Friday Drivetime

BCfm’s weekly politics show presented by Tony Gosling

At five: discussing the big stories in Bristol, Britain and around the world
After six:  straight talking and investigative reports with Martin Summers and Marina Morris

For all the shows back to Easter 2009 visit the Friday Drivetime archive page.

First hour: review of the week’s news with Bristol Mayor George Ferguson who was directed to the wrong radio station by his staff so arrived 25 minutes late. Big dip in international share prices due to political instability in Portugal. Zero hour contracts and disastrous, worse than doing nothing, performance by the Work Programme providers mean underemployed or unemployed have less and less rights. Government and City of London putting more and more power in the hands of employers and taking it away from employees. They don’t provide enough jobs but blame the unemployed. Big dip in international share prices due to political instability in Portugal. Powerlessness and stripping rights from workers. Should the mayor reveal his diary? Marina Morris voxpop about the mayor’s first eight months, has George Ferguson made a difference? Over the Severn the Gwent police chief is ‘told to retire or be humiliated’ by the new crime commissioner, a former police superintendent. Former chief constable of Gwent police Carmel Napier tells MPs PCC Ian Johnston ordered her to retire. George Ferguson says he spent around £45,000 on his election campaign. Mayor sits on UK Core Cities Cabinet. George says he gets access to Secretaries of State. Mayor says Bristol is getting £400 million of transport infrastructure investment through the ‘City Deal’. Much for Metro Rail and Metro Bus, Portishead railway line for 2020 and beyond. Questioning the use of  the mayor’s volunteer budget adviser Matt Payne who is a volunteer from price fixing suspects KPMG. KPMG are being investigated both by the Competition Commission for price fixing and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) for approving nearly £50 billion of fictional assets in the accounts of just one UK bank in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Some might call it accounting fraud but if nobody dares to prosecute the criminals who cares? Details of Residents’ Parking Zones consultations still not announced but mayor says will be introduced in stages not just in one go.
[audio: 201307051700]
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Second hour: British journalist and film-maker Laurence De Mello reports live from Buenos Aries in Argentina on the continuing hunt for Nazi war criminals. She has uncovered evidence, including personal accounts, that Hitler’s deputy war criminal Martin Bormann was indeed living in Argentina in the 1950s along with Nazi doctors Josef Mengele, Carl Værnet and others. She even uncovered evidence Bormann had a daughter in 1953 but Efraim Zuroff director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre has been blocking her access to the Nazi hunting archives in an attempt to ensure US/UK Nazi connections Laurence has discovered do not inform our understanding of history. Bormann was living at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires throughout 1953. Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV is banned in the UK by Ofcom and by several satellite operating companies such as Intelsat and Eutelsat. Isser Ali reports for Press TV where Lord Ahmed criticises the Zionist lobby and former London mayor Ken Livingston believes it is US influence behind this connected to the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (ITSO) is convening next Thursday, 11th July, to discuss the censorship. Andrew Langdon QC from Guildhall Chambers and solicitor Will Stone from Avon and Bristol Law Centre discuss this Tuesday’s appearance of Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling at the Justice Select Committee. He has had to do a U-turn over whether legal aid clients can chose their solicitor but is accused of sharp practice in trying to divert attention from some of the key proposed changes by proposing extreme and monstrous attention grabbing ideas he does not expect ever to happen. Will Stone explains how badly people are being hit by legal aid changes particularly now rights to advice and representation at employment tribunals has been withdrawn. Both agree we are moving under these Tory changes to a two tier justice system, one for the rich and none for the poor. Jurriaan Maessen from Dutch website Explosive Reports on the resurgence of Eugenics and the historic German Hanseatic League which he sees as a medieval precursor of the modern day European Union or EU linking these traditions also to the cult of the Teutonic Knights.
[audio: 201307051800]
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