It feels like another Budget

The 10p tax saga will take a further twist today - as Government announces its plans to offer 'compensation' to those who have been left worse off by the changes.

"It almost feels like another Budget to me, it is very strong politically. They [Labour] cannot afford to get it wrong again, it would be a disaster.

"We need to crunch the numbers to make sure there are no mistakes in there."

"There is a feeling though, that more people were scared by this 10p tax row than actually affected by it."

"I think an element of that is true, lots of people are now blaming the Government because they are worse off - and thinking it's due to the 10p tax changes.

"But the rising cost of living is the thing which is having the main impact."

On the same day that the 10p tax plans are unveiled, the Bank of England inflation hit 3 per cent last month, way above its target of 2 per cent.

The death toll in the China earthquake has climbed to about 10,000.

"Lindsey [China correspondent] does not look as if she is going to be able to get to the worst-affected region in time.

"There is only one plane an hour from Beijing, and she's already been delayed for three hours.

"The pictures are very strong already so I don't think there's any point in doing a 'truck and rush' effort on this - it's best as a two-way interview.

"We need a really strong graphic to show the areas hit by the disaster.

"Lindsey says the Chinese are dealing with it very well, which is a contrast to Burma."

"On Burma; I think we will leave it today, so the reporter can find some strong stuff for later in the week. There does not seem to be much happening on the ground at the moment."

There are also harrowing pictures of famine in Somalia.

"We have some exclusive footage which we really need to get on."

"I can't stress enough how key these pictures are - I've got NGOs ringing me up because they've heard we have got them.

"They've not even seen these images and they are on the ground."

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