31/03/2017 Inside Out London

On this week's Inside Out - can we ever stop people

who he left his home to bring terror to London?

Birmingham has a specific problem with Islamic militancy,

because it has shown in the past ten years that its conviction rate

is second only to London for terror related incidents.

Also on the programme, the medical advances that mean

tiny babies are surviving against all odds.

Obviously, she started having contractions, I was on the floor,

crying my eyes out because they tell you truthfully how it is.

And we catch up with the inhabitants of a secluded valley,

This pine forest, those wolves, this could be Canada,

North America, even a remote part of Scandinavia.

I am Ayo Akinwolere, this is Inside Out West Midlands.

Tonight, we are in Birmingham and three years ago,

I made a special programme investigating this city's

Now, I was particularly concerned when I found out the man that

carried out the attacks in Westminster actually lived here.

So is Birmingham, as the tabloids claim, really the Jihadi

It's a city I care about, so I worry about the stuff I've been hearing.

Birmingham has become the focus of police investigations

following the terror attack in Westminster...

..west of Birmingham city centre, police search of former home

Officers said Massoud clearly had an interest in jihad.

The city has been attracting attention around the world.

Khalid Masood lived in Birmingham for only a short time,

but the city has been linked with extremism before.

Three Birmingham men have gone on trial accused

of plotting a series of suicide bombing attacks...

..bombing campaign on a scale greater than

So, does Birmingham have a particular problem with extremism?

And is it doing enough to prevent it?

Three years ago, I asked those exact same questions

I examined where people convicted of terror related offences

were living and I found that east Birmingham have the highest

were living and I found that east Birmingham had the highest

concentration of convicted Islamist extremists in Britain.

But they represented only a tiny proportion of the population.

Three years on, the anti-extremism think tank, the Henry Jackson

It is fair to say that Birmingham has a specific problem

with Islamic militancy, because it has shown in the past ten

years that its conviction rate is second only to London

The Henry Jackson Society's latest report reveals that

in the last 20 years, 269 British people have either been

convicted of terror related offences or killed as suicide bombers.

The figures don't include Rashid Rauf, suspected

of masterminding the 2005 London bombings for Al-Qaeda.

Or Junaid Hussain, allegedly a key recruiter

Both from Birmingham and both killed by American drones.

But the proportion of offenders from the West Midlands has been rising.

In the last five years, the region accounted for a quarter

So is that simply because Birmingham has a large Muslim population?

Well, Kyle believes it is more to do with the nature

of those communities, That they are largely

The data clearly shows they are in the areas that are most

Recruiters find it easier to attach themselves to people.

Islamic State will offer them a sense of unity and purpose

Islamic State will offer them a sense of community and purpose

and then will draw them in and use them for their own purpose.

And Kyle also tells me that the city's historic links

with extremism make it easier to recruit here.

Birmingham has been the site of a lot of networks that laid

And they have been reactivated in recent years with

And in the intermittent time, they had links to the 7/7 attackers.

We have also seen that some of Islamic State's members

and operatives have been able to find shelter in the city.

Moazzam Begg is a Muslim from Birmingham who was once himself

He was imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay without charge.

Now, he is a director of Cage, an organisation that campaigns

for committed is affected by the war on terror.

Do you think Birmingham has a particular problem

If you look at the statistics, approximately there are 36 people

over a period of 17 years that have been convicted for

That is almost 0.01% of the population.

That is almost 0.01% of the Muslim population.

Pretending perhaps that Birmingham is more susceptible

because of its Muslim population to terrorism, I think

is incorrect and actually makes the people of Birmingham feel

that they are being unnecessarily scapegoated.

Last year, one in three arrests for terrorism were for people

who were regarded as white supremacist and there has been no

such attempt to unpick where they came from.

But the evidence suggests that some people are being radicalised

Security intelligence expert Philip Ingram has

His company tracks Islamist extremists on the Internet.

For security reasons, we can't broadcast some

A lot of this material was passed around on the dark web

on invite-only channels, you need a special

It is now onto a platform called Telegram.

Telegram is a messaging service like WhatsApp,

where you can chat with people one-on-one or in a group.

Once that interaction has been picked up, they will be

providing propaganda, then they will be

groomed into further groups depending on what the person

that is assessing them thinks they can do.

That could be just providing support, giving the materials or it

Are we saying it is like being invited into a club of some sort?

Philip has software which shows how complex the process can be.

You see here, we have got one, two, three, four groups.

That one is very small and that one is absolutely massive,

but all of the interactions are coming from this individual

that there is there, so that is the person that is group

manager, that is the most important person and that is the person that

has got the knowledge and information that we want

Now, you've managed to infiltrate some of these groups.

What we have here is a graphic that Islamic State put out to try

and encourage supporters to carry out a Jihadi acts and you can see

and encourage supporters to carry out Jihadi acts and you can see

on there some of the things, it ranges from shouting at people

through to they do mention, using a vehicle and everything

in there is designed to try and get people to go and do something.

So what is being done to stop certain people being radicalised

and why doesn't it seem to be working?

Under the Government's prevent strategy, all public sector workers,

including teachers and social workers, are trained on how to spot

and report individuals at risk of Islamist far right extremism.

A local panel then decides what help that person may need to prevent them

That could mean access to housing, employment

As was the case for this Birmingham man, who became interested

in Islamist ideology after developing an alcohol problem.

I was drinking a minimum of a litre of vodka a day.

I was vulnerable, I could have gone down the road of extremism.

We have individuals who have been vulnerable because of their

What we have been able to do is to support those individuals,

to deal with their intake of substances because whilst

they have been high, they have been more vulnerable

and therefore have responded to propaganda in a different way.

I managed to cut down on my alcohol intake and slowly but surely stop...

But under Prevent, some individuals are also offered mentoring

Three years ago, I was granted rare access to a mentor

Souleiman told me how he dissuaded one young man from sending money

to Islamist extremist fighters in Syria.

Rather than arguing and telling him, no, don't do that, that's wrong

and telling him he is a bad person, what I did was explained

to him that the reason why you are so passionate

about going out there to help and sending this money

is because you saw all those women and children suffering.

So, actually, if you send this money to the people

who are out there fighting, is that actually going to feed

So I was then able to direct him and say, look, keep that passion,

but we are going to try and direct that in a more positive way

and you could donate that money to Islamic Relief,

to the Red Cross, and, actually, I saw the smile come to his face

and the realisation that, yes, that makes sense.

But the Prevent strategy is controversial.

Senior figures in both the Conservative and Labour parties

have recently claimed it unfairly stigmatises Muslim communities.

The entire Muslim community has felt that Prevent

They feel like they have become targets unnecessarily and in fact,

students at the universities have become a programme saying

students at the universities have begun a programme saying

And teachers are saying "Educators not informants".

And that's where we are failing, that is why the United Nations have

said that Prevent could be causing extremism, so clearly,

to stop that extremism, you need to remove Prevent.

So how do we stop people from being radicalised?

We want to get to the heart of why do the very small amount of people

feel like they need to act violently towards their own citizens?

And the answer is because they don't feel part of society,

so make them feel part of society, teach them the contribution

of Islam to maths, culture, to history, to language,

to architecture, in our schools and people might feel they have more

of a vested interest in the future of this country.

But the Government has said the Westminster terror

attack reinforces the need for the Prevent strategy.

Prevent is not about spying on people, it's about helping people

at risk in the similar way that they may be at

For example, risk to guns and gangs activity, risk to grooming, etc.

In 2015, 150 journeys to Syria were prevented and I would argue

that stopping people from travelling to Syria has potentially save lives.

So I think success is difficult to quantify, but certainly from some

of the examples we have, we can say it has been

When I made that special programme three years ago, I was optimistic

that the authorities had found a way of preventing people in this city

There are examples of Channel mentors doing just that.

I only hope that in another three years, I won't be back asking

the same questions about the city I care so much about.

Next, new treatments being tested here in the Midlands

are helping premature babies to survive.

But is neonatal medicine reaching its limits?

Lukwesa Burak has been finding out more.

Harry was born four months before his due date

When it did occur, when obviously she started having contractions,

I was on the floor, crying my eyes out, because they tell

Harry had spent only 23 weeks in his mother's womb.

He weighed just under a pound, less than half a bag of sugar.

He was very, very tiny and his skin was very delicate

and near enough see-through, kind of thing,

Premature birth is the biggest killer of babies.

Every week - every day - a baby spends in its mother's womb

until the age of 37 weeks is vital for its survival.

So when it is thrust into the world before it is ready,

Now advances in the way doctors treat such tiny babies are improving

It means they can tackle some of the heart and bowel problems

And at this hospital, that is how they are helping

babies from right across Leicestershire and Warwickshire.

Ten years ago, a baby born at 26 weeks had a 50% chance of making it

Survival rates are improving every year.

Leon is one of the lucky babies to benefit from the new science.

He arrived almost three months early and has already survived several

He is being treated for NUC currently and he is the baby

who is weaning off CPAP and clinically, he is stable.

Doctors are so worried about his bowels, they've decided

A generation ago, he would have had to survive on sugared water

You were concerned that there might be some kind of infection,

so in this situation, he is getting special nutritional

families and many of those living in really overcrowded accommodation

and I am sure if you ask me this question in a year s

So most of the people who come to us as homeless,

got there because they have been kicked out and evicted

by private landlords, who have put up their rent,

so it s the private rented sector which is the major issue,

it is the fact that prices have doubled in the last decade.

Because we are going to be moving, aren t we?

Danielle and her son, Riley, who has autism,

are being made homeless after being told their landlord

Because of his autism, he s very much used to routine,

and has to have everything set up in its own place, and the council

don t really understand that he is not going to cope

being in a room not being able to have his own bed and his own toys

They don t really understand that, so it could cause a lot

of meltdowns, he could be very distressed not having everything

Danielle s landlady proposed a rent increase of ?200 per month to help

postpone the selling of the property, however

this was not something Danielle could afford.

A cut in the benefit cap last year by ?3,000 annually, has made things

I explained that I m not in a position, as a single parent

who is not working because I m looking after my child,

that there is no way I could possibly afford

It s very scary, I mean the council tell you to look

I think if the benefit cap wasn t you know sort of set in stone,

so to say, there wouldn t be so many people made homeless basically.

At the same time as families are having to deal with rental

prices doubling in a decade, they have also had from the

And of course remember these families don t get the money,

it goes straight to the private landlords, but the amount of money

they are getting is being reduced, so that means when the landlord

is putting up the rent, whereas before people might

be able to make it up, because lots of these

people are working, they are jut getting priced out,

So it is another factor which is leading to more families

With the increased demand for temporary accommodation,

Lewisham council has sought creative solutions, even finding inspiration

That s the idea behind the latest mobile prefabricated dwellings

ordered by the London County Council.

It s a way of providing homes quickly for people who have may

have to wait some time for permanent accommodation.

Today, Place Ladywell is a one of a kind in the capital,

Samantha, a part time school entertainer, was one of the first

temporary tenants to move in with her two sons.

They need to make more of these, so more people can be housed.

It s very big, it s spacious, they even supplied integrated fridge

freezers, integrated washing machine, which is amazing.

They are very eco friendly, which is a bonus, and they should

I would be quite comfortable to stay here to be honest.

We are looking at a site in Lee, it s very early days but we think

We also have other councils, not just in the UK,

but internationally, coming over having a look at this

development to get more of these properties built,

and I could see them going up in other places across the capital.

It is the first time in the past few years that Samantha has been able

In five years' time I could see myself working in a nursery,

and we are living comfortably, in our permanent home and happy.

By which time my children should be grown up, finished school,

and should be in full time jobs and earning for themselves,

Meanwhile, Natalie and Danielle, along with thousands of other

families, are still waiting in an ever growing line

It s not easy at all, and I think any mother would understand,

I think that s got to be the most difficult part of all of this,

it s watching them suffer, not having the daily routine

These things used to exist in the realm of science fiction,

and if you haven t had a chance to try one yet them I m sure

you soon will because the capital is at the forefront

And it s not just computer games that ll benefit -

VR has all kinds of exciting medical uses ? from treating PTSD

to transforming the lives of hospice patients.

Mark Jordan headed to East London s Tech City to find out more.

For generations we have stared at the telly.

By wearing a helmet you are able to see it in 3D.

By the '80s the first very clunky virtual reality.

Move around and up comes my flash new table.

All that for a flickering pencil drawing!

Today for as little as a tenner a box for a smartphone can take

I m with the orchestra and the most amazing thing is - I m a ghost!

They can't see me but they are the real ones in this world.

It's fooling your brain that you are in a different environment.

So wherever you are moving you can actually see and look around.

The sky is the limit for London s VR designers.

London is leading the world ? the creativity in London and the way

I think virtual reality is the new media platform

that will revolutionise the way we communicate.

There s a little bit of a gold rush ? who gets there first.

So, if you could fly ? imagine where else VR might take you!

Once a domain for geeky gamers, designers are now asking

what the virtual world can do for mankind.

Tonight Tech City hosts the charity sector.

Rather than appeal to donors in their living room,

Our neighbourhood was heavily bombed in the war.

What we find with VR is even when you put on headset

they care about the person they watched.

We think that's because the child is looking into your eyes

and telling their story in the most personal way possible.

My mother makes sure we are all together for dinner.

As charities take their first virtual steps, across London

the medical world has become the biggest user of VR after gaming.

War and terror often leave soldiers with

out images and tries not to think about it at all.

If you can hold the pictures in the mind - then it seems

the brain can recode them as an event that

Until this happens the brain keeps responding as though this

Via VR we can make those traumatic situations much more real.

Patients confront their nightmares in VR with medical supervision.

It was the success of this treatment in America that led UCL to think VR

We get them to embody themselves within that crying child avatar

and hear their own words and compassionate gestures.

VR is helping the person to go through that process

In the group of 15 tested we found significant improvement

Welcome, everybody, to the London Independent Hospital, VR surgery.

For generations the only way for young surgeons to learn

was to watch over the shoulder ? now VR puts them centre stage.

Last year Shafi Ahmed broadcast the world s first

Now medical students around the world join his operations.

You are the controller of the image in front of you.

So, if you wanted to train in stitching of the bowel you can

5,000 miles away in Dhaka, Bangladesh, these students

are watching the operation coming live from Stepney.

Feel free to ask questions on our Twitter feed.

We know there is a huge shortage of surgeons around the world.

We know there is inequity in health care.

It used to be, look over the shoulder of the surgeon.

It's not you doing it but it feels like that.

Now Shafi s team are trying to bring virtual touch

My vision is that we have something called a Virtual Surgeon,

so imagine this ? you put the headset on and you are suddenly

immersed in operating theatre that is life like,

You can pick up a scalpel and feel the scalpel blade.

Actually make a cut into this virtual human being and demonstrate

that you can practice in a simulation that s life like.

Mum of two, Sarah now has motor neurone disease.

A film producer wondered if VR could carry her from a world

where she can't move into one where she can.

I love technology and I think virtual reality has so much

amazing experience ? you could feel the hairs stand up on the back

I thought there is something in this.

I m just going to put these headphones on you.

This is Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham.

Faced with death, Hollywood would have us believe we tick off

In reality weakness often makes that impossible.

I can't walk now because the cancer is spreading.

You didn t think you were going to have cancer and die after a year.

Mum's announced many times, I d like to go back

Suzy is about to be taken back to Jerusalem ? where she grew up.

We can see the mosque - as if you are there!

Here at Trinity we are always looking to improve patient care

When we saw this ? it is innovation with a capital I!

We are now looking to put together research and a study.

Goodness gracious, all these buildings

Oh, we are in Venice now ? beautiful!

We're already beyond tomorrow's world.

And in tech city they claim it's an adventure only just beginning.

And some of the virtual reality videos developed by the BBC there is

a website you can visit. And there really is some amazing stuff out

there. And that is all for the current series of Inside Out. We

will be back in the autumn. If you missed any alternate's show and want

to catch up on the iPlayer head for the website. Thank you for watching.

Hello, I'm Sima Kotecha with your 90 second update.

Patients in England face longer waits

for operations such as knee and hip replacements.

The boss of NHS England says it's the "trade-off"

for improved care in other areas, such as cancer.