The Briefing Room

An independent review of police investigations into VIP sex abuse has found 43 police failings - but why did the police drop the ball with so many high-profile cases?The Henriques Review looked into the police investigations of public figures, including former Home Secretary Lord Brittan, retired army chief Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor, a former Conservative MP. Justice Henriques criticises the police for choosing to believe uncorroborated accusations rather than approaching the investigations with an open mind. Speaking publicly for the first time Lady Diana Brittan tells reporter Alistair Jackson about the allegations made against her husband, the former Conservative minister Leon Brittan and the failure of the police to inform Lord Brittan before he died that no further action would be taken.He digs deeper into Operation Midland and Operation Vincente: police investigations that spanned several years, costing millions in tax-payers' money, and drew in large numbers of police officers. He speaks to people closely involved and finds out why the Metropolitan Police has now issued apologies.David Aaronovitch asks how historical sex abuse investigations should be handled and asks if police preoccupation with historic sexual abuse cases is hampering their ability to investigate more recent crimes.Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Producer: Hannah Sander

Theresa May has promised new trains, faster broadband and improved infrastructure. Critics accused her of adopting Labour Party politics. But is it left-wing to invest in infrastructure?During the Great Depression, John Maynard Keynes encouraged governments to dig holes until the economy was restored. The explosion of building in 1930s America is often seen as Keynes' words in action - but the New Deal was not as straightforward as we may think. The Economist's Soumaya Keynes finds out what really happened.After the 2008 crisis, politicians turned to Keynes' ideas once again. First Ed Miliband, then George Osborne and now Theresa May have pledged to build us out of trouble. How has this idea moved across the political spectrum - and could traffic lights and bridges really solve our economic woes?Joining David Aaronovitch in the Briefing Room are: Sir John Armitt, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers Michelle Baddeley, Professor of Economics and Finance at University College London Tim Worstall, Senior Fellow at the Adam Smith InstituteResearcher: Jordan Dunbar Producer: Hannah Sander.

What does Black Lives Matter stand for in the UK?In the United States it is a protest movement formed in reaction to the killing of black people by police, and now there are BLM chapters in Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester and London. The British organisation's most high profile action so far has been a blockade of airports and major roads - but what are the key issues driving the Black Lives Matter campaign in the UK? Joining David Aaronovitch in this edition of The Briefing Room are:Doton Adebayo, journalist and BBC 5 live presenter Stephen Bush, special correspondent at The New Statesman Kiri Kankhwende, political commentator for Media Diversified Researcher: Alex Burton Producer: Joe Kent

Illiberal democracy is gaining traction across Europe - a political philosophy which in part draws support from the far right, championing anti-migrant and anti-EU sentiment. Among the most visible illiberal democrats' is Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban who believes in the idea of nation states that govern in the interests of their indigenous populations, unencumbered by concepts like human rights, civil liberties and internationalism. David Aaronovitch explores how ideas once found on Europe's political fringes are becoming increasingly mainstream. CONTRIBUTORS Daphne Halikiopoulou, Associate Professor at the University of ReadingCas Mudde, Professor at the University of Georgia.Chris Bowlby, BBC journalist and former Prague correspondentProducer: Joe Kent Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Innes Bowen

As part of its response to the Brexit vote, the Bank of England will buy an extra £70 billion of bonds and will create new money to do so. The aim is to stimulate the economy and try to meet the government's 2% inflation target. But will it work? The Bank of England began its programme of quantitative easing back in 2009 following the financial crisis. It began buying bonds, mostly government debt, from pension funds and other investors Before this latest round of QE was announced, the Bank already owned £375 billion of bonds, around a quarter of total outstanding government debt. Its supporters say it has brought down borrowing costs for the government and for other investors and has helped to push up prices. Its detractors say it has caused hardship for savers and has led to pension funds having to compete with the Bank of England for increasingly expensive bonds, which has seen their deficits balloon.In this episode, David Aaronovitch explores how QE works and examines the evidence of its impact so far. Was the Bank of England right to return to the policy following the EU referendum? Will it ever be unwound?Guests:Frances Coppola, financial blogger Stephen Jones, Chief Investment Officer, Kames Capital Toby Nangle, Fund manager, Columbia ThreadneedleProducer: Phil Kemp.

Why has it been so difficult to find peace in Syria, and what are the complicating factors which are getting in the way of a deal? In early September the US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a new agreement to reduce hostilities in Syria - the second attempt this year to initiate a ceasefire in a 5 year long civil war which has so far cost around half a million lives and displaced millions more people.Within a week of the announcement, the US had bombed President Assad's troops - an accident, it says - and Russia was accused of blowing up an aid convoy. The deal looks like it is disintegrating fast.So why has it been so hard to find resolution in Syria? Could it be that international intervention is part of the problem - elongating the war, rather than finding resolution?In this week's programme, David Aaronovitch and guests explore the hugely complex process of negotiating peace in Syria - one which involves multiple international players, hundreds of opposition groups, a jihadi insurgency and an arrogantly defiant Assad regime. What is the missing link in the current negotiations which could sustain the country's progress on the path to peace?CONTRIBUTORSAmbassador Fred Hof, Director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East and former advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on transition in SyriaCharles Lister, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, Washington DC and author of The Syrian JihadYasmine Nahlawi, Researcher in International Law at Newcastle University and Advocacy & Policy Coordinator for Rethink Rebuild SocietyDr Chris Phillips, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Queen Mary University of London and author of The Battle for SyriaProducer: Richard Fenton-Smith Researcher: Alex Burton

It's one of the strangest developments in a very strange election campaign. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, says Donald Trump is "colourful and talented". For his part, the Republican nominee says Putin "is very much a leader ... far more than our president has been a leader." More than flattering words, on specific policy points - such as the civil war in Syria, the influence of NATO in Eastern Europe, and sanctions against Russia imposed over the conflict in Ukraine - Trump and his advisors seem sympathetic if not outright supportive of Putin's foreign policy objectives. Donald Trump's policies are a startling departure from the normally hawkish Republican Party establishment, and Hillary Clinton and the Democrats have wasted no time in painting Trump's Russia links as a threat to national security.Meanwhile, according to reports in the American press, Russian intelligence agencies are actively looking to disrupt the election. The hack of Democratic National Committee emails, whose contents were released in July, is just one noteworthy example. In this edition of the Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch asks is Donald Trump Russia's man, or just anxious to rebuild half-burned bridges? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room this week will be:Gabriel Gatehouse, BBC International Investigations CorrespondentAnne Applebaum, columnist for The Washington Post and director of The Transitions Forum, The Legatum InstituteFranklin Foer, fellow at the New America think tank and a contributing editor to Slate.comProducer: Michael Wendling Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Innes Bowen.

The Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has warned that his party could be taken over by old Trots - Trotskyist entryists, who have no interest in winning elections but instead see Labour as a vehicle for revolutionary socialism.But what is a Trot, who was Leon Trotsky and what do his followers in Britain actually want? David Aaronovitch is joined by:Prof John Callaghan, Salford University Amy Leather of the Socialist Workers Party Michael Crick author of 'The March of Militant' and a journalist with Channel 4 NewsDr Bert Patenaude, Stanford University, author of 'Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary'Producer: Joe Kent Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Innes Bowen.

Jesse Morton was once a radical jihadi involved in the American offshoot of the banned British extremist group Al-Muhajiroun. Al-Muhajiroun's leader, Anjem Choudary, was convicted of inviting others to support the so-called Islamic State, and is awaiting sentencing. And Morton himself crossed the line and was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in prison for making violent threats in America. But while he was locked up, Morton underwent a profound transformation and is now speaking out against Islamic extremism. Morton, who is now free and working at a think tank at George Washington University, talks to David Aaronovitch about how he was seduced by jihadi ideology, how he snared others with radical interpretations of Islamic texts, and eventually how he came to see the errors in his own thinking and is working to repair the damage he caused along the way. CONTRIBUTORS: Jesse Morton Dominic Casciani, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent PRODUCER: Mike Wendling EDITOR: Innes BowenPHOTO CREDIT: Al Drago/New York Times/Redux/Eyevine

David Aaronovitch speaks to Milo Yiannopoulos about Donald Trump's new political base - the 'alt-right'.It's a mostly young, disparate movement which organises and congregates online, which has little in common with traditional Republicans. However, it's thanks to this new political base that Donald Trump clinched the Republican Party nomination, despite angering a long list of key groups of American voters - but what does the Alt-Right stand for?Its members are tribal and mostly sceptical about religion. They yearn for a strong leader and they loathe political correctness with a passion. Controversially, some leading figures have links to the white supremacist movement - a development which frightens many mainstream Republicans who promised a more inclusive party after Mitt Romney's defeat four years ago. And in an interesting twist, some of the leading voices in the movement come from Britain.In this episode, David Aaronovitch finds out more about the alt-right - who are they, what do they believe, and what role they will play in the Trump campaign and American politics at large.CONTRIBUTORS:Milo Yiannopoulos, senior technology editor, Breitbart NewsCathy Young, columnist, NewsdayREPORTER: Mike Wendling