K wg D wb wU m s ev `
Bangla Times Year 04 n Issue 47
n
Bangla Times p 04 - 10 April 2014 p Page 38
04 - 10 April 2014
BBC apologises over leaking Cameron: Clegg and Farage secret sources in Tower both on ‘extremes’ of EU debate Hamlets mayor investigation PM David Cameron has criticised both his deputy, the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, and UKIP leader Nigel Farage, after their televised EU debate. “The problem with this debate is that both of the people taking part actually have quite extreme views,” the PM said. Asked on BBC Breakfast whether “his man” had won, he said: “I didn’t have a dog in the fight, as it were.” Mr Clegg accused Mr Farage of peddling “fantasies”, but faced charges from the UKIP man of “wilfully lying” in return. The prime minister summarised the debate by claiming that: “Nick thinks there’s nothing wrong with Europe and we shouldn’t have a referendum, and Nigel thinks there’s nothing right with Europe and we should just get out and leave. “They’re both wrong.” Mr Cameron has said he will renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the EU before holding an in/ out referendum in 2017 - if the Conservatives win the next general election. “That’s what Britain needs, and it’s what people want: a proper choice but real change in Europe and that’s what these European elections should be about.” He said Mr Farage did not “recognise the fact that we’ve got to trade and compete in Europe”. “The problem with the UKIP view is it’s sort of: ‘Stop the world, I want to get off, Britain can’t succeed.’ It’s deeply pessimistic. I’m very optimistic,” Mr Cameron concluded. Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown praised the “courage” of his successor in calling the debates, and said he had conducted them with “some skill”. No British politician for decades had “been prepared to stand up and make the positive case for Europe”, he told the BBC. YouGov’s snap poll gave the debate to Mr Farage by 68% to 27%, while a poll by ICM/Guardian suggested 69% of people watching thought the UKIP man came out on top. Lord Ashdown said: “It was always going to be a very difficult argument to win.” But he added: “This battle is now joined. The future of our country depends on it.” Wednesday’s debate was the second
of two broadcast debates between the two party leaders. A YouGov/Sun poll suggested Mr Farage won their first clash last Wednesday by 57% to 36%. The BBC’s chief political correspondent Norman Smith said Mr Clegg was much more fired up than he had been last week, while Mr Farage had been more measured.
Mr Clegg kicked off the one-hour debate - hosted by David Dimbleby - by accusing his opponent of foisting a “dangerous con” on the public by arguing for Britain’s exit from the EU, telling the audience in the BBC’s radio theatre “if it sounds too good to be true, it is”. He warned leaving the EU would lead to a ‘Billy-no-mates Britain”. An early flashpoint was Mr Farage’s support for Vladimir Putin over Syria. The UKIP leader accused the Lib Dem leader of being “hell bent” on getting Britain involved in a war - but Mr Clegg accused him of trivialising the issue. Mr Clegg also said Mr Farage’s views on Mr Putin were reminiscent of a “pub bar discussion” - and that the Russian leader could have brought the conflict in Syria to an end with “one phone call”. Poking fun at Mr Farage, the Lib Dem leader suggested the UKIP leader would claim next that “the moon landing never happened, Barack
Obama is not American and Elvis is not dead”. Mr Farage said the British people had “had enough of getting involved in foreign wars”. He said he did not want Britain to be part of an “expansionist” EU foreign policy, claiming that the EU wants its own “army and navy”. Mr Clegg said this was a “dangerous
fantasy that is simply not true”. The pair traded verbal blows over the percentage of British laws made in Brussels, with Mr Clegg claiming it was only about 7%. He also said the European Commission only employed the same amount of staff as Derbyshire County Council. Mr Farage told the Lib Dem leader: “When I said yes to these debates I thought you would honestly make the pro-EU case. “By saying 7% of our laws are made in Brussels, you are wilfully lying to the British people about the extent to which we have given control of our country and our democracy and I am really shocked and surprised you would do that.” Mr Clegg hit back, accusing the UKIP leader of “making things up to make a point”. The pair again clashed on EU immigration, with Mr Farage saying it was “good for the rich because it’s cheaper nannies and cheaper chauffer and cheaper gardeners but it’s bad news for ordinary Britons”.
The UKIP leader said the scale of immigration over recent years had “shocked” the country and increased segregation in towns and cities. But he said the worst social impact was that “it has left the white working class effectively as an underclass, and I think that is a disaster for our society”. The Lib Dem leader suggested that Mr Farage “does not like modern Britain” and that, in contrast, he was very comfortable with it. Mr Clegg attempted to mock the UKIP leader as someone who was not a serious politician. At one point, he brandished a UKIP leaflet - featuring a picture of a Native American - which he said suggests that if the British people ignore immigration, they will “end up on a reservation”. “What are you going to say next, that you are Crazy Horse or Sitting Bull?,” he asked. Mr Farage said he did not “recognise” the leaflet and did not “endorse its sentiments”. The Lib Dem later claimed the leaflet was distributed in Lancaster and Fleetwood ahead of the 2010 election but UKIP said it was not “official” party literature. Towards the end of the debate, the UKIP leader issued a warning about the rise of far right parties in Europe, saying: “I want the EU to end but I want it to end democratically. If it doesn’t end democratically I’m afraid it will end very unpleasantly.” He used his closing statement to make a pitch for votes in May’s European elections, saying: “Let’s free ourselves up and in doing so let’s give an example to the rest of Europe. “I know the people are behind this. I would urge people - come and join the people’s army. Let’s topple the establishment who got us into this mess.” Mr Clegg sketched out a vision of Britain’s future in Europe entirely at odds with his Eurosceptic opponent in his closing remarks, promising “real remedies for the way the world is today not dangerous fantasies about a bygone world that no longer exists “And that is why I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we remain part of the European Union because that is how we protect the Britain we love.”
The BBC was forced to “apologise unreservedly” after a disastrous leak of secret sources who helped make a documentary about the mayor of Tower Hamlets. MPs accused the corporation of
Culture Select Committee, said: “Who is going to trust a BBC investigation in future after such a schoolboy error?” Fellow committee member Angie Bray said: “I guess there was not enough due diligence
a “schoolboy error” and failing to carry out “due diligence” to protect people who passed it information in the belief their names would be kept secret. Their identities and an estimated 1,000 pages of confidential documents were copied by a junior researcher and handed over to the subject of the Panorama investigation, controversial mayor Lutfur Rahman. The Evening Standard has been told that some of the BBC’s sources were subsequently approached by individuals about the allegations made to the BBC documentary team. A car belonging to one witness was vandalised, prompting fears that the incidents might be linked. The extraordinary events happened after the Panorama team hired a young researcher— described as a 24-year-old journalism student of Bangladeshi descent in some reports — to help with translation. The woman apparently felt that the documentary looked one-sided and passed a dossier to Mr Rahman. Tory MP Philip Davies, a member of the all-party
around the appointment of the person who is said to have leaked this information. It is very disappointing and may have repercussions if people are less willing to speak out.” Mr Rahman has hailed the leaker as a “whistleblower” and branded the programme, which aired last night, as unfair and “racist”. A BBC spokeswoman told the Standard: “We obviously regret the incident. We apologise unreservedly to the people who co-operated in good faith believing they were speaking in confidence.” She said the incident was being investigated but declined to comment on whether it was at fault. Britain’s data protection watchdog is looking into the affair. Information Commissioner Christopher Graham’s spokesman said he wanted to learn the facts in order to decide whether or not to hold a formal investigation. The Panorama programme alleged that Mr Rahman had disproportionately given grants to the local Bengali community in a secretive process — which he denies. He told the Standard they were “smears” and “rehashed allegations”. Source: standard.co.uk