Week in Westminster - 02/05/2009

Popular opinion on the issue of allowing visas for former Ghurkas to enter Britain took the government by surprise this week leading to a defeat in a vote in the House of Commons. Damian Green Conservative spokesman on immigration and Liberal Democrat Sir Menzies Campbell, whose party lead the charge on behalf of the Gurkhas assess the misjudgement. MPs expenses came up again in the Commons, in spite of the government having backed a review of the whole question to be undertaken by Sir Christopher Kelly. Tony Wright, chair of the Public Administration Committee and Sir George Young chairman of the Standards and Privileges committee put their heads together to chart their way through the various proposals. Also in the programme: Do we need a defence review now that British troops are leaving Iraq? Two former defence secretaries Lord Robertson and Lord King discuss. And two former secretaries of state for health Stephen Dorrell and Patricia Hewitt talk of their experiences during the health scares of CJD and Avian flu.