Show 1 - £10 CCTV and the Data Protection Act

Note this show made the Channel 4 news earlier in the evening it was broadcast as a piece about the DPA

UK has more CCTV cameras per Capita than any other country

If anyone has personal data about you you can request it, they have 40 days to comply before you can report them to the registrar

First company to respond was Nestle includes this quote:

Balfour Beatty claimed they didn't have any which is a bit odd as someone sent Mark a letter from Lord Weir to Stephen Byers about him.

Refers to "Mark Thomas, the soix dissant comedian". soix dissant means so-called or self styled. Send off a complaint to the regulator

Environment agency sent one including:

Goes on to explain how they are going to counter-stunt Mark by having their own Geiger counter and everyday objects to demonstrate how everyday items are radioactive.

"Unfortunately the Data Protection Act comes under the Home Office."

DTI quote found amongst the response from them:

MOD stuff had emails including chatting between colleagues about the show and swapping videos of the show

A30

Across the front in flowers was the word "Terrorists?"

Mark asks the senior officer about this who claims they don't have a video crew there.

The data protection act also covers CCTV footage so Mark wrote to ask for copy of their footage and they complied.

Security exhibition where over half of the companies exhibiting hadn't registered for the DPA

Convinces some of the companies to register on-line in the internet cafe on site

Mark goes down to the DTI and holds up a sign in front of their CCTV and then asks for the footage, which they get.

Went to Newham. The council have a software system called Mandrake which is attached to their CCTV cameras. The system is designed recognise faces and put red rings around known faces on the footage.

Sent in DPA requests for both

"It has not been possible for us to extrapolate your images from those of unknown 3rd parties. In view of that we are unable to release the vdeo footage."

Football

took 25 video activists along to film them

Credits

Assistant Producer: JACK CHESHIRE

Production Assistant: KATHERINE EDWARDS

Titles & Design: BLAZKHO

Gaffer: STEVE SMITH

OB Camera Supervisor: ROB SARGENT

Lighting Director: ROBIN THORBURN

Additional Camera: PAUL O'CONNOR

Dubbing Mixer: ELI PERL

Off Line Editor: STEVE TEMPIA

Producer: GEOFF ATKINSON

© Channel Four Television Corporation MMI

MEPS

They have a similar register in the European Parliament

They led Mark to a room and showed the register to Mark

You have to visit and see the forms and you can't photocopy or film them. If you want a copy you have to write it down by hand

Managed to film some of them by pretending to do a white balance test

Next week Mark goes to see Jaques Poos, the Quaestor MEP

He suggests they could ask someone nearby to go and look for them.

Channel 4 not happy about putting the website live as they might break some laws in other member countries and Mark could be extradited for it.

Mark bumps into Mr Poos and tells him that he has put his phone number up on the internet so people can ask him to go and check out A members interests for them.

Next went to visit Roger Helmer, a Tory MEP about his amendment to a ban on phthalates used in children's toys apparently prompted by pressure from industry lobbyists

He happily puts the plastic cat in his mouth

MEPS

www.mepsinterests.com

Greeks have a law where their MPs have to declare all their property including boats and cars.

Mark offers a £500 reward for the first person to shop a British MEP

Written and Performed by: MARK THOMAS

Researchers: DUNCAN BARNES SUSAN FOULIS

Production Assistant: KATHERINE EDWARDS

Titles & Design: BLAZKHO

Gaffer: STEVE SMITH

Floor Manager: TOBY BAKER

Sound Supervisor: KEITH NIXON

Location Camera: STEVE ROBSON

Dubbing Mixer: ELI PERL

Off Line Editor: STEVE TEMPIA

Producers: GEOFF ATKINSON, CHRISTOPHER MARTIN

© Channel Four Television Corporation MMI

Meachy Meacher

Raises lots of questions about accountability

It is possible to get each properties ownership details but it costs £7.50 for each and there are over 100,000 properties

Legally their names can't be broadcast

A labour minister has a flat there.

The 39th one that came through had a name that we recognised: Michael Meacher, the minister for the Environment

"An essential concomitant of a socialist democratization of power is a socialist attack on the class roots of capitalist society"

Gave the keys to Katie who works at a local hospital

By luck another Meacher property was found in central Wimbledon

This is from the man who in his book wrote:

Check with the register of member's interests. MPs are supposed to declare how many rented properties they own.

From his book again:

Contacted his press officer to ask for an interview

Bumrushed him on they way out to ask how many flats he has got. No response

From the book:

Brought the constituents down to London to see the £750 a week flat.

Meacher said he didn't know about the section 106 money.

"A policy of reducing artificial status divisions in housing must aim at deliberate interpenetration of council and private housing estates by significant numbers of units of the other type."

"Too many people have second homes or too large homes for their needs whilst too many others are homeless or badly overcrowded or lacking basic facilities."

Book;

Back in Oldham 35 people went along to Meacher's surgery to ask him how many flats he has got.

Credits

Assistant Producer: JACK CHESHIRE

Researchers: DUNCAN BARNES SUSAN FOULIS

Production Assistant: KATHERINE EDWARDS

Titles & Design: BLAZKHO

Gaffer: STEVE SMITH

Floor Manager: TOBY BAKER

Sound Supervisor: KEITH NIXON

Location Cameras: JAMES SALIGARI, JULES SENIOR, STEVE ROBSON

Dubbing Mixer: ELI PERL

Off Line Editor: STEVE TEMPIA

Producers: GEOFF ATKINSON

© Channel Four Television Corporation MMI

Jazzy Books

Advertisers want to advertise in places where you don't expect

Jazzy books say they have saved the schools about £2 million

Mark goes to talk to some students at a school in North London who have a negative view of the advertising on the books

He hangs up.

Adidas

He isn't in, but they all leave questions for him on his voice mail

Students are brilliant with their questioning.

Once again he says the corporate line "we have a duty to our shareholders".

So they arrange to meet him

They Meet David Husselbee with the students, ME Richard Howitt, Endang Rokhnai from the Urban Community Mission in Indonesia and her translator,Tatiana Lukman.

Endang says they will only make tis much if they work overtime (7:30am to 9:00 pm)

Adidas were running a design a boot competition and Noel Jenkins, their Head of Geography shows him the designs that the students had done as homework.

Mark asked if Adidas would mind if a workers rights advert was ran alongside an Adidas one in Jazzy books.

The reason schools use Jazzy books is becaus ethey havent got enough funding, so what is it like in other countries? Someone sent in a school sign from Tanzania advertising Coca-Cola.

Zimbabwe may have to give the contracts fro services and supplies to the lowest bidder by law so they would have to use someone like Jazzy books rather than use products made in their own country. All very well getting an education but not much use if there are no jobs when you finish.

Mark accused him of being a "Capitalist Trotskyite". He said he didn't know what that was but it sounded good.

Written and Performed by: MARK THOMAS

Consultant: CHRISTOPHER MARTIN

Production Team: LUCINDA GILES, JAYNE HANCOCK

Production Manager: CATHERINE STRAUSS

Scenic Supervisor: GABRIEL MOSSA

Vision Mixer: LEIGH PANTON

OB Camera Supervisor: ROB SARGENT

Lighting Director: ROBIN THORBURN

Location Sound: MARK JELBERT, SEAN TAYLOR

On Line Editor: NICK KING

Director: MIKE WARNER

Made by VERA for Channel Four

Show 5 - Balfour Beatty

Mark offered Richard Caborn half of one of the shows to promote the ECGD if they would provide one bad example of ECGD

Ukraine - replacement for Chernobyl

Only one tender

5x the proper cost - World Bank

BB bribery and corruption

£42m for 2 Hotels - Ghana

Only 1 hotel was built rest was a complex of houses

Mark went along to a select committee hearing about he ECGD

One of them said not to allow Thomas chatting time after meetings

"The minister wants us to gather background/dirt on Thomas so we can rubbish him"

They said they were very open demonstrated by the fact that they had given Mark all the emails.

"Sir Michael Scholar explained that the DTI had tried to find ways to avoid having to make the email data available"

Turned up with some extras and a musical

Now time to talk about 5 bad ECGD projects, nothing to do with arms or the Ilisu dam

The Ukraine are "off cover" which means they get no loans because the country is run by the Mafia but the ECGD is preparing to finance the replacement for Chernobyl.

In Turkwell there is a dam project. Apparently Kenya is paying twice as much as they should be because they haven't put it out to competitive tender.

3. Kenya again

Raises huge questions on procurement procedures and financial mis-management

ECDG backed more dam projects. 3 British companies are facing bribery and corruption charges over the project, including Balfour Beatty.

ECGD combat corruption by asking companies to sign a form saying they won't be corrupt.

5. Ghana

An offshore company receiving taxpayers support?

People in Ghana told us there are serious problems as the loan is about to be called in and Ghana still owes £15 million and the project has been refinanced using Ghanaian taxpayers money.

The ECGD said they were aware of problems in Ghana and had reported the case to the Serious Fraud Office.

A labour MP has put forward a private members bill on bribery and corruption. Mark urges people to write to their MPs asking for them to support it

Credits

Assistant Producer: JACK CHESHIRE

Film Research: VAL EVANS

Production Manager: CATHERINE STRAUSS

Scenic Supervisor: GABRIEL MOSSA

Vision Mixer: LEIGH PANTON

OB Camera Supervisor: TIM HIGHMOOR

Lighting Director: ROBIN THORBURN

Location Sound: SEAN TAYLOR

On Line Editor: NICK KING

Director: MIKE WARNER

Made by VERA for Channel Four

Show 6 - Tube privatisation

This is a flagship policy engineered by John Prescott

When he was well enough to go back to work Balfour Beatty said they couldn't find him a job but they couldn't sack him. Every week they sent him a pay cheque for £0.00.

Went up with him the day he went back work but they didn't seem to know anything about it

Get a flat bed truck and set up an office on it and go to Balfour Beatty regional HQ (Midland House, Derby) on 25 January 2001.

No-one will come down and talk to them. They call the police.

Police officer was fabulous

They have already split the tube up into 4 separate companies (infracos)and are running it as if it were privatised already

And another chart showing the performance measurement for station and train ambience

Took a trip on the Circle line 0n 1st February 2001

"Competencies are not defined. There are no indications as to who does what on a daily basis"

"Other hazards and risks within London Underground Limited do not appear to have been considered in as much depth, such as driving, signal operation, track maintenance, assault vandalism, trespass, slips, trips and falls"

London Underground welcomed the report. Spoke to some of the drivers who are going on strike for safety reasons.

Waterloo speed restriction cost £375,000, track fire cost £96,000, Picadilly track fire cost £14,000. All the delays and incidents are costed now

23 successful prosecutions brought by the HSE against the companies bidding to run the tube. BB have 5 of them.

"...crap efficiency..."

"...disgust that this quality of work and poor attitude..."

""Please don't bother writing with apologies and all the usual fol-dah-rol"

Try to get Danny his job back again, outside BB head office in London on 2 February 2001. He is dressed as a security guard behind a desk on the pavement.

The whole thing seems to be about being shit and brilliant at the same time

Bit like saying "give us £10 or I'll mug you".

Written and Performed by: MARK THOMAS

Researchers: DUNCAN BARNES SUSAN FOULIS

Production Assistant: KATHERINE EDWARDS

Titles & Design: BLAZKHO

Gaffer: STEVE SMITH

Floor Manager: TOBY BAKER

Sound Supervisor: KEITH HAYES

Location Cameras: PAUL MUNGEAM, STEVE ROBSON, JULES SENIOR

Dubbing Mixer: ELI PERL

Off Line Editor: STEVE TEMPIA

Producers: GEOFF ATKINSON

© Channel Four Television Corporation MMI

Data Protection

David Shayler has applied to the Home Office

Jonathan Ross helps Mark out with and advert for the CCTV competition

An art student has decided to do the threepenny opera on CCTV as his dissertation

MEPs Interests

Had to take the site down and double check some stuff. Same woman was there from the first time.

Had a letter from a Tory MP about the plastic animals saying that he thought the piece was very funny, "shame you didn't use the cockerel first"

Started looking up what had been said in the European Parliament about the show "I also regret that a British comedy programme sought to make light of the Parliament. I think the sooner this is on the internet, the better."

Mark's mum showed him the front page of the newspaper which said about Rudy Vaz having 5 houses, believed to be second only to the environment minister Michael "8 homes" Meacher

Back in Oldham Dave Hibbert was quoted in the Oldham chronicle asying that Meacher had asked him to "make it clear to his constituents that he has 3 properties; one in the Cotswolds which was left to him by a family member, one in Chatterton for the overnight stays and a house in London. He has simply invested in 2 properties in Wimbledon.

So on 9th February 2001 Mark went to Oldham and held a poll. 75% said they did care.

Mark was sitting outside Tory office and someone came up to him syaing how good the item on Meacher was it was good to see the other lot get it for a change. Then he asked Mark "What are you doing outside Tory central office?"

In the register of member's interests William Hague says "Any fees received from speaking engagements will be paid into The William Hague Charitable Trust." It's been there for 2 years.

So where has the money been going

Next day (9th February 2001) went down to Conservative Central Office with a coach with 50 temps and offered for them to help with the office work

"The reason the trust was not registered with the Charity Commission was that the trust was never established. It was registered in the register of member's interests in advance of establishing it on advice of the registrar. However since the trust has not been set up, it will not be included in future register of member's interests. Any speaking fees are therefore given to local charities."

He won't add anything to the statement a number of times