- Verity Murphy
- Tue 6 Dec 11, 02:40 PM
A Crown Prosecution Service lawyer is to face disciplinary action for alleged failings over a case involving undercover police officer Mark Kennedy, who had spent seven years underground infiltrating green groups.
Tonight, Richard Watson, who broke the original story on Newsnight, looks into the findings of the report.
Also, it may not feel like it, but a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that the average UK household income has almost doubled in real terms over the past 40 years. We look at where the growth came from, and what could drive future increases.
Plus, in the United States, the contest is heating up among Republicans who want to challenge President Obama for the White House.
In the run up to the Iowa caucuses in January, a key indicator of the how the conservative heartlands view the candidates, Mark Mardell reports on an already fraught campaign.
Described by some as the greatest living English poet, we have a rare interview with Geoffrey Hill.
- Verity Murphy
- Mon 5 Dec 11, 01:09 PM
In the aftermath of the August riots Prime Minister David Cameron said the unrest had been driven by criminality and devoid of political meaning.
"This was not political protest, or a riot about politics, it was common or garden thieving, robbing and looting," Mr Cameron told the Commons.
However, a major study by the London School of Economics and the Guardian newspaper involving interviews with 270 rioters suggests otherwise.
Of those interviewed, 85% cited anger at policing practices as a key factor in why the violence happened.
Newsnight has had exclusive access to the results of the study, the largest of its kind, and tonight we have a very strong film in which we hear rioters tell the story of the violence in their own words.
We will have a big discussion off the back which will include Minister for Policing Nick Herbert, former Met police chief Sir Ian Blair, MP for Tottenham David Lammy and Liz Pilgrim, a small business owner from Ealing who described the rioters who looted her premises as "feral rats".
Also, our Economics editor Paul Mason will be reporting on French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's meeting in Paris today where they are hoping to agree joint proposals aimed at resolving the eurozone debt crisis.
- Verity Murphy
- Fri 2 Dec 11, 01:32 PM
This week's Autumn Statement has been described by commentators as a "seismic shift" in the political landscape.
The government promised to eliminate the budget deficit by the next election but now says it needs another two years to meet its target.
Borrowing and unemployment are set to be higher than forecast and spending cuts to carry on to 2017.
Hundreds of thousands more public sector jobs are also set to be lost.
Tonight, we will be looking at which people and what parts of the country will be feeling the most pain.
The A14 in Cambridgeshire is receiving an upgrade as part of a number of infrastructure investments by George Osborne. Our reporter Richard Watson visited the area to be gauge reaction to the measures.
And Gavin Esler has an interview with the British ambassador to Iran, Dominick Chilcott, who is just back in the UK after a tumultuous week in relations between the two countries.
- Verity Murphy
- Thu 1 Dec 11, 05:30 PM
Banks should brace themselves to withstand the "extraordinarily serious and threatening" economic situation, the Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King has said.
Sir Mervyn said the Bank itself was making "contingency plans" in case of a eurozone break-up.
Tonight Paul Mason will be assessing the scale of the threat and what those contingency plans could entail.
We have the results a joint investigation between us and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism on a British company involved in the sale of telecommunications surveillance technology to Syria.
And we ask whether politics has changed in recent weeks, with the death of green politics, changing arguments on fairness, and Danny Alexander's admission on Newsnight that the Liberal Democrats are signed up to the extra rounds of cuts in 15/16 and 16/17 announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement - beyond the next general election.
Plus we have an interview with celebrated film director Martin Scorsese.
- Verity Murphy
- Wed 30 Nov 11, 01:18 PM
Following a difficult Autumn Statement yesterday, the government is facing further pressure with what unions describe as the largest public sector strike for a generation.
On tonight's programme we'll be looking in detail at the crux of the dispute - public sector pensions. The chancellor has said the schemes are unsustainable, but unions object to plans to make their members pay more and work longer to earn their pensions.
Whose argument do the figures support? Joining Jeremy will be Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude and PCS Union general secretary Mark Serwotka.
We'll also be comparing the economic situation of two families, one with an income from the public sector, the other from the private sector.
And our Economics editor Paul Mason will be asking if anyone has a chance of a more prosperous future, or with flatlining growth are we facing a decade of economic pain?
In other news, a report by former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf has heavily criticised the London School of Economics over its links with the Gaddafi regime in Libya.
The school's director resigned in March over a £1.5m gift from a foundation led by Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif, a former student.
We'll be speaking to Lord Desai, who was an internal examiner for the award of Saif Gaddafi's PhD at the university.
- Verity Murphy
- Tue 29 Nov 11, 11:32 AM
Chancellor George Osborne has said public sector pay rises will be capped at 1% for two years, as he lowered growth forecasts for the UK economy.
The number of public sector jobs set to be lost by 2017 has also been revised up from 400,000 to 710,000. Borrowing and unemployment are set to be higher than forecast and spending cuts to carry on to 2017, he admitted.
For Labour, Ed Balls said the figures showed the chancellor's economic and fiscal plans were "in tatters".
Tonight we will be getting Paul Mason and David Grossman's assessments of what was announced.
In the studio we will be joined by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and his Labour Shadow Rachel Reeves.
And we will debating the government's plans with guests including Lord Heseltine, FT editor Lionel Barber, economist Mariana Mazzucato, Philip Collins from think tank Demos and WSJ Europe editor Tracey Corrigan.
Plus Shaun Ley will be looking at whether the chancellor, like predecessor Gordon Brown, is starting to look like a man with an eye on the top job one day.
All that with Jeremy at 10.30pm on BBC Two.
- Verity Murphy
- Mon 28 Nov 11, 01:49 PM
The OECD has warned that the UK could be entering a recession, predicting a 0.03% contraction this quarter, and a further 0.15% next, and has warned that a further deterioration in the UK economy could require changes in policy.
The prediction comes a day before Chancellor George Osborne unveils his "mini budget" Autumn Statement.
Tonight David Grossman reports on what we have already learned about the statement in the briefings of the last few days and what else the chancellor may have up his sleeve.
Plus Paul Mason has been in the North West, still the country's industrial heartland, looking at what can be done to boost growth and to switch the economy from one dominated by consumption to one led by export.
And Jeremy Paxman has an interview with General Martin Dempsey, the US' new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
When he was nominated Gen Dempsey was described by President Barack Obama as one of America's most "combat-tested generals", but his biggest challenge may be more prosaic - establishing priorities for cutting the defence budget, which consumes around 20% of the federal budget.
Mark Urban will be looking at which areas could be in the cross hairs.
Plus, Tim Whewell reports from Cairo where Egyptians are voting in the first election since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.
- Verity Murphy
- Fri 25 Nov 11, 07:09 PM
Early next week the chancellor will reveal the government's plans for growth in his autumn statement. Tonight we examine the differences between the main parties on economic policy and whether there is clear water between what they are saying or not.
And we hear some radical ideas for economic growth from those in business and outside the political sphere.
Also Tim Whewell reports from Cairo on who the generals running Egypt are and how they have effectively split the opposition ahead of next week's elections.
Plus, Steve Smith has a strange tale from Lewes in Sussex where vandals armed with explosives have embarked upon a dangerous campaign of blowing up parking meters.
- Verity Murphy
- Thu 24 Nov 11, 01:31 PM
On tonight's show we look at figures out today showing a record level of net migration to the UK. In 2010 it reached 252,000, soaring higher than the government target of "tens of thousands". Immigration Minister Damian Green, and people directly effected by the issue, will be joining Kirsty.
Also at record numbers are Neets, young people in England not in education, employment or training. Tonight, we look at the pressures facing young workers.
Looking ahead to next week's strikes, with more than two million workers expected to walk out, we assess the scale of the likely disruption. The government is warning that the action could cost the UK economy £500m and lead to job losses.
The so-called most dangerous place in Europe, Dagestan, boasts the unexpected accolade of employing Samuel Eto'o - reportedly the best paid player in football. In an attempt to unify the troubled republic in Russia's North Caucasus, the capital's football team, Anzhi Makhachkala, has been splashing its billionaire owner's cash to attract top talent and take the locals' minds off the daily violence. We have a special report tonight.
- Verity Murphy
- Wed 23 Nov 11, 01:11 PM
After a mild November will the predicted harsh winter place further strain on household energy bills? Tonight, Jeremy will be turning up the heat on two of the men with the greatest influence on future prices; British Gas boss Phil Bentley
and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne.
Plus our Science editor Susan Watts will look into the industry's bewildering tariffs and asks what lies behind energy costs.
Bahrain's King Hamad has promised reforms to prevent abuses by security forces, after an independent report said that authorities had used excessive force on protesters. Peter Marshall looks into the unrest in which more than 40 people died, and Minister for Cabinet Affairs Kamal Ahmad will join us to give the Bahraini government's response.
Closer to home, new rules are being considered for small businesses on hiring and firing staff, so will staff lose their right to claim unfair dismissal, and will the changes actually boost the economy? We'll discuss with Ann Pettifor, director of Prime Economics, and Jon Moulton, chairman of Better Capital, LLP.
P.S. We are no longer running the piece on the England Rugby team that was planned earlier.
- Verity Murphy
- Tue 22 Nov 11, 05:36 PM
The High Pay Commission has described the high salaries of UK executives as "corrosive", claiming that the disparity between what top executives and average workers earn is creating inequalities last seen in the Victorian era.
Politicians have promised change, but is anything likely to be done?
Our Economics editor Paul Mason reports and in the studio we talk to MPs Chuka Umunna and Elizabeth Truss, plus City guru Nicola Horlick.
In Egypt the country's military rulers have agreed to speed up the transfer of power, holding presidential elections by next July - are they to be trusted?
We will have a film from Tim Whewell who is in Cairo and will be getting the very latest on the situation in the capital live on the programme.
Today at the Leveson inquiry into press standards comedian Steve Coogan claimed that he was a victim of large-scale press intrusion. His testimony came as a day after actor Hugh Grant accused the Mail on Sunday newspaper of hacking his phone - a claim the newspaper has dubbed "mendacious smears".
So how widespread were these kind of tactics and did they go beyond the now-defunct News of The World? Richard Watson reports.
Plus our Science editor Susan Watts will bring us up to speed on the online release of a new batch of emails and other documents from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit.
- Len Freeman
- Mon 21 Nov 11, 11:52 AM
As the government finalises plans for the autumn statement, we'll take a look at what might be in it. There is talk of benefit caps, deregulation and help for the housing market. Plans have been unveiled to allow first-time buyers of new homes to borrow up to 95% of the value, with the government underwriting part of the risk.
Tim Whewell has been in Cairo's Tahrir Square all weekend. How close to the edge is Egypt? There have been more clashes overnight and the health ministry has confirmed the number of deaths has risen from 11 to 20.
Jeremy will also interview the novelist and commentator Umberto Eco about the state of Italy.
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