01/03/2017 Victoria Derbyshire

Hello. It's Wednesday.

I'm Victoria Derbyshire, welcome to the programme.

This morning, we'll hear about a so-called wonder drug

for Hepatitis C and claims that a charity that tried to force

the NHS to buy more of it received large amounts of money

The pills are 95% effective at curing the disease

You can't put a price on your life, can you?

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

I was so I had to make a decision. So why isn't it more widely

available on the NHS? We'll bring you that full

exclusive report shortly. If you live with Hep C

do get in touch. And give us an insight into what it

is like to live with it. Also on the programme,

tough new rules for motorists caught We'll speak to a woman who,

in an emotional meeting, met the man who killed her boyfriend

whilst driving on his phone. What would you say to somebody who

is going to pick up their phone behind the wheel today without even

thinking about it? Don't do it because picking up a

phone, no matter how nice you are or good you are, accidents like this

can happen to anyone on the road by using a phone.

And a test which is almost 100% accurate in telling mums to be

whether the child they're carrying has down's syndrome is being made

This morning there are yet more warnings it

could lead to an increase in the number of abortions.

Hello and welcome to the programme. We're live until 11am.

Throughout the morning, we'll bring you the latest breaking news

A little later in the programme we'll ask what's going on with Ukip

and hopefully speak to Nigel Farage who is annoyed that his only MP

allegedly tried to block him getting a knighthood.

Should Mr Farage get a knighthood? Tell me what you think.

Our top story today, drivers caught using their phone

behind the wheel will now face tougher punishments.

Fines in England, Wales and Scotland will double to ?200

and offenders will get six points on their licence.

It will mean newly qualified drivers with less than two years on the road

face losing their licence if they're caught sending a text.

Our correspondent, Robert Hall joined one police

patrol in Cambridgeshire as it stopped offenders.

On a busy main road in Cambridgeshire police cameras

The evidence from around the UK is crystal clear, we've been warned,

The most recent report from the RAC found 31% of drivers admit

to using a hand-held phone at the wheel compared

She had it held in both hands so texting or whatever

This driver was spotted holding her phone to plot a route.

You had your phone in both hands on top of your steering wheel.

You may or may not be aware, it is going to change.

Six points and ?200 fine and no option of any sort

It's just how she was using her phone that makes it an offence.

It's more than just making a phone call.

Further up the road, a two minute call will have serious

You were on your mobile phone. You are aware that's an offence?

In the 20 odd years I've been on the road I've seen

I've seen phone in one hand, lap on the other, and knee

What just happened there, a minor indiscretion in relation

to the scale of things, but no, I should know better.

Unfortunately your mum has been killed.

Police operations will now run alongside a media campaign centred

Higher penalties are only part of the answer.

In the end, we must all be conscious of the lives we put at risk.

There is nothing that is so important it cannot wait.

Don't use your phone whilst you're driving.

Almost all of us have done it at some point, let's be honest. Is the

increase in the punishment enough to stop you doing it ever again? We

will talk to Meg Williamson later on. Her story is absolutely

devastating. She met the man who killed her boyfriend. The man was

using his phone. In fact, he was having an argument with his

ex-girlfriend and he went through the central reservation head-on into

her boyfriend's car as he was driving to work for a night shift on

a Saturday night. Please do listen to Meg. That's at 10.15am. That's

enough to make you stop ever using a phone again, I promise you.

Some messages from you. Bear with me one second.

Sorry. "My wife and two sons were killed by a motorist using his

mobile phone in 2002." Joanna Gosling is in the BBC

Newsroom with a summary President Trump has promised

a "new chapter of American greatness" in his first

speech to Congress. He appealed for unity,

saying the time for "trivial In an hour long speech he promised

extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle

illegal immigration and terrorism. Our correspondent Laura Bicker has

this report from Washington. Donald Trump's trip to Congress gave

them a few last moments APPLAUSE

P. This platform is new territory

for this political outsider. Donald Trump set out his vision

with emphasis on border control. We must restore integrity

and the rule of law at our borders. For that reason we will soon begin

the construction of a great, great APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE He softened his tone

on immigration, talking of reform I'm going to bring back millions

of jobs, protecting our workers also means reforming our system

of legal immigration. The longest and most bipartisan

applause of the night was saved And Ryan is looking down right now,

you know that, and he's very happy because I think he just

broke a record. There was much in the speech

for Democrats to like. A trillion-dollar investment

in infrastructure, talk of paid family leave,

but most stayed stony We all salute the same great

American flag and we all This was the most presidential hour

of Donald Trump's presidency and there will be some in his party

breathing a sigh of relief. A new non-invasive test to detect

Down's Syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out

next year on the NHS. There are concerns that the test

could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis

of their sex. Policy advisors at the Nuffield

Council on Bioethics also warn introducing it on the NHS could lead

to an increase in the number of terminations following

a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome. This programme has discovered that

a charity which tried to force the NHS to give more people

a treatment for Hepatitis C has received hundreds

of thousands of pounds Sovaldi can cure the disease

for good in as little as eight weeks but due to its high cost,

NHS England has limited its access The Hepatitis C Trust

fought that decision and while it did not take money

for the court case, we found it has accepted around ?200,000

from the US drugs giant The charity denies taking

the money means it's less Lots of people try to influence us,

but we just come back to the same thing. What's right for patients?

And as long as we keep that at the fore front of what we're doing then

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

somebody else's interest, fine. And we'll have more on that story

in just a few minutes' time. The boss of Uber, the taxi-booking

app, Travis Kalanick has been forced to apologise after a video emerged

of him swearing at a driver who complained he was not

making enough money. Mr Kalanick later sent

an email to his staff saying he was "ashamed" of his actions

and that he is seeking help to Unite claims the car maker Ford is

planning to cut more than 1100 jobs at the Bridgend engine plant in the

next four years. Workers meetings will be held at the site today in

what Unite said was a sign that strike action was one step closer,

but in a statement this morning, Ford said that levels of engine

production from Bridgend remain healthy and jobs in the up coming

years are expected to be similar to today's numbers.

Two women have been charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam,

the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

The pair, one of whom is Vietnamese, the other Indonesian,

face the death penalty if found guilty.

Malaysian police believe they wiped the deadly VX nerve agent

on his face just over a fortnight ago in Kula Lumpur Airport.

The women claim they thought they were taking part in a video prank.

Scientists have found evidence of a strong link

The study, at Imperial College London, concluded that being obese

increased the risk of getting 11 cancers including stomach,

Researchers say maintaining a healthy weight is the single most

important way to reduce the risk of cancer after not smoking.

That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

Joe says, "Don't assume we have all used mobile phones while behind the

wheel. I have never done so." Lesley says, "The increase in fines is good

news, but it should include hands-free which is just as

dangerous." Another viewer tweets, "Don't use your phone. What do

people value more than their posh coffees, their phone."

Do get in touch with us throughout the morning -

use the hashtag Victoria LIVE and If you text, you will be charged

We're going to talk golf first and there are some changes

Would you say golf is one of the most complicated sports in terms of

rules of all the sport, I would say. I can't think of a sport with a

fatter rule book. The thinking behind the changes is we need to

make golf more simple because the numbers of people participating in

the sport have declined rapidly over the past 20 years or so and so the

people who are behind the rule changes say this is the biggest raft

of changes for a generation, designed to make the game more

simple and therefore, more attractive and get more people

playing. From the outside, they are not major changes. They are probably

just minor tweaks to rules for people who don't play golfment for

people who play the sport, it might make a lot of difference. I never

played golf. I've only ever done hitting a ball into a win mill and

down an elephant's trunk. Give me the rule changes? For people like

you and, a round of golf can take you four-and-a-half, five hours,

can't it? They are trying to say we should be playing a faster game. Sow

won't be able to look for your golf if you've lost it for more than

three minutes. That should speed things up. There is lots of

etiquette rules where you should wait for the player furthest from

the hole to play the ball first. That can slow things down a bit.

Anyone who is addressing standing next to their ball can play it.

That's a change that should speed things up and therefore, people

don't have to give up, four or five hours to get into the sport at all.

There is tweaks like new-style penalty drops. You will be able to

putt and leave the flag in the hole whilst you're putting on the putting

green. From outside the sport, it doesn't look like major changes, but

they are saying that they are the rule makers of golf, these are the

biggest set of changes for a generation. So will it make a

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

effect at the start of 2019. The first in what they say will be a

raft of changes to make golf more simple and more enjoyable. Make of

that what you will. It's not going to be enough to make

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

Football and Newcastle have taken a big step

They say it is the most lucrative promotion. The race is really

hotting up, Newcastle and Brighton, top of table clash last night to see

who would be in the position to go into the Premier League. Brighton

were leading for most of the match. They were 1-0 up for most of the

match, but Newcastle came back in the last ten minutes to score two

goals and they are four points clear at the top. That could prove to be a

vital win for them because Newcastle now have to face every other team in

the top seven over the next few weeks. So a really tough few weeks

coming up for Newcastle in that race for Premier League football next

season, Victoria. And finally Roy Hodgson

is being linked with a high Yes, big buzz around Roy Hodgson.

The last time we saw him in action was when his England team were

crashing out of the euros beaten by Iceland, but many people in football

today are saying he's the man with the integrity and the experience to

take over at Leicester City where Claudio Ranieri was, of course,

sacked last week. Yes, that's that moment when England were beaten by

Iceland at the Euros. Perhaps Roy Hodgson will never be able to shrug

off that horrendous experience, but maybe we will see him smiling again

as he leads Leicester, potentially, he has been lined up as the next

Leicester boss. All rumours, but we'll keep you up-to-date.

Hepatitis C is a debilitating illness.

Left untreated it can lead to cancer and liver failure.

A breakthrough drug taken once a day can now cure the disease for good

The problem is it's so expensive that NHS England has said it can

This programme has now found out that a charity

that tried to force the health service to give more

people the treatment has received hundreds of thousands

of pounds from the US drugs giant that makes it.

You know, it's hard, because there are days

There are days like today, when I sit down and think

So I'm cured of the Hepatitis C, and yay!

Hard to find, until recently even harder to cure.

215,000 people in this country are infected with Hepatitis C.

Spread by contact with infected blood, from dirty needles, unsafe

For the first time now there is a cure that works

The problem - it's so expensive that not everyone can get hold of it.

Healthcare should be a right for every person.

This is the story of what could be the most profitable drug ever made.

We've been looking into the company behind it and the funding

of a charity that tried to force the NHS to buy more of it.

You can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry

funding that went into the court case, this was supporting...

More on that claim later, but first, why are these new drugs

If I could speak to her now, then of course I would, you know,

give her different advice, but what's gone is gone.

Like many others, Zoe had been living with Hep C for years,

Most likely she was infected back in her 20s, when she took

30 years later, Zoe is now a qualified social worker,

Four years ago, she found herself sick and always tired.

I was struggling a lot, physically, but I put it down

I was working as a social worker full-time, a single mum

to three boys, you know, you kind of expect to be tired.

I was falling asleep in my office chair.

Also having problems with my digestion, feeling nauseous.

My diagnosis came along, and then I was able to go, OK,

this is why I've been feeling so rubbish for so long.

It's not often a drug comes along that can change the world -

antibiotics, the smallpox vaccine, HIV treatments maybe.

Then there is this, a drug called sofosbuvir or Sovaldi,

In combination with other drugs, it can cure Hepatitis C

in as little as eight weeks, with very few side effects.

That's because the pills that should be inside are some of the most

profitable and the most expensive ever made.

The official or list price for a standard course of Sovaldi

is ?35,000 in the UK, or more than ?400 for each pill.

The final price paid is confidential, but likely to be

In some complex cases it could be a lot more.

Nevertheless, in 2015 the medicines watchdog Nice ruled

the cure is cost effective, compared with older treatments,

So you're talking about vast profits here, tens of billions of dollars.

The academic Andrew Hill specialised in drug pricing.

We should have a plan to eradicate Hepatitis C from the United Kingdom

within a reasonable time, be it five years, maybe ten years.

It could be done if we tested and treated enough people,

but we have to be able do this for a budget we can afford.

But the new form of Hepatitis C drugs are so expensive that last

year NHS England did something it has never done before.

It capped treatment, restricting it to 10,000 people a year.

And that's despite spending an extra ?200 million

So, if like Zoe, your condition is not seen as serious

I knew that there was a lot of cuts and a lot of issues financially,

so to be told I wasn't sick enough, that because my liver

was not cirrhotic, I wasn't on the transplant list,

that I couldn't get treatment was absolutely

But I don't blame the NHS at all, just to be clear.

It was after that I kind of went, OK, what am I going to do?

Because I left the hospital in floods of tears,

just thinking, well, what next, you know?

Across the world, the US drugs maker Gilead has been

targeted by protestors, angry at the high price of Sovaldi.

Working people cannot afford the cost of these drugs.

International charities have been pressing the company

to reduce its prices and increase the number treated.

Nobody is saying that pharmaceutical companies shouldn't make profits.

Just not the extortionate profits they are making.

We are in a situation at moment where 350,000 people are dying each

year of Hepatitis C, completely unnecessarily

We are living in a world where life-saving medicine is taking

I don't want to live with the uncertainties of Hep C.

Gilead spent more than $140 millions in the US last year, advertising

A Senate investigation in 2015 accused the company of putting

profit over patients, something it denied.

The firm says it has now treated more than one million people

with Hepatitis C around the world, more than half of those

in poorer countries where the drugs are discounted.

In England, it is not the drugs industry

but the NHS which has taken the brunt of the criticism.

That's after it capped treatment at 10,000 people a year,

a fraction of the 215,000 living with the disease.

Charles Gore runs the Hepatitis C Trust, which represents patients.

This is not the most expensive drug by any means across the NHS.

That's the only bit I am railing against the NHS for doing,

is picking on people with Hepatitis C and saying you're

Everybody else gets the drugs that Nice say they can

Is it because it is associated with drug use?

Last year, the Hepatitis C Trust made the unusual decision to take

NHS England to the High Court, to try and get that cap lifted.

The charity lost, but it was unclear at the time how its case was funded.

The judge suggested it may have been the drugs industry,

which had a lot to gain financially, that was really behind it.

That's something the boss of the Hepatitis C Trust strongly denies.

You can categorically tell us that there was no drug industry

funding that went into the court case, this was supporting...

Categorically for precisely this reason, because we were

The fact that the drug companies stood to benefit

It was very important to us to get crowdfunding for it,

because this is patients going for what's good for patients.

It might not have taken money for the court case, but we have

Over the last three years it's accepted ?200,000 from Gilead,

the US drugs giant which makes Sovaldi.

Last year, a third of its income, ?335,000,

The charity denies that taking that money has made it less

likely to criticise Gilead or other drug companies.

Obviously people try and influence us, the NHS tries and influence us,

Pharma tries to influence us, lots of people try to influence us,

but we just come back to the same thing -

As long as we keep that at the forefront of what we're

If at the same time, as I say, interests intersect,

and what we are doing is in somebody's else's

The drugs company Gilead also said...

Zoe ended up doing what hundreds of others with Hepatitis C

She went online and bought a cheaper generic copy of a drug

from a developing country, in this case Bangladesh.

That's something the NHS cannot do without breaking international law.

In the UK, though, it is legal for personal use, and costs

How much of a gamble did you think it was?

It's still over ?1,000 you're spending, that's still quite a lot

a lot of money for something that could be a bit risky?

You can't put a price on your life, can you?

But you don't go know it's going to work?

I couldn't go on like I was, so I had to make a decision.

It was an informed choice, it wasn't, like, just throwing

How unfair do you find it is that you have to go through all this?

You know, these drugs are working, at a fraction of the cost

that the pharmaceutical companies are charging.

There's no reason why - I mean, we shouldn't have to pay,

but at the same time, you know, we are lucky enough

to have a health system in this country that was set up by,

you know, some very passionate people in the 1940s, that you know,

that gave everybody that equality, that right to health care.

Now lots of countries don't have that, but I think that's very

important that we hold on to that very dearly.

It's at such a big risk of being completely wiped out,

and everyone deserves the right to be well, if possible.

David e-mails, I had hepatitis C for around ten years. The part that got

to me was always having to be aware of not passing it on either through

sex or an injury where blood could spill. I have the treatment as part

of a trial and was successfully cured. It is a huge weight off my

shoulders. The treatment should be widely available, in my opinion.

Loads of comments on driving the tougher punishments coming in today

if you are caught using a mobile phone. Gene Sauers who do you think

you are when you talk to me and say almost all of us have use mobile

phones while driving. Adrian says I don't think the penalties go far

enough, we ban drink-drivers, why treat the victims of mobile phone

using drivers any differently? Their they should face the same penalties,

ban them automatically. When scissor don't goes far of how about 9-point

and a ?2500 fine to be paid within 30 days to stamp out this selfish

action. John reckons he sees three to four mobiles being used in cars

every day round here. I haven't seen a police officer in the last two

years either on foot or in a car. The correlation is obvious. No point

whatsoever having laws, however Draconian, if you don't them. More

government sticking plaster I'm sorry to say. Andy says I think the

penalties are being aimed in the wrong direction, not just their

vehicle they are using irresponsibly, but also their phone.

Take their phone from them, half of these idiots with Lars -- rather use

off lose the -- some of these idiots would rather lose their driving

licence than their phone the six months.

A new noninvasive test allowing pregnant women to screen for Down's

syndrome will be available on the NHS from next year -

Donald Trump calls for a new chapter in American greatness. We will ask

one of his supporters exactly what that means.

Joanna Gosling is in the newsroom of the rest of the day's news.

Punishments for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double

from today in England, Wales and Scotland.

Motorists face getting six points on their licence and a ?200 fine.

New drivers caught within two years of passing their test

Donald Trump has promised a "new chapter of American

greatness" in his first speech to Congress.

He also appealed for unity, saying the time for "trivial

In an hour long speech he promised extra spending on infrastructure,

the military and pledged to tackle illegal immigration and terrorism.

We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts. The

bravery to express the hopes that share our souls and the confidence

to turn those hopes and those dreams into action. From now on, America

will be empowered by our as per rations. Not burdened by our fears.

A new non-invasive test to detect Down's Syndrome early

on in pregnancy will be rolled out next year on the NHS .

There are concerns that the test could be misused to selectively

abort babies on the basis of their sex.

Policy advisors at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics also warn

introducing it on the NHS could lead to an increase in the number

of terminations following a diagnosis of Down's syndrome.

This programme has discovered that a charity which tried to force

the NHS to give more people a treatment for Hepatitis C

has received hundreds of thousands of pounds

Sovaldi can cure the disease for good in as little as eight weeks

but due to its high cost, NHS England has limited its access

The Hepatitis C Trust fought that decision and,

while it did not take money for the court case, we found it has

accepted around ?200,000 from the US drugs giant Gilead.

The charity denies taking the money means it's less

That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

The boss of Uber, the taxi-booking app, Travis Kalanick has been forced

to apologise after a video emerged of him swearing at a driver

who complained he was not making enough money.

Mr Kalanick later sent an email to his staff saying

he was "ashamed" of his actions and that he is seeking help to

Two women have been charged with the murder of Kim Jong-nam,

the half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

The pair, one of whom is Vietnamese, the other Indonesian,

face the death penalty if found guilty.

Malaysian police believe they wiped the deadly VX nerve agent

on his face just over a fortnight ago in Kula Lumpur Airport.

The women claim they thought they were taking part in a video prank.

An Appeal Court in Thailand has upheld the death sentences for two

men for the murders of two British holiday-makers in 2015 after a

controversial investigation which was marred by questions over the

quality of the DNA testing on which the conviction was based.

That's a summary of the latest BBC News.

Does Nigel Farage deserve a knighthood? There is a row about it.

Nick says, "Make him a lord and get him to campaign for the abolition of

the House of Lords." A few people have taken a peerage with the very

intention of getting rid of the Lords and the House of Lords is

bigger than ever as you know, over 800 peers now. Paul says, "Like him

or hate him, he has changed the face of UK politics, given that he

probably deserves a nighthood, individuals have been given

nighthoods for a lot less." Ian says, "Mr Farage does not deserve a

knighthood. We don't know what Brexit could bring. It could be a

catastrophe." Katherine Downes has

the sport headlines now. Last night Brighton or Newcastle

could have gone top of the Championship after their top

of the table clash last night, it is Newcastle who are top

of the tree for now. Brighton lead for most of the match,

but Newcastle scored twice in the last ten minutes to go

four points clear. The rumours are that Roy Hodgson

is being lined up to replace The former England manager

is bookies favourite to take over. Golf's rule makers are set to

announce what they are calling the biggest set of changes in a

generation. They are introducing new rules to make the game simpler and

quicker to play to try and encourage more people to pick up their clubs.

Rule change or no rule change you're unlikely to head out for a round.

That's true, I can confirm that. President Donald Trump says the US

is witnessing a "renewal of the American spirit",

as he delivered his first speech to Congress -

the American parliament. The Republican President spoke

in a measured way, he was upbeat, as he talked about a "new chapter

of American greatness". We cannot allow a beach head

of terrorism to form inside America. We cannot allow our nation to become

a sanctuary for extremists. That is why my administration has

been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take

new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep those out

who will do us harm. Tonight, I am also calling

on this Congress to repeal This is a $1 trillion

investment in infrastructure of the United States,

financed through both public and private capital,

creating millions of new jobs. This is a $1 trillion

investment in infrastructure of the United States,

financed through both public and private capital,

creating millions of new jobs. By finally enforcing

or immigration laws, we will raise wages,

help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars,

and make our communities We will look back on tonight

as when this new chapter We just need the courage to share

the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes

that sear our souls, and the confidence to turn those

hopes and those dreams into action. Let's get some more reaction to that

speech from Scottie Nell-Hughes a Republican journalist

and commentator and Carmel Martin a Democrat from the centre

for American progress. Let me start with you, Scottie, what

does this renewal of the American spirit mean, do you think? Well, it

means, it is several things. It is a new programme of national rebuilding

that in a rare instance Republicans and Democrats and economists can all

agree about the question later on will be how do we pay for this

spending? But what we saw last night was President Trump delivering a

very vintage Trump message and Democrats having to tread lightly

because while they might not agree with the substance that President

Trump talked about, like the idea of rebuilding and renewing America. His

speech was much calmer and it was something based on patriotism and

you will see Democrats it will be interesting to see how they continue

to either criticise this message that seemed to at first, really

unify our country. Well, let's see. We can criticise the man's actions.

His rhetoric continues to have a very populist feel. He's governing

from the far-right. Let's look what he has done in little more than a

month. His action was to make it harder for middle-class Americans,

middle-class Americans to get away mortgages. He took away overtime

protection. He made it harder to save for retirement. He has enacted,

moved forward executive action that is line the pockets of corporations

and special interests. He reversed the rule that would bring

transparency around gifts to oil and gas companies internationally. He

made it easier... What about the things he mentioned in the speech?

The almost ?800 billion infrastructure package. You must

welcome that? Well, I would welcome investment, serious investment in

America's infrastructure. Well, you got it. We called that for a long

time. But if you look at the plan he put out it would be again, tax

breaks for people on Wall Street to be able to finance infrastructure

programmes instead of investments in infrastructure which the end result

is that projects that would already be funded will be funded, but there

will be subsidies given to Wall Street which will be paid back by

American consumers in the form of tolls and fees. If he is willing to

put forward a real infrastructure package like Democrats in the

congress put forward about a month ago then yes, I would welcome that,

but I don't think we have evidence that's what we will see from

President Trump or from Republicans in Congress. Scottie, he did talk

about massive tax relief for the middle classes. Is that going to be

paid for by poorer people? Absolutely not. Listen, I'm not

denying that both sides don't already have their talking points

prepared to combat as I just heard. It seems like many Democrats today

did not listen to last night's speech and exactly what President

Trump was saying and where his emphasis was going forwardment now,

we can talk about the details and how you're going to look at it, but

no president is going to put... Over the last eight years we have seen a

burden put on by the Democrats and the Obama administration on the

middle-class and at the lower class hence why you saw a successful

victory in November. So if the Democrats are going to continue to

spew this spin on, I guarantee you will see a win by the Republicans

going forward. I urge them to listen to President Trump's speech last

night. Put partisanship aside and work with us on the side as I

believe both sides have good points that we can together on. The

Democrats look look they want to continue this divide. Is that really

in the best interest of the American people? I will respond by saying the

things I ponted to are things Donald Trump has done since he has taken

the oath of office. These are not things that he said. These are

things that he has done. He has reversed overtime and made it hard

tore invest in retirement. These are not things that are beneficial to

middle-class people. At the same time he has packed his Cabinet with

billionaires and people who are pushing their own corporate

interests. The provision he talked about that allows oil and gas

companies to accept payments from foreign governments, for their

actions and in the provision just required transparency around that,

he reversed that. His Secretary of State, lobbied heavily on that as

the head of ex--on mobile. I mean during the campaign and even last

night, there is a lot of rhetoric about working for middle-class,

working Americans, but his actions, he's not walking the walk. He is

just talking the talk. When he starts walking the walk and puts

forward policies that benefit those at the top of the income scale and

not middle-class Americans, his childcare proposal would be great

for his daughter, it would allow people at the top end of the income

scale to put away thousands of dollars away each year for private

schools and private tutors. It is $10 a month for those at the lower

end of the income scale. Thank you, I'll pause there. Thank you both. We

appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, we'll be speaking

to the mum of the youngest ever baby to successfully undergo surgery

after being born prematurely That baby weighed 500 grams. The

reason I've said it like that is because we brought a bag of sugar

which is 500 grams. But honestly, tiny.

Penalties for driving with a mobile phone today will be increased and

instead of three penalty points on your licence, you will get six. If

you are a young driver with less than two years on the road, you will

lose your licence completely. Lose it. Tell us if you think those

increased penalties go far enough. Meg Williamson is a 27-year-old

teacher. Last June, her boyfriend Gavin Roberts was driving to work on

the motorway when he was hit head-on by another car. The driver was

24-year-old Lewis Stratford who was on his mobile having an argument

with his ex-as he drove to her house. Mr Roberts died four days

after the accident. Meg Williamson asked to meet the man who killed her

boyfriend. He agreed. The BBC's Inside Out South was there to

capture their conversation. The consultant took the family into

the room and told them that there was nothing that they could do.

And I just remember my legs completely giving in.

I remember my mum grabbing hold of me.

And walking me through the intensive care unit.

It felt like I was watching, it happen to somebody else.

I was on my phone, I was making the calls

And yes, they were emotional calls, they were shouting calls,

high emotional calls, raging calls that shouldn't have

And I've got to live with that forever and ever and ever.

I know I've caused a lot of pain for a lot of people.

For something that could have waited till the next day, I know that.

I know what I've done, the lives I've ruined,

yeah, I've ruined a lot of people's lives, happiness.

I deserve everything I get from whatever

I am sorry, but I can't keep saying sorry because I know

Sorry's not going to make things better, I know.

What were you arguing with the ex-girlfriend about?

She was due to come up to me on the Friday night,

but she said no, and then we was arguing all day Saturday.

We were going to leave it to the Sunday, so I'd go

I got in on the Saturday night and I just drove down, angrily,

No one thinks it will happen to them.

It shouldn't take something like this for them to think,

"I'll stop using the phone", people should know before.

I learned the hard way, but it shouldn't have to be this way.

What would you say to somebody who was going to pick up their phone

behind the wheel today, without even thinking about it?

Don't do it, because picking up a phone, no matter how nice you are,

or good you are, accidents like this can happen to anyone

Something I have to learn from, pay a price for,

I don't want to hate you forever, I'm not that type of person.

And eventually I'll probably be able to forgive you.

But I just needed some questions answering first.

To be honest, I expected the hate and abuse.

I expect it from anyone that has seen me on the street.

If they want to have a go, then I listen to it and I accept

anything people have to say, like I was scared to meet you.

Thank you for agreeing to meet me, and answering my questions.

Wow, I meanwhile, Louis Stratford admitted the charges of death

through dangerous driving. That was astonishing. What was it like for

you? The initial meeting, even before I walk of the door, I was

very anxious, mostly because I did not know kind of how my emotions

were going to come out. I didn't know how Lewis was going to react to

me and religious making sure that I could get some questions answered.

So it was difficult because I did not want to put any more blame on to

him than he was overly filling himself. But my main focus really

was just thinking how else can I prevent anyone else having to go

through this? Why was it important for you to hear the answer to the

questions you had from the man who was responsible for the death of

your boyfriend? I think because of the beginning when I was originally

with Gavin in the hospital, I had a lot of anger, ifs and buts, and

questioned myself. And then as time went on and I started to realise

actually Lewis is a real person, it could have been anyone behind that

will on their phone. So it was important for me to hear from the

one Howard had impacted his life as well as mine and Gavin and his

family and friends. Let's talk about that on the way to work, Gavin was,

in a chipped on a Saturday night. Yes, one of his last night shifts.

He was working on the electrification of the railway cover

something he was so, so happy to be part of, and he was so passionate

about his job. We had just had dinner with my parents the previous

night, the first time they had met him. And then Saturday evening came,

he went off to work and I did not think anything of not hearing from

him because I assumed he had gone out on track. It wasn't until Sunday

morning when I got that phone cord to say that he had not made it to

work, he had been in an accident, that reality kind of hit hard. What

happened when you go to the hospital, what are they say to you?

They let me straightaway in the go and see him, I sat with him and talk

to him, and he said he had been responsible sometime coming to the

hospital, but the pressure in his brain had been building, so they

wanted to take him down, do a scan, and then they put a stint in to try

to relieve the pressure. But unfortunately it was not successful,

and so then we were told we needed to wait for a miracle. It was very

hard. What did you say to him? I held his hand as best I could,

because it was bandaged up and there were lots of tube similar way, and I

just said to him not to be scared, -- lots of tube is in the way. I

begged him to work up, I told him I would swap places with him, talked

about the plans that we had, and the holidays and the memories we wanted

to make. But time kept ticking by and there was nothing we could do.

It was very hard. Yes. Do you think Lewis understood? What he had done?

Yes, I think he did, he was very compassionate. He spoke to be very

openly about how he felt, he didn't want the sorrow and he didn't want

people to feel sorry for him because he knew that sorry wasn't enough

because it would never bring Gavin back. But then the compassion in me,

he has to live with this for the rest of his life. We can grieve and

we can remember Gavin positively and hopefully carry on a legacy of

changing people's views of using the mobile behind the will but ten one

will always have delivered what he did that night. When he asked you if

you were angry with him, you said a little bit. A little bit. Because

the anger had worn off. I had come to realise that he was a real

person, and it could have been me, my sisters, any of the friends or

family that were either in Gavin's position or in his position, and so

as I started to understand ten one, and saw how he was so emotionally

charged by the conversation I guess, I started to understand that he knew

he had done wrong and he was willing to accept the blame. What was really

striking is that you said you don't want to hate because you are not

that sort of person. Because hate can be a very destructive emotion,

can't it? Yes, it would break me apart, make him feel even worse if I

continue to hate him. He has told me he is sorry for what he has done,

and he has said he is willing to accept the penalty of the

consequences of his action. And, to me, if I can just start making

changes, then ten one was part of the programme remade, and so

ultimately people will be aware of what we have done at hopefully that

will be a deterrent for them so it will start to make the for people.

Lewis Stratford is now preparing to go to jail. He is. He has told me he

is scared, but he is willing to accept it. As part of iGas is coping

mechanism, he has looked into what he needs to do, and speaking to be

hopped. Let me read some comments from people who are reacting to your

meeting with Lewis Stratford, and also the fact the penalties are

increasing today. Steve said this man deserves some credit. There was

probably the hardest thing he has done. He knows it was wrong and he

accepted. This person says I think the public victimisation is a bit

sick, people don't concentrate 100% while driving all the time. It is

natural. The only difference with Lewis Stratford is that he was

having a full on argument with his ex-girlfriend on the phone, very

emotionally charged. And driving angrily towards her home. Which is

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

are victimising him, it has not been like that at all. It certainly did

not come across like that at all. He agreed to do it, and as part of his

closure, it was something he wanted to work with to deter others.

Whether it is an emotionally detached conversation, or picking up

the phone and moving it to the other side of the car it can be the

difference between somebody getting to the end of their journey or not.

What do you think about the increase of the sanctions? Is it enough? I am

emotionally charged by this because of how wrapped up I am by Gavin's

event. I don't think it is enough. I think it should be increased. ?200

is not a lot of money to some people if they can afford to have a car and

a phone. So I personally would like to see some sort of deterrent, some

sort of, and across Europe they have graphically the advertisements to

make sure -- TV advertisements to make sure people know the

consequences. I think increasing it to ?1000 and some ban or driving

awareness course would be more beneficial but it is about

re-educating people. We know it is illegal, we should not be doing it,

and yet most of society have probably done it at some point. I

suggested that earlier and one woman was cross from the two sewing, she

said actually not all of us have, some of us are pretty sensible. This

viewer says new penalties for driving with a phone are still too

small. If we drive of a car, the financial penalty needs to be around

?1000 and the points should go to the maximum 12 straightaway. Thank

you very much for talking to us. Appreciate the work you are doing.

We will bring you the latest news and sport, but first the weather

with Carol. If you are thinking of travelling

later this evening or overnight, it is worth flagging this up, very

strong winds, even inland across southern counties of England, Wales,

East Anglia and the Midlands, gusting 50 to 60 mph, more than that

of the coast. I will tell you more about that too as we go through the

forecast. What we have this morning is very much varied weather, it is

Saint Davids Day, the Sun in Wembley this morning. We have one or two

from Neath. You can see from the sky it is a fairly still day. Peter. To

the day in Edinburgh with lovely blue skies. In camera too just a

little bit of cloud but still a very pleasant start to the data stop as

we come further south, we have a set of weather fronts already bringing

whether -- raining. They will continue to push across southern

counties including the Channel Islands and move a little bit

further north and east with as we had through the day. North of that

again, we have some showers, particularly across parts of

northern Scotland, the Pennines. Some of them could be wintry in

nature but most of that will be with height. Some showers across the far

north of Scotland, some in the Highlands but a lot of dry weather

this afternoon. A fair bit of sunshine, Edinburgh and Glasgow

peaking at six Celsius. Coming south into the Midlands

through Norfolk and Suffolk, we have that sunshine, North Wales,

Cheshires Abu Dhabi Cheshire, a similar story. Then the rain in the

southern counties through parts of south Wales as well. Behind this

band of rain things start to liven up, we are looking at strong winds

tonight, and there will also be rain. As it engages with the cold

air further north some hill snow, and some at lower levels. The Gaels

coming about tea-time across south-west England. Through the

evening and overnight continued across southern counties of England.

And we're looking at gusts of 50 to 60 mph. On the coast 60 to 70. That

is enough to bring down branches of trees, have some flying baby for

example and some tricky travelling conditions for high sided vehicles

and light vehicles. At the same time, a band of rain continues to

migrate northwards, by the time it gets the parts of North Wales, the

North Midlands, northern England and the south of Northern Ireland, we

will see the snow not just on the hills but at lower levels. As we

drift north of that, for the rest of northern Ireland and Scotland, it is

a cold night. Some frost around and the risk of ice on untreated

surfaces. First thing in the morning it will still be extremely windy in

the far south of the country, but quite quickly the wins will ease. It

will still be a windy day, just not as windy as overnight. Then you can

see a lot of dry weather but there was to be showers of the North, some

of them wintry. We have another system which keeps changing

positions so keep an eye on this, bringing raining from the

south-west. Coming up, more on the so

called wonder drug that We'll find more about Sovaldi. You

can't put a price on your life, can you?

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

was so I had to make a decision. Why isn't it more widely

available the NHS? We'll be talking to

a former health minister The coach who couriered a mystery

package for Sir Bradley Wiggins in a race he went on to win is due

to give evidence to MPs later. This was to cure a medical

condition, the world governing body said this was not about trying to

find a way to gain an unfair advantage.

A test for Down's Syndrome is being made available on the NHS from next

year. There are warnings it could lead to an increase in the number of

adorations. We'll get reaction. Here's Joanna Gosling

in the BBC Newsroom Punishments for using a mobile phone

behind the wheel will double from today in England,

Wales and Scotland. Motorists face getting six points

on their licence and a ?200 fine. New drivers caught within two years

of passing their test With us now is Robert Hall, who's

in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. Tell us what's happening there,

Robert? Yes, good morning, Joanna. This really simple message which is

redrivers have been warned, but too many of us are just not listening to

the advice. The latest survey from one of the large motoring

organisations suggests that more than 30% of us now admit to using a

hand-held mobile or some other device at the wheel. It is really

very simple. If you do that, you will get six months on your licence

and you will get a ?200 fine. What you won't be allowed to do anymore

is take a drier awareness course which was a softer option for first

offenders. So the clampdown starts today. Police forces across the UK,

including here in Cambridgeshire, we were out with them yesterday, are on

the look-out in marked and unmarked vehicles. The message is very, very

simple, you do not use if you're driving a vehicle any hand-held

advice. That means you don't text or take pictures or watch things and

you don't unless it is fixed somewhere, use it as a navigational

device. The core message is we have got to take responsibility. We can't

rely on enforcement. We can't rely on the police and we can't rely on

the courts. If you have got a mobile phone if belongs in the glove box,

Joanna. Thank you very much, Robert. Donald Trump has promised

a "new chapter of American greatness" in his first

speech to Congress. He also appealed for unity,

saying the time for "trivial In an hour long speech he promised

extra spending on infrastructure, the military and pledged to tackle

illegal immigration and terrorism. We just need the courage to share

the dreams that fill our hearts. The bravery to express the hopes

that share our souls and the confidence to turn those

hopes and those dreams into action. From now on, America will be

empowered by our as per rations. From now on, America will be

empowered by our asperations. A new non-invasive test to detect

Down's Syndrome early on in pregnancy will be rolled out

next year on the NHS. There are concerns that the test

could be misused to selectively abort babies on the basis

of their sex. Policy advisors at the Nuffield

Council on Bioethics also warn introducing it on the NHS could lead

to an increase in the number of terminations following

a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome. Victoria will be speaking to women

who had to make decisions about Down's Syndrome in the next few

minutes. An appeal court in Thailand has

upheld the death sentences against two Burmese men

for the murders of two The two men were convicted

of the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in December 2015,

after a controversial investigation which was marred by questions over

the quality of the DNA testing That's a summary of

the latest BBC News. There is a lot of respect from you

from Meg Williamson who was on the programme talking about the meeting

she had with the driver who was on the phone when he crashed into her

boyfriend. Gavin was driving to work and he died. A lot of people saying

how strong she has been. This police officer says, "Goodness

me, an amazing strength of all involved in what is a massive

restorative justice programme. Programme." Another viewer says,

"What a brave lady. This is strong journalism." Steve says, "What a

lady. It is easy for her to hate the man who did this, yet she doesn't. I

hope they both find their peace." Thank you very much for those. We

will talk to a Chief Constable in the next hour. The national chiefs

police council for roads policing. Some of you say there aren't enough

officers out there. Do get in touch with us

throughout the morning - use the hashtag #VictoriaLIVE

and if you text, you will be charged Here's some sport now

with Katherine Downes. Newcastle have taken a big step

towards making an instant return They are top of the Championship

and above Brighton after beating Brighton were leading

until Newcastle had a real piece Mohamed Diame levelled

when Christian Atsu's shot Ayoze Perez completed the comeback

for Newcastle in the 89th minute, who now have an eight point lead

over third placed Huddersfield. Rumour has it that Roy Hodgson

is being lined up to be the next Hodgson has been out

of a job since this - England's humiliating defeat

to Iceland at last summer's Euros. Leicester sacked Claudio

Ranieri last week. They have declined

to comment on the possibility More on the rules of golf now,

the biggest set of changes in a generation are to be announced

this afternoon, according Our golf correspondent Iain Carter

joins me now for more on this. The biggest set of changes in a

generation and announced at lunch time so we're not 100% sure what

they are. But you've got an idea. Can you talk us through some of

them? The idea is to make the game easier to understand. Quicker to

play and more enjoyable. So I think what you will see is decisions made

that will mean that you won't get two shot penalties for things, for

inadvertent mistakes and those kind of things. I think it will be made

simpler. If you're taking a penalty drop or a free drop you will be able

to do that in a much less procedural way compared in other aspects of the

game. At the moment you have to hold your arm up at shoulder-height and

drop from there. You will be able to drop from much lower over the ground

and the idea is to keep the ball moving, keep play going and get rid

of the feelings of injustice that so many of us golfers feel when things

go awry and we feel we've been unfairly punished by the rules. I do

play golf. In 2019 when the rules come into play, I will be thinking

about how they will affect me differently, how I will be executing

them dimply on the course, but I was talking to Victoria earlier, she is

not a golfer. She says that these seem very minor from outside of the

game and they're not likely to entice her to play the sport which

is what this is all about, do you think that these are supposed to be

simp fugue the game and making it more attractive and getting people

in and play it. Do you think they will make any difference? They will.

I think collectively they will make a big difference. Individually, they

are minor adjustments and the fundamentals of the game will remain

exactly the same. It will be a simple ball and stick game in which

you're trying to get the ball into the hole in the fewest number of

shots. The idea is that you don't get bogged down in complicated rules

and that sort of thing and attracting penalty shots and

generally having the game working against you. The idea of the US GA

and the RNA is to make it more enjoyable, to make that rule book so

much easier to understand. At the moment, if you get into a difficulty

on the golf course, you open up the rule book and I'm a golf

correspondent and there are times when I'm scratching my head look at

it and saying, "What should I be doing next?" They are trying to get

away from it. Ian Kaerter, thank you. Has that convinced you to give

it a go? The world divides into people who play golf and people who

don't. Maybe that's really harsh. Give it a go. I'm washing my hair. I

have got no time! Next this morning, we're

going to take a look at tests for pregnant women which can detect

whether or not a baby is going to be At the moment the test,

which is called non-invasive pre-natal testing is only available

privately - that will change next year when it's

rolled out on the NHS. The tests are 99% accurate

and promise to reduce the risk of miscarriages linked

to the invasive amniocentesis test, previously the only way

of accurately diagnosing Down's. But there are warnings this morning

that it could be misused to selectively abort babies

on the basis of their sex. Policy advisors at the Nuffield

Council on Bioethics also warn introducing it on the NHS could lead

to an increase in the number of terminations following

a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome. They're launching their report

with the actress Sally Phillips, Last year she made a documentary

looking at the ethical issues When Olly was diagnosed 11 years

ago, I never could have imagined that our family was going to end up

looking like this. But although Olly is the reason

I started making this film, It's not just about Down's

syndrome either, it's a film that asks the question -

what kind of society And who do we think should be

allowed to live in it? So will it lead to an increase

in the number of abortions Lucienne's eight-year-old son Billy

has Down's Syndrome, and Nursev Morris, whose

eight-month-old baby She has had the NIPT blood test

with Benjamin which showed positive. Julia Langdon had amniocentesis

in the early 80s and decided In a moment we're hoping to speak

to Holly Riseborough who is 21 and has Down's Syndrome,

she's been on our pogramme before. I think you were 32 weeks pregnant

when you found out. How did you react? I had amniocentesis because

of complications in my pregnancy. I chose to have it. It came back with

the initial screening as having a high chance of having a child with

Down's Syndrome, but I chose not to have am neo at that point because of

the risk of miscarriage and I knew I was going to have my child whether

it had Down's Syndrome or not, but when I was given a diagnosis, I was

shock. I didn't know anyone with Down's Syndrome. I had the outdated

notion that a life with Down's Syndrome would be devastating for my

child, devastating for me, changing my life, my whole family's life. I

like to say that now my son is seven actually, seven years down the line,

it isn't anything like the dismal life I expected to have at that

point of diagnosis. Billy has a very fulfilling life. He's doing very

well at school. And he enhances our family like any other child that,

our other son that we have. So yeah, I was devastated, but now, you know,

it's a joyous thing. It really is. How is Benjamin doing? He's thriving

as well as you can see. Absolutely. You had the test when you found out

that Benjamin was going to be Down's how did you and your partner react?

It was a big shockment we went through a type of mourning process,

you know, first of all, we had the gender because we had it privately

so we were looking forward to having a girl. It's another boy because we

have a seven-year-old boy who is an amazing big brother. Sorry, my

darling, come. For us, we went lieu this mourning process of what's it

going to mean for his life? Is he going to be able to get married,

have children, have a happy life, have a good job, all these things

you hope for your children. And for us, we were glad that we had the NIP

test because it gave us time to go through that process before having

Benjamin. Whereas if we found out after giving birth at that point it

would have been much more difficult to go through that process then to

build the bond, the relationship, and so we were glad we had it and

I've had it again with this new pregnancy. This time on the NHS, so

we weren't informed of the sex, but we got a low risk for Down's

Syndrome which again gave us peace of mind and now we can just focus on

enjoying the pregnancy and getting ready for our child to come.

We can talk to Holly Rice pro who has been on the programme before.

How are you? I think we need to open your microphone, just give me one

sect, can you hear me? Yes, I can. We can hear you now. How are you?

Fine, thank you. To keep talking to us again. I remember last time you

said that you love gymnastics, what is biggest achievement? I went to

America. I really enjoyed it, it was such a big achievement really. Very

good. Absolutely. You are telling us as well about working at Tesco, how

is that going? Really good thank you. I work on checkouts, and I am

really enjoying it at Tesco's. Is that one day a week at the moment?

Yes. That is it. And what would you say is the best thing about your

life? The best thing in my life, I am in college, acting, modelling,

acting, dancing outside of college. What about your mum and dad, how

supportive are they? Oh, mum... My mum has like really supported me

really, because she is there all the time, and my dad, he has always

dealt with me all the time, because he always can always looks after me

every single time. Wow. That is lovely to hear, Holly. Thank you so

much for coming on the programme, really nice to talk to you again.

OK. Thanks, Holly. Take care. Take care. Julie Comey you had prenatal

screening in the 80s, and you decided to have a termination I

think in 1982. Tell us a little bit about that. Well, I was 36, rising

37 at the time. I had become pregnant by accident. And I was not

in the position to look after a disabled child, and I asked for

amniocentesis and I was initially refused because at the time they

only started testing at 37. They said I was more likely to miscarry

from the tests than to have a Down's baby. I pointed out that if I

miscarried from the test I could get pregnant again, but if I had a

Down's baby I was in no position to look after it, I would have to quit

work, and not saying that open my work before my children, I wouldn't

of course, but I wasn't in the right circumstances. And my pregnancy was

proved to be Down's. And I realised then that actually I had taken the

decision already when I had asked for the test and successfully

secured it. I had to give birth. It was a very traumatic and difficult

time. My partner and I were very, very traumatised by it obviously but

we went on to have two lovely children when things were sorted

between us. Let me ask you all about this test that has been rolled out

on the NHS. At the moment you can only get it privately, as I said. It

is noninvasive, a much reduced risk of miscarriage. Do you think it is a

good thing, Lucienne, that it will be available more widely? I think as

long as it is handled with the enormity that it implies then it

could be a good thing, absolutely. But we need to Mitchell that if we

are talking about Down's syndrome... There are two things I want to ask

you about, firstly Down's syndrome, and termination is based on the sex

of the child, which this can show. In terms of down syndrome, they need

to make sure there is support out there if you are given a positive

diagnosis of down syndrome that you are given balanced information. It

is all about both sides of the story. So that the idea in my mind

of the NIPT for Down's syndrome is to give people time to prepare for

having a disabled child. They need to have both sides of the story of

life with down syndrome. It isn't easy, as you know, it does have its

difficulties, but doesn't parenting anyway? Yes. And you were not given

both sides, as you put it? No. I run a down syndrome support group

currently and I know the still goes on in the NHS. I was told, I'm

sorry, by my GP, that I have a child with Down's syndrome. I was given no

up-to-date information, no signposting to support groups, no

idea of what life with down syndrome would be full stop what about you,

were you? Exactly the same situation. I am still waiting for

counselling, he is a year. No support. They did not give us any

positive information, and it was the same actually when we paid privately

to have the NIPT. We received no information from them. And from the

NHS side, we were pushed to abort, were repeatedly asked are you still

committed to the pregnancy, I used committed to the pregnancy, at every

consultant appointment we were told I'm sorry... Do they not have an

application -- obligation to check your state of mind by asking that

question? Yes, maybe in the first meeting, but when we said we are

Christians, we have said from the outset we are not going to be

aborting our child, we are going to go ahead, we just need your support

now. What does it mean, having Down's syndrome? The explanation we

received from the consultant, well, you know, these days it doesn't mean

much, you know. They lived a bit longer so it's all right, and he

will never be a rocket scientist, he will never be Prime Minister, but it

is all right because Down's kids are good with music. Oh my gosh, are you

joking me? I wish I was. It happens time and time again. Through my

support groups, those who continue to have the pregnancy, they are

constantly reminded, are you sure, it is not too late? This has to

stop. There needs to be set protocols that professionals have to

follow if you continue to have a pregnancy with a child with down

syndrome. Let me ask you about the warning from the Nuffield council

about this test being more widely available and therefore there are

concerns it might lead to terminations on the basis of the sex

of the child. Sex elect of terminations. What do you think of

that? I don't think that is desirable at all. They're obviously

cultural issues here and I think that would be very alarming. My only

point is I think that women, parents, should be able to choose if

they want to raise a disabled child. I have two friends who have had

Down's babies, and they have had a very different, well, difficult

lives, but one has been very happy. The little girl is quite disabled,

quite severely disabled. So I do know and I understand, but I think

it should not be used for selective choice of what sort of baby you

want, designer babies as we call it, of course. Let me read the messages

from people around the country. The street from lose the label, defining

a person by their diagnosis is dehumanising. Please say a baby with

Down's or a person with Down's please. Joe says we should be

ashamed for introducing these Down's test, it's just that to say whatever

not worth living. Elisabeth says all NHS staff need to be educated with

up-to-date information on Down's syndrome. Kerry says who among us is

qualified to judge who is deserving of life and who isn't? Thank you

very much all for coming on the programme. Good luck with your third

one, good luck. Your own experiences are very welcome, as you know.

Voters in Northern Ireland will go to the polls

The assembly there collapsed in a row over the spiralling

costs to fund a green fuel incentive scheme.

But it's again highlighted how, despite years of peace building,

Our reporter Declan Harvey's been in Armagh to ask a group of young

mums what they'd like to see politicians do so the next

When the Good Friday agreement was signed to 20 years ago, pretty much

all of the violence on the streets ended. What about the promises of

bringing the community closer together again? Well, divides still

exist. Of course it is not a concern when there are dolls to be addressed

and blocks to be built, but their mums hope these toddlers will never

know the experiences they had growing up in the split community. I

remember the police standing at the back of our house, as you are making

your breakfast going to school, they were standing at the bus stop. It

was something where you kind of thought, not like there he has a

gun, it was just there are soldiers on the streets, that is what

happened. People in England thought whenever you see on the news,

wannabe went across the road there were bullets over your head, and it

was not like that. Going to school was a wee bit different because you

felt the Dubai there. We all went to one or the other, so when you with

your friends, you were probably that we get more -- we felt the divide

fair. There has been changes in the last 20 years from what the troubles

were. It has got a lot more liberated and mixed and peaceful but

it could still come on a good bit as well. Everyone in Northern Ireland

has taken large steps forward, but what signs are there these days? I

would say certain names, catholic names and Protestant names, certain

names would have certain backgrounds and they would not always certainly

go to a certain pub or bar if you have that name, because you might

just be singled out. Kerbstones painted, lamp posts painted just so

you know what area you are in generally. A common complaint about

politicians here is how they avoid talking about day-to-day issues and

instead focus on Northern Ireland's place within the UK. Politicians who

put leaflets through my door, I would like to have no flag on it, I

would like to have a list of what their policies are for health,

education, the environment. Because what comes through your door is

coloured one side or the other but you don't know what they are

actually going to stand for. These mums come from across the community,

but when we asked what is the one thing they would like to see changed

after the election, they all gave the same answer. Integrated schools.

Integrated education is where anybody no matter what religion you

are, what your background is, you grow up in the same school, all

religions are taught to all of the children, they don't know any

different. As it stands, 93% of schools available for these kids

identify as being either majority catholic or Protestant. In my own

peer group, there are still some parents who have that opinion of

them and us. Their children go here and our children do this. Their

primary school and our primary school and their secondary and

arrows. The first integrated school opened in the committee one but

growth has slowed, despite funding being promised. Existing schools are

offering schemes where students can collaborate on mixed projects. None

of the five biggest parties in Northern Ireland support more

division, but they vary in their appetite for abandoning religious

lead schools. A review is being held but it is one of the many things

delayed by this snap election. It is very frustrating. It could be all

talk. When I look through the leaflets that come through the door,

the first thing I look for is the politicians's view on integrated

education. Why does it have to be one-sided or the other? These mums

talk about how being taught in separate schools affected them but

they say the best thing that can be done now is to scrap the system

before their kids which the classroom.

That election is tomorrow - full results on BBC News on Friday.

Still to come in the last half hour...

about a new "wonder drug" for Hepatitis C and allegations that

a charity campaigning to get the NHS to provide it has received money

We will talk to the mum of a baby who was born 23 weeks early and

survived surgery in the first six days of her life.

Coming up to half ten, here's the latest news will stop punishments

for using a mobile phone behind the wheel will double today from

England, Wales and Scotland. Motorists face six point on the

license and a ?200 fine. New drivers caught within two years

of passing their test We just need the courage to share

the dreams that fill our hearts. The bravery to express the hopes

that share our souls and the confidence to turn those

hopes and those dreams into action. From now on, America will be

empowered by our asperations. Francois Fillon, who only weeks

ago was the frontrunner for the French presidency,

is to make a statement later after pulling out

of a key campaign event. Financial police have been

investigating allegations that he paid his wife and children

parliamentary salaries for bogus work, accusations

which they all deny. He's giving a news conference at

11am. Katherine Downes has

the sport headlines now. Last night - Brighton

or Newcastle could have gone top of the Championship -

after their top of the table clash last night, it is Newcastle

who are top of the tree for now. Brighton lead for most of the match

but Newcastle scored twice in the last ten minutes to go

four points clear. The rumours are that Roy Hodgson

is being lined up to replace The former England manager

is bookies favourite to take over. And golf's rule-makers are set

to announce what they're calling "the biggest set of changes

in a generation". They're introducing new rules

to make the game simpler and quicker to play to try

and encourage more people Having spoken about it for most of

the morning I haven't managed to persuade Victoria to pick up her

clubs and have a go. But we won't keep on going on about if!

The former British cycling coach who delivered a "mystery" package

to Sir Bradley Wiggins on the eve of his win at a big race in France

in 2011 will today give evidence at a government inquiry into doping.

He delivered it to a doctor called Richard Freeman who was also due

to give evidence at the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee

inquiry this afternoon, but now says he's ill

Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford says he was told the package

contained a legal decongestant, but MPs say they are concerned by

So what questions remain about Sir Bradley Wiggins

W Here is a padded envelope. On the last day of the cycle race in 2011,

it was delivered to Team Sky. Simon Cope, who worked for British cycling

from Manchester to Geneva before heading into France to hand it to

the Team Sky doctor, Richard Freeman. Shane Sutton says Richard

Freeman gave the contents to Bradley Wiggins. So what was in the package?

Its contents haven't been independently confirmed. Sir Dave

Brailsford, the Team Sky boss, told MPs in December that the package

contained a deacon guestant. There is the rules and then there is the

principle and our values and our values and our principles are very,

very clear. We race clean and that's it. (BLEEP). But there are some

questions outstanding such as why couldn't the team just buy the

deacon guestant local? Is there a paper trail to back up claims what

was in it, why did Simon Cope not bother to check what was in it and

if the contents were destined for Bradley Wiggins then why was he

taking a deacon guestant which is not meant to be used by atmatics as

Wiggins is one? It is not the first time Bradley Wiggins faced questions

about the way he used medication. This is was to cure a medical

condition and the world doping agency and everyone said this was

about, this wasn't about trying to find a way to gain an unfair

advantage, this was about putting myself back on a level playing

field. Despite what is known about the package, questions still remain

about its contents. A UK anti-doping investigation into the package is

still on going. There is no suggestion either Bradley Wiggins or

Team Sky have broken any rules. Let's talk now to MP

Chris Matheson a Labour MP who sits on the Culture,

Media, and Sport Select Committee who are conducting this inquiry

into doping and Matt Lawton, Chief Sports Reporter

of the Daily Mail who has been investigating what was

in the package. He's just won an award

for his journalism at the Sports Journalists' Association

Awards. Right, Chris, the only other person

apart from Bradley Wiggins who can tell you what's in the package is Dr

Rup ard Freeman. He can't now come to give evidence this afternoon. Why

not? Apparently, he's not well. We offered him the opportunity to give

evidence by video conference as well and he didn't want to do that. We

will be writing to him to get answers to the questions that we

still need answers to, but I would have preferred to see him at the

committee. Will you call him at another time? We will keep that

option open. How ill is he? I don't know. I haven't asked. Why is

Richard Freeman the only person who would know what's in the package?

123450 There was the third person. There is the physiotherapist at

British cycling who was asked to pull it off-the-shelf in the store

and package it up. So, but yeah, there are three people that would

know for sure that had eyes on the package if you like. And would know

which drug was administered. We believe a drug was administered

because Shane Sutton, who was Wiggins' coach told the committee in

December that Freeman told him the drug had been administered that day.

After the race. OK. And just explain why you would administer a drug

after a race when it has been won? Well, the reason that we have been

given is because Bradley Wiggins was ill towards the end of the race.

What is slightly troubling about that version of events that Dave

Brailsford presented to the committee in December is the fact

that British cycling then submitted Simon Cope's expenses documents to

the committee. Simon Cope was the man who through from Britain to

Geneva and drove to France with the package? Yes, but what we know, this

is a seven day race. Wiggins won the race, if he was ill, then he was

presumably ill mid-way through the race because Simon Cope was asked to

go and get the package and travel to Manchester to get the package on 8th

June 2011, he didn't arrive in France for Freeman to treat Wiggins

until 12th June. So what we have is a situation where he was given the

medication that they could have nipped across a road in France and

in a pharmacy bought. If Bradley Wiggins was ill, the doctor had to

tell Bradley Wiggins he would have to wait four days to treat him. For

you that raises question marks? I find that implausible. I find it

worrying. You will know that Sir Dave Brailsford has said over and

over again, we have done nothing wrong. The package contained this

deacon guestant, although Dave Brailsford had not seen what was in

the package, but that's what he told you in evidence. Why don't you

believe it was the deacon guestant? It is not that I don't believe. It's

the evidence. It's the evidence that we have. There was an allegation,

this began with an allegation which was a story I was told about the

package. I began to ask questions about the package. I directed my

questions to British cycling, Team Sky, and Bradley Wiggins'

representatives and then what followed was this attempt to

basically deny that there was even a trip with a medical package to

France because I was initially told by Sir Dave Brailsford that Simon

Cope did not travel to deliver a medical package, but to meet a

female British cyclist called Emma Pooley and that's why he was there.

We discovered that she wasn't even in France that day, she was in

Spain. So things didn't add up from what you had been told. However,

Dave Brailsford and Bradley Wiggins say they haven't broken any rules.

Well, look, all we've done so far Victoria is ask the question and all

I have done is report the responses to the questions that I've asked

based on the allegation that was made to me in the first place, you

know, it is the way we work as journalists. An allegation is made,

you ask the question and this is the response. The version of events

doesn't seem to add up because they went to this trouble where a guy

went on a train from the South Coast to Manchester and flew out three

days later and it is available over the counter in France for eight

euros. You had a two hour meeting with Dave Brailsford, the subject

didn't come up then, you weren't told then? No. My original

questions, there was something like, it was over a week between my

original questions and that meeting so no, that's not quite true. There

was four or five days between my original questions and that meeting

and no, the drug wasn't mentioned. There was over a week before we

prunted the story. So that meeting was on the Tuesday and it was the

Thursday the following week that we actually ran the story and at no

time in that period, were we ever given Flumasil as a reason.

Do you think Flumasil was in that package? It is not suitable to be

given to people with asthma and we understand that Bradley Wiggins has

asthma. At we have had more questions than

answers. Everything is murky. It could have been Flumazenil in

there. What questions do you need to ask? We need to ask Mr Pooley what

was in the package. It was him that was transporting it and taking it on

to planes, he should have known what was in there. Mr Pooley? Mr Cope.

Simon Cope. Mr Cope, we need to be asking him if he knew what was in

the package? Why didn't he know? Why was he doing this courier job when

he is supposed to be the manager of the women's team and where do his

responsibilities to Team Sky begin and his responsibilities for UK

cycling. Have you requested that Bradley Wiggins come before you? We

haven't yet. It would seem to be a no brainer. We will see what Mr Cope

has to say. Why not? We are following the evidence. He was the

person who received the drugs being administered so he would know? At

the same time, of course, we are talking about issues that might be

considered medically confidential to him. So we have to respect that

medical confidentiality, but at some point... We all know he has got

asthma? Indeed. These are the questions we will be asking today. A

final word. The key thing in December Sir Dave Brailsford and the

British cycling president agreed with the committee that there should

be a paper trail that proves this that the package contained

Flumazenil I believe today the UK Chief Executive, the UK anti-doping

Chief Executive will confirm there is no paper trail. Thank you very

much. That Select Committee hearing is

this afternoon. And just to reiterate Sir Dave Brailsford and

Sir Bradley Wiggins have consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Sir Dave Brailsford told MPs that that package contained a legal

deacon guessant. we'll be talking to a former health

minister about a new "wonder drug" for Hepatitis C and allegations that

a charity campaigning to get the NHS to provide it has received money

from the drug's manufacturers. Surgeons believe they have

operated on the youngest patient ever to undergo -

and survive - major abdominal St George's Hospital in London

operated on a premature baby who was born at just 23 weeks

and was just six days old. Patient Abiageal Peters

weighed only 1.3 lbs - or 0.5 kilograms -

that's the weight of This bag of sugar -

when doctors realised Her intestine had ruptured in three

places because of a severe condition of the gut called

necrotizing enterocolitis. We can speak to her

mum Louise Peters. And the surgeon who carried out

the operation is Mr Zahid Mukhtar Hi both of you. Good morning. Hi

Louise, how are you? Very well. How are you? I'm very well, thank you.

Tell us about the birth of Abigail. Well, it certainly didn't go how we

expected it to. I was over half-way through my pregnancy and I was at

home on a Monday and my waters broke and I kind of wasn't really sure

what was happening to be honest and was in denial hoping that wasn't

what it was. So I had to get an ambulance to hospital and when I got

there, they said that's what happened and I ended up two days

later I went into labour and she was born at 23 weeks plus three days.

How was she then? Oh, she was tiny. She, she just, just bigger than the

size of my hand. She was a very strange colour, translucent skin and

they had to put her on life support. So, put a tube down her throat which

took them a while to do. So we were just sat there waiting for an update

on how she was because they said she could come out looking very ill and

probably wouldn't survive or if she looked strong then they would work

on her and rush her off to help her. So fortunately, they were able to

help her, but very scary. I'm not surprised. Really a very tough time

for you as you were just hoping that she would survive. When did it

become clear that she was going to need major surgery? Well, on about

day five. We were at St peter's and we had a bit of a honeymoon period

and we thought she was doing really well and she was in the incubator

and seemed stable and about day five she just started to deteriorate

badly and needed more oxygen and her stomach was starting to look very

plaque and looked bad and the doctors explained it could be a

general decline and that she was giving up the fight or it could be

that she had a problem with her bowel. So the ambulance came and we

were rushed over to St George's in case she did need surgery which she

did end up needing, but it was, yeah, day five, really.

Let me bring in Mr Mukhtar, clearly you are a very busy man, so I am

grateful for your time, but I wonder if you could give an insight to our

audience about this very important and risky surgery on such a tiny

baby? Yes, thank you for having us here, Victoria. It is a very unusual

situation where we had Abigail born at 23 weeks gestation. Babies very

rarely survive when they are born that early. She was a real fighter

and had a lot of tenacity and was coming through but unfortunately

developed this competition where she had ruptured her intestines. That in

itself has a very high mortality, very few babies survive that. Then

the decision to operate on that was a really difficult and tough one

well had to talk to her parents and the rest of her team and make that

decision. We have operated on small babies born at 25, 26 weeks

gestation before, that this is really the list we have ever done.

There is a difference in that Abigail, not only was she very