13/04/2016

:03:25. > :03:30.The question at the heart of it is whether government policy has been

:03:31. > :03:44.shaped by a six story involving a Cabinet minister.

:03:45. > :03:58.Let me just unpack it for you a bit. First off, he has admitted that he

:03:59. > :03:59.had a relationship with a six worker before he became Culture Secretary

:04:00. > :04:28.for about six months. The second part of the story

:04:29. > :04:31.involves the press. Four newspapers from big newspaper groups, the mail

:04:32. > :04:35.group, News International, the Mirror group and the independent

:04:36. > :04:43.were all investigating the story and seemed to be aware of it but none

:04:44. > :04:46.published it. Campaign groups like Hacked Off are saying this is

:04:47. > :04:53.extraordinary, this is the sort of story they published an if you look

:04:54. > :04:59.at the stories around Max Mosley or David Mellor... There are suspicions

:05:00. > :05:03.as to why the press did not publish. Which takes us to the third element

:05:04. > :05:09.of the story, the politics. The charge from Labour is that the

:05:10. > :05:12.reason the newspapers did not publish is because they wanted to

:05:13. > :05:16.keep the story in their back pocket, as a sort of sort of Damocles which

:05:17. > :05:20.they could hold over John Whittingdale to make sure he did not

:05:21. > :05:22.press ahead with further press regulation or the next stage of the

:05:23. > :06:26.Leveson Inquiry. newspapers had been contacted about

:06:27. > :06:30.it? The answer to that would seem to be no and there are some questioning

:06:31. > :06:34.as to whether he should have told the Prime Minister and told the

:06:35. > :06:39.Cabinet Secretary bass of the potential for blackmail or for

:06:40. > :06:43.pressure to be applied to him. Number Ten's view is that Mr

:06:44. > :06:47.Whittingdale is a single man. He is entitled to a private life and that

:06:48. > :06:56.the Prime Minister retains full confidence in him. Hacked Off say

:06:57. > :07:00.that Mr Whittingdale has changed his mind on Leveson, previously he was

:07:01. > :07:04.in favour of the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry which all the

:07:05. > :07:09.inications are may well not go ahead and their suggestion is that the

:07:10. > :07:13.reason Mr Whittingdale changed his mind is because in the back of his

:07:14. > :07:18.mind there is the fear or there was the fear of this story going public.

:07:19. > :07:21.I have to say from my knowledge of Mr Whittingdale, he has been a

:07:22. > :07:25.sceptic about further press regulation. He has always been in

:07:26. > :07:29.favour of a much more light handed and light touch approach to press

:07:30. > :07:34.regulation. So it could always have been the case that Mr Whittingdale

:07:35. > :07:38.was never going to be inclined to press ahead with further press

:07:39. > :07:44.regulation. Thank you, Norman. We will talk to Labour's culture

:07:45. > :07:49.spokeswoman after 10am. How do you view this story? Do you have

:07:50. > :07:52.confidence in the Culture Secretary and his role as being in charge of

:07:53. > :07:56.newspapers in this country? Particularly knowing the fact that

:07:57. > :08:03.four newspapers didn't publish this story about him, but as Norman said,

:08:04. > :08:11.Downing Street saying hey, he was a single man. Where is the story. Send

:08:12. > :08:13.us your view. With the rest of the news here is

:08:14. > :08:15.Joanna. More than 2,000 pupils in Edinburgh

:08:16. > :08:18.- whose schools had been closed because of concerns

:08:19. > :08:20.about their structural safety - 17 sites were shut last Friday

:08:21. > :08:24.amid fears over the standard A further 5,000 younger

:08:25. > :08:30.pupils will be spending a third day at home,

:08:31. > :08:32.and may not resume their studies Students preparing for

:08:33. > :08:36.Scottish Highers and other exams They are either returning

:08:37. > :08:41.to their own school or have been Students didn't return to school

:08:42. > :08:45.following the Easter holidays after Edinburgh Council closed

:08:46. > :08:47.a total of 17 schools The problems were first uncovered

:08:48. > :08:53.in January when part of a wall at one school

:08:54. > :08:56.collapsed during high winds. Other schools were closed

:08:57. > :08:59.after inspections revealed problems with the way walls and roofs

:09:00. > :09:02.had been built. Today, three schools, Drummond,

:09:03. > :09:04.Firrhill and Royal High are partially reopening

:09:05. > :09:08.because the areas causing structural Two at Gracemount and Craigmount

:09:09. > :09:12.are sending their pupils elsewhere, but their teachers will go with them

:09:13. > :09:14.to ensure some level But that still leaves almost 5,000

:09:15. > :09:21.pupils off school for a third day The remaining affected secondary,

:09:22. > :09:25.primary and special needs pupils are likely to be given

:09:26. > :09:27.somewhere to resume lessons There is still uncertainty

:09:28. > :09:34.about where that will be. So they will be in a different

:09:35. > :09:37.building, but they will be taught by their usual teachers

:09:38. > :09:39.in their usual class. So there should be very little

:09:40. > :09:42.difference to their study except It's a very logistical exercise,

:09:43. > :09:47.but I'm pleased to say my team have done a fantastic job at getting

:09:48. > :09:53.those logistics together. All 17 schools were built as part

:09:54. > :09:56.of the city's public-private finance The scale of repairs are as yet

:09:57. > :10:01.unknown and the disruption Prosecutors in Panama City have

:10:02. > :10:11.raided the offices of the law Millions of confidential documents

:10:12. > :10:18.were leaked from the firm, revealing how some wealthy

:10:19. > :10:20.individuals used offshore A company called Blairmore Holdings,

:10:21. > :10:23.set up by David Cameron's late Britain's biggest supermarket,

:10:24. > :10:29.Tesco, is back in profit. The company has reported its first

:10:30. > :10:32.sales growth in three years, reporting a pre-tax profit

:10:33. > :10:34.of ?162 million for last year. That compares to a loss of more

:10:35. > :10:39.than ?6 billion for the year before. A drive towards lower

:10:40. > :10:41.prices and fewer products The company has also closed 60

:10:42. > :10:49.unprofitable stores and sold off High rates of unemployment

:10:50. > :10:56.in southern and eastern Europe have been named as among the key factors

:10:57. > :10:59.driving an increase in the number Over the last five years the number

:11:00. > :11:04.of EU nationals living in the UK has gone up by almost

:11:05. > :11:08.700,000 to 3.3 million. Oxford University's Migration

:11:09. > :11:12.Observatory says six countries account for 80 per cent of that

:11:13. > :11:17.increase - Spain, Italy, Portugal, A leading cancer charity is warning

:11:18. > :11:26.that obesity may be fuelling a significant rise in the number

:11:27. > :11:28.of women being diagnosed Cancer Research UK says the number

:11:29. > :11:32.of cases has almost doubled Around 9,000 women are found

:11:33. > :11:45.to have the disease every year in the UK, with around

:11:46. > :11:47.2,000 deaths as a result. A BBC investigation has found that

:11:48. > :11:52.police in England and Wales have seized almost 5,000 dogs

:11:53. > :11:54.in the last three years - on suspicion that they

:11:55. > :11:56.are banned breeds. The RSPCA says there's no proper

:11:57. > :12:00.evidence that some types of dog are more violent than others,

:12:01. > :12:03.but the Government says a ban It will never be

:12:04. > :12:07.the same again, ever. It will never look like

:12:08. > :12:11.a normal leg again. This is how Kerry Stevens' leg looks

:12:12. > :12:14.today after she was attacked by a dog while delivering

:12:15. > :12:16.a package in Eastbourne. It was snapping at my legs and then

:12:17. > :12:21.it got me basically on the leg, pushed me to to the floor and lock

:12:22. > :12:24.jawed on and basically, I was screaming, "Get it off me.

:12:25. > :12:30.Get it off me." The Dangerous Dog Act

:12:31. > :12:33.came into force in 1991, after six-year-old

:12:34. > :12:35.Rukhsana Khan from Bradford The Act prevented people

:12:36. > :12:42.from owning these four breeds. The RSPCA says banning specific

:12:43. > :12:45.types of dog hasn't stopped people from breeding or selling them,

:12:46. > :12:50.but punishes some unaggressive dogs If there is a suspicion that that

:12:51. > :12:57.dog is a banned type it will be taken from the owner's home

:12:58. > :13:01.and taken into undisclosed police kennels and it will then wait

:13:02. > :13:06.there for a period of time until an expert comes

:13:07. > :13:08.in to determine whether or not a dog Since 1997 some dogs can be exempt

:13:09. > :13:14.from the ban as long as the animals are kept by a responsible owner

:13:15. > :13:18.and don't pose a risk to the public. Last year this dog, Budd,

:13:19. > :13:21.was identified as a pit bull The Government says the been

:13:22. > :13:27.on certain types of dogs is crucial to help deal with the heightened

:13:28. > :13:35.risk those animals pose. A small Islamic sect that faces

:13:36. > :13:41.disapproval and hostility from some other Muslims says

:13:42. > :13:43.it is increasingly worried that its members

:13:44. > :13:46.may be attacked. The Ahmadis believe that there

:13:47. > :13:48.was a prophet after Muhammad which has led many mainstream Muslim

:13:49. > :13:51.organisations to declare them not Leaflets calling for the killing

:13:52. > :13:55.of Ahmadis have recently been found A mosque trustee suggested

:13:56. > :14:00.they were fakes or were Minority communities

:14:01. > :14:04.in Pakistan have become targets of sectarian violence

:14:05. > :14:05.and some fear that We'll be examining this issue

:14:06. > :14:13.in much greater detail on the programme in the next few

:14:14. > :14:15.minutes, and discussing it with Ahmadi Muslims

:14:16. > :14:30.and an Islamic scholar after 10am. A British playwright has died. The

:14:31. > :14:35.writer first came to prominence in the 1950s for his gritty, working

:14:36. > :14:36.class dramas about every day life. His wife said he died yesterday

:14:37. > :14:49.after a long illness. Later we will be talking to the

:14:50. > :14:52.Labour MP who thinks the Culture Secretary shouldn't be involved in

:14:53. > :14:56.any decisions on regulation of the press after he confirmed he had a

:14:57. > :15:01.relationship with a sex worker. Has Labour got a point? Tell us what

:15:02. > :15:06.you think. Should a Government minister's private life, could it

:15:07. > :15:10.affect their decisions at work? John says not. Tell us what you think and

:15:11. > :15:16.what you think of the story generally. Get in touch in the usual

:15:17. > :15:21.ways. Reading a couple of your comments

:15:22. > :15:24.which are in already. This e-mail from Andrew, "I don't know what the

:15:25. > :15:32.fuss is about. How many politicians have done the same? If you are in

:15:33. > :15:35.Government, then you should be squeaky clean or leave." Lee, "I

:15:36. > :15:40.don't think it is relevant. The fuss around the woman being a sex worker

:15:41. > :15:48.speaks volumes about our attitude towards sex work: " Ian, "Hacked

:15:49. > :15:55.Off, the campaign group says that campaigns for a free and accountable

:15:56. > :15:59.press, Hacked Off can hardly complain that John Whittingdale had

:16:00. > :16:04.his privacy respected when they campaign from it." Des says, "What

:16:05. > :16:09.business is of anybody he is what the Culture Secretary has done or

:16:10. > :16:12.does in his private life. He acknowledged happened and leave him

:16:13. > :16:19.alone and stop treating him as a criminal."

:16:20. > :16:34.They've reached the semi-finals of the Champions League

:16:35. > :16:38.for the first time beating Paris St Germain

:16:39. > :16:46.After a 2-2 draw in the first leg in FranceCity had

:16:47. > :16:53.And could have settled nerves a little earlier if Sergio Aguero

:16:54. > :16:59.Joe Hart was called into action on a number of occasions.

:17:00. > :17:01.Including twice from Zlatan Ibrahimovic free kicks.

:17:02. > :17:08.But perhaps fitting that in a contest billed as being

:17:09. > :17:10.between the rich kids of England and France.

:17:11. > :17:13.The most expensive player on the pitch got the winner.

:17:14. > :17:16.Kevin De Bruyne firing in with 15 minutes to go with his 15th

:17:17. > :17:19.The goal also gave manager Manuel Pellegrini his first

:17:20. > :17:31.Champions League semi final in his final year at City.

:17:32. > :17:38.Because we draw in Paris we are going to draw.

:17:39. > :17:42.Could City's next opponents include THIS man...

:17:43. > :18:04.Real Madrid making it for the sixth straight year. British number two

:18:05. > :18:12.takes on Nadal this morning for the Andy Murray is already through. The

:18:13. > :18:16.world number two didn't make it easy for himself, taking the first set

:18:17. > :18:18.6-2 but lost the second 6-4. He rallied in the second, taking its

:18:19. > :18:30.6-3 to progress. winning the 100 metre breast gold at

:18:31. > :18:34.British swimming World Championships in Glasgow. He came home in under 58

:18:35. > :18:46.seconds to qualify for the Games. Finally, a maximum 147 break in

:18:47. > :18:54.snooker is a rare thing, so as you can imagine, missing the final black

:18:55. > :18:59.is pretty agonising. But doing it twice, spare a thought for satire

:19:00. > :19:06.and no. He has only gone and done it again. This time it came in World

:19:07. > :19:11.Championship qualifying. The latest miss for him cost him nearly

:19:12. > :19:18.?10,000. His feelings after missing this pot. Yeah, fairly clear...

:19:19. > :19:37.Thank you very much, more later. As the killing of pay Muslim shopkeeper

:19:38. > :19:43.in Glasgow exposed religious prejudice in this country?

:19:44. > :19:52.This programme has been told by one Muslim group that they are

:19:53. > :19:57.increasingly worried that this group may be attacked by other, more

:19:58. > :20:04.extreme Muslims. We have been to the UK's biggest Ahmadi mosque.

:20:05. > :20:06.They said, "We will cut you into pieces.

:20:07. > :20:09."We will break your legs and we will even cut your neck,

:20:10. > :20:21.What we are seeing is targeted abuse, saying Ahmadis are less

:20:22. > :20:24.than animals and they should have no human rights.

:20:25. > :20:26.This is unacceptable, this is completely unacceptable.

:20:27. > :20:28.Every sect believes they are the right sect

:20:29. > :20:37.and what the other sect practices is incorrect.

:20:38. > :20:39.They don't like us because of what we believe.

:20:40. > :20:58.Friday prayers at the Baitul Futuh mosque in south London.

:20:59. > :21:01.It is the largest in the UK and thousands of worshippers

:21:02. > :21:06.have come together to hear the weekly sermon.

:21:07. > :21:13.It could be a while before they are able to get

:21:14. > :21:29.It is not usual to see such a high amount of security like this

:21:30. > :21:31.at mosques in the UK but the worshippers

:21:32. > :21:36.That is because there is a real feeling they may be at risk

:21:37. > :21:41.It is airport style security and we are vigilant and we look

:21:42. > :21:45.We are not a professional outfit like the police but we do

:21:46. > :21:55.Do you think the level of security here is excessive?

:21:56. > :21:58.It is proportionate in accordance with the risk so we need to take

:21:59. > :22:04.When people understand the reasons it is a lot easier and they know

:22:05. > :22:06.37-year-old Farouq is an Ahmadi Muslim.

:22:07. > :22:09.There are about 30,000 others like him in the UK.

:22:10. > :22:11.But some Muslims do not recognise Ahmadis as being part

:22:12. > :22:15.It is down to Ahmadis believing in a follower prophet after Muhammad

:22:16. > :22:23.It is a contentious issue amongst some Muslims who believe Muhammad

:22:24. > :22:26.It is this belief which has Ahmadis labelled as apostates,

:22:27. > :22:29.disbelievers and in extreme cases worthy of being killed.

:22:30. > :22:31.We have the threats we saw in Pakistan in 2010,

:22:32. > :22:33.the two Lahore attacks where, at a mosque, suicide

:22:34. > :22:42.We have seen recently an increase in sectarian violence,

:22:43. > :22:45.the question of ideology and hate, and we have seen what was going

:22:46. > :22:49.In Pakistan Ahmadis are not allowed to hold Friday prayers,

:22:50. > :22:51.openly preach or even call themselves Muslims.

:22:52. > :22:54.If they do they could face up to three years in prison

:22:55. > :22:55.under the country's infamous blasphemy laws.

:22:56. > :22:59.Why do you think there are some groups out there who do not

:23:00. > :23:27.We are Muslims, we follow Islam, nothing else.

:23:28. > :23:32.Aneesa came to the UK in 2012 with her 15-year-old son Bilal.

:23:33. > :23:35.She had been receiving death threats from her neighbours in Pakistan

:23:36. > :23:42.She does not want us to show her face or Bilal's

:23:43. > :23:47.because she's worried about being targeted.

:23:48. > :23:49.When you received these threats from extremist Muslims,

:23:50. > :23:53.They said, "We will cut you into pieces, break your legs

:23:54. > :23:59.and even cut your neck, and then we will become satisfied".

:24:00. > :24:08.Aneesa hired a solicitor to take on her asylum case

:24:09. > :24:18.He happened to be Muslim and she began to face problems.

:24:19. > :24:21.When I hired a solicitor, rather than solicitor,

:24:22. > :24:31.He preached me, "Why are you living in fool's paradise?"

:24:32. > :24:33."Leave this religion and come to the actual faith

:24:34. > :24:41.It was not his duty to preach me at that moment.

:24:42. > :24:55.His duty was only to represent me, nothing else.

:24:56. > :24:58.You paid a solicitor to represent you but instead

:24:59. > :25:00.he is preaching to you, telling you that

:25:01. > :25:04.At the time I felt I was not in the UK.

:25:05. > :25:13.Aneesa and her son's asylum cases are still ongoing.

:25:14. > :25:16.Bilal has adapted well to life in the UK, though he can't fully

:25:17. > :25:20.What impact has it had on you, growing up as an Ahmadi

:25:21. > :25:29.They have taken away their childhood from me.

:25:30. > :25:34.Making new friends, I could not do that.

:25:35. > :25:37.I always had to stay at home, because I'm an Ahmadi Muslim

:25:38. > :25:40.and my mum was scared to let me go out.

:25:41. > :25:43.I was even feeling scared in my own home because I knew

:25:44. > :25:50.What is life like for you in the UK now?

:25:51. > :25:59.You can fit in with the society, no matter what race you are.

:26:00. > :26:02.No matter what skin colour or religion, it doesn't

:26:03. > :26:09.What if your case is rejected and you have to go back to Pakistan?

:26:10. > :26:16.I would not even know who I am, because if I go back

:26:17. > :26:19.to Pakistan I don't know what they would do to me.

:26:20. > :26:27.Ahmadi shopkeeper Asah Shah at his store in Glasgow.

:26:28. > :26:32.A killing which police believe was religiously prejudiced.

:26:33. > :26:34.Some fear the religious intolerance to Ahmadis seen in countries

:26:35. > :26:41.like Pakistan is now beginning to take root here.

:26:42. > :26:44.From the beginning of April,, police forces in England and Wales

:26:45. > :26:46.have been required to record anti-Muslim hate crimes

:26:47. > :26:48.as a separate category to try and get a better idea

:26:49. > :26:54.Fiyaz Mughal is from Tell Mama, a group which monitors

:26:55. > :27:00.The group claim they are seeing more sectarian incidents

:27:01. > :27:03.being reported to them, both on and off-line,

:27:04. > :27:05.with a particular increase in anti-Ahmadi abuse

:27:06. > :27:10.We've had material where they are regarded as individuals

:27:11. > :27:13.who should be exterminated, calling Ahmadis cockroaches,

:27:14. > :27:15.and monkeys, calling Ahmadis individuals who should not have any

:27:16. > :27:26.Do you think things will get better or do you expect the number

:27:27. > :27:29.of incidents which come your way to stay the same?

:27:30. > :27:34.We will sadly continue to see a rise, the issue of Ahmadis

:27:35. > :27:36.being seen as non-Muslims is quite significant

:27:37. > :27:38.in Muslim communities, in mainstream thought.

:27:39. > :27:41.We don't have a problem with theological difference

:27:42. > :27:44.and debate, people can disagree, but what some of these disagreements

:27:45. > :27:47.lead to is the hate and vilification of the Ahmadi community

:27:48. > :27:56.Despite what groups like Tell Mama claim are increasing levels

:27:57. > :27:59.of anti-Ahmadi abuse, some are trying to help bring

:28:00. > :28:11.26 year old Abdul Quddus is a young British Ahmadi Imam and he makes

:28:12. > :28:13.a point to actively engage with people from other religions,

:28:14. > :28:15.those of no faith and Muslims from different sects.

:28:16. > :28:18.Now we find in the UK there is more voiced opinion

:28:19. > :28:34.People are calling those from other sects as disbelievers, non-Muslims.

:28:35. > :28:36.Rather than looking at the commonalities

:28:37. > :28:39.and community, they want to see the differences.

:28:40. > :28:41.And they hold those differences against each group.

:28:42. > :28:43.Do you think there needs to be more dialogue between

:28:44. > :28:49.Just by making more practical steps, dialogue, inviting each other

:28:50. > :28:51.to mosques, community places, and sharing a meal together

:28:52. > :28:55.These things will break the tension and cause a reason

:28:56. > :29:01.At this very moment Islam is being attacked and defamed.

:29:02. > :29:04.It is even more vital for people to come together to unite.

:29:05. > :29:07.You are a qualified Imam and have studied the subject for seven years.

:29:08. > :29:09.How does it feel when someone says to you, "You don't know

:29:10. > :29:30.They have been taught this from day one.

:29:31. > :29:32.You can't blame someone who has actually had that

:29:33. > :29:36.Hopefully, I always say, if you get to know me,

:29:37. > :29:39.then you realise if I'm a Muslim or not by my practices.

:29:40. > :29:41.Some groups are openly against Ahmadi Muslims

:29:42. > :29:44.because of their beliefs, but say it is not about promoting

:29:45. > :29:47.violence, spreading hate or doing anything illegal.

:29:48. > :29:54.The Finality of the Prophets is one of them, the group share a name

:29:55. > :29:56.linked to a mosque in Stockwell, where leaflets called calling

:29:57. > :30:02.But the Academy claims it has nothing to do with them.

:30:03. > :30:04.Anyone who says that should be punished according to the law.

:30:05. > :30:10.I don't want to be associated with anyone who advocates any kind

:30:11. > :30:19.But you don't think Ahmadis are Muslim, do you?

:30:20. > :30:21.According to us, according to the word of consensus,

:30:22. > :30:30.Some Ahmadis are worried the problems in Pakistani are now

:30:31. > :30:37.This is blowing it out of proportion.

:30:38. > :30:41.And taking the problems of one country and making them into

:30:42. > :30:44.The government plans to try and tackle sectarian

:30:45. > :30:52.hatred under its counter extremism strategy.

:30:53. > :31:04.In a statement, the Home Office told us: Heavy security will continue

:31:05. > :31:10.to be a feature of some Ahmadi mosques in the near future.

:31:11. > :31:14.Though many are praying a time will come when it is no longer needed.

:31:15. > :31:16.It is not fair for us, it is totally unfair.

:31:17. > :31:34.It is too much for us and we feel helpless.

:31:35. > :31:41.We will talk more about the issue after 10am.

:31:42. > :31:47.Do you have confidence in the Culture Secretary

:31:48. > :31:50.who's in charge of newspapers in this country, to do his job

:31:51. > :31:53.properly, after he confirmed he had a relationship with a sex worker,

:31:54. > :31:55.a story which four newspapers chose not to publish.

:31:56. > :32:06.Many comments. Neil tweeted, "Not bothered by this and other stories

:32:07. > :32:09.doing the rounds." Ronald tweets, "MPs sleeping with prostitutes is

:32:10. > :32:16.nothing new and affects him doing his job as much as if he wore green

:32:17. > :32:19.or saw a rainbow once." Another viewer says, "John Whittingdale's

:32:20. > :32:24.imparality could have been compromised and we have to take a

:32:25. > :32:29.politician's word that it wasn't." Tom Tom tweets this, "It is not

:32:30. > :32:35.about prostitutes, it is about media silence on a story they would

:32:36. > :32:37.normally print." We will talk to Labour's culture spokeswoman after

:32:38. > :32:41.10am. Keep your views coming in.

:32:42. > :32:43.And it is the first of our weekly series looking at some

:32:44. > :32:46.of the big themes that could influence your decision

:32:47. > :32:48.on whether to vote stay in or leave the European Union.

:32:49. > :32:50.We'll talk two women who run their own businesses

:32:51. > :32:53.and we promise we'll speak only in plain English because some

:32:54. > :33:00.of the language around the debate is so unclear on occasion.

:33:01. > :33:07.Here's Joanna in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of today's news.

:33:08. > :33:10.Labour has called for the Culture Secretary John Whittingdale

:33:11. > :33:12.to withdraw from being involved in any decisions on press regulation

:33:13. > :33:15.after he confirmed that he'd been in a relationship with a woman

:33:16. > :33:21.Mr Whittingdale was single when he met the woman on the dating

:33:22. > :33:24.site match.com in August 2013, before he was in his current post.

:33:25. > :33:30.Downing Street said he was a "single man and entitled to a private life"

:33:31. > :33:33.and he had the full confidence of the Prime Minister.

:33:34. > :33:36.Four newspapers knew about the story but decided not to publish it saying

:33:37. > :33:48.He spoke to the media this morning. REPORTER: Can you really properly

:33:49. > :33:51.regulate the press after the revelations? I have made a

:33:52. > :33:54.statement. What about what Labour are saying? Nothing further.

:33:55. > :33:56.More than 2,000 pupils in Edinburgh, whose schools had been

:33:57. > :33:58.closed because of concerns about their structural safety,

:33:59. > :34:02.17 sites were shut last Friday amid fears over the standard

:34:03. > :34:08.A further 5,000 younger pupils will be spending

:34:09. > :34:11.a third day at home, and may not resume their studies

:34:12. > :34:15.Prosecutors in Panama City have raided the offices of the law

:34:16. > :34:18.Millions of confidential documents were leaked from the firm,

:34:19. > :34:23.revealing how some wealthy individuals used offshore companies.

:34:24. > :34:26.A company called Blairmore Holdings, set up by David Cameron's late

:34:27. > :34:32.Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, is back in profit.

:34:33. > :34:35.The company has reported its first sales growth in three years -

:34:36. > :34:39.reporting a pre-tax profit of ?162 million for last year.

:34:40. > :34:42.That compares to a loss of more than ?6 billion for the year before.

:34:43. > :34:44.A drive towards lower prices and fewer products is

:34:45. > :34:48.The company has also closed 60 unprofitable stores and sold off

:34:49. > :35:08.BT is to recruit people to work in its security business. The company

:35:09. > :35:12.said a number of high-profile security and data breaches that have

:35:13. > :35:15.dominated the headlines in recent months led to more consumers wanting

:35:16. > :35:20.to know how best they can protect themselves.

:35:21. > :35:23.A leading cancer charity is warning that obesity may be fuelling

:35:24. > :35:25.a significant rise in the number of women being diagnosed

:35:26. > :35:29.Cancer Research UK says the number of cases has almost doubled

:35:30. > :35:33.Around 9,000 women are found to have the disease every year

:35:34. > :35:40.in the UK, with around 2,00 deaths as a result.

:35:41. > :35:42.The British playwright Sir Arnold Wesker has died, aged 83,

:35:43. > :35:44.his wife Lady Wesker has confirmed to the BBC.

:35:45. > :35:48.The writer first came to prominence in the late 1950s for his gritty,

:35:49. > :35:49.working class dramas about everyday life.

:35:50. > :35:59.His wife said he died yesterday evening after a long illness.

:36:00. > :36:09.Hugh's back now with the sport headlines.

:36:10. > :36:11.Manchester City are through to the semi finals

:36:12. > :36:14.of the Champions League for the first time in their history.

:36:15. > :36:16.Kevin De Bruyne's goal was enough for a 1-0 second leg win

:36:17. > :36:19.at the Etihad over Paris St Germain sealing a 3-2 aggregate victory

:36:20. > :36:25.They're joined by Real Madrid. They had a 2-0 deficit to overcome

:36:26. > :36:27.against Wolfsburg and Cristiano Ronaldo did it all.

:36:28. > :36:32.His hattrick at the Bernabeu also giving Real a 3-2 overall win.

:36:33. > :36:36.Andy Murray's one out of one on clay this season.

:36:37. > :36:40.He won his first match of the year on the surface beating

:36:41. > :36:43.Frenchman Herbert in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

:36:44. > :36:45.World Champion Adam Peaty is on his way to the Rio Olympics

:36:46. > :36:48.after winning 100 metre breaststroke gold at the British Swimming

:36:49. > :36:50.The 21-year-old qualifies for the Games hoping

:36:51. > :36:58.to add to the three world titles he won last year.

:36:59. > :37:06.That's all the sports headlines for you for now. Ilk back in a few

:37:07. > :37:08.minutes. -- I will be back.

:37:09. > :37:10.Made up your mind yet about whether you want this

:37:11. > :37:13.country to leave or remain in the European Union?

:37:14. > :37:15.You'll get the chance to vote on 23rd June,

:37:16. > :37:21.so still plenty of time - and it's totally your decision.

:37:22. > :37:24.Both sides are arguing it out arguing over things

:37:25. > :37:26.like immigration, security and the jobs, wages and the economy.

:37:27. > :37:29.Each week - between now and the day you vote -

:37:30. > :37:32.we're going to ask our political guru Norman Smith to take a look

:37:33. > :37:35.at one of these big themes - this week it's the economy -

:37:36. > :37:37.and explain it in clear, simple, plain English -

:37:38. > :37:39.before hearing from both sides on the issue.

:37:40. > :37:45.Thank you very much, Vic. Well, it is the biggy, the economy. It is the

:37:46. > :37:49.issue which Mr Cameron hopes will win him this referendum by a warning

:37:50. > :37:55.of the dangers of our economy if we pull out. Brexit campaigners say he

:37:56. > :38:03.is just trying to scare the pants off us. So what is the ghostly

:38:04. > :38:09.vision that Mr Cameron is trying to conjure up? First off, jobs. He says

:38:10. > :38:13.three million jobs are tied up with Europe. If we leave, they could be

:38:14. > :38:17.at risk. Second business, many businesses come to Britain because

:38:18. > :38:22.we're in the EU, companies like Nissan and BMW, would they still

:38:23. > :38:28.come here if we left? Prices, the cost of everything, he says, will go

:38:29. > :38:32.up. Things like air fares, cheap flights to the rest of Europe will

:38:33. > :38:36.cost more, he says, similarly the mobile phone bills will also go up.

:38:37. > :38:40.Listen to Mr Cameron warning about the dangers to our economy if we

:38:41. > :38:46.leave when he was speaking to students last week.

:38:47. > :38:50.We think it would be a bad decision to leave.

:38:51. > :38:53.It would be bad for our economy, bad for jobs, bad for investment,

:38:54. > :38:56.We think it would be bad for universities.

:38:57. > :39:00.So we have made a clear stance in this leaflet which I hope

:39:01. > :39:04.everyone will get a copy of in their home.

:39:05. > :39:12.You may think this sounds familiar. Well, it is. He remember we had that

:39:13. > :39:17.Scottish referendum and yes, the Government again, tried to warn

:39:18. > :39:21.about the dangers to the economy and were accused of running Project Fear

:39:22. > :39:27.in the Scottish referendum and at the heart of that was claims about

:39:28. > :39:30.the pound. Fears that if Scots voted for independence, they wouldn't be

:39:31. > :39:35.able to keep the pound. So what would happen to the Scottish

:39:36. > :39:40.currency? There were question marks about whether Scots could rely on

:39:41. > :39:45.oil prices which we know have subsequently plummeted. And the man

:39:46. > :39:50.who issued many of those warnings, the governor of the Bank of England,

:39:51. > :39:54.last month, he conjured up his own scary vision about what would happen

:39:55. > :40:00.to the economy in the UK if we left the EU saying there would be massive

:40:01. > :40:06.disruption, trade would suffer. We would be a less dynamic economy and

:40:07. > :40:11.he warned it could take months, years, of uncertainty which would

:40:12. > :40:18.hurt business in Britain. Now, what do those who want to leave do to

:40:19. > :40:25.bust those sort of ghostly visions? Well, here is Boris Johnson and

:40:26. > :40:30.Michael gO the Ghost Busters of the Brexit campaign. They say first off,

:40:31. > :40:37.red tape. British business would be freed of a whole load of cumbersome

:40:38. > :40:41.rules and regulations, we would become more dynamic if we left the

:40:42. > :40:47.European Union. Trade, we would be able to negotiate our own deals with

:40:48. > :40:51.other emerging countries. We want have to wait for the old lumbering

:40:52. > :40:56.EU to get its act togetherment we would get our international mojo

:40:57. > :40:59.back, we would feel liberated and become more entrepreneurial and

:41:00. > :41:04.Buccaneering and that was Boris Johnson's message a short time ago.

:41:05. > :41:08.Have a listen. It is precisely because we stayed out of the euro

:41:09. > :41:13.that we are now one of the most successful economies of Europe. And

:41:14. > :41:18.if we burst out of the shackles of Brussels, we would be able to begin

:41:19. > :41:23.immediately with those long neglected free trade opportunities

:41:24. > :41:28.which we can't do at the moment. We could strike free trade deals with

:41:29. > :41:35.America, with China, with the growth economies around the world with our

:41:36. > :41:39.officials, with UK officials. So, both sides may differ bitterly

:41:40. > :41:45.over what sort of impact it would have if we left the EU, but on one

:41:46. > :41:48.thing they do agree - the economy is absolutely central to this

:41:49. > :41:55.referendum campaign. STUDIO: Thank you, Norman.

:41:56. > :42:00.Let's talk now to two women her run their own businesses.

:42:01. > :42:02.Sarah Bell, the head of Tempus Energy,

:42:03. > :42:03.a company that tries to help its customers

:42:04. > :42:05.cut their energy bills using smart technology.

:42:06. > :42:08.She's signed up to support the Britain Stronger in Europe

:42:09. > :42:10.campaign, so she'll be voting for the UK to remain

:42:11. > :42:13.Farzana Baduel, Founder and Managing Director of Curzon PR.

:42:14. > :42:16.She recently signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling

:42:17. > :42:19.for Britain to leave the EU, in order she says, to be more

:42:20. > :42:20.independent when it comes to trade and migration.

:42:21. > :42:26.Welcome both of you, thank you very much for coming on the programme. So

:42:27. > :42:31.the list of big global organisations as well as British organisations

:42:32. > :42:35.saying that there will be instability, job losses, years of

:42:36. > :42:41.uncertainty if Britain votes to leave, do you say that won't happen?

:42:42. > :42:45.I think if we remain in Europe there is going to be certainty that we're

:42:46. > :42:49.going to continue with the stifling bureaucracy. And if Britain leaves?

:42:50. > :42:53.Then it will be wonderful because our politicians will be free to make

:42:54. > :42:59.decisions based upon UK economy rather than a collective Europe. So

:43:00. > :43:05.do you dismiss the job losses and the instability? I believe that they

:43:06. > :43:09.will be short-term jitters. Jitters. What does that mean? For people

:43:10. > :43:12.watching does that mean they will lose their job or their boss will

:43:13. > :43:15.get nervous? There is a number of people who are sitting on the fence

:43:16. > :43:18.in terms of investing because they are waiting to see the outcome of

:43:19. > :43:21.the referendum. However in the medium-term to long-term, I believe

:43:22. > :43:24.Britain would be better in terms of its economy outside of Europe for a

:43:25. > :43:29.number of reasons. First of all, trade. Why are we tying ourselves to

:43:30. > :43:32.Europe when it is a stagnant economy. Most of my business comes

:43:33. > :43:36.from emerging markets and I travel around the world and there is this

:43:37. > :43:39.wonderful feeling that the UK is a country that people around the world

:43:40. > :43:43.want to do business with. They want to come and educate their children

:43:44. > :43:47.here. We have the most incredible soft power that a lot of countries

:43:48. > :43:51.in Europe don't possess. What does soft power mean? The UK is perceived

:43:52. > :43:55.as quite sexy around the world. People want to come here and travel

:43:56. > :43:59.and educate the kids here and do business here. They can do that now?

:44:00. > :44:03.They can do that now, but we don't have the power to build by lateral

:44:04. > :44:07.trade relations with a number of countries outside the EU. We have to

:44:08. > :44:10.do it with Europe and Europe is taking time because of the

:44:11. > :44:13.bureaucracy and they don't represent the interests of the UK. They

:44:14. > :44:18.represent the interests of the collective. Well, on that point

:44:19. > :44:25.then, Sarah, being in the European Union means Britain does not have

:44:26. > :44:29.control of its own trade policy. We, you know, EU trade representatives

:44:30. > :44:32.with the competing interests of 28 member countries trying to get deals

:44:33. > :44:36.with India. They have been discussing a free trade deal for

:44:37. > :44:40.nine years, is it? It is embarrassing. No wonder it takes

:44:41. > :44:43.Canada, you know, seven years to get some kind of deal with the EU

:44:44. > :44:46.because there are so many countries with those competing interests, do

:44:47. > :44:51.you not accept Britain could be free to do that in a more efficient,

:44:52. > :44:56.speedy way and that would be dynamic for Britain's economy? I think it is

:44:57. > :45:00.a fallacy to think negotiating trade agreements will be speedy. Those are

:45:01. > :45:05.lengthy and drawn out negotiations. If we exit now, we remove ourselves

:45:06. > :45:10.from an enormous opportunity that has come from unifying European

:45:11. > :45:13.policies, climate change represents the biggest economic development

:45:14. > :45:17.opportunity of our time. Companies like mine that have developed

:45:18. > :45:22.technology to under pin the future energy system. The reason why Europe

:45:23. > :45:26.represents an enormous opportunity is because Europe decided to be a

:45:27. > :45:30.frontrunner in doing renewable policies, in having energy and

:45:31. > :45:35.climate policies that drive that agenda forward to take maximum

:45:36. > :45:38.advantage out of that, we can develop technologies, but business

:45:39. > :45:42.models and services that can be marketed to those economies that are

:45:43. > :45:48.right for them. In the last two weeks, my company has been contacted

:45:49. > :45:51.by companies in three separate European countries that are

:45:52. > :45:55.interested in our technology because they recognise... If Britain was

:45:56. > :45:59.outside the European Union, those three countries would have still got

:46:00. > :46:03.in touch with your companies? The way we do business with them and the

:46:04. > :46:06.opportunity of the reunification of energy policy, we can build a

:46:07. > :46:10.platform that can be servicing all European countries because we

:46:11. > :46:14.understand, you know, a common European energy trading market. Do

:46:15. > :46:18.you accept that? There is uniform standards across these 28 countries

:46:19. > :46:23.which British business can take advantage of? They don't have to

:46:24. > :46:27.make different products for those 28 countries because we've got

:46:28. > :46:28.consistency and that reduces costs. That's a good thing for British

:46:29. > :46:35.business? I think you have to look at the

:46:36. > :46:39.other side. British businesses have high barriers to entry because of

:46:40. > :46:42.the increased regulations coming out of Europe. A lot of the people

:46:43. > :46:47.campaigning for remaining within Europe tend to be big businesses. I

:46:48. > :46:52.run a small business and I don't have these teams of lawyers in house

:46:53. > :46:56.and teams of lobbyists who can go to Brussels on my behalf and influence

:46:57. > :47:00.decisions from there. Are you saying you have barriers now when it comes

:47:01. > :47:07.to doing business with the rest of Europe? I have an office in New

:47:08. > :47:10.York, an office in Dubai but I don't have any offices in Europe. The

:47:11. > :47:16.economic growth I've seen has come from the areas expanding outside

:47:17. > :47:24.Europe. Are their barriers, despite Britain being in the single market,

:47:25. > :47:27.in this big market with 500 million customers, you have barriers, is

:47:28. > :47:32.that what you're saying? Just to clarify. First of all, economic

:47:33. > :47:35.growth. Whether we like it or not, the economic growth is moving

:47:36. > :47:39.eastwards. A lot of my business is coming from India and China. London

:47:40. > :47:43.is a very global city, the wonderful thing about London is that everybody

:47:44. > :47:48.comes over here and the opportunity that I saw were not setting up an

:47:49. > :47:52.office in Europe... Sorry to interrupt, Britain is a member of

:47:53. > :47:56.the European Union, there is no free trade agreement with India. As a PR

:47:57. > :48:01.company based in Britain, selling your services in India, are their

:48:02. > :48:06.taxes that you have to pay? Tariffs that you have to pay? Are there

:48:07. > :48:09.regulatory barriers or not? The wonderful thing about setting up an

:48:10. > :48:15.office in India and emerging markets is that I'm going out there with the

:48:16. > :48:19.brand of Britain. They perceive the UK is a very strong brand and that

:48:20. > :48:24.helps me get business from these emerging markets. There is no

:48:25. > :48:27.financial barriers to you doing trade there? No financial barriers

:48:28. > :48:32.at the moment in terms of me doing trade there but if the UK and India

:48:33. > :48:38.could have its own bilateral trade agreement it would make our business

:48:39. > :48:41.a lot stronger. The Indian Prime Minister and David Cameron have had

:48:42. > :48:43.a lot of meetings where they have discussed collaborating, but we

:48:44. > :48:51.haven't yet had a bilateral agreement with India. Britain would

:48:52. > :48:55.have to start from scratch. The EU has been talking to India for nine

:48:56. > :49:02.years! Britain would have to start from scratch. Not least America,

:49:03. > :49:08.South Korea, Vietnam, all the places the EU already has trade deals with.

:49:09. > :49:12.The UK, it's easy to be nimble and go and open up offices around the

:49:13. > :49:17.world. But you can do that with Britain as a member of the European

:49:18. > :49:21.Union. I've seen the economic opportunities outside Europe, I've

:49:22. > :49:25.not seen them inside Europe. For us to hang the petticoats of Europe

:49:26. > :49:30.because we are too scared to go on our own, I think it is a defeatist

:49:31. > :49:35.mentality. Is it about being scared, Sarah? I don't think so,. There

:49:36. > :49:39.hasn't been enough discussion about what it would cost Britain to

:49:40. > :49:44.negotiate with those countries. By the cost, you mean in terms of, it

:49:45. > :49:47.could take years so there will be instability and it won't be clear

:49:48. > :49:52.what the rules are and that could lead to job losses. Is that what you

:49:53. > :49:56.mean by cost? Also the focus and time, definitely some of that aside,

:49:57. > :50:01.the enormous amounts of legal fees that we will be required to

:50:02. > :50:05.negotiate, the treaties with individual countries, they all add

:50:06. > :50:09.to the prospect but also the focus of government, I would much rather

:50:10. > :50:12.this government were focused on economic development, pushing our

:50:13. > :50:16.innovation businesses into new markets including Europe as well as

:50:17. > :50:20.the rest of the world, instead of spending lots of time trying to

:50:21. > :50:24.renegotiate treaties. If we leave Europe now, we're getting away from

:50:25. > :50:29.markets that we could immediately enter and that is not going to be

:50:30. > :50:33.good for jobs and growth. In the Economist last week they reported

:50:34. > :50:39.that since we have been in Europe, trade with European countries has

:50:40. > :50:43.increased by 55%, that is a very large opportunity for British

:50:44. > :50:48.businesses. Yes but you will know that Britain's trade with Europe is

:50:49. > :50:52.degreasing, it used to be much higher, say in 2006, and actually

:50:53. > :50:57.our trade with the emerging markets we have talked about is on the

:50:58. > :51:01.increase. For some areas. In the area I worked in, because there is

:51:02. > :51:05.cemetery new abode generation in places like Germany, Spain,

:51:06. > :51:09.Portugal, actually the ability to more cost effectively manage their

:51:10. > :51:17.system, that opportunity is actually increasing. I'm focused on the

:51:18. > :51:21.energies sector. Of course, and people will hear what you both say

:51:22. > :51:28.and hopefully absorb some of the information and hopefully make their

:51:29. > :51:31.own minds up. Very briefly. 350 million a week, I read, I was

:51:32. > :51:38.reading an article. That is shocking. That is what Britain pays

:51:39. > :51:44.into the European Union and Britain gets back 190 million a week. What

:51:45. > :51:49.Britain pays net per week is 160 million. Every week we pay 160

:51:50. > :51:53.million. On top of that we're outsourcing our control over our

:51:54. > :51:58.borders, we're outsourcing control in terms of our economy. I just

:51:59. > :52:03.think it's madness. But that doesn't account for the benefit that is into

:52:04. > :52:07.Britain. We're taking that into account in the rebate. But you're

:52:08. > :52:11.talking about other benefits. Like trade and economic development.

:52:12. > :52:18.Still to come on the programme, we hear from Ramadi Muslims, a minority

:52:19. > :52:22.sect in the UK who fear from their -- fear for their safety after a

:52:23. > :52:27.number of extreme attacks from other Muslims. -- Ahmadi Muslims.

:52:28. > :52:30.Tomorrow it will be two years since 276 schoolgirls were abducted

:52:31. > :52:32.from northeast Nigeria by the militant Islamist

:52:33. > :52:36.Some managed to escape but 219 are still missing.

:52:37. > :52:41.The kidnapping sparked outrage around the globe and the hashtag

:52:42. > :52:46.#bringbackourgirls was used by Michelle Obama, Malala,

:52:47. > :52:48.Julia Roberts and Cara Delevigne, among many others.

:52:49. > :53:03.There is no evidence of where the girls may be held or

:53:04. > :53:07.There will be demonstrations across Nigeria today to call

:53:08. > :53:10.for the safe return of the girls, while remembering all

:53:11. > :53:13.These parents spoke to the BBC back in 2014, after their

:53:14. > :53:21.I can't eat, I can't sleep, I even have an ulcer.

:53:22. > :53:23.Sometimes I feel very faint due to worry.

:53:24. > :53:28.Often they start crying and calling out for their sibling

:53:29. > :53:32.They must be sitting on their backsides, the government,

:53:33. > :53:34.otherwise they would have found and rescued those girls.

:53:35. > :53:39.But to date their efforts have yielded no fruit.

:53:40. > :53:44.When we go to bed we are scared and worried.

:53:45. > :53:54.Sometimes we don't go to bed for fear, we just stay up.

:53:55. > :53:56.TRANSLATION: Honestly, there is a lot of fear.

:53:57. > :54:01.All we can do is put our faith in God and hope that

:54:02. > :54:05.TRANSLATION: The government is doing nothing at all.

:54:06. > :54:07.Honestly, if they were doing anything serious they would have

:54:08. > :54:12.I honestly don't see any effort they are making.

:54:13. > :54:25.Let's talk now to the head of the foundation which is campaigning for

:54:26. > :54:32.the girls to be brought home. She is in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

:54:33. > :54:42.Thank you for talking to us. Aisha, first of all, what role has your

:54:43. > :54:45.organisation played in trying to get the schoolgirls back? One of the

:54:46. > :54:53.things we've tried to do is help the community built facilities and show

:54:54. > :55:08.them the support of the family members. The challenge we faced...

:55:09. > :55:13.OK, sorry... Do carry on. OK. It was important to realise that these

:55:14. > :55:19.girls are not just a number. We talk about numbers like 219 but at the

:55:20. > :55:23.end of the day we're talking about parents who have lost their

:55:24. > :55:33.children, we're talking about communities that have been

:55:34. > :55:37.devastated. So it was up to us to work with them in terms of

:55:38. > :55:46.comforting them and in terms of how to rebuild their schools and their

:55:47. > :55:53.communities. In the last few months, we have also been able to interview

:55:54. > :55:56.at least 203 parents, out of which the seven were parents of girls that

:55:57. > :56:02.had actually escaped at the beginning of the abduction, and we

:56:03. > :56:08.have been able to photograph them. Because it's also important...

:56:09. > :56:14.The Skype obviously keeps freezing, but we will come back to Aisha,

:56:15. > :56:19.because I have more questions for her. Is the Nigerian government

:56:20. > :56:23.doing enough to try and rescue these girls from the Islamist militants?

:56:24. > :56:27.Essentially, Amnesty International thinks that the Nigerian government

:56:28. > :56:30.isn't doing enough. At the time of the abduction of these girls, two

:56:31. > :56:36.years ago now, the Nigerian authorities were woefully slow and

:56:37. > :56:42.inadequate in trying to actually get around to protecting and rescuing

:56:43. > :56:45.them. Two years, 219 girls are still missing. Aisha is right, they are

:56:46. > :56:50.more than just a number, but unfortunately the number is so great

:56:51. > :56:57.that we have to talk in numbers. That is 219 goals and young women

:56:58. > :57:03.who were abducted two years ago and Boko Haram has actually abducted

:57:04. > :57:09.2000 girls. That is a staggering and horrifying number. And in some cases

:57:10. > :57:13.using them as suicide bombers. Exactly. Many of these women have no

:57:14. > :57:20.choice, they have been brainwashed to become suicide bombers. Sometimes

:57:21. > :57:24.they don't even know they have had explosives strapped to them.

:57:25. > :57:30.Absolutely, it is absolutely devastating. Those who are not used

:57:31. > :57:34.as suicide bombers are taken as wives. More needs to be done to

:57:35. > :57:38.protect them. Aisha, you talked about trying to comfort some of the

:57:39. > :57:41.parents and these are mums and dads who have no idea if their daughters

:57:42. > :57:44.are dead or alive and the last two years must have been the most

:57:45. > :57:50.excruciating and painful situation of limbo for them. Are they hopeful

:57:51. > :58:02.that they will see their daughters again? I think there in motion 's

:58:03. > :58:08.fluctuate. They go from being buried the press to also being optimistic,

:58:09. > :58:12.which is to be expected. -- go from being very depressed to being

:58:13. > :58:15.optimistic. There are reports to them of sightings which are

:58:16. > :58:21.sometimes difficult to verify. If you recall, very recently the young

:58:22. > :58:27.girl who was found in Cameroon with explosives strapped to her had

:58:28. > :58:36.said... It was a particularly ethical time for these parents. They

:58:37. > :58:46.wanted to identify her. -- particularly difficult time. It was

:58:47. > :58:49.confirmed that there was a possibility that some of these girls

:58:50. > :58:56.were being used as suicide bombers. It was found out that she was

:58:57. > :59:02.abducted about a year ago, which is equally tragic. You're saying the

:59:03. > :59:07.Nigerian government has to do more. What does that mean in practical

:59:08. > :59:11.terms? They need to improve security in the north-east and we need to CNN

:59:12. > :59:14.to these kidnappings and these killings of innocent people. In

:59:15. > :59:19.addition, they need to track these girls, they need to be able to

:59:20. > :59:22.rescue them and then once they are back in these communities, to

:59:23. > :59:27.provide the adequate psychosocial care and support that they need.

:59:28. > :59:30.They have been trying to track them. If they could have rescued them,

:59:31. > :59:35.presumably they would have done. That is a question you would like to

:59:36. > :59:40.ask. You don't think they have been trying that much? We're looking at

:59:41. > :59:44.two years on, 24 months, and the message bring back our girls remains

:59:45. > :59:48.as alive as it did two years ago. That shouldn't be the case. There

:59:49. > :59:53.needs to be rescuing of these girls and the 2000 other girls who have

:59:54. > :59:57.been kidnapped and taken into this militant group. Aisha, a rescue

:59:58. > :00:01.operation can sound simple. Presumably it's not, or is it? You

:00:02. > :00:06.tell me. Is that what government forces could have done and still do?

:00:07. > :00:09.Definitely. I think that at the very beginning a lot more could have been

:00:10. > :00:16.done. I know it is quite unfortunate. What about now? I think

:00:17. > :01:15.now we still need to do a lot. In the last two weeks, it has been

:01:16. > :01:18.It is important there a co-ordination between the State

:01:19. > :01:26.authorities and the federal authorities. That's important so the

:01:27. > :01:29.effort will yield better and much quicker results. Thank you both of

:01:30. > :01:41.you. Thank you very much for talking to us this morning.

:01:42. > :01:48.Labour says the Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, is compromised

:01:49. > :01:51.after the press knew about, but decided not to publish details

:01:52. > :01:58.concerning his relationship with a sex worker. We'll talk to a Labour

:01:59. > :02:01.politician and also a former tabloid journalist after 10am.

:02:02. > :02:09.Now, it is time for the weather. Here is Chris.

:02:10. > :02:12.It is Alex, Victoria. There is a big contrast with the weather over the

:02:13. > :02:15.next few days, we have got low pressure down to the south-west of

:02:16. > :02:19.the UK, but it is to the moving across the UK quickly. It is

:02:20. > :02:23.sluggish. That means for some big contrasts. We have cracking sunshine

:02:24. > :02:26.like we had yesterday. This view taken in the Isle of Wight. You can

:02:27. > :02:30.see mist there and there was thick fog around in a few spots this

:02:31. > :02:34.morning, but that's clearing away to reveal sunshine in places, but other

:02:35. > :02:43.parts of the UK, staying dull and dismal. Tommy's Hill, this picture

:02:44. > :02:47.taken on the Scottish Borders, because the weather patterns aren't

:02:48. > :02:52.shifting, if you have got the rain this morning, it is like to still be

:02:53. > :02:56.raining this afternoon. The thick area of cloud continuing

:02:57. > :03:00.to bring outbreaks of rain. The far north of Scotland should hang on to

:03:01. > :03:04.brightness and although some rain will trickle into parts of

:03:05. > :03:07.Yorkshire, brighter than yesterday. Further south, yes, sunny spells

:03:08. > :03:12.likely, but also showers getting going. Heavy, possibly thundery ones

:03:13. > :03:15.developing. The far north of Scotland dry and bright, but there

:03:16. > :03:19.is a keen breeze blowing here. Even with sunshine, it is not

:03:20. > :03:21.spectacularly warm, but feeling cool under that bank of rain through

:03:22. > :03:26.Northern Ireland, Southern Scotland and the far north of England, just

:03:27. > :03:29.eight or nine Celsius, compare and contrast further south, 16s, 17s,

:03:30. > :03:33.maybe 18 Celsius with sunshine. As well as the sunshine, you will have

:03:34. > :03:36.to dodge the downpours. Not everywhere will catch a downpour,

:03:37. > :03:40.but they could be thundery ones later this afternoon and into this

:03:41. > :03:43.evening. Still some of those heavy showers scattered across the heart

:03:44. > :03:46.of England and Wales. Still some of that persistent rain across

:03:47. > :03:50.north-east England and south-east Scotland overnight. Elsewhere, it

:03:51. > :03:52.does turn drier and it will be milder in the south tonight. Last

:03:53. > :03:55.night we had a touch of frost through Wiltshire and Somerset.

:03:56. > :03:59.Tonight, temperatures holding up above freezing here. In Northern

:04:00. > :04:03.Scotland, maybe a touch of frost through the Scottish glens. Again,

:04:04. > :04:06.Northern Scotland should see bright weather tomorrow and overall a

:04:07. > :04:09.brighter day along with Northern Ireland compared to today.

:04:10. > :04:12.North-east England cheering up too after a damp start. For England and

:04:13. > :04:18.Wales, again, it is dodge the downpours. Some heavy, spring

:04:19. > :04:22.showers developing even a few thunderstorms, but still some warm

:04:23. > :04:26.sunshine. We could see temperatures of 17 Celsius. So we keep the

:04:27. > :04:29.contrasts for the next couple of days. The low pressure system we

:04:30. > :04:32.have been talking about for days just getting closer and closer

:04:33. > :04:35.through Friday and the week and that's going to bring more

:04:36. > :04:38.persistent rain during Friday in particular. It could be a soggy

:04:39. > :04:43.affair. The winds starting to increase. Colder air drifting down

:04:44. > :04:47.from the north as well. It all sets us up for a mixed picture through

:04:48. > :04:51.the weekend, it will be wet and windy for many of us on Saturday. We

:04:52. > :04:59.should something drier by Sunday and certainly across the south, it will

:05:00. > :05:03.be turning colder. Thank you, Alex. I'm sorry for

:05:04. > :05:10.calling you Chris! Labour says the Culture Secretary

:05:11. > :05:25.shouldn't be involved in any further decisions on press regulation

:05:26. > :05:27.after he confirmed a relationship with a sex worker before

:05:28. > :05:29.he was a government minister. Four newspapers knew about the story

:05:30. > :05:32.but decided not to run it. Campaigners against press abuses say

:05:33. > :05:37.he has questions to answer. John Whittingdale needs to be clear

:05:38. > :05:38.if he told the Prime Minister. If he hid it from the Prime Minister then

:05:39. > :05:53.he is in real trouble. Has the killing of a Glasgow

:05:54. > :05:55.shopkeeper exposed hatred and prejudice within

:05:56. > :05:56.the Muslim community? We've been told of fears that one

:05:57. > :06:00.sect could be vulnerable to attacks They said, "We will

:06:01. > :06:03.cut you into pieces. "We will break your legs

:06:04. > :06:05.and we will even cut your neck, More women are being

:06:06. > :06:15.diagnosed with womb cancer Researchers say obesity and a lack

:06:16. > :06:26.of exercise could be to blame? Here's Joanna in the BBC Newsroom

:06:27. > :06:37.with a summary of today's news. Labour has called for the Culture

:06:38. > :06:39.Secretary John Whittingdale to withdraw from being involved

:06:40. > :06:42.in any decisions on press regulation after he confirmed that he'd been

:06:43. > :06:45.in a relationship with a woman Mr Whittingdale was single

:06:46. > :06:49.when he met the woman on the dating site match.com in August 2013,

:06:50. > :06:52.before he was in his current post. Downing Street said he was a "single

:06:53. > :06:55.man and entitled to a private life" and he had the full confidence

:06:56. > :06:57.of the Prime Minister. Four newspapers knew about the story

:06:58. > :07:00.but decided not to publish it. Journalists asked questions

:07:01. > :07:17.as he left home this morning. REPORTER: Can you regulate the press

:07:18. > :07:20.after last night's revelations? I have made a statement, I have

:07:21. > :07:31.nothing to add. What about what Labour are saying?

:07:32. > :07:33.More than Nothingment 2,000 pupils in Edinburgh,

:07:34. > :07:36.closed because of concerns about their structural safety,

:07:37. > :07:40.17 sites were shut last Friday amid fears over the standard

:07:41. > :07:44.A further 5,000 younger pupils will be spending a third day

:07:45. > :07:46.at home, and may not resume their studies until next

:07:47. > :07:50.Students preparing for Scottish Highers and other exams

:07:51. > :07:54.They are either returning to their own school or have been

:07:55. > :07:57.Students didn't return to school following the Easter holidays

:07:58. > :07:59.after Edinburgh Council closed a total of 17 schools

:08:00. > :08:02.The problems were first uncovered in January when part

:08:03. > :08:05.of a wall at one school collapsed during high winds.

:08:06. > :08:07.Other schools were closed after inspections revealed problems

:08:08. > :08:09.with the way walls and roofs had been built.

:08:10. > :08:11.Today, three schools, Drummond, Firrhill and Royal High

:08:12. > :08:13.are partially reopening because the areas causing structural

:08:14. > :08:16.Two at Gracemount and Craigmount are sending their pupils elsewhere,

:08:17. > :08:19.but their teachers will go with them to ensure some level

:08:20. > :08:30.But that still leaves almost 5,000 pupils off school for a third day

:08:31. > :08:33.The remaining affected secondary, primary and special needs pupils

:08:34. > :08:35.are likely to be given somewhere to resume lessons

:08:36. > :08:43.There is still uncertainty about where that will be.

:08:44. > :08:46.So they will be in a different building, but they will be taught

:08:47. > :08:48.by their usual teachers in their usual class.

:08:49. > :08:50.So there should be very little difference to their study except

:08:51. > :08:55.It's a very logistical exercise, but I'm pleased to say my team have

:08:56. > :09:01.done a fantastic job at getting those logistics together.

:09:02. > :09:03.All 17 schools were built as part of the city's

:09:04. > :09:08.The scale of repairs are as yet unknown and the disruption

:09:09. > :09:18.Prosecutors in Panama City have raided the offices of the law

:09:19. > :09:22.Millions of confidential documents were leaked from the firm,

:09:23. > :09:24.revealing how some wealthy individuals used offshore companies.

:09:25. > :09:27.A company called Blairmore Holdings, set up by David Cameron's late

:09:28. > :09:37.Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, is back in profit.

:09:38. > :09:40.The company has reported its first sales growth in three years -

:09:41. > :09:42.reporting a pre-tax profit of ?162 million for last year.

:09:43. > :09:45.That compares to a loss of more than ?6 billion for the year before.

:09:46. > :09:48.A drive towards lower prices and fewer products is

:09:49. > :09:51.The company has also closed 60 unprofitable stores and sold off

:09:52. > :10:01.BT is to recruit 900 people to work in its security business.

:10:02. > :10:03.It's part of a major drive to protect consumers,

:10:04. > :10:05.businesses and governments from the growing

:10:06. > :10:09.The company said a number of high-profile security and data

:10:10. > :10:11.breaches that have dominated the headlines in recent months has

:10:12. > :10:13.led to more consumers wanting to know how best

:10:14. > :10:24.High rates of unemployment in southern and eastern Europe have

:10:25. > :10:27.been named as among the key factors driving an increase in the number

:10:28. > :10:32.Over the last five years the number of EU nationals living in the UK

:10:33. > :10:34.has gone up by almost 700,000 to 3.3 million.

:10:35. > :10:37.account for 80% of that increase - Spain, Italy, Portugal,

:10:38. > :10:52.A leading cancer charity is warning that obesity may be fuelling

:10:53. > :10:55.a significant rise in the number of women being diagnosed

:10:56. > :10:58.Cancer Research UK says the number of cases has almost doubled

:10:59. > :11:06.Around 9,000 women are found to have the disease every year

:11:07. > :11:12.in the UK, with around 2,000 deaths as a result.

:11:13. > :11:16.A BBC investigation has found that police officers in England and Wales

:11:17. > :11:18.have seized almost 5,000 dogs in the last three years -

:11:19. > :11:24.on suspicion that they are banned breeds.

:11:25. > :11:26.The RSPCA is calling for the Dangerous Dogs Act to be updated

:11:27. > :11:29.to ensure dogs are judged on their behaviour alone.

:11:30. > :11:32.But the government says a ban on certain breeds helps manage

:11:33. > :11:41.the heightened risk those animals pose.

:11:42. > :11:43.The British playwright Sir Arnold Wesker has died, aged 83,

:11:44. > :11:45.his wife Lady Wesker has confirmed to the BBC.

:11:46. > :11:49.The writer first came to prominence in the late 1950s for his gritty,

:11:50. > :11:50.working class dramas about everyday life.

:11:51. > :11:56.His wife said he died yesterday evening after a long illness.

:11:57. > :11:58.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:11:59. > :12:06.Over the next hour we'll bring you the latest breaking news

:12:07. > :12:11.and developing stories and any comments.

:12:12. > :12:18.We will speak to Labour's cull tier spokeswoman in a moment. John says,

:12:19. > :12:23."I don't know why we are talking about this. Surely there are more

:12:24. > :12:27.important issues that affect us. Pathetic." Another viewer says,

:12:28. > :12:33."People in power need to be whiter than white." Ali tweets, "A single

:12:34. > :12:38.man has a relationship with a single woman, what's the story?" Sam says,

:12:39. > :12:41."It is not about the woman being a sex worker, it is about the press

:12:42. > :12:46.holding something over him when he is in charge of press regulation."

:12:47. > :12:52.This texter says, "Whittingdale sleaze, slar public servant paid

:12:53. > :12:56.through public purse." Graham texts, "The action of Government ministers

:12:57. > :13:00.should be exemplary. When not, we have good cause to complain. Every

:13:01. > :13:03.day citizens like you and me can dodge our taxes or get mixed up with

:13:04. > :13:06.prostitutes. Members of the Government can't and shouldn't."

:13:07. > :13:18.More in a second. Here is Hugh with the sport.

:13:19. > :13:29.Manchester City are celebrating. It was a 1-0 win over Paris St Germain

:13:30. > :13:34.and a place in the last four for them. They are joined by this man

:13:35. > :13:41.and Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo helped them overcome a 2-0 deficit.

:13:42. > :13:46.He did it all. His hat-trick at was enough to give them a 3-2 overall

:13:47. > :13:53.win. Andy Murray is one out of one on clay. He won his first match of

:13:54. > :14:04.the year on the surface beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert. And Adam Pety

:14:05. > :14:08.is on his way to the Rio Olympics. Just 21, but he qualifies for the

:14:09. > :14:09.Games and hoping to add to the three world titles he won last year. I

:14:10. > :14:13.will have more later on for you. Labour have called for

:14:14. > :14:15.the Culture Secretary to withdraw from being involved in any decisions

:14:16. > :14:17.on press regulation after John Whittingdale confirmed

:14:18. > :14:20.that he had been in a relationship Mr Whittingdale was single

:14:21. > :14:28.when he met her on the dating site match.com in August 2013,

:14:29. > :14:42.before he was in his current post. Downing Street says he was a single

:14:43. > :14:49.man and had the right to a private life.

:14:50. > :14:53.Four newspapers knew about the story, but decided not to publish

:14:54. > :14:57.it. The Sun said they were not making any comment. The Independent

:14:58. > :15:01.did not return our calls. The editor of the Mail on Sunday was

:15:02. > :15:06.unavailable to speak to us and no comment was made. And a spokesman

:15:07. > :15:09.for the Trinity Mirror Group, they own the Sunday People was looking

:15:10. > :15:12.into providing a statement, but nothing has cold through from them

:15:13. > :15:15.yet. Mr John Whittingdale left his home

:15:16. > :15:20.on the way to work and was greeted by reporters.

:15:21. > :15:30.I have made a statement. I have nothing further to add. Shouldn't be

:15:31. > :15:40.taking decisions about... Nothing further to add. Maria Eagle, good

:15:41. > :15:46.morning. What is the problem here? The problem is not about whatever he

:15:47. > :15:50.gets up to in his private life, he is entitled to whatever he gets up

:15:51. > :15:54.to in his private life. The issue here is that he regulates and is

:15:55. > :15:57.responsible for press regulation and it's about perceptions. Before the

:15:58. > :16:01.election there was cross-party agreement that the Leveson Inquiry's

:16:02. > :16:06.accommodations ought to be in demented, and the addition of Mr

:16:07. > :16:10.Whittingdale has changed from before the election to after the election,

:16:11. > :16:14.when he is now responsible for doing that implementation and the question

:16:15. > :16:19.is now whether or not in view of these regulations he ought to now

:16:20. > :16:24.just step back from taking those decisions simply because of the way

:16:25. > :16:29.it looks and the way in which perceptions are important in

:16:30. > :16:34.politics. I think that is the issue will stop its about whether or not

:16:35. > :16:38.he should be taking those -- these decisions, in view of these

:16:39. > :16:40.regulations. It's nothing to do with what he gets up to in his private

:16:41. > :16:52.life, which is a matter for him. Since he became the Secretary of

:16:53. > :16:58.State and since the election he had decided not to implement part of the

:16:59. > :17:03.cross-party agreement. What point are you making there? The point that

:17:04. > :17:07.I'm making is that there is a perception, the possibility of the

:17:08. > :17:12.fact that he's done this because of, he knew that these revelations were

:17:13. > :17:17.available to newspapers, perceptions are important in politics and I

:17:18. > :17:22.think it would be better now if he didn't take these decisions about

:17:23. > :17:27.implementation simply because of what happened. I'm not saying that

:17:28. > :17:31.he shouldn't have done whatever he did in his private life, I'm not

:17:32. > :17:34.interested in that. But his position has changed from before the election

:17:35. > :17:38.to after the election on press regulation and I think that the

:17:39. > :17:45.perceptions that that may be because of this story is important. I think

:17:46. > :17:50.he needs to therefore step back in respect of this particular Anju

:17:51. > :17:55.influence and allow someone else to take these decisions about

:17:56. > :17:57.implementing Leveson. There was an agreement beforehand cross-party

:17:58. > :18:03.that Levinson should be lamented in respect of part two of the inquiry

:18:04. > :18:09.and in respect of the cost provisions, commencing section four

:18:10. > :18:12.of the crime and Courts act, and the perception from before the election

:18:13. > :18:16.to after the election has changed and the question will legitimately

:18:17. > :18:20.be asked, is it anything to do with these facts and these revelations

:18:21. > :18:25.about his private life? Do you think it is? I don't know and nobody knows

:18:26. > :18:27.apart from the Secretary of State and the editors what the real

:18:28. > :18:34.position is. Vista Whittingdale himself has said that there was

:18:35. > :18:37.absolutely no conflict of interest. He hasn't done anything differently

:18:38. > :18:41.as a result of what happened in his private life and the fact that

:18:42. > :18:46.newspapers new and chose not to publish it. There was an agreement

:18:47. > :18:51.cross-party placed onto the statute book in the crime and Courts act

:18:52. > :18:54.about cost provisions for those newspapers, being applied to

:18:55. > :19:00.newspapers who don't comply with it, who don't join the Levinson

:19:01. > :19:06.compliant regulator and he has universally decided he will not

:19:07. > :19:09.commence those revisions. It is about whether or not he was

:19:10. > :19:13.adversely influenced in that respect and I think you would be better for

:19:14. > :19:17.him and better for the government if somebody else were making those

:19:18. > :19:20.decisions. That is the simple point I'm making, that there cannot be any

:19:21. > :19:23.perception of undue influence. At the moment the way things stand,

:19:24. > :19:30.there is that perception and I think he should step back from making

:19:31. > :19:34.these decisions. What about the other decisions? He is also in

:19:35. > :19:40.charge of media and mergers, should he stepped back from that? He should

:19:41. > :19:44.certainly recuse himself from these decisions about Levinson. He has two

:19:45. > :19:49.R Kinsella whether there is any perception of undue influence. And

:19:50. > :19:56.he should have a very clear think about that. He already has. You know

:19:57. > :20:02.his statement, there was no... He hasn't done anything differently as

:20:03. > :20:06.a result and I think perceptions... I think perceptions matter in

:20:07. > :20:10.politics. We have seen that over the Panama papers. Perceptions matter

:20:11. > :20:14.and trust in politics matters and what we can't have is a Secretary of

:20:15. > :20:18.State who, there is a potential perception that he is being overly

:20:19. > :20:23.influenced by stories that the media may have on him and whether or not

:20:24. > :20:28.they should be printed. I think he needs to step back from these

:20:29. > :20:32.decisions and I think that the Prime Minister is keen to make sure that

:20:33. > :20:37.the victims of phone hacking are properly dealt with, as he promised

:20:38. > :20:42.before the election. He needs to make sure that the -- there is no

:20:43. > :20:46.perception that the person making those decisions is unduly influenced

:20:47. > :20:50.by stories the media may have on him. I just want to read his

:20:51. > :21:12.statement because it is worth it for our audience.

:21:13. > :21:20.Do you think, why do you think the newspapers didn't publish this

:21:21. > :21:26.story? I don't know, you have to ask the editors that. I'm not interested

:21:27. > :21:30.in second-guessing editors's decisions, what I'm saying is that

:21:31. > :21:35.perception matters. He is responsible for press regulation,

:21:36. > :21:41.there was an agreement cross-party placed before the last general

:21:42. > :21:44.election, placed into legislation, and we need to make sure that these

:21:45. > :21:51.revelations have nothing to do and are seen to have nothing to do with

:21:52. > :21:55.the way he is now changing apperception is on the half of the

:21:56. > :22:01.government. That means you don't take John Whittingdale at his word

:22:02. > :22:05.when he says... No, it means that perceptions matter in politics. If

:22:06. > :22:09.he thinks carefully about this, he would want to recuse himself from

:22:10. > :22:12.these decisions. Should he have told the Prime Minister about this

:22:13. > :22:15.relationship and the fact that some stories were sniffing around the

:22:16. > :22:20.stories of the relationship before he took the job as Culture

:22:21. > :22:26.Secretary? I think it would probably have been expected that something of

:22:27. > :22:30.this significance should have been discussed, but that is a matter for

:22:31. > :22:34.him and it's a matter for the Prime Minister. The reality is I'm not

:22:35. > :22:39.interested in his private life, I'm interested in the perception of the

:22:40. > :22:42.person making decisions about press regulation appearing to have the

:22:43. > :22:48.press having an embarrassing story that they can hold over him. Thank

:22:49. > :22:50.you very much, Maria Eagle, who is Labour's culture spokeswoman.

:22:51. > :22:53.Here with me are Neil Wallis, a former Deputy Editor of the News

:22:54. > :22:56.of the World and Daisy Cooper, who is joint executive director

:22:57. > :23:05.It says on its website that it campaigns for a free and accountable

:23:06. > :23:09.press. Let's take that point about perception, Neil. Do you accept

:23:10. > :23:14.that? I think you can throw together any conspiracy theories you like.

:23:15. > :23:19.Perceptions do matter in politics, don't they? They do and we can put

:23:20. > :23:26.together all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories and create a

:23:27. > :23:30.perception. That's what Hacked Off, that's what Labour and the BBC are

:23:31. > :23:38.doing here today, they are creating a conspiracy suggesting that somehow

:23:39. > :23:42.the media, this is the thrust of this, the print media have

:23:43. > :23:49.themselves been in a conspiracy to cover this up and to have a hold

:23:50. > :23:55.over John Whittingdale and it is nonsensical. I'm just asking the

:23:56. > :24:01.questions. No, no, I realise that. The idea that you have the left-wing

:24:02. > :24:06.Daily Mirror, the right wing is the right wing the sun, all getting

:24:07. > :24:12.together... This is proof that self-regulation works. In the

:24:13. > :24:16.post-Levinson in there. That is precisely what this proves. This

:24:17. > :24:25.proves that what the great and the good are campaigning for, lessening

:24:26. > :24:28.intrusions into privacy have worked, but what I know is that newspapers

:24:29. > :24:32.have looked at this and they found a single man had an affair with a

:24:33. > :24:40.single woman. There is no suggestion that he knew what her job was. So if

:24:41. > :24:45.you look at what Hacked Off have been demanding and what the BBC have

:24:46. > :24:48.been championing and what the Guardian are screaming from the

:24:49. > :24:52.rooftops and the Independent incidentally have led the way on

:24:53. > :24:56.this as well, it worked. They did not intrude into his privacy. It

:24:57. > :24:59.would be really interesting to talk to one of those editors but none of

:25:00. > :25:04.them have come onto the programme yet. Perhaps they will later. You

:25:05. > :25:08.were shaking your head in disagreement with Neil, but isn't

:25:09. > :25:12.this what you're campaign group has been campaigning for in the past few

:25:13. > :25:18.years? Don't intrude into people's private lives? This is about policy.

:25:19. > :25:23.Since jotting that -- John Whittingdale was made Culture

:25:24. > :25:26.Secretary, he has been backtracking on policy that was agreed

:25:27. > :25:31.cross-party and by the whole of Parliament. He has blocked critical

:25:32. > :25:35.access to justice legislation which would guarantee access to justice

:25:36. > :25:39.for victims of libel and press intrusion. His rhetoric around

:25:40. > :25:43.Levinson part two', part two of the inquiry which will examine the

:25:44. > :25:49.relationship between the press and police. The question is whether that

:25:50. > :25:52.goes ahead rather than when, and we have been asking for a long time now

:25:53. > :25:55.to tell us when you are backtracking, you should not block

:25:56. > :26:01.this legislation and you should guarantee that you're going to

:26:02. > :26:07.commence Levinson part two'. Isn't that about the inquiry is coming to

:26:08. > :26:10.an end before they continue with Leveson part two'. The cross-party

:26:11. > :26:13.agreement was that it would start after the criminal trials have

:26:14. > :26:18.ended. What we have seen recently is that anonymous government sources

:26:19. > :26:21.have been quoted in mainstream papers saying that after those

:26:22. > :26:25.trials the question will be whether and rather than when. You are

:26:26. > :26:32.linking that with the fact that newspapers had information about Mr

:26:33. > :26:34.Whittingdale's private life a year before he became Culture Secretary.

:26:35. > :26:37.We want to know why this backtracking has taken place and the

:26:38. > :26:42.allegations that have been published and they are suggesting that there

:26:43. > :26:46.is an due influence. You can bet your bottom dollar that if there was

:26:47. > :26:50.any accusation of any other minister that was not responsible for the

:26:51. > :26:55.press... An due influence from those four newspapers on Mr Whittingdale

:26:56. > :27:02.as Culture Secretary to backtrack? These are the allegations that have

:27:03. > :27:07.been made. By whom. A website of conspiracy theorists and not jobs.

:27:08. > :27:16.It is a conspiracy Mac -- it is a website interested in

:27:17. > :27:19.public interest journalism. If there were allegations about an due

:27:20. > :27:22.influence or if you want to know about undue influence that is in the

:27:23. > :27:26.Public interest and people should know about it. Let me give you an

:27:27. > :27:31.example of part of the evidence on this story from this independent

:27:32. > :27:37.journalist who has written a piece, he claims that the Independent

:27:38. > :27:42.refused to publish this story because it rented rooms from the

:27:43. > :27:46.Daily Mail. So this conspiracy is that they did not run the story in

:27:47. > :27:50.case the Daily Mail evicted them! Conquers!

:27:51. > :28:05.He is a political correspondent no longer working at the Independent

:28:06. > :28:11.making also some claims about what the mail on Sunday is supposed to

:28:12. > :28:14.have said. On the perception point, should Mr Whittingdale step back now

:28:15. > :28:20.from any decisions on press regulation? What we want to see at

:28:21. > :28:23.Hacked Off is we want to see Mr Whittingdale stop blocking this

:28:24. > :28:29.critical access to justice legislation and we won the

:28:30. > :28:35.confirmation that Leveson part two will actually go ahead. The Prime

:28:36. > :28:39.Minister admitted that the relationship between the press and

:28:40. > :28:43.politicians had got too cosy. He said that Gerina Piller Leveson

:28:44. > :28:47.Inquiry. The perception is that that relationship has not changed at all.

:28:48. > :28:54.-- he said it during the Leveson Inquiry. What we have here is the

:28:55. > :29:00.most classic example of... Yes or no, should he step back? He is being

:29:01. > :29:11.speared by Hacked Off. Thank you very much, both of you.

:29:12. > :29:16.Thanks for coming on the programme. Your views on that story of course

:29:17. > :29:20.very, very welcome. So many comments and I will try to read some more in

:29:21. > :29:32.the next half-hour. Still to come, we hear from Ahmadi Muslims

:29:33. > :29:35.fear for -- who fear for their safety after an increasing number of

:29:36. > :29:50.attacks from other Muslims. Here is Joanna in the BBC newsroom.

:29:51. > :29:53.Labour has called for Culture Secretary John Whittingdale to

:29:54. > :29:56.withdraw from being involved in any decisions on press regulation, after

:29:57. > :30:01.he confirmed he had been in irrigation ship with a woman who was

:30:02. > :30:08.a sex worker. Mr Whittingdale was single when he met the woman on a

:30:09. > :30:12.dating site in 2013, before he was in his post. Downing Street said he

:30:13. > :30:16.was a single man in title to a private life and he had the full

:30:17. > :30:18.confidence of the Prime Minister. Four newspapers knew about this

:30:19. > :30:29.story but decided not to publish it. S Good morning.

:30:30. > :30:31.REPORTER: Can you regulate the press after last night's revelations? I

:30:32. > :30:34.have made a statement. I have nothing further to add. What about

:30:35. > :30:37.what Labour are saying? Nothing further.

:30:38. > :30:39.More than 2,000 pupils in Edinburgh, whose schools had been

:30:40. > :30:41.closed because of concerns about their structural safety,

:30:42. > :30:45.17 sites were shut last Friday amid fears over the standard

:30:46. > :30:53.A further 5,000 younger pupils will be spending

:30:54. > :31:05.a third day at home, and may not resume their studies

:31:06. > :31:07.A company called Blairmore Holdings, set up by David Cameron's late

:31:08. > :31:14.Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, is back in profit.

:31:15. > :31:17.The company has reported its first sales growth in three years,

:31:18. > :31:20.reporting a pre-tax profit of ?162 million for last year.

:31:21. > :31:25.That compares to a loss of more than ?6 billion for the year before.

:31:26. > :31:27.A drive towards lower prices and fewer products is

:31:28. > :31:31.The company has also closed 60 unprofitable stores and sold off

:31:32. > :31:42.The British playwright Sir Arnold Wesker has died, aged 83,

:31:43. > :31:45.his wife Lady Wesker has confirmed to the BBC.

:31:46. > :31:48.The writer first came to prominence in the late 1950s for his gritty,

:31:49. > :31:50.working class dramas about everyday life.

:31:51. > :31:55.His wife said he died yesterday evening after a long illness.

:31:56. > :32:13.Join me for BBC Newsroom Live at 11am.

:32:14. > :32:23.Hugh will be here shortly. You can e-mail me. You can message us on

:32:24. > :32:25.Twitter. There is texting and Facebooking as well. Here is the

:32:26. > :32:28.sport from Hugh. Manuel Pellegrini put it like this:

:32:29. > :32:31.Manchester City are one of the best They've reached the semi-finals

:32:32. > :32:34.of the Champions League A 1-0 win over Paris ST Germain

:32:35. > :32:38.at the Etihad last night completing Let's talk about this with our

:32:39. > :32:42.football reporter Simon Stone. Simon this is a club that's come

:32:43. > :32:45.a long way in the last ten years and had a lot of success,

:32:46. > :32:52.but even so, a real achievement. It is, indeed, Hugh. Over the last

:32:53. > :32:55.ten years with all the investment Manchester City won Premier League

:32:56. > :33:00.titles, they have won FA Cups, they have won League Cups, they have

:33:01. > :33:03.never got beyond the last 16 of the Champions League until this season.

:33:04. > :33:07.They made the quarterfinals. Now, they are in the semifinals. We know

:33:08. > :33:12.that Real Madrid are in there as well. We expect some of other

:33:13. > :33:20.European clubs to be there. It is a real statement of intent from

:33:21. > :33:26.Manchester City. A great moment for debruner getting that goal. It is

:33:27. > :33:32.Manuel Pellegrini's last season and he leaves with what could be their

:33:33. > :33:36.greatest triumph He was told in February that he would be leaving

:33:37. > :33:41.his job at the end of the season and the Bayern Munich manager would be

:33:42. > :33:44.coming in. There is the beautiful irony of them meeting in the

:33:45. > :33:49.tournament either at the semifinals or possibly the final. Manuel

:33:50. > :33:52.Pellegrini arrived as the quiet engineer. He is going to leave

:33:53. > :33:57.Manchester City potentially making a very, very big noise indeed. Real

:33:58. > :34:04.Madrid had a different task on their hands, didn't they? They were 2-0

:34:05. > :34:08.down and won 3-2 like City, but via a 3-0 win. Cristiano Ronaldo did the

:34:09. > :34:11.hard work again? Absolutely. In Manchester City are breaking new

:34:12. > :34:16.ground by reaching the semifinals then it is not a new experience for

:34:17. > :34:22.Real Madrid and it is not a new experience for Cristiano Ronaldo to

:34:23. > :34:24.be the standard-out performer. A hat-trick and once again stamping

:34:25. > :34:28.his class as one of the best players in the world and he is a man to

:34:29. > :34:31.avoid, I think. A lot to avoid for Manchester City, bearing in mind who

:34:32. > :34:35.could be the semifinalists. We know two of the four that are through to

:34:36. > :34:40.the last four. Tonight the others will be decided. Let's look at what

:34:41. > :34:47.is to come later on. Barcelona defend a 2-1 first leg lead at

:34:48. > :34:59.Atletico Madrid. Simon Stone, thank you very much

:35:00. > :35:05.indeed for joining us. Victoria, it is back to you.

:35:06. > :35:08.Has the killing of a Muslim shopkeeper in Glasgow exposed hatred

:35:09. > :35:10.and prejudice within the Muslim community in this country?

:35:11. > :35:12.Police have described the murder of Asad Shah last month

:35:13. > :35:22.They are a small sect who many other Muslims think don't belong to Islam,

:35:23. > :35:25.because of their different views on the prophet Muhammad.

:35:26. > :35:28.Now we've been told by one Muslim group that they are increasingly

:35:29. > :35:32.worried that Ahmadis may be attacked by other more extreme Muslims.

:35:33. > :35:36.We'll be talking about this in a few minutes but first BBC Asian Network

:35:37. > :35:44.reporter Athar Ahmad has been to the UK's biggest Ahmadi mosque.

:35:45. > :35:50.Friday prayers at the Baitul Futuh mosque in south London.

:35:51. > :35:53.It is the largest in the UK and thousands of worshippers have

:35:54. > :35:54.come together to hear the weekly sermon.

:35:55. > :35:59.It is airport-style security and we are vigilant and we look

:36:00. > :36:03.We are not a professional outfit like the police but we do

:36:04. > :36:06.37-year-old Farouq is an Ahmadi Muslim.

:36:07. > :36:09.There are about 30,000 others like him in the UK.

:36:10. > :36:12.But some Muslims do not recognise Ahmadis as being part of their faith

:36:13. > :36:15.because of their belief in a prophet after Muhammad who came

:36:16. > :36:18.This results in Ahmadis being labelled as apostates,

:36:19. > :36:24.and in extreme cases worthy of being killed.

:36:25. > :36:27.It's not usual to see such a high amount of security like this

:36:28. > :36:29.at mosques in the UK but the worshippers

:36:30. > :36:33.That is because there is a real feeling they may be at risk

:36:34. > :36:39.Aneesa came to the UK in 2012 with her 15-year-old son Bilal.

:36:40. > :36:42.She had been receiving death threats from her neighbours in Pakistan

:36:43. > :36:47.She does not want us to show her face or Bilal's

:36:48. > :36:54.because she's worried about being targeted.

:36:55. > :36:56.They said, "We will cut you into pieces.

:36:57. > :36:59."We will break your legs and we will even cut your neck,

:37:00. > :37:09.They do not consider us Muslim. But we are Muslim, God knows better.

:37:10. > :37:12.Earlier this week the BBC discovered leaflets calling for the killing of

:37:13. > :37:16.It comes after the killing of Asah Shah in his shop

:37:17. > :37:20.A killing that might have been on religious grounds.

:37:21. > :37:24.Fiyaz Mughal is from Tell Mama, a group which monitors Islamophobic

:37:25. > :37:28.He says they are seeing an increase in anti-Ahmadi

:37:29. > :37:34.We've had material where they are regarded as individuals

:37:35. > :37:35.who should be exterminated, calling Ahmadis cockroaches,

:37:36. > :37:38.and monkeys, calling Ahmadis individuals who should not have any

:37:39. > :37:59.In a statement, the Home Office said:

:38:00. > :38:02.Heavy security will continue to be a feature of some Ahmadi

:38:03. > :38:12.Though many are praying a time will come when it is no longer needed.

:38:13. > :38:14.We can now speak to two Ahmadi Muslims.

:38:15. > :38:17.Ayesha Malik who emigrated from Pakistan two years ago

:38:18. > :38:19.and Umar Nasser, President of the Ahmadi Muslim Student

:38:20. > :38:25.Also here is Dr Sundas Ali, a Sunni Muslim and Islamic academic

:38:26. > :38:28.as well as Iman Abou Atta from the organisation Tell Mama,

:38:29. > :38:33.which has been monitoring anti-Ahmadi attacks.

:38:34. > :38:39.Thank you very much for coming on the programme. What is the

:38:40. > :38:45.difference between a Muslim and an Ahmadi Muslim? So the belief that

:38:46. > :38:51.the majority of Muslims which are Sunni Muslims. They believe that

:38:52. > :38:58.there is one God which is Allah and the final prophet is prophet peace

:38:59. > :39:04.be upon him. Ahmadi s believe there was another prophet after Prophet

:39:05. > :39:12.Muhammad who was born in Punjab in 1835. That's the major difference.

:39:13. > :39:15.Would you agree with that? Yes, I think, broadly speaking that is the

:39:16. > :39:22.main thee logical difference. I think we have a difference in how we

:39:23. > :39:26.interpret the prophethood and we believe the prophet, we believe in

:39:27. > :39:33.the founder of the Muslim community is also the second coming of the med

:39:34. > :39:40.seeia that all major religions have been waiting for. Do you believe

:39:41. > :39:47.that Ahmadi s are Muslims? I confirm to the beliefs that Sunni Muslims

:39:48. > :39:52.conform to. If Sunni Muslims believe they are not, I would like, as an

:39:53. > :39:55.academic, as a researcher, I do, I think it is important to speak to

:39:56. > :39:59.everybody and to understand and I think ultimately at the end of the

:40:00. > :40:04.day, it is God who judges, who is Muslim and who is non-Muslim, but of

:40:05. > :40:10.course, as a category, as a Sunni Muslim, this is, you know, I conform

:40:11. > :40:15.to that belief, but I do want to be open-minded and speak. Sure. It

:40:16. > :40:21.sounds like you're saying he is not, she is not. I'm nobody to judge. I

:40:22. > :40:27.think that people who judge are limited. I don't think human beings

:40:28. > :40:32.can judge who is a Muslim and who is a non-Muslim. I think it is and of

:40:33. > :40:37.course, I am not a relugeous scholar, but I think it is God who

:40:38. > :40:42.ultimately judges, I don't discriminate against any of these.

:40:43. > :40:44.There are a number of Muslims who discriminate against people like

:40:45. > :40:54.yourself. What is the danger with that? Well, the worry is that when

:40:55. > :40:58.you have people saying that Ahmadi s are not Muslims it says they may

:40:59. > :41:01.look like Muslims and sound like Muslims, but they are not Muslims.

:41:02. > :41:10.Don't let them trick you. Don't trust them. That can lead to

:41:11. > :41:16.discrimination and persecution and that's what we see all the time when

:41:17. > :41:26.a non-Muslim status has been written into law.

:41:27. > :41:32.There are Pakistanis who are saying Pakistan is different. Is that

:41:33. > :41:36.right? Or is there tension in this country? What is happening in

:41:37. > :41:42.Pakistan is quite different. We have had a long history of severe and

:41:43. > :41:44.brutal persecution. We have had our mosques torched and people's homes

:41:45. > :41:48.have been burned down and you have to sign a form saying everything you

:41:49. > :41:53.believe in is false to get a Pakistani passport. So it is

:41:54. > :41:56.institutionalised sustained persecution. Obviously there is

:41:57. > :42:02.nothing like that. There is no State sanctioned persecution in the UK,

:42:03. > :42:08.but there have been pockets where if you like, Muslim heavy areas, where

:42:09. > :42:17.certain communities who, I think, this also goes back to the Radio 4

:42:18. > :42:22.documentary that's being played about the rise of extremists coming

:42:23. > :42:25.into the UK. I think the larger concern for me personally is that

:42:26. > :42:30.ideology creeping into the UK and I think with the rise of that

:42:31. > :42:35.extremist ideology you have certain individuals who do have hate filled

:42:36. > :42:41.ideology and they do have... How does that manifest itself in

:42:42. > :42:45.Britain? I think the thing to remember is that individuals who

:42:46. > :42:50.have extremist inclin nations, they do exist in the UK. And that is a

:42:51. > :42:59.problem of radicalisation that we are facing as a community, as a

:43:00. > :43:03.society at large. And that just doesn't threaten Ahmadis that

:43:04. > :43:08.threatens everyone in the community. Let me bring in the ammam then. What

:43:09. > :43:14.kind of things have you been seeing and are these incidents on the rise?

:43:15. > :43:18.So in the last year, we have been seeing an increase in anti-Ahmadi

:43:19. > :43:22.rhetoric promoted in both the online sphere as well as on the street

:43:23. > :43:29.level and recently following the unfortunate murder of the

:43:30. > :43:34.shopkeeper, Asad Shah In Glasgow, we have seen an increase in attacks on

:43:35. > :43:37.the Ahmadi community. We measure attacks that take place on Muslim

:43:38. > :43:41.communities and we are not in a place to judge who is Muslim and who

:43:42. > :43:45.is not. It is up to the perception of individuals to see who they are

:43:46. > :43:50.and it is up to God eventually. But in terms of monitoring the

:43:51. > :43:53.incidents, are you able to pinpoint who is, the people who are

:43:54. > :43:58.perpetrating the attacks, whether it is verbal or physical? Absolutely.

:43:59. > :44:07.Is it Muslims attacking Muslims? It comes from all kinds. It is from

:44:08. > :44:11.different sectors of the Muslim community that perceive the Ahmadis

:44:12. > :44:16.as non-Muslims and these messages of hate and promotion of hate and

:44:17. > :44:21.intolerance, they don't fit well with the values of what the UK

:44:22. > :44:25.stands for or any community. If you continue to play the background

:44:26. > :44:29.noise of these messages, will that lead to? Will that lead to further

:44:30. > :44:35.hate, further extreme messages going out? Further acts of extremism

:44:36. > :44:39.taking place towards this community and other communities? And are you

:44:40. > :44:43.hearing on university campuses these kind of negative experiences? Yeah,

:44:44. > :44:48.absolutely. We have had some more severe incidents. So for instance

:44:49. > :44:53.after one of our events in a major cofrt in London, the ex-president of

:44:54. > :44:57.the Islamic Society there gave out leaflets to our audience calling for

:44:58. > :45:00.our death. We have had students physically assaulted. Those are the

:45:01. > :45:07.kind of exceptions, those aren't the rule, but at a lower level, you have

:45:08. > :45:12.a sense of anti-Ahmadi prejudice. Islamic Societies have sent out

:45:13. > :45:16.e-mails saying don't go to our ehaven'ts and they link to extremist

:45:17. > :45:20.websites and even on a personal level, I remember when I was at my

:45:21. > :45:24.university, I remember I once received an e-mail from the Islamic

:45:25. > :45:31.Society saying you are not allowed to use the word, "Islam" In your

:45:32. > :45:36.event title. They said you should call it Women in Ahmadi. What did

:45:37. > :45:39.you do? I said you don't have a trademark on the name Islam. People

:45:40. > :45:45.are allowed to self identify as they wish. This will be in the eyes of

:45:46. > :45:48.God who is a Muslim and who isn't. We groups shouldn't start imposing

:45:49. > :45:54.on other groups what they can and can't call themselves.

:45:55. > :46:01.I think an important message coming through here is that there is a

:46:02. > :46:07.small group of individuals who have hijacked a certain portion of the

:46:08. > :46:13.religion. They assume the mantle of God's faithful and they have taken

:46:14. > :46:18.it upon themselves what the correct theological position is and they

:46:19. > :46:26.know that they are have described this phenomenon as holding the texts

:46:27. > :46:30.hostage. The irony is twofold here. Firstly it is ironic because this

:46:31. > :46:34.authority to compel or to judge was denied even to the Prophet himself,

:46:35. > :46:40.the most revered person in Islamic history and in the Koran -- God says

:46:41. > :46:46.you have no authority or no authority could to compel them.

:46:47. > :46:50.Secondly, in what is probably the greatest testament of human rights

:46:51. > :46:56.discourse in Islam, that religion and your spirituality is your rights

:46:57. > :47:01.that you owe to God and that is the exclusive space between man and God.

:47:02. > :47:05.Only God has the right to forgive transgressions or judge who is a

:47:06. > :47:11.Muslim or a Christian or who is not a Muslim. Briefly, because we have a

:47:12. > :47:18.few minutes left and I want to talk about possible... To finish, sorry.

:47:19. > :47:21.I think the most important human rights are those to other human

:47:22. > :47:26.beings and he says I will not forget those rights. It's kind of ironic

:47:27. > :47:30.that those people... Do you agree with that? Yes, I think it is an

:47:31. > :47:34.unfortunate situation that Muslims are facing at the moment or Islam as

:47:35. > :47:41.a religion, that there are so many differences. Even the difference

:47:42. > :47:45.with Sunni and Shia, that affects unity and effective leadership and

:47:46. > :47:50.there are so many vital, grave issues that need to be addressed in

:47:51. > :47:53.the Muslim community today such as extremism and terrorism and we are

:47:54. > :47:58.not able to address these issues because there is this division. A

:47:59. > :48:02.very real division, leading to violence in Pakistan, in Indonesia

:48:03. > :48:07.and now it has been carried to the UK. There are bigger problems,

:48:08. > :48:11.fundamental issues that Muslims need to focus on. In terms of this

:48:12. > :48:15.particular tension we are talking about this morning, what are the

:48:16. > :48:20.solutions? How could this be resolved? Is it just going to be

:48:21. > :48:25.there forever? I think we can have disagreements on theology and

:48:26. > :48:29.theological interpretations. This is the place to actually talk about it.

:48:30. > :48:33.In the UK each one can express their own opinion. I think there is a line

:48:34. > :48:37.we should not cross and that is when you start inciting hate the

:48:38. > :48:40.different types of communities. That is already happening, that line is

:48:41. > :48:45.being crossed. How do we get people to pull back from that? It is

:48:46. > :48:51.promoting messages of tolerance and in the UK promoting messages of

:48:52. > :48:55.unity that we have, no matter what the community is. No one is in a

:48:56. > :49:00.place to judge any other person whether Muslim or Christian.

:49:01. > :49:06.Promoting the messages of humanity and what people stand for and what

:49:07. > :49:08.we stand for as universal values is important, and tackling these

:49:09. > :49:12.messages of hate because if you don't stand against them and talk

:49:13. > :49:21.about them, we need to highlight them because the problem is, with

:49:22. > :49:28.anti-Ahmadi rhetoric out there, no one is rebutting these. That is a

:49:29. > :49:32.problem. We denied the finality of the Prophet Muhammad, they say that

:49:33. > :49:39.is a fundamental tenet but we affirm that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be

:49:40. > :49:42.upon him, was the final law bearing messenger but we agree with other

:49:43. > :49:46.Muslims that there can be follower prophets who simply reform Muslims

:49:47. > :49:51.after that and bring people back to God. They don't change Islam and

:49:52. > :49:58.that is what we believe the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was. Most

:49:59. > :50:02.people need to start thinking for themselves and realising this is not

:50:03. > :50:10.something terribly different, this is something approachable. Even if

:50:11. > :50:16.it is terribly different, you -- it doesn't justify violence. Violence

:50:17. > :50:22.is never justified. It's important... Religion, instead of

:50:23. > :50:28.being used as a vehicle of violence, it should be used to spread love and

:50:29. > :50:33.compassion. Universities should come together, people of all faiths, to

:50:34. > :50:36.promote love and peace in society and if your religion is not teaching

:50:37. > :50:42.you that, you are not doing any service to your faith. Thank you

:50:43. > :50:47.very much. We wish you all the best. The main story in the news today is

:50:48. > :50:51.the Culture Secretary's previous relationship with a sex worker. This

:50:52. > :50:55.is John Whittingdale leaving his home this morning. He says he did

:50:56. > :50:58.not know what the woman did for a living and he ended the relationship

:50:59. > :51:03.as soon as he found out. Neighbour are calling for him to withdraw from

:51:04. > :51:06.being involved in any decisions on press regulation after four

:51:07. > :51:12.newspapers knew about the story but decided not to publish it. Mr

:51:13. > :51:17.Whittingdale denies that it has had any influence on his decisions as a

:51:18. > :51:20.minister. Downing Street said he was a single man and entitled to a

:51:21. > :51:23.private life and that he has the full confidence of the Prime

:51:24. > :51:29.Minister. So many of you have got in touch with us this morning about the

:51:30. > :51:36.story. Jenny says, who cares what this man has done as long as he did

:51:37. > :51:52.not pay her with taxpayer's money. Another says this.

:51:53. > :52:14.Next, womb cancer affects more than 8000 women a year in the UK and is

:52:15. > :52:20.the fourth most diagnosed type but it is one of the lesser-known

:52:21. > :52:24.cancers. Today a lesser-known cancer charity is warning that obesity may

:52:25. > :52:28.be to blame for a rise in the number of cases in the last two decades.

:52:29. > :52:32.Other factors linked to this form of cancer include a lack of exercise.

:52:33. > :52:37.However, those warnings might ring hollow with deadbeat Vince, who was

:52:38. > :52:43.in her 40s and regularly running marathons when she developed womb

:52:44. > :52:47.cancer four years ago. We will be discussing medical details that you

:52:48. > :52:50.may not want young children to hear, but you may, because they properly

:52:51. > :52:56.won't know what we're talking about anyway. Hello, how are you. Very

:52:57. > :53:03.well, thank you. Tell us what stories you notice first of all? --

:53:04. > :53:09.what causes. I went through menopause quite suddenly after years

:53:10. > :53:19.of problems and I started having bleeding every now and again. Then

:53:20. > :53:24.suddenly I developed what I thought was a period and it got heavier and

:53:25. > :53:30.heavier and did not stop, so I went to see my doctor. I was very happy

:53:31. > :53:35.because she referred me straightaway for an urgent scan to see what was

:53:36. > :53:41.going on. Then I actually started bleeding very heavily indeed.

:53:42. > :53:53.Clearly you had the tests and they discover they chew matter. Is that

:53:54. > :53:59.right? Yes, the scant that I had, they had to discount cancer and then

:54:00. > :54:13.I had a hysterectomy and that diagnosed me with cancer. I had a

:54:14. > :54:23.full hysterectomy, I had everything and the test results showed that the

:54:24. > :54:30.tumour hadn't actually split so I was diagnosed with stage 1B.

:54:31. > :54:40.So in terms of the research today which is suggesting that womb

:54:41. > :54:43.cancer, described as one of the lesser-known cancers, could be

:54:44. > :54:50.related to obesity, clearly that is not relevant in your case, is it?

:54:51. > :54:56.No. There's quite a lot of things that are linked, including being

:54:57. > :55:05.overweight and there is a link between oestrogen and the fact that

:55:06. > :55:14.your body is storing oestrogen and... Saying that, there are a lot

:55:15. > :55:24.of women who develop womb cancer who are not overweight. A friend of mine

:55:25. > :55:37.developed it and was not overweight. There are a lot of younger women

:55:38. > :55:42.developing it as well. Women need to understand that it will form whether

:55:43. > :55:49.you are overweight or over 60 or whatever, or I'm fit. It will form.

:55:50. > :55:53.You know what I mean. I do, I do. Thank you very much for talking to

:55:54. > :55:54.us and it's good to hear that you are OK. Thanks for coming on the

:55:55. > :56:03.programme. Shadow culture Secretary Maria Eagle

:56:04. > :56:05.has told this programme that John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary,

:56:06. > :56:11.should now withdraw from any decisions on press regulation. The

:56:12. > :56:15.problem is not about whatever Mr Whittingdale gets up to in his

:56:16. > :56:19.private life, he's entitled to his private life. The issue here is

:56:20. > :56:24.about the fact that he regulates and is responsible for press regulation

:56:25. > :56:35.and it's about perceptions. Before the election, there was

:56:36. > :56:39.cross-party... That the Leveson 's recommendations ought to be

:56:40. > :56:42.implemented. The position of Mr Whittingdale has changed from before

:56:43. > :56:47.the election to after the election when he is now responsible for doing

:56:48. > :56:49.that implementing. The question is whether in view of these revelations

:56:50. > :56:53.he should step back from taking those decisions simply because of

:56:54. > :57:00.the way it looks and the way in which perceptions are important in

:57:01. > :57:04.politics and that is the issue, it's about whether or not he should be

:57:05. > :57:07.taking these decisions in view of these revelations, nothing to do

:57:08. > :57:13.with what he gets up to in his private life, which is a matter for

:57:14. > :57:16.him. Right, but that is the nature of the revelation. He ended that

:57:17. > :57:20.relationship over a year before he got the job as culture media and

:57:21. > :57:24.sport Secretary. Since he became the Secretary of State he has decided

:57:25. > :57:30.not to implement part of the cross-party agreement. So what point

:57:31. > :57:35.are you making there? The point that I'm making is that there is a

:57:36. > :57:42.perception, there is the possibility that he has done this because he

:57:43. > :57:45.knew that these revelations were available to newspapers, perceptions

:57:46. > :57:51.are important in politics and I think it would be better now if he

:57:52. > :57:55.didn't take these decisions about implementation, simply because of

:57:56. > :57:59.what happened. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have done whatever he

:58:00. > :58:03.did in his private life, I'm not interested in that. But his position

:58:04. > :58:06.has changed from before the election to after the election on press

:58:07. > :58:11.regulation and I think that the perception that that may be because

:58:12. > :58:16.of this story or what the media had on him is important.

:58:17. > :58:25.Phil says the real Whittingdale scandal is a cover-up by the British

:58:26. > :58:30.press. Another says leave him alone and let him concentrate on his job.

:58:31. > :58:32.Another says it is all about trust, politicians

:58:33. > :58:35.Let BBC Two whisk you away to a world of luxury,

:58:36. > :58:39.boasting an impressive celebrity clientele...