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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Let’s pick up on some of those issues now with Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, he is of course Douglas Alexander, a very good morning to you. I know you listened to that interview with Mr Papadopoulos, do you go along with him when he says in particular this relationship between the economic problems and the political and social problems that this is leading to in Greece, that this can be done without a fracturing of Greek society.

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: Well the present situation in Greece is serious deteriorating, indeed unsustainable and that’s why I think action is needed and I hope that if Greece stays within the euro, which is Greece’s choice, then there needs to be more significant action, principally by Germany but by other countries within the European Union. There are genuine questions as to whether Greece should have been allowed to join the euro, you can’t forever have German rates of interest with Greek levels of productivity but that’s for the past. For the present, there is a huge level of pain being felt by the Greek people, the Greek economy hasn’t grown now for five years and that’s why I think there are very serious questions as to whether the response to date has been adequate, not just within Greece but actually from other eurozone countries as well.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well the response today in terms of the amount of money they have been given, we are talking about another huge tranche of euros being sent their way or you said that if it stays within the euro, do you think that might be the best option now for Greece, to get out of the euro and devalue whatever currency, presumably the drachma, it goes back to?

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: Well let’s say the position is unsustainable at present, it’s not for me to pre-judge whether Greece should leave the euro or not, that’s a decision for Greece and for the members of the eurozone. There has been speculation by other European leaders on this but it is very obvious if you read the economic commentary, that nobody believes the present situation is sustainable without serious structural reforms and continued cash transfers within the eurozone and that’s why it does turn not just on economics but on politics. I think all members of eurozone have to recognise that if they’re in a single currency, that does involve cash transfers and that places a heavy obligation principally on the Germans but on others within the eurozone as well.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Let me turn to another zone which I suppose reaches into the Mediterranean, I’m talking about Iran because we’ve got reports, haven’t we, that an Iranian warship has made its way into the Mediterranean. Iran, the Foreign Secretary says, is in danger of sparking a new Cold War but a more unstable – if that’s possible – Cold War than the last one, in the Middle East because of its nuclear ambitions.

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: I think it’s a time for calm heads and clear thinking because the situation is serious. The risks posed by Iran getting a nuclear weapon are very real, that’s why I would want the government’s focus in Britain not to be on raising the rhetoric but on redoubling their efforts to secure a diplomatic and peaceful outcome. Now I fully accept that that is going to be a tough call for all of the international community, the Iranians have proved themselves to be extremely difficult negotiating partners but I do believe the right approach at this stage is to push forward what’s called the twin track approach, on one hand offering genuine engagement, on the other hand tightening the peaceful pressure, strengthening the sanctions that are being felt at the moment. Incidentally when the international community says all options need to be left on the table, I agree and let me explain why. If we are to see any prospect of those diplomatic pressures changing the attitude of the regime within Teheran towards the development of nuclear weapons, then I do think they need to feel the full force of the international community in saying there is a period when we want to see this work taken forward and that period when we need change from Iran is now.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: But at the moment do you feel that – you mentioned the rhetoric, do you think that the Foreign Secretary is overdoing it by warning of a Cold War, should he bit more emollient?

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: Well I think the reality is that Teheran is not going to change its opinion on the basis of rhetoric. It is going to change its view as to its national interest if it believes that the pressure that is being brought to bear by the sanctions from the European Union, from Canada, from the United States and elsewhere, are having such an impact within Iran that they have got to think again about …

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: So it’s all about sanctions but in terms of raising the rhetoric, I mean let’s look at the other side of it. We saw on Wednesday President Ahmadinejad of Iran in a nuclear facility, trumpeting to the world their growing nuclear ambitions. We have these reports, as I referred to, of sending a warship through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, it’s the Iranians that are raising the rhetoric.

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: And that is exactly why it is an unacceptably high price for the international community and for regional neighbours for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. Listen, what has Ahmadinejad said in the past? He has denied the Twin Towers incident was caused in the circumstances that we all understand, he said that Jews should be driven into the sea, he has denied the Holocaust. The obscenity of Ahmadinejad’s language means that we cannot compromise with that kind of rhetoric, we simply need to say, as I say, with a calm voice but with a clear headed strategy, we will work together as an international community to stop Iran developing a nuclear capability in terms of nuclear weapons.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Okay, you mentioned sanctions, staying within the region, the issue of Syria. We all now know what’s going on in there, a lot of people are saying look, it’s time now in terms of what can be done, it’s time now certainly for the United Kingdom and other countries to just expel our ambassador. Why do we want lines of communications open with this regime?

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: Well partly we want to know what is going on in the country and the situation that’s …

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well they’re not going to tell us are they?

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: No, but to have diplomats on the ground gives you a better line of sight in terms of what’s happening in places like Homs than you would otherwise have but listen, I don't think the issue at this stage is whether we have an ambassador or they have an ambassador in London, the real issue is how do we sharpen the choice amongst those members of the Syrian military at the moment who are backing Assad. That’s why I have said that we should publish the names of those generals and those officers who are at the moment shelling Homs and have murdered more than 7000 civilians within Syria in recent months, 70,000 people now displaced within Syria. That’s why we need the Arab peace plan to work. I welcome the fact that there is going to be a Friends of Syria meeting taking place later this week but what we need from that Friends of Syria meeting is more co-ordinated action within the region, looking for example to countries like Lebanon to impose sanctions on its near neighbour, looking at countries like Turkey and Jordan to potentially be able to offer sanctuary for those military officers who are willing to desert the killing machine of Assad and choose a different future for Syria.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Okay, and just to end this, Mr Alexander, a question, an internal question about the Labour party. Lord Prescott is reported today as talking about the leader, as a former deputy leader himself, saying he should get his jacket on, he doesn’t look leaderly – if that’s a word! – when he takes his jacket off, to stop consulting and tell people what he really thinks.

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: Listen, I saw the reports, I mean some of us sometimes worried when John took his jacket off. Listen, the truth is I think this is the sort of …

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: But it is about the image he is portraying though. He’s sitting back and saying I’m consulting, I’m listening, I haven’t really got any policies yet and I want you to give me some.

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: I was with Ed Miliband yesterday in Cardiff, he spoke to the Labour Party Conference – incidentally with his jacket off. It was a barnstorming speech which had the delegates giving a standing ovation at the end. I think frankly what we need from everybody in the Labour party is that we get behind Ed, we take the fight to those who deserve the fight to be taken to them, which a Conservative government visiting austerity on the country.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Okay, Mr Alexander, thank you very much indeed.

DOUGLAS ALEXANDER: Thank you.

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary there.