01/03/2017

:00:00. > :00:07.Hello. It's Wednesday.

:00:08. > :00:13.I'm Victoria Derbyshire, welcome to the programme.

:00:14. > :00:18.This morning, we'll hear about a so-called wonder drug

:00:19. > :00:21.for Hepatitis C and claims that a charity that tried to force

:00:22. > :00:23.the NHS to buy more of it received large amounts of money

:00:24. > :00:27.The pills are 95% effective at curing the disease

:00:28. > :00:35.You can't put a price on your life, can you?

:00:36. > :00:37.REPORTER: You don't know if it is going to work. I couldn't go on like

:00:38. > :00:42.I was so I had to make a decision. So why isn't it more widely

:00:43. > :00:44.available on the NHS? We'll bring you that full

:00:45. > :00:46.exclusive report shortly. If you live with Hep C

:00:47. > :00:49.do get in touch. And give us an insight into what it

:00:50. > :00:54.is like to live with it. Also on the programme,

:00:55. > :00:56.tough new rules for motorists caught We'll speak to a woman who,

:00:57. > :01:01.in an emotional meeting, met the man who killed her boyfriend

:01:02. > :01:09.whilst driving on his phone. What would you say to somebody who

:01:10. > :01:13.is going to pick up their phone behind the wheel today without even

:01:14. > :01:20.thinking about it? Don't do it because picking up a

:01:21. > :01:24.phone, no matter how nice you are or good you are, accidents like this

:01:25. > :01:30.can happen to anyone on the road by using a phone.

:01:31. > :01:33.And a test which is almost 100% accurate in telling mums to be

:01:34. > :01:36.whether the child they're carrying has down's syndrome is being made

:01:37. > :01:39.This morning there are yet more warnings it

:01:40. > :01:42.could lead to an increase in the number of abortions.

:01:43. > :01:54.Hello and welcome to the programme. We're live until 11am.

:01:55. > :01:57.Throughout the morning, we'll bring you the latest breaking news

:01:58. > :02:04.A little later in the programme we'll ask what's going on with Ukip

:02:05. > :02:07.and hopefully speak to Nigel Farage who is annoyed that his only MP

:02:08. > :02:10.allegedly tried to block him getting a knighthood.

:02:11. > :02:15.Should Mr Farage get a knighthood? Tell me what you think.

:02:16. > :02:17.Our top story today, drivers caught using their phone

:02:18. > :02:19.behind the wheel will now face tougher punishments.

:02:20. > :02:21.Fines in England, Wales and Scotland will double to ?200

:02:22. > :02:24.and offenders will get six points on their licence.

:02:25. > :02:27.It will mean newly qualified drivers with less than two years on the road

:02:28. > :02:33.face losing their licence if they're caught sending a text.

:02:34. > :02:34.Our correspondent, Robert Hall joined one police

:02:35. > :02:38.patrol in Cambridgeshire as it stopped offenders.

:02:39. > :02:40.On a busy main road in Cambridgeshire police cameras

:02:41. > :02:45.The evidence from around the UK is crystal clear, we've been warned,

:02:46. > :02:53.The most recent report from the RAC found 31% of drivers admit

:02:54. > :02:55.to using a hand-held phone at the wheel compared

:02:56. > :03:11.She had it held in both hands so texting or whatever

:03:12. > :03:17.This driver was spotted holding her phone to plot a route.

:03:18. > :03:20.You had your phone in both hands on top of your steering wheel.

:03:21. > :03:23.You may or may not be aware, it is going to change.

:03:24. > :03:25.Six points and ?200 fine and no option of any sort

:03:26. > :03:30.It's just how she was using her phone that makes it an offence.

:03:31. > :03:31.It's more than just making a phone call.

:03:32. > :03:34.Further up the road, a two minute call will have serious

:03:35. > :03:43.You were on your mobile phone. You are aware that's an offence?

:03:44. > :03:46.In the 20 odd years I've been on the road I've seen

:03:47. > :03:50.I've seen phone in one hand, lap on the other, and knee

:03:51. > :03:53.What just happened there, a minor indiscretion in relation

:03:54. > :03:56.to the scale of things, but no, I should know better.

:03:57. > :03:58.Unfortunately your mum has been killed.

:03:59. > :04:01.Police operations will now run alongside a media campaign centred

:04:02. > :04:04.Higher penalties are only part of the answer.

:04:05. > :04:08.In the end, we must all be conscious of the lives we put at risk.

:04:09. > :04:10.There is nothing that is so important it cannot wait.

:04:11. > :04:22.Don't use your phone whilst you're driving.

:04:23. > :04:28.Almost all of us have done it at some point, let's be honest. Is the

:04:29. > :04:32.increase in the punishment enough to stop you doing it ever again? We

:04:33. > :04:38.will talk to Meg Williamson later on. Her story is absolutely

:04:39. > :04:42.devastating. She met the man who killed her boyfriend. The man was

:04:43. > :04:46.using his phone. In fact, he was having an argument with his

:04:47. > :04:48.ex-girlfriend and he went through the central reservation head-on into

:04:49. > :04:52.her boyfriend's car as he was driving to work for a night shift on

:04:53. > :04:56.a Saturday night. Please do listen to Meg. That's at 10.15am. That's

:04:57. > :05:02.enough to make you stop ever using a phone again, I promise you.

:05:03. > :05:09.Some messages from you. Bear with me one second.

:05:10. > :05:13.Sorry. "My wife and two sons were killed by a motorist using his

:05:14. > :05:16.mobile phone in 2002." Joanna Gosling is in the BBC

:05:17. > :05:19.Newsroom with a summary President Trump has promised

:05:20. > :05:22.a "new chapter of American greatness" in his first

:05:23. > :05:24.speech to Congress. He appealed for unity,

:05:25. > :05:26.saying the time for "trivial In an hour long speech he promised

:05:27. > :05:32.extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle

:05:33. > :05:34.illegal immigration and terrorism. Our correspondent Laura Bicker has

:05:35. > :05:40.this report from Washington. Donald Trump's trip to Congress gave

:05:41. > :05:43.them a few last moments APPLAUSE

:05:44. > :05:56.P. This platform is new territory

:05:57. > :05:59.for this political outsider. Donald Trump set out his vision

:06:00. > :06:01.with emphasis on border control. We must restore integrity

:06:02. > :06:04.and the rule of law at our borders. For that reason we will soon begin

:06:05. > :06:08.the construction of a great, great APPLAUSE

:06:09. > :06:21.APPLAUSE He softened his tone

:06:22. > :06:23.on immigration, talking of reform I'm going to bring back millions

:06:24. > :06:27.of jobs, protecting our workers also means reforming our system

:06:28. > :06:36.of legal immigration. The longest and most bipartisan

:06:37. > :06:38.applause of the night was saved And Ryan is looking down right now,

:06:39. > :06:43.you know that, and he's very happy because I think he just

:06:44. > :06:45.broke a record. There was much in the speech

:06:46. > :06:54.for Democrats to like. A trillion-dollar investment

:06:55. > :06:58.in infrastructure, talk of paid family leave,

:06:59. > :07:01.but most stayed stony We all salute the same great

:07:02. > :07:07.American flag and we all This was the most presidential hour

:07:08. > :07:17.of Donald Trump's presidency and there will be some in his party

:07:18. > :07:28.breathing a sigh of relief. A new non-invasive test to detect

:07:29. > :07:31.Down's Syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out

:07:32. > :07:35.next year on the NHS. There are concerns that the test

:07:36. > :07:37.could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis

:07:38. > :07:42.of their sex. Policy advisors at the Nuffield

:07:43. > :07:45.Council on Bioethics also warn introducing it on the NHS could lead

:07:46. > :07:49.to an increase in the number of terminations following

:07:50. > :07:52.a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome. This programme has discovered that

:07:53. > :07:55.a charity which tried to force the NHS to give more people

:07:56. > :07:58.a treatment for Hepatitis C has received hundreds

:07:59. > :07:59.of thousands of pounds Sovaldi can cure the disease

:08:00. > :08:09.for good in as little as eight weeks but due to its high cost,

:08:10. > :08:12.NHS England has limited its access The Hepatitis C Trust

:08:13. > :08:17.fought that decision and while it did not take money

:08:18. > :08:29.for the court case, we found it has accepted around ?200,000

:08:30. > :08:31.from the US drugs giant The charity denies taking

:08:32. > :08:38.the money means it's less Lots of people try to influence us,

:08:39. > :08:42.but we just come back to the same thing. What's right for patients?

:08:43. > :08:48.And as long as we keep that at the fore front of what we're doing then

:08:49. > :08:51.that's fine. If at the same time, as I say, what we're doing is in

:08:52. > :08:55.somebody else's interest, fine. And we'll have more on that story

:08:56. > :08:58.in just a few minutes' time. The boss of Uber, the taxi-booking

:08:59. > :09:01.app, Travis Kalanick has been forced to apologise after a video emerged

:09:02. > :09:03.of him swearing at a driver who complained he was not

:09:04. > :09:06.making enough money. Mr Kalanick later sent

:09:07. > :09:08.an email to his staff saying he was "ashamed" of his actions

:09:09. > :09:20.and that he is seeking help to Unite claims the car maker Ford is

:09:21. > :09:23.planning to cut more than 1100 jobs at the Bridgend engine plant in the

:09:24. > :09:27.next four years. Workers meetings will be held at the site today in

:09:28. > :09:30.what Unite said was a sign that strike action was one step closer,

:09:31. > :09:35.but in a statement this morning, Ford said that levels of engine

:09:36. > :09:39.production from Bridgend remain healthy and jobs in the up coming

:09:40. > :09:42.years are expected to be similar to today's numbers.

:09:43. > :09:44.Two women have been charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam,

:09:45. > :09:46.the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

:09:47. > :09:49.The pair, one of whom is Vietnamese, the other Indonesian,

:09:50. > :09:50.face the death penalty if found guilty.

:09:51. > :09:55.Malaysian police believe they wiped the deadly VX nerve agent

:09:56. > :09:58.on his face just over a fortnight ago in Kula Lumpur Airport.

:09:59. > :10:02.The women claim they thought they were taking part in a video prank.

:10:03. > :10:04.Scientists have found evidence of a strong link

:10:05. > :10:14.The study, at Imperial College London, concluded that being obese

:10:15. > :10:16.increased the risk of getting 11 cancers including stomach,

:10:17. > :10:20.Researchers say maintaining a healthy weight is the single most

:10:21. > :10:23.important way to reduce the risk of cancer after not smoking.

:10:24. > :10:25.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:10:26. > :10:38.Joe says, "Don't assume we have all used mobile phones while behind the

:10:39. > :10:42.wheel. I have never done so." Lesley says, "The increase in fines is good

:10:43. > :10:47.news, but it should include hands-free which is just as

:10:48. > :10:53.dangerous." Another viewer tweets, "Don't use your phone. What do

:10:54. > :10:57.people value more than their posh coffees, their phone."

:10:58. > :11:00.Do get in touch with us throughout the morning -

:11:01. > :11:03.use the hashtag Victoria LIVE and If you text, you will be charged

:11:04. > :11:09.We're going to talk golf first and there are some changes

:11:10. > :11:17.Would you say golf is one of the most complicated sports in terms of

:11:18. > :11:21.rules of all the sport, I would say. I can't think of a sport with a

:11:22. > :11:24.fatter rule book. The thinking behind the changes is we need to

:11:25. > :11:27.make golf more simple because the numbers of people participating in

:11:28. > :11:31.the sport have declined rapidly over the past 20 years or so and so the

:11:32. > :11:35.people who are behind the rule changes say this is the biggest raft

:11:36. > :11:38.of changes for a generation, designed to make the game more

:11:39. > :11:41.simple and therefore, more attractive and get more people

:11:42. > :11:46.playing. From the outside, they are not major changes. They are probably

:11:47. > :11:49.just minor tweaks to rules for people who don't play golfment for

:11:50. > :11:57.people who play the sport, it might make a lot of difference. I never

:11:58. > :12:04.played golf. I've only ever done hitting a ball into a win mill and

:12:05. > :12:10.down an elephant's trunk. Give me the rule changes? For people like

:12:11. > :12:13.you and, a round of golf can take you four-and-a-half, five hours,

:12:14. > :12:18.can't it? They are trying to say we should be playing a faster game. Sow

:12:19. > :12:21.won't be able to look for your golf if you've lost it for more than

:12:22. > :12:25.three minutes. That should speed things up. There is lots of

:12:26. > :12:28.etiquette rules where you should wait for the player furthest from

:12:29. > :12:34.the hole to play the ball first. That can slow things down a bit.

:12:35. > :12:38.Anyone who is addressing standing next to their ball can play it.

:12:39. > :12:41.That's a change that should speed things up and therefore, people

:12:42. > :12:47.don't have to give up, four or five hours to get into the sport at all.

:12:48. > :12:51.There is tweaks like new-style penalty drops. You will be able to

:12:52. > :12:57.putt and leave the flag in the hole whilst you're putting on the putting

:12:58. > :13:01.green. From outside the sport, it doesn't look like major changes, but

:13:02. > :13:04.they are saying that they are the rule makers of golf, these are the

:13:05. > :13:07.biggest set of changes for a generation. So will it make a

:13:08. > :13:13.difference? Peu guess we will have to wait and see. The rules come into

:13:14. > :13:17.effect at the start of 2019. The first in what they say will be a

:13:18. > :13:22.raft of changes to make golf more simple and more enjoyable. Make of

:13:23. > :13:27.that what you will. It's not going to be enough to make

:13:28. > :13:30.me go and play a round of golf. I'm not waiting until 2019 to do it!

:13:31. > :13:32.Football and Newcastle have taken a big step

:13:33. > :13:44.They say it is the most lucrative promotion. The race is really

:13:45. > :13:48.hotting up, Newcastle and Brighton, top of table clash last night to see

:13:49. > :13:51.who would be in the position to go into the Premier League. Brighton

:13:52. > :13:55.were leading for most of the match. They were 1-0 up for most of the

:13:56. > :14:02.match, but Newcastle came back in the last ten minutes to score two

:14:03. > :14:07.goals and they are four points clear at the top. That could prove to be a

:14:08. > :14:13.vital win for them because Newcastle now have to face every other team in

:14:14. > :14:18.the top seven over the next few weeks. So a really tough few weeks

:14:19. > :14:19.coming up for Newcastle in that race for Premier League football next

:14:20. > :14:21.season, Victoria. And finally Roy Hodgson

:14:22. > :14:32.is being linked with a high Yes, big buzz around Roy Hodgson.

:14:33. > :14:35.The last time we saw him in action was when his England team were

:14:36. > :14:39.crashing out of the euros beaten by Iceland, but many people in football

:14:40. > :14:44.today are saying he's the man with the integrity and the experience to

:14:45. > :14:50.take over at Leicester City where Claudio Ranieri was, of course,

:14:51. > :14:55.sacked last week. Yes, that's that moment when England were beaten by

:14:56. > :15:01.Iceland at the Euros. Perhaps Roy Hodgson will never be able to shrug

:15:02. > :15:05.off that horrendous experience, but maybe we will see him smiling again

:15:06. > :15:09.as he leads Leicester, potentially, he has been lined up as the next

:15:10. > :15:14.Leicester boss. All rumours, but we'll keep you up-to-date.

:15:15. > :15:16.Hepatitis C is a debilitating illness.

:15:17. > :15:18.Left untreated it can lead to cancer and liver failure.

:15:19. > :15:22.A breakthrough drug taken once a day can now cure the disease for good

:15:23. > :15:27.The problem is it's so expensive that NHS England has said it can

:15:28. > :15:35.This programme has now found out that a charity

:15:36. > :15:37.that tried to force the health service to give more

:15:38. > :15:39.people the treatment has received hundreds of thousands

:15:40. > :15:42.of pounds from the US drugs giant that makes it.

:15:43. > :15:51.You know, it's hard, because there are days

:15:52. > :15:59.There are days like today, when I sit down and think

:16:00. > :16:06.So I'm cured of the Hepatitis C, and yay!

:16:07. > :16:14.Hard to find, until recently even harder to cure.

:16:15. > :16:20.215,000 people in this country are infected with Hepatitis C.

:16:21. > :16:22.Spread by contact with infected blood, from dirty needles, unsafe

:16:23. > :16:33.For the first time now there is a cure that works

:16:34. > :16:40.The problem - it's so expensive that not everyone can get hold of it.

:16:41. > :16:57.Healthcare should be a right for every person.

:16:58. > :17:03.This is the story of what could be the most profitable drug ever made.

:17:04. > :17:07.We've been looking into the company behind it and the funding

:17:08. > :17:11.of a charity that tried to force the NHS to buy more of it.

:17:12. > :17:14.You can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry

:17:15. > :17:17.funding that went into the court case, this was supporting...

:17:18. > :17:22.More on that claim later, but first, why are these new drugs

:17:23. > :17:30.If I could speak to her now, then of course I would, you know,

:17:31. > :17:33.give her different advice, but what's gone is gone.

:17:34. > :17:37.Like many others, Zoe had been living with Hep C for years,

:17:38. > :17:42.Most likely she was infected back in her 20s, when she took

:17:43. > :17:51.30 years later, Zoe is now a qualified social worker,

:17:52. > :17:58.Four years ago, she found herself sick and always tired.

:17:59. > :18:01.I was struggling a lot, physically, but I put it down

:18:02. > :18:09.I was working as a social worker full-time, a single mum

:18:10. > :18:11.to three boys, you know, you kind of expect to be tired.

:18:12. > :18:25.I was falling asleep in my office chair.

:18:26. > :18:33.Also having problems with my digestion, feeling nauseous.

:18:34. > :18:38.My diagnosis came along, and then I was able to go, OK,

:18:39. > :18:46.this is why I've been feeling so rubbish for so long.

:18:47. > :18:53.It's not often a drug comes along that can change the world -

:18:54. > :18:55.antibiotics, the smallpox vaccine, HIV treatments maybe.

:18:56. > :18:57.Then there is this, a drug called sofosbuvir or Sovaldi,

:18:58. > :19:02.In combination with other drugs, it can cure Hepatitis C

:19:03. > :19:07.in as little as eight weeks, with very few side effects.

:19:08. > :19:14.That's because the pills that should be inside are some of the most

:19:15. > :19:19.profitable and the most expensive ever made.

:19:20. > :19:22.The official or list price for a standard course of Sovaldi

:19:23. > :19:27.is ?35,000 in the UK, or more than ?400 for each pill.

:19:28. > :19:30.The final price paid is confidential, but likely to be

:19:31. > :19:36.In some complex cases it could be a lot more.

:19:37. > :19:38.Nevertheless, in 2015 the medicines watchdog Nice ruled

:19:39. > :19:40.the cure is cost effective, compared with older treatments,

:19:41. > :19:53.So you're talking about vast profits here, tens of billions of dollars.

:19:54. > :19:57.The academic Andrew Hill specialised in drug pricing.

:19:58. > :20:00.We should have a plan to eradicate Hepatitis C from the United Kingdom

:20:01. > :20:07.within a reasonable time, be it five years, maybe ten years.

:20:08. > :20:12.It could be done if we tested and treated enough people,

:20:13. > :20:19.but we have to be able do this for a budget we can afford.

:20:20. > :20:22.But the new form of Hepatitis C drugs are so expensive that last

:20:23. > :20:25.year NHS England did something it has never done before.

:20:26. > :20:28.It capped treatment, restricting it to 10,000 people a year.

:20:29. > :20:30.And that's despite spending an extra ?200 million

:20:31. > :20:38.So, if like Zoe, your condition is not seen as serious

:20:39. > :20:45.I knew that there was a lot of cuts and a lot of issues financially,

:20:46. > :20:48.so to be told I wasn't sick enough, that because my liver

:20:49. > :20:50.was not cirrhotic, I wasn't on the transplant list,

:20:51. > :20:51.that I couldn't get treatment was absolutely

:20:52. > :21:03.But I don't blame the NHS at all, just to be clear.

:21:04. > :21:07.It was after that I kind of went, OK, what am I going to do?

:21:08. > :21:09.Because I left the hospital in floods of tears,

:21:10. > :21:17.just thinking, well, what next, you know?

:21:18. > :21:20.Across the world, the US drugs maker Gilead has been

:21:21. > :21:24.targeted by protestors, angry at the high price of Sovaldi.

:21:25. > :21:31.Working people cannot afford the cost of these drugs.

:21:32. > :21:33.International charities have been pressing the company

:21:34. > :21:38.to reduce its prices and increase the number treated.

:21:39. > :21:43.Nobody is saying that pharmaceutical companies shouldn't make profits.

:21:44. > :21:45.Just not the extortionate profits they are making.

:21:46. > :21:48.We are in a situation at moment where 350,000 people are dying each

:21:49. > :21:50.year of Hepatitis C, completely unnecessarily

:21:51. > :21:54.We are living in a world where life-saving medicine is taking

:21:55. > :22:01.I don't want to live with the uncertainties of Hep C.

:22:02. > :22:04.Gilead spent more than $140 millions in the US last year, advertising

:22:05. > :22:10.A Senate investigation in 2015 accused the company of putting

:22:11. > :22:16.profit over patients, something it denied.

:22:17. > :22:19.The firm says it has now treated more than one million people

:22:20. > :22:21.with Hepatitis C around the world, more than half of those

:22:22. > :22:28.in poorer countries where the drugs are discounted.

:22:29. > :22:45.In England, it is not the drugs industry

:22:46. > :22:52.but the NHS which has taken the brunt of the criticism.

:22:53. > :22:54.That's after it capped treatment at 10,000 people a year,

:22:55. > :23:00.a fraction of the 215,000 living with the disease.

:23:01. > :23:04.Charles Gore runs the Hepatitis C Trust, which represents patients.

:23:05. > :23:08.This is not the most expensive drug by any means across the NHS.

:23:09. > :23:14.That's the only bit I am railing against the NHS for doing,

:23:15. > :23:16.is picking on people with Hepatitis C and saying you're

:23:17. > :23:22.Everybody else gets the drugs that Nice say they can

:23:23. > :23:30.Is it because it is associated with drug use?

:23:31. > :23:33.Last year, the Hepatitis C Trust made the unusual decision to take

:23:34. > :23:36.NHS England to the High Court, to try and get that cap lifted.

:23:37. > :23:39.The charity lost, but it was unclear at the time how its case was funded.

:23:40. > :23:42.The judge suggested it may have been the drugs industry,

:23:43. > :23:50.which had a lot to gain financially, that was really behind it.

:23:51. > :23:54.That's something the boss of the Hepatitis C Trust strongly denies.

:23:55. > :23:57.You can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry

:23:58. > :23:59.funding that went into the court case, this was supporting...

:24:00. > :24:03.Categorically for precisely this reason, because we were

:24:04. > :24:10.The fact that the drug companies stood to benefit

:24:11. > :24:16.It was very important to us to get crowdfunding for it,

:24:17. > :24:21.because this is patients going for what's good for patients.

:24:22. > :24:24.It might not have taken money for the court case, but we have

:24:25. > :24:33.Over the last three years it's accepted ?200,000 from Gilead,

:24:34. > :24:38.the US drugs giant which makes Sovaldi.

:24:39. > :24:40.Last year, a third of its income, ?335,000,

:24:41. > :24:48.The charity denies that taking that money has made it less

:24:49. > :24:53.likely to criticise Gilead or other drug companies.

:24:54. > :24:56.Obviously people try and influence us, the NHS tries and influence us,

:24:57. > :24:59.Pharma tries to influence us, lots of people try to influence us,

:25:00. > :25:01.but we just come back to the same thing -

:25:02. > :25:06.As long as we keep that at the forefront of what we're

:25:07. > :25:09.If at the same time, as I say, interests intersect,

:25:10. > :25:11.and what we are doing is in somebody's else's

:25:12. > :25:30.The drugs company Gilead also said...

:25:31. > :25:34.Zoe ended up doing what hundreds of others with Hepatitis C

:25:35. > :25:40.She went online and bought a cheaper generic copy of a drug

:25:41. > :25:47.from a developing country, in this case Bangladesh.

:25:48. > :25:51.That's something the NHS cannot do without breaking international law.

:25:52. > :25:54.In the UK, though, it is legal for personal use, and costs

:25:55. > :26:02.How much of a gamble did you think it was?

:26:03. > :26:05.It's still over ?1,000 you're spending, that's still quite a lot

:26:06. > :26:07.a lot of money for something that could be a bit risky?

:26:08. > :26:10.You can't put a price on your life, can you?

:26:11. > :26:12.But you don't go know it's going to work?

:26:13. > :26:15.I couldn't go on like I was, so I had to make a decision.

:26:16. > :26:18.It was an informed choice, it wasn't, like, just throwing

:26:19. > :26:26.How unfair do you find it is that you have to go through all this?

:26:27. > :26:29.You know, these drugs are working, at a fraction of the cost

:26:30. > :26:31.that the pharmaceutical companies are charging.

:26:32. > :26:34.There's no reason why - I mean, we shouldn't have to pay,

:26:35. > :26:37.but at the same time, you know, we are lucky enough

:26:38. > :26:40.to have a health system in this country that was set up by,

:26:41. > :26:43.you know, some very passionate people in the 1940s, that you know,

:26:44. > :26:45.that gave everybody that equality, that right to health care.

:26:46. > :26:48.Now lots of countries don't have that, but I think that's very

:26:49. > :26:50.important that we hold on to that very dearly.

:26:51. > :26:53.It's at such a big risk of being completely wiped out,

:26:54. > :27:29.and everyone deserves the right to be well, if possible.

:27:30. > :27:35.David e-mails, I had hepatitis C for around ten years. The part that got

:27:36. > :27:38.to me was always having to be aware of not passing it on either through

:27:39. > :27:42.sex or an injury where blood could spill. I have the treatment as part

:27:43. > :27:47.of a trial and was successfully cured. It is a huge weight off my

:27:48. > :27:51.shoulders. The treatment should be widely available, in my opinion.

:27:52. > :27:54.Loads of comments on driving the tougher punishments coming in today

:27:55. > :28:00.if you are caught using a mobile phone. Gene Sauers who do you think

:28:01. > :28:04.you are when you talk to me and say almost all of us have use mobile

:28:05. > :28:09.phones while driving. Adrian says I don't think the penalties go far

:28:10. > :28:15.enough, we ban drink-drivers, why treat the victims of mobile phone

:28:16. > :28:21.using drivers any differently? Their they should face the same penalties,

:28:22. > :28:27.ban them automatically. When scissor don't goes far of how about 9-point

:28:28. > :28:31.and a ?2500 fine to be paid within 30 days to stamp out this selfish

:28:32. > :28:34.action. John reckons he sees three to four mobiles being used in cars

:28:35. > :28:38.every day round here. I haven't seen a police officer in the last two

:28:39. > :28:42.years either on foot or in a car. The correlation is obvious. No point

:28:43. > :28:47.whatsoever having laws, however Draconian, if you don't them. More

:28:48. > :28:50.government sticking plaster I'm sorry to say. Andy says I think the

:28:51. > :28:53.penalties are being aimed in the wrong direction, not just their

:28:54. > :28:57.vehicle they are using irresponsibly, but also their phone.

:28:58. > :29:05.Take their phone from them, half of these idiots with Lars -- rather use

:29:06. > :29:08.off lose the -- some of these idiots would rather lose their driving

:29:09. > :29:14.licence than their phone the six months.

:29:15. > :29:18.A new noninvasive test allowing pregnant women to screen for Down's

:29:19. > :29:22.syndrome will be available on the NHS from next year -

:29:23. > :29:29.Donald Trump calls for a new chapter in American greatness. We will ask

:29:30. > :29:31.one of his supporters exactly what that means.

:29:32. > :29:35.Joanna Gosling is in the newsroom of the rest of the day's news.

:29:36. > :29:37.Punishments for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double

:29:38. > :29:39.from today in England, Wales and Scotland.

:29:40. > :29:42.Motorists face getting six points on their licence and a ?200 fine.

:29:43. > :29:44.New drivers caught within two years of passing their test

:29:45. > :29:57.Donald Trump has promised a "new chapter of American

:29:58. > :29:58.greatness" in his first speech to Congress.

:29:59. > :30:01.He also appealed for unity, saying the time for "trivial

:30:02. > :30:05.In an hour long speech he promised extra spending on infrastructure,

:30:06. > :30:13.the military and pledged to tackle illegal immigration and terrorism.

:30:14. > :30:21.We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. The

:30:22. > :30:25.bravery to express the hopes that share our souls and the confidence

:30:26. > :30:32.to turn those hopes and those dreams into action. From now on, America

:30:33. > :30:38.will be empowered by our as per rations. Not burdened by our fears.

:30:39. > :30:40.A new non-invasive test to detect Down's Syndrome early

:30:41. > :30:43.on in pregnancy will be rolled out next year on the NHS .

:30:44. > :30:46.There are concerns that the test could be misused to selectively

:30:47. > :30:48.abort babies on the basis of their sex.

:30:49. > :30:50.Policy advisors at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics also warn

:30:51. > :30:53.introducing it on the NHS could lead to an increase in the number

:30:54. > :30:58.of terminations following a diagnosis of Down's syndrome.

:30:59. > :31:01.This programme has discovered that a charity which tried to force

:31:02. > :31:04.the NHS to give more people a treatment for Hepatitis C

:31:05. > :31:05.has received hundreds of thousands of pounds

:31:06. > :31:12.Sovaldi can cure the disease for good in as little as eight weeks

:31:13. > :31:15.but due to its high cost, NHS England has limited its access

:31:16. > :31:19.The Hepatitis C Trust fought that decision and,

:31:20. > :31:22.while it did not take money for the court case, we found it has

:31:23. > :31:25.accepted around ?200,000 from the US drugs giant Gilead.

:31:26. > :31:27.The charity denies taking the money means it's less

:31:28. > :31:36.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:31:37. > :31:39.The boss of Uber, the taxi-booking app, Travis Kalanick has been forced

:31:40. > :31:42.to apologise after a video emerged of him swearing at a driver

:31:43. > :31:44.who complained he was not making enough money.

:31:45. > :31:46.Mr Kalanick later sent an email to his staff saying

:31:47. > :31:50.he was "ashamed" of his actions and that he is seeking help to

:31:51. > :31:55.Two women have been charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam,

:31:56. > :31:57.the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

:31:58. > :31:59.The pair, one of whom is Vietnamese, the other Indonesian,

:32:00. > :32:01.face the death penalty if found guilty.

:32:02. > :32:03.Malaysian police believe they wiped the deadly VX nerve agent

:32:04. > :32:07.on his face just over a fortnight ago in Kula Lumpur Airport.

:32:08. > :32:18.The women claim they thought they were taking part in a video prank.

:32:19. > :32:29.An Appeal Court in Thailand has upheld the death sentences for two

:32:30. > :32:31.men for the murders of two British holiday-makers in 2015 after a

:32:32. > :32:35.controversial investigation which was marred by questions over the

:32:36. > :32:41.quality of the DNA testing on which the conviction was based.

:32:42. > :32:43.That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

:32:44. > :32:53.Does Nigel Farage deserve a knighthood? There is a row about it.

:32:54. > :32:59.Nick says, "Make him a lord and get him to campaign for the abolition of

:33:00. > :33:02.the House of Lords." A few people have taken a peerage with the very

:33:03. > :33:06.intention of getting rid of the Lords and the House of Lords is

:33:07. > :33:11.bigger than ever as you know, over 800 peers now. Paul says, "Like him

:33:12. > :33:15.or hate him, he has changed the face of UK politics, given that he

:33:16. > :33:19.probably deserves a nighthood, individuals have been given

:33:20. > :33:25.nighthoods for a lot less." Ian says, "Mr Farage does not deserve a

:33:26. > :33:28.knighthood. We don't know what Brexit could bring. It could be a

:33:29. > :33:30.catastrophe." Katherine Downes has

:33:31. > :33:32.the sport headlines now. Last night Brighton or Newcastle

:33:33. > :33:34.could have gone top of the Championship after their top

:33:35. > :33:37.of the table clash last night, it is Newcastle who are top

:33:38. > :33:40.of the tree for now. Brighton lead for most of the match,

:33:41. > :33:42.but Newcastle scored twice in the last ten minutes to go

:33:43. > :33:45.four points clear. The rumours are that Roy Hodgson

:33:46. > :33:48.is being lined up to replace The former England manager

:33:49. > :34:03.is bookies favourite to take over. Golf's rule makers are set to

:34:04. > :34:06.announce what they are calling the biggest set of changes in a

:34:07. > :34:09.generation. They are introducing new rules to make the game simpler and

:34:10. > :34:15.quicker to play to try and encourage more people to pick up their clubs.

:34:16. > :34:17.Rule change or no rule change you're unlikely to head out for a round.

:34:18. > :34:23.That's true, I can confirm that. President Donald Trump says the US

:34:24. > :34:25.is witnessing a "renewal of the American spirit",

:34:26. > :34:27.as he delivered his first speech to Congress -

:34:28. > :34:29.the American parliament. The Republican President spoke

:34:30. > :34:32.in a measured way, he was upbeat, as he talked about a "new chapter

:34:33. > :34:41.of American greatness". We cannot allow a beach head

:34:42. > :34:44.of terrorism to form inside America. We cannot allow our nation to become

:34:45. > :34:47.a sanctuary for extremists. That is why my administration has

:34:48. > :34:54.been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take

:34:55. > :34:57.new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep those out

:34:58. > :34:59.who will do us harm. Tonight, I am also calling

:35:00. > :35:02.on this Congress to repeal This is a $1 trillion

:35:03. > :35:12.investment in infrastructure of the United States,

:35:13. > :35:14.financed through both public and private capital,

:35:15. > :35:17.creating millions of new jobs. This is a $1 trillion

:35:18. > :35:30.investment in infrastructure of the United States,

:35:31. > :35:32.financed through both public and private capital,

:35:33. > :35:34.creating millions of new jobs. By finally enforcing

:35:35. > :35:42.or immigration laws, we will raise wages,

:35:43. > :35:44.help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars,

:35:45. > :35:46.and make our communities We will look back on tonight

:35:47. > :35:56.as when this new chapter We just need the courage to share

:35:57. > :36:02.the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes

:36:03. > :36:05.that sear our souls, and the confidence to turn those

:36:06. > :36:20.hopes and those dreams into action. Let's get some more reaction to that

:36:21. > :36:23.speech from Scottie Nell-Hughes a Republican journalist

:36:24. > :36:25.and commentator and Carmel Martin a Democrat from the centre

:36:26. > :36:34.for American progress. Let me start with you, Scottie, what

:36:35. > :36:39.does this renewal of the American spirit mean, do you think? Well, it

:36:40. > :36:43.means, it is several things. It is a new programme of national rebuilding

:36:44. > :36:46.that in a rare instance Republicans and Democrats and economists can all

:36:47. > :36:51.agree about the question later on will be how do we pay for this

:36:52. > :36:56.spending? But what we saw last night was President Trump delivering a

:36:57. > :37:00.very vintage Trump message and Democrats having to tread lightly

:37:01. > :37:05.because while they might not agree with the substance that President

:37:06. > :37:10.Trump talked about, like the idea of rebuilding and renewing America. His

:37:11. > :37:14.speech was much calmer and it was something based on patriotism and

:37:15. > :37:18.you will see Democrats it will be interesting to see how they continue

:37:19. > :37:27.to either criticise this message that seemed to at first, really

:37:28. > :37:33.unify our country. Well, let's see. We can criticise the man's actions.

:37:34. > :37:39.His rhetoric continues to have a very populist feel. He's governing

:37:40. > :37:45.from the far-right. Let's look what he has done in little more than a

:37:46. > :37:47.month. His action was to make it harder for middle-class Americans,

:37:48. > :37:52.middle-class Americans to get away mortgages. He took away overtime

:37:53. > :37:56.protection. He made it harder to save for retirement. He has enacted,

:37:57. > :38:00.moved forward executive action that is line the pockets of corporations

:38:01. > :38:06.and special interests. He reversed the rule that would bring

:38:07. > :38:11.transparency around gifts to oil and gas companies internationally. He

:38:12. > :38:17.made it easier... What about the things he mentioned in the speech?

:38:18. > :38:23.The almost ?800 billion infrastructure package. You must

:38:24. > :38:25.welcome that? Well, I would welcome investment, serious investment in

:38:26. > :38:30.America's infrastructure. Well, you got it. We called that for a long

:38:31. > :38:36.time. But if you look at the plan he put out it would be again, tax

:38:37. > :38:41.breaks for people on Wall Street to be able to finance infrastructure

:38:42. > :38:46.programmes instead of investments in infrastructure which the end result

:38:47. > :38:50.is that projects that would already be funded will be funded, but there

:38:51. > :38:56.will be subsidies given to Wall Street which will be paid back by

:38:57. > :39:01.American consumers in the form of tolls and fees. If he is willing to

:39:02. > :39:04.put forward a real infrastructure package like Democrats in the

:39:05. > :39:07.congress put forward about a month ago then yes, I would welcome that,

:39:08. > :39:10.but I don't think we have evidence that's what we will see from

:39:11. > :39:15.President Trump or from Republicans in Congress. Scottie, he did talk

:39:16. > :39:19.about massive tax relief for the middle classes. Is that going to be

:39:20. > :39:24.paid for by poorer people? Absolutely not. Listen, I'm not

:39:25. > :39:28.denying that both sides don't already have their talking points

:39:29. > :39:32.prepared to combat as I just heard. It seems like many Democrats today

:39:33. > :39:35.did not listen to last night's speech and exactly what President

:39:36. > :39:40.Trump was saying and where his emphasis was going forwardment now,

:39:41. > :39:47.we can talk about the details and how you're going to look at it, but

:39:48. > :39:50.no president is going to put... Over the last eight years we have seen a

:39:51. > :39:54.burden put on by the Democrats and the Obama administration on the

:39:55. > :39:58.middle-class and at the lower class hence why you saw a successful

:39:59. > :40:02.victory in November. So if the Democrats are going to continue to

:40:03. > :40:10.spew this spin on, I guarantee you will see a win by the Republicans

:40:11. > :40:14.going forward. I urge them to listen to President Trump's speech last

:40:15. > :40:19.night. Put partisanship aside and work with us on the side as I

:40:20. > :40:22.believe both sides have good points that we can together on. The

:40:23. > :40:25.Democrats look look they want to continue this divide. Is that really

:40:26. > :40:32.in the best interest of the American people? I will respond by saying the

:40:33. > :40:35.things I ponted to are things Donald Trump has done since he has taken

:40:36. > :40:39.the oath of office. These are not things that he said. These are

:40:40. > :40:43.things that he has done. He has reversed overtime and made it hard

:40:44. > :40:46.tore invest in retirement. These are not things that are beneficial to

:40:47. > :40:51.middle-class people. At the same time he has packed his Cabinet with

:40:52. > :40:53.billionaires and people who are pushing their own corporate

:40:54. > :40:57.interests. The provision he talked about that allows oil and gas

:40:58. > :41:01.companies to accept payments from foreign governments, for their

:41:02. > :41:06.actions and in the provision just required transparency around that,

:41:07. > :41:11.he reversed that. His Secretary of State, lobbied heavily on that as

:41:12. > :41:16.the head of ex--on mobile. I mean during the campaign and even last

:41:17. > :41:20.night, there is a lot of rhetoric about working for middle-class,

:41:21. > :41:28.working Americans, but his actions, he's not walking the walk. He is

:41:29. > :41:32.just talking the talk. When he starts walking the walk and puts

:41:33. > :41:36.forward policies that benefit those at the top of the income scale and

:41:37. > :41:41.not middle-class Americans, his childcare proposal would be great

:41:42. > :41:47.for his daughter, it would allow people at the top end of the income

:41:48. > :41:51.scale to put away thousands of dollars away each year for private

:41:52. > :41:55.schools and private tutors. It is $10 a month for those at the lower

:41:56. > :42:00.end of the income scale. Thank you, I'll pause there. Thank you both. We

:42:01. > :42:07.appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, we'll be speaking

:42:08. > :42:10.to the mum of the youngest ever baby to successfully undergo surgery

:42:11. > :42:24.after being born prematurely That baby weighed 500 grams. The

:42:25. > :42:28.reason I've said it like that is because we brought a bag of sugar

:42:29. > :42:38.which is 500 grams. But honestly, tiny.

:42:39. > :42:45.Penalties for driving with a mobile phone today will be increased and

:42:46. > :42:48.instead of three penalty points on your licence, you will get six. If

:42:49. > :42:52.you are a young driver with less than two years on the road, you will

:42:53. > :42:58.lose your licence completely. Lose it. Tell us if you think those

:42:59. > :43:02.increased penalties go far enough. Meg Williamson is a 27-year-old

:43:03. > :43:06.teacher. Last June, her boyfriend Gavin Roberts was driving to work on

:43:07. > :43:11.the motorway when he was hit head-on by another car. The driver was

:43:12. > :43:14.24-year-old Lewis Stratford who was on his mobile having an argument

:43:15. > :43:22.with his ex-as he drove to her house. Mr Roberts died four days

:43:23. > :43:27.after the accident. Meg Williamson asked to meet the man who killed her

:43:28. > :43:32.boyfriend. He agreed. The BBC's Inside Out South was there to

:43:33. > :43:35.capture their conversation. The consultant took the family into

:43:36. > :43:47.the room and told them that there was nothing that they could do.

:43:48. > :43:49.And I just remember my legs completely giving in.

:43:50. > :43:52.I remember my mum grabbing hold of me.

:43:53. > :43:58.And walking me through the intensive care unit.

:43:59. > :44:07.It felt like I was watching, it happen to somebody else.

:44:08. > :44:09.I was on my phone, I was making the calls

:44:10. > :44:21.And yes, they were emotional calls, they were shouting calls,

:44:22. > :44:23.high emotional calls, raging calls that shouldn't have

:44:24. > :45:28.And I've got to live with that forever and ever and ever.

:45:29. > :45:32.I know I've caused a lot of pain for a lot of people.

:45:33. > :45:35.For something that could have waited till the next day, I know that.

:45:36. > :45:39.I know what I've done, the lives I've ruined,

:45:40. > :45:44.yeah, I've ruined a lot of people's lives, happiness.

:45:45. > :45:47.I deserve everything I get from whatever

:45:48. > :45:57.I am sorry, but I can't keep saying sorry because I know

:45:58. > :46:03.Sorry's not going to make things better, I know.

:46:04. > :46:14.What were you arguing with the ex-girlfriend about?

:46:15. > :46:19.She was due to come up to me on the Friday night,

:46:20. > :46:29.but she said no, and then we was arguing all day Saturday.

:46:30. > :46:32.We were going to leave it to the Sunday, so I'd go

:46:33. > :46:37.I got in on the Saturday night and I just drove down, angrily,

:46:38. > :46:55.No one thinks it will happen to them.

:46:56. > :46:57.It shouldn't take something like this for them to think,

:46:58. > :46:59."I'll stop using the phone", people should know before.

:47:00. > :47:03.I learned the hard way, but it shouldn't have to be this way.

:47:04. > :47:06.What would you say to somebody who was going to pick up their phone

:47:07. > :47:11.behind the wheel today, without even thinking about it?

:47:12. > :47:17.Don't do it, because picking up a phone, no matter how nice you are,

:47:18. > :47:21.or good you are, accidents like this can happen to anyone

:47:22. > :47:30.Something I have to learn from, pay a price for,

:47:31. > :47:55.I don't want to hate you forever, I'm not that type of person.

:47:56. > :48:05.And eventually I'll probably be able to forgive you.

:48:06. > :48:14.But I just needed some questions answering first.

:48:15. > :48:17.To be honest, I expected the hate and abuse.

:48:18. > :48:24.I expect it from anyone that has seen me on the street.

:48:25. > :48:29.If they want to have a go, then I listen to it and I accept

:48:30. > :48:32.anything people have to say, like I was scared to meet you.

:48:33. > :48:35.Thank you for agreeing to meet me, and answering my questions.

:48:36. > :48:59.Wow, I meanwhile, Louis Stratford admitted the charges of death

:49:00. > :49:05.through dangerous driving. That was astonishing. What was it like for

:49:06. > :49:09.you? The initial meeting, even before I walk of the door, I was

:49:10. > :49:13.very anxious, mostly because I did not know kind of how my emotions

:49:14. > :49:16.were going to come out. I didn't know how Lewis was going to react to

:49:17. > :49:21.me and religious making sure that I could get some questions answered.

:49:22. > :49:24.So it was difficult because I did not want to put any more blame on to

:49:25. > :49:28.him than he was overly filling himself. But my main focus really

:49:29. > :49:33.was just thinking how else can I prevent anyone else having to go

:49:34. > :49:41.through this? Why was it important for you to hear the answer to the

:49:42. > :49:44.questions you had from the man who was responsible for the death of

:49:45. > :49:48.your boyfriend? I think because of the beginning when I was originally

:49:49. > :49:53.with Gavin in the hospital, I had a lot of anger, ifs and buts, and

:49:54. > :49:58.questioned myself. And then as time went on and I started to realise

:49:59. > :50:04.actually Lewis is a real person, it could have been anyone behind that

:50:05. > :50:08.will on their phone. So it was important for me to hear from the

:50:09. > :50:12.one Howard had impacted his life as well as mine and Gavin and his

:50:13. > :50:17.family and friends. Let's talk about that on the way to work, Gavin was,

:50:18. > :50:22.in a chipped on a Saturday night. Yes, one of his last night shifts.

:50:23. > :50:25.He was working on the electrification of the railway cover

:50:26. > :50:29.something he was so, so happy to be part of, and he was so passionate

:50:30. > :50:32.about his job. We had just had dinner with my parents the previous

:50:33. > :50:37.night, the first time they had met him. And then Saturday evening came,

:50:38. > :50:40.he went off to work and I did not think anything of not hearing from

:50:41. > :50:44.him because I assumed he had gone out on track. It wasn't until Sunday

:50:45. > :50:48.morning when I got that phone cord to say that he had not made it to

:50:49. > :50:52.work, he had been in an accident, that reality kind of hit hard. What

:50:53. > :50:57.happened when you go to the hospital, what are they say to you?

:50:58. > :51:03.They let me straightaway in the go and see him, I sat with him and talk

:51:04. > :51:05.to him, and he said he had been responsible sometime coming to the

:51:06. > :51:08.hospital, but the pressure in his brain had been building, so they

:51:09. > :51:13.wanted to take him down, do a scan, and then they put a stint in to try

:51:14. > :51:16.to relieve the pressure. But unfortunately it was not successful,

:51:17. > :51:23.and so then we were told we needed to wait for a miracle. It was very

:51:24. > :51:26.hard. What did you say to him? I held his hand as best I could,

:51:27. > :51:32.because it was bandaged up and there were lots of tube similar way, and I

:51:33. > :51:37.just said to him not to be scared, -- lots of tube is in the way. I

:51:38. > :51:41.begged him to work up, I told him I would swap places with him, talked

:51:42. > :51:46.about the plans that we had, and the holidays and the memories we wanted

:51:47. > :51:53.to make. But time kept ticking by and there was nothing we could do.

:51:54. > :52:01.It was very hard. Yes. Do you think Lewis understood? What he had done?

:52:02. > :52:06.Yes, I think he did, he was very compassionate. He spoke to be very

:52:07. > :52:09.openly about how he felt, he didn't want the sorrow and he didn't want

:52:10. > :52:11.people to feel sorry for him because he knew that sorry wasn't enough

:52:12. > :52:16.because it would never bring Gavin back. But then the compassion in me,

:52:17. > :52:20.he has to live with this for the rest of his life. We can grieve and

:52:21. > :52:26.we can remember Gavin positively and hopefully carry on a legacy of

:52:27. > :52:30.changing people's views of using the mobile behind the will but ten one

:52:31. > :52:37.will always have delivered what he did that night. When he asked you if

:52:38. > :52:41.you were angry with him, you said a little bit. A little bit. Because

:52:42. > :52:46.the anger had worn off. I had come to realise that he was a real

:52:47. > :52:50.person, and it could have been me, my sisters, any of the friends or

:52:51. > :52:56.family that were either in Gavin's position or in his position, and so

:52:57. > :53:00.as I started to understand ten one, and saw how he was so emotionally

:53:01. > :53:03.charged by the conversation I guess, I started to understand that he knew

:53:04. > :53:08.he had done wrong and he was willing to accept the blame. What was really

:53:09. > :53:12.striking is that you said you don't want to hate because you are not

:53:13. > :53:16.that sort of person. Because hate can be a very destructive emotion,

:53:17. > :53:21.can't it? Yes, it would break me apart, make him feel even worse if I

:53:22. > :53:26.continue to hate him. He has told me he is sorry for what he has done,

:53:27. > :53:30.and he has said he is willing to accept the penalty of the

:53:31. > :53:35.consequences of his action. And, to me, if I can just start making

:53:36. > :53:38.changes, then ten one was part of the programme remade, and so

:53:39. > :53:41.ultimately people will be aware of what we have done at hopefully that

:53:42. > :53:46.will be a deterrent for them so it will start to make the for people.

:53:47. > :53:51.Lewis Stratford is now preparing to go to jail. He is. He has told me he

:53:52. > :53:58.is scared, but he is willing to accept it. As part of iGas is coping

:53:59. > :54:06.mechanism, he has looked into what he needs to do, and speaking to be

:54:07. > :54:09.hopped. Let me read some comments from people who are reacting to your

:54:10. > :54:16.meeting with Lewis Stratford, and also the fact the penalties are

:54:17. > :54:23.increasing today. Steve said this man deserves some credit. There was

:54:24. > :54:27.probably the hardest thing he has done. He knows it was wrong and he

:54:28. > :54:31.accepted. This person says I think the public victimisation is a bit

:54:32. > :54:35.sick, people don't concentrate 100% while driving all the time. It is

:54:36. > :54:40.natural. The only difference with Lewis Stratford is that he was

:54:41. > :54:44.having a full on argument with his ex-girlfriend on the phone, very

:54:45. > :54:53.emotionally charged. And driving angrily towards her home. Which is

:54:54. > :54:58.not just a little bit distracting, it led to that. Somebody has said we

:54:59. > :55:03.are victimising him, it has not been like that at all. It certainly did

:55:04. > :55:11.not come across like that at all. He agreed to do it, and as part of his

:55:12. > :55:17.closure, it was something he wanted to work with to deter others.

:55:18. > :55:23.Whether it is an emotionally detached conversation, or picking up

:55:24. > :55:26.the phone and moving it to the other side of the car it can be the

:55:27. > :55:30.difference between somebody getting to the end of their journey or not.

:55:31. > :55:43.What do you think about the increase of the sanctions? Is it enough? I am

:55:44. > :55:49.emotionally charged by this because of how wrapped up I am by Gavin's

:55:50. > :55:52.event. I don't think it is enough. I think it should be increased. ?200

:55:53. > :55:57.is not a lot of money to some people if they can afford to have a car and

:55:58. > :56:10.a phone. So I personally would like to see some sort of deterrent, some

:56:11. > :56:16.sort of, and across Europe they have graphically the advertisements to

:56:17. > :56:20.make sure -- TV advertisements to make sure people know the

:56:21. > :56:24.consequences. I think increasing it to ?1000 and some ban or driving

:56:25. > :56:26.awareness course would be more beneficial but it is about

:56:27. > :56:30.re-educating people. We know it is illegal, we should not be doing it,

:56:31. > :56:33.and yet most of society have probably done it at some point. I

:56:34. > :56:39.suggested that earlier and one woman was cross from the two sewing, she

:56:40. > :56:44.said actually not all of us have, some of us are pretty sensible. This

:56:45. > :56:51.viewer says new penalties for driving with a phone are still too

:56:52. > :56:54.small. If we drive of a car, the financial penalty needs to be around

:56:55. > :56:59.?1000 and the points should go to the maximum 12 straightaway. Thank

:57:00. > :57:04.you very much for talking to us. Appreciate the work you are doing.

:57:05. > :57:07.We will bring you the latest news and sport, but first the weather

:57:08. > :57:13.with Carol. If you are thinking of travelling

:57:14. > :57:16.later this evening or overnight, it is worth flagging this up, very

:57:17. > :57:20.strong winds, even inland across southern counties of England, Wales,

:57:21. > :57:24.East Anglia and the Midlands, gusting 50 to 60 mph, more than that

:57:25. > :57:28.of the coast. I will tell you more about that too as we go through the

:57:29. > :57:35.forecast. What we have this morning is very much varied weather, it is

:57:36. > :57:40.Saint Davids Day, the Sun in Wembley this morning. We have one or two

:57:41. > :57:46.from Neath. You can see from the sky it is a fairly still day. Peter. To

:57:47. > :57:52.the day in Edinburgh with lovely blue skies. In camera too just a

:57:53. > :57:56.little bit of cloud but still a very pleasant start to the data stop as

:57:57. > :58:00.we come further south, we have a set of weather fronts already bringing

:58:01. > :58:03.whether -- raining. They will continue to push across southern

:58:04. > :58:06.counties including the Channel Islands and move a little bit

:58:07. > :58:10.further north and east with as we had through the day. North of that

:58:11. > :58:13.again, we have some showers, particularly across parts of

:58:14. > :58:16.northern Scotland, the Pennines. Some of them could be wintry in

:58:17. > :58:21.nature but most of that will be with height. Some showers across the far

:58:22. > :58:26.north of Scotland, some in the Highlands but a lot of dry weather

:58:27. > :58:27.this afternoon. A fair bit of sunshine, Edinburgh and Glasgow

:58:28. > :58:39.peaking at six Celsius. Coming south into the Midlands

:58:40. > :58:44.through Norfolk and Suffolk, we have that sunshine, North Wales,

:58:45. > :58:48.Cheshires Abu Dhabi Cheshire, a similar story. Then the rain in the

:58:49. > :58:52.southern counties through parts of south Wales as well. Behind this

:58:53. > :58:55.band of rain things start to liven up, we are looking at strong winds

:58:56. > :58:58.tonight, and there will also be rain. As it engages with the cold

:58:59. > :59:04.air further north some hill snow, and some at lower levels. The Gaels

:59:05. > :59:07.coming about tea-time across south-west England. Through the

:59:08. > :59:13.evening and overnight continued across southern counties of England.

:59:14. > :59:18.And we're looking at gusts of 50 to 60 mph. On the coast 60 to 70. That

:59:19. > :59:22.is enough to bring down branches of trees, have some flying baby for

:59:23. > :59:25.example and some tricky travelling conditions for high sided vehicles

:59:26. > :59:28.and light vehicles. At the same time, a band of rain continues to

:59:29. > :59:33.migrate northwards, by the time it gets the parts of North Wales, the

:59:34. > :59:38.North Midlands, northern England and the south of Northern Ireland, we

:59:39. > :59:42.will see the snow not just on the hills but at lower levels. As we

:59:43. > :59:45.drift north of that, for the rest of northern Ireland and Scotland, it is

:59:46. > :59:49.a cold night. Some frost around and the risk of ice on untreated

:59:50. > :59:53.surfaces. First thing in the morning it will still be extremely windy in

:59:54. > :59:57.the far south of the country, but quite quickly the wins will ease. It

:59:58. > :00:07.will still be a windy day, just not as windy as overnight. Then you can

:00:08. > :00:10.see a lot of dry weather but there was to be showers of the North, some

:00:11. > :00:12.of them wintry. We have another system which keeps changing

:00:13. > :00:12.positions so keep an eye on this, bringing raining from the

:00:13. > :00:15.south-west. Coming up, more on the so

:00:16. > :00:35.called wonder drug that We'll find more about Sovaldi. You

:00:36. > :00:37.can't put a price on your life, can you?

:00:38. > :00:39.REPORTER: You don't know that it is going to work. I couldn't go on as I

:00:40. > :00:46.was so I had to make a decision. Why isn't it more widely

:00:47. > :00:49.available the NHS? We'll be talking to

:00:50. > :00:51.a former health minister The coach who couriered a mystery

:00:52. > :01:00.package for Sir Bradley Wiggins in a race he went on to win is due

:01:01. > :01:10.to give evidence to MPs later. This was to cure a medical

:01:11. > :01:15.condition, the world governing body said this was not about trying to

:01:16. > :01:22.find a way to gain an unfair advantage.

:01:23. > :01:26.A test for Down's Syndrome is being made available on the NHS from next

:01:27. > :01:28.year. There are warnings it could lead to an increase in the number of

:01:29. > :01:35.adorations. We'll get reaction. Here's Joanna Gosling

:01:36. > :01:37.in the BBC Newsroom Punishments for using a mobile phone

:01:38. > :01:41.behind the wheel will double from today in England,

:01:42. > :01:43.Wales and Scotland. Motorists face getting six points

:01:44. > :01:45.on their licence and a ?200 fine. New drivers caught within two years

:01:46. > :01:48.of passing their test With us now is Robert Hall, who's

:01:49. > :02:04.in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. Tell us what's happening there,

:02:05. > :02:08.Robert? Yes, good morning, Joanna. This really simple message which is

:02:09. > :02:12.redrivers have been warned, but too many of us are just not listening to

:02:13. > :02:15.the advice. The latest survey from one of the large motoring

:02:16. > :02:19.organisations suggests that more than 30% of us now admit to using a

:02:20. > :02:24.hand-held mobile or some other device at the wheel. It is really

:02:25. > :02:28.very simple. If you do that, you will get six months on your licence

:02:29. > :02:34.and you will get a ?200 fine. What you won't be allowed to do anymore

:02:35. > :02:38.is take a drier awareness course which was a softer option for first

:02:39. > :02:42.offenders. So the clampdown starts today. Police forces across the UK,

:02:43. > :02:47.including here in Cambridgeshire, we were out with them yesterday, are on

:02:48. > :02:51.the look-out in marked and unmarked vehicles. The message is very, very

:02:52. > :02:56.simple, you do not use if you're driving a vehicle any hand-held

:02:57. > :02:59.advice. That means you don't text or take pictures or watch things and

:03:00. > :03:04.you don't unless it is fixed somewhere, use it as a navigational

:03:05. > :03:08.device. The core message is we have got to take responsibility. We can't

:03:09. > :03:15.rely on enforcement. We can't rely on the police and we can't rely on

:03:16. > :03:17.the courts. If you have got a mobile phone if belongs in the glove box,

:03:18. > :03:24.Joanna. Thank you very much, Robert. Donald Trump has promised

:03:25. > :03:26.a "new chapter of American greatness" in his first

:03:27. > :03:27.speech to Congress. He also appealed for unity,

:03:28. > :03:30.saying the time for "trivial In an hour long speech he promised

:03:31. > :03:34.extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle

:03:35. > :03:40.illegal immigration and terrorism. We just need the courage to share

:03:41. > :03:43.the dreams that fill our hearts. The bravery to express the hopes

:03:44. > :03:45.that share our souls and the confidence to turn those

:03:46. > :03:48.hopes and those dreams into action. From now on, America will be

:03:49. > :03:51.empowered by our as per rations. From now on, America will be

:03:52. > :04:01.empowered by our asperations. A new non-invasive test to detect

:04:02. > :04:05.Down's Syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out

:04:06. > :04:08.next year on the NHS. There are concerns that the test

:04:09. > :04:11.could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis

:04:12. > :04:13.of their sex. Policy advisors at the Nuffield

:04:14. > :04:15.Council on Bioethics also warn introducing it on the NHS could lead

:04:16. > :04:20.to an increase in the number of terminations following

:04:21. > :04:31.a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome. Victoria will be speaking to women

:04:32. > :04:32.who had to make decisions about Down's Syndrome in the next few

:04:33. > :04:35.minutes. An appeal court in Thailand has

:04:36. > :04:37.upheld the death sentences against two Burmese men

:04:38. > :04:39.for the murders of two The two men were convicted

:04:40. > :04:43.of the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in December 2015,

:04:44. > :04:45.after a controversial investigation which was marred by questions over

:04:46. > :04:48.the quality of the DNA testing That's a summary of

:04:49. > :05:03.the latest BBC News. There is a lot of respect from you

:05:04. > :05:06.from Meg Williamson who was on the programme talking about the meeting

:05:07. > :05:12.she had with the driver who was on the phone when he crashed into her

:05:13. > :05:18.boyfriend. Gavin was driving to work and he died. A lot of people saying

:05:19. > :05:23.how strong she has been. This police officer says, "Goodness

:05:24. > :05:27.me, an amazing strength of all involved in what is a massive

:05:28. > :05:35.restorative justice programme. Programme." Another viewer says,

:05:36. > :05:40."What a brave lady. This is strong journalism." Steve says, "What a

:05:41. > :05:44.lady. It is easy for her to hate the man who did this, yet she doesn't. I

:05:45. > :05:47.hope they both find their peace." Thank you very much for those. We

:05:48. > :05:54.will talk to a Chief Constable in the next hour. The national chiefs

:05:55. > :05:57.police council for roads policing. Some of you say there aren't enough

:05:58. > :05:59.officers out there. Do get in touch with us

:06:00. > :06:02.throughout the morning - use the hashtag #VictoriaLIVE

:06:03. > :06:05.and if you text, you will be charged Here's some sport now

:06:06. > :06:07.with Katherine Downes. Newcastle have taken a big step

:06:08. > :06:10.towards making an instant return They are top of the Championship

:06:11. > :06:14.and above Brighton after beating Brighton were leading

:06:15. > :06:18.until Newcastle had a real piece Mohamed Diame levelled

:06:19. > :06:24.when Christian Atsu's shot Ayoze Perez completed the comeback

:06:25. > :06:30.for Newcastle in the 89th minute, who now have an eight point lead

:06:31. > :06:33.over third placed Huddersfield. Rumour has it that Roy Hodgson

:06:34. > :06:36.is being lined up to be the next Hodgson has been out

:06:37. > :06:43.of a job since this - England's humiliating defeat

:06:44. > :06:46.to Iceland at last summer's Euros. Leicester sacked Claudio

:06:47. > :06:50.Ranieri last week. They have declined

:06:51. > :06:52.to comment on the possibility More on the rules of golf now,

:06:53. > :06:59.the biggest set of changes in a generation are to be announced

:07:00. > :07:01.this afternoon, according Our golf correspondent Iain Carter

:07:02. > :07:08.joins me now for more on this. The biggest set of changes in a

:07:09. > :07:13.generation and announced at lunch time so we're not 100% sure what

:07:14. > :07:16.they are. But you've got an idea. Can you talk us through some of

:07:17. > :07:20.them? The idea is to make the game easier to understand. Quicker to

:07:21. > :07:25.play and more enjoyable. So I think what you will see is decisions made

:07:26. > :07:29.that will mean that you won't get two shot penalties for things, for

:07:30. > :07:36.inadvertent mistakes and those kind of things. I think it will be made

:07:37. > :07:42.simpler. If you're taking a penalty drop or a free drop you will be able

:07:43. > :07:45.to do that in a much less procedural way compared in other aspects of the

:07:46. > :07:50.game. At the moment you have to hold your arm up at shoulder-height and

:07:51. > :07:55.drop from there. You will be able to drop from much lower over the ground

:07:56. > :08:01.and the idea is to keep the ball moving, keep play going and get rid

:08:02. > :08:08.of the feelings of injustice that so many of us golfers feel when things

:08:09. > :08:13.go awry and we feel we've been unfairly punished by the rules. I do

:08:14. > :08:16.play golf. In 2019 when the rules come into play, I will be thinking

:08:17. > :08:21.about how they will affect me differently, how I will be executing

:08:22. > :08:25.them dimply on the course, but I was talking to Victoria earlier, she is

:08:26. > :08:28.not a golfer. She says that these seem very minor from outside of the

:08:29. > :08:33.game and they're not likely to entice her to play the sport which

:08:34. > :08:37.is what this is all about, do you think that these are supposed to be

:08:38. > :08:40.simp fugue the game and making it more attractive and getting people

:08:41. > :08:43.in and play it. Do you think they will make any difference? They will.

:08:44. > :08:47.I think collectively they will make a big difference. Individually, they

:08:48. > :08:51.are minor adjustments and the fundamentals of the game will remain

:08:52. > :08:54.exactly the same. It will be a simple ball and stick game in which

:08:55. > :08:59.you're trying to get the ball into the hole in the fewest number of

:09:00. > :09:04.shots. The idea is that you don't get bogged down in complicated rules

:09:05. > :09:07.and that sort of thing and attracting penalty shots and

:09:08. > :09:12.generally having the game working against you. The idea of the US GA

:09:13. > :09:16.and the RNA is to make it more enjoyable, to make that rule book so

:09:17. > :09:21.much easier to understand. At the moment, if you get into a difficulty

:09:22. > :09:23.on the golf course, you open up the rule book and I'm a golf

:09:24. > :09:29.correspondent and there are times when I'm scratching my head look at

:09:30. > :09:33.it and saying, "What should I be doing next?" They are trying to get

:09:34. > :09:39.away from it. Ian Kaerter, thank you. Has that convinced you to give

:09:40. > :09:45.it a go? The world divides into people who play golf and people who

:09:46. > :09:49.don't. Maybe that's really harsh. Give it a go. I'm washing my hair. I

:09:50. > :09:54.have got no time! Next this morning, we're

:09:55. > :09:57.going to take a look at tests for pregnant women which can detect

:09:58. > :10:02.whether or not a baby is going to be At the moment the test,

:10:03. > :10:14.which is called non-invasive pre-natal testing is only available

:10:15. > :10:16.privately - that will change next year when it's

:10:17. > :10:21.rolled out on the NHS. The tests are 99% accurate

:10:22. > :10:24.and promise to reduce the risk of miscarriages linked

:10:25. > :10:26.to the invasive amniocentesis test, previously the only way

:10:27. > :10:28.of accurately diagnosing Down's. But there are warnings this morning

:10:29. > :10:30.that it could be misused to selectively abort babies

:10:31. > :10:33.on the basis of their sex. Policy advisors at the Nuffield

:10:34. > :10:35.Council on Bioethics also warn introducing it on the NHS could lead

:10:36. > :10:38.to an increase in the number of terminations following

:10:39. > :10:40.a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome. They're launching their report

:10:41. > :10:42.with the actress Sally Phillips, Last year she made a documentary

:10:43. > :10:48.looking at the ethical issues When Olly was diagnosed 11 years

:10:49. > :11:29.ago, I never could have imagined that our family was going to end up

:11:30. > :11:34.looking like this. But although Olly is the reason

:11:35. > :11:44.I started making this film, It's not just about Down's

:11:45. > :11:52.syndrome either, it's a film that asks the question -

:11:53. > :11:54.what kind of society And who do we think should be

:11:55. > :12:00.allowed to live in it? So will it lead to an increase

:12:01. > :12:03.in the number of abortions Lucienne's eight-year-old son Billy

:12:04. > :12:12.has Down's Syndrome, and Nursev Morris, whose

:12:13. > :12:14.eight-month-old baby She has had the NIPT blood test

:12:15. > :12:19.with Benjamin which showed positive. Julia Langdon had amniocentesis

:12:20. > :12:22.in the early 80s and decided In a moment we're hoping to speak

:12:23. > :12:29.to Holly Riseborough who is 21 and has Down's Syndrome,

:12:30. > :12:37.she's been on our pogramme before. I think you were 32 weeks pregnant

:12:38. > :12:44.when you found out. How did you react? I had amniocentesis because

:12:45. > :12:48.of complications in my pregnancy. I chose to have it. It came back with

:12:49. > :12:52.the initial screening as having a high chance of having a child with

:12:53. > :12:56.Down's Syndrome, but I chose not to have am neo at that point because of

:12:57. > :12:59.the risk of miscarriage and I knew I was going to have my child whether

:13:00. > :13:05.it had Down's Syndrome or not, but when I was given a diagnosis, I was

:13:06. > :13:10.shock. I didn't know anyone with Down's Syndrome. I had the outdated

:13:11. > :13:15.notion that a life with Down's Syndrome would be devastating for my

:13:16. > :13:22.child, devastating for me, changing my life, my whole family's life. I

:13:23. > :13:27.like to say that now my son is seven actually, seven years down the line,

:13:28. > :13:32.it isn't anything like the dismal life I expected to have at that

:13:33. > :13:38.point of diagnosis. Billy has a very fulfilling life. He's doing very

:13:39. > :13:42.well at school. And he enhances our family like any other child that,

:13:43. > :13:48.our other son that we have. So yeah, I was devastated, but now, you know,

:13:49. > :13:59.it's a joyous thing. It really is. How is Benjamin doing? He's thriving

:14:00. > :14:04.as well as you can see. Absolutely. You had the test when you found out

:14:05. > :14:08.that Benjamin was going to be Down's how did you and your partner react?

:14:09. > :14:13.It was a big shockment we went through a type of mourning process,

:14:14. > :14:19.you know, first of all, we had the gender because we had it privately

:14:20. > :14:25.so we were looking forward to having a girl. It's another boy because we

:14:26. > :14:31.have a seven-year-old boy who is an amazing big brother. Sorry, my

:14:32. > :14:34.darling, come. For us, we went lieu this mourning process of what's it

:14:35. > :14:38.going to mean for his life? Is he going to be able to get married,

:14:39. > :14:42.have children, have a happy life, have a good job, all these things

:14:43. > :14:47.you hope for your children. And for us, we were glad that we had the NIP

:14:48. > :14:51.test because it gave us time to go through that process before having

:14:52. > :14:55.Benjamin. Whereas if we found out after giving birth at that point it

:14:56. > :14:59.would have been much more difficult to go through that process then to

:15:00. > :15:04.build the bond, the relationship, and so we were glad we had it and

:15:05. > :15:10.I've had it again with this new pregnancy. This time on the NHS, so

:15:11. > :15:15.we weren't informed of the sex, but we got a low risk for Down's

:15:16. > :15:19.Syndrome which again gave us peace of mind and now we can just focus on

:15:20. > :15:25.enjoying the pregnancy and getting ready for our child to come.

:15:26. > :15:31.We can talk to Holly Rice pro who has been on the programme before.

:15:32. > :15:36.How are you? I think we need to open your microphone, just give me one

:15:37. > :15:44.sect, can you hear me? Yes, I can. We can hear you now. How are you?

:15:45. > :15:47.Fine, thank you. To keep talking to us again. I remember last time you

:15:48. > :15:56.said that you love gymnastics, what is biggest achievement? I went to

:15:57. > :16:00.America. I really enjoyed it, it was such a big achievement really. Very

:16:01. > :16:04.good. Absolutely. You are telling us as well about working at Tesco, how

:16:05. > :16:14.is that going? Really good thank you. I work on checkouts, and I am

:16:15. > :16:23.really enjoying it at Tesco's. Is that one day a week at the moment?

:16:24. > :16:31.Yes. That is it. And what would you say is the best thing about your

:16:32. > :16:43.life? The best thing in my life, I am in college, acting, modelling,

:16:44. > :16:50.acting, dancing outside of college. What about your mum and dad, how

:16:51. > :16:55.supportive are they? Oh, mum... My mum has like really supported me

:16:56. > :17:01.really, because she is there all the time, and my dad, he has always

:17:02. > :17:07.dealt with me all the time, because he always can always looks after me

:17:08. > :17:10.every single time. Wow. That is lovely to hear, Holly. Thank you so

:17:11. > :17:17.much for coming on the programme, really nice to talk to you again.

:17:18. > :17:25.OK. Thanks, Holly. Take care. Take care. Julie Comey you had prenatal

:17:26. > :17:30.screening in the 80s, and you decided to have a termination I

:17:31. > :17:37.think in 1982. Tell us a little bit about that. Well, I was 36, rising

:17:38. > :17:43.37 at the time. I had become pregnant by accident. And I was not

:17:44. > :17:47.in the position to look after a disabled child, and I asked for

:17:48. > :17:56.amniocentesis and I was initially refused because at the time they

:17:57. > :17:59.only started testing at 37. They said I was more likely to miscarry

:18:00. > :18:04.from the tests than to have a Down's baby. I pointed out that if I

:18:05. > :18:08.miscarried from the test I could get pregnant again, but if I had a

:18:09. > :18:12.Down's baby I was in no position to look after it, I would have to quit

:18:13. > :18:16.work, and not saying that open my work before my children, I wouldn't

:18:17. > :18:24.of course, but I wasn't in the right circumstances. And my pregnancy was

:18:25. > :18:28.proved to be Down's. And I realised then that actually I had taken the

:18:29. > :18:35.decision already when I had asked for the test and successfully

:18:36. > :18:42.secured it. I had to give birth. It was a very traumatic and difficult

:18:43. > :18:48.time. My partner and I were very, very traumatised by it obviously but

:18:49. > :18:53.we went on to have two lovely children when things were sorted

:18:54. > :18:56.between us. Let me ask you all about this test that has been rolled out

:18:57. > :19:02.on the NHS. At the moment you can only get it privately, as I said. It

:19:03. > :19:09.is noninvasive, a much reduced risk of miscarriage. Do you think it is a

:19:10. > :19:12.good thing, Lucienne, that it will be available more widely? I think as

:19:13. > :19:16.long as it is handled with the enormity that it implies then it

:19:17. > :19:20.could be a good thing, absolutely. But we need to Mitchell that if we

:19:21. > :19:25.are talking about Down's syndrome... There are two things I want to ask

:19:26. > :19:29.you about, firstly Down's syndrome, and termination is based on the sex

:19:30. > :19:34.of the child, which this can show. In terms of down syndrome, they need

:19:35. > :19:38.to make sure there is support out there if you are given a positive

:19:39. > :19:42.diagnosis of down syndrome that you are given balanced information. It

:19:43. > :19:54.is all about both sides of the story. So that the idea in my mind

:19:55. > :19:58.of the NIPT for Down's syndrome is to give people time to prepare for

:19:59. > :20:04.having a disabled child. They need to have both sides of the story of

:20:05. > :20:07.life with down syndrome. It isn't easy, as you know, it does have its

:20:08. > :20:15.difficulties, but doesn't parenting anyway? Yes. And you were not given

:20:16. > :20:19.both sides, as you put it? No. I run a down syndrome support group

:20:20. > :20:25.currently and I know the still goes on in the NHS. I was told, I'm

:20:26. > :20:29.sorry, by my GP, that I have a child with Down's syndrome. I was given no

:20:30. > :20:32.up-to-date information, no signposting to support groups, no

:20:33. > :20:38.idea of what life with down syndrome would be full stop what about you,

:20:39. > :20:42.were you? Exactly the same situation. I am still waiting for

:20:43. > :20:46.counselling, he is a year. No support. They did not give us any

:20:47. > :20:50.positive information, and it was the same actually when we paid privately

:20:51. > :20:57.to have the NIPT. We received no information from them. And from the

:20:58. > :21:00.NHS side, we were pushed to abort, were repeatedly asked are you still

:21:01. > :21:04.committed to the pregnancy, I used committed to the pregnancy, at every

:21:05. > :21:09.consultant appointment we were told I'm sorry... Do they not have an

:21:10. > :21:16.application -- obligation to check your state of mind by asking that

:21:17. > :21:19.question? Yes, maybe in the first meeting, but when we said we are

:21:20. > :21:22.Christians, we have said from the outset we are not going to be

:21:23. > :21:27.aborting our child, we are going to go ahead, we just need your support

:21:28. > :21:32.now. What does it mean, having Down's syndrome? The explanation we

:21:33. > :21:36.received from the consultant, well, you know, these days it doesn't mean

:21:37. > :21:39.much, you know. They lived a bit longer so it's all right, and he

:21:40. > :21:43.will never be a rocket scientist, he will never be Prime Minister, but it

:21:44. > :21:50.is all right because Down's kids are good with music. Oh my gosh, are you

:21:51. > :21:57.joking me? I wish I was. It happens time and time again. Through my

:21:58. > :22:00.support groups, those who continue to have the pregnancy, they are

:22:01. > :22:05.constantly reminded, are you sure, it is not too late? This has to

:22:06. > :22:10.stop. There needs to be set protocols that professionals have to

:22:11. > :22:14.follow if you continue to have a pregnancy with a child with down

:22:15. > :22:18.syndrome. Let me ask you about the warning from the Nuffield council

:22:19. > :22:21.about this test being more widely available and therefore there are

:22:22. > :22:25.concerns it might lead to terminations on the basis of the sex

:22:26. > :22:30.of the child. Sex elect of terminations. What do you think of

:22:31. > :22:33.that? I don't think that is desirable at all. They're obviously

:22:34. > :22:40.cultural issues here and I think that would be very alarming. My only

:22:41. > :22:47.point is I think that women, parents, should be able to choose if

:22:48. > :22:56.they want to raise a disabled child. I have two friends who have had

:22:57. > :23:08.Down's babies, and they have had a very different, well, difficult

:23:09. > :23:17.lives, but one has been very happy. The little girl is quite disabled,

:23:18. > :23:23.quite severely disabled. So I do know and I understand, but I think

:23:24. > :23:27.it should not be used for selective choice of what sort of baby you

:23:28. > :23:33.want, designer babies as we call it, of course. Let me read the messages

:23:34. > :23:36.from people around the country. The street from lose the label, defining

:23:37. > :23:43.a person by their diagnosis is dehumanising. Please say a baby with

:23:44. > :23:49.Down's or a person with Down's please. Joe says we should be

:23:50. > :23:54.ashamed for introducing these Down's test, it's just that to say whatever

:23:55. > :23:57.not worth living. Elisabeth says all NHS staff need to be educated with

:23:58. > :24:03.up-to-date information on Down's syndrome. Kerry says who among us is

:24:04. > :24:06.qualified to judge who is deserving of life and who isn't? Thank you

:24:07. > :24:10.very much all for coming on the programme. Good luck with your third

:24:11. > :24:20.one, good luck. Your own experiences are very welcome, as you know.

:24:21. > :24:22.Voters in Northern Ireland will go to the polls

:24:23. > :24:25.The assembly there collapsed in a row over the spiralling

:24:26. > :24:27.costs to fund a green fuel incentive scheme.

:24:28. > :24:30.But it's again highlighted how, despite years of peace building,

:24:31. > :24:34.Our reporter Declan Harvey's been in Armagh to ask a group of young

:24:35. > :24:37.mums what they'd like to see politicians do so the next

:24:38. > :24:46.When the Good Friday agreement was signed to 20 years ago, pretty much

:24:47. > :24:50.all of the violence on the streets ended. What about the promises of

:24:51. > :24:58.bringing the community closer together again? Well, divides still

:24:59. > :25:02.exist. Of course it is not a concern when there are dolls to be addressed

:25:03. > :25:05.and blocks to be built, but their mums hope these toddlers will never

:25:06. > :25:14.know the experiences they had growing up in the split community. I

:25:15. > :25:17.remember the police standing at the back of our house, as you are making

:25:18. > :25:23.your breakfast going to school, they were standing at the bus stop. It

:25:24. > :25:27.was something where you kind of thought, not like there he has a

:25:28. > :25:32.gun, it was just there are soldiers on the streets, that is what

:25:33. > :25:35.happened. People in England thought whenever you see on the news,

:25:36. > :25:39.wannabe went across the road there were bullets over your head, and it

:25:40. > :25:43.was not like that. Going to school was a wee bit different because you

:25:44. > :25:46.felt the Dubai there. We all went to one or the other, so when you with

:25:47. > :25:51.your friends, you were probably that we get more -- we felt the divide

:25:52. > :25:55.fair. There has been changes in the last 20 years from what the troubles

:25:56. > :25:59.were. It has got a lot more liberated and mixed and peaceful but

:26:00. > :26:05.it could still come on a good bit as well. Everyone in Northern Ireland

:26:06. > :26:12.has taken large steps forward, but what signs are there these days? I

:26:13. > :26:14.would say certain names, catholic names and Protestant names, certain

:26:15. > :26:18.names would have certain backgrounds and they would not always certainly

:26:19. > :26:25.go to a certain pub or bar if you have that name, because you might

:26:26. > :26:28.just be singled out. Kerbstones painted, lamp posts painted just so

:26:29. > :26:33.you know what area you are in generally. A common complaint about

:26:34. > :26:37.politicians here is how they avoid talking about day-to-day issues and

:26:38. > :26:42.instead focus on Northern Ireland's place within the UK. Politicians who

:26:43. > :26:45.put leaflets through my door, I would like to have no flag on it, I

:26:46. > :26:49.would like to have a list of what their policies are for health,

:26:50. > :26:52.education, the environment. Because what comes through your door is

:26:53. > :26:59.coloured one side or the other but you don't know what they are

:27:00. > :27:03.actually going to stand for. These mums come from across the community,

:27:04. > :27:07.but when we asked what is the one thing they would like to see changed

:27:08. > :27:11.after the election, they all gave the same answer. Integrated schools.

:27:12. > :27:16.Integrated education is where anybody no matter what religion you

:27:17. > :27:22.are, what your background is, you grow up in the same school, all

:27:23. > :27:26.religions are taught to all of the children, they don't know any

:27:27. > :27:30.different. As it stands, 93% of schools available for these kids

:27:31. > :27:34.identify as being either majority catholic or Protestant. In my own

:27:35. > :27:38.peer group, there are still some parents who have that opinion of

:27:39. > :27:42.them and us. Their children go here and our children do this. Their

:27:43. > :27:45.primary school and our primary school and their secondary and

:27:46. > :27:48.arrows. The first integrated school opened in the committee one but

:27:49. > :27:53.growth has slowed, despite funding being promised. Existing schools are

:27:54. > :27:59.offering schemes where students can collaborate on mixed projects. None

:28:00. > :28:02.of the five biggest parties in Northern Ireland support more

:28:03. > :28:06.division, but they vary in their appetite for abandoning religious

:28:07. > :28:11.lead schools. A review is being held but it is one of the many things

:28:12. > :28:16.delayed by this snap election. It is very frustrating. It could be all

:28:17. > :28:20.talk. When I look through the leaflets that come through the door,

:28:21. > :28:24.the first thing I look for is the politicians's view on integrated

:28:25. > :28:28.education. Why does it have to be one-sided or the other? These mums

:28:29. > :28:31.talk about how being taught in separate schools affected them but

:28:32. > :28:34.they say the best thing that can be done now is to scrap the system

:28:35. > :28:34.before their kids which the classroom.

:28:35. > :28:38.That election is tomorrow - full results on BBC News on Friday.

:28:39. > :28:44.Still to come in the last half hour...

:28:45. > :28:49.about a new "wonder drug" for Hepatitis C and allegations that

:28:50. > :28:52.a charity campaigning to get the NHS to provide it has received money

:28:53. > :28:57.We will talk to the mum of a baby who was born 23 weeks early and

:28:58. > :29:01.survived surgery in the first six days of her life.

:29:02. > :29:08.Coming up to half ten, here's the latest news will stop punishments

:29:09. > :29:11.for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double today from

:29:12. > :29:13.England, Wales and Scotland. Motorists face six point on the

:29:14. > :29:16.license and a ?200 fine. New drivers caught within two years

:29:17. > :29:21.of passing their test We just need the courage to share

:29:22. > :29:49.the dreams that fill our hearts. The bravery to express the hopes

:29:50. > :29:53.that share our souls and the confidence to turn those

:29:54. > :30:00.hopes and those dreams into action. From now on, America will be

:30:01. > :30:03.empowered by our asperations. Francois Fillon, who only weeks

:30:04. > :30:08.ago was the frontrunner for the French presidency,

:30:09. > :30:10.is to make a statement later after pulling out

:30:11. > :30:15.of a key campaign event. Financial police have been

:30:16. > :30:17.investigating allegations that he paid his wife and children

:30:18. > :30:19.parliamentary salaries for bogus work, accusations

:30:20. > :30:26.which they all deny. He's giving a news conference at

:30:27. > :30:38.11am. Katherine Downes has

:30:39. > :30:41.the sport headlines now. Last night - Brighton

:30:42. > :30:43.or Newcastle could have gone top of the Championship -

:30:44. > :30:47.after their top of the table clash last night, it is Newcastle

:30:48. > :30:50.who are top of the tree for now. Brighton lead for most of the match

:30:51. > :30:53.but Newcastle scored twice in the last ten minutes to go

:30:54. > :30:56.four points clear. The rumours are that Roy Hodgson

:30:57. > :30:58.is being lined up to replace The former England manager

:30:59. > :31:04.is bookies favourite to take over. And golf's rule-makers are set

:31:05. > :31:12.to announce what they're calling "the biggest set of changes

:31:13. > :31:14.in a generation". They're introducing new rules

:31:15. > :31:16.to make the game simpler and quicker to play to try

:31:17. > :31:23.and encourage more people Having spoken about it for most of

:31:24. > :31:28.the morning I haven't managed to persuade Victoria to pick up her

:31:29. > :31:36.clubs and have a go. But we won't keep on going on about if!

:31:37. > :31:38.The former British cycling coach who delivered a "mystery" package

:31:39. > :31:42.to Sir Bradley Wiggins on the eve of his win at a big race in France

:31:43. > :31:45.in 2011 will today give evidence at a government inquiry into doping.

:31:46. > :31:49.He delivered it to a doctor called Richard Freeman who was also due

:31:50. > :31:52.to give evidence at the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee

:31:53. > :31:54.inquiry this afternoon, but now says he's ill

:31:55. > :31:57.Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford says he was told the package

:31:58. > :32:00.contained a legal decongestant, but MPs say they are concerned by

:32:01. > :32:08.So what questions remain about Sir Bradley Wiggins

:32:09. > :32:21.W Here is a padded envelope. On the last day of the cycle race in 2011,

:32:22. > :32:27.it was delivered to Team Sky. Simon Cope, who worked for British cycling

:32:28. > :32:32.from Manchester to Geneva before heading into France to hand it to

:32:33. > :32:36.the Team Sky doctor, Richard Freeman. Shane Sutton says Richard

:32:37. > :32:41.Freeman gave the contents to Bradley Wiggins. So what was in the package?

:32:42. > :32:45.Its contents haven't been independently confirmed. Sir Dave

:32:46. > :32:53.Brailsford, the Team Sky boss, told MPs in December that the package

:32:54. > :32:57.contained a deacon guestant. There is the rules and then there is the

:32:58. > :33:00.principle and our values and our values and our principles are very,

:33:01. > :33:05.very clear. We race clean and that's it. (BLEEP). But there are some

:33:06. > :33:10.questions outstanding such as why couldn't the team just buy the

:33:11. > :33:14.deacon guestant local? Is there a paper trail to back up claims what

:33:15. > :33:18.was in it, why did Simon Cope not bother to check what was in it and

:33:19. > :33:22.if the contents were destined for Bradley Wiggins then why was he

:33:23. > :33:30.taking a deacon guestant which is not meant to be used by atmatics as

:33:31. > :33:36.Wiggins is one? It is not the first time Bradley Wiggins faced questions

:33:37. > :33:40.about the way he used medication. This is was to cure a medical

:33:41. > :33:43.condition and the world doping agency and everyone said this was

:33:44. > :33:47.about, this wasn't about trying to find a way to gain an unfair

:33:48. > :33:53.advantage, this was about putting myself back on a level playing

:33:54. > :33:57.field. Despite what is known about the package, questions still remain

:33:58. > :34:01.about its contents. A UK anti-doping investigation into the package is

:34:02. > :34:02.still on going. There is no suggestion either Bradley Wiggins or

:34:03. > :34:09.Team Sky have broken any rules. Let's talk now to MP

:34:10. > :34:11.Chris Matheson a Labour MP who sits on the Culture,

:34:12. > :34:14.Media, and Sport Select Committee who are conducting this inquiry

:34:15. > :34:16.into doping and Matt Lawton, Chief Sports Reporter

:34:17. > :34:18.of the Daily Mail who has been investigating what was

:34:19. > :34:20.in the package. He's just won an award

:34:21. > :34:22.for his journalism at the Sports Journalists' Association

:34:23. > :34:26.Awards. Right, Chris, the only other person

:34:27. > :34:30.apart from Bradley Wiggins who can tell you what's in the package is Dr

:34:31. > :34:35.Rup ard Freeman. He can't now come to give evidence this afternoon. Why

:34:36. > :34:38.not? Apparently, he's not well. We offered him the opportunity to give

:34:39. > :34:42.evidence by video conference as well and he didn't want to do that. We

:34:43. > :34:46.will be writing to him to get answers to the questions that we

:34:47. > :34:50.still need answers to, but I would have preferred to see him at the

:34:51. > :34:53.committee. Will you call him at another time? We will keep that

:34:54. > :34:59.option open. How ill is he? I don't know. I haven't asked. Why is

:35:00. > :35:04.Richard Freeman the only person who would know what's in the package?

:35:05. > :35:07.123450 There was the third person. There is the physiotherapist at

:35:08. > :35:11.British cycling who was asked to pull it off-the-shelf in the store

:35:12. > :35:16.and package it up. So, but yeah, there are three people that would

:35:17. > :35:20.know for sure that had eyes on the package if you like. And would know

:35:21. > :35:24.which drug was administered. We believe a drug was administered

:35:25. > :35:28.because Shane Sutton, who was Wiggins' coach told the committee in

:35:29. > :35:33.December that Freeman told him the drug had been administered that day.

:35:34. > :35:38.After the race. OK. And just explain why you would administer a drug

:35:39. > :35:42.after a race when it has been won? Well, the reason that we have been

:35:43. > :35:46.given is because Bradley Wiggins was ill towards the end of the race.

:35:47. > :35:49.What is slightly troubling about that version of events that Dave

:35:50. > :35:55.Brailsford presented to the committee in December is the fact

:35:56. > :35:59.that British cycling then submitted Simon Cope's expenses documents to

:36:00. > :36:02.the committee. Simon Cope was the man who through from Britain to

:36:03. > :36:07.Geneva and drove to France with the package? Yes, but what we know, this

:36:08. > :36:12.is a seven day race. Wiggins won the race, if he was ill, then he was

:36:13. > :36:17.presumably ill mid-way through the race because Simon Cope was asked to

:36:18. > :36:24.go and get the package and travel to Manchester to get the package on 8th

:36:25. > :36:29.June 2011, he didn't arrive in France for Freeman to treat Wiggins

:36:30. > :36:33.until 12th June. So what we have is a situation where he was given the

:36:34. > :36:38.medication that they could have nipped across a road in France and

:36:39. > :36:43.in a pharmacy bought. If Bradley Wiggins was ill, the doctor had to

:36:44. > :36:49.tell Bradley Wiggins he would have to wait four days to treat him. For

:36:50. > :36:54.you that raises question marks? I find that implausible. I find it

:36:55. > :36:58.worrying. You will know that Sir Dave Brailsford has said over and

:36:59. > :37:06.over again, we have done nothing wrong. The package contained this

:37:07. > :37:10.deacon guestant, although Dave Brailsford had not seen what was in

:37:11. > :37:16.the package, but that's what he told you in evidence. Why don't you

:37:17. > :37:19.believe it was the deacon guestant? It is not that I don't believe. It's

:37:20. > :37:23.the evidence. It's the evidence that we have. There was an allegation,

:37:24. > :37:27.this began with an allegation which was a story I was told about the

:37:28. > :37:33.package. I began to ask questions about the package. I directed my

:37:34. > :37:39.questions to British cycling, Team Sky, and Bradley Wiggins'

:37:40. > :37:43.representatives and then what followed was this attempt to

:37:44. > :37:48.basically deny that there was even a trip with a medical package to

:37:49. > :37:52.France because I was initially told by Sir Dave Brailsford that Simon

:37:53. > :37:58.Cope did not travel to deliver a medical package, but to meet a

:37:59. > :38:02.female British cyclist called Emma Pooley and that's why he was there.

:38:03. > :38:06.We discovered that she wasn't even in France that day, she was in

:38:07. > :38:11.Spain. So things didn't add up from what you had been told. However,

:38:12. > :38:15.Dave Brailsford and Bradley Wiggins say they haven't broken any rules.

:38:16. > :38:19.Well, look, all we've done so far Victoria is ask the question and all

:38:20. > :38:21.I have done is report the responses to the questions that I've asked

:38:22. > :38:25.based on the allegation that was made to me in the first place, you

:38:26. > :38:29.know, it is the way we work as journalists. An allegation is made,

:38:30. > :38:35.you ask the question and this is the response. The version of events

:38:36. > :38:39.doesn't seem to add up because they went to this trouble where a guy

:38:40. > :38:43.went on a train from the South Coast to Manchester and flew out three

:38:44. > :38:47.days later and it is available over the counter in France for eight

:38:48. > :38:54.euros. You had a two hour meeting with Dave Brailsford, the subject

:38:55. > :39:00.didn't come up then, you weren't told then? No. My original

:39:01. > :39:06.questions, there was something like, it was over a week between my

:39:07. > :39:09.original questions and that meeting so no, that's not quite true. There

:39:10. > :39:14.was four or five days between my original questions and that meeting

:39:15. > :39:17.and no, the drug wasn't mentioned. There was over a week before we

:39:18. > :39:20.prunted the story. So that meeting was on the Tuesday and it was the

:39:21. > :39:29.Thursday the following week that we actually ran the story and at no

:39:30. > :39:41.time in that period, were we ever given Flumasil as a reason.

:39:42. > :39:47.Do you think Flumasil was in that package? It is not suitable to be

:39:48. > :39:50.given to people with asthma and we understand that Bradley Wiggins has

:39:51. > :40:10.asthma. At we have had more questions than

:40:11. > :40:13.answers. Everything is murky. It could have been Flumazenil in

:40:14. > :40:19.there. What questions do you need to ask? We need to ask Mr Pooley what

:40:20. > :40:22.was in the package. It was him that was transporting it and taking it on

:40:23. > :40:28.to planes, he should have known what was in there. Mr Pooley? Mr Cope.

:40:29. > :40:34.Simon Cope. Mr Cope, we need to be asking him if he knew what was in

:40:35. > :40:38.the package? Why didn't he know? Why was he doing this courier job when

:40:39. > :40:44.he is supposed to be the manager of the women's team and where do his

:40:45. > :40:49.responsibilities to Team Sky begin and his responsibilities for UK

:40:50. > :40:53.cycling. Have you requested that Bradley Wiggins come before you? We

:40:54. > :40:59.haven't yet. It would seem to be a no brainer. We will see what Mr Cope

:41:00. > :41:03.has to say. Why not? We are following the evidence. He was the

:41:04. > :41:06.person who received the drugs being administered so he would know? At

:41:07. > :41:09.the same time, of course, we are talking about issues that might be

:41:10. > :41:13.considered medically confidential to him. So we have to respect that

:41:14. > :41:17.medical confidentiality, but at some point... We all know he has got

:41:18. > :41:23.asthma? Indeed. These are the questions we will be asking today. A

:41:24. > :41:25.final word. The key thing in December Sir Dave Brailsford and the

:41:26. > :41:32.British cycling president agreed with the committee that there should

:41:33. > :41:36.be a paper trail that proves this that the package contained

:41:37. > :41:38.Flumazenil I believe today the UK Chief Executive, the UK anti-doping

:41:39. > :41:44.Chief Executive will confirm there is no paper trail. Thank you very

:41:45. > :41:49.much. That Select Committee hearing is

:41:50. > :41:54.this afternoon. And just to reiterate Sir Dave Brailsford and

:41:55. > :41:59.Sir Bradley Wiggins have consistently denied any wrongdoing.

:42:00. > :42:06.Sir Dave Brailsford told MPs that that package contained a legal

:42:07. > :42:24.deacon guessant. we'll be talking to a former health

:42:25. > :42:27.minister about a new "wonder drug" for Hepatitis C and allegations that

:42:28. > :42:30.a charity campaigning to get the NHS to provide it has received money

:42:31. > :42:32.from the drug's manufacturers. Surgeons believe they have

:42:33. > :42:34.operated on the youngest patient ever to undergo -

:42:35. > :42:37.and survive - major abdominal St George's Hospital in London

:42:38. > :42:41.operated on a premature baby who was born at just 23 weeks

:42:42. > :42:44.and was just six days old. Patient Abiageal Peters

:42:45. > :42:46.weighed only 1.3 lbs - or 0.5 kilograms -

:42:47. > :42:48.that's the weight of This bag of sugar -

:42:49. > :42:50.when doctors realised Her intestine had ruptured in three

:42:51. > :42:58.places because of a severe condition of the gut called

:42:59. > :43:07.necrotizing enterocolitis. We can speak to her

:43:08. > :43:09.mum Louise Peters. And the surgeon who carried out

:43:10. > :43:21.the operation is Mr Zahid Mukhtar Hi both of you. Good morning. Hi

:43:22. > :43:29.Louise, how are you? Very well. How are you? I'm very well, thank you.

:43:30. > :43:35.Tell us about the birth of Abigail. Well, it certainly didn't go how we

:43:36. > :43:40.expected it to. I was over half-way through my pregnancy and I was at

:43:41. > :43:44.home on a Monday and my waters broke and I kind of wasn't really sure

:43:45. > :43:50.what was happening to be honest and was in denial hoping that wasn't

:43:51. > :43:52.what it was. So I had to get an ambulance to hospital and when I got

:43:53. > :43:57.there, they said that's what happened and I ended up two days

:43:58. > :44:07.later I went into labour and she was born at 23 weeks plus three days.

:44:08. > :44:13.How was she then? Oh, she was tiny. She, she just, just bigger than the

:44:14. > :44:17.size of my hand. She was a very strange colour, translucent skin and

:44:18. > :44:22.they had to put her on life support. So, put a tube down her throat which

:44:23. > :44:27.took them a while to do. So we were just sat there waiting for an update

:44:28. > :44:31.on how she was because they said she could come out looking very ill and

:44:32. > :44:37.probably wouldn't survive or if she looked strong then they would work

:44:38. > :44:42.on her and rush her off to help her. So fortunately, they were able to

:44:43. > :44:47.help her, but very scary. I'm not surprised. Really a very tough time

:44:48. > :44:52.for you as you were just hoping that she would survive. When did it

:44:53. > :45:01.become clear that she was going to need major surgery? Well, on about

:45:02. > :45:06.day five. We were at St peter's and we had a bit of a honeymoon period

:45:07. > :45:10.and we thought she was doing really well and she was in the incubator

:45:11. > :45:17.and seemed stable and about day five she just started to deteriorate

:45:18. > :45:21.badly and needed more oxygen and her stomach was starting to look very

:45:22. > :45:24.plaque and looked bad and the doctors explained it could be a

:45:25. > :45:28.general decline and that she was giving up the fight or it could be

:45:29. > :45:32.that she had a problem with her bowel. So the ambulance came and we

:45:33. > :45:38.were rushed over to St George's in case she did need surgery which she

:45:39. > :45:44.did end up needing, but it was, yeah, day five, really.

:45:45. > :45:53.Let me bring in Mr Mukhtar, clearly you are a very busy man, so I am

:45:54. > :45:57.grateful for your time, but I wonder if you could give an insight to our

:45:58. > :46:04.audience about this very important and risky surgery on such a tiny

:46:05. > :46:13.baby? Yes, thank you for having us here, Victoria. It is a very unusual

:46:14. > :46:16.situation where we had Abigail born at 23 weeks gestation. Babies very

:46:17. > :46:19.rarely survive when they are born that early. She was a real fighter

:46:20. > :46:22.and had a lot of tenacity and was coming through but unfortunately

:46:23. > :46:27.developed this competition where she had ruptured her intestines. That in

:46:28. > :46:32.itself has a very high mortality, very few babies survive that. Then

:46:33. > :46:36.the decision to operate on that was a really difficult and tough one

:46:37. > :46:41.well had to talk to her parents and the rest of her team and make that

:46:42. > :46:46.decision. We have operated on small babies born at 25, 26 weeks

:46:47. > :46:51.gestation before, that this is really the list we have ever done.

:46:52. > :46:55.There is a difference in that Abigail, not only was she very

:46:56. > :47:01.small, she was very premature, so her tissues were very fragile, very

:47:02. > :47:05.jelly-like. So the surgery was very difficult. Even getting her to the

:47:06. > :47:10.operating theatre alive and stable was quite a challenge and that is a

:47:11. > :47:15.testament to our anaesthetic team who can keep tiny babies alive in

:47:16. > :47:18.that sort of situation. During the surgery, my goodness, you can

:47:19. > :47:25.imagine she would not have very much blood to lose. So we were really up

:47:26. > :47:29.against it. Every drop was very precious. Even her tissues, her

:47:30. > :47:33.intestines, her liver was so fragile that whatever you touched, even with

:47:34. > :47:36.our very fine instruments, it would start to break down, so it was

:47:37. > :47:40.really challenging. We were up against time as well because we

:47:41. > :47:45.could not keep her sleep under the anaesthetic to too long. But

:47:46. > :47:50.thankfully she came through. It is a real miracle and testament to the

:47:51. > :47:56.team at Saint Georges, a group of about ten people who, and we have

:47:57. > :48:08.built this experience up over the last ten or 20 years to do this sort

:48:09. > :48:14.of stuff. Louise, how do you think somebody like Mr Mukhtar and his

:48:15. > :48:19.team? You tell me? I said the same thing to my husband. I said, how do

:48:20. > :48:22.you think someone who saved your baby's life? I remember seeing him

:48:23. > :48:26.in the corridor at Saint Georges with one of his colleagues, and I

:48:27. > :48:31.walked past, this was a few days after the surgery, and I am sure Mr

:48:32. > :48:34.Mukhtar operates on later babies, and I shook his head and said

:48:35. > :48:37.Frankie Simic were saving my baby's life, and he looked me, you probably

:48:38. > :48:43.thought I was mad. I didn't know what else to say. I bought the unit

:48:44. > :48:49.a little present when I left, but nothing could thank them enough for

:48:50. > :48:58.what they have done for our Abbey. When is your Judaic, Louise? -- when

:48:59. > :49:04.is your due date? It was a week last Sunday. She is just over four

:49:05. > :49:08.months. I can see that Abigail is really peaceful but I really want a

:49:09. > :49:11.better look at her, is that possible? If you don't want to

:49:12. > :49:16.disturb her I would totally understand! I will do it, that if

:49:17. > :49:24.she kicks off, it's your fault. OK, no props. Oh my gosh, she is

:49:25. > :49:29.absolutely adorable, wow. She is just perfect, isn't she? She looks

:49:30. > :49:37.much like a normal newborn now. Much bigger. She didn't start like this,

:49:38. > :49:42.that is for sure. We saw the photograph is is she doing

:49:43. > :49:46.generally? She is great, all of the normal niggles of a newborn baby. We

:49:47. > :49:50.have had very little sleep the last couple of nights, but otherwise she

:49:51. > :49:53.is breathing fantastically, and she is breathing fantastically, and

:49:54. > :49:57.everything's working. She is wonderful, a real little miracle.

:49:58. > :50:05.That is so good to hear. Thank you very much, and Zahid Mukhtar, thank

:50:06. > :50:10.you so much for giving us your time, really appreciated. Fantastic story,

:50:11. > :50:13.it is so good to bring you a good news story. Kevin says baby Abigail

:50:14. > :50:16.is so adorable, so happy she is on the mend, loved her and her parents.

:50:17. > :50:17.Hepatitis C is a debilitating illness.

:50:18. > :50:20.Left untreated it can lead to cancer and liver failure.

:50:21. > :50:23.A breakthrough drug taken once a day can now cure the disease for good

:50:24. > :50:32.The problem is - it's so expensive that NHS England has said it can

:50:33. > :50:36.This programme has now found out that a charity -

:50:37. > :50:38.that tried to force the health service to give more

:50:39. > :50:40.people the treatment - has received hundreds of thousands

:50:41. > :50:43.of pounds from the US drugs giant that makes it.

:50:44. > :50:45.Our reporter Jim Reed has been investigating -

:50:46. > :51:05.we played you his full film earlier - here's a short extract.

:51:06. > :51:10.Social and had been living with Pepsi. She was most likely affected

:51:11. > :51:14.in her 20s when she was taking heroin for a short period. I put it

:51:15. > :51:17.down to being a single mum, was working as a social worker at the

:51:18. > :51:22.time, single mum with three boys. But the fatigue was just would kill

:51:23. > :51:27.us. For millions, this could be the answer. In combination with other

:51:28. > :51:35.drugs, it can cure Pepsi in eight weeks. The medicine's watchdog -- it

:51:36. > :51:39.can cure hep c. But a tent of thousands of pounds per treatment,

:51:40. > :51:44.NHS England did something it has never done before. It capped a

:51:45. > :51:48.treatment, restricting it to 10,000 patients a year. If your condition

:51:49. > :51:53.is not serious enough, you miss out. I knew there were a lot of cuts and

:51:54. > :51:56.issues financially, so to be told we could not get treatment was

:51:57. > :52:01.absolutely devastating. Across the world, the US drugs giant Gilead

:52:02. > :52:06.which makes the drug has been targeted by protesters angry at the

:52:07. > :52:08.high price. Health should be a right for every person! In a statement,

:52:09. > :52:42.Gilead said... Brendan In England, it is not the drugs

:52:43. > :52:45.industry but the NHS which has taken That's after it capped treatment

:52:46. > :52:50.at 10,000 people a year, a fraction of the 215,000 living

:52:51. > :52:53.with the disease. Charles Gore runs the Hepatitis C

:52:54. > :52:55.Trust, which represents patients. This is not the most expensive drug

:52:56. > :52:58.by any means across the NHS. That's the only bit I am railing

:52:59. > :53:03.against the NHS for doing, is picking on people

:53:04. > :53:05.with Hepatitis C and saying you're Everybody else gets the drugs

:53:06. > :53:09.that Nice say they can Is it because it is

:53:10. > :53:13.associated with drug use? Last year, the Hepatitis C Trust

:53:14. > :53:16.made the unusual decision to take NHS England to the High Court,

:53:17. > :53:19.to try and get that cap lifted. The charity lost, but it was unclear

:53:20. > :53:23.at the time how its case was funded. The judge suggested it may have

:53:24. > :53:25.been the drugs industry, which had a lot to gain financially,

:53:26. > :53:28.that was really behind it. That's something the boss of the

:53:29. > :53:31.Hepatitis C Trust strongly denies. You can categorically tell us

:53:32. > :53:33.that there was no drug industry funding that went into the court

:53:34. > :53:35.case, this was supporting... It might not have taken money

:53:36. > :53:41.for the court case, but we have Over the last three years it's

:53:42. > :53:44.accepted ?200,000 from Gilead, last year, a third

:53:45. > :53:46.of its income, ?335,000, The charity denies that taking that

:53:47. > :53:50.money has made it less likely to criticise Gilead

:53:51. > :53:52.or other drug companies. Obviously people try and influence

:53:53. > :53:55.us, the NHS tries and influence us, Pharma tries to influence us,

:53:56. > :53:58.lots of people try to influence us, but we just come back

:53:59. > :54:00.to the same thing - With little chance of NHS treatment,

:54:01. > :54:04.Zoe ended up doing what hundreds of others with Hepatitis C

:54:05. > :54:06.are now doing. She went online and bought a cheaper

:54:07. > :54:09.generic copy of a drug from a developing country,

:54:10. > :54:11.in this case Bangladesh. I couldn't go on like I was,

:54:12. > :54:17.so I had to make a decision. In Zoe Buckman case it worked and

:54:18. > :54:19.she is now cure but there are still tens of thousands of others living

:54:20. > :54:20.with the disease who can't access treatment.

:54:21. > :54:23.We can speak now to Zoe Sharam, who we saw there in Jim's film.

:54:24. > :54:25.She was given the all clear last week.

:54:26. > :54:28.In Cardiff is David Cowley - a former Hepetitis C patient

:54:29. > :54:31.who was one of the first treated with the new type of drugs as part

:54:32. > :54:35.And here is the Labour MP Liz McInnes, who has recently

:54:36. > :54:36.chaired a conference on Hepatitis C.

:54:37. > :54:45.Zoet, how are you feeling? I am good, hugely relieved. Amazing, but

:54:46. > :54:50.you didn't have the drug, you bought a generic version? I was told I

:54:51. > :54:53.would not be able to get the drug, because of the limited ability to

:54:54. > :54:57.treat patients in the south-west. So I kind of put the feelers out, and

:54:58. > :55:03.one of my friends let me know about the generic drug. She had been

:55:04. > :55:07.taking it. So I knew it was working. She had the all clear from her

:55:08. > :55:15.treatment. And then from there, that is how I kind of researched it, and

:55:16. > :55:21.got the drugs myself from Bangladesh from Beacon pharmacy. So the issue

:55:22. > :55:25.here, David, is the cost of these strokes. It is a wonder drug. Does

:55:26. > :55:33.the company that has developed it and spent all that money on it, does

:55:34. > :55:36.not deserve to make vast profits? Yes, it does deserve to be

:55:37. > :55:41.remunerated for its efforts but I think there should be some kind of a

:55:42. > :55:46.cap on the amount of profit they are allowed to make on what is

:55:47. > :55:50.essentially a necessary drug for many millions of people. Liz

:55:51. > :55:54.McInnes, do you agree with David that there should be a cap on the

:55:55. > :55:58.profits that a drugs manufacturer can make? I think drugs companies

:55:59. > :56:04.should be more accountable and open about the profits they are making

:56:05. > :56:09.because it is kind of shrouded in mystery. They are private companies.

:56:10. > :56:16.I appreciate that. And they are not in it for the good of our health.

:56:17. > :56:22.The incentive for researching a drug like this is it can cure people and

:56:23. > :56:25.that will make them a lot of money. Maybe I am optimistic that I would

:56:26. > :56:29.like to think that the research and development departments are

:56:30. > :56:33.concerned with people's health. They have produced an amazing drug that

:56:34. > :56:37.kills hepatitis C, and I think, I really do think NHS England have

:56:38. > :56:41.made the wrong decision in trying to ration this drug. I think somebody

:56:42. > :56:44.somewhere needs to do some work about how much it is going to cost

:56:45. > :56:49.to keep treating patients with hepatitis C and the problems they

:56:50. > :56:53.have because of their illness, and I'm pretty sure they would find it

:56:54. > :57:00.was actually more cost-effective to likely just give them the cure. So

:57:01. > :57:05.it sounds like you think it is down to the drugs companies to bring the

:57:06. > :57:08.cost down rather than to say an organisation like NHS England or

:57:09. > :57:13.politicians to lobby and say we need a bigger discount? Thing you have

:57:14. > :57:17.just given me a job, because I think we do need to be raising the issue

:57:18. > :57:21.about the profits that drugs companies are making. Obviously the

:57:22. > :57:25.drug itself does not cost much the manufacture, because Zoe has been

:57:26. > :57:31.able to buy it at a fraction of the price Bangladesh. But I do

:57:32. > :57:35.appreciate their artists use about research and development costs,

:57:36. > :57:38.about intellectual property, and I am not undermining what the farmer

:57:39. > :57:41.Sonka -- the pharmaceutical companies do by any means, my

:57:42. > :57:44.background is in health care science and I appreciate the amount of work

:57:45. > :57:48.that goes into producing a drug like this. But I think a little bit more

:57:49. > :57:52.openness from the pharmaceutical companies would not go amiss will

:57:53. > :57:55.stop thank you all, thank you very much, Zoe, for coming on the

:57:56. > :57:58.programme, I am glad you are all right. David thank you for your time

:57:59. > :58:02.as well. Thank you very much. Joanna's presenting the programme

:58:03. > :58:05.tomorrow and she'll talk to a man who spent 24 years locked up

:58:06. > :58:15.in a tough American prison Fakir very much for your company

:58:16. > :58:19.today, have a good day. Join us here tomorrow at 9am. -- thank you very

:58:20. > :58:34.much for your company. The thing that's so clear

:58:35. > :58:37.is that it's 100% honest. We're right in the middle

:58:38. > :58:41.of the action. The remarkable story

:58:42. > :58:46.of British photography.