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05/02/2015

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.

3 hours

Last on

Thu 5 Feb 2015 06:00

Today's running order

0710

The Groceries Code Adjudicator has launched an investigation into Tesco plc on suspicion that the retailer has breached the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. It was triggered due to the accounting scandal the company experienced last September after a Β£263m profit overestimate. The investigation will look into the extent of practices that have resulted in delays in payments to suppliers and payments for better positioning of goods on the shelves which are not related to a promotion. Christine Tacon is Groceries Code Adjudicator.

0715

The UK could be doing more to combat Islamic State, without deploying combat troops. That's the conclusion of the cross party Defence Select Committee, which says the British contribution to the international effort is 'surprisingly modest'. The Conservative Rory Stewart chairs the committee.

0720

A year ago today we woke up to one of the most dramatic images in a winter of extreme weather. Brunel's historic coastal railway in the seaside town of Dawlish had collapsed overnight in a terrible storm, cutting off Devon and Cornwall's main line to the far south-west. Twelve months on, normal services may have resumed on the line, but the impact of that night is still being felt by people across the south west, and, in turn, by the political parties as we approach the election. As part of our focus on 100 constituencies in the 100 days ahead of the election, Jon Kay reports from Dawlish.

0730

An international fighting fund is needed to support urgently needed research into new ways of tackling superbugs, according to the latest report from a review of antimicrobial resistance ordered by David Cameron. The recommendation is one of several made by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who was commissioned by the Prime Minister last year. We speak to Jim O’Neill and Sharon Brennan, a journalist and writer who has Cystic Fibrosis and who underwent a double lung transplant in 2013.

0740

We listen to clips from the reception given to Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste at a news conference to mark his arrival home in Australia after more than a year in prison in Egypt. He was accused of collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood, along with his colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who have yet to be released. Peter Greste spoke of how the three had coped with prison.

0750

New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard has been named by the home secretary as the head of a new statutory inquiry into historical child sex abuse in England and Wales. Justice Lowell Goddard is the third person to be appointed chairwoman of the inquiry since it was set up last July. She is a serving judge of the High Court of New Zealand and UN committee member who has experience of working with victims of sexual assault. We hear from reporter Tom Bateman and Justice Lowell Goddard, new head of the statutory inquiry into historical child sex abuse.

0810

Dr Dhanuson Dharmasena was acquitted on Wednesday of carrying out FGM in the first trial of its kind in the UK. The case involved stitches done in hospital after childbirth, a far cry from the stereotype of the back street clinic "cutter". A second man, Hasan Mohamed, 41, was cleared of abetting the offence. Ali Hussain is a solicitor with Stokoe Partnership Solicitors who defended Hasan Mohamed. Alison Saunders is the director of Public Prosecutions.

0820

David Hare's play The Absence of War returns to the stage in Sheffield tonight at the start of a UK tour. Written after Hare was allowed by Neil Kinnock to attend Labour party strategy meetings in the run up to the 1992 election, the play follows party leader George Jones who is so constricted by his advisers that his talents are no longer visible to the public. David Hare discussed the play's parallels to the Labour today and director Jeremy Herrin explained why the play still works now.

0825

Greece's finance minister is in Germany today, probably the toughest place for the new Greek government to make its anti-austerity pitch. The Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras was in Brussels yesterday where he was pictured hand in hand with the European Commission president, he also met Martin Shultz, president of the European parliament. We spoke to Mr Schultz afterwards to ask for his impressions.

0830

The Liberal Democrats have set out more of their plans about how they plan to tackle the deficit if they are re-elected.Β  After almost 5 years of working together, the Lib Dems are keen to draw dividing lines with the Conservatives, who've ruled out any tax rises. Nick Clegg will say that it's "incomprehensible" to most people that you would try to eliminate the deficit without asking for a further contribution from the wealthiest.Β  They're proposing at least Β£8bn of tax rises and up to 16 billion pounds in spending cuts, an approach which they say will allow them to protect schools and hospitals. Danny Alexander is chief secretary to the Treasury.

0840

Just what exactly are the rules for life as a female jihadist living with the extremists of Islamic State? Up to 50 British women are believed to have travelled to Syria to join them. Now the first full treatise describing the role of women there has been published by the group’s supporters. It’s been translated from Arabic into English and published today by the London-based counter-extremist think tank, Quilliam, and includes an attack on the western emancipation of women. Charlie Winter is a researcher at the counter-extremist think tank The Quilliam Foundation, and translated the document from Arabic into English.

0845

The European Central Bank has cut off Greek banks' access to a key source of much-needed cash, piling fresh pressure on the country's new government to reach a deal with international creditors.Β  In a decision that rattled financial markets, the ECB said it would no longer allow Greek banks to use Greek government debt, which has a junk rating, as collateral for loans. Robert Peston is economics editor.

0850

Last year saw a record number of anti-Semitic hate incidents in the UK, according to figures released by the Community Security Trust, a charity which provides security for synagogues, Jewish schools, buildings and community events. We speak to reporter Sanchia Berg and Rabbi Arnold Saunders, Rabbi of Higher Crumpsall and High Broughton Synagogue in Salford.

0855

It’s become a truism to say that social media will influence the outcome of the general election. How though, exactly? A number of ways have already been suggested but here’s a new contender: it could increase turnout. In the USA in 2010, a Facebook campaign to increase voter registration was thought to have brought more than 300,000 extra voters out to the polls. Today, national Voter Registration Day, Facebook are doing the same thing in the UK. Stewart Kirkpatrick was head of digital for the Yes campaign in the Scottish independence referendum. Ingrid Lunden is International Editor of the technology blog Techcrunch.

All subject to change.

Broadcast

  • Thu 5 Feb 2015 06:00