14/02/2017

:00:00. > :00:14.I'm Joanna Gosling, welcome to the programme.

:00:15. > :00:17.The Ministry of Defence wants to scrap its legal duty of care

:00:18. > :00:20.to servicemen and women in combat so it can assess cases of negligence

:00:21. > :00:25.The changes would mean that injured soldiers would no

:00:26. > :00:27.longer be able to sue the Government for negligence.

:00:28. > :00:30.We will be assessing the full impact of the proposals for our servicemen

:00:31. > :00:41.The Fire Brigade, police, Ambulance Service, they all have to have

:00:42. > :00:43.equipment that works, and the right equipment. That should be for the

:00:44. > :00:45.soldier. Just 24 days into the Trump

:00:46. > :00:48.Presidency, it has been hit by a high-profile resignation,

:00:49. > :00:50.that of national-security adviser Michael Flynn,

:00:51. > :00:52.who has been forced to quit after it was revealed that he misled

:00:53. > :00:54.White House officials But questions are being asked

:00:55. > :00:59.about who in the White House And, new research suggests over half

:01:00. > :01:10.of disabled people feel they're at risk of losing their jobs

:01:11. > :01:12.because of their impairments. We'll talk to some disabled workers

:01:13. > :01:14.about their experiences This Valentine's Day we're

:01:15. > :01:30.asking, are you single We will be talking to some

:01:31. > :01:36.of the singletons who say Or are you longing to find

:01:37. > :01:43.that special person? Do get in touch with your thoughts

:01:44. > :01:47.and experiences on that and any If you text, you will be charged

:01:48. > :01:51.at the standard network rate. In a severe blow to President

:01:52. > :01:59.Trump's new administration, his national-security adviser

:02:00. > :02:01.General Michael Flynn has Mr Flynn is accused of illegally

:02:02. > :02:04.discussing US sanctions with the Russian ambassador

:02:05. > :02:06.to the United States. But the conversation

:02:07. > :02:09.about sanctions happened before Under US law, private individuals

:02:10. > :02:14.cannot carry out official Barely three weeks into his

:02:15. > :02:21.presidency, Donald Trump has lost Retired army general Michael Flynn,

:02:22. > :02:28.a man renowned for his close ties to Russia, resigned amid allegations

:02:29. > :02:32.that he misled senior officials about conversations between him

:02:33. > :02:36.and the Russian ambassador a few weeks before the Trump

:02:37. > :02:40.administration took office. In his resignation letter,

:02:41. > :02:43.Mr Flynn said that as the incoming National Security Advisor he held

:02:44. > :02:46.numerous phone calls with foreign counterparts,

:02:47. > :02:50.ministers and ambassadors. "Unfortunately," he goes on,

:02:51. > :02:54."because of the fast pace of events I inadvertently briefed

:02:55. > :02:56.the Vice President-elect and others with incomplete

:02:57. > :02:59.information regarding my calls Missing, it appears,

:03:00. > :03:04.from Mr Flynn's account was a discussion of sanctions

:03:05. > :03:08.imposed by the outgoing Obama administration in response

:03:09. > :03:10.to Russia's meddling Any offer to lift such sanctions

:03:11. > :03:17.by a member of the incoming administration would be a breach

:03:18. > :03:20.of American law. Meanwhile, it has emerged

:03:21. > :03:22.that the US Justice Department warned the Trump administration

:03:23. > :03:26.several weeks ago that Mr Flynn's account of the conversation differed

:03:27. > :03:30.from that of intelligence officials, The department also advised

:03:31. > :03:34.the President that Mr Flynn had potentially left himself open

:03:35. > :03:38.to blackmail by the Russians. All of which prompts

:03:39. > :03:40.the broader question, what did the President himself know

:03:41. > :03:44.about Michael Flynn's activities Ben Brown is in the BBC

:03:45. > :03:52.Newsroom with a summary A ten-year-old boy has died

:03:53. > :03:58.after suffering serious head injuries at a shopping

:03:59. > :04:01.centre in Reading. The boy was taken to hospital

:04:02. > :04:04.after what's being described by police as an "incident involving

:04:05. > :04:08.store furniture" at Topshop Police say the death

:04:09. > :04:13.is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious, and officers

:04:14. > :04:19.are continuing to make inquiries. Local authorities in England have

:04:20. > :04:22.paid out more than ?35 million in compensation and legal fees

:04:23. > :04:26.to tenants who are living Research by the BBC has discovered

:04:27. > :04:35.around 11,000 claims have been brought in the last five years,

:04:36. > :04:38.for issues such as damp, leaking drains and holes

:04:39. > :04:40.in front doors or walls. The Local Government Association

:04:41. > :04:43.said councils were doing a "great A new national centre designed

:04:44. > :04:49.to improve the UK's resilience to cyberattacks will be officially

:04:50. > :04:53.opened by the Queen this morning. The Government claims the new

:04:54. > :04:56.National Cyber Security Centre in central London will make the UK

:04:57. > :05:00.the safest place to Russian involvement in efforts

:05:01. > :05:10.to hack information... The worst case is that

:05:11. > :05:12.all of our customers' China's activities in cyberspace

:05:13. > :05:21.is a significant source of concern. Hacking that could

:05:22. > :05:25.hamper vote counting. Cyber attacks are,

:05:26. > :05:27.it seems, everywhere. Hackers targeting governments,

:05:28. > :05:33.businesses, ordinary people. Now, a new organisation

:05:34. > :05:35.is being formally launched. At its new headquarters,

:05:36. > :05:42.the head of the National Cyber Security Centre told me

:05:43. > :05:45.the threat is real. We've had significant

:05:46. > :05:48.losses of personal data, significant intrusions by hostile

:05:49. > :05:52.state actors, significant reconnaissance against critical

:05:53. > :05:55.national infrastructure. And our job is to make sure we deal

:05:56. > :05:58.with that in the most So what we've done here is create

:05:59. > :06:03.a room of the near future and we've got some devices that

:06:04. > :06:05.are all connected to the internet. The new centre is not just

:06:06. > :06:08.there to protect Government, Its technical director showed me how

:06:09. > :06:14.internet-connected items like lamps and coffee makers could be

:06:15. > :06:20.vulnerable, even a child's toy doll. More and more of our

:06:21. > :06:23.life is moving online. The UK's one of the most

:06:24. > :06:26.digitally-dependent A strength, but also

:06:27. > :06:30.a vulnerability. And protecting it online

:06:31. > :06:33.in the future will be vital for economic as well as national

:06:34. > :06:40.security. An Afghan interpreter who served

:06:41. > :06:43.with British forces says the Government has committed a great

:06:44. > :06:46.injustice by not Javed Hokta is applying for asylum

:06:47. > :06:53.for the second time after receiving death threats from the Taliban

:06:54. > :06:56.and fears for his life if the Home Office sends him

:06:57. > :06:59.back to Afghanistan. The former Liberal Democrat leader

:07:00. > :07:01.Lord Ashdown has described the treatment of armed-forces

:07:02. > :07:04.interpreters as a shame And we'll have more on this story

:07:05. > :07:09.later in the programme, where we'll be hearing

:07:10. > :07:13.from the Afghan interpreter. Rolls Royce has reported a record

:07:14. > :07:19.loss of ?4.6 billion in the last year, the worst in the history

:07:20. > :07:22.of the British engineering giant. The firm was forced to pay around

:07:23. > :07:25.?700 million in fines after being found guilty of bribery

:07:26. > :07:27.and corruption in 12 countries, in offences dating back

:07:28. > :07:32.more than 25 years. But the business has also suffered

:07:33. > :07:38.due to the weakening of the pound. Playboy magazine has announced

:07:39. > :07:41.it is bringing back nudity, The new chief creative officer

:07:42. > :07:49.Cooper Hefner said the magazine Playboy's circulation

:07:50. > :07:56.dropped from a peak of more than five million in the 1970s

:07:57. > :08:04.to below 700,000 last year. Disney has cut ties with YouTube

:08:05. > :08:07.star PewDiePie over The decision came after some of his

:08:08. > :08:18.videos contained Nazi references. PewDiePie, whose real

:08:19. > :08:27.name is Felix Kjellberg, accepted the material was offensive,

:08:28. > :08:30.but said he did not support "any He's reported to have

:08:31. > :08:33.made around ?12 million through the video-sharing website

:08:34. > :08:35.last year and has more Rail enthusiasts and commuters

:08:36. > :08:41.are getting the chance this morning to ride on the first timetabled

:08:42. > :08:56.mainline steam-engine service The Tornado will pull 12

:08:57. > :09:00.Northern Train services on the Settle-to-Carlisle line over

:09:01. > :09:02.three consecutive days. It's part of celebrations to mark

:09:03. > :09:04.the reopening of the line Passengers will pay the regular fare

:09:05. > :09:08.as it is a timetabled service. That's a summary of the latest BBC

:09:09. > :09:22.News, more at 9:30am. We will discuss the MoD plans to

:09:23. > :09:28.bring decisions on negligence cases in-house. They say it will lead to

:09:29. > :09:33.greater compensation but campaigners say it will deny access to justice

:09:34. > :09:37.and stifle debate. And, if you are disabled and in

:09:38. > :09:41.work, as he feared losing your job? More than half of disabled people do

:09:42. > :09:43.have that concern. Let us know your thoughts.

:09:44. > :09:47.If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

:09:48. > :09:49.Let's get some sport with Will Perry.

:09:50. > :09:53.We're going to focus on football, and it was a good night

:09:54. > :10:07.Happy Valentine's day as well! Same to you! Manchester City moving from

:10:08. > :10:13.fifth to second, it was a big jump. I am the only madman who thinks the

:10:14. > :10:17.title race is still on. There is an 8-point gap, 13 games to play, that

:10:18. > :10:23.is highly unlikely that they can do it. But they have done it before, in

:10:24. > :10:27.2012. Manchester United had the same gap, and they did it with six games

:10:28. > :10:31.to play. But Chelsea would have to lose at least three games and

:10:32. > :10:35.Manchester City win all of their games, and they have Champions

:10:36. > :10:40.League games to come. It was not ideal for them last night, they lost

:10:41. > :10:45.their main man Jesus to an injury, but Sergio Aguero came on. Raheem

:10:46. > :10:50.Sterling got the opener from close range. What a season he is having,

:10:51. > :10:55.what a contrast to last season. He set up their second. Tyrone Menkes

:10:56. > :11:00.getting the final touch to turn it past his own goalkeeper, slightly

:11:01. > :11:05.harsh on Sergio Aguero. Pep Guardiola playing down their title

:11:06. > :11:11.chances. They have to lose three games,

:11:12. > :11:19.because the goal average is in front of them. You have to win all of the

:11:20. > :11:28.games. You know how difficult it is to win all the games in the Premier

:11:29. > :11:36.League. Game by game, now the cup, and after we will see. We are happy

:11:37. > :11:39.to be second and to reduce the lead. But still, the gap is massive.

:11:40. > :11:42.So, Manchester City up to second, Will, and there was also a nice

:11:43. > :11:46.touch from Pep Guardiola at the end of the game?

:11:47. > :11:54.A really nice touch last night from the manager. Have a look at this,

:11:55. > :11:58.this is him at full time going over to Harry Arter. He had the

:11:59. > :12:04.devastating loss of a stillborn child in December. You might be up

:12:05. > :12:10.to work out what Pep Guardiola is saying, I wish you all the best, and

:12:11. > :12:16.Harry Arter said, he came over and wished us all the best, they are

:12:17. > :12:22.accepting -- expecting a new arrival. Showing their are more

:12:23. > :12:26.important things than football. The Ministry of Defence is proposing

:12:27. > :12:30.to change the law to scrap its legal duty of care to servicemen and women

:12:31. > :12:33.in the course of combat. Under the proposed scheme

:12:34. > :12:36.they will not be able to sue the MoD in the courts for negligence,

:12:37. > :12:40.and compensation will be taken in-house and be awarded

:12:41. > :12:43.by an MOD-appointed assessor. The MoD says the proposals

:12:44. > :12:47.are about better compensation and will save injured service

:12:48. > :12:50.personnel and families of those But the family of one soldier killed

:12:51. > :12:55.in a lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rover in Iraq has told

:12:56. > :12:57.the BBC the proposed How old was he when he first

:12:58. > :13:07.started playing the drums? In 2007 Colin Redpath's son,

:13:08. > :13:14.Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath, a keen drummer in the Irish Guards, died

:13:15. > :13:19.when a roadside bomb exploded next to his lightly-armoured

:13:20. > :13:24.Snatch Land Rover in Iraq. I deal with it because I want

:13:25. > :13:27.to be strong for his I mean, some people could literally

:13:28. > :13:31.pull the curtains and And people say to me, "We don't

:13:32. > :13:44.like to mention him," I say, "No, I'll talk about him,

:13:45. > :13:46.I'm proud of him. Kirk was one of some 37

:13:47. > :13:49.servicemen and women killed in the so-called Snatch Land Rovers

:13:50. > :13:54.in Afghanistan and Iraq. Colin fought a six-year

:13:55. > :13:55.legal battle against the Ministry of Defence, eventually

:13:56. > :14:01.winning the right at the Supreme Court to bring an action

:14:02. > :14:04.against the Government Three years later, that case is only

:14:05. > :14:09.now coming to a close. In July 2016, Sir John Chilcot's

:14:10. > :14:16.Iraq inquiry report identified numerous MoD failings

:14:17. > :14:20.in preparing for the Iraq campaign. The planning and

:14:21. > :14:23.preparations for Iraq The MoD's new proposals cover battle

:14:24. > :14:38.and the preparations for it. They include stopping legal claims

:14:39. > :14:44.for negligence, like those arising from the Snatch Land Rovers

:14:45. > :14:47.against the MoD in the courts. A no-fault compensation scheme

:14:48. > :14:49.for injured service personnel and families of those killed,

:14:50. > :14:52.meaning negligence does Assessors to value injuries

:14:53. > :14:58.and loss, based on expert And compensation to be at the same

:14:59. > :15:03.level, as if the MoD had been No one disputes that it is a really

:15:04. > :15:10.good idea for service personnel injured in the cause of combat

:15:11. > :15:18.and the families of those who have been killed to be spared long

:15:19. > :15:21.and frustrating legal battles through the courts, but there

:15:22. > :15:23.are real concerns about the Ministry of Defence scrapping the duty

:15:24. > :15:26.of care that it owes to soldiers and taking the system

:15:27. > :15:37.for compensating them in-house. At the end of the day

:15:38. > :15:40.they are an employer. You know, the fire brigade,

:15:41. > :15:43.the police, the ambulance service, they all have to go out

:15:44. > :15:47.with equipment that works. Well, that should be

:15:48. > :15:54.the same for a soldier. I mean, if not, what the MoD

:15:55. > :15:58.are saying is, we could send our boys and girls out with broomsticks,

:15:59. > :16:00.it wouldn't matter. Lawyers worried that by-passing

:16:01. > :16:04.the courts creates unfairness. You've suffered injury,

:16:05. > :16:06.you think that the employer, the organisation, the MoD

:16:07. > :16:11.is at fault, and yet you are asked to rely upon the MoD to assess

:16:12. > :16:14.the compensation that it should pay you for the damage

:16:15. > :16:16.that it has caused you. The proposed scheme assumes service

:16:17. > :16:23.personnel will not need and so will not receive any

:16:24. > :16:29.paid legal representation. Inevitably there will be trauma,

:16:30. > :16:32.grieving families involved, and the sort of client care that

:16:33. > :16:37.legal representatives provide is absolutely essential in ensuring

:16:38. > :16:40.that those victims are not further In a statement, the Ministry

:16:41. > :16:52.of Defence said: "This is about better compensation,

:16:53. > :16:55.and regardless of legal action, we already prioritise learning

:16:56. > :17:08.lessons from any incidents involving the safety of our personnel

:17:09. > :17:11.will stop where there have been serious injuries or fatalities

:17:12. > :17:13.we have robust systems and processes in place that allow us to record

:17:14. > :17:16.and investigate these accordingly. Obviously, the problem

:17:17. > :17:18.of what to do with his ashes, I didn't want to split them

:17:19. > :17:22.and I did not know where I would spread them, so I thought,

:17:23. > :17:24.well, he loved the drums, let's put them in his

:17:25. > :17:27.cabinet in a drum. So his ashes are with me in his

:17:28. > :17:33.cabinet with all his belongings. I couldn't think of

:17:34. > :17:35.anything better, really. The MOD's consultation

:17:36. > :17:37.on its proposals ends Colin Redpath hopes that

:17:38. > :17:46.for the injured and the families of the fallen the new system ensures

:17:47. > :17:52.maximum safety and fairness. Let's talk now to the President

:17:53. > :17:56.of the Law Society Robert Bourns, who doesn't support these proposed

:17:57. > :17:59.changes to compensation, the Labour MP Madeleine Moon,

:18:00. > :18:02.who is on the MPs Defence Select Conservative MP and former

:18:03. > :18:16.Army Officer, Iain-Duncan Smith Madeleine Moon you've said

:18:17. > :18:18.previously you believe the MoD is the most unaccountable Department of

:18:19. > :18:23.Government. How do you see these changes? I'm very worried about the

:18:24. > :18:26.changes. It's a very short report. It doesn't tell you very much which

:18:27. > :18:29.is the Government's way of doing things now. Tell you as little as

:18:30. > :18:34.possible and then legislate for as much as possible. So that you can't

:18:35. > :18:40.prepare your case in advance. I think it is very worrying that given

:18:41. > :18:45.the cuts that we've had in our armed force over the last few years, the

:18:46. > :18:48.quality of the equipment is deeply worrying and now they're going to

:18:49. > :18:52.give themselves immunity from failing to provide the quality of

:18:53. > :18:56.equipment and the quality of training that they should provide

:18:57. > :19:02.before people go into combat. I'm worried about that. Iain Duncan

:19:03. > :19:06.Smith for the immunity for failing is how Madeleine Moon sees it? There

:19:07. > :19:10.is a balance in these things, it is not all perfect by any means. I have

:19:11. > :19:15.historically been concerned about the growing nature of the use of

:19:16. > :19:18.courts when it comes to combat issues. It doesn't seem to me like

:19:19. > :19:24.the courts are the right place to be. Issues surrounding combat are

:19:25. > :19:26.often very difficult to judge against the standard common-law

:19:27. > :19:30.process so I think there is and there are grounds for changing the

:19:31. > :19:35.process to try and make the thing much simpler, less costly to those

:19:36. > :19:39.who are engaged in it and costly in human terms. But at the same time,

:19:40. > :19:43.also making sure that the right outcomes are derived and therefore,

:19:44. > :19:48.whilst I am in general supportive of the idea of making this simpler and

:19:49. > :19:51.better in many senses for those concerned, of course, I would want

:19:52. > :19:56.to see that this is open as possible, the assessor's role is

:19:57. > :19:59.therefore, very critical and the linkage with the Select Committee

:20:00. > :20:03.would be, I would like to see bound in on this. So in other words, I

:20:04. > :20:09.think it would be a very strong role for the MoD, for the Select

:20:10. > :20:13.Committee to be able to consent stant interrogate and be open to all

:20:14. > :20:17.the documents that are necessary to be able to figure whether or not the

:20:18. > :20:21.assessors judgements are balanced and fair and whether or not the MoD

:20:22. > :20:25.is hiding anything. But I think dragging things through the courts

:20:26. > :20:29.satisfies only lawyers. At the end of the day it makes things worse. I

:20:30. > :20:34.would like to see the MoD come clean much more often early on when

:20:35. > :20:41.they've made mistakes and got it wrong and if the assessors could

:20:42. > :20:47.then judge it. We will put the issue of lawyers being satisfied to the

:20:48. > :20:51.lawyer in the studio. Madeleine Moon, the point that Iain Duncan

:20:52. > :20:55.Smith was saying about the committee having powerful oversight? That's

:20:56. > :20:58.fine in practise, but what are we talking about? Are we talking about

:20:59. > :21:02.the Select Committee looking at individual cases? I don't think

:21:03. > :21:08.we're equipped for that. We don't have the capability to do that. But

:21:09. > :21:12.also, you know, a Select Committee should be there to challenge

:21:13. > :21:19.Government. And I have to tell you just in a recent case we challenged

:21:20. > :21:22.the Secretary of State to close down the IHAT inquiry and he told us it

:21:23. > :21:25.wasn't possible. He didn't have the right to do that. That the cases

:21:26. > :21:29.that were before them were the most complex and difficult that they had

:21:30. > :21:34.to deal with. And then the day before we were releasing our report,

:21:35. > :21:39.he announced he was closing the inquiry down. He had suddenly found

:21:40. > :21:43.powers. Now, you can't trust the Ministry of Defence I'm afraid to

:21:44. > :21:47.tell you the truth. If it's better for servicemen and women and their

:21:48. > :21:51.families in that it streamlines a process that when someone has been

:21:52. > :21:55.through a trauma and they have to fight through the courts, that's not

:21:56. > :22:02.good for anybody. It it makes that better and they get compensation at

:22:03. > :22:09.the level in a simpler process. Is that the right thing? In terms of

:22:10. > :22:15.the personal trauma, that's fine. Whether or not you're going to get

:22:16. > :22:20.the understanding and the lessons learnt and quite honestly, expose

:22:21. > :22:24.the failures of preparation and equipment, is another issue

:22:25. > :22:30.altogether. So, there is also and I think the father that you spoke to

:22:31. > :22:35.earlier said it absolutely wonderfully, there is also that

:22:36. > :22:39.feeling of justice. Now is the Ministry of Defence really going to

:22:40. > :22:45.use this as a way of buring its failures? They're very good at doing

:22:46. > :22:49.it and I just worry this is just another opportunity to do so.

:22:50. > :22:52.Robert, you're the president Law Society. Just picking up on what

:22:53. > :22:58.Iain Duncan Smith said, the only people that the court process

:22:59. > :23:01.satisfies in the inis lawyers? The situation here actually, we're

:23:02. > :23:08.concerned for the service personnel and clearly, there will be some

:23:09. > :23:11.cases where a compensation that operates quickly is fine, but what

:23:12. > :23:16.is really concerning is the proposal is it is in very vague terms within

:23:17. > :23:20.the consultation document that combat immunity should be extended.

:23:21. > :23:24.Nobody is suggesting that decisions taken in the heat of battle should

:23:25. > :23:28.be subject to scrutiny in court alelging negligence. What we are

:23:29. > :23:31.concerned about is the extension of combat immunity to include

:23:32. > :23:34.preparation and training and that would mean that people could not

:23:35. > :23:40.then allege negligence and this is more than just compensation. You

:23:41. > :23:44.heard from Mr Redpath in relation to his sonment he wasn't so much

:23:45. > :23:48.interested in come pen sags, what he wanted to know was that somebody,

:23:49. > :23:54.independent, was looking at this issue and making a decision and it

:23:55. > :23:58.is shutting people out of that justice process, forcing them into a

:23:59. > :24:03.compensation system and actually denying them the opportunity to say,

:24:04. > :24:06."This was negligent." As I say, people want time and time again the

:24:07. > :24:09.cases that have come before the courts are about things other than

:24:10. > :24:16.what happened in combat. It's the preparation. It's the training. It's

:24:17. > :24:20.the equipment. And people should be entitled, shouldn't they, service

:24:21. > :24:24.personnel? Iain Duncan Smith why should it be extended to just not

:24:25. > :24:28.what happens on the battlefield, but the preparation? Well, in answer to

:24:29. > :24:33.Madeleine's point and I don't disagree with her. Historically the

:24:34. > :24:37.MoD has never had a great record of admitting its own failures and

:24:38. > :24:40.faults. I served in the Army. My father, told me about what happened

:24:41. > :24:50.in the aftermath of the Second World War. And yet with all of this

:24:51. > :24:54.process of kind of court cases going on, Madeleine is still complaining

:24:55. > :24:56.about their failure to open up. If anything, I think sometimes what

:24:57. > :25:01.happens with Government and having served in it, when you come under

:25:02. > :25:04.pressure about people taking legal action, governments shut up. They

:25:05. > :25:09.actually get worse about hiding stuff. So the key things to me are

:25:10. > :25:12.this. I do want to see when Government and when the military

:25:13. > :25:17.make a mistake, that is something they should not have made, in other

:25:18. > :25:21.words rectify a problem that they had arrived at through training or

:25:22. > :25:24.through bad decisions over equipment, I wot want to see that

:25:25. > :25:26.publicly come out and I think therefore the two roles here are

:25:27. > :25:31.really important. That's why I don't give this a blank cheque I say in

:25:32. > :25:35.principle, I am supportive of it. The two roles are an independent

:25:36. > :25:39.assessor... Sorry to interrupt. I hear what you're saying about your

:25:40. > :25:43.hope that without a fear of legal action and accepting liability and

:25:44. > :25:47.therefore, losing through the courts, the Government, the MoD may

:25:48. > :25:53.open up more, but that's a hope, isn't it? There is no guarantee on

:25:54. > :25:57.that and when you look at situations in the past like with the Snatch

:25:58. > :26:01.Land Rovers, if there wasn't transparency and openness on that

:26:02. > :26:05.forced through legal action, what might have happened? Well, there are

:26:06. > :26:10.lots of issues and you can debate about the use of those Land

:26:11. > :26:13.Roversment they were used in Northern Ireland when I served in

:26:14. > :26:18.Northern Ireland. The point I'm making the key element of this is

:26:19. > :26:24.the role and choice of the assessor, how public are? How accountable? And

:26:25. > :26:28.how independent? It is very, very important that the coroner's role in

:26:29. > :26:32.this is constantly upheld. In other words they don't override the idea

:26:33. > :26:36.so the coroner has full power still, that's what I want to see, to be

:26:37. > :26:43.able to point the finger during the course of that process and then that

:26:44. > :26:47.kicks the assessor into action. If you lose the coroner I would not

:26:48. > :26:51.support this. It is a good point. The coroner's courts are still

:26:52. > :26:56.there? The coroner's courts are still there and honestly have been

:26:57. > :26:59.pretty critical in exposing many of the failures of the Ministry of

:27:00. > :27:05.Defence in relation to equipment. But there are being asked to extend

:27:06. > :27:08.their role and responsibility outside of their technical

:27:09. > :27:16.competence. So why would you do this? I agree with the point of

:27:17. > :27:21.making it a simpler process. That you shouldn't always have to be

:27:22. > :27:28.getting yourself lawyered up to seek your rightful compensation. What

:27:29. > :27:33.worries me is that this is skewed towards the Ministry of Defence and

:27:34. > :27:39.I question the impartiality of the people who are going to be set-up to

:27:40. > :27:43.do the assessments. The Ministry of Defence is a very seductive place.

:27:44. > :27:48.You can get sucked into seeing everything from their prospective if

:27:49. > :27:53.you're not careful. They do dislike telling you even the most simple of

:27:54. > :27:57.information and they hide behind official secrets all the time. Might

:27:58. > :28:03.that evaporate if there is no fear of legal action as Iain Duncan Smith

:28:04. > :28:07.was saying potentially? A colleague asked twice why the Queen Elizabeth

:28:08. > :28:11.carrier was not going to go for sea trials in the spring and the date

:28:12. > :28:15.had been changed to the summer. Twice he was fobbed off. So I had

:28:16. > :28:19.the minister in front of me in the Select Committee and I asked her the

:28:20. > :28:24.same question. And she said, "It is a misunderstanding of when spring

:28:25. > :28:30.was. Spring could actually be in June." Now, I pushed and I pushed

:28:31. > :28:34.and I pushed and I was told eventually there is a technical

:28:35. > :28:39.problem. After the meeting, someone came to see me and said, "It's a bit

:28:40. > :28:43.of IT that's gone wrong. That's all it is." They won't tell you

:28:44. > :28:51.anything. They are the great hiders of problems.

:28:52. > :28:58.Robert, do you think that the fear of litigation does kind of lead to

:28:59. > :29:05.situations escalating potentially? It is unfortunate when people make

:29:06. > :29:11.the claimant fight every inch of the way. In 1987 the definition of

:29:12. > :29:13.combat immunity was limited to the battlefield post Falklands and one

:29:14. > :29:17.of the things that's said in one of the reports that leads to the

:29:18. > :29:21.consultation paper, a report from 2013 by one of Iain Duncan Smith's

:29:22. > :29:25.colleagues said at that time there were concerns that compensation was

:29:26. > :29:29.inadequate, that's without the threat of litigation, it was

:29:30. > :29:34.inadequate and there were concerns coming through to in the way service

:29:35. > :29:37.personnel had been put in harm's way in relation to nuclear testing in

:29:38. > :29:40.the 1950s and it was thought appropriate to give them the right

:29:41. > :29:46.to pursue claims for negligence and we don't want to see that right now

:29:47. > :29:50.restricted. And yes, we would like an open environment where people are

:29:51. > :29:54.prepared to admit their mistakes, absolutely. In certain

:29:55. > :29:59.circumstances, compensation schemes will work in favour of the service

:30:00. > :30:04.personnel, but if you think you have been injured or your family member

:30:05. > :30:08.has been lost, suffered, has been killed, as a consequence of some

:30:09. > :30:11.fallure back up the line, you will have a right to pursue that and you

:30:12. > :30:13.should have a right to pursue that. That's our point. Iain Duncan Smith,

:30:14. > :30:24.you wanted to come in. I am by no means at ease with

:30:25. > :30:28.everything here. As I said earlier, I understand the principles, and I

:30:29. > :30:33.think the whole idea of constantly going to court does not satisfy

:30:34. > :30:39.people who have to do it, because it forces the MoD and most other

:30:40. > :30:46.Government departments to become defensive. Two things are important,

:30:47. > :30:49.first, that this process is more swift and satisfactory in that

:30:50. > :30:56.people can get what they need done and the compensation is paid out

:30:57. > :31:00.quickly, and secondly, the checks and balances that exist through the

:31:01. > :31:05.coroner and the independent assessor mean this is what has to happen,

:31:06. > :31:10.therefore there is earlier acceptance of fault, and therefore

:31:11. > :31:16.that stops the heartache that goes on for soldiers sailors and NN and

:31:17. > :31:20.their families in the event of a problem. If that does not get

:31:21. > :31:24.satisfied, these processes should not continue, but I believe there is

:31:25. > :31:31.scope for that. These processes should not continue, you say it goes

:31:32. > :31:37.back to as it is? The checks that they talk about, the ability and

:31:38. > :31:41.willingness to admit early that there has been a mistake, that is

:31:42. > :31:47.critical if this consultation then is to work. If those are not there,

:31:48. > :31:52.it will not work, so that is the key test. Therefore, we will see how

:31:53. > :31:58.they intend to make the assessor's position all-powerful. It is open to

:31:59. > :32:01.the MoD to admit fault in a litigation at an early stage if they

:32:02. > :32:04.want to, rather than putting the personnel through years of

:32:05. > :32:11.litigation through an independent court. You said they would not do

:32:12. > :32:16.that? Wants legal cases begin, they shut up like everybody does, because

:32:17. > :32:19.they worry about the effect it has in different numbers of people, and

:32:20. > :32:25.therefore the ability to control the way in which that process works. It

:32:26. > :32:29.is an instinctive thing, you have seen it many times. If this process

:32:30. > :32:34.allows us to get to early identification of the problem, if

:32:35. > :32:38.there is fault, where default lies, and therefore what competition sport

:32:39. > :32:42.is there for the families, it has to be in the interests of families and

:32:43. > :32:47.service personnel. If it does not work like that, it should not go

:32:48. > :32:50.ahead. Coroners have been increasingly dragged into looking at

:32:51. > :32:56.issues of deaths in relation to the MoD. There are whole question is,

:32:57. > :32:59.and it'll be interesting to see what the chief coroner says, about the

:33:00. > :33:02.competence, the training and the understanding of military equipped

:33:03. > :33:10.and an personnel and the training they require to be able to protect

:33:11. > :33:13.the MoD from combating -- combat in unity. That is a different area of

:33:14. > :33:17.expertise that currently does not lie with coroners.

:33:18. > :33:22.Do let us know your thoughts. We will talk about it later a game, so

:33:23. > :33:26.it will be good to hear your thoughts, and with some of them into

:33:27. > :33:31.our conversation. Breaking news about inflation, the

:33:32. > :33:37.ONS putting out the latest statistics. The rate of consumer

:33:38. > :33:41.price index inflation rose to 1.8% in January, from 1.6% in December,

:33:42. > :33:49.so still below the Government target, but it is quite a jump.

:33:50. > :33:57.From 1.6% in December to 1.8% in January. We will talk to our

:33:58. > :33:59.business correspondent for more on that.

:34:00. > :34:03.We'll have more on the resignation of Donald Trump's top

:34:04. > :34:04.national security adviser, Michael Flynn over his

:34:05. > :34:07.contacts with Russia - and what did the President know

:34:08. > :34:11.And we find out what it's like to be a disabled worker -

:34:12. > :34:13.following research that suggests over half of workers

:34:14. > :34:22.with impairments feel like their job is at risk.

:34:23. > :34:24.Ben Brown is in the BBC Newsroom with a summary

:34:25. > :34:28.Donald Trump's national-security adviser Michael Flynn has resigned

:34:29. > :34:33.General Flynn discussed American sanctions with the Russian

:34:34. > :34:37.ambassador before Mr Trump took office, and is accused

:34:38. > :34:40.of misleading the Vice President about what happened.

:34:41. > :34:43.A senior Democrat politician has said General Flynn's departure

:34:44. > :34:46.would not end questions about any contacts between the Trump

:34:47. > :34:53.A ten-year-old boy has died after suffering serious head

:34:54. > :34:57.injuries at the high street store Topshop in Reading.

:34:58. > :34:59.The boy was taken to hospital after what's being described

:35:00. > :35:04.by police as an "incident involving store furniture" at Topshop

:35:05. > :35:08.Police say the death is being treated as unexplained

:35:09. > :35:15.but not suspicious, and officers are continuing to make inquiries.

:35:16. > :35:18.The chairman of the Japanese electronics conglomerate Toshiba has

:35:19. > :35:20.resigned following the news that the company suffered a net loss

:35:21. > :35:27.Shigenori Shiga announced he was stepping down shortly

:35:28. > :35:29.after the company delayed an announcement of its

:35:30. > :35:35.It had been widely expected to write off billions of dollars due

:35:36. > :35:38.to its problematic nuclear energy business, and to admit that

:35:39. > :35:45.Local authorities in England have paid out more than ?35 million

:35:46. > :35:49.in compensation and legal fees to tenants who are living

:35:50. > :35:54.Research by the BBC has discovered around 11,000 claims have been

:35:55. > :35:57.brought in the last five years, for issues such as damp,

:35:58. > :36:01.leaking drains and holes in front doors or walls.

:36:02. > :36:04.The Local Government Association said councils were doing a "great

:36:05. > :36:10.An Afghan interpreter who served with British forces says

:36:11. > :36:13.the Government has committed a great injustice by not

:36:14. > :36:19.Javed Hotak is applying for asylum for the second time after receiving

:36:20. > :36:22.death threats from the Taliban and fears for his life

:36:23. > :36:25.if the Home Office sends him back to Afghanistan.

:36:26. > :36:28.The former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has described

:36:29. > :36:31.the treatment of armed-forces interpreters as a shame

:36:32. > :36:38.That's a summary of the latest BBC News, more at 10am.

:36:39. > :36:44.Here's the sport headlines now with Will Perry.

:36:45. > :36:49.Manchester City moved up to second in the Premier League with a 2-0

:36:50. > :36:55.victory at Bournemouth. This goal from 13 Stirling was their opener,

:36:56. > :37:00.the cross from Leroy Sunday. This was after half an hour. High roaming

:37:01. > :37:06.is then turned on Sergio Aguero's shot to make it two. They are now

:37:07. > :37:09.eight points behind Chelsea with 13 games to play.

:37:10. > :37:13.Anthony Watson is in the training squad for England's match against

:37:14. > :37:17.Italy next Sunday. He missed the victories over France and Wales with

:37:18. > :37:22.a hamstring injury. Lance Armstrong has lost his bid to

:37:23. > :37:26.block a ?79 million lawsuit by the US Government. It is alleged he

:37:27. > :37:31.defrauded the Government while doping, riding for the publicly

:37:32. > :37:34.funded team. He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and

:37:35. > :37:38.banned for life in 2012. It clears for the way -- it clears the way for

:37:39. > :37:49.the case to go to trial. The price we pay for goods and

:37:50. > :37:55.services went up last month, inflation was 1.8% in January,

:37:56. > :38:00.compared to 1.6% in December. Is that a significant jump? It is more

:38:01. > :38:12.significant that we have seen for nearly three years. 1.8% for a long

:38:13. > :38:17.time -- 1.8%. For a long time it was around zero, so 1.8% is more

:38:18. > :38:22.substantial for quite a long time. It is driven partly because of the

:38:23. > :38:26.increases in the prices of petrol. That is driven partly because of the

:38:27. > :38:31.weakness of the pound. Oil is priced in dollars, so beget less oil for

:38:32. > :38:37.our pounds, so the cost is passed on to us at the pumps, which drives up

:38:38. > :38:40.the prices of other goods. How concerned should we be? It is still

:38:41. > :38:45.below the Government target. There is one reason to not be concerned.

:38:46. > :38:49.Our earnings are going up by more than inflation. At the last count,

:38:50. > :38:55.excluding bonuses, the average pay packet went up 2.7%. That is a lot

:38:56. > :39:02.more than the 1.8% inflation we have just seen. If that keeps up, it is

:39:03. > :39:06.fine. There is a view that says we need more inflation, we have had too

:39:07. > :39:12.little. We have a situation where we have huge debt. The thing with debt,

:39:13. > :39:15.the amount you owe is not grow with inflation, so if your earnings are

:39:16. > :39:19.growing with inflation and your debts are not, they are getting more

:39:20. > :39:26.affordable. 2.7% increase in earnings, does that show a change,

:39:27. > :39:30.our earnings starting to increase? It is better than people thought. We

:39:31. > :39:35.have the data last month, we get more tomorrow. If there is still a

:39:36. > :39:40.gap between earnings and inflation, not only are we not getting

:39:41. > :39:46.squeezed, we are getting better off, but within that, you have to break

:39:47. > :39:50.it down. If you look at food and non-alcoholic beverages, they still

:39:51. > :39:54.getting cheaper, but if you cut transport, up by 5.7%, that'll be

:39:55. > :40:02.the season tickets that kick in in January. Goods are going up by 1.1%,

:40:03. > :40:07.so not that much inflation. Services are way you have high Labour costs,

:40:08. > :40:11.he cuts to restaurant meals to broadcasting, they are costing more,

:40:12. > :40:20.because we have to pay people more to do them. In terms of policy

:40:21. > :40:24.levers, to try to adjust inflation, there's anything happen as a result

:40:25. > :40:28.of this? What will the policymakers be thinking when they look at these

:40:29. > :40:32.figures? The main instrument of policy is interest rates. I don't

:40:33. > :40:39.think this means that we are going to see any immediate rise in

:40:40. > :40:44.interest rates. Not least because the target for inflation is 2%. So

:40:45. > :40:47.long as it is within 1% of that, the Bank of England to stop have to

:40:48. > :40:52.write a letter to apologise for not doing its job. That is quite a room

:40:53. > :40:54.at prospect. Some people think it will get up above 3% later this

:40:55. > :40:58.year, but that is a minority view. The man appointed by Donald Trump

:40:59. > :41:00.to advise him on national security has resigned less than a month

:41:01. > :41:03.into the job. It's after it emerged

:41:04. > :41:05.that he misled officials at the White House about his

:41:06. > :41:07.contacts with the It's emerged Michael Flynn had

:41:08. > :41:10.discussed US sanctions with the Russian envoy before

:41:11. > :41:13.Mr Trump took office. In his resignation letter,

:41:14. > :41:15.he admitted giving incomplete With me now is Scott Lucas,

:41:16. > :41:21.a professor of American Politics from the University of Birmingham,

:41:22. > :41:25.and Dr Jacob Parakilas, assistant head of the US

:41:26. > :41:28.and Americas Programme at the international-affairs

:41:29. > :41:48.think tank Chatham House. 24 days into the presidency, a

:41:49. > :41:52.high-profile adviser has gone. This is big, both because of the specific

:41:53. > :41:57.issue, the extent of Russian interference in the US process,

:41:58. > :42:04.including during the troubled campaign, and how much this might

:42:05. > :42:09.have shaped,'s affinity for Russian leader not a Nir Bitton. Because

:42:10. > :42:17.Michael Frame was courted by Moscow, he was invited to a high-profile

:42:18. > :42:23.ceremony, said the idea that he was talking about lifting sanctions on

:42:24. > :42:28.Russia is significant. The wider issue, the Trump administration is

:42:29. > :42:31.being seen to have had a chaotic foreign policy, with division

:42:32. > :42:39.between fire breathers, hard right ideologues, and pragmatists. Will

:42:40. > :42:48.that continue, or will they learn how to steer a more cautious course?

:42:49. > :42:53.Tell us more about the man and the background, because there have been

:42:54. > :42:59.questions asked repeatedly since he got the job about his links with

:43:00. > :43:04.Russia. He had a very long and decorated career in the American

:43:05. > :43:07.military, culminating with a stint as the head of the defence

:43:08. > :43:13.intelligence agency, the organisation that collates and

:43:14. > :43:18.disseminate all of the intelligence gathered by the various military

:43:19. > :43:22.arms of the US Government. He left that position over a disagreement

:43:23. > :43:27.with the Barack Obama administration, and not too long

:43:28. > :43:33.afterwards became an adviser to the Trump campaign. He was vocal in his

:43:34. > :43:38.condemnation of Hillary Clinton, for her handling of classified

:43:39. > :43:43.information. From profiles of him, he is largely seen as a very

:43:44. > :43:46.intelligent man, but he often draws connections where other people do

:43:47. > :43:53.not see them, including in places where those connections are somewhat

:43:54. > :43:59.shady. He is linked to various conspiracy theories. His son, who

:44:00. > :44:03.has advised him, was released from the Trump transition team after

:44:04. > :44:13.talking about the Peter Pawlett that supposedly hosted a paedophilia ring

:44:14. > :44:17.-- the pizza parlour. He is linked to that establishment, but he has

:44:18. > :44:24.one foot in this conspiratorial world. He is gone because of having

:44:25. > :44:30.had conversations with the Russian ambassador before Donald Trump took

:44:31. > :44:36.office on American sanctions. The Big Questions now is, who else might

:44:37. > :44:41.have known what was going on, and when? Would the president have

:44:42. > :44:45.known? What would your thoughts be about whether somebody would have

:44:46. > :44:49.conversations like that without them being sanctioned at a higher level?

:44:50. > :44:56.It is highly unlikely that he spoke to the Russian ambassador on

:44:57. > :44:59.December the 29th, the day that Barack Obama imposed additional

:45:00. > :45:03.sanctions on Russia, without somebody else on the Trump team

:45:04. > :45:07.knowing, possibly Steve Bannon, possibly another official. The

:45:08. > :45:11.President claimed last Friday that this was the first he had heard of

:45:12. > :45:18.the affair. That is highly unlikely. Last month Michael Flynn was asked

:45:19. > :45:23.about the stories I M p, and he insisted he had not discussed

:45:24. > :45:26.sanctions. For Trump to not know that conversation would be

:45:27. > :45:30.extraordinary. I think there are others who are probably tied into

:45:31. > :45:35.this, and this may not be the end of this immediate story.

:45:36. > :45:42.Jacob, is it going to be the end of story? No, I don't think. The story

:45:43. > :45:46.about Russia and Trump has ebbed and flowed. There are a lot of other

:45:47. > :45:50.strands around the Trump administration going on right now.

:45:51. > :45:54.So inevitably, you know, the amount of attention paid to it hasn't been

:45:55. > :45:57.consistent, but this brings it right back up to the top of the headlines

:45:58. > :46:03.and while I think the Trump administration will be hoping that

:46:04. > :46:09.Flynn's resignation will tie the story off, I think the record of

:46:10. > :46:15.contacts or the record of sympathy for Trump, from Trump and for Putin

:46:16. > :46:18.and for his style of governance predates Flynn and it is outside of

:46:19. > :46:22.Flynn and so it will bring that story back to the top. There are

:46:23. > :46:27.calls from the Democrats for there to be an investigation into Mike

:46:28. > :46:33.Flynn's ties with Russia. Do you hold out much hope that that will

:46:34. > :46:37.happen, Jacob? I don't think that there will be an independent

:46:38. > :46:41.investigation. I think there will be a Congressional investigation. I

:46:42. > :46:46.don't know how aggressive that will be. It's possible that there will be

:46:47. > :46:52.an investigation which will sort of look at Flynn and keep the scope of

:46:53. > :46:59.the investigation somewhat limited. I think if there are additional

:47:00. > :47:02.revelations that might compel an independent investigation which

:47:03. > :47:07.would be absented from partisan concerns. Scott Lucas, come in. I

:47:08. > :47:10.was going to add to Jacob's statement. There are already two

:47:11. > :47:14.investigations going on. The first is there is an investigation of the

:47:15. > :47:18.Russian hacking that took place last year that assisted the Trump

:47:19. > :47:21.campaign and there is an investigation going on over an

:47:22. > :47:26.intelligence dossier which was gathered by a private intelligence

:47:27. > :47:31.firm, but it has been checked out by US intelligence agencies that Trump

:47:32. > :47:34.may have been compromised by Moscow because of sexual and financial

:47:35. > :47:38.affairs. Those investigations should not be forgotten as part of this

:47:39. > :47:40.wider context with this story going on and on. Thank you both very much,

:47:41. > :47:44.thank you. It can't have escaped

:47:45. > :47:49.you that it's Valentine's Day. We're asking are you single

:47:50. > :47:52.and proud out of choice? We'll be talking to some singletons

:47:53. > :48:02.who say they're happy Are you looking for love or are you

:48:03. > :48:10.happy to be single this Valentine's Day?

:48:11. > :48:14.More than half of disabled people in work feel at risk

:48:15. > :48:16.of losing their jobs and one in two have experienced

:48:17. > :48:21.bullying or harassment because of their impairments.

:48:22. > :48:24.That's according to new research by disability charity, Scope.

:48:25. > :48:26.Ahead of the closing of the Government consultation

:48:27. > :48:28.on work, health and disability, this survey highlights the issues

:48:29. > :48:31.Despite the Conservative Government promising in their manifesto

:48:32. > :48:33.to halve the disability employment deficit, the employment gap

:48:34. > :48:35.between disabled people and non-disabled has remained static

:48:36. > :48:46.So why has so little progress been made?

:48:47. > :48:49.Let's talk now to some disabled workers who say they have

:48:50. > :48:50.all experienced discrimination in the workplace -

:48:51. > :48:58.Storme Toolis, Samantha Renke, Madeleine Close and Paul Wilson.

:48:59. > :49:07.Thank you very much for coming in to join us. Storme, I know when you go

:49:08. > :49:11.for an interview don't actually reveal that you're in a wheelchair

:49:12. > :49:16.before you go, do you? Why is that? No, I don't disclose my disability

:49:17. > :49:21.on my CV or any application that I give for a job. I think partly it's

:49:22. > :49:24.because I feel like it's my prerogative to want to share that

:49:25. > :49:31.information, but also I think that it could have an impact on the kind

:49:32. > :49:37.of work that I'm offered. I work as an actor, but I'm a freelance

:49:38. > :49:44.education worker and I work in schools and various other short-term

:49:45. > :49:50.roles so finding short-term sort of, not long placement work is very

:49:51. > :49:54.difficult because I can't work in a bar or a restaurant, but I don't

:49:55. > :49:59.disclose I'm disabled because I feel like it might impede the view of me

:50:00. > :50:05.to a certain degree. Have you directly experienced it? Is it a

:50:06. > :50:10.fear? I have gone to an interview where it was never explained why I

:50:11. > :50:14.didn't get the job. You're entitled to get feedback from interviews and

:50:15. > :50:17.I went to a particular interview and I asked for feedback and I was never

:50:18. > :50:24.given it. No employer is going to tell you directly to your face,

:50:25. > :50:27."We're not going to employ you because you're in a wheelchair." I

:50:28. > :50:31.have been refused feedback from interviews. I have been told I can't

:50:32. > :50:36.run off naughty children so therefore, I can't be a Teaching

:50:37. > :50:40.Assistant. I've been told that I don't have the capability to travel

:50:41. > :50:44.on the Tube so I can't do short-term work and various things like that.

:50:45. > :50:48.Madeleine, you're visually impaired and you try to keep that hidden,

:50:49. > :50:55.don't you. How do you try to keep that hidden? If I go to an

:50:56. > :51:02.interview, I won't take my guide dog. I've got enough resitual sight

:51:03. > :51:05.to make people think and I will only disclose towards the end of the

:51:06. > :51:11.interview that I have a disability. Why is it that you do that? Well, I

:51:12. > :51:16.feel that if you can get your foot in the door, demonstrate that you

:51:17. > :51:21.look normal, whatever, they don't pick up on your disability and then

:51:22. > :51:24.you're more likely to get the job. Have you been concerned that you

:51:25. > :51:29.have been directly discriminated against because of your visual

:51:30. > :51:34.impairment? Yes, I have had situations whereas soon as I've told

:51:35. > :51:37.them into I'm visually impaired the atmosphere changed completely and

:51:38. > :51:42.I'm sure I lost the job because of that. Samantha, what difficulties

:51:43. > :51:51.have you encountered because of your disability? I'm not surprised by the

:51:52. > :51:56.statistics brought out by Scope. I used to be a high school teacher and

:51:57. > :51:59.now I'm an actress. Now I'm working with a lot of people on a big set,

:52:00. > :52:04.tile is money, you can physically see my disability, I do not hide

:52:05. > :52:09.that. What I do hide is the fact that I have chronic pain on a daily

:52:10. > :52:15.basis and the last big TV appearance or what I was doing, I had chronic

:52:16. > :52:18.back ache and I thought I can't stop all these people. There were over

:52:19. > :52:23.100 people on set, you know, if I stop now, time is money. And I

:52:24. > :52:28.didn't want to disclose that, but I did because I had to and I asked for

:52:29. > :52:36.a pillow to be put at my back and I felt it's about communication.

:52:37. > :52:39.Nobody made me feel uncomfortable, the fact that I stopped the

:52:40. > :52:42.production, they were more concerned about my well-being. I'm not

:52:43. > :52:46.surprised that a lot of people want to hide their disability for fear

:52:47. > :52:51.because of possibly losing their job or being seen as a, I hate the word,

:52:52. > :52:56.but being seen as a burden. So yeah, I have experienced that. Even

:52:57. > :53:00.recently when I go for auditions. I ask is it 100% accessible? Yes, I'm

:53:01. > :53:06.told, it is accessible. I get there and there is a step. So, you know,

:53:07. > :53:10.it's about learning. It's about talking with people, it is about us

:53:11. > :53:13.coming on TV shows like this and educating. Madeleine, from what

:53:14. > :53:20.you're saying, it sounds like you're concerned there is always a

:53:21. > :53:25.prospective and from what you're saying as well Storme that people

:53:26. > :53:29.are looking at you and thinking what can't you do? They imagine barriers

:53:30. > :53:36.to be there. There is ways round them. You've got the solutions. For

:53:37. > :53:41.example, I travel as part of my job. You will get on application forms do

:53:42. > :53:49.you have a driving licence? Do you have use of your own car? You can

:53:50. > :53:54.use public transport and you can use taxis, you don't need to be able to

:53:55. > :53:59.drive to move around. Paul Wilson is joining us now from one of our

:54:00. > :54:03.outside studios. You have got rheumatoid arthritis Paul and you

:54:04. > :54:13.need a power wheelchair to get around. What difficulties does that

:54:14. > :54:20.bring? Good morning. Yes, so just for instance getting around so I use

:54:21. > :54:27.a wheelchair full-time and just getting here this morning was a real

:54:28. > :54:32.mission because my local area wasn't able to provide any wheelchair

:54:33. > :54:41.accessible taxis. So the company that picked me up had to come from

:54:42. > :54:47.at least 35 miles away. So that poses a problem straightaway. Sure.

:54:48. > :54:55.For anyone wanting to go to work. So I mean in a work context, have you

:54:56. > :55:01.ever felt that you've actually directly been discriminated against

:55:02. > :55:06.because of your disability? I think in terms of discrimination there has

:55:07. > :55:13.been instances throughout my working life where I've had to take time off

:55:14. > :55:19.for hospital appointments and when you're disabled you have a lot more

:55:20. > :55:23.general doctors appointments, consultants appointments than the

:55:24. > :55:31.average person and unfortunately, when you work for a business that's

:55:32. > :55:37.not always, it's not always the done thing to do. You feel under pressure

:55:38. > :55:41.not to go to a lot of doctors appointments or consultants or have

:55:42. > :55:47.time off with your disability. What about the rest of you on that? When

:55:48. > :55:52.you had to put your hand up and say, "I need extra appointments." Have

:55:53. > :55:55.you had experiences along these lines Even things like your

:55:56. > :56:03.wheelchair breaking. Sometimes parts break and I use a power wheelchair.

:56:04. > :56:08.So if I can't leave my house to go outside and travel independently on

:56:09. > :56:12.my own... You're stuck? I'm stuck and I can't go into work. There is

:56:13. > :56:16.not a lot I can do about that. Do you feel you can be open and say

:56:17. > :56:21.that or do you feel you have to make excuses? I feel like you can't

:56:22. > :56:24.apologise for it. I mean at the same time, there is, you don't feel good

:56:25. > :56:28.saying it, but at the same time you can't apologise for it. This is the

:56:29. > :56:32.situation. Because Samantha you said when you had that bad back and you

:56:33. > :56:39.actually spoke up, people wanted to help. Yes, most definitely. However

:56:40. > :56:43.I have got a bad experience, I have got brittle bones and I fracture

:56:44. > :56:47.easily. When I was a teacher, I didn't tell anyone, I went to work

:56:48. > :56:50.with a fracture because I didn't want to take too much time off work

:56:51. > :56:55.because when you're educating children you can't afford to do

:56:56. > :56:58.that. So I have hidden in the past when I've been quite severely

:56:59. > :57:03.injured and that's a shame. There should be more of a support network

:57:04. > :57:07.for people to be able to say, "Look, I might have to take two weeks off."

:57:08. > :57:11.I think you have a higher wall to climb if you want to be seen as

:57:12. > :57:16.professional and conduct yourself well and you want to be seen in a

:57:17. > :57:20.positive and an asset to a workforce. If you're disabled you

:57:21. > :57:24.have a higher wall to climb. You need to constantly prove it on an

:57:25. > :57:29.every day basis by turning up on time every day. Don't be late. Don't

:57:30. > :57:33.like make sure your chair is working fine. Don't do anything that will

:57:34. > :57:37.make you look like more of a burden than you should be. That's a good

:57:38. > :57:41.way to put it, a higher wall to climb. All of you facing challenges.

:57:42. > :57:45.We were hearing from Paul, just the challenge of getting somewhere. Do

:57:46. > :57:51.you feel that's recognised? You have got to sort of be better at your

:57:52. > :57:54.jobment you're constantly trying to make up or to sort of prove

:57:55. > :57:58.yourself. So you've got that pressure on all the time. Paul, have

:57:59. > :58:02.you ever felt that it is recognised by those around you that instead of

:58:03. > :58:07.being something that they might, they maybe should be feel concerned

:58:08. > :58:12.about in a workplace in terms of it having a negative impact, actually

:58:13. > :58:15.it underlines the strength and resilience in you that you have to

:58:16. > :58:24.encounter these things on a daily basis and you get on and you do it?

:58:25. > :58:28.I think depending on your line manager or supervisor and dependant

:58:29. > :58:34.on job as well. I think sometimes you get some very good managers,

:58:35. > :58:42.people managers, who are very good. They understand their staff and the

:58:43. > :58:47.problems and they'll manage everyone's problems to, you know,

:58:48. > :58:50.within the business. Whereas you'll get, unfortunately, you'll get other

:58:51. > :58:57.managers that don't necessarily have the background on employment or

:58:58. > :59:01.people management who will not be as caring or as understanding within a

:59:02. > :59:04.working environment. Thank you all very much. Thank you for coming in.

:59:05. > :59:09.Let us know your thoughts on that. Let's get the latest weather

:59:10. > :59:18.update with Jay Wynne. Of course, it's Valentine's Day day

:59:19. > :59:22.today. Some of us got the cold somehoweder this morning. A touch of

:59:23. > :59:27.frost there. One of our Weather Watchers made the most of it!

:59:28. > :59:31.A different story in the south and the west. We've got cloud and patchy

:59:32. > :59:38.rain drifting northwards and eastwards. But it will brighten in

:59:39. > :59:44.the far south-west. We will get 11 or 12 Celsius but for many places it

:59:45. > :59:47.is in single figures. Sixes and sevens typical. Overnight, we will

:59:48. > :59:50.see patchy rain working its way northwards and eastwards and another

:59:51. > :59:53.band of rain gets into the south-west by the end of the night.

:59:54. > :59:57.In between the two, a lot of cloud. It will be a mild night, frost-free

:59:58. > :00:01.across-the-board. Five to seven or eight Celsius. A lot of cloud to

:00:02. > :00:04.start the day on Wednesday. There will be some breaks here and there,

:00:05. > :00:07.particularly towards the north-east and later on in the south-west, but

:00:08. > :00:10.with showers, but generally a fairly cloudy day with rain moving ever

:00:11. > :00:13.northwards and eastwards, but notably through tomorrow,

:00:14. > :00:15.temperatures are up by a good few degrees. We're into double figures

:00:16. > :00:20.widely. He was an Afghan interpreter

:00:21. > :00:23.who fought alongside British troops, but now he's unable to live

:00:24. > :00:26.in the UK because his asylum Javed Hokta tells us why he'll be

:00:27. > :00:46.killed if he's deported They use us and leave us. We save

:00:47. > :00:50.your heroes, now I feel ashamed, and I regret my time being with them.

:00:51. > :00:59.Disney drops a huge ship store after several videos were found to find

:01:00. > :01:00.anti-Semitic imagery. We will talk to a social media expert about the

:01:01. > :01:02.potential fallout. And, love is in the air,

:01:03. > :01:05.for some of us, at least. It's Valentine's Day,

:01:06. > :01:07.and we're asking, are you single We'll be talking to some singletons

:01:08. > :01:11.who say they're happy Here's the BBC Newsroom

:01:12. > :01:21.with a summary of today's news. Donald Trump's national-security

:01:22. > :01:24.adviser Michael Flynn has resigned General Flynn discussed American

:01:25. > :01:29.sanctions with the Russian ambassador before Mr Trump took

:01:30. > :01:33.office, and is accused of misleading the Vice President

:01:34. > :01:36.about what happened. A senior Democrat politician has

:01:37. > :01:38.said General Flynn's departure would not end questions about any

:01:39. > :01:43.contacts between the Trump A ten-year-old boy has died

:01:44. > :01:49.after suffering serious head injuries at the high street store

:01:50. > :01:51.Topshop in Reading. The boy was taken to hospital

:01:52. > :01:54.after what's being described by police as an "incident involving

:01:55. > :01:59.store furniture" at Topshop Police say the death

:02:00. > :02:02.is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious, and officers

:02:03. > :02:11.are continuing to make inquiries. Lawyers have criticised a plan to

:02:12. > :02:15.scrap the legal duty of care the MoD owes to service personnel in the

:02:16. > :02:19.course of combat. Injured soldiers and the families of those who have

:02:20. > :02:22.died would no longer be able to sue the Government for negligence. The

:02:23. > :02:25.MoD says they will get more compensation.

:02:26. > :02:27.UK inflation has risen at its fastest pace in the past

:02:28. > :02:31.The Office for National Statistics said consumer prices rose

:02:32. > :02:40.1.8% in January compared with a year earlier.

:02:41. > :02:43.It was the event by higher fuel prices and a fall in the value of

:02:44. > :02:45.the pound. The engineering giant Rolls-Royce

:02:46. > :02:47.has reported the biggest loss in its history,

:02:48. > :02:49.of ?4.6 billion. It reflects almost ?700 million

:02:50. > :02:52.in fines it agreed to pay authorities after being found guilty

:02:53. > :02:57.of bribery and corruption in 12 countries, in offences dating

:02:58. > :02:59.back more than 25 years. The weakening of the pound has also

:03:00. > :03:08.hit the firm's profitability. The chairman of the Japanese

:03:09. > :03:10.electronics conglomerate Toshiba has resigned following the news

:03:11. > :03:12.that the company suffered a net loss Shigenori Shiga announced

:03:13. > :03:18.he was stepping down shortly after the company delayed

:03:19. > :03:20.an announcement of its It had been widely expected to write

:03:21. > :03:25.off billions of dollars due to its problematic nuclear-energy

:03:26. > :03:29.business, and to admit that That's a summary of

:03:30. > :03:38.the latest BBC News. Do get in touch with us

:03:39. > :03:52.throughout the morning. If you are disabled and in work and

:03:53. > :03:57.fear you are being disconnected against, let us know. Samuel says,

:03:58. > :04:03.people should be encouraged and supported. Christine says, I became

:04:04. > :04:07.disabled six years ago, on return to work they were supportive, my

:04:08. > :04:10.manager helped a lot, but when he left, the new manager was uncaring

:04:11. > :04:15.and gave me no support, she ignored the arrangement we had set up and

:04:16. > :04:20.would not reply to my e-mails. The stress made me worse and I took

:04:21. > :04:22.early retirement. Keep your thoughts coming in.

:04:23. > :04:30.If you text, you will be charged at the standard network rate.

:04:31. > :04:34.It is Valentine's Day, we will talk about love, tell us if you are

:04:35. > :04:36.happily single, or not. Will Perry's here again now

:04:37. > :04:44.with a round-up of the sport. Manchester City moved up to second

:04:45. > :04:50.in the Premier League, beating Bournemouth 2-0. They lost Jesus to

:04:51. > :04:53.a foot injury early on. Raheem Sterling got the opener from close

:04:54. > :05:02.range with nearly half an hour played. In the second half, he set

:05:03. > :05:08.up the second. Eventually, Mings getting the final touch, to turn it

:05:09. > :05:12.past his own goalkeeper. They are now eight points behind Chelsea with

:05:13. > :05:15.13 games to play, but their manager is playing down their title chances.

:05:16. > :05:17.They have to lose three games, because the goal average

:05:18. > :05:31.You know how difficult it is to win all the games in the Premier League.

:05:32. > :05:35.Game by game, now the Cup, and after we will see.

:05:36. > :05:43.We are happy to be second and to reduce the lead.

:05:44. > :06:00.This game is all about winning and getting results. We changed the team

:06:01. > :06:05.and formations, we are always looking for new ways to get results.

:06:06. > :06:08.We are not judged by tonight, our season will be defined by what

:06:09. > :06:11.happened from this point. They have not won a game in 2017.

:06:12. > :06:13.Anthony Watson has been included in England's 25-man training squad

:06:14. > :06:15.for their Six Nations match against Italy next Sunday.

:06:16. > :06:18.The Bath wing missed the wins over France and Wales

:06:19. > :06:26.Eddie Jones is confident he will feature against Italy at Twickenham

:06:27. > :06:31.as they try to make it three victories out of three.

:06:32. > :06:36.The band cyclist Lance Armstrong has lost his bid to block a ?79 million

:06:37. > :06:42.lawsuit by the US Government. It is alleged he defrauded the Government

:06:43. > :06:46.while doping while riding for the publicly funded postal Service team.

:06:47. > :06:51.He was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life in

:06:52. > :06:56.2012. It clears the way for this case to go to a trial.

:06:57. > :06:59.Michael Vaughan has backed Joe Root to make a success of the test

:07:00. > :07:04.captaincy. He succeeds Alastair Cook, and Michael Vaughan believes

:07:05. > :07:09.the enormity of the job is unlikely to faze him.

:07:10. > :07:14.In terms of personality, mentality, he is ready, driven. You look at how

:07:15. > :07:18.he has improved his game, by being dedicated, he is trying to get

:07:19. > :07:23.better every day. That is what he will demand from the team. The team

:07:24. > :07:27.had better get ready for long, hard training sessions. He will prop them

:07:28. > :07:29.regularly to make sure they are improving every day.

:07:30. > :07:31.The headlines at 10:30am. The Ministry of Defence is proposing

:07:32. > :07:35.to change the law to scrap its legal duty of care to servicemen and women

:07:36. > :07:38.in the course of combat. Under the proposed scheme

:07:39. > :07:43.they will not be able to sue the MoD in the courts for negligence,

:07:44. > :07:44.and compensation will be taken in-house and be

:07:45. > :07:46.awarded by an assessor. The family of one soldier killed

:07:47. > :07:48.in a lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rover in Iraq has told

:07:49. > :07:52.the BBC the proposed The MoD says the proposals

:07:53. > :07:56.are about better compensation and will save injured service

:07:57. > :07:59.personnel and families of those How old was he when he first

:08:00. > :08:10.started playing the drums? In 2007 Colin Redpath's son,

:08:11. > :08:17.Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath, a keen drummer in the Irish Guards,

:08:18. > :08:22.died when a roadside bomb exploded next to his lightly armoured

:08:23. > :08:26.Snatch Land Rover in Iraq. I deal with it because I want to be

:08:27. > :08:31.strong for his memory. I mean, some people could literally

:08:32. > :08:37.pull the curtains and never go out And people say to me, "We don't

:08:38. > :08:45.like to mention him," I say, "No, I'll talk about him,

:08:46. > :08:47.I'm proud of him. Kirk was one of some 37

:08:48. > :08:51.servicemen and women killed in the so-called Snatch Land Rovers

:08:52. > :08:57.in Afghanistan and Iraq. Colin fought a six-year legal battle

:08:58. > :09:00.against the Ministry of Defence, eventually winning the right

:09:01. > :09:06.at the Supreme Court to bring an action against the Government

:09:07. > :09:08.under human-rights law. Three years later, that case is only

:09:09. > :09:11.now coming to a close. In July 2016, Sir John Chilcot's

:09:12. > :09:17.Iraq inquiry report identified numerous MoD failings,

:09:18. > :09:24.in preparing for the Iraq campaign. The planning and preparations

:09:25. > :09:27.for Iraq after Saddam Hussain The report found the military

:09:28. > :09:34.delayed replacing the The MoD's new proposals cover battle

:09:35. > :09:41.and the preparations for it. They include stopping legal claims

:09:42. > :09:44.for negligence, like those arising from the Snatch Land Rovers

:09:45. > :09:48.against the MOD in the courts. A no-fault compensation scheme

:09:49. > :09:51.for injured service personnel and families of those killed,

:09:52. > :09:55.meaning negligence does Assessors to value injuries

:09:56. > :10:00.and loss, based on expert And compensation to be at the same

:10:01. > :10:06.level, as if the MoD had been No one disputes that it is a really

:10:07. > :10:13.good idea for service personnel injured in the cause of combat

:10:14. > :10:17.and the families of those who have been killed to be spared long

:10:18. > :10:22.and frustrating legal battles through the courts, but there

:10:23. > :10:24.are real concerns about the Ministry of Defence scrapping the duty

:10:25. > :10:30.of care that it owes to soldiers and taking the system

:10:31. > :10:33.for compensating them in-house. At the end of the day,

:10:34. > :10:42.they are an employer. You know, the fire brigade,

:10:43. > :10:45.the police, the ambulance service, they all have to go out

:10:46. > :10:45.with equipment that works. Well, that should be

:10:46. > :10:48.the same for a soldier. I mean, if not, what the MoD

:10:49. > :10:52.are saying is, we could send our boys and girls out with broomsticks,

:10:53. > :10:55.it wouldn't matter. Lawyers worry that bypassing

:10:56. > :11:04.the courts creates unfairness. You've suffered injury,

:11:05. > :11:06.you think that the employer, the organisation, the MoD

:11:07. > :11:09.is at fault, and yet you are asked to rely upon the MoD to assess

:11:10. > :11:13.the compensation that it should pay you for the damage

:11:14. > :11:16.that it has caused you. The proposed scheme assumes service

:11:17. > :11:22.personnel will not need and so will not receive any

:11:23. > :11:27.paid legal representation. Inevitably, there will be trauma,

:11:28. > :11:31.grieving families involved, and the sort of client care that

:11:32. > :11:35.legal representatives provide is absolutely essential in ensuring

:11:36. > :11:41.that those victims are not further In a statement, the Ministry

:11:42. > :12:09.of Defence said this. Obviously, the problem

:12:10. > :12:14.of what to do with his ashes, I didn't want to split them

:12:15. > :12:19.and I did not know where I would spread them, so I thought,

:12:20. > :12:22."Well, he loved the drums, let's put them in his

:12:23. > :12:26.cabinet in a drum." So his ashes are with me in his

:12:27. > :12:32.cabinet with all his belongings. I could not think of

:12:33. > :12:35.anything better, really. The MoD's consultation

:12:36. > :12:36.on its proposals ends Colin Redpath hopes that

:12:37. > :12:43.for the injuries and the families of the fallen, the new system

:12:44. > :12:49.ensures maximum safety and fairness. Let's get some reaction now

:12:50. > :12:52.to these proposed changes. Patrick Hennessey is a barrister

:12:53. > :12:55.and former army captain who thinks this will make

:12:56. > :12:58.the MoD less accountable. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon,

:12:59. > :13:01.who spent 23 years in the military, thinks this is good thing

:13:02. > :13:04.for veterans and the MoD. Her son Kris was killed in 2007,

:13:05. > :13:09.while serving in Iraq as part Also, Simon Harmer, who lost both

:13:10. > :13:29.legs in Afghanistan in 2009. Tell us what happened for your

:13:30. > :13:39.family after Chris was killed in terms of compensation. It was

:13:40. > :13:46.quickly dealt with, but not as well as it could be. I am more interested

:13:47. > :13:55.in the duty of care. He was killed in a warrior. In the Chilcott

:13:56. > :14:03.report, in 2003 it was condemned for not having protection. He was killed

:14:04. > :14:07.in 2007, and still it had no protection, even though in 2003 the

:14:08. > :14:14.MoD were putting protection underneath. Therefore,... We are

:14:15. > :14:20.struggling to hear a bit because of a bad line, so I will move away from

:14:21. > :14:27.you for a moment. Let me bring in Simon, you lost out of your legs in

:14:28. > :14:31.Afghanistan in 2009. What is your view on duty of care, compensation,

:14:32. > :14:38.and whether people should have the right to go through the courts to

:14:39. > :14:43.get redress? There needs to be an independent body that looks after

:14:44. > :14:48.us. When I was initially injured, I had to go through the process

:14:49. > :14:54.myself, I have the support of the veterans charity. Fit. For them, I

:14:55. > :14:58.would have struggled. I know that things were missed from my

:14:59. > :15:07.compensation. Did you feel you had to fight? The support that I had

:15:08. > :15:13.around me, from the charity, it had not been there, I would have

:15:14. > :15:16.struggled. If I had been on my own I would have struggled. Now these

:15:17. > :15:29.changes are being proposed, what did you think? Would it be better for

:15:30. > :15:32.soldiers or not? I am worried. I think that taking away outside

:15:33. > :15:39.influence, or an independent body, is not a positive move. I also think

:15:40. > :15:42.that if there is no appeal process, it could leave service men and women

:15:43. > :15:49.short-changed. Hamish you have lengthy experience

:15:50. > :15:53.in the military. You think it is a good idea. Why do you think that?

:15:54. > :15:59.Well, I think anything that improves the lot of the men and the women in

:16:00. > :16:05.the scoop forces who go to war is to be something that we should

:16:06. > :16:10.appreciate and go forward. I mean, not only did I do 23 years in the

:16:11. > :16:15.British military, forth last five years I have been in northern Iraq

:16:16. > :16:19.and worked in Syrian hospitals entirely of my own choice, but

:16:20. > :16:23.without that military backing. I think when a soldier, when he or she

:16:24. > :16:28.goes into combat and you really have to have been in combat to understand

:16:29. > :16:33.it properly. Number one, you want to have the best medical facilities

:16:34. > :16:38.available to sort you out if you get injured and I think we do probably

:16:39. > :16:44.have that British military. Number two, you want to make sure if you're

:16:45. > :16:47.killed, your family and friends are looked after properly and some of

:16:48. > :16:51.the store jis that people had to go through, about people having to go

:16:52. > :16:57.through a long and lengthy legal process to get money is disgraceful.

:16:58. > :17:03.If this gives money to the people that require it at the very highest

:17:04. > :17:07.levels, then I think it is to be encouraged and look, it is a

:17:08. > :17:14.consultation, but I think further the Chill chat inquiry that we've

:17:15. > :17:21.mentioned and also the IHAT, the Iraq historic abuse inquiry has

:17:22. > :17:25.broken in somewhat the covenant, the Army covenant that deal with

:17:26. > :17:29.civilians and politicians in this country have with the British

:17:30. > :17:36.military and that needs to be enhanced and I am concerned that MPs

:17:37. > :17:40.and I have met a lot recently with my activities in Syria are stymied

:17:41. > :17:44.by the desire to make sure that legally everything is right before

:17:45. > :17:51.they commit us to military action which at the end of the day is what

:17:52. > :17:55.our British Armed Forces are for. Patrick, if it stops somebody who

:17:56. > :17:58.has been through a trauma, whether they have been injured or the

:17:59. > :18:02.families of somebody that they have lost, if it stops them having to go

:18:03. > :18:11.through a lengthy legal process and they get compensation at the level

:18:12. > :18:16.they would have done? That can happen speedily now if the MoD isn't

:18:17. > :18:18.fighting the claim. I think it is a really important to acknowledge that

:18:19. > :18:21.there is a problem here. There is a problem here that needs to be

:18:22. > :18:25.addressed and it was said in one of your reports that the MoD is an

:18:26. > :18:30.employer like any other and the problem, it's not because ultimately

:18:31. > :18:36.when you go to war, there is an enemy and then me is trying to kill

:18:37. > :18:39.and injure you and that's what is different about soldiering to any

:18:40. > :18:42.other walk of life. I recognise there is a problem and this is the

:18:43. > :18:47.MoD trying to address it, but my concern is in the detail. So for

:18:48. > :18:49.example, it is said in the consultation there maybe an

:18:50. > :18:53.independent assessor for eligibility, but that might be done

:18:54. > :18:56.in house. So that could mean the MoD is entitled to look at the claim and

:18:57. > :19:01.say, "We don't think you have a claim at all." Where is the right of

:19:02. > :19:05.appeal to that? If the MoD allows your claim, it is said we imagine,

:19:06. > :19:09.the MoD will normally agree with an independent assessor on the value of

:19:10. > :19:12.your claim. Well, it's quite conceivable that the MoD won't agree

:19:13. > :19:17.and there is very little detail currently on what would happen if

:19:18. > :19:20.that circumstances. You might have a 19-year-old soldier who has been

:19:21. > :19:23.terribly injured and who maybe doesn't have the background,

:19:24. > :19:28.sophistication, family resources to challenge what the MoD is saying. He

:19:29. > :19:32.may have a right of appeal to an appeals tribunal, but you can see

:19:33. > :19:36.how these things will spiral into the same delay that is happening now

:19:37. > :19:38.without the independent scrutiny. Everybody mentioned the importance

:19:39. > :19:44.of independence because you can't be your own judge and jury. Val you

:19:45. > :19:50.were talking about the concerns with your situation with your son, the

:19:51. > :19:54.vehicle that he was travelling in and the importance of lessons being

:19:55. > :19:58.learnt. The Ministry of Defence says it is good at learning lessons from

:19:59. > :20:06.any incident involving safety of personnel. Does that reassure you?

:20:07. > :20:11.No, it doesn't because four years down the line and the Warrior

:20:12. > :20:17.vehicle was still the same as they were saying in 2003. How can that

:20:18. > :20:21.reassure you when four years later the vehicle is still in the same

:20:22. > :20:27.condition it was and is still as dangerous?

:20:28. > :20:31.What do you feel is the best way to hold the MoD o to account on things

:20:32. > :20:36.like that? Is it the courts? Is it something else? There is the

:20:37. > :20:39.coroners's court? There is the coroner's court and at Chris'

:20:40. > :20:45.inquest the coroner asked the question - why there was no

:20:46. > :20:50.protection on the under billiony? I've asked repeatedly of the MoD for

:20:51. > :20:54.proof that protection has been put underneath the Warrior vehicles, but

:20:55. > :21:00.they have never replied to me. So where was their duty of care then

:21:01. > :21:10.when it was recommended in 2003 that this be done and in 2007 it still

:21:11. > :21:14.hadn't been done. On the issue of lessons being learned, Patrick, you

:21:15. > :21:17.are a barrister and you have got a vested interest in legal claims

:21:18. > :21:22.being pursued, but do you believe that the courts process does mean

:21:23. > :21:26.accountability, there is greater accountability or is it possible

:21:27. > :21:30.that accountability is had through greater MPs scrut thee and the

:21:31. > :21:33.coroner's courts? This is really interesting because I don't

:21:34. > :21:37.necessarily either the court process or the proposed compensation process

:21:38. > :21:39.deal with the sorts of issues being raised there. There is a difference

:21:40. > :21:45.between the compensation that should be awarded to servicemen who are

:21:46. > :21:48.killed and injured and what I would characterise as kit issues and the

:21:49. > :21:52.duty of care to individual servicemen may not be the same thing

:21:53. > :21:57.as operational effectiveness and this is a great example of one of

:21:58. > :22:00.the really difficult decisions that militaries have to make sometimes

:22:01. > :22:03.the most important thing when looking at a vehicle for example

:22:04. > :22:06.might not be the level of protection it affords. It might be its

:22:07. > :22:10.mobility. It might be its fire power and it doesn't seem to me that

:22:11. > :22:13.either the courts process currently or this proposed scheme would deal

:22:14. > :22:18.with that aspect. That is something that's more properly dealt with by

:22:19. > :22:24.politicians. Thank you all very much for joining us, thank you.

:22:25. > :22:26.PewDiePie was the highest paid star on YouTube last year,

:22:27. > :22:30.His real name is Felix Kjellberg and he had a lucrative

:22:31. > :22:34.But Disney has just cut ties with the internet celebrity over

:22:35. > :22:42.The decision came after several videos he released over the past few

:22:43. > :22:44.months were found to contain Nazi references or anti-Semitic imagery.

:22:45. > :22:47.Let's talk now to someone who knows a thing or two about social media

:22:48. > :22:50.and how important these relationships can be for businesses.

:22:51. > :22:52.Steve Kuncewicz is a social media expert at the law

:22:53. > :23:01.Thank you very much indeed for joining us. So the relationship has

:23:02. > :23:05.now been severed. What is your prospective on the importance of

:23:06. > :23:09.that relationship? Well, I think it is an object lesson really in

:23:10. > :23:13.YouTube celebrities getting mainstream attention. PewDiePie for

:23:14. > :23:18.quite sometime was the most subscribed channel on YouTube. He

:23:19. > :23:21.beat out E MI Music to become one of the most viewed YouTube channels

:23:22. > :23:25.there was and he had a number of criticisms over the course of the

:23:26. > :23:30.past few years in relation to the content that he put up. Like a lot

:23:31. > :23:36.of YouTube influences PewDiePie has been forced to grow up in public.

:23:37. > :23:40.And that corporate master got in touch with him because they liked

:23:41. > :23:43.his reverence, they liked his humour, they liked the genuine

:23:44. > :23:48.nature, the authenticity of the way he communicated with the followers,

:23:49. > :23:53.however, it looks as if that sense of humour hasn't travelled well and

:23:54. > :23:58.if you're a corporate giant like Disney the last thing you want is

:23:59. > :24:02.anything to do with anti-semitism. The YouTube stars are really young.

:24:03. > :24:06.Earning that amount of money. The vast number of followers at the age

:24:07. > :24:12.of 27. In terms of fall-out and damage, how do you see it? Well,

:24:13. > :24:20.it's trillioning that the agreement that was part of Disney, noticed

:24:21. > :24:26.that PewDiePie was a gamer and vast majority of his content was about

:24:27. > :24:30.gaming, but it was non gaming content that got him into trouble.

:24:31. > :24:34.There will be some disrepute clause in there, but it will be a message

:24:35. > :24:37.to a lot of other YouTube influences to show them that they are going to

:24:38. > :24:43.be expected to be that bit more corporate if they do intend to turn

:24:44. > :24:48.this into a thriving career and having some old-fashioned input on

:24:49. > :24:51.how you present yourself, strategy, the journalistic training that some

:24:52. > :24:55.of the influences don't have might be a good idea if they want this to

:24:56. > :25:00.be a sustainable business. He made a good business out of it. No one is

:25:01. > :25:03.going to regulate are they in the way you're talking about having the

:25:04. > :25:08.journalistic or legal training or whatever? No, that's right. There is

:25:09. > :25:11.a lot of regulation around advertising law where we have seen

:25:12. > :25:16.YouTube influences fall foul along with brands at the same time. There

:25:17. > :25:20.is regulation the issue is a sense of humour doesn't trasm. Local laws

:25:21. > :25:22.don't travel across the internet and running their business, like a

:25:23. > :25:27.business and treating it in that way, thinking about the effects of

:25:28. > :25:30.what they say may have upon the various stakeholders will be

:25:31. > :25:34.essential for the YouTubers of the future. It was a mutual

:25:35. > :25:40.relationship. It has ended. Is that it? Any lasting damage? Well, I

:25:41. > :25:46.think PewDiePie has done a fair bit to damage himself over the past six

:25:47. > :25:50.months. He suggested when he hit 50 million subscribers on YouTube he

:25:51. > :25:55.may walk away from the platform. He had a rant about the fact that he

:25:56. > :26:02.lost followers. The mainstream media pounced on him and saw it as a

:26:03. > :26:07.temper tantrum. He retweeted a joke about Islamic State. He has done a

:26:08. > :26:11.fair bit to damage his own success before now, but certainly other big

:26:12. > :26:15.advertisers and other big brands will think twice about engaging with

:26:16. > :26:26.YouTube influences going forward. Thank you very much, indeed.

:26:27. > :26:28.One of the most powerful men in President Trump's

:26:29. > :26:32.Michael Flynn quit as National Security adviser after details

:26:33. > :26:33.emerged of his contact with Russian officials.

:26:34. > :26:35.He's admitted inadvertently giving misleading information by saying

:26:36. > :26:37.he didn't discuss US sanctions with the Russian

:26:38. > :26:48.The Kremlin has been giving its response. Let's get more from Steve

:26:49. > :26:54.Rosenberg. What is the reaction there, Steve?

:26:55. > :26:59.Yes, a few minutes ago the Kremlin made some comments about this which

:27:00. > :27:03.you could sum up in two words as no comment. The representative told

:27:04. > :27:06.journalists on a telephone conference call this was the

:27:07. > :27:10.internal affair of the Americans. He said it was the internal affair of

:27:11. > :27:14.the Trump administration and had nothing to do with Moscow. He zwant

:27:15. > :27:18.to make anymore comment about it. At which point I said to him on the

:27:19. > :27:24.call well, he was happy to comment yesterday about this and yesterday

:27:25. > :27:28.he had said once again there would be no conversations between US and

:27:29. > :27:33.Russian officials before Donald Trump became president. No

:27:34. > :27:38.conversations about sanctions. And when you said to him today, he said,

:27:39. > :27:43."I have said it before, I'm not going to make anymore comment about

:27:44. > :27:46.this." The Kremlin not saying very much, but some other Russian

:27:47. > :27:53.politicians with angry responses this morning. We have heard from two

:27:54. > :27:57.senators, from the upper house of the Russian Parliament. One has

:27:58. > :28:02.tweeted that this this is about paranoia and a witch-hunt and

:28:03. > :28:05.another who heads the upper House of Parliament's Foreign Affairs

:28:06. > :28:14.Committee said that this resignation either meant that Donald Trump had

:28:15. > :28:17.been driven into a corner or that Russiaphobia had permeated the new

:28:18. > :28:24.administration from top to bottom. Strong words there. I saw another

:28:25. > :28:28.Russian lawmaker saying it is another signal for Russian-US

:28:29. > :28:32.relationsment how would you describe rush-US relations right now? Well,

:28:33. > :28:38.Russian-US relations have been bad, very bad and the Russians have big

:28:39. > :28:45.hopes for Donald Trump and they believe that with Donald Trump they

:28:46. > :28:48.can turn things around and get sanctions removed and allow Russia

:28:49. > :28:52.to come in from the cold. But certainly this is a blow to that and

:28:53. > :28:56.from the comments we have seen from Russian politicians this morning I

:28:57. > :28:59.think it is clear now how Moscow is going to portray Michael Flynn's

:29:00. > :29:05.resignation, they will try and portray it as an attempt by Donald

:29:06. > :29:10.Trump's opponents and his enemies in the United States to derail attempts

:29:11. > :29:15.for a new relationship between the United States and Russia. I have

:29:16. > :29:21.been following the state media a lot, the TV and the newspapers and

:29:22. > :29:25.you see it almost every day. The pro-Kremlin media talking about how

:29:26. > :29:28.Donald Trump has enemies in the Democratic Party and in the Republic

:29:29. > :29:33.Party and in the intelligence services and in the American media,

:29:34. > :29:38.not blaming him for anything that's happening, the United States right

:29:39. > :29:42.now, but blaming those around him and I'm pretty sure that's how the

:29:43. > :29:51.state media here will play this. Steve, thank you very much.

:29:52. > :29:56.The British Army interpreter who says he will be killed if he returns

:29:57. > :30:03.to Afghanistan. We'll talk to some singletons

:30:04. > :30:08.about how they don't need a significant other this Valentine's

:30:09. > :30:17.Day. John says, happily single, never

:30:18. > :30:20.been happier, able to do what I want with my life. Let us know your

:30:21. > :30:22.thoughts on being single. Ben Brown is in the BBC

:30:23. > :30:24.Newsroom with a summary Donald Trump's national-security

:30:25. > :30:28.adviser Michael Flynn has resigned General Flynn discussed American

:30:29. > :30:31.sanctions with the Russian ambassador before Mr Trump took

:30:32. > :30:35.office, and is accused of misleading the Vice President

:30:36. > :30:38.about what happened. A senior Democrat politician has

:30:39. > :30:41.said General Flynn's departure would not end questions about any

:30:42. > :30:44.contacts between the Trump A ten-year-old boy has died

:30:45. > :30:50.after suffering serious head injuries at the high-street store

:30:51. > :30:53.Topshop in Reading. The boy was taken to hospital

:30:54. > :30:56.after what's being described by police as an "incident involving

:30:57. > :31:00.store furniture" at Topshop Police say the death

:31:01. > :31:04.is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious, and officers

:31:05. > :31:06.are continuing to make inquiries. Duncan Kennedy is in Reading,

:31:07. > :31:20.where the incident happened. I have just been inside the building

:31:21. > :31:24.behind me to the third floor, top shop is currently shuttered up,

:31:25. > :31:29.although the lights are on. A couple of security men standing outside,

:31:30. > :31:34.plus members of the public. I suspect the shop will not be opened,

:31:35. > :31:38.at least for a few hours, whilst this investigation continues. It

:31:39. > :31:43.follows this incident at 4pm yesterday, when this boy was in the

:31:44. > :31:46.shop, we don't know who with. He was somehow involved in an incident with

:31:47. > :31:51.what the police called shop furniture. He sustained head

:31:52. > :31:57.injuries, three ambulances were called, plus other medical services.

:31:58. > :32:01.He was looked at in the shop and was taken to hospital, where he later

:32:02. > :32:05.died of those injuries. The police tell as his next of kin had been

:32:06. > :32:10.informed. We have no other details about what this involved, what kind

:32:11. > :32:14.of shop furniture. We are expect think a statement of the owners of

:32:15. > :32:19.the shop later, they say they are preparing a statement. The local

:32:20. > :32:23.council so they are working with the police on this, although the Health

:32:24. > :32:25.and Safety Executive tell us they are not currently involved with this

:32:26. > :32:29.investigation. UK inflation has risen

:32:30. > :32:31.at its highest rate The Office for National Statistics

:32:32. > :32:38.said consumer prices rose 1.8% last month,

:32:39. > :32:44.up from 1.6% in December. The increase was driven by higher

:32:45. > :32:46.fuel prices and the fall Join me for BBC

:32:47. > :32:56.Newsroom Live at 11am. Here's the sport headlines

:32:57. > :33:05.now with Will Perry. Manchester City moved up to second

:33:06. > :33:09.in the Premier League with a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth. This goal

:33:10. > :33:19.from Raheem Sterling gave them a 1-0 lead. That just before the half-hour

:33:20. > :33:25.mark. Mings got the final touch in the second half to make it 2-0, they

:33:26. > :33:28.are now eight points behind Chelsea, with 13 to play.

:33:29. > :33:32.Anthony Watson is in England's squad for their six Nations match against

:33:33. > :33:35.Italy. He missed the victories over France and Wales with a hamstring

:33:36. > :33:40.injury. Lance Armstrong has lost his bid to

:33:41. > :33:44.block a ?79 million lawsuit by the US Government. It is alleged he

:33:45. > :33:48.devoted the Government by doping while riding for the publicly funded

:33:49. > :33:53.US Postal Service team. He was stripped of his seven Tour de France

:33:54. > :33:57.titles. It clears the way for the case to go to trial.

:33:58. > :34:01.We have just heard that the Fed Cup team will be a way to Romania in

:34:02. > :34:02.their play-off tie in April. More on the BBC News channel through

:34:03. > :34:04.the day. An Afghan interpreter who fought

:34:05. > :34:07.alongside British troops says if the Government sends him home,

:34:08. > :34:10.it will be a death sentence. Javed Hokta is applying

:34:11. > :34:12.for asylum here in the UK. He says he was sent death

:34:13. > :34:14.threats by the Taliban He's currently living illegally

:34:15. > :34:18.in Birmingham while he makes He's already had one claim rejected

:34:19. > :34:22.because the threatening letters he received hadn't been signed

:34:23. > :34:26.or dated by the Taliban. Javed has been talking

:34:27. > :34:30.to BBC Midlands Today. Now I feel ashamed and I regret my

:34:31. > :34:46.time being with them. This wasn't the life that

:34:47. > :34:46.Javed Hokta imagined after spending two years fighting alongside

:34:47. > :34:50.British Armed Forces in Afghanistan. I was working as a soldier

:34:51. > :34:53.and interpreter as well, with the SPS and SAS,

:34:54. > :34:58.the British special forces. Our base was in our province,

:34:59. > :35:03.south of Afghanistan, but we had operations specially

:35:04. > :35:06.in dangerous parts of Afghanistan like Kandahar, Helmand,

:35:07. > :35:12.Farrar, Herat, these areas. So we were quick reaction force,

:35:13. > :35:15.we attacked attacked the Taliban compounds,

:35:16. > :35:19.daytime but the most operations Javed also worked for the Afghan

:35:20. > :35:26.special narcotics force, disrupting His reward, death threats

:35:27. > :35:31.from the Taliban. They say me to leave the job

:35:32. > :35:36.and join the Taliban, they asked me, "Come and join

:35:37. > :35:38.us, otherwise you are I didn't want to be

:35:39. > :35:42.a part of terrorists. So he fled to Britain in 2008,

:35:43. > :35:46.hoping to find asylum in return Javed handed in these death threats

:35:47. > :35:51.he received from the Taliban In this one for example it says,

:35:52. > :36:02."You will be in hell very soon." Here, they accuse him of being a spy

:36:03. > :36:05.for the Crusaders and sentence him Now the Home Office refused

:36:06. > :36:09.to accept that these letters were genuine and they turned

:36:10. > :36:13.down his claim for asylum. Last week, the Commons Defence

:36:14. > :36:15.Select Committee heard The perception all over the country

:36:16. > :36:21.for them is that they have served with the infidel forces there,

:36:22. > :36:23.the eyes and ears of Something dreadful will happen

:36:24. > :36:27.and you will have no If he is sent back that will be

:36:28. > :36:32.an appalling act by our government and there will be one

:36:33. > :36:39.person to blame. The Ministers of the Crown

:36:40. > :36:44.and the Government. In what is, I think, an act

:36:45. > :36:47.as shameful as any I can remember We're going to refer to the fact

:36:48. > :36:51.that all these other foreign governments have

:36:52. > :36:53.changed their opinion, lifted the interpreters out

:36:54. > :36:55.of Afghanistan and given them Javed is making a renewed asylum

:36:56. > :36:58.application later this month. I think it's really unimaginable

:36:59. > :37:02.to put yourself in a position like him, and being really let down

:37:03. > :37:06.by a Government that is supported by working in the most

:37:07. > :37:09.dangerous circumstances. For now he finds himself living

:37:10. > :37:12.illegally in the West Midlands relying on friends for a roof

:37:13. > :37:18.over his head. But the people who work with the US

:37:19. > :37:24.and the European countries, they fully support those people

:37:25. > :37:27.who worked for them in Afghanistan and they welcome

:37:28. > :37:29.them to their countries If you can't take

:37:30. > :37:31.the responsibility, Maybe if we had worked for somebody

:37:32. > :37:37.else now we would be safe. Let's talk now to Colonel Simon

:37:38. > :37:56.Diggins, who was the British defence What does this country over him? I

:37:57. > :38:00.believe what we need to be able to do for him and all of the

:38:01. > :38:04.interpreters is to give them a safe and secure place to come to. They

:38:05. > :38:09.put themselves at extraordinary risk to work for us and for the

:38:10. > :38:13.Government of Afghanistan, and now that they are under threat, able to

:38:14. > :38:16.continue to work in Afghanistan, live there, we should have no

:38:17. > :38:24.hesitation in bringing them here. What is the threat to interpreters

:38:25. > :38:30.in Afghanistan? Exactly as your previous article said. The Taliban

:38:31. > :38:34.regard them as traitors, people who worked for the so-called crusaders,

:38:35. > :38:38.that is ours, and therefore they are the Summit targets in the eyes of

:38:39. > :38:43.the Taliban and also now you have got Islamic State in Afghanistan,

:38:44. > :38:48.and they regard them as targets. And not just them, but their families.

:38:49. > :38:53.If they cannot get the individual, they will try to get the families.

:38:54. > :38:58.Wendy where defence cachet in Kabul you had particular experience of

:38:59. > :39:02.dealing with the case of one Afghan interpreter who had three limbs

:39:03. > :39:05.blown off while he was on patrol, he wanted him brought to this country

:39:06. > :39:09.for medical treatment. Tell us what your experiences were of Government

:39:10. > :39:16.approach and the Home Office approach on it. Extraordinarily

:39:17. > :39:21.disappointing. This individual had been on patrol with British forces

:39:22. > :39:27.in Helmand, there had been an IED attack, he was evacuated to our

:39:28. > :39:31.medical base in Helmand, where he received first-class treatment by

:39:32. > :39:34.the brilliant medics we had working for us in Afghanistan, but there

:39:35. > :39:38.came a point where he needed to move on to further treatment, and if he

:39:39. > :39:42.had been a British soldier, he would have been evacuated back here, where

:39:43. > :39:46.he could have been looked after properly. When the subject was

:39:47. > :39:51.raised and I discussed it with an official from the Government, the

:39:52. > :39:57.only thing they were interested in was he should not come back here. He

:39:58. > :40:03.might claim asylum and that might set a precedent. That was appalling.

:40:04. > :40:06.In the end, for that individual, we evacuated him to India, where he

:40:07. > :40:12.received excellent treatment, but the attitude was wrong, it was that

:40:13. > :40:15.we were concerned for him not to be an asylum seeker. That has prevailed

:40:16. > :40:19.throughout the policies which have been in place since then to look

:40:20. > :40:24.after our Internet has. The Home Office has given us a statement. It

:40:25. > :40:28.says, while we cannot comment on this case, or claims are carefully

:40:29. > :40:34.considered on their merits and based on evidence provided by the

:40:35. > :40:36.applicant. We know that he has had one claim rejected because the

:40:37. > :40:41.threatening letters that he's admitted as evidence were not signed

:40:42. > :40:50.or dated by the Taliban. How do you respond? If it was not so awful and

:40:51. > :40:55.serious, it is almost laughable. The idea that the pilot and will sit

:40:56. > :40:59.down and write in a nice headed bit of notepaper, properly signed and

:41:00. > :41:03.dated, with a nice stamp on, saying we will kill this individual, and

:41:04. > :41:07.only then will be Home Office accepted, is beyond absurd. What

:41:08. > :41:12.would your fears be if he is forced to leave this country? That either

:41:13. > :41:20.he or his family will be killed. Worse than that, that behaviour will

:41:21. > :41:25.be completely shameful. I cannot believe there is a worse

:41:26. > :41:29.circumstance, we deport somebody, who has worked for us, and we find

:41:30. > :41:35.ourselves in a situation where he is killed. That would be shameful. He

:41:36. > :41:39.said he regrets his time spent with the British Army, because of the way

:41:40. > :41:43.he is being treated. What message do you think it sends to people in

:41:44. > :41:49.other countries who are relied on for services like being a

:41:50. > :41:55.translator? It sends a negative message. It is sadly inevitable we

:41:56. > :41:59.will be to work in countries where we do not have the language skills

:42:00. > :42:03.ourselves, so we will need interpreters in the future, but if

:42:04. > :42:07.the message we send to them is that we will use you and then we will

:42:08. > :42:16.dump you, that sends a very poor message indeed.

:42:17. > :42:17.Valentine's Day is renowned for being the most

:42:18. > :42:21.And many of us use it as an opportunity to show affection

:42:22. > :42:24.for our loved ones with cards, flowers or chocolates.

:42:25. > :42:27.In the UK an average of 25 million cards are given on Valentine's,

:42:28. > :42:29.Day but not everyone is looking for love.

:42:30. > :42:33.Many people are single and proud out of choice and are enjoying

:42:34. > :42:37.discovering themselves and what the world has to offer.

:42:38. > :42:40.Let's talk to some people who are all single and proud to be so.

:42:41. > :42:48.June Whittle, Stefan-Pierre Tomlin and Lauren Crouch.

:42:49. > :43:01.You have been single for 11 years. What happened? Why did you decide to

:43:02. > :43:06.be single? It was a choice, because of relationship issues in the past.

:43:07. > :43:13.I just wanted to find out who I was, because most of my life I jump from

:43:14. > :43:18.one relationship to another, and I went through abuse. I met somebody

:43:19. > :43:22.in 2005, it did not work out, and I thought, this is it. You could only

:43:23. > :43:29.be yourself not in a relationship? Yes. Do you ever have a twinge on

:43:30. > :43:40.Valentine's Day? I am happy being single, it is just another day to

:43:41. > :43:42.me. What is your view on being a singleton? There is nothing wrong

:43:43. > :43:47.with it. I would like to meet somebody one day. You have been

:43:48. > :43:51.single for four years? It is not a priority. There is pressure put on

:43:52. > :43:55.women, I am approaching 30, there is a thing where you see family and

:43:56. > :43:59.they say, when are you going to settle down? Actually, I prefer to

:44:00. > :44:04.prioritise my career and things like that. It is different now, one of

:44:05. > :44:09.the days when women need to be married and have kids by 25. It does

:44:10. > :44:13.not mean I don't want to meet someone, but I will not put myself

:44:14. > :44:17.under any pressure. You learn about yourself when you are single.

:44:18. > :44:21.Everybody knows those people who jump from one relationship to

:44:22. > :44:25.another. If you are always with other people, you don't get to find

:44:26. > :44:29.out who you are. You should be somebody who is so full of life and

:44:30. > :44:34.experience that when you do come to meet someone you want to spend the

:44:35. > :44:40.rest of your life with, you are an amazing, interesting person. You are

:44:41. > :44:49.here of the most swiped man on tender. That is put forward as you

:44:50. > :44:53.are all true eligible. It's a different perspective from what we

:44:54. > :45:00.are clearing about the pressures on women. You are very eligible. How do

:45:01. > :45:04.you see yourself as Mac I and a model, so I meet people in my

:45:05. > :45:09.day-to-day job. I have had girlfriends in the past. Last

:45:10. > :45:15.valentines I was on a date, on a TV show, I started seeing my date, but

:45:16. > :45:20.it did not work out. I find it hard to settle down with the right girl.

:45:21. > :45:26.You are on Tinder because you're looking for love. When I find the

:45:27. > :45:32.right girl I'm happy to settle down. I just haven't found her yet. What

:45:33. > :45:35.about what June and Lauren were saying about really understanding

:45:36. > :45:40.and knowing yourself when you're on your own. I spend half my life in

:45:41. > :45:45.hotel rooms by myself and it is quite lonely. I would say it is more

:45:46. > :45:48.a practical issue? Being in a relationship with my job is quite

:45:49. > :45:52.hard because I'm constantly travelling and there is trust issues

:45:53. > :45:56.with my job as well and I find being on Tinder it is quite easy to

:45:57. > :46:02.interact with people like me in my industry. Do you ever feel there is

:46:03. > :46:08.a stigma being a single male? No, I reckon if I really wanted to be in a

:46:09. > :46:14.relationship I could be. From what you were saying, there is maybe a

:46:15. > :46:17.stigma for being a single female? Some people are more traditionalist

:46:18. > :46:20.and would expect that a woman would prioritise meeting someone. I think

:46:21. > :46:25.over the past few years when I have been single, if I'd really wanted

:46:26. > :46:29.to, I could have had a boyfriend, but he wouldn't have astounded me

:46:30. > :46:33.and I don't really want to settle for anything less than incredible if

:46:34. > :46:36.it is someone that I'm going to be spending that much of my time

:46:37. > :46:41.with... Does the criteria get higher? It is not a criteria, it is

:46:42. > :46:45.not like he has to be or look like this, it is just the way someone

:46:46. > :46:48.makes you feel and unfortunately I'm incredibly romantic so I still

:46:49. > :46:52.believe in that spark and that's the only condition I have. So without

:46:53. > :46:58.that spark, you're not going to let anyone in? Yeah. What about you

:46:59. > :47:01.June? Is there a protectiveness as well when you're single? When you

:47:02. > :47:09.have been single for a long time, you know what you're dealing with.

:47:10. > :47:13.You're self-sufficient. I come from a different prospective because I'm

:47:14. > :47:16.a Christian. I used to jump from one relationship to another like I said,

:47:17. > :47:20.but my standards are quite high. Now my values are different. I could be

:47:21. > :47:26.in a relationship if I wanted to, but I haven't met the right man

:47:27. > :47:30.either. I'm happy being single. I've achieved quite a lot being single.

:47:31. > :47:34.Until I feel it's time for me to meet the right person then I'm just

:47:35. > :47:39.going to keep on being single. Valentine's Day is just another day,

:47:40. > :47:44.what about other key times of the year, Christmas, birthday? Christmas

:47:45. > :47:49.I spend with my family. Sometimes I get lonely. People say you have your

:47:50. > :47:54.friends and you have got people to do things with, but if you don't

:47:55. > :48:00.have a partner, you don't have anyone to do nothing with? There are

:48:01. > :48:04.times I wish I had somebody to cuddle up with and you know, go for

:48:05. > :48:09.a meal and stuff like that. I'm so used to being on my own, those are

:48:10. > :48:21.passing moments when I feel like that. You need a pet!

:48:22. > :48:26.Do you get pressure from family? My daughters used to say, "Come on mum,

:48:27. > :48:31.when are you going to meet him?" I would say, "I'm not ready. I do as

:48:32. > :48:35.well. My mum wants to be a grandma. OK, so you get that pressure? I get

:48:36. > :48:41.the pressure and when it happens, it happens. You can't rush these

:48:42. > :48:45.things. But my mum is keen on being a grandparent. Does it take

:48:46. > :48:50.confidence to be a happy singleton? It can be very difficult and dating

:48:51. > :48:55.has changed completely in the last five years even. And whereas you

:48:56. > :49:00.used to maybe seduce someone over the period of a few weeks or months,

:49:01. > :49:03.now if I'm on a date with a guy and he really likes me, there are

:49:04. > :49:10.thousands of other women on his phone so before it would be like oh,

:49:11. > :49:14.I was only competing with his super hot ex-girlfriend and now I'm

:49:15. > :49:18.competing with these millions of women who are readily available. You

:49:19. > :49:22.were saying about the spark. We watched the dating shows and there

:49:23. > :49:25.is that snap decision at the end of a date where it is like do you want

:49:26. > :49:33.to see them again? You get the sense of well, if there wasn't the spark,

:49:34. > :49:38.it's no. I have done proper dating shows. I thought there was a spark

:49:39. > :49:44.at the time, but it then wore off quickly. But do we put too much

:49:45. > :49:47.stall by the spark? Maybe. I think if you've had it in the past with

:49:48. > :49:50.someone. If you have had an amazing relationship with someone and you

:49:51. > :49:55.know that's there then I suppose you're not willing to settle in

:49:56. > :49:57.future and there is a lot to be said for letting something grow and

:49:58. > :50:01.seeing how something progresses over a period of time, but then I also

:50:02. > :50:06.think you can walk into a room and straightaway know if you want to

:50:07. > :50:09.speak to someone. I have got this thing in my head when I meet the

:50:10. > :50:17.right girl I will know straightaway and it will just happen really

:50:18. > :50:24.quickly. What about self protection? Yes, I think there is a lot of self

:50:25. > :50:26.preservation that you don't want to get involved with something unless

:50:27. > :50:30.it is going to mean something. If the relationship is right, then it's

:50:31. > :50:35.fine. You feel vulnerable and you put yourself out there, but they're

:50:36. > :50:39.doing the same. It is not a one-way thing where you're putting yourself

:50:40. > :50:46.out there and they can screw you over. Jeff e-mailed said, "It is

:50:47. > :50:50.great being single on Valentine's. I can't wait until tomorrow, cheap

:50:51. > :50:58.chocolate. And I bet better looking every day." Another viewer says, "I

:50:59. > :51:01.have been divorced for 32 years. It was the best thing that happened to

:51:02. > :51:05.me. I can do what I want, when I want, as often as I want. I don't

:51:06. > :51:09.want to have a partner barking out orders so I never wanted to remarry!

:51:10. > :51:12." That's weird. If you're in the relationship with the right person

:51:13. > :51:18.you can still do whatever you want, when you want. We're all defined by

:51:19. > :51:22.past experiences. I suppose, I mean, I hope if I am ever in a

:51:23. > :51:28.relationship it is not the kind that stops me doing what I want and I

:51:29. > :51:34.would hope I'm not a girlfriend who stops my partner doing what they

:51:35. > :51:37.want. I had someone tell me I couldn't do stuff because of the

:51:38. > :51:42.trust. My next girlfriend is someone who is going to trust me and we are

:51:43. > :51:45.best friends and soul mates. I have been in controlling relationships as

:51:46. > :51:49.well. It is best to be friends first. Get to know the person and

:51:50. > :51:53.then take it from there. That's the best route. Could you imagine

:51:54. > :51:57.getting into another relationship? Yeah, I could, yeah, definitely. I'm

:51:58. > :52:02.not ruling it out. OK, well who knows who is watching!

:52:03. > :52:08.Good luck to all of you. Happy Valentine's Day!

:52:09. > :52:10.The American magazine, Playboy, has announced

:52:11. > :52:13.The magazine decided to remove naked pictures last year,

:52:14. > :52:15.but Playboy's new chief creative officer Cooper Hefner,

:52:16. > :52:17.son of founder Hugh, says that was a mistake.

:52:18. > :52:22.The latest edition of the magazine sees the playmate of the month

:52:23. > :52:27.reinstated with the hashtag #NakedIsNormal.

:52:28. > :52:29.Let's talk to Samir Husni, who is a journalism professor

:52:30. > :52:32.at the University of Mississippi and a leading expert on magazines

:52:33. > :52:34.and the journalist and author Juliette Wills who used to write

:52:35. > :52:45.Thank you very much indeed. Why do you think they have brought back

:52:46. > :52:51.nudity? Well, you know, it's part of the DNA of Playboy is nudity. When

:52:52. > :52:56.Hugh Hefner launched Playboy in 1953, there was a lot of magazines

:52:57. > :53:02.that had nudes in them, but his formula was to bring that to the

:53:03. > :53:09.first issue, the next door nude and the models and he combined that with

:53:10. > :53:14.what I call the first men's magazine because there was tonnes of advice

:53:15. > :53:18.for men and the only way he can get men to read the advice whether it is

:53:19. > :53:22.about music or movies or about sex was to have a nude picture here and

:53:23. > :53:27.there. For him to compete, part of that

:53:28. > :53:30.formula was to have those nudes that are not the celebrity nudes that

:53:31. > :53:38.were appearing everywhere like he did with his first issue with the

:53:39. > :53:42.poster from Marilyn Monroe. Julielet what's your view of that, the nudity

:53:43. > :53:45.in Playboy and whether men would read that sort of information

:53:46. > :53:50.without there being nudity alongside it? I think men can read without

:53:51. > :53:55.pictures. They do read cereal packets and things like that without

:53:56. > :54:00.pictures of nude women. But I kind of understand where they were coming

:54:01. > :54:07.from back then. It was a ground-breaking magazine. It had

:54:08. > :54:11.great articles. It still has great articles, but I do think men like a

:54:12. > :54:25.little light entertainment on the side, but they can also, you know,

:54:26. > :54:34.read a newspaper without being at this titilated. Was it an error and

:54:35. > :54:42.now it has come back? I often bought Playboy. In the last ten years or

:54:43. > :54:51.so, I'd buy the odd issue depending who was on the cover. I'm straight,

:54:52. > :54:57.but I like looking at women and I found that when the ban came in and

:54:58. > :55:00.they outright stopped showing nipples and etcetera, I thought

:55:01. > :55:07.really I can read these articles of this kind of stuff in GQ or He is

:55:08. > :55:12.quire or in a newspaper or Business Week. It lost the appeal that you

:55:13. > :55:18.could read something interesting and see some nice boobs! It went to

:55:19. > :55:21.bottoms which I found very odd. We will maybe some on the verbal

:55:22. > :55:30.descritions of the pictures at that point. Playboy without nudes and

:55:31. > :55:33.when you have got a brand and people associate something particular with

:55:34. > :55:37.it and you take that away, was it going to work? No. That's the reason

:55:38. > :55:41.why they are going back to the nudes because you cannot take the DNA of a

:55:42. > :55:46.publication and change it all of a sudden and then keep everything else

:55:47. > :55:51.the same. That's why even bringing, even if Scooper Hefner is going to

:55:52. > :55:56.bring back the nude, if that's the only things' going to do, it's not

:55:57. > :56:00.going to work. You have to remember when his dad created that magazine,

:56:01. > :56:02.it became one of the largest circulating magazines in the United

:56:03. > :56:09.States reaching almost seven million, but that was back in the

:56:10. > :56:14.mid-1970s, those days are gone. The circulation last year was 700,000.

:56:15. > :56:18.So you can imagine from seven million to almost three-quarters of

:56:19. > :56:24.a million. So if Cooper is only going to bring the nudes rather than

:56:25. > :56:31.reinvent the magazine now he has the opportunity, Hefner is no longer

:56:32. > :56:33.dictating what goes in Playboy or whatever selections of pictures or

:56:34. > :56:39.articles or you name it, so the magazine has to be desaound now, not

:56:40. > :56:45.for somebody who was born the same year that ploy boy was born in 1953,

:56:46. > :56:49.but rather for somebody like him. With everything available on the

:56:50. > :56:53.internet, are magazines just a dying format anyway? Are they just going

:56:54. > :56:59.to be inevitable limits to circulation? I beg to differ. I mean

:57:00. > :57:04.we are seeing more magazines coming to the market place in the UK, in

:57:05. > :57:09.the United States, but they are not the same magazines that used to be

:57:10. > :57:12.published in the 50s, 60s and 70s, anybody who publishes a magazine and

:57:13. > :57:18.gives me the same thing that I can Google and find the answers is

:57:19. > :57:21.doomed. I disagree on Playboy specifically with that because I

:57:22. > :57:25.think as you said the essence of Playboy has been what it was when it

:57:26. > :57:32.started. It's the, it's fairly innocent. It's inoffensive. It's not

:57:33. > :57:37.too much information as it were. So women have always had this area of

:57:38. > :57:41.slight mystery in Playboy. Thank you. Thank you both very much for

:57:42. > :57:46.your company this morning. I want to end with some more of your comments

:57:47. > :57:52.on Valentine's Day. "I'm single. I have a great little hope and a great

:57:53. > :57:58.little dog cord cam uponionship. It works for me. Happy days." Lots of

:57:59. > :58:00.you getting in touch on our conversation on disabled people in

:58:01. > :58:05.the workplace with statistics showing more than half fear losing

:58:06. > :58:11.their jobs because of disability. Terry says, "I feel like I have to

:58:12. > :58:15.work harder than non disabled." Catherine e-mailed, "I was a

:58:16. > :58:18.teacher. I was actively bullied out of my job over a period of two

:58:19. > :58:21.years. Over the two years I was told if I was a horse they would have me

:58:22. > :58:24.shot." Thank you for your comments. I hope

:58:25. > :58:27.you have a lovely afternoon. Happy Valentine's Day however you are

:58:28. > :58:32.spending it, I will see at the same time tomorrow. Bye-bye.

:58:33. > :58:37.I've searched the world to find these extraordinary people.

:58:38. > :58:45.I woke up and I could suddenly just play the piano.

:58:46. > :58:49.The human body is unique within nature.