

accountable government whose main

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purpose is to protect its citizens,

and Russia, I'm afraid, is a

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kleptocracy which has turned into a

Mafia state. The Russian state has,

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for centuries I would say, murdered

its own citizens. It did so under

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the Czar, under Stalin on an

industrial scale, and it continues

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today.

It is not murdering its own

citizens on an industrial scale

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today.

Why don't you listen to me, I

said Stalin did it on an industrial

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scale, and it is continuing to

murder its citizens today but not on

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an industrial scale.

How sure are

you that Russia is behind the

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attack?

I think it's fairly clear

that all roads point to Russia. It's

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not just a question of the nerve

agent that was used. It's also that

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this fits with a pattern of

behaviour we have seen from Russia

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across the world, but including in

Britain in recent years. And it is

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also the fact that there is a fairly

clear motive. It is not just the

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identity of the person targeted,

alongside his family, but also that

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we have presidential elections on

Sunday in Russia and it seems there

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is a very clear reason why the

Russian government would want to

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see...

What would the reason be?

It

seems fairly obvious to me that

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Putin is very, very keen to see

turnout increased. And that provides

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a motive. It says to me that when

Theresa May said, we want you to

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come and explain yourselves, we

should have seen a much better

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reaction from the Russian government

if there wasn't a clear motive.

All

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roads lead to Russia.

I don't see

that. First of all, why would Putin

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wants this before the election? Do

you think Russians are keen on

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seeing chemical weapons used to kill

somebody abroad?

All of the state

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media organisations immediately

started pumping out a message about

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Western conspiracies, the sort of

thing you were repeating on that

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screen, to be honest. It suits

Putin's agenda to have some kind of

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alliance of Western powers being

tough about Russia, because it works

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with his narrative.

Most Russians,

you don't have to be a supporter of

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Putin, will regard the victim of the

attack as a traitor.

Yes, but he was

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exchanged in a Speidi swap and

security services do not go after

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these people, because the whole

concept -- concept of a spy swap is

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that you don't go after these

people. It is a sort of immunity

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from attack.

Remake it sounds as if

Russia plays by the rules but it

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does not.

Security services have to

play by the rules about -- otherwise

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they kill each other randomly.

One

of the reasons why British

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authorities, particularly chemical

weapons experts, are sure it is

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Russia is because of the Novichok

nerve gas, which only Russia has

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produced. Russia did not tell us it

was producing it. It was only when

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the Soviet Union broke up that we

discovered it. The idea, as you

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said, that Isis or other terrorists

could use it, it is a really

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dangerous thing to use and has to be

done in a skilled way. If you make a

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mistake preparing it, not only would

you kill yourself but everybody in

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all of the streets around you.

You

went further and said it might be a

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Russian dissident or plutocrat.

First, let me give you some facts

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which point to other countries and

groups. The inventor and creator of

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Novichok lives in America since

1996. Do you really believe that the

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Americans did not talk to him, did

not find out his secrets, what he

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invented and so on?

So the Americans

are behind it?

No, I'm telling you

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about the spread of Novichok.

Under

the international chemical

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agreements, to which Russia is a

party, Britain, Russia and America

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are allowed to hold minute

quantities of this, so they can work

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on antidotes, if it should appear,

as happened in Salisbury, and so

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they can keep an eye on whether it

is spreading around the world. That

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is not in doubt. The question is,

the only country that has produced

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it as a weapon is Russia.

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Why do you think it could have

disappeared from other laboratories

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in the world?

Other than Porton

down, an American one and Russian

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one, it has not been in other

laboratories in the world that there

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was one major laboratory in central

Russia that produced weapons grade

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stuff that was found in Salisbury.

The words highly possible applying

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to Russian involvement is not

definite. A follow-up on Twitter

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said that if you are told if

something is highly possible will

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open, you will not jump. It is not

dead certain evidence.

They said

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highly possible. We do not have

definitive evidence. I understand

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that. There seems to be a lot of

accumulating stuff. If not Russia

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then who? If it was Russia, what was

the purpose?

I think it might

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firstly be to see if Nato had been

split at a time when Britain is

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involved in Brexit and Donald Trump

by highly difficult to come out and

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condemn Russia. It could be to send

a warning to people who are involved

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in counterintelligence at the

moment. It may be that the British

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are having success in penetrating

Russian intelligence at the moment

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and then need to be people who

warned.

Russians who are helping our

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intelligence services?

I think Putin

might firstly to deny it but denies

0:16:440:16:50

it was such an arrogance that it is

difficult to take that denial is

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seriously. On the one hand he is

saying to the Russian people we are

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not murderers and on the other hand

he is saying, look, we can get

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people wherever they are in the

world. This traitor has died and we

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are a world power and we have

recovered from our humiliation. We

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are dictating terms to the west.

That is a popular message.

He

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manages to have it both ways by

these smug denials which no one can

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take seriously, in my view.

I think

you treat Russian people as if they

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are bloodthirsty.

I love the Russian

people.

The Russian government. They

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are saying, wonderful, our president

can order a hit and it is carried

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out. They don't like that. I don't

understand. Andrew asked a very good

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question. What is the reasoning

behind hit? They have the World Cup

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which is in danger. They have the

election, which causes a problem.

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The timing is already questionable

for Russia. I don't understand the

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logic.

It does not work. The only

credible alternative candidate in

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the election has been brutally

attacked and has been badly injured.

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All the other candidates have been

forced to withdraw from the

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election.

The election is a farce.

Why does he need to do this? Why did

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he need to do this.

I did not say it

particularly had anything to do with

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the election. To be fair to

Alexander, when we kill a terrorist

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with a drone, British people are

happy about that. I don't dispute

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that the Russian people might be

quite happy that the traitor is

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killed.

Was the response from

Theresa May robust enough?

I think

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it was right. If you look at what

happened in Salisbury, there is... I

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think there is a real question about

the timing of this attack. As I was

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saying earlier, the question about

presidential elections, a president

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who was worried about turnout in

those elections and the level of the

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attack demanded a response from the

UK but not necessarily a collective,

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serious response that would

seriously frightened Russia. You can

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feel it from the sense of this

conversation we are having. If

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anyone sees the things that Russia

is upset we are not sending

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ministers to the World Cup then

think again.

Sanctions are hurting

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them.

The sanctions that would

really hurt Russia is if we went

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after...

You have made that point

very well. I wonder if Mr Putin, who

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is clearly going to have a landslide

victory, is he in the long ones

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still dealing with a position of

weakness and does he need to do

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things like this almost in a bread

and circuses way because it keeps

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the population? He presides over an

economy smaller than Italy. He

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presides over an economy

overwhelmingly dependent on fossil

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fuels. It has an industrial capacity

which is crumbling. Many Russians

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have left the country in recent

years there is almost of third World

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standards in places. Is he not the

strongman we think he is?

We are

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discussing a very specific problem

about this incident in Salisbury and

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have Russia can be connected or not

connected to it. And I don't really

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see any connection. OK, here's a

weak leader. Let's assume that. I am

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just trying to balance this with the

problem. He is a weak leader. How

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does that help him? It does not. I

cannot see a logical explanation for

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Putin and his people to go after a

man who is not even known in Russia.

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Nobody knows about him. Very low

grade. There is no point.

Unless you

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consider the point was to provoke a

response.

There are people here in

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Britain where there is damage,

serious damage.

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serious damage. Litvinenko a small

fish as well. Why was he murdered?

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In my opinion, the Russian state had

nothing to do with it at all.

We

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don't have time for that.

I'm

grateful to you for coming in. Thank

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you very much.

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It's late.

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Mark Lynas late.

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Who he, I hear you ask?

0:21:530:21:55

Well, Mr Lynas is a former

eco-warrior who has lately

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repented his activist past.

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He revealed, this week,

how he attempted to kidnap Dolly

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the cloned sheep from her shed

at the Roslin Institute

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in Edinburgh.

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The plot was foiled

because the raiders found the shed

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so full of the little woolly

baa-baaing blighters that Dolly

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was impossible to single out.

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It was probably then

that it dawned on Mr Lynas

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what the word clone means.

0:22:170:22:18

One man who will always

stand out in a crowd

0:22:180:22:21

is the larger-than-life TV

presenter, lawyer, and former mayor

0:22:210:22:24

of Cincinnati, Jerry Springer,

who's putting "fighting back"

0:22:240:22:26

in the Spotlight.

0:22:260:22:29

And, if you'd like to get in touch

via the Tweeter, the Fleecebook,

0:22:290:22:32

and the jolly old Snapnumpty, well,

I await your missives

0:22:320:22:35

with all the enthusiasm

of a Scottish panda anticipating

0:22:350:22:38

an Edinburgh Zoo booty call

on a chilly March evening.

0:22:380:22:43

In other words, not...at...all.

0:22:430:22:48

There is a saying, attributed

to sundry famous figures,

0:22:480:22:50

that "a lie can travel half way

around the world before

0:22:500:22:52

the truth puts its boots on".

0:22:520:22:54

This week, a study of more

than 120,000 rumours

0:22:540:22:57

and false news stories,

spread on Twitter,

0:22:570:23:00

seemed to bear this out.

0:23:000:23:01

Researchers from the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology found that

0:23:010:23:04

fake news travelled faster

and reached more

0:23:040:23:07

people than the truth.

0:23:070:23:10

In fact, false stories

were 70% more likely to be

0:23:100:23:12

retweeted than true stories.

0:23:120:23:17

Isn't citizen journalism wonderful?

0:23:170:23:20

The most common subject matter,

of course, was false political news.

0:23:200:23:22

But don't get too

downhearted, dear viewer.

0:23:220:23:24

Spring is a-coming,

despite this weekend's reprise

0:23:240:23:28

of the beast from the east,

and the truth is out there.

0:23:280:23:31

Somewhere.

0:23:310:23:32

I'm sure we'll find it one day.

0:23:320:23:34

We sent the Telegraph's Liam

Halligan to search for any green

0:23:340:23:38

shoots of recovery in our weekly,

100% trustworthy, political roundup.

0:23:380:23:46

The Chancellor says there's light

at the end of the tunnel.

0:24:090:24:11

He's feeling positively Tigger-like.

0:24:110:24:13

The economy's resurgent.

0:24:130:24:14

Spring has surely sprung.

0:24:140:24:20

If, in the autumn, the public

finances continue to reflect

0:24:200:24:22

the improvement that today's report

hints at, then, in accordance

0:24:220:24:27

with our balanced approach,

and using the flexibility provided

0:24:270:24:30

by the fiscal rules,

I would have capacity to enable

0:24:300:24:35

further increases in public spending

and investment in the years ahead.

0:24:350:24:42

That's a deluge on those hoping

for a springtime spending boost.

0:24:420:24:46

We'll have to wait till

the autumn at least

0:24:460:24:48

for the succour of state largesse.

0:24:480:24:52

So where are those

fabled green shoots?

0:24:520:24:58

Rummaging in the fiscal undergrowth

- a tribute there to David Bellamy -

0:24:580:25:01

it's difficult to spot any kind

of announcement in this hacked

0:25:010:25:04

back spring statement.

0:25:040:25:08

I won't be producing a red

book today, Mr Speaker,

0:25:080:25:10

but of course I can't speak

for the right honourable gentleman.

0:25:100:25:17

No mention indeed by John McDonnell

of his hero, Chairman Mao.

0:25:170:25:19

No chance in his mind a thousand

Tory flowers might bloom.

0:25:190:25:25

Does the Chancellor really believe

the NHS can wait another eight

0:25:250:25:28

months for the life-saving funds

that it needs?

0:25:280:25:32

How many people have to die waiting

in an ambulance before he acts?

0:25:320:25:40

Theresa May's convinced Moscow's

to blame for the attack in Salisbury

0:25:410:25:44

on double agent Sergei Skripal

and his daughter, Yulia.

0:25:440:25:47

She gave Putin a midnight deadline.

0:25:470:25:51

Either this was a direct act

by the Russian state

0:25:510:25:53

against our country,

or the Russian government lost

0:25:530:25:56

control of its potentially

catastrophically damaging nerve

0:25:560:26:00

agent, and allowed it to get

into the hands of others.

0:26:000:26:03

Jeremy Corbyn focused his ire

not so much on Moscow

0:26:030:26:07

as on the British government.

0:26:070:26:10

He cast aspersions

on Conservative Party finances.

0:26:100:26:16

There has been over

£800,000 worth of donations

0:26:160:26:19

to the Conservative Party,

to the Conservative Party

0:26:190:26:23

from Russian oligarchs

and their associates.

0:26:230:26:28

So...

0:26:280:26:30

So...

0:26:300:26:33

The Absolute Boy was scolded

by Matron May and some on

0:26:330:26:36

on his own backbenches.

0:26:360:26:38

And when it came to

dealing with Russia,

0:26:380:26:39

the Prime Minister was adamant.

0:26:390:26:43

Calling a spade a spade.

0:26:430:26:44

Under the Vienna Convention,

the United Kingdom will now expel 23

0:26:440:26:47

Russian diplomats who have been

identified as undeclared

0:26:470:26:52

intelligence officers.

0:26:520:26:55

They have just one week to leave.

0:26:550:26:58

This will be the single biggest

expulsion for over 30 years and it

0:26:580:27:01

reflects the fact that this is not

the first time that the Russian

0:27:010:27:04

state has acted against our country.

0:27:040:27:06

Corbyn has condemned these attacks,

but he says before expelling

0:27:060:27:11

diplomats, Britain should have

heeded Russian requests

0:27:110:27:15

for the nerve agent to be

independently tested.

0:27:150:27:17

America and France have

backed Britain, for now,

0:27:170:27:19

but they will want to see

test results, too.

0:27:190:27:25

How has she responded to the Russian

government's request for a sample

0:27:250:27:29

of the agent used in the Salisbury

attack, to run its own tests?

0:27:290:27:34

And while suspending planned

high-level contacts,

0:27:340:27:37

does the Prime Minister agree

that it is essential to maintain

0:27:370:27:40

a robust dialogue with Russia?

0:27:400:27:48

More sobering news from MP

Lucy Allen, who highlighted

0:27:500:27:53

systemic sexual abuse,

often against white working-class

0:27:530:27:56

girls, in her Telford constituency.

0:27:560:28:01

These young girls are too often

white, working-class,

0:28:010:28:03

with multiple vulnerabilities.

0:28:030:28:08

And that is what the perpetrators,

that is why the perpetrators

0:28:080:28:12

are targeting them.

0:28:120:28:14

And it is also why,

so often they are miscast

0:28:140:28:17

as bringing it on themselves.

0:28:170:28:20

They are miscast as being indulging

in risky behaviour,

0:28:200:28:24

as being promiscuous,

as somehow being to blame

0:28:240:28:28

for what is happening to them.

0:28:280:28:31

What's that?

0:28:310:28:39

A lesser spotted Lib Dem?

0:28:390:28:42

Oh, it's Vince Cable,

using his party conference speech

0:28:420:28:45

to brand all Brexit voters racist.

0:28:450:28:48

Springtime, or a new yellow dawn?

0:28:480:28:52

Too many were driven

by nostalgia for a world

0:28:520:28:56

where passports were blue,

faces were white and the map

0:28:560:29:00

was coloured Imperial think.

0:29:000:29:08

-- pink.

0:29:090:29:14

Well, if none of the news can warm

the cockles of my heart,

0:29:140:29:17

I'll have to have a good

old-fashioned cup of tea and bask

0:29:170:29:20

in those lovely warm winds blowing

across the sea from Brussels.

0:29:200:29:25

It's time that we go

beyond what I should say

0:29:250:29:28

the slogans, the sound bites.

0:29:280:29:30

We present what I should call

a concept, a vision,

0:29:300:29:33

an architecture for the future,

because that is what is

0:29:330:29:35

lacking for the moment.

0:29:350:29:39

Then the time will come when you'll

regret your decision.

0:29:390:29:47

It's time to face up the hard facts.

0:29:470:29:55

Beware the Ides of March,

or a Belgian scorned.

0:29:570:30:06

Well, at least in Britain's Brexit

Phoenix must be about to hatch.

0:30:060:30:08

Any signs of life?

0:30:080:30:09

Something, surely, soon?

0:30:090:30:16

Our apologies to Camley Street

Natural Park in King's Cross

0:30:160:30:19

for the havoc Liam Halligan wreaked

on your shrubs.

0:30:190:30:27

Has Jeremy Corbyn misjudged the

Russian business or is he being true

0:30:280:30:33

to his views?

The problem is that in

the statement Theresa May made,

0:30:330:30:38

Labour were not clear about the

very, very strong probability, let

0:30:380:30:42

me put it that way, that Russia was

responsible, which diverted all of

0:30:420:30:47

the focus of the debate onto whether

Russia actually did it which seems

0:30:470:30:52

not really, despite the conversation

we have just had, to be a topic much

0:30:520:30:58

up for discussion, and diverted that

away from quite a serious point. It

0:30:580:31:04

wasn't very well received and it

shouldn't be party political, the

0:31:040:31:07

point about where the money years.

If you are serious about taking on

0:31:070:31:12

Russian aggression, you have to

think seriously about taking on

0:31:120:31:16

where Russian money lies, and much

of it is in London, laundered

0:31:160:31:19

through the UK. That means you have

to start thinking about doing things

0:31:190:31:24

like Labour has been doing, tabling

amendments to the money-laundering

0:31:240:31:28

Bill, which means we will be able to

clamp down on that money.

If you can

0:31:280:31:35

identify it as money from people

involved in human rights abuses,

0:31:350:31:38

corruption or close to the Putin

regime. The British have not gone

0:31:380:31:41

far enough on that, have they?

On

the money? No. You said earlier that

0:31:410:31:48

further measures are expected in

response to the retaliation.

That is

0:31:480:31:56

why they have kept some stuff back.

I think that is probably the case. I

0:31:560:32:01

think Corbyn did get it wrong. I

think he got it wrong basically

0:32:010:32:05

because he does not like the West.

He does not like the United States

0:32:050:32:10

in particular, does not like Nato.

So he is being consistent.

To be

0:32:100:32:19

fair, he has been cleared today.

He

is not a credible turn to Prime

0:32:190:32:25

Minister.

He wrote a piece for the

Guardian online today in which he

0:32:250:32:30

said clearly that Russia was

responsible.

He didn't, actually. He

0:32:300:32:35

said that the evidence points

towards Russia but that it could

0:32:350:32:38

have been Russian gangsters.

He

echoed a lot of Theresa May's

0:32:380:32:47

language today. I appreciate that

wasn't clear earlier in the week,

0:32:470:32:51

certainly not when his spokespeople

did a media briefing. But it has

0:32:510:32:55

been made clear. Not just in this

piece today but the Labour Shadow

0:32:550:33:04

Defence Secretary, the Shadow

Foreign Secretary and the shadow

0:33:040:33:07

Brexit secretary on Question Time

today have all been clear.

You are

0:33:070:33:12

talking over each other. People will

not be able to hear.

If you raise

0:33:120:33:16

the serious possibility that this

could be Russian Mafia, rather than

0:33:160:33:21

Mr Putin, then why would you support

expelling 23 diplomats?

I am not

0:33:210:33:29

completely sure we are disagreeing

with each other here. My point is

0:33:290:33:33

that that is the problem, that we

shouldn't be discussing who was

0:33:330:33:37

responsible for this attack. We

should be discussing how the UK

0:33:370:33:43

responds, and particularly the

importance that we both opened the

0:33:430:33:46

programme with, making sure Russia

cannot divide the UK, the US, France

0:33:460:33:51

and Germany in responding in a

united way.

Labour's Social

0:33:510:33:56

Democrats have found their voice on

this. For how long?

For how long

0:33:560:34:01

what?

Do they continue to speak up?

I think what you have seen emerge

0:34:010:34:09

over the last few days is the social

Democratic position, and a fairly

0:34:090:34:13

clear position. If you look at the

range of voices across the Shadow

0:34:130:34:18

Cabinet and the backbenchers, there

has been much made of the split

0:34:180:34:21

between the front and back bench in

the Labour Party in recent years,

0:34:210:34:25

but actually you are hearing us

speaking with one voice. That has

0:34:250:34:29

been very important, not least

because if we are serious about

0:34:290:34:33

going after, standing up to Russian

aggression, we have to go after the

0:34:330:34:37

money and there has been far too

little debate about that.

I am not

0:34:370:34:41

sure you are speaking with one voice

at all, because I have three

0:34:410:34:46

different voices down here from Mr

Corbyn to Emily Thornbury to Seamus

0:34:460:34:51

Milne, saying different things. Then

they come to the Tories. When you

0:34:510:34:56

look at our growth prospects as

outlined by the OBR, why did Philip

0:34:560:35:00

Hammond have any right to be

cheerful?

Well, the deficit

0:35:000:35:07

reduction has been quite impressive

so he has the right to be cheerful

0:35:070:35:10

about that.

At last.

Well, yes, it

has taken a long time but it was the

0:35:100:35:16

point of the whole thing. We could

not go on having the largest deficit

0:35:160:35:20

in the European Union, adding to

national debt that has reached 85%

0:35:200:35:26

of GDP.

If you look at the forecast,

it forecasts an average of 1.5%

0:35:260:35:32

growth per year for the next five

years. There is no appear reared in

0:35:320:35:38

post-war British history when there

has been five years of growth that

0:35:380:35:42

low. Never. If it was to happen, I

would suggest to you the Tories have

0:35:420:35:47

no right to be cheerful at all.

One

reason he would have been cheerful

0:35:470:35:53

was that the OBR forecast in

November was inverted by the

0:35:530:35:58

forecasted produced in time for the

May statement. So he probably

0:35:580:36:03

thinks, as I think, that the OBR

forecasts are not worth the paper

0:36:030:36:06

they are not written on.

The OBR

changed its forecast this year by

0:36:060:36:13

0.1%.

On growth. It got the

productivity figure madly wrong. I

0:36:130:36:19

think he probably thinks there is

better ahead and he will not be too

0:36:190:36:24

depressed by OBR forecasts.

He must

be worried about the trend in

0:36:240:36:27

household debt, because in recent

years we have seen a government very

0:36:270:36:31

determined to get debt of the public

balance sheet but instead it has

0:36:310:36:34

been pushing it to families,

individuals and institutions. We

0:36:340:36:39

have hospital trusts now across the

country £1 billion in debt, families

0:36:390:36:44

whose debt levels have now reached

almost 50% of household income. And

0:36:440:36:48

this is a real economic problem,

because as we leave the EU, the

0:36:480:36:54

resilience in the country is not

there.

I want to come onto one other

0:36:540:36:58

thing which is really important.

Rochdale, rather, Oxford, now

0:36:580:37:05

Telford. Everybody knows what I'm

talking about. Why is this so

0:37:050:37:08

widespread? And if it has been

revealed in these towns, it must, I

0:37:080:37:17

would suggest, still be happening in

other places in this country, to our

0:37:170:37:22

national shame. Do you agree?

Completely. And what is worse about

0:37:220:37:28

it is that what we are learning

coming out of Telford is repeating

0:37:280:37:32

exactly the same patterns and

messages we have seen coming out of

0:37:320:37:35

those other areas. You have a

pattern of grooming gangs preying on

0:37:350:37:41

young people, not just young women

but young men as well, variety of

0:37:410:37:45

backgrounds, who are particularly

vulnerable. And then you have a

0:37:450:37:51

pattern of people in authority

either not recognising it, or seeing

0:37:510:37:54

those young people as part of the

problem.

Final thought from you on

0:37:540:37:59

this, Michael?

Which bit?

The whole

pattern of Telford.

I would endorse

0:37:590:38:05

what Lisa has said.

0:38:050:38:11

what Lisa has said. Failure to

investigate, obstructed by political

0:38:110:38:13

correctness and unwillingness to

look into the thing in case they are

0:38:130:38:15

accused of racial bias.

Sometimes

blaming the girls.

Certainly, but

0:38:150:38:23

Lisa made that point already. All of

this is terrible and it has to

0:38:230:38:27

change. Let's hope it is changing.

But I think the MP that we saw there

0:38:270:38:32

raising the issue has raised it

extremely well and has put it

0:38:320:38:35

absolutely back in focus. And police

forces and other agencies need to be

0:38:350:38:40

very aware of this now.

Thank you

both.

0:38:400:38:43

These days politics increasingly

resembles an episode

0:38:430:38:45

of the over-the-top cult tabloid

shock-fest which once

0:38:450:38:46

was the Jerry Springer Show.

0:38:460:38:48

If it was still around,

this week alone would have given

0:38:480:38:50

us a robust exchange

on "The President Sacked Me

0:38:500:38:54

Because I Called Him

a Moron", a confessional

0:38:540:38:58

"Bad Vlad's Made Me Mad",

and a whimsical "My Chancellor

0:38:580:39:04

Thinks He's A Winnie The Pooh

Character".

0:39:040:39:09

Rowdiest of all, of course,

would have been "I'm a Porn Star

0:39:090:39:12

and I Slept with the President".

0:39:120:39:15

Obviously, I made that last one up.

0:39:150:39:16

At least that's what the White House

lawyers insisted I say.

0:39:160:39:19

Like the Jerry Springer Show of old,

these sorts of stories thrive

0:39:190:39:22

on a desire to grab control

of the narrative, set

0:39:220:39:25

the record straight,

right perceived or hushed up wrongs.

0:39:250:39:28

That's why we're putting "fight

back" in the Spotlight.

0:39:280:39:35

We have all been reminded this week,

it is tough at the top.

0:39:380:39:41

Just when you think you have

got your rivals licked,

0:39:410:39:44

they all fight back at once.

0:39:440:39:45

Across the country and further

afield, we saw that nobody

0:39:450:39:48

stays on top for long.

0:39:480:39:51

The Democrats snatched

a surprise victory after

0:39:510:39:53

going the full 12 rounds

in Pennsylvanian Trump territory.

0:39:530:39:58

We are still fighting the fight.

0:39:580:40:00

It's not over yet.

0:40:000:40:01

We're going to fight

all the way to...

0:40:010:40:03

All the way to the end.

0:40:030:40:05

It took a little longer

than we thought but we did it.

0:40:050:40:11

Down but not out, Steve Bannon

is still trying to fight

0:40:110:40:14

everyone and everything,

all at once.

0:40:140:40:15

Let them call you racists.

0:40:150:40:16

Let them call you xenophobes.

0:40:160:40:18

Let them call you nativists.

0:40:180:40:19

Wear it is a badge of honour.

0:40:190:40:23

And this week, animal rights

activists tried to fight back

0:40:230:40:25

on behalf of the underdog,

storming Crufts in an attempt

0:40:250:40:29

to steal, or should that be rescue,

the winning animal.

0:40:290:40:36

Angela Merkel showed the world

you didn't need to be taught any

0:40:360:40:39

new tricks as the German

Chancellor knocked out

0:40:390:40:41

the competition yet again.

0:40:410:40:43

Sort of.

0:40:430:40:47

And, after years of political

sparring, of gun violence,

0:40:470:40:49

the schoolchildren in the USA have

decided that enough is enough

0:40:490:40:52

as they organised mass walk-outs

across the country and took

0:40:520:40:57

the fight to Washington.

0:40:570:41:00

There has been a fight

for change for a long time.

0:41:000:41:06

But there's never been

a more powerful movement

0:41:060:41:08

than what the students of Brooklyn

and New York City in this nation

0:41:080:41:11

have done these last few weeks.

0:41:110:41:14

We will not sit in our classrooms

wondering why Congress is not

0:41:140:41:17

working as hard as we are.

0:41:170:41:25

I admire you and I appreciate you.

0:41:260:41:27

Keep fighting.

0:41:270:41:29

Thank you.

0:41:290:41:30

Jerry Springer knows a thing or two

about fighting back.

0:41:300:41:32

But can you always stay on top?

0:41:320:41:39

And Jerry is with us now.

0:41:410:41:48

Welcome back.

That was a great film.

That brought back memories, the

0:41:480:41:54

final shot. The big fight back for

you, in America, from your point of

0:41:540:41:59

view, are the Democrats. They had a

good result in Pennsylvania in the

0:41:590:42:04

18th district, a district that had

gone over the 20% lead for Mr Trump

0:42:040:42:10

over Mrs Clinton, and the Democrats

just got it back, they just won it.

0:42:100:42:16

It is quite Trump territory, but

overall how would you rate the

0:42:160:42:18

fightback.

I don't think there is

any question that in November the

0:42:180:42:24

Democrats are going to do very well.

Will it be enough of a wave to take

0:42:240:42:29

control of Congress again? That, we

don't know. But clearly right now

0:42:290:42:35

the resistance to Trump, President

Trump, is significant. In every

0:42:350:42:40

poll, you never gets above 40%, and

that is unheard of for a sitting

0:42:400:42:44

President in his first year.

So

shouldn't you be more confident that

0:42:440:42:49

you would at least take the House

and maybe the Senate?

The reason you

0:42:490:42:54

can't be totally confident is

because we have a system where the

0:42:540:42:57

congressional districts are drawn

every ten years by state legislature

0:42:570:43:02

laws. So the way they are drawn,

they favour the Republicans, because

0:43:020:43:06

what the Republican state houses

did, they piled the democratic

0:43:060:43:12

population all into one district and

then spread the Republicans out so

0:43:120:43:15

they would win more. So even though

more Americans vote for Democrats

0:43:150:43:20

than Republicans, we have more

Republican congressman than

0:43:200:43:24

Democrats.

Who is leading the fight

back? This is the thing I find

0:43:240:43:29

interesting. Every time I look at

the Democrats and, we are on our way

0:43:290:43:34

back, the people saying this, their

combined is about 350.

Well, yes.

0:43:340:43:40

But here is the deal. The person who

is leading the fight back, in a

0:43:400:43:47

sense, is Trump. It is the reaction,

America's reaction to the fact that

0:43:470:43:51

we have Trump as President. And I

think it's important to say, when we

0:43:510:43:57

are in another country, for example,

when people make fun of us because

0:43:570:44:00

we have Trump as President, it's

important to remember that Hillary

0:44:000:44:05

Clinton got 3 million more votes

than Trump. I understand Trump is

0:44:050:44:10

the President, but let me just say

it is not a reflection of America to

0:44:100:44:14

say that Trump is the President,

because America voted for Clinton.

0:44:140:44:20

If you were not fighting an

electoral college election, it you

0:44:200:44:24

would fight it entirely different,

so I am not sure of the comparison.

0:44:240:44:28

I am more concerned about the future

and I don't know how you fight back

0:44:280:44:31

unless you have a leader. And is

Bernie Sanders the leader again?

0:44:310:44:38

Probably not.

Who would it be?

It's

not a personality thing. I'm telling

0:44:380:44:44

you, right now the women's movement

is very significant in America. And

0:44:440:44:49

then on the issue of race and

multicultural America, this is the

0:44:490:44:53

first time in American history we

have had a President who is opposed

0:44:530:44:57

to the idea of a multicultural

America. We are the only country in

0:44:570:45:01

the history of the world to have

been created by an idea. Most

0:45:010:45:05

countries start out either as a

religion, a race, ethnic group. We

0:45:050:45:11

started out, first there was the

idea, let's have one place on earth

0:45:110:45:15

where it would not matter where your

parents were from. That's the dream,

0:45:150:45:18

the goal, and Trump is opposed to

that. And then the Muslims, the

0:45:180:45:22

Mexicans.

I know you don't like

Trump, that's not the point.

He's a

0:45:220:45:30

nice person, he shouldn't be

President.

I would not even go down

0:45:300:45:34

that road with you. On fightback, I

still don't see, given that the

0:45:340:45:40

Democrats have the demography in

their favour, they have young people

0:45:400:45:43

in their favour as well and more

increasingly they have women, too.

0:45:430:45:48

But I don't know of any fightback

that works unless you coalesce

0:45:480:45:53

around one or two people who

represent all that.

The presidential

0:45:530:45:57

election is in 2020. The primary 's

will start towards the beginning of

0:45:570:46:04

2019. Excuse me, 2020. Once the

primary 's start, the candidates

0:46:040:46:12

that will enter the race, someone

will emerge.

Who is your person?

I

0:46:120:46:17

don't have one yet.

I understand

that but a moment ago you said it is

0:46:170:46:24

not a personality thing, but it is.

We are not so concerned over here

0:46:240:46:29

about congressional elections. We

are worried about the presidency

0:46:290:46:33

because it affects people outside

the United States. And of course you

0:46:330:46:36

need a candidate. Last time, you put

up a candidate said Nick -- 70% of

0:46:360:46:42

Americans disliked, and that is why

you lost.

Most of them voted for

0:46:420:46:47

her. They might not have wanted to

date her.

Everybody knows the rules

0:46:470:46:52

of the American system and Hillary

Clinton for the bad campaign because

0:46:520:46:55

she was fighting in the wrong places

under the rules of that election.

0:46:550:46:58

She lost fair and square, firstly

because she was incompetent and

0:46:580:47:03

secondly because Americans disliked.

So you've got to find a candidate

0:47:030:47:08

better than that.

I understand but I

don't agree with your assumptions,

0:47:080:47:12

with all Jura Specht. In terms of

competency, it wasn't even

0:47:120:47:18

competition.

Competency in fighting

the election.

It ignores the

0:47:180:47:24

structural problems the Democrats

have, which you see for centre-left

0:47:240:47:27

parties across the world. One of the

problems the Democrats had when I

0:47:270:47:31

went to visit after the EU

referendum, they were talking very

0:47:310:47:34

much about the same thing Labour is

grappling with, about younger people

0:47:340:47:38

in cities who have a different

outlook from older people in towns.

0:47:380:47:43

I have to interrupt because we have

overrun. Briefly, what are you doing

0:47:430:47:48

here, other than being with us?

Everyone always says that, what are

0:47:480:47:52

you doing here? I am appearing on

some programmes, but none as good as

0:47:520:47:58

yours. And I am going to Dublin on

Saturday night.

I am glad you found

0:47:580:48:06

time to be with us. Never come here

without visiting us. I can reveal

0:48:060:48:13

that CBS News is going to run the

Stormy Daniels 60 minute interview

0:48:130:48:17

on the 25th of March. Stormy Daniels

is the pawn star.

0:48:170:48:23

That's your lot for

tonight, but not for us.

0:48:230:48:25

Because, inspired by news that

humans survived a super-volcano

0:48:250:48:27

eruption 74,000 years ago by hiding

out in South African caves,

0:48:270:48:30

we're off to Loulou's,

which is as close as you can get

0:48:300:48:33

to a cave in Mayfair.

0:48:330:48:34

Lisa is bringing her

ethically-sourced Camden Market

0:48:340:48:36

black-out curtains and Michael

has his SAS survival

0:48:360:48:39

guide, signed by Mrs T,

as well as his souvenir

0:48:390:48:41

Bluebell Railway penknife.

0:48:410:48:45

We're going to hole up in the bar

until all this nerve gas

0:48:450:48:49

and depressing news blows over.

0:48:490:48:50

And, if the months go by and we have

to subsist on pork scratchings

0:48:500:48:54

and Molly's dog biscuits,

well, at least they'll take

0:48:540:48:57

the taste away from the Blue Nun.

0:48:570:49:00

Nighty-night, don't

let Vladimir Putin's

0:49:000:49:01

election memorabilia bite.

0:49:010:49:09

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