Sunday 10th March 2002

This year marks the Queen's Golden Jubilee and plans for the celebration are going full steam ahead. Chairman of the Golden Jubilee Trust Lord Sterling talks about his strategy to encourage the British public to party, and refutes claims from Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker that the money could be better spent.

The National Union of Teachers has called for a London-wide strike this Thursday. It wants more pay for its members. Head of the NUT Doug McAvoy explains why that's the key to improving the education system. Meanwhile, the former head of Ofsted Chris Woodhead advocates a more radical solution - completely overhauling the way state schools are controlled and run.

The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, told the programme that while there were problems in delivering improvements in health, education and transport services, the government was determined to press ahead with public service reforms. He acknowledged that the government was having difficulty in getting it's message across, but insisted that they had managed to put the row over Stephen Byers...and the resignation of his officials....behind them. He claimed that there no divisions in cabinet over the approach to President Bush and his aims to wage war on Iraq. The Deputy Prime Minister also insisted that rumours that he was about to quit politics were totally untrue, though he admitted he no longer had any ambition to lead the party.

Following another night of violence in the Middle East with another suicide attack killing many Israelis....and a retaliatory attack by Israeli jets on Yasser Arafat's HQ, Sir David talked to the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat and the Israeli ambassador to London: Zvi Shtauber.

The Shadow Home Secretary, Oliver Letwin has just returned from New York where he's been studying the operating methods of the NYPD and wondering whether their "zero tolerance" policies would work in the UK. He commented on David Blunkett's support for the controversial "stop and search" policies.....explained why he's fighting much of the Home Secretary's police reform bill...and talked about the Lib Dems new policy on legalising Cannabis. Oliver Letwin admitted he had smoked dope himself while at college, but claimed that he had done so unwittingly when friends put the drug in his pipe without his consent.

Lord Sterling, chairman of the Golden Jubilee trust and Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP

Doug McAvoy, head of the National Union of Teachers and Chris Woodhead, former chief inspector of schools

Oliver Letwin MP, shadow home secretary

Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator

Zvi Shtauber, Israeli Ambassador to London

John Prescott MP, deputy leader of the Labour Party