Politics Weekly podcast: Ukraine, IRA letters and the Daily Mail v Harriet Harman

The crisis in Ukraine continues this week amid a power vacuum, a currency crash and the manoeuvrings and military incursions of its neighbours. Kiev has requested the attention of the UN security council as Russian forces amass in the largely pro-Moscow and historically Russian region of Crimea. Joining Tom Clark in the studio are the Guardian's former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding, political columnist Michael White and political diarist Hugh Muir. Also this week: the collapse of the trial of a suspected former IRA killer has led to a judicial inquiry and the near resignation of Northern Ireland's first minister. The suspect – John Downey – was able to produce a letter from the British government that amounted to a "get out of jail free" card dating from the peace talks during Tony Blair's time as prime minister. Plus: the Daily Mail, which last year branded Ed Miliband's father Ralph "the man who hated Britain", has been campaigning to extract an apology from senior Labour figures who worked at the National Council for Civil Liberties in the 1970s. The NCCL, it transpires, allowed a group called the Paedophile Information Exchange to gain affiliate status. Several of its members were later convicted of sex offences. Has the row done lasting damage to Labour? Leave your thoughts below. Tom Clark Michael White Hugh Muir Phil Maynard Luke Harding

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