dateline london. hello and welcome to the programme that brings together international correspondents, some of the uk s leading commentators and those who file their stories for the folks back home under the headline dateline london. this week lobbying in all its forms. lobbying against and for the royalfamily, lobbying to liberate a woman imprisoned in iran, and whether those who lobby on behalf of repressive governments around the world are sufficiently regulated in the uk. joining us for dateline this week. polly toynbee, a long serving columnist for the guardian in the uk, and henry chu, deputy news editor for the la times, which means he s up when la sleeps, making sure that national news in the states is well reported. and then, when the uk is sleeping, he s probably also trying to file stories from back here, too. he never rests! with me in the studio, mark urban, diplomatic editor with the bbc s newsnight programme. welcome. let s start with the royal family. sunday
hello and welcome to the programme that brings together international correspondents, some of the uk s leading commentators and those who file their stories for the folks back home under the headline dateline london. this week lobbying in all its forms. lobbying against and for the royal family, lobbying to liberate a woman imprisoned in iran, and whether those who lobby on behalf of repressive governments around the world are sufficiently regulated in the uk. joining us for dateline this week polly toynbee, a long serving columnist for the guardian in the uk, and henry chu, deputy news editor for the la times, which means he s up when la sleeps, making sure that national news in the states is well reported. and then, when the uk is sleeping, he s probably also trying to file stories from back here, too. he never rests! with me in the studio, mark urban, diplomatic editor with the bbc s newsnight programme. welcome. let s start with the royal family. sunday was commonweal
newsnight programme. which means he is up when the uk sleeps making sure national news in the us as well reported in the uk is sleeping his probably find a felt stories here to, so he never rests. sunday was commonwealth day the annual celebration of an institution created to maintain links which in the past were the result of exploration, colonisation and conquest. queen elizabeth, its head since august 1952, may see it as proof that empire has given way to equality. yet hours later, harry her grandson and his wife meghan, were in that much trailed tv interview describing the british monarchy as an institution where there were concerns and conversations about how dark their unborn baby s skin might be. harry said racism in the country, the media and the palace was a large part of why the couple have left the uk for good. this is clearly damaging to the families involved but how damaging is it to the institution? it is families involved but how damaging is it to