07/02/2017

:00:07. > :00:10.I'm Victoria Derbyshire, welcome to the programme.

:00:11. > :00:12.This morning, the village in Hungary which appears to be trying

:00:13. > :00:15.to create a white utopia, and wants British

:00:16. > :00:29.TRANSLATION: Real refugees live in a multicultural society, where Muslim

:00:30. > :00:31.immigrants have become the majority. We'll bring you that

:00:32. > :00:33.exclusive report shortly. Also on the programme,

:00:34. > :00:36.measures to tackle the high cost of renting are being announced

:00:37. > :00:38.by the Government today. It's being seen as an attempt

:00:39. > :00:41.to accept that for some people owning their own home

:00:42. > :00:58.will never happen. I've never owned my own home. I am a

:00:59. > :01:03.regulated tenant, I can stay in my home for life and I pay a fair

:01:04. > :01:05.event. I rent and I have resigned myself to the fact that I will have

:01:06. > :01:08.the rent for the rest of my life. If you rent, have you given up hope

:01:09. > :01:11.of ever buying your own property? What would you like to see

:01:12. > :01:13.the Government announce today? After those humiliating emails

:01:14. > :01:18.which showed he was cross about not getting a knighthood,

:01:19. > :01:20.it's emerged that a hacker demanded money in return

:01:21. > :01:22.for not publishing them. Here he is talking about his

:01:23. > :01:32.charity work in the past. Every time that you see different

:01:33. > :01:35.devastations around the world in different situations, you always

:01:36. > :01:43.feel you can do more, or you want to do more.

:01:44. > :01:47.Throughout the morning we'll bring you the latest breaking news

:01:48. > :01:51.A little later we'll bring you the story of a flight attendant

:01:52. > :01:54.who rescued a young girl from human traffickers after leaving

:01:55. > :02:00.a secret note for her in the loo of the plane.

:02:01. > :02:04.If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

:02:05. > :02:09.The Government is setting out its strategy for fixing what it

:02:10. > :02:14.says is a "broken housing market in England" and hitting its target

:02:15. > :02:16.of building a million new homes by the year 2020.

:02:17. > :02:21.Plans will include more help for first-time buyers,

:02:22. > :02:25.and measures to make rental agreements more secure.

:02:26. > :02:27.Britain's house-building programme has been

:02:28. > :02:33.Today, the Government says it is time to change.

:02:34. > :02:37.It wants councils to put pressure on developers to speed up,

:02:38. > :02:42.but also says it wants to protect greenbelt land wherever possible.

:02:43. > :02:45.Prices are too high, we are not building enough homes,

:02:46. > :02:48.and this white paper is a radical blueprint to change

:02:49. > :02:52.The Government says it wants more prebuilt houses to help

:02:53. > :02:59.But for some, like Jennifer Tristram, the only choice is to rent

:03:00. > :03:04.When I was looking, I remember there wasn't that much option out

:03:05. > :03:08.there for what I wanted and what I could afford.

:03:09. > :03:11.I think anybody who is in that same situation will probably be

:03:12. > :03:15.feeling that struggle, probably even more so than I did

:03:16. > :03:22.The Government says smaller builders should get help to boost the housing

:03:23. > :03:25.stock, and it's encouraging older people to downsize, so long

:03:26. > :03:30.Labour says the housing strategy is in a mess and today's white paper

:03:31. > :03:43.With us now is our political guru Norman Smith.

:03:44. > :03:53.What difference will be plants make? It depends whether the plans,

:03:54. > :03:56.reality, because we have had so many different Government plans on

:03:57. > :04:02.housing, and it has not cracked the basic goblin. To get more houses

:04:03. > :04:08.built. One thing today, the Government are again saying, hands

:04:09. > :04:12.off the green belt, so many developers will say, the difficulty

:04:13. > :04:17.is we cannot access sufficient land to build the vast number of houses

:04:18. > :04:22.that are meant. But one interesting aspect of the plans is we are seeing

:04:23. > :04:27.a definite week away from the idea that everybody should own a home, to

:04:28. > :04:32.maybe just settling for renting a home. That is a recognition that

:04:33. > :04:36.house prices have gone crazy, they are not affordable for many people,

:04:37. > :04:40.and they are not going to be able to own a home. That is different from

:04:41. > :04:44.the Thatcher years, even the David Cameron years, where there was an

:04:45. > :04:49.instinctive aspiration, that people wanted to own a home. Now the

:04:50. > :04:54.Government are trying to encourage developers to build more flats to

:04:55. > :04:59.rent to encourage longer tenancies and to shift the market more in

:05:00. > :05:05.favour of renting, in the hope that might enable more people to get a

:05:06. > :05:10.decent roof over their head. We know that renting is a huge

:05:11. > :05:16.issue, finding an affordable, decent place is massive, so do get in

:05:17. > :05:18.touch. We will talk about the plans just after 9:30am.

:05:19. > :05:21.Joanna Gosling is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary

:05:22. > :05:24.The Commons Speaker John Bercow has been strongly criticised

:05:25. > :05:27.after telling MPs that President Trump should not be

:05:28. > :05:29.allowed to address Parliament when he visits the UK.

:05:30. > :05:32.Mr Bercow was cheered by opposition MPs when he told the Commons that

:05:33. > :05:34.addressing Parliament was "not an automatic right",

:05:35. > :05:35.but an "earned honour" for foreign leaders.

:05:36. > :05:41.One Tory MP described his intervention as

:05:42. > :05:49.It's an honour that's bestowed on Popes and Presidents.

:05:50. > :05:52.A speech to both Houses of Parliament in the splendour

:05:53. > :05:55.of Westminster Hall was part of the itinerary when these

:05:56. > :06:03.But the same invite may not be coming Mr Trump's way.

:06:04. > :06:07.In an astonishing intervention, the Commons Speaker said recent

:06:08. > :06:14.decisions by the President made him uneasy about issuing an invitation.

:06:15. > :06:20.I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism

:06:21. > :06:25.and to sexism and our support for equality before the law

:06:26. > :06:31.and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations

:06:32. > :06:37.Rare applause from SNP and Labour MPs, who have been highly critical

:06:38. > :06:42.That anger brought anti-Trump demonstrations

:06:43. > :06:45.to the Prime Minister's door after she invited him on a state

:06:46. > :06:51.For us to roll out the red carpet at Buckingham Palace or inviting him

:06:52. > :06:55.to speak at a grand occasion of both Houses sends out all

:06:56. > :06:59.That's why Mr Speaker Bercow has called it right today.

:07:00. > :07:02.The Speaker of the Commons is a powerful figure who has a say

:07:03. > :07:07.He is independent of party politics and is supposed

:07:08. > :07:13.It's clear that some are unhappy with his outburst.

:07:14. > :07:16.Generally, the Speaker who is meant to referee all of this should

:07:17. > :07:20.That is to be regretted, but it is a symptom of

:07:21. > :07:26.It's very disappointing, because if ever in recent years

:07:27. > :07:31.there been a more pro-British President of the United States,

:07:32. > :07:36.I invite you, Mr President, to address us.

:07:37. > :07:39.And Tory MPs are pointing out that he has in the past welcomed

:07:40. > :07:48.leaders to Parliament whose values Britain doesn't always share.

:07:49. > :07:51.A village in Hungary has banned the wearing of Muslim dress

:07:52. > :07:55.The mayor of Asotthalom claims to be leading what he calls "the war

:07:56. > :07:58.against Muslim culture", and he hopes to attract

:07:59. > :08:00.other Christian Europeans who object to multiculturalism

:08:01. > :08:05.Some lawyers have said the laws contravene the Hungarian

:08:06. > :08:08.constitution and the government there is due to rule on them

:08:09. > :08:12.Amnesty International has accused the Syrian government

:08:13. > :08:18.The human-rights group claims that as many as 13,000 people

:08:19. > :08:25.Amnesty says the alleged executions were authorised at the highest

:08:26. > :08:30.The government has previously denied killing or mistreating detainees

:08:31. > :08:36.Doctors' leaders say it's "crazy" that the UK's standard ten-minute

:08:37. > :08:40.slot for GP consultations is among the shortest in Europe.

:08:41. > :08:43.They say plans to move more care out of hospitals will leave even

:08:44. > :08:48.The Department of Health says it's up to practices to decide how long

:08:49. > :08:59.The Great Homer Street doctors surgery in Everton in Liverpool

:09:00. > :09:05.This is an area with high deprivation and patients

:09:06. > :09:14.13 minutes is sometimes enough and sometimes it's not.

:09:15. > :09:20.I would normally finish my surgery late anyway.

:09:21. > :09:22.That's why we have recently increased to 13 minutes

:09:23. > :09:26.On the whole, patients aren't too happy to wait.

:09:27. > :09:30.They're OK, they know they get the time that they need.

:09:31. > :09:34.But complex problems can't be done in 13 minutes.

:09:35. > :09:36.Occasionally, consultations will last up to 40 minutes.

:09:37. > :09:39.The average length of a GP consultation in the UK is ten

:09:40. > :09:43.minutes, thought to be the shortest in the developed world.

:09:44. > :09:47.92% of appointments here are less than 15 minutes.

:09:48. > :09:55.With short appointment slots, time wasting is also an issue.

:09:56. > :10:00.A poll for the BBC found that 70% of people in the UK believed

:10:01. > :10:06.it was acceptable to charge patients who missed appointments.

:10:07. > :10:09.The Governments of England, Scotland and Wales say the length

:10:10. > :10:12.of consultations are down to GPs but have pledged extra funding

:10:13. > :10:18.Northern Ireland have yet to respond but GPs say funding

:10:19. > :10:26.A PR company representing David Beckham has confirmed

:10:27. > :10:29.it was subject to a blackmail attempt by hackers threatening

:10:30. > :10:34.The Daily Mirror says the private messages in which the former player

:10:35. > :10:37.allegedly complains about not being awarded a knighthood

:10:38. > :10:39.were published after the firm refused to hand over

:10:40. > :10:44.A spokesman for David Beckham says that the e-mails were tampered

:10:45. > :10:52.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:10:53. > :11:05.Thank you for your comment about renting. Daniel says, get councils

:11:06. > :11:09.to build more housing. Marianne says, first-time buyers are now well

:11:10. > :11:14.into their 30s and 40s because the market has been overpriced. Paul

:11:15. > :11:21.says, builders pay lip service to affordable housing. There is a

:11:22. > :11:25.shift, experts say, in the Government's tone when it comes to

:11:26. > :11:31.fixing the supposedly broken housing system. They will concentrate on the

:11:32. > :11:34.rental sector. We have people here who have horrific stories of

:11:35. > :11:38.renting, but also the fact that at least one of them is in a secure

:11:39. > :11:40.tenancy with fair event, so it can be done.

:11:41. > :11:42.Do get in touch with us throughout the morning.

:11:43. > :11:46.If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

:11:47. > :11:59.There only seems to be one name in the hat to replace Alastair Cook,

:12:00. > :12:06.Joe Root. Yes, nothing official, but that is who we expect. Alastair Cook

:12:07. > :12:10.stepping down. Joe Root is 26. When you look at his ability, one of the

:12:11. > :12:16.best players in the team. You would like to think you have a captain

:12:17. > :12:19.that gets in the team, they have the respect of his team-mates, and there

:12:20. > :12:25.are no other alternatives to consider. England have a break

:12:26. > :12:29.before their next bit of action. They have the Test match here was

:12:30. > :12:33.against South Africa, then they have the West Indies, before going to

:12:34. > :12:39.Australia for the Ashes. A bit of time to get it in place, but

:12:40. > :12:42.Alastair Cook stepping down, and Andries Strauss, the director of

:12:43. > :12:46.cricket, says it is not a foregone conclusion.

:12:47. > :12:51.There is a process to go through. Joe Root has been vice captain for a

:12:52. > :12:54.while, he has had some leadership experience. He is a phenomenal

:12:55. > :12:59.cricketer and a very influential person in the dressing room. There

:13:00. > :13:04.is no reason why he would not be a strong candidate, but I do not want

:13:05. > :13:08.to rule anyone in or out. Not a foregone conclusion, but that

:13:09. > :13:13.is what we expect. You look at Alastair Cook, it was not a question

:13:14. > :13:21.of his batting ability. He was in charge for a record 59 matches, the

:13:22. > :13:25.highest run Stora in Test match cricket, 140 Test match appearances,

:13:26. > :13:30.30 centuries. The question was about his aggression on the pitch and his

:13:31. > :13:35.on field decisions and his ability to change a game. That is something

:13:36. > :13:38.they hope Joe Root will add to. But when you look at the captains and

:13:39. > :13:43.when they step down, they all look dishevelled, going back to Michael

:13:44. > :13:48.Vaughan, Andrew Strauss, Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton, you are

:13:49. > :13:52.quite drained, as Andrew Strauss said about Alastair Cook yesterday.

:13:53. > :13:55.A lot of scrutiny. And, Will, having missed Rio 2016,

:13:56. > :13:58.Russian athletes will now not be allowed to compete under their flag

:13:59. > :14:01.at the World Athletics Championships But, Will, is there a chance that

:14:02. > :14:14.some of those athletes This is an extended ban for Russia's

:14:15. > :14:22.athletes, from missing the Olympics. If the athletes can prove that they

:14:23. > :14:27.have gone through all of the portfolios and they are clean, they

:14:28. > :14:30.will be able to compete as a neutral athlete at the World Athletics

:14:31. > :14:39.Championships in London in August. So far 35 Russians have applied to

:14:40. > :14:50.compete as neutrals. The IAAF have set up an independent task force.

:14:51. > :14:54.Russia still are not ready to go through the protocol, it has been

:14:55. > :14:58.recommended. Lord Coe says there are concerns about the doping

:14:59. > :15:01.procedures. We are not going to change the

:15:02. > :15:07.culture of something that has been prominent for 40 or 50 years. And

:15:08. > :15:13.not just simply in Russia. We want to see some sign that there is a

:15:14. > :15:18.cultural shift. We are not going to resubmit the newly constricted

:15:19. > :15:23.Russian Federation and yet. The clear implication is they would

:15:24. > :15:28.appear if they do as neutral athlete.

:15:29. > :15:34.No Russian athletes competing under the flag of Russia in London.

:15:35. > :15:34.Cheers, Will. Thank you very much for now.

:15:35. > :15:39.I'll talk to you later. This morning, the village in Hungary

:15:40. > :15:42.that wants only white Asotthalom is hoping to persuade

:15:43. > :15:45.Christian Europeans, including Brits, to move there,

:15:46. > :15:48.with the mayor telling us, "We primarily welcome people

:15:49. > :15:56.who wouldn't like to live The mayor's banned Islamic dress

:15:57. > :16:01.and gay kissing in public. This programme can reveal that

:16:02. > :16:03.a secretive organisation linked to the former British National Party

:16:04. > :16:06.leader Nick Griffin is helping to promote the village in the UK

:16:07. > :16:11.to Christians who want to escape Islam and multi-culturalism

:16:12. > :16:14.in the west. Our reporter Lesley Ashmall has been

:16:15. > :16:21.to visit Asotthalom. TRANSLATION: Real refugees

:16:22. > :16:23.are people in Western Europe who live in a multicultural society

:16:24. > :16:25.where, for instance, Muslim Hungary is already seen by more

:16:26. > :16:40.and more West Europeans as a place of refuge,

:16:41. > :16:43.a place to get away from the hell that is about to break

:16:44. > :16:54.loose in Western Europe. Asotthalom, a remote village

:16:55. > :17:02.in the southern Hungarian plains. Abandoned smallholdings testimony

:17:03. > :17:10.to an increasingly urbanised world. The village is two hours

:17:11. > :17:12.from Budapest, but just minutes The mayor here wants to attract

:17:13. > :17:25.new investors to bolster TRANSLATION: I think these empty

:17:26. > :17:35.houses need inhabitants. We are very

:17:36. > :17:38.happy when Hungarian families move into them, but we are also happy

:17:39. > :17:44.if Western Europeans settle here. I think security may be the most

:17:45. > :17:47.important attraction for them, as Asotthalom is one of the safest

:17:48. > :17:54.places to live in Europe. Local estate agents are hoping

:17:55. > :18:02.foreigners take heed. TRANSLATION: Nine

:18:03. > :18:11.to ?10,000, in total. This village doesn't

:18:12. > :18:25.want just anyone, TRANSLATION: We primarily welcome

:18:26. > :18:32.people from western Europe, people who wouldn't like to live

:18:33. > :18:35.in a multicultural society. We wouldn't like to attract Muslim

:18:36. > :18:39.people in the village, even though we already have a few

:18:40. > :18:45.Muslim residents in Asotthalom. But it's very important for the

:18:46. > :18:50.village to maintain its traditions. If large numbers of Muslims arrived

:18:51. > :18:53.here, they would not be able to integrate into the Christian

:18:54. > :18:57.community in Asotthalom. We can see large Muslim communities

:18:58. > :19:01.in western Europe that have not been able to integrate

:19:02. > :19:04.and we don't want to have The bylaws you have

:19:05. > :19:10.got in the village, Western Christians would feel

:19:11. > :19:13.uncomfortable with them. Why do you feel those

:19:14. > :19:18.bylaws are so important? Simply because we're

:19:19. > :19:20.defending our own traditions. What if I was black,

:19:21. > :19:22.or what if I was gay? Asotthalom has a by-law that

:19:23. > :19:36.bans sexual propaganda. As for your other question,

:19:37. > :19:43.think about this - Europe is small, it can't take in billions of people

:19:44. > :19:46.from Africa and South Asia This would soon lead

:19:47. > :19:50.to the disappearance of Europe. I'd like Europe to belong

:19:51. > :19:52.to Europeans, Asia to belong to Asians and Africa to Africans,

:19:53. > :19:56.simple as that. He's so serious he's introduced

:19:57. > :20:00.local legislation banning public displays of affection by gay people,

:20:01. > :20:04.the wearing of Islamic dress like the hijab, and he wants to ban

:20:05. > :20:09.the building of mosques. And his views are being pushed

:20:10. > :20:12.by a British organisation called You can clearly see

:20:13. > :20:20.from the imagery, they are really harking back to the Crusades,

:20:21. > :20:22.when the official Knights Templar, an offshoot of the Catholic Church,

:20:23. > :20:24.fought Muslim armies This organisation has no official

:20:25. > :20:34.links to the Catholic Church. But they claim they are a Christian

:20:35. > :20:39.and non-racist group will stop however, their anti-Muslim

:20:40. > :20:41.and anti-gay views are clear. The former leader of

:20:42. > :20:45.the British National Party, Nick Griffin, is a member,

:20:46. > :20:50.as is the former BNP treasurer, This website is

:20:51. > :20:53.advertising smallholdings Hungary is already seen by more

:20:54. > :21:00.and more West Europeans as a place of refuge,

:21:01. > :21:04.a place to get away from the hell that's about to break

:21:05. > :21:11.loose in Western Europe. At the moment, Hungary is seen

:21:12. > :21:13.by the nationalists, by the patriots, by people who agree

:21:14. > :21:16.with the fence, those people are looking at Hungary thinking,

:21:17. > :21:19."thank God for Hungary, thank God that there

:21:20. > :21:21.is someone standing up." And when it all goes

:21:22. > :21:24.terribly wrong in the West, Now those are the kind

:21:25. > :21:38.of people Hungary needs. We're pretty confident

:21:39. > :21:42.this is the building where Knights Templar International

:21:43. > :21:44.are registered in Budapest. Certainly pictures on their blogs,

:21:45. > :21:46.websites, correspond We got into the building,

:21:47. > :22:11.but couldn't find anyone We asked them for an interview,

:22:12. > :22:17.they haven't responded. TRANSLATION: We don't

:22:18. > :22:28.have an official relationship, I've been contacted

:22:29. > :22:30.by Jim Dawson and he came to Asotthalom a few times

:22:31. > :22:36.as a private individual just I heard it from journalists,

:22:37. > :22:43.the possibility to move to Asotthalom has been advertised

:22:44. > :22:45.abroad, I haven't seen Still, I must say, we're

:22:46. > :22:48.very happy to welcome The refugee crisis has

:22:49. > :22:55.contributed to the anti-immigrant sentiment sweeping

:22:56. > :22:59.Europe, like the rise of the French Front Nationale

:23:00. > :23:01.and the Dutch It's just a few miles

:23:02. > :23:14.from the village, and it is where, at the height

:23:15. > :23:16.of the migrant crisis in 2015, as many as

:23:17. > :23:18.10,000 people a day Opposition politicians think

:23:19. > :23:22.the mayor capitalised on the anxiety about the influx of people

:23:23. > :23:41.to introduce bylaws of questionable TRANSLATION: It's possible that

:23:42. > :23:43.with this by-law, the mayor has looked ahead, even though the danger

:23:44. > :23:46.of Muslims wanting to build a mosque does not exist at the moment, he's

:23:47. > :23:49.already preparing for the future. It was really scary to see masses

:23:50. > :23:56.of migrants walking through the I spend a lot of time at home

:23:57. > :24:02.alone with my young kids. Many lawyers think that the mayor's

:24:03. > :24:08.by-laws contravened the Hungarian Constitution and as part

:24:09. > :24:11.of a general review of new local legislation, the government

:24:12. > :24:14.will rule on them next week. One of them agreed to speak with us,

:24:15. > :24:23.but at the last minute pulled out. They didn't want to attract

:24:24. > :24:32.attention to themselves. They've spoken of their fears

:24:33. > :24:43.to Hungarian media TRANSLATION: The Muslim family that

:24:44. > :24:49.lives here are fully integrated Their young son plays football,

:24:50. > :24:57.I taught him to swim. TRANSLATION: There are gay people

:24:58. > :25:01.living in the village, they're How they live their lives

:25:02. > :25:07.at home is none of our We are all humans, we live

:25:08. > :25:10.together, that's it. Important issues like this

:25:11. > :25:11.should be regulated by the national government,

:25:12. > :25:13.not local legislation. TRANSLATION: There is

:25:14. > :25:17.a problem with Muslims and If they take off their veil,

:25:18. > :25:26.I'll accept them, it doesn't even matter if they're black,

:25:27. > :25:28.they should become Hungarian citizens, even if they are

:25:29. > :25:32.Muslims or whatever. The mayor of Asotthalom

:25:33. > :25:37.wants his village to be the vanguard in what he calls the war

:25:38. > :25:39.against Muslim culture. He has employed round-the-clock

:25:40. > :25:41.border patrols which he thinks will appeal

:25:42. > :25:47.to European settlers. We couldn't find anyone who has

:25:48. > :25:50.come to the village as a result of Knights

:25:51. > :25:56.Templar International. Jonathan came here from England over

:25:57. > :26:07.four years ago and is worried. I had a Christian upbringing

:26:08. > :26:11.myself, some of the ideas that he is saying, personally,

:26:12. > :26:14.I would not class them And the idea that one

:26:15. > :26:17.group of people is better than the other,

:26:18. > :26:21.I disagree with that. I know there's a lot of fear

:26:22. > :26:24.perpetrated about the migrants coming over, and causing

:26:25. > :26:26.a lot of property damage and stealing things,

:26:27. > :26:28.but personally, I've got little What you think about

:26:29. > :26:35.Nick Griffin, former BNP leader in the UK, also pushing

:26:36. > :26:42.homesteads in this village? Well, I have recently read

:26:43. > :26:45.some of Nick Griffin's previous comments about him

:26:46. > :26:53.moving to Eastern Europe. And setting up an enclave

:26:54. > :26:56.or a refugee centre for people Having lived in areas

:26:57. > :27:03.of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire where the BNP

:27:04. > :27:07.were quite prevalent, I would quite strongly be against

:27:08. > :27:12.that happening here. Most villages dismissed the idea

:27:13. > :27:16.of British extremists coming But one man is not laughing,

:27:17. > :27:24.he is deadly serious. So serious that he answered

:27:25. > :27:26.our last question Are you trying to create a white

:27:27. > :27:34.supremacist village? No, I don't use this

:27:35. > :27:41.word, white, because we are white European

:27:42. > :27:48.Christian population. If we were black, we would

:27:49. > :27:54.want to stay black. And if you want to read

:27:55. > :28:12.more about Asotthalom, you can find it on the BBC

:28:13. > :28:14.News site. The Government admits

:28:15. > :28:21.the housing market is broken Well we'll be joined by this group

:28:22. > :28:26.of people who all rent, some are desperate to get

:28:27. > :28:28.on the housing ladder and can't, a landlord and a Conservative MP

:28:29. > :28:30.who's been campaigning against building houses

:28:31. > :28:34.on green belt land. Neil says, "I have been stuck in the

:28:35. > :28:39.rental sector for ten years. Unable to get a mortgage because housing in

:28:40. > :28:43.my area would require me to have a wage four times higher than I

:28:44. > :28:49.currently air. My rent is over three-quarters of my take-home pay."

:28:50. > :28:55.A PR company representing David Beckham confirmed it was subject to

:28:56. > :28:58.a blackmail attempt by hackers threatening to leak Beckham's

:28:59. > :29:02.personal e-mails. How damaging has this story been for brand Beckham?

:29:03. > :29:07.Here's Joanna in the BBC Newsroom with a summary of today's news.

:29:08. > :29:09.The Government is setting out its strategy for fixing what it

:29:10. > :29:12.says is a "broken housing market in England" and hitting its target

:29:13. > :29:15.of building a million new homes by the year 2020.

:29:16. > :29:17.Plans will include more help for first-time buyers,

:29:18. > :29:21.and measures to make rental agreements more secure.

:29:22. > :29:23.The Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow has been

:29:24. > :29:27.strongly criticised for speaking out against President Trump

:29:28. > :29:29.addressing MPs and Lords at the Houses of Parliament.

:29:30. > :29:32.Mr Bercow, whose position as Speaker is supposed to be

:29:33. > :29:33.politically neutral, has been accused of overstepping

:29:34. > :29:39.One Tory MP described Mr Bercow's intervention

:29:40. > :29:46.This programme has found that a village in Hungary has banned

:29:47. > :29:49.the wearing of Muslim dress and the call to prayer.

:29:50. > :29:52.The mayor of Asotthalom claims to be leading what he calls "the war

:29:53. > :29:54.against Muslim culture", and he hopes to attract

:29:55. > :29:55.other Christian Europeans who object to multiculturalism

:29:56. > :30:00.Some lawyers have said the laws contravene the Hungarian

:30:01. > :30:03.constitution, and the government there is due to rule on them

:30:04. > :30:08.Amnesty International has accused the Syrian government

:30:09. > :30:12.The human-rights group claims that as many as 13,000 people

:30:13. > :30:18.Amnesty says the alleged executions were authorised at the highest

:30:19. > :30:24.The government has previously denied killing or mistreating detainees

:30:25. > :30:30.Doctors' leaders say it's "crazy" that the UK's standard ten-minute

:30:31. > :30:34.slot for GP consultations is among the shortest in Europe.

:30:35. > :30:37.They say plans to move more care out of hospitals will leave even

:30:38. > :30:42.The Department of Health says it's up to practices to decide how

:30:43. > :30:48.A PR company representing David Beckham has confirmed

:30:49. > :30:51.it was subject to a blackmail attempt by hackers threatening

:30:52. > :30:56.The Daily Mirror says the private messages in which the former player

:30:57. > :30:59.allegedly complains about not being awarded a knighthood

:31:00. > :31:02.were published after the firm refused to hand over

:31:03. > :31:06.A spokesman for David Beckham says that the emails were tampered

:31:07. > :31:12.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:31:13. > :31:24.Thank you for your message on the piece on the village in Hungary.

:31:25. > :31:28.This person says, this is something of interest to the white

:31:29. > :31:31.working-class majority. This tweet says, let them go, at least we will

:31:32. > :31:38.not have their poisonous attitudes here. One person says, shopping, the

:31:39. > :31:44.idea that white Christians guarantee you a better life is ridiculous. One

:31:45. > :31:48.person says, it is refreshing. Democracy seems to be dead in Europe

:31:49. > :31:51.these days, we are told what to think and slated when our views do

:31:52. > :31:57.not match those of the vociferous liberals. Why do them views not

:31:58. > :32:03.attract the respect they deserve? And one more, Tracey says, so they

:32:04. > :32:05.want to expel and reject the downtrodden and the suffering, it is

:32:06. > :32:08.not sound very Christian to me. England are searching for a new Test

:32:09. > :32:11.captain this morning, after Alastair Cook stepped down

:32:12. > :32:13.as skipper after 59 Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale says

:32:14. > :32:18.Root would "take more risks" if he replaces him

:32:19. > :32:21.as England captain. Cook was in charge for

:32:22. > :32:23.a record 59 matches. He is England's highest run

:32:24. > :32:26.scorer in Test cricket, while his 140 Test appearances

:32:27. > :32:29.and 30 centuries are Russian athletes won't

:32:30. > :32:33.compete at this year's They've been serving a suspension

:32:34. > :32:37.after state-sponsored doping was uncovered,

:32:38. > :32:40.and athletics' world governing body the IAAF has voted

:32:41. > :32:48.to continue that ban. But some Russian athletes could

:32:49. > :32:51.compete as neutrals. Rafa Nadal will warm up

:32:52. > :32:53.for Wimbledon by playing The 14-time grand-slam champion

:32:54. > :32:59.joins Andy Murray at the event. The housing system is "broken",

:33:00. > :33:07.even the Government says so. They're going to try

:33:08. > :33:09.and do something about it. Plans include forcing councils

:33:10. > :33:11.to produce an up-to-date plan for housing demand,

:33:12. > :33:13.reducing the time allowed between planning permission

:33:14. > :33:15.and the start of building from three to two years, a "lifetime

:33:16. > :33:18.Isa" to help first-time But what is also expected

:33:19. > :33:21.is a "change of tone" from previous Tory policy,

:33:22. > :33:24.with a focus on people who are renting their homes

:33:25. > :33:28.and perhaps an acceptance that some people will never be able

:33:29. > :33:33.to afford to buy a house. Expected to include minimum tenancy

:33:34. > :33:35.lengths to try to offer renters more security and a drive to build more

:33:36. > :33:42.homes specifically for rent. With us this morning,

:33:43. > :33:44.a group of people who all rent, some who're desperate to get

:33:45. > :33:47.on the property market and can't. Also with them, Conservative MP

:33:48. > :33:49.Andrew Mitchell, who's been campaigning against building houses

:33:50. > :33:54.on greenbelt land, and David Smith from the Residential

:33:55. > :33:56.Landlord Association, which represents landlords

:33:57. > :34:09.in England and Wales. Let's have a giant conversation. If

:34:10. > :34:14.the housing market is broken, you need more than another target for

:34:15. > :34:20.building new homes and a minimum length of tenancy. There is a lot to

:34:21. > :34:26.be welcomed in this white paper today. We have not seen it yet, but

:34:27. > :34:31.it has been extensively leaked. What it is trying to do is enable

:34:32. > :34:35.everyone to have a home. It is changing it in the way to describe,

:34:36. > :34:40.it is not just about home ownership, it is about rental and about making

:34:41. > :34:45.sure there are far more homes built in the future. As a constituency MP

:34:46. > :34:49.are understand that, because I talk to sixth formers, those who cannot

:34:50. > :34:54.get on the ladder, those who cannot rent, those who want a home and

:34:55. > :34:58.cannot get it. This White Paper will enable all of those different

:34:59. > :35:02.sections to have a better chance in the future than they have had in the

:35:03. > :35:10.past. The point is you have to build these homes in the right places. Not

:35:11. > :35:13.on green belt land, you say. In my constituency, Royal Sutton

:35:14. > :35:20.Coldfield, we faced with a jump of 6000 on our green belt when there

:35:21. > :35:22.are plenty of other alternatives. The Conservative councillors in

:35:23. > :35:26.Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield have demonstrated how you can build the

:35:27. > :35:31.same number of homes without doing so on the green belt. But across

:35:32. > :35:39.England you cannot build 250,000 homes a year, the Government's new

:35:40. > :35:44.target, unless you use green belt land as well. I don't agree. You

:35:45. > :35:49.have to be more imaginative, you have to build communities, not just

:35:50. > :35:53.housing, you have to focus on the contaminating old industrial land,

:35:54. > :36:00.building on Brownfield land, more creative schemes in the cities. You

:36:01. > :36:06.only build on the green belt is a last resort, and if it is a last

:36:07. > :36:10.resort, it should be built on. The point I make on behalf of those who

:36:11. > :36:14.I represent, who are opposed to this, and who are keen to build more

:36:15. > :36:19.homes, is you do not have to do it on the green belt until all other

:36:20. > :36:27.opportunities are exhausted. This White Paper was a clear opportunity

:36:28. > :36:30.for Government to come up with a coherent strategy for building the

:36:31. > :36:35.300,000 homes we need in this country every year to both me to

:36:36. > :36:43.comment household formation and deal with a backlog. What they have

:36:44. > :36:46.published is a rehashing and recycling of things that have been

:36:47. > :36:51.announced already, they have failed to build on the green belt, and you

:36:52. > :36:55.are in Lala land if you think you can build the homes we need if we do

:36:56. > :37:00.not build on green belt. They have failed to reform stamp duty for

:37:01. > :37:07.first-time buyers. All we have is weak aspirations on rent a security.

:37:08. > :37:12.In the specific case of Sutton Coldfield, you are not correct. We

:37:13. > :37:16.have shown where these homes could be built without desecrating our

:37:17. > :37:21.green belt. We are enthusiastic about building more homes, but they

:37:22. > :37:27.have to be in the right place. Not in your backyard! We have shown we

:37:28. > :37:30.are willing to build in the town, to increase density. We want our

:37:31. > :37:34.children and run children to live in the same sort of homes and

:37:35. > :37:39.opportunities that our generation had, but it has to be in the right

:37:40. > :37:44.place. You are demeaning the White Paper before you have even seen it.

:37:45. > :37:48.I am critical of one respect but I accept that ministers are addressing

:37:49. > :37:52.the problem, and you should not the minute interview have heard what the

:37:53. > :37:56.Secretary of State has had to say. You say trying to find a decent

:37:57. > :38:01.place to rent is like being on the X factor. I went to look for a room

:38:02. > :38:08.recently, I was evicted on Christmas Eve,... Why? I was evicted by a

:38:09. > :38:13.Conservative councillor, I will not name him, a former mayor of Barnet,

:38:14. > :38:19.he had a building of 16 people come up with one shower, multiple

:38:20. > :38:23.occupation, he was found not to have a licence, he bought the building

:38:24. > :38:28.for ?1.3 million and was fined less than ?5,000. I do not know the

:38:29. > :38:33.story, he is not here to defend himself, but you say you bought

:38:34. > :38:39.evicted. How come you have moved seven times in ten years? We need a

:38:40. > :38:42.mandatory register for landlords, we have too many landlords who can

:38:43. > :38:48.decide that they just want to increase the rent. It is a problem

:38:49. > :38:51.of NIMBY -ism that if we don't build more homes everywhere, especially in

:38:52. > :38:55.central London, there is a supply and demand issue, and landlords can

:38:56. > :39:02.charge what they want. It is unfortunate Andrew what the person

:39:03. > :39:08.who describe somebody as a Brexit, we cannot have homes in Royal Sutton

:39:09. > :39:15.Coldfield, but we can wed there are Labour voters. That is a political

:39:16. > :39:20.attack. You are a politician. This White Paper is trying to address the

:39:21. > :39:26.problem which deface, which is you do not have somewhere to live. The

:39:27. > :39:32.Government wants to build more affordable homes for renting. That

:39:33. > :39:37.was announced in the Autumn Statement. That is not new. But as

:39:38. > :39:43.an ambition and as a target, you would welcome that? Absolutely, but

:39:44. > :39:47.they announced that in the Autumn Statement, I wanted to see something

:39:48. > :39:52.new. My question to Andrew is, if you build more homes, how does that

:39:53. > :39:56.help me as somebody who is locked into renting? I have no other

:39:57. > :39:59.option. Can I rent a new newly built home?

:40:00. > :40:06.We have to wait until we see the White Paper, but the problem that

:40:07. > :40:10.you have identified, consistently, ministers have said they want to

:40:11. > :40:14.address this, they want to make sure that if you are in the rented

:40:15. > :40:17.sector, there are more opportunities, more places to rent,

:40:18. > :40:23.more houses are built for rent, and people are encouraged to rent and to

:40:24. > :40:27.make property available for rent. The problem which you have

:40:28. > :40:36.identified is exactly the issue that ministers are trying to address. The

:40:37. > :40:43.Government's problem is partly the same thing that you have complained

:40:44. > :40:46.about, the Government is wedded to institutional investment. That has

:40:47. > :40:51.been talked about for 20 years, I am waiting. The majority of landlords

:40:52. > :40:55.are relatively small. The problem with the green belt is institutional

:40:56. > :40:59.investors want to build there, because they want to build big

:41:00. > :41:04.developments. If the Government paid more attention to the landlords who

:41:05. > :41:09.provide the majority of housing, wrecking sure there is enforcement

:41:10. > :41:12.against the bad landlords, the ability to develop the small areas

:41:13. > :41:16.that Andrew would like to see is much more likely to happen. Tell us

:41:17. > :41:21.about your arrangement, it sounds like good practice. I am a regulated

:41:22. > :41:25.tenant, I can stay there for life and I have a fair event. The dark

:41:26. > :41:34.side is there is a lot of harassment. Long-term destruction of

:41:35. > :41:40.iLife, because if you get rid of a regulated tenant, you make a lot of

:41:41. > :41:43.money I being able to resell it. But the formula, having tenancy for life

:41:44. > :41:46.and paying a fair rent, isn't it that works perfectly well in

:41:47. > :41:52.Germany, and the companies make a solid profit, and this is something

:41:53. > :41:59.we should consider injured using here. Good profit for the landlord,

:42:00. > :42:06.security and peace of mind, safety in your home for the tenant. What is

:42:07. > :42:10.your experience? I am lucky, because my landlord is brilliant, we have a

:42:11. > :42:18.great communication, if we need anything he will come in and fix it.

:42:19. > :42:22.But I lived in a house before where we had horror stories, I had a

:42:23. > :42:29.landlady who said she was spying on us, she increased the rent by ?400.

:42:30. > :42:37.We hear... Lots of my friends have horror stories. If you can make rent

:42:38. > :42:41.where you take out the tremulous feeling, because that is the thing I

:42:42. > :42:47.find, as somebody who has rented for seven years, I want to feel... I

:42:48. > :42:51.have resigned myself to the fact that, unless my situation changes, I

:42:52. > :43:00.will have the rent for the rest of my life. Who else feels that? How

:43:01. > :43:04.old are you? I and 68, I will be in rented accommodation for the rest of

:43:05. > :43:09.my life, because there are no options open to me. I cannot buy a

:43:10. > :43:18.house, get a mortgage, nobody will give me a mortgage at my age. I have

:43:19. > :43:23.got to rent. You feel the same? I am 55, I owned a property with my first

:43:24. > :43:26.husband many years ago. Since divorce I have been in the private

:43:27. > :43:35.rental sector. For the last 20 years. It is difficult and unstable.

:43:36. > :43:41.Very expensive. I have three children, the oldest is now 31, Mike

:43:42. > :43:45.youngest is 19, so now I have no dependents technically, that I have,

:43:46. > :43:52.because my daughter needs somewhere to come home to in the university

:43:53. > :43:58.holidays, my second husband died suddenly at the end of 2014, so we

:43:59. > :44:05.are in a position now where we would have been homeless were it not for

:44:06. > :44:11.loans and the kindness of family and friends. We would have been

:44:12. > :44:15.homeless. My single income does not meet any of the affordability

:44:16. > :44:27.criteria for a house in south-east London. Would you all welcome

:44:28. > :44:31.minimum tenancies? Some security. On behalf of landlords, what sort of

:44:32. > :44:34.minimum length would be acceptable? It is not about setting a minimum

:44:35. > :44:41.length, different people have different needs. The White Paper is

:44:42. > :44:44.proposing an incentive for minimum length for institutional landlords,

:44:45. > :44:47.it is not proposing minimum length across-the-board. The difficulty

:44:48. > :44:53.with minimum lengths, if you have one with, say, rent caps, as soon as

:44:54. > :45:01.the link is up, the rent will shoot up. That is a danger. You can cap it

:45:02. > :45:04.at the rate of inflation. With such a housing if you decades ago, we

:45:05. > :45:10.would have been in social housing, but the Government are intent on

:45:11. > :45:14.selling the social housing, which inflates the rental market. But

:45:15. > :45:22.social housing rent is rising faster than social housing -- private

:45:23. > :45:26.housing rent. This is one of the problems, it depends who's

:45:27. > :45:32.statistics you want to grab. The NAO statistics show social housing rents

:45:33. > :45:40.are rising faster than earnings. They are considerably lower. They

:45:41. > :45:41.are supported by the Government and by institutions which have been

:45:42. > :45:55.encouraged to sell those properties. You invited me on to talk about why

:45:56. > :46:06.building on the green belt, I'm not here to defend this White Paper.

:46:07. > :46:09.Which I haven't even seen. Your Government is working hand-in-hand

:46:10. > :46:12.on Brexit with Donald Trump. I'm here to explain why building on the

:46:13. > :46:17.green belt is not necessarily the right solution. But actually if you

:46:18. > :46:22.asked me to make the point that a Government minister would make,

:46:23. > :46:24.almost all the problems which are absolutely legitimate and important

:46:25. > :46:29.problems to address are what the Government is seeking to address in

:46:30. > :46:33.this White Paper. I'm not here to defend it because I have criticisms

:46:34. > :46:35.of it, but the points made by the ladies and gentlemen here are

:46:36. > :46:39.absolutely valid points which ministers are trying to address and

:46:40. > :46:48.they're trying to deal with in this White Paper. You mentioned one thing

:46:49. > :46:50.which is constructive. We have moved from Mrs Thatcher there is so

:46:51. > :46:53.society. But what happens is building communities, you need

:46:54. > :46:59.security of tenure and then you have the landlords moving in and smashing

:47:00. > :47:02.private tenant after tenant with rent increases with harassment.

:47:03. > :47:06.These are the bad landlords. There are some good ones as well and they

:47:07. > :47:12.are smaubing entire communities and making people move out. Making

:47:13. > :47:15.people homeless. How can we have what the Government points out

:47:16. > :47:18.building communities when you have a landlord system that smashes those

:47:19. > :47:24.very communities? Well, the gentleman over there who was...

:47:25. > :47:27.David Smith. He pointed to something in the White Paper which shows that

:47:28. > :47:31.ministers are trying to increase that level of security. Now, we may

:47:32. > :47:33.not get it right, but let's give the Government and the minister the

:47:34. > :47:38.benefit of the doubt today as he announces his White Paper and then

:47:39. > :47:46.see if we can build on sort of progress which you suggested might

:47:47. > :47:51.be in the White Paper. Tell us about your own personal

:47:52. > :47:58.circumstances? I campaign with Priced Out. Can I ask you about your

:47:59. > :48:02.own experience of renting. I had to move six times in the last two

:48:03. > :48:07.years. Because you have been forced to? A couple of bad landlords, a

:48:08. > :48:09.couple of personal things. I don't know how people with

:48:10. > :48:13.responsibilities do it. It is unstable enough for me being in a

:48:14. > :48:18.broken private rented sector where I can be evicted for any reason or no

:48:19. > :48:22.reason at all with no months notice. If I had a family or something to

:48:23. > :48:27.keep me in one place, it would be a nightmare. Steve says, "The housing

:48:28. > :48:32.shortage is caused by letting too many people in this country." Andrew

:48:33. > :48:36.Mitchell, does Steve have a point? No one knows what the immigration

:48:37. > :48:40.totals will be in the future and they are a key factor in trying to

:48:41. > :48:44.plan the number of houses in Birmingham, there is an allocation

:48:45. > :48:49.of a figure for inward immigration which every time we ask about it

:48:50. > :48:53.increases or deceases by a multiple of 6,000 houses threatened on my

:48:54. > :48:58.constituency. So, with Brexit I think these levels are even more

:48:59. > :49:01.uncertain and for those people who are making long-term plans, they

:49:02. > :49:05.need to build that in to the plans that they are making.

:49:06. > :49:10.Barbara says, "I am 64 years old and I want to move from my current two

:49:11. > :49:14.bed home on the second floor with no lift to a single bed home, but I'm

:49:15. > :49:19.priced out of the rental market. I've worked all my life and I feel

:49:20. > :49:24.really frustrated. I started my married life in a rented room and I

:49:25. > :49:28.lost my home after I got divorced." Deborah says, "Renting is a

:49:29. > :49:31.nightmare after five years I have been given two months notice to

:49:32. > :49:41.leave because the owner wants to sell. This is my home! " It's a

:49:42. > :49:45.home. It's not just a house. Landlords are buying and selling

:49:46. > :49:50.homes as though they were commodities just like they would buy

:49:51. > :49:55.and sell shares or bags of coffee. A home is a very important part of

:49:56. > :50:01.people's lives. It is your space. It's your safety net. You can't just

:50:02. > :50:06.trade in homes... You can David, can't you, as a landlord? It is a

:50:07. > :50:10.fair point. But the Government is pressing landlords to sell because

:50:11. > :50:15.it has increased taxes on landlords and they can no longer claim

:50:16. > :50:21.mortgage interest relief. I speak to many landlords who will be selling

:50:22. > :50:25.their properties. There is one problem with that, people say that

:50:26. > :50:30.will allow first-time buyers to buy those houses, I don't think that's

:50:31. > :50:33.likely, but one person leaves to let one person in. A tenant will be

:50:34. > :50:37.evicted so the first time buyer will buy the house. There is no sensible

:50:38. > :50:42.thought in that policy. And my concern about some of this, I hope

:50:43. > :50:47.the White Paper starts to deal with it this, we need a coherent housing

:50:48. > :50:50.strategy, not a home ownership strategy, a proper coherent strategy

:50:51. > :50:54.and we have been begging for one for nearly ten years and I hope this is

:50:55. > :51:00.it. I can hear the frustration in your voice, David. I'm as frustrated

:51:01. > :51:06.as everybody else. It is to did with houses being homes and when you have

:51:07. > :51:10.a family, being forced to move maybe through an academic year or in the

:51:11. > :51:14.middle of an academic year, struggling to stay in the same

:51:15. > :51:17.location so your children can continue going to the same school,

:51:18. > :51:21.even though they don't have security in terms of the home in which they

:51:22. > :51:27.live, you want them to maintain friendship groups because we know

:51:28. > :51:31.that children who are parts of families who are struggling do less

:51:32. > :51:35.well in education. So it is a very important thing that parents and

:51:36. > :51:40.therefore their children feel secure which they really don't at the

:51:41. > :51:47.moment. I also moved 11 times in 15 years with three children. Wow. We

:51:48. > :51:52.always managed to remain in the same area, but again, we needed help and

:51:53. > :51:57.support that we wouldn't have had if we were forced to move elsewhere.

:51:58. > :52:00.Can I thank you all for coming on the programme and talking about your

:52:01. > :52:08.experience. Thank you, Andrew Mitchellment don't look cross at me!

:52:09. > :52:11.Was I looking cross? Yes. You said about the importance of a key herant

:52:12. > :52:19.White Paper. Would it be all right to ask you about Speaker Bercow's

:52:20. > :52:24.comments? I wondered as you're here? He is entitled to make them. 'S very

:52:25. > :52:29.good modern Speaker, but although what he said is contentious, that's

:52:30. > :52:38.his view. Is he not supposed to be politically neutral? I don't think

:52:39. > :52:43.it is a party political issue, so I don't think it is. He's not

:52:44. > :52:46.commenting on a party political issue. He is giving his view about

:52:47. > :52:51.when President Trump comes to this country and whether he should come

:52:52. > :52:53.to Parliament or not and as Speaker, he is entitled to express his view.

:52:54. > :52:59.Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

:53:00. > :53:02.Coming up, our exclusive report about a village in Hungary which has

:53:03. > :53:04.banned the wearing of Muslim dress and the call to prayer

:53:05. > :53:06.and public displays of affection by gay couples.

:53:07. > :53:13.It only wants European Christians to move there.

:53:14. > :53:15.Heather says, "The last time I looked, Christianity

:53:16. > :53:23.was all about reaching out to those who need help.

:53:24. > :53:26.This is blatant fear-fuelled racism."

:53:27. > :53:27.Brian says, "Well done this mayor in Hungary.

:53:28. > :53:29.Everyone in the West should follow his example,

:53:30. > :53:32.better still don't let them into the West to start with."

:53:33. > :53:34.As many as 13,000 people have been executed in secret

:53:35. > :53:37.at a prison in Syria, according to Amnesty International.

:53:38. > :53:39.Most of them were opposed to the leader of the country,

:53:40. > :53:42.We can speak now to Karen Allen from Amnesty International.

:53:43. > :53:47.Thank you for coming on the programme and how you know what you

:53:48. > :53:54.know about this prison? It is a huge prison in sir yard and -- Syria and

:53:55. > :53:59.we have under taken research, interviewing 84 people. Now many of

:54:00. > :54:03.those have come out of this area. Others have been guards and worked

:54:04. > :54:09.within the prison and what we have pieced together through all of those

:54:10. > :54:14.interviews is a consistent story that once, sometimes twice a week on

:54:15. > :54:19.a Monday and a Wednesday, 50 men are taken from one part of the prison to

:54:20. > :54:24.another where they are hanged. And that has happened from the beginning

:54:25. > :54:29.of 2011 through to the end of 2015. We don't have information beyond

:54:30. > :54:33.2015 because the people that we interviewed and the dates which they

:54:34. > :54:36.left the prison, but it is an absolutely horrific story and we

:54:37. > :54:43.estimate 13,000 people will have lost their lives in that way.

:54:44. > :54:47.13,000? A former judge who saw the hangings told you they kept them

:54:48. > :54:51.hanging there for ten to 15 minutes. Some didn't die because they are

:54:52. > :54:56.light for. For the young ones their weight wouldn't kill them. The

:54:57. > :55:00.officer's assistants would pull them down and break their next. A former

:55:01. > :55:03.military officer who was also detained at the prison, "If you put

:55:04. > :55:08.your ears on the floor, you could hear the sound of a kind of

:55:09. > :55:11.gurgling. This would last for around ten minutes. We were sleeping on top

:55:12. > :55:19.of the sound of people choking to death. This was normal for me then."

:55:20. > :55:21.One more there, is a former detainee describing alleged abuse, "The

:55:22. > :55:25.beating was so intense it was as if you had a nail and you were trying

:55:26. > :55:30.again and again to beat it into a rock. It was impossible, but they

:55:31. > :55:35.just kept going. I was wishing they would cut off my legs instead of

:55:36. > :55:42.beating them anymore." Why were these people tortured and

:55:43. > :55:47.killed in this way, do you believe? I interviewed Hamid who gave those

:55:48. > :55:50.shockings accounts of being able to hear the executions take place. The

:55:51. > :55:55.people in the prison are overwhelmingly people who have been

:55:56. > :55:59.on demonstrations, students, journalists, doctors, lawyers,

:56:00. > :56:04.anybody who has shown any decent or whom the regime think may show

:56:05. > :56:08.decent and that was Hamid's case. He was a military man. He was suspected

:56:09. > :56:13.that he might show decent at some point and he was arrested and spent

:56:14. > :56:18.sometime in that prison. So these are anybody who shows any means of

:56:19. > :56:22.challenging the Assad Government. Are you saying that President Assad

:56:23. > :56:29.would know this was going on in this jail? We are totally sure that at

:56:30. > :56:33.the very high level of his Government at the level of the

:56:34. > :56:37.Defence Minister, or the head of the Army, that this is known about. We

:56:38. > :56:42.know the names of the people on the execution panels on some of the

:56:43. > :56:46.execution panels, we have given that information to the appropriate UN

:56:47. > :56:52.bodies. Right, but that doesn't mean that Assad knew? I think Assad must

:56:53. > :56:56.know. I think at the highest levels of his Government and if he doesn't

:56:57. > :57:01.know then that is dereliction as well. You know, he can't say, "I

:57:02. > :57:07.just don't know what's going on at this level of abuse." As you've said

:57:08. > :57:12.in some of those comments, it is the executions and that's something that

:57:13. > :57:17.we at Amnesty have exposed, but it is also, there is a policy of

:57:18. > :57:23.extermination going on here. The stories that I heard again and again

:57:24. > :57:29.of relentless torture every day, day in and day out, of hardly any food

:57:30. > :57:34.or any water, no access to medicines, just sheer awful way to

:57:35. > :57:38.treat people and the numbers of people who die in and the way in

:57:39. > :57:41.which bodies are disposed of, we heard that again and again. I'm

:57:42. > :57:50.going to show our audience this picture. It is of a 21-year-old

:57:51. > :57:57.former Syrian detainee. He lives in Stockholm. If you have a look at

:57:58. > :58:02.this, the picture on the left is of Omar taken in January this year in

:58:03. > :58:10.Sweden and obviously the picture on the right is of Omar in July 2015 in

:58:11. > :58:20.Turkey, just a month after he got out of the prisoner Damascus.

:58:21. > :58:24.Clearly, you can see how skelettal he is on the picture on the right.

:58:25. > :58:28.What can you tell us about him? Well, I didn't meet him. I saw the

:58:29. > :58:34.photographs of people from before and when they came out of prison and

:58:35. > :58:39.the conditions and you know, in many cases, the mental conditions too.

:58:40. > :58:43.The devastation that that experience, sometimes going on for

:58:44. > :58:48.years, had had on people. It is a massive prison. It's 20,000. People

:58:49. > :58:53.are packed into rooms. Absolutely packed. They're not allowed to

:58:54. > :58:58.speak. They're not allowed to cry out whilst being tortured or the

:58:59. > :59:02.torture intensifies. There is a real brutality that's quite spine

:59:03. > :59:06.chilling and it is continuing now. I'm sure that those executions are

:59:07. > :59:10.continuing as we speak. So what should happen to President Assad or

:59:11. > :59:14.whoever? Well, what should happen is the UN and Russia in particular

:59:15. > :59:18.should stop blocking progress at the UN. This ought to be, you know,

:59:19. > :59:24.absolutely at the top of the conversations that are taking place

:59:25. > :59:27.about the future of Syria. You know, it cannot be ignored, those

:59:28. > :59:32.executions are taking place I am convinced now still and it is

:59:33. > :59:36.something that there should be much more public outrage about, much more

:59:37. > :59:43.pressure on Assad and certainly our document August's of the abuses that

:59:44. > :59:47.are taking place is thorough. It is absolutely accurate and it will be

:59:48. > :59:51.given to the authorities who I hope can bring Assad to account sooner

:59:52. > :59:55.rather than later. Thank you very much for talking to us. Thank you.

:59:56. > :59:59.Thank you. The latest news and sport is coming

:00:00. > :00:05.up. Before that, the weather. Thanks, Victoria. Some of us have

:00:06. > :00:21.been seeing snow. We've got pictures of the snow. Snow is falling in

:00:22. > :00:25.Inverclyde. The weather is across Scotland and Eastern England. Move

:00:26. > :00:28.away from that and we're into brighter skies and sunshine, but

:00:29. > :00:32.also quite a lot of showers and some of those showers will be heavy and

:00:33. > :00:36.thundery with hail, some sleet possible on the moors and they will

:00:37. > :00:41.be slow moving so you could get a dullge as they fall. So into the

:00:42. > :00:44.afternoon that's the sip air yo across south-west England and South

:00:45. > :00:48.Wales. Here, they will be slow moving and here some of them will be

:00:49. > :00:52.heavy, but in between, we will see brightness or indeed sunshine.

:00:53. > :00:57.Across the central swathe of the UK, again there will be sunshine around.

:00:58. > :01:00.A few showers, but across East Anglia across Eastern England we

:01:01. > :01:04.hang on to dank conditions and a lot of cloud. Some showers in Northern

:01:05. > :01:09.Ireland. Across Scotland in the Grampians and the Highlands and some

:01:10. > :01:13.parts we are looking at snow and sleet across parts of Central

:01:14. > :01:17.Lowlands and into the southern uplands. So it will feel cold fur'ks

:01:18. > :01:22.posed to this. Overnight, we have a weather front in the west producing

:01:23. > :01:25.a lot of cloud and rain, still strong winds particularly across the

:01:26. > :01:28.Northern Isles, but for Western Scotland and Northern Ireland, it

:01:29. > :01:32.will be cold. Widespread frost here and the risk of ice. For England and

:01:33. > :01:37.Wales, with more cloud around, it looks like the frost issue will be

:01:38. > :01:40.fairly patchy. Tomorrow we start off with weather front in the east.

:01:41. > :01:44.Instead of continuing to journey east, it will try and come west

:01:45. > :01:48.again, blocked by that area of high pressure. What's going to happen is

:01:49. > :01:53.that is going to allow cold air to push across our shores in the

:01:54. > :01:54.ensuing days into the weekend as represented here by the blue

:01:55. > :02:04.colours. Tomorrow we have the weather front

:02:05. > :02:09.across eastern areas, producing cloud. Someone to a flurry is

:02:10. > :02:14.possible across parts of England, snow across the Pennines and the

:02:15. > :02:21.Grampians. Toward the West, brighter skies. The temperatures are starting

:02:22. > :02:25.to go down in eastern areas. You notice it more as we head into

:02:26. > :02:30.Thursday, where we have a weather front pushing towards the West.

:02:31. > :02:33.Cloud associated with it, more snow across the Pennines and the

:02:34. > :02:35.Grampians. The brighter skies in the West.

:02:36. > :02:41.An exclusive report by this programme takes a look

:02:42. > :02:43.inside the Hungarian village that is trying to create a white

:02:44. > :02:48.utopia, and wants British people to move there.

:02:49. > :02:55.TRANSLATION: We primarily welcome people from Western Europe who do

:02:56. > :02:59.not want to live in a multicultural society. We would not want to

:03:00. > :03:04.attract Muslim people, even though we have a few Muslim residents.

:03:05. > :03:09.We hear how it is being advertised in the UK as a place to escape

:03:10. > :03:11.multiculturalism. Also on the programme, England's

:03:12. > :03:13.housing market is "broken". That's according to ministers

:03:14. > :03:15.who are launching new plans today Here's what one long-term

:03:16. > :03:26.renter said about what We need a register for the

:03:27. > :03:33.landlords, they decide they just want to up the rent. It is a problem

:03:34. > :03:34.with a type of NIMBY years, if we don't build new homes everywhere,

:03:35. > :03:37.there is a supply and abound issue. We'll also be talking

:03:38. > :03:39.about whether the announcement will make a difference

:03:40. > :03:41.to leaseholders, and an expert and leaseholder will be

:03:42. > :03:44.sharing their thoughts on the plans. And Conservative MPs criticise

:03:45. > :03:46.the Speaker John Bercow for saying in Parliament that Donald Trump

:03:47. > :03:48.would not get his permission to speak to MPs in Westminster Hall

:03:49. > :03:55.during a state visit. Here's the BBC Newsroom

:03:56. > :04:03.with a summary of today's news. The Government is setting

:04:04. > :04:08.out its strategy for fixing what it says is a "broken" housing market

:04:09. > :04:11.in England, and hitting its target of building a million

:04:12. > :04:13.new homes by the year 2020. Plans will include more help

:04:14. > :04:15.for first-time buyers, and measures to make rental

:04:16. > :04:18.agreements more secure. The Speaker of the House

:04:19. > :04:21.of Commons John Bercow has been strongly criticised for speaking out

:04:22. > :04:24.against President Trump addressing MPs and Lords

:04:25. > :04:27.at the Houses of Parliament. Mr Bercow, whose position

:04:28. > :04:29.as Speaker is supposed to be politically neutral,

:04:30. > :04:32.has been accused of overstepping One Tory MP described

:04:33. > :04:38.Mr Bercow's intervention This programme has found that

:04:39. > :04:47.a village in Hungary has banned the wearing of Muslim dress

:04:48. > :04:50.and the call to The mayor of Asotthalom claims to be leading

:04:51. > :04:52.what he calls "the war against Muslim culture",

:04:53. > :04:54.and he hopes to attract other Christian Europeans who object

:04:55. > :04:56.to multiculturalism Some lawyers have said the laws

:04:57. > :04:59.contravene the Hungarian constitution and the government

:05:00. > :05:02.there is due to rule on them Doctors' leaders say it's "crazy"

:05:03. > :05:09.that the UK's standard ten-minute slot for GP consultations is among

:05:10. > :05:12.the shortest in Europe. They say plans to move more care out

:05:13. > :05:15.of hospitals will leave even The Department of Health says it's

:05:16. > :05:19.up to practices to decide how Mark Norman is at a surgery

:05:20. > :05:37.in Whitstable in Kent. How does it work their? With stubble

:05:38. > :05:40.is interesting, it has no District General Hospital, the nearest

:05:41. > :05:45.accident and emergency is 20 miles away, and it has all of the problems

:05:46. > :05:49.everyone does, a huge financial black hole, a growing population,

:05:50. > :05:55.and accident and emergency apartments that are struggling to

:05:56. > :06:01.cope, and bed occupancy way above the safe level of 96%. For GPs it is

:06:02. > :06:06.about how you manage patients better locally and keep them out of the

:06:07. > :06:10.hospitals. If I show you this board, it gives an idea of what they do.

:06:11. > :06:16.This is just a GP practice. They have a my jet -- minor injuries

:06:17. > :06:23.clinic, you see a list of the services. I have been here since

:06:24. > :06:27.8am, they have been ridiculously busy, people coming in with and

:06:28. > :06:32.without appointments. This is the minor injuries clinic. We have the

:06:33. > :06:37.x-ray suite, the upside for GPs who operate here is that if they have a

:06:38. > :06:41.patient with a chest infection, they are not sure if it is something more

:06:42. > :06:46.serious, bring them here, have a look and see whether they need to

:06:47. > :06:51.have a consultation at the hospital. It is a much better patient

:06:52. > :06:56.experience and leads to better outcomes. Jeremy Hunt was here a few

:06:57. > :07:01.weeks ago, Simon Stephens, the boss of the NHS, is coming in the next

:07:02. > :07:07.few weeks. But this costs money and represents a huge investment. Will

:07:08. > :07:09.the NHS be prepared to spend it? It looks impressive.

:07:10. > :07:16.That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 10:30am.

:07:17. > :07:22.Thank you if you have got in touch about renting. This is from a

:07:23. > :07:27.landlord in the Midlands, I am finding these attacks very hard to

:07:28. > :07:34.take, I only rent had good quality properties, my houses are fully

:07:35. > :07:37.refurbished. Rent is not set by landlords, it is the market that

:07:38. > :07:41.sets the price. If a landlord increases the price too much, they

:07:42. > :07:44.will not be able to let it. You would expect it to be a product of

:07:45. > :07:51.the purchase price, but it is not the case. In some cases the return

:07:52. > :07:56.on capital is as low as 1%, but in other areas it is 20%. Vanessa said,

:07:57. > :08:01.I rented three houses over five years with my three young children,

:08:02. > :08:04.the most stressful period of my life, you never knew how long it

:08:05. > :08:11.would be before you next had to move, as only -- each property only

:08:12. > :08:17.has a six-month rental agreement. It would cost me money every time I

:08:18. > :08:20.moved, you do not complain because you are afraid of your tenancy not

:08:21. > :08:28.being renewed. Two of the houses were rented out and then the owners

:08:29. > :08:29.decided to sell. There are not enough good quality homes are

:08:30. > :08:32.available to rent where I live. Do get in touch with us

:08:33. > :08:34.throughout the morning. If you text, you will be charged

:08:35. > :08:38.at the standard network rate. Here's some sport

:08:39. > :08:40.now with Will Perry. Joe Root would be a "very different

:08:41. > :08:43.leader" who's willing to take a lot That's the view of Yorkshire

:08:44. > :08:46.coach Andrew Gale. The ECB are considering a successor

:08:47. > :08:49.to Cook, who stepped down yesterday. Gale's told the BBC that Root

:08:50. > :09:03.is ready and the time is right In Joe Root you will have a

:09:04. > :09:06.different leader. He is willing to try things, he is a lot more risky

:09:07. > :09:14.than Alastair Cook. The games that he has captained in Yorkshire, he

:09:15. > :09:20.was not worried about taking risks. He will be a different leader. But

:09:21. > :09:25.when he steps up, he is ready. The time is right for him.

:09:26. > :09:33.Andries Strauss has denied he is the only candidate.

:09:34. > :09:38.Joe Root has been vice captain for a while, he has had some

:09:39. > :09:41.He is a phenomenal cricketer and a very influential person

:09:42. > :09:45.There is no reason why he would not be a strong candidate,

:09:46. > :09:49.but I do not want to rule anyone in or out.

:09:50. > :09:56.Russia will miss the World Championships after the athletics

:09:57. > :09:59.governing body voted to extend their suspension for state-sponsored

:10:00. > :10:06.doping. But some Russians may be up to compete under a neutral banner if

:10:07. > :10:11.they can satisfy testing criteria with Wada. They were suspended in

:10:12. > :10:12.2015, so athletes missed the Olympics last year.

:10:13. > :10:15.We are not going to change the culture of something that has

:10:16. > :10:19.been prominent for 40 or 50 years, and not just simply in Russia.

:10:20. > :10:22.We want to see some sign that there is a cultural shift.

:10:23. > :10:27.We are not going to resubmit the newly-constructed

:10:28. > :10:34.The clear implication is they would appear, if they do,

:10:35. > :10:49.Sir Ben Ainslie... Battle to win the America's Cup has begun with the

:10:50. > :10:55.unveiling of his new boat. They are aiming to bring the trophy back to

:10:56. > :11:01.Britain after 166 years. It was launched in the nude, it was called

:11:02. > :11:03.Rita, the name carried by all of his previous boat. Qualifying for the

:11:04. > :11:05.race begins in May. And, Rafa Nadal will warm up

:11:06. > :11:07.for Wimbledon by playing The 14-time grand-slam champion

:11:08. > :11:13.joins Andy Murray at the event. Nadal had to pull out of the grass

:11:14. > :11:16.event last year due to a wrist injury but won the title back

:11:17. > :11:20.in 2008, before going on to dethrone We will have the headlines at

:11:21. > :11:29.10:30am. This programme can reveal that

:11:30. > :11:31.a village in Hungary which has introduced a bylaw aimed at making

:11:32. > :11:34.it difficult for Muslims and gay people to live

:11:35. > :11:37.there is being advertised in the UK as a place to move to in order to

:11:38. > :11:40.escape multiculturalism and Islam. The group advertising it

:11:41. > :11:43.here is called Knights Templar International,

:11:44. > :11:46.which has links to former British National Party

:11:47. > :11:49.leader Nick Griffin. Our reporter Lesley Ashmall has been

:11:50. > :11:58.to meet the mayor of Asotthalom. Asotthalom, a village on the

:11:59. > :12:03.southern Hungarian plains, just minutes from the Serbian border,

:12:04. > :12:09.where in 2015, 10,000 migrants a day The village population

:12:10. > :12:14.is declining, and The Mayor here wants

:12:15. > :12:19.to attract foreign investors, but not

:12:20. > :12:27.just any foreigner. TRANSLATION: We promote

:12:28. > :12:31.the welcome people from western Europe, people who wouldn't like to

:12:32. > :12:33.live in a multicultural society. We wouldn't like to attract Muslim

:12:34. > :12:36.people in the village. What if I was black,

:12:37. > :12:40.or if I was gay? TRANSLATION: Asotthalom

:12:41. > :12:46.has a bylaw that bans As for your other question,

:12:47. > :12:54.think about this: Europe It can't take in billions of people

:12:55. > :12:59.from Africa and South Asia, where there's

:13:00. > :13:01.a population boom. This would soon lead

:13:02. > :13:04.to the disappearance of Europe. I'd like Europe to

:13:05. > :13:07.belong to Europeans and Asia to belong to Asians, and Africa

:13:08. > :13:15.to Africans, simple as that. He's so serious, he's introduced

:13:16. > :13:17.local legislation banning public displays of affection by gay people,

:13:18. > :13:20.the wearing of Islamic dress like the hijab, and he wants to ban

:13:21. > :13:26.the building of mosques. And his views are being

:13:27. > :13:28.pushed by a British organisation called

:13:29. > :13:32.Knights Templar International. The former British National Party

:13:33. > :13:35.leader Nick Griffin is a member, and the group is

:13:36. > :13:42.advertising smallholdings for sale Hungary is already seen,

:13:43. > :13:49.by more and more West Europeans, as a place of refuge,

:13:50. > :13:53.a place to get away from the help that is about to break

:13:54. > :13:58.loose in western Europe. One of them agree to speak to us,

:13:59. > :14:02.but at the last minute They didn't want to attract

:14:03. > :14:07.attention to themselves. They've spoken of their fears

:14:08. > :14:09.to media in the past, but other villagers reject

:14:10. > :14:11.the laws are a huge concern. However, they are the talk

:14:12. > :14:16.of the village pub. TRANSLATION: Important issues

:14:17. > :14:18.like this should be regulated by the national government,

:14:19. > :14:23.not local legislation. TRANSLATION: If they take

:14:24. > :14:25.off their veil, I'll accept them. It doesn't even matter

:14:26. > :14:27.if they are black. They should become Hungarian

:14:28. > :14:30.citizens, even if they are Are you trying to

:14:31. > :14:38.create a kind of white I don't use this word white,

:14:39. > :14:45.but we are a white, European, Christian population,

:14:46. > :14:52.and we want to stay this, like this, We asked Nick Griffin to talk to us

:14:53. > :15:01.this morning, but he said no. Hungarian journalist

:15:02. > :15:03.Gergely Miklos Nagy was the first There was a widow in which the Mayor

:15:04. > :15:22.of Asotthalom recommend the... His village to the Western European

:15:23. > :15:28.citizens who want to leave the collapsed Western Europe and wants

:15:29. > :15:57.to settle down in a traditionally That was made by the Knights Templar

:15:58. > :15:59.International. The majority of the residents of Asotthalom do not

:16:00. > :16:11.support it. It is just my feeling. We can now talk to Emanuel Coman,

:16:12. > :16:13.a professor at Trinity College Dublin who specialises

:16:14. > :16:15.in the European far right, and Iman Atta from Tell Mama,

:16:16. > :16:35.an organisation that supports Well, one, it is concerning to see

:16:36. > :16:37.that this is happening. Two, that they're actually by-passing laws

:16:38. > :16:40.locally and as the citizens mentioned they wanted something to

:16:41. > :16:44.happen on a national level, but to come with a statement to have a

:16:45. > :16:48.Christian White City and a Christian white Europe is quite concerning.

:16:49. > :16:52.You have Christian blacks. You have so many communities that are

:16:53. > :16:59.Christian as well as you had a Europe which is multi-cultural which

:17:00. > :17:01.is actually strong and in its diversity and multi-culturalism, but

:17:02. > :17:06.not allowing... They're not interested. They want to live with

:17:07. > :17:17.people like them? That corrodes community cohesion. They think

:17:18. > :17:19.multi-culturalism corrodes? The UK has some example of

:17:20. > :17:24.multi-culturalism where it works. It is the best model to look at and

:17:25. > :17:29.what is happening here with multi-culturalism. We are talking

:17:30. > :17:33.about banning the gay community and banning this and banning that. Not

:17:34. > :17:41.banning the gay community because they live there, banning public

:17:42. > :17:44.display of affection? You're being homophobic and that's promoting

:17:45. > :17:47.hatred. That's hatred towards the gay community. Let me bring in the

:17:48. > :17:52.professor. Good morning to you. Tell us about the rise of the far-right

:17:53. > :17:59.across Europe and what you think of this as part of its, I don't know,

:18:00. > :18:06.strategy? It's really hard to tell. What is quite obvious is that

:18:07. > :18:11.Hungary is perceived and the Hungarian Government primarily is

:18:12. > :18:15.perceived as very friendly to the anti-refugee sentiment. Eastern

:18:16. > :18:19.Europeans in general, the governments in Eastern Europe have

:18:20. > :18:25.raised their voices against the EU decision to relocate refugees, but

:18:26. > :18:32.the Prime Minister has been very, very vociferous in this respect. I

:18:33. > :18:37.really couldn't tell whether this is a general phenomenon. It is really

:18:38. > :18:45.odd that such a village in Hungary is trying to attract people under

:18:46. > :18:49.the idea that what really connects all this right-wing extremists is

:18:50. > :18:52.just hatred towards Muslims. They are quite a varied group and as

:18:53. > :18:55.somebody who lived in the United Kingdom for fours years as a

:18:56. > :19:01.Romanian, who lived in the United Kingdom for four years, I can tell

:19:02. > :19:05.you that people like Nick Griffin are not very fond of my people

:19:06. > :19:10.either and by my people I mean Eastern Europeans. So too to

:19:11. > :19:17.actually live under the impression that this Christian white society

:19:18. > :19:26.can have everything in common and no contradictions, it's quite naive.

:19:27. > :19:33.Budapest attracts, has attracted, is attracting a number of far-right

:19:34. > :19:41.politicians besides Nick Griffin, and James Dowson and the Swedish

:19:42. > :19:45.far-right leader has moved there. Is that because of the mood music from

:19:46. > :19:50.the Prime Minister? It is not necessarily that they believe they

:19:51. > :19:54.can legally do certain things because the things that the mayor is

:19:55. > :19:57.trying to implement cannot be legal under the Hungarian law. It is just

:19:58. > :20:02.that they're probably hoping that nobody is going to pursue the

:20:03. > :20:09.legality of their actions. Yes. There is a little bit of I had

:20:10. > :20:11.possibling crassy on part of the leaders because they're not fond of

:20:12. > :20:18.the very institution that allows them to live and settle in Hungary

:20:19. > :20:21.which is the European Union. Nobody asks themselves what is going to

:20:22. > :20:28.happen when Britain is going to leave the euro. How are these guys

:20:29. > :20:33.going to be able to live in Budapest and form the white Christian

:20:34. > :20:39.communities that they want to do in Hungary? Thank you very much

:20:40. > :20:44.professor from Trinity College, Dublin. Thank you.

:20:45. > :20:48.If you want to read more about Asotthalom, you can find it on the

:20:49. > :20:58.BBC News website. The Government is

:20:59. > :20:59.said to be shocked. Some conservative MPs

:21:00. > :21:01.are very, very angry. We don't know what Donald Trump

:21:02. > :21:04.thinks because he hasn't tweeted on the subject of addressing

:21:05. > :21:06.parliament during his state visit to Britain but we do know

:21:07. > :21:09.that the Speaker John Bercow has caused quite a fuss by saying very

:21:10. > :21:12.openly and very assertively that the president would not

:21:13. > :21:19.get his permission to speak to MPs We value our relationship with the

:21:20. > :21:27.United States. If a state visit takes place that is way beyond and

:21:28. > :21:36.above the pay grade of the Speaker. However, as far as this place is

:21:37. > :21:42.concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to

:21:43. > :21:48.sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent

:21:49. > :21:54.judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of

:21:55. > :21:55.Commons. APPLAUSE

:21:56. > :22:03.Our political guru Norman Smith has more.

:22:04. > :22:11.How much trouble is he in? MPs will raise with Mr Bercow when he is in

:22:12. > :22:15.the chair in the Commons down there, his comments yesterday and many,

:22:16. > :22:19.many, Tories are furious because they say it is not his job to make

:22:20. > :22:25.such sort of overt political comments. More than that, he has

:22:26. > :22:30.scuppered Mrs May's attempts to forge closer ties with President

:22:31. > :22:35.Trump and they say look, it is the Speaker's job to reflect in an

:22:36. > :22:38.impartial manner and in a non partisan manner the wishes of

:22:39. > :22:41.Parliament. Not to go off on his own and start attacking Donald Trump for

:22:42. > :22:45.race ym and sexism. So I think we will see quite a bit of criticism.

:22:46. > :22:51.What's not clear to me though, is whether there is anything that can

:22:52. > :22:55.actually be done about it because I mean, you know, hypothetically MPs

:22:56. > :22:58.could put down a motion of no confidence in the Speaker. Now,

:22:59. > :23:03.that's, you know, extremely unlikely. Its almost unprecedented,

:23:04. > :23:10.but short of that, there is not much that can be done to unpick Mr

:23:11. > :23:15.Bercow's decision which basically blocks Donald Trump from addressing

:23:16. > :23:16.Parliament. One Tory MP was suggesting that Mr Bercow should

:23:17. > :23:27.think about his position. In many ways he has been a great

:23:28. > :23:30.Speaker for back benchesers like myself because he has given us the

:23:31. > :23:33.opportunity to ask urgent questions and gave us enough time for

:23:34. > :23:40.statements. He has been a great Speaker. I just think becoming the

:23:41. > :23:49.story, using the great institution of the Speaker's, you know, office

:23:50. > :23:54.to make such a political stand is unwise unfortunately. I don't feel

:23:55. > :23:58.comfortable with it. Meanwhile, Downing Street are just

:23:59. > :24:03.trying to stay out of this, but you know they will be grinding their

:24:04. > :24:08.teeth in fury because after all that painstaking work, all that hand

:24:09. > :24:13.holding with Donald Trump now, the Speaker has delivered what bluntly

:24:14. > :24:20.amounts to a fairly public rebuke, even diplomatic snub to President

:24:21. > :24:24.Trump and so ministers, you know, while understandably furious, in

:24:25. > :24:26.public have been adopting a more cautious response. Listen to the

:24:27. > :24:34.Cabinet Minister. Well, anyone who knows the Speaker

:24:35. > :24:36.knows he will speak his mind. Whoever is the president of the

:24:37. > :24:41.United States is someone that we want it get on with it and wet want

:24:42. > :24:47.to work hard with and inviting them to the UK is a sensible thing to do.

:24:48. > :24:52.REPORTER: Are you happy to see John Bercow in the chair in the Commons?

:24:53. > :25:01.I'm happy with whoever is in the chair in the Commons.

:25:02. > :25:07.I think what we saw from Speaker Bercow yesterday was all part and

:25:08. > :25:12.parcel of what has become almost central to his whole Speakership. He

:25:13. > :25:18.sees himself as a reforming Speaker. Someone who is dragging this place

:25:19. > :25:23.out of the 19th century. He got rid a lot of Kos sums and tried to bring

:25:24. > :25:26.in outsiders and I mean, just before he made his comments yesterday he

:25:27. > :25:31.was talking about ending the practise of Commons clerks having to

:25:32. > :25:36.wear wigs in Parliament and I think when he attacked Donald Trump for

:25:37. > :25:40.racism and sexism, in part, he took the view that those sort of

:25:41. > :25:44.attitudes were totally counter to the sort of image of Parliament

:25:45. > :25:48.which he wants to convey. So in a way, it fitted into his whole sort

:25:49. > :25:50.of reform agenda of trying to drag Parliament into the modern world.

:25:51. > :25:57.Cheers, Norman. Alistair Carmicheal

:25:58. > :26:00.is a Liberal Democrat MP who thinks Mr Bercow was entitled to say

:26:01. > :26:03.what he did-and James Duddridge a Conservative MP thinks this

:26:04. > :26:11.was not a row he should have jumped I am losing confidence in him. It

:26:12. > :26:15.was inappropriate for him to take a highly political and partisan view.

:26:16. > :26:20.It is for the House of Commons to make decisions on policy and he

:26:21. > :26:24.endangers his own ability to from the chair approach jaout date on a

:26:25. > :26:30.non partisan basis. I think this perhaps is one step too far for this

:26:31. > :26:34.modernising Speaker. Mr Carmichael, you're smiling in disagreement?

:26:35. > :26:37.Well, indeed. Look, I understand that yesterday was quite a moment.

:26:38. > :26:41.We've not really seen anything like this in the past, but we live in

:26:42. > :26:45.extraordinary times and I think you have to keep it in a little bit of

:26:46. > :26:49.context here. The context is of course, that Theresa May, spooked by

:26:50. > :26:54.seeing Nigel Farage pictured with Donald Trump in the early days

:26:55. > :26:58.following his election win in November, went charging across,

:26:59. > :27:03.seven days into his office as president and offered up a state

:27:04. > :27:08.visit. Now, there is no precedent for that and yes, you know, you have

:27:09. > :27:13.to see the context of... He is a democratic... He is a divisive

:27:14. > :27:16.character. He is a democratically elected president. Why shouldn't he

:27:17. > :27:21.address people like yourselves at Westminster? He is a democratically

:27:22. > :27:26.elected, but he has been elected on a platform which does include

:27:27. > :27:31.elements of racism and which does pander to racist elements. We have

:27:32. > :27:35.seen the way in which he has been an apologist to President Putin in

:27:36. > :27:39.recent days and I think it's quite right that the Speaker of the House

:27:40. > :27:42.of Commons should be in a position to say Theresa May may speak for the

:27:43. > :27:48.Government, but she doesn't speak for the whole country. Alistair,

:27:49. > :27:51.that's not what he was saying. He was purporting his views. He wasn't

:27:52. > :27:55.say Theresa May doesn't speak for Parliament. He was saying he was

:27:56. > :28:00.speaking for Parliament. If he stood up and said that Parliament should

:28:01. > :28:03.make a decision, you and I should have a vote on whether we should

:28:04. > :28:08.invite Donald Trump. I would entirely agree with you. But that's

:28:09. > :28:18.not what he did yesterday. You and I both know that fact in you go back

:28:19. > :28:21.to Irskine May. One is impartiality and one is authority. He has vested

:28:22. > :28:25.in him the authority of Parliament to speak on these matters. I think

:28:26. > :28:29.that's what he did and I think he was quite right to stand up for

:28:30. > :28:33.Parliament and to say to Government, that look, you're not just going to

:28:34. > :28:37.take us for granted, there is a range of views here. What you did

:28:38. > :28:41.was premature in offering a state visit. Donald Trump can visit the

:28:42. > :28:47.United Kingdom without it being a state visit and without all the pomp

:28:48. > :28:50.and pageantry that goes with that. That's something that's worth

:28:51. > :28:53.bearing in mind. Indeed, he can have a state visit without coming to

:28:54. > :28:57.Parliament or indeed, he can come to Parliament on the invitation of an

:28:58. > :29:01.individual MP or a group of MPs. He doesn't need permission to come into

:29:02. > :29:05.Parliament. He needs the permission to use Westminster Hallment Speaker

:29:06. > :29:09.Bercow didn't consult the Lord Speaker. Maybe the undemocratically

:29:10. > :29:13.elected members of the House of Lords will end up inviting him! All

:29:14. > :29:17.these things are possible, but you know, I think it's good that we can

:29:18. > :29:21.have this conversation because I think up until this point, our

:29:22. > :29:26.standing in the world stage has really been diminished by the fact

:29:27. > :29:29.that Theresa May chose to go chasing after Donald Trump and the world can

:29:30. > :29:33.now see by good means or ill in fact there is more than one view here in

:29:34. > :29:36.this. Obama said we would be at the back of the queue. We were at the

:29:37. > :29:43.front of the queue to get into the White House. And Theresa May secured

:29:44. > :29:46.big concessions on Nato, that reassured our European partners on

:29:47. > :29:50.the border of Russia. She couldn't get Donald Trump to talk about them.

:29:51. > :29:53.She had to talk about them. Remember, when you're talking about

:29:54. > :29:56.deals... Concessions are concessions. Donald Trump said ta

:29:57. > :29:59.the deals that he's interested in are ones that are good for America.

:30:00. > :30:02.That put America first. Is that really the sort of deal that you

:30:03. > :30:08.want for Britain? One that puts America first? Well, there is mutual

:30:09. > :30:14.interest in a stable Europe, there is a mutual Europe and a prosperous

:30:15. > :30:21.Europe. We can look beyond those narrow interests. Shall I tell you

:30:22. > :30:25.what a couple of taxpayers say. Denise said, "Mr Bercow showed no

:30:26. > :30:29.neutrality. Considering his position requires him to be neutral and

:30:30. > :30:34.impartial, he let down his office and he should step down. He is a

:30:35. > :30:41.disgrace." Liz said, "The Speaker has shown his true identity." David

:30:42. > :30:43.says, "Claerng on Brexit and John Bercow on Trump. Two voices of

:30:44. > :30:53.reason here. There is a wide range of views, and

:30:54. > :30:56.that is good. We live in a society where there ought to be a plurality

:30:57. > :31:05.of views, and one thing that concerns me is that seems to be the

:31:06. > :31:10.sense that if you do not take the same view as somebody who has a

:31:11. > :31:15.different opinion from you, you are somehow being a traitor or betraying

:31:16. > :31:20.or working from some unworthy motive. We should be relaxed with

:31:21. > :31:23.the fact that there is more than one view, and that is what the world

:31:24. > :31:28.sees as they see our democracy functioning. This has left the

:31:29. > :31:32.Speaker diminished, I suspect if there was an open election he would

:31:33. > :31:38.not get elected, and if a candidate stood, I suspect Alistair Carmichael

:31:39. > :31:43.would support me. Why can't the Speaker speak their

:31:44. > :31:49.mind's Donald Trump does. That is what Brendan says. Somebody says,

:31:50. > :31:54.John Bercow does not speak for the whole of the UK, and the world needs

:31:55. > :31:59.to give Donald Trump a decent chance of being president. One person says,

:32:00. > :32:00.the Speaker is speaking his mind, like Donald Trump, what is the

:32:01. > :32:03.problem? The average house now costs eight

:32:04. > :32:16.times the average salary. Loads of you getting in touch. Barry

:32:17. > :32:23.says, I do not understand white people in their 20s and 30s should

:32:24. > :32:26.own a house -- I do not understand why. It was not until my 40s that I

:32:27. > :32:30.even thought about buying a property. Your views are welcome, we

:32:31. > :32:33.will talk about it again. The UK Government is in court today

:32:34. > :32:36.over arms sales to Saudi Arabia, weapons which it's claimed

:32:37. > :32:39.are being used in air strikes With the news, here's Joanna

:32:40. > :32:45.in the BBC Newsroom. The Government is setting

:32:46. > :32:50.out its strategy for fixing what it says is a "broken" housing market

:32:51. > :32:53.in England and hitting its target of building a million

:32:54. > :32:55.new homes by the year 2020. Plans will include more help

:32:56. > :32:58.for first-time buyers, and measures to make rental

:32:59. > :33:11.agreements more secure. The judge in the Rolf Harris trial

:33:12. > :33:15.says the jury can now give a majority verdict they cannot reach a

:33:16. > :33:19.unanimous agreement. He faces six counts of indecent assault and one

:33:20. > :33:20.of sexual assault. The jury has been considering its verdict since last

:33:21. > :33:24.Wednesday. This programme has found that

:33:25. > :33:27.a village in Hungary has banned the wearing of Muslim dress

:33:28. > :33:29.and the call to prayer. The mayor of Asotthalom claims to be

:33:30. > :33:32.leading what he calls "the war against Muslim culture",

:33:33. > :33:34.and he hopes to attract other Christian Europeans

:33:35. > :33:36.who object to multiculturalism Some lawyers have said the laws

:33:37. > :33:39.contravene the Hungarian constitution and the government

:33:40. > :33:42.there is due to rule on them Join me for BBC

:33:43. > :33:59.Newsroom Live at 11am. England are searching for a new Test

:34:00. > :34:04.match captain, with Alastair Cook stepping down after 59 matches in

:34:05. > :34:09.charge. Joe Root is the standout favourite. His coach at Yorkshire

:34:10. > :34:13.says he would take more risks than Alastair Cook if he gets the job.

:34:14. > :34:18.Alastair Cook hopes to still play for England, he is their highest run

:34:19. > :34:22.scorer in Test match cricket, and his appearances and centuries are

:34:23. > :34:26.also national records. Russian athletes will not compete at

:34:27. > :34:29.the World Championships in London. They have been serving a suspension

:34:30. > :34:34.after state-sponsored doping was uncovered. The IAAF have voted to

:34:35. > :34:37.good to knew the ban, but some Russian athletes could still compete

:34:38. > :34:42.as neutrals. Rafa Nadal will warm up for

:34:43. > :34:46.Wimbledon by playing at Queen's Club in June. The 14 time Grand Slam

:34:47. > :34:49.champion joins Andy Murray at the event.

:34:50. > :34:52.More sport on BBC News through the day.

:34:53. > :34:54.Next, David Beckham and his quest for a knighthood.

:34:55. > :34:58.And how damaging is the story, now running into a fourth

:34:59. > :35:02.The sister company of a PR firm that represents David Beckham has

:35:03. > :35:04.confirmed it was subject to a blackmail attempt.

:35:05. > :35:07.A hacker is believed to have demanded money in return for not

:35:08. > :35:09.publishing stolen emails between Beckham and PR

:35:10. > :35:15.A spokesperson for ex-England captain Beckham, 41,

:35:16. > :35:17.said the emails were "hacked", "doctored" and "private".

:35:18. > :35:22.Has the story changed the way you view David Beckham in any way?

:35:23. > :35:24.Joining us now from Sussex is Mark Llewelyn Slade,

:35:25. > :35:26.who runs a company called Awards Intelligence,

:35:27. > :35:37.which claims to help people win awards and nominations.

:35:38. > :35:45.How does it start, the quest to get a knighthood? You have to be In It

:35:46. > :35:47.To Win It, but people cannot put themselves forward, so they rely on

:35:48. > :35:56.their friends and family and business contacts to nominate them.

:35:57. > :36:03.Do you fill in a form? Yes, it is a fairly long and detailed form to do

:36:04. > :36:07.well. What sort of questions you ask's you can knock out a nomination

:36:08. > :36:11.on a wet Sunday afternoon, but is it going to cut it at the Cabinet

:36:12. > :36:19.Office? We estimate they get 20,000 nominations every year, and between

:36:20. > :36:23.two and 2500 are successful, so a little over 10%. It is worth taking

:36:24. > :36:28.the trouble to do it right and properly. Often apathy sets in and

:36:29. > :36:35.friends and family never quite get round to doing it, which is a shame.

:36:36. > :36:42.You need evidence of what charity work? What else? The million-dollar

:36:43. > :36:47.question is, have the nominee gone above and beyond the call of duty?

:36:48. > :36:51.People do not usually get honours for simply doing their job. They

:36:52. > :36:56.must have excelled at something, whether that be community and

:36:57. > :37:01.charity work, or whether they are an eminent doctor, business leader,

:37:02. > :37:06.lawyer or celebrity. David Beckham has already got an honour, I think

:37:07. > :37:11.it is an OBJ, but he wants a knighthood. How do you get that? The

:37:12. > :37:17.level of honour is driven primarily other geographical spread of the

:37:18. > :37:22.person's influence. Somebody operating at a local level, like a

:37:23. > :37:29.Scout leader or a women's Institute person, would be at the lower end,

:37:30. > :37:33.perhaps ADE M or maybe an MBA. But somebody known nationally or

:37:34. > :37:48.internationally as a leader in their field would tend to be at the mid-to

:37:49. > :37:49.high end. It is about geographical spread at the end of the day. Do you

:37:50. > :37:51.think his brand has been damaged in his quest for a knighthood? I think

:37:52. > :37:55.we have to say it has been or it is likely to be damaged. I am not sure

:37:56. > :38:01.he can weather the storm here on this one. But only time can tell. It

:38:02. > :38:05.must be difficult for the Cabinet Office to give him a knighthood

:38:06. > :38:11.after everything that has been supposedly done and said over the

:38:12. > :38:16.last few days. It should be interesting.

:38:17. > :38:18.The Government is setting out its strategy for fixing what it

:38:19. > :38:21.says is a "broken" housing market in England and hitting its target

:38:22. > :38:24.of building a million new homes by the year 2020.

:38:25. > :38:25.Plans will include more help for first-time buyers,

:38:26. > :38:31.and measures to make rental agreements more secure.

:38:32. > :38:33.It's a shift for the Conservative Government to focus on renting and,

:38:34. > :38:36.perhaps, an acknowledgement that with the average house costing eight

:38:37. > :38:38.times the average salary, some of us will never be able

:38:39. > :38:43.Let's talk now to Anne Baxendale, the head of policy at Shelter,

:38:44. > :38:45.James Saunders from Quintain, who have today announced they're

:38:46. > :38:50.building the UK's biggest build-to-rent project,

:38:51. > :38:52.and Lord Kerslake, chair of the Peabody Trust,

:38:53. > :39:09.No, he is not joining us. Tell us about your project. 5000 homes owned

:39:10. > :39:15.at the rental market. Will anybody be able to afford them? Absolutely,

:39:16. > :39:19.we see a wide range of people living in our rental properties, we have

:39:20. > :39:24.some already, doctors, nurses, local people. It is not just for the

:39:25. > :39:32.young, it is for families, for older people. Why are you doing this? You

:39:33. > :39:38.are in it to make money. You say it is affordable? We can build faster

:39:39. > :39:43.and we can build more homes if we have the rental model. We have built

:39:44. > :39:46.to sell in the past, now we are building specifically for the rental

:39:47. > :39:50.market, which we think is an important market for London. It is

:39:51. > :39:58.part of the solution. What is in it for you? We can manage not just the

:39:59. > :40:02.houses but the wider estate, we are building an 86 acre estate, and we

:40:03. > :40:05.can create a great living environment for the long term, the

:40:06. > :40:11.best place to live in London. What is in it for you? Rent, but the key

:40:12. > :40:16.is that we have a professional rental company. We are professional

:40:17. > :40:22.landlords. Our tenants do not pay any fees on the way in, they do not

:40:23. > :40:27.pay in victory fees, they do not pay agencies, and they get a package,

:40:28. > :40:33.including broadband... I feel like I am missing something. Or is this as

:40:34. > :40:37.good as you are claiming it to be? It is an important part of the

:40:38. > :40:40.picture in terms of providing new supply, but we need to be clear on

:40:41. > :40:47.the scale, we have 11 million renters. We are talking about Ilda

:40:48. > :40:51.to rent in the tens of thousands. This is helpful, and we welcome any

:40:52. > :40:55.landlord who is interested in providing good conditions, longer

:40:56. > :41:00.tenancies, and giving a good home to tenants. But the scale is very

:41:01. > :41:06.small, Winnie to be realistic. What we need is change for the 11 million

:41:07. > :41:12.tenants living in private rented homes now. That change would include

:41:13. > :41:18.what? We want longer tenancies. Five-year tenancies for people who

:41:19. > :41:22.are renting now, and particularly in acknowledgement of the fact that we

:41:23. > :41:26.have many more families renting with children and many more older people,

:41:27. > :41:32.so the old stereotype of renting from two or three decades ago, of

:41:33. > :41:36.young students in a bedsit on their way to getting a mortgage and just

:41:37. > :41:41.passing through, that is no longer applicable, it is a typically

:41:42. > :41:46.different market. That is right. We are setting out to be a professional

:41:47. > :41:51.landlord. The London market has been dominated by by to let, people who

:41:52. > :41:56.have chosen to be landlords for a short period of time, but we are a

:41:57. > :42:00.professional landlord, it is what you see in America and continental

:42:01. > :42:05.Europe, the people that put the tenant and customer service first.

:42:06. > :42:10.At the moment we see demand is typically for a year to 18 months,

:42:11. > :42:13.but we are very open to longer tenancies. We will move with the

:42:14. > :42:18.market, and that is an important point, this is the beginning of a

:42:19. > :42:21.change in the marketplace. People have been talking about this in

:42:22. > :42:26.London for a long time, but it isn't just beginning now, and we are at

:42:27. > :42:34.the forefront of it. We expect the market to change and mature, but we

:42:35. > :42:36.set up do that. We do not know the details of the formal policy

:42:37. > :42:44.document, it is being announced at lunchtime. But the wording we think

:42:45. > :42:47.so far is that there will be an incentive to landlords to offer

:42:48. > :42:53.minimum tenancies. What might that mean? We welcome the shift in tone,

:42:54. > :42:58.it is important that the Government is talking about renters. It is

:42:59. > :43:03.quite a big change. That needs to be acknowledged. Incentives are

:43:04. > :43:10.unlikely to be enough. We need much bolder action to tenants. We have

:43:11. > :43:15.families raising children in a home where they can be evicted for no

:43:16. > :43:19.reason on two months' notice. Even if they are not evicted, they have

:43:20. > :43:25.to live with that uncertainty. When they have children at school nearby,

:43:26. > :43:29.the challenge of finding a new home that will accept children that is

:43:30. > :43:34.near the school. This is a reality for many people, and what we need is

:43:35. > :43:42.much bolder action that applies to all tenants, and not just very slow

:43:43. > :43:45.reform. For people who are raising children now in a private rented

:43:46. > :43:51.home, they cannot wait ten or 20 years for the change. But we would

:43:52. > :43:57.hope to see from the Government is something that helps those people

:43:58. > :44:01.right now and meet the scale of the ambition that they have set out over

:44:02. > :44:06.the past few days. Charlotte says, I have rented for five years, I have

:44:07. > :44:11.moved six times. The link in Cambridge, it is a struggle, the

:44:12. > :44:16.house I live in cost the same as my monthly wages. My partner and I add

:44:17. > :44:21.30 have always had to have a housemate, and cannot even think

:44:22. > :44:24.about a family or our future yet. Landlords can charge what they like

:44:25. > :44:34.and there are no limits or guidance for house size, etc. Thank you.

:44:35. > :44:36.The Government says today's announcements will also include

:44:37. > :44:38."a range of measures to tackle all unfair and unreasonable

:44:39. > :44:42.We don't yet know the detail, but there are hints they will act

:44:43. > :44:44.to tackle spiralling ground rents and freeholds being traded

:44:45. > :44:49.Leaseholds are one of the fastest-growing types of home

:44:50. > :44:51.ownership in England and Wales, but in many cases leaseholders

:44:52. > :44:54.are stung for thousands of pounds in unexpected costs,

:44:55. > :44:57.as we highlighted in an exclusive report by our reporter

:44:58. > :45:09.Thousands of homeowners are having the ground beneath them sold off and

:45:10. > :45:17.they may not even know about it. What do we want? Homes for Britain,

:45:18. > :45:22.now! New homes are going up across the country. Many are leasehold, not

:45:23. > :45:25.freehold, and the difference is crucial. The new trend is for

:45:26. > :45:31.developers to sell freehold to investment companies. Here is what

:45:32. > :45:39.is happening. A developer builds a house. It sells that house to this

:45:40. > :45:44.couple. But what it sold is the least to the house, that is time in

:45:45. > :45:47.it. A couple of years later, the developer can then sell the

:45:48. > :45:52.freehold, the ground that it is on, to an investment company. It is a

:45:53. > :45:56.way of making money on the same house twice. This whole business is

:45:57. > :46:02.worth hundreds of millions of pounds every year to the developers.

:46:03. > :46:13.I had no idea that my home was used as an trk stream for an investor.

:46:14. > :46:20.Katie was never told her freehold would be sold off. Where did they

:46:21. > :46:24.get the figure from? I have no idea. It doesn't seem ethically right to

:46:25. > :46:29.me at all. I'm not a cashpoint for somebody else and I never realised

:46:30. > :46:33.that I could be used as such. What Bellway are doing isn't illegal.

:46:34. > :46:38.Some of their buyers just feel they weren't clear about their plans. We

:46:39. > :46:42.asked them to comment, but they did not respond. I feel guilty for my

:46:43. > :46:47.family that I've made that wrong decision, you know, it pite not

:46:48. > :46:50.impact on my in my lifetime, but you buy a home for your children to have

:46:51. > :46:54.and you know, to give them something, you know and it's a

:46:55. > :46:59.massive burden to leave for your children. How much difference will

:47:00. > :47:08.today's announcement make to leaseholders?

:47:09. > :47:10.We can now speak to Sebastian O'Kelly from the group

:47:11. > :47:12.Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, who's also a former

:47:13. > :47:14.property journalist, and Clair Scott, who is in Salford.

:47:15. > :47:16.She bought a new-build leasehold property in Bolton,

:47:17. > :47:18.but later encountered many of the issues also experienced

:47:19. > :47:25.Tell us about this property. You didn't realise you bought a interest

:47:26. > :47:31.that would see the ground rent shoot up? No, that's right. We bought a

:47:32. > :47:37.house back in 2011 from a national home builder. They offered us some

:47:38. > :47:42.money to help us get on to the property ladder because we didn't

:47:43. > :47:46.have enough deposit. The whole process went really, really well and

:47:47. > :47:51.then fast forward to 2016 last year we came to sell the house and it

:47:52. > :47:55.fell through at the last minute because of the ground rent clause

:47:56. > :48:02.that the buyer's solicitors came across and basically that says that

:48:03. > :48:13.we pay ?295 a year, but then it doubles every ten years. Until it

:48:14. > :48:18.gets to ?9440 a year by 2060. Those solicitors told the buyers that the

:48:19. > :48:23.house was not saleable and the lease was too onerous and not to buy it.

:48:24. > :48:28.The house sale fell through. We've inquired about purchasing the

:48:29. > :48:33.freehold. Again, from an entity we don't know who is behind it, it is

:48:34. > :48:37.just whoever the home builder sold it on to, we don't know who owns our

:48:38. > :48:40.freehold. While you were in the house, the developer sold the

:48:41. > :48:43.freehold without you knowing anything about it? I think it

:48:44. > :48:47.happened a couple of years after we bought the house. They just sold it

:48:48. > :48:55.on to an investment company. No one would have thought anything of it

:48:56. > :49:01.until now. Until when you ask to buy it, the cheapest we have got it to

:49:02. > :49:07.is ?40,000. Right. So what impact does this have on you? Well, we

:49:08. > :49:11.can't sell our house. If we were to sell it, we need to get rid of the

:49:12. > :49:15.lease issue and to do that you've got to buy the freehold at ?40,000.

:49:16. > :49:19.Either way, you look at it, we've lost 25% of the value of our house.

:49:20. > :49:24.So do you think you will be there, you will be in that house now or

:49:25. > :49:30.what? No there, is what makes it worse. Back in September, when we

:49:31. > :49:34.had a house buyer, our buyers were pretty much moved in. They ordered

:49:35. > :49:38.furniture. They had got trades men all lined up to come and do

:49:39. > :49:44.modifications and it only fell through at the last minute and we

:49:45. > :49:48.had already completed on our next house because I'm actually heavily

:49:49. > :49:52.pregnant and we were looking to move to another house in an area where

:49:53. > :49:58.the schools where we wanted our child to be. So, it literally was a

:49:59. > :50:02.case of, there was about five days difference between us buying our

:50:03. > :50:08.house and our house sale falling through. So for us, we're absolutely

:50:09. > :50:13.financially crippled. Riddled with worry because we have this, what

:50:14. > :50:17.should be an asset that we have been putting money into for five years is

:50:18. > :50:29.now actually a massive financial burden. Let me bring in Sebastian.

:50:30. > :50:38.It is a scandal? This Plc house builders selling these leasehold

:50:39. > :50:45.houses, 8755 of them sold and hapless first-time buyers, coming

:50:46. > :50:50.off short-term tenancy go and buy the leasehold products and then go

:50:51. > :50:53.and find the onerous ground rent terms. And their solicitors not

:50:54. > :51:01.doing the job that they're supposed to do? Many of them have bought with

:51:02. > :51:04.solicitors recommended. I can't stress this strongly, do not ever

:51:05. > :51:10.employ a solicitor recommended by a developer. Always choose a different

:51:11. > :51:14.one. That in itself is disqualification. Is the Government

:51:15. > :51:17.going to clampdown on this? It will be addressed in the White Paper. The

:51:18. > :51:23.Housing Minister talked about it last week. I don't think there will

:51:24. > :51:28.be legislative action banning leasehold houses. There are certain

:51:29. > :51:30.circumstances where you've got to build leasehold houses where a

:51:31. > :51:35.developers doesn't own the land for example, but as a practise, I think

:51:36. > :51:40.it will be strongly discouraged, one of the main Plc house builders has

:51:41. > :51:44.stopped doing it from 1st January as a result of our efforts. Good.

:51:45. > :51:49.Others have got to follow. The Help To Buy scheme where taxpayers are

:51:50. > :51:54.under writing people's mortgages to buy these flawed, predatory products

:51:55. > :51:57.will also have, it is something that ministers can do just to stop that.

:51:58. > :52:01.I think throughout your programme, the one thing that hasn't been

:52:02. > :52:05.brought up in the housing is that English housing, UK generally, but

:52:06. > :52:10.English housing, has this awful speculative element to it of a get

:52:11. > :52:16.rich quick element in housing and in leasehold, you see this very

:52:17. > :52:21.clearly. We're told that freeholds are own by pension funds. Rubbish.

:52:22. > :52:26.Many of them are owned by shady companies, where the directors are

:52:27. > :52:29.hidden by nominee directors or they are owe owned off-shore. It is this

:52:30. > :52:34.speculative element that's got to end in British property.

:52:35. > :52:45.Well, thank you for making that point.

:52:46. > :52:54.The High Court in London has begun considering a case aimed at stopping

:52:55. > :52:58.British arms being used by Saudi Arabia to attack Yemen.

:52:59. > :53:03.An estimated 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen,

:53:04. > :53:05.most by Saudi led airstrike, resulting in Britain being accused

:53:06. > :53:09.The United Nations estimates that at least 10,000 people have been

:53:10. > :53:11.killed in the war in Yemen between Houthi rebels

:53:12. > :53:25.and the Saudi-led coalition supporting the government.

:53:26. > :53:31.Which is Fergus? I'm Fergus. Tell us about your trip and what you saw?

:53:32. > :53:34.The scale of humanitarian is off the chart. There are ten million

:53:35. > :53:38.children in need of international humanitarian assistance. I went

:53:39. > :53:43.around a hospital in the north of the country. Our feet crunched on

:53:44. > :53:48.broken glass because the windows of the hospital are constantly blown

:53:49. > :53:50.out. I think, we can show our audience some images compiled by

:53:51. > :53:54.Save The Children. They are distressing. So I want to let you

:53:55. > :53:57.know that in advance. You can perhaps tell us about the

:53:58. > :54:09.pictures Fergus if you would. Wonderful. So the wards are packed

:54:10. > :54:14.full of skeletal children. There is one incredibly brave nurse called

:54:15. > :54:17.Martha who is trying to keep 16 newborn babies alive in the

:54:18. > :54:20.intensive care unit where there was no electricity and the incubators

:54:21. > :54:27.were held together by sellotape. One nurse trying to keep 16 babies alive

:54:28. > :54:31.where incubators are held together with sellotape. Yes. And there is no

:54:32. > :54:42.electricity. Wow. My goodnessment OK. Goodnessment goodness. The case

:54:43. > :54:47.in the High Court. Tell our audience about it UK arms have been central

:54:48. > :54:51.to that. UK fighter jets have been flying overhead and UK bombs have

:54:52. > :54:58.been falling on to people below. Since the bombing began in 2015, the

:54:59. > :55:01.UK licensed over ?3 billion of arms to Saudi Arabia. British

:55:02. > :55:06.manufacturers have export licences to sell arms to Saudi Arabia? Well,

:55:07. > :55:11.we believe the arms exports have not just been immoral, they have been

:55:12. > :55:16.illegal. It says if there is a clear risk that weapons might be used in a

:55:17. > :55:20.serious violation of international humanitarian law, then an arms

:55:21. > :55:24.export should not go approach head. Seek the horrific images today, how

:55:25. > :55:30.much more serious does that risk have to be? Saudi Arabia is one of

:55:31. > :55:33.the most abusive regimes in the world and it is conducting a

:55:34. > :55:40.terrible, terrible crimes against the people of Yemen. Let me bring in

:55:41. > :55:48.an aid worker. Can you hear me OK? Yes. Tell me what you have

:55:49. > :55:53.witnessed. Well, what I witness in my country which is very poor. The

:55:54. > :55:57.situation is very, very bad. People are in need for humanitarian

:55:58. > :56:02.assistance. There are casualties every day. People die in almost

:56:03. > :56:05.every place of the country because of various reasons. It is either

:56:06. > :56:18.because of the conflict or because of lack of humanitarian aid. There

:56:19. > :56:23.are protection challenges. The health system is collapsing. Let's

:56:24. > :56:29.say it has already collapsed. We have nutrition challenges all across

:56:30. > :56:36.the country. Children are dying of hunger and lack of proper Health

:56:37. > :56:43.Services. We also have problems in education and people now have no

:56:44. > :56:48.schools. There are seven million children that have no access to

:56:49. > :56:51.education. I can't say that the situation in yem -- I can say that

:56:52. > :56:58.the situation in Yemen is very, very dire and people are in immediate

:56:59. > :57:05.need of assistance. If Britain doesn't sell arms to Saudi Arabia,

:57:06. > :57:10.somebody else will? It is the same argument which could be used to

:57:11. > :57:15.justify selling weapons to Iran or Russia or North Korea or anybody.

:57:16. > :57:18.Iran are on the other side. From a British point of view, you could say

:57:19. > :57:22.there is some kind of strategy in order to maintain our influence

:57:23. > :57:25.there over and above Iran? The UK is meant to stand for Human Rights and

:57:26. > :57:29.democracy around the world. It should not be arming one of the most

:57:30. > :57:33.brutal repressive regimes in the world while it wages a terrible

:57:34. > :57:41.bombardment against one of the poorest countries in the world.

:57:42. > :57:44.Fergus? We're working with an incredibly brave 13-year-old girl

:57:45. > :57:51.who was bombed whilst in her classroom. She lost her teacher and

:57:52. > :57:56.her friends and her cousin. She is so traumatised and she is going to

:57:57. > :57:59.be dealing with the trauma of that forever and we're doing everything

:58:00. > :58:02.we can to respond to the hult situation on the ground, but we need

:58:03. > :58:05.the British Government to help to put pressure on all sides of the

:58:06. > :58:08.conflict to get back around the negotiating table. Thank you very

:58:09. > :58:20.much. Thank you for coming on the programme. Thank you very much for

:58:21. > :58:34.your company today. Back tomorrow. Have a good day.

:58:35. > :58:36.Oh, my goodness me, I don't like the look of that.

:58:37. > :58:38.The Robshaws are going back in time again...

:58:39. > :58:43.Feel a little bit overwhelmed at the moment.

:58:44. > :58:47.How people did this every day, I don't know.

:58:48. > :58:51.Calf's head. Leave the teeth out of it, won't you?