Some of the UK's leading building companies have been handed big fines by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for rigging bids for contracts.

Simon Williams , senior director at the OFT, told the Today programme that there were "a few little horrors" in the companies' behaviour.

But Stephen Ratcliffe , director trade body the UK Contractors Group, defended the industry. He said that while he accepted the historic infringements, the construction companies had since "put their house in order".

Half of the programme was presented by Sarah Montague at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth.

From there she reported on the profile of party leader Nick Clegg, interviewed Lord Ashdown on the future of the war in Afghanistan and chaired a heated discussion between Eric Pickles and Chris Huhne on the Tory attempts to "love bomb" Lib Dem voters.

Finally, the programme also focused on the summit being held by Barack Obama between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Reporters in Jerusalem and Ramallah spoke to local people about their hopes for the summit and international editors Mark Mardell and Jeremy Bowen analysed the diplomatic repercussions.

"There's an extraordinary sense of the ebbing of Barack Obama's personal authority," says Justin in the review.