Question Time LIVE: Is there going to be a WAR with Syria? Flagship BBC show RETURNS
QUESTION TIME returns to Liverpool after a hiatus in what promises to be yet another explosive episode featuring all the most pressing issues and matter of the day with a panel of political heavyweights.
BBC Question Time returns after a hiatus
11.46pm: This is the end!
Next week is in Chesterfield, panel is Liz Truss, Diane Abbot and Vince Cable.
Week after is Bury St. Edmunds where Matt Hancock and Caroline Lucas will be on the panel.
11.44pm: Johnson said Gardiner's comments on Good Friday agreement disgraceful, Gardiner apologised about how it sounded.
11.42pm: Horlick worried about future of UK because of Brexit
Said UK reliant on EU.
11.42pm: Audience member asks about Northern Ireland.
11.40pm: Andrews said we won't get all benefits from EU, but will get new ones
Said there can only be free trade if we leave Single Market and Customs Union - but it will be OK.
11.40pm: Freedland said it is an irrational act to leave Brexit
Said it is against national interest.
11.40pm: Freedland booed
Said there should be a vote before UK leaves
11.38pm: Audience member said why wasn't all the debates happened before referendum?
She was being sarcastic, it was not simplistic.
11.37pm: Johnson said Brexit shows lack of leadership from Corbyn - again
Said Labour are playing games with Brexit policy.
11.36pm: Dimbleby called him out on his phrase, said Owen Smith was fired for saying less
Gardiner said he was talking about the Conservative's position.
11.35pm: Gardiner called Labour's Brexit policy as b****cks
He said he campaigned to remain.
An audio recording of @BarryGardiner using colourful language to rubbish one of Labour's Brexit tests was released this week #bbcqt https://t.co/ipuRdin55l pic.twitter.com/Qbmu1CD9iQ
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.34pm: Fourth question
Is is it reasonable to leave a private club and get all the same benefits as members?
11.33pm: Audience memebr shouting out, raucous breaking out
11.33pm: Audience member said Foreign Secretary racist many time
Johnson said not a racist bone in his body.
11.32pm: Johnson disagrees
Said it is a travesty.
11.32pm: Gardiner said there has not been a leader like Corbyn "always standing up" for human rights
Said he is consistent.
Israel's Labor Party has suspended relations with UK Labour over the anti-semitism allegations #bbcqt https://t.co/m4FO0fI9c3 pic.twitter.com/aCNwV0X6PC
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.30pm: Gardiner said Ken Loach was wrong
Corbyn sent personal letter to say MP had right to be at anti-Semitism protest.
11.28pm: Andrews crticised Chakrabarti report
Said report found Party was not "overrun" with anti-Semitism, she got peerage - what about Jewish community?
11.27pm: Horlick said it is totally unacceptable for schools to have high-security around them
Said people must be dealt with and holocaust deniers must be expelled.
11.26pm: Johnson said it is not good enough
Said Corbyn showed lack of leadership.
Corbyn: Labour must do better on anti-Semitism #bbcqt https://t.co/vW8ow6Rsf4 pic.twitter.com/RF0pmnbD43
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.25pm: Audience member said it is not being tackled as seriously as it should be
Said children go to Jewish school and have been verbally abused.
11.24pm: Freedland said Gardiner's response "not good enough"
Said there is a specific kind of left-wing anti-Semitism - jews are seen as "below" and also "above".
.@JoJohnsonUK says that although it is tragic for the family of the burglar who was stabbed to death in Hither Green, it is equally tragic for the homeowner #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/SQzK7CYnRU
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.22pm: He said there is a rise in anti-Semitism in society
He said Labour will stamp it out.
11.21pm: He said Labour is so big it reflects "bad aspects of society"
He said it reflects good and bad.
11.20pm: Gardiner said more must be done
He said it should not have happened and it is shameful as a member of the Labour Party.
Here's the Community Security Trust Antisemitic Incidents Report 2017: https://t.co/fctuhqMNRE #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/KA9MKblxny
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.18pm: Third question
Do we need to do more to tackle anti-Semitism?
11.17pm: Gardiner said the shrine is intimidation, does not agree with police assessment
Family have a right to mourn, but it should be elsewhere.
11.17pm: Johnson said shrine is inappropriate
People have a right to grieve but they should not put up a shrine.
Mounted police are now patrolling the area where a suspected burglar was stabbed in London #bbcqt https://t.co/8DgglhmVpP pic.twitter.com/2HBZZjAznb
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.15pm: Audience member said he had no sympathy for burglar
He said he had free will.
11.14pm: Andrews said not appropriate place to grieve
Said to imagine being in that situation, a lot of victims in that situation.
11.13pm: Horlick said residents need to be protected
Stopping flowers is "only way".
Our second question is about the death of a suspected burglar in London #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/MJqb5y3Kz0
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.12pm: Second question
Should there be a shrine for the burglar Henry Vincent?
11.11pm: Gardiner said there is no overall majority
There must be a vote because it is a hung Parliament
11.10pm: Johnson said Government can use military in emergency circumstances, Horlick said there is no threat
.@JoJohnsonUK says that he would vote in favour of air strikes in Syria if there is to be any vote on the matter in parliament #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/qeJhdqqFZQ
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.08pm: Jo Johnson slammed by audience member
Johnson said there will be time for people to hold Government to account, audience member said there has been devastation in that area.
11.08pm: Audience member said it must be voted on democratically
He said people need a voice, not weak and wobbly Government.
11.07pm: Audience member said we are in a proxy war with Russia
He said Nato needs to increase funding.
''The people of this country are too wise to this now''
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
This audience member says that the public are wary of the reasons given by the government for taking military action #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/prjuAmqI9V
11.06pm: Kate Andrews said Corbyn denied Russia was responsible
Student asked who was responsible, he said "someone is responsible".
11.05pm: Gardiner said Corbyn has conemned the attack
He said he has spoken out against it many times.
11.03pm: Audience member said he was from Salisbury and WAR is already on our doorstep
He said Jeremy Corbyn has shown no strength and is "passive".
.@NicolaHorlick says there is no justification for the Prime Minister to take action in Syria without consulting parliament #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/elnC2HXUSY
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.01pm: Nicola Horlick asks what the alternative to Assad is
She said most of Assad's assets have been moved anyway, there are tribal factions in the region and it is too complicated.
11.00pm: Gardiner seems to be advocating military action
But we should not be "gun-ho".
.@KateAndrs says that countries such as the UK, the US and France must come together with a strong, tactical solution over Syria #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/kUgFpc8vu6
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.57pm: Barry Gardiner said there must be a debate in Parliament
He said there is no urgency, UK is not under threat and Parliament is the place to authorise military action.
11.56pm: Audience member said public will "NOT be fooled"
He said he remembers Iraq.
11.56pm: Kate Andrews said nothing will be solved by bombing civilians
Said war should have been fought five years ago.
Jeremy Corbyn has warned that air strikes in Syria could risk triggering a "hot war" between the US and Russia #bbcqt https://t.co/GaahlR3KEZ pic.twitter.com/KtpvH4jOc2
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.54pm: Audience member said if people cared about Syria they should care about Saudi Arabia
Why is nothing being done?
11.54pm: Audience member said something must be done
11.53pm: Mr Freedland said "something must be done"
He advocates military action.
11.52pm: Jonathan Freedland said there could be a confrontation with Russia
He said we should not give a "blank cheque" to Trump or allow Assad a "free pass".
As ever, you get our first question in advance #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/vlbiZTP8aK
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
11.51pm: Jo Johnson said there may not be a vote on war
He said Parliament is to hold the "executive to account".
11.49pm: Jo Johnson said the Government "must take action" over Syria
Slightly vague answer, has not said if there will be military action but said it supports US and France.
11.48pm: First question
If Britiain take action against Syria, what will be our end game and what do we hope to achieve?
11.47pm: And we're off!
And with that, welcome to Question Time #bbcqt
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 12 April 2018
What might be discussed?
Tensions are extremely high following an alleged chemical attack last Saturday. Donald Trump, Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron are discussing military action. It seems likely a question will be asked along the lines of whether “the world can stand by and let Assad gas his own people?”
Jeremy Corbyn’s response might be mentioned, especially after his heavily criticised response to the Salisbury poisoning.
Knife crime has been in the news lately. It has ben focused around London but there have been incidents affected Liverpool too.
Will Brexit get a look-in this week…?
Liverpool is my home city!
— Nicola Horlick (@NicolaHorlick) 12 April 2018
and completing the #bbcqt line-up this Thursday is @KateAndrs from @iealondon pic.twitter.com/ypWG4AG0PO
— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) 11 April 2018
Who is on the panel?
Kate Andrews
She is the news editor at the free-market Institute for Economic Affairs.
Ms Andrews is also a City AM columnist and worked on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Jonathan Freedland
Guardian columnist and author.
He was the paper’s Washington correspondent and presents the Radio 4 series The Long View.
Nicola Horlick
Investment fun manager and was Vice President of Unicef from 2003-06.
She is also the author of “Can you have it all?”
Jo Johnson
Conservative Transport Minister and brother to Boris and journalist Rachel Johnson.
He was in charge of David Cameron’ policy unit and a former Financial Times journalist.
Barry Gardiner
Shadow International Trade Secretary and Labour MP for Brent North since 1997.
He was Minister for Northern Ireland (2004-2005).