Today - 05/10/2009

Presented by Evan Davis and Sarah Montague. After Ireland endorsed the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, attention now moves to Poland and the Czech Republic, who have yet to ratify it. Poland has promised to do so immediately after the Irish 'yes'. But what about the Czech republic? Prague correspondent Rob Cameron explains the pressures facing the Czech Republic and the eurosceptic leader of the Free Citizens Party, Petr Mach, discusses why some in the country fear the Treaty. MI5 is marking its centenary with the publication of an authorised history. Security correspondent Gordon Corera speaks to Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former Director General of MI5, who steered the security service through its most recent challenges, including the 7/7 suicide bomb attacks in London. Whatever happened to the Young Conservatives? From the Tory party conference, the head of Conservative Future, Michael Rock, and member Emma Carr discuss how the party plans to appeal to younger voters. Pilots from 36 countries are demonstrating across Europe at new EU rules that govern how long they can fly. They say say the rules are flawed and will raise the risk of an accident. Jim McAuslan, secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association, explains their concerns. UN nuclear watchdog the IAEA is to send a team to visit the newly-revealed uranium enrichment plant in Iran. The head of the body, Mohammed ElBaradei announced the visit after holding talks with the Iranian president. Former chief inspector and former head of the IAEA, Hans Blix, explains how useful these visits are. The Conservative Party, which is, meeting in Manchester, looks likely to win the next general election. But the party is struggling to find a tone that looks suitably confident but does not look too complacent. Evan Davis visited the constituency of Broxtowe to find out if the party have the right message to ensure a Tory victory. Thought for the Day with the religious commentator Clifford Longley. To coincide with the centenary of MI5, Christopher Andrew, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University, has written an authorised history of the security service. He explains what he found after being given unprecedented access to their archives. Contains language which might offend. Will the Irish decision to ratify the Lisbon Treaty cause rifts in the Conservative Party at their annual conference? Political editor Nick Robinson analyses the fallout from the Lisbon Treaty referendum. Day one of the Conservative Party conference has seen the party announce a number of pledges, includng cutting benefits for half a million people and a shake-up of the education system. They plan to introduce 12 new technical schools in large urban areas. Michael Gove, shadow spokesman on children, schools and families - and one of the party's big thinkers - discusses their pledges. A study of the final year work of students at Imperial College, London found that British scholars are far worse at spelling than their foreign counterparts. Bernard Lamb, the former president of the Queen's English Society, who carried out the study, and Jack Bovill, chair of the Spelling Society, discuss whether bad spelling has any implications. This time last year, the Taliban and its 'shadow governments' operated mainly in its traditional strongholds. Now, they are spreading their influence across the country. Afghanistan correspondent Martin Patience reports from Kabul on the growing influence of the Taleban on the country. Church services have been held across the South Pacific islands of Samoa to remember the 176 people killed in last week's tsunami. Correspondent Phil Mercer reports from the Samoan capital, Apia, on a remarkable story of survival from someone who was caught up in the disaster. At five years old, Varsha is the youngest person in the world to hold a black belt in karate, having learnt from her father, a former Indian national champion. Evan Davis went along to see just how dangerous this five-year-old might be in a fight. A new history of the 4th century BC reveals how the collapse of Greek democracy occurred in circumstances similar to our own. They were going through a crippling economic downturn and their politicians committed serious financial misdemeanours. Dr Michael Scott, author of From Democrats to Kings and classicist at Cambridge University, discusses the comparisons and whether looking back at history can help to explain contemporary society. The Conservative Party have pledged to repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British bill of rights. Daily Mail columnist Peter Oborne and Dominic Grieve, the shadow justice secretary, whose job is to write such a bill, discuss the pledge.