Friday, 18 May, 2007
- 18 May 07, 05:37 PM
The Edgware dissident
Newsnight understands that one man, living in Edgware, may be masterminding a political campaign which could keep Pakistan's President Musharraf in power. Altaf Hussain is the leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement - MQM. He directs his flock via phone - when he talks thousands gather round in Pakistan to listen to him on loudspeaker.
But his critics - amongst them cricket legend turned opposition politician Imran Khan - say he shouldn't even be here. He accuses the British Government of giving sanctuary to a man whose party he alleges was linked to recent violence in Pakistan. Tonight we'll look at the Edgware operation, and speak to Imran Khan in Islamabad.
GB tour
Yesterday a softer, humbler sounding Prime Minister elect said he wanted to win back trust for the Labour Party and listen to the country. So we take to the road for the GB tour to see what he really means and indeed what the country's saying.
We kick off in Basildon, a bell weather constituency which was Tory under Thatcher and Labour under Blair. What do they make of Gordon?
Good day for burying awkward news?
MPs have just passed a controversial bill to exempt themselves and peers from freedom of information laws. What does this mean in practice? It means all of us - voters, media, the public at large, will have a much harder time finding out the truth from them. Just how does this fit into Gordon Brown's new attempt to build trust?
Wembley
We've almost forgotten how many years late it is but tomorrow the stadium will officially open. We have an interview with Michael Cunnah, the former CEO of Wembley who oversaw the building project. And we ask what the organizers of the Olympic Games should be learning from Wembley's mistakes.
The panel discusses: Zodiac the San Francisco serial killer thriller based on a true story; Dave Egger's latest 'novel' What is the What; Antony Gormley's Blind Light Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery; and Rufus Wainwright's new album Release the Stars.