The Briefing Room

Our prisons are overcrowded, the Government recently released a group of prisoners early to ease the pressure. Britain seems to incarcerate more people per head of population compared to any other Western European country. Now the Government has announced there is going to be a Review of Sentencing to see what we can do to reduce the number of people in prison.Recently an eight week consultation period began, during which members of the public can send in their thoughts on how to tackle these issues.Why have prisons have become so over-crowded, and what we can do about it?John Podmore, former prison governor and prison inspector and author of Out of Sight Out of Mind: Why Britain's Prisons Are Failing Nicola Padfield, Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice, at the University of Cambridge Catherine Heard, Director of the World Prison Research Programme, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of LondonPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar, Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

All over Europe and in the corridors of Nato policy makers are discussing the implications for the continent of the Trump victory in the American presidential election. For 70 years the alliance with the USA has been the foundation stone of European defence. During his last term in office, it was reported that Trump wanted to take the US out of Nato. That didn’t happen but he made clear his discontent at the lack of defence spending among member states. Can that alliance can be maintained, if so on what terms and if not, what then? Guests: Heather Conley, a senior advisor to the think tank, the German Marshall Fund's (GMF) board of trustees Elisabeth Braw, who is now at the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, of The EconomistPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years. Naturally there was a flurry of instant responses to individual tax measures, but what about the big picture? Well, more than a week has passed, and the dust is settling. We thought it was time to return to a panel of experts who we spoke to in September. Is this really a once in a generation budget? What will it mean for the government’s finances and services? Will it bring much needed growth? And what might the re-election of Donald Trump mean for the British economy? Guests:Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Mehreen Khan, economics editor of The Times Chris Giles, economics commentator at The Financial Times.Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Diane Richardson and Kirsteen Knight Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar and Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the recent events in Lebanon. Israel has been widely blamed for a series of pager and walkie-talkie attacks targeting members of Hezbollah. Does this mark the invention of a new kind of warfare and what might the wider consequences be for the region?Guests:Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defence editor Professor Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London Ronen Bergman, Israeli investigative journalist for The New York TimesPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Natasha Fernandes and Ben Carter Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon