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Snowmail: Osborne admits mistake

Updated on 27 October 2008

By Krishnan Guru-Murthy

A look forward to what's on this evening's programme.

George Osborne has admitted to making a mistake. It's an error of judgement at a time when judgement is what the Tories are fighting on.

The shadow chancellor has kept his head firmly down since the story broke of his discussions with the Russian aluminium billionaire Oleg Deripaska, thanks to his former Bullingdon Club chum Nat Rothschild.

There is also much talk within and without the Tory party about whether Osborne can survive this. So in what appears to have been a carefully choreographed appearance on the BBC's World at One Mr Osborne was allowed to talk about the economy for most of his interview and then was thrown a question about the whole Corfu yachtgate saga.

He says although he did nothing wrong it didn't look good and that in future he won't get involved in donations. So has he done enough to save his skin?

At least some of the anti-Osborne feeling has been coming from those who think he's got it wrong on policy. Several Tories are appalled that their leader and shadow chancellor have backed Gordon Brown on everything from the banking bailout to maintaining public spending and even some Keynesian stimulus. So the real reason some want him out is to hail a return to more Thatcherite economic policy.

Taking a pounding

On the economy itself Faisal Islam will be reporting on how Brown is slowly laying the paving for the ditching of his fiscal rules. We'll also be looking at why the pound is falling back so fast against the dollar and what it might mean.

Syrian deaths

I've just come back from a press conference held by the Syrian foreign minister, in town for a meeting with David Miliband. Sadly, the foreign secretary cancelled his own press conference, uneasy about what accusations might fly from his Syrian guest after the US special forces mission across the Iraq-Syria border this weekend that left eight people dead - civilians, according to the Syrians.

The foreign minister says the action was tantamount to terrorism and was a political act. Of course, the bigger question is what could happen after the presidential election and what Britain's role in the diplomatic manoeuvres might be.

There is a prize to be won here if the men in charge in Downing St and the White House want to go for it.

Menezes inquest

Also tonight, the latest from the Menezes' inquest, where one of the officers who shot the Brazilian at Stockwell tube has admitted that he could have made an arrest outside the station if he'd had the order. But it also didn't occur to him to let commanders know that he was in position.

Green plan

Plus as the British government bows to pressure and argument and agrees to take shipping and aviation into account in future carbon budgets (in other words, the amount Britain can emit), we will be looking at what that will mean in reality. Even bigger savings will have to be made in emissions elsewhere.

Fawlty judgement

And the strange saga of the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand phone calls to Manuel from Fawlty Towers - or rather, than man who played him, Andrew Sachs.

After a weekend of outrage in the press, the BBC has apologised for the unacceptable and offensive behaviour of its presenters. So what exactly happened? And how did anybody think this was a good idea?

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