Wednesday, 27 September, 2006

By Gavin Esler
Presenter, BBC Newsnight

President Musharraf is promoting his book "In the Line of Fire"

Presented by Gavin Esler

Comment on this programme

Pakistan and George Bush's "war on terror"

I can't say too much about tonight's top story at the moment, but it involves new information about Pakistan and the war on terror, and features an extraordinary interview with President Musharraf himself.

Worth staying up for I can assure you.

Speed cameras

A great aid to road safety or an unfair tax on those honest enough to pay the fines without a fight?

As two motorists go to Strasbourg to protect their privacy from snooping speed cameras, the UK's top traffic policeman has just launched a crackdown on motorists who use legal loopholes to avoid convictions for speeding.

But we can reveal that police have been using their own loophole to cancel tickets for their officers who have been caught speeding.

And from Martha Kearney at the Labour Party Conference:

Bed Bugs and brass bands

Day Three in the Big Conference House and the strains are already beginning to show.

You may know that there is a certain amount of condition between ourselves and the Today programme.

On Monday (as Jeremy wrote) they were bombed by pigeon droppings. Now in a spirit of oneupmanship we've been hit by bed bugs.

Our cameraperson Julie - veteran of many war zones - was a bit surprised to be attacked by bedbugs in Salford. Morale was further lowered when the team arrived at work this morning slightly jaded after intense late night political analysis in the Midland Hotel bar to find a brass band practising loudly in our newsroom.

See how we suffer for you.

And David Grossman is being shouted at by Labour MPs who seem to think he's been causing mischief by handing out Newsnight wristbands inscribed with the names of leadership contenders. That was before the latest batch arrived which say "I am backing anyone but Gordon".

We're reserving a space in the sick bay for David later.

Meanwhile he's been analysing the new policy proposals announced at the conference and whether they amount to a programme of constant renewal in government of the kind Bill Clinton talked to conference about today.

"Stay in the future business!" he told them.