:00:00. > :00:07.Tonight we are investigating why thousands of people across
:00:08. > :00:11.the country are discovering their marriages are built on nothhng.
:00:12. > :00:13.Meet the women who thought they were protected and
:00:14. > :00:20.What I did have savings`wisd I have spent on this legal case.
:00:21. > :00:26.Why is this town hoping to become one of the country's biggest
:00:27. > :00:34.Look at it, it is a big patch of green.
:00:35. > :00:55.I am Alastair McKee and this is Inside Out West.
:00:56. > :00:59.It is a sad fact that more than four in ten weddings lead to divorce but
:01:00. > :01:03.what if you discover your m`rriage was not actually legal and that you
:01:04. > :01:09.It is a reality facing many young couples, as
:01:10. > :01:24.Your wedding day is meant to be one of the best days of your life.
:01:25. > :01:27.Everything from the guest lhst to the food and the entertainmdnt needs
:01:28. > :01:31.to be carefully planned, making sure everybody has a perfect day,
:01:32. > :01:35.but thousands of British wolen are discovering one essential ddtail has
:01:36. > :01:43.been overlooked, meaning their managers are not legal.
:01:44. > :01:47.I have found in my work that more than 80%
:01:48. > :01:50.of Muslim marriages conductdd in the UK are not registered, meanhng they
:01:51. > :01:55.So if their marriage breaks down they are left without protection.
:01:56. > :01:57.I want to find out why this is happening.
:01:58. > :02:00.How can British women be getting themselves into this situathon
:02:01. > :02:07.and what can be done to combat the problem?
:02:08. > :02:13.She went on to university and landed a highly paid job.
:02:14. > :02:17.In her late 20s she met a man who said he wanted to settle
:02:18. > :02:25.We have disguised her identhty, Sarah is not her real name.
:02:26. > :02:27.When did you first realise your marriage was not legal?
:02:28. > :02:34.Probably a couple of years into the marriage.
:02:35. > :02:37.I was having a conversation with a friend whose brother was getting
:02:38. > :02:40.married and they were talking about arranging their civil ceremony and
:02:41. > :02:43.she said "you haven't had a civil ceremony" and I said "no, I haven't"
:02:44. > :02:47.so I went home to him and s`id I don't think we're legally m`rried."
:02:48. > :02:50.And you had no idea before that point?
:02:51. > :02:56.Sarah's marriage, or nikah as it's called in Hslam,
:02:57. > :03:02.I was the first person to gdt married in my family in the UK and I
:03:03. > :03:07.Had I had known I probably would have organised a civil cerelony
:03:08. > :03:15.In a court of law we are not married, we are seen as coh`bitees,
:03:16. > :03:18.boyfriend and girlfriend, and because I did not reallx have
:03:19. > :03:22.my own home I had no choice but to come back to my family and H am
:03:23. > :03:27.I have two children so therd are three of us in one bedroom.
:03:28. > :03:35.I can't believe somebody who was supposed to be my husband
:03:36. > :03:39.and the person I loved has treated me like this.
:03:40. > :03:41.Even now he could at least put the welfare of
:03:42. > :03:47.It shows me what a greedy, deceitful man he was.
:03:48. > :03:52.Very worried, because what I did have savhngs`wise
:03:53. > :03:56.I have spent on this legal case and now I have nothing and hf I
:03:57. > :04:04.don't get what I am fighting for I really have lost everything.
:04:05. > :04:08.Sarah spent ?35,000 on legal fees alone.
:04:09. > :04:11.She is desperately trying to make her ex pay back all the mondy she
:04:12. > :04:18.I have heard about other cases like hers but I wonder how common
:04:19. > :04:30.I'm on my way to London to leet a solicitor who specialises
:04:31. > :04:37.Anna Khan is one of three specialist solicitors in the country ddaling
:04:38. > :04:43.How big is this problem now in the Muslim community?
:04:44. > :04:48.I would say that hundreds of thousands are suffering
:04:49. > :04:51.from having marriages which have no legal effect under English law.
:04:52. > :04:55.They are classed as boyfriend and girlfriend and
:04:56. > :05:00.if they are made homeless overnight they would get no justice.
:05:01. > :05:03.There are nearly 3 million Luslims in the UK and the majority
:05:04. > :05:07.of them are under 30 so I think you can share my absolute
:05:08. > :05:14.What kind of legal recourse do women have who find out thex are
:05:15. > :05:20.First of all, if your marri`ge has no legal status, you can't
:05:21. > :05:25.English courts can't give you any help,
:05:26. > :05:30.they can't help you have mahntenance or a house over your head.
:05:31. > :05:33.It would be absolutely awful, and a lot
:05:34. > :05:38.of my clients have invested their life savings, all of their darnings,
:05:39. > :05:46.sometimes hundreds of thous`nds of pounds, into a family business or
:05:47. > :05:50.a home which is not in their name, and they lose that overnight.
:05:51. > :05:55.I think the problem is directly related to the fact that 90$
:05:56. > :06:01.of mosques are not registerdd to perform marriages and that hs a
:06:02. > :06:04.shocking statistic, because it means you have very little chance of ever
:06:05. > :06:08.being told by your imam that your marrhage is
:06:09. > :06:14.in effect totally without any legal rights under English law.
:06:15. > :06:18.In fact the latest figures show that in the whole of the South Wdst only
:06:19. > :06:23.five out of around 100 mosqtes are registered to perform marri`ges
:06:24. > :06:27.Weddings held at mosques like this one are purely religious
:06:28. > :06:32.and the bride and groom are bound by no legal contract so if they
:06:33. > :06:37.want to file for a divorce they have to turn to the Sharia Counchl.
:06:38. > :06:39.This is a voluntary body that is allost
:06:40. > :06:47.They provide rulings and advice in accordance with the Islamic faith.
:06:48. > :06:50.Amra Bone is the only woman to sit on a sharia Council in the whole
:06:51. > :06:59.So many women that come to ts do not have any access to civil cotrts at
:07:00. > :07:03.all so if we did not deal whth them they would be left in the ltrch
:07:04. > :07:14.As far as we are concerned Hslamic marriages are about giving women and
:07:15. > :07:17.children protection and rights and if they don't register the larriage
:07:18. > :07:21.they are not going to be able to get them, so we want them to register
:07:22. > :07:23.their marriage because they will get the rhghts
:07:24. > :07:28.Rashad Azami is well aware of the problems of unregistered marriages.
:07:29. > :07:31.Under his direction, a mosque in Bath was the first
:07:32. > :07:37.How many mosques like yours in Bath are actually registered
:07:38. > :07:48.I would say if 10% are registered I would be very happy.
:07:49. > :07:53.No, they aren't registered for the purpose of performing marri`ges
:07:54. > :07:59.Is there resistance within losques and imams to becoming registered?
:08:00. > :08:03.I don't think imams are reshstant in any way.
:08:04. > :08:10.Contrary to the perception, imams in most mosques hold
:08:11. > :08:18.They are only allowed to perform the religious duties.
:08:19. > :08:36.It is elected bodies, our management committee, trustees.
:08:37. > :08:38.Are they resistant, do you think, to this change,
:08:39. > :08:47.Actually some of them are not in the least bothered about this.
:08:48. > :08:52.He is a pioneer in his commtnity but what
:08:53. > :08:55.Actually some of them are not in the least bothered about this.
:08:56. > :08:58.He is a pioneer in his commtnity but what
:08:59. > :09:04.I have come to the Husseini Foundation Mosque in Easton, one
:09:05. > :09:09.We have found that it is re`lly easy for a mosque to get registered, all
:09:10. > :09:12.they have to do is fill out this form and hand it to the council
:09:13. > :09:26.It is a really short form you have to fill out, why have xou
:09:27. > :09:31.We are engaged with the council on various issues and
:09:32. > :09:34.if it had been brought to our attention then we more than
:09:35. > :09:38.Now you know about this forl and how simple it is, are you going
:09:39. > :09:44.We will look at the document and the contents and we will more than
:09:45. > :09:48.Every bride hopes their marriage will last forever, but, for those
:09:49. > :09:51.women who I have met, dealing with a painful divorce could have been made
:09:52. > :09:56.much easier if the mosque h`d filled out a simple registration form.
:09:57. > :09:59.They need to address all of the mosques in the UK,
:10:00. > :10:03.The imams need to have that knowledge,
:10:04. > :10:07.when we go to perform the nhkah we need to tell the bride that this
:10:08. > :10:12.If you want to go ahead with a marriage that is up to yot but
:10:13. > :10:18.I think Muslims are mature dnough in our community now to realise we
:10:19. > :10:19.can't just sleepwalk into this disaster
:10:20. > :10:34.Coming up, we are on the hunt for a rare English delicacy.
:10:35. > :10:40.Here in Swindon there is a quiet revolution going on.
:10:41. > :10:44.Tomorrow a government inspector will look at plans for one of thd
:10:45. > :10:49.As I have been finding out, the people running this town hope
:10:50. > :10:56.From the sky you can see how Swindon has grown.
:10:57. > :11:01.In the last ten years alone almost 30,000 new people have arrived and,
:11:02. > :11:09.So it was met with some surprise when Swindon's council leaddrs made
:11:10. > :11:16.a bold pledge to power everx home in the town with clean energy by 2 20.
:11:17. > :11:21.It would be the first place in the country to achieve this.
:11:22. > :11:26.If we do 200 megawatts that is about 75,000 homes with electricity
:11:27. > :11:30.for the year, so you are netting off in one fell
:11:31. > :11:34.swoop all of Swindon, turning it into a 100% clean energy town.
:11:35. > :11:36.To do it would mean building solar farms
:11:37. > :11:42.It would be bound to attract controversy.
:11:43. > :11:46.If this goes ahead, what hope is there for any of
:11:47. > :11:53.I can't look my children in the face and say I let this happen.
:11:54. > :11:56.Swindon's big plan is barelx off the ground and already ht's
:11:57. > :12:23.The runways are pretty much derelict now and it is where Swindon Borough
:12:24. > :12:26.Council wants to build the largest of its new solar parks,
:12:27. > :12:32.generating enough power for 15, 00 homes, a fifth of its target.
:12:33. > :12:36.Matt Moore manages the site for the museum.
:12:37. > :12:39.Before we talk solar he takds me on a little tour of one
:12:40. > :12:42.of the ten giant hangars usdd to store the museum's 30,000 objects,
:12:43. > :12:51.I can see it is a snow cat but what is the story with this
:12:52. > :12:54.It is a Tucker snow cat, one of three that went to
:12:55. > :12:57.Antarctica looking at how polar ice caps have changed.
:12:58. > :13:00.This is an airplane designed by Howard Hughes to try to get
:13:01. > :13:01.across the Atlantic without having to refuel.
:13:02. > :13:04.It has had quite a potted hhstory, it was a transport plane
:13:05. > :13:15.for a while, but then it was also used by the Rolling Stones on tour.
:13:16. > :13:17.The Rolling Stones tour plane, what a great story.
:13:18. > :13:20.Preserving this enormous collection is an expensive business.
:13:21. > :13:23.At the moment the museum is trying to replace 20 old hangar doors
:13:24. > :13:28.You are actually looking for ways to make money.
:13:29. > :13:31.Yes, it is a big site that takes a lot of maintenance.
:13:32. > :13:40.We want to generate an incole to put back into the site.
:13:41. > :13:43.Our grant has been reducing over the years, by 30% in 2012,
:13:44. > :13:50.so we need to make the site better for preservation of the objdcts
:13:51. > :13:52.That is where the solar park comes in.
:13:53. > :13:53.Absolutely, that and other research and development
:13:54. > :13:57.activities help to bring an income into the site that we can rdinvest.
:13:58. > :14:00.What's being planned would be one of the biggest solar farms hn the
:14:01. > :14:05.But Swindon's planning department likes the idea,
:14:06. > :14:17.James Owen is looking after the council's end of the project.
:14:18. > :14:25.We buy our energy from the big six and is not much we can do about
:14:26. > :14:29.that. So why not call a stage further and generate electrhcity
:14:30. > :14:38.locally, or it locally and `llow communities to invest in th`t. Sell
:14:39. > :14:41.it locally, died locally chdaper than the big six can sell it to you.
:14:42. > :14:43.But the plan has hit a major stumbling block.
:14:44. > :14:51.To find out more, I've come to the hills above Wroughton Ahrfield.
:14:52. > :14:57.Henry Oliver is the director of the North Wessex Downs Area
:14:58. > :15:00.of Outstanding Natural Beauty and he's promised to show md
:15:01. > :15:14.What you can see here is an irony age fort but we also have a medical
:15:15. > :15:23.village and probably the oldest road in the world, now a national trail.
:15:24. > :15:31.`` irony age. Look at it. It is a great p`tch of
:15:32. > :15:38.green. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It has the highest
:15:39. > :15:45.level of protection and is worth protecting. And yet what is being
:15:46. > :15:52.proposed is a massive 150,000 panel solar panel station slap bang here
:15:53. > :15:58.in the landscape. But this isn't a field, it hs a bit
:15:59. > :16:03.of an I saw already. Haji splitting heirs?
:16:04. > :16:13.I know there's an argument that in your as previously developed land.
:16:14. > :16:16.But it is green. They will put the panels on the green bits whhch are
:16:17. > :16:18.effectively fields and have been farmed before.
:16:19. > :16:21.There's no getting away frol it up here you'll definitely sde
:16:22. > :16:25.But does that really matter if it's creating all that green energy
:16:26. > :16:36.The crucial thing is that the government has to have an inquiry
:16:37. > :16:39.into this development because it is contrary to national policy.
:16:40. > :16:46.National policy says this is an area of outstanding natural beauty. There
:16:47. > :16:50.are four major development surely happen in exceptional circulstances
:16:51. > :16:51.and so far no one has demonstrated exceptional circumstances.
:16:52. > :16:54.After a slow start Henry's campaign has made enough noise to get
:16:55. > :17:07.And in spring this year Eric Pickles intervened,
:17:08. > :17:09.calling for a public enquirx, infuriating not just those hn
:17:10. > :17:12.Swindon trying to build the project but the whole solar industrx.
:17:13. > :17:16.The government isn't providhng a stable enough policy framdwork.
:17:17. > :17:17.They should be backing and championing this technology
:17:18. > :17:29.But if the reality is, when you re doing a scheme incredibly wdll,
:17:30. > :17:32.that is very well supported by the local community, by the loc`l
:17:33. > :17:35.and yet Eric Pickles, Westmhnster, is still calling it in and saying
:17:36. > :17:38.I mean that just destabilisds, undermines confidence,
:17:39. > :17:41.Government should be championing schemes
:17:42. > :17:51.But the Department of Communities and Local Government insists it s
:17:52. > :18:21.So where does all this leavd Swindon's green`energy plans?
:18:22. > :18:29.To power every home would rdquire 200 megawatts of power. With just
:18:30. > :18:37.three sites currently operational, that target looks a long wax off.
:18:38. > :18:38.But the town has another nale more sites in various stages of
:18:39. > :18:45.development. `` nine more shtes All of which could push sol`r output
:18:46. > :18:49.to a far more respectable fhgure. Take Wroughton away though
:18:50. > :18:51.and achieving the target looks I don't know many other loc`tions I
:18:52. > :19:17.could get of that size. I can see lots of smaller projects
:19:18. > :19:21.that could add up but I think 2 0 would be hard without rotten.
:19:22. > :19:24.Tomorrow, a formal public planning enquiry begins on the futurd
:19:25. > :19:26.of Wroughton, pitching green fields against green energy.
:19:27. > :19:28.However it's resolved, the environment would appear to be
:19:29. > :19:40.Finally, I'm going on the trail of the long lost English trtffle.
:19:41. > :19:44.With a well`trained nose, and a little luck, I'm hoping to sniff
:19:45. > :20:01.For centuries, truffle hunters have been on the
:20:02. > :20:05.Traditionally, female pigs were used to smell out these nuggets of black
:20:06. > :20:09.gold as their scent is said to be similar to that of a mature boar.
:20:10. > :20:12.But pigs have a tendency to cause damage
:20:13. > :20:17.as they hunt, so over the ydars dogs have become a more dependable
:20:18. > :20:27.Truffle hunting in England for the most part died out hn the
:20:28. > :20:37.early 20th century and with it the knowledge of where to find them
:20:38. > :20:39.So I've come to the Wiltshire/Somerset borddr to
:20:40. > :20:44.meet Tom Lywood who, with his Italian Lagotto truffle dogs,
:20:45. > :20:54.is helping local farmers rediscover the areas lost truffle grovds.
:20:55. > :21:03.You're going to find some truffles, are you?
:21:04. > :21:05.I thought we'd start with Hdstia, just doing some training,
:21:06. > :21:23.Hestia is six months old and still learning the ropes as a truffle dog.
:21:24. > :21:26.For the time being, Tom is still training her separately so she can
:21:27. > :21:36.He's hidden some truffles in the back garden for her to sniff out.
:21:37. > :21:45.She's like a sort of very intense Hoover.
:21:46. > :21:58.So you'll know when she finds it because she sort of sits next to it?
:21:59. > :22:00.Well, you can see, Alastair, she's looking now,
:22:01. > :22:10.Well, it's all about the perfume and here you go.
:22:11. > :22:13.It's a truffle that I dug up on the Downs on Sunday.
:22:14. > :22:16.How do you recognise that amongst everything else?
:22:17. > :22:25.Tom isn't training his dogs to find truffles to sell,
:22:26. > :22:29.instead he is hired by farmdrs to search for woods on their l`nd that
:22:30. > :22:33.contain an undiscovered tre`sure trove of truffles.
:22:34. > :22:37.In the last 15 years, the English truffle has been making
:22:38. > :22:40.a comeback, with hunters like Tom helping to rediscover groves that
:22:41. > :22:52.This time it's Valentino, the highly trained veteran, who s on
:22:53. > :22:58.the hunt with us in a nearbx wood, the location of which is a closely
:22:59. > :23:01.guarded secret due to the commercial value of the truffles it conceals.
:23:02. > :23:12.Yes, something, I don't know what it is.
:23:13. > :23:14.Today we are not just looking for truffles,
:23:15. > :23:19.we are trying to find some dry ground, and then truffle as well.
:23:20. > :23:22.But before the hunt can get underway, Tom has
:23:23. > :23:28.We'll add something to the lixture, I will blow my horn.
:23:29. > :23:32.It's really to get myself into the landscape.
:23:33. > :23:45.I'm going to try a little gesture for the wood.
:23:46. > :24:13.Well, now that we've got the forest onside,
:24:14. > :24:25.The reason we are searching these woods is that truffles only
:24:26. > :24:30.develop around the roots of certain trees like beech, oak and h`zel
:24:31. > :24:37.They also require a special type of chalky soil to grow,
:24:38. > :24:42.using a network of fine unddrground branches known as mycelium.
:24:43. > :24:45.But even with all these conditions truffles are not guaranteed it seems
:24:46. > :24:49.you need a team like Tom and Tino, and perhaps a touch of magic,
:24:50. > :24:55.He keeps looking like he's picked up a scent of some sort.
:24:56. > :24:57.Well, he'll know that there's truffle here.
:24:58. > :25:15.I don't think he's very impressed by it because it's an old truffle.
:25:16. > :25:21.Rather grizzled but a truffle nonetheless.
:25:22. > :25:30.It may have been a slightly shoddy first find
:25:31. > :25:37.but Valentino's got the scent now and we can barely keep up whth him.
:25:38. > :25:44.Ooh, that's a bit better, look at that!
:25:45. > :26:03.It's like a sort of nutty mushroom smell,
:26:04. > :26:21.And I don't have long to waht, with the haul of truffles from today
:26:22. > :26:25.and those that Tom dug up at the weekend it's time for the bht I ve
:26:26. > :26:40.We've got the Somerset, Dorset black.
:26:41. > :26:47.Wiltshire black truffle herd and you think this has a particular taste.
:26:48. > :26:52.Yes it has a particular taste and I think it's uniformly good.
:26:53. > :26:55.Truffles are a big part of Tom's world and the are certainly
:26:56. > :27:00.That's quite a serving, about ?80 worth.
:27:01. > :27:05.It's getting a very crowded frying pan.
:27:06. > :27:10.We've got venison, and truffle with truffle butter
:27:11. > :27:17.No, I haven't, but it's nice to try things out
:27:18. > :27:21.I'm not sure if I'm more excited or scared by that unusual combhnation.
:27:22. > :27:27.I think I'm just going to have to go for it.
:27:28. > :27:47.It does give you that world of truffle.
:27:48. > :27:50.We are eating a lot of truffle here, aren't we?
:27:51. > :27:53.We are, yes, because we've dug them we've got to eat them.
:27:54. > :27:58.Its very rare that you'll eat truffle so fresh.
:27:59. > :28:00.Well, I like your take on eating truffles.
:28:01. > :28:06.And what better way to finish a feast fit for a pair
:28:07. > :28:12.of kings than with a sip of homemade truffle vodka?
:28:13. > :28:21.I think I could get used to the life of a truffle hunter.
:28:22. > :28:25.Well, that's just about it for this week but if you'd like to continue
:28:26. > :28:27.the conversation on tonight's stories find us on Twitter or get
:28:28. > :28:37.But from here in Swindon, thanks for watching and goodnight.
:28:38. > :28:41.Andy Akinwolere goes undercover to expose one of the biggest scams
:28:42. > :28:45.in the pensions industry th`t's led to victims losing more than half
:28:46. > :29:01.There are numerous people that have said to me that they feel the only
:29:02. > :29:03.way out of this misery is to commit suicide.