Today, Julie is in the constituency. The House of Commons is on Whitsun recess.
Headlines
Video is released of kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston; some predatory paedophiles should be treated in the community, a senior police officer says; and parents can now check children's heart surgery survival rates at their local clinic online.
Politics
Unions urge a "new start" from Gordon Brown; Tony Blair is due to hold talks with South African President Mbeki; and a Tory MP apologises for being caught parking in a disabled bay.
Run-up to G8 2007
In advance of the G8 summit, the Prime Minister delivered a keynote speech in Midrand, near the South African capital Pretoria. He said: “I have learnt over the last 10 years that if we don't act together on poverty, on climate, to stop conflict, we concede the space to others with another world's view and values.”
He said unless democratic values were evenly spread, the battle for a more just and tolerant world would not be won: “The danger is this: if we do not act we lose the wider struggle, all so familiar to Africa. Wealthy nations and Africa, both of us face a choice — us, as to how far we help Africa to take the right path. Africa, as to which path to take.''
On hopes for progress on African development at the G8, Tony Blair said: "Africa is close to my heart. It has also been at the top of my foreign policy for the last 10 years.
“Above all and most controversially, Africa has been a prime example of a foreign policy that has been avowedly interventionist. I believe in the power of political action to make the world better and the moral obligation to use it.
“Where oppression, poverty and injustice exists, it is not only our duty but also in our self interest to do what we can to bring about change for the better. Nowhere is that clearer than here in Africa."
He pointed out that conflict on the continent created millions of refugees and poverty deprived it of the chance to succeed while failed states were “breeding grounds for the very extremism that threatens us everywhere”.
“It is easy for people to mock the pretensions of an interventionist policy and intervention never fares as well as we would like. But consider the alternatives and then make the choice — suppose we did nothing. We did do nothing or little as Rwanda slid into genocide, as HIV/Aids grew, as Liberia and Sierra Leone descended into gangsterism. The international action of the past few years hasn't transformed Africa but it has undoubtedly made it better.”
On the international partnership with Africa Tony Blair told the audience: “We have to stay with it for the long haul. We now have a broad political consensus for Africa in the UK. Excellent. We need the same in the EU.
“We need each G8 to be bolder on Africa than the last G8. If we do this and Africa responds as an equal partner we will have set a strategic goal that in time we will achieve. But if we give up, we will lose the chance in this continent for our values to take root. It would be a calamitous mis-judgment.”
“Progress does not come from the cautious. It isn't borne of the status quo. It tends to challenge conventional wisdom. It rarely is the product of refraining — nearly always a consequence of sustained action against the odds. It accepts the pain of transition and it never yields to the notion of the way things are.
"Next week at the G8 Summit, leaders will show whether, having put Africa at the top of the global agenda, we have the perseverance and vision to see it through. I hope we have."
On African governance, the PM urged African states and the West to chose the right path for the continent. He contrasted the way chosen by countries such as Ghana for economic growth and stability with the alternative of Zimbabwe and Sudan. He said that the path chosen by Zimbabwe and Sudan of "bad government and violent oppression" led to economies "spiralling down". He said: "Wealthy nations and Africa both face a choice: us, as to how far we help Africa to take the right path, Africa as to which path to take."
Calling on the government of Sudan to halt the conflict in Darfur or face the prospect of sanctions, he said: "We must offer President Bashir a choice. Engage with us on a solution. Or, if you reject responsibility for the people of Darfur, then we will table and put to a vote sanctions against the regime."
Read more here.
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Julie will hold a public meeting tomorrow to celebrate the courage of Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically-elected leader of Burma held under house arrest since 2003. The meeting will also highlight human rights abuses, as part of an international effort organised by the Burma Campaign UK to draw attention to the plight of millions of Burmese people .
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